Location: Northern California, USA
Who Considers it Sacred? Native Americans (Shasta, Pit River, Wintu, Karuk, and Modoc Nations)
Significance: Regarded by the Shasta Nation as the birthplace of the Earth.
The Threat: Commercial and industrial development
Preservation Status: In 1994, “Sacred Sites International Foundation was listed as an interested party in the process of applying for Mt. Shasta’s inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. In March of that year (1994) SSIF received correspondence from Carol Shull of the National Register with a final determination and acceptance of Mt. Shasta to the National Register.” Ms. Shull was quoted as citing the importance of Mt. Shasta to the Native Americans as the decisive factor in its inclusion. The entire mountain was listed for classification in the National Register, in accordance with the wishes of Native Americans representatives.
However, in 1996, after protests from Mount Shasta area property owners and northern California Congressman Wally Herger, the Keeper of the National Register revised its decision, and would now only consider parts of Mount Shasta eligible for the registry. Regional Forest Supervisor Lynn Sprague finally revoked the permit for the construction of the ski resort at Mount Shasta, on 7/22/98.
In 2008, “it seem[ed] that permission to build geothermal plants on Mount Shasta [will] probably not … be granted. The appeal of the Vulcan Power Company has been denied. There is, however, a second appeal by Vulcan Power for a lease application challenging the Bureau of Land Management’s rejection. This process typically takes two years.”
For More Information: Mount Shasta; Site Saver Newsletter Volume IV, Number 3, Spring/Summer 1994; Site Saver Newsletter, Volume VI, Number 2, Winter 1996; Site Saver Newsletter, Volume IX, Number 1, Fall 1998; Sacred Sites Newsletter Volume XX, Numbers 1 & 2, Fall 2008/Winter 2009
Photo: Daniel Meyer