Respecting Our Elders

by Dan Hamburg

The California Department of Health Services and U.S. Ecology are suing Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt and the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Before reaching the van he saw a familiar face, a Quechan man named Preston Arroweed.

"Hello, David. It's good to see you, my friend." called out the bronzed, middle-aged Indian man.

"Hello, Preston. Good to see you also." replied Burns. "You know why we are here and you know that we will not be moved. In fact, I am prepared to die if necessary in order to protect this land that was sacred to our ancestors and is likewise sacred to us. And David, if I must die here, I want you to do me the honor of firing the bullet that ends my life."

David Burns looked Preston Arroweed straight in the eye but he shuffled his feet a bit.

"David, we have known each other for many years. I know you are a good man. That's why I want you to do me this honor and no one else. And one other thing... It might be best if you would go back to your station and bring out your Gatling gun. Don't stop with me but shoot us all dead. Because if you put a nuclear waste dump on this land, you might just as well kill us."

The occupation of Ward Valley (Silyaye aheace in Mojave language) by approximately 200 native and non-native activists is just entering its 14th week. It is being conducted under the strict guidance of tribal elders from the five Colorado River Indian Tribes: Ft. Mojave, Colorado River, Cocopah, Chemehuevi, and Quechan. The occupation is preventing US Ecology, the company hired by the federal government to conduct further tests on the site, from completing their work. The tribes maintain that no further testing is needed because this is sacred land and there will be no nuclear waste dump here.

Tribal elders are holding sacred ceremonies on-site around the clock. Security is being provided by the American Indian Movement (AIM). There is a strict code of non-violence and a prohibition against drugs and alcohol in the "village." Though the spirit is often light- hearted, this is an intensely serious matter. Some of the most dangerous wastes produced by our high-consumption, high-tech civilization are being denied a burial site by the people from whom this land we call the United States was stolen. It is already a burial site for their ancestors. It is bad enough that radioactivity from the dump might leach into the aquifer that feeds the Colorado River. It is even worse to defile sacred land.

Finally, there is the desert tortoise or capet in Mojave. A Fort Mojave elder named Llewellyn Barrackman calls Silyaye aheace the "headquarters for the desert tortoise." The tortoise is federally listed under the Endangered Species Act. Were it not for the ESA, former Interior Secretary Manuel Lujan would have transferred the site into the avaricious hands of Pete Wilson in the waning days of the Bush Administration. Silyaye aheace is critical habitat for the tortoise.

Recently we sat around a campfire and listened to a woman talk about her native language. "There are only a few speakers left. I am studying the language of our people so that it will not die." She told stories about the surrounding mountains and the lives her people lived here for centuries. Her mother sat beside her wrapped in a colorful blanket, saying little but clearly enjoying the chilly, starry Mojave night. When it was time to leave, the older woman stood up and walked to each person. She shook their hands, beaming. "Thank you so much for being here. You are making a great sacrifice to leave your families and stay in the desert in order to protect this land." she said.

"No," we assured her. "It is we who are honored."