Blog – Page 2 – Sacred Land

11 Most Endangered

By Toby McLeod September 28, 2020

In a stunning development, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has placed the West Berkeley Shellmound and Village Site on their 2020 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.

Comment Letters Needed re Shasta Dam Raise

By Toby McLeod September 9, 2020

Help stop the Bureau of Reclamation from enlarging Shasta Dam. Please send your comment letter by October 5, a sample letter is provided in this blog. Thank you!

Minnesota, known as Mni Sota Makoce to the Dakota, is “the land where the waters reflect the skies.” The Dakota word Bdote means “where two waters come together,” representing the spiritual and physical place of creation for the Dakota people.

Panhe

By Callie Shanafelt Wong July 30, 2020

For more than 10,000 years, Acjachemen people thrived on the coast of what is now Orange County in southern California. They lived in several villages, but Panhe or “place at the water,” at the mouth of San Mateo Canyon, was the most significant.

Cholula

By Neeka Salmasi July 8, 2020

In Cholula, Mexico stands the largest pyramid ever built in human history. This ancient temple could easily be mistaken for a church-on-a-hill scene, as its body is now buried in greenery, and a Catholic church sits on its top.

Conversations with Sacred Land Protectors

By Toby McLeod May 21, 2020

Following free online screenings of the four episodes of Standing on Sacred Ground, we discussed updates and current struggles with indigenous leaders featured in the films. Here are four YouTube videos of those interactive Zoom conversations.

Goldman Prize Winners Protect Sacred Land

By Fiona McLeod April 21, 2020

Celebrate Earth Day with a dozen Goldman Prize winners from indigenous communities who devote their lives to protecting sacred places.

Online Sacred Land Film Festival!

By Toby McLeod April 16, 2020

Celebrate Earth Day with free online screenings of the four films in our Standing on Sacred Ground series, one per week, with discussions with indigenous leaders featured in the films.

Hopi Prophecy—A Timeless Warning

By Toby McLeod April 4, 2020

As translator for Hopi elders, Thomas Banyacya Sr. (1909-1999) traversed the globe for 50 years sharing the Hopi Prophecy. In November 1995, we filmed Thomas’s presentation in Las Vegas. As a fearful pathogen sweeps the planet, his warnings seem more timely than ever.

Shellmound Victory

By Toby McLeod February 13, 2020

A California judge ruled that the West Berkeley Shellmound is a “historic structure,” exempting the sacred site from a fast-track building permit under SB35, and saving it (for now) from a five-story condo-retail-parking development.