A Letter to the Supreme Court
The California Supreme Court is deciding whether to take on the West Berkeley Shellmound case. Project Director Toby McLeod argues that they must!
Barbed Wire Imprisons Sacred Site
On the day the California Court of Appeal heard arguments over whether to uphold lower court protection of the West Berkeley Shellmound, landowners erected a six-foot chain link fence topped with three strands of barbed wire. It was a gut punch.
11 Most Endangered
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
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!
Conversations with Sacred Land Protectors
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
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!
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
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
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.
Biodiversity Thrives on Indigenous Sacred Lands
What is the relationship between sacred places and biodiversity? Project Director Toby McLeod reports on a three-month research project by six U.C. Berkeley students…