Update on Kituwah (Cherokee sacred site)

[dana_b]

For those who don't know, Duke Energy in North Carolina is looking to build on or near the sacred Cherokee site of Kituwah (original post here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7705079) and because of the tribe and the petitions signed, the utilities commission in No. Carolina has imposed a 90 day moratorium.

Duke, of course, says that they didn't need permission to clear land because they were updating existing power lines. Well if they were updating existing lines, why are they clearing new land? http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/04/01/1348737/group-petitions-to-halt-project.html

Facebook "Save Kituwah" http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Swain-County/SAVE-KITUWAH/288586372067?ref=nf

Petition site: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/save-kituwah---the-mother-town-of-the-cherokee

Hopefully they back off and leave this site alone.

[Silent3]

1. I'm an equal opportunity atheist and skeptic

I'm all for avoiding unnecessarily causing trouble for anyone, and if there are reasonable alternative to clearing that particular area of land, by all means, that's how this issue should be handled.

The "sacred land" argument, in and of itself however, doesn't incredibly impress me any more than teabaggers insisting this is a Christian nation. I'd need a good, solid argument based on ecology to be strongly moved to not just merely avoid, but expensively go out of the way to avoid, developing on a particular patch of land.

[dana_b]

2. I understand what you are saying

especially coming from the atheist point of view. My concern is that native rights are again being dismissed. If this were a Christian sacred site, people would be up in arms.

I also am not so much interested in the $$. Corporations are going to try and take the cheaper route no matter what. Ecologically they'd be better NOT clearing more land. Why would they need to clear more land if they are only updating existing lines?

Anyway - thanks for looking at it logically at least.

[Silent3]

3. Even if the spiritual/religious side of it doesn't impress me...

...if we've made agreements to respect certain limits about encroaching upon Native American lands, and this land clearing would be in violation of such agreements, then it doesn't really matter if I'm in tune with the underlying reasons for the agreements, a commitment is a commitment, and certainly way too many agreements with Native Americans have already been broken.

[dana_b]

4. you got it

something that our government seems able to easily forget about.

[Submariner]

5. "native rights are again being dismissed"

Some of them need to be dismissed. I have the same atheist view, and I strongly object to the native tribes claiming rights to hunt whales, which they do, for religious purposes.

There is a time to grow out of that superstitious dogma when it means the unnecessary death of an already severely slaughtered and depleted whale population, and it's 2010 already, time to get over it.

[dana_b]

6. well, that's another issue then

right now we're talking about the destruction of a holy place for the Cherokees, not whale hunting.

Now it's funny, I agree that whale hunting is unnecessary. However so is the destrucion of this site in No. Carolina. I also am not of the mind to claim that others religious beliefs are "superstitious dogma". That, imo, is arrogance at the highest level.

[Chulanowa]

8. What tribe is this?

The Makah tribe asserts its right to one baleen whale a year. Know what they do with it? They eat it. It's food. Now, they do perform religious ceremonies about this whole deal, but ultimately? They chop it up, they cook it, they eat it, and then - I would presume - they shit.

The tribe has a 51% unemployment rate and pretty much everyone in the remaining 49% is in fishing. This tells me that that whale meat is a damn nice thing for them, something to have in their freezer if things get lean. Ever lived on subsistence, Submariner? I have. Blew away a few bambis, some thumpers, you name it. I bled them, gutted, skinned, and butchered them. Most went into the freezer, some got cooked real quick after I got home (moose neck is delicious, by the way).

And being the guy I am, I did a little thanking of the animal who I'd killed. Certainly nothing as elaborate as what the Makah do with their whale, I'm sure, but when you're living off what you can catch, a little superstition is never misplaced.

'Course, out there in the whale sanctuary in the south pacific, you have the Japanese factory boats killing a few hundred whales a year for "science" (don't worry, I know htey're full of shit) and then - not eating it. Seriously, it just sits in a freeze locker until it's freezerburnt, then processed into dogfood (yay for the dogs, chock full of essential heavy metals!) - But i'm sure it's the Makah, with hteir one unendangered grey whale a year that are the problem, since they do some drumming and dancing about hte whole deal.

[Omaha Steve]

7. My paternal grandmother was Cheerokee from Kentucky-N.C.

K&R!

I will get active on this. I signed. # 110.