To: The United States House of Representatives and The United States Senate
Support Winnemem Cultural Survival - Tell Congress "No" to the Shasta Dam raise.
We are a small, traditional tribe in Northern California, and we are struggling to survive as a culture and maintain our indigenous religious practices, which are all threatened by the U.S. government's proposal to raise Shasta Dam by 18.5 feet.
We were flooded out, and not compensated, with the building of Shasta Dam in 1945, and we lost many villages, burial sites and sacred sites beneath the Lake, a loss that still causes our people much heartache to this day. This latest proposal would inundate or damage more than 40 sacred sites, including our Coming of Age ceremony grounds on the Winnemem Waywaqat (McCloud River).
Representative Jim Costa, of Fresno, has introduced a bill, H.R. 4125,co-signed by a number of California Democratic Congressmen, to raise the dam. No mention of the standing debt to our people. Senator Diane Feinstein also supports the dam raise and will probably introduce a bill authorize it soon.
You can make a difference to support Winnemem Wintu cultural survival by telling Congress not to authorize the proposal to raise Shasta Dam by 18.5 feet.
Learn more about why the dam raise must be stopped at www.shastadamraise.com.
Why is this important?
When the Creator put all of the creatures out through our Sacred Spring on Bohem Puyuk (Mt. Shasta), Salmon gave her voice to Human. In return we are committed to use our voice to always speak up for Salmon.
We are the people of the Winnemem (McCloud) River watershed on the South side of Mt Shasta, in Northern California. In our language Winnemem Wintu translates to Middle Water People as the McCloud River is bounded by the Upper Sacramento to the West and the Pit River to the East. We were born from water, we are of the water, and we fight to protect it.
We continue to pray and hold ceremony at our traditional sacred places that remain accessible to us. Our lands were taken, without compensation, when the Shasta Dam was completed in 1945 and flooded our beloved river home.