[env-trinity] NRDC and Gary Mulcahy

Tue Oct 18 17:28:47 PDT 2005

Natural Resources Defense Council 

The Winnemem Wintu Tribe and Shasta Dam

Conclusions 

*	The Winnemem Wintu Tribe has been harmed by Shasta Dam and the
Bureau of Reclamation's policies, just as much as the McCloud River and its
salmon.
*	The Department of Interior has not fulfilled its legal commitment to
the Winnemem, including holding cemeteries in trust for the tribe and
providing land and money in compensation for lands lost as a result of the
construction of Shasta Dam.
*	A raise of Shasta Dam, which NRDC considers to be unwise for
environmental and economic reasons, would also flood most of the Winnemem's
remaining sacred sites on the McCloud River.
*	The fact that the tribe is not legally recognized by the federal
government is, to a significant extent, a result of the construction of
Shasta Dam.
*	Federal recognition would give the Winnemem a more formal voice in
the debate regarding Shasta Dam.

History and Current Status of the Winnemem Wintu

The Winnemem are a band of the Wintu tribe that has lived for millennia on
the McCloud River, a tributary of the Sacramento River in Northern
California.  In their language, "winnemem" means middle river, referring to
the location of the McCloud, one of three major tributaries of the
Sacramento River, including the mainstem of the Sacramento River, the
McCloud and the Pit River.  

Pre-contact, there were more than 14,000 Wintu. By 1910 only 400 remained.
On August 16th, 1851, The Cottonwood treaty, between the Wintu and the
United States government, was signed at Reading's Ranch. In exchange for
giving up other land, the treaty committed to establish a 35-square mile
reservation for the Wintu. However, the United States Congress refused to
ratify the treaty and the Wintu were denied the land promised to them. In
1944, the US Court of Claims awarded $17 million to California Indians as a
settlement for losses due to Congress' failure to ratify seventeen treaties
including the Cottonwood Treaty. The Wintu oppose the settlement and refused
to take payment, believing that it was insufficient.  Tribal records show
that the only compensation any Winnemem Wintu tribal member received for
this settlement was one check to Florence Jones for approximately forty
dollars.  In 1893, President Grover Cleveland issued land allotments of up
to 160 acres to Native Americans including the Winnemem Wintu. The
allotments given to the Winnemem consisted of their traditional lands along
the McCloud River. 

Today, there are 125 remaining members of the Winnemem.  They continue to
practice traditional religious ceremonies that have been passed down for
generations. Many of these ceremonies are still practiced on their
historical sites, sites that are now threatened by the potential raise of
Shasta Dam. The Winnemem are deeply committed to continuing their
traditional way of life. As a result, they have rejected Indian gaming as
detrimental to their traditional values. 

Impacts to the Winnemem of the Construction of Shasta Dam

In 1937, a year before construction began on Shasta Dam, the Winnemem's land
allotments were taken by the federal government in order to make way for the
construction of Shasta and its newly formed reservoir.  The Winnemem
received no compensation.  Wintu cemeteries that would have been destroyed
by the construction of Shasta were relocated by the Bureau of Reclamation. 

The construction of Shasta Dam in the late 1930's and early 1940's submerged
90 percent of the Winnemem tribe's traditional lands and many of their
cultural and religious sites.  Like the tribes on the Klamath and the
Trinity, the Winnemem culture focused on salmon.  Shasta Dam also eliminated
salmon from the McCloud River and, thus, damaged the Winnemem's culture and
diet.

Interior's Legal Responsibilities to the Winnemem  

In order to compensate for the losses caused by the construction of Shasta
Dam, the Secretary of the Interior is obligated to take specific actions
established in [Public Law 198] 55 Stat. 612. In 1941, in the midst of the
construction of Shasta Dam, the "CVP Indian Lands Acquisition Act" was
signed into law (55 Stat 612).  

This law states that "As lands or interests in lands are designated from
time to time under this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall determine
the amount of money to be paid to the Indians as just and equitable
compensation therefor." (55 Stat 612 Sec. 2 & 3). The Wintu were never
compensated for the loss of their land.

This law further states that, "Sites of the relocated cemeteries shall be
held in trust by the United States for the appropriate tribe, or family."
(55 Stat 612 Sec. 4). The Wintu cemetery which was relocated by the Bureau
of Reclamation is currently held by the Bureau of Land Management, but it is
not being held in trust for the Wintu.  BLM refers to this site as a
historic cemetery, not a cemetery held in trust for any tribe.  Under
federal law, BLM cannot hold land in trust for a tribe.  BIA is the federal
agency that fulfills this role.  

In short, Interior's legal and moral obligations were not met.  As a result,
the Winnemem Wintu tribe continues to suffer. Honoring these commitments
would assist them in preserving their culture and gaining federal
recognition.

Tribal Recognition Issues  

If the Bureau had honored the commitments contained in the CVP Indian Lands
Acquisition Act, it is likely that the Winnemem would be a federally
recognized tribe today.  The Bureau would have provided the tribe with lands
to replace those flooded by the dam, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs would
be holding a cemetery in trust for the tribe.  When the federal government
began the formal recognition process, tribes for which the US Government
held lands in trust were assumed to be eligible for recognition.  Therefore,
one of the many ramifications of the failure to comply with federal law is
that the Winnemem are not a federally recognized tribe.  

The Native American Rights Fund first supported the Winnemem's efforts to
achieve federal recognition in 1988.  Since that time, the California
Council of Tribal Governments and the National Congress of American Indians
have also stated their support of the Winnemem. In addition, in 2004 Senator
Ben Nighthorse Campbell introduced S. 2879, the "Winnemem Wintu Tribe
Clarification and Restoration Act." The bill would have established the
Winnemem Wintu as a federally acknowledged tribe and established that the
forty-two and a half acres of land they currently reside on would be taken
into trust by the federal government and deemed the reservation of the
Tribe. 

It is significant that S. 2879 included a provision stating that, "The Tribe
shall not have the right to conduct gaming."  The tribe supported the
inclusion of this provision because gaming is not consistent with their
traditional beliefs.  (Ironically, if the tribe were interested in gaming,
it would be easier to secure professional representation to help them obtain
recognition.)

The lack of federal recognition leaves the tribe with a limited voice in the
debate regarding the raise of Shasta Dam. 

The Proposed Raise of Shasta Dam

The Bureau of Reclamation is now studying a proposed raise of Shasta Dam.
If the dam is raised it would effectively destroy all of the remaining
religious and cultural sites along the McCloud River of the Winnemem Wintu,
as well as remaining traditional homelands. Given the Winnemem's attachment
to their traditional lands, raising Shasta Dam could effectively destroy
their way of life and culture. 

Some of the Winnemem's sacred sites are protected under state law by CA PRC
5097.993-5097.994.  However, given that many of their remaining sacred sites
are on federal land, the applicability of state law to these sites is
unclear.  

The National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) requires federal agencies to
consult with Native Americans regarding projects that could affect sacred
sites. The Bureau has, to date, failed to consult with the Winnemem under
the NHPA. The Bureau claims that they do not yet have an "undertaking,"
which would trigger the NHPA. Given that the Bureau is preparing a
feasibility study to raise Shasta, this certainly seems questionable. It
would be inappropriate, and likely a violation of the NHPA, for the Bureau
to conclude that a Shasta raise is feasible without first complying with the
NHPA requirement for early consultation with tribes and other interested
parties. The Bureau's position suggests that they may resist consultations
under the NHPA until they are well down the road towards a commitment to
raise Shasta. 

October 13, 2005

Byron Leydecker, 

Chair, Friends of Trinity River

Consultant, California Trout, Inc.

PO Box 2327

Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327

415 383 4810 ph

415 383 9562 fx

bwl3 at comcast.net

bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary)

http://www.fotr.org

http://caltrout.org

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