[env-trinity] Winnemem Wintu Chief Leads 'Water. Every Drop Is Sacred' Rally and March

[Dan Bacher]

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2015/10/01/18778315.php

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/09/29/1425910/-Winnemem-Wintu-Chief-Leads-Rally-and-March-Against-Mt-Shasta-Crystal-Geyser-Plant

Photo: Chief Caleen Sisk speaks in front of the Crystal Geyser plant,  
not yet in operation, in Mount Shasta City.

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Winnemem Wintu Chief Leads 'Water. Every Drop Is Sacred' Rally and March

by Dan Bacher

Small cascades of cold, pristine water rush out of the hillside at Big  
Springs, the headwaters of the Sacramento River, as they converge in a  
clear and shallow pool located in the Mount Shasta City Park.

Adults and children fill their jugs and bottles with the pristine  
water that takes 50 years to make it from snow and rain on Mount  
Shasta down through the volcanic aquifer to where the torrents  
converge in the park.

Even in a record drought year like this one, the icy water rushes from  
the hillside to make its way to Lake Siskiyou, then Lake Shasta and  
then to the Delta and the ocean. People from throughout the world walk  
along the creek and hike along shaded trails and footpaths that cross  
through hedges of horsetail fern and willow and across small bridges.

As people hiked to and relaxed besides Big Springs, Caleen Sisk, Chief  
and Spiritual Leader of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, and hundreds of  
environmentalists and activists from all over California and Oregon  
held a rally, the “Water Every Drop Sacred” event, in this scenic park  
at the Sacramento River headwaters. After the rally ended, Sisk and  
tribal members led a march and protest of 160 people to the plant.

The Tribe is opposed to the planned opening of the plant, closed after  
it was operated by the Coca-Cola Bottling Company and other  
corporations for years, in accordance with its commitment to protect  
and preserve the Headwaters of the river, the Mount Shasta watershed  
and sacred tribal lands.

Otsuka Holding Co, a Japanese pharmaceutical conglomerate, owns  
Crystal Geyser. The event began with a performance of Iroha, a  
traditional Japanese Taiko drum group

Performances by Sawako Ama, Rieko Ivaska and Mao highlighted the fact  
that Japanese residents and tourists are not pleased about the plans  
to open another bottling plant just 2000 feet from the headwaters,  
according to Vicki Gold, of Water Flows Free in a news release.

"Crystal Geyser is already entrenched in Weed, CA, just 8 miles north  
of Mt. Shasta, reportedly extracting 1.5 million gallons of water  
daily, much of it headed for Japan in single use plastic bottles with  
a huge carbon footprint," said Gold. "Meanwhile, Japan has abundant  
water of its own."

Signs at the rally proclaimed, "Want water?, Tap Mt. Fuji!," "The  
Truth Is…No one owns water!," "No Dam Raise," "Water Is Life" and  
"Help Protect Mt Shasta Sacred Waters 4 Next 7 Generations."

Chief Caleen Sisk, the keynote speaker, spoke movingly about the  
sacredness of water and the threat to the environment and people posed  
by controversial plans to raise the Shasta Dam and build Jerry Brown's  
Delta Tunnels.

“This spring, the headwaters of the Sacramento, is sacred to us,” said  
Chief Sisk. “Archeologists once said they couldn’t find any evidence  
of indigenous people around this spring. That’s because our ancestors  
believe the site was so sacred that they would leave nothing behind  
when they prayed there. It is for the sacred beings – it is not for us  
to use.”

“Mount Shasta (where the Sacramento and McCloud and other rivers come  
from) is sacred. The sacred being brings us a message that the plant  
can’t be here. And if we’re not successful here, the mountain may take  
care of it instead," emphasized Sisk.

She emphasized that the pending plan to open the Crystal Geyser plant  
in Mount Shasta is part of a large water grab by corporate interests,  
including the federal plan to raise Shasta Dam and the Brown  
administration scheme to shop water to agribusiness interests and  
Southern California water agencies.

“The twin tunnels will be built to transfer water from the headwaters  
to agribusiness farming in a desert. They are large enough to divert  
the entire Sacramento River in them," said Chief Sisk.

She said that if the tunnels were built it would destroy the largest  
estuary on the West Cost of the Americas, a nursery for Chinook  
salmon, steelhead, green and white sturgeon, Delta and longfin smelt  
and numerous other fish species.

“If they kill the estuary, what will it mean? When the estuary is cut  
off from the fresh water, the estuary will disappear and no longer be  
a nursery," said Chief Sisk.

Sisk also discussed the Tribe’s long struggle to bring the original  
run of winter run Chinook salmon back to the McCloud River above  
Shasta Dam. Sisk and Tribal Members journeyed to New Zealand in 2009  
to conduct ceremonies with the Maori on the Rakaira River, where the  
descendents of the original winter run chinook salmon from the  
McCloud, transplanted from the Livingston Stone Fish hatchery over 100  
years ago, now thrive.

“The Maori are ready – they said they have 400,000 eyed eggs ready to  
be planted in the McCloud…But the scientists from the Bureau of  
Reclamation said they are not sure whether these are the same fish  
because they have no DNA from the McCloud River winter Chinooks to  
match the DNA of the New Zealand fish. Yet all of the records show  
that these fish came from this river!"

Chief Sisk has often said, referring to the essential role of water to  
life itself. "People can live without oil, they can live without gold,  
but nothing can live without water."

When the march arrived at the plant, Sisk appealed to Otsuka  
Pharmaceuticals in Japan to reconsider their plans and not open the  
facility. She also suggested that opponents of the plant make a trip  
to Japan to convince the company's owners to not open the plant in a  
manner similar to how members of the Hoopa Valley, Yurok and Karuk  
Tribes went to Scotland to convince Scottish Power, the owner of the  
Klamath River Dams, to decommission the dams in order to restore fish  
to the headwaters.

Gold estimated that 500 people attended the event throughout the day,  
with 200 present at any one time.

The speakers addressed the threats posed to our food sources, potable  
water supply, and ecosystem posed by water bottling and other water  
commodification schemes.

In addition to rallying against Crystal Geyser’s pending plant in Mt.  
Shasta, speakers at the event discussed their opposition to Calpine’s  
proposed industrial geothermal plant in the Medicine Lake Highlands  
that the Pit River Tribe has been fighting for many years. Both of  
these industrial developments threaten water quantity and quality in  
the area and have been the target of grassroots campaigns.

Lucas RossMerz, of Sacramento River Preservation Trust, addressed the  
importance of keeping the water in the river to all those who use it  
for recreation, residential use and farming.

He cited the aphorism, “I have Pessimism of the intellect and optimism  
of the will,” as his philosophy in addressing the many problems of the  
Sacramento River watershed.

“No matter how bad the numbers of fish and habitat get, my heart won’t  
let me quit," he said. "So I show up to work every day and do my best!”

Reverend Amanda Ford, M.A., of the Environmental Justice Coalition for  
Water, who addressed human rights issues surrounding water, told the  
story about how she found Crystal Geyser bottled water in her mom's  
refigerator when she went home to Michigan recently. "Our message has  
to reach people like my mom, who view water as as a commodity," Ford  
said.

Mauro Oliveira, of SOL Communications, emphasized, "The Sierra Nevada  
and Mount Shasta snowpacks are the lowest in 500 years. Our mission is  
to protect our water, our watersheds, oceans, all beings and their  
habitat. The oceans, rivers and all life forms are suffering from  
plastic pollution and consequent endocrine disruption. We have to  
change our habits and question every action of polluting industry.”

Gold pointed out the importance of people uniting to stop the opening  
of the Crystal Geyser plant.

"It's time to join forces in an alliance to protect our local water,"  
she said. "We must continue to put pressure on Crystal Geyser,  
Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors, the City Council of Mt. Shasta  
and other public agencies. We are making a stand here, now, on Mount  
Shasta."

"Our friends in Oregon at Cascade Locks are facing Nestle; British  
Columbia is facing new exploitation by Nestle," Gold explained. "The  
plastic pollution is choking our oceans, our landfills, our rivers.  
Single use plastic water bottles is an idea whose time has clearly  
passed. Boycott bottled water."

She also urged people to ask Calpers (the California Public Employee  
Retirement System, largest in the world), to divest its holdings in  
Otsuka, Nestle, CocaCola amd Pepsi.

"We must vote with our pocket books. This is time for the voice of the  
public, speaking for our fragile planetary ecosystem, to be heard,"  
she concluded.

The speakers at the five hour event also included Sherry Ackerman,  
PhD., who revealed why multinational conglomerates head for California  
and New York in search of water, "blue gold," at the pristine mountain  
source; Konrad Fisher, Klamath Riverkeeper; Bob McFarland, California  
Guild (formerly California State Grange); Geneva Omann and Roslyn  
McCoy of W.A.T.E.R.; Elaine Hsiao, PhD. candidate; Matt Isler, Sacred  
Economics; Phoenix Lawhon Isler of the Mount Shasta Bioregional  
Ecology Center (MSBEC); Bob Saunders of the Crunch Nestle Alliance;  
and Dan Axelrod, PHD, Professor Emeritus, University of Michigan on  
the EIR.

Entertainers featured Saratone, Diane Patterson, Al Torre, Jenn Rogar,  
Sawako Ama and Rieko Ivaska with Iroha, Jenn Rogar who performed songs  
about love and respect for water.

This event followed the lawsuit filed on August 23 by the  
environmental group "We Advocate Thorough Environmental  
Review" (W.A.T.E.R.) against Siskiyou County and Crystal Geyser Water  
Company, whose corporate offices are in Napa County. The group has  
demanded an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for 2 years. The lawsuit  
requests Crystal Geyser Water Company meet California Environmental  
Quality Act (CEQA) standards and requirements.

On September 16, Crystal Geyser, through their PR Firm, Burson- 
Marsteller, stated it will comply with the EIR process.

"However, EIR’s don’t always present the entire picture of the effects  
of an industry's environmental impact,” said Gold. “Our event shed  
light on the issues of water bottling overall, plastic waste resulting  
from bottling, the overall effects and impact on the environment, and  
the irrationality of bottling water during the time of the worst  
drought in California’s history.”

The event was organized by Vicki Gold of Water Flows Free and the  
Environmental Justice Coalition for Water and sponsored by the Mount  
Shasta Bioregional Ecology Center.

For more information, contact: Vicki Gold (530) 926.4206, Mauro  
Oliveira (530) 356-7343, Bob Saunders (916) 370.8251, or Angelina Cook  
or Phoenix Lawhon Isler, Mount Shasta Bioregional Ecology Center,  
(530) 926-5655 (office).
§Caleen Sisk and Rieke Ivaska
by Dan Bacher Thursday Oct 1st, 2015 7:55 PM

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Chief Caleen Audrey Sisk with Taiko drummer Rieko Ivaska at rally  
against Crystal Geyser in Mount Shasta on Saturday, September 26.  
Photo by Dan Bacher.
§Michael Tuiimyali
by Dan Bacher Thursday Oct 1st, 2015 7:55 PM

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Michael Tuiimyali, Winnemem Wintu, marching on Crystal Geyser. Photo  
by Dan Bacher.
§Misa Joo and Lisa Olivera
by Dan Bacher Thursday Oct 1st, 2015 7:55 PM

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Misa Joo holds the "Water Is Life" sign at the rally while Lisa  
Olivera displays the "Protect the Salmon" sign. Photo by Dan Bacher.
§Big Springs
by Dan Bacher Thursday Oct 1st, 2015 7:55 PM

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Big Springs, located in the Mount Shasta City Park, is considered the  
headwaters of the Sacramento River. Photo by Dan Bacher.
§Taiko Group
by Dan Bacher Thursday Oct 1st, 2015 7:55 PM

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Iroha, a traditional Japanese Taiko drum group, performs at the rally.  
Photo by Dan Bacher.
§Jenn Rogar
by Dan Bacher Thursday Oct 1st, 2015 7:55 PM

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Jenn Rogar of Sacramento performs a song at the rally. Photo by Dan  
Bacher.
§Diane Patterson
by Dan Bacher Thursday Oct 1st, 2015 7:55 PM

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Diana Patterson, singer/songwriter, sings another song at the rally.  
Photo by Dan Bacher.
§Art and Revolution
by Dan Bacher Thursday Oct 1st, 2015 7:55 PM

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Art and Revolution came from Sacramento to perform at the event. Photo  
by Dan Bacher.
§Lucas RossMerz
by Dan Bacher Thursday Oct 1st, 2015 7:55 PM

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Lucas RossMerz, of the Sacramento River Preservation Trust, said, “No  
matter how bad the numbers of fish and habitat get, my heart won’t let  
me quit." Photo by Dan Bacher.
§Reverend Amanda Ford
by Dan Bacher Thursday Oct 1st, 2015 7:55 PM

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Reverend Amanda Ford, M.A., of the Environmental Justice Coalition for  
Water, addressed human rights issues surrounding water. Photo by Dan  
Bacher.
§From Mauna Kea to Mount Shasta
by Dan Bacher Thursday Oct 1st, 2015 7:55 PM

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Defending sacred Mauna Kea in Hawaii and sacred Mount Shasta in  
California. Photo by Dan Bacher.
§Signs in Park
by Dan Bacher Thursday Oct 1st, 2015 7:55 PM

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Signs in the the park during the rally. Photo by Dan Bacher.
§Caleen speaks at rally
by Dan Bacher Thursday Oct 1st, 2015 7:55 PM

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Chief Caleen Sisk gave the keynote speech at the rally. Photo Bay Dan  
Bacher.
§Vicki Gold
by Dan Bacher Thursday Oct 1st, 2015 7:55 PM

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Vicki Gold of Water Flows Free, event organizer, speaks about the  
battle to prevent Crystal Geyser from opening its plant. Photo by Dan  
Bacher.
§Crowd shot
by Dan Bacher Thursday Oct 1st, 2015 7:55 PM

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The crowd listens to Chief Sisk speak. Photo by Dan Bacher.
§In front of the plant
by Dan Bacher Thursday Oct 1st, 2015 7:55 PM

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The Winnemem Wintu and environmentalists in front of the Crystal  
Geyser plant. Photo by Dan Bacher.
§Big Springs Creek
by Dan Bacher Thursday Oct 1st, 2015 7:55 PM

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Big Springs Creek just downstream of where the spring water pours out  
of the rock.
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