Native American Ceremony and News Conference to address Federal Court Hearing on Sacred Site Mt. Tenabo

For Immediate Release June 4, 2009
Contact: Joyce McDade (208-539-9544), EJMcDade20@wmconnect.com
John Hadder (775-348-1986), john@gbrw.org

Native American Ceremony and News Conference to address Federal Court Hearing on Sacred Site Mt. Tenabo

Where: The James R. Browning Courthouse
95 7TH Street, San Francisco

When: Wednesday, June 10

Opening Prayer and Song 7:30 AM

News Conference 8:15 AM

On June 10, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments in South Fork Band Council et al. vs. United States Department of the Interior et al., and Barrick Cortez, Inc. on whether Barrick will be allows to continue to mine for gold at the Western Shoshone sacred site Mt. Tenabo.

On November 8 2008, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management approved the construction of a massive open pit cyanide heap leach gold mine on the face of well-known spiritual area, Mt. Tenabo. The Federal Court in Reno has denied a preliminary injunction that would have stopped mining operations at Mt. Tenabo. South Fork Band Council of Western Shoshone of Nevada, Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians of Nevada, Timbisha

Shoshone Tribe, Western Shoshone Defense Project, and Great Basin Resource Watch are seeking to overturn the Reno court ruling to stop further destruction of Mt. Tenabo by Barrick Gold Corporation.

According to the Western Shoshone, Barrick's gold mining operation will cause "Spiritual Genocide" and cause permanent destruction of Western Shoshone cultural and spiritual practices because this area is a central site for their religious practices and creation stories. This area is visited for prayer ceremonies, gathering of sacred plants, fasting, and vision quests, among other religious practices, and is akin to a cathedral.

The peaceful and respectful ceremony will open with native drumming, song, and prayer. Western Shoshone elders will speak at 8:15 AM; after which the event will close.

Western Shoshone Elder Carrie Dann is seen here before Mt. Tenabo in the distance. Will she and her community ever be able to practice their religion here again? For a country based on principles of religious freedom, this question should never arise.

"Denabo (correct spelling) has significant meaning for Western Shoshone, it means the writing on the rock walls of the mountain (White Cliffs) put there by our Creator. We go to pray to our Creator to give us strength to keep us going. How can we pray to our creator when the place in being blown up? Water at Mt. Tenabo must be protected to sustain life and peace on Mother Earth. Water is sacred. Water is life." - Joyce McDade, Western Shoshone Grandmother.

"When God makes a covenant to provide for human beings, the covenant always includes the land. Our well-being as a species is conditioned upon our capacity to love and care for the land. Native American communities and their spiritual practices have enlightened our way to this love and care."– John Auer, Reverend First United Methodist Church, Reno NV.

"The mining industry needs to recognize that there are some places where it is not appropriate to mine. I think that people across the U.S. - and around the world – are appalled by the destruction of a sacred site just so Barrick, a multi-national corporation, can make more money. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has put the this Canadian company's economic interests over the rights of the Western Shoshone who have lived sustainably on these lands for thousands of years. The situation at Mt. Tenabo makes clear the need for reform of the U.S. 1872 Mining Law." - John Hadder, Great Basin Resource Watch

The mine known as the Cortez Hills Expansion Project would:

--Disturb 6,792 acres of land, including cyanide heap leach and waste rock on Mt. Tenabo
--Blast the new Cortez Hills mine pit into Mt. Tenabo approximately 8,900 feet in length, 6,400 feet in width to a depth of over 2,000 feet
--Construct an underground mine tunneling almost a mile into Mt. Tenabo
--Pump 16.5 billion gallons of groundwater from Mt. Tenabo to keep the pit dry for mining

This pumping would drop in the water table 1,600 feet – essentially dewatering Mt. Tenabo.

The government predicts that at least 15 springs/seeps and one perennial stream may go completely dry due to Barrick's pumping. These sacred waters have immense spiritual significance to many Western Shoshone.

This destruction of Native American spiritual areas must stop now.