Mount Shasta - A Question of Power (4 pages)

eerie ; ry runs capable of accommodating approximately 5,000 skiers per day. US. Forest Service officials were in favor of reviving the ski area, but lawsuits brought by local tribes, the Sierra Club, the Save Mount Shasta organization, and other individuals in 1991 thwarted the development. To determine whether Mount Shasta should be preserved, undeveloped, as a national historic site, the courts further required the Forest Service to review the historic importance of not only the proposed ski area, but the entire mountain. Dorothea Theodoratus, Ph.D., a cultural anthropologist at Sacramento State University, did the original study for the Forest Service and published her findings in late 1991. Initially, she was researching the impact of the proposed ski development on tribes native to the area, and those that traditionally went to Mount Shasta for ceremonial purposes. She found that “contemporary uses of Mount Shasta are clearly rooted deeply in traditional values and beliefs. The spiritual and secular activities being practiced today on Mount Shasta are consistent with historic Native American activities.” In fact, the information and documentation by the tribes was so overwhelming that in her Statement of Findings she concluded, “The proposed ski area is thus seen as a violation of the purity of a sacred site. Violation may render a site dormant and therefore unavailable for healing.” Dr. Theodoratus interviewed a number of California Indians from six different tribes: Modoc, Shasta, Hupa, Karuk, Pit River, and Wintu. Physically, surrounding tribes see Mount Shasta as a boundary marker, and its peak as a point of reference when traveling. Spiritually, some see the mountain as the home of their Creator. Mount Shasta, and her many features, are characters in many of the creation stories; the Shasta believe that the mountain was the first place their Creator, Waka, stopped after creating the Shasta world. Certain springs on the mountain are Waka’s footprints. Mount Shasta is connected with other “power places” in the area, such as Glass Mountain, as well as springs, caves, pools, and rock formations, which figure in stories told by nearby tribes. The Wintu have maintained the closest tie to Mount Shasta and continue to conduct their ceremonies in designated places. The Shasta and Pit River people, we “Sacred Mountain '94” by Frank LaPena. who live in bordering areas, approached the mountain for spiritual training, healing, or for gathering medicines with proper preparation and instruction. Other nearby tribes may not have used the Mount Shasta area regularly, but they still revered the mountain as a sacred and powerful place, from a distance. Although each tribe or group may have traditionally frequented only certain places, the mountain as a whole is considered sacred. According to Wintu and Pit River traditions, Mount Shasta is the home of the “little people” who reside inside the mountain. The little people are always around when ceremonies are held. Indian people have always known of their presence and Indian doctors have the ability to interpret what the little people say. Some of the tribes influenced by Mount Shasta bury their relatives oriented toward the mountain because it points the way to the spirit world. Pit Rivers believe that the spirits of the dead fly to Mount Shasta on the back of an eagle; from there they ascend up:into the Milky Way, and go on to the land of their relations. Although these tribes have some different views about Mount Shasta, they all seem to agree that one should not travel above the treeline unless for a specific reason and with special preparation. Some have said that to look upon our Creator, we must stand at a distance. When reports documenting these traditional beliefs regarding the mountain were reviewed by the Forest Service, they recommended that more research be done on the issue of traditional use by the local tribes. It was then that reports by Theodoratus and Winfield Henn led Jerry Rodgers, the Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places, to determine that not only the specific sites currently used, but the entire mountain would be eligible for historic preservation. This designation would mandate a policy of preservation, limit the use of natural resources, and allocate funds to implement a management program. Since March, when he made this new designation, Rodgers has been inundated with opposition by local people who believe that it will prevent development on the mountain and destroy the local economy. Private owners whose land is included in the designated area are speaking out against what they see as a federal “taking” of their private land; the federal government does not take actual title to the land, but it may not be developed ole wanted to build Mount: Shasta. He wanted to make it higher than any other mountain. But in making it he turned his wrist and could not finish the peak as he had planned. That is the reason that Mole still has a broken wrist. From “Mole and Mount Shasta,” in Wintu Myths, Cora duBois & Dorothy Demetracopoulou, University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology, Vol. 28 No. 5, 1931. WINTER 1994/95 iw 5

eerie ; ry runs capable of accommodating approximately 5,000 skiers per day. US. Forest Service officials were in favor of reviving the ski area, but lawsuits brought by local tribes, the Sierra Club, the Save Mount Shasta organization, and other individuals in 1991 thwarted the development. To determine whether Mount Shasta should be preserved, undeveloped, as a national historic site, the courts further required the Forest Service to review the historic importance of not only the proposed ski area, but the entire mountain. Dorothea Theodoratus, Ph.D., a cultural anthropologist at Sacramento State University, did the original study for the Forest Service and published her findings in late 1991. Initially, she was researching the impact of the proposed ski development on tribes native to the area, and those that traditionally went to Mount Shasta for ceremonial purposes. She found that “contemporary uses of Mount Shasta are clearly rooted deeply in traditional values and beliefs. The spiritual and secular activities being practiced today on Mount Shasta are consistent with historic Native American activities.” In fact, the information and documentation by the tribes was so overwhelming that in her Statement of Findings she concluded, “The proposed ski area is thus seen as a violation of the purity of a sacred site. Violation may render a site dormant and therefore unavailable for healing.” Dr. Theodoratus interviewed a number of California Indians from six different tribes: Modoc, Shasta, Hupa, Karuk, Pit River, and Wintu. Physically, surrounding tribes see Mount Shasta as a boundary marker, and its peak as a point of reference when traveling. Spiritually, some see the mountain as the home of their Creator. Mount Shasta, and her many features, are characters in many of the creation stories; the Shasta believe that the mountain was the first place their Creator, Waka, stopped after creating the Shasta world. Certain springs on the mountain are Waka’s footprints. Mount Shasta is connected with other “power places” in the area, such as Glass Mountain, as well as springs, caves, pools, and rock formations, which figure in stories told by nearby tribes. The Wintu have maintained the closest tie to Mount Shasta and continue to conduct their ceremonies in designated places. The Shasta and Pit River people, we “Sacred Mountain '94” by Frank LaPena. who live in bordering areas, approached the mountain for spiritual training, healing, or for gathering medicines with proper preparation and instruction. Other nearby tribes may not have used the Mount Shasta area regularly, but they still revered the mountain as a sacred and powerful place, from a distance.

Although each tribe or group may have traditionally frequented only certain places, the mountain as a whole is considered sacred. According to Wintu and Pit River traditions, Mount Shasta is the home of the “little people” who reside inside the mountain. The little people are always around when ceremonies are held. Indian people have always known of their presence and Indian doctors have the ability to interpret what the little people say. Some of the tribes influenced by Mount Shasta bury their relatives oriented toward the mountain because it points the way to the spirit world. Pit Rivers believe that the spirits of the dead fly to Mount Shasta on the back of an eagle; from there they ascend up:into the Milky Way, and go on to the land of their relations. Although these tribes have some different views about Mount Shasta, they all seem to agree that one should not travel above the treeline unless for a specific reason and with special preparation. Some have said that to look upon our Creator, we must stand at a distance. When reports documenting these traditional beliefs regarding the mountain were reviewed by the Forest Service, they recommended that more research be done on the issue of traditional use by the local tribes. It was then that reports by Theodoratus and Winfield Henn led Jerry Rodgers, the Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places, to determine that not only the specific sites currently used, but the entire mountain would be eligible for historic preservation. This designation would mandate a policy of preservation, limit the use of natural resources, and allocate funds to implement a management program. Since March, when he made this new designation, Rodgers has been inundated with opposition by local people who believe that it will prevent development on the mountain and destroy the local economy. Private owners whose land is included in the designated area are speaking out against what they see as a federal “taking” of their private land; the federal government does not take actual title to the land, but it may not be developed ole wanted to build Mount: Shasta. He wanted to make it higher than any other mountain. But in making it he turned his wrist and could not finish the peak as he had planned. That is the reason that Mole still has a broken wrist. From “Mole and Mount Shasta,” in Wintu Myths, Cora duBois & Dorothy Demetracopoulou, University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology, Vol. 28 No. 5, 1931. WINTER 1994/95 iw 5