"An enlargement of the Shasta Dam will destroy our livelihood"

The Winnemem Wintu, a Native American tribe in Northern California, are sending an urgent appeal to the international public. They must fear for their existence because the Shasta Dam is to be raised by six meters. In consequence, their holy sites and also the salmon trails will be irretrievably destroyed. "We are watching this conflict with great concern – and we would like to support the Wintu's appeal to the US Government, and especially to Senator Dianne
Feinstein (D) in California, not to sign the respective draft law. The Wintu have invited the Senator to pay an informational visit and hear their concerns." The enlargement of the dam would destroy a great part of the holy places the Winnemem Wintu have been using for thousands of years. Springs, rock formations and the mass graves of the Kaibai massacre in 1852, during which more than 300 women and children of the Wintu prospectors and the sheriff's men got killed, would be flooded. Also, the Salmon trails, a basis of existence for the Wintu, would be acutely at risk."

The enlargement of the dam is part of a plan to redistribute water from the water-rich north to the arid south of California – to the benefit of the cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles, but also for viticulture and agriculture. It is to be feared that the water of the reservoir, which comes from the three major rivers Sacramento, McCloud and Pit River, will be used as a source of energy for the controversial fracking method. Together with water from the environmentally sensitive Bay Area of San Francisco, it will be pumped to the south by means of two gigantic underground tubes, as specified by the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP). The Winnemem Wintu are supported by environmental organizations, fishing associations and other Native American tribes. They already lost a lot of their traditionally owned land when the dam was built in 1941. Due to a formal error, the Wintu were cancelled from the official list of recognized tribes in 1940. They have been fighting for their re-recognition ever since. The Winnemem Wintu are a sub-group of the remaining 2,500 Wintu.

Yvonne Bangert - Indigenous Peoples Department - is available for further questions: Tel. 0551 49906 14 or indigene@gfbv.de.