Some say California is where the American Dream was defined. That an accidental discovery near some river went on to inspire a new kind of lifestyle, one said to be entrepreneurial, wide-open, free.
“Gold Cletus, look I found me some gold! YEEEEEEEEEE HAWWWWWWW!”
It wasn’t long before the rumors started, back in 1849, and not long before they were confirmed by President James K. Polk in his state of the union address later that year. Let the California Gold Rush begin…
At first it was like you see in the movies, you know, where you kneel by a riverside and pan for gold… but then a new process was adopted, one that seemed harmless enough. I mean, it got the job done so it couldn’t have been all that bad, right? Sure, it tasted kinda funny but the kids had a great time with it.
“What’s this stuff called again?”
“Mercury, Cletus. They calls it mercury.”
When all was said and done, more than 26,000,000 pounds of the neurotoxic substance known as mercury had been used to extract the gold ore living in some 12 billion tons of Earth.
Today most of that gold is, well, packed away safely from desperate hands. While the mercury continues to leave behind a toxic legacy in the rivers and fish, in the trees and soil, and in the brains of unborn children. It’s a legacy that speaks to what can only be called the American Reality: something all too often ignored.
Produced by the California Indian Environmental Alliance and the Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Development, this 12 minute video discusses the toxic legacy of mercury contamination, it’s impact on Indigenous communities in California, and the ongoing effort to clean it up and restore tradition.
- Watch on Google
- Read a Pamphlet by the Indian Treaty Council (pdf) on the Issue
- Learn more about mercury at mercuryexposure.org
