At some point today, several Shoshone men will begin constructing a permanent arbor on the Southern flank of Mt. Tenabo, where they will camp and monitor the Canadian mining company Barrick Gold.
The encampment was called on during last week’s protest, where Shoshone Grandmothers and their supporters attempted to confront Barrick Gold and bring an end to the destruction of the pinion forest – which began almost immediately after the company got approval to go ahead with its ‘Cortez Hills Expansion Project.’
A massive cyanide heap leach gold mine, the project will ultimately destroy approximately 6,800 acres of land — fracturing along with it, the spiritual life and cultural practices of the Shoshone People.
“This is our treaty land. It was a treaty made with the federal government. It was not made with a foreign nation. And it is a foreign mining company that has come into our country and is destroying our mountain, our land, our food, our medicine and they have no respect,” stated one Grandmother at the protest.
“…It can’t go on. It’s perpetrating genocide against the Native American people. And we are not the only Native people suffering this distress,” said another. “It is happening world over; but we happen to be Western Shoshones and this is our land and we’re protesting the poisoned water, the destruction of the land, the road we’re standing on here, the big machines: everything that the mining industry stands for. They say they’re doing it responsibly, but they’re not because when they leave the Western Shoshone people will still be here and the land will be barren.”
To help make sure this doesn’t happen, the Western Shoshone Defense Project (WSDP) asks that you help by making any of the following the donations:
- 24 Nuts and Bolts (bolts need to be 1 foot in length with matching nuts)
- Gasoline for saws and hauling costs.
- Food items such as eggs, bacon, meat, potatoes, beans, etc. (including some sweets!)
- Helpers — to assist with construction of arbor and for support in the encampment
- Monetary donations for all of the above
- Moral support and prayers
You can contact Joyce McDade for additional information, e-mail: EJMcDade20@wmconnect.com
photo: by Lisa Wolf
John Ahniwanika Schertow is an indigenous rights activist of Mohawk (Kanienkehaka) and mixed-European descent. For the past 8 years, he has served as the e... 
