Te Waikoropupū Springs

I am blessed to live close to a natural wonder that is world renowned - Te Waikoropupū Springs. At the moment over 500 people a day are visiting this cultural and environmental sacred area. Didymo is the biggest environmental risk and the waters cannot be touched but there is also a risk in offering only a part of the cultural interpretation that is also important. With context we create bonds and connections and explanations of cultural aspects have something to hang off.

What are Te Waikoropupū Springs?

Research has shown that a huge system of flooded chambers exists in the buried marble under the valley. Overlying the marble is a thick layer of sandstones which do not permit the passage of water through them, and act as the ‘cap rock' over the waters within the marble. In the Waikoropupu Valley the surface river has eroded down through this cap rock to a point where the Pupu Springsunderground water, at great pressure, has been able to burst through and emerge as springs.

and from wikipedia

The freshwater springs are the largest cold water springs in the Southern Hemisphere and second only to the Antarctica’s Weddell Sea in clarity. Every second between 10,000 and 14,000 litres of water are released from the springs, whose depth has never been accurately determined.

The horizontal visibility of the water in the springs has been measured at an average of 63 metres, a world record for fresh water. This value, which was verified using specialist optical instruments, approaches the theoretical maximum for optically pure water.

Te Waikoropupū Springs is wahi tapu - a sacred place.

At the entrance to the walkway to the springs, the Department of Conservation has placed a sign: "Te Waikoropupu Springs are a taonga (treasure) and waahi tapu (a sacred place) for Māori, both locally and nationally. The legends of Te Waikoropupu are told in the stories of Huriawa, its taniwha (guardian spirit). In Māori tradition the Springs are wairou, the purest form of water which is the wairua (spiritual) and the physical source of life. The Springs provide water for healing, and in the past were a place of ceremonial blessings at times of birth and death and the leaving and returning of travellers."

This is the only current signage and intrepretation given on site to the visitors and this annoyed me because the DOC person has to go around to say to many visitors that they should not eat or drink near the waters and picnics are a no no too. There are no signs telling people about this and this is adding to poor perceptions. Imagine you are from overseas in a beautiful area next to a river of unbelievable clarity and power - the perfect place to have a picnic. Maori concepts of tapu are associated with eating and drinking because those activities are used often to break or release tapu. It doesn't seem good enough to try to respect maori concepts but only provide a fraction of the context needed to make the concepts understood. If someone tells you that you are doing something wrong - you feel bad and sometimes this feeling and externalise into negative feelings about a group. "Sorry but we ask that you don't have a picnic here because maori believe it is sacred and eating and drinking is not allowed." simply encourages people to have negative feelings about maori. Much better to put a fence at the top rather than an ambulance at the bottom. Much better to have a sign that explains the context of tapu.

Taniwha Scales

I did a bit of research and the management plan offers hope.

Vision - Moemoeä

The management of Te Waikoropupū Springs reflects the wähi tapu/sacred nature of this important taonga tuku iho/treasured resource.

The kaitiakitanga/guardianship role of Manawhenua ki Mohua is accepted and respected by all.

Te Waikoropupū is maintained in a natural state.

Excellent catchment management ensures that the waters of Te Waikoropupū remain pure and strongly flowing.

The cultural identity of Manawhenua ki Mohua is maintained through protection of the mauri/life force and wairua/spirit of Te Waikoropupū.

The community takes pride in sharing Te Waikoropupū with visitors.

Low profile facilities protect the area and enhance visitor experiences.

The natural, historic and cultural importance of Te Waikoropupü is clearly explained using carefully designed and located interpretation that is readily accessible to the public.

The plan is a 10 year plan that began in 2009 and i am looking forward to the vision being implemented. Already the name has been fixed from pupu or waikoropupu springs to the correct Te Waikoropupū Springs and this is good. But there is much to do and allowing guided walks which offered intrepretations and context is a good place to start. Meanwhile 50,000 to 60,000 visitors each year walk away from Te Waikoropupū Springs missing 75% of the story.

Footnote - I want to thank everyone involved in protecting this area - this post is about improving things and strengthening connections between people.

sun - money-magnifying glass - sacred sites

The proposed destruction of 17,000 cultural sites in the Mojave Desert so that massive solar projects can go ahead  is shocking. The companies will get tax rebates for putting the shovel in this year. They will destroy petroglyphs and large geoglyphs, they will impact upon the environment and the ecosystems which are fragile. They are not considering the indigenous people and their sacred sites. They just care about money.

Check out the video and sign the petition - see below.

Ahni at Intercontinetal Cry reports,

For just one of the projects, "Blythe Solar, a partnership of Chevron and the German firm Solar Millennium will grade and level 9500 acres of desert in an area near to the Blythe Giant Intaglios. These are extremely large geoglyphs (images created on the surface of the Earth) representing Man, Woman, Creator, the seed and the “Trinity,” in the Ute Aztecan cosmological view."

In this excerpt from "Solar Gold," Alfredo Acosta Figueroa, an Elder, Tribal Monitor and historian from the Chemehuevi Peoples, describes the importance of these Sacred Intaglios, how they were made and what they mean to Indigenous Peoples. Figueroa also offers a humble suggestion on how they can be projected.

“This scale of an impact has never occurred before, " states Dr. Jim Andre, Director of the Granite Mountains Desert Research Institute. Once it reached about 250 proposed projects, from 5 to 25 thousand acres each, totalling 2 million acres, just for California... when you consider the importance of these (eco) systems to provide corridors for species to move as climate changes, whether its human caused change, or just the natural course of variation in climate change, you’ve really done in the entire ecosystem at that scale.”

To learn more about the film or to make a donation, please visit http://www.indiegogo.com/Solar-Gold. More excerpts are available at http://www.vimeo.com/user1982946

A petition is being circulated For the Protection and Preservation of the Blythe Geoglyphs. You can sign it at http://www.petitiononline.com/savekoko/petition.htmlA

A number of the projects are discussed in detail at http://www.basinandrangewatch.org/Contacts

Contacts

La Cuna de Aztlán Sacred Sites Protection Circle

Alfredo Acosta Figueroa, Coordinator/Elder Historian & Chemehuevi Tribal Monitor
424 North Carlton Ave.
Blythe, Ca 92225
Phone: (760) 922-6422. Email: lacunadeaztlan@aol.com

Freshwater Bay Pictures, LLC
Robert Lundahl, Principal
833 So. Cedros Ave. #50
Solana Beach, CA 92075
Phone: (415) 205-3481. Email: robert@studio-rla.com

I can't really see any difference between this destruction and the religious destruction wrought by the Taliban, after all they are both concerned with destroying sacred sites. The god the companies worship is money, and that god is eternally unsatisfied.

Hat tip Intercontinental Cry Visit this site - it is one of the best!

Indigenous issues

A speech and a video about indigenous struggles.

Censored News covers the recent speech by Bolivian President Evo Morales entitled, "Nature, Forests and Indigenous Peoples are Not For Sale ". A speech which deserves greater coverage.

Intercontinental Cry has a video on Defending Sacred Sites from activist Wounded Knee De Ocampo. The list of sacred sites under threat is long and sadly we could list many more from here.

Good blogs for information on the real issues that affect people not the MSM agenda.

direct action to protect us

Direct action works. It highlights injustice, is non-violent, visible and effective. We will need to do more of this type of direct action here to protect our sacred lands and rivers.

In Northern California the Karuk people are protecting their sacred sites. From The Ruckus Society

"This morning the Klamath Justice Coalition used a human blockade to defend Karuk sacred sites from logging activities. The action took place near Orleans, CA within the Six Rivers National Forest and halted work on the Orleans Community Fuels Reduction Plan."

"Originally, Forest Supervisor Tryone Kelly engaged with community members on a collaborative process to develop a fuels reduction plan that would protect sacred areas, reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire, and protect sensitive stands of hardwoods. However, in practice it looks like another timber harvest that disregards the concerns of the community."

“We are shocked that the Forest Service thinks that it can get away with lying to our community. We want fuels reduction, but we will not accept the destruction of Karuk sacred sites or a timber sale disguised as a fuels reduction plan,” added Annelia Hillman."

and from The Seattle Times

"Tribal spokesman Craig Tucker said the tribe spent three years working with the Forest Service to be sure the thinning project near Orleans, Calif., did not cut big trees or run heavy equipment where world renewal ceremonies are performed, only to see it ignore the agreement.

"We're not saying don't cut any trees," said Tucker. "We are saying just do what you agreed to that we spent three years working out, and stressed every step of the way how important this place is from the tribe's religious perspective."

and what was the reason that the tribes wishes were disregarded?

"This was just an oversight," Kelley said, adding no one would be disciplined. "When the tribe brought it to our attention the first week of logging, we started working with the tribe to mitigate impacts."

Oh that's all right then - bloody hell that was after three years of negotiation, do you really think this muppet didn't know the impact of what he was doing? Of course he did - he just didn't care.

Creating firebreaks is good work. Disrespecting and deceiving indigenous people is not okay for anyone and is stupidity. The indigenous people have lived and used their trails and sacred places for generations, they know and understand the land and what it needs. And that worldview can incorporate the current high intensity forestry that is the modern way.

Listen to the people that know and stop treating them as if they don't exist.

Our issue is mining here. How many open wounds will it take to get people involved. I imagine a response similar to the springbok tour, where many groups with a common concern, work together  in direct action to effect change and right a wrong. We will need that type of emotional connection to stop them.

Hat tip Intercontinental Cry