On Talk of the Bay, Tuesday, August 4, 2020 Valentin Lopez, Chairman of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, will be interviewed by Christine Barrington about the ongoing efforts of the Amah Mutsun people to protect Juristac (Huris-tak) a sacred site that lies at the heart of their ancestral lands near Gilroy, California. For thousands of years Mutsun ancestors lived and held sacred ceremonies at this location in the southern foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, above the confluence of the Pajaro and San Benito rivers.
The cultural landscape encompassing Juristac is known today as the Sargent Ranch. An investor group based in San Diego purchased the land at a bankruptcy auction and is currently seeking to develop a 320-acre open pit sand and gravel mining operation on the property. The Amah Mutsun Tribal Band vehemently opposes the proposed mining project. The Amah Mutsun people are asking the public to join them in standing for the protection of their sacred grounds through signing their petition, writing letters to the Santa Clara Planning Commission, donating, and possibly volunteering expertise (legal expertise being a high priority at this time.)
Join Christine and Chairman Lopez as they delve into the ongoing social justice challenges faced by the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band and learn what can be done to join together in healing the cultural wounds that suffuse this region.
Chairman Lopez invites locals to consider the necessity of renaming and removing monuments honoring those who are actually responsible for the attempted destruction of Native Culture through a variety of heinous acts, including genocide. This is a difficult but necessary conversation to have if society is find a way forward in right relationship to one other and the Earth.
To learn more about these issues and to see specifically how you can play a role in supporting the efforts to protect Juristac follow this link: Protect Juristac
