More than a dozen people protested Monday at the Imperial Valley Solar project site near Ocotillo. (Elizabeth Varin) |
OCOTILLO — The first time Preston J. Arrow-Weed walked through the proposed Imperial Valley Solar site he knew his people had lived there before.
“I felt like I was walking through a cemetery,” he said.
“I could sense that feeling that there’s so many people out here. So many dead people out here that have left to the other place.”
The broken pots on the ground showed him that a tribe was there years ago, as tribal members break the pots, burn down dwellings and cremate the dead before they leave a site, he said.
He just can’t see why a company would come in and try to destroy the cultural resources when there are other places it can build.
Monday a group protested the 709-megawatt solar farm planned for more than 6,000 acres of public land.
Some of the reasons for camping out and protesting were to bring awareness of the issues with the project, said Terry Weiner, a spokeswoman for the group. Another reason was to support the Quechan tribe in its federal law suit.
The Quechan tribe alleged in a complaint against the Department of the Interior that the installation could damage “cultural and biological resources of significance.”
Not only would the site affect cultural sites, but also some animal species, like rams and flat-tailed horned lizards, Weiner said.
There are other options for solar energy, said Ocotillo resident Edie Harmon. In San Diego, where the power would be transmitted to, solar panels can be put on houses and produce the same amount of energy.
“To me, I think industrial-sized solar sites should be the last resort, not the first,” she said.
It’s disrespectful of the company to come in and fast track the project, not taking into concern the tribe’s concerns or the environmental issues, she said.
Arrow-Weed, a tribal singer, sees songs that the tribe had as proclamations made well before any Europeans came over, he said. They remind people to respect the creatures and the land there.
“(The company) seems to select areas where we once lived,” he said. “To me it’s a genocide of the tribal ways, the tribal beliefs and tribal culture, tribal religion. It’s a genocide.”
Staff Writer Elizabeth Varin can be reached at evarin@ivpressonline.com or 760-337-3441.
“I felt like I was walking through a cemetery,” he said.
“I could sense that feeling that there’s so many people out here. So many dead people out here that have left to the other place.”
The broken pots on the ground showed him that a tribe was there years ago, as tribal members break the pots, burn down dwellings and cremate the dead before they leave a site, he said.
He just can’t see why a company would come in and try to destroy the cultural resources when there are other places it can build.
Monday a group protested the 709-megawatt solar farm planned for more than 6,000 acres of public land.
Some of the reasons for camping out and protesting were to bring awareness of the issues with the project, said Terry Weiner, a spokeswoman for the group. Another reason was to support the Quechan tribe in its federal law suit.
The Quechan tribe alleged in a complaint against the Department of the Interior that the installation could damage “cultural and biological resources of significance.”
Not only would the site affect cultural sites, but also some animal species, like rams and flat-tailed horned lizards, Weiner said.
There are other options for solar energy, said Ocotillo resident Edie Harmon. In San Diego, where the power would be transmitted to, solar panels can be put on houses and produce the same amount of energy.
“To me, I think industrial-sized solar sites should be the last resort, not the first,” she said.
It’s disrespectful of the company to come in and fast track the project, not taking into concern the tribe’s concerns or the environmental issues, she said.
Arrow-Weed, a tribal singer, sees songs that the tribe had as proclamations made well before any Europeans came over, he said. They remind people to respect the creatures and the land there.
“(The company) seems to select areas where we once lived,” he said. “To me it’s a genocide of the tribal ways, the tribal beliefs and tribal culture, tribal religion. It’s a genocide.”
Staff Writer Elizabeth Varin can be reached at evarin@ivpressonline.com or 760-337-3441.
