Sacred Places, Trees, and Songs

 Coming to a Head-- The Crisis that Inspired this Blog is Now Upon Us Back in August 2024, I published my first post of this blog, " Urgent Need for Participation in Protecting Sacred Places with Water ." In his first term, President Trump sought to remove some of the protections on the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) and later, during the Biden administration, the Supreme Court further weakened it. Today the  New York Times  reports that the EPA is being directed to kneecap the Act even further, so that about 55 percent of America's drinking water will come from unprotected and unregulated sources. (This is a gift article, so you can read it whether or not you have a NYT subscription.) Farmers, home builders, real estate developers, oil drillers and petrochemical manufacturers are overjoyed. For the rest of us, clean water will become scarcer and testing and treatment costs will climb higher. What about the forests, plants, wildlife, fish, birds, insects and other l...

Punching Ourselves in the Face In medieval times, village people enjoyed puppet shows featuring the irascible Mr. Punch and his wife, Judy. A colorful well-lit stage was set up in the town square and the entire show could be performed by one puppeteer with Punch on one hand and a succession of characters on the other. A partner in front of the stage often served as narrator and collected money.  But oftentimes there were other partners in the shadows. While Punch was loudly holding forth and carrying out slapstick, nondescript people would creep about, stealing goods out of the bags of the distracted audience.  Today, Punch is still in the limelight, bulldozing historic buildings, openly fighting with colleagues, shutting down the government and grounding planes, while in the shadows our forests, parks and public lands are being auctioned off to the highest bidder. Here are just a few examples of the pillaging.  It's Happening Now Most of the damage the admini...

  Chaco Canyon is a legendary sacred place in central New Mexico which, despite its remoteness, is visited by thousands every year. Hundreds of books, blogs, and podcasts have been written about it since it was first  "discovered" by the Euro-American world in 1849 and the plunder began.  So, here are five big things you probably didn't know about  Chaco Culture National Historical Park : 1. It's far greater than just "downtown" Chaco.  The Ancestral Puebloans who lived in the area built many outlier communities; about 150 have been identified and named. Here are a few of them: Pueblo Pintado - This is Spanish for “painted village.” Pueblo people on the Washington Expedition called it Pueblo de Montezuma. This site is also known as Pueblo de los Ratones, or “village of the mice,” Pueblo Colorado or “red village,” and Pueblo Grande, or “large village.” Its Navajo name is Kin twell, or “wide house.” Kin Bineola - This comes from the Navajo Kin Bii’naayoli...