http://www.kansascity.com/2012/04/26/3577231/discovery-of-indian-artifacts.html
Solar energy is clean, renewable, and- in the Mojave Desert at least- potentially plentiful. This might account for the federal government’s scramble to develop solar energy plants out west. One of these project is the billion dollar Genesis project, a solar plant being built in the Arizona desert.
In the rush to build the plant, however, archaeological surveys missed several deposits of potential importance, including what the group of tribes consorted as the Colorado River Indian Tribes claim is a sacred cremation site and a small deposit of charred human remains. The region’s tribes have already petitioned for a slower development process; the recent finds have been called gifts “delivered by spirits of the desert.” The Native American tribes in the region have banded together to demand that the government slow down their development movements, but the federal government and the energy firms obviously want to move forward in the face of an ever-growing need to lessen our dependency on fossil fuels.
The article points out that this is another entry in a long string of clashes between native culture and development. The desert is one of the last really undeveloped areas of the country, but the region’s tribes and advocacy groups fear that solar and wind energy projects will encroach on native rights just as other development projects have. They argue that there is not enough communication between the energy companies and the tribal leaders; instead, the companies deal with the Bureau of Land Management, an agency that has communication problems with the tribes as well.
In return, the importance of these artifact deposits has been called into question. While the tribes claim that the surveys were rushed in order to get the building started as soon as possible, none of the deposits have been large. The human remains, found seven miles from the Genesis site near a planned location for transmission towers, included small burned bone fragments, no larger than quarters, and a single tooth; the artifacts claimed as a sacred cremation site were a pair of grinding stones and some charcoal. The project had already been redesigned once to avoid the land archaeologists noted was most likely to contain artifacts.
The most important discussion in the article is that of the communication breakdown between the native tribes and the federal government. The Genesis project is considered a landmark case both for its size and expense. The developers’ worry is that the delay caused by the tribes’ protest will cause costly delays for the already expensive, partially-publicly funded project. The plans’ foundation is rocky enough already, and this continued lack of communication might sink the project even further.
I think think that building these clean energy plants is important, but I also think that if they are going to be built on native land, there should be the option for greater native involvement in their construction and use. I think a potential solution is to involve the native tribes in the plants’ development and ownership so that the profits from these plants feed back into the native tribes that control the territory. Energy companies have tried to provide financial incentives for native agencies to share detailed information about the location and importance of cultural and natural resources, but this has not been very successful. I think that it is possible that the tribes resent the encroachment of development on their land not just for the sake of development, but that external powers are profiting from the land use. Involving the tribes in this profit might help them accept these energy plants because they could put the money towards preserving their cultural resources and ensuring that the development is sustainable.
I disagree with Cú's point that the tribes also feel resentment in this case partially because they aren't getting any profit from the development project. What is the point of getting money to preserve culture if that culture is being destroyed to get that money in the first place? I think this is another classic case of an economic power versus an underrepresented population. This sort of thing happens often when, for example, urban construction results in the discovery of an ancient grave site. It brings up an important dilemma of whether economic development, even in the case of sustainable energy, outweighs the cultural values of a disenfranchised community.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to mowgli's post - yes, although this case can be seen as a modern case of colonialism, I think at some point we have to start thinking about cultural sustainability versus life sustainability. Even though this solar plant does infringe upon some of the cultural history and artifacts important to the Colorado River Indian tribes, solar plants are a breakthrough alternative source for energy other than natural gas and coal. If the construction of a sustainable energy source means saving our world from a good amount of pollution, I hope that the Colorado River Indians are willing to make a few amendments in regards to their cultural heritage. Like Cu points out, however, it would be important to consider the Colorado River Indians' involvement heavily in the construction and progression of the solar plant.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ofuga that the advantages of installing solar panels, and thus creating a sustainable source of energy, out way the loss of culture experienced by these Native American Tribes, especially if these tribes will benefit in some way by their construction. A possible solution to this problem could be to give these tribes a year or two of excavation in which they could gather as many artifacts as they can, so that at least what exists there can be preserved, even if the sight cannot be.
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