DoomsdaysCW<p>[video] <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Quechan" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Quechan</span></a> Elder Urges Solidarity in Face of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Mining" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Mining</span></a> Efforts</p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SMPGold" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SMPGold</span></a>’s <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/OroCruz" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>OroCruz</span></a> Project Threatens <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SacredLands" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SacredLands</span></a>, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PrestonArrowWeed" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>PrestonArrowWeed</span></a> Says</p><p>by Juan Valencia on October 9, 2023</p><p>"IMPERIAL COUNTY — Imagine Jerusalem burning. Imagine Mecca, Bethlehem — any of these cities important to the history and faith of their respective religions — being destroyed, disrespectfully invaded, and irrevocably altered for the sake of exploration, extraction, and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/mining" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>mining</span></a>. </p><p>T"hough these are far-fetched and horrific developments to the imagination, 83-year-old Preston Arrow-Weed — the Quechan tribal elder, cultural bearer, singer of the old songs, as well as author, actor and playwright — today paints a similarly bleak picture regarding the threats being made to his holy place of worship. </p><p>"This place is located here in the desert outskirts of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ImperialCounty" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ImperialCounty</span></a> and in the neighboring <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/YumaCounty" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>YumaCounty</span></a>.</p><p>"Southern Empire Resources Corp. (SMP Gold) is a company based out of British Columbia, Canada, which for years now has been attempting to mine for gold within these Imperial County areas, specifically the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CargoMuchacho" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>CargoMuchacho</span></a> and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/IndianPass" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>IndianPass</span></a> regions, in a project of mineral exploration for the purposes of extracting gold that they are calling the Oro Cruz Project. </p><p>"'We firmly believe that Oro Cruz has exploration potential for more than a million ounces,' states SMP Gold’s project mission on its website. 'We’ll explore the property using modern geological theory and high tech methods of exploration, and see what we can do.'</p><p>"For millennia, the Indian Pass area in eastern Imperial County, where SMP Gold plans to drill and disturb the habitat, has held religious and historical significance for the Quechan Tribe. The area contains sleeping circles, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/geoglyphs" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>geoglyphs</span></a> and pottery shards left behind by the tribe’s ancestors, to name some <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/artifacts" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>artifacts</span></a>."</p><p>Read more:<br><a href="https://calexicochronicle.com/2023/10/09/quechan-elder-urges-solidarity-in-face-of-mining-efforts/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">calexicochronicle.com/2023/10/</span><span class="invisible">09/quechan-elder-urges-solidarity-in-face-of-mining-efforts/</span></a></p><p>Video:<br><a href="https://youtu.be/rOIEx1pmVEI?si=9R6b8QULnuJIZHQW" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">youtu.be/rOIEx1pmVEI?si=9R6b8Q</span><span class="invisible">ULnuJIZHQW</span></a></p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/California" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>California</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EnvironmentalRacism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>EnvironmentalRacism</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WaterIsLife" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>WaterIsLife</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CulturalGenocide" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>CulturalGenocide</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/IndigenousNews" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>IndigenousNews</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NoConsent" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>NoConsent</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GoldMine" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>GoldMine</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GoldMining" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>GoldMining</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MercuryPollution" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>MercuryPollution</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Cyanide" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Cyanide</span></a></p>