“County Rock Santa Margarita”
Murry Wilson
Environmental Resource Specialist-County of San Luis Obispo Department of Planning and Building
Re: Comments Las Pilitas Quarry Project
The Northern Chumash Tribal Council (NCTC) is a sovereign California Native American Tribal Government, located at 67 South Street, San Luis Obispo California. NCTC is dedicated to the preservation and protection of the Chumash Sacred Heritage in San Luis Obispo County. NCTC’s Cultural Resource team members are experts in Chumash Cultural Resources preservation and management. NCTC is the living Chumash Nation today, we are here today, we have always been here and we are the experts on our culture and life ways, as it has been past down, since the beginning of time, from elder to child, true knowledge.
The Salinas River from Santa Margarita, and its tributaries, to the Monterey county line is Chumash Nation territory, as it has been told to us by our ancestors. Modern science has many false theories about the Chumash and most of them are wrong as to the territorial Chumash/Salinan boundaries. These modern day anthropologies and archaeologist have use animal breading patterns studies to make the false statement that the Salinan territory was all the way down to the Cuesta Grade, this is obscured, animal breading patterns are a horrible way to even begin to discuses human being territorial issues, we the Chumash Nation have always known where our land is, and just because an American marries a Canadian, they do not move the boarders. This land is incredibly Sacred, all along the Salinas River and its tributaries are hundreds of Chumash villages, camps, gathering areas, ceremonial places and living life ways, the area where the above referenced property is proposed is a Chumash Sacred area, and must be treated as such.
NCTC is a stakeholder; NCTC was contacted back in 2010 time period concerning the first NOP, and NCTC had concerns back then, see email between Jeff Oliveira and NCTC.
Hi Fred-
I hope your Wednesday is going good so far. I wanted to get back to you regarding your questions on the scoping meeting notice you mentioned for this mining project in Santa Margarita. Your message mentioned concerns about cultural resources and archaeological issues with a site so close to the Salinas River and its tributaries. The site was surveyed for archaeological resources and no evidence was found. I took a tour of the site yesterday and I can say that it is an inhospitable environment. No water (the River doesn’t actually cross the property), no good tool making rock outcrops (only hard granite), no flat land anywhere, no trees in the mining area and not a good hunting area. However, this project will be going through the EIR process. The EIR consultant will take another look at cultural resources and determine if new studies are needed.
If you’d like to come in and review any of the files, just let me know. If you have any questions about the project and would like to discuss it further, please feel free to contact me. Thanks Fred!
Jeff Oliveira
Environmental Resource Specialist Wed 7/7/2010 5:12 PM
NCTC was not noticed of this current NOP and as a stakeholder should have been, therefore the NOP is flawed and should not move forward without proper noticing to all stakeholders. Under the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, indorsed by County of San Luis Obispo, reemphasizing the living rights of the Chumash Nation and its Peoples, as a Race of Peoples, as a recognized Tribal Government of the UN, NCTC does not give you permission to move forward without proper notification of the most important Stakeholders, the Chumash Peoples. Notification to the California Native American Heritage Commission is not proper notice, the commission sent you, the county a letter with all the names of the Native American Chumash Tribal Government to contact, the county did not notice these tribal government as directed by the NAHC.
The cultural resource report compiled by Heritage Discoveries Inc. in 2009 is less than six pages of inaccurate, incomplete, misleading data that does not offer a complete scientific review of the proposed project site. This site is connected to all the registered and unregistered California Native American Chumash sites around the area of the proposed project, everything was used by our ancestors, all the land was traveled upon, the Chumash did not have HAB (hot air balloon) technologies at that time to hop from one spot to another, we live over all the land, all land was and is important to the Chumash. Because the cultural resource reports is incomplete and subpar, NCTC as Cultural Resource Management EXPERTS, NCTC is asking for a EIR, to have a full extended Phase I/II survey with California Native American Chumash present.
The MND cannot move forward without the proper complete documentation, the MND is flawed and must not move forward.
Sincerely,
Fred Collins
Tribal Administrator
Northern Chumash Tribal Council
