Hundreds gathered in front of the Santa Clara County Government Building in San Jose on September 10 to stand with the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band. Together they called on the County to deny permits for a proposed mining project that threatens the tribe’s most sacred site.

The proposed sand and gravel mine in the county would significantly damage the sacred Native American site and historic artifacts. Speakers said the mining which would extract minerals for 30 years on a 300-acre site destroying indigenous history. Valentin Lopez, Amah Mutsun tribal chairman, said that the tribe went through three periods of brutal colonization and that destroying the sacred site would bring further devastation. Lopez called the rally "a call for cultural survival."

The Environmental Impact Report for the project states that, if approved, ceremonial areas used for healing and harvesting, burial sites, and sacred live oak trees, could be destroyed. In addition, the mining would eliminate precious grassland and oak woodland habitat, and disrupt a critical wildlife movement corridor.

Read More | Event Announcement (Sept 10) | South Bay Indigenous Solidarity (Sept 1) | Challenging Colonialism s01 Bonus: Take Action to Protect Juristac | Gilroy City Council Supports Local Tribe by Voting to Oppose Mine on Sacred Lands at Juristac | Protect Juristac Gilroy Info and Action Prep Day (Aug 28) | Amah Mutsun Tribal Band: History and Current Efforts to Steward Ancestral Lands (Dec 2) | ProtectJuristac.org

See Also: Challenging Colonialism: Telling & Teaching the Truth of the California Missions

Related Features: Campaign to Protect Juristac Gains Support of Santa Cruz City Council (2020) | Amah Mutsun Tribal Band Fight to Protect One of Their Few Remaining Sacred Lands (2018)