TRIBAL ALERT!
SB 1828 SPONSORED BY SENATOR BURTON
SACRED SITES BILL IS UNDER ATTACK
August 13, 2002

It has come to our attention that the groups opposing the Sacred Sites Bill are planning to wage a statewide media campaign to defeat the bill. This campaign will include misinformation about the contents of the bill, and misrepresentations about the rights of tribal governments, including their religions and cultures.  Click here for list of SB 1828 Support and Opposition (HTML - opens new window).

The legislature urgently needs to hear from tribal leaders why this bill is so important to your tribe. Please call and write your local legislators & Senator Burton ASAP to express the importance of this bill to your tribe. You may send in letters of support to Senator Burton’s office Click here for sample letter (HTML - opens new window).

Senator John Burton
President Pro Tempore
State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 95814-4906
(916) 445-4722 (Fax)

To find out who your local legislators are, you can visit the State of California’s website at http://www.ca.gov (opens new window). Click on Government and then click on California Legislature.

WHY THE SACRED SITES BILL IS IMPORTANT TO TRIBES:

SB 1828 adds amendments to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) that will:

• PREVENT public agencies from issuing any type of permit for a project that will threaten to destroy an Indian sacred site

• REQUIRE mandatory consultation with tribes when one of their sacred sites is under the threat of destruction by a project that is subject to the CEQA environmental review process

• Involve the Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC) in the environmental review process when sacred sites are at issue, so that decisions about tribal sacred sites are not left solely in the hands of public agencies. The affected tribes, developers, public agencies, and the NAHC will work together in a government-to-government consultation setting to determine appropriate treatment for the sites. Such treatment will include avoidance, if the tribes and the NAHC determine such action is necessary.

MISINFORMATION THE OPPOSITION IS SPREADING:

False: Tribes already have laws to protect their sacred sites.

TRUE: There are currently no state laws that require consultation with Indian tribes when their sacred sites and land are impacted by development and public agency action. There are no laws that give sacred sites the heightened protection of COMPLETE AVOIDANCE.

False: The bill will allow tribes to designate massive land areas as sacred sites.

TRUE: The bill clearly defines what a sacred site is and requires that tribes put forth evidence – through oral histories, ethnology, archeological studies, museum studies, cultural resources reports, etc. – to demonstrate that a particular site meets the definition. Tribes will not be permitted to designate large geographical areas, such as their traditional territory, as sacred land, but will be able to protect sites that are sacred by virtue of their religious, cultural, or ceremonial significance and use (past and present).

False: The bill will allow the declaration of one (1) Indian person to define whether a site is sacred.

TRUE: This bill calls for government-to-government consultations with tribal government officials (or their designees). It does not allow an Indian person who does not have tribal government authorization to declare what is sacred.

False: The bill gives tribes ultimate veto power to stop all development in the State.

TRUE: This is not an anti-development bill. It requires public agencies to consult with tribes and the NAHC in limited circumstances – when sacred sites are threatened by their development projects, but not for all archeological and cultural sites that are threatened by development.

False: Gives special and preferential treatment to Indian tribes and Indian religions.

TRUE: Indian tribes are entitled the freedom to practice their religions under the Constitution. This law makes tribal religious rights equal to protections afforded other religions and does not give a preference to tribal religions. Moreover, Indian tribes are political entities, which are afforded legal protections to ensure their existence as tribal governments. This bill is upholding those inherent rights to tribal self-governance. These are not preferences, but merely the rights to which tribes are already entitled.

Please send in letters of support and call your local legislators to stress how important preservation of sacred sites is to your tribal culture.

For More Information

For more information, please call Laura Miranda, CILS Senior Staff Attorney at (760) 746-8941.

Documents

Alert (PDF - opens new window)

List of SB 1828 Support and Opposition (PDF - opens new window)

Sample Letter to Governor (PDF - opens new window)