Friday, November 16, 2012

Pu'eska Mountain

In a historic agreement, the Pechanga tribe of the Luiseño People in Riverside County, California, along with Granite Construction, have announced plans for the tribe to purchase 354 acres of land, and thereby settling a dispute since 2005 over the destruction of sacred Indian territory for mining.  

The tribe will pay the company 3 million dollars for the land and another 17.35 million dollars as part of the settlement.  In the agreement, Granite cannot own or operate a quarry within an area spanning 6 miles to the north and 3 miles to the south of the property through 2035.  The tribe has agreed to provide Granite input "regarding potential impacts to tribal historic and cultural resources at other potential aggregate sites outside of the restricted area that Granite may consider over the same 23-year period."

Granite Construction had planned operations at Pu'eska Mountain, what Pechanga Chairman Mark Macarro describes as the "Luiseño Garden of Eden, Dome of the Rock and Wailing Wall."

Below, two newscasts from PE;  in the following, an overview with reporter Jeff Horseman who describes countless public hearings over the years, sometimes very emotional, over tribal, economic, and environmental issues, and matters concluding with some issues suspended, but decisively putting the question of the quarry to rest.




Below, a public statement by Pechanga Chairman Mark Macarro:


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