One Californian Indian Tell us about ......
I am a California Indian. My ancestors originally inhabited Topanga Canyon in Southern California. I have lived all my 70 yrs here. My father lived 84 yrs in LA, fighting fires up and down the State in every county. "Firestorms," are part of the natural cycle of our landscape. My father was away for weeks at a time, and always spoke of his fellow Native boys, who fought fires courageously. It's part of a long tradition. Every year, beautiful homes were threatened as forests and wildlife faced the horrors of this natural devastation. "Smokey the Bear," was more than a simple story to us. He was a bear cub, orphaned by a careless traveller, who threw his cigarette into the dried underbrush. Not only fires, but erosion would instantly demolish houses. Houses along coastal cliffs fell into the sea. Many dangers threatened ppl here, earthquakes, train wrecks, Santa Ana winds, water, air, and earth contamination. I recall my parents always noting that it was "unwise," to build in certain areas more prone to catastrophes, both natural and man-made. Still, ppl want to live amidst the beauty, not in the "death valleys" or hot and smoggy urban and suburban areas overrun with crime, or left desolate by "sprawl" and "oil drilling," or sprayed pesticide. These places leave inhabitants to die a slow death, insidious and of unclaimed responsibility. Yet, we know the responsible entities. Until, we as humans learn what our ancestors once understood that there is a balance between all living things. And, that we play a large part in this mysterious, intricate web of life, we will be faced with greater challenges to restore balance. It's difficult to imagine the sacrifices and changes required, yet with so much science and such a long history, it isn't impossible. Our first step is to have respect for all Earthly beauty, and build gently upon a fragile world. I have watched mountains bulldozed, flattened and brutally destroyed just to make someone wealthy, crowding as many ppl together as they could imagine. I have seen such disrespect of our California landscape, as well as my father's return from fires, which nearly destroyed him. Nothing has changed, but if humans don't fix it, mother Earth most certainly, will.