CHANCE, Va. – Last Friday, a press release by Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director, Martha Williams celebrated the announcement that 465 acres at Fones Cliffs had been returned to Rappahannock Tribe.
The land was reacquired by the Rappahannock Tribe in part by a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation through Walmart’s Acres for America Program, and a major funding donation to the Chesapeake Conservancy by the family of William Dodge Angle, M.D. The conservancy also donated the fee title to the tribe.
The importance of Fones Cliffs, which consists of a four-mile stretch of white diatomaceous cliffs that rise over 100 feet above the Rappahannock River, to the Rappahannock Tribe, they are their ancestral home. The land was home to three tribal villages, Wecuppom, Matchopick, and Pissacoak prior to the arrival of the English in 1608. The Rappahannock Tribe were forced off of their ancestral lands during the 1660s. The reclaimed Fones Cliff land is recognized by the Tribe as Pissacoak.
According to the Chesapeake Conservancy the area “..has been designated by the National Audubon Society as an Important Bird Area with global significance for resident and migratory bald eagles and other migratory birds. This largely unspoiled landscape is a place of both natural and cultural importance and is a key feature along the Chesapeake Trail.”
The land is also home to one of the largest nesting populations of bald eagles on the Atlantic coast.
“We have worked for many years to restore this sacred place to the Tribe. With eagles being prayer messengers, this area where they gather has always been a place of natural, cultural and spiritual importance,” said Rappahannock Tribe Chief Anne Richardson.
According to the press release, “The Tribe plans to create trails and a replica 16th-century village, where Tribal members can educate the public about their history and Indigenous approaches to conservation. In addition, the land offers opportunities for the Tribe to expand their Return to the River program, which trains Tribal youth in traditional river knowledge and practices and conducts outreach and education for other communities interested in the Rappahannock River.”
Fones Cliffs is now part of the Rappahannock River Valley National Wildlife Refuge, and while the Rappahannock Tribe will hold ownership of the land, it “be publicly accessible and held with a permanent conservation easement conveyed to the Service.”
“The Department is honored to join the Rappahannock Tribe in co-stewardship of this portion of their ancestral homeland. We look forward to drawing upon Tribal expertise and Indigenous knowledge in helping manage the area’s wildlife and habitat,” said Secretary Haaland. “This historic reacquisition underscores how Tribes, private landowners, and other stakeholders all play a central role in this Administration’s work to ensure our conservation efforts are locally led and support communities’ health and well-being.”
Chesapeake Conservancy President and CEO Joel Dunn said in a statement, “This is a significant step forward in the overall goal to save approximately 2,000 acres at Fones Cliffs, a haven for wildlife and waterfowl and one of the most beautiful places in the Chesapeake and, in fact, the world.”
The conservancy is in the process of trying to gain an additional 968 acres that adjoin the wildlife refuge. The corporation that owned the land filed for bankruptcy in 2019 after illegally clearing 13 acres of the land in 2018, which resulted in erosion, causing a major loss of cliffside, and the loss of trees at the top of the cliffs.
This most recent successful effort to reclaim Indigenous lands by tribes across the U.S. takes its place along with the recent return of Duluwat Island on the northern coast of California to the Wiyot Tribe in 2019, and the return of 500 acres of redwood forest to the InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council in late January of 2022.
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Two hands holding a burning candle [Pixabay]
Despite the weather being cold and windy and sporadic snow, a fair-sized crowd turned out and participated in the vigil. Fox was joined by a minister from the 1st Unitarian Society of Madison and a Jewish life intern with the Hillel Foundation at the university, each offering prayers for justice and peace for Ukraine. Others stepped up to offer their support and prayers to everyone being negatively impacted by the war in Ukraine, as well as state representative Francesca Hong who offered a statement of her solidarity with those present and taking a stance against all violence.
Fox said in a statement to TWH, “Circle Sanctuary is continuing its support for Ukraine, its people, its land, its democracy.”
The vigil was relatively brief, and the snow seemed to pick up in intensity as the event was wrapping up. Fox live-streamed the event on her Facebook page, and both the local TV station, WKOW, and the university covered the vigil.
Announcements:
- Last week the Australian Wiccan Conference (AWC) announced it would hold its annual event on the 16th through the 18th of September, 2022. The event has been held annually since 1984 and will take place this year at an accredited camp, located close to the Great Ocean Road and adjacent to the Great Otway National Park, Port Campbell National Park, the Southern Ocean, and the Gellibrand River. The exact location of the conference is only provided once an attendee has registered for the event. More information on the event can be found on the AWC website.
- Circle Sanctuary announced it is re-opening its Nature Preserve, a 200-acre nature sanctuary in southwestern Wisconsin, for in-person events beginning with a volunteer work weekend on April 8 through April 10. Circle Sanctuary will also return to having its annual Earth Day Festival in person at Nature Preserve. Their 2022 Earth Day Festival will take place on Saturday, April 23, 9:30 am-4 pm and will include eco-education workshops, a Green cemetery tour, and an Earth Day ceremony. Anyone interested in attending can find more information and register for the event by visiting their website.
In other news:
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- As expected, Pope Francis issued a formal apology to delegations from Indigenous leaders of the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis of Canada after meeting with them last week. In his apology, Pope Francis expressed shame and sorrow over the harm caused by members of the Catholic church. In part, he said, “Listening to your voices, I was able to enter into and be deeply grieved by the stories of the suffering, hardship, discrimination and various forms of abuse that some of you experienced, particularly in the residential schools. It is chilling to think of determined efforts to instill a sense of inferiority, to rob people of their cultural identity, to sever their roots, and to consider all the personal and social effects that this continues to entail: unresolved traumas that have become intergenerational traumas.” Later in his statement, he said, “I also feel shame. I have said this to you and now I say it again. I feel shame – sorrow and shame – for the role that a number of Catholics, particularly those with educational responsibilities, have had in all these things that wounded you, in the abuses you suffered, and in the lack of respect shown for your identity, your culture, and even your spiritual values.” The overall response from Indigenous elders was one of being heard, and viewing the apology as a good first step in facilitating healing for past tribal trauma, even if it was long overdue. The elders held a press conference after their meeting with Pope Francis.
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- A new ruling on a case centered around a woolly monkey named Estrellita in Ecuador is the latest example of a “rights of nature” case. For the first time the same rights that recognize the legal rights of ecosystems to exist and regenerate, were applied to an animal. Estrellita was removed from the wild when she was just one month old and kept for 18 years as a pet by librarian, Ana Beatriz Burbano Proaño. Burbano filed a petition requesting Estrellita be returned to her and that the court ruled that the monkey’s rights had been violated. Sadly, Estrellita died within a month of being removed from Burbano and placed in a zoo, but Burbano filed her original petition before the monkey’s death was made known. The high court not only ruled that Ecuador’s rights of nature laws apply to wild animals like Estrellita, but also that her rights had been violated by Burbano and the government. The 57-page opinion not only outlined the animal’s rights being violated but also that the government must develop new rules and procedures to ensure the constitutional rights of wild animals are respected. “What makes this decision so important is that now the rights of nature can be used to benefit small groups or individual animals,” Kristen A. Stilt, a Harvard law professor and Faculty Director of the school’s Brooks McCormick Jr. Animal Law and Policy Program, said. “That makes rights of nature a far more powerful tool than perhaps we have seen before.” This is the first case that combines both environmental law and animal law in ways that have not happened in other cases. “Typically environmental law has not concerned itself with animals that aren’t considered important species, such as endangered species covered by the U.S. Endangered Species Act,” Stilt said. “There is a reckoning starting to happen that is breaking down the silos of animal law and environmental law, and this case is an important part of that development.”
Last week, Tuatha Dea released the video of the song, “Somethin’ for Nothin’,” the final track on their new album, “Irish Eyes.”
The video shot in black and white captures the energy of a long-past era in film and showcases the song that is a bit of a departure from their usual fare.
Shot at the Clayton Center for the Arts in Maryville, Tennessee, the video features Rebecca Holman Mullikin and Danny Mullikin, along with Katherine Holman, Chris Bush, and bassist Jerimiah Waldo, with a very special guest appearance by Dre Hilton on piano.
The video was produced in partnership with the Clayton Center for Arts, Sound Biscuit Productions, and DF Productions.
Tuatha Dea has a list of upcoming performances and tour dates on its website.
Tarot of the week by Star Bustamonte
Deck: Tarot Draconis, by Davide Corsi, published by Lo Scarabeo.Card: Eight (8) of Pentacles
The week ahead is likely to present an emphasis on resources, requiring the deployment of self-discipline and careful consideration for how resources are utilized.
Conversely, reckless behavior and a lack of regard for the limits of finances, supplies, and viable energy may result in stalled projects and even unobtainable goals.
Decks generously provided by Asheville Pagan Supply.
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