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Title
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Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians Records
Description
An account of the resource
<em>Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians</em>, later simplified to <em>Katúah Journal</em>, was published from 1983 to 1993. A quarterly publication, it was focused on the bioregion of former Cherokee land in Appalachia. <br /><br /><span>The early issues of the journal explain the meaning of the Cherokee name, </span><em>Katúah</em><span>, and why the editors wanted to view the world through a bioregional lens, rather than political boundaries. A volunteer production, the editors took a holistic view in tackling social, environmental, mental, spiritual, and emotional topics of the day, many of which are still relevant. </span><br /><span><br />The <em>Katúah Journal</em> was co-founded by Marnie Muller, David Wheeler, Thomas Rain Crowe, Martha Tree and others who served as co-publishers and co-editors. Other key team members included Chip Smith, David Reed, Jay Mackey, Rob Messick and many others.</span><br /><br />This digital collection is only a portion of the <em>Katúah</em>-related materials in the W.L. Eury Appalachian Collection in Special Collections at Appalachian State University. The items in AC.870 Katúah Journal records cover the production history of the <em>Katúah Journal</em>. Contained within the records are correspondence, publication information, article submissions, and financial information. The editorial layouts for issues 12 through 39 are included as are a full run of the Journal spanning nearly a decade. Also included are photographs of events related to the Journal and a film on the publication.
Source
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This resource is part of the <em>Katúah Journal Records </em>collection. For a description of the entire collection, see <a href="https://appstate-speccoll.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/937" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Katúah Journal Records (AC. 870)</a>.
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The images and information in this collection are protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U. S. C.) and are intended only for personal, non-commercial, and educational purposes, provided proper citation is used – i.e., Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians Records, 1980-2013 (AC.870), W. L. Eury Appalachian Collection, Special Collections, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC. Researchers are responsible for securing permissions from the copyright holder for any reproduction, publication, or commercial use of these materials.
Date
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1983-1993
Format
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journals (periodicals)
Language
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English
Type
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Text
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
<em>Katúah Journal Index, 1983-1993</em>
Description
An account of the resource
This document is a topical index to all 38 issues of <em><a href="https://omeka.library.appstate.edu/items/browse?collection=79" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians</a>. </em>
<em>Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians, </em> later simplified to <em>Katúah Journal, </em>was published from 1983 to 1993. A quarterly publication, it was focused on the bioregion of former Cherokee land in Appalachia. The early issues of the journal explain the meaning of the Cherokee name, Katúah, and why the editors wanted to view the world through a bioregional lens, rather than political boundaries. A volunteer production, the editors took a holistic view in tackling social, environmental, mental, spiritual, and emotional topics of the day, many of which are still relevant.</em></p>
Subject
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Bioregionalism--Periodicals--Indexes
Sustainable living--Periodicals--Indexes
North Carolina, Western
Appalachian Region, Southern
North Carolina--Periodicals
Creator
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Rob Messick
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1993
Language
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English
Type
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Text
Format
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periodical indexes
PDF
Source
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<a href="https://appstate-speccoll.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/937"> AC.870 Katúah Journal records</a>
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<a title="In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted" href="https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/?language=en 8" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted </a>
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<a title="Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians" href="https://omeka.library.appstate.edu/collections/show/79" target="_blank"> Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians </a>
Temporal Coverage
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1990s
Acid Deposition
Agriculture
Alternative Energy
Appalachian History
Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Studies
Bioregional Congress
Bioregional Definitions
Black Bears
Book Reviews
Cherokees
Children's Page
Community
Death and Dying
Earth Energies
Ecological Peril
Economic Alternatives
Education
Electric Power Companies
European Immigration
Fire
Folklore and Ceremony
Forest History
Forest Issues
Forest Practice
Geography
Glossaries
Good Medicine
Habitat
Hazardous Chemicals
Health
Hunting
Katúah
Katúah Organization
Permaculture
Pigeon River
Plants and Herbs
Poems
Politics
Radioactive Waste
Reading Resources
Recycling
Sacred Sites
Shelter
South PAW (Preserve Appalachian Wilderness)
Stories
Transportation Issues
Turtle Island
Villages
Water Quality
Western North Carolina Alliance
Wilderness
Women's Issues
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https://omeka-test.library.appstate.edu/files/original/8a5a4fec25f2fc73cddbd86819a283ba.pdf
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,.
·.
~UAl:i~ ®URNAL
...
ISSUE 22 WINTER 1988-89
seeds of survival
$1.50
�When strong-hearted people keep on singing the Song of Creation,
they will find the true path, forgotten by many,
so Grandpa David says.
When prayer and meditation are used rather than relying
on new inventions to create more Imbalance,
they will also find the true path.
Mother Nature tells us which is the right way.
When earthquakes, floods, hailstorms, drought, and famine
will be the life of every day, the time will have then come
for the return to the true path ...
-from Meditations with The Hopi
~LJAH JOURNAL
P.O. Box 638 Leicester, NC Katuah Province 28748
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED
Postage Paid
Bulk Mail
Permit #18
Leicester, NC
28748
�Global Wanning and Katuah .......... 3
by Kim Sarulland
Fire This Time ............................. 5
by lyfich Crabawr
Bioregions: The Context
for Reinhabiting the Earth .............6
by Thomas Berl)
Earth Exercise .............................9
by Marnie Muller and
2.oa Rockensrein
Poems and Drawings
by Kore Loy McWhirter.............. 10
Drawing by ESTHER
An Abundance of Emptiness......... 12
by Richard lowenJlia/
Reviews:
Thinking like a Mountain
Talkfog with Nawre .................... 14
Options For Regional Currency:
The LETSystem .......................... 15
by Fred MignoM
"Chronicles of Floyd" .................. 16
by "Granny" DeLauney
Knife, Axe, and Saw.................... 18
An lnrerview with Dorry Wood
Natural World News ................... 20
111c Bear Clan ...................•........22
Poem by luci11da Flodin ................. 23
Drumming: Letters to Kalllah ....... 24
Wcbworking .............................. 30
the Earth stirs in her dream
she wakens and arises.
she comes! she comes!
great in her gifts, striding with purpose.
each step an age in the evolution of life.
she is moving.
she will not remain to stagnate in our wastes.
she would be healed.
and we would break
through our brittle egg casings of separateness
to rejoin this planetary life community.
we are too powerful
to remain so ignorant
the change is begun.
we can cry out in pain or rejoice in our healing.
we Loo need to move. to work for the change,
to pray that the balance be restored
and, moving. we will be swept up and carried in the
wave of her motion.
�STAFFTI-IIS ISSUE:
Will Ashe Bason Rob Messick Mamie Muller
David Wheeler Chip Smith Christina Morrison
Kim Sandland Richard Lowenthal
EDITORIAL ASSISTANCE:
Scou Bird MlU'lha Tree Jack Chaney John Creech Andy Half-Baker
Lisa Franklin Sam Gray Michael Red Fox Marsha Ring
COVER by Martha Tree
INVOCATION by Andy Half-Baker
PUBLISHED BY: Kart1ahJournal
THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN BlORECION
ANO MAJOR EASTERN RIVER SYSTEMS
PRINTED BY: The Waynesville Mo1111tai11eer Press
WBITEUS AT:
KatWih Journal
TELE Pl JONE:
(704)683-1414
Box 638
Leicester. NC
Kaufah Province 28748
Diversity il> an impor13111 clcmcn1 of bion:gional ecology, both
n3tural and social. In line with this princ;iple, the Katiiah Journal
tries 10 serve as a forum for the discussion of n:gion:ll issues. Signed
article.~ express only the opinion of the authors and are nol ncccs.o;arily
lhc opinions of lhe Katuab Journal editors or staff.
The ln!Cmal Revenue Service ha.~ dcclru-ed KaJU4h o non profit
organization under sccuon SO I(c)(3) of the In LemaI Revenue Code. A11
contributions IO Kartlah arc deductible from J>C™lll3I income uu.
invocation
From the deep dark place in ourselves,
Through the darkest part
of the changing year,
Through the darkness
of the turning world cycle,
We know of troubles facing us,
and of hope bearing us on.
Birth, death, rebirth.
Spring, Summer. Fall. Winter.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
lltrt in tht southern-most heartland of the Appaluchian mounlllins. thl"
oldest mountain range on our continent. Turtle Island, o small bur growing grmip
has begun to take on a stn.ft of responsibiliry for tht imp/icarions of 1ha1
geographical and cultural heritagt. This .ftnse of ruponsibiliry ctnters on 1~
conupt of living within the natural scalt and balance of univtnal system.1 a.1d
principles.
Within this circle wt begin by invoking the Ch1•ro~e nam11 " Katiu.ih"
as the oldr
new nameforthi.1 area of the mountains and/or iu journal at well. 1he
provmce u indicated by its natural bawuJaries: rhe Roanoke River ~'allt•v ta th~
narrh: ti~ foothills of the piedmont arta to the east: Yona Mountain and the
Georgia hi/1.1 to the sowh: and the Tennessee River ~'allq 10 the we.11.
J'he editorial prioririu for u.1 are to colleet and disseminate 111/ rmatirJn
o
and energy which ~rtains sptcifically 10 this region. anJ rofoster the awarelll!u
that the land is a living being deserving of our love and respect. Lfring in thi.s
manner is a way to insure the su:uailrability of the biosphere and a lasting place
for ourselves in its continwng evolutionary process.
We seem to have reached the fulcrum point of a• do or die • situation in
terms of a quality sta/ldard of lift for all living beingson thi:r planet. Asa voice
for rhe carttak.trs of this sacred land, KariJah. we advocate a centered approach to
the co11cept of tkcentralizaiio11. /1 is our hape to become a .1uppor1 system/or
rhase accepti11g the challenge of su.staiMbilil)' and the creation of harmony and
balance in a total sense, here in this ploce.
We welcome all co"espondence. criticism. perti11e11t informa1io11,
articles. arrwork, etc wirh hopes that Kariuih will grow 10 urve rhe best intt:rms
of this regio11 and all its living. breathing mtmber.1.
-The Editors
We all grow and change.
Darkness is followed by light,
Sickness is followed by healing.
As Gaia goes around the circle
We reap what we have sown,
and plant new seeds for the coming light.
rrs NOT NICE TO FOOL MOTilER NATURE
�-~·
~
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{~~~~~ ... ~··· ....--~
·~.··
...~ .. .
GLOBAL WARMING AND KATUAH
By Kim Sandland
Just to satisfy a yearning for the breaking down of
barriers, this wricer is currently taking classes in the
beautiful, dramatic language of signs. a language
expressed with the bands and body and interpreted with
the eyes and the heart. My "sentences" arc stiJI a little
sluggish, my rtngerspclling a little awkward, and my
boots rattle around my ankles at the thought of
confronting a real live deaf person with no one's hands
around but my own. But someday. when I'm good
enough. sign language will allow me to enter the world
of the deaf and communicate with them. They will
understand me and I will understand them. It's all a
matter of knowing how.
There is another world that this human being would
like to know how to enter, another barrier to break
down. It is the barrier that prevents many people from
seeing and understanding the impact of human activities
on their Earth. It is the world in which many humans are
unable to interpret the language of the Earth, nor to hear
the voices of despair, cries of defilement, and pleas for
care.
Gary Miller, of the Depanment of Environmental
Studies at the University of North Carolina at Asheville,
hears the voices. In a recent interview, Miller outlined
the here and now of the global warming trend, the
depletion of the ozone layer, the increase of ozone
pollution, and acid rain - - all are similar in their origin
and require the same solution, says Miller. For Kauiah,
the pressures of environmental catastrophe are already
apparent, and growing worse.
Oak decline is taking place on our slopes, and
drought like that we experienced over the pa.~t <;everal
years may exaggerate · and acceler,11e - that decline.
Miller a!lributes chat decline to a number of different
factors, including poor forest management practices
earlier in this century. like the harvest of prime trees,
leaving poorer trees which are more vulnerable to
adversity. If the greenhouse effec1 has staned, the
climate will only get warmer, and intense summer heat
and drought may make plant communities vulnerable to
wiY1h@1e ecosystem~ !\!re :irlll
je@pudy, !l!lld m!ly ~sa;p]pem ....
S1l!lclb. as the s:plrl.1ce-ffir ~osyitem
~yjpical @f aihe lb.ii.gh.er S@11.11tllaem
ApJP!lh1clmh1llll elev!lti~:ins, tfot
exm!I!ljplle. 111ds we bow."
invasion by disease, insects, and fungi. Plants and the
animal communities they suppon may not make the
necessary adjustments to severe climatic shifts in a shon
period of time. They need long-term evolution, Miller
says.
Whole ecosystems are in jeopardy, and may
disappear - - such as the spruce-Cir ecosystem typical of
the higher Southern Appalachian elevations, for
example. This we know. We have known, says Miller.
about acid rain since the 1870's, and about the
"greenhouse effect" since before the turn of the century.
Unfonunatcly we arc only now monitoring the changes
induced by these pollution effects and may yet be a
couple of years away from cfTectivcly implementing new
control legislation.
In 1988 we experienced the effect of increased water
temperatures and decreased water volume in our streams
and reservoirs, Miller says. Higher water temperatures
mean less oxygen concentrated in the water; less oxygen,
increased coxins, increased temperatures will mean less
fhh. For Katuah, this affects not only our fishermen.
but our trout industries as well, Trout fisheries ha\'e
already begun relying on well water, which has less
oxygen capacity than stream water, and so have turned to
(con1111ucJ on nest pegel
W1.NT£R. - 1988-89
Drawing by ROB MESSICK
Jeot.Uan Journa!
p~ 3
�(continued from previous page)
oxygenation systems, powered wilh electricity, powered
by fossil fuels.
Increasing populations, resulting in higher nitrogen
pollution from the burning of fossil fuels in power
plants, factories, and automobiles, coupled with the
temperature inversions characteristic of mountain
valleys, will fill our mountain air with unbreathable
substances, says Miller. During lhc past summer ~zone
pollution reached the highest levels ever recorded in our
"Refusing to learn the issues, refusing to raise
taxes and refusing to commit resources to
resolving environmental problems, will result
in an uninhabitable planet. Deferring action
until later will only cost us more in the long
run."
area. More air-conditioning will be desired by people as
the years go by; more air-conditioning means more
burning of fossil fuels, and more pollution, in a
never-ending cycle of waste and want. It's already
happening.
More people will be here, too. Miller believes it is
impossible to consider the ramifications of current trends
for the Katuah bioregion alone, because what happens in
other bioregions will have a direct effect on Kattiah.
Rising ocean waters, increasing greatly over the next
20-50 years, are likely 10 flood coastal areas. Coastal
communities, both marine and human, may be
devastated. Our wetlands, the coastal estuaries, the hean
of lhe seafood industry and the basis of the foodchain for
all species, will be destroyed by advancing seas. Sixty
to 65% of harvested fish and shellfish now spend pan of
their life cycle in the estuaries, says Miller, and they will
be affected. People have already begun flocking to the
mountain areas to escape hot climates; people will come
in droves, bringing their indusuies with them, as the
coastal economies and environments are changed. There
will be more fossil fuels consumed, more water
consumed, more native habitat destroyed here in Kattiah,
in the face of an already-shrinking resource base which
is falling 10 the effects of global warming and global
waste.
We know about all lhis. We know about hot
summers [which will grow hotter), and about
temperature inversions [which will only serve to make i1
hotter and harder to breathe, for all species), we know
about increasingly severe storms and drought and
landscapes of fallen trees and wi1hered undergrowth.
We know because we have read it, heard it, we have
already seen it. But is it 100 late for Katuah? Gary
Miller has some defini1e ideas.
There arc 1hree keys to understanding and action,
according to Miller, which m3y not undo what is already
upon us, but may save a pan of whnt we have for future
generations. The first is education. Gary Miller believes
that we should have a national required curriculum in
environmental science in all our schools. Says ~iller,
"The future of our planet depends on how well people
understand the issues." Many people are not aware;
they don't read, and they don't understand. lf we read
and understand, we can change our own wasteful
behaviors, and we can demand more of our politicians.
Part of education, says Miller, is comprehending the fact
that solutions are expensive. Refusing to learn the
issues, refusing to raise taxes and refusing to commit
resources 10 resolving environmental problems, will
result in an uninhabitable planet. Deferring action until
later will only cost us more in the long run. This has
always been the case.
The second key is consuming less, doing with less.
As Miller says, every time you lhrow it away, you waste
energy, because it must be recreated, using virgin
resources and more fossil fuels. And waste must be
disposed of, or incinerated when we run out of room for
disposal. More air pollution. Miller believes that all
people could cut their use of elecuicity by 40-50% today
and srill live comfonably, provided they give up their
need 10 live in a totally regulated environment with
temperature fluctuations of only a few degrees. Miller
calls it, "a new e1hos--try 10 live with less or do
without," and we can begin it in Karuah. It's not so
new, because some of us have been hearing it for years.
We can participate at any of several levels of activity:
recycling, avoiding plastics, wearing sweaters inside in
the winter. We can promote mass transit and drive our
personal cars less. We can conserve fossil fuels by
pursuing solar energy and other alternative energy
sources, excepting nuclear power. In the realm of
electoral politics, we need to investigate politicians'
records carefully, vote for pro-environmental candidates,
and demand more leadership from them. We can send
money to organizations trying to save lhe rain forests
(and those working on behalf of the temperate forests as
well), which are vital to our atmosphere.
"If we do not, we will lose our freedom of
choice as nature takes over, causing hurricanes
of magnificent force, high temperatures we can
not tum off, ultraviolet radiation and skin
cancer, air we can not breathe, a scarcity of
drinking water, and deserts where once there
were forests."
And the last key, says Miller, is planning. For
Katliah, this means that local and regional officials must
decide what is the true human carrying capacity of this
region, taking into consideration dwindling water
supplies, protection of habitat, and disposal of waste.
This is not being addressed by local planners and
officials, says Miller. An obvious example is lhe plan to
have incinerators handle the solid waste overload--and
anything, says Miller, with lhe potential of c?ntrib~ting
to air pollution, compounded by temperature inversions,
should be ruled out. Indiscriminate promotion of the
area in an effon to attract new mdusuies and more people
should be curtailed, until we understand what a
shrinking resource base will mean to us in the near
future.
We must make these difficult decisions now, says
Gary Miller. If we do not, we will lose our freedom of
choice as nature takes over, causing hurricanes of
magnificent force, high temperatures we c~ not rum off,
ultraviolet radiation and skin cancer, air we can not
breathe, a scarcity of drinking water, and desens where
once there were forests.
To those who don't hear, we must find a way to
communicate, a language of respect, conservation,
pro1ec1ion, and realization, to be shared among all
species. We must find that language soon, lest our
message have no ears to fall on.
WtNTDt - 1988- 89
�FIRE THIS TIME
by Lylich Crabawr
"God give Noah tM rainbow sign.
No more willer, fire~ time.•
• Block spiritual
Looking around at the forest about
me, l soe great imbalance. I see the forest
suffering as a result of acid rain,
clearcuuing, and the drought we have been
having. These are clearly the result of
human influence. The world is in need of
healing.
But each imbalance has within it the
conditions that will restore equilibrium. That
is also true in this case. There is a change
coming, and it is coming on much faster
than people think. We are presently caught
up in a cycle of drought. This is not going
to go away next summer. We might get a
reprieve next summer. it might not be as bad
as this year, but the following summer will
be, and the summer after that will be as
well.
Some drastic climatic shifts are in the
making. Different areas might become
weuer, drier, colder, or hotter. These
changes will occur for no apparent rilyme or
reason. The Southern Appalachians happen
10 be an area that is becoming hotter and
drier. In fact, I think this area is going to
dry up severely.
There is going to be a massive die-off
of the forest. We are seeing that already.
The Black Mountain Range is being
denuded by acid rain. Already there are
streaks of dry places on the ridgetops.
panicularly around rocky cliff areas, where
the water drops out quicker. If there is no
rain, those dry ridges have no source of
water. Lower down on the hillside, water
collects and drains down. But as the
moisture falls off and the water table drops,
the ridges suffer the mosc.
Already, the dries! varieties of plants
live on che ridgecops: scrub oak, scrub
pines, mountain laurel, and grasses. Those
are the species that are adapted to living up
there. Ginseng. the orchid species, or big
poplar IJ'CCS do not live up there.
ln effect, what is going 10 happen is
that the dry ridgecop conditions are going to
move down the hill. As the climatic change
intensifies and conditions become more
severe, the poplar cove associations will
become scarce as 1he dry ridgetop
community moves down into what were
once rich, moist coves. The moisture-loving
species will hold out longest alongside the
creeks. But then 1he smaller, higher
watersheds will dissipate, and 1he dry
conditions will move fanher and fanher
down. There will be a terrible decline in the
little streams now running through the hills.
r do not know if major rivers will dry up,
but they are going to become a 101 smaller.
How far ii will go, J do not know.
We have somewhat of an advantage in that
we have a number of micro-climates and a
vancty of different plants here in the
mountains. That will help lo offset the worst
aspects of the change.
When the forest dies off on 1he
ridges, greal amounts of dry tinder will be
left on the.hillsides. And as the dry weather
continues, there will probably be
tremendous firestonns burning off that
highly flammable material. That is going to
create an incredible amount of pollurion over
the temperate forest 1,ones, which will speed
up the degradation of the atmosphere and
intensify the "greenhouse effect" a1 an
exponential rate.
On these steep slopes, if the tree
cover dies off and fires burn off the organic
maner on the top of the soil layer, the soil
will be washed down the hillsides very
quickly, because the vegetation and the leaf
mulch is what holds the soil in place. If rhe
vegetation dies on the ridgetops, the soil is
going to come down. Strip a hillside now
and see how fast it gullies; see how fast the
streams silt up and die. There is always
more erosion in time of drought.
The situation here is going to be
similar to that in the island nation of Haiti
where the native people cut the wood off th~
hills for cooking fuel. With the vegetative
cover removed, che tropical rains washed all
the soil off the mountainsides, and the forest
could never grow back.
The Appalachian mountaintops are
basically granite rock with a couple of feet
of soil on the top. They will be eroded
down to bare rock. This is already
becoming evident. Mt. Mitchell has two to
three times as much rock showing on its
face as it used to have.
Eventually I believe we will have an
environment here similar to that of northern
New Mexico: bare, rocky mountaimops and
fenile valleys. There will be perhaps trees
and streams in the valleys, but all around us
1he hills will look like New Mexico. It
won't be unattractive. New Mexico is a
wonderful locale in its own way. But it is
going co be sad 10 see the species disappear
that live here in these rich coves.
Conditions might stabilize before
then. They might become more disastrous
than that The weather is not necessarily
going 10 be consistcnL Just because our
summers are going to be horter, that does
no1 mean tha1 our winters arc going to -be
warmer. We may have even colder winters,
but with more drastic changes, like sudden
storms followed by warm spells, or terrible
fronts coming down out of Canada.
I do not perceive the greenhouse
effect as causing worldwide desert,
however; ii is causing worldwide drastic
weather changes. Tl is not getting hotter
everywhere, but climate fluctuations arc
getting more extreme.
The Carri bean and the Gulf of Mexico
recently experienced the wors1 hurricane
within memory, Hurricane Gilben. Gilben
produced the lowest pressure ever recorded.
But as the climatic shift progresses, we may
see cyclones and hurricanes the likes of
which we cannot imagine at this time.
Massive thunderstorms may produce
corrential rains. There may be floods like
thO'iC this area experienced in 1916, but the
effects may be worse, because there will be
no vegetation on the hillsides to hold the
water and the mud.
The Anasazi and other pueblo Indians
in New Mexico and Arizona had a similar
experience. They suffered a drought and the
vegetation died off on the tops of the mesas,
so that when it did rain, nash noocts came
down the valleys, destroying their crops and
gullying out the fields, before the land
became dry again. Where they once had
com and squash growing at the edge of the
creek, the water was now running in a
trickle at the bonom of a gully 20 feet deep.
This made irrigation impossible for them,
and the uncontrolled erosion would carry
away more of their precious bouomland
(c;onunucd an pqc 26)
1.Jl.NTER - 1988-89
Eiching by ROB MESSICK
XAt.i&M Joul'~ p~ 5
�Bioregions:
The Context for Reinhabiting the Earth
by Thomas Berry
Tlwmas Berry's new book The Dream of the Earth has recenrly
been published by Sierra Club Books. Ir is regarded as a major book
of our time. This excerpt provides an excel/em introduction to his
work on bioregional thought and humans' relationship with the
planet.
T he universe expresses itself in the blazing radiance of the
in the vast reaches of the galactic systems. Its most intimate
expression of itself, however, is in this tiny planet: a planet that could
not exist in ilS present form except in a universe such as this one, in
which it has emerged and from which it has received its life energies.
The planet presents itself to us, not as a uniform global reality, but as
a complex of highly differentiated regions caught up in the
comprehensive unity of the planet itself. There a.re arctic and tropical,
coastal and inland regions. mountains and plains, river valleys and
desens. Each of these regions has its distinctive geological
formation, climactic conditions, and living fonns. Together these
constitute the wide variety of life communities that may be referred 10
as bi0tegions. Each is coherent within itself and intimately related to
the others. Together they express the wonder and splendor of this
garden planet of the universe.
Slar'S and
The human species has emerged within this complex of life
communities; it has survived and developed through participation in
the functioning of these communities at their most basic level. Out of
this interaction have come our distinctive human cultures. But while
at an early period we were aware of our dependence on the integral
functioning of these surrounding communities, this awareness faded
as we learned, through our scientific and technological skills, to
mnnipulare the community functioning 10 our own advantage. This
manipulation has brought about a disruption of the entire complex of
life systems. The norcscence that distinguished these communities in
the past is now severely diminished. A degradation of the entire
natural world has taken place.
Even though humans as well as the other species are in a
stressful situation, few of us are aware of the order of magnitude of
what is happening. Fewer still have any adequate understanding of
its causes or the capacity to initiate any effective program for the
revitalization of these life systems upon which everything depends.
Disruption of the life process has led to a severe disruption of the
human communicy itself. If social tunnoil and international rivalries
have evoked significant concern. the disruption of the eanh's life
systems remains only a vague awareness in the human mind. This is
strange indeed when we consider that the disruption of our
bioregional communities is leading to a poisoning of the air we
breathe, the water we drink, the soil and the seas that provide our
food. We seek to remedy our social ills with industrial processes that
lead only to further ecological devastation. Indeed our sensitivity to
human conflict over the sharing of earth's resources has di~tracted us
from the imperiled condition of these resources themselves. a peril
associated with the loss of topsoil, the destruction of forests, the
desenification of fruitful areas, the elimination of wetlands and
spawning areas, the exhaustion of aquifers, the salinization of
irrigated areas, the damaging of coral reefs.
The urgency of a remedy for this situation is such that all social
groups and all nations are called upon to reassess the entire
human-earth situarion. As was indicated by Edwanl Schumacher, we
must rethink our industrial approach to "development." This
rethinking involves appropriate technologies, but also appropriate
lifestyles, and, beyond those, appropriate human-earth relations.
The most difficult transition to make is from an anthropocentric
to a biocentric norm of progress. If there is to be any true progress,
then the entire life community must progress. Any progress of the
human at the expense of the larger life community must ultimately
lead to a diminishment of human life itself. A degraded habitat will
produce degraded humans. An enhanced habitat suppons an elevated
mode of the human. This is evident not only in the economic order,
but also throughout the entire range of human affairs. The splendor of
eanh is in the variety of its land and its seas, its life forms and its
atmospheric phenomena; these constitute in color and sound and
Drawing by ROR MESSICK
loltNTER - 1988- 89
�movement that great symphonic context which has inspired our sense
of the divine, given us our emotional and imaginative powers, and
evoked from us those entrancing insights that have governed our
more sublime moments.
This context not only activates our interior faculties; it also
provides our physical nourishment. The air and water and soil and
seeds that provide our basic sustenance, the sunshine t.hat pours its
energies over the landscape--these are integral with the functioning of
the fruitful earth. Physically and spiritually we are woven into this
living process. As long as the integrity of the process is preserved,
we have air to breathe and water to drink and nourishing food to eaL
The difficulty has come from our subversion of this integral life
communily, supposedly for our own advantage. In the process, we
have tom apart the life system itself. Our technologies that do not
function in harmony with earth technologies. With chemicals we
force the soil to produce beyond its natural rhythms. Having lost our
ability to invoke natural forces, we seek by violence to impose
mechanistic patterns on life forces. In consequence of such actions,
we now live in a world of declining fertility, a wasted world, a world
in which its purity and life-giving qualities have been dissipated.
The solution is simply for us as humans to join the eanh
community as participating members, to foster the progress and
prosperity of the bioregional communities to which we belong. A
bioregion is an identifiable geographical area of interacting life
systems that is relatively self-sustaining in the ever-renewing
processes of nature. The full diversity of life functions is carried out,
not as individuals or as species, or even as organic beings, but as a
community that includes the physical as well as the organic
components of the region. Such a bioregion is a self-propagating,
self-nourishing, self-educating, self-governing, self-healing and
self-fulfilling community. Each of the component life systems must
integrate its own functioning within this community functioning to
survive in any effective manner.
The solution is simply for us as humans to join
1he earth community as participating members, to
foster the progress and prosperity of the bioregional
communities to which we belong.
The first function, self-propagation, requires that we recognize
the rights of each species to its habitat, to its migratory routes, to its
place in the community. The bioregion is the domestic setting of the
community just as the home is the domestic setting of the family. The
community continues itself through successive generations precisely
as a community. Both in terms of species and in terms of numbers. a
certain balance must be maintained within the community. For
humans to assume rights to occupy land by excluding other lifeforms
from their needed habitat is 10 offend the community in its deepest
structure. Further, il is even to declare a state of warfare, which
humans cannot win since they themselves are ultimately dependent on
those very lifeforms that they arc destroying.
The second bioregional function, self-nourishment, requires
that the members of the community sustain one another in the
established pallerns of the natural world for the well-being of the
entire community and each of its members. Within this pattern the
expansion of each species is limited by opposed life forms or
conditions so that no one lifeform or group of lifeforms should
overwhelm the others. In this function of the community we include,
for humans, the entire world of food gathering, of agriculture, of
commerce, and of economics. The various bioregional communities
of the natuml world can be considered as commercial ventureS as well
~\NTt:R. - 1988-89
as biological processes. Even in the natural world there is a constant
interchange of values, the laying up of capital, the quest for more
economic ways of doing things. The earth is our best model for any
commercial venture. h carries out its operations with an economy
and a productivity far beyond that of human institutions. It also runs
its system with a minimum of entropy. There is in nature none of that
sterile or toxic waste or non-decomposing liner such as is made by
humans.
The third function of a bioregion is its self-education through
physical, chemical, biological and cul rural patterning. Each of these
requires the others for its existence and fulfillment. The entire
evolutionary process can be considered as a most remarkable feat of
self-education on the pan of the planet earth and of its distinctive
biorcgional units. An important aspect of this self-educational
process is the experiential mode of its procedures. The eanh, and
each of its biorogions, has performed unnumbered billions of
experiments in designing the existing life system. Thus the
self-educational processes observed in the natural world fonn a model
for the human. There is presently no other way for humans to
educate themselves for survival and fulfillment than through the
instruction available through the natural world.
The fourth function of a bioregion is self-governance. Ao
integral functional order exists within every regional life community.
This order is not an extrinsic imposition but an interior bonding of lhe
community that enables each of its members to participate in the
governance and to achieve that fullness of life expression that is
proper to each. This governance is presided over in much of the
world by the seasonal sequence of life expression. It provides the
order in which florescence and exuberant renewal of life takes place.
Humans have iraditionally inserted themselves into !his community
process through their ritual celebrations. These are not simply hu1l13ll
activicies, but expressions of the entire panicipating community. ln
human deliberations each of the various members of the community
should be represented.
The fifth function of the biorcgional community is self-healing.
The community carries within itself not only the nourishing energies
that are needed by each member of the community; it also contains
within itself the special powers of regeneration. This takes place, for
example, when forests arc damaged by the great storms or when
periods of drought wither the fields or when locusts swarm over a
region and leave it desolate. In all these instances the life community
adjusts itself, reaches deeper into its recuperative powers and brings
about a healing. The healing occurs whether the damage is to a single
individual or to an entire area of the community. Humans, roo, find
that their healing takes place through submission to the discipline of
the community and acceptance of its nourishing and healing powers.
The sixth function of the bioregional community is found in its
self-fulfilling activities. The community is fulfilled in each of its
components: in the flowering fields, in the great oak trees. in the
night of the sparrow, in the surfacing whale, and in any of the other
expressions of the natural world. Also there arc the seasonal modes
of community fulfillment, such as the mysterious springtime renewal.
In conscious celebration of the numinous mystery of the universe
expressed in the unique qualities of each regional community, the
human fulfills its own special role. This is expressed in religious
liturgies, in market festivals, in the solemnities of political assembly,
in all manner of play, in music and dance, in all the visual and
performing ans. From these come the cultural identity of the
bioregion.
The fururc of the human lies in acceptance and fulfillment of the
human role in all six of these community functions. The change
indicated is the change from an exploitive anthropoccntrism to a
panicipative biocentrism. This change requires something beyond
environmentalism, which remains anthropocentric while trying to
limit the deleterious effects of human p~nce on the environment.
�(continued from previous page)
We have limited our discussion so far to the inner functioning
of the regional communities because these provide the most
immediate basis of survival. If these communities do not fulfill their
most essential functions, then the larger complex of biorcgions cannot
fulfill its role. Each of these bioregions is. as we have noted.
re/a1ively sclf-suscaining. None is fully self-sustaining since air and
water flow across the entire planet, across all its regions. So it is
with the animals. Some of them range widely from one end of a
continent to another. Birds cross multiple bioregional, and even
continental, boundaries. EvenruaJJy aJI bioregions are interdependent.
Tllls interdependence is presently accentuated by the toxic waste
poured into the environment by our industriaJ society. Such toxic
materials are borne across entire continents and even across the entire
planet by water and atr. Such an extensive continental problem
would not exist, of course, if each of the various bioregions
functioned properly within its own context.
The larger functioning of bioregions leads to a consideration
that the canh be viewed primarily as an interrelated system of
bioregions, and only secondarily as a community of nations. The
massive bureaucratic nations of the world have lost their inner vitality
because they can no longer respond to the panicular functioning of
the various bioregions within their borders. A second difficulty with
these large nations is the exploitation of some bioregions for the
advantage of Others. A third clifficulry is the threatened devastation of
the enrire planet by the conflict between bureaucratic nations, with
their w~aponry capable of continental, and even planetary,
devastation. To break these nations down into their appropriate
biorcgionaJ communities could be a possible way to peace.
The bioregional mode of thinldng and acting is presently one of
the most vigorous movements taking pince on the Nonh American
continent. Its comprehensive concern is leading toward a reordering
of aJl our existing establishments: political-legal, commercialindustriaJ, communications, educa1ional and religious. At present all
of these establishments arc involved in the devastating impact of
indu~trial society on the natural world. The human arrogance they
manifest toward the other natural members of the life communities
remains only slightly affected by the foreboding concerning the future
expressed by professional biologists and by others who have
recognized that the imminent peril to the planet is not exactly the
nuclear bomb, but the plundering processes that are extinguishing
those very life systems on which we depend.
Yet the numbers of those speaking and acting and leading
in. pro~rams of reinhabiting the eanh in a more benign
relauonshtp with the other members of these natural communities are
growing constantly. This movement, often referred to as the Green
Movement, is fostering an ecological or biorcgional context for every
as~~t of life, for educarion, economics, government. healing and
rehg1on. So far, the movement remains a pervasive and growing
m~e o~ consciousness that is groping toward a more precise
an1culanon of its own ideals, its institutional fonn and its most
effective programs of action.
othe~s
. Of primary imponancc in Nonh America is identifying the
vanous bioregions. To do that requires a sensitivity akin to that of
the s~amanic personality of tribal peoples. While bioregions have
~nai~ geographic boundaries, they also have cennin mythic and
h1stoncal modes of self-identification. This idenrification depends on
ourselves as we participate in this process, which only now we begin
to understand or appreciate.
/
Excerpted by permission of Sierra Club Books from The Dream of
the Earth, e>I988 by Thomas Berry.
Available 11 bookslOfes around the region or by d!rec1 mail from: Sierra Club
Store Orders. 730 Polit Street. San Francisco. CA 94 IOCJ. (Prepaid orders only,
enclose S 18.95 plus SJ.00 for pomge and handling.)
Towards the Legal Recognition
of the Rights of All Species
Finally. II 1s beginning to dawn on us humans that the wider Earlh
communlly with whom we exist have nghts, IOO. Afl species have rights··such
as the right IO habi1a1. the right to breathe clean air, the right to have access 10
good water, elC.··and it is lime for these rights IO be legally rocognued.
In The Dream of the Ear1h, Thomas Berry refers to The World Charter
fur :>lalure which was adop1ed by lhe U.N. in 1982. This chnncr can be a
valu:ible. dynarmc tool for draftJng a regional or local Ch.:incr for Nature. Citucns
groups. study grou~. 13Sk forces or individunls could speamcnd this effort IO 3dap1.
the charter lO 1he specific region where they live (or t0 draft an entirely new one).
The document can then be submitted to one's !Own council, county commission,
state legislature. etc. for adopuon.
Having the righ1s of other species be lcgnlly rccogni1.cd is an imPortnnl step
111 bnnging ourselves and our species more in balance with the Life community m
which we part.icipal.C.
If you arc interested an receiving a copy of The World Charter for Nature,
wr11e: Mamie Muller. KatUiJh Journal, P. 0. Box 638. Leicester, NC 28748,
Katililh Province.
Earth exercise:
a guided exercise designed for
personal/community/Earlh healing
Getting in touch with our own interior heaJing resoun:es as
well as those of the planet itself is an imponant facet of any
environmentaJ, political, or social effon. Often we see ourselves
as bucking the cultural ride and feel a sense of futility. Yet, it is
important to see the work that we each do, as an individual and as
pan of an organization, from a wider perspective.
The body wants to heal itself, the planet wants to heal
i1self. We need to let ourselves feel a pan of this wider biotic
system of self-healing. We don't have to invent or create a
"make-believe" connection, all we have to do is give ourselves
the opportunity to see these wider connections that eiUst.
There are many "spontaneities" within us that can be
tapped into in order to pnnicipate consciously in this heaJing
process but we need 10 get beyond our "everyday" mind to do
this. Exercises such as the one here can provide a
non-threatening, comfonable way to begin this process of getting
in touch with these resources.
As we become more familiar with this way of seeing, our
"everyday" self can more easily shift into this wider perspec1ive
as well. Even our breathing in and breathing out can gently
remind us of our intimate connection to the wider Earth process.
Another aspect to invite into this conscious participation is our
dreamworld, which so often remains isolated from our "regular"
consciousness.
This (next page) is a guided exercise for groups assisted by
a facilitator which was originally designed for and used at the
afternoon sessions of the second Annual New Priorities
Conference held this fall in Asheville, NC. The Conference
theme was: "Wake Up and Dream!" The exercise is intended for
both experienced as well as inexperienced facilitators.
-Mamie Muller
W'\JlfJ'Ejl - 1988-89
�Let every pan of your body feel a sense
of being relaxed .. .let an inner smile
come to you.... to every pan of your
body. (wait I minule or more)
Now that you arc becoming deeply
relaxed.... let yourself settle in to
yourself... ...to a place that feels very
secure to you....... very loving......very
beautiful... ...Let yourself feel "at
home" there. (pause)
Experience fully a sense of your own
well-being. Feel i.mmcrsed in it. Let Lhat
weU-beingness pour over you like
sunshine.
( wait 1 minute or more)
Earth Exercise I
cksUjnd blJ narnie nuller
cuut Zoa R.ocfunsui-n
In.structiollSfor faci/ital()r
Design the selling in the form of a circle whethu
indoors or out.Side. If'JOU/eel it is appropria1e.
have some taped music quietly playing as people
come in and se11le down (for uample. Kitaro's Silk
Road or some othu soothing music). Once all are
present. have everyone get corr(ortable. llandbags.
books. papers, should be m owsilk of the
bo1uularies of the circle. You, asfacilita1or, should
be si11ing as part of the circle. A.s 'JOU share this
t'.Urcise. be sure to speak slowly and distinctly in a
quiet. gentle manner. Be sure to leDW! quiet time
bcuween each phrase.
As you are feeling your own sense of
well-being...of joy.... begin to feel the
well-being of those around you ...feel
wannth and sunlight coming to this
circle hcre...immersing us all in a sense
of Life and well-being. (pause)
As you breathe in and out... .feel the
water coursing down from the
mountains... bringing life and
well-being to all....feel the roots of
trees as they grow deeper into the
soil..... feel the autumn leaves laying
themselves one on another as they
become pan of the eanh....ex.pericnce
Lhe plants around soaking in wamuh
and light from the sun.... making food
for themselves and for all... .listen 10 the
melodic call of the birds in the forest
trees. Watch the hawk circle in the
sky.......Feel the wind blow gently
across your face ....(pausc)
llere is a suggested "script" which you are
welcome to adapt for your own use.
...............Ex.er-ci.se.................
Right now, we will do a
relaxation/guided exercise having to do
with your well-being, the well-being of
others and the well-being of the planet
Just relax and enjoy it. Images,
thoughts or feelings may come to you;
don't be concerned as to whether you
are getting visunl images or not, just let
it happen. If at any time in the process,
you feel uncomfortable with this
ex.ercise, simply open your eyes and
wait for the rest of us to finish.
Let's begin.
Close your eyes, if you'd like..... And
begin to relax ...Take a deep breath
in .... pause for a moment .. then breathe
out ...Breathe in again .... pause.....and
breathe out Continue to breathe in this
way, and let yourself begin to relax as
you do this breathing. Breathe
in.... pause....and breathe
out..... Breathe in... pause....and
breathe out
Focus your attention on the place inside
yourself where you are pausing
... between breathing in and breathing
out.
(wait 1 minute or more)
Let your muscles begin to un-tighten
and relax .....Lct your whole body feel
free and comfonable.......... Breathe
in..... pause.....and ...... breathe out.
IJ\NTER. - l 988 - 89
•
Feel the self-healing that has been going
on....on this planet... for thousands of
years .... (pause) Feel yourself a pan of
this process.....(pause) ...you are pan
of this life-giving process...even your
breathing in ...and your brca1hing
out.. .. brings life.....
(I minute or more).
Now let us together imagine that this
sense of well-being is being restored
throughout our entire community
..... throughout our whole mountain
region. (pause) Let us imagine
well-being nowing through any painful
or distressed areas of our community
---both our human community and our
wider ecological community..... Let us
feel a healing an<l a strengthening taking
place.... Let us feel a sense of
empowenncnt coming to all who are
afflicted. The well-being of each of us
is integral to the well-being of all of us.
Feel a sense of health and sufficiency
being available to all in our community
here.
Envision yourself as an importanl pan
of this healing and restoring that is
begiMing to take place in our
community. Sec how you, in an
on-going way, fit into this process.
(pause)..Fecl yourself a pan of the
Life-giving energy that will help ~tore
this community to a full state of
weU-being.
(1 minute or more)
Now imagine the entire planet........fecl
the tangible. intricate connection of all
life.... .Fecl the planet itself being
restored to a state of well-being
...(pause).........Though it is much
threatened right now, the planet is
working vigorously towards
self-healing. As your own body acts to
heal itself... from a cut or wound
...sense the planet's ability to work
towards self-healing.... Begjn to feel the
undercurrent well-being of the planet
itself....Feel yowself a pan of this
process.
(1 minute or more)
Return now to your secure place within
yoursclf...and let your own well-being
be strengthened.....and be renewed
...(pause). Experience deeply the
well-being that is at the hean of things,
and let yourself remember this sense
fully. (pause)
Now, gently, come to this circle
here...... Begin to arise out of this
meditation. (pausc)....As you begin to
arise out of this meditation. let yourself
know that this ability you have to see
things in this way is available Lo you
whenever you need it. ..... Now come
and be fully present Lo this circle, here.
-end-
InstructiollS/or facililator
Agiun. you may want to play sootl11ng music softly
for a few momtnts to give people timt to -come
bock". Lock aroUNJ the entire circle Olld ma.Jr.t f~#
each ~rson ts alnght and is 'with you".
;crediisc
The concqxof"ll\lltt smile" is dn..,, from TOO<ll WO)<llO
Traruform Strus Into ViJa/111 by ManW. Ch1a. The
imagery or autumn leaves layina lhcrruel•cs one on
anolhcr comes from lhe poem "Autumn" by Ycvgcny
Ycvlahenko.
l'CSOlll<JCS'.
A good ldvanccd l'C9QWCe is Wor.tiitg l/Uilk O..i (Applibl
MtdllaJ1on for f111ui11vc Prabla..-Salvifll) by Margo
Adair. Wingbow Prus. 1984 Available from Boolq>eoplc
2929 ri!lh S1r«1, Bcriu:ley, CA 94710.
Mtdita1/ng wull Cliildun by Deborah RoU\an and
Spwsilig 1-d by Mmy Mwdock ltC good for begimeo
mdcbMen.
�we are buUdinge a house
I wondre wille we evre real/ye live inne rharre place
wille we die inne ine
I nevre go rhere
ine is imaginarye space contained
I amme ftdfilled
imagininge irtefromme thisse distance
looking uppe ane ine as w the nighte skye
baskinge...no, skewered ande roasringe
inne irres vasre brillianre promise
I canne imagine livinge there
butte I cannorre imagine tllisse bodye
seuinge f oote inne the doore
we are buildinge rhisse house withe oure handes
withe woles moved bye oure bodies ande oure lives
closinge oute the skye
we looke oute the windowes
ro gette oure bearinges inne the worlde
we enrre tlzroughe the doorwaye to become sometlunge
otlzre thonne whane we have beene
I muste come zo ourgrowe tllisse comainre
we are makinge
lilce anye orhre cru.slllCeanne
mye lwde shelle
I amme softe inside
I musre reste ande growe winges
inne tllisse place tharre keepes oute the worlde
thenne openne a/le the doores ande windowes
takinge mye daughrres bye the hande
flye oure everywhere
I aname thisse womynne
I speak withe herre voice
she has beenefarre
she has seene the manye wayes
110 one beinge cannefarlwme a/le herre visionnes
I amme rhisse womynne
I canne feele a/le man11re ofherre senses
swellinge ande flowinge inne herre bloode
she is worthye ofyou.re deepeste arre11do.11ce
a/le creanues grea1e and smalle
va.sre ande f ewe
are honoured bye herre giftes ande blessinges
I amme thisse womynne
I canne see through alle herre harde walles
o\·re alle herre higheste rampartes
the warmrhe inne the brigluc roomes ofherre hcarte
the joyouse wisdomme
abundan1e ande ge11ero11Se
inne the da.rke ferrite groU/lde o/ lierrc soulle
I amme thisse womynne
I COJllU! telle you
she bearres no mysterye or angre so greaie
thatte itte deserves none youre moste trusti11ge
ande rendre regarde
I amme tllisse womynne
emered ande conJained
I speake withe herre voice
~iUM Jo\lrna.£ P"'Jll 10
W\.Nn:Jt - 1988- 89
�"
somerimes the goldenn.e-handed one
wille arrende you
she wille rouclli! youre woundes
ande tlieye wille openne
bloominge like tlli! manyejWwres
a place w reste
cradlinge youre sorroM-'t!S
she canne do no wronge
alle lierre ministrationnes
are rlie rainnes' attendance
onne thirstye growule
she willes you tender/ye backe to life
you cann.e joinne thisse downpourre
amonge the greaifulle herbes ande grasses
reachinge joyous/ye
withe youre manye-petalled woundes
goinge to seede
thisse softe-spokenne invirationne
w 1111! springe
ofllJ!rre unconditioMOlle generositye
....
.....
.....
"•
-~
thisse lwu.se is tire cauldrenne
where we drive 01ue lives inne withe everye 11aille
a/le horde lessonnes are learned inr1e iues newe raftres
withe oure booces onne
we walke inne or oute 011ne the dayes irte ope1111es irres dnores
irtes walles ca/le to us inne oure sleepe
come 111110 me I wille give you reste
I .amme watchinge tire vaste surface of yo1u face
like the oceamU! forre signes of re11u11e
yorue habintalle morio1111es to a11de fromme mye shores
are so like the tide
tharre I waslie owe to sea ande re11une smootlw
Olide more rare eache time you release me
the hmLl·e standl!s onne the edge ofshore ande sl11Jllnwes
irce is the liglulumse visible
inne the dangerouse ande beawiftule fogge we trm:elle
to reaclie orie tJJwthre
sometimes I amme the lande creature/you rite sea 011e
the house is wliere we meete ande pane
inne otLre bootes and inne 01uejinnes
washinge inne ande owe ofi11es dnores ande windowes
like anye commormefLSlre
or mysteriouse glwste watchre-womynne we/le sunge
who changes herre skinne to jinde love owe of herre elemente
wlw longes forre a place to harboure
a/le tlU!se unruleye weedes ande l11Juntes/11eedes ande wantes
you are bttildingtll amme imagininge 1/iisse house
011ne the slwre ofoure lives givenne ovre
we are maldnge oure betides
le11e us lie inne themme tellinge tW lies
k>'LNTER. - 1988-89
• I slil11ed wmingc withe t's mne
highc <;choolc bccnusc I wns bored antic I
hked lhc rrcnche and<: oldc cnglishc wayc
of domgc 1.l11~e; the waye the wordes
lookc antic rcctc ... htr.c lhc!yc don1.c stoppe
butte s1ghc into !he! nexte a huJc. Nowe I
~ulle do iue to slowe mysclfc ande the
wortdc downc ju.st a little.•
poems and drawings by Kore Loy McWhirtcr
�completion.
Thus, paradoxically, consumerism is actually the undoing of
prosperity and abundance because it both fosters and feeds on the
feeling of lack., and of identification with only human creations
instead of the whole of creation. This leads to enslavement to
unending desires and to the frantic acquisitiveness of our culture.
How can we avoid panicipating in this mad delusion of
"consumerism" and "conquest"? l low can we be psychologically
heahhy and ethically aware? Undeniably, we are all somewhat
susceptible to the massive hype and pervasive illusion that surround
us. Under this influence, we tend either to resist our society and its
materialistic preoccupations or to acquiesce and "go for it".
Unfortunately, either way we end up trapped in reaction, and
emotionally chained, because both resistance and acquiesence involve
a kind of bondage.
ln order to neither resist nor acquiesce, we need to learn to
identify with that within us which is already complete, already
fulfilled, and to gradually merge with this inner Being which does not
always need "more". Without this inner development, it is very
difficult, if not impossible, to avoid being "possessed" by the
dominant thought-fonns and desires/reactions of mass culture.
An /1bu11d arice. of
€mpti11es5
by Richard Lowenthal
Our planet's deepening ecological crisis has recently been
forcing us to reassess our culture's most basic assump1ions and
attitudes about nature, society, technology, and prosperity. In
particular, it is now urgent tha1 we understand our culture's
pathological preoccupation with consumerism.
In earlier times, "consumption" referred 10 a disease, namely
tuberculosis; today it refers to an accepted social norm. Tuberculosis
was called a "wasting disease" which caused a person to gradually
weaken and "waste away". Is it possible that modern mass
consumption is also a wasting disease, causing the human spirit and
the Eanh itSClf to "waste away"?
Through this consumer mentality, our cul1ure has become so
out of touch with nature that we arc threatening the Eanh's capacity to
be a functioning suppon system - not only for ourselves, but for the
entire Life community of the planet.
Consumerism can easily be likened to parasitism, in which the
parasitic organism (the human species) lives off of and gradually
destroys the host organism (the Earth). In fact, Western industrialism
and "prosperity" has always been based on a profound disregard for
the Eanh and an unbelievably arrogant intention to "conquer nature".
What really concerns me most is the feeling behind labelling
people "consumers". For any culture to identify its members as
"consumers" is quite degrading. le reduces the complexity and
grandeur of being human down 10 the lowest - and saddest · common
denominator. To be a "consumer" is to feel anxious, hollow, waiting
to be filled ... cons1antly trying to fill the void inside, desperately
buying things to block lhe feelings of emptiness and isolation. ft is a
state of continual, ceaseless hunger without any lasting satiation or
X.Otuah Jo14rnQ£ pa<Je 12
I am here reminded of Homer's Odyssey and his story of
Ullysses' encounter with the Sirens. As Ullysses' ship approached
the island of the Sirens, he recalled the warnings of the sorceress.
Circe. She had told him that if he and his men listened to the
hypnotic singing of the Sirens, they would steer towards those
rapturous voices even against their will, and be smashed to pieces on
the rocky shore. It took considerable ingenuity and strength of will
for Ullysses and his crew to get safely past them.
So how do we, on our own Life journeys, get past the Siren
songs, the hypnotic allure of consumerism and immersion in
appearances? Ullysses' tale dramatically shows us that we mustn't
delude ourselves into underestimating their influence upon us. One
of the most dangerous characteristics of modem materialism is its
insidious seductiveness, its open-armed invitation to those places in
us that feel most insecure and needy. "Come," murmur the Sirens of
consumerism in unison, "I will feed you, care for you, fulfill you,
satiate you. What you need, I can supply! I am yours ... (and you are
mine!)".
Obviously what we really need is the awareness and inner
resolve to steer clear of the hypnotic spell of our modem-day Sirens.
Just like Ullysses, we need to understand the nature and power of
these forces which can lure us into a spiritual 'wasteland' of illusion.
Jn order to free ourselves from Life-denying, illusory "consumer
prosperity". we need to face and identify our modem-day Sirens.
Here are some that J have identified for myself....
The Siren of Induced Need and Desire
We are subc.onsc1ously l13incd by advertising (and ofttn school and family)
to believe that we always need something ouisidc of ourselves to help us feel
okay. The undcnmble purpose of commercial advertising is to get us to foci
vulnerable and 111COmplctc, usually by playing on our <:exual and social desires and
fears. And the purpo:>e behind &his, of~. is to crtalt "n~· and &hen make
money from the "needy" in any way possible. Jn the swkes1 tcnns, whnt'~
happening is lha1 our $C11SC of inner self wonh and dignny 1s deliber:uely being
undermined, so we will buy lhctt message and thcirproducL Adverti:;crs know lhal
fulfilled and self-assured people aren't c:isily hocked; thus, their job is to nmplify
our fears and m'iCCuntie~ v.hilc prc1cnding to .\tn:nglhcn and help us.
The ltUly diabolical lwisl in this sccnano is &hut when our needs and
de~res ate increased, our capacity for happiness and contcnuncnt co11cspondingly
decreases. What rcsulLS is a preposterous but deadly catch-22: we arc told, in
innumerable sublle ways, "You aren't happy, bill you could be happy by chBngmg
your ouiu circumstances .••.Of course. since there ate alway:; bt11tr eircums1D11Ccs
to aspire to, what you have and who you 11IC 1s never good enough, so you aren't
happy, but you could be by...eic."
So, ·round and 'round we go-unul we choo.i:e to get off this vicious
•merry• -go-round. llS viciousness shows up in painful and continual comparison
of who we are wilh who we supposedly could or should be-as well as in
1.11.NlDl - 1988-89
�judgement and comp:irison of Olhers. It presents appearances as ultimate reality,
denying the inner essence. IL affirms only what we IW and havt, not who we
inherem.ly art.
This judgemental aunospherc is all around us in our socicty--at school, at
work., at home, even in bed. In fact. oftcn 11's such an integral pan or our lives
that we aren't even aware of this subtle negauvity unless we're the obvious
victims of judgement .
The way to recognize compllllSOO and judgement is that it is always
sep:uative and contracting rat.hec lhan inclusive and exp:ins1vc. IL causes us to feel
defensive. different. "better" or "worse". and to close our hcarlS oo real hum31l
conlllet-and it inclines olhets to react t0 us in the same way. To avoid lhis Siren.
we need to cultivate discernment and empathy, which are humane responses
instead ofjudgemenull reactions, and t0 embrace this moment, os it acrually i.s.
'Ln many ways our f!Ujht from nature
ancl c!esire to remake the wort:<£
arises from our fear of the unknown, the
uncontrollable, and ultimately of death.
The Sirtn or Unlimited Prognss and Technological Sah·ation
One of our most cherished modem beliefs is thru the natural world is not
designed for hum:111 comfort and lhus needs cictens1ve remodeling. This belief was
our key LO Pandora's boit. and it h3s motivated our rclcntlc.~s b3ttlc with nature,
with all ilS ierrible and unforeseen con.sequences. We h:lve acted as if the Earth and
a.II its plant and animal life exist to be used or abu.~ by humans, and we h3ve
ignOICd the fundnmental oneness and iolCtdependcncc of all life.
Underlying all this is a profound misunderstanding of the Structure of life:
we have ignored the foct that nature - including human mllun: • is inherently
imbued witll form, limits, structure, and boundaries. We apparently forgot - or
wiUfully denied - that we too are bound by ccnain nntural and ~iritual laws. rn
Greek tragedy, the hero is always brought down by a tragic naw known as
"hubns"··a blind arrog;incc which denies limits and auempts to usurp the power of
the gods. The desire for power over ll3lUl'C is our tragic naw--and a nlllll'al proccs.~
of rctribuuon has been set 1n motion. The uue place for limitless creative
'progress' is in our social and spiritual m3turation.
in mampulnting and
"conquering• physical n:ality.
.
£ven proponents of "prosperity consciousness• can be mesmcriied by this
Siren. lf one secs the universe as absolutely unlimited, doc:; this automnucally
mean that Lhc Earth's resources are also unlim11cd? ...that every person has a
"divine right" lO unlimited wealth and prosperity? Will we continue to ci1pcrience
"abundance" if, through our own doing, our p131lct's ecosystem becomes mcapable
or supporung life?
Allowing oneself Lo become a participant once agnm m the vibrancy of
lhe 113tural world and to begin to appreciate the beauty and wisdom of limit and
form is a step toward freedom from this Siren of "No Limiis".
"°'
The Siren or Domestication and lnsu1111ion rrom Reality
In many ways our night from na1urc and desire to remake the world arises
from our fear or the unknown, the unconuollable, and ulumately of dcalh
I once wa' on the Slaten Island ferry. cm.~g New York h:lrbor at n1ghL
when suddenly I had a vision of all those immense towers and all lhJl light and
glare functioning tO obliterate the mght. to !iOmehow shut out and dwarf the
darkness. the realm of death and lhe unkllown. Daylight helps us feel safe and m
rel31lvc conucl--everything is clear. distinct, visible, and the ego likes thaL Night
is a different mauer aliogethcr-disunctions and shapes blur and blend. the familillr
becomes unfamiliar, nnd the sun disappears. leaving us "in the dark". And then...
thousands of star.1 appear in lhe heavens, rem1nd1ng us of mlimtc ~. not only
'out there', but within us as well.
This is quite intolerable for lhe ego bent on conuol. to order 10 preserve 11S
illusion of omnipotence. lhe ego mu.st crcate an altcmntive reality which shuis
out change. decay, death. silence, diutness. And lo and behold, with modem
technology bolstered by advertising, we have seemingly accompli$hed !hi.~. We
insulate our homes so we don't h3ve to feel lhe heat or the cold; we light up our
houses and our strcelS lO negate lhe night, and lhe glow from our c1ues blocks out
the stan; we have radios. TV's, lape players. etc. 10 enien.am us and keep silence
at bay: we wash and scrub and dcodoril.e and disinfect our bodies, our dishes, our
clothes, our noors until everything is spotless-so clean that there is no place ror
germs and decay and death tO g;un a foolhold·-or so adverli<;tt$ would have us
imagine.
k1tNTER. - 1988-89
We also shut away the darker side of ourselW!s--1.he irrational, angry,
lustful, sad or murderous rcelings that m1gh1 puncture our illu.~ion of control--and
uy our best to be "nice". always in control. Of course, this means it simply
won't do to be spontane00s and child-like. No, when we "grow up" we have to
behave like adults and plan everything. But boring and dcrulcning as this may be,
111. lcast it's safe-and lhe ego despcr.uely need!. to feel safe, because deep down we
know that this separate ego is itself an illusion. So nuher th31l face this and get
catapulted inoo another level or awareness, we cleverly devise count.less avoid3nce
mechanisms to distract us from the uuth.
There 1$, however, a huge dose of divlllC humor in au this-because having
to be in control actually feels terribly consuicting and uncomfortable, while
letting go of control and entering the !low of the moment feels bolh liberating nnd
very safe-after we eitpcriencc lhe fear and move through 1L Every time wechnnge,
every umc we let go of lhe past, we die a liule-but we're also reborn: and if we
continually ICL ourselves die t0 lhe past. we're also continually reborn. The cosmic
joke is: this is the power and immon.a.lity lhe poor frightened ego is constantly
wanting, but II has lO be willing to "let go" lO get lO 1L
Tbt Sirf'n or Over-orodutlivlty and Wasterulntss
This siren has had a dcvasm1ing impact on the environmcnL Its internal
"logic" goes like lhts: Westerners arc led to believe th3l somelhmg temble will
happen if they don't continually 111cn:ase their GNP, so they·re always pushing LO
grow. construct, or manufacture more and more goods. These goods are
increasingly dc.~igned to be disposable or 10 qUJCk.ly become obsolete. Afier all, if
people throw more things away, thcy11 have to buy more later, and I.his increases
production and profits. Perfunctory hp service is paid to the Idea of recycling. but
the dommant message sull "in lhe lllI" in this cuhure is that 1t is perfectly fine t0
waste resources 1r this increnses bolh eonvcrucnce and production. Even fwther, if
we're really "prosperous• m this cuhun:. we're able to throw things away at wall
and replace them (with "new, improved" ones. of course!)
:Every time we "throw somethiruJ
away " (where is "away"?) ... we add to
the out-of-control "9arha9t,fi,cation" of
our planet Home.
In olher words, waste, squandering, conspicuous consumption, gadget
mania, ond total d1~n for the environment are our measuring sticks for llow
"prosperous" we are! This attitude has more to do with ecological suicide than
prosperity. Every Lime we "throw somctlung away" (where 1s •away"?),
especially non-degradable pla~ucs and styroforun, we add to lhe out-of~ontrol
"g:irbagilication" of our planet Home. If lCllAnlS ever ucaled a house the way we
treat our planet. they'd be evicted immcda:ncly, and the Board of Health 11oould
prob:lbly condemn lhe property!
We've been vainly trying lO send our garbage abroad and to p:iy other
nauons to take 11 off our hands. In 1988 we've witnessed the sad spccll!Cle of
masses of g:irbage and medical refuse washing up on our beaches. again and again.
Thus, it's now impossible not to recognize that our garbage and our attitudes are a
major ecological problem. Yet the visible garbage is only the 1ip of the
iccberg--what about nuclear contanunatlon and other invisible, highly t0xic
effluvia?
True prospcnty would never give nse to such an absurd and ecologically
harmful "modus operandi". Conscious pl:lncwry 51ewardship clcrnands th.11 we be
awarc of waste and ac11·v~/y srop supponing 1L We can recycle most house.hold
wastes: we can simplify our live~ nnd decrease our "needs•: and we can help
Olhcrs do lhe same. In this way conscrvatlon can go hand-in·h:lnd with a d«pcr
prospenty that honors Life.
The Siren or Pain Avoidance and Addklion to Pleasure
People have always sought plca.wre and tried tO avoid pain, but modem
society has turned this iendcncy into a quas1·religious and fanatical faith. On
every side we are beset by messages and infCICllCCS that pleasure is "good• while
pam is "bad", and that we should always feel eitcited, happy. and carefree-which
mean~ that we must deny and suppress our pain at all co:.IS. This attitude can be
br117cnly obvlOU.,, as in most advcrus1ng; it can also opcr.llC very subtly, so 11 can
be difficult to pinpoint and counteract iL, effccis. One effect, though, is feeling
illi.IJy about eitpcriencing pain--it somehow <;CCII\~ almos1 un-American to be in
pain! But growing up can at times be difficult and painful. In order to become
mature adults. we sometimes have LO go through and learn from painful
�Book Review:
11iINKING LIKE A MOUNTAIN:
Towanls a Council of all Beings
by John Seed, Joanna Macy, Pat Reming, Ame Naess
1988; New Society Publishers; 128 pp.; $9.50.
Thinking Like a Mow11ain is a deep ecologist's prayer book.
Running Lhrough ils collection of essays, poems, rituals and
workshop notes is a pervasive sense of the emergence of Gaia, the
living planel, not as a quasi-scientific hypothesis, but a living
presence, a goddess.
The book's opening invocation by John Seed is a good
example:
"We ask for lhe presence of the spirit ofGaia ...Wc call upon
the spirit of evolution...We calJ upon the power which sustains the
planets in their orbits, that wheels our Milky Way in its
200-million-year spiral."
Directly relevant to the defense of eanh, Gaia is experienced
not only as presence pervading all, but as Seti', the larger Self of
which everything is pan. Experiencing the planet body as one's own
is for Seed the radical bean of deep ecology and something he
discovered Lhrough his own direct action defending the rainforest near
his home in New South Wales. "J was literally part of the rainforest
defending herself." "... we arc the rocks dancing."
This point 1s most powerfully made in 'The Testimony of
Graham Innes" which includes a p1C1ure of Innes buried up to his
neck as part of a campaign defending the Da.intree Rainforest against
the onslaught of bulldozers. "A slow dawning of awareness
(occurred) of a hitheno unknown connection. Eanh bonding. Her
pulse became mine, and the vessel, my body, became the vehicle for
her expression."
In addition to direct action, Seed suggestS a variety of
methods for inspiring the experience of deep ecology including
prayer, poetry, wilderness vision quests, and ritual of the sort
provided in thjs book.
Indeed "The Council of AU Beings" ritual developed by Seed
and Joanna Macy and described in the book by Macy and Pat Fleming
deserves detailed auemion. The ritual consists of three stages. The
first is entitled "Mourning."
Drawing on her experience with despair workshops. Joanna
Macy observes that the destruction of our life suppon systems is the
deepest and most pervasive source of anxiety in our time, that this
destruction is happening now, felt in our bodies as depression and
despair that we fear expressing because of the taboos set up in our
society. The first stage of the ritual acknowledges this despair - the
pain involved in the devastation of our soil. the loss of our forests,
the extinction of species, the poisoning of our breathe and blood, air
and water. The aim of the ritual at this point is to have the
participants "hear within themselves the sound of lhe eanh crying."
The second stage of the ritual is entitled "remembering."
Through both guided fantasy and active mimicry, panic1pantS reenact
the entire evolutionary journey of the cosmos, the planet and life on
earth acknowledging the real physical links of this journey built into
the coding of our genes.
The last stage of the ritual is the council itself with each
participant speaking for another life form and acting out the drama of
the contemoorarv olanetarv situation from a non-human perspective
as well as taking rums playing a human.
Jn addition to the ritual, the book contains poems by
Robinson Jeffers. Gary Snyder and Joanna Macy. an essay by Ame
Xatuah Journal pQ.CJe 14
Naess, beautiful rainforest illUSII'lltJons by Duilan Pugh and much else
useful for all of us working to generate the experience of deep
ecology.
It is interesting that in a collection of eanh prayerl> and
mvocauons to Gaia such as this, the selections are. w11h one
exception, the work of contemporary Western poets and authors
rather than excerpts from various Native American U'llditions which
have long revered the Great Spirit, Father Sky and Mother Earth.
(That one exception is a rcnrution of Chief Seattle's 1854 Duwam1sh
speech.) While the authors have undoubtedly been influen~ed by that
tradition, they represent what seems 10 be a new revelation shaped
both by contemporary science and contemporary vision. Their
poems, prayers and ritual evoke a spirit and offer a general fonn
rather than provide verbatim formulas. They begin to forge a path
into the teachings we must all be about the task of discovering and
inventing if the world of our children, let alone the world seven
generations hence is to survive as the rich luxuriant planet we have
known.
l must add that there is a healthy emphasis in the book that
ritual is not an end in itself but preparation for action by generating
deeply felt recognition that defense of the earth is self-defense. To
this end we join in the book's invocation: "O stars, lend us your
burning passion."
~
-Amy Hannon
Prinls by PAM and LIU TllOMAS
Book Review:
TALKING Wfl'H NATURE:
Sharing the Energies and Spirit ofTrees, Plants. Birds, and Earth
by Michael J. Roads
1987; H.J. Kramer, Inc.; 151 pp.; $9.95 (cloth)
The night was cloudy and I was alone with a book by the fire. So
l feh preny good Lo begin with,considering that's one of my favorite
places to be. but I was oot prepared for what the book would d~ to
me. As I read into it my heart opened and my sense of bemg
expanded. At midnight and half way through Lhe book, 1 could
contain myself no longer. I jumped out of my seat, rushed out the
door and flung my arms out 10 the night just as the wind blew the last
cloud from the moon and rushed past me in unbounded joy.
Ir's ha.rd to know what else to say about this book that really
matters. It is not as simple as the title implies, and yet in a very
deeply powerful way, it is simply about "talking with nature". It
brings that whole concept into an accessible reality. It is a sharing of
an unfolding that will touch you as deeply as your own untoldmg lies
within you. h holds vital pieces of wisdom, cruth and lighL It is
~
sweet nourishment.
• reprinted from 1~ EducOlional Resourct COOJ>(T(JJivc N~.tlt111er
IJ'\.N1£R. - t 988-89
�.. ..., ...
·~
•
"
. . . . . . . 'N.
r;:!:'1-~••.•.·~-'\..
IN
~~~i:r~ST
I
,i";'>. ................,
An Original Idea For Ka!Uah Oirrcncy
Options for Regional Currency:
A Look at
Local Employment Trading System
(LETS)
This network also increases the amou nt of personal contaet
between neighbors.
Reminding us of our true
interconnectiveness, it's a tool for the reweaving of ancient
pauems.or !Jibe and village. l~'s about simplifying and taking
respons1b1hty for our collective economic behavior. T he
LETSy~tem is an altemalive as well as a supplement to rhe
convennonal economy that can be implemented right now.
A LETSystem is a network whose members use a local
currency to allow them to 1rade foods and services without
necessarily having access to federal dollars. Members have
accounts which start with a balance of zero. Goods and services
which members want to obtain or provide arc listed in a monthly
mailing.
There are currently about 50 LETSystems operating around
the world, with much experience to draw from. Computer
software for operaung the ne twork is readily available. A
videotape, and a game which models the workings of the system,
can be used in educating folks about iL
Prices are stated in 'green dollars', a quasi-currency
equivalent in value to federal dollars. The lOtal of all member~·
account balances always equals zero. At any one point, there are
some accounts with a positive balance ("in credit") and some
accounts with a negative balance ("in commitment"). A stntement
of one's transactions and balance is received with the momhlv
mailing. A charge is deducted from each accoun1 monthly,
according 10 use, to cover the operating cos1s of the ne1work.
For example: John cu1s firewood. Pe1er 1s a weldcr, and
he wants wood bu1 has no money. John doesn'1 need any
welding done. Thai's usually where ii stops. However, if John
and Pe1er are members of a LETSystem, then John delivers the
wood, and Peter picks up the phone. He dials the LETSy,tem
answering machine and says, ''Hi, this is Peter, #48, plea~c
acknowledge John, #83, $75 for firewood. " This informauon 1s
fed to a computer. which increases John's account by 75 green
dollars and decreases Peter's account by 75 green dollars. In
tum, John employs a carpen1cr. the carpenter has a haircut, gels
some clothes made. buy~ food from a farmer. The farmer now
has a way to pay for a welder. so Peter gets to work again. In
this network people need never be unemployed because of a lack
of federal dollars in the communily.
Many transactions are likely to consist of pan green dollars
and pan federal dollars, as members take care of their needs for
cash. The LETSystem is compatible with the conventional
monetary system and simply increases the amount of local
economic activity.
What I sec happening as a next step is people who are
juiced up about tltis taking the time to consider the details. Then a
group of peo~le who feel clear about it can get the ball rolling by
actually starling a LETSysiem and organizing an educational
workshop designed to ium larger numbers of people onto the
network.
We are c~rr~ntly ro:m.in.g a LETSystem for the Floyd
County community in the Vtrg1ma portion of Katuah.
compiled by Fred Mignone
-rtprinrtd from Educauonol Rtsouru Coopt'raJi\'t', Box 80, Floyd. Virginia
24(~/
If you wo uld like to know more abo ut LETSvstcms
tha l a re c urre ntly fun ctioning in Cana da a nd the L.S.
as we ll as audio-vis ual ma te rials, send a d olla r to:
Lands man Community Servi ces, Ltd., 37 5 J ohnston
Avenue Courtenay, BC V9N 2Y2 C anada.
Olhcr rosourus:
Economics as If tht Earth Rtally Ma11utd: A Ca1alyst Guide 10 Socially
Conscious lnvtsting. Su'ian Meeker-Lowry. 1988. New Society Publishers,
P.O. Bo~ 582, Sama Crur., CA 95061
"The Local Employment Trading System•. Wholl! Earth Revitw, r-;o. SS.
Summer 1987.
Oraw1na by ROB MESSICK
W'l.N'J'ER - 1988- 89
X.OWah Journot pGCJe 15
�tft.e cft.t'ontcie.s of fCoycL
At the time of the change there were so many
wildly imaginative approaches 10 transformation; all
worked some, some worked a 101! What a time for
adventure and opponunity.... shining days.
One thing I remember, there was n lot of knitting
and darning going on. People just staned to draw up
the rough and tattered edges of the life cloth and sewed
them back together. One of the signs of it was the
coming of prosperity; all over people got together good
shelter and strong gardens, 1here was a 101 of local
commerce and baner. health re1umed 10 1he land and
birds came back. and bear. The people 1hrived no
maner what the weather. The seasons began 10 make
sense 10 1he people and they noticed the changes and
understood themselves.... they were able 10 help each
other, so prosperity returned.
The apprentice pa1h came into focus again. People
all of a sudden began to think of what they knew as a
gift and a tool of their trade. The work people did was
recognized as a pan of 1heir lifesong and deserved 10
be honored. Quality returned, and guild houses;
young folk traveled from guild to guild getting a taste
Text reprinted from EducatiolllJI R~ouret Ctnru Nt'Wslcutr:
Bo~ 80: Floyd, VA
24091
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of the difference, then they would take their pick. At
first everybody kept jumping from one 10 the next,
midst alot of smoke and dust, but it settled pre11y
quickly and folks could hear their intuits, which
always speeds things up. Now the choices usually are
clear. Of course, all the decision-making was helped
along greatly when we re-connected with our ancestral
helpers: the others or our group in the past, present and
future, who all want the same thing. They reminded us
that discipline Le; just remembering what you want.
And, of course, a big, big change came with the
passing of the age of leadership. We know now it was
really just a thought, but it projected such substance
and energy it was difficult to see thru it for a while....
like a heavy fog on the ridges. Bui by and by it lifted
and nobody needed a leader anymore, we all fell a
sense of purpose and had a plan, of course that
brought order - real orderliness like the way water
moves along, or fire bums, or a rock splits along a
line.
When I look back to the before rime, it's hard to
believe how all our lives were ordered by confusion.
Our power circuit was unplugged. So. or course, the
~
change was awesome at first, but 11 quickly became
normal... ..i1's easy to forget
I'm so glad 10 have seen these times.
-by Granny DeLauney
p
�.KNIFE, AXE, AND SAW
•
or
" Getting Pocketknife Religion"
Recorded by David Wheeler
Darry Wood thinks of himself as an
anisan. The word is French and refers to
someone who works in the middle ground
between an artist and a craftsperson.
"/ am happiest when I am creating
fimct1onal objects that are beautiful," he
says. And that sums up his work, whether
it is his house built of hand-hewn logs.
drawings, sculptures, cabinetwork,
museum-standard replications of the
eighteemh and nineteenth century clothing
of the Sowheastern Indian tribes, or the
self-made hand tools that he uses in these
projects.
Darry is also a master of primitive
camping techniques and the ancient native
technologies that have come w be known as
"Earth skills."
To whatever project he undertakes
Darry brings his fme sense of observation,
an intense power of concentration, and a
love for natural materials. These personal
qualities are constantS in all of his work.
As we calked at his homestead on
Buck Creek in Clay County (NC), Darry
scraped hair off a deer skin stretched tight
on a wooden frame preparatory to
brain-tanning the hide to condition it. The
rhythmic scratching of /us wahinle, as the
hide-scraping tool is called in the LAkota
Indian language. pwicwated his words as he
e.tplained that primitive skills were not
simply techniques, bill a way of life.
Katl1ah. You've JUSt returned from
doing an "Eanh Skills Workshop" wilh
Snow Bear and Bob Slack at the Unicoi
Staie Park in north Georgia. How do the
skills that you teach at those workshops
benefit the students?
Dorry Wood: We focus on making
fire without matches, going into the natural
environment and finding food, making
shelter without the use of metal tools,
brain-tanning, and 01her practical affairs of
life.
To me, these are primitive skills in the
highest sense of that word. People often
think of "primitive" as being crude or
obsolete. and I suppose a lot of people
would say that what we do in our
workshops is obsolete. h's not something 1
would care to debate with people who have
n much different system of values. But I see
what we are doing ill> "primilive" in the
Latin sense of the word meaning "the first,"
"the most basic" - "primary."
In practicing these ancient teehniqucs,
people inevitably touch back with
themselves, with who they really are. In this
day we are so insulated from lhc natural
world by plastic. aluminum, concrete, and
glass. we forget that we are of the Earth,
and that it is not Wi nn-Dixie and the Blue
Rjdge Mountain Electric Co-op and other
X4c.UM Jou.rna! p~ l 8
institutions !hat sustain us. It's the Mother
Eanh that sustains us, and by practicing
Eanh Skills people begin to see that in a real
way.
As we cook over an open fire, put our
hands into the flesh and blood of the deer,
and learn how to sharpen our knife and our
axe so that they'll serve us in the best
possible way, we can feel the simplicity of
life as it was in another time, and yet still
retain a feeling of just how relevant it is for
us in this time to take pan in the life process
as it has been continuing on this Eanh for
lhousands of years.
Our lifestyle has become so
dis-integrated, that living on a primitive
level for just 48 hours helps people
reintegrate in a way that lhey didn't realize
was possible.
What r teach are the basic skills of
life. It's home economics; it's rediscovering
our birthrighL
K: Even the practical techniques that
you talk about are highly sophisticated on
some levels. You showed me an adz.e in
your workshop that was made out of a
branch that was growing off the tree at just
the right angle, and showed me a ncshcr
that had a thong which went over your
wrist, so that it made your forearm into an
actual pan of the tool. Those tools show an
awareness of engineering lhat is more than
logical.
DW: Perhaps a more precise example
of what you arc talking about is the sticks
that make fire. Everybody has heard about
making fire by rubbing two sticks together,
it's almost legendary. Ir the knowledge of
how to create fire by friction were lost, it
would be very difficult to reinvent. There's
no telling how many thousands of years
human beings Strived to do this before
somebody succeeded. It must have been a
magical moment when a human being first
brought fire into being with his or her own
hands.
To actually bring fire, everything has
to be just so. h's not something one can
fake. The design of the tools has to be just
right. All the details of the fire-making
process have to be followed carefully or no
fire appears. This sk11l, or science,
whichever you want to call it, evolved over
lhousands of years. and while there arc
minor variations in method based on local
traditions and local material:., the basic
technique is always the same. Although this
is primitive, it is very specific. Like so
many things, it's easy when one knows
how and when one pays auention.
One of the basic facts of life in
America today that 1 have yet to face up to is
the operation of a computer. I know nothing
about it. And yet everywhere people are
doing it, and for a lot of people it has
become second nature, yet for me it's still a
great mystery. But ever since I was a kid I
have been making fire by friction and
preserving hides by brain-tanning, and all of
that is about as lhrcatening to me as making
a sandwich.
K: But operating a computer involves
only the pan of our brain that works with
logic. If someone is walking out in the
woods and sees a certain crook in a certain
kind of tree, and says, "Hey! There's my
adze handle," that involves knowledge and
logic but also an intuitive sense that does
not come into play in operating a computer.
OW. Let's say ii like this: to live in
the natural world requires a much greater
level of awareness than what most modem
people are used to manifesting.
I've thought about this a lot. In my
boyhood I was around some native people
who came as close as anything I could think
of to being prototypical savages. These
were native Creek and Seminole people
living in the Everglades of Florida, who,
unlike the Cherokees of these mountains,
were not exposed to the white people's
schools and churches throughout the
nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Yes, they had some European goods;
they had guns and they had cloth; but they
spoke very liule English. The old man who
taught me how to make moccasins, for
instance, was named Billy Bowlegs III. He
welcomed me to watch him at his work,
from which I gathered that my young
sma.n-alecky level of awareness was preny
shallow compared to the level of this
100-year-old man, who from behind could
tell that a crow was in his com, grab his
single-barrelled shotgun and, hardly
glancing more than once at the crow, could
knock it dead
l.1tNJER - 1988- 89
�I saw that happen !>CVeral times when
people to go into the forest and create a
lifestyle. Put me down in the American
• hardwood forest with these basic tools.
primitive hunters in the times before
give me a linle time, and I couldn't imagine
European contact must have maintained a
a more ideal situation.
remarkable intensity of awareness to be so
totally at home in the wild environment. It's
It shocks people when I begin a
workshop by saying that w-hen they get
hard for us to imagine how finely-tuned
home from the hardware store with a
were the senses of those native people, w-ho
brand-new, American-made knife, they
lived with, and in some ways like, the
don't have a tool that is ready to use. The
animals · on the Eanh in a natuml way.
assumption is that a tool comes from the
store ready to go. The one cutting tool with
K So a simple thing like sharpening
which that is probably the case is the saw.
your knife 1s a staning point 10 reawaken
Saws work on a different principle, and
some of thnt.. ..
come from the manufacturer as good as they
DW: Surely. If I have anything real
arc going to geL
at all to offer people, something that the
But axes and knives need a whole lot
of work. It's very subtle, but the basic issue
average modem person docs not know and
needs to know, it is the knowledge of how
is the angle to whlch the manufacturer has
to sharpen a knife. That is the basic lecture
ground the bevel of the cutung edge. !l's all
that I give at almost any workshop situation
wrong for-doing practical work. h's way
that I'm in. h's the opening hand; it's the
too thick:
Before I use a br:ind~new knife or ~
foundation from which all the rest builds.
If we are going to create a viable
axe,) first do considetable filing OP it to
••
lifestyle in a natural environment, the basic : •
remove the n)etatjust behind the edge, So as
operation, upon which all the rest are built,
to taper it and thin ii down, .so it will
is to rune up a knife so ii will be performing
peni:trate wuhouL resistance. Once 1 've
done that, l hone a fine cutting edge on it
at the highest level. To do otherw11;e 1s like
asking a concen violinist to go on stage and
~with 11 stone. American.made knives
play Paganini with an inslJ'Umcnl that is out
genccally come with the bevel ground to
of tune. It's just not reasonable to do. And
40-45°, which is much too obtuse for most
cutting operations. So I immc0u11ely take a
yet that same level of ignorance is where
file and readjuSt that to an 20.25u angle.
most people are operating when they an: out
in the woods with a knife or 'an axe. Their
almost half as thick as the epge tMt they$11
tool is dull, because they don't know how
you. before I put ir 10 w6rlc. Most people
to manage it in a way that will make life
don't know to do that , h's not in the BfJ}'
easy and comfonable.
Scout Haiidbook. lt'i; not in '3ny of the
Witness the choice of word~ that we
common pl:tces where B ~rson might
have developed in the English l:in~age to
Cl';pc<;t lO iud such a thing.
say "in trouble" or "in danger." We ~·
"Sharpening the Ktiife" s my basic
"We're not out of the w6ods yet," imJ>ly"ng
sermon. It's a beginning)Jlace. It's a key
for us to open ourselves up so that we can
that to be in the wood. is to be in a
hazardous state and that we are~e and free
begin to look oeeper.
If someone is seekin& enlightenment
when we get out of the wOOds. That's the
implication. But l totally reject rhat pq1nt of
11 nd their kl!ife is dull, they have the
view, for I am safe and at home when I am ~roverbial canoe~ the horse.
~
in the woods.
\
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.It 1s .ror thnt reason that I don't
K: This priruidve lifestyle involves
an awful Jot of sophi~ticnted physic~ and
pamc1pate in any workshop where I am
advenised, and this has happened, as one engineering !
who is teaching "survival skills." That's
\
._
how the army writes its manuals dedicated
DW: That's beCnuse these arc thing
to teaching people how to hve m the narural ~ lhat peopTe haven't rhouglit vet)'. much
. nbo\lt. To sharpen a knife rcg_ujres ~IJ!Y.
environment. They call it "survival skills."
But to me survival skills are knowing how
two-minutes, once someone knows liOW.1
0
to cross Peach_tree Street without getting run
do lL
J. . , . . /
It's all relative io v.hat one bas been
over by a taxicab or how to walk through
the ci~y at night wi~out getting mugged.
exposed 10 and what one's condluoning is.
But give me my knife and set me down
It takes me at least one hour lO communicate
to someone else an understanding of what's
somewhere in the eastern hardwood forest,
going on down there where the steel meets
and I'm just like Bre'r Rabbit in the briar
patch. I'm home.
the stone. I find, however, that if someone
pays attention for an hour, then they can
K: And so "keeping your knife
bring a knife to useable condition in just a
sharp" is a way for people to live their lives,
few minutes.
even in a modem context.
K: But it's not just the knowledge
DW: Right. l call this "pocketknife
and the understanding, it's also nece!>sary to
religion."
practice the motions.
The folding knife is our basic unit. If
we have our pants on, our knife is with us
DW. That's right. Mastery comes
at all times: that's the fundamental tenet of
with repetition, but there's nnother element
pocketknife religion. Proceeding from there
as well.
to the axe and the saw, we build our holy
fn hunting, even when someone
trinity. It is knife, axe, and saw that enable
acquires a skill and can perform it well, that
I was a kid, and I've often thought that the
1
of itself is not enough. When the moment
comes to strike. one has to be able to bring
one's full auention to bear on the necessary
action. One has to be there with awareness,
or else the arrow doesn't shoot the deer
through the hean. Mastering skills like that
requires practice beforehand, but that
split-second moment of action aJso requires
a "present awareness" of an intensity most
people can't comprehend.
That is one reason I go outside and
either shoot my blowgun or shoot my bow
and arrow at least once every day. It helps
me to tune myself up, because these are
things that I have done for a long time, and I
know that I can hit the bullseye when I get
myself very calm and very still and
concentrate on that bullseye with what I
think of as "a savage intensity!
It's the same reason Ted WilJiams had
such a good batting average. A sponswriter
asked Ted one time how he could hit the
baseball so well, and Ted offered what I
thin~ is one of the most famous quotes in
Qa.seball, "I keep my eye on the ball."
Jt's simple, yes, but the difficulty lies
in hllving the presence of mind to do it in the
J>recisc moment. I know how to shoot the
bOW and the arrow, but I don't hit the
bullseye every time, because most of the
time I'm up there loafing - manifesting
verage flakey behavior. But there arc
momen~ when I wake myself up, and I
look intensely at that bullseye. I don't have
to thmk about technique at that moment; I've
practiced the technique for year.;. What is
required is tile determination, in that
moment, 10.put into practice what I Jcnow
how IO do. If· I can concenuare my aucntion
for that one split instant, the arrow goes
clean Into the center of the target. But
oftentimes I don't seem to have the
motivation to oo it at that level. Of course
ihe,old-time P,Cople living on the Eanh lrad
to do it, or they would have starved.
It may not be a weapon; it may be a
tQOI that l have in my hand. If I intend to fell
a tree with an ~e. to do it efficien~ly I have
to deliver the bu of my axe precisely to a
little pinpoint-sized spot that I pick out on
the bark. Then the next cut has to intersect
first precisely. The way most people flail
away at a tree with an axe, it looks like a
be~ver's been working t~ere, whereas a
skilled axehandler leaves JUSt a few large.
clean chips.
fill e
K· Some people are predicting an
economic collapse. saying that our whole
economic system is going to be changed on
a scale more catastrophic than the Great
Depression. Do you think that these ~kills
and the awareness they engender would be
of great practical value in a situation like
that?
DW:
I would think: so. The
awareness these skills create would be
particularly valuable. I'm not prophesying
it, but should such a coll3pse come, there is
no doubt but that we would have to do
things much differently. How we would
live, God only knows. There are not
enough deer in the woods that everyone
could wear deerskin clothing. In fact there's
((DllJinucd on p.tg~ 23)
WlNJER - 1988 89
Drawing by ROB MESSICK
JCAl.Ucm Jol.lrna!
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WORLD
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"WATCHIN' 'DEM
BOMBS GO BY"
Nlllllt&I World News Savia:
A convoy of three ~ked trucks
accompanied by five escort vehicles pulled
out of the Pantex plant in Amarillo, Texas.
The trucks carried nuclear weapons or
nuclear weapons parts. There was no way
to identify the trucks or their cargo except
by the distinctive "goalpost" antenna~ tha~
extended up the sides and over the dnvers
cabs, but they were being watched: As they
emergl!d from the plant gates, a smgle car
swung in behind the convoy, and word
flashed ahead along !heir route.
As they proceeded east along the
interstate, newspapers were alerted ~nd
sign-carrying dcmonstrntOr.> called at.tenuon
to I.lie presence of the bomb ~ruck:; m each
major city as the nuclear shipment roll~d
through town. The single sedan stayed. with
the trucks and their anned guard vch1cle$.
sometimes talking pleasantly with the
drivers over the CB radio and staying in
contact with a central switchboard in
Oklahoma City by cellular phone.
Before sunrise on the morning or
November 5, 1988 the convoy approached
their destination at Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
Thiny miles west of the town 12 more
vehicles joined their esc?"· but these cars
were unanned, full of noisy protestors. and
carried signs warning "H-Bomb Trucks
Ahead." As the trucks entered the town
limitS, the unofficial escort pulled ahead,
and as the big rigs pulled up to the gates of
the Y-12 Nuclear Weapons Components
Plant, they were greeted by shouting
demonstrators waving signs and banners.
This was Nukewatch.
During the week of October 31 November 5, tlie Oak Ridge Environmental
Peace Alliance (OREPA) joined the
nationwide Nukcwatch action by monitoring
the Y-12 Plant in Oak Ridge. Volunteers
maintained conslllllt surveiUancc at the Y-12
gates waiting for the specially designed,
unmarked "safe secure trailers" (SSTs) that
transport nuclear warheads, weapons
components, and nuclear ingredients for the
Department of Energy (DOE) .
Communication networks between Oak
Ridge. the Nukewatch headquarters at
Oklahoma City, OK and other weapons
:Kcitiuah JolU'f\Ot PQ'}e 20
installarions trncked nuclear convoys across
the nation.
. .
On the first day of monnonng,
OREPA truckwatcher Stephen Clements
followed a weapons transpon vehicle and
escon cars from the Y-12 gates, through
downtown Knoxville, and north ~n
Interstate 81 to Gaithersburg, Maryland in
the suburbs of Washington, DC. The
Washington Post followed up on the stozy,
and a reporter learned from a D~E
spokesperson that the truck wa~ carrying
97% pure, bomb-grade uranium to a
research reactor ai the Bureau of Standards
in Gaithersburg. A rcpon appeared in the
Post the next day.
The public scrutiny makes the DOE
nervous. They give possi?le t~s!'l as the
reason for their paranoia, but It 1s mo~
likely that they would rather that people did
not know that unmarked radioactive
shipments are passing down the highw~ys.
Nukewatch believes that people have a nght
to know how close nuclear war is to th.cir
personal Jives. Nuclear weapons production
becomes real to people when they realize the
truck they arc passing on the interstate 1s
loaded with parts for n~clea_r warhe~ds.
When shipments of radtoactt~e uranium
passing through an urban neighborhood
suddenly become visible~ it .brings home the
lesson that the first v1cums o f nuclear
confrontation are those affected by the
environmental hazards of nuclear production
and nuclear waste.
The Oak Ridge Enviro11mental
and Peace Alliance
Bo:c 1101
Knoxville, TN 37901
Call (evenings): (615) 588-9370
ISN'T IT OBVIOUS?
Nawral World NcWfl Savic:e
The North Carolina Forestry
Association has announced that with the
Western Nonh Carolina Development
Association's Forestry Commission it will
be launching a $30,000 "educational
campaign" to convince people in the
mountain area or the state of the benefits of
the clearcu11ing technique or logging. the
method preferred by loggers and the US
Forest Service for its economy, speed, and
ease of managcmenL
The camP,aign will be panially funded
by a $9,000 grant from the US Forestry
Association.
Clearcuuing has been coming under
strong and often bitter auack from all
manner of people in the mountain area or
Katuah. Besides being aesthetic~lly
unpleasing to humans, clearcutttng
diminishes already scarce wildlife habitat by
fragmenting valuable cover areas and
favoring yellow poplar and other
non-food-producing tree species over
valuable mast-producing species, like oaks
and hickories.
The US Forest Service: has also been
criticized for clearcumng trees on a short
rotation schedule, causing mast·bearing
trees to be removed before Ibey can enter
their period of highest produ~tivity •. and .ror
replanting clearcut areas wtth whne P.tne
trees which create vezy poor habuat
coodltions for most wildlife species.
USFS PLANSTOINCREASE
HERBICIDE USE
N.wn! Wodd News Service
The US Forest Service (USFS) has
released a draft environmental impact
statement that indicates that the age~cy
intends to increase the use of chemical
herbicides and prescribed bums in the
National Forests of the Southern
Appalachian Mountains.
The "vegetation management"
proposal covers the National Forests in. the
mountain areas of North Carolina,
Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia and Kentucky
and isolated areas in South Carolina and
Alabama a total of 5.2 million acres. It
defined V:ork in the areas of site preparation
(for planting of white pine ttees). corridor
(trails, roads, and utility linc:s> '!lainten~ce,
hazardous fuel reduction, wildlife clennngs,
and timber stand improvement operations.
The statement also considered the
impact of mechanica! and manu.al methods
of land clearing and stte preparation.
The statement was in the form of
eight alternative plans for management,
varying in intensity. The plans ranged fr~m
"no clearing" 10 clearing or preparing
173,000 acres each year. Under the most
intense regimen proposed, 3.3% of the
forest lands under study in the mountains
would be cleared or worked each year.
Herbicide use options varied from no
chemical treatment to treating 57 .~ acr~s
each year. Aerial spraying. by heh.copter 1s
considered in three of the eight opuons, and
1he alternative preferred by the USFS
provides for aerial applicauon~ ?n ru~ged
terrain and along some u11l11y lines.
Herbicide brands to be used would include
2,4-0; 2,4-DP; Tebuthiuron; Triclopyr. and
others.
.
The draft impact statement designates
a lOO·foot unsprayed buffer area around
wells, screams, springs, and private land
boundaries. and a 300-foot buffer .~ea
around private residences. No prov1s1on
was made for herbicide drift. The report
deemed that the poisonous spra}'.S ~ou!d
have "no significant effect" o~ w1ldhfe_ m
the spray areas and that se!ecuve sprar1ng
would minimize accumulauon of chemJcals
in the food chain.
These standards are unrealistic and
inadequate, and the persistent ~isoM being
used will have a strong negauve effect on
the plant and animal communities that live
on and in the forest soil and water.
Using heavy chemicals for economy
and convenience connicts with the USFS
mandate to protect the area's water sources.
The Appalachian public lands repre~~ts the
last large-scale habitat areas rem:.umng to
many species of wildlife. The l?resence of
str0ng and persistent toxic chemicals :vould
only contribute to the general degradauon.of
these already weakened and embattled hfe
systems.
.
.
Removing vege1a11on by chem1ca1
means takes money that could have
provided j~bs for moun~in ~sidents. The.se
jobs could improve the s11uat1on for counues
that have a low tax base because they
contain large percentages ofNati~nal.Forest
lands. Money spent on chcrrucals is divened
16'1.NTER. - 1988-89
�away from 1his region 10 gian1 chemical
manufac1uring conglomerates that arc major
producers of highly hazardou~ waMes.
The USFS draft environmental impact
sm1cment on vegeiation managcmcn1 seems
di-conceived and irresponsible. The public
will have the opponunity make commcnis
on the proposal until f-cbruary 17, 1989.
"Altcm:uive A," which provides for
"no treatment" is the only one of the
alternative plans that docs not in,'Olve the
use of 1ox1c chemicals. This is the bes1
choice for the fores1s until the USFS can
come up wi1h a be1tcr proposal 10 safely
manage the lands under their care.
Subm11 your comments to:
Bjorn Dahl, Fort·st Superl'isor
USDA Forest Scn•ice
Box 2750
Asheville, NC 28802
MRS HEARINGS
HeJrings on the proposed Monitored
Retrievable Storage facility for high-level
nuclear waste will be held in Atlanua, GA at
the Westin Peachtree Pl111.a Hotel from 9 am
- 5 pm on January 17, 1989.
For cronsponarion i11/orma1ion, write
Bo:c 291: Mars I/ill, NC 28754.
Biodiversity Bill Dies Will It Rise Again?
Nllllnll Wedd News Scr'liicc
HR 4335, the Nn1ional Biological
Diversity Conservation and Environmental
Research Ac1, did not pass the Congress
this year. Perhaps, however, i1 was a taste
of legislation to come as Congress auempts
to remedy what is now commonly
recognized as an environmental crisis of
monumental proportions: the mass
extinctions of other species stemming from
pollution and overdevelopment by the
human race.
The bill, sponsored in the I louse of
Representatives by Rep. James Scheuer
(D-NY) outlined a national policy for the
conservation of biological divcrsi1y and n
federal strategy for maintaining living
~ies and their habuat~ . The bill called for
a national research center devoted
exclusively to promoting understanding
about the conditioni. necessary to maintain
biological diversity and setting government
conscrvn1ion priorities. It also would have
amended the National Environmenial Policy
Act 10 insure that biological diversily y,ould
be required as a salient fac1or in preparing
environmental impac1 siatemcnis.
Ahhough the bill failed to pass the
Congress this year, it had wides11rcad
suppon and should be 11 s1rong contender
for passage in the next session of the
legislature. Write your representatives!
1"'lNTt:R. - 1988- 89
EIS ORDERED BEFORE CUT
BELOW CHEOAH BALO
Natural WDlid News Service
In 1979, during the days of 1hc
ill-fated Roadless Arca and Review
Evaluation II procedure (RARE II), the
Cheoah Bald area was the largc:.1 roadlcss
area in the National Fores1 lands in l\onh
Carolina, measuring 23,000 acres of
unbroken wild terrain. Roadlcss tracts
provide valuable wildlife habitat,
particularly for black bears, which arc
na1urally shy of roads, scnsi1ive 10 human
access, and rcquin: large, continuous range
areas in which 10 move.
Bui Cheoah Bald did not receive
wilderness designation in 1979, anCl when
the RARE II procer.s was nbandoncd, the
Fores1 Service moved quickly to cut roads
into 1hc area so that large tracts would be
removed from "roadless" status. Some
clearcuuing has already been earned out m
the area.
In 1987. however, when 1he US
Forest Service (USFS) announced plans to
clearcut ano1hcr 400 acres in 16 lr:J:CIS of
varying sizes in the Cheoah Bald area, the
Wilderness Society and other conservation
groups raised an outcry, and the USFS
consented to carr.• ou1 an cnvironmen1al
impact statement·(EIS) on the proposed
logging. This move sets a precedent,
because never before has 1he USFS
presented a full EIS for a clcarcuning
operation.
The usual procedure before a timber
sale is for a cursory "environmental
'ascr.sment" which inevi1ably produces a
verdict of "no significant impact" on the
environmen1 and rubber-stamps the timber
sale proceedings without serious
examination.
The crucial difference 1hat won the
Cheoah Bald area special consideration was
that the Appalachian Trnil passes through
the timber sale a~a. and some of the cuts
would be qui1e close to the trail, while
01hcrs would occur in vistas considered to
be among the mos1 spectacular along 1he
l,OOO·mile length of the trail. The Forest
Service's preccdcnt-seuing move, then. was
ra1her the resull of an aesthc1ic, rather than
an environmental, impact.
Other areas studied in the RARE II
proposal, the Big Creek area in Madison
County, NC, the Nolichucky area on the
.Nonh Carolina-Tennessee state line near
r:twin, TN. and the Wildcat area, which
adjoins the Great Smoky Mountains
National Park, also lie along 1hc
Appalachian Trail. Big Creek is a valuable
habiuu area as well as a scenic asset. as it
borders a wilderness area in the Cherokee
.National Fores1. that would be cxp:inded to
create an unbroken habitat area of 25,000
.acres if Big Creek were also designated
wilderness. Timber sales are planned in the
near future in Big Creek and Wilclca1, and
2,000 acn:s of the Nolichucky area arc to be
designated as available for logging, but
because of possible scenic disruption to tmil
hikers, these areas have an advantage in
their fight to ~m:Un primarily habirac :uus.
Aesthetic beauty does denote a
healthy. functioning forest community, and
it also is important for humans 10 find solace
from a ubiquitous civilization. However,
environmental needs ~ist even when they
arc no1 vi~iblc to human beings. There arc
01her roadless areas slaccd to be opened up
for clearcu1ring that will receive no special
consideration and no environmcnial impac1
Statements. Roads and timber sales will both
be pushed through in these areas, unless
citizeni> stand up for the rights of \\ildlife
and the habitat that suppons them.
Some of these areas are:
• Upper Wilson creek - 6,530 acres.
inventoried in the RARE U s1udy. A timber
sale will be proposed for this area m 1989.
• Linville Gorge Extension - 2, 138
acres adjoining the Linville Gorge
Wilderness Arca now slated to be opened
for timbering.
• Balsam Cone - a 13,529-acre area
on the eastern slope of the Black Mount.a.ins,
adjoining Mt. Mitchell State Park and
encompassing six peaks over 6,000 feet, of
which 3,400 acres arc to be managed for
shon·ienn or longer-rotation logging.
• Middle Prong Extension - 2,265
acres near the Sunburst Recrca1ion Arca on
the Pigeon River in Haywood County tha1
will be opened to longer-rotation logging.
• Snowbird Wilderness Study A~a a large 8.490 tract high in the Snowbird
mountin of Graham County, NC and
adjacent to a roadless area in the Cherokee
N:uional Forest of Tennessee containing
prime habitat area, some natural balds, and
groves of virgin timber. Thi:. area was
studied for formal wilderness designation
by the Forest Service, but wilderness sta1us
was declined in the 15 -year draft
management plan, which is presently under
appeal.
• Tusquitce Mountains - a
16,720-acrc area studied under RARF. II
;;outheas1 of Andrews, NC.
• Chunky Gui - 12,446 acres near 1he
Tu~uitcc Mountains area. 5,600 acre:; arc
slated to be opened to intensive logging.
• Southern Nantahala Wilderness
Extcnsionr. - tracts totalling 11,402 acres
that adjoin the Southern Nantahala
Wilderness Area, the Chunky Gal tract, and
wilderness areas in Georgia, studied as pan
of RARE II. 8,000 acres are proposed for
short-1enn or long·term logging, and the
'Trail Ridge road and timber sale is soon to
go up for bid.
• Fishawk Mountain - 4,890 acres
southeast of Franklin, NC that is to be
opened for shon-tcrm and longer-term
logging rotations.
For illfom1ation on how you can
participate in habitaJ preunurion ejfons on
t/1£ public lands, conuzcr:
Forest Voices
Box 1275
West Jefferson, NC 28694
{T
Petc.r Kirby
The Wilderness Society
1819 Peaclllrt'e Rd. NE
Atlanta, GA 30309
,..
p;I/
XAti&ah Journm p'"JC'- 21
�t
t:t
1
tt
41..li.r.i
lhe honeybees. Can you gather those without being s1Ung? And
lhey also cal odle.r inseclS, grubs, and rotting carrion. Do you have
lhe SIOmach for those foods?
•And in lhe fall !he bears eat lhe mast, the acoms end !he
nuts or the forest trCCS, lO ge1 faL for the win!Ct. The bears also
love lhe persimmons, pawpaws,and gropes lhlU grow in the woods,
bul the mast crops are what keep lhe bears alive in their dens.
"Wild foods arc powerful foods. Although they e.a1 li1lle
meal, black bears can grow lO 500 pounds In siz.e in these
mounlllins, although the females are generally less than I 50
pounds and the males less than 250 poWlds. Bears are strong! They
brealt branches from oak trees IO reach the tasty acorns. Bears are
fast! They can nm for eight to ten hours and can ouldisl!UlCe several
p:icks of dogs if need be. Bears are agile! They like best to run
through the thickets of lawcl and ivy IO lose their pursuers. Wild
foods give the bears their strcngth and endwance.
•Because you do not grow a black fur robe lhnl is warm and
beautiful, but are naked and hairless, I feel SOIT)' for you. You must
use olhcr furs and materials for clothing, and you musl have a den
to live in lhe year round."
And lhc Bear Old Man told them more things, and some of
the people listened carefully. and these in their own minds called
themselves the Bear Clan. and they put small images of the blnck
bear among the other objects on the swen1 lodge aliar and by their
sacred springs from which nowed their pure drinking waler.
And these humans began IO create a habimt for themselves
based on the word.s Yonah had 10ld them. They bulll lhemselvcs
dens 10 live in that were m3dc of rock boulders or heavy logs. so
1ha1 their homes were massive and cave-like, cool in lhe
summertime and wann in lhe wintcrS.
They walked I.he woods in the spring and found the wild
ramps, buL instead of enllllg !hem all, they replanted some in lhc
fore.q~ near lheir home den.~. and lhe ramps multiplied and sixcad.
They followed the c:rccks and picked lhe early branch leuuce
and ne11le leaves, but they would leave a number of lhe plant
people growing and kept lhe Slrenms running clear and
unobstructed, and always spoke a word of thanks to lhc plant
people as they gathered them, so !11at the green things would
conunuc tO feed the humans.
In their hollows and coves lhcy grew fruit 1recs, bolh
cu!Livatcd and wild, and among lhe trees they placed h1YC.10 or bees,
for they knew that this would please the Bear Old Man.
In olher fields they culLivalCd blnckberries, blueberries, nnd
raspberries close 1ogclhcr, as they grow on the mounminlops. and
m the summer they moved among the berry bushes foraging their
food much tn the manner of bears.
They tended gardens of corn, spring greens. squash,
climbing beans, and lhc roo1s of potatoes, onions, and
rich-smelling garlic. They let the polcewced. creasy greens, and
bmb,;quancrs grow, for Yonah told them the.~ greens were some
of the mo'l nutriuous of foods. Bul bccau.-.c the humans did no1
have the suong digestion of the bears, they had 10 hnng heavy
loo~ of wood lO their home dens 10 cool these foods 10 mnke them
pablllble.
In the woods the Bear Cbn encouraged lhc wild fruit trees.
The)' helped these trees wherever they found them growing by
keeping down the other uees around them 10 give lhc fruil uces
sp:icc nnd light. They spent a 101 or ume wandering through lhe
woods. jusl watching the IJ'CCS, plllDLS, and animals growing, and tn
I.he proper seasons they would come upon feasts of the succulenl
THE BEAR CLAN
Long ago, a young boy of the Chcrolcecs led his entire clan
away from I.he SCllled life of the village IO live in I.he forest. and
these people were lral'ISfonned inlO blaclc bears. Thus, says the old
Oicrokee legend. ~ the bear nation first crcalCd.
The spi:ril of the Wild Boy. who first led his people to their
new life in I.he wild, grew old and changed int0 YOO!lb, the Bear
OldMan.
Yonah returned once more 10 the sculemenlS where he had
lived before. He found his rebtives, I.he humans, much changed.
The villages were now large, and many new people lived there,
suange and different from the native people, with skins as pale as
fall mushrooms and hair of all shades of color instead of the
lustrous black of his own people's hair. Yet YoMh spoke lo lhe
humans, newcomers as well as the remnining native people, and
those who wanled IO live closely wilh the lnnd heard his words.
"You cannot wm int0 bears and come live in the foresl
with me as my people did once before. Times have changed; lhnl
way is closed, and ii perhaps may never be opened again. Bul I will
tell you what I.he bears know about living in the moumam forcslS,
Md, if you follow my insuuelions and conlinue 10 give the bears
honor and respect, you will be able 10 live here forever."
And the Bear Old Man lOld the People;
"The stcepesl mouniain land can support one female bear
for every six or eighl square miles. Males arc more of a luxury, and
the mounl3ins allow one only every 30-50 square miles.
"lmngine bemg able lO find all you needed for life within
six or eighl square miles of tnnd! You humans may no1 be able IO
do this. You do not have a warm fur coot growing on your back.
You do no< have the strong digestive system of a bear, who CM\ cal
anytlUng!
•And you humans have seriously overbrcd beyond the
capabilily of the land lo sustain you. You need to reduce your
numbers so lhat you can live with the land. lkmg crowded 10gclhcr
so closely is a filthy and dismal way IO live. Your numbcn> are so
great lhal you cannot forage in the open woods, bul must lend
certain plants and humbly serve their needs, in.'tcad of the plants
serving you, as il should be m the world.
"Truly, your lives arc going to be miserable ones indeed
until you learn IO control your numbers. The firsl duly of any
specie) of l:irgc animal is 10 cn~ure that enough off$pnng live 10
conlinue lhe Cllislcncc of the species. Bul lhe second duty of the
species is to limil lhc1r number' to what the land can pro,ide for.
Paying Ollention 10 those simple rcahues would <1erve you far
bcu.cr than your prcoccupalion with "good and evil," which in truth
do no1cx1st m the world. Yet, if )'OU aire for the water and the soil
ond lend your plants, you will be able 10 make a living in l11e
mountain.\, although you will never know the true freedom of
being a block bear m the wild world. Bui do not complain aboul
your lol, ror you have brouglu this on yourselves by your own
doing.
·em as lhe belll'S cat. Bears ea1 the CMly greens m I.he spnng
·branch lcuuce and sungmg ncu.lcs from lhc cn:cks - and dig ramps
from under the leaves on the forest noor. Squawroot is a special
food reserved for I.he bc3rs, and you canoot cal that.
"lo !he summer the bears cal the many bClncs and the fruits
• serviccberries, wild plum~. wild cherries • thaL grow on lhe
moum.ainsides. They alw fca.\t on the sweet honey 8lld lilrVae of
(conunucd on p. 26)
Print by ULA 11-IOMAS
WtNTER.. - 1988-89
�(conllnucd from page 19)
not enough wood in the woods for
everybody to heat with wood! Those of us
who do these things arc taJc.ing advantage of
unique situations which in no event would
be available to the greater population.
So I would not want people to think
that learning these skills would guarantee
their survival. The real value of learning
these old techniques is to gain a feeling of
greater self-reliance. I don't usually use the
tenn ''self-sufficient," because it would be
foolish under any circumstances to uy to be
totally sufficient unto one's self. But I think
that to be more self-dependent is a great
virtUc. Going into the woods and learning
to identify ccnain plant and animal species
can help you in your life - even if you never
have to know them to survive.
Another economic shakedown is
certainly possible. I don't know whether it
will ever come to that, but 1 do know that
when I am able to do something even as
basic as being able to identify the plants and
the other animals of the forest, I gain a kind
of self-respect that helps me go on and face
up to whatever it is that has to be done.
K: But doesn't it also add a sense of
depth and meaning to the processes of life?
DW: It cenainly does for me.
Strangely enough, when I am doing my
thing right, concentrating totally on what I
am doing, I sometimes get a linle flash of
insight into the fact of our monali1y. Death
is an aspect of life that is important to face,
but most people in our culture prefer to
avoid it. We would rather live as if we were
never going to die, as though we could
maintain our present state of existence
indefinitely. But if we look at it for just a
moment, the obvious conclusion is that we
are mortal: our bodies arc going to perish
and in some way go back to the Eanh. And
when I am living my life correctly, I am
preparing for my death by getting myself a
little calmer and a little bit more in tune with
the overall plan.
K: Coming to terms with that has a
lot to do with achieving that "savage
intensity," doesn't it?
DW: I think it does. Exactly! To live
life to the fullest is what we are talking
about. That's what real "savage intensity"
is: right there in that moment to let this fine
brain that our species has inherited be
working in such a way that it's got us
breathing the most air, hearing the most
sounds, smelling the most smells, and
seeing all that we can see in that moment,
fully. And when that happens we are not at
all self-conscious about it.
K : If one were self-conscious, it
wouldn't be happening.
DW: That's right. In that state the
brain is not thinking as much as it is
processing the natural senses. Then
anything we do and anything that happens
arc spontaneous responses.
K: There is also a beauty to a
spontaneous action, because it is instinctual,
naturally graceful, and right.
DW: Often times I get too romantic
about this aspect of my work, but I do
believe that there is enough substance there
that I can insist 1ha1 when everything i~
1. st.um&Ce4 upon tt.
wnUe watcfil.rn.J a &I.rd t.n fCLcfot.
on one of those flrst. wuUl.s t.firou!Jh t.fie wooc!s
of my mountoln home
reU int.a l.t mmost.
&ut was lns tont(y &«Mn &y Us lmmcnsi.ly
Thls 9l.anl.. remnant of fmun &.fell, r..runfl. sia(a(;Jmtus rcad1lntJ
t.ft.yward
um( trotted over surrounded by Hs ci..rcfo
aU of me f ithnlJ msidc the cirdc
ant( 1 watd\a( the
uy
und h .r.t.crwd t.o llw voi.ccs from whuc the r oo ts had. &«.n
and r..hcy t.oCd m e thc st.or I.cs
. . . of the 9i.unt trees •. of thc t~mc when thc chcstnut.s
towued over thc mounwins
.... uu 'i'-'"ns
anc! l f t!t part of I.he cages whU:fi arc t.hi.s (Qnd
and h."'w 1. was welcome.
kllNTER. - 1988-89
Drawing by MAR1llA TREE
flowing just right, I have momenlS lha1 arc
almost ecsraric.
When shooting the blowgun,
sometimes as I raise it up, I can feel where
the cen1er of lhc target is. And when I shoot
il, I can sense the flight path of the dan, my
consciousness follows i1 all the way 10 the
bullseye, and I know even before it hits that
it's going to be right on the mark.
Other times I might be working on a
piece of wood at my bench, and, although I
know I am shaping it, I'm not aware of any
intellcc1uaJ process going on. I'm just aware
that my body is moving in a rhythm, and
that a wonderful result is occurring between
this natural material and the tool I am
holding, which m many cases I have made
myself.
Even though I will never get rich
doing what I do, the possibilicy for making
a modest living and at the same time
enjoying myself is going to keep me a1 it the
rest of my life, as long as I have eyes and
breath. Again, it's what I think people are
seeking through spirirual disciplines that are
supposed to lead to enlightenment or
happiness. When it's done well, this very
ordinary, everyday process of creating
useful things for a living can accomplish
that.
That's why I, with mock seriousness
and yet with real sincerity, say that this is
religion 10 me, this business of tools and
material and trying to c:1;trac1 the best I can
from them. In doing so. I realize my highest
potential and that of the tools and the
material - having them all working together.
�DRUMMING
LETIE RS TO KATUAH
Dear KO!Uah,
Have you ever wondered why so few Americans have suff.cient
interest in environmental problems, and their solutions, to join
organizations, such as the National Audubon Society, (one of the largest
environmental organizations with a membership of only about 0.2
percen1 or our population) and support i1 in its efforts to solve our
environmental problems?
Dear K01Uah,
... I found the Ka1Uah Journot at a restaurant named Stooc Soop in
Ashe,•ille, NC and was nourished by both. J found the work you are doing very
empowering and wish you all good energies in continuaLion. Tiie EARTH is
healing thanlcs to us all!. ..
Sincerely,
Maria Tncp:icz
DearK.J.,
Greetings in the light. I'm writing to thank you for the Fall issue. Also
thanks for printing my letter in the "Wcbworking" section. The Kim Sandl:ind
anicle "Gin of the Chestnut• was very informative. My prayers arc with you.
I'm the prison librarian. I place copies or KJ. on the magwine rack when I run
through with them.
With love, in peace,
Riek
And upon Mocher Earth I crouched,
And the Voice wns within ....
New Beginnings
from the Drum quietly echoed.
New Begionings
from the fcathcrcn:atioo in prayer.
New Beginnings
in lhecircle of service for my
brothers and sislefli
as
my oolh providcth for mankind
your feather lay gently
when the Drum had 'llOken....
simply the lasting vision,
New beginnings,
all my relauves.
- Bern Gn:y Owl
Dear KatUah,
...I was in W. Virginia for the fll'St ume this spring for
the Wildflowcr Festival m Blacltwater Falls State Parle- it was
grc:u Cun! Met a man there leading a field trip who had this
lfemendous encrgy...a native of W. Virginiit..He said he got up
every morning and said: "This day is gomg to be a 101• and
added "It usually is.• This prompled the following poem:
Yesterday is aln:ady gone ..•
Tomorrow will get here when ...
Today is all I've really gOL..
And It's gonna be a 10!
Many than.ks,
Barbara Wickersham
Knoxville, Tenncsste
Drawing by ROB MESSICK
You could take any 300 Americans, load them on n jumbo jet LO
some dcstinatioo, and there would be immediale and great con<:cm when
they had the slightcsl awareness of any problem with lhe plane's
environment. indicated by such events as decrease m cabin pressure,
increase in cabin temperature. sudden appcamnce or unnatural odor, etc.
And everyone, or course, is concerned when there are immediate and
obvious changes in the earth's environment in their vicinity. Who is
bored when they arc aware of an eanbquakc. volcanic eruption, tidal
wave, hurricane or tornado?
Yet very rew people I know, especially from my former habitat
(Long Island, NY) exhibit any emotlon, other than polite, sbon-term
interest, turning tO boredom, when I try to discuss the implications of
the discovery of a large bole m the 01.one layer in the atmosphere over
the South Pole. Their general viewpoint is something like •1 don't sec
how they can say It LS caused by escape to atmosphere of chemicals used
as refrigerants or aerosol propellants. Anyway, it is all to teehnical ror
me, and I don't believe there's anything to worry abou1 anyhow.•
A high government official, when told destruction of the ozone
layer could cause a great increase in the incidence of skin cancer.
responded with "People will have to learn to use more sunmn cream,
wear hats and wear datlter sunglasses.• This, or course, is hardly a viable
solution to the problem
In regard to the acid rain problem: it is rather difficult for the
non-teehnically oriented person to undcrsllll1d and accept bow smoke
from powethousc stacks containing combusuon products or a fuel
contaminnm (sulfur) can be convened, at very high altitudes, through
contact wi1h the ozone layer in the presence of the ultra-violcl
component of sunlight. into another gas. This. when absorbed into
water (rain, snow, or fog) in the aunosphere produces sulfuric acid.
Up on Long Island I listened to radio station WNEW. The ir
weather man seemed to be environmentally con<:emcd, so I wrote and
suggested he give. as a pan of his repons. the acidity (ph) of the most
recent precipitation to indicate its potcntial to cause acid ram damage.
He replied, · 1 think it is a good idea, but since acidity is expressed as ph
few people would under.;tand whal I was rallcing abouL Therefore, there
would be liule interest in the data.•
People, when faced with problems hard 10 understand and whose
solutions will cost them and change their lifestyle prefer, instead, to
look for and emphasi7.e reasons, mostly irrelevant, which will allow
them to believe there are really no problems and to proceed on the basis
that everything is alright.
II might be well to reeall tha1 in January 1987 ano1her
spaceship, the Challenger, and its crew were destroyed because lhosc in
ch3rge ( exccutiv~ of NASA and M<>rton-Th1okol) refused to listen to
their engineers about a problem with its boostet rockc1 seals. They
continued to proceed with the launch to save money. save face. and
maintam a good press. One of the results or their proceeding was that
they did none of the above.
One can only hope the same fmc does not befall the spaceship
Earth because of the ~me short-sighted, mista.ken awwdc on the pan of
the go,'CITlmcnt and the public m, so far, refusing to heed the advice and
warnings of expens and envll'Ollmentalists on the problems mcntJoncd.
as well as on many more.
There is one cond1uon that might prevent it. Those "m
authority" might come to their senses soon enough to prevent it because
they, also. arc ridmg this space ship. (edited)
J. J. Combes
Newland, North Carolina
ltJlNTER. - 1988- 89
�The Third
Dear Sirs:
t-.1r. Runer was in town last week nnd solved my puulemcnt. Earlier in the
month I hlld received the autumn issue o( your journal and had no idea who sent ii.
Wh:it a ~utiful piece of work on my favourite subject • the American Chc.~tnut.
I re:id every word nnd learned so much. Would you please sent me four copies
of this issue tO be used in my missionary work with <;0mc friends in Pcnnsylv:mia.
There are st.ill rolks up there who remember the talcs their folks told of this
1ru1gnificen1 tree.
Yours truly,
J.N. Salv1ro
Kensington. MD
NEW ZEALAND(IP
CHESTNUT
GROWERS ASSOCIATION INC.
P.O. Box 1328, lnvercargill
New Zealand
Dear Sir:
We would be pleased 1f you could supply us w1lh a copy or the Fall 1988 ediuon or
the KatUah Jourlll.ll which has cx1ensive nniclcs covering chcslllut rcscatth.
Cordially yours.
NEW ZEALAND CHESTNUT GROWERS ASSOCIATION INC.
ERNEST NEW
Executive Director
Dear KmUah,
Carolyn and I just got your letter and papers t1us morning. The enclosed
paper has been in circulat.ion for two years:
"You art invittd to con1emplme tht idta btlow, to sinctrtly short your idtas
about a just and ptactful world:
Cltarly lift on tht planet is in jeopardy. What will it takt to revtrst tht /tar,
tht weapons, the pollution, tht monopoly, tht inttr'Vtn/Wn ...and project Uft toward
abundance, coopuation, and environmental and social compassion? /low can wt
txperience such a miracle? "Consciousness crtatts form" /Seth/. PleaJe bt
prac11cal. fless than 500 words/ Art you willing to bt published? __yes _no.
Please include your llD.ml!, address. and a short tkscriptwn ofyourself.
It is our intention to circulate tht comributions, to create a conllnuwn and an
on-going forum
Facts. feelings. ideas. positivt creations art welcomed.
Transformation is inevitable. It is cltarly the will of the human race to live on
abundantly wt// into thtfuturt. Spirit awakn!
Send your responses to:
NamMt~ Consciousness
Box578
Ctnter Barnsttad, NII 03225
P.S Feel fret to copy and distribute"
My answer is: That best friends must bond around common pnnciples: to
share. care, heal, and enhance life locally in BIOCELLS by the thousands in every
BIOREGION. Each aulonomous cell is joined to the biorcgion by commitment to
the values.
Please share this invitation to respond with your readers.
Thanks,
Bruce
Center Barnstead, New Hampshire
I've got news for you. A Higher Jntclligencc has hlld me to know some
information about the way the Universe functions. What I learned was tha1 the
computers that we arc all growing so fond or arc a Gacan trick. The plan is Iha! the
h~man race will dump all their intelligence into those neat plastic boxes, then Gaea
will tum off the power. and it all will be gone. Then we'll be free! And we'll find we
dJdn'l need It anyway.
love.
l
..,'\.NTER. - 1988- 89
hildegardc
North American
Bioregional Congress
by Lisa Franklin
This summer I represented Katuah at the third Nonh
American Bioregional Congress (NABC Ill) held in a small
outdoor school nonh of Vancouver. B.C. Magical things had
happened to me while traveling on route to the congress, so I
came expecting more. 1 wasn't disappointed. It seemed that
an incredible exuberance just bubbled out of everyone.
At the morning circles we shared songs. information
and a sense of harmony that spread 1hroughoul 1he day. The
committee mceungs revealed an amazing array of qualified
and .in~onne~ individuals s~aring their ~nowledge. Some
spectaltzed in water qual11y, some in permaculture,
education, forest management, green cities, herbs. dow~ing,
etc.
Ideas were bounced around, scenarios entenained, and
a lot of creative. intellectual energy zipped about. The
previous congress resolutions were reviewed and any
proposed changes were brought before the plenary during the
last couple of days. This process was an inspiration to me
personally, and several different projects are now a part of
my life due to these idea sessions.
1 have begun working on an All Species Project in the
Asheville Alternative School and have been working with
education about organic agriculture and promoting local
production of organic produce. The proceedings from NABC
111 will be published in the spring of 1989 and will give
explicit deiails of the comminee discussions, their decisions,
and 1he plenary votes on issues brought before the whole
assembly.
Throughout the congress we were honored with
presentations from various native peoples from Tunle Island.
During many of these, we wept openly for the pain in their
lives which they shared with us. We took to heart the plea for
help that was extended by them. These people are asking to
be allowed to live their Lnlditions, as arc all native peoples
around the world, so that this spirituality can help to heal the
planet. May we each do whatever we can to let il be so.
The evening biorcgional presentations were a stream
of creative, honest ways of sharing the pain, humor and love
felt for the different partS of Tunic Island and the state of the
environment. The presentation for lhe Karuah bioregion was
well received and consisted of a Cherokee welcome song, a
creation myth, a slide show accompanied by banjo picking,
poetry, stories of home and family, and slides wi1h
commentary on lhe soulhem Appalachian trail
Late night drumming and dancing helped folks
loosen up after lots of intellectual discussion. It was a time
for physical expression and fun.
In the shon period of one week, we 300 or so people
bonded togclher into a tribal group, which no one wanted to
leave. Throughout 1he week, each person was working,
talking, lhinking, living, and breathing to find ways for all of
us to exist in greater hannony with our Mother Earth and all
the living things on it. We realized that we were seeds to help
the next shifl in consciousness happen and that we can help
the earth survive by loving her and not getting discouraged,
and by allowing that love to come lhrough our intellect to
solve problems. So at the week's end, reaffirmed in the
purpose that brought us together, we allowed the wind to
scatter us again so that each could set in motion the changes
needed everywhere to evolve life lo another level of
awareness. This is the energy that can help prevent worst
case scenarios in world problems and bring about change. I
am honored to have been a pan of it.
To obtain a copy of the Proceedings ofthe Third North
American Bioregional Congress, send $8.00 to:
Seth Zuckerman, P.O. Box 159, Petrolia, CA 7555
¥
Xo"'°" Journal ~ 25
�(continued from page 5)
each time it rained, so they moved on. They
still had water enough to drink, but the land
would no longer produce food.
Flash floods might come through my
little cove and take out my bottoms, as
happened to the Anasazis. The creekbcd
might suddenly become such a gorge that I
couldn't build a bridge across it, because it
was draining such a big torrent each time.
On the other hand, a mudslide might come
down the valley, and where my house and
fields once were, might suddenly be tree-top
high with ~ clay and boulders. That might
be the way of it I am not very optimistic.
As the cycle deepens, big fronts of
weather will be created. When big fronts get
moving, they move farther before they can
be dissipated. Strong, fast-moving cold
fronts could come down out of Canada. The
Sll'Onger they are, the further south they a.re
going to go. There may be routine freezes
in Miami at that lime, because the turbulent
weather will suck the winter fronts further
south, meaning more violent snow, cold, or
whatever, with each approaching front As
soon as a cold front dissipates, there may be
a SIJ'onger front approaching from the south,
bringing up warm, moist air or rainstorms
that thaw the ground and confuse the plants'
growing cycles. All one can say for sure is
that the climate will become turbulent and
unpredictable.
In ages past as the Earth evolved and
the climates changed, as in the wanning and
freezing periods in the time of the ice ages,
the process of change was a gradual one
talcing place over thousands of years. Plants
and animals had a chance to migrate, and
everything could adjust to maintain the
equilibrium. Species were extirpated,
cenainly, but many life-forms were able to
maintain their range in suitable habitat
conditions.
That is not the case this time. The
most disastrous element of these changes is
that everything is happening so fast, that
this time the desen plants in Arizona will not
have a chance to migrate to Kauiah to
replace the forest trees. And the plnnts here
are not going to have a chance to migrate to
New England or to some place more
habitable. They are simply going to die! The
difference is that this change is an artificial
one; it is not induced by natural causes. The
whole world is threatened, and, like a
patient thrashing around in a fever delirium,
the change is going to be convulsive and
simultaneous. There are not going to be safe
havens to flee to, because the change is
going to be happening everywhere at once.
It is going to be world-changing. It is going
to take a high toll on the animal and plant
species we live with today.
With the vegetation gone and the
soil gone from the hillsides, the damage
done will be permanent. There will come a
time when the world will get weuer again,
but it might be in 100,000 years. Of course,
we might get lucky and it might take only
10,000 years. To regenerate the vegetation,
of course, would take eons longer than that,
but I do not believe that conditions here will
ever again be the same as they are now.
The greenhouse effect is a cycle
already in motion, and it's not going to
Stop. The government does not even admit
that there is a problem yet The government
admits we are in a drought, but they assign
it to natural causes and will not admit that
the pollution, the ozone, or the nuclear
waste, are threats to our survival. The
government has just begun to mention skin
cancer as a possible effect of the degradation
of the atmosphere. Skin cancer is the least
of it! It may take 20 years to get skin cancer,
and someone could starve in six weeks.
The governments will recognize the
problem in a few y~ when it is too late to
do anything about it. Even if they said
tomorrow, "We've got a serious problem.
We're going to cut all traffic, you can only
use your vehicle half as much. Burn half as
much gas. Bum half as much wood. We're
going to shut down half the plants. We're
going to cut worldwide energy use in half,"
it would still be too late.
In the first place, a cutback in energy
consumption will never happen as long as
the profit motive is the first priority. But
even if we could make an immediate change
in the way we live, we might slow the
oncoming cycle down or we nU$ht not slow
it down at all, but we are not going to avoid
it. At this point it is snowballing. The
causes are all tied together, they are already
in motion, and I do not see any way that we
are not going to have to bite the bullet. We
caused the problem, and we are going to
have to face it. Basically Tdo not feel called
to conjure or to pray for relief from this
problem, because the only relief now is a
healing, a realignment of the Earth's
energies.
AJJ that we can do now is to try to
avoid contributing to the problem, do what
we can on behalf of the world environment,
let people know what is happening, and
prepare ourselves physically, mentally, and
spiritually for whatever future is coming.
But just in case, I'm going to plant
some cottonwood trees around my place and
put some western chokecherries in along the
creek.
Lylich Crabawr is an Appalachian
native of Scottish descent. He lives with his
family in a moUlllain cove also inhabited by
turkeys, hawks, owls, a pileated
woodpecker, gnomes, and others of the
Little People. He wrote on "Circles of
Stone" for Katuah Journal 1110.
_,
(continued &om page 22)
wild fruits freely offered.
They also encouraged the young nauve chestnut trCCS with
prayers and songs, and whenever they chanced t0 find a U'CC bearing
nutS, these were e:igerly distributed to all parts of the region and
planted, wntchcd. and aided. Their efforts began to produce results.
for more and more cheSUlut trtcS began to grow without the killing
disease cankers. The magic of the Beat Clan was known to be
powerful, because it was causmg the chesuwt trees IO appear where
they h3d dlsappeared before.
In olhcr fields the Bear Clan planted nut uec.~ • cultivntcd
chestnulS. filberts, and walnuts - and they mode sure to gnlbcr
acorns from the foTCSt each year (su K:11Uah /19 - ~ds.), so that in
the fall among the Bear Clan lhcrc was a frenzy of activity when,
lilce the bears, they hurried to store enough food for the winter
But, because they could not line their bodies. with fnt like their
relatives the bears. they lined the insides or their home dens with
dried foods and nuts tO last them through the winter months when
snow covered the mountaintop.s and nothing grew through the
frozen ground.
Because they did not have the powerful mow teeth of the
bears lha1 could crush hickory nuts and acotru1 to a fine powder,
they hlld to grind lhe.ir foods between stone wheels. This they did
and combined the com and nw flours together inlO the llllt cakes
they tiokcd in their healed ovens.
One winier sciveral families tried swallow111g fecal plugs. a.~
the bears do to close their systems, so they oould fast and steqi
through the winier months, but that expcrimCTit came to a messy
end, and they round thnt they were humw after all. with human
limitations and a human nature that they hnd IO follow.
By living like the bears. the Bear Clan came to be more
like the bcnrs in their bodies and their ways. They tended 10 be
heavy and hairy. The men were strong, oftentimes quanelsomc, and
sometimes ferocious, even among others or their own clan The
molhcrs were wide. soft, and co1y, with enormous laps to snuggle
into. Tiie young women were also large, and were known as strong
fighlCIS if aroused, and ricrocly 1ndcpendcnt. Tiie women ruled the
home dens, and the cave-like shcllCIS were wann retn::11S where food
was plentiful even 111 wanter, and the young ones grew rapidly.
Among their own the Bear Clan were mostly jovial.
fun-loving, and playful. But lil:c their relatives in the woods, they
were somcumes moody. seemingly inOucnced in a dramatic wny by
the cycle of the seasons and the tides of the moon.
Bear Old Man saw the many changes, and he was glad. He
visited the Bear Clan often and brought them the best dreams
during the long nights of winter. Many or the dreams were
personally enhghlClling. others granted special powers of healing or
working with the elements, while others were strange or prophetic.
so that the Bear Clan shared a deep knowledge among themselves,
although 11 was never spoken.
And the Bear Old Man spoke ID the mount.ain spirit.s, and
they provided well for those who followed the way of the block
bears, and the Bear Clan lived full lives for generations beyond
counung In the hills of Katilah.
,,#
p
WtN'TEJt - 1988-89
�(corwnucd from page 13)
experiences as well as pleasurable ones. So if we deny our p:un, we never get lO
grow up. we never have to grow up (we 1maginc)... wc'll be "forever young" ...
The cruel irony is that this "faith" has been turning us int0 a culture of
spoiled, self-indulgent "takers" who want nothing more than to suc..le at the
breast of our bountiful tcchnolog1cal "mother". Think about TV-bound "couch
potatoes"; tremendous use of both legal and illegal drugs: the fanuwic rise in "Cast
foods". "convenience" storCS, and quick fixes of every description. The need for
immediate gratification is an infantile trait, and inability to dc:il with p:iin is a
sure sign of emotional and spiritual imm111.urity.
This siren of pain avoidance can be extremely elusive and dangerous
because its message often comes across in a cheerful, breezy, thoroughly
innocuous way, as if getting rid of pain was such an obvious benefit that nobody
could even question iL The real meaning is far from cheerful, though. The
underlying theme invariably implies that life on Eanh i.\ difficult and painful, so
we need to create an artificial, human-made reality to escape from our fear and
pain. This is expressed quite openly in most drug advcrtisemenis--and then people
nnively wonder why we have such a "drug problem" m this country! In one ad for
a "p:iin-ltiller", a jaunty, successful businesswoman is portrayed in action. while
the background music sings. • r haven't got time for the pain, I haven't got room
for the pain, etc.".
But what happens to the pain we supposedly get rid of? What if pain is a
messenger, come 10 tell us of a potential or present problem in our lifestyle?
What then? Answer: we've lost (at least temporarily) a clue LO our health and our
inner identity. But the pain will show up somewhere (or sornellmc) else, JUSt hke
our garbage on the beaehcs--thc problem is merely put off and avoided, not really
gotten rid of at all. Obviously, we haven't succeeded in our quest 10 eradicate the
problems and pain of living-in fact, we seem to have increased them, if we look
at what's happening around us. The truth is, It's impossible to outwit nature, and
pain and pleasure arc both natural aspecis of life. Pain is a signal, a vital
indicaior. Denial of pain is really denial of information that is being relayed to us
by our body/being.
Only if we're willing lO embrace the full range of cmotions--lO experience
the hcighLS of rapture and the depths of pain-are we able to reach full maturity.
Our planet and our cul lure is in a massive "healing crisis", and we as individuals
need to be able to empathize with the p:iin our world is expcriencing... thc pain of
the animals, the planlS, the sky, the oceans.... not deny it, if we arc to be able lO
assist in the healing. And we need to feel our own pain and the pain of our
brothers and sisters everywhere. if we arc to develop compassion, wisdom. and
wholeness. There is no quick fix, and the only way out 1s through.
The Siren or lud ividualibm 1o1ud Nou -com mun io ri
This Siren works to undermine our sense of interrelatedness and
community. The frontier-era ethic of "rugged individualism" seems lO have given
way to a consumer-Oriented ethic of "p:issive individualism" ·-which combines the
isolation and separateness of the former with the neediness and passivity of the
"ideal consumer".
There arc, however, powerful human needs which can only be met through
communicauon and interaction, and when community breaks down, no amount of
consumption of things can fill this gap. The truth is that we arc individuals and
members of many diffeccnt communities-both social and natural. But in western
culture we've made individualism our god and tried Lo banish the idea of
community, even associating it with "Communism".
Some striking examples of individunli.sm run ramp:int are:
The glorijicaJion of the auJol'fWbile and the tkcline of railroads, trolleys and other
forms ofpublic transportOJiorr. Most cars on the road have only one or two people
in them. walled off from others within their mobile mctalhc box. Work. home,
friends arc often great disl3Jlccs from each other and so the dependency on the
aut0mobilc is reinforced. Urban design often glorifies the car more than human
interaction so the isolation becomes more "set in stone".
The tkJ)<ndency orr recorded SOWlds. Creating music used to mcan getting togc1hcr
with other people. either to listen or 10 play an instrument or sing. But toda> it's
much simpler to JUSL put on a record or a casscue without having LO socialize or
put out any cffon. This is wonderful up to a point-·but when people arc out in
public with tiny earphones in their ears, oblivious IO the sounds of life :iround
them, and intent only on lheu inner cxpcnencc, perhaps it's become another way
to create separation and isolation and to deny rclatiomhip.
"/he corrtinued diminishment of J)<Oplts' ho~ life. The M>Cial dimension of
homclifc has been steadily shrinking--from the cxtcndcd family, lO the nuclear
family, lo :.inglc-parcnt familie:., t0 couple$ living together -..ithout children, to
people living alone. The extended family has practically disappeared m western
culture. And aclual homelessness has been increasing at a very frightening pace as
well.
JlNTER - t 988-89
the l'fWVt towards instantarrtous food. Eating used LO be a basic, shaied form of
communion. But today, cooking and c:iting togclhu i:; no longer nccessruy-cxccpt
for rare holidays. Instcad,the food industry offers us thOU!i:lllds of prcfabricalCd
foods. Wlmt we've lost in term~ of nunurance nnd nourishment 1s noc made up for
by the variety and convenience of industrial food products. There is also a
profound difference between supcrmarkelS and old-world style markets
-supermarkclS are not conducive lO socializing.
Siren or Spir ilual Mater ialism and Dependency
Even those who are "aware• can be caught by consumption mania and the
drive for "more", whether it is material . psychological, or spiritual.
Mother Teresa, while visiting the US, felt strongly that Americans are the
poorest people she'd ever seen-lost amidst a multitude of possessions. separated,
starving for love, she said. With little cultuml acknowledgement or suppon of
the non-material dimension, it's often hard to maintain awareness of our inner
essence. Thus, we may be 1ost' in this deeper sense as well. This loss of self leads
directly lo the povcny of soul Mother Teresa describes.
The result, of course, 1s that we look outside ourselves for our power and
satisfaction. We often project our own power onto authority figures or 'sy~tcms'
such as churches, astrologers, psychics, doclors. 'channelling', and spiritual
groups. We then look to these sources for dirccuon, validation. The guidance
received may be quilc helpful. but the use being made of 11 fosterS unheahhy
dependency. The emptint$ and hunger underneath IS sull there, as is the denial,
the desire to gloss 11 over. But u is only through jOUmeying inio the hean of that
emptiness that the cycle can be broken, and our inner abundance can f1owcr.
To be and feel abundant is a state of experienced "beingness•-a stat.e of
wholeness, fullness. satisfaction. love, gratiludc. Gratitude is the essence of true
prosperity consciousncss--to embrace all of life, to be humbly and truly
appreciative of our daily food. our breath, our friends, our growth--even our pain.
It is a deep reeogn1uon of, and rcspecl for, the inter-connectedness of all living
things.
The
All of these Sirens, and others, are best able to entrap us when
we feel ourselves alone, separate from the human community and
from the wider Eanh community. When we feel rooted in the wider
Reality of the true human spirit and of nature, the consumption
mentality has less of a hold on us. In fac1, it becomes decidedly
unreal.
Our culture wilh iLS emphasis on constant consumption hides
an elemental cruth from us -- one 1hat is essential for us to rediscover
in breaking our bondage to the consumer mentality: namely, that
"emptiness" is an imponnnt aspect of any essenrial growth cycle. It is
only when we are able 10 appreciate a stale of true emptiness (the
'creative void') ... thal we are capable of seeing what we need and
what we don't need...that we are able to see the amazing abundance
of creation. It is then, in a spirit of gratirude and humility, that we are
able to experience our own inherent abundance.
When we experience this 'beingness'., we no l?nger ha~e lo
heavily iden ifv ourselves with our belongings, beliefs, projects,
money, etc. We no longer need to create our identity that way.
Human beings do seem to be "identifying". creat.ures, 1hough--so our
only option is to upgrade what we. tdenufy with. As.we l~am lo
identify with more universal, fulfilhng values and re~nt10nsh~ps, we
can honestly feel complete with or without those things which we
"consume" or have been "atLaChcd to".
We who believe in conscious growth and a deeper sense of
prosperity for ourselves and lhe planet ha~e the res.ponsibility of
re-creating community and ways 10 share this sense ~th each other.
Ritual sharing, celebration, and all the . vaned forms of
communication/ communion are things we need in order 10 feel 1n1ly
alive to feel prosperous and fulfilled. This is so imponant--and we
have 'so much to unleam...and so much to learn about living together
and with ourselves and the Eanh. But we've got to do il, if we truly
wish to enjoy the abundance that's available to all of us an<! the entir~
Life community. True abundance is a fonn of love, and like love, .tt
grows when we share it, and it withel'!t when we gra~p and clutch 11
tightly 10 ourselves.
�The Planetary Initiative
The Watauga
Land and Water Conservancy
"Open land and pure water for
all...for all time to come" is lhe motto of lhe
Waiauga Land and Water Conservancy, a
group forming to work in the upper
drainage basin of lhe Watauga and New
Rivers.
The group is not an advocacy group,
and want to reach out across all political
lines to form a broad-based group to acquire
wilderness and agricultural land through
donation and purchase. They envision
leasing land to farmers when appropriate
technology would be employed.
The Conservancy is still in the
fonnarive stage. 501 (c}3 non-profit status is
being sought.
For more information, contact: Gay
Gingrich (704) 963-5614 or Lowell Hayes
at (704) 963-5835.
• Su.son Rttd
DE.51GNS
by Rob Messick
lllus1ra1lon & Design
In Pen & Ink and Colore<I Pcnc II
An estimated 1.5 billion people will
be participating world-wide for the third
annual World Healing Day, an international
observance aimed at raising our awareness
of global issues. The event is unique in that
all participants will be located around the
world in more than I 00 countries, and all
services will be held at 12 noon Greenwich
time, 7:00 AM EST. More than 500
peace-related organizations and all major
religious faiths will be included in lhe event,
with emphasis on prayer, meditation, and
song creating a global mind link ac one hour
in time to express the desires of people to
live on planet Eanh.
The initiative was originally taken by
the Texas based Quanas Foundation in
1984. The first World Healing Day was
held on December 31, 1986. with more than
500 million participants. The size of the
global event grew to 800 million in 1987.
The event is presently coordinated by
the "Planetary Commission", a world-wide,
non-denominational, non-political organization without headquaners, structure, or
fundraising activities.
Interested persons are invited to
attend the local observances.
(In Asheville, NC: local
observances will be December 31, from
6:30 11111il 8:00 AM at Central United
Methodist Church, 27 Church Srreet. For
further information contact Gloria Free ar
(704) 274-7539, or James Cassara at (704)
252-2819.)
Workshops. ..
at Ille NC BiodomeCommuniJy
Waynm-lflt, NC (704) 916 0273
Integration of Creative Landscape
Design
Instructor: Bob Gow
The family's food & family fun; Landscaping
shelter for animals and friends; Food
production as an artistic expression; Designing
our evolving bioregional landscape
J a n. 21 $30 (or $25 w/ other garden or
herb workshop)
The Herbal Medicine Chest
lnstructor: Cindy Heath
Herbal Remedies that may ta.Ice lhe place of
aspirin, antihistamines, antibiotics. pain killers
and other commonly used drugs.
We will be making an herbal remedy to take
home.
February 4 $30 (or $25 w/ other garden
or herb workshop)
Relationship Enrichment
lnstructors: Jofannie Karla & Marie Rocchio
A workshop for commiued couples.
Overnight arrangemcntS available.
For infonnation: (704) 926-1625
March 4 & S $185 per couple
The Nursery for Home Use and Profit
Instructor: Bob Gow
Exploring gounnct vegetable production,
flower and herb cultivation, rock gardens, &
landscaping with native cultured materials.
March 28 $30 (or $25 w/ other garden or
herb workshop)
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�WORKSHOP ON
FORMING A
LOCAL LAND TRUST
The Nonh Carolina Natural Heritage
Foundation announces a two-day training
conference on March 17-18, 1989 to assist
people in forming a land trust (local land
conservancy) and designing land prote~tion
projects. The goal of the conference 1s to
assist the formation of more non-profit land
protection organizations and to strengthen
the communications network between
people and organizations interested in
protecting the land.
.
Topics covered at the workshop will
include: definition and history of landtrusts;
organizing, building, and maintaining a land
trust organization; land protection methods;
and tax laws. A training manual and
extensive reference materials will be
provided.
The workshop will be held at the
Ka nuga Episcopal Center near
Hendersonville, NC. The event is expected
to cost $90 per person, which includes two
night's lodging and five meals.
For registration information, write to:
The NC Natural Heritage Foundation
P.O. Box 11105
Raleigh, NC 27604
or call
The NC Natural Heritage Program at:
(919) 733-770 I
'.M-'.EDlClN'.E ALLl '.ES
In the traditional Cherokee Indian belief.
the creatures in the world today are only
diminuitive forms of the mythic beings who
once Inhabited the world, but who now reside
in Galuna'ti, the spirit world, the highest
heaven. But a few of the original powers broke
through the spirilual barrier and exist yet m the
world as we kno w ii. These beings are called
wilh reverence •grandfathers·. And of them,
the strongest are Kanatl, the lightning, the
power of the sky; U/sa·nati, the rattlesnake.
who personifies the power of the earth plane:
and Yunwi Usd1, "the lit/le man·. as ginseng is
called in the sacred ceremonies. who draws up
power from the underworld.
Each is the strongest power in its own
domain. Together they are allies: their energies
complement each other to form an even
greater power. As medicine allies, they
represent the healing powers of the
Appalachian Mountains.
The medicine powetS of Katuah have
been depicted in a striking T-shirt design by
Ibby Kenna. Printed in 4-cofor silkscreen by
Ridgerunner Naturals on top quality, all- cotton
shirts, /hey are available now in all adult sizes
through the Kalanu bioregional mail-order
wpplier.
Order shirts from: KALANU
Box 282; Sylva, NC
Katuah Province 28779
Please specify size: Sm.. Med., Lg.•
X-lg.
~~
~ WINGS WAY CONSULTANTS
Multi-Level Wellness
Nutrients for Body, Mind, Spirit
J..~~
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Mnklon. NC Z8734
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.,,~B.irbara R<'nnen,nycfpr PhD
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Ashiko Dr ums
738 Towu Mou.nl&i.A Rd.
Aabnille, N.C. 28804
(704) 258-1038
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Natural Food Store
&Deli
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c ~RAMIC
Ou111bcc.k$ ...
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Member NC Water Ouahly AS$0Ciatlon
RANDALL C. LANIER
704·293-5912
1.11.NTEJl - 1988-89
HWY. 107
RT 68 BOX 125
CULLOWHEE, NC 28723
KRLRNU
Soec1J1z1N9
Woo,f eN
WATER PURIFICATION EQUIPMENT
SOLAR PRODUCTS
Send requests to: Lucille Griffin;
Rt. 2, Box 42; Newport, VA 24128
KHLRNU
(704) 688-7016
All natural
ANNOUNCEMENT
The American Chestnut Cooperators'
Foundation reports a very good harvest of
American Chestnut seeds this year and has
nuts available to willing cooperators. The
seed is free and will be shipped with
planting a nd care Instructions. The
Foundation requires only a brief annual
progress report on the seedlings each
September.
P 0. Box 282; Sylva, NC;
Katunh Province 28789
LUCHIA MAISON
1>i...A .. f1
.....
'/-a fumf- 'L Jf(lltL
841 Highway106
Higlilands, NC 28741
(704) 526-5638
Write for a f ree price list,
f rom :
Send $3.00 & long S.A.S.E. for Samples
& Catalogue
Box 1477
Old Fort, NC 28762
Members of the Elders' Circle of the
American lndlan Council will speak at a
weekend event at The Mountain Camp and
Conference Center in Highlands, NC on
March 17-19. They will present the native
perspective on important environmental,
social, and political issues.
The fee for the two-day meeting will
be $128, which includes two nights lodging
and six meals. For registration infonnation,
contact:
The Mow1tain Camp and Conference Cenrer
BI OREG I ONRL BOOKS
AND TOOLS FOR LIU ING
IN RPPRLRCHIR
Cost· $9.50, includes postage
P.O.
NATIVE ELDERS TO SPEAK
D~ vMcAses
'-
RAftl es
SeNd
160 Bl'Olldw8y
JI
,~~
-f R CA-f Afo j
o
-
AsheYllle, NC 28801
wi... a-dwlry....MlrTtmon Ave• l-240
~
OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK
Monday·S.urday: hrn·8pn>
Sunday: 1pm-Spm
(704) 2.53-7656
�-ef6BWoR/S!t!g
APPROPRIATE PASSIVE SOLAR design,
blueprints. and foll working drawings for homes,
shops, and sheds. Creative drafting.....your ideas or
ours. Harmony Sunbuildcrs; P.O. Box 194; Sugar
Grove, NC 28697
MOTHER'S BREATH HERBAL PRODUCTS high quality herbal extracts, ointments, and oils,
lovingly created.. Send for free brochure 10 RL 2,
Box 25 I; Vilas, NC 28692.
ALTERNATIVE COMMUNITY on bcauliful lnnd
near Cherokee, NC seeking families desiring grcalet
cooperation and self-sufficiency. Based on SpirilUal
and ecological values. Property now available. Call
(404) 778-8754 for info.
WANTED: LAND in western NC. Family seeks 5
or more acres, preferably near Cullowhce, to
pn:scrve and evenllla.lly inhabiL ff you have or know
of affordable land, coniact Bob and M3Jy Davis; 213
Wesunoreland CL; Georgeiown, KY 40324 (502)
863-4267.
RM DESIGNS • I use lhe media or pencils, colored
pencils. gouaehe, pen and ink, and pbOtOgraphy in
creating unique fine and graphic an. I can make
diagrams. logos, finished prints. and designs for
brochures. ~dcrs. cards. books, etc. Mandalas and
symbols are my tendency among other styles.
ContaCt Rob Messick (704) 754-6097.
r:o:
SI~ LIFESTYLE CALENDAR • The photos
on llus page appear with Olhcr striking portraits or
moumnin people in "The F:iccs of Appalachia•
c:alendar. Procccd.s support lhe work of Appabchia.
Science in the Public lnlCJ'CSL To receive your
calendar postpaid, send $7.00 to: RL 5. Box 423;
Livingston, KY 40445
"TREASURES IN THE STREAM" • a casse1tc iape
of 50ngs by Bob Avcry-Orubcl. $10 10 RL I, Box
735; Floyd, VA 24091.
M TREE DESIGNS: fllustrallons and Design .
Beyond the pages of !his journal, I work in pencil,
colcwed pericil, ink. cut paper, and bauk. Fine and
graphic an tO express and enhance our lives. Logos,
brochures, books, por11aiturc, window and wall
h;)ngings. Coniact Manha Tree (704) 754-6097.
HAND-CARVED WOODSPIRITS. mystical
hiking staffs, and wall hangings by Steve Durican.
For brochure, please write Whippoorwill Studio;
RL 4, Box 981; Marson, NC 211752.
...And Tk Earth Lived llappily Ever Aflu ·stories
from foll: traditions all around the world chosen tO
help protect all living beings by bringing the world
socie.ty a few steps closer 10 peace and respect for all
life. Edited by Floating Eagle Fealhcr. $7.00 ppd.
(All profits go to Green peace and lhe Peace
Museum.) Order from: Wages of Peace; 309 Trude.au
Dr.; Mctatre, LA 70003.
JOURNEY INTO THE SLICKROCK Wildcmcss
Area. Boys, fatbtt-son, falher-daughtcr expcdillons.
Learn observation and woodcraft in the deep w~.
Burt Kornegay, experienced guide. Sliclcrock
Expeditions; Box 1214; Cullowbce, NC 28723.
AMRITA HERBAL PRODUCTS • Comfrey,
Eucalyptus, or Golden Seal salve, Lemon or
Lavender lllcccream. Made wilh natural and ~llal
oils and love. Send for brochure: RL I, Box 737:
Floyd, VA 24091.
MOON DANCE FARM HERBALS • herbal salves
tinctures, & oils for binhmg & family health.
brochure, please writc: Moon Darice Farm; RL 1.
Box 726; Hampton, TN 37658
FUTONS by Simple Pleasures - affordably priced.
Send SASE for info 10: Simple Pleasures; RL I,
Box 1426; ClaylOll, GA 30525 (404) 782-3920.
STIL-LIGHT THEOSOPHlCAL RETREAT
CENTER • a quiet space for personal meditation,
group interaction through study, and community
work, and spiritual seminars. Contact Leon Frankel;
RL I, Box 326; Waynesville, NC 28786.
EARTH REACH EDUCATION ASSOCIATION
teaching primitive skills tO children and adults.
Robert Martin. Jr. and Jeanne Moore; Rt. I, Box
178-A: Ferrum. VA 24088.
llEIRlOOM GARDENING and Saving Your Own
Suds, pamphlet with specific Instruct.ions on
growing, harvesting, and storing non-hybrid seed.
Sl.00 w/ SASE. Also, SEEDS . Sl.00/packec
velvet bean, wormsced, mullein, brown cotlOll,
luffa. All from Hoedown Organic Fann. Rt. 1, Box
188·1: Quincy, FL 32351.
CAROLINA MTN. MACROBIOTIC CENTER
offers natural foods cooking classes, dietary
oounsclliog, cducntional lectures for a helnlhitt life.
Tom or Debbie Alhos. Call (704) 254·9606.
WANTED: SOAPSTONE for carving and
sculpting. Wiii pick up. Barter or cash. Please call:
Scott BU'd (704) 683-1414
"ESSENCE" • the all-one skirt/dress/
jumper/pantaloons with nursing pockets. Eanhwcar,
ROI. Box 75..CI; Carlton, PA 1631 1
FREE LABOR - I would like to learn about
beekeeping and building New Age Housing. Willing
to worlc for- free during lhc summer All I a"1c is a
place for my tcm and an occasional meal. Contact
Chris Irwin: 1712 White Ave.. Knoxville, TN
37916 (615) 673-0653.
INDIAN VALLEY RETREAT - 140 acres in Blue
MEDITATION CUSHIONS from Carolina
Morning Designs. Tradittonal and innatablc i.afus.
For fr~ brochure. write; Rt. I. Bo~ .31-B; Hot
Springs, 11\C 28743.
A~TERNATIVE
COMMtlNll Y in the Smoky
Mt M. of Cl.SI TN. 10 acre.~ with creek. springs,
vie"':s· good nc1ghboc~. Be a part for S!!SOO. Call
whe (615) 4S3·1S38.
Ridge mountain~ with facilities available to n:nt ror-
groups or individual retreats, c11hcr guided or
unstructured. Send for information and c;ea.<ional
c:ilcntlar or healing tr.IClsfonnativc e•·ents to: Indian
Valley Holistic Center. RL 2, Box 58: W1lhs, VA
2-l3!!0.
MOU/ER £ART// N/ilVS " no longer rcJ1r1nung
back issue<:. AJpha.B11 ha' many, at co~cr pnce plus
postage. Wntc Alpha·B1t; Box 465; Mapleton, OR
97453.
Grurhk• ~OIVlaJ ofApfdl.Ji·>UaSc1mu in 1>.c Pub/re
/N.,,~JJ from the "Arralacltia, /0&9 • Slf1l('lc LJ/~
C""7dir."
\\'EB WORKING 1s free. Send subrn1ss1ons to:
Kattiah Journal
P.O. Box 638
U:scc,tcr, NC
Katliah Pro•·1nce 28741!
kllN'TEJl - 1988-89
�Send articles, drawings, and photos of what interests you about
the Katuah region for the spring issue of the journal.
The KatUtih Journal wants to communicate your thoughts and
feelings to the other people in the bioregional province. Send them
to us as letters, poems, stories, articles, drawings, or photographs,
etc. Please send your contributions to us at: Kau'lalr Jo11.mal. P. 0.
Box 638; Leicester, NC; Katuah Province 28748.
The summer issue of the Kati1aJ1 Journal will deal with the menning
of.1h.e word "Peace" a~ a dynamic process that can replace
e:iusung structures of domination with vibrant new relationships.
BACK ISSUES OF KATUAH AVAILABLE
ISSI IE 11-IREE ·Spring 1984
Sustainable Agricuhurc - Sunnowers Ruman Impact on lhe Forest - Childrcns'
Education - Veronica Nicholas:Woman in
Politics· Lui.le People - Medicine Allies
ISSUE FIFTEEN ·Spring 1987
Coverlets • Woman Forester - Susie
McMahon· Midwife - Altermuivc
Contracepuon - Biosexuality •
Biorcgionalism and Women - Good
Medicine· Mauinlchal Culwrc - Pearl
ISSUE FOUR· Summer 1984
Water Drum • Wnter Quality - Kudzu Solar Eclipse • Clearcuuing - Trout Going 10 Waler - Ram Pumps ·
Microhydro - Poems: Bennie Lee Sinclair,
Jim Wayne Miller
ISSUE SIXTEEN - Summer 1987
Helen Wane • Poem V1s1ons in a Garden
• Vis ion Quest • First Aow • Initiation •
Leaming in the Wilderness - Cherokee
Challenge· "Valuing Trees"
lSSUE FIVE - Fall 1984
Harvest - Old Ways in Cherokee Ginseng • Nuclear Waste • Our Celuc
Heritage • B1orcgionalism: Past, Prescm,
and Future • John Wilnoty • Healing
Darkness - Pol iucs or Participation
ISSUE EIGHTEEN· Winter 1987-88
Vernacular Architecture - Dn:ams in Wood
and Stone • Mountain Home - Earth
Energies • Enrth·Shellercd Living •
Membrane Houses Bru~h Shelter ._
Poems: Octobu Dusk - Good Medicine:
"Shelter"
ISSUE SIX - Winter 1984-85
Winter Solsuee Earth Ceremony
Hor.;cpaswre River· Coming of lhe Light
• Log Cabin Roots • Mountain
Agriculture: The Right Crop - William
Taylor - The Future of lhe Forc~t
ISSUE SEVEN - Spring 1985
Sustainable Economics • Hot Springs Worker Ownership - The Great Ecooomy Sclr Help Credit Union • Wild Turkey Responsible Investing • Working :•1 the
Web of Life
ISSUE EIGHT· Swnmer 1985
Celebration: A Way of Life • K:11iiah
18,000 Years Ago - Sacred Sites - Folk
Ans in the Schools • Sun Cycle/Moon
Cycle Poems: Hilda Downer - Cherokee
Heritage Center - Who Owns Appalachia?
ISSUE NINE- Fall 1985
The Waldee Forest - The Trees Speak Migrating Forests • Horse Logging •
Starting a Tree Crop • Urbnn Trees •
Acom Bread - Mylh Time
ISSUE NINETEEN ·Spring, 19&8
Pcrleandra Garden - Spring Tonics •
Blueberries· WildOowcr Garden$ - Granny
Herbalist - Rower Essences • "The
Origin of the Animals:• Story - Good
M.:<.licm.:: "E'U~cr· - Be A Tree
ISSUE THJRTEEN - Fall 1986
Center For Awakening· Eliuibcth Cnllllri
- A Gentle Death - Hospice · Ernest
Morgan - Dealing Creauvcly wilh Death Home Burial Boit - The Wake - The
Raven Mocker - Woodslore and
Wildwoods Wisdom - Good Medicine; The
Sweat Lodge
ISSUE TEN· Winta- 1985·86
Kale Rogers - Circles of Stone - Internal
Mylhmaking · Holistic Healing on Trial .
Poems: Steve Knaulh - Mythic Places •
The Uk1ena's Tale - Crystal Magic • Drcamspeaking.
ISSUE ELEVEN - Spring 1986
Community Plnnning • Cities and the
Biorcgional V1s1on - Recycling Community Gardening- Floyd County.
VA • Gasohol ·Two Biorcgional Views •
Nuclear Supplement • Foxfire Games •
Good Medicine: V!Sioos
ISSUE FOURTEEN - Winter 1986-87
Lloyd Carl Owlc - Boogcrs and Mummers
- All Species Day • Cabin Fever
University - Homeless in Ka1iiah •
Homemade Hot Water • Stovemakcr's
Narrative - Good Medicine: Interspecies
Communication
ISSUE TWENTY· Summer, 1988
Preserve Appalachian Wilderness
Highlands or Roan - Cclo Commuruty Land Trust • Arthur Morgan School Zoning ls.~ue - "The Ridge" - Farmers and
lhe Fann Bill • Good Medicine: "Land" .
Acid Rain - Duke's Power Play Cherokee Microhydro Projcc1
ISSUE TWENTY-ONE· Fall, 1988
Chcslnuts: A Na1ural History • Restoring
lhc Chestnut • "Poem of Presetvntion and
Praise" - Continuing the Qucs1 - Forests
and Wildlife· ChestnUlS in Regional Diet
- Chcslnut Resources - Herb Note • Good
Medicine: "Chnngcs to Come• - Review:
W~rf: legends Li~
/'
~UA~QURNAL
P.O. Box 638
For more infonna1ioo:
(704) 683-14 14
Leicester, NC KatUah Province 28748
this effort an txtra bOosr
I can be a local contact
Address
City
Back Issues
Issue#_@ $2.50 = $ _ _
Issue#_@ $2.50 = $ _ _
Issue# __@ $2.50 = $ _ _
Issue#_@ $2.50 = $_ _
Issue# __@ $2.50 = $_ _
Complete Set (3-11, 13-16,
18-21)
@ $30.00 $_ _
Regular Membership........ $10/yr.
Sponsor.........................$20/yr.
Contributor.....................$50/yr.
Name
Enclosed is$
State
Zip
person for my area
Arca Code
Phone Number
to give
=
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians Records
Description
An account of the resource
<em>Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians</em>, later simplified to <em>Katúah Journal</em>, was published from 1983 to 1993. A quarterly publication, it was focused on the bioregion of former Cherokee land in Appalachia. <br /><br /><span>The early issues of the journal explain the meaning of the Cherokee name, </span><em>Katúah</em><span>, and why the editors wanted to view the world through a bioregional lens, rather than political boundaries. A volunteer production, the editors took a holistic view in tackling social, environmental, mental, spiritual, and emotional topics of the day, many of which are still relevant. </span><br /><span><br />The <em>Katúah Journal</em> was co-founded by Marnie Muller, David Wheeler, Thomas Rain Crowe, Martha Tree and others who served as co-publishers and co-editors. Other key team members included Chip Smith, David Reed, Jay Mackey, Rob Messick and many others.</span><br /><br />This digital collection is only a portion of the <em>Katúah</em>-related materials in the W.L. Eury Appalachian Collection in Special Collections at Appalachian State University. The items in AC.870 Katúah Journal records cover the production history of the <em>Katúah Journal</em>. Contained within the records are correspondence, publication information, article submissions, and financial information. The editorial layouts for issues 12 through 39 are included as are a full run of the Journal spanning nearly a decade. Also included are photographs of events related to the Journal and a film on the publication.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
This resource is part of the <em>Katúah Journal Records </em>collection. For a description of the entire collection, see <a href="https://appstate-speccoll.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/937" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Katúah Journal Records (AC. 870)</a>.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
The images and information in this collection are protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U. S. C.) and are intended only for personal, non-commercial, and educational purposes, provided proper citation is used – i.e., Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians Records, 1980-2013 (AC.870), W. L. Eury Appalachian Collection, Special Collections, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC. Researchers are responsible for securing permissions from the copyright holder for any reproduction, publication, or commercial use of these materials.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1983-1993
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
journals (periodicals)
Language
A language of the resource
English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
<em>Katúah Journal</em>, Issue 22, Winter 1988-1989
Description
An account of the resource
The twenty-second issue of the <em>Katúah Journal</em> focuses on the relationship between humans and the environment. Authors and artists in this issue include: Kim Sandland, Lylich Crabawr, Thomas Berry, Marnie Muller, Zoa Rockenstein, Kore Loy McWhirter, Richard Lowenthal, Fred Mignone, "Granny" DeLauncey, Lucinda Flodin, "Esther," Rob Messick, Amy Hannon, Pam Thomas, Lila Thomas, David Wheeler, Martha Tree, Bern Grey Owl, and Lisa Franklin. <br><br><em>Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians</em>, later simplified to <em>Katúah Journal</em>, was published from 1983 to 1993. A quarterly publication, it was focused on the bioregion of former Cherokee land in Appalachia. The early issues of the journal explain the meaning of the Cherokee name, Katúah, and why the editors wanted to view the world through a bioregional lens, rather than political boundaries. A volunteer production, the editors took a holistic view in tackling social, environmental, mental, spiritual, and emotional topics of the day, many of which are still relevant.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1988-1989
Table Of Contents
A list of subunits of the resource.
Global Warming and Katúah by Kim Sandland.......3<br /><br />Fire This Time by Lylich Crabawr.......5<br /><br />Bioregions: The Context for Reinhabiting the Earth by Thomas Berry.......6<br /><br />Earth Exercise by Marnie Muller and Zoa Rockenstein.......9<br /><br />Poems and Drawings by Kore Loy McWhirter.......10<br /><br />An Abundance of Emptiness by Richard Lowenthal.......12<br /><br />Reviews: Thinking Like a Mountain | Talking with Nature.......14<br /><br />Options for Regional Currency: The LETSystem by Fred Mignone.......15<br /><br />"Chronicles of Floyd" by "Granny" DeLauney.......16<br /><br />Knife, Axe, and Saw: An Interview with Darry Wood.......18<br /><br />Natural World News.......20<br /><br />The Bear Clan.......22<br /><br />Poem by Lucinda Flodin.......23<br /><br />Drumming: Letters to Katúah.......24<br /><br />Webworking.......30<br /><br /><em>Note: This table of contents corresponds to the original document, not the Document Viewer.</em>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
<em>Katúah Journal</em>, printed by The <em>Waynesville Mountaineer</em> Press
Subject
The topic of the resource
Bioregionalism--Appalachian Region, Southern
Sustainable living--Appalachian Region, Southern
Human ecology--Appalachian Region, Southern
Global warming--Appalachian Region, Southern
North Carolina, Western
Blue Ridge Mountains
Appalachian Region, Southern
North Carolina--Periodicals
Language
A language of the resource
English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<a href="https://appstate-speccoll.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/937"> AC.870 Katúah Journal records</a>
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a title="In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted" href="https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/?language=en 8" target="_blank"> In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted </a>
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Appalachian Region, Southern
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
<a title="Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians" href="https://omeka.library.appstate.edu/collections/show/79" target="_blank"> Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians </a>
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
PDF
Journals (Periodicals)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1980s
Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Studies
Bioregional Congress
Black Bears
Community
Ecological Peril
Economic Alternatives
Education
Forest Issues
Habitat
Hazardous Chemicals
Katúah
Poems
Politics
Radioactive Waste
Reading Resources
Stories
Turtle Island
Water Quality
-
https://omeka-test.library.appstate.edu/files/original/2f5c7a65526cf67e7320e0c5525d2492.pdf
a25df4140491bff73a4b9d4c92436ab2
PDF Text
Text
ISSUE 23 SPRING 1989
$1.50
BIOREGIONAL JOURNAL OF THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS
�~LJAHjOURNAL
Postage Paid
Bulk Mail
Permit #18
Leicester, NC
28748
P.O. Box 638 Leicester, NC Katuah Province 28748
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED
�THE PISGAH VILLAGE:
A Window into Ancient Ways
..~..-··-·-···-"·-·- ··..·-----··-··-..··-......~..
......
·'
- .......
-
-......· -..
Pisgah Village:
A Window into Ancient Ways ..............!
by Kim Sandland
Planet Art in Katuah............................. 5
by Denise Newbourne
The Green City as Thriving City.........8
by David Morris
Poplar AppeaJ .................................... l 0
lJy Doug Elliott
Written and Illustrated by Kim Sandland
Clear Sky: A Composite Portrait... .... 13
by James Rhea
"A New Earth" ................................... 14
by Jerry Trivette
College as Community Resource .......16
by C.B. Squire
Wild l ovely Days ............................... 18
Poems by Elizabeth Griffin
Photographs by Gil Leebrick
Natural World News..........................20
Reviews:
Sacred Latu/ Sacred Se.x
Rapuue of the Deep .....................23
Stopping the Coming Ice Age ............25
Drumming: Leuers to Kafllah ...........26
''Sudden Tendrils" .............................28
a poem by Michael Hockaday
Events Calendar................................32
Webworking .....................................34
On a low rise above the Catawba River there
was a village .....Once, long ago, the village
flourished ..... Flanked by magnificent forests,
with mountains rising abruptly on the western
side, it stood on floodplain soils, with fields and
gardens enriched by seasonal deposits of sih..... lt
has long since been abandoned. and now it lies
underground, a ghost town enslirouded in the
mystery of its demise.....Remains of posts in 1he
ground delineate where homes once stood. cold
heanhs contain fragments of roasted nuts and
seeds and the bones of deer and small game
animals.....Picces of hand-formed and decorated
clay ea.nhenware. tempered with the sands of
village paths, litter old floors .....When one stands
in what was probably once the cemcr of the
village, there is a pervasive aura of kindred
association and the lingering question of why was
this village abandoned by its rcsidcnls 600 years
ago.....
The old town has been named the Pisgah
Village by mhaeologists presently excavating the
Cn1awbn River site. Ken Robinson of Warren
Wilson College and his field workers are only
now uncovering the village, and it will be some
time before a thorough picture of its rcs1den1s'
wiy of life is pieced together. Excavation hns
already taken months of work, and the project will
continue through October of 1989. Laboratory
study of the artifacts recovered from the site,
photography. drawing, mapwork, and
comparisons with other sites will take much
longer.
NOTE. The exact locOUO!t of the "Pisgah VI/Inge"
article 10 protect tlit #le fro111 po.r3iblt
di!.turlJanus before ucawJlion rs c:ompltttd.
is 1101 11l•tlf 111 thU
Archaeology allows us to reconstruct the
lifeways of chose who lived here before us. II
allows us to determine the distribution,
availability, and use of natural resources by
peoples of 1he past; climatic conditions; cultural,
behavioral, and spiritual traditions and their
material representations. Archaeological fieldwork
can also tell us when - and possibly even why •
such cultures dlsappeared.
The Pisgah Village is one of thirty
promising sites that were identified in McDowell
County. North Carolina. Three of the sites were
tested for future study, but this is the only one
currently under inrcnsive study.
The site is interesting. says Robinson,
because of its location at the edge of the mountains
on the boundary between 1 very differe nt
wo
geographical situations. This was not typical of
late prehistoric settlements. The Pisgah village
presents lhe first opportunity for study of what is
possibly a definitive boundary between the
ancestors of the Cherokee and the ances1ors of the
Catawba peoples. whose culrurcs were evidently
very differenL
Anifac1s so far recovered indicate two
occupations of I.he village sire - the first from about
500-1000 AD, the second from about 900·1500
AD. The focus of the current research is on the
later occupation, says Robinson. He hopes to shed
some light on why the Pisgah Village site was
ab3ndoned.
Widespread disruption of narive settlements
throughout the Southeast occurred around
1450· l 550, and the dissipation of such
(oonunucd on p:ige 3
�~LJAHjOURNAL
·-
EDITORl AL STAFF THIS ISSUE:
Will Ashe Bason
Michael Red Fox
Richard Lowenthal
Rob Messick
Christina Morrison
Marnie Muller
Kim Sandland
David Wheeler
EDITORIAL ASSISTANCE:
Scou Bird Manha Tree Jack Otaney John Creech Jay Joyce
Marsha Ring Patrick Clark Chip Smith
COVER by Rob Messick
INVOCATION - a poem, •world.~ by Elizabeth Griffin
PUBLISHED BY: Kauiah Journal
PRINTED BY: The Waynesville Mow11ainecr Press
WRITE US AT:
Kail1ah Journal
Box 638
Leicester, NC
Katuah Province 28748
!ELF.PHONE:
(704)683-1414
D1vcrsi1y is an 1mport:tn1 elemcm of bioregional ecology, both
nawrol and social. Tn line wath Iha~ principle, lhe KaJ1'ah Journal uics 10
~e as a forum for the discussion ot regional Issues. Signed arucles e~rcss
only lhe op111ion of the aulbors and arc not necesSill'il)' Ille opanions of the
Karliah Jounw/ tduors or stnff.
The lmcmal Revenue Servtce bas declared Kat11ah a non·pront
organiza1ion under seer.ion SQl(cXJ) or Ille ln1cmnl Revenue Code. All
conuibwions lO Katiiah are deductible from person.al income tl.it.
tNVOC.ATWN
the vJorld is as W9- are
TH£ SOtll'HERN APPALACHtAN BJORECJON
AND MAJOR EASTERN RJVER SYSTEMS
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
Herc m lhe souLhcm-most hcattlund of Lhc App:ilnchian mounuins, 1he oldest
mounlllan range on our continetll, Turtle lslnnd; a small bu1 growing group h:is begun
IO mke on a sense of responsibilhy for Ille implicau(ln.~ of lhl11 gcogr.tphicnl nnd
culturol heritngc. This sense of responsib1li1y c:cnu:rs on lhe conccp1 of hvmg w11hin
the ruuural ~ and bal3nce of universal sysiems Md pnllClJllcs.
Wilhan dus circle we began by invoking Lhc Cherokee mime • K;u.Ualt' a.~ lhe
old/new name for this nrca of the mouniains and for ii.s joU!Tllll as well The province is
indicated by •L~ naUDUI boundarie$! the Ro:inokc Ri~cr Valley 10 the nonh; the foollulls
of the piedmont area IO the cast: Yona Mount.am nnd lhc Georgia halls lO lhc :>0u1h: and
the Tennessee Raver Valley to the west.
TI1~ editorial pnootieli ror u:; arc t0 c:o!Ject and disseminate mfonnar.ion Md
energy which pcrL'llllS specifically LO lllls region, nnd IO ro.u:r IJ1e awareness 1h:u 1hc
land i~ a hvmg be.mg de$CMng of our love and rcspeeL Livmg in this manner is a way
IO ansuro the su.~n:ibility of the bao.~phcrc and a la.rung placc for ourselves m 11.S
continuing cvolutlonary process.
We seem IO h3ve readied Ille fulcrum Point of a• do or die • si111t1tion m t.cnrn;
of a quality standard of life for all living beings on !his planeL A~ a voice for lhc
can:lakcrs or llus saarcd land. Kaniah. we advoc:uie a c:enlefed approach 10 Ilic cooccp1 of
dccenlnlli1..otion. II is our hope 1 become a support sysicm for those acocpong lhe
.0
challenge of SUStninabilhy and lhe creation of harmony and balance an a total sense,
here an this place.
We welcome all correspondence, critlcism, perunen1 infonnation, articles,
an work, etc. with hopes th31 K.a.tWib will grow ID serve lhe best in1eres1S of lhis region
and all us li11'11lg, breathing members.
-The EdilOrS
let us desire only
that consciousness
,r
Of life
in which the cosmic will
and the will to be
are.,one
Some of lhe K01iiah JourfllJ] Staff: (le1i IO right)
Foreeround: Andy Ha!I-Bak.cr Middlr: David Wheeler, Mamie Muller, Rob
Messick Standing: Will A.She Bason. Christina Morrison. Chip Smith,
Rithiud Lowenlh3l. Lisa Franklin
Sprt"'J, 1989
�(continued from page J)
well-developed, thriving cultures has never been
fully understood. Robinson feels lhat CJCcavauon
of the Pisgah Village may lend some support 10 the
theory that early Spanish explorers had a
devastating effect on native aboriginal peoples.
lt has long been surmised that Spa.nish
explorers, led by Hernando De Soto and Juan
Pardo among others, came up from the east and
Gulf coasts through South Carolina and then
inlMd to the Little Tennessee River. The routes of
these explorers have lately been re-evaluated,
however, and much evidence now indicates that
they came along the eastern edge of the mountains
~ perhaps even as far east as the Catawba River.
Some of the ac!ual records from the DeSoto and
l>ardo expcdhions contain references to what are
now believed to be villages in McDowell County.
a hand in decimating these large animal
populations.
The burgeoning human population.
unchecked by disease and nunurcd by abundance,
reached a saturation point. The time from about
8,000 BC to I AD is called the Archaic Period.
when human living took on a very different
approach. In the woodlands the Archaic peoples
hunted small game - primarily deer - fished. and
collected plant foods. They were only seasonally
nomadic, capitalizing on the migrations of
animals, the spawning of fish, the maturing of
nuts, and the flush of ripening benics.
The people of the Archaic Period were
efficient enough in their hunting and gathering that
the search for food did not take up all of their time;
they also pursued other endeavors. They made
basketS and mats which have been found
preserved in sites in the dry Southwest desen.
They made hand-polished stone articles - some
done very anistically, others left undecorated fo~
utilitarian use. Graves from the Archaic Period
contain tools, weapons, red ochre (a pigment
associated with ceremonies), beads, pendants, and
dogs - all mcticulo_usly placed to accompany the
dead into an aflcrhfe. Their stone hunting points
were made with stems to be attached to sbaftS, an
innovation from the time of lhc Palco-Indians.
The earliest evidences of human occupation
in the Southern Appalachian Mountains date from
the Archaic Period. They consist of isolated find.~
of a distinct type of projectile point used for
hunting - the Morrow Mountain type - dated to
4500 BC.
The Woodland Period
The Woodland Period of human habirotion
The Spanish brought conflict and murder
along wi1h their pack trains. They also brought
Q.iseases - smallpox, measles, tuberculosis, and
influenza - the likes of which the native population
had not experienced on this continent. The
Spanish, according to their own writings, burned
villages, kidnapped and enslaved natives, abused
the native cullure, and spread their imponed
diseases. They formed trade alliances with some
of the native tribes and introduced European
materials. The full extent of the cultural and social
disruption caused by the introduction of these
trade goods is only now being realized. Robinson
hopes that study of the Pisgah Village site will
provide new links in the chain of undenaanding.
extended from about I AD to 1600 AD. Three
primary developmentS marked the transition from
the Archaic to the Woodland cuhural iypes:
· the development of pottery for cooking,
storing, and transporting food and other items:
- the cultivation of vegetable crops to
supplement hunting and gathering:
- and the first pcnnanent settlements.
People of the Woodland phase settled in
river valleys, where seed-bearing plants thrive.
and became almost sedentary. cultivating native
grains and then com. gourds, and squash as these
crops were passed nonh from Mexico. Projectile
poinis became smaller and more finely crafted.
The bow and arrow replaced the spear and the
dan.
Woodland peoples traded across long
distances. Mica from the Southern Appalachians
and shells and fossilized shark's teeth from the
coastal areas appear in archaeological sites
throughout the southeast
Burial practices continued the tradition of
placing grave goods to accompany the dead. Some
individuals were bwied in elaborate earth mounds,
indicating some status or rank among their feUow
villagers.
Some of the Woodland Period peoples built
tremendous carthworlcs for purposes that are still
unclear to archeo-historians. They show a
remarkable diversity, some being mathematically
executed, others shaped like serpents. birds, and
other figures. The full extent of some of these
landscape sculptures was fully realiz.cd only after
observers could fly above them.
In some pans of the Southeast during the
Woodland Period, clements of what is called
"Mississippian culture" appeared. Mississippian
culture was characterized by temple mounds
(eanhworks which were the foundation for
ceremonial centers). village) fortifLed with
encircling palisades of stakes. copper tools and
jewelry, and inrncruely designed ceremonial an.
The v.intings of early European explorers of
the 15th century describe palisaded towns with an
ehtborate soctal development and material culture.
(continued on JXl8C 4)
The First People
During the last lee Age a land bridge JOined
Asia and Nonh America acrosi. chc Berin~ Strait.
Many scientist:. believe that prehistoric people
followed the large game animals into the new
continent by this rou!e, and by the year 10,000 BC
the first humans were well-established in both
Nonh and South America. These Palco-Indian
people. as they arc called. were nomadic hunters.
They had no settlements, and the only evidences
of their culture that have been round arc hunting
weapons (stone spear points and darts), chipped
stone knives, choppers and scrapers used for
processing game meat and cutting wood, and
animal bones thnt are evidence of their big game
kills.
By 8,000 BC the glaciers had retreated, and
the climate became wanner. Many of the big game
animals - species of horse. camel. rhinoceros, and
bison not seen today. the great ground sloths and
the woolly mammoth - became extinct on this
continent Some scientists believe that humans had
Spr~"'J. 1989
Ken Rotmisnn and
visiring school class
t!t.Omi1U! parrially
ew1WJ1ed grid
.fllUl1re OJ PiSgaJ1
Vi/Inge.
Pho•o by Morme1 Mulltf
�(col\Ullucd from p:ige 3)
In the Southern Appalachians, lhis Mississippian
tradition, borrowed from cuhural influences 10 the
west is called "the Pisgah tradition" by
arch~eologists. Peoples of the Pisgah tradition
were the direct ancestors of the Cherokee.
The Pisgah tradition of lhe late Woodland
Period with its Mississippian influences, marks
the pi~nacle of the cultural evolution of native
peoples in the Southern Appalachians. Although
some cultural traditions persisted until the rime of
the Cherokee Removal, the native way of life was
altered forever with the arrival or white explorers
and seulers.
Pottery fragments, called sherds, cons~ilute
the majority of anifacts from the Warren Wilso11
excavations. Pottery vessels were fashioned from
coils of clay, shaped and rounded. Some of the
containers hnd handles or thickened runs and were
tempered with sand before firing for extra
s1rCng1h. Some were plain and undecorated, while
others bore complica1cd panerns created by
stamping the unfired vessels with carved wooden
paddles. Cords or nets were also used lO l~ve
fiber impressions in the wet clay, and des1~ns
were also incised with small, sharp. marking
tools.
Plnin and decorated clay tobacco pipes have
also been recovered, as well as small s1one and
clay discs. believed to be counters or gamepieces.
Also found were clay and soapstone beads and
polished stone gorgeis. A hole was drilled into
each of the ornaments so that it might be worn
around the neck.
The Pisgah rradition was a way of life
which allowed individualized expression of talent
and beliefs. During this phase livelihood was
secure enough to allow time for artistic
embellishment of functional tools. Carved
soapstone bowls were made in sizes to hold from
Relics AJong the Swannanoa
The Pisgah tradition is best represented by
archaeological discoveries made on the campus of
Warren Wilson C-0llegc in Swannanoa in Kan'.iah.
Artifacts found there preview what might be
uncovered at the Pisgah Village site along the
Catawba.
The Warren Wilson site snw four penods of
habitat ion by native peoples. The earliest
occupation daies back nearly to the beginning of
!he Archaic Period, The snc has been disturbed by
erosion, dig~ing. and more recently by plowing.
Disturbed sues are more dlfficull to interpret,
because artifacts are misplaced, and feature.~ such
as building foundations, heanhs and r::rosh pits are
scauered. Despilc such disturbances,
archaeologists have learned a great deal from the
Warren Wilson site. No anifacts later than the
Pisgah phase have been. recovered ~1 Warren
Wilson. Its residents vanished someume 1n the
mid- l600's and never returned.
two quaris to 1wo gallons of liquid. Polished stone
axes were found, some grooved to be anached to
shafts, others designed to be hand-held. The
excavation yielded monars and pestles of stone for
grinding seeds, nuts, and drie(benies. and caches
of red and yellow ochre and graphite used for
paint pigments.
The villagers who occupied the Warren
Wilson site lived in rectangular dwellings. Over
the years. the sunken posts rotted and left dark
circular Stains in lhe earth, like perfect shadows.
ghoslly visions of the past. The walls were Likely
made of waule-and-daub, a mixture of clay and
grasses. Mose of the dwellings were not within the
village itself, but in outlying farmsteads.
In lhe center of each house was a raised clay
fire basin for warmth and cooking. The heanhs
and the storage vessels buried nearby contained
evidence of the foods these early people utilii.ed,
among them hickory nuts, waJnucs, buuemuts,
acorns, persimmons, maypops, grapes, bl~ck
cherries. and chesmuts. There were also remains
of com, squash, beans, and sumpweed, all of
which were cultivated. Trash pits contained the
bones of 30 species of animals, including bear,
deer, bobcat, weasel, mountain lion, squirrels.
turtles, snakes, frogs, and turkeys. From the
distribution of foods, it is sunnised that the Pisgah
(conbJlued oo page 24)
EXCAVATION
OF A PREHISTORIC SITE
An archneological cxcavarion site is chosen
because of the discovery of surface artifacts.
because of a promising location that looks likely to
yield evidence of occupation, or because th.e area
is threatened by development or by destruction by
vandals.
Fieldwork begins with a surface collection
of artifacts. Surface finds are ploued on a detailed
map of the site, because their distribution may in
itself reveal important information.
The plow zone is scraped away and sifted
through mesh screen 10 separate out any artifacts.
Below the plow zone may lie a surface
undisturbed by the activities of lauer-day humans.
A grid of stakes and Jines is then laid out
over the site, usually in a true nonh-south
alignment, to correspond with grid l~nes mark~d
on a site map. The area of each gnd square 1s
usually one square meter.
Soil samples may be taken with augers to
determine distinct strata and/or the presence of
hidden constructions or features (visible item
which cannot be removed from the site and taken
to the laboratory, such as house floors. burials,
cooking fire pits, etc.).
Selected grid squares may be excavated at
random if the site is large. Small sites may be
excavated entirely. Test excavations help 10
determine where to concentrate digging e!Tons.
As the squares are excavated, the wall of
each square 1s left intaCt m display lhe stratigraphy
(visible layering) of the soil.
Small layers, and sometimes whole strata,
of soiJ are removed using shovels or trowels, and
the exposed surface is levelled. M~terial from each
level is sifted and soned. The an1facts recovered
are bagged, labelled with their exact location in the
soil stratigraphy. Soil samples are taken from each
stratum 10 be examined in the laboratory. for even
mJcroscop1c elements in the soil {such as pollen
grains) may reveal information about the nora of
the area and the climate (such 11s periods of
drought and rainfall).
Each exposed surface level is mapped and
photographed, and details arc recorded in field
notebooks.
Features arc very carefully u~covcred ~s
they appear in the strata. To d1~turb lh_e1r
placement would be 10 destroy the rnformauon
they contain. Small dental picks, 1ooth~:ushes,
and even fine paintbrushes may be uuhzed to
remove the soil from artifacL~ and features.
Laboratory analysis of the artifacts. notes,
maps, drawings. and photographs may take
months, possibly years, of additional work once
the fieldwork is completed.
.
Artifacts and features from each gnd and
srratum and their relationships to the other finds
through~ut the site, will reveal the lifeways of the
people who once lived there - their t<?Ols,_ trades,
rituals, subsjstence. An archaeologist literally
delves into the relationship that ancient peoples
maintained with the world around them.
Archaeological fieldwork reveals details .of th~t
relationship. It may te~ how lo~g lhat ~elauonship
was sustained, and Dllgh1 possibly potnl to clues
as to why it came to an end
;st:t'
Sprtng, J!189 •
�Art
by Denise Newboume
Dream f rQl}ment . ••
Slt.e fell oslup that mghl and as she dre<uttM her spirit was
luult'd through the long spiral tunnel and inII) till! scars.
M1uri-dimtJtSional ribbons with Jhimmering citcu.ils drifted past
aJ incompreJumsiblt spuds Slie realized she was in 1/ie center of
the 1rwi.rplanetary in~rface, a place similar to a radio sroJibn
w/ll!re lJfU! can nW'. into past <JNlfimue choices and possibilities
for any piaMt, and/inc tune w tlic path ofgre01esr harmony.
"Hmmm," she wondered, .,what can that p01h possibly be
for the eartlrr Finding ow ~·as as simple as speaking the roMS
that most corresponded with Earth's vihrationaljreqrumcy ar tlie
prese111 tu~. No soonu had llll! said "John Wayne" than she
fo1uld lu:rself in a lwlogram oftill! Earth.
Her SU&Sitivc a.11ral rectpum M-Ve overw/11:/med a1fv.~t
with an almost 1111/Jearablt colkaion of hurrlingferocities,
terrified srreaming, and lrnpelt!Ss fwiliry. She re111(Ji/led calm,
knowing from experience tll/Jl often tire jint reception ofsuch
planets was the hardest lmagu of marching soldiers appeared
before her, rows ofmen 1n unifonns, who turned on their heels
and became long rows of ballerinas, all dressed in the same rum
dolng rl~ uact SOllW hops and twirls while myriads of musicians
all played variatwns of the SattU'! song. A smal I number of
"others" hod them wrapped in strings, wl11ch the>• kept rig/rt, and
twisted tfl/!nt this Wtl)' and tllDt, like puppets. Then she noticed
thOl'-fand:. of beings sitting i11 tlie darkness.paralyzed The
dancers and musicians wen' used to dii-en rheir anention from
tll/!ir dl!.rperarely repres.ud condition.
Then di/! Sct!nario began to change
the people in
darkness bt:gan to wake 11p and cw the strings. They swpped
allowing tl.e cloned do.nurs and arrisrs to llypnoti:e them and
started dancing tlll!mSelvts. Nor imuating any form, they simply
followed wh1tre their own bodies led tht!ITI. The "official" artisu
also stopptd their/~en.sh reprodJJJ:twnr ofprescribedforms
long en1mgh w listen to the songs and dances from wid1itt They
all begD11 listen.ing to and performing thdr own unique songs and
danus. and helping otlll!rs learn
tlll! s~. More and 1111>re
strings were cw. and tlle ligliJ gr~ brigluer wilh t!llch ""e's gift
of color. until of/ the beings became a mandala ofilrlerw<J\'tn
harmony and beawy.
Her anelllion tllrMd to a man in a belly dancers silks and
veils, doing rhl sinuous, anciefll dance of binh She looked
closer and saw it war .. John Wayfll!! "What a nice resolurilln,"
slie mused to herself. "It doesn't seem so hard looking at ft from
oUlhere.··
"'do
We are now witnesses to the ultimate dead-end created
when reason attempt~ to dominate spirit, men to dominate
women, science to dominate an. and "civilized" peoples ro
dominate "'n:uive" ones. The5e are all external eumples of a
fundamental split and sttuggle within e:ich of us. We have come
so far from our primordial heritage of wholeness. that many of us
arc at a los:. as to how to regain it We are still StrUggling to learn
lhnt our fundamental problem is not any category of people. but
the \'Cry existence of ~~teg~es.. 9ur problem ~s nOt science.~
power. not an, not ~pintuahty; n 1s the pcrcepuon of these tlnngs
as sepanuc rather than facc1~ of a unified whole.
,\ key clemenr of the 1houglit sys1cm in which we perceive
each Other ns lw lhan whole 1s the notion lhat some people arc
creative and Olhm arc no1. Thi:. is extremely discmpowcring
becllusc the power to cn.:.ltC is a cenrral attribute of divinity in all
n:ligions. Thi~ c~tivc now from within provides us with 1he
knowledge of our own power. b:iJance, and self-wonh. lf we
believe that we do not have this rcgcnenitive power, then we
promote scarcity for ourselves and others. So here we all nre
amidst terrifying psychological scarcity collectively creaccd by the
majority of the population who for one rcawn or another do no:i
belie~ they arc creo.rivi- nnd powerful The planet cnn only a1wn
the pence thut com~ from wholenes.~ when the beings who
comprise it acknowledge •heir own and each others' wonh
An. ai. we know 11 today. b a mirror for our plnnewy
condiuon. There arc some people who do it. and they are n:vercd
:is if they have something others do not. There is a funher
dhtinction between "fine" an and "folk" an, with the unplicarion
that fine an is somehow nobl~-r and better than folk., because it is
non-funclionnl. TIUs 1s the alienating idea that an is only real if it
is removed from the daily now oflifc.
When a peoplCli: he.1.rlfclt. arti~ cxprcs.sion is_ lo;-t or
s~tenurically extingu15.hcd, they begin to feel empty inside and
often beccmc caught up in a funle effon to saiisfy themselves
with utemal g~. 11us exu:mal grasping often IC3ds lO the
phenomenon o! ~ictiveness The fact &tlat ~e !'ow ha~oe whole
societie~ c:."pcncnang desperate levels of addlCtlOn :uid_
1is
a11endan1 destruction is a signal that it is ume forchoosmg to heal
ourselves. One way we can do this is by tapping our unique
expression~ and bl~ing ourselves llild the planet ~;th the
creative energy that Oows from our spinL
Our culrural definition of an needs to expand from the
activiucs or an elite few to that or all people. Jose ArgueUes, in
his latest book Surfers ofthe luvuya, provides such a definition:
"You've all gott.t undcrsuind th:tt you're artists. Nothing fancy,
but anists of life. anists of reality....Anything that's harmoniwl.
that's an. This is an imponnn1 point ... since the planet's got to
(conunllCld on PQ&ll 6)
SJJrin9' 1989
~ ~~~ - 1'.!'9'1 ~ y
�be cleaned up and rehnm1omzed, there isn't any1hmg that isn't
Planet An." With this kind of definition. an becomes intrinsic to
the flow of life. \Ve are now beginning to realize that a11y
expression that comes from our own spirits i'> valid, even if it
docs not confom110 formerly prescribed ideas of'' an".
To see an as a force for hnrmonizing our world is also to
odd a higher di~s1on '?f social respon~i~ility to it. 111~.
question "Will this conmbute to harmomzing our plam:t?
becomes a standll!"d pan of the creative process, and an irnpon:mt
criteria for whether or not 10 mar.ifest nn idea. Also integral 10 a
holistic perspective is the understanding that an and science are
not separate but are indivisible facets of a life-oriented culture.
This understanding would ~1e a much-needed ~1al . .
responsibility for everyone m all areas of human producuvny
What exactly is Planet An? It is about reclaiming our
concept of an to encompass all forms of exchange with our
world. An is the language our species has used to communicate
with the universe for thousands of years. Primitive an focussed
on the intimate relationship of a tribe to it~ particular homeplace
and all of its inhabitants. Now our homeplace has become the
entire planet and beyond...aod our an has begun to rcllect this
reality.
Planetary an is a conscious awareness of the whole Life
community in which we participate and a strong intent to
.
hannonize with it. lt is vital to our species' survival that we shift
to this more active engagement and interplay with the universe. Jn
this way. the many facets of our reality become intimately woven
toget.hcr...our own interior world, our human cultural
communiry, our planetary life community and the rest of the
universe.
How does the Harmonic Convergencu fit in with all this?
Broadly speaking. the purpose of the Converge.nee wa.s 10
reactivate our ay, an:ness of the earth as a consc1ou~ b<:ang and to
pro-.idc a time to rcatlirm our choice to co-create with her. Those
who consciously made that cho1ce at that umc are the people
Arguelles is now calling the "Eanh Force".
By next year, Arguelles feels that this Earth Force will
begin to manifest itself as a global and cultural phenomenon. He
also feels that all need 10 move in a much more direct, mobilized
way. By the second anniversary of Hannonic Convergence, he
sees the opponunity for a Rainbow Peace Event. That would
signal that the Campaign for the Earth has coalesced and bonded
enough in the underground to begin 10 manifest as an alternative
force of allied, planetary, non-government organizations moving
in concen to take measures int0 our own hands.
When I think of "art camps" and the "alternative force of
allied, planetary, non-government organizations", the bioregional
movement comes to my mind. We are a ready-made resource of
diverse people who are awan: of the Earth's aliveness and are
choosing to assist with her healing process. Karuah is a very
supportive communuy for Planet An, and a strong network is
already fom1ing. Here are some examples of Planet An going on
inKatuah...
Heart Dance
Pat Sharkey, who lives in Floyd, Virginia, makes beauoful
jewelry from crystals and stones. One lhing she has learned from
working with crystals is that our own bodies operate in a similar
way ... that is, they can be programmed, and they amplify
energy. These conceptS have inspired her to create ways for an
and science to become pans of a whole... through sacred dance.
"Dance is like a gridwork, a system of conduction," she
iold me. "By encompassing tones, using our bodies as
conductors by arranging them in specific geometric
configurations, employing corresponding herbs and stones, and
consciously utilizing the energy gridwork of Icy lines on the
planet, we can attune oarselves to move any specific energy
through, and use it for healing."
This kind of work could be done at key sites alJ over the
eanh ...those places that amplify energy as well as those in need
of healing. She Stressed the impon.nncc of a disciplined
preparation of daily meditation for at least a month before coming
together to do sacred dance.
"The more preparation, the clearer the channel, the more
juice we all reccive...the more we personally understand
-something, the more authentically we can put it out to others."
One way that planetary art is manifesting is through
networking. Jose Arguelles, one of the key figures in the 1987
Harmonic Convergence, helped to found The Planet An Network
in 1983. According to Arguelles. it is far too late for anything
else save for artists, from all medias, 10 converge and produce
inter-media performance rituals and other forms of planet art.
He feels that these performance rituals should be simulcast
via satellite to as many cities as possible to raise the
consciousness of humanity. He sees this as a higher purpose of
our extensive system of mass communication. When we are able
10 liberate this media system from the forces of fear and
domiruuion we will have an incredible tool for dispersing
immediate visions of peace.
Astrologer Amero Alli envisions "the emergence of
multiple 'art camps' ...clusters of resonant core groups dedicated
to varied forms of planet an." Again.. the indicauon is that this
an js a grassroots, collective phenomenon.
Some of the elements for such activities could be music,
dnnce, comedy, drama and sign language, combined with visual
an. lighting, costumes. holograms. crystals and audience
participation. There is no limit lO the possibilities!
Drawing by Sbe.IJ Lodge
The example she gave is for a Hean Dance, in which men
and women would come together nnd fonn into a Star of David
...men forming one triangle, women the other. Rose quru:ii;
would be in the center. Pora month beforehand each pamcipant
would have spent time meditating daily on healing between men
and women. They would then come together in meditation and
symbolic movemenrs. and allow their energies to interact for the
purpose of healing. The same concept can be used with any
symbol, for any healing purpose, anywhere on the planet.
Groups could begin travelling 10 other countries f~ the expres.s
purpose of performing sacred dance there to amplify the energies
of hannony and healing.
"This is a way we can utilize all the systems we've learned
- astrology, numerology, the tarot...and combine them in
perfonnance through our bodies. High technology has become
so overspecialized that no one can see the whole anymo.rc. By
using our bodies as holographic componenis we are going back
to lhe source of all recbnology...our inner beings."
Pat is interested in organizing an Earth Dance gathering,
and in exchanging inspiration and info with others interesled in
this idea. Her address is P.O. Box 606, Aoyd, Virginia, Kaulah
Province 2409 l.
SprLf19, 1989
�Orandmottu
A planetary art exhibit ...
The popular Gmndmothc:r band in Asheville, North
Carolina is a group tha1 is already doing visionary planet an. The
group is composed of four women who each play several
different insD"Uments and sing h:innonics 1ogelhl'r. They arc a
visual, muhi-me<lia band. incorporating inro !heir performances
creative movement, sign language. masks, costumes. acting and
comedy. Their inclusive approach 10 music provides an
enthusiastic vision of peace. leaving nudiences with a tremendous
feeling of satisfaction. l talked with Deb Criss. one of 1he
founding members of Grandmother, on her thoughts about Pl:lnet
The People of Lhc One Song
UV!NG ART F!Xll/B!T
An.
Her inspiration for Grund mother crunc to her when she
was visiting lhe pyramid sites at Palenque. Mellico. She sa1 for
long periods of time in the part of the complex that had been the
Mayan's theatre. There :;he had visions of "blending ri1ual art
into a music concert with respect to 1he four elemems and a ~ensc
of oneness with 1he eanh, using costumes and masks. and
finding ways io reach ou1 and dec~se 1he distance be1wecn
audience and performers.''
''The original vision l had was for an intentional way of
doing a show, beginning by smudging the area, a group prayer
and quie1 rime of positive thought We could then play with
1oncs, color, and lights, blended with modem-day music 10
induce frequencies tha1 unify heart, will, and higher mind.
People of1en become uncomfonable when things are quiet,
sacred, and serious for 100 long, so comedy is also an important
part of our shows."
Grandmother is very community orienled ... at one of their
shows !his past fall four women joined 1he show for theatre and
signing. One of them was an 89-year·old woman from
Waynesville, the "honored Grandmother" of the evening. "I feel
1hat i1's important 10 in1cgra1e all ages, so that we all have a fuller
understanding of the circle of life," said Criss.
Their group is a dynamic process of consensus, and
chooses to be open to additional aclS (with prior pl!lnning) being
part of the show. "Grandmother is the ancient spiri1 of the winds
Lhrough lime that speak through the earth to all people ... if
s..meone feels that inner voice speaking through them. it is good
10 claim it and find a way to express ii. We hope 1hat
Grandmother is a catalystic agent to inspire others 10 do this."
For more information about Grandmother, call Deb Criss
at (704) 253-4831.
Contact Improvisation
Also going on in Asheville is the quie1 revolution of
Contact Improvisation, a newly arising dance form. Its emphasis
is on releasing individual and group creativity through
spontaneous movement rather than following a specific 1echnique
or choreography.
More than traditional dance forms, Contact relies heavily
on suppon and cooperation among the dancers. II strengthens
both the "I" and the "we" because the movements come from
one's own center as well as being shaped by one's interactions
with the other dancers. It's a way for 1 physical body to learn
he
trust. •. in a literal fashion, through physical imerac1ion. rn
Contact, there are no wrong steps or movemcn1s---1here is only
more or less fiowing, depending on how relaxed, trusting, and
sensitive the dancers allow themselves 10 be.
Contact is also p:utidpatory rather th:m perfoml!lnccorlented. fl is primarily an expenence for the d:lncel'li instead of
for an audience. The movemenlS spring from deep v. ithin and nre
a continual source of surprise, even 10 1he dancers This makes 11
nlJ the more dynamic to Y.itness. Audience and dancers are
brought together llS both expcnence in different ways the
everchanging now of movement coming from spiri1 into form.
Leigh Hollowell and Christina Morrison are co-1e.'lching
the first Conmct Dance class in Asheville. Chrisuna had auendcd
a Dance New E11gland Conmc1 ln1ensivc la.~1 summer and
rerurned home excited 10 share this fonn with others. She
immediately began teaching friends in Celo and talking with
Marnie Muller abou1 the possibility of a regional Dance Kn11"1Ji.
Spring, 1989
(continued on pago 29)
Who are the People of the One Song?
They are ILf a1ul nwre ...They are inspiratian ...
/>a.rt 14ah.ng into furure ..Funue leaking into
past. We invite rlrem into prese111 being ro help
us remember rite word.f to The One Song Singing
in rite liearrs and mitids ofall Earth's People.
Tile People of rlie One Song is an art exhibit centering
on the clay pottery faces and masks by artisl/poner Jane
Avery-Grubel. The faces, strikingly adorned with
beadwork, .shells, and feathers by artiM Jeri Dewey,
represent a culture of people dr:Jwn from archetypal memory
of natural tribal living. and from the vision of a futuri.~1ic
tribe we may become.
Out of lhe faces have come stories, written by local
poet Colleen Redv.onun, tha1 1ell of the uibe's dreams,
ri1uals. roles. and relationships. The exhibit will also fua1ure
many local crafts people's works such as baskets, jewelry.
clothing, musical insuurnents, pottery and herbs that v.ill
repre~ent the tribe's anifacts of everyday living and
celebration.
The People ofThe One &mg is a \ision of a tribe
leading resourceful, crea1ive, peaceful lives in relationship
with the Earth and each other. The concept is an expression
of 1ime transcending--a merging of pa~r. pn:o;en1, and future
10 cn:ati: a cuhure of our wildcs1 d~a~...one that may have
been...could be.
The artists involved sec Thr People nf'The o~ Snr.g
as a modcl....''Through art we can nffirm a fuum: that i~ noc
so dependent on modem 1echnology. Most c~cry1h1og
cxhib11ed can be made, grown, or found m na1ure 111e
show is a ·work in progress that we are continually crra1ing
and recreaung, jus1 as we create our every day rc;tli1y. It's
like opening our minds and doing an archeolog1cal dig into
1hc: future."
Open through April 1989 at Old Church Glllery. M:un
Street. Floyd, Virginia, Katuah Province 24091. For more
infonnation or to schedule additional gallery engngcments: _-~
(703) 7-i5-4849 or 745·3316
~
e
•
"-I
...
>Can.ah Jourrnal pCMJe 1
�THE GREEN CITY AS THRIVING CITY
Implications For local Economic Development
by David Morris
This April, David Morris ofthe I nstiture for Local Self-Reliance will
be the key1Wte speaker for the WNC Environmental Summit '89.
Here is an article from the conriner110/ bioregionat publication Raise
the Stakes that highlighis some ofhis thoughrs.
In discussing the greening of ciLies. one is reminded of Lhe
slogan Lhat the French s1udents used in 1968. On their posters they
said "all that we want to change is every1hing," which comes from
that famous ecological dictum, "everything is connected to everything
else." When we pull a thread, we may in fact unwind a sweater.
The 1wo fundamental assumptions underlying the way we've
designed our communities nre the assumptions of cheap energy and
cheap disposal cosis. Jn constant dollars, a barrel of oil that cost five
dollars in 1910 cost a little over a dollar in 1965. The cost of
lhrowing away a ton of garbage remained preuy much the same from
1900 to 1960. We could lherefore ignore lite operating inefficiencies
and wastes of the systems that we developed.
Cities reflect that inefficiency and waste. Our cities are
dependent creatures. A city of 100,000 people impons 200 tons of
food, I 000 tons of fuel and 62,000 ions of water a day, and dumps
100,000 tons of garbage and 40,000 tons of human waste a ye:ir.
We've accepLed long disaibution systems as the price we pay for
progress and development. Jndeed, we've elevated separation to
Lhe status of vinue and internalized those principles into our way of
thinking about our local economies.
J was recently reminded of how much we take 1ha1 state of
affairs for granted when Twas in a SL Paul, Minnesota res1auran1.
After finishing lunch. 1 got a toothpick, and of course all toothpicks
now have an obligatory plastic wrapper. The word Japan was primed
on the wrapper. Now, I thought to myself, Japan has no wood, bur
it has been considered economical 10 take pieces of wood and send
them LO Japan, wrap them in plastic and send lhe whole thing back: 10
Minnesota. Thal toothpick embodied 50,000 miles within it. Well,
not to be outdone, Minnesota just set up a fac1ory. Ir's producing
chopsticks and it's sending them to Tokyo.
This brings to mind an image of two sh1ps passing each other
in lhc Pacific, one carrying lildc pieces of wood from Japan to the
United States, and the other carrying linle pieces of wood from the
United Slates to Japan. That is economical only if one acceplS the
twin assump1ions noted at the outset - those pillars upon which our
economic system has been established.
This impon-expon paradigm is the way our economy runs. It
is also the way our waste economy runs. Washington, D.C., for
instance, was becoming overwhelmed by its. hum:in wastes, and paid
a consulWlt $150,000 to come up with a solution. He suggested they
barge them to Haiti. That recommendation was approved by D.C.,
but Haiti vetoed lhe idea. Haiti decided though they'd been offered
the wastes of the c:apiLal of the Frtt World, they preferred nOL to be
shat upon.
The integrated planetary economy was supposed to make us
more secure, but has it? Global trade expands and so do planetary
tensions. For example, developing counaies arc now exporting more
and more food to the developed counaics to eam the hard currency
necessary to repay debts that they incurred primarily to build up their
expon indusaies. lndusaial development and utilizacion both have
increased. The developed counaies are in an inlCTesting protecrionis1
free trade dance, a pas de deux of late planelruy economics. in which
each country tries desperately to preserve ac lease some amount of ils
sovereignty and its productive assets. at the same rime trying not to
interfere with free trade and the mobility of resources.
Capilal has become the lubricant for the planetary economy, the
grease that lets the planetary machine functioo. We fervently believe
lhat capital should flow at least as freely as raw maLerinls and
products. Last year 20 times more currency was iraded than was
needed to underwrite world trade.
We are more reluctant to embrace the unimpeded rnobili1y of
the third factor of production: labor. But we're inching up to it Six
months ago the Council of Economic Advisors recommended
abolishing all barriers LO migration in order t0 improve the economy.
JC.cu .(ui.h ) o"rnal. p~ 8
We've lost sight of the underpinning of a society - lhe sense of
community. Mobility is not synonymous with progress. Weve
ignored Benjamin Franklin's advice: those who would trade
independence for security usually wind up with neither. We have
made tha1 crade and in the process have become an increasingly
dependent and insecure people.
But now the rules have changed. Cheap energy and cheap
disposal are no longer available. Despite the recent drop in oil prices,
lhe cos1 of energy has risen more than 1000 percent in the last 15
years. Disposal costs have risen even more dramatically. In 1975 it
typically cost about three to five dollars to dispose of a ton of
garbage. Today in the U.S. it costs between $30 and $50 to dispose
of that ton of garbage. In 1970, to dispose of a barrel of hazardous
waste cost berween $5 and $10 a barrel •• although most companies
just spilled ii on the side of the road. Today, to dispose of hazardous
waste costs abou1 $300 a barrel, and for many companies the
disposed hazardous wasce now has a legal liability attached to it that is
po~ntiallyenormous.
What's imponant to note about these price changes is that they
have changed not because or the real world exhaustion of supply, but
because of a change in political a1tirude. The rising price of oil did
not occur because oil began running out, but because OPEC
artificially limired the supply. The cost of W3SlC disposal did not rise
because we suddenly ran out of dump space but because
communities, by establishing new disposal rules, anificially limited
the supply. We consciously and willfully changed the cost of doing
things the traditional way.
One of lhe enduring legacies of the environmental movement is
that it bas managed to begin to move the price of doing things to the
cost of doing things. The price is what an individual pays; the cost is
what the community pays.
Let me give you a specific example of price versus cost Rock
salt is used 10 de-ice roadways. lls price is very cheap: one to rwo
centS a pound. There is at least one alternative to rock salt, made out
of plant mau~: calcium-magnesium acetate. It can be produced a1
present for abou1 20 cents a pound · 10 to 20 times more than rock
salt. That's ilS price. However, rock salt has some problems. It
corrodes the undcrbody of cars, it corrodes bridges, and ill New
York City, Coosolidnted Edison has found that it causes a great many
problems in the electrical supply system which runs through the
sewers.
Sprlf\9. 1989
�Sewer water, c1111yi11g dhsulved rock sah. can corrode
insulation and lay bare wires. A neoprene gas can be genmued and if
a spark occurs. an explosion can send manhole CO\et'S flying. By
one estimate Consolidated Edison spends S75 million to n:pa.ir
damage caused by rock sah. Thu's part of the cost of roclc salt.
Another cost is polluted groundwater and the devastation of
vcgetntion. New York S!Atc has made an informal esumate that the
acruaJ, internalized cost of rocl salt is 80 ccnlS a pound. Which
de-icer should you buy?
The individual is unt1warc: of this cost. It is the n:sponsibility
of the community 10 make price and cost similar.
Even though the rules have changed, we haven't yet adopl.Cd a
new paradigm, a new way of organiting our knowledge and our
information. One of the principles of that new paradigm should be to
extract the mnximum amounl of useful work ecologically possible
from the local resource base. Thar sounds like a very modest
proposal, but it has profound repercussions. As we begin to obtain
more and more u~ful work, we (ind thnt we've begun to be more
and more self-reliant and self-conlll.incd.
ls self-reliance economical? Whnt do we mean by eoooornics?
Whnt do we value in our economic system? Those who praise the
global economy and trade as the underpinnings of our economic
henlth invariably point to the benefits of comparnrive advantage and
just 11s invariably point to the example of bananas. Surely local
self-reliance docs not mean raising our own bananas in the United
States when the clirruue 1s so much more favorable in Guatemala.
Il may be cheaper to impon those bananas. once again,
depending on what the price is versus the cost. Bananas that come
from Central America cooie from countries that do not pennit unions.
arc produced by companies that do not pay any iaxcs, and are grown
by production methods that have no environmenta: regulations. I
submit that if you ca.lcuhued the number of dollars that have been
spent by the Unil.Cd Sratcs in military intervention in Central America,
and dh'ided by the number of bananas that 11.rC imponed into the
United States, you would find that it's very costly co tmpon bananas
rather 1h:ln 10 grow them you~lr.
When we look at c<:onornic signals, we need ro look at them in
a holistic sense. first, we arc leamio&, as our s)",\tems get ever
larger, tlw the downi.hle rhks get com:spondingly gru.icr. Twenty
years ago when we wked about a cau1strophe, it meant a flood or an
earthquake. Today when we talk about a catastrophe we mean the
end of the ozone layer. the end of the human species. Local
self-reliance also has a downside risk: you could try '>Omething and it
might not work. but the risk Is modest.
Second, locnl self-reliance leads to a diversity of
cxpcnmenmion. As communities experiment with differcn1
technologies, we advance on the learning curve. Third, local
sclf-reliBnCe by definition reduces pollution by improving efficiency.
Fourth, local sclr-rcllancc Is economical because It recycles money
internally for more productive purposes that would otherwise have to
be spent on maintaining the system. A crude estimate that r made
recently :;uggcstcd that 15 years ago the United States was spending
between one and three percent of its overall income for system
maintenance and cleanup. Today we're spending almost 15 percent
of our income fOI' that purpo~.
And finally. an advan1.1gc of local self-rcli.tncc is that we begin
10 channel our ingenuity into developing new bodies of knowledge
that may be appropriate 10 a world that is in a vef} dlITcn:nt cond1tioo.
The technologies that we're developing 1n North America, for
example, art technologies appropnatc to ruuions that arc resource· rich
and pcople·poof. But ISO percent of the world's popufauon li\lcs in
countries that 31C rc~·poor nnd peoplc·nch.
ff you try 10 make the United State~ !>Clf-~ufficicnt or
sdf·reli:mt, the technologies you develop tO do so will be neither
appropnaic nor comp:inble wnh the needs of dc\•eloping nat.tons.. Bui
if you move towazd m:tking our tknsely populated and rcsou~-short
cities sclf·rcliant the i«hnologicsdcvc:lopcd \I.Ill be appropnate to a
resource-poor 1.1.orld. The kno1.1. lcdge generated can become a fll!ljor
export commodity.
But the pnmary benefit or local sclf·rcliancc J~ not economic;
it's psychological and ~oc1nl. II improves decision nuldng because
the costs or the decision fall on the smne community. We do not
separate the productive process over long.dhtllllC~ Psycho.logicall)'.
we improve the setf-<XX1fidencc 11nd socunty of our commuruues. We
begin to miniaturize the economy. h means achieving v.hat Fritz
Schumacher, one of the great cconomim of our time, dreamt of:
local productton tor local markets from local rcsourct$.
SprU\9• 1989
ls that theory or is that pr3Cticc? ..yeu: it rums out that in ~c
scrap metaJ industry, the scale of producuon IS much smal~ than 111
the raw matcrittls industry. The best ex.ample J know of is 1he steel
industry, where the newest technology is called the mini-mill. They
used to be called neighborhood mills. but the industry decided t.h:u
that would rais.c the image or Mao 1.e-<long's backyard fumaus. aod
they didn't feel this was good advertising.
Miru-mills use 100 percen1 scrap, and arc very sm:all- 200.000
tons a year average produc1ioo. A raw ore-based, vcnically
integrated steel mill produces between two and three million ions a
year. The healthiest. fastest-growing pan of the steel indu~try is
based on scnp that comes from regional matb:ts and products often
sold regionally.
Another example 1~ the chemurgy movement, created SO yean
ago by scienlisti-. from around the world concerned with using the
then-large agriculrural surpluses lb mdustrial products. In 1932. the
ltalian ambass3dor 10 Oreat Bnlllin arrived at the coun of St James
dressed in a sun made or milk. That is, Italian scientists had
discovered how to weave the casein in milk into clolhes.
Tn 1941, Henry Ford, a devotee of the chemurgy movement,
unveiled his biological car. The car body was made or soybeans. lhe
fuel came from com, and the wheels were made of goldenrod. The
soybean plastic body weighed hlllf as much as a steel-bodied car, so
the car was more fuel·eflic1cnt. lf you dented it modestly, the dentS
could be knocked back out. The C11r was wanner in the winter and
(COISinuoj ... pq• lO)
Green C ily
11
How-To 11 Mnnual---Just Published!
"Cities need to be<ome more 'green'. They must be
transformed illtu places that are life-enhancing an<l
regenerarfre." • PelCr Berg
<:rr~a Ci11 as a "how-to• m~nual (Of mdlv1<tUllts and O(JJ.n11AllOns
antcmo1ed an a :iuswnablc future. tis intnl3C i.s &hat urban att.aS Cllll Cl.isl
lunnonlou\I)" with na111nll 1ysu:im • :md 111nctudca bolb practical mid visL;xury
:aw1tcut1on1 lh11I •re uppllc•btt 1;; ny ci17 or 1ino11. lbcte ts also 1
~ 1ts11ng of volllllUlet o.:uv11a with i:lc:a. llbout gctllftS: wried and womns
0
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with lbc hl·annu.:11 ne11;1p;pcr lfluu tM Suills llld Olhcr public:atiol\1 for ~i:
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31251, Son 1'111nt11COCA 9413t
�POPLAR APPEAL
written and illustrated by Doug Elliott
W hen I tell northerners Lhat 1 built my house almost
entirely of poplar, including the framing, rafters, interior
panelling, and exterior siding, they seem confused. When I go on
to say that there arc a 101 of old log cabins in 1hc Carolina
mountains built from large poplar logs. they look a1 me like I'm
crazy.
I'm finally learning that to a nonhcmer, the word "poplar"
refers to the aspens and other related trees whose wood is light,
soft. and vinually useless for house construction. After a bit
more discussion, we finally ge1 our terminology straightened out,
and I get the response, " Oh, you mean 'tulip tree'".
Yes, this magnificent tree has many names and even more
uses. It is not a crue poplar, but was so named because iis leaves
are attatched to its branches by long petioles (or leaf stems) that
allow the leaves to move m the breeze in a manner not unlike that
of a quaking aspen.
The tulip poplar is actually in the Magnolia family . ' l ts
scientific name, Liriodendron tulipifera, translates roughly to
m~ "tulip-bearing lily tree". This is a fitting name for the ttee
because itS flowers look like a combination of a tulip and a lily.
They are a light greenish yellow and each of the six petals has a
blaze of orange at its base.
OUJ ofa giant tulip tree
A grem gay blossumfalls on me;
Old gold andfire iu petals are.
Ir flashes like a/al/Ing swr.
- Maurice Thomas
A large tulip poplar lit up wilh hundreds of these large,
cup-like blooms in spring is a magnificent sight indeed.
The tulip poplar is the king of the magnolia family. 11 is
considered to be the tallest hardwood tree in North America. In
the old forests of the southern Appalachians il has been known to
attain a height of 200 feet with a straight ttUok 1en feet in diameter
and clear of branches for eighty to one hundred feet .
The largest tulip poplar on record is the "Reems Creek
Poplar" in Buncombe County. It was I98 feet 1all with a ttunk IO
fcec I I inches in diameter four feet above the ground. When it
was burned in April.1935, it was believed to be the largest tulip
poplar in the world, possibly over a thousand years old.
"But despite the splendor of its dimensions. there is
oothing overwhelming about the Tuliptree, bm rather
something joyous in ilS springing straightness, in the
candle-liU blaze of its sunlit flowers, in the fresh green ofus
leaves, which being more or less pendulous 011 long slender
sralks, are forever IW'ning and rusrling in the slighres1 breeze;
this gives the tree an air ofliveliness, lightening iJS grandeur.
So even a very ancieltl tUlip tree has no look of tld abou1 It,
for not only does it make a swift growth in youth, but in
maturity it maintains itself marvelously free of<kcay.
This look of vitality comes partly from the vivid paleue
from which tire Tullptree is colored. The flowers which give
it 1/Us name are yellow or orange a t base, a liglu greenish
shade above. Almost as brilliant are the leaves when they
first appear, a glossy, sunshiny pale green: they deepen in
tint in summer, and in awwnn tum a rich, re1oicing gold.
Even in winter the tree is still flOt UJllldorned.for the .•.cone
remal'ns, candel/Jbrum f as/Uon, erect on r/le bare twig
...(1111Iil) all the seeds have.fallei1."
- DoNJld Culross P~
Each of the seed cones 10 which Pcauic refers can produce
l 00 or more seeds. Each seed is located a1 the end of a
blade-shaped wing, called a samara, which keeps it airborne. On
windy days 1hcse seeds whirl like tiny helicopters and are
dispersed over great distances. Because they are released
gradually all through the winter, the seeds arc important to
wildlife. They are ca1cn by many kinds of birds as well as by
squirrels, chipmunks. and other small rodenlS.
On a bright snowy day rwo friends cross-countty skiing in
the Pisgah National Forest were surprised to see a white-footed
mouse scampering all over I.he snow, so busy collecting and
devouring freshly shed tulip poplar seeds that ir seeme~
eomple1cl y unaware of their presence.
Old Uses
Indians had many uses for the rulip poplar. Us.ing fire and
stone tools, they carved dugout canoes out of large straight
sections of the ttunks and taught pioneer se1tlers the an. One of
the first accountS of this was in 1590 in Thomas Harriot's brief
and true report of the new-found land of Virginia:
" ... rite irrhabitams that were neere 10 us doe comrtlQnly
make tlleir boars or Canoes of the fomi oftrowes (troughs), only
with the helpe of fire , ltarcl~IS of stoMS and shels; we have
known soml! being so great ...tluu they have carried well XX men
at once besides much baggage· 1/ie timber being greor, ta/,
streight, soft, lig/11, & yes tough ...".
Captain John Smith in 1612 reported canoes large enough
to hold 40 men.
Daniel Boone made such a canoe 60 feet long, capable of
carrying five tons. Into it he loaded his family and all their
possessions and in 1799 they floated from Kentucky down the
Ohio River and on into what was then Spanish territory. The tree
is still known as "canoewood" in some areas.
Poplar blossom time is very important to beekeepers. The
poplar is one of the most dependable sources of nectar in the
Southeast The yield of nectar per bloom is possibly the highest
of any plant on the continent and has been calculated at an
average of 1.64 grams - or about one third of a teaspoon - per
flower.
During a favorable season, poplar nectar is secreted so
abundantly that honey bees and other insects cannot carry i1 away
as faSt as it appears. Sometimes one can feel the nectar dripping
down like a gentle sticky rain when sranding under a blooming
wlip tree in a light breeze. (People who park their shiny new cars
under tulip trees often complain about this.)
Because the poplar blooms early in the season, many
honeybee colonies are not strong enough 10 fully utilize the
abundance. For StrOng hives, however, harvesLS of 100 pounds
of hooey per hive have been recorded during just the three week
poplar bloom. The honey is dark in color and is sometimes called
Spf'tn9. 1989
�"black poplar honey". When held up to the light, however, it can
be seen tha1 it is actually a deep amber-red in color. Though it is
not as light as locust honey nor as sought-after as sourwood
honey, it has a rlch full-bodied flavor that can sweeten fruit
salads, yogurt, tea, and other beverages. Poplar honey goes well
on pancakes, waffles, cereal, biscuits, cornbread, and other
baked goods. Rarely a day goes by that I don'1 eat some.
If you want the ultimate tulip-poplar-tasting experience, sip
the nectar straight from the flower like the bees do. You need to
find a freshly opened blossom within reach. Pick or lower the
blossom carefully without josrling it. Then lick. the drople1s on
the inside of the petals, and taSte tha1 ambrosial Sometimes the
nectar collects in a puddle on one of the lower sepals. If the air
has been warm and dry, the nectar will often be thick like syrup.
After one taste, you will know you have imbibed the nectar of the
gods!
In European gardens the tulip poplar is one of the favorite
"exotic" American ornamental shade trees, and it has been so for
mOTC than 300 years. In fact, the tulip poplar was first described
botanically in 1687 from a specimen that had been brought from
the New World and was growing in an English garden.
In the early part of the 18th century John Lawson,
Surveyor-General of North Ol.rolina, reponcd a hollow tulip
poplar "wherein a lusty Man had his Bed and Household
Furniture, and lived in it till his labor got him a more fashionable
MMsion." Of course the senler's "more fashionable mansion"
would probably have been no more than a log cabin made of tulip
poplar logs. There is many an old tulip poplar log cabin still
standing today and new ones arc still being built
Using Poplar Lumber
The first significant cutting of poplars in the new world
was by settlers who were clearing ground for farming. They
knew that where the tulip poplars grew, the soil was the richest.
Today this still tends to be true. Ginseng hunters look for stands
of tulip poplars when SC'Jnning distant mountainsides in search of
the moist soil that characterizes good ginseng habitat
lt was not until two decades after the Civil War, when the
r:>ilroads began 10 penetrate the rugged mountainous areas of the
Southern Appalachians, that the huge poplars and other southern
hardwoods were harvested. In those days only trees over 30
inches in diameter, each yielding more than 400 board feet in
lumber, were accepl.ed at the mills.
In some areas tulip poplar grows in almost pure stands. In
1912, a tract of land near Looking Glass Rock in Transylvania
County yielded 40,000 board feet of tulip poplar lumber per acre.
Nowadays loggers are pleased IO get 10,000 board feet per acre.
Foresters call tulip poplar a hardwood because it is a
broad-leafed tree, like oaks and maples. Pinc, fir and other
conifers arc called softwoods. The wood of tulip poplar
however, is as soft and workable as white pine. Because the
extensive heanwood is a yellowish tan in color, it is known as
"yellow poplar" in the lumber business. The sapwood is creamy
white and has been used as interior panelling. When used in this
capacity, i1 has been called "whirewood". Because of its lighmess
and strength. ii is used for boxes and crates. Yokes for oxen
were often made from tulip poplar, because it was so easily
carved. lt was one of the favorite materials for building aircraft in
the days when airplane bodies were built of wood. Poplar wood
has the ability to return to its normal shape after being
compressed under great pressure. This property accounts for the
wood's popularity for building barrel bungs.
Poplar lumber is used extensively in the furniture-making
industry. Its porosity and ability to take glue makes it an ideal
core upon which to glue fine wood veneers, and, because it
talces a polish beuer than any orher native wood. poplar wood is
itself often used as a veneer.
Kiln-dried yellow poplar wood makes a good framing
lumber for house construction. It is moderately lightweight, yet
stronger than spruce, fit; or white pine. Unlike the whole poplar
logs used in cabin construction. milled, dry poplar lumber has
little tendency to split when nailed. The Nonh Carolina Building
Code accepts graded poplar lumber as a framing material.
However, it has been infrequently used in recent years because of
the.abundance of low cost softwood timber, such as Douglas fir
and spruce, shipped in from the western Sl4tes. As the supply of
western softwoods decreases. tulip poplar may come back into
more common use.
Dead and Rotting Wood
Tulip poplar is also valuable when dead and rotting. The
stumps decay quickly and provide an ideal habitat for various
wood boring beetles. These beetles and their larva are one of the
favorite foods of the majestic pilca1ed woodpecker (often called
"wood hen" by mounroin folks). The pileated woodpecker is so
named because of its brilliant red crest. It 1s our largest
woodpecker. almost as big as a crow. These and other
woodpeckers regularly visit decaying tulip poplar. and some
people purposely cut poplar slumps high or use the Jogs in
gn:rden beds near the house in order to artmct them.
Dead tulip poplar is also the favorite growing medium for
cenain fungi. most notably the delec1nble oyster mushroom
(Pleurorus osrrearus). Oys1er mushrooms arc one of my favorite
'Aild mushrooms. l learned to identify them by Clll'Cfully studying
them in mushroom field guides. They arc f.urly easy 10
recognilC, hence they are one of the safest of the edible wild
mushrooms. They grow in cluster:., usually out of the sides of
logs or stumps. They vary from a creamy. "oyster" whi1e to 1.1n
or gray in color and arc distincbve because the gills run down the
entire length of the stem. They arc delicious in soups. on p;ista.
and can be saut6ed and gently stewed lO make an elegant side
dish. Once l had oyster mushrooms fried in fritter batter, and
(conunucc1cmJllil&e30)
they actually tasted like oyster mttcn..
~'°"""
J--'
9"'JS t t
�The bark of the poplar tree can be remo1Jed in the spring
and early swnmer and has been used in many ways. Large sheers
of Ir were used by the Indians as CO\'trings for wigwams,
wickiups, lodges, and orher living quarrers. In the Nonfl
Carolina mountain.s, poplar bark has bun used as siding on
frame houses. When I first disco11ered it on some homes near
Burns11ilfe in Yancey County, I was suuclc by ir.s rustic, }'et
eleganJ beaury.
As I was building my own house at the time, I wonted to
/ind ow how poplar bark siding wa.f made and how long it wollld
last. Wizen l asked around, however, it seemed tlw.t most of the
builders of these hauses Jw.d long since passed on, but t~y had
left a legacy ofpoplar bark. siding thol was sdll holding up well
qfter 70 or more years.
1 finally found one older man who was a poplar bark
crafts11w..n, and he tk.scribed tlie process UJ me. In early swnrner
when the "sap's running", large sheers of the bark are removed
from mediwn-sized trees. The bark is carefully pried off tlie trunk
with a to0I know11 as a "tan bark spud". This tool hark.ens back to
the days w}ien the collecting ofoak, chestnut and hemlock bark
was o pan ofevery timber cutting operation. The bark was sold
to tanneries as a source of tannic acid. A spud could be
Improvised mu of a stout curved stick with a chisel-like edge
carved on one end. Those made by blacksmiths look somewhat
like a small-lieaded spade.
After 1/ie bark is remo11ed, it is cut illro large rectangular
sheets, taken ro a barn or other dry p/act and "stacked and
stickered" like green lumber with na"ow strips ofwood between
each sheet of bark to allow air to circulate. Rocks or other
weights pilled on rop of the stock ofbark en.sure that the sheets
stay flat and do not curl up as they dry After a month or two of
drying, rhey can be cut 10 length and nailed like slung/es onro the
building.
Armed with th8se minimal instructions. and a lift·long love
of tulip poplar, I knew I had to onempt co/leering bark 10 cover at
lea.rt part ofmy house. A friend who was building ms own lwuse
was about to CUI some poplars on his land 10 use as suppon
beams. He told me that if I'd help him cut them and haul them
down to the building site, he'd help me get the bark.
The first tree we/tiled was aboUI afoot in dianieter, and it
fell uphill. We trimmed off the upper br01iches, until we had a
length ofclear trunk abou1 30 feet long. With 1he chainsaw, we
mode one long CUI throught the bark down the entire length ofth4
l.og. Then, staningfrom the bonom, with one of us on eilkr side
of the log, wt wenr at it with the bark spuds, ourf111gers, hate/let
blades and whatever else we collld improvise to genJly pry the
bark from the log.
. .. -
TIU! nt•wly formed cambium layer benn•e11 the bark and the
sapw(l(Jd was sofr, slippery and Yer)' juics. As the: bark gave way
10 our efforts arul .tepararedjrom ti~ rrunk, it made a slurpy
hissing noise. !Ve gradll(l//')! worked our Wll) up the log . The
bark was coming ojf bc:outifully. When wc:j1r1ally reached the
11pper end oftlu: log, tire remaining section f1f the bark StpcJrated
wirh a rtsowuling hollow "pop"
We stood up and ~ere congrarularing ourselves on a job
well dmu:, when we heard a noise. lt>okinR down we sow our
newly-skinned log heading off down the hi/IT ltsfreshl)• removea
bark had created a trough t/IQJ was slick.er tlllJll any bobsled run,
and b>· rhe time that log left that piece of bark, it had picW up a
terrific amo1u11 of speed and momenlltm.
It we111 careenin,g down the mountainside, and all we co11Jd
do was watch in astonisl11T1enl as thoJ log leapt over rock ledges
and crashed through thic~ts. It fi111Jlly .rropped uh0111 fl!ry yards
down the hill when i1 collided with a srump jusr above rhe house
.tire.
We breathed a huge sigh of relief. If it had nor been
sropped by the s111mp, that .flippery bauering ram would hove
done considerable damage to rhe ho11se founda1io11. Afrer rhar, we
senved a rope to each log before we removed ilS bark.
I found ow larer rluJt mountain loggers hove a word/or a
log sliding down a nwu111ainside. TluJt log is nball·hootin'," and
it is recognued as a serious danger in logging steep f1W11n1al11
,f/opes during spring and s1unmer. As one old logger told me,
'Them poplar logs is bad/or that. Wilen the sap's up, that bark
can slip off a log you're dragging and if tha1 log gets loose and
goes a balf-Jwotin' down the mou111ain, buddy, 'hit can kill a
ma11l"
The bark of small poplar trees can be scored and folded
into carrying 11essels ofall sizes from berry baskets to backpacks.
/11dia11s daubed the seams with pine pitch and used them as W(ller
buckets.
I was first introduced to bark basketry by my mountain
neighbor and friend Paul Geouge, wlio has been mak.i11g baskets
for years. I was enchanted by the way he explained their simple
practicalily;
"So you've been out fishing all morning .following the
creek up in.lb the nwuntain.t. You're cau:hlnJl some of 1/iem nmive
speckled trour, bUJ afrer a while the srream gets too small. So you
call it quir.s and head up onto the ridge/or rhe long walk home,
There you TUii into the biggest patch of ripe huckleberries you
halle ever seen.
~You'd 1011e to take some of them berries lwme, hut you
ai11'1 go11101hing to carry 'em in. Whor collld you do?" Paul asks
wirh a twinkle in his eye. "Well, if you knew how 10 make a
berry basker, you'd just find you a young poplar rree, make you
a poplar bark basket, and tote tllUn berries home. Now they'd
taste mighry g()()d after a fish dinner! ...
Between the ower layer of the bark and the sapwood is a
layer rich in fibro11s vascular material known as bast. When
rorred under controlled condirfons it can be used to mah ropes.
twine and other cordage. Ir was high/}' valued by Native
~ricansfor rhese tiles
Poplar bark has also been 11sed medicinally as a tonic and a
remedy/or fevers, stomach ailments, dysentary, rhe1unari.sm and
gour. It is a source oftulipiferine, an allt:aloid that acrs as a heart
stimulanr.
/
2
! ff.'"
• Doug Elliou's most recent book, (that includes step-by-s1ep
instruetions on how to make a rulip poplar bark basket) is entitled
Woods/ore and Wildwood Wisdom. It can be ordered from him
at Possum Productions; R1 1, Box 388; Union Mills. NC 28167
for $10.00 post paid.
Sprl·"'J· 1989
""''
.... -
�CLEAR SKY
a drawing by James Rhea
The concept for the drawing derives from my years
growing up in the southern foothills and hearing Cherokee
follclore, and being fascinated by their lifestyle and contributions.
I have always been inspired by other culrun:s, especially so called
primitives. This picture is pan of a series of portraits of healers or
philosophical leaders, who arc inspirational to their people,
representing cultures throughout the world.
From that I envisioned a change of bean from a life of war
and bloodshed to one of service and ~ce. This choice was
indicauve of several individuals who laid the foundation for the
later culturnl flowering of the Cherokees.
Clear Sky is more of a composite of an ideal figure lhan a
definite ponrait. The Cherokee people in the late l700's were in a
state of despair and desperation because of the encroachment
upon their lands and military defeat by European scnlcis. SC\'Cral
individu:tls came to the forefront to encourage and inspire their
people. To the Cherokee. they were lcnown as beloved persons.
both men and women. They felt a need for a transition or
integration into white society, but at the same time they hoped to
retain the best of their past for cultural survival.
Clear Sky's dress is typical for the time. He wears a blue
EngltSh bro3dcloth shin and has a Spanish trade blanket around
his waisr. The necklace is wampum with a silver gorget. The
eamngs are archaic beaten copper with slit earlobes. The hair is
trimmed with a dyed egret feather ornament In his band he holds
a turkey feather (an with natural bead work. a sign of respect and
dignity.
lsk.agua CJtr Clear Sky was listed in Duane K. King's book
CMrolcee Indian Na1ion as being present and signing a document
protesting the tt'Catment of Chickamauga Cherokees by the
Americans. The petition was sent to King George m of England
aslcing his government to intervene. At the time of the signing, or
thereabouts 1789-1791, he changed his name from NeMnoataah,
or "Bloody Fellow" to lsk.agua. "Clear Sky."
Spr~nAJ.
I used several sources Ill compiling his dress, ornaments
and general demcaner. but the most informative was the JnditlJIS
of the Southeastern Un11ed States by John R. Swanton,
Smithsonian Anthropology.
James Rhta lives in an old farmhou.st in a rural pan of
Cabarras CoUllt)'. Ht is illlertsttd in organic gardening and
environmental issul!S and spends time canoeing and hiking for
inspiration and peace of mind. His artwork includes tM subfecrs
of wildlife as well as portraits. "In gentral" he says •1 favor
world peace and holistic liftstyks".
,/
1989
Xat-~ )o\UnoL ~ 15
�II
a
Early, al tine o'clodt IWO sbocb ol-an
anbqaUe Wlft felt. Tbc boule D
cuM:d mid
ew:rytbing WU ID mowmelll.
The bcns fell to the paid fJOm lheir room
ud set up a pi.tifol cry.
You cm see chat the white people mR
diffaalt bc:ings from us, we are made
or.red clay. they of white sand.
About lbe J'Cll' 1811 IOIDC of the
Cleroba cbamed ud Olha'S
RCtiwd. in various ways.
cQ11111mictricw from lhe Oral
Spirit. all lr:Dding IO discredit die
ICbane ol c:ivilization.
See 10 ll dw you get back your old
Beloved Towns.
Yoor mother is not pleased you punish
each other so ha1d.
I have told you what the Gn:ac Spirit's
will is, and you are 10 pass on iL
la on:tcr that you might know bow things
want to tell you
what happened bcrc in the Nation ju,st the other
day.
~Pl in die Wkl IDday, I
Jusr dne rughis ago I was at a Wk in
C>o&1mally. To tha1 place came~ man and two
women who to1d that while they were on 11
journey, Ibey came eo an unoccupied house near a
hill called Rocky Mountain and enlCttd it in order
to spend the night thcte.
Just as it had become dark, they heard a
violenl noise in che air.•.As !hey went outside to
sec abou1 ii they saw a whole crowd of Indians
~g on I.be hill from the sky•...
nding on small black horses...their leader
beating a drum. .•came very close.• .They were
much frightened .•.•.
"Don'1 be afraid. we arc your brothers
and have been sent by the Great Spirit
10 spcalc co you.
The Great Spirit is dissatisfied that you
arc n:ceiving the white people into your
lnnd•.•..
You sec that the hunting is gone, you
are planting lhe corn of the white
people. go and sell ii back to them and
plant Indian com and pound it in the
manner of your forefathers. do away
with the mills.
The Mother of the Nation h~ fOtY.lccn
you. •. her bones are being broken
through the grinding. She will return co
you if you put the white people out of
lhe land and return to your fonncr
manner of life.
If you don't believe my words then
look up at the sky."
They did and saw the sky open...an
indescribably beautiful light and in it four white
houses.
"Such houses you are to build in your
Beloved Towns...
for white men who can be useful to
the Nation.. . ."
I mn not Ible IO delcribe lhe creat
perplexity into which we C11D11 Jasa ...L
Our dwelling bowie was in die most violent
mDVellXIH IO lhu it seemed IO be Deir II> be
falling in.
.. .a strongviolent noise beard
from the W.N.W. _ .and stteaks of
l.ighlning.....
This morning between 7 and 81>'c1ock we
felt tw0 more shocks without the sli1thtcst noise.
...our house was r:rembling..•the roof moved.
The m:es were in movemen1 wilhout !he
slightest wind.
It is true, the white people must all go from
lhe Nation; boWevcr, 4 smiths, S()tne school
ceachers a.rid those who arc building mills
for us a.re to be toleralbd. but later. they too
must return to their own country..•..
Some of them anribuce the occurrence
co the sorcerers; some, to a large snake
which must have crawled under their house;
some to the weakness and old age of the
eanh which will soon cave in.
. •.they held a grand feast and celebrated a
great medicine dance. .• ..
. . .if they believed and obeyed, then game
would abound, the white ll1!ll1 would
disappear. . • .•
.• .instead of beef and bacon they would
have venison, and instead of chicken they
would have turkeys.
. . •we heani today from a traveler
tb:u in Taloni. •. thiny miles from here
along the road to Georgia. in a field 13 sink
holes appeared as a result of the earthquake.
the largest of \\<hich is 20fcet deep and 120
feet in circumference and is. • .full of
gn:enish water.
. . .he would like
to know whether
lhe end of 1hc world
were not near. .•• •
sprin9. 1989
�J
...many lndians believe that the white
people were responsible because they had already
taken possession of so much of the Indian land
and wruned still more.
The Great Spirit is angry...and be wanted
to put an end to it through eanhquakes.
, Soon after the eanh had tremble4 an Indian
was silting in his house in deep thought, his
children were lying sick in front of the fire.
...a tall man appe~ clothed entirely in
the foliage of ihe trees, with a wrca1b on his head.
..carrying a small child in his ami.~ and had a
larger child by the hand.
"The small child on my arm is the
s
ClJC:it Spirit.
l am not able to tell you whether the
Great Spirit will soon destroy the
earth or not.
1be Great Spirit is not pleased that
tbc lndillll$. have sold so 111uch land
to the white man.
:rugalo, wl!K:I\ is now possessed by
white people, u; the r~t place the
Great Spirit created.
There in a hill he placed the firs& fire.
for all fin: comes from the Great
Spirit.
. . .the white people have built a
house on th3t hill. They should
ab:lndon th~ place; on thru hill there
~hould be grass growing. only then
will there be ptaee.
...the Indians no longer thank the
Great Spirit before they enjoy the
fust fruits of the land. They no
longer have dances in his honor
before they eat the first fruit~.
You arc sad because you thin.le your
childn:n m ill, they are not renlly ill.
but have only taken in a. little dust.~
•.. he gave him two small piece5 of bark from a
certain tree ••• and told him to cook them and to
give the drink to his children. and from that they
became weU right then.
7
...the residents of one wwn fled into the hills and
tried to crawl into hiding in the ho!~ of lhe rocks
in order to escape the danger of I.he hail stones, the
size of half bushels. which were to full .••..
...numbers of the aibe.. .abandoned their bees.
their orchards, their slaves, and everything else
that might have come to them through the white
man, and...took up their toilsome march for the
mounwns of Carolina.
..•mills. clothes, feather beds and iables
- worse still •.. books, and domestic cats!
This was not good· theieforc the buffaloes and
other game were disappearing. The Great Spirit
was angry. and had withdrawn his protection.
The Cherokees must return to the customs
of their fathers. They must kill their cats, cut
shon their frocks, and dress as became Indians
and warriors. They must discard all the
fashions of the whites, abandon the use of any
communication with each other except by word
of mouth, and give up their mills. their houses,
and all the ans learned from the white people.
~ Oicrokecs arc at this time in a
rcmarlc.able manner - occasioned by the late
shocks of the eanh ·endeavoring to appease
the Anger of the Ore3t Spirit
They have revived thcnr religious
dances of ancient origin to appease the
Anger of the Great Spirit....with 115 much
solemnicy as ever was seen in worship In
our churches. They then repair to the water,
go in and wash. These ablutions arc
intended 10 show that their sins are washed
away and that they are cleansed from all
defilements.
These fanatics or prophelS tell them
that the Great Spirit is :ingry with them for
adopting the manners, customs, and habfo;
of the white people who, they think. are
very wicked.
Some of the females an: mutililting
fine muslin drcsses and arc told that they
must discontinue dancing n:cls and country
dances whieh have become very common
ampn~l the young people.
. . .!here is llllk
...in the space of 3 months the moon
would again become black. and thereafter
hail stones as large as hominy blocks would
fall, all cattle would die Md soon the earth
would come to an end.
A sorcerer said uncil then there would
be peace; how things would be after thnt he
did not know.
that a new earth
will come into being
in the Spring.••..
•• ,it has bc!en revealed by the Great Spirit
th:u there would be an intense darkm~ss and that it
would last three day~ - during which :lll white
people would be snatched away as well as 1111
Indians who had any clothing or household
articles of the white man's kind.•••
•.• they should put aside everything that i:.
similar to the white people and that which they had
learned from them, so that in the darkness the
Great Spirit might not mistake them and snatch
them a~ay.
... many llre doing away with
their household articles and
clothing.•.•
The above ma1trial if parr fJf a /011ger work in
progress. Jr is drawn entirelyfrom actual occounLS
uf the events ~ntitmed, a.s recorded in ltrrers and
diaries from the period, many of wlrich were
locared in rhe Mortn•ian lfrchh'es In
Winsron·Salem, North Carolina.
5
�Imagine what could happen over, say, the next five
years, if similar projects were begun in cities and
communities all around the region and beyond....
A Look at the Black Swan Center
By C.8. Squire
College students encouraging community economic
development in the community that surrounds their campus? Thai
is exactly what's happening in the Swannanoa River Valley. The
effon is being carried out by student-faculty teams from Warren
Wilson College working ou1 of the BlacJc Swan Center.
The Black Swan Center. named for Black. Mountain and
Swnnnanoa, !he two towns in !he Valley it embraces. is currently
located on the Wnrrcn Wilson campus and serves as a community
resouN:e organization for the entire area. A key ob)ective is to
explore how small colleges can "serve as catalysts in their own
backyards for community and ce-0nomic development projec ts,"
according to Black Swan directors Laura Temple Haney and Louise
Solomon.
Initially funded by grants from the Z. Smith Reynolds
Foundation and the Broyhill Family Foundation, the Center
operates with a work/study crew made up of students and faculty
advisers responsible for various individual projects of the Center.
This "work crew". made up of fifteen students majoring in
Sociology, Environmental Studies, Social Work, Political Science,
and English, meets regularly to review their various projects
centered around !he "community economic developmem" concept.
The Black Swan Center grew out of lhe Swannanoa Valley
Projcc1 (SVP), a land-use planning and economic development
study carried out in 1985 by Swannanoa Valley residents and
Warren Wilson College Staff, faculty, and students. Funded by the
Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation and TV A, the SVP found that
most project participants wanted the Valley to reverse its downward
economic trend "while remaining an essentially rural area wilh a
viable economic base." It became apparent thm what wa!"> needed
was an ongoing community resource center to serve these needs.
Thus, the Black Swan Center was born.
The vital importance of a community planning and resource
center such as this cannot be overestimated. Tf we wish to
preserve and enhance the quality of life here in Kaniah, in ways thar
nre ecologically and economically sound, we can no longer allow
the haphazard and Shon-sighted type of growth and development
that has predominated for decades. The key factor in reversing this
trend and in finding truly workable solutions is to encourage local
initiative, self-reliance, infonnalion exchange, and cooperative
effort. This can be a very powerful grassroots movement, with
far-reaching effects, but it demands susmined local commitment and
involvement. This k:ind of sustained effon can best be supported
JCQti&Qh
Journot pc:M)e
by citizens and businesspeople acting in concen with local academic
institutions. After all, should we not make the mo.st of all of our
available local resources, in order to assure the contin ued
well-being of our communities? Only in this way can we
intelligently deal with the tremendous forces of change that are
confronting us. It is now critical !hat we re-learn and re-create the
an of community - and projects such as the Black Swan Center arc
beginning 10 lay the groundwork for !his crucial renaissance. In
fact, this dynamic pilot project has already achieved tangible
results. Imagine what could happen over, say, the next five years,
if similar projects were begun in cities and communities all around
lhe region and beyond. ...
A key objective is to explore
how small colleges can "serve as
catalysts in their own backyards
for community and economic
development projects" ...
In its first year, the Black Swan Center has been focusing on
three essential components: (I ) A community economic
development class for Warren Wilson students to prepare them to
work in the Center; (2) development of a college work crew made
up of faculty and students which operates and coordin:ncs Black
Swan ruitivitics; and (3) a community-based education course for
Valley residents designed to promote new business ventures,
develop rural leadership Skills and teach community economic
development concepts. AU three components are in place, with the
community-based education course starting in March.
Organalcd by Lisa Waners, a Sociology mnJOr, the course,
"Community Development and the Economy in the Swannanoa
Valley,''. is ~imed at .~elpmg Valley residents (l) "gain the
leadership skills and ab1hoes that can make positive changes in the
lives of the people that live in the Valley; (2) explore the
Swunnanoa Valley community and its resources; (3) understand the
problems facing the local economy; (4) seek: solutions. and; (5)
determine what small businesses might succeed in the Valley."
16
Sprl.n.g, 1989
12
�As Lisa points out. this type of course was designed by the
Highlander Center in Tennessee and has been used in such
co~uniri~s. as Jellico,_Tennessee, and Dungannon, Virginia.
Unlike tradiuonaJ educauon, the course doesn't separate learning
from doing, theory from practice and education from work. "When
Y?U put 'community' in front of 'economic development'," says
Lisa, "it means ordinary citizens revitalizing their communities and
stimulating quality economic development from within rather than
waiting for the 'expens' to do it, or for outside industries 10 come
in and provide jobs." In the long run, "community economic
development doesn't only mean jobs. because ic can aJso make the
difference in peoples' environments and quality of life."
exploring options for municipal structures for the community of
Swannanoa. He is also helping to draft a legal document that can
be used as pan of an offical petition to the state to incorporate
as a township.
Christy Allred, an Environmental Studies major, and
Katherine Crum, a Social Work major, are working with TV A 10
identify fanners in the Valley who are interested in growing
specialty crops such as shiitake mushrooms and baby
watennelons. Two workshops are planned, one in May, the other
in the fall of 1989, that wiU bring Canners from Buncombe and
Madison County together 10 discuss agricultural problems and
trends facing the area and how to effectively market specialry crops.
The 10.week course will be fnciJiiated by Louise Solomon
and Laura Temple Haney, both faculty members at Warren Wilson,
and Marilyn Bass, of the YMJ Cultural Center in Asheville. In the
second part of this course, they will be joined by Tim Richnrds, of
the Small Business Technology Development Center, and Dana
Smith, of the Self-Help Credit Union, who will specifically instruct
participants on how to work with a business idea.
One of the more impn:ssive activities growing out of the
Black Swan Center is a waste management center, directed by
Melissa Gildersleeve, an lntercultural Studies major. Alrendy in
operation on the College campus, the Center includes a processing
pavilion for rccycleable items, including a baler for cardboard and
specially designed "drop-off' bins for recycling glass, cans and
newspapers. The waste management center grew out of a class
exercise in an Environmental Policy cl:iss artd has resulted m the
recycling of much of the 25,000 lbs/yr. of ttash generated by the
collegc--trllSh that had been caned to the county landfill at a cost of
up to Sl2,000/yr. Melissa bcheves that within a couple of years the
college's waste management costs will be entirely covered by
n:venucs from recycling. Her bu.~iness plan includes e~panding the
College's program by establishing five more "drop·off' collection
sues in the Swannaoa Valley, possibly as early as this spring.
While important to carrying out the aims of the Center, the
course in communicy economic development th.is spring is by no
me~ns ~h~ center's sole: agenda_. A small ~usincss development
project is in progress with the rum of "keeping more money in the
Valley" by encouraging businesses in the area to buy from each
other whenever possible, explained Brad Brock. another Sociology
major and one of the Business Development coordinators for the
Center. He added that the Black Swan Center and the Swannanoa
Valley Ch:tmbcr of Commerce have almost completed a business
directory of the Valley with one section made up of chamber
members and the other. "the green pages". listing all valley-owned
businesses.
Brad and his partner. Rebel Bailey, an Environmental
Studies 1113jor and owner of a flourishing backpack business. have
a!so been working with Nonh Carolina REAL Enterprise (Rural
&onomic Alternative Leaming, localed in Raleigh, North Carolina)
10 design a curriculum on developing student-owned enterprises for
Wam:n Wilson College. Fffty people attended a five-pan series of
workshops called "Business Basics''. Post-workshop follow-up
has resulted in consulting sessions with four entrepreneurs with a
"good strong prospect" for getting a business up and running in the
Valley. Still another project for Brad and Rebel is the Stan-up of a
breakfast club, modeled after the Briarpatch program on the west
coast, that will provide networking opponunities for local
entrepreneurs and owners of small businesses in the Valley.
Another Black Swan project, headed by Heidi Erick.son. :in
Environmental Studies and Education major, is a literacy program
with a new twist-worlting directly with the business community to
improve literacy. Heidi explains that those unable to read and write
are often reluctant to tell their employers or their lack of reading
skills. But one area employer, Charles D. Owen m, has agreed to
have a literacy project operating at his plant site, with employees
receiving half-pay for the time they spend on learning to read.
Heidi's project has already trained 12 people at Warren Wilson
College to teach such courses.
Still another project of the Center involves working with the
Alternative Energy Corporation. based 1n the Research Triangle
area, in developing a "Community Energy Campaign~ for the
Valley. This project plans to help weatherize non-profit buildings
anc,1 to audit heat loss in college and community
buildings-including the former Carver Alternative School property
in Black Mountain which the county has just acquired from the
town's Parks & Recreation DepanmenL Eventually, with this
campaign, the Center hopes to help the community save much of
the 40 miJlion dollars a year or so lhat leaks out in energy cosrs in
the Swannanoa Valley.
Dan Scbeuch, a Political Science major, has been working
with Swannanoa Valley residents and the Nonh Carolina
Department of Natural Resources and Co1TUI1un1ty Development in
Sprt.nq. t989
Although all the ~tudents working at the Black Swan Center
have different 'main' projects they are working on. they all have
one thing in common. Each panicipates in one another's
programs... wch as lending the experti~e the1y have gained in
desktop publishing, to knocking on doors of local businesses. to
picking up the College'!\ waste and recycleablcs from around
campus once a week.
For the future, chc Black Swan Ccnu;r hopes 10: organize n
Swannanoa Valley community work day: perhaps relocate the
Center more into the heart of the community: encourage other small
colleges in Appalachia to explore setting up a similnr program. and,
in general. coordinate the community development projects and
courSCS and the starrup of at least one student-run entesprise.
One of the most promising aspects of this entire project is for
the Black Swan Center to serve as a working model for other
insututions in the region. They. too. may want to embark on a
similar cooperative program of community development that., in the
words of the Center's grant application, "will overcome the
'LOwn-gown' barriers that separate so many colleges from their
neighbors."
To quote Gnscom Morgan, son of Arthur Morgan who
founded the Cclo community in Yancey County. and who bjmself
for the last four decades has inspired and assisted the cause of
community through his association with Community Service. Inc.;
"We need fol,k colleges-people's colleges...not jus1 for intellect.uals
or whites, b11t to do what Highlander College (now Clllled
Highlander Center) has done for Appalachia and the South. lf we
had folk colleges 10 which the working class and rural people from
across a region could come and htive association with the
intellecruaJs--then rerum to their local communities with the strength
and conviction of their own culture--tbese different groups of the
common people could reinforce each other.•
Morgan's dream is being rcallz.ed by a group of pioneers:
so~ fifcecn students with very diverse background.<>, two faculty
advisors, and an involved community•..... You are welcome 10 visit
this dynamic center or call for more infonnation.
The Black Swan Ctn1er, 701 Warren Wilson Road, Swanrwnoa,
North Carolina 28778. (704) 299-9306
�wlld lovely days
the wild lovely days
come
with a wind tossed violence
they awaken
a tantalizing bitterness
of memory
the spring morning of lilacs
the wilting high noon
of orange poppies
the late afternoon sun
of autumn marigolds
and now
the great wheel of night
spins with dazzling circles
of blue and gold light
�dancer
the tender talents
of earth swelling
with rapture
birdsong and blue sky
fluttering encore
a thousand thousand
leaves turning
rich dark colors
awaiting
opulent carnage
exalted limbs rising
against dark skies
crucible
answer
I who hurried thru lhe years
running this way and that
sometimes strangely knowing
sometimes weeping beside the road
spent at last, alone
bereft of all I sought
you came to me
slowly without my knowing
you touched me
the stream carries me
my face is wet
I am submerged
I will not let
fear of drowning
darken the bright water
all that rs bright and clear
filters thru the translucent waves
of faith, the ineffable substance
that fills the
yearning crucible
with timeless light
endless peace
Selections from the book Wifd Lovely Days. portraits of moments In time and nature expressed in complementary words and images.
THE POET·
THE PHOTOGRAPH:R;
Ellmboth Griffin Is an artist, poet, and former lawyer residing in
Highlands. Katuah Province.
Gii Leebrick is an environmentally concerned falher, husband, mediator,
photographer, and director of the Appalachian Environmental Arts Center in
Highlands.
�.:•····;••·....................................
.,....
..
....
....
.~~·
~
~
i{ NATURAL \~.
: wORLD :
~
~
~
~
·!
i:
\. ..
:I
..
NEWS
..
..
·~.
.(
.~ ..
"!,
·:.
.:
~~~~~.·~··· · · ~·.·.·.•.•.•.·.·· · · ....~::::::!:
.!·
?·
PANTHERTOWN RESTORED!
Nllllnl World NCWJ Str-i=
In one Inst expression of disdain for
Congress and the Appalachian b1orcgion, the
Reagan administration m the la.~L days of its reign
took away money slated for the pun:hase of the
Pa.nthenown tract high in the headwaters of the
Tuckasegee River.
Through an arrangement with Duke Power
Company, which wants to run a high-voltage
power line across pan of the Panthenown area,
Congress hod appropriated $8 million to buy the
remainder of the propeny for inclusion in National
Forest Jnnds. Under a rechnicaliry the our-going
administration stole away that money. plus $47
million for other land appropriations. to pay the
costS of fighting the famous Yellowstone fire and
other fires that occurred in the summer of 1988 in
drought-soicken western states.
On March 13. 1989, however, the Office of
Management and Budget reversed the order, and
put the money back into the special Land and
Water Conservation Fund, where it is once
available for land acquisition purposes.
It is expected that the Panthcnown purchase
will be able to be completed this summer.
COLEY CREEK IS SAFE!
Systems Research Group, to review the Coley
Creelc plan. The study group pointed out that fuel
prices would have to escalate considerably lO make
the Coley Creek project economically viable.
However, cbe consultants' review found
that the most economical approach would be to
emphasize "demand-side programs." These
programs hcreate" extra energy by promoting
conservation on the pan of utility customers
through steps such as rewarding customers for
efficient energy use pancrns and helping to cut
down on energy consumption by wealherization
programs, promoting energy-efficient appliances,
etc. A more careful and judicious use of energy
reduces the need for increased energy production.
The report showed that through energy
conservation Duke could make avnilable the same
amount of energy that the Coley Creek pumped
storage project would have provided. but at
one-third the cost. The repon outlined five
different demand-side programs and gave
srep-by-srep directions for their implement.arlon.
Bill Thomas, co-chair of rhe Jocassee
Wate~hed Coalition, said, "h could be very
imponant for a company like Duke to stan a series
of pilot programs in energy conservation. Even if
they weren't completely convinced that this was
the best way to go, they should :u least experiment
and find out for themselves what programs wo11ld
work and what wouldn't."
"In September the Nonh Carolina Utilities
Commission will hold a series of six hearings at
locations across the stare to gather public comment
on a proposed least-cost planning rule that will
include demand-side management items. A good
tum-out by people s~ak.ing on behalf of these
measures wouJCI show the COinmission where the
public suppon lies."
The Jocnssee Watershed has obtained a
reprieve from funher depredations by Duke
Power, but efforts continue to gain binding
legislauve protection for the basin through
designation of the Thompson and the \v'hitewater
as Wild and Scenic Rivers. (The Horsepasturc
River already has protected stntus.) Preliminnry
studies have already been completed, and show
very definttely that further srudy is justified.
"We need to g~t legislacors to press the
North Carolina Natural Resoun:es and Community
Development Department to complete their sruclies
so that the lcgislat.ion can proceed," said Thomas.
"We arc asking people interested in the future of
the Jocnssee Watershed to contact their state
n:presentatives and ask them to get involved with
this.''
...AND NOW CHAITOOGA
Duke Power Company has announced that it
is postp<>ning indefinitely the Coley Creek Pump
Storage Project, which would have done
devastating environmental damage in the beautiful
Jocassee Watershed area in the foothills of the
Blue Ridge.
Officially, the company said that a review of
fuel prices and the economics of the pumped
storage alternative convinced them that providing
power by coal plants or combustion turbines was
economically more advantageous. What the
company did not mention was that they had met
stiff resistance to the project every step of the way
from the Jocassee Watershed Coalition, a
broad-based organization of hikers, hunters.
fishermen, and environmental groups. which may
also have influenced their decision. With a grant
from the Babcock Foundation. the coalition had
hired an independent consulting firm, the Energy
~
)o"'nat P • 20
Officials of Rabun County, Georgia and the
Associated Consulting Group are conspiring to
build a jetpon on a mountaintop in the upper
reaches of the Chattooga River, which is
designated as a Wild and Scenic River.
Preliminary design studies of the site
illegally conducted by Associated Cousulting at the
request of the Rabun County government have
detennined that they would need t.o level the entire
mountaintop to make room for the jet planes to
land. The jets would take off and land directly
over the river and roar over remote wild areas in
their flighL
The potential impacts on the Chattooga
watershed would be devastating. They include
massive sedimentation, wildlife habitat
destruction, and noise pollution, as well as the
fouling of the water and air. The remote and wild
character of the Chattooga whitewater run would
be severely degraded by the low-altitude
overflighcs.
The US Forest Service has refused ro talce a
position to protect the "wild and scenic" status of
the Chattooga despite their legislative mandate
under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to do so.
The agency has even backed down from an earlier
comrninment to require an Environmental Impact
Statement for actions affecting any Forest Service
site. The American Rivers organization and a
coalition of local citizens is working on behalf of
the river. They say, ''Since t.be Forest Service has
refused to direct the county away from the
Chanooga site, citizen voices are essential to
prevent the Chattooga site from bemg selected.
The county and Associated Consulting are known
to have a bias in favor of the Chattooga site, and
only overwhelming public sentiment against lhe
site can change their minds."
Make yourfeelings known! Write:
Associated Consulting Group
3 I5 W. Po111::e de Leon Ave. (Suite 125)
Decatur, OA 30084
Kenneth Henderson, Forest Supen·i,s()r
Cl111ual100d~e National Forest
508 Oak St. NW
Gainesville. GA 30501
American Rivers
801 Pennsylvania Ave. SE (Suire 303)
Washington. DC 20003
WHAT'S AN EIS?
(or JUDGE HALTS VULCAN)
There will be no rock quarry in Flat Creek nt least not anytime soon.
Vulcan Matenals Company had planned to
dig a 58-acre, open-pit quarry near Weaverville
despite protests from local residents until
Buncombe County Superior Coun Judge Roben
D. Lewis voided Vulcan's state permit early this
'd
year. Some 450 North Buncom be rest ents
snowed up at the last public hearing in October of
1987. Most were against the quarry projecL The
group fonned the North Buncombe Association of
Concerned Citizens, which filed suit against
VuJcan, a Fortune 500 company, and several state
officials. Residents claimed in their suitS tha1 the
mining permit was issued 10 the company despite
evidence from expens that the quarry, which
would have been sited about two miles nonh of
the town of Weaverville, would deplete and
pollute area groundwater.
Spri-n9, 1989
�INCINERATORS THREATEN
AIR QUALITY
Jllmnl World News Service
"Cloudy skies" would be the long-term
weather forecast for meb'OpoliUUl Knoxville and all
points downwind if four new waste incinerators
were to come into operation in the area.
Three proposed incinerators in the
Knoxville area and one that is already constructed
1hrea1en 1he Great Smoky Mounrains National
Park, only 40 miles downwind, and the already
beleaguered mounrains of the Kan1ah province.
Cum:n!ly, air in the Smokies ranks it among the
ten most polluted of all the National Parks. It used
to be that the Park was only "smokey" during the
summer months when natural chemicals from the
forest vegetation combined with panicles in the
air. Now, even on a clear winter day, the view is
noticeably hazy. An estimated 70% of the pall is
due to air pollution.
The Department of Energy (DOE) has built
an incinerator at the K-25 Gaseous Diffusion Plant
in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. According to engineer
John Patton of the Division of Air Pollution
Conttol for the State of Tennessee, it is licensed
under the Toxic Substances Control Act to burn
radioactively contaminated polychlorinated
biphenyls (PCB's) and other wastes which are
generated at the DOE facilities at Oak Ridge,
Paducah, and the Ponsmouth Gaseous Diffusion
Plants. The incinerator bums only propane gas
now, but when it goes on line in the summer of
1989, it will burn 3000 pounds of r.idioactive
waste every hour. A similar incinerator was
defeated in Rocky Flats, Colorado through public
opposition.
A private company mis-named the Safe
Ecology Group is proposing to build another
incinerator on Bear Creek Road in Oak Ridge that
will bum low-level radioactive waste for volume
reduction. According to Lisa Finaldi of the Nonh
Carolina Clean Water Fund, this incinerator will
take low-level radioactive waste from states that
are members of radioactive waste compact
agreements, such as North Carolina and New
York, reduce the volume of the waste, and then
send it back to the states for disposal. The
capacity of this incinerator will be 10,000 pounds
of radioactive waste per hour.
Also in the site selection stage is the East
Knoxville mass burn incinerator that will be
operated by Foster-Wheeler Power Systems of
New Jersey. The proposed incinerator will bum
900 tons of municipal garbage a day.
According to a Solid Waste Authority
spokesperson in Knoxville, "The incinerator and
recycling will be used to decrease landfill
dependency.''
Opponents of the incinerator,
however, declare that incineration will decrease the
recycling incentive, since the operating company
has a flat guarantee from the city and the county
that it will receive a certain amount of waste to
bum 10 produce electricity. Recyclers fear that
quota will be filled by waste that would otherwise
be potentially recoverable.
. Electricity sales will not cover operation and
maintenance costs for rhe incineraror facility. A
group called CARE in Knoxville claims that the
Solid Waste Authority did not compare the cost of
incineration, which will come to $370 million over
a 20-year period, with the coStS of alternative
methods of reducing solid waste, i.e. commercial
Sprl.ncj, l989
and household recycling, baling (compressing
THE FATE OF THE ROSE
garbage), and composting (brush, leaves, etc.).
Even with an incinerator, about 40% of
from• n;iort by N~ Blmhlrdl
solid waste must be landfilled. A new landfill will
Years ago the Agriculture Depanment
be needed in Knox County whether there is an
incincr.1tor or noL Incinerators actually raise the brought the multiflora rose into Virginia for soil
cost of disposal, because incinerator a.sh is a conservation and to attTact wildlife. Now the state
hazardous waste and must be sto1ed using encourages the eradication of this plant and may be
expensive protective techniques in special making a mistake that will tum out to be far more
serious than the spread of the shrubby muhiflora
landfills.
The CARE group also points out that, even bush. Montgomery and Grayson counties have
with air pollution conttols, incinerators pose a passed, and Floyd county is considering,
risk to public health that carries an incalculable legislation to force landowners to keep the plant
cosL The most dangerous chemicals cannot be from scrting seed on their propeny.
Farmers say that the roots of this plant arc
seen or smelled.
hard to lc:ill. Pulling multiflora roots out of the
Finally, next door to the proposed site for ground usually causes tbero to start new plants.
the Knoxville mass bum incinerator, the Dixie The multiflora grows in too many out-of-the-way
Cement Company may bum bai.ardous waste in a places to keep it all cut. Therefore, the st.ate
convened cement kiln.
recommends herbicides to lcilltbe plant - herbicides
that are particularly apt to contaminate
groundwater. Dicamba and 2,4-D arc both on the
list of pesticides which the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) considers most lillely to
leach into groundwater. Piclorfam, which is also
on the EPA leaching list, is conrained in the pellets
ofTordon, a restricted-use herbicide.
SLUDGE ISSUE STILL STEAMING
Though 2,4-D is not restricted and is
classed only as a "possible carcinogen," it may
soon be reclassified, because recent studies by the
National Institute of Cancer have shown a link
There is a new development in the bat!le between 2,4-D and cenain types of cancer. As
over the fate of Buncombe County's sewage 2,4-D breaks down, it can form products of
decomposition rhat are more toxic than the original
sludge: Advanced Alkaline Stabilization.
With encouragment from the Buncombe formulation. Like Tordon and Dicamba, 2,4-0 can
County Commissioners, the Buncombe also be contaminated with nitrosamines, which are
Metroplltan Sewerage District (MSD) has agreed cancer-causing. or more immediate concern is the
stress which pesticides put on rhe kidneys and
10 hold a hearing on this waste treatment process,
which mixes sludge with kilned lime dusr other pans of the human body.
William
(quicklime). ~ng pathogens and raising the pH agronomy at Wes1 Bryon, associate professor of
Virginiu University Wiil> quolcd
of the mixture, thus binding heavy metals and
making the resulting material suitable for in the Roanoke TimtS of January 29, 1988 that
herbicides cannot eradicate the multiflora rose and
spreading on farm pastures. The hearing is are not wonh using. He also mentions a natural
scheduled to be held in Asheville on March 21.
rosette disease
Foes of che sludge incinerator say that che control called Missouri. Thiswhich is spreading
this way from
disease, spread by
outcome of that hearing will detennine their future a mite, can accomplish what the herbicides can't
strategy. "If the MSD continues to favor the and kills the multiflora in a few years.
incineration process," said Paul Gallimore of the
(conlinucd on next .-ae}
Long Branch Environmenral Education Center,
"we will push for a review of the Environmental
Protection Agency's health risk assessment that
OK'd the incinerator proposal.
"The EPA assessment is flawed. They
looked at only one possible pathway for airbome
pollution from the incineraror to enter the body by air inhalation - when actually there are four
other possible parhways - through direct
contamination of food, food grown in
contaminated soils, dermal exposure, and
inhalation of contaminared soil or dust.
"After some method - any method - of
sludge treatment is chosen, the next step is to put
pressure on the MSD to righten up industrial
pre-ueatrnent standards for wastes. Carcinogens
and heavy metals should not be allowed to leave
the point of origin regardless of the waste
treatment technology selected."
The MSD has agreed to institure a pilot
operation to tesc the feasibility of composting
sewage sludge no mauer what treatment process is
used for the bulk of the county's wasre.
"This is very positive," said GaJJimore.
"Where an incinerator will give out in 20 or 30
years and have to be completely replaced at great
expense, a composting operation just keeps
turning out the humus. Biological microorganisms
just don't quit."
�(CQn.tinucd from pag$ 21)
MOUNTAIN PEOPLE SAY
"CUT THE CLEARCUITING"
Nanni Wcxld News Savice
The Western Nonh Carolina Alliance
(WNCA) bas launched a public campaign to
Fuade the US Forest Service (USFS) to change
us primary timber management technique,
even-aged management. Under that scheme
patches of the National Forests up to 40 acres in
size an: cut to the ground so that the resulting
regrowth is of uniform size and easier 10 harvest.
Alliance members held an anti-clearcuuing
protest demonstration in front of the Forest
Service headquarters in downtown Asheville.
Banners and signs proclaiming "Cut the
Clearcutting" were hoisted by the protesters who
want the Forest Service to adopt a timber
management strategy that relics heavily on
uneven-aged management, which is based on
careful examination of individual siteS and logging
prescriptions that call for the thinning of
undesirable trees as welJ as the removal of good
sawtimbcr. so that future growcb is improved.
Uneven-aged management requires greater
expertise and auention to detail on the part of
foresters, and the Forest Service claims it docs not
have the budget to suppon these extra demands on
its staff.
Demonsttators lined the sidewalks in front
of the USPS offices with tree stumps to ~give the
flavor of what a forest of stumps looks like," said
WNCA member Monroe Gilmour. Also displayed
was a 90-foot long petition containing over 1,700
.names of Katuah residents opposed to
clearcuning.
The campaign was also carried into local
ranger districts at several meetings held to give
local community members a chance to speak about
proposed clearcurs in their immediate areas.
Over 100 Clay County residents auended a
community meeting in Hayesville to protest
planned clearcutting in their county. Retired
fores1cr Walton Smith, chair of the WNCA Timber
Management Taste Force, told the gathering that
since the clcarcuuing method was iniri:ued the
qualit) of the timber production had substanrially
declined. Smith noted that the growth of sprouted
limber, as found in clcarcuis. was substantially
faster, but produced trees of poorer quality than
trees grown from seed. Sprouts produced a
cross-grain growth that created a weakness in the
lumber, he said.
Smith recently walked scveml clearcuts with
USFS Regional Supervisor Bjorn Dahl. Smith
said Dahl was "quite surprised'' to see a tract under
uncven-:iged management thnt W3S full of young
seedling trees. whereas the clearcut areas were full
of sprouts.
In another meeting with Forest Service
personnel and a.ides to legis!Ative representatives,
150 Madison County residents met to protest
proposed road construction and clcarcuning at the
top of Bearpcn Ridge. The residenis complained
that the road and the clearcutting operation would
cause sedimentation in Hickey Fork Creek and
would destr0y the trout hatchery there. The cold
creek waters offer challenging fishing for rainbow
and native brook trout
The steep. remote forests in the Hickey
Fork Creek watershed ~ovide excellent habiiat for
bears and other wildlife, and the area is popular
with bunters. Many in the assemblage were bear
hunters who were concerned that the new roads
and the clearcutting would cause bears to shy
away &om the area. They were especially alarmed
JGcitilah 'o~Ml P • 22
to learn that a stand of large white oalcs on top of
Bearpen Ridge were t0 be included in the clearcut
The hunters. who were all familiar with the woods
and wildlife in the area. agreed that this .stand was
one of the most imponant mast-eroducing areas in
the region and that it was heavily used by bears.
After hearing their concerns, Frank Roth of the
USFS indicated that he would set aside an acre of
so of the largest trees so that they could continue
10 provide wildlife food.
The WNCA is plannning a "Cut the
Clearcuuing" rally on April 15 at 11 :00 in the
City-County Plaza with music, talks, and
presenta1ion of a protest pe1itioo to USFS
officials.
For copies of the petirion in favor of uneven
-aged forest management, or more informt111on
on the "CUI the Clearct1tting" campaign, write or
aJil:
The Wesrern Nonlr Caro/iM Alliance P.O. Box
18087 Asheville, NC 28814 (704) 258- 8737
To win $50 in the "Ugliest Clearcut Photo
Contest," send entries 10 tlU! Alliance by April I.
Bjorn Dahl, Regional Forester US Porest
Service Box 2750 Asheville, NC 28802
(704) 2574200
.
.............
PEREGRINE FALCONS FLEDGE
While the Natural World News often seems
gloomy. here is a linle light:
Scott Ball. a temporary eml'loyec of the NC
Wildlife Resources Commission's Nongame
Program, perched high up on Whiteside
Mountain, observed lhe first confinned
naturally-bred peregrine falcon to fledge in the
Kal\fah province since 1957.
With the help of volunteer falcon wa1chers,
wildlife biologists found five pairs of peregrine
falcons defending territories at mountain cliffs last
ycor Three of these pairs made nesting attempts.
Two pairs each raised a single chick to fledging
age.
Wildlife biologists seem cau11ously
optimistic. While this level of reproduction will
nol sustain 1he newly-established peregrine
population, these successful auempts may augur
well for the fuwre of this magnificent predator in
Karuah.
Biologisis will continue releases of young
captive-bred peregrines for several more years. but
will release a smaller number each year. ln 1988
18 young falcons were released along the Blue
Ridge near Mt. Mitchell and on Grandfather
Mountain. Biologists have released 63 young
peregrine falcons in the mountains since the
restoration effort began in 1984.
If five breeding pairs can be csmblished in
the Southern Appalachians, the program's
emphasis will then switch to protection and
management of the nesting peregrines.
Excerptedfrom a report by John_ Alderman
\..:
CHEMTRONICS SPEWS POISONS
Toe infamous Chemtronics plant in
Swannahoa. North Carolina has dumped hundreds
of thousands of potinds of a highly toxic industrial
solvent into the air over the past several months,
despite pleas of a company chemist to install
equipment that would h.ave caught 90 percent of
the chemical.
.
The plant has released 256 596 pounds of
tetrachloroclhylcne, which is acutely or chronically
toxic. according to \he US, Environmental
Protection Agency '<EPA). The .solvent i~ also
believed to destroy ozone in Jiu; high atmosphere,
allowing increased pen~~at1on 9[, l;larmful
ultra-viol~t radi;nio.o from ~he sun.
Terrachloroethylene is also a suspected carcinogen
and contribwes 10 s111o,g and air poJtutfon close to
the Eanh's.$urface.
.J
•
,
Cbemtronics senior sc1entiSt, John Tylldall.
who charted the releases. said a11
9ne.poln1t 'The
cnvfronmental . impac~ (<~f the (eleases) is
enormous. and wt:. need \o act on this situation
immediately." He has since beep laid off by
Chemtronics.
Plans were approved for the installation of a
recovery system to capture the escaping solvent,
but Chemtronics' parent company, Halibunon
Corporation. never advanced the money to pay for
the lnstaUa1ion, according to a ~ll_en;llronics
official.
rn other recent and' rel~ued news,
negotiauons between the companies responsible
for dumping toxic industrial wastes at the
Chemtronics Supcrfund site in Swnnnanoa have
broken down, delaying clean-up of the former
military munitions plant there. according to the
EPA. Chemtronics, along with former owners
Northrop Corporation and Ce~nese Corporaiion
cannot agree on who should pay how much.
The breakdown in ncgotialions means a
delay of months and possibly years in the clean-up
operation if the disagreement 1s submiued to
litigation. according to EPA official John
Bomholm.
Celanese Corp. bought the now-polluted
propcny in 1959 and made explosive!\, solid
propellants, shells, rocket motors, and chemical
agents the.re. Northrop Corp. bought 1he facility in
1965 and continued the military contracts. Jn 1971
Ainronics. Inc. leased the site and continued the
work through its Cbemtronics division.
Chemtronics bought the plant from Northrop in
1978, about the same time the EPA discovered the
presence of more than 50 organic chemicals which
had leaked into the surrounding soil and
groundwater.
In another recent corporate shuffle, the
Halibl.lrlon Co. has dissolved its Chemtronics
branch. and has turned the Swannanoa plant over
co its Je1 Research subsidiary
"We'rl! going LO be a lot more responsible
company environmentally," said Bob King, Jet
Research vice-president. "Jct Research makes
warheads and other explosives for the military, but
the processes will not involve the release of
dangerous substances into the air and
groundwater, as was the practice at the plant for so
long."
-SprLnq, 19U
�REVIEW:
Sacred Land Sacred Sex RapIUTe ofthe Deep:
Concerning Deep Ecology and Celebrating Life
by Dolores LaOuipelle
(Pinn Hill AIU; Silvcncn, CO; 1988)
'7n this kind of learni11g, there is no knowledge, in the usual
stnse, to process and convey; thert is instead a deepening of
anenlion to the pattern ofall lift around you, so tltat you ~gin to
/Jw 'JOllT life accordUtg to thal pattern.• - DoWu LaC•Ue
"Biorcgion" is a word of power. It encompasses what
scientists call an "ecosystem," but goes beyond the mechanistic
limitations of scientific nomenclature. A bioregion is clearly a
community, a land alive - plants, animals. soil, water, sunlight, all
the elements of life womng tOJCther. each sustaining the others.
"Bioregion" is a word with the nng of rightness to it.
The word "biorcgional" follows. It is descriptive, "panalcing
of the qualities of the lioregion," but it is a little longer and the truth
that resonates in the original noun is just ever so slightly
diminished.
But "bioregionalism" is a word that cmies no force
whatsoever. Whenever the odious "-ism" is added to an otherwise
usefuJ root idea, it completely drains whatever value for powerful
communication that original word may previously have possessed.
That simple suffix, just three letters, hardens a worthwhile
approach to life into a dogmatic school of institutionalized thought,
limits flexibility, and rums a life-giving relationship with the natural
world into a set of precepts to be debated pro and con in sterile
classrooms.
"Deep ecology" is an alternative phrase inspired by
Norwegian philosopher Arne Naess to define the auth of our
individual and collective relationship to the natural world.
The phrase has drawbacks. It is based in part on the Greek
word meaning ''study," because ecology was developed as an
interdisciplinary course of i:nstroction to explain the relationships
between the different elements of a place and how they work
together to sustain life. Now, however, the word "ecology" has
grown beyond the idea of "a course of study" to mean an acrual life
community and the web of relationships on which i1 depends.
"Deep ecology" lacks the evocative sense of a phrase like
"furure primitive," which describes people living in the world.
"Future primitive" predicts a technology thar is sophisticated to the
point of simplicity. It refers to a people whose culture is beautifully
complex rather than needlessly complicated, because it is based on
primal values as well as biologically accurate observation.
Yet, while the actual choice of words may be somewhat stiff,
the definition of "deep ecology" is eloquent. lt is ecology with a
difference. The essential tenet of deep ecology is that there is
intrinsic value to life in all its fonns. To fully understand deep
ecology one must identify one's "self" as "all that lives." This in
tum demands perceiving the world with more of our brain than the
neo-conex, the seat of the intellect. Sensual and instinctual
responses are as valuable for survival as intellectual analysis. It is
also assumed that a full realization of the principles of deep ecology
requires that one acts on them - it is necessary to defend the Earth
and to work at changing our culture.
This is what living is all about. This is "bioregionalism" as it
should be.
"Deep ecology" is useful as a t:ranSitional concept to describe
our odysse.Y back into the world. It is not the perfect turn of phrase,
but usage ts what lends definition, and those who are maJctng the
strongest stance for the Eanh are doing so in the name of deep
ecology. It is deep enough to suffice until we simply can say
~being," and other people undersmnd.
~ing,
Because that is what it is all about, isn't i1? Being, simply
here. Yet in these times that is such a complicated mauer.
And it is the hardest of all things to express. The sages have always
said, "The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.•
And that is where Dolores LaChapelle steps in. She has
attempted the impossible - and done it valiantly. Her book Sacred
Land Sacred Sex Raprure of ti~ Deep oies to communicate in
words what can only be known through experience: the essence of
deep ecology.
Dolores LaChapelle herself is well aware of this paradox,
which is faced by anyone who writes. And, like all writers, sbe
feels compelled 10 wrestle with iL
So in writing about deep ecology she takes another approach.
Like a hawk, Dolores circles, circles. She first describes the
essential mystery by describing the conditions of itS absence, and
tells us the story of how we Lost touch with it. She then directs us
10 teachers who can demonstrate ic our animal relations in their
rituals; authentic members of primitive cultures; scientists and
psychologists who explore our deeper self And she introduces us
to guides who can help us to find our own way: sage, the drum, the
gourd rattle, Tai Chi, ritual, and, of course, the mounulins.
Sacred land Sacred Sa Raprun of the Deep is a beautiful
book - as deep in the telling as in the subject maner - created
through a blend of hard scholarship, an unswerving dedication to
the sacred, fierce passion, and the life experience of one of the true
elders of our clan.
(continued on next page)
�(continued rrom page 4)
(cantinuad fJom ~ 23)
It is a difficult book, because I.he closer one approaches lO the
essenr:ial truth, the more do ideas become unbound. ~e more do
words betray their meanin&. But Doto~ La Chapelle is a_
woman
of great intellectual stamma. Th~ stones and observatt.o ns we
encounter along this convoluted JOume.Y arc ~th ~mg and
wonderful. and each episode of the book is absorbing m itself. But,
tnken together, the insights delineate an infonnational fiel~ that
conveys a full sense (not mctely a pinned-to-the-board analysis) of
what deep ecology is all about
Impossible as it is to transmit an experiential stnte through
linear type, the book Sacred land. Sacred ~G ROf~"e of tlu! Deep
expertly i.rtfoans inclividuaJ cxpenence. It 1s a trauung manual that
reaches the reader how to open up to the deepest elements of his or
her own life joumey.
After reading Dolores LaChapelle's book, we know the
danger signals to watch for in our culture and in our own psyche.
We know where io look and how to call for instruction. And we
know what it feels like when we reach hannony, the center of the
world We arc prepared to experience the sacred.
Hopefully, the day will come when the concept "deep
ecology" is obsolete, books will no longer be needed, and our
minds won't be enmeshed in ideas. Then we won't have 10
sacrifice U'CCS to our earnest attempts IO explain the Mystery. Then a
story, a night of love, a smile, or the wind moving a leafy branch
will be communication enough. But until then we should be glad
we have teachers such as Dolores LaChapelle.
• reviewtd by David Whultr
#'
"AFFORDANCES"
From
Sacred land Sacred Sex Rapture of the Deep
phase peoples cultivated most of their food, and supplemented their
crops with native foods hunted and gathered from the forest.
There was a ceremonial center with room coougb for large
gatherings, built on raised earthen mounds. Ther~ wer~ semisubterranean eanh lodges. progenitors or those bwlt dunng the
historic Qualia phase by the Cherokee.
.
.
Pisgah phase peoples ma.de cane mats, the 1~prcssions of
which were found in graves, even though the actual amcles no longer
remained. Graves were dug in the floors or dwellings, and the dead
were usually buried in a flexed posicion (lying on their sides in foetal
position). They were accompanied by turtle shell rattles, bone
neck.laces, tools of srone and bone, and pottery.
Support Your Local Ar<:haeologist
The Pisgah Village sue in McDowell County has been
excavated primarily with volunteer labor, much of on the pan of local
residents. Robinson is grateful for such suppon; in fact, it was local
interest that made excavation possible in the first place.
Archaeologists usually receive funding to conduct retrieval of
information only when n site is threatened by development The rather
comical image of the archaeologist busily sifting through the din in
front of a moving bulldoi.eris all too real
Robinson urges everyone who discovers artifacts or a possible
archaeological site to contact him at Wam:n Wilson College, or get in
touch with any archaeology laboratory. such as those located at
Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, the University of
Tennessee at Knoxville, or Appalachian State University io Boone.
Archaeological sites are resources to be preserved, protected,
and revered. It is only by careful recovery of the infonnatioo they
contain, which often takes many years of study, that we will benefit
from these historic resources. At a time when population saturation,
disease, and decimation of our narura.I resources threatens our very
survival, we cannot afford to desrroy the evidences of our region's
past, which might perhaps offer answers for our fu1ure.
Persons i111erested in leaniing f11()re abow archaeology can
contact the Archaeological Society of Norrh Carolina; Research
Laboratories of Archaeology; Universiry of Non/1 Carolina, and the
Friends of North Carolina Archaeology, NC Depanmenc of Cu/rural
Resources; 109 E. Jones St.; Raleigh, NC 27611.
Archaeologist Ken Robinson may~ co111acted by writing him
a1 Warren Wilson College, SwannallOQ, NC 28778 or calling (704)
298-3325.
~
"The affordances of the environment are what it offers
the animal, what it provides or furnishes, either for good or ill."
"Afford." as a verb, is found in the dictionary, but (James J.)
Gibson (of c.ome11 University) made up I.he word ''ajforda.nce." He
explains that this word refers to both the environment and the
animal (including the human) "in a way that no existing tenn does.
It implies the complementarity of the animal and the environment."
This is precisely why I think this word is so important In
our culture, we tend lO think that humans have discovered all these
amazing things; in some ways we believe that these things didn't
even exist until humans found them. I've been trying 10 break
down this laner presupposition throughout this work; first, by
showing how the affordancc we call the gourd gave us agri.culture
and later with other examples. Once you begin using this word,
you will find that every day you will realize how nature provides
affordances for us to use. It's all there before us - it's not
dependent on humans to figure it out This is a giant step forward
in overcoming our culturallr,-induced split from nature.
These affordanccs 'arc the way specific regions of the
environment directly address themselves to particular species or
individuals. Thus, to a human, a maple tree may afford 'looking at'
or 'sitting under,' while 10 a sparrow it affords 'perching,' and '? a
squincl it affords 'climbing.' But these values are not found inside
the minds of the animals. Rather I.hey are...a reciprocal interchan~e
between the living intentions of any animal and the dynamic
affordances of its world ...The psyche .. .is a property of the
ccosysLCm as a whole."
_,
- Dolores LoChopelle
'
FOR FURTI!ER READING:
Dickens, Roy S .. and J(JJ'MS l. McKinley. Frontiers in the
Soil: The Archaeology of Georgia (Chapel Hill; Fronriers Pub. Co.;
1979)
Hudson, Charles. The Southeastern Indians (Kn<>xville;
University o/Tennessu Press: 1978)
Keel, Bennie C .. Cherokee Archaeology: A Study of the
Appalachian Summit (Knoxville; University of Tennessee Press;
1976)
Mathis, Mark A. and Jeffrey J . Crow. The Prehistory of
Nonh Carolina: An Archaeological Symposium (Raleigh, NC Div. of
ArclUvesandHistory: 1983)
McHargue, Georgena and Michael Ro~rrs. A Field Guide to
Conservation Archaeology in North America (PhUadelphla: J.B .
Uppincorr Co.; 1977)
Wetmore. Rwh. First on the Land: The North Carolina Indians
(Winston-Sa/em; l<>hn F. Blair, PublishQ; 1977)
Wa.m:n Wilsoo College will offer an archaeologic:al f"icld 1thool 1his
summer lhnt wdl focus on the Pisgah Village site. SllldclllS will lc4m survey
and excavation leehniqucs mid will also be involved in lhe aruilysls of altifact
and site da.13.
Contact: Kt11 Robinson. Proj«t Dim<:t.or; Box 5277; Warren Wiison
College; Swanannanoa. NC 28778 (704) 298-3325.
s
�Video Review:
"Stopping the Coming Ice Age"
Dirccled by l.JuTy Ephron
Produced by the Institute for a Future (57 minules)
Looking back, it ~eems tha1 1988 was ~ ye:ir for
important, "new" environmental issues and concerns to surface.
ln particular, ibis was the year in which the idc.i or lhe so-called
"greenhouse effect" finally gained public acceptance. if not
notoriety- a year lhat saw record-breaking drought. hurricanes,
and forest fires. Suddenly, the idea of global warming was
appearing everywhere in che media, and it seemed that concerned
scienliSlS and poliricians were unanimous in their suppon for the
global warming scenario.
However, this unanimity is an illusion, media coverage to
the contrary. ln fact, there is much contr0versy within the scientific
community ns to the chmatic effects and socio-polilicctl
nunificalions of the greenhouse effect. It is far from cenain that the
climate changes we're seeing arc leading to/caused by global
warming. In fact, there is ac1ually considerable evidence that points
to a very different conclusion: lhn1 1he planet may be teetering on
the brink of another Ice Age.
One of the foremost proponents of this laner view is John
Hamaker, a mechanical engineer who has cx1ensively analyzed
clima1e and ecological paucms, and hn.<; developed a comprehensive
and holistic approach to understanding global climate change. His
lheories, expressed in h.is book The Survival of Civiliza1io11, arc
now being supported and dissemina1ed by a foundation called
"Institute For A Fu1urc", which re<.-ently created a remarkable video
pr~ntation: "Stopping the Coming Jee Age".
This video is inspiring, frightening, challenging, and very
infonnative, as it takes us around the world in search of answers.
While Hamaker agrees that the greenhouse effect is a very real
Lhrea1, he believes - and backs this up with hard data and expert
opinion - that it will [ll2l.warm ihe Eanh unifonnly, but instead will
increase the temperarure differential between the equator and the
poles, causing increased thermal convection, atmospheric
turbulence, and rapidly shifting and biz:zare weather patterns.Jn
this scenario, high winds moving from the equator tow111ds the
poles will drop their abundan1 moisture in the h.ighcr latitudes in the
form of snow and ice, often creating drought condicions in the
temperate regions. He believes that lhe tropical and sub-tropical
zones will indeed get hotter, but the tempenue zones arc likely to
get cooler and drier.
Hamakcr"s understanding of the greenhouse effect talces us
far beyond the popularized, watered-down information available
Lhrough the mass media because he explores deeper levels of cause
and effec1, process and purpose. The mos1 profound information
presented in this video concerns the connections beiween lhe
greenhouse effect and the development of an ice age, and the
importance of understanding long-tmn cycles (100,000 years!) of
clima1e change. The video demonstrates the causal connections
linking together all the different environmenuil/atmospheric
phenomena that combine to bring on an ice age:
1) soil erosion and demineralizntion
2) the subscquem weakening and dying of the forestS
3) the resulting increase in insect inrestations, forest decay,
and massive fortst fires
4) I.be dramatic increase in C02 released into the atmosphere
by these na1ural causes, which induces the greenhouse effecL
5) and m the 20lh century - as opposed to 100,000 years ago
man-made pollution and our destrUCtive tampering with the natural
balance of life are intensifying and hastening the process.
According 10 Hamaker. an ice age performs a vitally
necessary natural function. As tbe glaciers advance and then
retreat, they move and grind up immense quantities of roclc,thus
spreading gravel and rock dust over much of lhe Lcmperate zones.
This process, along with the winds that help distribute lhis rock
dust even further, gradually l'Cllllneralizes the soil· which feeds the
planis and forests, promoting rapid and healthy growth • during
which lime the plants breathe in much of the excess C02 in the
atmosphere • wh.ich gradually stops the greenhouse effect! The
plants of the world breathe in C0 2, use the carbon, and release the
o>cygen back into the air whlch we, and all other animals, breathe!
SprLnq, 1989
Thus, n primary function of glaciation i~ to ttminerali1.e and
help reforest the Eanh. The reason this video is called "S1oppfng
the Coming Ice Age" is that Hamaker thinks we humans can indeed must. if we wanr our cwilization to survive • reminemlizc
the Earth oursefres. We ourselves can fulfill the vital rolt pluyed
by an ice age, rendering ~uch a geological event obsolete.
This means, however. that the government~ and peoples of
nil countric:; and regions would need to make it a top priority to
remineralize our depleted ~ils, and also to engage in massive
reforcs1ation projec1s, planting billions of trees worldwide.
Without hc:aJthy forests, we have no chance at all of slowing the
ttemendous C02 buildup which fuels the greenhouse effect. As the
video pu1s it." The trees of the world are our best friends now. and
only they can save us". Obviously, then, we also need 10 i;iop
clear-cutting our foresis. both here and in the tropics, and to limit
our fossil fuel burning, wh.ich has been accelerating the greenhouse
process. Only by doing all these things, says Hamaker, can "e
avoid horrific consequences for humani1y in the very near foture.
The audacity of this theory and lhis proposal lies in its utter
simplicity and common-sense quality. Yet many people may not
heed H.ama.ker's message and information because we have become
so enamored of "high- tech" solutions and shon-tenn planning,
gratification, and profit. Hamaker's plan demands a clear
understanding of our planetary dilemma. and a deep comminnent t0
creating a viable future, as well as some sacrifice or comfon and
convenience. The video concludes with these questions: "Have we
got the guts to do it? How much do we really want to be here?"
Whether or not Hamaker's proposal is ever implemented on
a large scale, we can all do things individually and collectively to
help educate people and help heal the planet. The video pointS out
1hat even if these theories aren't totally "provable", or even
completdy accurate, we should X1ill do the things Lhat Hamaker
suggests, for 1he sake of ecological balance, conservation, and
planetary sanity.
rn addition to the ideas discussed in this review, this video
explores JDl!.W! other aspects of our ecological and social dilemmas •
many more than can be dealt with here. There is so much vital
information presented, within such a comprehensive framework,
that this video ranks as a definite "must see'· for anyone at all
concerned about environmental issues and social change.
• "Stopping The Coming Ice Age" is available for $20 from:
lnstitue for a Future, 2000 Cenfer St. Berkeley, CA 94704. For
info on other offerings of the lnstirutc call 1·800-441-77Cll
• To arrange a showing or this video in the Asheville area, or for
more information, call Richard Lowenthal ar(704) 251-2526. ~
LOCAL RESOURCE I ACTION INFORMATION
• The December t988 issue or "American ForeSIS" m;igirant (published by
the American Forcsuy Association) 11 cle110~ almo~1 ent.Ucl)' IO tropical
defore.suuion, lhc gJCCnhou.sc effll(:I, and lhc prc.~ng n~ to ref~ the e:inb.
II highlights the AlSOCiotion's nx:ently-formcd Olobal Ro-Leaf prognun, which
aims to cducaLC Americans aboul Ille vil,DJ 1mpc:111.a11CO of rcfottsuulon. lllld to
"cl'Cl!IC a new ruulon31 nctwort. (If c1ti~n aetiv1su· whU:h will, 11 i• hoped,
plant at l~t 100,000.000 ll'Ce.$ nntiOCl·wiclc over the ne~1 sc~eral ycatt. For
more informalion, wriie to: Amcriciln Forestry Association, PO Box 2000,
Washinguin, DC 20013
(202) 667-3300
· WNC Alliance "Cut l.M ~Jng" c.imJiaign (st.o pege22 ! :
P.O. Box 18087, A&be\'IUC. NC 28814
(704)2$8-8737
• Forest Voices - •an /;jormatlon netW'Ofk lhat assi.sls citiz.cm m pal'_llcipating
in
1hc planning and managcmcmt or the Pisg:ih and Nant.ahala .h'!uional
(919j.182-36'33
Fol'CSIS"· P.0 Box 1275. West. lcffttiOn. NC 28694
• Adopl a Tree· a muhi-faceted ~on which "works 10 make the vital
connection between (IC(ll>lc 111d ttee•' and wcrts &c!;tly will\ rtfon:St3tion:
P.O. Box 144, Supr Gnwc. NC 28679
• The Fctwwy 1989 publ~ "Mounuun ~Al Risk! the FulllTC of
the Southern Appalachlari National ~13" )160+ pages, intludina 1ru1ny
cxccllentchart$ and appendices). Available on rcqucst from:
The Wilderness Society. 1819 Peaclusee Rood N.E. (Suite 714) Atlanlll , OA
30309
Drawing by rob mcJSlc:k
(404) 3SS-178l.
�What a wondetful journal! - a beanening combination of slwp-eycd
icalism and full hearted poetry. I feel rve encountered a true compt111ion.
Thanks IO D3ve Albert who passed iL on with your review of my book.
J0311na Macy
Bctb:ley, CA
DRUMMING
LETIERS TO KATUAH
Friends in Kallia.h -
"In the field or opponuni1y, it's plowing lime again.·
Those or you working in the cnwonmenllll. public henlth, resource
ma.nagcment fields may be questioning (tllllhority?). 1f your profe.~slOllal
orienllllion is on the same path as your human development and land~lhie
perogntivc.
My Friends at Katliah Journal·
Your publication is beautiful and 111Spirlng. I n:c:eived a
complimentary copy {Auwmn, 1988) conceming the great chcsmul n:vival.
and enjoyed lhe entire journal.
I visil I.be Kaul.ah bioregion each year (feeling very Sll'Ongly lhat I
was and am "born" lheic.) I am so cooccmcd about lhe negative human
impact on this n:gion, and would be in~ed in anylh1ng I could do for
l'CSIOnllion. rd<Xallll.ion. pl'CllCCUon, eu:..
Blessings.
Nancy Llgnitt
Olalhe, KS
P. S. • Forgive my ignorance-.could you please lei me lmow the
correct pronunciation of "Kanlah1"
(Sure! Probably o lot of otltu ~pie have b4ie11 woNlerilog, IOO. bul
Soy, "lea - TOO • ah.•
jiut did11'1 d/Jre IO osk. Reody, fl/JW?
Guruu!Mil!
• eds.)
Dear Kat.Udl •
Many friends or mine propose pcrfeclioo (In lhe ronn or intcrpCtS0031
peace) as a .solution 10 Ille llul:aL or wincllOCl. I tell them, "Hey, I don't
think we've got Ume.• l think I saw the snmc thing happening In Katli.ah
JourMl 22 bul in an opposilC way. Thete the dhugence of individual,
corpome. and govtmmcntal behavior from the ideal was plCSClllCd so
forcdully as tO make any suggesuon of solutions ou1 or place. i wnnl tO
argue lh41 in both lhcsc in.~ ideals malfunction when they an: mnde
JWOX}mn1e goals rather !ban guiding beacons.
One p;ndox of idealism is lhlli lhe greai.cr the con1ras1 bdWllCll lhc
IC.Ill and ldCal behavior of people, the more wfficuh it Is to argue lhal Ille
JdcaJ is naturul (to them). the mon: claboralC mast be the explanation as to
how they got so aberrant. and lhe tw rusonablc it IS to hope Ibey will Ulkc
the 1113Jly.111lUly steps from one to lhe other. Usually the conimst is sortened
:wt hope ~by thc stnuch or cenlUries, millenia or aeons presumed 10
inluvcne between ~ and ideal But in the presclll crises the conuast and
~are ui=ased. Wh'fl
Wlw I see happcnmg 11 thal lhe apocolyplic p0!>'iibili1y of our
cnviroomcn141 and mililllrist trues is malung people shnnk the middle
ground bctwcoo rc:il and ideal, mlllung them tlunk the ldeol m1m be nuained
right away, u we are to survive. The resuh Is that the I~ ome lhctl) is left
for clunge. the mocc of 11 is demanded. We use ideals to get at wlufs trul)'
wrong bul then in a cnsis rrusiake lhcm Lo be a pracllcal progTI1111 for se1ung
thmgsright.
In conuas1. thc closer we appro:ich disaster 1he mote focused should
be our analysis, the less suidcnt OU/ Judgcmcnl.s, the more specafte and
llmillld our prcscripuons. Out ideals C:tll still gwdc 11$ bu! from a dl$UIJIOC.
subonlloate to a goal of swvival as a ~ics w11l1 a 5uswnable OIOde or
exislcnc:c. Once that is a,s_'>ll'Cd weC1111 resume lhc ncYCJ endulg wOlt or
moving oursclvt$ and the world IOW8td the 1dc;al
Respectfully yours.
JlcltOwley
M:idison County, NC
I would like to begin gcncmting plans fora small compt111y of
icsponsiblc people co promote land S?ewardsbip lllld conscrvlltion of natural
resources. We11 provide professi01131 and 1.CChnico.I consulUttion and CSU!blish
bioregi.oJllll criteria for environmerually sensitive site devclopmcnl
silviculturc, archiiecturc. fanning. wau:r use. nnd small Cl\C.f&Y production.
rm intcreSICd in communicating with others who an: ready with ide:is
for lll!lking ~ TRANSmON to perpetual livelihood in a Clll'CCr lh;t1 will
reward our f11111ilies as well as our PLANET.
Sincetely.
Steve Ovcndcn
Box;JS
Pntmcuo. Ft. 34220
Dear Katllah Friends ·
I saw the "Sheller" issue of your journal and especially love and use
the Invocation (to WlnlU) - k's so beautiful to say. l was CMCCived and born
8lld also love those moun1auJS and tree$ tllld fresh air and flowing creeks.
1banlc you so much- .. the issue I saw wns bcauuful. iruly.
Blessings,
JUlllUI Forest
Octr0it. Ml
Docs my dog bite1
Lady. Lhat dog's so old
lllat he'd only gum you
If he caught you
if he even hnd the gumption
toehaseyou
which he don'L
Why do I keep him?
Hah!
Lady, that'~ the best watehdog
ICYCJhad
bar none.
How do yau mean?
Why, he don't chnsc chldtcn•
or run hvestoek
or keep me awake
barking all night.
Burgl:!n7
Lady, 1fyou see
anylhing around here worlh r.i.cahng
point ltOUI
and l'll nulc:e )'OU
a 11!31 good price on 1L
'Ccpl mlybe my dog.
• RonJohnson
Spn."9, 11109
�:
..
equal "p:lttllCrSlup" with all Olher living entities. I dream of a world whcie
long-sllllldmg cu1Lu!'111 tr3d11ions are honored and s upponcd, bolh in
hCICIOgcncous groupings of oil kinds of people living 1.ogcthcr and in more
isolntcd, sell-conlllined indigenous communities.
h 1s being said · and even channeled · lhal we are entering o pcnod
of 30 to 50 years of ca1BClysmic changes on the eanh. Some beings will
pass on in this ume of purging, while othetS will come in to !like iheir
place. Some or us wiU sUllld in the forefront of change and IJUllsmut.ation
while others of us wiU follow close behind. Let us begin then LO create the
v1s1ons that will ullimaiely provide the blueprints for our future on !his
planci., and begin to eultiva1e the liUlc poclu:IS oC mmly and wholeness Lhal
will evemually be the models from wrueh the rest of humanity cnn draw
msp1r.11ion and duectioo. The time has come_ dear comrades, lei us dream
...
together·
Jay Joyce
Asheville. NC
·.
Dear Friends·
c.ome. dream 11 liuJe dream with me.
As we all sil~ inexornbly tnLO thc not-so-nif1y nmcties. its becoming
clearer nnd c:ltlim dial life as we trow it mLISI be draWcally altered if we ait
to reverse the lides or ecologic:il desuuction gaihcring fon:e nround the globe.
h is clearly ume for us iocn:aie new visions for the rurure. lO look iownrd
the 2 lst centW')' with a sense of hope and purpOSe and direction, and OOl just
foreboding. And it i.~ in this spirit that I'd like to offer a few personal images
far a new bcguming, an altcmru.ive futun: - and LO invite compatriots
everywhere to color in these prclimm111Y skcu:hes fwther.
Farst of all, I sec a plllce where boclc:ynrd fences have been lOOI down,
and neighborhood gmdens, quiet ~cs, play SUUCUUCS. and gathering pl:ices
sprawl acro&s the land insicad. Theo l see community ocntcJS blossoming
:i.mong the dctri~ of ab:lndoncd school buildmgs nnd agmg warchow.es,
where recycling proJCCU, compost dumps, and communru gardens repklce
blllciclOp parking lots; and where weekend Ilea mnrkel.nnd bloclt panics.
moon celebrotions, and ecology fairs fill those huge l<>nely spaces. where
computer nctwolks and refemil scrvtCCS and gallery car~ keep people in touch
Greetings Brochers and Sisu:ss of Ka111ah •
r love you all and pray with you always, and alwoys my heart is so
full wbeo I receive my copy of Ka1Uah JourMl. ll takes me back to the
Appalachians and the memories flood m.
r thought tha1 if your magazine came OUI be fan: Lbc equinox, you
could pnn1 something from • Aoccwoo,• the Maori name f<W" New Zealo.nd.
since ii seems 1hc chcslnut arucles (KOJiiah Journol #21 · ed.) cre:it.ed some
communicauon.
We rue organizing o gaihering on a friend's propeny 111 lhe end of o
rood in a Nal.iOlllll Par1t, one or the mos1 beautiful places m lhe world. This
is the only gruhcring this year as our annual "Towards 2000"
workshop-oriented gathcrin~ wcrcn'1 held this yu.T. The annual nonh island
"Tc WaiOU3" glllhcring hosn't happened foe lhc l3Sl two yClll'S or our "Hui
Waiata." which is a musical glllhcring.
Although there arc loL\ of open-minded folk and mony good things
bnppcning here. we are going through a phase of fcwct gnthcrings ond feel the
need for folk t0 gel tQgct.hcr to share their ideas and views and feel strong in
their commitment to healing lhe Earth along with other brother! and !isters.
Hopefully, our pthcring will provide llus opponuru ty, as it's mo
progre$$ive area wilh communities. ocgaruc forms. and iCs a long way rrom
any ctties or polllllion. so a lOt of naturul beauty along wilh a good growing
climiue which has aurnc1ed 1'11311Y ovcneas follt. so we have an opponuouy to
share Lbcir visions, as ITIOSl of them come from a vccy comamintued Northern
Ht.maspbcrc.
As USUllJ, alu:malive folk find 1t hard to deal with local authorities,
but this is one of the few areas where people can make the effort ID be pin of
local dc:cislon·makmg and help make folk fll01C aware of what is hnppcrung
to our Mother and the roles W$ can play IO bcal Her and OUl1iClves.
with each other.
t look forward also LO a time when we all learn LO lhink about each
thing we "tlvow away" long enough to decule how u can be recycled or
properly disposed of. I imagine a place· ll Smithsonian of the mind. if you
will • whc:re a few old TV's, microwaves, electric am-openers. wa1apiks,
air-purifiers, etc. are kept in a museum lO remind us of whal we almost
buried ourselves in . .• while the rest oC them ~ no longer nccdcd or
wanted. I dlcll!n or a time when we no longer use tars, and freeways a.re no
longer necessary eitcept roe skalcboordulg, sledding, skhng, bicycling, and
wllldsurfing. I envision a scienlifx: communny thal seeks ou1 ways to gel
rid or the nukes, cleanly, lO biodegradc the phlsuc. 10 trunsfOJ111 ihe 10X1e
chemicals, IO clean up thc :ur and w.ucr, to cure the diseases, and IO develop
stmplincd, life-nunuring ways Cot all ihe criUCIS still 3.m0f18 us LO reinhabil
the pbneL
I look forwllr<l to a lime when children learn IO love leaming, when
they arc iniegmtcd into ihe life of their communities and when !hey Ill'!:
openly adcoowlcdged and supponcd ror the grC&l comnbutions they mlllcc to
our lives. 1 imagine a ume when people enj()y learning a> much ttbout lheir
loctll ccosySlCITI as they now blow about the plol developments of the lalCSI
soap opelilS and lhe lifcstyles or lhc rich and famous. I envision a time: when
bUIDQll betn.gs 1cam LO QCCepl I.be Cllc:1 lha1 !hey tnhab11 one small niche m the
pta& an:le of the eanh's ccosysicm end therefore leam IO uucmct m loving,
Drllwmp by Sheli Lodge
Love,
Pc1ctOay
16 Jarrow Plac;c
Christchurch 3 New 7.ea1ruld
�Earliest February I begin
searching along a neighbor's hedgerow
for just a tendril of the coming miracle.
Or gatlog as one stricken upon the si Us of morning
when the fir'lt dreamy memories of daffodils return.
l breathe a wisp of a vast movement stirring and alluring me.
Deep in e veins of southern sloping woods.
I know beside the coldest laughing waters
bubbling and glittering in the soft. buucry sun
some rich, mysterious. fragile awakenings unfold.
Long before the geese come winding surely homeward,
I discover and behold an anicle of r.ransfonnation
that by narure disregards mere joy or faith or sorrow,
to which uncr defeat or sheer victory remain the same.
So even in this old hean of winter full of woes.
the barrer1 season ofdui.t and frost is washed clean away.
And this, I suppose. is why l wander seeking ccnitudc.
ruming a 11one over by the path, or gazing above treetops.
or gliding clflike lhfouJh the forest's solemn ~lonnadtli.
for in this ~un-goW rime as the eaith starts siirring,
c:ven the ~' n dcith of my brother is cased and gree
the
ve, delicaie, relentless mari:h of Spring.
Alt. 1i\U..
~ '""
1'4Wah )ournal p«UJe 28
- Mitliattl Hockaday.
Sp rlfMJ, l 989
�Planet Art
conunucd rrom page 1
Christina then found Leigh Hollowell who had srudied Contact
extensively on the West Coast and who was also very interested
in seeing Contact happen in this area. Leigh enthusinstically
agreed to co-teach a ContAct class with Christina. They knew
that if they wanted to have people to do Contact with, they would
have to help create a Contact community first.
Leigh love:; Contact because "it's natural - it'~ not based on
socialized preceptS but on an open exchange with other people in
the reality of the present moment." She is aware that for many
people dance classes and physical education have been
emotionally painful and repressive, because they were not
encouraged to learn their own natural movement but to imitate
others. Her main goal is "to provide a positive movement
experience for people so they can become friends with their
bodies and learn to perceive it as a resource of creativity."
I asked her how she felt that Contact would affect the
larger community, and she said. "Because it is not based on any
one culture's movement and is a form naruraJ to all human
bodies, it is an effective way to trunscend barriers between
people..• it would simply create a more trusting, and therefore
more peaceful, community."
l have been panicipating in this dance class since
November and have been able to experience it "first hand". ln
Contact dance, we maintain a ''point of contact" with another
person, and it constantly shifts as both move. When we try to
control where the movement goes with our minds, it becomes
stiff and awkward. When we stop trying to control and simply
focus on the point of contact, that point guides us in a flowing
way towards movements that are easy and spontaneous. Our
minds are shocked at how well we can do without their control.
Imagine a society in which we allowed our interactions to come
from our point of connection instead of our differences!
For more information about Contact Improvisation, call
Leigh Hollowell at (704) 252-4475.
Art here in Karuah has begun to reflect the reality of our
connection wilh the planet.... making art-all fonns of creative
expression and ritual-a pan of our daily lives. By
acknowledging the sacredness of our co-existence with the rest of
~Water Systems
WATER PURIFICATION EQUIPMENT
SOLAR PRODUCTS
Membar NC Water O~lty AasoclaOon
RANDALL C. LANIER
704-293-5912
HWY 107
RT 68 BOX 125
CULLOWHEE, NC 28723
che universe, we are beginning 10 harmonize with it
Many of us, though, have closed off our energies to the
vision of a hnrmonit.ed planet because it seems so elusive and far
away, and we don't like feeling disappointed. Others have
refused to sec and accept the truth of the planet as it is because il
is painful .. and think that if they "shut their eyes it will go away.•
The tnJth 1s that the sooner we open our eyes and accept what is
there, the more effectively we will be able to deal with iL
In a book called The Path of Ltas1 Resistance, a simple
and effective method for manifesting a choice is given. This
method can apply lO planetary as well 3S personal mmsfonnation.
lt is lO constantly hold in our minds two things ... exactly what
our vision is and the full truth of our current reality. It is based
on the idea that "in order 10 ge1 where you want to go, you need
to know where you are."
Since we are all planet anisrs, this technique needs to be
widely understood. As we hold our vision firmly in mind and
continue to acknowledge what's happening now, new nod
unexpected ways of achieving our goals will come to us. Jn order
10 do this, we need co be aware of the deep, undercurrent
regenerative processes that exist around and within us that we can
tap into. As more and more of us choose to love and accept our
planet and all her inhabitanlS no matter what is happening, the
easier it will be.
A lot is happening in our region, and J'm sure there are
many more people here with ideas and enthusiasm to contribute
towards a biorcgional program of Planet An. Some suggestions
arc... a traveling multi-media show that would tour the region to
network and share bioregional idens...communicy rituals for
healing the la.ad... restoring our environment with "Clean-Up
An" events... synchronizing with planetary peace and art events
... All Species Day with parades and festivals ...Joining in the
preparations for Earth Day '90. There is no linu1 to what we can
dol...there is no shonage of things to rcharmonizel
It's time to find out who we all are as anists and get our
networks in place. At the next K.atuah Gathering we can come
together and bntinstonn. t can be contacted by wrirtng P.O. Boll:
278, Asheville, North Carolina, KatUah Province 28802 or _,,
~
calling (704) 253-4831.
~
DE.S IGNS
by Rob Messick
Illustration & Design
In Pen & Ink and COiored Pencil
Po eox 2eoi • Boone Nt. 28W7 • 171l41r...i 1>0117
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T-SHIRTS. SWEATSHIRTS
For ADULTS and CHILDREN
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l\ta&icRob6
CALLor WRITE for
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_A,. ......,.,
tfubal Bdts
THE ALTERNATIVE HEALING HOT-LINE
l -800-544-4980
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PRACTmOSERS. HEALt::RS, SCHOOL<;,
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l'bollt' I~ HOT-UN£ fo Rr>d Cltli how yo1it pr•cti«,
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N•tloMI Oirttto •
Sprl.fMJ, 1989
.u
Jler/Jg11J111 eti1tit
'lljaee, 'Ry~r 'Na@r~
FREE COLOR CATALOG
e1ti1te1t At11p1Utct11re
Drt~PillOW'I
Appliqu&I &: Painted Deslgns
Fur R/J1111I, ThtalT~, & S11f-&mpow1rmtt11
Send S 2 ror fuU-<:olor caulog/ Custom onlcrs llYlilablc
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P.O. Box 178, Asheville, NC 28801
(70-4) 25).431
�POPLAR APPEAL
Green City
conunucd rrom p.9
cooler in the summer. and it wai. quieter - if you knock on steel and
then knock on a soybean, you unders1and the sort of deadening
chMIClerislics on the inside of lhat car.
The dreams of Henry Ford and the rest of the chemurgy
movement were postponed. but they seem to be resurfacing again.
Russell Buchanan. a scientist in Maryland, envisions the rise of
botano-chemical complexes, as he calls them, rather than
pcrro-chemical complcitcs, as we learn to eittract from cellulose the
same things that we extract from pcuoch~micals. One ts a
hydrocarbon; the other is a carbohydrate. Compare these words and
they're basically the same. One of the differences. however, between
a botano·chcmical complex and a pcrro-<:hemical complex is that it's
easy 10 transport oil over long distances, whereas it's not easy to
transport plant mauer over long distances. So botnno·chemical
complexes will tend to be locally based and rurally based near their
sources of raw material~ and supplies.
Local self-reliance can become an economic developmem
strntegy, and cities ate the best place to try it out, for several J'C3.'\0llS.
Mose of us live in cities. Cities tend to be large enough 10 have an
internal market, and can in fact become laboratories. Cities are
concentrations of science and technology. They have the ingeouil\',
the expertise and the machine toolshops to build prototypes and try
them out. Bur what is your nearest city's research and development
budget? h's probably zero.
The local self-reliance scenario is not inevil3ble nor is it even
probable. It depends on political decisions. Economic development
must be seen as a means to an end and not an end in itself. Alben
Einstein once said that perfection of means and confusion or cods
characterize our age. We're so mesmerized by technology and
development that we forget to ask, "Technology for what?" and
"Development for whom?" We have become consumers of change,
bul we don't know the difference between change and ,erogress. To
Bertrand Russell progiess is ethical and change ls scientific; change is
inevitable, while progress is problematic. In other words. progress is
valw:·laden and as we change, we need to ask ourselves, "Will we
progress?" We can have a green city within a brown world by
moving all or our production and disposal systems for away from our
city. But 10 truly embrace the ecological motivation behind a green
city, we must ~ome responsible for the wastes that are generated
for our convemence. And the only way to do that is 10 begin 10 return
that loop of production, use and disposal, b.'ICk to the community.
Marcel Proust once said that the voyage of discovery consists
nm In seeking new lands but in seeing with new eyes. It is in seeing
O!Jf communities and our citi~s with new eyes, in pursuing a globe of
Vlllag~s and not a global village, that we begin to create a new
paradigm.
@ lnsli1utc for Local Sclf·Rcli:incc. 2425 Ulm Sucet, t<W WllSbinguin. DC
2000!>. Also w1lh pcnnission fl'Ofll Raise IM Stt1lls. Planet Drum Foun<bLinn,
P.O. Box 31251, San fran(isco, CA 94131. This anlclc appc:arcd 1n Winter 19118
issue.
M.El>1.CtNE ALLtES
'J-SK1.1t'J
tQllUnued from page 11
h wru; always a rare
oy~rer mushrooms - that is.
und special occasion when I found
until I su1J1cd roaming the hills with
my older mounuineer buddy Theron. Theron was rai~ed
gathering roots and herbs at his grandmother's knee, and he
knows the woods well, but he had ulw11ys been wisely hesitant
about sampling unidentified wild mushrooms •tllc first few times
in our wanderings when we found some oyster mushrooms.
Theron would help me gather them and he would carefully
examine them, but be always declined to share the harvest nnd
rnke some home to em. However. after heming me talk so much
about how good they were (and seeing that I was still thriving),
he finally tried some. He and his wife enjoyed them immensely,
and from then on it seemed that. with Theron's help, I was
hardly ever without oyster mushrooms.
From Theron I learned 10 visit areas 1ha1 had been logged a
few years previosly and look on tulip poplar stumps after a spell
of rainy weather. In the$C Meas we could find man)' pounds of
the savory mushrooms in any season of the year. We often found
enough to dry and store for times when the fresh ones were
scarce.
When Theron and I sn down together and share a meal of
oyster mushrooms and other wild edibles, I think about what a
strongc pair we make: me, a naturalist from the Oat land with a
university education, and him, a tradjtional mountain wood~man
and fanncr who barely finished eighth grade. Yet we both realize
that if we hadn't met and been open and receptive 10 each other's
knowledge. neither of us would be earing this delicious wild
mushroom supper. Traditional knowledge and book learning can
go well together.
©1989 by the tlJ.Uhor.
Reprl111edfrom Wildlife in North Carolina Magazine.
"Ranger Doug" EUiolt, as he is known to rite cltildren i11 the
group, is an excellent naJuralist, but is also known as a lively~
storyteller and ''a real nice feller."
p
A Directory to
North Carolina's Natural Areas
(published by 1.he NC Natural Heritage Foundation)
As pan of its important work in rare and endangered
species identification and habitat preservation, the North Carolina
Natural Heritage Foundation, a non-profit organization, has
compiled the guidebook, A Directory to North Caroli11a's Namral
Areas. The compact guidebook features dC!ieripcions of more than
100 natural areas open to the public in the state. The descriptions
of each aro:i include infonnntion about natural history, geology.
1111d uuvcl information.
To obtain copies of the book, send S5.00 10 the NC
Natural Heritage Foundation; Box I I 105; Raleigh, NC 27604
Each is tl1c suongcst power 1n iis own domain.
Together !hey lll'C allies: !heir C1111tgics complement each
01hcr m rorm an e\'et1 greater power. As medicine ollics,
they rcpre«ent 1he hc;Uing powers of lbC Appalnahian
In lhe tr.1d1uonal Cherokee Indian belief, lhe Moun1:11ns.
TI111 medicine powers of Kl!uiah Juve been depicted
crca!Ure\ in the world lOclay arc only d1minu11.ive forms or
the mythic beings who once mlUlbucd the world, but who in o ~1r1l.;ing T-shin design by Ibby Kcn11:t. Printed in
now fC$idc in Oal11na'IJ, lite 5pmt world. the highest 5-coloc silksi;irccn by Ridgerunncr Nnwr.ils on top qu:ility,
he;ivcn. BuL • few of the ongmal powcr~ broke lhrough !he all-couoo shin.~. 1hcy arc avallnble now in all adul1 shes
!!p1riLUAI barrier and exist yet m the world a~ we know il. from KALANU; Boit 282; SylYll, NC 28779.
These beings arc called with rcv.:rcncc "grandfalhas" And
or tl1cm. the suonges1 arc K.allilti, lhc ligh1mng. thc power
Pl~ specify ~ir.t: Sm .• Med., Lg.. X·Lg.
or the sky; utsa·nau, 1he r:mlcsn:tke, who pcrsoniries the
Prke: S9.SO pOStf131d
power of lhc cnnh pL'lllc: lllld Yunwi U!ldi, "I.he li1Llc !Mn".
W.98 pns1pa1d for NC re.-i!knts
as ginseng is called in I.he S!Crcd ceremonies. who draws up
JlOYo er from lhc underwocld.
"To .f/ww TU~l"lftx lhlS lll{lctflOllll'DI /Tinily of thl:
Miura/ world iJ 10 111 111111 bcc0t1v t111 ally tn thl: con1i11w11g
fll'OUS!. of niai111<Un111g harmony and bal1111Ct htrt 111 thl:
moll/IJJJJJU of Ka1Uah"
Spri.f19. 1969
�Emironmcntol Politics:
11Vlou.nttiln Ug'hl H!!:twork
Lessons from the Gras.'>routs.
Bob Hall. Editor
Mountam Light Network is an eclec1ic, 1n1entionally
group of people living in the Kaulah srea. Th<:
tntercsts of the group include 3 deep commilnlCnl to 1nd1vidu:il
llnd planct:u) peace. and to ecological hannony, with emphasis
on coopera1ion between human, animal, plant and mineral
kingdom~ . Other areas of interest include subtle energies,
h~::iling, and techniques for utilizing new forms of power. Many
w11hin t~c: g_oup n:lion::ite wi1h N?tive Indian philosophies and
r
;;eek to h~c in ~~c1ous balanl'c ~nh the land. The mu;ority are
involved in hohsuc heallh, explonng new paths now developing.
Some _ re invot:--ed in the Anciem Wisdom and spiritual
a
<li-•c1phnes. Survival and food 11toragc are also of interest to
many individuals
We meet 4 times a year at the Franklin Communitv Center
on Sundays. at 2:00 PM near the Sol"iccs and Equino11tes. There
iU'C tables for those who wish to 5ell products or promote ideas;
many books arc available a!; welt. We feature a speaker at each
meeting. We have a directory of names. skiUs and intrn-~1~ Our
aim is to provide a time and place for communication and
exchange of ideas to become neighbors in a loose-I.nit network
of people in our area.
Part1c1pauon in meetings is free and open to all people of
Like mind. This year our meetings an: on March 19, June 18.
September 17. and Dcccmbct 17, 1989. For more anform:uion,
call (404} 746-2454.
~structured
ln.'itltule for Soul hem Studies, P. 0. Bo>< SJl,
Durham. f\C 17702. 1988. ~7.00. 12? pgs.
Whal can you do when an our·of·slalc corporation
an_nounc~
plans for a hazardouli was1c rrearment facility a few
nulc:s from your home. or when stare officials ~ay 1hey wan1 to
pave 11 highway through your neighborhood? Where can you
mm for help if real esta1e developers wuh close ties 10 local
politicians decide to build a condominium or shopping center in a
sensitive water;hed are;i?
_
How much energy should you devote 10 door-to-door
organizing, or seeking auention from the media, or gelling
involved in elecrorul pohtics?
For rhe past three yc:.m;, lhe lns111u1e for Southern Studies
has conducted an investigation of environmental and land·u>e
controversies in one state, Nonh Carohna. rn a remarkable
number of cases. locnl citizens groups · even lhosc in relatively
!solatcd. rural areas • have won s1gnifican1 victories ag:unst
1mpress1ve odds. They h:ive beaten well-endowed corporations
and forced state policym:ikcu to change regulations, enforce
ex1snng standards, and enact new laws.
_Th~y have built ad hoc coalitions and enduring
orgamzauons, occas1onally across rucc lines, more often across
class and cultural divisions within the white community. And
they have moved from crisis-oriented, hit-and-miss organization
to sophisticated political lobbying and effective electoral activi~m.
The key ingredients of these successful citizen-led
camprugns are described in dwlll in the first chapter. The next 10
chapters chronicle the episodic. fragmented, yet growing
cnv1rorunental movcmenr in consc.rvwve North Carolirui. The
focus h less on the grim threats to life as we know it than on why
pe~p~e respond, whar they do to win, and how grassroots
acuv1s_m and electoral politics (including lobbying and voter
educanon) imersec.1 to produce i.nstitutionru change.
The result 1s a storybook of grassroots experiences. a
handbook that lets our own past teach us bow to wodc. for a bener
future. And while the location may be Nonh Carolina, the
common lessons running through these stOrics are plainly uc;cful
to people throughout the Soulh Md beyond.
- excerpted from tlie preface
,..0 &..ot4(;t" WA.) I " '
..nw i-c.t
t,_f
------
TPC.. two ~Kt H~O M&.L.01.0
AMO I loll', 1' C.111''1 HO!ISf..l
SprL119. t 989
JUST RECEIVED'
Mountain Treasures at Risk:
The Future of lhe
Soulh~rn
Appala&llian Nalional Fonsts
by Laura E. Jackson
The N:uional Forests of the Southern App11lachian
Mountains are the last remaining habitar area available for many
species of pl3Ilts and wildlife. The book Mountain Treasuru ot
Risk says that these valuable habitat areas should be managed
from a regional viewpoint and offers valuable infonnation tQward
rcaliting n new vision for forest management which emphasizes
the values of life suppon and ~gional biodiversity.
Handsomely bound, profusely documented with photos,
tables, and charts.
Copies free on requ~t from The Wilderness Society; 1819
Peachm:c Rd NE (Suite 714); Atlanta, GA 30309.
... Katuah Journal is not just lull of Information. It is
also full of images, and we appeal to all visual artists
interested in ennching lhe pages of this journal, plus some
exposure for you, to send us copies of your work Many
times we need graphic images that are specific 10 a given
article, yet there Is often space to put Images that are not
specific You would be surprised the kinds of
synchronicities that can happen when you send wori< in•
Drawings in Ink. prints, photographs, borders, symbols.
and cartoons that you think have some relevance to the
journal are all welcome Don't be shy. we need your talent
and image·ination to help visual-eyes a clearer relation
with Katuah ...
�evencs
2-8
BRASSTOWN, NC
Spring Music and Dance Week. Music.
StOries, dance, nature. John C. Campbell Folk School
28906.
8
BLOWING ROCK, NC
Ocan-up of the Glen Burnie Falls Trail .
Blue Ridge Group. Sletra Club. Call (704) 264-3931.
MARCH
8·9
HIGHLANDS, NC
Chiefs from the Native American
Elders Circle meet at the Mountain to discuss
Ecology and An. ''TIJU care how you place your
17-19
moccasins upon tM Eanh,step with care,for the
faces oftM I unve generarions are looking up from
Earth waiting their turn for life." $137. The
FARNER, TN
Leam "Wild Foods and Earth Medicines" with
Snow Bear at Pcppcrland Farm Camp: Sw Route: Farner,
37333. (70<!) 494-2353.
™
IJ.16
GATUNBURG, TN
Womyn·s Weekend Rctn:at: Spccilll Gu=
Grey Cal, Lucinda F1odin. Write 10 P.O. Box 936:
Gatlinburg. TN 37738 for more info.
Mountain; 841 Highway 106: Highlands, NC
28741 (704) 526- 5838.
NEW MARKET, TN
sn> (Stop the Poisoning!) School a1 the
Hishlander CcnlCf. Learn bow to figllt 1nduslrinl pollution
For more info, call (615) 933-3443.
30
UNICOI, GA
"Spring Earth Skills Workshop''
with Snow Bear, Darry Wood, Doug Elliott, and
Yanna. Leaming the ways of the woods. $65.
Comact Bob Slack at (404) 878-2201.
31·1
HENDEltSONVILLF., NC
Workshop on Local and Regional Land
Trusis. Kanug.a Episcopal Center. For more info call
(704) 692-9136.
WAYNESVILLE, NC
Kanna m Daily Life-A Spiritual Rctrcal,
with John Algeo. Stil·Light Tbcosopbieal RCllC41 Cent.er,
Rt I, BOA 326: Wayncsy1lle, NC 28786 (70<!) 452-4569.
Neighborh ood" confcronce sponsored by Asheville
League of Women Votcts. Time and place TBA. Call (704)
258-8223.
ASHEVILLE. NC
A six-we.:k course. "Finding Your Path
with HC3rt", begins a.t the Spiritual Growth Foundation.
(sce4/l). The focus will be on finding our "lruC vmce• and
expressing Lhc lifc-affinmng energy of l1W" Heart's desire.
17·18
ASHEV l LLE, NC
Red Foll/Second ll.311gin', play prcscnltd by
I.be Roadside ThcatTC. S)l3rU'lnburg. SC. For ume and
location. call (606} 633-0108.
nLACK MOUNTAIN, NC
Robm Williamson. •a wl1.lltd of words and
music:.· "'I h~ hunter ond the hu11ted howl 011e howl.•
McDibbs'; S6 tdYanc~ door. 8pm, 119 Cherry Si.,
Black Mtn., NC 28711: (704)669-2456.
ASREVlLLE, NC
" Betw"n a Rock and a Hard Place:
Westtrn
No r th
Carolina's
Noclur
17
14-16
21-23
IS
ASHEVCLLE, NC
"Cut lhe Clearcutting!" says
WNCA. From 1t am. Music, dancing, speakers.
City/County Plaza, Asheville. Write Western
North Carolina Alli:lncc; Box 18087; Asheville,
NC 28814, orcall 258-8737
15
ASHEVILLE, NC
The Enrth First! Road Show wilh
Roger Featherstone and Susan Grace Stoltz,
audio·visuals, news on EF! issues and actions.
Lipinsky Auditorium, UNCA. 7:30 p.m.
Students $1. General admission $3. For more
info, call (704) 251-6144.
18
31·2
APRD..
1·30
CHEROKEE, NC
William Holland Thomas.
"little
ASlll-:VlLLE, NC
Hum.an Potential Education Foundation
Spring 1989 Conference, "Healers and the Healing
Proces:~." For regiwation and brochure conw:c Human
Poumlial Educlllion Foundation, Inc.: R1. s. 89 Tt1nyrud
Rd.: Greenville. SC 29609.
white
chicr or lhe ChclOkec. cxhibiL OicroJcoe H~14Sc MUNCwn
and GaJlcsy.
I&8
28-30
ASHEVILLE, NC
'Commumcation and Healing." a lWO·Jllll
28-30
NEW MARKF.1', TN
STP (Stop I.he Poisoning!) School Bl the
Highlander Ccntcr. Learn how to fight tndu.suial pollution.
~3/21-23.
wotlcshop focusing on inner commumon and outer
communicauon as Yilal tools for bcaling ourselves Md our
rclalionsh1ps.
10-Spm each day.
Led by Richard
l.owenlhBI. M. A. Spiritual Growth Foundation: 891
Haywood .Rd. (704) 252-3508.
2-5
PISGAH FOREST, NC
Rockclimbing clinic for beginners
Tedmiques, safely, gear. S28S. Eagle's Nest Camp; 43 Hart
Road: Pisgah °Fon:.'ll: NC 28768. (704) 877-4349.
X.~.Jo~
pgqe 52 ·
29-31
FARNER, TN
KATUAH SPRING GATHERTNO.
Come celebrate. dance, play, meet. and talk with
the family from all over the region (see
announcement next page).
mustratlons by Jackie Taylor-
�JUNE
29
MOUNT AIRY, NC
18th
Annual Ml. Airy Fiddler~
Convention. A weekend of lrod1tion:il Appal3chian Music.
Bring instruments. tenlS, food. Regiwruion SlO.
2-3
SWANNANOA, NC
Environmental Summit '89: Ethics,
Economics and the Environment. This 5th annual
summit will focus on environmental problems of
immediate interest in WNC. and on how
environmental and economic realities affect each
other. Keynote speaker: David Morris of the Inst.
for Local Self-Reliance. Warren Wilson College.
9am-4 pm. $5. For more info or to preregister call
(704) 298-3325, ext. 250.
9· 11
CLOUDLAND CANYON
Caving weekend w11h Snow Bear as
instruc1or and guide. Equipment provided. Call (704)
494-2353 for more info.
9-11
WAYNESVILLE, NC
"Mythology - The Modem Search for the
Holy Grail" with Joy Mills. Stil-L1ghL See 3/31-4/2.
MAY
llRASSTOWN, NC
June Homecoming Music/Dance Weck.
English counuy dancing wi1h Jim Morison. John C.
Campbell Folk School, 28906.
11·17
5-7
WAYNESVILLE, NC
"Music as Meditation" with Diana
Dunningh:un. S20/day. Sul-Light Center: See 3{31-4/2.
21-25
HIGHLANDS, NC
Nature Photography Workshop.
Prc.rcgisicr. Appalachian Environmental Ans Center. Sec
5/12-14.
6
LINVILLE, NC.
Grandfather Mountain Prorilc Trait
wildflower hilce. Blue Ridge Group, Sierra Club. Call (704)
2974098.
6-10
PISGAH FOREST, NC
Whi1ewa1cr Canoe Clinic for novices and
m1crmedia1es. $455. Sec 4/2-5.
12-14
lllGllLANDS, NC
Spring Landscape Retreat Photography
Workshop. Pre-regisicr: Appalachian Environmental Arts
Ccnicr; Drawer S1l0: Highlands. NC 2874 I (704) 526-4303.
19-21
BLACK MOUNTAIN, NC
The Black Mouniain Spring Festival.
Three days of traditional music and dnnce at Black
Mountain College/Camp Rockmont. Brave
Combo, The Horsenies, Grandmother, David
Wilcox, Phil and Gaye Johnson. For advance
tickets call Grey Eagle and friends, (704)
, 669-4546 from 2pm- IOpm.
o~ ~3. &q o.ncL 3o
o± -p e.p~et' la.rd.. ~ t()J\ft'l
7f.n
~
u.a -to
~~N.b..ooY
19·21
flfGllLANDS, NC
Wildflower Pho1ogruphy Workshop.
Pre-rcg1s1er. Appalachi$ Env1Tonmcnt.al Arts C..:nicr. Sec
qy'~
5/12-14.
u.ou.aL I~~
~ o..cliN~ a.r0.wo¥k shO(:.>s ~ o...d.uJtto
19-21
MILLBORO, VA
EARTH FlRST! Appabchian Rendezvous.
Talk, drum. s.we au things wild. For more info, write: Box
2(>6; Millboro. VA 2.4460 or call (703) 997-9448.
BRASSTOWN, NC
May Crafl/l)ance week. John C. Campbell
Folk School 28906.
27-29
WHITTIER, NC
Cclebralion on lhe land al Union Acres
Communuy. All friends of Kauiah welcome. For more
Info., ca11: Cynthia and Roy Gallinger, (704) 293-9230.
spil.NJ,
1989
µ~~.
~ u.;tl.L ~ -t:hL-
NEW MARKET, TN
STP (Siop the Poisoning!) School a1 lhe
Highlander Ccnier. Leum how IO figh1 indu.~trial poll111Jon.
Soc3nl-23.
19-21
21-27
().rd_
a.rd. ch.U.dA.t.n '
Pre-registration, by April 15: $15.00 adult
$10.00 child under 12
After April 15:
$17.00 adult
$12.00 child under 12
.For mon: infonnalion,
write: Snow Bear and Khallsa; Pepperland Farm Camp; Siar Route: Farner. TN 37333
or call: (704) 494-2353 or (704) 586-3146
�vfEBWO~
SEEKING TO JOIN OTHERS m a mlllllally -.upponivc
comml.INly. Singl.c mamn: womon. ll'lis1-1eac.htt can offer
skills: early childhood education. llU, earth llb111:, wri!Jnl
Wn1c Alwyn MosJ., 1007 Turner SL, Blacksburg, V/>
24060: ("10'3) SS2·6331
VAGABOND GUJBETR01TTNG Stale of tlw Art.
Revised Edition., by M.L. Endicoll. One of lhc moll
compRhensivc insuucticm manua!J ror <yro uavelcrt
SUS; Enchlridlon lntemational, Cullowhcc, NC 28723
ASCENSION Beg1111ttr's Mon.uJJ. a self-help boo1t for
auaining lhc touchable ruii1y of lhc ASCENDEO <taic.
usually lhou&ht to be bt!yood Raeh. By Theodore A
lluoody, Ir~ $13.SO pp; &lcctic: Pren, 205 Pigeon SI.
Waynesville. NC 28786.
WlNCS WAY bttbal products. For pnce list. wme: Box
1477; Old Fon. NC 2.876Z
EUSTACE CONWAY- Ou.ide and !Udler of (ll1lnit1ve
£arlh Skills wilh cmphasi.t on rue blll1dln,. hide tanning
she.Iler. and fongilla. He ILachti at public schools, parks
cnvimnmencal oont.en, .and cJuscs ol .all tinds. For tllOl'C
informllion coniact lum II' 602 Deerwood Drive,
Oastonii. NC 28084 or oall Allcln Sianlcy al (704)
872-7972
FUTONS by Simple Pte.uuru affordably priced. Send
SASE for Info io: Sunplc PICU\lrtJ: RL I. Box 1426
Clayton. GA 30S2.S (404) 782·3920.
APPAJ..ACHIAN GINSENG CO.• sua.tified seeds.
PEPPERLAND ofrcn a variety of ouldoor cdu.eation
po,grams for chl.Wdl, school. or cMc gn>Up& ycu· round.
Wo will help you ~pl a pogrom for your group. Send
for infonnwon J*1c.ct to: Pcppcrland Fum Camp; Sw
RoUlA!; Farner, TN 37333.
R£AllERS' REACTIONS AND INSIGHTS wanic.d
i.ganling lhc "consum«" culun we five in, and lhc idea of
"consumaism" u a lifestyle.. Plcue write to Richard
Lowenthal, 53 Greely St.. Asheville, NC 28806 (or call
seedlings. roots. Send for price li51 io: P.O. Box S47
Dillsboro, NC 28725.
M. TR& DESIGNS: UlllSIJlliom and Der;gn • Beyond lhc
p!l&CS of lhis journal, I work DI penal. colored ponril. ink. QI\
paper. md t.lik. F'mc and graphk an to cxircu and cnh...,.,
our livea. Logos, btochuru, boob. ponnl1ure, window and
wall h&ng~. Concct Manha Tree (704) 7S-4-«l97.
STit.·UGHTTHEOSOPHICAl..RETREATCENTER -a
qu1c1 spaeo for JlC'nOnal medilali<m, aniup inc.cractioo
lhrough study, and community .-011<. and spintual
smiinU$, Contact Leon Frankel; Rt. I. Box 326;
Wayncs•ilk. NC 28786
WANTED: LAND 111 WQt.cm NC. Famlly f«b Sor mon:
ICtCS. prd"crobly near Cullowhee. IO pr<S<TVC and evcnlll.ally
inhllbil. U}'OU have or kno..•of afford.&blc l111d, oonlll:t Bob
llld Miry Davis; 213 Wcrunorcland Cc., Ccorgetown. KY
40324 (502) 8634167.
MOON DANCE FARM HERBAl..S · herbal salvC$,
tinc1111cs. & oil• for b1nh111g a: family health. For
bcochure, pt.,,.e wrii.:: Moon Dance Farm; Re. I. Box
726; Harnpcon. TN 37658
FREE t..ABOR • I would like ID learn about beekeeping and
building New Ag< Housing Willing to wo1'k for free during
summer. All I ask b a pl- for my tcnl and .., occasional
muL Con11e1 ClvU Irwin; 1712 Whhc /we.; Knoxville:. TN
37916 (6lS) 673-0653.
BUCITT RESISTANT CHESUIUT ·hybrid
AmcricanlCluncS 0wman c:hcstnut treea • blight rcsisW\I
timl>C!r pc>wth form. productive orchard crop wilh luge.
sweet CQily·pcc\ed nuu. Cbutnut Hill l'luncry; RL I, Bo>.
34 l·K: Aadiua, FL 3261.S (904) 462·2820
ORGANTC FERTIUZERS. belts, and arganically-groMI.
local produce 11 the> WNC Pannen' Marked Look for the
FaiJglcn Fanns slllll. units F and 0 in lhc wholesale 1tU of'
lhc F.umcn' Matkrl; 570 BteVud Rd.; Asheville, NC ("104
252-4414
Trudeau Dr.; Mc.Wrc, LA 70003.
CENTEJl FOR AWA.KENlNC scck:ing 2 full-time, live.in
volunlccn w/ main1cnance and/or n11ural food prep
eitpericnce. RmManl. Wri1e; Human Services Allianoc
Bo• IS42; WinSIOn.Salcm. NC 27102 (919) 761-874S.
APPROPRIATE PASSIVE SOLAR des1111. blueprints
and full wor.king dnwings for homes, shopt. and sheds
Cr.,•llve dr1fling .....yow- ideas or ours. Harmony
Sunbuildets; P.O. Bo• 194; Suiv Grove. NC 28697
SONGS OF LOVE ANO NATURE by Ron Lambe
fcawring the voice of Hearuingcr wilh Slcphen Klein,
Pi&no. Lavaul<r Lieder Records; R1 I, Box I JS;
Bakcnvillc, NC 28705. (704) 6884791.
B~c I01J.r111!1 inlo o f«alm of Evolution.ary lodvt:llllD'e
by Pauick Clerk. A inu: -=ounl of a bicycle tnp from
NATURAL FOOD SlORF. for ulc in Brevard, NC.
E•ccllcnt IOCllion. $80,000 CJOS1 sales. Growlh poienti&I
Owncn n10ving. mus1 p•U ii on. Call IDiubcth (704)
293·9534 evcnin&J.
ORCANlC FOOD PRODUCING CO-OP
land.
aqwprncnl, apcrienced fannen provided for members The
Bioclomc Pannet~lup; Rt. 2. Sox 184; Waynesville.. NC
28786. (704) 926-935$.
ECO HELP NEEDED Long 8r111Ch Envlfonmcn1al
Education Ccrue:r D«dJ volwileetlN!ICnlS 10 help "'•lh
orchards, gardens, farmworl. rainbow 1tou1.
cmrgy-efficimc bllild1ng. cnvimnmmtal/wildlifc/pmn1·
cul11m issues and organizing. Room and boatd negntiable.
Paul Calllmoce; l.BF.EC; RL 2. Box 132; ~icc.icr, NC
28748
YOU CAN CO HOME AGAIN· A Down To &rth
JOURNEY INTO THE SLICK.ROCK Wildcmcu Atca
Boys. falhu-son. falher-daughter cxpcdttJoN. Learn
ob<•rvttion and woodcraft in lhe deep woods. Bun
~gay, upericnced guide Slicktock ElpeditionJ; Box
1214; Cullowhec. NC .28723.
AMRITA HERBAL PRODUCTS · Comfrey. EucalyplUS
Oii C.olclcn Seal salve. ~mon ar LA•cncler (ICIC ctam. Medo:
wilh natural and c=nlial oih and love. Send for brochure
Rt I. Box 737; Floyd, VA 24091.
HAND.CARVED WOODSPIRITS. ln)"ucal hiking ital~
FINDING OUR "PATH WITH HEART" c.QI be v11al t0
O\lt health Ind ~•lfoxprasion. I offer guidcl<:e lhrou&h
courueling, spimual 111uncmm1. ..1rolog1cal rcadings
WOJbhops, common·llCJUC ftedbt.ell. For more info or an
appoin1mcnl, call Richard Lowenthal , M.A . (704)
2Sl·2526. Sliding scale fcea.
ALTERNATIVE COMMUNITY on bcauuful land~
Cbualccc, NC sr<king r1milirs domring gi:c11tt
c:oopenlicm and self·sufficlen<:y. Based on Jpiricual Ind
ocological valuea. Pcoperty now av11f1ble. Call (404)
77S.S7S4 for info.
Wuhinglon, D.C 10 Ille au1boc's native home of
Cullowbcc, NC. following muah of lhc Bluc Ridge
Parkway. Avai1oblc for $7.95 pose paid from Dandylion
Publicatio111. 47 Pmola. Sc., Ashcvillc NC 28801.
COMMUNION WITH NATifRA • Long proclauncd to be
cclcsual •tan &fOllllding their radiance on Mot.bcr !!viii
flowers ""' the rcvcl11ion of lhc plan!. Come •hllfe in
NATURA'$ sacred play. moyonunUJe facililJtin&. 3931
Hwy 80 S. Toe River, Bunuvillc. NC 28714 ("104}
6~-4806
CARDE.NERS arc ..-UJated t0 v11u our Parad~ Gardens
for insirucuon and inspirauon (!'reel and/or peicmial plan11
sale (cheap). Artisu .re 1nvncd IO c:omtt and c:ru1c 1n tile
gllda> • painUng. drawing. and phDioanplty arc cnMunged
We oho ba,·• • cabin avtJ.IAblc mcxcrumgc for warlcin& in
lhc ganlcn. Mount.m Gardens; 3020 White Oak Creek;
Bunuvillc, NC 28714 (704) 67S·S664.
and wall hAAgmp by SICVc Dunc111 For broch1... plcuc
write Whippoorwill Swctio; llt 4, ~ 981; Manon. NC
28752.
MEDITATION CUSHIONS Crom Carolina M<>mUll
Do.signs. Troditionll ancl mllwblo 1.afus For free bnx:hurc
wrii.e; RL I. Boa 31·8: Hot Spnng1, NC 237<13.
HANDMADE RATTI..ES fot the 'JMlual warrnor or hcal~r
made wilh maic.rial• provadcd by !he animal ltin1dom.
<;:oncact: Jc._ HltnS Bathrict.-; SW Cm.notill AttifilC~
1307 lvcnon St.: Allmta. GA (404) 588-0296
•
INDIAN VAUEY RETREAT· 140 acrci in Blue Ridge
mountains wilh faeilitiea available to rent far group1 or
individual ll!lra!S. dlha 3J.1ided or unstn1C;1Ul1>d. Send for
infom111ion and seasonal c1lo.ndar of h.e aling,
transfl>ITil&live evcnlJ lo: lndu111 Vllllcy Holislic Center
RL 2. Box S8; Willis, VA 24:180
h.Alld TN! Earth Li•ci /lappity Ever After - .caries from
folk lrlditioni all ltOWld the wtidd chosen to help prolt:Ct
all living beings by bringing 111'1 world soc1ecy a few steps
do5Ct to peace and ~l for 1111 fife. Edited by Floar.ing
Eagle Femhcr. $7 .00 ppd. (All profits go IO Clrempacc IJ1A!
!he Pcau Museum.) Order &om: Wages of Peace; 309
704.251 ·2526).
•
MOTHER'S BREATit HERBAL PRODUCTS high
quali1y b"fbal c•"'""· oin1ments, and 011J, lov1n1ly
aa1cd. Send for free brochure 10 Re . 2. Ro• 251. Vllas.
NC2K692
EARTH REACH EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 1cae1Un1
pnmitivc skills 10 children md adulu.. Roben Manin. Jr
and JC&1111C Moo!\!'. RL I, Box 178-A. Fcnum, VA 24088.
BEAUTIFUL EUCIUOE MOCCASINS Custom aitcd to
your f~• AO narural ma1erials. Sof!SOle $2.5/lw<holt
SSO. Send tncm& of your fool to Na1ivc American
FoQ1wcar, 47 Panola St., Alhevillc NC 2.8801; 7~
2:Sl·22.SO
WEBWORK!NO is &cc 5""J •ubmis.1u1cu to:
K01"4Jt J<><1rnal
P.O. Bo• 638
ui=ler.NC
Kall!ah Pro"incc 28743
SprinlJ, 1999
•
�The Kaulah Journal wants to communicate your
thoughts and feelings to the other people in the
bioregional province. Send them to us as leners. poems,
stories. articles. drawings, or photographs, etc. Please
send your comnbutions to us at: Katuah Journal; P. 0.
Box 638; Leicester, NC; Karuah Province 28748.
•
The summer issue of lhc Ka11iah Jo11.rlllll will deal with the
meaning of the word "Pence" as a dynamic process lhal can
replace cxisung SU"Uctures of donunation with vibrant new
relarionships.
Please send us descriptions and contact infonnarion for
individuals and groups in your pan of the province that are doing
lhings that are helping co create peace Ill the world.
We would also Hke to know what is your definition of
pence. We would like to get a collection of the mo.~t interesting and
accurate definitions of that elusive idea.
BACK ISSUES
OF KATUAH AV All.ABLE
$1.50
-··
ISSUE FIFTEEN Sprin& 1987
Coverlets - Woman Porcsler - Susie McMdwl
Midwife . Alternative Conlncqmon •
Bio>CJtualily - 81orcgionalism ~ Women Good Mtdic:inc: MmWdlal Clll~ ,_,
WWJ[fl~-
ISSUE THREE SPRJN(l 1984
Sustain.thlc Agriculture . SunOowas Human
lmpac1 on lhc: Forut - Childrcns' Ed11c111ion
Vct0nlca Nicholu·Woman in Politics Llitlc
tsSUESIXTE:EN-Summerl987
Helen Wauc: Poem: Visions 111 • O~ .
Vision Que,r1 - Fim Flow - ln11ia1ion •
1.umina in lhc Wildemeu • Cherokee
Cllallcngc "Valuing T,_.
People. Mcdlrinc Allies
•
ISSUE FOUR - SUMMER 198'1
W11c1 !>nun Water Quably Kudtu Solar
Ecli~c Ctc:arcuttin& T1out • C.omg IO W111r1
Ram PllmP" • Mic:rohydro - Pocnu: Bennie
l...ec Sinclair, Jim Wrync Mnlcr
ISSUE EIGITTE.EN WUUO' 1987 88
VcmacuIIT Atchiittl\ITC - Dl'c;ams an Wood Q!
Sione - Mount&Jll Home - E.Ulh l!ncrJi.. •
Eanh-S!u:hcrcd Livmg • Mcmbr- Houses
Brush Shchci - Poems· Ot:to«r Du.d • C'oOOd
ModX:.nc: "Sheller"
ISSLF. FIVE - FALL 191!4
llarv1:11 • Old Ways in Chc1ok"" GinKng
Nuclear Waste: • Our Cchic Hcri1•ge
Biorcgionalism: Put. Ptuc:nt. and Fu1ure Jahn Wilnol)' • Healing Dlltkness Politics or
ISSUE NINETEe.N -Sll'Ulg. 19811
Pcrloandra Cltdtn Spring Tonics · Blueberries
WUdOo11>cr O•rdcns Granny Hcrbalis1 •
Flll"'l:r Es.cncea • lho Origin of lhe Animal :
Stoty -Good Malicmo: "Po.. cr" • Be ATroe
Paructp:iliDn
ISSLIE SIX. WTNTER 1984-85
Wini.:r Soi.ti« Eanh Ceremony· H0<scpiu1u;i,
ISSUE TWENTY · S11m1na. 19811
l'reM!rve App.alathilll WildcnlU.J • Hi,ghbnll
of ltoan - Cel<1 Community - L.nd Trun •
Arthur Miqan School • Zoning 'Wuc • ·'"The
Ridgo" - Fanncrs Ind lhe Fann Bill • Cood
Mcdir.:lnc! ''Lind" · Acid Rain · Duke"• Po..,cr
Play Chaoic< Microhydro ProJCCI
Rt\CT Com1111 ol lhc Llshl • Log Clbm
Roo1a- MoUlll&in Apicullurc: Tho Righi Crop
- W11l1am Tayl11< The Fuiun: of lhc: Forc.t
ISSUE SEVEN SPRING 1985
Su.'ll&JA•blc Ec:onomic:J Hot Srrinp - Worlte;
Ownership - The Great &onomy - Self Help
Crccjj1 Union Wiid Turlt.cy - Rcsponslbl•
lnvuting Workitlg in Ilic Web of Lite
JSSUE EIGtrr - SUMMER 1985
Celebra11on: A Way of Life - Kat\Wl 18.000
Ye&l'J Ago • Sacred Sil.Cl - Follc Ans in lhc
School& - Sun Cyc:l~oon Cycle • Powu:
Hilda Downer Chcsolcu Heritage Caw:r •
Who Owns Appaladlhl?
ISSUENTNE- FALL 1985
The
Wal~
Forest - Thi> Tfl'cS Spc:alt •
Milf&llng Foruts • llcme Logging - Stanmg a
Treci Crop Urb&n Trees · l\oom Btc«I - Mylh
Tane
~-
ISSUE Et.EVEN SPRINO 1986
Community Planning - Cities and the:
Biotcgional Vision - Roc:yclmg Community
Gardening- Floyd County, VA - Ouoliol Two Biottgional Views • Nuclear Suj)plema11
FoiU= Oarne.s. Good MtdldM: Visions
Box - The Wake - TI1c Raven Moclcor
Woodslorc and WildwoodJ Wildom Oood
tsSUETWEHTY-ONE · Fall, 1988
Chc:stnu~ A 1~i.1ura.1 Hl11ory • Rostoring w
Cheiulut. ·p~ orl'rcs<!rvation Uld Praise"
Canunuing the Quesl Farella and Wildlife
Chos1ru111 in Regional 011~1
Chcsuuu
Ruoun:u - Hctb Noic - Good Mcdn:mc:
"Changes 10 C<!me" • Rev~ Wkr# le&~Nls
Medicine: The Sweat lodge
ISSUETBN ·WINTER 19l!S-86
Ka1c Rogas • Circles of Slone • lnicmal
Mylhmalcing - Holl•lic: Healing on Trial
Poem$: Sieve Knaulh • My1Juc Pbc:c:s The
Uklona's Talc:
Cry11al Magic -
Li~
ISSUE FOURTEEN - W-mi« 1986.t7
Uoyd Cul Owlc. Boogers and Mwnmcn - All
!SSUETWENTY TWOWin1ct", l9S8-89
Cilobal Wmnaig and Kat4ah .irire This T~ •
Thom.u Deny on "Biorcgsons" - Eanh E.xcrase Ko~ Loy McWluru:r • All Abundance oI
l'..mplincSJ - LETS • Chninicl.. or Flo)'d - o.ry
Wood lnlcrf!ICW The 9.,.., Clan
ISSUE THIRTEEN · Fall 1986
Ccnlcr For Awakening - Elinbc:th Callari A
Clc:n1lc Dca1h • Hosp>CA! Eincsl Morgan
Dealing Crcalivcly with Dcalh Home Bunal
Species Day - Cabin Fcve1 Uni•aaity •
Homelcu !JI Kaiuah • Homcinadc Hos Wiler
S1ovanJtkCf'5 Narrauvc • Good Meche.inc::
lntmpcci.. Conununication
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - ,,
~UA~
QURNAL
0
-- - - - -
~
--------
For more info: call Mamie Muller (704) 683-1414
Boie 638; Leicester, NC; KatUah Province 28748
Regular Membership........ $10/yr.
Sponsor........................$20/yr.
Contributor.....................$50/yr.
Name
Enc/Med is$
Address
City
Area COde
Sprl.nq, 1989
ro give
this ejforr an extra boost
State
Phone Number
Zip
l can be a local contact
person for my area
Back [ssues
Issue#-_@$2.50= $_ _
Issue#_@ $2.50 = $_ _
Issue# _@ $2.50 = S_ _
Issue#_@ $2.50 = $_ _
Issue# __@ S2.50 = $ _ _
Choose any 5 issues:
SIO.OO=S_ _
Complete Set (3-11, 13-16,
18-22)
@ $35.00 = $_ _
XAwaf1 Jou~ncit Pt«J~ ~s
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians Records
Description
An account of the resource
<em>Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians</em>, later simplified to <em>Katúah Journal</em>, was published from 1983 to 1993. A quarterly publication, it was focused on the bioregion of former Cherokee land in Appalachia. <br /><br /><span>The early issues of the journal explain the meaning of the Cherokee name, </span><em>Katúah</em><span>, and why the editors wanted to view the world through a bioregional lens, rather than political boundaries. A volunteer production, the editors took a holistic view in tackling social, environmental, mental, spiritual, and emotional topics of the day, many of which are still relevant. </span><br /><span><br />The <em>Katúah Journal</em> was co-founded by Marnie Muller, David Wheeler, Thomas Rain Crowe, Martha Tree and others who served as co-publishers and co-editors. Other key team members included Chip Smith, David Reed, Jay Mackey, Rob Messick and many others.</span><br /><br />This digital collection is only a portion of the <em>Katúah</em>-related materials in the W.L. Eury Appalachian Collection in Special Collections at Appalachian State University. The items in AC.870 Katúah Journal records cover the production history of the <em>Katúah Journal</em>. Contained within the records are correspondence, publication information, article submissions, and financial information. The editorial layouts for issues 12 through 39 are included as are a full run of the Journal spanning nearly a decade. Also included are photographs of events related to the Journal and a film on the publication.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
This resource is part of the <em>Katúah Journal Records </em>collection. For a description of the entire collection, see <a href="https://appstate-speccoll.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/937" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Katúah Journal Records (AC. 870)</a>.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
The images and information in this collection are protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U. S. C.) and are intended only for personal, non-commercial, and educational purposes, provided proper citation is used – i.e., Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians Records, 1980-2013 (AC.870), W. L. Eury Appalachian Collection, Special Collections, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC. Researchers are responsible for securing permissions from the copyright holder for any reproduction, publication, or commercial use of these materials.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1983-1993
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
journals (periodicals)
Language
A language of the resource
English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
<em>Katúah Journal</em>, Issue 23, Spring 1989
Description
An account of the resource
The twenty-third issue of the <em>Katúah Journal</em> focuses on varied topics such as the ancient ways of the first people groups in Appalachia; "Planet Art;" tulip poplar trees; the Black Swan Center; and environmentally-friendly economics. Authors and artists in this issue include: Kim Sandland, Denise Newbourne, David Morris, Doug Elliott, James Rhea, Jerry Trivette, C.B. Squire, Elizabeth Griffin, Gil Leebrick, Michael Hockaday, Sheli Lodge, Rob Messick, David Wheeler, Dolores LaChapelle, Martha Tree, Laura E. Jackson, and Jackie Taylor. <br><br><em>Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians</em>, later simplified to <em>Katúah Journal</em>, was published from 1983 to 1993. A quarterly publication, it was focused on the bioregion of former Cherokee land in Appalachia. The early issues of the journal explain the meaning of the Cherokee name, Katúah, and why the editors wanted to view the world through a bioregional lens, rather than political boundaries. A volunteer production, the editors took a holistic view in tackling social, environmental, mental, spiritual, and emotional topics of the day, many of which are still relevant.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1989
Table Of Contents
A list of subunits of the resource.
Pisgah Village: A Window into Ancient Ways by Kim Sandland.......1<br /><br />Planet Art in Katúah by Denise Newbourne.......5<br /><br />The Green City as Thriving City by David Morris.......8<br /><br />Poplar Appeal by Doug Elliott.......10<br /><br />Clear Sky: A Composite Portrait by James Rhea.......13<br /><br />"A New Earth" by Jerry Trivette.......14<br /><br />College as Community Resource by C. B. Squire.......16<br /><br />Wild Lovely Days: Poems by Elizabeth Griffin | Photographs by Gil Leebrick.......18<br /><br />Natural World News.......20<br /><br />Reviews: Sacred Land Sacred Sex Rapture of the Deep.......23 Stopping the Coming Ice Age.......25<br /><br />Drumming: Letters to Katúah.......26<br /><br />"Sudden Tendrils" a poem by Michael Hockaday.......28<br /><br />Events Calendar.......32<br /><br />Webworking.......34<br /><br /><em>Note: This table of contents corresponds to the original document, not the Document Viewer.</em>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
<em>Katúah Journal</em>, printed by The <em>Waynesville Mountaineer</em> Press
Subject
The topic of the resource
Bioregionalism--Appalachian Region, Southern
Sustainable living--Appalachian Region, Southern
Cherokee Indians--History
Excavations (Archaeology)--North Carolina, Western
Mixed economy--Appalachian Region, Southern
Poplar--North Carolina, Western
Community development--North Carolina--Swannanoa River Valley
Human ecology in art
North Carolina, Western
Blue Ridge Mountains
Appalachian Region, Southern
North Carolina--Periodicals
Language
A language of the resource
English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<a href="https://appstate-speccoll.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/937"> AC.870 Katúah Journal records</a>
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a title="In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted" href="https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/?language=en 8" target="_blank"> In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted </a>
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Appalachian Region, Southern
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
<a title="Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians" href="https://omeka.library.appstate.edu/collections/show/79" target="_blank"> Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians </a>
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
PDF
Journals (Periodicals)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1980s
Appalachian History
Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Studies
Book Reviews
Cherokees
Community
Earth Energies
Ecological Peril
Economic Alternatives
Education
Electric Power Companies
Folklore and Ceremony
Forest History
Forest Issues
Geography
Habitat
Hazardous Chemicals
Katúah
Poems
Politics
Reading Resources
Recycling
Shelter
Turtle Island
Villages
Water Quality
Western North Carolina Alliance
-
https://omeka-test.library.appstate.edu/files/original/0d9900eecbaa84dc53b477e07072e743.pdf
fa0c060dc360f4bcedc42ca0ae593baf
PDF Text
Text
Postage Paid
Bu._M~
Permil 118
LeiceS1er, NC
28748
ISSUE 24 SUMMER 1989
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Dee~LD~~~~r~i~~................................ 3
7...............................s
Life ~~I::rr~~~~
Hiroshima Day 1989 .............................7
Direct Actioo! ....................................... 8
T'AI: PEACE
by Patrick Clark
Planting a Tree of Peace.......................9
Community Building and Peace......... IO
by Richard Lowen1Tial
Peacemakers: A Resource Listing....... 11
Ethnic SurvivaJ. ................................... 14
Black Mountain Pairing Project.. ........ 15
"Battlesong" ........................................ I6
A Poem by Heather Pirrillo
Growing Peace in Cultures................. 18
by Mamie MuJ/er
Review:
The Chalice and the Blade..................20
Natural World News...........................22
P eace. As we cxplon: the meaning of
this word in the Kanlah pro,·ince. we find as
many subjective definition5 as there are people
working to manifest lhem. Yet, is there an
underlying sense that ties together the different
perspectives and the work all these people are
carrying on?
The answer for us came very lute one
night while we wen: gathered to prep3te the
spring issue of the KatUa.h Journal. Someone
by chance called up from the I Ching the
hexagram T'ai, entitled "Peace." The sign was
composed of three yin lines over three yang
lines--illusuating n smte of vibrnnr balancing.
The yin energy, which represent<> the
receptive or yielding quality of nature, is above
the yang, moving downwnrc.1; and the yang
energy, which represents the active or creative
principle. is below the yin, moving upward.
Abovt
IMow
The Receptive Eanh ( K'un)
The Creative. Heaven (Ch'lcn}
A Children's Page...............................25
The ~I reads•
Drumming........................................... 26
"111is hel<agram dcnotc.s ;i urne m nature when
Heaven seems to be on E:lrl.h. Hc:ivc:n has pixed
11sclf bcnCJlh Ille Eanh. and so lhcll' powers unite
Events Calendar..................................28
\Vebworking....................................... 30
in deep h:lrmony. Then ~and blc..~'illlJ;S dc.lecnd
upon :Ill living lhmg&."
In this hexagram. the I Ching emphasius
that peace is not a sunk .st.:ite but r.uher one of
dynnmic balane"C, alway:. changing as conditions
change. Jn the world of nuture and m the world
of the human, everything is in motion. It is in
the midst of this swirling interplay of forces
which create this Life. rhat we begin to feel n
sense of hamiony, of communion, of
rightness...that could be: identified as peace.
When "'e do not cultiv:ue this hannony,
then Life becomes •·our of b:ilancc." Finding
balance and maintaining b.·llancc-, both
personally and culturally, is a process of
continuous exchange. When the exchange is
balanced. simple 1hough it sounds... peace
brings peace.
In this world of diversity :ind disparate
value systems. peace does not depend on "an
absence of con0ic1", but rather on the way we
get through the e-0nnic1. II is 1he embracing of all
the life forces. even those in apparent
opposition.
As we strive to preserve the habitats tha1
maint..'lin life and ro bring about specific political
and economic changes. we come to recognfae
the connec1cdncss of all things. In 1his way, we
produce changes rhat are Sll'Ong and enduring.
People like those listed in the pages of
this issue of Kattwh Journal, nnd many others in
the region, arc an lnspinuion to all of us In tl1eir
ded1ca11on. The way they go about workin~ for
change ii. itself crearing new ways of relating.
And the new rcJ31ionships 1h3t are now
incubating llJ'C the Ir.Isis of a new culture.
Eventually chc insti1u1ions of society, which are
simply renccuons of the basic relationships
escablishcd :1mong ourselves and other living
1hmgs, will be transfonncd.
"May the Spirit so stro11g in the ~hadow and
stmm
Hold fast 10 what is righ1,
A11d S!irt!ly as JOU breaJlre the gentle air of Peace
This ia11d shall shefur in the light of love
Tlzis land sl:all shelter in the light "
Blessed beThe Ednors
(l'w fn>m I CIU11g "'T~
BooJ;. o{CiuJntu.1ranslllle<l sn1et
ClcmwJ by Richard Wilhdm Uld ill1o Engluh bt Cory F.
Ba)'llCJ. Sons l1ria from "l.a:id ol l.i&Jil" ias ro:orded 11) 1~
Ta-vtdtil/Weawrs)
�STAFFTHlS ISSUE:
Scott Bi.rd
Patrick Clark
Andy Half-Baker
Rob Messick
Marnie Muller
Mart.ha Tree
Richard Lowenthnl
David Wheeler
EDITORIAL ASSISTANCE:
Susan Adam
Abby Bird
John Creech
WiJI Ashe Bason
Jack Chaney
Jim Houser
Christina Monison
PiCllllte
Rodney Webb
Chip Smilll
Morgan Swann ...and !honks IO Jake ror lnte-nighl brownies
COVER by Martha Tree
INVOCATION from "Meditations with Animals"
by Gerald Hausm:m
PUBLISHED BY: Ka1U1Jlr Joumal
THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN BIOREOION
AND MAJOR EASTERN RIVER SYSTEMS
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
PRINTED BY: The Waynesville Mou11raineer Press
EDITORIAL OFFICE THIS ISSUE: Globe Valley
WRITEUS AT:
TELEPHO.'IE:
(704) 683-1414
KarUtiii Jour11al
Box 638
Leicesier, NC
Kaufah Province 28748
Divemty is an imponant clcmcru of biorog101Ul ecology, bolh
lllllUral ond social. In hne w11h I.his principle, lhe Kotuah Journol lrics
io serve a,~ o forum ror lhe discussion or regional issues. Signed anicles
cJtpn:ss only lhe opm1on of the 3uthors and are 001 ncccss:irily lhe
opimoos of lite KotUah Journal editors or sulff.
The lnierrutl Revenue Service h3S declared Ka1uah a non-profil
SOl(c)(3) of lhc lntem:il Revcnu.: Code. AU
contributions 10 Ka1U1Jh ore dcdLICllblc from pcrsont1I income twt.
orgnnl~tion under section
_,
SPIRIT FEATHERS
Death feather of the crow
puts my enemy
to sleep
Crow feather
Crow feather
Life feather of the Jay
makes my mind
awake
Jay feather
Jay feather
Peace feather of the crane
turns my enemy
into me
White crane
White crane
(Creek Indian)
Here in the southern-most heartland of the
Appalachian mountains, the oldest mouni.ain range on
our continent, Turtle Island, a smaU but growing group
has begun to take on a sense of responsibility for the
implications of that geographical and cultural heritage.
This sense of responsibility centers on the concept of
living within the natural scale and balance of universal
systems and principles.
Within this circle we begin by invoking the
Cherokee name" Katuah" as the old/new name for this
area of the mountains and for its journal as well. The
province is indicated by its natural boundaries: the
Roanoke River Valley to the north; the foothills of the
piedmont area to the east; Yona Mountain and the
Georgia hllls to the south; and the Tennessee River
Valley to the west.
The editorial priorities for us are to collect and
disseminate information and energy which pertain
specifically 10 this region, and to foster the awareness
that the land is a living being deserving of our love and
respecL Living in this manner is a way to insure the
sustainability of the biosphere and a lasting place for
ourselves in its continuing evolutionary process.
We seem to have reached the fulcrum point of a
" do or die " situation in terms of a qualicy standard of
life for all living beings on this planet. As a voice for
the caretakers of this sacred land, Katuah, we advocate
a centered approach to the concept of decentralization.
IL is our hope to become a support system for those
accepting the challenge of sustainability and the
creation of harmony and balance in a total sense. here
in this place.
We welcome aU correspondence, criticism,
pertinent information. anicles. artwork, etc. with
hopes that Katliah will grow to serve the best interests
of this region and all its living, breathing members.
-The Editors
Su mmer. J989
�DEEP LISTENING
by David Wheeler
"We cannot make a change. We musr be rhe change
we wish I() create."
- Mohandas K. Gandhi
There occurs occasionally a unification of spiritual belief and
political activism in which the literal applica1ion of a spiritual
principle becomes a potent lever for social change. The resulting
techniques are so powerful that they arc a1 once a tactic for solving
a problem a11d also lhe solution 10 the problem. It might be said tha1
in that situation the means and 1he end are one and the same. But m
ac1uality, when those si1uations occur, there no longer arc
diffcre.ntiated "means" or "ends." There is simply a continually
unfolding process of change.
The mos1 prominent case in modem times is non-violent
direct action as pr.tcticed fim by Mohandas Gandhi in South Africa
and India and then later by Martin Luther King, Jr. on th is
continent. The principles of non-violent direct action have
revolu1ionized the role of social protest in the world 1oday. F.ven as
people pro1est specific instances of injustice, they also set a positive
example of how to resolve social conflicts and raise a posi1ive
spiri1ual consciousness a1 1he same time.
Today ano1her method known as "deep listening," is
curren1ly being developed even as it is being applied. It, 100, will
also be noted as one of those powerful unities of spiritual and social
practice.
Herb Walters is a founder and presently a s1aff worker with
Rural Southern Voice for Peace (RSVP), a small group of
dedicated activists promo1ing peace issues throughout the southeast
from a base in the Celo Community on the Soulh Toe River near
Burnsville, Nonh Carolina. From his experience as a counselor of
disturbed and delinquent adolescents, as a member of the Society
of Friends (Quakers), and as an insrructor in the principles of
connict resolution and non-violent direct action, Herb has come 10
realize the power of the Quaker tenet of "listening."
The basic principle of deep listening, as practiced an
"Listening Project!>'' organized by the RSVP staff, is simple in the
extreme: it is listening - without opposition or judgement - to the
emotions, wishes, and fears of ordinary people living in ordinary
communities. Ye1 the simple act of listening holds great potential
for organizing political movements for social change,
Listening Projects are often held in communities which a.re
facing a crisis situation or divided by a controversial issue.
''Listening Projects are basically a process for geuing activists 01Jt
into a community," says l lcrb. On a political level there arc two
reasons for getting organizers into neighborhood~. One is tha1 an
order for a movemcn1 to expand its base, i1 must reach out to ney.
segments of the population - people who mtty fed hopeless or
powerless 10 bring about change or people \\hO may be ovenly
hostile 10 ch:inge.
Listening Project volunteers go to the homes. of people in a
target community and approach them dircclly about ll1cir concerns
on issues as 1hey are felt wilhin that community. The volumeers
often find that If they are successful in drawing people out, they are
breaking new ground in exploring feelings about issues thnt the
people themselves may never have examined before. Responses
vary from door lo door. Sometimes people fall into the standarJ
modes of thinking. But in many cases. by examining their true
feelings about maucrs they had never considered deeply before.
people find themselves identifying or accepting entirely new
uppro:iches to old problems.
The second reason for getting organizers into neighborhood~
1s the basic organizing principle, "start where people are at." Pa!it
experience has shown that if organizers go into neighborhoods with
the mtenl lo conven residents to preconceived ideas on issues.
however log1c:tll)' devastanng these arguments might be, they meet
with limited success. The Listening Projc:GIS are based on the
wisdom that if activi~ts are willing to listen to the people, the people
themselves will tell about how the larger issues directly affect their
lives.
Often people respond to the issues in a more immediate
manner than acuvists' in1ellee1ual formulations. A Lis1ening Project
in St. Mary's, Georgia found that local rc-~idents fell the presence
of an atomic submarine base as an abridgement of their fishing
rights. Another Project with the Shenandoah Peace Co:iJuion in
Virginia found that people's pnmary C-Oncem was the lack or yoULh
activities or programs, which related to problems with drug./alcohol
abuse and vandalism. By responding to this concern. the Coalition
is ov~oming the isol:ition that many peace groups feel from their
communities as well as pointing out the social effects of excessive
military spending.
But tnere 1s aJw a third and more profound rctlSOn for going
into 11 community and becoming involved with local people's
concerns· deep lis1ening is a powerful tool 10 bre:ik down
stereotypes - on both sides of 11 conversation - and to thereby
overcome polarization.
Herb states that, 'The fact 1s that a 101 of people out there in
mainstream America don't join the pe:tcc movement because they
don't trust us. They sec the peace movement in terms of
stereotypes. A part of the listening process is to overcome that
barrier by letting people's common humanity come through and
finding a common understanding. Oftcn a real truth does arise, and
we lind that people do care. They re-.iJly care; they ju~t don't know
what rodo."
But people in the cuhural mainstream arc not the only ones
who arc limited by n:mow thinking. "Acrivbt~ in the peace
mO\'emcm have a 101 or fears and sterco1ype:; of the \'cry people
the>: arc trying to rench," says Herb. "At 1he same time a.~ they are
talking about 'outreach,' movemcnt people distance themselves
from the majority of the population by working in the safety of their
own liule groups and using the media to convey their rn¢ssage.
"I see listening as direct action, because through 1he
Listening Projects we go right 10 1he people. they don'! like )'OU
and what you are doing. that's all the more reason to go right to
them. That's non-violence: go right IO the people who are against
you and find out why. Find wh:u you can do to change the
pol:uiz:llion thac's happening, instead of always keeping your
disl:Illce from !hose people."
rr
In a Listening Project. organiz.ers :ire first trnined in a specittl
session with a RSVP staff person in "111.:h they draw up a survey
questionnaire. learn communication skills with which 10 approach
{con1mued on peg~ 4)
Su.mnu:r, 1989
Drawmg by Rob Mc.ssicl;
>C.'1tiwf1 Journal p119e lS
�peop e, and le.am Lhe crucfal djffercnce bet ween ordin:iry and
''deer u listening.
"Normally," says Herb, "when another person 1s speaking,
we .ire thinking of ways to put our own point across. Deep
listenmg calls on us to let go of our own egos for awhile. We
suspehd judgement. We try to become that other person so that we
can really understand their fears and hopes. We listen, and we
accept the fact thut they are different, that they have different ideas.
and we concentrate our attention on their esscmial humanirv, that
p:in of us that we all share."
·
This is called "seeing the light in the other person" in the
Friends' way of speaking. II creates its own kind of magic.
Opposition dissolves without opposition to foed on, and people at
first hostile or indifferent often feel encouraged to open to deep
feelings and emotion~. A relationship of l111St is begun that can
cross the b:irriers of stereotype and polarization. Differences are
"starting points" and come to be seen as interesting pcrspecuves on
shared problems and common simations.
"lnilinlly there 1s mistrust or some retuctance," says Herb.
"but when the person realizes that the volunteer isn't there to
conven them or to judge them, they begin to say what they acrunlly
think. Wha1 often develops is a relationship of openness and trust,
:ind the person speaking often opens to change in a way that they
never have before.
"They feel safe. They might talk about their fears. They
might say, 'We need mon: nucle:ir weapons.' But instead of giving
a reaction. the volunteer ju.st says, 'Why do you feel that'?' and
really listens to them and draws them into talking about their deeper
feelings.
"Listeners often find themselves in the position of being
facilitators for an internally motivated conversion, as the person
they are talking with begins to think about questions like the nuclear
arms race or the local bomb plant on an emotional level. In the
course of one conversation real change can happen in people \.\ho
would never have gone to a peace group meeting. it's a fascinating
process."
Groups contemplating undenaking a Listening Project art
warned that they must be willing t0 make a long-term commitment
to the community they are about to enter. Experience has taught the
RSVP staff that a Listening Project evokes a mong and often
unexpected response. People are "hungry to be listened to," as
Herb says. and, although volunteers may start out expecting
rejection, interviews more often than not end up with the resident
saying, "Do you reaUy have 10 go? Can't you stay just a little
longer?"
Many people feel hopeless and powerless. They have a sense
that they are being manipulated a.nd swept along by forces far
beyond their ability to controL They often feel that wishing for
change is only causing themselves needless pain. Having someone
actually want to hear what they have to say is an empowering
experience. h is an offer of hope. It makes them feel that perhaps it
is wonhwhile to do away with the psychic numbing in which they
taken refuge. But if visitors offer that hope during a visit and then
never return again, lhe result is detrimental, and people could be left
in a position worse than their original condition.
A group muSt be prepared to offer avenues for action that fit
the concerns and abilities of the people of lhe community. It may be
~legislative network thnt contacts elected reprcsenl!ltives on specific
lSS~es. It migh~ be a church meeting or a fund-raising project. The
ob;ect of entenng a community and taking the time to listen is to
rea~h_people so they might find 1heir power and take leadership.
This 1~ a long process and requires a corresponding degree of
commument, but it offers its own rewards for activists willing to
muster the patience to see it through.
Drawing by C"'la YllOlll'll' f,f1llsaps. I /111 1rtu1~. Smi,Ley .\11.11V11a1n llltlt School
Ollr) In thL lad.son COMnI) P~~ /llttwork's /(}/Jr! · ~·1swn of Pcau" conu.rt
/J/I
In our society, contr0ver:.ies arc customarily settled by
deb:ue. One side is suppo~d to overcome the other with the weight
of logic. The format is argument, and the focu:. is on differences how "we'~" right and "they're" wrong. In deep listening the
interviewers focus tirst on the common ground. the opinions upon
which they R$fee wnh the person with whom the)' are talking. In
Lisfening Pro;cct training se_,sions it is said:
"You may disngree with ninety percent of" hat a person h
telling )OU . If so, focus on the :ucas of agreement first. Build a
relationship of rrust: then you can look a1 the differences."
.
In deep listening. disagreements have a place, but tha1 p13ce
1s way do""n the scale from the primary position they custom:uily
hold in political discourse, and lhey are never allowed to dim the
vision of "the light within."
What could be gender than the companionable acr of
listening? Yet practittoners have found it to be a technique of grear
power with far-reaching social effects. The source of that power
lies in going beyond the ego and getting down to lh:u place where
lhings change.
. O~e experience invol~ed lhe Piedmont Peace Project (PPP).
a. b1-r~c1al g_rou~ of lo~-rncome people, which undenook a
L1stemng Project Ill the mill town of Kannapolis. Nonh Carolina to
broaden community participation in their program. lmerviewers
!'Cwmed with a.wealth of infonnauon about the concerns of people
!n the communny and how to express these concerns as organizing
issues.
Members of the PPP, including a couple int.rocluc:cd to the
group thr~ugh 1hc Listening Project, attended the 1988 convcnuon
of the nauonal SANE/FREEZE organization. SANE/FREEZE was
~.ungry f~r commun~ty ~ontact and welcomed the PPP delegates.
I he low·rnco~e. mrnonty people from Kannapolis brought the
conce~s oftheirc~~unity bi.:fore the policy-making committee of
the na11onal organ_1zauon and helped influence SANE/FREEZE to
stre_ss the conn~cuon between military spending and human needs
dunng the conung year.
.. Bui _for this group the rewards were not all in the realm oi
poh11cal mnuence. The PPP hai; found that deep listening
empowers member:; of< 1hc g~oup as well a:; the people of the
~ommumty. ~e L1liten10g Pro;eet offered a ~cn~c of involvement
m the ~~1unHy. that PPP member:; felt h:id been lacking.
.
.. It exc111?.g and P.<>wcrrut to ~ircc1ly experience ~eople's
lives, says Herb. ~s a Lllitemng Project volunteer. you will meet
people for the ~JI'St umc who will open their lives to you in a way
some of your fryends never have. Tiu:se community people will calk
ro you about things that will move you and touch you deeply."
:s
(C()lltinued on p:ige 24)
Summer, 1989
�LIFE IR I TOIIC CITY
wrirten and compiled b!J Juclith I la/le >Ck
The city of Oak Ridge is located in eastern Tennessee.
near 1he regional hub of Knox\'ille. Its two primary
industries are nuclear technologies research and m(lnufacturing
components for nuclear warheads, which are carried out on the
government-owned Oak Ridge Reservation. Over 15,000 people
work on the 37,000-acre site, which is man1gcd for the Depanmen1
of Energy (DOE) by Martin Manetta Energy Systems, lnc. The
ciry's location in the heart of TV A's electrical power empire and its
proximiry Lo 1-40, a major east-west expressway, make Oak Ridge
well-suited for its role in the nationwide US nuclear weapon!>
complex. An estimated 680,000 people live within a 50-mile radius
of the nuclear producuon facilities at Oak Ridge.
The Oak Ridge Reservation is located in an area of rolling
hills in the Clinch River drainage system of !he Tennessee River
basin. All the sireams in the reservation flow into the Clinch River,
which joins the Tennessee 23 miles downsiream.
Oak Ridge is an integral pan of the national nuclear weapons
complex which is controlled by the Depatunent of Energy. The
Oak Ridge Operations (ORO) office of the DOE oversees a uranium
production empire that includes the Oak Ridge Reservation and
oi.her nuclear facilities in the midwest.
There ore three primary weapons production facilities at Oak
Ridge:
The Y-12 Nuclear Weapons Component Plant fashions the
internal componems of H-bombs and plays a pan in the production
of every major nuclear weapon in the US arsenal.
The sprawling Oak Ridge N:uional Laboratory specializes in
energy research, pnnicularly with nuclear technologies, and in the
production of radioisotopes for commercial sule.
The Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plunt hjs been on
standby since 1985 because of a decreased demand for enriched
uranium. The plnm currently serves as a waste dump for Y-12 and
ORNL.
Approximately half of Y-12's 7,000 employees do
production work, processing, fabricating, and assembling
uranuium and lithium compo111mrs for t/le nation's nuclear
warheads. For example. Y-12 receives deuterium (heavy waJer)
separatedfrom river warer at DOE's Savannah River plam in South
Caroli11a, combines It with lithium and shapes the compound into
tablets thllt are sent co warhead a.{sembly facilitit!$ near Amarillo.
Texas. Y-12 also recycles e11riched uranium cnmponents from
mothballed warheads that have been 10ken apart i11 Texas And it
makes precision equipme111 and weapons-testing components for
DOE weapons labs in California aJUJ New Me:dco.
--Our Own \Vorsi EMmy • p. 111
Secrecy and Control
From us inception nnd in
large pan 10 the present, 0.1k
Ridge, the firs1 atomic city, has
been a "secret city.'' In the name
of n111ional security, its deadly l~l!'4~f;~JA;J-'tll~~:!~
workings have been kept hushed.
This is wha1 drives the "see
nothing. hear nothing, say
nothing" attitude that has allowed
the present· day problems of
nuclear we.ipons proliferation.
cnvironm1:ntal destruction, and
dcterior:iting public health 10
evolv.:.
In early 1943 the residents of
\\'hen l, a small turnu ng
communny 1n enstcm Tenne~scc..
were ~mddenl\ 11prl)otcd,
/Jarl)el! 1111.:.fc11ce and a serle.1 of
scc1mry gates .mung up around
Summc• , 1989
their land. and crude houSinl tlvown wgetlu:r for a di/ferettt ldnd
of conununity. Thllusands of construction workers - their 11umber
1Nenmalty reached 47 .500 - heaved up enormous experimemal
srructures in which tlwusan.ds of scie111i.Hs arul production workers
would make maJerialsfor the first aJomic weapon.s."
-·Old 01rn Wom Ent1rry. p.112
111e nev. community, Oak Ridge, was k.epl under strict
government control. Its citi.rens, under the jurisdiclion of the
Ma.nhauan Projec11 set into motion production of the nation'~ first
atomic bomb. On August 6, 1945, the secrecy was broken when
the "Linle Boy" bomb devastated Hiroshima nnd led to 1he end of
World War ll. The enriched ur-.inium-235 that fueled that honible
explosion was produced at Oak Ridge. 11uec days later, Nagasaki
was dei;troyed by a plutonium-produced bomb, another kind of
nuclear weapon that had been re.~carched at !he O.tk Ridge Lab.
Nearly 200,000 city 1'C$idems died in the two blasts. These bombs
changed the nature of war by changing the technology of weapons.
Humankind now had the capability to destroy the world.
"In 1948 the AEC'sfirst chairman, David Utienrhal, urged
that the atomic (ndustr)' 'enlist a widening area of our economy,•
by sending its roots deep and wide into the same soil that /uls
nourished the auionwti11e and other industrial gianlS, the soil of
competitive private ittdustry."
-OurOwn Worst Enemy. p.116
T he commercialization of the ruom in Oak Ridge came when
Union Carbide was installed as lhe sole contractor. At about the
same time, 1he AEC cook steps that seemingly decreased
governmental control or Ouk Ridge. In 1949, after seven years of
total control, the city was opened 10 the public and passes were no
longer needed to enter. In 1959, residents voled 10 incorporate and
established their own municipal government. This communi1y
autonomy was a farce, however.
In reality, "the institutional changes made Oak Ridge a town
run by two companies--Carbide and tire governme11t- eaclt
bufferi11g the other from various forms of acco1111tabiliry and
e.wctirig a deep measure of comrol "
·--Old Ow11 Wor.rt £ntmy. p.116
Worker safety and health at the Oak Ridge Reservation nlso
fell prey to the policies of secrecy and control. 'T11ey wen: almost
c-0mpletcly neglected in the interest of greater bomb production.
lnjured and exposed workers were examined and treated
exclusively by a special team of radiologists, who kept comple~
control over the employees· medicOLI record!i. Losing coun cases
were prevemed. sometimes with hush money, and only winnable
ones were brought to trial. The AEC both set nnd enforced the
rudiation standards, and kept sccrct unpublicized medical research
on the effects of radiation. In 1956, Carbide and the AEC raised
the plant's allowable limit for
radiation levels on clothing and
h:inds to eight times the
previously existing lmut. This
wus part of an aggressive
111!.:e-back \:ampaign launched
after the Oil. Ch1:micll and
Atomic \Vorkers union local had
advanced
numerous
n.:commcnd.111ons tor safety
improvements.
The fu:.t aucmpt 111 outside
regulation of the cnvironrncnl tit
Oak Ridge was m 1975 when the
l!nv1ronmcnU11 Prorection Agency
(EPA) first gr.mtcd :\ational
Pollution D1sch:ugc Ehmin3tlon
SysL pem11ts to Oak Rtdl:e
cm
facilni es The permits \\t:re
(rommllell on ~gc 6)
00 l'hoco
'Kiltunr, J ournnt pu
5
�Burial Grounds: A Legacy of Hazard
(continued rrom page 5)
diluted by exemptions, however. For example, the pcnnils did 001
monitor mercury, PCBs, and other toxics, or waterborne
radioactive wastes. Still. between 1975 and 1983, Union Carbide
monitors reported 740 violations. The EPA "canied" DOE in spite
of itS non-compliance, and in 1980 renewal pennits were drafted.
Poisoned or Protected?
After World War 11, there was a surge of activity 10 build
H-bombs. From that time to this, the US and USSR have each
produced arsenals of nuclear weapons numbering in the tens of
thousands to "murually deter" each other. Now large areas of both
the Soviet Union and the US are unlivable due to excessive
radioactive contnmination. Cancer monalities are increasing. Money
has been squandered, and local economies have become
bomb-dependent. "National security" has lost its original meaning.
And lhe bomb-1n1cks keep rolling.
The H-bomb project involved the handling and disposal of
huge q11anti1ies of toxic and radioactive materials. When lilh1um
was detected in lhe annosphere after the test explosion of an early
Soviet ;i , imic bomb, research centered around separating the
lithium isotopes. The process finally adopted used massive
amounts of mercury to make electrochemical cells. Oak Ridge's
Y-12 Plant was the site chosen for this activity. In this second
surge of activity :u Oak Ridge, most of the US markelS for mercury
were bought out.
Burial grounds at the Oak Ridge Reservation are shallow
unlined t.renches in 1he eanh holding toxic and radioactive wastes.
They contain everything from "low-level" radioactive waste
(meutls, gloves, clothes, rags, e1c,) to chemicals in drums, solvents
and depleted uranium. Incoming, off-site waste shipments have
been buried with records of their contents inaccurately kept or lost.
Most are covered with earth now, but during waste dumping, they
were left open. Of1en the crenches filled with water during periods
of heavy rainfall.
The contents of some of the burial grounds are classified as
Steret because of the kinds of radioactivity they contain, which
places chem outside of state and federal jurisdiction. All the
dumping are;is were originally sited for accessibility, and scam
attention wos paid 10 I.he geological and hydrological characteristics
of the area. Since the rainfall is 60 inches annually, there is a
shallow water table and an extensive surface water system.
Contamination, i.e. sirontium-90 and uranium, leaks into the water
table in all directions, and is carried by water runoff into streams
during times of henvy precipitation.
'7he leakage from the burial grounds has contaminated not
only nearby rocks and soils, comprising a large surface area, but
has carried a tremendous amo11111 of radionuclides, thereby
conian11naring stream beds a long distance from the si1e.
Considering the length of 1he radioactive half-lives contained in the
waste, it is doubtful 1/Jat the reserva1ion itself or its surrounding
areas can ei·er be returned to a natural s1a1e." -Deadly Dc/t nse. p. 112
"/rt low doses. radiation causes lung, bone and other kinds
of cancer, leukemia. premature aging, birth defects, sterili.Jy, blood
composition challges and caiaracts ofthe eye. Because radiation
ltas the highest impact on growing cells, yowzg children,fe111ses
and embryos are the most readily affected. Radiation can also
cause genetic mura1io11, the complete effect of which will 1101 be
known for gener.a1fons. The likelihood of developing cancer.
disease or generic effecis is related tO the OJ11ow11 received by 1he
tndivid11,a/, lhe rart ofexposure and the rype of rudiarwn. "
Oak Ridge Reservation
Wltn Nearby Towns and Strums
--Deadly 011/tnst. p. L25
Dams and SetUing Ponds: Last Line of Defense?
N
t
1
J
•
'
"' ....
"/Ji the excitement, Y-12 misplaced a huge portion of
mercury. A J9n Union Carbide audit. compiled largely from the
memories ofoperaiing perso1111el, estimated char 2 .4 million pounds
were losr between 1950 and 1972. Of 1hi.f anwunr,Jederal officials
could not accou111 for I .9 million pounds (they speculated that
much of ii lies w1dernea11t rite Y-12 buildings used for lilhiwn
separation): 475,000 pounds wound up i11 one Oak Ridge creek;
and 30,000 pounds were lost through airborne vapors."
--Our Own Worst Enemy, pp.129
Mercury contamination has been just one environmental
problem 1n Oak Ridge. After 46 years of "haste and waste"
production schemes, the extent of environmental destruction has
been shocking.
"With a col/ec1ion of unlined pits, unfiltered stacks, lifeless
streams and a willingness to use the Great Ouuioors as their
filtration system, ORO's waste managers have wagered that
dilution is the pollurum solwio11·-tluu a Jwrde of migrating wastes
will grad11a1/y dissipote their toxic quali1ies as they meatUier around
a11d ojf1he reservaJion."
However, "Former Oak Ridge health physicis1 Karl Z.
Morgan says tlwr ORNL 1estsfow1d radioactive con10mi11an1sfrom
Oak Ridge Reservation 111 river sediment as far away as the
Mississippi River."
-·Ow Own Worst £Mmy, pp. J32, 136
Xau'.ulfi Journat pa9e 6
"The restrvaiion's three major facilities were built virtually
top offour lfibutaries of the Clinch River in order 10 exploit
1hem as sewers. White Oalt. Creek carries ORNL's wasces, Poplar
Creek receives ORGDP's and £as1 Fork Poplar Creek and Bear
Cr1rek carry Y-12 's."
--Ow Own Worst Enemy. p. 133
Ofl
Two of the creeks, White Oak and East Fork Poplar Creeks,
were dammed, according 10 the DOE, 10 create a "last line of
defense to keep ORNL and Y-12 pollumnis from exiting the sites."
These and other small dams "...have a rwo-fold function
fim, the highly contaminated water in streams becomes di/wed in
the large impowzdme11ts created by the dams; second, impounding
the water allows time for radionuclid& UJ bind U) particles and seu/e
otu, thus creating settling ponds. Both functions are supposed 10
serve to lower the total radia1ion co11111 in wasu! streams eman01i11g
from 1he facilities In tliis way 1hefacili1ies try 10 use tire primitive
and inexpensive method of dilulion to reduce the concemrations of
radioactive co11tami111Jtio11 to 1/te level required by lax federal
Standards. Those sra11durds do not limit the total 01n<1111Jt of
polluwnt.f tlw1 could be disposed of each day.
HSe\·eral problems have resu/!edfrom rhis practice ofdil111i11g
waste. First, during heavy rainfall the system fails: the lakes
behind 1he tlams can IW longer act as set1lin11 ponds. their waters
rise a11d become turbulent, and largt amounts of radionuclides
t1W\'e over rite dam and into the Clinch Rfrer. Second. rite beds of
these se11ling ponds, over time, lrave become so filled with
radioacti-.:e sedill'.en1 1ha1 1/ie process of binditig a1ui sc11li11g om
ll'hicli is supposed to occur becomel less possible."
--DeadlyD~feJUe.
p. 107·108
SumttWT, l 989
�Air Releases
For fear of their enemies, humans have unleashed powers
have already caused great destruction and threaten co destroy all
life unless they are curbed. Governments seem blind to the fa't lhat
our greatest enemies are the weapons used to Lhrcaten our human
"enemies."
. Our paranoid fc:ar of o~er ~umans has doomed us to a path
that, 1f we connnue to follow H, will lead to the certain desuucrion
of all life - not in a grand holocaust, but as vicrim to a slow toxic
wasting disease.
'
t~at
A study done by rhe Office of Environmental Audit of the
DOE in 1986 found 1hat, at 1he Y-12 Plant alone, I.here were 233
b!-lildings with 350 s1acks thn1 rekased one or more pollu1ants to thi:
au. Only a few had filtration controls. Eighty-six of the s1acks
e!llined U-23.4, 235 or 238. "Normal operational releases'' of
airborne uranium had come to 12,870 pounds during Lhe plant's
history. Accidents and spills at the Y-12 plant have released
unknown quantities of uranium.
"EPA Sraiistics show tlUll the Oak. Ridgt Reservation and the
Fernald Peed Marerials Producrio11 Ce111er lead all DOE facilities in
rel~asiflg radioactive particles 10 the atmosphere Oak. Ridge area
resulenrs are exposed ro airborne radio11uclides measuring 50
mremfyear 10 the lungs and 8 mremslyear to the bone--jive times
gremer than a proposed EPA limit.''
-OivOwn
1Vors1E~emy,p.137-138
A new i.tlcinerator, slated to go on-line in the summer of
1_989, will increase the risk of air pollution. This incinerator,
ltcensed by the EPA. will bum radioactively contaminated PCB's.
Another incinerator in the Oak Ridge area has also been licensed to
bum low-level radioactive waste. (sec KattJalt Joivnal, Issue 23)
"Incineration releases radionuclides such as tritium,
carbon-14, and iodine inro tlte air, and can also create the potent
car~inoge11 dioxin.This radioactivity is carried by prevailing winds
wl11ch blow northeast and southwest along 1he valley without
crossing the ridges."
-Deadly Defense.pp. 115.74
For 1he r.akc of evcry1hing I.hat lives we must resist this
destructive impulse in ourselves and stop our slow slide into
oblivion by stopping the production of all nuclear weapons now.
References:
Our
01t111
Worst Enemy. The lmp()CI of Military Production 011 the
Up~r
Sow/I • wriucn by Tom Schlesinger with John Gnventa and Jullet
Merrifield and published in 1983 by The Highlllnder Research and Educnuon
Center (RL 3, Box 370: New Market, TN 37820).
D11adly Defense: Military Radioactive la!ld/llls - wnuen by Marvin
Resnikoff. Lisa FiM.ldl, 11t al.• and published by I.he Radioncuve Waste
Crunp:iign (625 Bro:idway, Scc:ond Floor: New York City, NY 10012)
IF '\'1~ J)()N''I1 S'l'() 1>,
'1111l~lll~ '\'II.1I.1 JJJ~ N<>
ONJ~ 1 1~:.~r<ltllJ~\Jlhis
6
By BriJNJINs FirUtin., Grade Jt,S"'°""JMOW!lmn JllgliSdwol An En1ry 11t w 1989
"\/LnonofPeace" <:onJl!SI spcnwr~dby 1neJOl:UoltCowd1ptauNtrwort
The Oak Ridge Environmental Peace
Alliance (0REPA) and other co-sponsoring
groups are orga.ni~ing the "NEVER AGAIN:
March for Peace and the Environment" action on
Hiroshima Day, August 6. 1989 in Oak Ridge,
TN. You and other individuals and groups rrom
the region and the nation arc invired to aucnd.
This action is seen as a major event in this "Year
of Resistance." People from diverse
backgrounds and understandings will come
together to create a large, compelling turnout,
which will non-violently demonstrate that the
issues surrounding peace and the environment
can no longer be ignored.
The focus of this action is lhc Y-12
Nuclear Weapons Pinnt managed by the United
Stares Department of Energy in Oak Ridge. The
goals of the march and weekend activities arc to
make a statement for:
· the cessation of production and
deployment of nuclear weapons.
- the environmental restoration or the
weapons production facilities, and
• the use of the talents and money now
being wasted in weapons production to be used
for goods and servic.~s which meet human
needs.
March for Peace and the Environment
Hiroshima Day
August 6, 1989, Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Oalc RUJgt E11~/ronmental Ptau Alliantt
P.0, Otn llOJ. Kno1CVill6. TN 37901
(615) S7l-2322
Si.unmu, 1989
During the days between Jliroshima Day
3nd Nagasaki Day, a Peace Caravan will
proceed from Oak Ridge to the Sav:inn:ih River
Bomb Plant near Aiken, SC. to Warner Robins,
GA, ending up at the Kings Bay Submarine
Base in Sl. Marys, GA on Augusi 9.
Free camping 1s available Saturday and
Sunday at the peace camp. It is a primitive
camping situation and campers should come
prepared. The camp is 30 minutes east of
Knoxville JUSt minutes off Interstate 40. Please
pre-register for maps and information.
./~
P'
Schedule or Events
Saturday, August 5:
12:()()..6:00 pm· Check-in at Peace Camp
5:00-7:00- Check-in and Potluck Snacks,
Laurel Theater, Knox.ville
7:()().8:00 • Premiere of the ftlm 811.iltling
Bombs. Laurel Theater
8:()().12:00 - Social, music, Laurel Theater
8:30-9:30- Ecumenical cnndlelight vigil at Y-12,
Oak Ridge
10:00-12:00- ''Dan~ Against Destruction•
Sunday, August 6
12:00-3:00 pm · Regisuarion, Alvin K. Bissell
Parle Oak Rid;;e
I:00-4:00 - Non-violence trrumn~
4:00-5:00 - Aflinity groups meeung
3:00-6:00 - Music, speakers, "Uranium: Tm.ii of
Tears"
6:00-6:30 - "NEVER AOAIN: M:irch for Peace
and the Environment• 10 the Y·I 2
gates
6:30-7:00 - Rally nnd non-violent civil
diso~dience
7:00·8:00 - Jail vigil
8:00-9:00 · Community 5h:iring
Monday, August 7
Morning - Peace Caravan depans Oak Ridge
�''Do
by Patrick Clark
The Oak Ridge EnvironmenUl.l and Peace
Alliance (OREPA) began in June, 1988 for the
purpose of organizing a rally at the Y-12
Nuclear Weapons Components Plant in Oak
Ridge, Tennessee. This very successful
non-violent demonstration on Hiroshima Day,
August 6, 1988 saw 170 people march on the
plant to oppose the processes of nuclear
weapons-making. Five people were arrested in
1he first cases of civil disobedience 10 occur in
Oak Ridge, a major clement of the national
weapons production complex.
Since the 1988 Hiroshima Day event
OREPA has continued to be active as well as
producuve in its research. uncovering and
presenting before the public spotlight the
realities of the Y-12 operations and the nuclear
industry t1t Oak Ridge. OREPA participated in
emerging "Green" world vision looks at issues
not as isofaled and separnte, but as co-dependent
nnd interrel:i.1ed. The Bomb, a deadly monster in
itself. produces a trail of devastation from the
mines where the raw uranium is taken from the
ground, along the route by which it is shipped to
the plant, 10 where its by-products are buried or
released into the environmcnL
This process, supposedly vital to national
security, involves mine tailings, highway spills.
accidental releases, and radioactive waste. Is it
in 1he imeres1 of "na1ioual securily" for our
governmem to poison the environment and hllrnl
the local people? Bomb production is causing
this environmental destruction constantly,
whether the final products are detonated or noi.
Oak Ridge is a cenier of highly
concenttated nuclear activity. It is "a disgrace to
Katuah" and "a blight on the countryside," says
Smith. ''What they do at Y-12 is repugnant. The
bombs are produced to kill men, women, and
children. The whole operation is laced with
secrecy, illegitimacy, and intimidation.
Employees are threatened with loss of their jobs
if they discuss what they do. There is noihing
resembling a free exchange of ideas. This runs
counter to the values our country was
founded on and how humans should treat
each other. Thepublicdoesn'thave
access to what's going on there.
The DOE produces a noxious brew
of chemicals that is released into
the surrounding airand
water. Hidden in their
~
fog of secrecy, they
use 'national
~
security' as
justification
for all this."
engages in periodic31 tracking of
nuclear weapons shipmen is) in the
~
foll of 1988 and has testified at
scoping hearings at Oak Ridge.
The group was the guest of lhe US
Dep:mment of Energy on a tour of
the various Oak Ridge facilities. ft hns
also developed a slideshow uboul the
situation at Oak Ridge and actions taken to
correct itThe presentation has been shown
to over 50 church, school, and environmental
ln the arena of nuclear warfare, human rights,
groups.
peace, and environmental issues go hand in
The group has also joined the Miliwy
hand.
Production Network. This is a coalition of
national and local groups concerned with nuclear
OREPA was founded on direct acuon.
weapons production facilities thro1.1ghout the
"Direct action is people raking responsibility for
country. Delegates from the member groups
protection of their offspring and the planet.
meet periodically 10 generate strategies for
Direct action is not letting those in power decide
developing public opposition to the production
wbat is best for us. This involves sincerity,
of miliu'lry weapon.~
dedication, t\lld, at times, risk. Direct action is a
Because of its involvement with the
very powerful personnl sutement of one's
nuclear weapons industry at Oak Ridge, OREPA
values."
has become a fairly credible counterweight to the
Smllh says that bis experience in 1he
government operations there. The group has
Y-12 demonstration was a moving and
become known as a voice: for alternative views
empowering one. It made him realize thnt one
of Oak Ridge.
person can make a difference. "There 1:> no
reason to feel helpless and like you're not being
hurd. Direct action shows you this."
Whal is lhe conne~tion that prompted
Oak Ridge is 45 years of environmental
OREPA to adopt both environmental and peace
debL Heavy me1als, PCB's, and toxic organic
issues in LO its title? According to Steve Smith, a
chcmlcnls have constantly been release-0 into the
founding member of the group. the peace and
surrounding creeks. and rndioactivity is
environmental is:;ues are inseparably linked. The
~tUafi
1ounml Ptl941 8
dispersed into the air. Deadly wastes which even
the government has no1 tabulated have been
buried around the city. P-01luted radioactive
groundwater is carried in10 the creeks during
periods of heavy rainfall .
"Many questions remain,'' says Smith.
"What is the migration of the deep-well
injections. for instance? We're not getting
answers. There are obviously lots of serious
problems there."
OREPA's immediate goal is to curb
weapons production ac Oak Ridge. Uhima1ely
the group is seeking a complete halt to the
production of nuclear weapons and a timely
clean-up of the military mess. This requites
exposing the rationale behind nuclear armament
to the general public.
"Let's stan a debate on what's fueling the
arms race," says Smith. "What are the economic
realities hidden behind the facade of national
security? The money tied up in the rums race is
phenomenal. Part of OREPA's goal involves
funding other work for the people employed
there. Suggestions include research in solar and
other
renewable
energy
alternatives.
as well as clean-up
of the exisung damage.
They are not presently fulfilling
any useful function, anyway.
"The Sovieis are ""illing 10 negotiau::
the people in Europe don't want nuclear
weapons. The US cannot continue to Justify
its arms production within this current world
situation."
The next eight months are important ones
for world peace. Vital decisions arc being made
in Washington which will set the nuclear policy
agenda for the next 50 years. The government
can go 1wo ways according to OREPA: it can
continue 10 build more nuclear weapons for the
fu1ure, or it C3II clean up what it hns done so far.
Whal will decide !his is people getting involved.
How can people get involved? There nre
three main ways:
I) by becoming informed and informing
others;
2) by taking pan in the political process.
Write letters. attend public forums, call your
representatives, demand 1hat our opinions be
hew-d and our money shifted away from nuclear
weapons bujld-up; and
3) be in Oak Ridge on August 5 and 6 for
the 1989 Hiroshima Day March for Peace and
the En\'ironment.
Dr""'"'I "1 F.dJiL l/aJJ, 9111 ~rodL Jtlltk111 a18ht& Ri~ lllgh
School, Gl#nvil~. ftltXtlt Caro/111(J, an ollry '"rite 1989 • Visfo>i
tJf P~~· COflldl •poN<Jritd by w lad.son COIU'oly P~ocr
,,. #
,
NdWtlTt
~
Summo.;r, 1989
�PLANTING A TREE OF PEACE
by David Wheeler
In the spring of 1987, a group of parents
and peace people in White County, Georgia
went to the Superintendent of Schools to ask
thnt some pan of the school curriculum to be
devoted to peace education. They wanted to
balance the unrestricted military recruitment
activities that were being carried out on the high
school campus. l11e superintendent sent lhe idea
on to a committee, declaring that he was a
veteran of the Kore::in War and ''a patriotic
American." Needless to say, the idea was stifled
in 1he bureaucratic framework.
Months latl!r the parents returned with
another proposal. This time they sugges1ed
involvmg the students in a llaudenosaunee
(Iroquois} Indian ceremony called "Planting lhe
Tree of Peace." At the original Tree of Peace
ceremony, the Six Nations {lroquo1s)
Confedcrocy was formed; and pans of the US
Constitution were actually modeled on 1hat
confederacy. The proposed latter-day ceremony
was planned to coincide with the observances of
the bicentennial of the signing of the US
Constitution... ~ well as remind studencs of the
Indian heritage of this land.
Within this historical context, the second
suggestion was accepted, and the group
contacted Jake Swamp, peace chief of the
Iroquois Nacion, who has brought this
ceremony to many places around che world. He
Q£l'CCd tO conduc1 the event.
Weeks or publicity and preparation
preceded the ceremony. School children wrote
invitations to 1heir local and national elected
representatives asking them to auend. A local
journalist helped the children write a press
:innouncement to be released to community
newspapers.
When Jake Sw:1mp ;UTived. he fir:;t spoke
to the eigh1h grade children at their school. He
opened his Ullk by giving 1hanks 10 the spirits 01
all things 1kn live and the Grc;it Sp1ri1 over all,
and told the children that 11 was imponani tel
open C\ery gathering by recognizing the: spirits
of the '' orld.
He nlso spoke to high school soci:il
studies cla~ses and gave a presentation at an
assembly in the elementary school. At 1he
assembly fifth grnde children presented him with
gifis they had made..
When he ~poke to second-graders in their
classroom. some of !he children were frightened
of h.im at first, but Swamp calmed their fo:irs by
telling them of lhe tradition of the peace chief
among his people. He said he never fought, as
that would bctr:iy his trust to his tribe. but r.uhcr
worked to promote peace amoni; his people and
in the world.
The next day, Swamp wen1 wuh his ho~ts
to the S:lutee-Nacoochee Presby1
erian Church
and spoke to the younger children. His message
in the children's sermon was that we should
remember to give thanks for all things. and lhnt
every gathering should open with a prayer of
thanks.
Summer, t 96C}
prophecies that the day will come when the wild
strawberries will rcrnm no more, and all that
will remain for the people will be the leaves of
the plant. It will be lhat way for everythmg.
Swamp said. The day will come when most or
lhe living beings of creation will be gone 10 a
beuer place where none or this pollution and
destruction is happening. Yet, even 1hen, we
must sull give thanks for what remains to us.
Afcer Swamp's presentation, lhe group ai
Sautce placed a white pine tree donated by a
local landscaper into :i large hole, nnd the
children present covered the roots with dirt.
Then four children. representing the four
directions and the four races or the world, tied
four ribbons· red. black, white. and yello\\ - to
1he tree to mingle together in the wind. Other
children came forward and also deconued the
tree with ribbons.
Traditional lndian dancers from the
Cherokee Indian Reservation, led by Richard
Crowe, then performed craditional Cherokee
social dances. A group of women from the local
community presented Jake Swamp wnh ll
beaded bell lhnt they had m.nde depicting the
White Tree of Pence surrounded by a.II the
peoples of the world. The ceremony was
completed with a gigantic pot-luck feas1.
Tree or Pence Socic1y
That afternoon the Tree of Peace
Ceremony was held at the Sautec·Nacoochee
Community Center. Over 100 people attended
the gathering. Elected official~ who Wt.'TC present
were recognized and given a chance to speak.
Girl Scouts paraded around the site carrying the
fings of many nations. symbolic of international
uniry.
When Jake Swamp ~poke, he cold the
story of The Peacenu1ker, who first brouglu
peace. to the constlltltly warring tribes of the St.
Lm~rcncc Rivcr-ca'1em Grc:u Lakes :irc.i nnd
drew them together to form the lroqu<us
Confederacy. In the \\'hite Tree of Peace
ccrcmony, lcgc:nd s:iys that the Pcncc:makcr tore
a t?reat white pine tree from the ground. Ile then
bid Adodarhoh, originally the licrcest of the
tribal W;lf chiefs, to be the fin;1 of the warriors to
thro\\ his weapon!' into the hole which opened
into an underground river and carried them
away. The tree was replaced in the holt:, and
The Peacemaker declared lh:u, "The Y.hi1e roots
of this tree will go out in nil 1hc dirc!Ctions, and
lhe children of filJ 1.hosc present will be able to
gather together under the shade of this Tree of
Pcl::icc for all time to come."
fake Swamp again emphasized the
imponance of giving thanks :ind :.aid that no
matter hov. bad things might seem 10 be, it is
imponant 10 give lh:mks for what we have. Ile
gave as an example the wild strawberry plant,
which is very sacred to th1: lribcs of the
Huudenosaunce. It 1s said among the
Haudenosaunce that thing~ migh1 indeed be bad
now, buc !hey know th;u someday things will be
worse. because it is given in the tribal
The Tree of Peace is thriving in Soulhc:m
Appalachian soil The white pine pl3nted in
Sautee was surrounded with wildflowers, set
around its base the following year. Oo New
Year's Day, 1989. bulbs were planted around
lhe rrce, which bloomed later in the spnng. The
tree is kept mulched and tended by the children
and aduhs of lhc community. It il> ;i focus of
e:1ch year's New Year celebrauons and the
annUjl community fo~1ivals which :in: held at the
cen1er.
Because it wns positi\'c nod nonconfronianonal in ns nature, 1hc Tree ol Peace.:
ceremony softened 1he members of 1he school
bo!l!d They cnme to ~c-e that to 1he loc:il group,
"pence·• meant brillgb.g pc•ople :oge1/1a rnther
than splimng the rommunny apart. l11crcfon:. in
191)9, community members w.:rc allowed to
perform ti peace pl.1y at the sd1ool. T/ie Peace
C/11/d tdls the story ot nn American girl and a
Ru~siun boy who become tricnds and evcnrn:illy
bnng 1hc:1r countric<>' leaders 10ge1ticr to discuss
di~armament (sec: p. 15). The piny was also
presen1cd in a pubhc p¢rfonn:ince. which was
:mended by the whole school board, 1he county
commissioners, and other eh:cted officials. The
play was supponed in pan by local businesses.
It was filmed for TV by the CNN Networl.;, and
the t0\\11 enjoyed the "idesprcad nucntion it
received.
11lc :.pirit of peace has brought changes 10
a small, rur.1.l 1own in Kaniah.
(prepared v.11/i tlic 11.:tp ofJ(}{JJmt Steele)
Rc:.aun:c; r/:( Grwl law of Pc.:JU and TN! Co11.1111ui1on
0/1/11: UrnudS1aus of./tr111:nca. Tr~ ol Pc!ICCSocicty,
c/o Jake Swump. Box 188·C Cook Ro.1!1: Mohawk
Nauon: YUi Hogamburt. NY 13655
�.
Community Building and Peace:
The Vital Connection
A look oJ The Fou11datio11for
Commu11ily E11courageme111
by Richard Lowenthal
Most people, ii questioned, would say that they deeply
desire peace and a sense of community in their lives. Yet, despite
this longing, most people usually have very little idea of how to
creartt pe3Ce and community, and thus end up fceHng stymied and
hopeless about it - which le~ incvitabl y to resignation and
apathy (two of the of1-dei;eribed hallmarks of the 80's). We need
only to look at the course oflhe "peace movement" over the pasr
two dCQndes, 10 sec this discouragement and disempowcrmcnt at
work. Ccnainly, the peace mov.:ment has had an important
impact on many lives and on our social consciousness, but in
some crucial respects the movement has been remarkably
ineffective. ls our -planet really nny more peaceful now thnn it
wns ten or twenty or thiny years ago? ls meani11gful disarmament
(as opposed to the token disnnn:uneot now being righteously
touted by the superpowers) any closer to becoming a reality?
Despite all the efforts of varied peace groups and peace-minded
citizens, we are all still churning out more and more nucle:ir
weapons. every day of every year - and movement toward la..~ting
peace and improved intemationru relations has in most respects
been negligible.
Why is this? Why has lhe peace movement had such
difficulty gaining headway and achieving tangible results? And
why do many people srill dismiss the goal of peace as an
impractical, visionnry dream? For that matter, why is the peace
movement often exactly that· unrealistic and impractical? As we
prepare to enter the last decade of the second millenium, it is vital
thnt we understand these questions and seek to nnswer them - for
the answers we seek may well be crucial to our survival.
Ooc oflhe most positive and provocative approaches to
these questions is that taken by The Foundation for Community
Encouragement (FCE) in Knoxville TN, a non-profit
organiiation based largely on the seminal work of Dr. M. Sc0tt
Peck and his most recent book Tiie Different Drum: Comn11111iry
Making and Peace. The book's introduction begins with a
deceptively simple yet astonishing statemcni: "In and through
community lies the salvation of the world." It is astonishing • and
not at all simple - because the dist.resSing truth is that "most of us
have never had an experience of true community." Thus saying
that community will be our salvation is like crying "to describe the
taste of artichokes to someone who has never eaten one." Until
we can truly experience ond savor the taste. texture, and feeling
of community, there is simply no way to comprehend Dr. ~1.-ck's
opening stntemem. Then four paragraphs into th~ inu-oducuon to
·.
.
.·
.
this amnz.ing book. Dr. Peck very mildly expresses his views
about peacemaking - in the procC£S answering the questions
expressed earlier in this article. His words are wonh quoting 1n
full: "... initially. r thought this book should be entitled
'Peace-Making and Community.' But that would put the can
before the horse, for I fail to see how we Americans will be able
to communicate effectively with the Russians (or any people of
other culrures) when generally we don't even know how to
communicate with the neighbors next door. much less our
neighbor.; on the other side of the tracks. True communication.
like the charity it requires, begins :1t home. Perhaps peacemaking
should start small. I am not suggesting... that we should abandon
global peacemaking cffortS. I am dubious, however. as to how
far we can move toward global corrununity • which is the o111y
way to achieve intemntional peace- until we learn the basic
principles of community in our own individual lives and personal
spheres of influence."
The book goes oo to explore the essence of community,
and the process of community-building through sharing,
vulnerability, communication, and real relationship. Dr. Peck is
careful 10 explain the difference between "pseudo-community"
and the experience of true community, and an understanding of
this differece is crucial to understanding FCE's mission and
philosophy. While community is characterized by openness,
inclusivity, risk-taking, and genuine appreciation of the
differences of personalities and opinions, "pseud~community" is
based on rigid expectations and beliefs, exclusivity, maintaining
an appearance of community, and the squelching of confrontation
and differences. As FCE puts it, ''Through the power of genuine
community, we seek to offer opportunities for people to bridge
differences and reconcile conflicts with authenticity and
integrity.''
In practical tcnns. FCE's focus extends into several
different areas - all, of course, related to the an (or science?) of
community-building. Its primary focus is to share the experience
of community through powerful weekend programs called
Community Building Workshops. The effectiveness of these
workshops is made evident by the fact that in 1988 over 50 were
conducted throughout the United States, just three years after the
first workshop was offered • which happened to be the 011Jy one
presented in 19&5! In 1986. twelve were conducted. and in 1987
lhere were thirty. These weekend workshops are exll'Cmely
cxpericmial in narure, as well as participatory - there is very Httle
intellectunl material presemed, and no lecturing at nil.
This does not mean. however, that intellectual awnrcne:;s is
discounted ·quite the contrary! In fact, one of the strengths of the
workshops is that awareness nnd community grows ouc of
evc:ryone's total experience within the group scning, and not out
of some framework or organiwrion imposed on the group (a.~idc
from some basic ground rules for the weekend). Since there is
very little to grab on LO in order to pigeon-hole or intellectualize
what's happening, and the group leaders are not teaching. or
lecturing, or giving directions (with a few exceptions),
(c:ontinuol cm Ne Z.:J
Drnwing by Rob Messick
Su.mnu:r, 191t9
�Peacemakers
for the Katuah Bioregional Province (a partial listing)
American Friends Service
Committee
Asheville Aikikai
Pc<JCe Program
92 Piedmont Ave. NE
AtlllllUI, GA 30303
(404) 458-0460
939 Riverside Drive
Woodfin. NC 28804
(704) 258-1330
Dan P:ilmcr, lnwuctor
Amnesty Internntioruil
The pltilos()phy of rukido 1s much different from
that of rnt>il f/llJl'tial ans; rather than mttting an Oltachr
head-on, studl:nts of aikido lrrarn first how 10 get ow of
the way. Then we are 1augl11 l10w to capture an Ollachr's
energy and redirect /J, so thr amounJ of tnugy pw fnto
the a111Jck. is returned 10 the aiiacku.
In a1kldo practice an attQ(.ktr is immobl/iud Ira
such a way lhnl, t'Vtn if ht dou11'1 know how to fall, he
is brouglll 10 the ground "'ithDUI bting hurL Tht idea is
lo immobilize him. The purpose of aikido is 10 ruolv~ a
violent conflict without harm 10 one's st.If ar to an
auacktr. Practitioners of aikido do 1101 considtr an
attacking person as an t11emy. An attacker is simply
pr&rcflting us with on opporruniry 111 practice Instead of
ignoring an attadc. we learn ID embrace iJ and use 11 as an
opportunityfor personal spiritual ~w:lop~111.
Tht! most Important thing a/Jou.I nikido i.f Ml
self-defense. but self-control It is necessary IO learn to
control one's own tnergy o.!ld one's own balance before
one can control SOPU!ane. rlsc'J tnergy and balance. Once
on4 lia.r mastend st/f-conlral. con1101/ing someone else
is no1 so dlflicult.
The physi.cal practice of nikido techniqUl!s
enhances Jht: developmMt of the spirit. Bodily
txptrltndng tlu! principles of nikido 111 training, one gets
a btJlt!r feel/or 1he ~truual D$pt:CIS of ti~ practice than a
reading of tlte p/tilosophy could give. Then agam. one
canMtjust practice, <1ne OIJO has 101hinJ.. l1 worlcs both
ways.
· Da11 Palmer
Soul.hem Region
730 Peaclurce (#982)
Atlllll1.3, GA 30308
ConUICt Judi Hom
Appalachian Peace Educalion Center
114 Coun Sll:'CCl
~~\.ACJf1.
Abingdon, Virginia 24210
(703) 628-4366
~~
.
~4-
...,
/.
1g:
~
(')
q:
'."
~0Nc~,~~
The Appalachian Ptact Education Cl!llttr is a
coalition of~Q(;e groups in the southwestern Vlrginin
area as wall as a membership orgallizatio11. Tht! coa/i1io11
i11clu1Us Jhe Sou1liwes1 Peace 1'111e /11 \Vise a11d Lu
counties. Pellplefor a Just Pt(l(;e in IVytltcvillt:, S1wkms
fur Pt(l(;t and Environrrwt1al Concerns 01 Emory and
lltnry College, and the Ctn1raJ America Group.
Beyond War/Peace Tree
RI. 3, Boit 30-E
Clntksvillc, GA 30523
ConW:t: JllllCl Schaller
The Center for Peace
.Re. 11. Boit 369
Scvicrvillo, TN 37862
Central America Resource Group
Box 7411
Asheville, NC 28802
Coalition for Justice
in Central America
Box299
Blacksburg, VA 24063
(703) 951-7953
ConlllCC N:111cy Qcnlhncr, Nik Jones
Cumberland Center for
Justice and Peace
Scwancc, TN 37375
(615) 598-5748
ConUICc John M. Gcssell
Ecumenical Project for Int ernational
Cooperation
734 w Locus1 Sc.
Johnson Ci1y. TN 37C)()J
Ecumenical Peacem:ikers
Bo~66
Swllllllllll03, NC 28778
Fellowship or Rt'cundli:iliun
f'. 0 Bm 2-71
Nyad, NY IO'JC.O
A Ieng t1~ peo.I' or ani:u11< n 11 fuel QJ11(Jn11
0tlv acu,1t1u has pr1Jll'ded sll(lport ond drc:ft CG.w IIille
ID pc.ople conmkring (MS cr.llor::roly t1on.
s .. nunar.
1989
Foundation for Communily
EncouragemenL
7616 Gleason Rd.
Knoxville, TN 37919
(see article page IOJ
J ackson County Peace Network
P.O. Box 1872
Sylva. NC 28779
(704) 293-9230
Conmtt Cynlh13. Gnlltngcr
A VISION OF PEACE
Tht Jackson Coumy Pear:c Nt1work fJCPNJ
brings M.ar.e issues into tht Iota/ .1hcools through the
Vi.tiofl of Peace Con111s1, a y~arfy e»cnt 1ha1 awards caslr
prius for the moJt ~anmp/ul siattmenu on pcllet
1/it1~ by high ~chool 111iJcnu worJUnK in tire. wrmen or
visual arts. Tht contest is hi!ld wrth the pu11UJs1on of
the Board of Edurm1on ulUJ l 'mc-11 of Ptut"c projtCf.f art
uqu1rM rla.u><-ork In some '" ' t:laJJ<'S. Thi! a>nlt.JJ tr a
gerttle. rwn-a>n;ront•ulon:il wav 111 tnCO«T<l,Ef. mulaiJS to
respQ/1d 10 t/w prewng ls1 .. c oj1hc nut;lcm tlvcut, ,,.hJch
t.t a Jiron£ uifl:.u:1m! 011 J"Wll ptoplt"s 1lunJ.mg.ye1 u a
sub;cct tluu lS f11r..:elJ taboo 111 tire /;nots or 1n an
dulfo ut i.1/hadults
In 1987 JC!'N i. f one of11> IDcol orgw: • tans
w #"ft e.vt: 1he NC Go.cr11 1 " " rd for Ouuumding
\ufunr.. Ser.rec Theuwardwusli-tllte1cd1abtdur1n
large nwzsive II) ti.I! su us of w 1 uion of />ca t:
Cc.r.11'..si
• l'ar Mor.• t 11111! Cynllua G ,/11111;tr
Hand$ In Outreach
BoxOne
Pen!Md, North Carolina. 28765
Hands In Outreach is a Yancey Counry-ba..rcd
educational sponsorship progr(llll for "third world"
child.rtn Now in iu sixth ~ar, it is "'"ently
responsible for the tducatian of 68 indfrldJUJJ cllildren
undtr sponsorship and has ht!lped 10 form a rural
wo11~n.s· kniJ1i11g ctn/tr which today has frained !Mre
than 50 formally illittra/e girls. \Villi a membership of
only 140 sponsoi-s. this .rmall and very pusolllll ouirtach
has substantially con1ribu1ed not only 10 r,ons1ruc11ng
rwo uw schools, bw a/$0 rwo complete school llbraries.
Hands In Outreach is l:ome-bostd and is directed by
author Don Willcox andfiber artist Louise Todd Cope.
The Highlander Cenler ~
RL 3, Box 370
New Markel. TN 37820
{615) 933-3443
Con1ac1: John Gavcnw. R~ Din:clllr
Sinu 1932 Tht lllghlandcr Ct!ntcr has s.en'ell us
an tducatialllJl umcrfor 1h11 30uiheas1 on issues such as
civil rig/Its, labor ISS~S. tllt tnvironllft!ll/, 'll'Ol"Ur saftty
and hlalth The Ctnter i.1 noi.•l:o$ling the STP Schools
10 encourage grassroots s1ra1egits 10 counter 1ndu.strial
pollution ond programs 10 help communil)' ITU!m~rs
understand tht local and global pokier srrw:tures that
infl~ue their lives. EMange progranr.r art. being carried
on with groups i11 Indio. NicaragUJJ, Sowh Afrit:a, an.d
other countries around tht! globe.
·John Gavtnta
Ellie Kincade, M.A.
(Conffic1 Management)
21 Hillcnd31c Rd.
Asheville, NC 2880S
(704)1Sl-6St5
"We have so often liMed htroiJm wi1h warfare,
bottling, conq~st, and victl)ry. t/taJ a difftrurt notion of
huoism, OM that allows us 111 su nurturing and
sustaillin1 as ltvoic activiries, is difficult 10 develop. Yet
1his rs whal must ht! doM Wt nud ta vol~ actions Ira
"1hu:h one i~nll/its with, raihtr than opposq, another
bt!1ng or way ofbl!111g The idea of bottling or fiahlU.g is
only one of 1ht: ways of dealing with /tar. Ci!r/llct, alld
difftrtncc. Of1en that which we rtjtct and oppose is tht
w:ry ~rson or position 1l:a1 w.- 11ted lo 111c/ude in our
tn:brau. Acctptance 1s tl:t:' art of making the obstacle tht!
pa1h: thtrefore tmbrace tJ~ tncMy.
Thi~ 1s lht ltrson of thi! rivu guldt, Fact the
dangtr, mow toward 11 ThaJ's where t/r.t: currtn1 u tl:t
stro11ges1, and 111<·i// CJJrry ,vou around tht obstaclr. Uu
II.
Ir: 31k1do, a Jup1mcu numt.il urr , tht tea. hu
turn from your auacJ.trs. Move
rrght in ~r.u 10 rlielfl, See tliz "'vrfdfro"' their po1111 of
M.'Ou/d sm;, '"Blend Ntlltt
ltkntih w1tli 11'.e U.l"IJ and llrqnu:lrlJll;for~d.
Oppcfl(IUS arcl1i:d), ti"nt :tar; u-.crgy A Upl W lift
Tr.at'~ are Mil p:issne. 1ilkcr. fr m ai1:1do./r m
l.t11 11 m 11'.e 11wr 1kty Ja~:nd i:n alcnnts.s an on
abuuy 1 uspond tlllJ1 u co1 :plrtt Our fir I 11ul Is lo
ht Ill' 1 lr:adu
OU( (fi.n lives the /st' t r;j ""'
"'" sto·icJ Ir. /ac.t w au )' art "'" hi:> on! 10
dJsaJ~tT wla.J: tfJPl tr.;'®1
Women m 11"' W1I~ b CJ.w; Ga!l:md
{[rem EJ1k Kinca:dtJ
Xotunh Jo .. uw[
pmii:
t1
�Peacemakers
Peacemakers
Peacemakers
Peace Room
'V Madison County
The World Grune lnstituie
Uruvcrsity City Science Cemcr
3508 Market SlrCct
Phihdclphia. PA 19104
(215) 387-0220
The Peace Room is structured sa tlllll row dmo and
"inretligcnce reports" from all ovu the p/Olltt CD!l bl!
collected. proccssl!d and applkd by its rl!starch staff 10
dl!\list crtoti~ stratl!giesfor solving basic human riud
problems. The rcstarch is 1htn madt a1'Uilablt 10 world
leatkrs and tht general public through rl!SCOfch rqx>rts and
cxpu1tntiJJ/ World Game Workslwps.
90 Mill Ctt.ek Rd.
M:trshall, NC 28753
(704) 656-2280
Contact: Drew Langsncr
Mnrtin Luther King, Jr. Center for
Non-violent Social Change
449 Auburn Ave.
Atlanta, GA 30312
Plowshare Peace Center
Box 1623
Roanoke, VA '24008
(703) 985·0&08
ConlllCl: Pul Prat;ilJ
Plowsharl! Peace Center is on education and
rts0u.rct cemu on issu.ts relating to social ju.slice, peace,
and non·violtnce. Plowshare wa.r ts1ablished by pcoplt
of various rtligiDu.s D!ld philosophical persptctivts who
sh,art a commi1rmi111 10 nonvioltncc as a way of life.
This commitmtnl flows jrom the spiritual Olld ptrU>rral
conviction tho/ active lovt is rht only power by which
evil is overcome O!ld tlu! only suflicic111 /xJs1s for human
society.
Blacksburg Adopts a Sister
Mountain Light Nelwork
RL 1Bo~229
Dillard, GA 30537
(404) 746-2454
COllUICl: M:srinn McCracken
"The Mountain Light Netw0rk. is an intuuional/y
unsuucwrtd asstmbfagt ofgroups D!ld indi>'iduals i111l:e
IYNC and North Gtorgia ana who havt a dup
ct>mmitmenJ to 1ndivuiuaJ and global peace ··
New Providence Peace Committee
70'3 W. BroodWQy
Maryville, TN 37&01
Contacc Jean Myers
North Carolina
Educalion
Peacemakers
Center
for
Peace
214 Piusboro SL.
Chapel HiU, NC 27514
(919} 929-9821
Offering work.shops and courses on education in
w 1111Clear age ond confliCJ resaluiion.
Northeast Georgia Peace Council
Rt. I. Box 319
Baldwin, OA 30511
(404) 778-0579
Com11cc Patsy Gailey
sec
"Wt short a commitment to a peaceful world We
we IJ.lliud in aclcnowltdgmg that Peop~ Evtrywhut Arc
Crta1al Equal (PEACE)."
Peace Links:
Women Against Nuclear War ~~
!:e~~.
Blacksburg, Virginia hos become the 78th US
corntnJJ!lity to join the US.Nicaragua sistu city program.
Tiit link became official on April 11, 1989 l<'licn 1ht
Bladcsbu.rg J'own Council decided (in o 4~3 ''Ole) to odop1
San Jose de Bocuy, Nicau.ragu.a as 1rs s1Jttr Cit) Tlit
srsru city program btrween the US and Nicaragu.a is an
offshoot of Sisur Cities ln1ernatlonal, a program
initiated b)' Prts1de111 Eist!llhower ur 1956 to es1ablish
greater fricndJlup (Jlld u.ndcrst011durg 1Ntwtt11 the people
of the US and other nationJ thl'ough ptrsonal conUJcl ...
Mcmbl!Ts of the Si.tttr City Co1t1111111u (SCCJ
told the Council 1ha1 they hove vizcd to avoid politici:ing
rht issue. But, givim tht current mood of the country,
thi.t 1s very difficult to accompltsh. According 10 Rev
IVoody Lta1:h. Virginia Tech Pre.sb)'ttriOll minister,
fom1er Council member, aJUJ chair of the SCC. "IVhat is
intended 1s for one human contlTlu.nity, Blacksburg. 10
a11emp1 10 build bridges offri.:ndJhip and u.nderstonding
with D!lOther humon cammu.ni1y, San Jose tk Bocay. It is
the hope of 1he Co1M1f1tu thDl the Town Council will
be able 10 htlp the town transcend po/11ical differtnccs
through this project. It is one way 1ha1 we CDfl say 10 tht
children of the town and to 01hu UJwns; We believe thal
hurrta11 beings CIUI work 0111 differtnccs when thtir
go11crT11M111S COllllOI .• '"
Al leas/ two
mambers have already visited
San Jose tk 8ocoy, and childrtn from Margaret Becks
Elementary School in Blacksburg are currently engaged
1n a ptn pal pro;cct with srudt!llJS in Bocay The
Commillte haptS these exchanges wll/ ltod ro regular
tducational and cultural exchanges bttwun the 1wo
conurnuuties~.
• by Mariann Caine
(tu.trpttdfrom the New River Free Press)
~f~·'~
I• Wf •I
NC 28802
(704)684-mo
.~
Contacc Jennie Eblen
Peace Links is a non·projit, non-partisan
orgoniumon commllltd 10 increasing awartncss of and
Cl)nctrn aboUJ the issues of world peace and IN 1hrt!a1 of
llJIClt!llrwor.
Irr Asheville, Peace Links hos1t!d three Soviet
In 1985. promottd o "Kids S~alc Thtir
Pt!DCt" program in 1he public Schools. and sponsored
"Rock 'n Rtgister, • a musical concl!r/ for voltr
rl!gistrotion Far "Peace Day 1989." tht group will
sponsor 1he childrtn's play "PtfJU Child.· (sup. 15)
• )CMit £b{e11
wa~n visitors
Peace Links
• 3509 Kcstetwood Rd.. Knoxville, TN 37918
- Box 566, Mountain Home. TN 37684
• 235 Hamburg Rd., Bake~ville, NC 28730
• 734 W. Locust St., Johnson Ci1y. TN 37604
Credo of /lie Peaceful Traveler
Gr01cfu.1 for the opportu.nily ro travel and to
uptritllct the "l>'Orld and be~ ptau begins w11h
the indlvr'dual, I a/flmt my personal rtspollSlbiliry
and conunitmtlll IO:
• journey wilh Oil opui mind and gelllk heart
.at:ctpt wilh grace and gr01ilud41he diversity I
Coniacc Judy Sheclccl, Hetb W3ltcts
Rural Southern Voice for Peace (RSVP) was
fou.ndi:d 111 198/ in response 10 a m:ed on /ht part of
people w/lo /tit o call 10 worlc for peace and 1us1ict and
against raci.rm. bu.J were i.toloted in snwll. and often
coflSl!rvarive, rural comm11.1U11u scattartd 1hrougl11Jul IN
sowheast.
The group ~gan in a cold ba.s11111tnl room with a
$4f)/) donation and o oorrowtd zypewmu. It has grown
1n10 a well·known and respected regional peace
orga11ila1ion with thru paid staff people, filling an
important niJ:h4 in the spct1rum of social change work. in
the South and providing hope and insp/raJion to
volu.nttcr aciivisrs Md local citizens.
RSVP provides o monthly newsleucr 1ha1
amplifies tlit of1err small, and ~t significant, activities
that local people are organizing in their own
commu.nitics and connects these events within 1/tt
context of change that is beginning at the grassroots in
the rural Sowlt.
In 1984 RSVP began lls Rural Ntrworking a.nd
Training Program in which RSVP staff people visittd
small 1owns and solllhern cilic;r providing training O/ld
suppon for organi:crs. As a result of this program, 12
new group$ have bttn formed and 20 l!Jds1ing groups
h11Vt bun rtvitaliud and Strtnl{thtncd. This wori.
eumplifits 1ht commi1me111 ro commu.n11y organizing
and citizui empowerment tht.u has cl1aracttriud RSVP
tinl:e its inception.
A recent brtak1hrouglt in neighborhood
COmmJJnications is the Ustcning Project idea, which is
bwtg dtvl!foped in procriu by I ltrb Walters ofthe RSVP
staff. (Sec report on page J) RSVP offers training and
conStd101ion for groups who wan/ to initiate Luttning
Projects in their area.
Peace Advocacy Network
8945 Sh:illowford Drive
Knoxville, TN 37923
t/ICOll.ll/Cf
• revere and protect the flQ/uroJ tnvironnt(n/ which
sustains al/ life
• opprcclOl.e all cultures I discover
- respect and tllallk nry hosufor their welcome
• offer my hand ln/rlendslrip (() tvtryon.e I meet
- support rrovtl services 1h.o1 short these views
aJUJ act upon 1ht1r1. by my spirit, words and
actions
• encourage 01htrs to travel tht world ln pttl«.
• from The First Global Confcrcnoc on Tourism:
A Vi1al Force for Peace (October 27, 1988)
x.atl.iah Journat page 12
~ura.f Sou//, cm Uice fo,. Pea.ct
1901 Hannnh Bmnch Rd.
Burnsville, NC 28714
(704) 675-5933
Peace and J ustice Committee
3219 Kingston Pike
Knoxville, TN 37919
Peace TreeJCovenant
Box82
Snu1ec, GA 30571
Peacemaking Committee
Nacoochee PresbylCrian Church
Box 87
Sa111ee, GA 30571
S'4mm4lr, 1989
�,
Peacemakers
~t:'3s
Peacemakers
in the Nuclear A . , g e
Warren Wilson College
Swannanoa, NC 28778
(704) 298-3325
Coniact: Doug Banleu
· options in the Nuclear Age l!XistJ 10 ma/cc
wt:ll·informed uniw!rsity faculty members available OJ
spcakers (free of charge) for well·establisht!d conununlty
groups on topics pertaining to national security • the
arms race, 11urorism.1111ervenJion, t/te economy. etc.
1'he aim of Options is ({) hrlp p~ople learn the
issues and develop .rophistica11'on in analysis of the
complu questions uwolved. It is our belief 1ho1 people
ore ~st ab/t to ll!orn and arrive at their own conclusion
afttr hto.ring a range of opinions on policy choi<:es. The
Options program does not take an advocacy role. The
program strives 10 provide the comprehLnsrvenns.
openMss. and integrity on which any substantive
cducatio!IJJ/ exanunation of the iss11ts depends."
Pax Christi - Virginia Tech
Peacemakers
Soviet-American Video Exchange
for Children
Vagabond Globetrotling:
State of lite Ari
(S.A. V.E. fotCh.ildtcn)
Boll 1838
Cullowbee. NC 28723
(704) 293-9534
Conmcc Howw-d lUll
by Mru'Cus Endicou. A book on conscious iouring,
tMlilnblc from lhc publisher.
S.A.V E wrll coordinate the exchange of
student-produced vidto tapes hl'twecn Russian and
American schools at tl:t! ;unror high fevel Tilt' principal
objective is. of course. 10 foster awareness • awcvencss
that Strips awoy tire fear of the unblown. A11 added bonus
wjff be the St/f·owarene.ss that comu from ezpfaining
one's own situation w others
The undulying intMt of tht pro;rer goes beyond
fX!OCl!. Peace is o gfrcnfor surviwd's sa/ce, but there ts a
more subtle and/ar·rtat:li111g aware11<1ss that may also be
engendered: the consc10u.rntss ofs/:ared space, ofshored
r(J:.fponsibility for the globof tnvironment, When
friendship replaces r1ustrust, 11 is much easier to see that
tire health of the planet a/fem us all.
• /foward /fi/f
Transylvsnians for Peace
Box 451
Brevard. NC28712
(704) 884-1633
Con1$t Connie Nash
Coniacc Cale O'Hare
20/20 Vision
"Encmyof1/1e Week''
"My command!Mnt 10 you is this· love your
enemies. Pray for those who persecme )'OU.• Paz Christi
has a custom of praying for an "Enemy of the Wetk" at
l!acl1 meeting. The custom arises from our desire 10
follow Christ's command to love tvuyoM, evt'n those
who oppose us or hate us. A prayer lealkr chooses a
person. gtoup. or organization that is in some sense an
entnry. The praytr leader explains in what sense that
person. or group ls an entmy. and then leads a Sincere
prayer for tht wt/I-being of that entmy.
• RL I, Box 1037, Sau.tee, GA 30571
(404) 878-3459 Conuicc Joan King
• 20/20 NC I I th Congressional Dis1I1c;t
P.O. Box 5855, Ashevrllc, NC 28813
The 20f20 Project is a national, grassroots
lobbying organ11ation 1ha1 works thro14JJr Ct>ngrtssional
districts. Any cilutn can becor1ll! pclitica/fy involved at
trucial points i1t rk political syntm by paying S20 per
year and taking only 20 minutes per month to wrrre a
letter to a Congression11/ reprtst!nralive about a cho~n
pofitical issue.
Through the 20/ZO Projea people's effortS can be
maximiud. and they can become poliucalfy involved
with very li11/e t!J!ort
· Krtty BoniSkl!
71 Woodbury Rd.
Asheville, NC28804
Contact: John Sicvens
Enchiridion lntcmation:il
Box2589
Cullowhce, NC 28T.l3
Vietnam Vets for Peace
840 Marion Ave. SE
Atlanw. GA 30312
War Resisters' League • Southenst
©l W Chapel IUll SL
Durham, NC 27701
Wnr Tax Counseling
.t15 Kmharine lane
Wood:llOCk, GA 30188
(40-l) 928-8"..52
Conl:ICc Robert R:mdall
Women's International League
ror Pence and Freedom
• 28 Queen Rd.; Cruidlcr, NC 287 I5
203 01cy SL
Blaclc.sburg, VA
(703) 95 I-0032
Peacemaking Task Force of I be
Asheville Presbytery
Peacemakers
Conlllct: Mllry K!ly uutd
• RL 5, Box 694; Franklin. NC 28734
·Rt. I. Box 486; MotglllltOn, GA 30560
Conwc Barbara Newell
Earth Quilts/ Regional Project
Norma Bradley
296 Monlford Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801
(704) 25J· 079 I
"Designed from the elements of the Earth and
crt.ated within the Earth"."Combinlng the traditional an
of quiltmakmg with lqvt of the mountain environment,
Norma Brod/ey, arusrlsculptor, assists school groups and
others in crealing their own CtJmmw11ty 11ar11t S(u/ptJVt
using nntivt materials.
Physicians for Social Responsibility
• 5 Alpine W:iy, Swnnnnnoa, NC 28778
- Box I 15, Moun.run Home, TN 37684
SANE
- Box 11274, Asheville. NC 28804
• 108 N. Blue Ridge Rd .. Black MounlaUI, NC 28711
- 108 Morchc.'ld SL, Morganton. NC 28655
Southern Dharma Retrea t Center
RL I, Box 34-H
Hot Springs, NC 28743
In Sanskrit, the c/aJsical language of l11dia.
dh31'ma is the word for wisdom. /or mtnd tSstnte or
11atural low, It is bl!lit•ed 1/mt greed. hatred, and
ignoranc:e (or our 1nab1/ity to su ourst/1-rs a.~ we really
are) art states of11Und that hinder the growth of wisdom
and undtrstanding, rJnd art the fundamt11tal caures of
hultlilfl sulfcrlnlJ It is also believtd thar through 1h.practret of llU!diwtio11, a focu.rtd a11en11011 , tltest states
may be dmoNtd und replaced with more politr~'I staks,
such as con".passton and /cJndness.
Tiit goal ojthe Southern Dlwnr.a Retu Ctn/tr
.<11
is 10 pro•ide a ,·01nfortub/t 11<11hmng pluct, rtmo•ed
from tht t\·cryd/JJ dwractions of lift, and to crtatt' <Vt
atmospliue of quut r(flect1on where one can nurture a
stnse of~Iler and wu:o1-er till' 1tmhs w11Jiin 11'.e heart.
x.ntuurl Jo ... rnat pa9c 13
1i~ JeconJ anncw/ Peactfest, ~ponsurcd b) PO;( Christi · \'irgiflla 1'ech 011
Su.n.;fuy April 16, 1989, il!lr.ia,,d hwulrtds OJ srwknt.t and /o<al r~.1idr111110 a
brr.rfit conurt cdtbraJrnf /J('a <'. • photn by MariJnn Ca111<'. COW1C$)' of the
.Vt" Rrvtr fru Press
�'.PEACE CWLLD
0 ne of the most familiar peace quotes IS
Gandhi's "If we wish to create a lasting peace.~. we w1U
have t0 begin with the children." This autumn, the
children of the Asheville, NC community will share !heir
own vi~ions for aunining world peace in the mus1caJ
fanwy.Peact Cliild.
The Ptacr Clrild play taltes place m the ycur
2025, when the world is already at peace. I! uses the
device of a s1ory1cllcr to cxpl:un how children helped
bring peace 10 the world. The script and music ha"e
incredible power as the children unfold their wisdom on
life, wur, and peace.
This play which has been produced iniemmion.11ly
since 1981 and is unique in that the author invites t.ach
producer 10 rewrite the ~ript to lit the community. the
ume, and especially the cast of children of their particular
selling. The members of the cast arc involved m
dlscu.~sions on peacemaking throughout all rehearsals and
ate given the chance to have their own ideas put into the
script. The priority is 10 involve community children in
the Peace C/rild process, so that •the central experience or
Peace Cliild comes when the children performing 11 feel
that they themselves are the pc3CC children of the story."
The Peace Child Foundation administers all the
Ptact Child activities. They supply communities with a
Study Gujdc and necessary production support as well as
coordinate national and intern:11ional tours. Peace Child
was the first production to use the •space Bridge"
program, a satelliic link between the US and USSR. Jn
1985 Peace Child toured the world with a special
Soviet-American Ptact Child tour in 1986. For mo.re
information,conuicc
Peace Child Foundation
39n Chain Bridge Road
Fairfax, Virginia 22030
(704) 3854494
The Peace Links' producL is scheduled for
ion
September 30, October 1 (Pence Links' "Pence Dny.
1989") as well as performances for schools. If anyone is
interested in volunteering, in buying advertising in the
production's program, or in general information, please
call Jennie Eblen at (704) 684·5530.
Ethnic Survival
The Frie11dsllip Quill
~rh.: frimdship qwlt is n tradition in this COU/llry
that camt witll 1/u: peopl~ wlio Stllll!d l11ut/rom 01hu
plaC Wt wonted 1 find d luimef or our friendship qui.ft
t!S.
0
in the Sovw Uman in a place somewhat 11/te our own
lrome It 1/V.lkl!s Tnl! glad 10 1hinfc af 1/rL long journey that
our quilt offriendship has had and thaJ 11 hasfound you
The quilt has marry/11n11y and sad and 1111eru1ing
stories. The pa11trn aroUlld 1J:e edges is a traditional oM
ca/ltd 'Flying Gttse'. 1'hey artflying around /ht world ro
brillg us 1oge1htr 111 growing UJ;l}erstanding so that we
con becomt/ri11nds/rom our distant places In this way
we can bring peace to our lands, our children, ourfriends,
and ourselvt:s...
In tht corntrs ofIlle bordl!rs where tht gttst ort
flying art tht phases of the moo11. May sht help us to
renwmber 1 change wil/mgly and gracefully, to become
0
wll/ll is ntctssary to bring our /ropes and visiollSfor
ptoCt to lift.We /rope 1his quilt of/ritmdship has brought f rom
us to you the living thoughts and patltml /ropes with
which it was made. Thalllc you/or receiv111g it and giving
it a lromt 1n your llvt:s.
·from The Book of Quiltmnkers
H
Thmy women and mui wlro are members and friends
o/ tht Ctlo Commu11i1y in 1he South Tot River Valley
crtartd 1ht quilt. ft now li\•es in a school in Klrosta by
the Black Sta. For mort lnforma1ion. con1ac1 Kori Loy
Wildrclcindt; Box 340. Rt. 5: Bur/IS\lille. NC 28714.
Ribbon Around the Earth
crc:ue, on pieces or fabric, images or personal meaning
In 1985, thous:inds of people gathered in
Wash1ng1on, D.C. to lie a RIBBON AROUND THE
PENTAGON on the 40th anniversary of the bombings of
Hiroshima tllld Nagasaki. The Ribbon was compost<! of
27,000 pJCCC:> of fabric on which people from every iiate
and many nauons had placed symbols of "what 1hey
could not think of to be lost forevct" in 1he event of a
nuclear Wllt. S1te1Ching 15 milcs-3/ound the Pentagon.
on to the Whiie House and around the Capitol, the
Ribbon bcc:unc a gentfo remmdet th:u the earth and all 11.s
peoples are vulnerable in this nuclear age.
Since lhc 1985 event. the Ribbon panels have
become pan of local events and have traveled worldwi~
10 be in major displays. "Making ribbons" has Dc:en
adapted as a peacemaking acuviLy in such places ;u Sri
Lanka, Israel. and South Africa to addresS conOict.s m
lhcsc regions.
Today there is a new mission--10 tie a Ribbon
Around The .Earth in 1992. Conunuing in our cffon.' of
~lf.Cll{lrc~sion , we "ill expand our original vision to
representing our concern not ju~t for nuclcar war but
other pressing global issues mcluding hunger, poveny,
human righlS, and the environment. lmagme an
abuncL1nce of colorful ribbons in simultaneous displays
around the world m nauons' cap1Ulls. across borders, 1n
political hotspots, and m ~crt.d pl;ice~
You can begin your own scgmenl showing what
you cannot think of as lost forever. A p;inel of sturdy
cloth, of any color, finished size l8"x36". including a 2·
top:.11tchcd bordct. Embro1Jery, appliquc. bauL., quilting.
knitung, needlepoin t. weaving. paanung. c1c. ~y be
u'itd. Finished scgmcn~ should h:ivc 9" ues or bias wpc
sewn mto each comer so they may be ucd together
C3$ily. On the bad; a piece of "pcllon" mterfoc1ng coultl
be used to write in pen, matkCI"S, or Lyping 11bou1 you and
your Ribbon SC&Jllent
JCcituah Jou1 nu( p«IJC 14
Ribbon Around the £:.anh iti 1992
8SS tv'. ltjfrrso11 St.
M lingron. VA 22205
Elnh bas approxim:uely 5000 ethnolinguistic groups...and only 159 UN members.
M oM of these nations' boundaries were cn:ated
nnd are m:tlnt:i.ined at gunpoint Mo~t of the
world's wars are civil ww-s being waged by
ethnic groups fighting for their cultures' sur.ivitl
against hostile nation states. The prOQ:sS of
colonization has left Africa. Asia and pans of
Latin America in nearly arbiir.uy political pieces.
War is bOLh the cause and I.he result of this
siluation.
How can we revolve our Planet into a
place tha1 honors and fosters diversity?
Educating ourselves about the problem is a good
pince to sl:lrt. We need 10 put pressure on our
eleci<!d representatives to end our military nid to
nations which use these weapons to abuse their
ethnic minorities who rightfully desire their
independence. We can bring our vision of One
Planet peacefully shared by many peoples into a
world m:1de more and more receptive to such
ideas by the realization of the magnitude of our
common problems and the absolute necessity of
our cooperation for survival. We are in need of
a second wave of decolonization. The first
wave saw the breakup only of the European
global empires. The second wave will see the
breakup of the smaller empires which they left
behind. There will be no real peace here until
we see our planet as a whole and end our
wasteful and violent defense of artificial
boundruies.
The Eanh's healing Chris1s is the
ecological disaster we are fast waking up to.
We will have to cooperate to survive. We are
one pl:l.Det. and this simple fact is n million times
more imponant than any demarcations we have
theorized and armjed into being. The age of
nations is ending and a new age beginning.
What good is a Kalishnnkov against I.he
pollution of the Oceans, what good are jet
fighters against the greenhouse effect. We will
cooperate or we will cease to operateentin:lyl It
is stone cold obvious thm the way out of this
mess is by learning 10 look at this world as a
unity instead of as meaningless political
frogmenLS and in pooling our resowces and
intelligence instead of using them to confound
each other. We will survive by becoming more
reasonable, and become more reasonable ns we
survive. The Earth is becoming one
community. We are building a true planetary
culture. This does not mean an end to our ethnic
differences, rather we are building a community
of communities, n culture of cultures in which
we will provide each other wilh a safe pince to
prosper. The EmplTCS have had a vested in1erest
in etimimuing differences but the emerging Earth
community will have an interest in protecting
cultuml diversity as a valuable asset.
,,
-Will Ashe Baso11
Suggcstbi Res<iurcc: Cultural Sur~iviJJ Ml.ig:11jnc. 11
D1vin11y Avenue Cambridge. Ma:.
~huscts 02138
�In 1984 rhe glasnosr ("openness") policy
was as yet unheard of in the Sovic1 Union. But
during that year people from !he small mountain
town of Black Moun1ain on lhe Swannanoa
River in Buncombe County, Nonh Carolina sent
a lecter to another small town, the Sculemenr of
Krasnaya Polyana in the Caucasus Moun tams of
Black Mountain residems made the first
Russia, suggesting the two townships open
exchange visit to Russia. They were wannly
relationships wilh each other to promote peace
received and returned with gifts and good
and goodwill between their two nations.
wishes for the people of lllack Mountain from
Miriam Willey of Black Mountain said,
the people of Krasnaya Polyana. Two more
"We stancd the Pairing Project because we saw
Black Mountain residenLS journeyed to the
that the nuclear arms race depended on our fear
Soviet Union in June of 1987. They returned
of the Sovie1 Union, which was inflamed in the
with a large :,;Iver samovar and four originul
e:irly Reagan years to support the military
pain1ings as gifts for the town.
build-up in 1his country. We thought 1hat the
Then in December of 1987, while Reagan
only way 10 end 1he anns race was 10 get to the
and Gorbachev were holding meeungs in
rooi of that fear, so we began to develop direct
Washington, DC, Chairman Kulii and Elena
coninct with the Russian people. And it has
Filonova, a school-teacher, visired Black
proved successful."
Mountain for five days. The meetings were
The letter from Black Moun1ain to
warm and cordial nod the people of Black
Krasnaya Polyana was one of 1,000 sem from
Mountain had no doubts th:u Chamnan Kuli1
American cities to countcrpnn cities in the Soviet
was most sincere in his "wi,;hes that the
Union under the auspices of the Ground Zero
American and Sovier people would collaboro1e
organization. Black Mountain wac; fortunate in
in friendship."
being one of 65 towns which received a reply
"His deep dedication 10 peace mruches our
from the Soviet Union. The response was an
own, and we see this relationship continuing to
enthusiastic leuerfrom Valentin Kulii, Chauman
flower in furure yeurs," in the word.~ of Miriam
of the Executive Commiuee of the Soviet of
Willey.
Krnsn:iya Polyana, which is comparable 10 the
During the visit Chairman Kulii was
position of mayor. The relationship between the
presented wilh a mou111ain dulcimer and a peace
two towns was officially initiated in November
quilt as gifts for the people of his town. Plt1ns
of 1985 through a letter 10 Chaimmn
Kulii that was signed by tJ1e Mayor, the
Board of Aldemien, and 100 residents
I
of Black Mountain.
"When Reagan :md Gorbachev
were holding their fin.1 summit meeting
in Geneva in 1985, we fell that we were
recapitul:uing :tt the grassroots wha1
was happening there at the national
level," said Miriwn Willey.
More than 50 Black Mountain
residents began the work of exchange
by preparing a packet contajni_ng
photographs and a 22-pagc descnpuon
of their town, leuer.; from high school
slUdents, and a copy of the local
newspaper to send 10 their Russian
sister city.
Throughout 1985-86 the Black
Mountain group held educational
lectures on the life and culture of the
Soviet Union, sponsored a film festival
of Soviet films. and celebrated the
1,000th anniversary of the Russi.an
l'ltcto, top: Am~ricuflJ (left It> flghl) l'otly Cod.v, D1t111t! and Claudell(!
Orthodox Church with a community
Iii/I :.hare u ml!JJJ witli R11.u1(1fl/nr.r.d.r 1n Kra.1na)'a fo/yana
worship service. In 1986 a group of 16
Above W/llu Wt:olh(tford, prts1dtnt of thl' Blad:. /lfoun1a111 l'umng
l'rojcct, (/ef/J muu Chairman \'altlllm Klllii of Kru.~naya 1'11/yana.
were also made to co-sponsor a sisrer cities
friendship calendar, featuring photographs of
Black Mountain and Karasnay:i Polyana and
notations of both Soviet and American holidays.
A 1989 Sister Town Calendar was produced,
and I, 150 copies were sold in this country. The
$3, 150 raised will be used to sponsor future
exchange delegations. A 1990 calendar is
planned, to be produced by the people of
Kmsnayu Polyana in the USSR.
ln September of 1988 n delegauon of
visitors from Black \fountain visited Kmsnaya
Polyana for 1hree days. This was the first time
foreigners had been allowed 10 siay overnight in
the town, as there arc no lntourist hotels there.
Instead they shan:d facilities used for
vacationing military people and found
thcm.o;elvcs around a night bonfire with members
of I.he Soviet Defense Department and their
families.
There are plans for more el(ch:ingc
delegations between Black Mouniain and
Krusnayil Poly:ina. Yuri Filonov, a te.1cher of
Englhh and German. will teach at Warren
Wilson College in rhe neighboring town of
Swannanoa this summ..:r. More lcctun:s
and educational progr.ims have been
held 111 the Black Mountain Libr:iry.
High SC'hool and middle school :.tudc;n~
in Black Mountain are now
<."Om:sponding "'ith their counterparu in
Krasnay:i
Polyana, building
relationships that will extend into I.he
nel(t generation.
Ag:tin, Mmam Willc:y spe.1h for
the J>t!Oplt: of Black Mounlllin: ~we feel
we have overcome the enemy image.
We no"' have a totally different
conception of the Russian pe~1ple 1h:1n
we did before we Marted the project.
We didn't reali7.e "'c'd have so much
fun, and we couldn't h3ve received a
bener reception from I.hem
"The Pairing Project 1s our
statement th:11 we Jive in :in
inu:rdependcnt world, :ind \\C can't
have enemies in a nuclear age. There's
100 much at si.:1kc.
"lt's slow, bur n's very
exciting, because it's working."
~
Da>1dWIW'tla
Summer, 1989
�•
•
''lalua."
"H1nm?"
"Do you know why I brought ;yo1t lzere?"
"Mm-ll!Ylm. Same reason as alwa. s: you have some big, bad
y
1iews to 1ell me."
"Yeah ... Well, db )'OU know what it is, then?"
"I think so. You've been drq/1ed. haven't you?"
"... How'd you know?"
"Easy. Logic. We J1ave11't liad a fight, a11d you've not met
any girls •.J dbri't tlti11k-·so it couldn'1 have been w say that you
want to break up. Your family never figlus, so it couldn't be
domestic problems. And you just got your job, so I didn't really
t/1ink you could have lost it already Anyway, you're nineteen, and
there's a war. \Vluu else could there be?"
"I see. All riglr1. Madan/I! Fortune-Teller, so whm had I
planned to say next, if you're so smart?"
"Mmmm .. I don't know. What?"
"Just this. Laura: I'm going. I'm really going. Arid, l.Altra
... I want you to know. . it's/or you that I'm going. J'd hare
myself ifI didn't go, if I backed out, if I leJ (/()w11 my f<Jmily and
my courury--..as I very easily could, you know. J'm scared of
dying. Bur because ofyou, I ca11't risk hating myself. God!
I.Aura, I'm going to war!''
•
*
sining ml)bile in rhe quiet night hush, rich leaves rustling ow
beyo11d our embrace to caJch the wind-1his is love
a liglu glows from 1/ie parlor. so/1 frosted glass with the
vague shadow ofa pail11ed rose mu1ed 011 tlie lilce curtain
no one sees
kiss me quickly
this is love
the lwing chains have ceased squeaking.
a faraway distant train swells ils terrible /Ul111U)ny--tlie
sadness of le(IVing brings us yet closer w each other, an excuse,
like 1he non-existent chill ofperfiuned sow/tern June 11igh1
to draw a tender breaJh
as one···
a11d we'll do a.u:tthingfor each oilier?
•
f shl)u/d have see11 tlte missiles. the bombs. the um:rdesola1e
co11/1tSion when i looked into those eyes ofyours.
bw i only saw the stars.
•
•
•
(Jrruneas11rable)
--Do you care?
(Doi)
--Can you see?
(Wiry (/() I brood)
·-Anytlli11g wonhwlule?
(About the world's injZLrtices)
Child Why Q1'eslion
Healthy Respect Fot: Metaphysics, Papa
Bui Do You Love Me?
Son Were/ In A BcUll)•sphere Wi1/i Bebe
•
Circu.Jaring
In The Vomit Of Armageddon
Yes
/Do
•
*
i was watching my feet, wa1clii11g the light pass over them an
su11day: the leaves like cookie-cutters split a11d nfracted the light
illlo animal images on the sidewalk aJid on my shoes.
the day was calm, perfectly.
to fall u1 love.
i /liNer imended
i should have seen
tlie ripples in tire s1uuigli1-
bur 110 alas (a lass!) i,
afool, glancing up from 1n)•feet,
tripped
over yow sJw(/()w into the glorious pools of
your eyes,
wo swift to hear your liglu "helloH
or t'Ven to liear my ow11 splash.
i came gasping to the surf as soon as
ace
l could--dripping, rivuletS coursing dbwn my back-bw yow smile sunned me automatically
dry.
•
•
•
•
•• •.• yes. but are you cluvalroLtS? Do you not recognize
your duty to your Lord God and ro llis ~oyal Jligh11£Ss your
appointed Mas1err
"Yes, yes. yes; pleose stop it, Chloe, I want to sleep. dear"
A pause. "Gaah--wai11, do yo11 /01·e mt!? I don 'r think su.
realfr. Gawain, tllere ts a war ou1side our "indow. A war.
Ga\\YJin, t/,.) yo111Uldcrsta11d what I say? Ga11ai11. Please, Gawain,
go fight Jn U! You're fW1 gelling too old, are you. dl:ar heanr
"Chloe. Chloe. Chloe, Cltloe, do I lia~e to suffer to make
you huppy? Jlave you no faith 111 me? Ridiculous woman-gojeed
your peacocks!"
•
--How much?
Wlsen 1 look irr your eyes, i seem)' own reflection.
•
•
•
*
•
•
oops. the shell ofthe earth, it's a li11le cracked, spi1mi11g,
flingi11g hurtling, off-bala11ce-.,get the/at kid off
our ml!fT)"go
·ro1u1d
A1id ill Chicago, at 2:00,
the s1111 setS i11 six mimttes and ti~ buildillgs break aftto
reveal a sub1trb neighborhood benvixt gre1mspring hills
Time lriccough.s
-my black-eyed susan, you are. my sun, my soul. m.y self-··
(tire plw1ie rings.)
111/ien i look into your eyes
(the phone rings.)
when i look--". . a singing telegram/mm a mr. martin 1111/ier kiflg,jr.
will .\'Oil acceprtlte cluuges?" wiry- "we shall 01/er come, we
shaDover
come, we shall over come .•• ~
four niliety-five p/1~ tax.
i love you. susan!
romeo and juliet lli!Ver intended JhiI..
i had a dream once, too, in teclmicolor.
The transient w1frerst•
swells and re1·olves. Stars wing by, rlie Rock of 118tS
and splrere 11msic •.•
hear ii."~ sliall! overcome.
•
•
•
UNICEF is selling cl:ancc:s r/us Christmas 011 o clwi,i:: one
peace or a milliM pieas. A wlwppcr ofan honor. Bl4t ir's lb(>
bad. Thi") 're Mt making any mu11ey offit .•
aml the W1t1e11burghers a1 I! making a mint peddlfng pardnns,
�•
•
*
they are fighting for love.
*
well, my first dJlly is as citize11 of the universe. but what I
wanr to k11ow is, why i'm me and not you ... have i got a special
mission or something? it's weird to think that i'm alt there is. what
if i'm11tst imagi11iflg the whole thi11g? rw. i dbn't really believe
lhaI.. bm, you know, i could think: "i'm the whole u11iverse.'' and
chen, i'd be a citizen of myself.
•
•
it's because he's a truck driver. momma. you know that.
the only tiling i11 che world that could part /Um from that
eighteen-wheeled swee'/iean of his is Iris draft card. if uncle sam
yells for him. he's there, one mad rush to the from line where he
.na11ds,for all the world like a devoted sclwolkid saying 1/ie pledge:
perjealy composed/ace, heels together, hand to forehead in salute.
i ca11 just see Jtim. but if i_calt him. 111>w, if it's ll.llt that's yelf/11g
for him to come save one of his own babies from drowning in t/11!
plastic swimming pool, he says, "you get him out casey, i'm
working 011 the tra11smission." the transmission! my God!
momma, iin tl()t really bitter oranythi11g; i'm 1w1 lotally jealous
of1ha1 gas-guzzling baby ofhis; ; jus1 /01·e him, tnQnuna •••
•
•
•
•
They really love me. They 0011'1 wa11t me to die. U11cle Sam
j11S1 don't carry no weight with me. I c011'11uulersrand why tltis
di.s1an1 relatio11, unknow11 kin, who I never seen before, should all
a s1"1de1t turn up, just when he needs me, and ask me to up and die
for him. When I got family andfrle11ds who loves me more1n him,
who cares about bein' gold-placed in God-thick glory? Thb Uncle
Sam ofmine is askin' 100 nwch. Besides, I love my cou.mry. She
don't need any more murder on her record than she's already got.
•
•
•
~mommv!"
"ah,j11si a minwe. gail.--wlzat jimmy?"
"mommy •
·)-est'
"mommy, wlw ls Godr
"God is love, jimmy. don't pull on monuny's skirt-·!
mommy's on the telepho11e: let's not talk to mommy now, okay,
jinuny? we ca11 talk about this later.-excuse me gait go ahead."
"mommy, where is God?"
"i11 htave11,ji1runy. now go play ouwde 011 your big wheel
for a while."
"mommy; how come God does11't come to the world a11d
give people hugs sometimes, mommy?"
"oh, gall! your kidding me. no! i k11ow you can't just suy
that in a resraura11t.---i don't k11ow,1inu11y. jimmy! look at
mommy wizen she's talking ro you now, i asked )'OU to go
nwside, didn't i, young man?"
•
•
•
God is Love, love is God, God is love •. .
•
•
•
the h11ge11ess of the earth
smothers them
they are caug/11
ben11ee11 the growul
and the infini1e ozone-bl~
b1a their love is deep and great mul hean-crescenooing.
they are
fighting and loving blindly, passionately
(ca11 you see it?)
look imo their love-shot eyes.
just look
•
*
•
wlllll js tlie worrh of this love? they dje like
•
•
•
mes
•
•
romeo and ju/fez never imended JhiI,
i should have
k11ow11 when i went to ba11le for you, dear,
i should ltave k11own,
•
•
*
standing 11p in too-shon sluule
eyes sweatiflg salt--the sky
U>O blazing clean w cry
•
Yet oo they k1ww
how whar when where why they go?
screaming, Jitavillg blood to
rouge the barre11 dust,
•
•
so.
shall i die for you, the11?
shall i die for you?
and kill a thousand
because i love and serve one?
one God, one Belief, one Way, one Cou111ry, one
Mother, 011e Child, one Man. one Woman,
One anw11g miflio11s?
given time. i could team ro love them all.
•
•
•
i should have known, swinuning up from 1Jwse pools that
how easily I could h/1\le drowned there. had you
are your eyes,
asked me 10 pick up
a sword.
a dagger,
a bayonet,
a machine guri,
a bomb
a11d prove my love co you·-·
well. i should liave k11own,
as you knew. didn't you,
a/Id wisely showed me
that somebody's blood could prove nobody's devotion
and thlll w lo\·e t)fll!
is to love all.
is11't that what you mea111?
looking into your eyes.
i see tlU! reflection of the universe,
don't i?
oon't i?
*
•
•
one more time/or the time, J;e steps inside the frame,
Md out again.
and looks back ar d~ impressio11 he has left-·
see tire image ofa yowig soldier
, young sol·
, young
my mother lived i11 hiroslrirM.
•
• )'Oil·
•
•
rlu.• men, the lleros. the womcm. die cowards, thtt cowbays,
tiil' soldiers, a11d the priesL\, the rabbis, a11d the martyrs, the
be11ei;oh111 dictarors, till! politicians, and sumebody'l dog
and the childro1!
Photo by Rob Mc5Sltk
�Reflections On
Growing Peace in Cultures
by Mamie Muller
The universe irself can be turbulent,
tumultuous...so whatever peace is, it needs 10
acknowledge that dimension of re:ility. Binh
and death and dying...:md composting..and
change exist in the universe...so that, too. needs
t0 be included in an imaging of peace. Female
and male exist in cite uaiverse...other spt'cics
exisr...the eanh itSelf wanants our anention...so
peace, if it is possible. needs co acknowledge
and honor all those relations.
And dreams ...cx.ist in this universe ...and
memory...and our interior psychcs ....nnd
love...aml absence of love....Can peace
ace-0mmodate the ranges of all th:it? When I
stretch r.he boundaries of my mind and hean and
each time- say "that, 100"...somehow peace stnys
with me, and so I wonder as to ir.s nature and
origin.
As l d.:lve into my concep1/h1ngu:ige
reservoir, the closest thing tlr.n l can say peace
is---is "to be intcgro.1 with". Being integral with
someone, something, some element... means
that in some way I participate in a .rlwred
existence witl1 I.hem and appreciation of that
shared existence contains in it, for me, I.he
possibility of shared pence.
For peace, though, to be more than just a
personal experience or an event between two
entities, ii is essential 10 look to 1hc scale of the
sodoc11lmral. h is here that our human stories
unfold. Culture, 1 r.hink, is best thought of in its
most hteral. biological scn~--as a medium in
winch to grow something. such :lS bacteria. It
seems that th<: tendency towards culture is
i11here111 in our very make-up. I !ere we are...a
spccies...h:wing grown in communily-fonns for
hundreds of thousands of year.. That occurencc:
was preceded by an even more ancient fom1ing
or single-celled organisms imo mulu-cellcd
ones. We seem to be truly crcnturcs of culture.
Thomas Berry talks nbout trc111sge11etic
mlwral coding, The passing on of "deep
mformation" is an essential aspect of the
function of any culture. Divcr.>ity among
cultures can Ix: ~tounding---language, foods,
color.;, designs. sounds, songs. in~trumc:ms,
dances. ceremony, ::m:hitecture--but the:
fl'arufcrc11ci: of i11fomw1icm---is a comrm)n tr3it
Does, as Thom;1s suggesl'i, our cultural coding
pasi. on infonn:11ion ...i11 as clt:111c111al a 11ay a.r
c/1ro11u15omes do?
Doe~ our consciousness have no active
part to play in the process of evolution?'! Cm
we in fac1 nunun: or crarl imentional cultures
that cnfumcc our panicip:nion in the planct:iry
prt>Cess? Thomas speaks or the universe as
having a psychic dimension...from ib very
inception. Not an ntlditivc nor an extra
ingredient, it is rather. he insi~ts. an elcmcmal
facet of our phy:.i..:al universe. So lei us say th:u
the universe, from the beginning, ha:. been
psychic 10 itself--through itself. Then, the
question becomes: can hununs pltticipatc in this
elemental dimension? Can human culture:;
consciously allow for the recognition,
utilization, and celebration of this full rcnlity?'!
It is at this level that we begin im1uiring
about thC' possibil11ies of peace. The univer:;e
constJnt!y infonns itself. Can we luunm~t be
1nfo1111Cd? h :.cem) that one of the roles of an
organic functional culture is to enhance 1hc
indi\ id11als' ability t~) he.-u· rhc "infonn.11ion" of
the univc.rse.
Our relations amongst ourselves nre
intimately interwoven in U1c fabric of the
universe. Unless we explore and 11ckno~ledgc
!he univcri-e in a// the dimensions in which 11 is
preseming itself to us, we remain isolated and
enelol>ed.. .in~'ap~blc of the exuberance required
for ongoing "re!Juonship"...of any son,
whether human-co-human or human-to-earth.
Western culture's dcufness and myopia
tO\\,ird~ thi:. "inlorm;uion" scern 10 h.we
occum:J b<!cause of it:. limited recognition of the
depth of 1he naturul world*.dcscribing 11 as
nll!re landscape and inanimate treasure uove.
The pos:.ibilily for communicauon... much less
for communion has thus become practically
impos:.ible. Yet ironically 1t is here whc~ a great
deal of cultural healing mus1 take placc....1n the
re:i..lm of hum:1n-eunh relations. Our p:;yches
need t0 reconnect in a one-to-one
correspondence with these deep psychic
inl1uences of the universe and renew a sense of
bondedness with the n:uuml world.
The infomu1tlon or the universe reveals
ltself 111 many \\ ay~ ... but ont of the sirnple)t,
closest ways 1s to listen to one's homcplac.e--to
1hc c:nurc ecological life community in whi~h
onc·s human community b immersed. "Bcmg
integrJl with .. suggests 1hc need to pcrcdve a
sense of the natural scale 01 things so that we
can more appr<1priatcly and fully be able "to be
integrJI w11h" all the varied levels.
In 1enns or ecological sc.1lc, it seems that
human culture can bci.t relate to the natur.tl
world ar. the lc\'el of the regional scale. Going
beyond the neighborhood or covc.. beyon<l the
li:>cal ...one comes to the n:gionnl. It is here: lhnt
Summ1:r, 1989
�one can notice whole ecosystems at v.ork (or :11
play). Watershed, geolo~ic:il form:mon,
similarity in plant nnd unirnal spccles...all these
11.rC best comprehended nt the rcglon:tl
level...\\ hich h3s us distincl though "soft"
n:itur:tl boundaries. A region is wulknble,
know:ible -.nnd in crnfting hulll:l11S)Stems10
interface \\ith the ecological systems, this as the
sc:ile nt \\ hich 11 ts ntikcs the most sense 10 ..be
integr:ll v. ith".
Encouraging nccurntc, full pcrccpuon of
reality is cntical in developing cuhural model111g
~ystems that will funcuon ru.lcqu:ucly. 11lc m:irk
of a :.tiflmg culture, 11 seems, is one in whicl1 the
range of sh:ued perceptions of reality remains
quite restricted; one in which, for exnmplc, the
many ranges of red arc referred to only as "red",
thus ignoring the myriad hues of thlll family of
color. A restrictive culture relegates drcamtime
to the realm of the subordinate and gmnts
nonexistence to ull bUl n mengcr spectrum of
sounds and senses. An nlivc. functioning
organic culture. on the other hand, nurtures
individuals' facuhies of perception and
encourages their scn~c of rootedness in a shared
realiry--both in terms of the human :ind natural
\\Odd.
EncoUt3ging the development of :iccurate
feedback mcch:inisms within I.he infrastruclurc
of a culture is also essential. lf a culture does not
3llow for appropriate fcedb3ck, then 11 W:k of
internal vibrancy occurs...promoting
fossilization of thought P,:tttcms. activi1y, and
environs. Spedfie nurufestations of culture
such as archuecture, roodbuilding, commerce,
food producuon, communications, b:lnking.
govern~ e1c. become highly rigid and unduly
reinforce the status quo.
How can a culture allow for a sense of
fluidity as well as solidi1y? llow C3l1 we come
iogether in community-forms without
domesticating ourselvei; to death .•.ns \\ell ns the
planet? How c;in we, not just individually but in
a socio-cultural sense, a~·knowledge the whole,
rich, diverse range of the dep1hs of the naturJI
world as well :is the human psyche? It seems
the more in 1ouch we arc with our sense of
bondedness to 1he wider Lifo conununity. the
more access we have to resolving thc:.e
questions.
Exchange between humans onJ the
nalural world t.ak~ pince nt evcrv level whether
we acknowledge it or not. Our fuc:uhing in 1111d
our breathing out ••. our intake of food nnd our
rele:isc of wnstcs as \\ell ~ mnny other
fimctions clc:irly icll us 1h:l1 we live In the pl:mct
not on it and we arc a part ofthe dynnrruc
process nOl apan from it. I low c:in we nurture
the growth of cultures \\hose infrasuucturc
designs acknowledge this in1mute ongoing
exchange?
Cultures usu:illy reflect 11 com:munny's
sense of its human hentnge but u is esscnu:d thni
they rcllcc1 a sense ofthctr ecological hcniage :is
well. 11115 mtim: ey of hum:in CXISlCllCC Wlth lhc
n:itUr.J.I world needs 10 be recognized not JUSt on
the biolog1cal, chemical level bu1 on the
psychic/l>pirltunl level us well Our very sense
of personal nnd cultural idemi1y needs to
incorpom1e 1he ccolog1cal l111ncnsion. Only
\\hen we begin to undcr&iand and l'ncour.igc
these "conditions" fur pcncc...cun we come
closer to growin~ pe11cl! 111 c11lturcs...
Summer, 1969
Some concepts to consider for growing peace in cultures...
res~ct for dhe~ty ~UllC:llOO of SJ!CCICS llS w..11
a:s e.uemun:uJOa of ethiue peoples has become :i StVCtC
thrc:u throughout lhc pl;inct. ID add1uon to etbic:al
constderau~. bomoccnuy and d1m1msh~nt ol
m:uufcsuuaos o( hfe llIC 21so blologlc:ally un,.1se. 1be
lolth lllld ~bihty of rmy sy m wh.:tha hum;in Of
ccologd. rest m a gcnumc rcsp:c1 lllld cclclKatmn or
bhluc as u.ell cultural diverS1ty
beyond dominanrr Mmy culturtS lll\e become
c:nucn:bcd m:i • domiruon °'er" JWod J:m 11.' u C'.'ld.."ll:cd
m term, of gender, rllCC. ctlum: hcn1Jgc, species lllld/Of
cge. This dom1n1on pi)Sturc c::iuscs ph)'MC:&I,
psychologlc:ll, sp1.ntu~1. cc-011omic: lllld cnvaronmcntnl
~ufflX':lllOO, A mocc babncc:ll. cqu1ubli: dyn:umC' mo.tel a
n:qu1n:J 1n which mu1uality is 1hc b:is1~ r~1hcr than fol\'e
Of co.:rccmcnL
tuvp,rntion No longer does rul\lieJ 111d1v1du:ihsm or
Da.rw11w111 compc11t1on pro-.Jc tm ulllm:UC mo.let fOI'
suN1val. Cooper:.11on 1111d symbio11~ nrc now being
recognized as csttr4i:il nspccts or our biologknl hcntasc.
Coopc:3lion. CQ-C1.1si.cncc. and conlUcMcsoluuon need w
be 01 the bc3r1 or :a "'br.uu culture. Vclucs iUCh u
cmp:ithy and imporuncc ol ie:im"ork !so need w be
rccbimcd.
11ppropri:ue 'cale Dimensions or sale occur
l!uougbout lbe Jl:l1.Ur.ll 11.-orld Crom die microscopic to die
lllXtOSIX>pic. Sak ~ :also 1111pon;u11 in terms ol hummJ
11ttavity. In f:ict. ii is an csscnlbl dcmcnt tn dcsl,nmg
for qu:il1l)' ol we-.11;hc1bc.r an tmns or technology.
c:cooomks, archi1cc1urc Of 1111y odlct l1lU Emplmlzing
appropri.ale sc::ilc CDCOU1'3btl the shlfl rrom D bi&flly
c:crunhzcd and bicrnrcluail mode IO one lh3.t IUPJIOIU
clivcrsificntioo mid dccenlr.l.liution It also nud,cs us to
rc-cv:Wi:uc the b:lsic :ugumcms ol ccntr.1h1.:111on such o~
ns110113l sccuri1y, cconom1e &t:ibahty tluoush
coloni:llism, homogcncny anJ eullur:il supcr10111y. We
begin to recognize the l!eW to oplorc hum:in 'c:ilc,
\•illage·JJ:llk 1llld rcgion·sc:ile modcls.
ao••crnancc All mhnb11:rn1~ <>f M
communny h:ive nghL~ 11m.J nrc cnu1lc<l 1<1 panlc1p:11c 1n
appropriule
dccision·making lh31 concerns their \HI! lleint
Governance. in particular, is directly uffctlCJ by sct1lc.
We arc n:llcctcd by nruJ reflect our $WTOumhntt. II lhc
boundario:.s 11re defined 1n IOO large 11 l!Qlc, 1hcn It Is
d1ffirult for 1nh:lbi1.'.lll1S to ~nsc: thr.mselvo n.s a p:ut of
and p:uucip:uang an 11 self.governing process
lktcrnlm~ ~ scale: the level 111 v. h1ch dce1S10nS
shooW be rn:Uk (commumty-lmcd. rcgton:ll), and the
type ol pnxcss to be ~ {m:ipuy rule. conSCISLIS. etc:..)
11rc all pan of a culture's re trcttunng towtirds
sclf-go~
=
opportunlly for rlgbr lhelaaood All uihab UlnU
entitled to the oppanumty for i«Unng food, $hella.
jCqXl1diung thclt owa 11;'Cll being.
clothing. et:.
"''llioul
ol thl:ir fellow mhab1lllllH Or that or l~
en• arorunem. Ernplmis oa co:nmun11y ~ cconomu::s
c:m c:tlCQ<lilll!C this kind ol rcspocmblc dcsJin and
~lsion-nul:u...- Dc\'CloplRgllll CCOllOm) \tr4 I
gJIJUS
1u dependence on the "anh cc<momy" allows fur
pcn:cptlOll or rc:al cOStS. 11Us llllJUSU llJC l<b of progrc.u
and dc•clcprmnl to encompass •be 11;cll being nr lhc
CIUICC Life rommunuy.
lhlll
1uillllnability The ccologial life 5)5tcms vmhill a
region lltC p31t of lh: 11.-t:ict sclf·susuitihlg pbncWy
system It as auc1Jl th:u ow hum:m sysums begm to
rcf1a:t and support tbiJ sitstmmb•luy principle. \\c need
to develop "'11)'S to ev;iluatc our hum3tl ICliVIUCS
(qnculturc, forestry. ~th eve. tr.111q>0rl:lt1on.
banhng. u.'21Cf use.. Clelgy use. cu:) an lh3t ~ We. In
la=t. need to k:lm how 10 "rcillh:lbil" the boal!>CCgiOn m
wludl we h\C, to accumcly lllldusund JtS ccol0£ical
c:irr) 111g apxuy. and to design l01ro"lltds rcgion:il
suffi 11.!llCy.
inlrrdcpt"ndrncc Acknowledgement ot 1ntcrdcpcndcnt'C
entoulllges the bioccntnc dc5ign of hum:m sysians. nus
1ccoJ:nh1on nl~o allows for a creative :iwro:ich 10
n.:s1hcuc nnd £unc1101JJI uspccis a.> wcll. i;uch ns opumurn
cap~c11y for rc.~ancc and cnh:lncc:mcn101 st1troundinv,
mcorporauon oC 11. md, w.:itcr, .sunlight 1n de~tgn:
CORS11.kn.H10R of gcogtaphfcal/Sp;IU:ll rtxcmcnt: Dlld
llcs1gning with illtcr.spccics communion In mmd.
lmpOrllnCf
uf
rccdbotklre~poos" circuits A
10 receive infonnauon lllld
cullure needs 10 be :ible
respond to 11_.through reflccuon, cvllluauoa. 11nd
pou:ruill! lld;ipt3U00 or ch:mgc. CIC. Prcscnlly. u o~s
lh:ll COlllempallt)' cultures do not 113\'C lldcqu:i:e response
CtrCUllS bw1t m. Far ~. cuhur:ll dqlcndencc Oil the
DUtomOblle JCSUllS in anordinalc consmnptJoo or bumm
ll me and fossil Cuc.I. Yet. bccmlsc of 1111 cntrtllChtd
u:insporution industry th:u is rcinforctd by p"Cl'lllncn1
m 11;'Cfl 11S pnvau: indastry. crcah-e options ror eulwnl
rcconstclbuon arc
not lldcqu:ucly supponed...sucb 11J
cL'Slgnlng urban vilbges wt= u.ukpbce ll1ld bolncpbcc
tile nc:ucr to cXh other, prodllciog cnvironmcnta:lly
Slb12lll;lble \'Cllicles. etc.
meaM ror transrcrcoc" or illfonaatlon All culwrts
have ways for the passing oa ol infonn:uion and wisdom
rrom gtOC1111J011 IO gcnc:rauon. The xcumulatcd opericncc
or o eullUIC am be siurcd Uirough suirytelling. an,
llC'lldemics, child-rearing, education, ~. It is impllfWll 11>
OJ1Jll'C:Cl3LC and parUclp:iLC in the craf'ung of this orpnlc
ronn Of "i.torl1l:C lilld rctncval".
:!»lCrtdntY or ur~ The Dddrcss or 1he tbu De No Snu
Nee N:111on 111 the UN Conference of Non-g1wcllllllCnul
Orgunlrntions m Geneva 111 1977 voices ttus concept
n~ eloquently: '"The origmal 1nstJUaaon1 dilCCt lh3l \\C
.i.ho ,.1111: 11bou1 on the E:ulh arc IO apn:.ss a grC3t
respect. rm nfk.cuon. ll!ld a grauiudc toward all lhc spmts
v.1rich Crute 11114 support life-Our roocs 11n: d«p Ill I.he
btidJ 11;'hae 'll'C hYC.-The soil 1s rich from Che bono of
thousmJs ot our gcncn1lQnS. E:i::h or 11S 'll'CfC crated 111
1hoic l:uu1s and ii u our dU1y to u1.c grm c.c ol
them We wtik nbou1 11.ilb a pCl1l respect. for the f.:rth
Is 1 '":tY SXtCd plxe." Eadl cuhurc can help 1his srnsc
ol the~ of W'c 11ourisb bolh Oii lhc ~ _,
,.'Cll as euliunl level.
crlrbrali!ltl Dnd renectioD Culnuc Hau lijJCCttS'
medium
sh.lrcd ~ ~wen llS shmd actlcr:lncc.
I
tlOCll. n:ltural cckbr.1lioD as v.-cll as c:ultwal mod:s
of rdlcaion cnh:m:c our cupxtl)'
commU!UOll v.1111
the rcsa of the unhcrse-aot jtlS1 on lhc pcrsoo;il ~I
bul on t.'ic mnmumty-widc level. Comcaous rct ruuon
n::d llrprccllllion of llll1113t!/caltur:ll as \llCll lll coolotial
hc11mgc."both "3SarW and h1Uor~I .JS II rorm Of
ckmentnl nourishment Ulllt c:m only come m 1 Slwcd
ror
ror
form.
-Mamie Muller
�The Chalice and the Blade
Tht wor.t of Muri1a GimbUJas (The Gods and Goddtssts of
Old Europt, 1000 to 3500 BC: Myths, Ltgtnds and Cult
/mag1t), Mt:rlin Stone (AnciMI Mirrors of 1Yomanh11od) and others
haw! pionurtd tk uplora1ion ofour species' trut: cultural origw. Now with
tk publicalion of The Clullce anti lhe Blntlc ( 1988), t~ tvitk11ct of this
research along with Eisfcr's f4peful inttrprttmions Is[Ultllly r'ttzeliing brQOder
rtaduship such that Ashley Montagu calls it "the IMSt impottant book sinct
Darwin's Origin of Specit.r". llrre are two rtsf)OllSts to its t:iJllltlll.
Emoft.e B'r<lCZ:
Tlte Chalice a11d rite Blade confirms my long-held belief
that ''once-upon-a-time" there were peaceful societies
(partnerships) in existence on this planet. This gives me hope that
we can muddle our way into a personal and global peaceful
coexistence. After two readings of the book, the following
points su>0d out:
•Tue scientific and 1eehnologicnl advanccmcn[S of this century
have allowed us IO ~amine nnd re.evalU11te e.arlia a.rchcotogical
findings. The initrdisciplin:uy upprooch or t.ntcrprctlng "finds". lhe
bte:ikthlO\lgh in es.rbon-14 d:ltlng, and \he dendrochronological
dating method yield a diffetCtJl body or work and data on out
histOry.
••conqu~1· of noturc h:is no1 always been the prime mover of
Out species.
• PoJytheislic religious life does not equal anti-christinn ccvility.
•Art is a form of symbolu; communkmlon, and much depend.~
on who is interpreting the symbols.
•The "might mllkes right" philosaphy is 1111 abbenu.ion. ..not the
nonn.
• tntultivc knowledge ls a part or the sciences.
• "That's hisiory..•
1nd lluu's a fac1· is nn unncccpiable answer to
quesliOllS asked.
"The domuwor (JX!triltehal) mode or socw order is 111opproprinle
nnd dangerous tO our further e11olvcmcnL. edSICOcc and fulW'C,
Riane Eisler believes that we are presently al a crossroads.
We can continue as we are...and it is inevilable that we will
destroy ourselves...or we can try to emulate and rebuild the
peaceful societies which did exist. After reading Tile CIUJ/ice and
the Blade. I was convinced that peace is possible. The number
of role models for us to identify with has been widened
immeasurably by this book, There can be a choice for pence and
equality even within the confines of our civiliuition. History
goes in cycles, und unlike what we've learned in school, it is
never a fiJCcd point. It is forever changing, evolving. It is our
responsibility and challenge to investigate, to question, and to
look at presented ''facts" with an unquenchable thirst nnd
unending enthusiasm.
I would like to share with you some of the books. in
addition to The Gita/ice and rite Blade that have made me yearn
for and ponder the idea of peace:
General Readers hi p: Think on These Things by J. Krlshnamurti:
Too of Ltodarslup by J Header; Grt!ui Politics by C. Sprcm:ik; Grun
Alternative by 8. Tab:: Going Out of Our M111ds by S. Johnson: IOOth
Monhy by K. Keyes; Johnny Got lfis (iun by D. Trumbo: Da1:u of
Angtr by H. Lance: Peace Pilgrim by A. Pilgrim: St:t!1fs of Pt:ou II)' J.
L:irson; Gandhi on Ptaet by M. Gn111lh1; Jlov.· Can Ont Sell th( Air.
Edit.:d: Chop Wood. Corry \\'attr by R. F'aclds.
Chi ldren 's Books: W.tlwm Wants A Dolf by C. Zolo1011:
Friend.r by H.Hcmc; Quarter-Note Cow Pou byJ. Poucr. Mrnou by H.
Bmgham: Chu:ktn Stew by K. Kasla: Kuper.I oft~ Earth by M.
Cuduto; Tru II Niu by J. Urdy; lJ-.< B.imb and tht General by U. Eco:
BuJll!T Boule Dool. by Dr. Seuss.
Emou B'rar:. an a'td reada t1nd sr.J10lar. 1s the ot<na
of frf.Jfuprop'.J
Boo*stor~ and Cofi ill AJMvillt. NC. Si:t 011gina1td tlu! suhutft "A11othtT
STt111/I Bus111t.fS for Pcau# tmd uwitl!s otkr smafl b1131nes1: ow11as to 11•1n
kr 1111tS111g iI on clttir logos and ad•·~rflSt'mtlllS.
tt.Uo Clu thr i.e:
The Chali ce and The Blade was given to me by a
woman-friend juSt after this past Winter Solstice, and it has llad a
profound effect on me. Scrangely enough, it had b<:cn shown to
me several months before, but I was not aurncted to it. l think
when I saw it the first time I thought it was another
mytho-psychological analysis of "feminine" versus "masculine"
values. I was in a spa.cc of trying to explore my own sense of a
ne\li masculine ethos and I didn't want to read what I thought
would be a book on women's archetypes or psychological
explorations. I needed a more grounded sense of what 11 means
to be human n.t this time in history.
When I finally opened up the book, and actWllly began to
rc~d it, I couldn't put it down. Instead of being t.he psychological
or mystical volume I expected, I found a remarkable CJCploration
or "our history, our future." as ii says on the cover. Riane Eisler
has taken a look at the entire sweep of human cuhurnJ evolution
from a new perspective. that of t.he pannersbip, or "gylanuc"
viewpoinL Her central thesis is that all the bases of human
culture, arts. and civilizntion were developed at a time in which
women and men were both respected, in which sexuality was
free, and where the technology was of nurturance, not
destruction. This is, in shon, the lost "golden age" of myth and
legend. It really happened! I Our dr~ms of 1he future have their
firm b:isis in a past which has been denied to us because of
:indrocratic m1sinterpre1ation of both human nature and the
archaeologicfil record. For example, we carry with us the image
of early "man" holding a club with which to hit something over
the head and kill it; in actuality the fin;t technological invention
was probably ll vessel of some kind, either for ga1henni
vegel!lble foodstuffs or for cradling children. These were. of
course, invented by early women.
The implication!> of tJ1is viewpoint are ~taggcnng: this book
is justly receiving gre:u acclaim from a wide range of ~ources.
The concept of n lost · m:m1archal golden age" is central to 1he
more spiritual trends in feminist thought, and i!> a heartfelt belief
Summ..:r, 1989
�or wish of modem 01anic neo-p:igans. In fact, Feminist
Spirituality is frequently criticized by more materUlist viewpoints
for not being grounded in an historical rcal11y. Tltt! Chaliu ar.d
tht! B~adt! J?UlS t~e lie to these doubt~ about the vnlidity or
Feminist Spintu:ihty by scrupulously an:ilyzing the historic:ll and
an:h:ieolog1cal record to suppon its premise
A lot of emphasis is placed 1n the book on the imponance
or Cretan or Minoan Civilization to the development or Western
culture, This highly technologically advanced civilization, which
":is at its height about a thousand years before Class1c:ll Greece
(ca. 1400 B.C.E.), honored both women and men equally. was
nol3bly non-warlike. and "orsh1pped the Great Goddess. Who
has not marvelled at pictures of the bull·leapers, the
Snake·Goddess statues, or the dclic:ue painung or lilies and
dolphins which adorned the walls of the grc:it J13lace at Knossos'?
And let\ not forget the Labrys. or double-axe which is today a
prominent iron of Lesbian/Amazon cuhure. 'fbe origin of this
symbol b m the Goddess· religion of Crete,
The Clzaltee and tlit! Blade ts an inell.pcnsive volume,
published by Harper nnd Row. It h llVilllable in your local,
regular bookstore (if it's not sold out), or m the library. Since
it's inexpensive, it doesn't have glossy color photos of the
Minoan art treasures mentioned in the text. I found it useful to
have a couple of an or nn.:hacological books by my ~idc 10 be able:
to :.1~e lhe wonderful scenes of young Mino:in men with flowers
in 1heir h:mds, of priestesses performing the rites of the Gre~ll
GodJess. My dreams have not been the sanu: since!!
Another imporum1 fe:11urc of I he Chaliu and the Blade is
its e:\plorntion of the ":.tuntcd morality" (>f b1bhcal law in reg:ird
to \\'Omen. Quoung Eisler: ~we have been taught ttul the
Judeo·Christian trndnion is the greatest mornl ndvnnce of our
species. The Bible is indeo.I primarily concerned .,.. ith what is
right and \\tong. But what is right and wrong in a dommator
society is not the same as what 1s right and wrong in a
pannership society. There nre...many teachings in both Judaism
and Christinnity suitable for a panner!>hip sy:.tem of human
relations. But to the extent that 11 reflec1s a dominator society.
biblical morality is at best stunted. At worst, it is a
pseudo-morality in which the will of God is a device for covering
up cruelty and barb.1ri1y."
When I learned ancient hhtory in gmde school. the
assumption was that law and moraJ11y began with the code or
Hammlll1lbi or the Mosaic Laws. ln reality, these dominator law
codes were set up after the overthrow of legal and moral systems
which valued all human life, female and male. and which
governed peaceful, not warlile, wcieties. ln addition, the
classical Greek ideas of libcny and democracy (for free men
only) were but watered·down versions of the earlier tr.1ditions
which had their origins in pre-androcrauc societies such as
Minoan Crete. In fact, Pythngonis and Socrnte~ were pupils of
women Thcmistoclcn and Diotema, respectively.
Much of myth, classical, Biblical, and othcrwi~. rccounis
how the Goddess was ovenhrown, r.ipcd and murdered. These
myths developed as justifications for the continued
dominator/;indrocratic rule following the dcsll\ICtion of the earlier
pea~ful, agricultural societies by wnrhke. pastor.ii peoples from
the more margmal area:; or Eurasia. Riane Easler also recounls
how the partnership or gylanic mode of society has periodically
resurfaced, only to be suppressed again. Some or the teachings
of Jcsu~ reflect a loving vision of peace and hannony; the later
church fathers supplanted this with 3 warlike and hierarchical
"Christianity." 1·hc very word "hierarchy" W3S coined to
describe the organiution or the c:irly church.
The word "gylany" or "gylanic" has been formed by Riane
Eisler to describe the type of society which flourished in ancient
times and toward \\hich v.e must move today if our species is to
survive; it is a combination of "gy." denvcd from the Greek root
word gyne, meaning woman, and "an." from andros, or lll3II.
The letter ·1· between the l\\O is for linkin&. and is derived from
the Greek lytln or Iyo. This verb has a double meaning: to
resolve (as in analysis) or to dissolve or set free (as in cul3.lysis).
This word and its origin sum:. up the m:un thesis of the
book: that how a society organizes the relation~ between the two
hnlves of humaniry (men and women) hn~ a profound effect upon
all its ins1i1utions and vnlues; and the direction of its cultural
evolution, pllrticulnrly whether it will be peaceful or warlike.
tmmer, 1989
Needless to say, in a technological era where the "bl:ide" is a
thennonuclcar bomb or a nerve gas canister instead of a S\\iord or
slingshot, this is a matter of the very survival of our species.
While The Chalice and rite Blade focuses m:iinly on the
w3ys rcl:uions between \\Omen and men are constructed a~ a
gauge of how totalitarian or warhke a society is. there are
abundant references to way:. in which men, particularly
"sensiuve" or "effeminate" men arc oppressed by androcr:lcy. As
we know. and as Eisler points out, these warlike and t0tali1arian
wcietie~ (H111c:r's Germany, Khomeini's lran, etc.) arc the most
opprc:.sive 10 women and to peaceful tendencies in men or 10
:>pintual m1nori1i~ (Jew , B:iha'is. etc.).
• Iow a society organizes the relations
bcl\\CCn the two halves of humanity (men and
women) has a profound effect upon all its
ins1i1u1ions and values, and the direction of its
cultural evolution, particularly whether i1 will
be peaceful or warlike.
ln regard to the issue of maleness and warlike values, nerc
1s Easler· viewpoint: "For 1mllcnia men have fought wars and
lhe 8l:1de has been a male symbol Bul this does not mc:in men
arc inevnably violent Md w:irhkc. Throughout rcconlcd hif.tory
then: have bcc:n peaceful and non-violent men. Moreover,
obviously there were both men and women in !he prehisiorico.1
societies v.herc the po\\ er to give and nunurc, v.hich the Olnlicc
symbolh:C! , was supreme. The underlying problem is not men
o.s a sex. The root of the problem lies 1n a social system in v.hich
the power of the Blade 1s idealized - in \\hich men nnd women
D.1'C taught to equate true lll3sculinity with violence and dominance
and to see men who do not confonn to this ideal as 'too soft' or
'effeminate'."
It IS apparent thllt the vision or I gyJanic SOCU:ty is thal of
crcauvc dynamic interpersonal relations \\rit large: the vision of
gentle loving \\Omen and men living in harmony \l.ith nature 1s
\\hat \\e offer for the reemergence of the future partnership
society which must be the p:ith of humanuy's future. The basis
of any society and culture h the way one person relates to
another. This is true for woman to woman, man to man or
mlln/~oman relationship:.. Now i~ the time for us co carry our
vision forth mto the new world which is being crcrued by all the
human vi:oionarie!> nnd poets who sense the turning of the cosmic
wheel.
The human species is obviously facing a crucial period in
history: either we will full b:ick into a kind of androcratic
tcchnofascism in which women will be slaves. free sexuality will
be suppressed, and the organisms of the planet will choke on
human filth or be incinerated/radiated in a nuclear holocaust; or
v;e will somehow develop :a new culture which values
nunurance, h:is respect for life and hum!lnlly in all its variety :md
sc:icual flowenng, and rinds ways to meet its material needs
without ciitinguishing other species and tenninaJly fouhng it
nest. Khomeini and the Morul Majority understand how
Feminism. civil rights. free SCltunlity. ecology. and peace nrc
linkcJ, and they oppose them all with a vengc.ncc; we who reali7.C
how these values are pan of our vbion and hold the key to our
~urvival must continue co become \\hat we want in the world and
create the myths in our laves which will be the stories for our
people to live by.
The Cho.lice and rlie Blade has given me hope. In this time
of rc-<lcdic1uion to the principles wh1ch l have cherished in my
heart for years. this book has mengthcned my "·ision and
nllowed me co feel pan of a past and a future or joyous. loving,
harmonious women and men, liv1ng in deep commimion \\ith the
Ennh and iis creatures. Wbo could ask for more'?'?
M1hJ Gwlvu: u a co-/oWllkr of 11il ClllnNrl.JNi Grtt11 ColAl!Cil aJlJ a/rt~111
con111bMtor to its publicat1on g1«nhgh1 Prcst111ly. lw spuids hls 111r11 both
in DMrham NC and NOJhv1//t, JN whtft /ormaliz1n1 his 1ra1111ng 111
bctanical stiul1es. This revi~ 1.f rtpr111ttdfrom grccnlighL
�Lhcm: conscrva1.1on: improving and rtp:tirmg Lhe
city/cowuy d4uibution system; and coop:nwng with the
towns oi Woodfin and WcavcrvtlJc 111 developing the Big
Ivy River v.'aler supply.
ALAR • A • LA MODE'
poUutanis. These regubtlons wtll be dlscusscd 8l public
hearillgs on August 4 m Rllle1gh Md Augu.st 9 in
Owlott.c.
Chemical mduStrics were the l:lrgcst &OW'CC of
polluwus. Olhcr lasge cooLObutors we.re furniture,
tcllule. pbsucs and rubber, p1per. nnd prmlln& and
N..unl World Ne•1 ~ace
publishing industries.
C:.,111wba and fors)th counties were the wont
Even as Federal health officials tty to calm
growing concerns about aJar sprayed :apples, Ilic
En · lronmcmlll ProlCCl.ion Agency d«idcd to Ill lcw
t.empomnly remove Abt from 1 h$t or acccpublc
chcmk:al sprays.; During a sub<ommauce hearutg on the
Al:ir-m. Scru!tor John Wamcr of Vqmia Wied Prwdens
Bush, • to cxcrc:asc some cri~iJ control" to PfOLCcl lhc
apple indusuy dependent on Abt spraying. while other
sen310ts suu.ed thcu ()\\.Tl hes11.ancy IO fccJ their children
Haywood C:OWU) wu next, and was the only westertn
county to cxccod 2 million pounds, th3nks mostly to the
Champion Paper mill ""hicb reported rclC4Sing 3.S
million pounds of tolic air pollution, mcludmg 810,000
lbs of the carcinogen chloroform, 660.000 lbs or
hydrochloric acid, ll!ld 66.000 lbs of sulfuric acid whach
conttibut.cs 10 :.cid rain. D:iyco reponcd 1.7 million tons.
Figures for other Western counties ase:
Ru1bctfonl - I IO 2 milljoo lbs.. Primary so~ - Reeves
Brothers, l.S million lbs. and Broylull Furniture
lnd~Lties. Transylv111u.11 • 500,000 to I million lbs.
Primary source - Ecusta divisiron of P.H. Gl3dfcltcr.
Buncombe - S00.000 to I million lbs. Primary sources •
Chnsc Packaging, 270.000 lbs; Chcnuronic~ (Jct
Research Center), 263,000 lb$: Andre11 lndus111es.
110,000 lbs or tcLtacbloroethylcnc, a carcinogen.
Mitchell " S00.000 t0 I million lbs. Primary sourccHcnredon Furniture lnduSl!ies, 600,000 lbs. Burke S00,000 IO I million. Hcndc™>n - 250.000 10
apple products.
CHAINSAW BANDIT
STILL AT LARGE
Nat.uni Wockl Newt Servico
As of lhLS rcporung, Beech Mounuin Town
Police and the Avery County Sherirrs Oc:p:inmcnt still
have no wspccis in tl1c ~11uct1on or lhrc:c b1llboan1s.
TOO signs we.re allegedly toppled by a chain-saw on
Wcdllcsday, r.tiy 17. Appal\:lltly, lllCIC was some public
SUpporl ror thl~ 3Cltion.... l~e pa.id odvcrtise~nt,
llunking Ille Wlkoown pcrpcuntor. appeared an a local
pgpc:t soon a!W. ll tC1Cmr as if 111311)' n:sidenls were llJl1ICl
wilh the "•sual pollution c:cale4 by the b1llboords. and
I.bey wished to COQ>lil'QllC people to frequent only those
rnctCh:inis who do noc use b1llbootd.s. IL is believed th.1t
the absen.:e or 111mcit:m legal tcguWion concarung
billhollnb drove lhlS 1nd1..idual IO tcek ~ oulSidc of
thc law ro lddreiS a c:ammunuy concem.
FORCES OF NATURE
Naunl WOl'ld Ncwa Scnlu
On April 6 we were all rcrn1nalcd or the inoltOtllblc
atnCtion or gravity. This point was espcclllly brought
home 10 three ttookcrs on l_.O near the Tcnnc.ssce SIALC
line v.llo r«ea"ed l'lllhct lur11c bouldct applicauon~ 10 the
side or their llllCtOMrnJIClli u huge rock slabs ri]!pCd o/T
from the su:cp wall of rock Fonunrucly, no one was
h1111. A retaining wall mode a vnln attcmpt to Slop lhc
slide, but was~ crushed. The rock~idc clO!iCd lhe two
westbound lallC$ roe su ~as an cstim111Cd IS,000 to
20,000 cubic yanls or d111 and rock had io be movod;
dyn.wit.e c:hlllgC$ were 5Ct to dislodge uruubk! 11111LCriol;
and steel mc..'h nets were wung on cables between rock
bolts set m the chff r11ec..
Every lime U'\IC.k 11ec1dcn11 hliic 1'11~ h;.ippen. 11
~minds us: 11 c:ouJJ ha•e been nukes!
SEWAGE WITH YOuR SUPPER?
Nall.nl Worll N
Sa>ioc.
In Alhcvalfe. No1tl1 Carohllll •octn dttc.iued by 1
1..m-to-onc m:irgm a bcm1' muc lh;it v.ould ll3•e h:ld
them drinkma 11".c w:iiu of the French Broad Raver.
Supporters of the bond ruuc Cb!llltd WI the French
Bro:id 11o :ii.ct 11 .ufo, but opponcn11 ll01Cd ih:n the rc;tl
l>S:la WllS that n:ssd.:nts "''CfC nol ready ID dnn\; poll~
hvtf"'1lla IO lh:u bus 11CD proplc !Ind dc'-elQpcri coul'1
CXINI\
I profi OP Wllllll cd llfOV. II
U~m from A
vii looau th
pbn , II pos.s
5
fund
hclp
"'"'""--""•ill.~
Thea ... dlC othct ~able
meet ~ 11tc;1 • w11 r n
~tu1~1
Journ"L pC•(I 22.
rTll1I \
\1lltiblc IJ)
Ill lbc fuwrc among
School disuicu from New Yori.: lo Los Angeles
LO Miami ha"e sioppcd serving AIAMaintcd apples in
their cafeteri:ls. Alar h:is fOI' )'C4rS bcc:n linked to aincc.r in
11nillllll LCSLS, but recently when o report by the Nuturul
Resources Defense Council recc1"cd n lot or :itll:mion,
public opinion pushed tbc EPA mto nct1on. The
company which mtlkes Alar cont111ues IO msbt the
product is snfe and has plans to shin their market to
owside the us.
500,000 lbs.
CONSERVATION COUNCIL OF
NORTH CAROLINA PROMOTES
PESTICIDE LEGISLATION
NaNRI World Ne"'• S..lYk:e
Myo11c 1111ereswJ can ob1a111acopyof1hl' rtpc
>rtfor $20
from t~ North Caro/ilia Envirollh:tlllal Dtftnst Fwul
clo StepMn L(llitus: 128 llargtll St . Raleigh. NC
27(J()J.
NEW RIVER SCENIC
DESIGNATION IN JEOPARDY
The Conservation Council or Noni! Carolin:a has
joined forces with Lhe Agrac:ultur3J Ra:soun:es
Cenier/PESTcd to publish I pcsttctdc -ic:nda for 19S9.
Some of the bills they arc promoting in the NC
Legislature are HB-389 ""hach would increase the atri:il
application buffer which 1s cum:ntly only one hundred
Uodu the state-federal pLln of 1976 which
declared 26.S atilcs of the New River a Scenic:
foci (1'11111111 OCC'41•ed bwk11ng, and S8·274 whk.h wuulJ
require all pcs1icidc applicators to J>O$l notice of thcu
Waa.crw11y, Nonh CAtolina wiu to 11cqui1c; i>C<lnn;
e:tsemenis «land along Ille nvcr. Howcvct. since 1976
activities. For furlhcr information conL:lct Nonc:y
Barnhardt, Legisbuve Agent, Pcsllc1dc Project of lhc
COll3ervatJon Council or NC, Ch~pcl Ifill. (919)
942-8991.
"STATE OF THE AIR" REPORT
Natuml Wotld New' Sa-vice
Last year. ror the first time. more than 800 North
Carolina 1ndus111cs were required to file with tho s1111e
rcpons on releases of the 328 cbcnucah mdiC41cd m the
1986 fcdcml "right-«>~know" SWtUIC:;.
The NC Envi.ronmentlll Dclcn~ Fund ( NCEDF),
compiled Lhcsc: reports and found th~t. <tatcwadc.
indusUlcs emutcd nearly 100 ma Ilion pounds of lhclit air
polluunts. 12.7 million or which arc Cllrt1nogcll$.
According lo the NCEDF, these cm1WO<U arc cnurcly
legal, and therein hes a probkm. "Touc au polluuon an
l'onh Carolina is aJrncm tolollly unrc11ul.'l1Cd." according
IO NCEOF dltl!ClOr S~vcn J. U..1ta,, 1andl unlcs§ we
dose the skic.s io polJw.c:l'l, lilt cnu-;.siODJ wdl n:rnui the
e:isiest way for Noctl1 Ouolma 1nduwic:s 10 get rad or
ll:at.:irOOus w.wc."
Nawn! World News Sez\.icc
only 33 acres or scenic cascmenLS have been ~wrcd by
lhc s:wc. In the s:imc umc period the number of priYDte
lwldowncrs on the river h3.s jumped 300%. anJ iowns of
Jcrterson and Wcs1 Jefferson, NC are currently
considering opening a one million gallon per day v.ucr
Lreattncnt plant which would utilize lhc river LO dispose
of IJ'elUOd discharge.
Nllkcd Creclc. a Lribur.:uy of the New River and a
disch!lrge sllc for treated water, "wns named :is n •toxic:
hot spot' an 1111 EPA repon just rele:i.~ by lhc Oivi~ion
or Environmcn1.11I Manngc.mcnt,• according lo Jonct
Hoyle or the Blue Ridge Envaronmcn111I Defense l..caauc
(BREDL). Ms. Hoyle fears that, though the move
unprecedented. Congl'CSS could revolcc lhc design;won ot
S<:cnic Rivet. •sCC3U111 lhe \ollu.:s for which (Lhe nvcrl
wa.~ protected arc not being prcserved,. .. wc fear
WICOntrollcd dcvdopmcru tluc:liens the dcsilJl.ltion".
In resJ!Qnsc to this threat. Rep. Judy Hunt
(0-Walilugl) has mt.roduccd legisl:ation IO speed 11p Ilic
aqumuon of c~scments ami began in ~nest lhc
tmplcmcnwtJun of the scc11.1c nvcr pbn drawn up for die
l,
New )'l:O.ll'S a.go. The measure~ nx:c.-cd house approval,
and a·.. 1uu 11e11on 1n the Senate Envuonmenul
Comnuuce.
In :a pMSibly re.bled m31tct, SCllOl.IC Bill 119!\ lhc
N:nural Hm~ Wll!Ct bill 1nll0dllffil by Scn:uor
MIUC Blilllghl 11ofll 1ncn::isc the e.\CISC Slllmll l:l\ from
Sl.()()/1000.00 tO $2.00 pct $1000 00 Under lhe new
bill, COU lleS would rceei•-c S0.50 of a:h doll:ir of Ul
me.om- SO.ZS WO'Jld go tO 11.':llU nnd .rcwcr do\'dapmcnt
wh ' 11noL'r.:r SO 25 would go io tic: Rec~uon lllld
Nat I He
c Tr Fund to buy !And for g.un.bnJ
f
and
p.uks. 1111 b II
tn rt Cl
lCtl S2.S mubun doll.in per )C 10 l1C
d lor land aqui uum Flori , S .:!h CarollnA
Summer, 1989
�Tennessee :ind Maryland :uc altcody succcsi.fully using
1l11s 1cchn1quc for preserving 1hcir nalurJI an:a.~.
IfNC rtsllitllJS urr 1nltrts1td in wntawng their Stnat(Jrl
rtgarding this bill, the addresJ ts: Lrgtslu11~t Building,
Raf~1gh 2761 I Phone; 733-11 JI Fot r1wri! tnforfniltiOll
call Jim Stt•ens (9191782-2686 or Btll Jlof""m·
(919)7.Sj.J)Zi}
Tt:
TRANSPORTATJON
I MPROVEMENT PLAN?
maHers
PUBLIC SERVANTS
IGNORE PUBLIC
Nirural Wotld Newt Scrvic11
Residcnis or Buncombe County were ou11agcd 10
discover that a suue highwoy improvement., p;ickagc
included a plan for a four lane loop to run through
SwannanO.'.I, lhrough Recms Creek and Ox Creek
Valleys, to lhe Enka-Candler aren. Trnnsporiauon
Secre13ry James Harrington said in a leuer 1.ha1 a loop
around Asheville would be needed IO lmndle the mcrenscd
1n1mc from nn upgraded US 19-23. John Hill.11 resident
of Ox Creek Vlllley. voiced lhcdcepconccm or oVCT 100
people who attended a planning meeting about the issue:
No one asked [u:;J, or 1he people in Mudison County,
wbclhcr we wnnlCd lhcir lives changed forever, or hcuvy
lrucking brough1 in from the Ohio Valley, or 1f we
w.inlCd rapid dcvclQpment as in lhc urblln 31'.cas.•
The public feeling is that sUJtc officials could
~vc trouble and cmbanassmenl if lhcy would consult
wilh locnJ rcsidcnLS befotc uying 1 force 1hrough new
0
1~ for developmea1.
Natunl World News Scrvacc
On April 3rd lhc state Utilities Commissmn ruled
thar Duke Power Co. cnn go ahead wu.h plans for a
transmission line through lhc bc:lutiful Pru11hert0wn
Vnllcy in Jackson County. lhus dissolving a Scpicmbcr
1988 reslr.lining order, and ending a hard-foughl balllc by
lhe Jocasee Watershed Coalition. lhc WNC Allinnce, ond
the Conscrvnuon Council of North Carollnn. Thc~c
groups fonnnUy prolcsltd lhe roulC lilSt year, s:iymg thal
Dulc hnd not eumincd altcmativcs LO their planned route
lhrough die "Yosem11e of the E.c.1", und Lhnt a proposed
offer from the Tenncsse Valley Au1homy might be
the:ipcr nod elunina1e lhe need for lhc tin~
Hun1cr Lovin~. co·foundcr or Ilic Rocky
Sununer. 1989
own llands
BeflCll Mountain We co no• wea~ l:i<
1t11ery resioen1 uomeowrl!!• or 111s1tor 10
Beech Mouniaon. however a grOWtng numoer
01 ~ .vould l1•e to 111ank you tor aoklg ,•,hal we
llavP .van1eo 10 co ro1 some time bul door t ha~ 1110
nel"e
You have macie our moun1a1n a more 1Jeau111u1 r.1 .. ~" '£> u.. t.
vL1•1 HQO<lh;lly oaver:•sers will nave lll(lre 1cmkc' I - u oeau!ilul
mo..in1ain" 11 t" .. lulure & \\ II 001 POLI.DTE th~ " 1" btl'tlOlilOS
DELP STOP BILLBOARD BLIGHT
Frequent only merchants who DO NOT use billboards
Mounuin Institute with her husbnnd Amory, ~'Uggestcd
a conference held lllst fall al Warren Wilson College
t.h:i1 lhere was no need for adJitional energy cnpacily lllld
lhn1 all encrllY n«Wi could be met by practicing least-cost
planning and cfhc1cncy improvements which would
acwally increase the profiis of the power comp:uues
without incurring lhC S36 m1lhon pnce Lag of lhc line,
wltich will surely be passed on to consumers.
The Commission disngrc.:d wilh this :1SSC5Slllcn1.
saying ·11tc evidcoce clearly ~hows that Duke c:ucfully
and diligenlly planned !his projccl by examining a wi\lc
:irea of Western North Carolinn, n:irrowing the poi;s1blc
route nli.cmati\'CS, lllld sclccung J rou1c which m1rum1ud
1hc impact on the en11ironmen1 and cus1ing
dcvelopmcni". The Commilision decreed lha1 allcm:ile
roulCS suggesltd by lhe cnvironmenw.I groups were too
long and 100 c.itpcnsivc. They nlso d1smi!iscd the TV A
proposal, elaammg lha1 lhc TV A did not prcscn1 a
pe.rsua.'ilvc :irgumen1 that its proposed rotes for Naniahala
customers would be lower fl13n Duke's.
A bill has been introduced 1n10 lhc NC Ocnet:ll
Assembly by Rep. ~1arie Colton (D-Buncombe) which
would give lhc Commission authority to review power
line siung plnns.
01
SAYING "NO! " TO THE DUMP
Niawrat World Ne'Nj Sav"'~
0
CUTIING A LINE
you for t~~ ino
arid e 1rnma:an9 tl".e I>• !boards on
Natunl World News Scrvk<
Thci SS.6 billion Transporboon Improvement
Plan (TIP) being heavily pushed by Govenor Jim Manin
iOIS II leystone of bis "good rQ.ad$ for progress• Slll!C
1m11gc, passed 1he House of Rcpresenuuvcs. and is
upec1ed 10 p:iss lbrough lhe Scruue wi1hout effcclivc
oppos1lllln. The Bill culls for a massive road-building
progr.lm Wilh the CVl!lltlUll goal Of bringing 0 rruuor four
l:ine road "within ten miles of llny North Carohn:i
n:sidcnl.• nod paving many or ttic din roads.
A fow represcnt111ivcs hnvc e.xpr~d concern
bccuuSj: 1he bill IGClcs lln)' mention of mnss 1rw1Sil ns n
means of ll'!illsportauon unprovemcm, and lhc lawmakers
may :111cmp1 t.0 block p:issage unul su!:h wording can be
included Proponcois of TIP sny 11 is 100 ln1c for an~
StK:h coosidcruuon :llld l'1osc concerned should have r.uscd
their objcc:tilons long ago, allCmplJng IO change lhc bill
now could posslbly kill iL
The bill would Ix\ fonded by a five ccn1 gas lll!I.
Millly rcsidcnis. especially m Ille Kaulah region.
rear lhe bill is :i prune cxrunple of ovcr-dcvclopmcru..
The ncw 1ra~-port.alion scheme would strongly mcrcnse
access 10 nnd lhrough lhc mouniains and have a profOtJnd
environmcnw.I and soeiul impacL
l•
iu~ You!
Trees 1,000 feet awny from a WllStc dump :u Oak
Ridge, Tenncsscc were cut down and c:imed away.
because I.hey were emiuing to~ic amounts of rad1odon.
Under prc.~t rcgulntions, !heir hobiull would no1 be
C:OO.\idcred ll.~ ~
A1 a pubhc hearing in Madison Count)', a
woman loll! lhJS sw~ and lhcn posed some simple
questions 10 lhe panel of four pale men in dark suiis and
one dnrk-sktnned woman repre~ung lhe North Cwobnt1
Low Level Rodio;icti~e Wasic M411agc:men1 Aulhomy.
"Would you drink wai.cr from a ~pnng 1000 feet
from d1t Oak Ridge nuclC3t dwnp? Would you offer this
water 10 your child?" Every head on Ille panel nodded
affinmllively.
TI1e woman gestured IO 1hc panel and faced lhe
crowd, •1 give you the cxpens on low level rndiu.'ICtive
wnu: dumps!"
Over 600 people, many of them obviously cld\!rly
fanning couples, showed up for the forum on u
Wednesday evenang, ll'lldiuonnlly church naght in Ibis
predomuuntly Baptist c:ounl)'.
G1'11SS roolS politics mov~ like o pr.ime lire when
3 hot ~p.irlo; wikc.s. In this- caie lhe networl 1h111 fonned
lhc Cbme of public 0111.n1gc wus lhc local min1stty,
Voluni.ccrs from 1.lie Mud1.;on Em·ironmcn111l Allfonce
contacted muusu:r.1 who cnllcd other preacher; nnd urged
ll1c1r congregaLions to exercise I.heir duty of E3flh
stewardship, one of lllC precepts of lhe soulh.un Baptist
cn:cd.
Earlier 1n April :ing.:r flared in Jl.lacoo and Polk
Coun1.ics as The Aulhomy's 1rnvcling road show,
designed IA.'I soothe fcars.lllld cool u:mpcr~. found i1SClf in
an equally unplc:a.'l:lni hill S.:lll. The meeung in Polk
Counly dlcw more than 1,000 ouendec.s..
Local residcnis no1cd Lhe impact of lhcse
meeung.s - never before had lhcy seen so ITlilllY people of
hke mind a1 one l~lion. Said Polk County $hCriffs
deputy Chris Abul, "I guess everybody just WDnl'I to say
'no' to lhc dump."
J11nc1 Hoyle, director of Blue Ridge
EnvironlllC1ll.al Defense l..cque, calls North Carolina "I.he
chump of lhc SE" for staying m lhe SE Comp:icl. lhc
c1gh1 SL:ltt organWiuon lhal picked Nonh Carolinn to be
the recipient or lhc rcgt0n's radioactive WllSIC for lhc next
20 yC81'$.
Jonci reminds us 1h.:11 some or lhe w11S1C will
remain toxic for 117 million years, EnvironmCllllll1sis
lhink lha1 wch state $hould h3tldle us own waste.
lnsu:<ld or conuunmrumg a new aren, lhe siate's low-level
mdiooctive was1es should be stored nbovc ground al
nuclear puwer plnrus. which produce ~ of lhcm. nu~
way they could be monil(Jl'Cd until a va:iblc long-u:nn
waslc disposal technology is developed. To dll1e, all
existing dumps in lhe rnin-ricll east have lc!lked, even lhe
ones drat meet r;um:nt regullltions.
The Aul.horily 1s 10 come up with at least two
cundid:ue locauons in Nonh Cnrolinn lau:r lhis year and
to have picked a "preferred siie" by Nov, 15, 1990.
Hopefully tbe loud "No• from Katuah wlll no1 only
JcOec1 the dump. bu1 will also prod the ·cxpcns· to
rcthinlc their nuclear policy.
SOUTH CAROLINA BANS
NORT H CAROLINA WASTE
Natural World Ne"'s SG\'lc:c
By cucutiveorder of Gov. Carroll CampbeU. as
or Morch I, 1989. the •U!IC of South Carolin" has
prol1ibitcd 1hc di.~~1 or was1e from :my Sllltc &hat
refused ID di!i:p()S(l of the WtilC 11.scl[ The b:in elfoc:ICd 32
~Ulles and Puc:t10 Rico. Hans1ll Truesdale, heud of the
SOUlh Carolina Dcpanmeo1 of Hcallh lllld E.nvi.ronmenml
Controls H:uardoUJ Wasic Division say~. "WG hope our
ac;IJoos will encoUl3gc other sutcs IO move toward
developing their own h:u.ardous was1e managcmen1
pro~·. In 1987. Nonh CAroht13 gcnerultd 2.8 billion
pounds of l=dous wute, most or which w11S sent to
ou1-0f-Slal.C disposal Cac1litles.
JCotu~\
Jo1.1rna( PIMJlll 23
�(~ fmlll P11C4l
Wh:it is then: 10 keep someone from •1ctung go• nnd
•becoming the olh11r person~ so successfully tl\31 !hey come away
from a Lls1ening Projec1 full of rc:icrionary nnhudes? Again. m
Herb's mind the answer goes back to thn1 shared essence of
humrurity, which is deeper than any dogma or se1 of idc:is, but i~
expressed rnther in 1em1s of vnlues.
'111c antidote 10 polariz;uion :ind separation," he say~, "i\ to
recognize 1he oneness or all life and oi all hum:inity. We in soc111I
chMge work need to recognize that all of us, even those people
1iliho are racist or militanst or $eem like they are ou1 to desuoy the
l!ruth. are a pan of the great ltfe, and within us au is !he potcnual 10
ch:inge :ind 10 let go ot old iJcas that are destr0ying life. There h
definitely that potential.
The source of lhat power lies
in going beyond the ego and
getting down to that place where
things change.
'The way I en\ 1sion 11, 1s to look 111 11 person :ind 1111.a.gine
them just coming out as 11 new born inf.int, That h3by isn't a r.1ciM.
th:11 baby 1sn 1 n milu:inst, that b:iby doesn't w11111 to destroy the
\l.Orld. Tb:11 new baby is allvc. lbnt's the essence of hum:mny
Thst's in every p;:rsoo in society,
-nu11's what we: arc listening for, b:i~iC31Jy. We: ;ue probing
through all the cr.iziness. all the accumul:11ed ideas. th:it may h:ivc
made a person into a m1l11ans1, or a r<1cis1 or an environment·
destroyer, 10 find 1he essence 01 who that person is. f'or 1hc
essence is good."
The idcolog1cal content 1s pare, but only a pan, of .1
convers:uion. In deep listening the: process of communication 1!> the
major emphasis. If a listener 1111d a resident cnn reach a poin1 where
they arc each staring right into I.he other's bare and unadorned "'1111,
then together they arc atl3ckm& racism, mil11arism. and 1he other
1te1J,:1tive aspects or our i:oaety for the r11C1Gm, the: nulit11nsm, iuid
the rest an: the mdv.clhng fear m people's bean~ raised to a
pcrm311ent place m the mstituuons of society.
Hezb ~ys that, "Underlying all the problems is fear. Our
b:lsic fear IS one of rejection. We \I.ant 10 be loved and rc~pcctcd. If
we don't gc1 llu11 in !lie wuy we need 11, \l.C use power to get it.
That's why it gets back to spiriwa.I values. h gets back to people's
need to experience love, communny. caring. nnd connection. Those
:ire the fundmnental needs of :ill hum:inity, lllld if we can find w:iys
to make that possible for 311 people, I think all the problem~ we: ~cc:
would stan d1ssolving.w
"Love, community. canng. and connecuon." Herb defines
his peace work in tenns of the~ values... When be speaks of
·peace; he spc:ik. of the concept in the broadest po)siblc: \Cose.
He decries the divisions tha1 sometimes arise bc1ween people
involved in promoting non-violence:, doing soci:ll justice work, or
helping IO prc::.crvc the c:nvirunmem He fet'ls that :ictiv1sts would
help their cause by ~tressing the connec1cdness o[ 1hesc 1s~uc' lie
considers the penod he wotl:cd ns a youth counselor as being part
of his "peacework" an.I whhes :ill people involved In 1h:u kind of
healing worl.: would realm: 1hc conncction lhc:y share v.1th the pence
niovcmcn1. He .s.iy!( he 1~ ''~)rkmi: for peace v.h.n he is weeding
hb garden.
or
Poliucs is usuully perceived 3\ II sc:nes c:intpaigns 10 be
c:uncd on unul the foe is vanquished and ,;dory is ~chievcd l·or
llcrb, polincs 1s process .und the process 1~ nevcr-endmi;,
whelhcr 11 is tor empowerment or tor he:iling.
In an mfomul moment he slid, "Yeah, you know, hstening
ts an incredible procc)s. I'm still trying to 1ncorpora1e 11 rr.ore
d~ly in my person:il lire. 11·~ easier IO v.ork it on the political
level in some ways.
"What was it someone said? 'Listening is the rim let or
love.'
"In a sense the Listening Project actually says. 'I love: you.
No mauer who you nn:, no mauer what you're doin~, l love the
essence of who you nrc.' You may hate wha1 a person 1s doing, but
wha1 you !lfe basically ~11y111g is 'I love yo11.' That's where
listening is non-violence, too."
~
{tontillued rrocn page 10)
p:1rnc1panii; m1m n:ly on 1iicinsd• ~ • thc1t own mner n:sourccs
nnd ability to share llnd 'Communicate. In a very~ ~. the
~etpant... create the "orklihop ·and isn"1 this \\h:!t community
1s about anyway? Lc:anung to t;1p IOlCI our iruhv1Ju:il and group
r ·sources, and to be co-crc:uors rnthcr th:m ·koocrs" nnd
followcn; "?
As a group rntwcs out of "pseudo-c\'lmmunny and IO\l.ard
real community. it tends to pas~ through scverul d1\1Jnct phases,
which Dr. Peck and I·CI.! ro:fer 10 ns "i:haos" :ind "cmpuncss"
After the supcrf1Ci:1h1y nnd f.:ilsern:ss of pscudo-communny
begins to \H::U- thin, conflicts begin 10 emerge, nnd pe<.>ple usU11lly
lil:ln irymg w fa, convert. or ch3.0gc each Other. The rc:sulltn!l
rcscnnnent llild nngcr. nobody likes being "faro"· des1ro>s nny
feeltngs of group harmony (illusory as 1hcy may h;i\ e bet'n). nnd
the group descend~ into confusion nnd "cha()>'".
Then llfter a period of turmoil and soul·sean:hmg. group
members gradually lc:im ·"uh the tacditntors cxcnsion31
guidance • 10 let go or lhcir prcconcc1vcd 1de:i~. expccunons, IUld
pcrsonal agendas. They begin 10 emp1y themselves of these
b.'lrriers and blocks, which have kept them lt:cling ~p!lr.lte :ind
un:lble 10 Just be tlrere with the others. Thh cmpcying process cnn
be d1fl icult and painful . but on the other side of this "valley ot
the: shadow of death" lies the cxpc;ncncc or Peace. ot JUSt Being.
,1nd listening, and sharing m co11unun11y ·an CKpenence that
seems to eocomp3Ss all oppo~itcs and embraces joy and sorro''.
nll kind) of religious ei1pn:ss1on anJ 11thtism. activity and
rcccpu-.ity, love and feat. Although a panicubr group m3Y noc
rellCh a sustained c~pericncc of genuine community (qwic ~!ten.
groups tend to re' en b3clc 10 cha()) 11ntl/or pseudo-community
~incc these modes ol rc:bung 11re more familiar and, in a sense.
~fer· though not really), every group goe.1. throug~ an emptying
process and at least touches on, or Wp!> into, the Bemgncss of
commum1y. ( Having auended one of thei.c v.eckcnd worhbops,
thi' "ritcr can auesl 10 the :iccur:icy of 1he abc)\'e dcscripuon I
Xa1uiU1 Journn! pCUJC 2·1
"Through 1he power of gewune
commzmity, "e 1ccl to offer opportumries
for peopfo 10 brufgc tliffcrc11ces mid
reco11cilc c·miflzcts u uh a11thr11ucit) anc/
111tegrity "
ln :idd111on to 1has pnnury fe>..--us, FCE 1s alw m the
process of elp:uuimg its focus on comm11nily 11etworbng nnJ
refcrra.I servu:c:s. The gwl 1s to pre.wide n~sht11Kc and d1ra
"t1on
for people v. ho an: seeking to lmk up wtth other; for a ~ctlic
purpose, or arc 1C:UChing for community organiz.iuons or groups
that c:in asSJSI 1hem m their hc:lling, le:1ming. grov.th, nnd/or
sharing. The unllcrlymg recog11lt1on here IS thM rcr~ "1s not 311
1sol:11ed phenomenon, but nithcr a pan of what might be called
the community movement" • 11 movement initiated by such group~
as Alchoholics Anonymous nnd ib t\\lelve siep program, the
growth of social :tc1ion groups, and the women's movement.
l'CE i~ thu~ engaged 1n su:ad1ly bu1ld1ng new links· and
sm:nglhcnlng e)tl,Ung ones· in the hv1ng mterconncctcd chllin of
community "·hic.h may prove to be.-, m truth, our s;ilvauon.
For funhcr mform.1uon about FCE
and its umnnunuy Building Wort..~hops, cont.1ct:
The Fouo<hltion for Community
Encuun1gemenl, Inc:.
7616 Glc:iwn Road
KnO%\ille, T~ 379l9
-~
(615) 690-43~
p ·
Summtr. t 989
�We had some visitors from
the Soviet Union. They wanted to make
friends with us. We wanted
to understand them... Crystal
Peace means that
I am loved ...Alyson
from a drawing by Alyson and Crystal
Peace is love
peace is caring
peace is sharing.
If I didn't have any
peace,
it wouldn't
be any peace in my
heart .......... Beth
1
I
Peace means to be
a friend to me
Peace means to be
kind to others
Peace means to be
nice to others
Peace means
harmony to me ....Virg1
nia
Peace is like
Flying in
The sky ........Justin
Peace means not
hurting animals.... Sefton
Peace
is loveing
and harmony and
careing for others
and animals.
I love cats........Star
These are some respo11ses w the l.lhat. ls Pce1ce?
Coruest held ar Aslievil/e Altemarive School, an
experimental public school in Asheville, Nc>rtlr Carolina.
Organized Olld compiled by Abby Bird. age 11
Kstuah's Cliildre11's Page Editor
l<.At1.1uf1 )01.lT!'lUt p!UJ~ 25
from a drawing by Virginia
Summc.r. 1Q89
j
�TIP/ F.ROS
Your womb wraps around me,
encloses II.lid holds and keeps me,
nnJ lets me come
nnd co. in and out.
DRUMMING
Gomg out, away from your bcanh,.)our embrace
I JOumcy 1n ecstasy, and I live in p;im.
lETIE RS TO Kt\ TUi\H
I am Earth walking on Earth, worlds I am
or micro :ind rtl3CTO cosmos. wali.ing through.
I glimpse the dn:3m - enthralled. in awe. 1n rapture •
then lose 11.~aod wander about. .. lost
in Isolauon - desolation - despair.
Dear Katuah,
L011JS OF Tiil! HEART:
Coming soon to a mounuun valley near
you - 8.6 billion dollars worth of road
consuuc1ion. Thats right, Nonh Carolina
Governor Jim M.utin wants all of his c11iunry co
be within 10 mile$ of a four·hnc wpcrh1ghw:1y,
and. 1f by chance you're hindered by a du!>ty ol'
travel road - don't worry - he want) to pave
those, 100. Access 1s but a n1ckel·a·gallon
g:u-tu increase away, so h11 saving North
Carolina's reputation as a ·good roads for
progre~ sta1e• is a freebie.
Say you're not sure about all th1\'>?
Ughtcn up. Those who ~tanJ 10 profit the most
politically and financs:illy (our mayors, our
county comnuu1oncrs, and the independent
Chambers of Commerce) have been lobbying
your state legisl310~ to push h:ud for the
passage of the new slllle •Transponauon
Improvement Plan (TIP)."
Why, shoot, 11's already p:issed the
Uouse and with :ill the hand shakm' and back
~lappin' between this country club governor and
the aforc·mcnuoncd 5pccial 1111en:,ts. the Senate
will surely figure that the: whole \Hile i~ bclund
TIP,
Slow down? Come oft 1t. Secretary of
Tran5portation Jim llumngton and h1' \hop arc
alrc;idy two Mcp:. ahtlld. Not only dOC$ he kno~
the governor personally. but he's had m:ips
pn:pmd that will prevent confusion 1 the lcx:il
dcclston-m:lling level. :o;o need to worry about
\\'ho's gomg where \\ith this TIP!
So, \\Ith this much 1ns1ght into )Our
future. don t lose another nlght s sleep Raleigh
lus once again grasped the moment and fulffiled
our needs: our need for a hl&h gas w; our need
for greater DCCeSS for more and mon: outlandCIS;
our need for mon: highway traft11c, Including
hazMdous waste b~ed ea.~t. and our need for
increased development prenurcs along sull
unpubllcir.cd hii;hway comdors.
Why, r.hoot, there's no need 10 fuss' r.;o
need 10 look ror a bus' C1vthwion rn all ih
urb:ln glory v.ill soon be as close as the nc:1:1
ex11. Your Valley, KAtlWI Province, Southcm
Appalachb. USA.
01' Rl1Stus
Kutw1h )ourn"t p119e 211
To go naked on thh ~.
To m3kc a soft bed
In the fragrance of pmc needles
To open an eye
To the d.uk cool of night
And the brilliance of ~13.J"5
To "'-:ilk m the sun's cares:.
On bare ~houldcr.t.
To cat wild strawberries
And golden com.
To drink
Of pure, cold mounun stre~.
And bathe tn tumbling occ:ms.
To wau:h and wonder.
To be a pan of this hvmg E:i.nh.
So v.hy
Do I measure out my hfc
Jn shOpPmg malls anJ ban~
Jn hosp11..tls and cars
And air-conditioning,
Jn the v1olcncc ol ciucs '!
The wisdom or 1hc uboriginc,
The Pcn:in, the Kuna, the llopr.
• ,\fury d~ /,a \'ulet1t:
Government
lsnnold nun
Onhts knee,:,
With dry, shn~ cited bps
Then I enter you again:
I come in.•.seeking... nccding
your c:mbrncc,
renewal-rcdi:.covcry-rebinh.
Your womb encloses me, holds me tight,
indulges me in bliss. in sleep, in
cirummg I awake still within you,
lounge !>wec1 moments in between,
then slip OUI of you i;emly, bravely then 10 face·
perhaps cmbnce - the new light
- ktnr
Dear Ka11Wl.
Ple:ise include my name on your m3iling
hst for the • Biorcgional Journal of lite Southern
Appalachians." I am a firm ?el1~ver 1n
bioregionnli:.m and hope that by JOmrng your
cnu~e that I can help deliver a message that so
urgently needs to be heard.
I um n graduate from Texas A&M
Un1vem1y with a degree in Forc~try and I am
currcntly a member of the Green Party. I would
hkc 10 sum a correspondence with other
concerned pcnons living in the Asheville area,
and tf 1 can be of any assistance to your
orgnm1.:111on please let me know.
Sincerely,
, W. Eric Becker
7408 LunilllS Lane (1132)
Pcrry~rg. OH 43SS1
Rcce~scd
To R:\'e.tl thc roots of h1~ teeth.
He kneels
At the hc:Jld 01 some SU!Jl'S
Which lc:id up to a place or sancwary
And sells wind up sold1cn
To a young boy
Bothcm:I by the old nun's
Gummy smile.
• 11111
llouser
C/984
Dear Kaulah,
Sure have missed getting the Kau'i:lh.
Thank you so much ror your enlightened onJ
rn1clhgcnt coverage of our region. Such a
blessed rehcf lrom the nightly news,
newspapers and such. Lo1.-e the idea of cictcndal
wildemcs~ areas. and .,.ouldn"l 11 be neat and
umcly 10 have bicycle and toot paths 10
crisscross all the mt~ ("'here po~blc ?)
Love,
Kalinda Wycoff
Sumrtlct, 19811
�HELLO? HELLOl
Poems
offering
seldom
have I lhought
about
this
by Charles Rampp
begins with M e -
everything
seems
gift
for Me.
enjoyment
but
it
also ends
here
unless We
make
it
rules.
real
I
by
touching
ever so gently
its
opposites.
harmless
sparks
matches
fingers'
air grip and l'rn
dancing
light ,
joyous.
to see that we nre doing an issue on Peace what it means and w~t ii can mean. 1
would like to add a note of tl1anks to all the
people who have resisted the contagious call
to wnr most dirc4ldy by not becoming
soldiers. Either by doing an Alternative
Service to military "service". by deciding to
dissociate from military "service" while in
it, or.refusing 10 panicipate with it in any
way 10 the first pince, Conscientious
Objectors deserve a song of gratitude wbich
springs from some of the deep, moving
pools of integrity that can flow from the
human psyche.
If an individual hears from an inner
voice that "militarism is wrong" or that it
"denies the sacredness of life" or "the
enemy is us" or "violence begets violence"
and acts on this voice by doing nothing, or
not participating in the further disruption of
life, or by doing something to try, beyond
violence, to change the medium of forces
that createS the disruption - perhaps, we are
permitting oun;elves to accept responsiblity
for tlte horrors we have made for each other
and allow conflict resolution to happen. Too
often we have let the chaos of wnr, or
suspected war, determine the rest of the
pauem for human and non-human being.
There is also a sea of great sorrow to
be recognized for the many people who
have died in the ebb of violent authority and
its many manifestations. Those who hnve
protested or objec1ed to brutality ll!'ld
discrimination and come to futal blows with
ils way, the innocem who have been killed,
and the unconscionable wru.te of human life
to attempt to prove group or individual
power all have something to teach us: we
are coming to a climax ns a species. from
which we must find decisive ways of social
order that acknowledge diversity.
symbiosis, ond the human shadow as
panners within the biosphe~ and ii:;
1en11city.
- Rob Messick of Peace First!
•
Oy,
cold
,whisking
light's
compassionate malh
like
a matador"s
cloak
across
a turtle's
nose
It is a joy ...
Summu, 1989
IN o. WC>l"k:I \~v.£.-lo QJT LAW
u.>o.r,-t.o rv'\QM. pto..cd'
peace
lntely.
suddenly My
hand
finds
emptyness in pockets
\
If +hut. 1$ Q.""i ONt. LE.ft A LIV£'
ID LtKE tc u.ntu wt*.h ~
To Lhe &iitors:
.In reac~ion to Exxon's role in the recent
oil spill, I d~cadcd to return my credit cards and
to. boycott JtS products. J run hoping that this
might become a mass tactic if enough consumers
~ill ~~ow ,th.c~r rejection of corporate
111sens1uv11y by JOming.
Enclosed is my letter 10 the president of
Exxon.
For ecological snn11y,
rreside111.
Daniel Gruham
Ex.xnn Company
Chapel Hill, NC
M.Qma 's SoNiJ
.
P.O. 80:1: I 322
llou.sron. TX 77251
Cl!orl..es of Zacfu:.rlJ movi."'} f o nvard. lnto raln ,
stn9ln9 cta.morol.ls marches of oCcf. hu0\1S,
a nc! thunder i;rl.es 0 1.lL n&r tra9tca£ name
wni!~ lM drops p ta.IJ a j anci.f uC LUM ,
a nd fuird. they com e down to JaU. upon u s aCC w asps anc! mop~s .
c!andcli.ons , d.ai.s i4:S,
tetri.ers , t4b&i.es, &ws, co1vs, f;eans ,
otd. roof s, odd. st.ones, a ncl you!
Get w e&., my son,
I had bun looking forward 10 rtuiving my
E:uon credit cord, l>ur ofter rhe slwmrfu/ way :f(>Uf
company ucred in tltt u cenr oil spill. I co11 M longer
acctpr ii . It lws becomr: r/cal' from \larlous m:wJ uport.,
1/uu
company was not rtady for o spill thr.f JIU, an.I
/uu cut bad on vuaf emergency plans, This 1111111
disregard fur l>/J/' comuwn licrirwgt is poor c111rr:nship
and 1/are111e1u rlre frog1lt lltl.tJSl<:m iLwlf.
I am returning my cudir curds aJ11.l 1<ilt urge 1lll
my ftithds and organua110MI t ontcurs to do till' same
1U11il your comp1111y realius that 1hr comnwn gtiod of tht
planet i.s much more 1mponan1 1l:m1 the rlror1-1crm
prr.'fits t{ your l.QtporUJwn
)'<I'"
f i.nd JOY i.n the downpo ur I
tkaven s:ends iL, ca.rt.Si n:cc~ves U.,
so w a c!r Lnfl. LL, w ash uur &ocCLe$,
quench our s plrHs, and. &y the 9L 9, tt.ve.
vi.n
GeL Lir~. m y d.or(lnCJ. a nd keep LL wLth
you Ln l.M dri.u wtUU:rm:ss of C19e.
a rcmcm&ue.c! surnm u·s 1£ci11 w hen you were
Le•~ ancL w l th you r rtothu and she saM!, "Yi.sl"
llo ouL and. pta.y W\ a.he r a\.n, ln a spouL
of Ci£luld. 9Cor 1J thaL f or9Lv"5 our sl u&&ornesio.
Say "Ycsl- . ~r Zac:fmr 11,
us you S~"'J yo'4r warn.or 's SOnlJ•
sa11 ··yes!" a nd "Yi:sl ~ C19uin.
M1gh1y smuuly,
(.flgn~)
- 1'Lcf.anl• Bridl)~
Drawing on tins page by MIOILina Herring, drawmg on prcc;cdtn& poac by Chll<ld
Hugey. Both for ·v,.,ons of Pc.ooio" con'"'- Jackson County p......, Nc1..,01k.
Kutuah )ou.rna.t pa9.; 27
�eveors
JUNE
18
FRANKLIN, NC
Oury Bonnelle specking on •The
Ascension Principle.• Mounuun l.igbl Network. 2 pm Dl
M:icoo Community Ccnlet. Hwy. 441. For more info.
call: (40l) 746-2454
llOT SPRJNGS, NC
'Wind Swirls lhc Low.~ l...cuvcs: 1':u Chi
lnterptay• with J11y Dunbar and K3Lhlecn Cu!rick.
Exercises for mdividuals nod partn¢rs m r11i Chi Ch'Ullll,
a Chlne:ic mn11inl Ml end moving mcduallon. No
experience, no pnnncr needed Prc-regisicr. SOO. Soullicm
Dharmo Rcll'Clll Ccn1a, see 6(.30.7(1.
21·23
HIGHLANDS, NC
Workshop, •Techniques for Nature
Phoiograophcrs" with Gil Leebrick. Bm Len. wildlife
photographer, and bomnist Sill Wylde. S250 includes
accommodations. Appalachian Environmenl!ll Ans
Center. Box S80: Highlands. NC 28741 (704) .526-4303.
26-30
GOODE, VA
Chllnnnel Mel&Y at vortexes 1111d sacred
sites in the northern Blue R1dic w11h Rev. Daniel
Chesbro, Tom Williams. Pilot MounLllin, Peaks ol
OllCr, New River, Fairy Stone Parl.. "lmportnnl work
ioward cxp:inding lhc Light." Confon:n.::e, lodging S225.
Pre-register. Rt. I, Box 310·A: Goode. VA 24556
'30-7n
26-30
21·25
HOT SPRINGS, NC
·seven Day Zen Soul Recharge• with
Sandy Oentai Stewurt. abbot of Squifrel M1'n. Zcndo,
Piusboro, NC. Prc·regrsu:r: S 160. S1;>u1hern Dbarma
Retre111 Cenicr: RL 1. B()lt 34-H: HOt Springs, NC
28743.
HI G ll l.AN DS, NC
"Landscape Pho1ogrnphy m 1hc Blue
Ridge." large f01tOa1 camera workshop with 0111.c.ebrick
:md Sllln Tomi la. S2SO. See 6'21-25.
28-30
HOT SPRl NGS , NC
Vipass:ano Mcditntion with Cirol Wilson
Pre.register: S70. Southern Dhnrma Rc1rt:at CcnLCr, see
6/30..7fl.
JULY
ASli EVlLLE, NC
"Mounlllin Sweet Talk; a 1wo-ac1 play
fe:uuring The Folktellcrs, Barbara Freeman am.I Connie
Rcg:lln·Bhuce. The play feriturcs stories and music of
Appalachia presented by two very accomphshcd
pcrfom1ers. 8 pm ThUl'Sll:iys through S:uurdays. 3 pm
Sundays a1 lhc Folk An Center Theatre, caM of
A!ihevillc. milepost 382 on lhe Blue Ridge Parkway.
Ticket\ SlO, S8 in advance at MalJprop's.
l-8/13
6-8
LINVILLE, NC
J41h Annual Grundfother Mountain
Highhmd Games. Piping and drumming, lhghland
dancing. S~ottish alhlctic$. harp, fiddle. tr:lCk and field,
ttilidh For more info, wrilC Grnndfa1hcr Mounw.in; Bo"
128; Linville. NC 28646
7-9
NEW MARKF.'r, 1 N
STP (Slop the Poisoning) School uL the
H1ghland.:t CcnlA:f. Tactics. strJlcgy, 1111d nc:twurkini; for
lh05e wocking LO stop industrial polluoon. Prc-rcg1su:r.
C:!ll Highlandu 01 C6JS) 933·3443.
12-16
lll Ci ll l.Al'\OS, 'llC
"Edible V1s1ons· worksho11 un food
pl101ogniphy. Wild foods lor:ig1ng. Mllrlha Strawn. Head
of Phologr.1phy. UNC·ChJrluuc. S250 Sec 6/21-~5.
19.23
lllGHLANDS, !\C
"l.lllld 3nd l'cuplo: A Dcs1g" AppnXll:h•
pho1ogm11h> worl.slmp wi1h Jay Dus:ird S2!i0. See
W.Zl-25.
~•Luuh
)ounmt
JHlfJC
28
AUGUST
llOT SPR INGS. NC
Vipassano McdiLJtion with John OrT.
Prc·registcr: S60. Soulihlm Dhnrmn Rcttc:it Center, s.:c
6/30-?n.
4-6
LAUR INUURG, NC
The Summer lnsu1u1c on ·Tc:iching
ConOict Resolution. sponsored by Ptofcssional
D<l"clopmcnl Team. "Conflict i.s fXl" of living /1 can /Nd
IQ ~10/mu and ck11ruc11on Or, 1hrougl1 rraming and
pracuu, -..·~can /tarn IQ wtluc conf/ir1 as an opportumty
for clwngt and i:ro-..ith." S:J.10 1ncludcs room and
tioard.Wrnc to: NCCPE/NC-ESR. 214 Piiuboro St..
Ch:lpcl Htll, NC 27516.
Dr:iwing by Rob Messick
WAYNESVI LLE, NC
·Techniques
for
P-crso"nl
Sclf·Transfonnntion" with Bing Esaudoro. S1il-l.igh1
Rcucnt Ccn1cr; RL l. Box 32~: Waynesville, NC 28786
(704) 452-4569.
23·27
25-27
NEW MARKET, TN
STP (Stop lbc Pois0ning) School 3t the
Highlander Center. Tactics. str:11cgy. and nc1worklng for
those wor¥ing lO stop mdusltial pollution. .Prc·cegistcr.
Call Highlnndern1 (61S) 933-3443.
HlGHLANDS, NC
•women's Adventure Weekend" •
bnck.·packing, visuati1.0tion. relPation wllh Nnncy
Shaw Discussion; lier Mo1hu·~ Daughter For info,
write The Mount.1in; 841 Hwy 106; H1~hla11ds, NC
28741.
25-27
f>.11
9-13
lllGUl.Al\OS, NC
"Ahcmattvc Londscapc· • pho1egn1phy
wo1kshop with M;anlyn Bridges. author/photogr.apbct of
Morlm1gs: AeTlal t'ic11 $ oj Sar.red lAndscupa.
Tran~cending the u~u:il w;iy of pcri:civing the
environment IO :irrwe aJ new way$ UJ whicli 10 view the
Earth. S250. See 6121-2S.
18·20
uo·r
SPRl ... GS. NC
Three I.ilks on "Zen and Western
Philosophy" by l..ou f'ior.h1rom. PhD. ord;uncd Ztn
monk formerly wi1h the Ztn C"111m11n1I) ol NY
l'rc·rcgutcr: S.7.5. S ;u1hc:1n l>hQrll\ll Rc1rca1 Ccnttr. $<.'C
fi/30-7(1.
SEPTEMBER
1-4
ll OT SPRINGS, NC
Mindfulnc~s Mcdiution and Everyday
Life: Rclntionships and SeAualily wilh Sui;an
AugcMtcin. "MinJ/Mfncs, m~diturion endbl~s u..• to src
life IJJ II (ICllUJl/y is Ill ,,, IOtality • Ptc-rcgi~ti:r: 590.
Southern OharmJ Rcirc.a1 Center, sec 6/30-7n.
1.5·17
WAYM-.SVI LLE. "C
Thc Pr.ii;11cc of ·n1Ct:1pcutic Touch" with SuL1
Ccrmak1~. S11l-Ught Rc11ca1 Center: Rt. I. Box 326:
Wa)111:svillc. NC 28786 (70-IJ .!52-4569.
0
1'1·'22
,\Slll,VILl.1~,
NC
tn1crn11tu>n,1t C1111fu, nu en l'mlcways,
Gr(tntH1J1. or.ii R1vcr..c1ys l lit 11'.-v \fort Btriu11jul
llihon Inn f're·regmrauon r~q111rcJ fill more mfo, Cllll
t\pp::il;1,h1an Con~nau1n ('7Qel) 2C.2·2CJ6.$.
Su1111nc1, 191}9
�~Water Sys1em1
WATER PURIFICATION EQUIPMENT
SOLAR PRODUCTS
Mamber NC Waler Ouallly As50C1a11on
HWY 107
RANDAL!. C LANIER
RT 68 BOX 125
704·293-5912
CULLOWHEE, NC 28723
(704) 26+-7242
31 S E. King Street, Boone NC 28607
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-'-~~~~
Clti11ue "''11p1111ct11re
DESIGNS
b~
"'
n t:D'LC'LN'.E A.LL'L'.ES
Jlerllgiglll Cli11it
Rob :'.. l~s~ic k
lllustmlion & Dt>~1~n
in Pen & Ink and color«< l Pc·n•il
Mil llARY
RADIOACI IVE
LANDFILLS
This c1l11<•n g111dt• I~ 1h1 htst compl"l'hcrwve
wn cy ol tht rud1<>il(Cb\·c (ontaminallon •••used b>
th' pn>du<l1<>n .,1 m1dl'1r ''"~P•ln'
Vr1111/y Urfrnst nplJms h<Jw nu<l.:Jr weapoM
4t< madl' hl1W rddh»lrh\'<.' "'~''" '' gt·1wra11-d, Jnd
whl'rc lhl' ronlJm1nJtl1111 I• >prc,1d1ng; the 16
pnnMn nudcar \\ ,)..trcm-.. JJi.,litic,. •re ,•x.01m1rh..J tn
•
d1•t.11I
In dddlunn tu ttu murt· than bO mdP", di.,gr.im'
phoh._, and 1o1bl1» In th1~ li't}.p.1gcbt1<.1lo., t>Mh 11r.:kr
".l«ompan11"ll "' a dr.1ma11c ~-«ulur II" 22 m.tp
shl1wtni; lran•p.. r1,111t111 mu It's u<t.J in lh•• m.111Ufo(·
tu r, u1 nucl"·.u \\ .:apon'
To ordt•r, >•.'0•1 :>I~ lo L•lt•r.ilurt· Pepi , K.1d10.I•
W,,_t, ( ollllj'.llJlll,
N'"' Y<or~ , ='' IXll2
Ill,.
!>~5
llJ'UJd\\'d\ , 2nd floor
"''-=....
.=..,~
'I
I~
~~ BARE.ESSENTIALS :J
....
Natural Foods
....
Organic Produce
Biodegradable Diapers
•: Bulk Herbs, Spices, & Grains :.
Vitamins & Supplements
Wheat, Salt,
& Yeast-Free Foods
Dairy Substitutes
•: H air & Skin Care Products :.
lu 200 West Kini! Street. Boone NC 28607 Ill
~ \....
~~"="
704-264-5220
~·
In 1bc 11adiuonal Cherokee Indian belief, the
cremurcs in the world 1odny an: only diminuiuvc fonns of
the mythic beings who once inhabilcd the world. but
who now re$idc in Galuna'li, the spirit world, the hlghCSl
hca~cn. Bui a few of the original powers broke lhrough
lhe spirilU31 bamcr and .:itlSI yet ln lhe world as we know
•L These beings 111e c:lllcd wilh revcn:nce "grundfathc.rs"
And of 1hcm. the suongcst 111c KQl\Qti. the lighllling, the
power of the sky; Uis:i'na1i, I.he raulesnake. who
personifies the power or the earth plane; and Yunwi Usdi,
"the liule mnn", as ginseng is culled in the sncnd
ceremonies. whodr.iws up power from lhc underworld.
Each LS the sllongest power m its own domwn.
Togclhcr they arc :iUics: their cncrg.ies complement each
other to ronn an even grca1tr power. As medicine allies,
they repl'\!SCnt the healing pQwcrs or the Appalnehian
Mount:iios.
The medicine powers of K!!ltiilh have bctn
depicted m 11 striking T-shirt design by Ibby Kenna.
Printed in 4-color silkscreen by Ridgcrunner Naturals on
top quality. all-couon shins, they~ &\·ailnble now in
311 odu.11 si1.cs through the Kalanu bio.regioWll mall-order
supplier.
Onler shirlS from: KRL RNU
Box 282: Sylv;:i, NC
Ka1Uah Province 28779
Plc:ise specify ~1.e: Sm., Med., lg., X-Lg.
_J~
Cost: S9.50. 111Cludcs ~ge
(NC raidcna plo:ae .xi S~ ulC$ LU.)
-~~~
'PJ~e,, 'JWJ\!WI 'Naty.r~
KRLANU
T·SHIRTS. SWEATSHIRTS
For ADULTS and CHILDREN
BIOREGIONRL BOOKS
ANO TOOLS FOR LI UING
IN APPALACHIA
ORIGINAL HAND·PRINTED
NAT URE DESIGNS
CALL or WAITE IOI'
FREE COLOR CATALOG
Natural Food Store
& Dell
TI11: bc$t ICJlt on 0.:Cp Ecolo y.
Saacd Land Sncred Sex.
Rapture
160 Bl'OIM1Wsy
Ashevllle, NC 28801
Whef'9 ~ tNeta
t.llrrlmon Ave & J..2«>
or Lbe Deep
by o,iton:s l:lOrnpcllc
wt' ~lror:.Jd bf! glad 1/wrw<' l'.a•cJ uuchcrJ.Judi as
Dolum iAG/iapellt • • Kli!Ual1 J0111ll3112J
OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK
Monday-s.tulday: llam·Spnt
Soodsy; lpm-Spm
P. Q
S\4rn rner, 1989
S23.00 (l'ricco lncludcsJIOlb£<!)
r.:a
OrJu[rom: KflLRNU
Bo~ 182, s,l•a, NC, KDI~ Pr"'·'nt:"
~'C ,~,,/Lille ..,t,f j~ .~Ja
28189
�DRUMS· Custom handcrafted ctramic dumbccks &;
wooden medicine drums. Call Joe Roberts al (704}
258-1038 or write to: n8 Town Mountain Rd.;
Asheville, NC ~-
ALTERNATIVE COMMUNITY on beautiful land
nc:lf Cherokee, NC scclr.ing families dc.<;iring gr;:41cr
cooperauon and sclf-wfficiency. Based on Spiriwal
and ccolog1cal values. Propcny now av:iilablc. Call
(404) 778-8754 ror info.
Tht
NatiqnQ/
Dlrtclor;y of Hollmc
Practi1ion.tr1. llt!oltrs, Schools. Centers, and
Rttrc.its is looking for listings. Make your skills
nv:ulablc. Prices and more info on re11uc~t: MichJcl
Rosenblum: The Notional Directory.... ; P.O. BoA
I'.!733; GaincsviUe, FL 32604
FOREST BIOLOGIST • PhD. to teach
corw:rv:ulon, pllllll i.:u<onomy, gcncrlll biology,
wpcrvisc work crew (studenlS) m mo.nugemcn1 of
600 acres of college foco:i;L Rescarclt with undergrads
encouraged Send resumt io: V. Collins: W11rren
Wilson College: 701 W11min Wilson Rd.:
Swannanoo. NC 28n8
THE VITAL CONNECTION
WANTED. LANO in We$tem NC. Family seeks 5
or more acres. preferably ni:ar Cullowhcc, m
preserve :uid eventually inhabit If you have or know
of al!ord:iblc lmld, con1ac1 Bob wid Mary 0Jvis; 213
Wcsunoreland Ct.; Ccorgetown, KY 40324 (502)
863-4267
Long Bn1nch
Center needs
~olurucctS{mtcrns 10 help w1111 orc:h:1rds. gllrdens,
farmwock, rainbow trou1, cncrgy-cfficienl bwlding,
cnvironmenuiVwiJdlifc/pcrmacuhure issues nnd
orgamring. Room and board negoti3ble. Paul
Gallimore: LBEEC; Rt. 2. Box 132; Lcic;c:;ter, NC
28748
rituals, roles, :ind relationships from I.he on:hctypul
memory of the pnst., present, and future. S3 to
Colleen Redman: One Song Scribe; l;loic 634;
Floyd, VA 2A091.
M. TREE DESIGNS:
lllustrauo11~
and
Dc~ign
•
Beyond the p:ige> of I.his JOU!nill, J worJ. m pencil,
colored pencil. ink, cul p3pcr, uml batik. Fine and
graphic :ut IO express and enhance nur lives. Logcx,
brochures, book.,, portraiture, window :md wall
h:ingings. Contact Manha Tree (70-1) 754-«>97.
SUMMER CAMP· June 19·30, ages 6-10; Jul)'
1(}.22. ngus 11+ in th~ mounwms o{ MaJ1"°n Co..
NC. Raising the ccolog1Clll consc1ousncss or ruiurc
gcncr:mons. For info, wnlC: John or Dory Brown;
RL I, Boir. 84·B: HOI Springs, NC 28743.
ALTERNATIVE COMMUNITY m lhe Smoky
Mt'nt. of east TN. 10 acres wi1h creek. springs,
views, good nc1ghbor$. Be 11 p-.irt for S8500. Dill
Leslie (615) 4S3· IS38.
STIL·LICHT THEOSOPHICAL RETREAT
CENTER • a quic1 space for Jll!tSonnl mcdi1111ion,
group inu:rocuon lhrough study, and communit)·
work. and ~-pirituul semlll!ln>. Contacl l..eQn Fcankcl;
RL I, Box 326: W11> oesvillc, NC 28786.
ECO-HELP NEEDED
Environmental Educa11on
Tl/£ PEOPLE OF Tl/£ ONE SONG • booklet or
SlOrieS and poems that tell or the people's dreams,
EUSTACE CONWAY· Guide and teacher or
primiuve E:uth Skills with emph:isis on fire
building, ludo tanning. ~helter, nnd foraging. He
lenchcs at 11ubhc schools, park~. c:nv1ronmcnwl
centers. and classes or ntl kinds. For more
1nfom13ll0l'I contact him ill: 602 Deerwood Drive,
G:i."lonia, NC 280114 or c:n1I Allcin St:llllcy :it (704)
872-7972
ADVENTURE FOODS • dehydrated foods for
people who work or play 1n 1he groat ouldoors.
Entree> and Jide dtsli~. Send for menu and prices.
Jemi's O:irden Greats: tu. 2, Box 276; WhittiC!l", NC
28789 (7CV.) 497..4113.
MOTHER'S BREATH HERBAL PRODUCTS high quali1y herbal cxll'tlcis. ointments, and oils,
lovingly created. Send for free brochure 10 Rt. 2,
Box 251: Vila.~. NC 28692
JOURNEY INTO THE SUCK.ROCK Wilderness
Arca. Boy~. fo1.her-son, rau1cr-<bughiu ellpcditions.
Learn obscJValJOll and woodcraft in the deep woods.
Burt Kornegay, C><pcricnced guide. Slickrock
Expeditions; Box 1214; Cullowhcc, NC 28723.
MOON DANCE PARM HERBALS· herbal salve.~.
tincture~ . .t oils for birthing &; family health. Rlr
brochure, plea~ write: Moon Dance F31m; Rt I,
Box 726: H.lmpt0n, TN 37658
FEEL EARTH beneath yoor feet - wear moccasins.
Custom, r.mdilion:ll Plains lndlan style of ellcskin.
S50 adull: S35 chlldtcn; SIS baby. Send foet tracing
to: P<1tricl Clark.: 47 Panol:i: Asheville.. NC 28801
or co.II 2S t !!250.
ADOPT-A· TREE. Trees are the gte:lt consc.rY!ltors
of the pllntL The Adopt-A·Tree program will bc:lp
mnkc the viUll connection ~wC(ll individual people
and mdividwl ttccs. Don:itioru acccpied. For more
mfo, wnte to Box 144. Sugar Grove, NC 28679
SKINFOODS • fresh. hund-mado herbal skin
prcp;u-:uions a1 to:01$0nable prlc~ Send for price lbt:
106 E. Main St.: John~ City TN 37601
LEAD TESTS • h yuur plumbtng leaching
IClld into )"Our dnnlingwal.C'r? Find out
for sure • lcad·testing Int from the non-profit Clean
W::ucr F~nd or NC. All you nc.;J for 512. Send a
check w/ nJmc and address to CWF; 138 E.
Chcstnul SL: Asheville, NC 28801
poisonou~
HAND-CARVED WOODSPIRITS, mystical
hilung staffs, ;ind w:tll hangings by St.eve DullClln.
For br«hurt, plca.-;c write Wb1ppoorw11l Studio;
Rt 4, Box 981; Marion, NC 28752.
FOUR WINOS VILLAGE • health and sp1t11ual
rctre11t: home for chd.Jren m need. For VlSiting mfo..
write· Box 112; Tiger~ CA 30S76.
ORGANIC FERTILIZERS. herbs, and
organiClllly-gruwn. IDC:il produce 31 the WNC
Farmc~· ~1.id:ct! Look for the Fairgkn Farms sun,
uniL~ F and C 1n the wholc-<ak area ol lhc Farmrrs'
M;irket: 570 Brevard Rd.~ A~hcvillc, NC (70.l)
252-4414
NEEDED: CHILO-LOVING PERSON who loves
lO cook to be a nanny and housekeeper for my four
children. Hows, wages neg01iable. Rm. t1nd bd.
available. Asheville are<1. Cnll Morgan (704)
689-5382.
RM DESIGNS · I use the media or pencils. colored
gou::iche. pen and ink, and photography m
cre:itmg unique line :md grnphic nn I cnn make
di11gr:1111~. logo!<, fini~hcd prints, nnd dei;igns ror
brochures, <:alcndcrs. cards, book.$. eic. Mandal!ll nnd
symbuls nre my tendency among OLhcr s1ylcs.
Contacl Rob Mess1rlc (704) 7>1-6097.
pencil~.
ARTS CAMP • nn intcgrutcd ;in c~p¢ricncc for
cluldrcn 4-14 at Marshall Primary School monungs.
Chiltlrcn's Ans tn lhc MounuuJl.'I. For schcdul~ mro.
call BclSCy StllQChaJ ut {70-1) 689-4699 or El11..:ibcUI
Roberts :u (70l) 2S!l-8647.
EARTH REACH EDUCATION ASSOCIA TIOI'
ltJching prin1111ve skills to c.bildNn and adulLS.
Robert Marun, Jr. 11nd Jeanne Moore: Rt. I, Box
178-A: Fcrrum, VA 24088.
GREENS BIBLIOGRAPHY over 800 entries on
tho: intcmimonol Green pntt.ies 11nd movcmcru. SS
{domcst", include! postage) w J;iy Michael Ochs:
443 Mnrkc1 SL: Williamspon. PA 17701.
WE.BWORKING 1~ tree. Sent.I submissions Ul:
Kotc<ah Journal
P.O. Boll 638
Lc1cc.~1cr, NC
Katuah Province 28748
Si.unmt:r. 1989
�The KatUtih Journal wants 10 communica1c your thoughts and
feelings 10 the other people in the bioregional province. Send them
10 us as letters, poems, stories, anicles. drawings, or pho1ographs,
etc. Please send your contributions to us at: KatUah Journal; P. 0.
Box 638: Leicester, NC: Katuah Province 28748.
ISSUE THREE- SPRING 1984
Siutainabl4 Agricul1111c. Sunnowcts • Human
lmp•cl on th1t Forc!l'.I - Childrcns' Edue&1lon
Veronica Nicholu:Wonum in Politics • Uulc
People-Medicine Allies
Wild habitat is disappearing. The wild creatures are
disappearing and wilJ be gone unless brave humans Ulke note and
act. The imponance of habitat to biodiversity and the effect of
human beings on the natuml systems in Southern Appalachia will
be the topic of the foll issue of the KatUah Journal. For aUthings
wild!
Topics for funher issues include Children; Wellness; and
Crealing Nurturing Cultures. Please send ideas, suggestions,
anwork, and possible anicles on these and other subjects.
BACK ISSUES OF KATUAH AVAILABLE
ISSUE SIXTEEN· Swnmcr 1987
Helen Wal10 • Poem: Vls1ons in a Oudcn •
Virion Qucn • Fini Flow • lnilutlon Lctmina in !he Wilderness • Chciolcec
Challcngi: - -Valuing Tn:ca"
~LJAH JOURNAL
ISSUE FOUR SUMMER 1984
ISSUE El<lHTESN - Winier 1987-88
Water Dnlm Water Quality • Kudzu . Sow
Ech!'S¢ . Cl411'CU1ting Trout - Ooing to Wallu
Ram Pwnps • MictQhydro · Poems: Bcnrut
lee Sinclair. Jim Wayne Millet
Vc:mamJlu Aichiiecllll1' DrCfnU m Wood and
Stone - Mouniam Home Earth Energies
EanJt.Shcllered Llving • Membrane Houses
Brush Sheller • Poems: Octoll£r Ou•k • Oood
Mcdlcinc: "Shella"
lSSUE FIVE FALL 1984
IUNefl . OW Ways in Chctolcec - Oinscng 'luclcill' Waste • Our Celtic Heritage •
Biorcgionalism: Past, Prcunt, and Futuro •
John Wilnoty • Hc31ing Dllllcncss - Politiei of
ISSUE NINETEEN · Spring. 1988
Pcrlcaodra C.nlen • Spring Toma Blucbcrrics
WiWOowcr Gardens - Cranny Hi:rbalin •
Flower Es~ -rbc Origin of 11¥: Animols·
Stary Oood Mcdlcme. "Po,,.ct" Be ATn:e
ParucipnllOn
ISSUE SIX· WINTER 19114-SS
Winier Solstice Eanh C=rnony • Ho11Cp3S1111c
R1vcT Coming ol the Ught - Lo11 c.hin
Rooca - Mountain Agra.:ul1urc: The Righi Crop
WiUiAm Taylor The Fuwr" of the F~
ISSUE TWENTY - Summer, 1988
l'racrvc Appa!Khian WI.~ • Hlghbnds
of Roan • ~lo Communuy - Land Trust •
Arthur Morpn School Zonma Luue - '1'bc
Ridge• • Farmers and the Farm Bill . Ooocl
Mi:dicmc: "Land" • Mid Rain Dukc'J Pov.er
PIAy • ChclOk.ec Microhydro Projoct
lSSVE SEVEN · SPRING 1985
Sus1Jlinabl4 Economic$ · Hot Spring$ • Worker
Owncnhip - The Cn:al Eeunomy - S~lf Help
Credit Union • Wild Turby · Responsible
lnvcsung · WQtbng"' tho Web of l..ifo
lSSUE EIGHT · SUMMER 1985
Cclcbnuion: A W~y of Ufc • Kiuuah 18.000
Ycan Ago . SIK"Rd Siles Folk Ans "' the
Schools Sun Cycle/Moon Cycle PO<lllls:
Hilda Downe: - Chcralccc Heri1J1gc Cenlto:f •
Who Owns Appaladua?
ISSUE NINE- FALL 1985
The Waldcc l'orC1t The Trus Spuk Migrating Porests • Horu Logging Swting a
Tree Crop· Urban TYCCS - Acom Bread - .Mylh
ISSUE TWENTY.ONE · FAil. 198ll
Ch4Stnu1.1: A 1'111Ural Histmy • Rt11or1t1g the
Chulnut ·Poem of Prcsctva&IQO and Prai""•
Continuing !he QuCSI • Forests and Wildlife
Cllcsmuu in Reaional Diet
Chu1nut
Re.sources Hotb Note. • Oood Medicine:
•Changes 10 Cmnc" - Review: W/lu41 uimdl
Li~
8IOREGIONAl.J0oRNAl OF ™E SOUTMERll APPA~IAN$
ISSUE ELEVEN SPRINO 1986
Community Planning • Cities and Ille
Bi.mgional Vision • Recycling . Community
Oindenlna· Flo)'d Counly. VA. Oasohol Two Biorcaional Views Nuclear Supplement
Foar11c 011111C$ - Oood Medicine: Visions
ISSUE FOURTEEN- W1111er 1986-&7
Uoyd Carl Owlc Boogcrs and Mununas - AD
Species Day - Cabin Fever Un1vcrsil)' Homclcu in Ka1uah • HumCl!Ulde Ho1 War.c
Siovcmatcr"1 N11tTa11ve • Cood Mcd1cmc:
lnicnpcc= Communicallon
ISSUETWENTY-'IWO-Wintcr. '88.S9
OlobaJ Wamnng • Fire Thi. Tune Thomu
Bcny on ·sioreaio#J" - Eu1h Ellmi.sc • Kon:
Loy McWhinu An Abundlnceof£mp1incss
L£TS • Chton1clas of Floyd • Dany Wood
lSSUETIURTEEN. Fall 1986
Ccn1er For Awakening- E11Wicth c.Jlm - A
Ocn11., Du.th • Hospice - Emc.11 \foraan •
Dcalin1 Crc•tively with Death • Home Burial
Bo~ • The Wake - The Raven Mocker Wooclslorc and WIWwoods Wi<dcm - Good
Medicine: Thai Sweat Uxfl:"
ISSUE FIFTEEN -Spring 1987
Covcrlets • Wonu.n l'or-CSlct -Susie McMalwl
Midw1(c • Ahemalivc Contraccpuon Bioscxualil}' • Biorcgional1SJJ1 and Women
Ooocl Modicme: MJllriachuial Cultuni • ~
ISSUE TWENTY-TIIR.E.E ·Spring. 1989
Pisgah VUlaac · Plmcl At! - Orccn City Poplar Appeal "Clcu Sky" • "A N"w E.vtl1"
Bbc:lr. Swan - Wild Lovdy Ou-µ • Rov1c:w1:
Soucd Land. Sacud Sa, Ir• "'" - Poem:
truavtes . The a-Chin
T111111
ISSUE TEN - WINTER 1985°86
Kate Roac:s - Circlet of S101111 • ln1cmal
Mythmaltilt& • Hoh•lic Hco.ling on Trial Poems: Sieve Knaulh • MylhiQ PlacC$ • ~
Uk1ena·s Talc - Crysial Magic: •
"On:.mspcaltina-
~U AH JOURNAL
P.O. Box 638 Leicester, NC Katuah Province 28748
For more info: call Mamie MuJler (704) 683-1414
Regular Membership........ SlO/yr.
Sponsor.........................$20/yr.
Conmoucor.....................S50/yr.
Name
Address
City
Area Code
Summer, 1989
Enclosed is S
ro give
this ejf an extra bOost
on
State
Phone Number
"Sudden Tmirils"
Zip
l can be a local contact
person for my area
Back Issues
Tssue it __@ $2.50 = $_ _
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rssue # _@ $2.50 = s__
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Issue#_@ $2.50 = $ _ _
Complete Se1 (3-1 J , 13-16,
18-23)
@ S35.00 = $_ _
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians Records
Description
An account of the resource
<em>Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians</em>, later simplified to <em>Katúah Journal</em>, was published from 1983 to 1993. A quarterly publication, it was focused on the bioregion of former Cherokee land in Appalachia. <br /><br /><span>The early issues of the journal explain the meaning of the Cherokee name, </span><em>Katúah</em><span>, and why the editors wanted to view the world through a bioregional lens, rather than political boundaries. A volunteer production, the editors took a holistic view in tackling social, environmental, mental, spiritual, and emotional topics of the day, many of which are still relevant. </span><br /><span><br />The <em>Katúah Journal</em> was co-founded by Marnie Muller, David Wheeler, Thomas Rain Crowe, Martha Tree and others who served as co-publishers and co-editors. Other key team members included Chip Smith, David Reed, Jay Mackey, Rob Messick and many others.</span><br /><br />This digital collection is only a portion of the <em>Katúah</em>-related materials in the W.L. Eury Appalachian Collection in Special Collections at Appalachian State University. The items in AC.870 Katúah Journal records cover the production history of the <em>Katúah Journal</em>. Contained within the records are correspondence, publication information, article submissions, and financial information. The editorial layouts for issues 12 through 39 are included as are a full run of the Journal spanning nearly a decade. Also included are photographs of events related to the Journal and a film on the publication.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
This resource is part of the <em>Katúah Journal Records </em>collection. For a description of the entire collection, see <a href="https://appstate-speccoll.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/937" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Katúah Journal Records (AC. 870)</a>.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
The images and information in this collection are protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U. S. C.) and are intended only for personal, non-commercial, and educational purposes, provided proper citation is used – i.e., Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians Records, 1980-2013 (AC.870), W. L. Eury Appalachian Collection, Special Collections, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC. Researchers are responsible for securing permissions from the copyright holder for any reproduction, publication, or commercial use of these materials.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1983-1993
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
journals (periodicals)
Language
A language of the resource
English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
<em>Katúah Journal</em>, Issue 24, Summer 1989
Description
An account of the resource
The twenty-fourth issue of the <em>Katúah Journal</em> focuses on peace in the mountains: settling controversies; a look at the Oak Ridge Reservation; and promoting peace through community building. Authors and artists in this issue include: David Wheeler, Judith Hallock, Patrick Clark, Richard Lowenthal, Heather Pittillo, Marnie Muller, Rob Messick, Will Ashe Bason, Marnie Muller, Milo Guthrie, Mary de La Valette, "kent," Jim Houser, Charles Rampp, and Melanie Bridges. <br><br><em>Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians</em>, later simplified to <em>Katúah Journal</em>, was published from 1983 to 1993. A quarterly publication, it was focused on the bioregion of former Cherokee land in Appalachia. The early issues of the journal explain the meaning of the Cherokee name, Katúah, and why the editors wanted to view the world through a bioregional lens, rather than political boundaries. A volunteer production, the editors took a holistic view in tackling social, environmental, mental, spiritual, and emotional topics of the day, many of which are still relevant.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1989
Table Of Contents
A list of subunits of the resource.
Deep Listening by David Wheeler.......3<br /><br />Life in Atomic City by Judith Hallock.......5<br /><br />Hiroshima Day 1989.......7<br /><br />Direct Action! by Patrick Clark.......8<br /><br />Planting a Tree of Peace.......9<br /><br />Community Building and Peace by Richard Lowenthal.......10<br /><br />Peacemakers: A Resource Listing.......11<br /><br />Ethnic Survival.......14<br /><br />Black Mountain Pairing Project.......15<br /><br />"Battlesong": A Poem by Heather Pittillo.......16<br /><br />Growing Peace in Cultures by Marnie Muller.......18<br /><br />Review: The Chalice and the Blade.......20<br /><br />Natural World News.......22<br /><br />A Children's Page.......25<br /><br />Drumming.......26<br /><br />Events Calendar.......28<br /><br />Webworking.......30<br /><br /><em>Note: This table of contents corresponds to the original document, not the Document Viewer.</em>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
<em>Katúah Journal</em>, printed by The <em>Waynesville Mountaineer</em> Press
Subject
The topic of the resource
Bioregionalism--Appalachian Region, Southern
Sustainable living--Appalachian Region, Southern
Peace movements--Appalachian Region, Southern
Community life
Oak Ridge (Tenn.)
Sister Cities
North Carolina, Western
Blue Ridge Mountains
Appalachian Region, Southern
North Carolina--Periodicals
Language
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English
Type
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Text
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<a href="https://appstate-speccoll.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/937"> AC.870 Katúah Journal records</a>
Rights
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<a title="In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted" href="https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/?language=en 8" target="_blank"> In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted </a>
Coverage
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Appalachian Region, Southern
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
<a title="Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians" href="https://omeka.library.appstate.edu/collections/show/79" target="_blank"> Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians </a>
Format
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PDF
Journals (Periodicals)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1980s
Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Studies
Children's Page
Community
Ecological Peril
Electric Power Companies
Glossaries
Habitat
Hazardous Chemicals
Katúah
Poems
Politics
Radioactive Waste
Reading Resources
Recycling
Transportation Issues
Turtle Island
Villages
Water Quality
Western North Carolina Alliance
Women's Issues
-
https://omeka-test.library.appstate.edu/files/original/cbf32695fba405c0cff45e3e9c54db62.pdf
616631b2f61e4f3060a633a13326ea4d
PDF Text
Text
$1.50
ISSUE 25 FALL 1989
.
for all things wild
I
,..
�October 27, 1989
"Restoring Biodiversity in the Southern Appalachians:
A Strategy for Survival"
Owen Conference Center, University of ~orth Carolina Asheville
A major conference bringing together scientists, educators, government land managers,
and conservationists to speak about the condition of the Southern Appalachian habitat and
the necessity to
initiate new programs for habitat
preservation
and restoration to
maintain the
the southern
diversity of life in
mountains.
For more
information
call (704)
251-6441
Registration: $20.00.
October 28
October 28
"Wild
in the Streets:
The Feral Ball "
"For All
Things Wild"
Warren Wilson College
Swannanoa, NC
Issues and strategy
discussion among activists
directed to arrive at means of restoring
biological diversity in the Southern
Appalachian region.
Speakers: Reed Noss, Laura
Jackson, Robert Zahner, Peter Kirby,
Jamie Sayen, David Wheeler. Open
discussion period.
Registration: $5.00. For more info:,
call (704) 298-3325 (Ext. 250).
rock to the music of
Grandmother
and
One Straw
We call upon the spirits of the wild!
Come costumed as one of our native
mountain species - or to express your
own wildest self!
8:00 pm. Location to be announced.
Postage Paid
Bulk Mail
Permit #18
Leicester, NC
28748
P.O. Box 638 Leicester, NC Katuah Province 28748
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED
�The Great Forcst ........................... 3
by Sam Gray
Restoring the Old-Growth Forest........5
by Robert 'Zahner
Regional Planning
for Habitat Intcgrity................... 8
by Laura Jackson
A Question o f Value ...................... 10
hy Dm·id Wheeler
Closing the Gate
on Forest Devastation ................ 12
by Anna Muir
Poem: "Sparrow Hawk" ................. 13
by Julia NUlllllJJ/y Duncan
A Place for Bears ......................... 15
An Interview with Dr. Michael Pelton
Poem: "There Fell the Rain Healing" .. 16
by Annelinde Metzner
Eastern Panther, Where Are You?...... 17
by Patrick Clarlr.
Oak Decline ................................ 19
by Hetllher Blair
People and Habitat ........................ 2 1
by Chip Smith and Lee Kinnaird Fawart
Perpetual Wild Sanctuaries ..............23
Natural World News..................... 24
Drumming ................................. 26
Living Green .............................. 29
Baner Fair................................. 30
(Natural) Resources ...................... 31
Events Calendar........................... 32
Webworking ............................... 34
1'"iirt. t 989
To sense what ls happening In the
mountains, we begin by perceiving
the Southern Appalachian region as
an ongoing. functioning. organic
euent. ..within the greater biosphere.
We can then tdenUfy ourselves and
our species In relation to It and sense
our place within Its evolutionary
history and cycles of renewal.
From the perspective of the whole
we are one species among many each \vith its own contribullon to
make. each wilh its own demands for
habitat. When there is a disturbance
in the pattern of the whole. the
effects even tu ally reach every
inhabitant.
Human beings have been here for
very few of the millions of years the
forest has been patiently growing
within a dynamic balance. In recent
times. our perception of these forests
has often lacked wisdom and
humility. resulting In actions
destructive to our home.
We can sense our relationship to
the whole, but we will never be able
to encompass It with our Intellect
alone. We are in it and of it. This Is
the Great Mystery of existence.
Intuitively we can perceive this
Mystery.
We can revere It and
celebrate lt. And by acting tn concert
with the Life cycles, we can come to
know It more fully. This knowing
then leads us to respond.
In thls issue of Katuah. we look at
biodiversity and habitat ln the
Southern Appalachian region and
how they are being disrupted.
Finding out about the current
situation In Katuah prompts us to
acuon--to speak out. protect. restore.
Throughout the articles. it becomes
apparent that to truly understand this
region. we need to experience.
acknowledge, and serve the region as
a whole.
-The Editors
Biodiversity is defined by ecologist Recd Noss llS "a
full complement of the native plant and animal species in
their natural or normal patterns of abundance."
Biodiversity is the foundation of evolution in any
biorcgion.
Habi tat is defined as an interdependent community of
life that supports the various species that live within iL
Habitat is the foundation of biodiversity.
�STAFF THIS ISSUE:
R.ichacd Lowenthal
Christina Morrison
James Rhea
Manha Tree
Rob Messick
Mamie Muller
Chip Smith
David Wheeler
EDITORIAL ASSISTANCE:
Scott Bird
Jack Chaney
David Red
Kim Sandland
Heather Blair
Sam Gray
Marsha Ring
Morgan Swann
Thanks as well to Joe and Rhea and the Mountain Garden.
We offer special thanks for the influence of
Grandfather Mountain.
COVER by James Rhea
PUBLISHED BY; Ka11"1h Journal
PRINTED BY; The Waynesville Mountaineer Press
EDITORIAL OFFICE IBJS ISSUE: Globe Valley
W&ITEUS AT:
TELEPHONE;
(704) 683-1414
Katt1ah Journal
Box 638
Leicester, NC
Katuah Province 28748
Diversity is an imponant clement of bioregional ecology, both
nmwaJ and social. In line with this principle. the KatU/Jh Journal lrics
to serve as a forum for the discussion of regional issues. Signed articles
express only the opinion of the authors and are not necessarily the
opinions of lhe Ka1Uah Journal editors or staff.
The Internal Revenue Service has declared KatU/Jh a non-profit
organization under section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. All
contributions to KatU/Jh arc deductible from personal income tax.
'LNVOCA.TWN
Do you think you can take over the universe
and improve it?
I do not believe it can be done.
The universe is sacred. You cannot improve it.
If you try to change it, you will ruin it.
If you try to hold it, you will lose it.
-from imsage 29. Tao Te Ching
attributed to Lao Tzu
™E SOUTHERN APPALACillAN BIOREGION
AND MAJOR EASTERN RIVER SYSTEMS
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
Here in the southern-most heartland of the
Appalachian mountains, the oldest mountain range on
our continent, Turrie Island; a small bur growing
group has begun to take on a sense of responsibility
for the implications of rhar geographical and cultural
heritage. This sense of responsibility centers on the
concept of living within the natural scale and balance
of 1miversal systems and principles.
Within this circle we begin by invoking the
Cherokee name "Kaufoh" as the old/new name for
this area of the mountains and for its journal as well.
The province is indicated by its natural boundaries: the
Roanoke River Valley to the nonh; thefoorhills of the
piedmont area to the east; Yona Mountain and the
Georgia hills to the south; and the Tennessee River
Valley ro the west.
The editorial priorities for us are to co/leer and
disseminate information and energy which pertains
specifically to this region, and to foster the awareness
rhar the land is a living being deserving of our love
and respect. Living in this manner is a way ro insure
the sustainability of the biosphere and a lasting place
for ourselves in its continuing evolutionary process.
We seem to have reached the fulcrum point of a
" do or die " situation in terms ofa quality standard of
life/or all living beings on this planet. As a voice/or
the caretakers ofthis sacred land, Kac-Uah, we advocate
a centered approach to rhe concept ofdecentralization.
It is our hope to become a support system/or those
accepting the challenge of sustainability and the
creation ofharmony and balance in a total sense, here
in this place.
We welcome all correspondence, criticism,
pertinent information, articles, artwork, etc. with
hopes that Kac-Uah will grow to serve the best interests
of this region and all its living, breathing members.
-The Editors
f"~U..
1989
�It may be that
s.ome little rcx:::>t
of the sacred tree still
lives.
"-lou-ish it then,
that it may leof and
bloom and fill
with singing birds.
- Q,lock Elk
Until recent time a great inland forest overlay the eastern
ponion of Nonh America-a continuous biologic fabric extending
from Nova Scotia to Alabama, west along the tributaries of the
Mississippi, and boundaried in the east by the pine barrens and
lowland marshes of the coastal plain.
This forest had its origins in an ancient circumpolar forest
system that dominated the temperate zones of Asia, Europe and
Nonh America in the Eocene epoch of the Teniary Period (50
million years B.P. [Before Present]) when the continents were
closer together. In spite of the intervening continental drift,
successive ice ages and vast chasms of time, there remain, to this
day, striking botanical linkages in the existing forest remnants of
these continents. This is panicularly evident in genera such as Acer
(maples), Panax (ginseng), Cory/us (hazels}, Populus (poplars),
Cornus (dogwoods), and Rhododendron.
(continued on ncxl page)
f'ca!t. t 989
Ji:.ati&ah Jo\lrnQL p1i9e 3
�(continued &om page 3)
The vast inland forest of Eastern America was geophysically
dominated by the long spine of the Appalachian Mountains which
determined the Forest's biological stTucture and diversity.
Contemporary references to what remains of this forest employ
terms such as "mixed mesophytic", "eastern hardwood" or
"temperate deciduous" to describe it. For purposes of this essay,
acknowledging its extent, its ancient origins, its astounding
diversity and resilience, its immense productive capacity, and its
profound effect on various human populations over the past 10,000
years, it will be telllled "The Great Forest".
When ecologists first began attempting to describe temperate
forest ecosystems, they developed the model of succession and
climax growth. This model, describes a developing forest that is
undergoing a series of stages in which pioneer plant communities
and their associated fauna colonize the area and are then replaced by
successor communities of larger trees until a forest of dominant
trees, known as the "climax forest" establishes a stable equilibrium.
This climax old gTOwth would cominue until some "disturbance"
such as fire, disease, climate change or human impact takes out the
climax community and the succession cycle begins again.
The succession-climax model is a useful one for
understanding the ecology of the Great Forest. It helps us to
recognize the importance and relative stability of old growth forests
and it describes how biotic communities in a forest maintain and
transform themselves over time as they respond to discontinuities
and disturbances, panicularly those caused by humans.
The first humans in the Great Forest were nomadic
gatherer/hunter groups who arrived after the last glaciation some
10,000 years B.P. These groups ranged over many thousands of
acres of oak-chestnut climax growth as well as other forest biomes
and while their impact on the forest was small by contemporary
standards, it was nonetheless important. Fire was the principal
instrument of ecologic change and was to remain so even into
recent rimes.
By 1900, the only remaining large boundary
of the original Great Forest lay in Katuah - the
Southern Appalachian highlands. Within two
decades that too was gone.
Seventeenth century Europeans observed and commented on
the burnings. "The savages," wrote Thomas Morton, "are
accustomed to set fire of the country in all places where they come
and to burne it twize a year, viz: at the spring and the fall of the
leafe." The purpose of the burnings was no less than ecosystem
management: facilitation of travel, augmentation of browse area for
game, encouragement of desirable herbage such as blackberry.
raspberry, and cenain grasses. the increase of mast-producing trees
Uke oak and chesmut on the drier, warmer soils of a burn area, and
the destruction of vermin and pests such as fleas. Selective burning
by the lndfans promoted a mosaic quality in the forest ecosystem
and created areas in many different stages of succession wilh
extensive boundary areas and a greater variety of game and plant
habitats - a phenornonen ecologists refer to as the "edge effect".
Thus the Indians practiced their own subtle kind of forest
management and husbandry. So subtle in fact, as to be undetected
in early European descriptions of the Great Forest. When 17th and
l 8rh century promoters of North American real estate extolled the
"natural" abundance of the land, they were unaware that they were
describing an ecosystem that the natives had been shaping for
thousands of years.
Other imponant aspects of the complex relationship between
the Great Forest and its native inhabitants escaped the notice of the
Europeans. As William Cronon points out in his masterful
ecological history of New England, Changes in the Land, a central
fact of temperate forest ecosystems is their periodicity. The
overlapping cycles of light, dark, long days, short days,
waxing/waning of the moon, the flow of sap, the rurting of deer,
spawning of fish, the matings of turkey, bear and frog, the fruiting
of plants and the migration of birds... these and myriad other
contrapuntal rhythms of the Great Forest's energy cycles were
understood and celebrated by the natives. Their own life rhythms of
seasonal nomadism, work, ritual and play were evolved from the
greater cycles of the forest . The European immigrants' experience
of natural cycles, on the other hand, had been filtered for over a
millenium through a culture offixed abodes and a social hierarchy
that discouraged nomadism as well as wilderness.
It is in the context of the periodic cycles of the forest that
Native American spirituality can best be understood. The Indians
did not attempt to manipulate, through magic and ritual, these
cycles to their own ends and were often confounded or amused by
the imprecatory prayers of the whites seeking the blessings of good
harvest and fortune from an awesome and distant god. Rather, their
own spiritual practices were designed to attune and inform
themselves to the subtleties of the forest's cycles. The
anthropologist Bronislow Malinowski recognized this when he
wrote in Myth and Primitive Psychology, "Magic never originated;
it never was created or invented. All magic simply was from the
beginning, as an essential adjunct to all those things and processes
which virally interested man (sic)." The natives inhabited an
animated forest world that was alive unto its fanhest recesses with
seen and unseen powers. Their task - the task of mind - was to so
organize themselves as to develop understanding of and
consonance with these powers.
When Europeans began to arrive at the Great Forest of North
America in sufficient numbers by the mid-17th century, they were
not disposed to recognize the animated universe that sustained the
natives. They could not or would not see the forest that the natives
knew, nor could they recognize the subtlety and intelligence behind
the Indians usage of the forest as habitat, susraining process, and
sacred ground. The European immigrants faced the Great Forest
with a conflicting array of perceptions and attitudes. The forest was
at once a threat and an opportunity.
The dominant sentiment in regard to the forest was that it was
an enormous commodity. Coming from lands long divested of
forests held in common, the right to extract and expon timber
almost at will was an overwhelming prospect 10 early
entrepreneurs. Wood was the main raw material for residential and
commercial building on both sides of the Atlantic, but it was even
more in demand as an energy source. Seventeenth and eighteenth
century industries in metallurgy, glass making and ceramics
required enormous amounts of wood for firing furnaces and for
charcoal. Individual household consumption was also extraordinary
by european standards. Peter Kalm, a Swedish naturalist visiting
colonial eastern America in 1749 wrote," an incredible amount of
wood is really squandered in this country for fuel..." As early as
1640, Boston was experiencing wood fuel shortages and most
major New England and mid-Atlantic settlements were soon to
follow.
foll, 1989
�The principal commodity that the Great Forest represented to
the E.uropeans was the land itself. Their original concepts of real
propeny were derived from the manorial system of feudal Europe
and can be ascenained by reviewing the terms or the Royal Charter
to the Massachusetts Bay Company:
"To have to houlde possess and enjoy the aforesaid
continent, lands, territories, islands, hereditaments and
precincts, seas, waters, fishings, with all and all manner their
commodities, royalties, libenies, prehemynences, and
profitts that should thenceforth arise from chcncc, with all
and singular their appunances and every pane and parccll
thereof unto the said councell and their successors and
assigns for ever."
The comprehensive, medieval, abstract quality of these early claims
underwent an evolution as they passed through the lexicon of 17th
and 18th century New World institutions, but the focus on
"commodities, royalties, liberues and profitts" never changed.
What also wen1 unchanged, leading to countless
misunderstandings and much bloodshed, was the European
assumption of the sovereignty of propeny rights granted through
'legal' title 10 Land. To the natives, the notion that parcels of land
could be considered commodities, bought and sold like cattle,
boundaried, possessed, 'improved', divided and sold again or
transferred to heirs was absurd. For them, land tenure was a
function of usage and usage was linked 10 the mobility that was a
central part of the strategy of resource management based on
periodicity. The Indian villages moved from habitat to habitat to
find maximum abundance with minimal work and reduced impact
on the land while the Europeans, in fixed abodes on their titled
propeny, worked long hard days 10 intensively farm or 'improve'
land with the eventual result being ecological degradation. It was
the concept of 'improvements' - replacing forest with fields and
pasture and the building of sheds, barns and homes - that soon
became the colonial justification for dispossessing the natives. A
people who moved around on the land and worked it so lillle could
have no justifiable claim to possess it. There were plenty of
references in the bible and in Calvinist theology to back up such a
sentimenL The unimproved forest with its native inhabitants was
eventually seen as an affront to progress, and Christian community.
r"u, t 989
With God's backing the righteous began to exterminate or conven
the savages and 'improve' the Great Forest out of existence.
The decimation of the Great Forest proceeded in two fairly
distinct historical phases - the first, occurring in the colonial period
and lasting until about 1850, can be termed pre-capitalist. It was
characterized by the deforestation patterns of an agricultural
economy. The best land was cleared for field crops and pasture.
Commercial extrnction of timber for energy or wood products was
confined to terrain accessible by human/animaJ power. The second
phase was indusoial/capitalist and it continues to the present day.
Utilizing machinery, organized capital, and cheap local labor, the
forest was harvested to satisfy national and international timber
demands. As habitat for the incredible diversity of wild plants and
creawres was impoverished, fonunes were amassed by men far
away who were never required to look upon the devastation. By
1900, the only remaining large boundary of the original Great
Forest lay in Katuah - 1he Southern Appalachian highlands. Within
two decades 1ha1 too was gone.
As humans, we have known the forest in many ways - as
home, as sustenance, as sacred ground, as repose, as commodity,
as teacher, as refuge. Our species is only now realizing the extent
of its power 10 diminish the radiance of the Great Forest. We are
beginning to understand a glimmer of what was... for we were once
forest-dwellers. Today there is an archetype becoming known in
the human spirit ...of regeneration. There is an embryonic
recognition of what we have lost and of what we must restore. We
cannot continue as we have done. The forest calls 10 us to come
back, for our own sake and for the sake of all our relations
dwelling therein.
The quotation from Black Elk that begins this essay captures
this hope for us when he speaks of the roots of the Sacred Tree the Tree of Life. The Sacred Tree, a universal symbol of
regeneration of both the human spirit and of the Earth, nourishes
our memory to recall that though the Great Forest has been felled, it
cannot and will not ever leave us.
wriuen by Sam Gray
plU>co ofJoyce Kilmer Memorial Forest on page 3 by
larry Tucker
x.at.Uah JounuiL p!UJ•
s
�Restoring the Old-Growth Forest
by Robert Zahner
A thing is right when it rends to preserve
the inregriry, stabi/iry, and beauty of rlze biotic
community. Ir is wrong when it tends
otherwise.
- AldD Leopold (I 949)
We stand at the threshold of a great
decision. We are on the verge of re-defining the
importance of our mountain landscape, its
natural habitats, and the Life forms they support.
Science has shown tha1 such habitats are vi1al to
planetary life support systems where natural
communities of interdependent plants and
animals can maintain reservoirs of biological
diversity.
When extensive logging destroyed the
primeval fores1s of the Southern Appalachian
Mountains, a critical factor for biodiversity,
habitat continuity over large areas, was
eradicated. During the century between 1830
and 1930 forest clearing and burning ravaged
native bio1ic communities and terminated
unknown numbers of plant and animal species.
Habitats were fragmented, and many surviving
endemic species were left in smaU, isolated
communities.
ln the first quaner of the twentieth century
the Southern Appalachian National Forests were
established as watershed preserves. Federal
conservation policies permined many forest
habitats to begin the natural process of restoring
themselves. This regrowth ecosystem, or
second generation forest, was similar to the
original primeval forest only in that it still
contained most of the original plant and animal
species. Today, after 60 to 80 years of recovery,
the new forest is still maturing, still unfolding its
species composition as new niches are created in
the complex progression toward what modem
ecologists term an "old-growth forest." But it
still has a long way to go to reach biological
maturity.
There is now the potential to restore a
diversity of species that would resemble the old
primeval forest. There is also the danger,
because of present National Forest management
plans, of losing much of the restoration already
gained. The United States Forest Service
(USFS), administered by foresters who are
highly competent timber managers, interprets the
Congressional Multiple Use-Sustained Yield Act
of 1960 with a strong bias toward harvesting
commercially mature timber. The Act states
implicitly, however, that al/ resources of the
Notional Forests ore to be managed for sustained
yield. Other acts of Congress go on to define
natural diversity as a vital resource of 1he public
lands, and mandate that this resource shall be
maintained through habitat preservation. This
paper is written with the intent of furthering
public knowledge of this important
environmental issue.
Three Levels of Diversity
lo the despoilment and fragmentation of
the original forest, three levels of diversity were
either destroyed or placed in jeopardy: ( l)
genetic diversity within species, (2) species
diversity within habitats, and (3) habitat
Xatium Jo~rrmt P"9e 6
diversity within landscapes. We have no record
of how many species were irretrievably lost, but
1oday we are beginning co count the numbers
that are presently endangered and threatened
with extinction. Let us consider how lhese three
types of diversity are essential for a healthy
bioregion, and how all three can be restored as
the new forest grows toward biological
maturity.
Genetic Diversity: A great many
species counted as rare today could again
become more abundant if we allow natural biotic
processes to evolve unmolested.
For example, in the forest of today the
mountain gentian plant (Gentiana decora
Pollard)_grows singly or in small colonies in
damp, rich wooded habitats, generally isolated
from other members of the species by unsuitable
habitats. Gentians are pollinated by several rypes
of inseclS who are able to cross-fertilize separate
colonies of the plant. Thus, if undisturbed by
human activity, pollen exchange will increase
genetic diversity within the gentian species over
an ever-increasing area of 1he mountain
landscape. This renewed generic vitality is
critical to the future well-being of the species, as
human-caused environmental changes continue
to force all forms of life to adapt to such stresses
as aunospheric pollution and accelerated climatic
warming.
The same situation is true for literally
thousands of species of plants and animals
throughout the mountains. Each example
f"~U.. t989
�requires its own special sening, but the common
theme is natural balance. An endemic terresual
mole salamander, Ple1ho<k>n1ordani, is a highly
significant insectivore in the world beneath the
leaf litter of a mature hardwood forest. This
salamander requires large areas of ~ontinuous
forest cover to afford geneuc n11gra11on among
populations. Thus. when the cwopy overhead is
fragmented or removed. breeding populat!ons of
this animal disappear to reco.,,er only w11h the
re-establishment or the mature hardwood fores t.
Many species of reptiles. amphibians, and
anhropods w11h limited mobi:ity have similar
requirements for genetic exchange.
Conditions that promote generic diversity
arc essential so each species can adapt and
evolve, panicularly in light of the accelerating
environmental changes expected in the next
century.
Species Diversity: The next scale of
diversity is that of species within habitats. This
is often misinterpreted by federal land managers
to mean "the greatest number of differe nt
species for each given unit of land."
It is well kno wn that the na tural
succe ssio n of weed y species occupying
disturbed sites provides a wealth of diversity in
te rms of to tal numbe rs. The Southern
Appalachian Mountains today abound w ith
disturbed sites, the result of Jar.d clearings, road
bui lding, comme rc ial and reside ntial
development, forest c learcuuing, agricultural
activity, and wildfires. Therefore. the weedy
plants and small animal species that characterize
early succession habitats are most commo n
throughout lhe region.
But what about species diversity in other
habitats once prevalent in the primeval forest?
Two hundred years ago a north-facing site at
3,SOO feet elevation in the Blue Ridge
Mountains would likely have supported a mature
oversrory of 20 or more tree species, with many
large trees over 200 years old. The midstory
would have been composed of perhaps 20 or
more species of smaller trees of all ages, from
reproduction saplings fillin1 canopy pps to
very old species adapted to live out their lives in
the shade.
Many tree species, such as basswood
(TUia ~rerophylla VcnL), yellow birch (Betula
alleghaniensis Britt.), buncmut (J1111lans cinera
L.), mountain maple (Acer spicatum Lam.),
mountain winterbcny (Ila mofllana T . and G.),
ycllowwood (Cladrastis kentulcea Rudd), and,
of course, American chestnut (Castanea delllQta
Borich.). were more common in this ancient
foresr lhan they are today.
Shrub spec ies were numerous, and
carpeting !he ground in many places were large
colonies of painted trillium (Trillum undulatum
Willd.), baneberry (Actaea pachypoda Ell.),
do g-tooth violet (Eryrhronium americum Ker.),
um brella-leaf (Diphylleia cymosa Michaux).
jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisema triphyllum Schott.),
and many fem species.
Rotting logs provided substrate and
micro-habitats for many S1>ecies of fungi.
mosses. splecnwons. and all the attendant
invertebrate and small vertebrate animals that
were essential to the health of the entire larger
community. The large trees. living and dead.
provided food, shelter, and breeding situations
for many birds and other venebrate animals that
require a biologically mature. undisturbed.
mixed hardwood forest habitat. The mature
forest was a dynamic biotic community that
f'Q{L, t989
supported a large array of
interdependent species.
!'\one of the plants or
animals mentioned above is
exceptionally rare today. although
a number of today's threatened or
endangered species. such as the
small whorled pogonia (lsotria
medeoloides Rafinesque), could
well have been present in such a
habitat. The particular
corn/Jination of these species.
however, taken together as a
functionmg ecosystem. is today a
rare occurrence.
What species m ight be
present on such a site today'!
Following the indiscriminate
logging and burning at the the
tum of the century, conditions
were so severely altered that the
second-grow t h forest now
consists typically of a mixture of
60 to 80 year o ld oaks and
hickones, with perhaps fewer than 10 other tree
species. More prominent today are the
m1d-successional species: yellow poplar
(liriendendron tulip/era L.), eastern white pine
(Pinus strobw L .), black locust (Robinia
pseudoacacia L .). sourwood (Oxydendron
a rboreum L.), sassafras (Sassafras albidum
Nee s.), and stump sprouts o f Americ an
chestnut. Scauercd individuals of most of the
original species are also present, but the species
composition is so drastically altered that the
highland forest is typically c lassified as
~oalc-hiclcory" ralher than "mixed hardwoods."
Large cavity trees arc rare. The large
decomposing logs that typify biologically mature
habitat are largely absent from today's regrowth
forests.The number of undcrstory and ground
cover species are now reduced, retaining those
that thrive on disturbance, such as species of
berries (Vaccinium and Gaylussacia) and
rhododendron.
Early succession habitat caused by human
disturbance is the only habitat type that is
well-represented on the second level of
biodiversity, the diversity of species within
habitats. But the forest communities are slowly
maturing, and species enric hment is occurring
gradually in those habitat s that arc left
undisturbed. Biologically mature habitats, or
old-growth mixed hardwood forests, are again a
possibility within the next century.
Just as genetic diversity within a species
is e ssential for adaptation for survival in a
changing enviro nme nt, so spec ies d iversity
with in a habitat is essent ial for the whole
community of interdependent plants and animals
to meet the demands of evolution. The future of
those species combinations best adapted to old,
mature hardwood forest communities depends
on the integrity of the entire habitat.
Habitat Divers ity: Differentiation on
the third level of biological d iversity, that of
habitat diversity in the regional landscape, has
also been gradually emerging in the Southern
Appalachian Mountains throughout the second
half of this century. The national forest-; provide
large, contiguous blocks of forest area. which,
if they continue to be left und1stur_bed. ha~e the
potential to mature into a mosaic of diverse
forest habitats, each accommodating its own
composition of species, and all together making
provision for the genetic diversity essential for
species evolution. The key requirement for this
regional diversity lies in maintaining a continuity
of undisturbed habitats across the landscape.
Disconnected habitats that are left to
mature as isolated fragments cannot serve as
more than small rcfugia for generic material.
Such limitation confines ecnetic variation within
the boundaries of each of these tiny habi1a1 areas
and restricts the potential for evolution to
respond to future changes in the cnvironmenL
The current policy of national forest
management is to accommodate landscape
diversity by pwcscrving fragments of old growth
stands dispersed throughout a landscape that is
predominantly even-aged
st~nds .of
commercially valuable tree species wnh
provisions for a few important species of game
animals. This concept of diversity is analogous
to the preservation of species in arboretu ms.
bota nical gardens, and zoos. Cen ainl y a
bead-lily (Clinronia borealis Raf.) in a cultivated
garden has lost most of its wild "lily-ness,"
because a wildflower removed from its natural
habitat is no longer serving its role as a strand in
the web of life. In like manner, a fragment of
old-growth forest preserved in a landscape of
managed young forests has lost its essential
nature, as it is no longer a pan of the web of
biological e volution in the region its generic
material serves.
At the level of habitat diversity. just as at
the two lower levels. the ability or an entire
bioregion to adapt and survive environmental
change depends on the diversity of its natural
habitats. The greater the number of mature
�REGIONAL PLANNING FOR HABITAT
INTEGRITY
by Laura E. Jackson
Laura Jackson is the author of the study
Mountain Treasures at Risk: The Future of the
Southern Appalachian National Forests, a
comprehensive overview and critique of the US
Forest Service's Land and Resource Managemem
Plans for the six national forest areas of the
Southern Appalachians.
Laura is completing graduate work at the
School of Forestry and Environmental Studies at
Duke University. She wrote the sllldy in
cooperation with Peter Kirby, regional director,
and other staff members of the Southeast
Regional Office of the Wilderness Society under a
Stanley Fellowship grant The book is published
and made available by the Wilderness Society.
Mountain Treasures at Risk is an excellent
resource for anyone who is concerned about
habitat i11 the Sowhem Appalachians. The text is
clear a11d to the point. The graphs and tables are
pleasing to the eye and revealing in their content.
Forest issues are de-mystified in a way that only
someone with a clear comprehension of the
dynamics involved could articula1e. 8111, most of
all, Laura Jackso11's suuiy is invaluable because it
is wriuen by someone with no ves1ed economic or
poli1ical in1eres1 in 1he Appalachian public lands b111 rather by someone with 011ly the interests of
1hefores1 01 liean.
The book talks in a straigluforward way
about tlie effects 011 the forest of below-cost timber
sales, over-roading, and the i11equities i11 budget
and emphasis show11 i11 Forest Service
management programs. The swdy co11clt1des with
guidelines/or managing the Sowhern Appalachian
11a1ional fores ts 10 protect wild la11ds a11d the
biological diversity they harbor, meet recreatio11al
and aesthetic demands, and restore the forest
1wilo1.
011 page one of Mountain Treasures at Risk
the report states that the two major flaws i11 the
Forest Service ma11ageme111 approach is the
agency's emphasis 011 commodity ex1ractio11from
the mow11ai11forests Olld their failure to recog11ize
the Somhern Appalachia11s as a regional habitat
system (in other words, a bioregio11).
/1 says, 'This report is the only ctunulative
analysis to dote to examine the Forest Service's
plaru for thil unique nwumuin environment." This
is true. Many t/1a11ks.
In the following article Laura Jackso11
explains further the differences in understanding
that result from viewing the Ka11'iah provi11ce a11d
its disti11ctive habitats as a whole, rather than
breaking it into administrative pieces....
·DW
Mountain Treasures at Risk is available at M
charge by writing to tht Wilderness Society Southeast
Regional Office at 1819 Peachtru St. NE; Atlanta, GA
30309. (Jlowevtr, consider making a volU11tary donation.
Tht reference is wt// worth It.)
>C.at i'.&ah Journat paqe 8
T he fragmentation of Souther n
Appalachian habitat is the familiar result of a
utilitarian value system that prizes goods
production and consumption over a healthy
relationship with our land. Forest managers ask
how their stands can fulfill national timber
quotas. State governments ask if thei r
wilderness fragments arc sufficient to satisfy
recreational demand. But their questions are
framed within self-imposed limits of vision that
reach only to the orderly edges of administrative
boundaries. Consequently, they are too narrow
in scope to address what arc now the most
critical issues. In this age of dwindling native
populations, dying mountaintops, and other
large-scale ecological catastrophes, we must
adopt a broad regional perspective in order to
evaluate and implement essential environmental
solutions.
The regional framework provides a logical
context by which to approach land management
decisions. The natural expanse of an ecosystem
(like a prairie, desert, or mountain range) with
its local resources, indigenous populations. and
traditional activities, can suggest
environmentally appropriate patterns of growth
and development. Requiring collaboration
among public agencies and private owners, the
regional perspective is gaining support around
the world as the solution to maintain ecological
systems and the integrity of the
human/environment relationship.
As the dominant land manager in the
Southern Appalachians, the US Forest Service
is in a position to best exemplify the philosophy
of regional stewardship. Currently, however,
the agency is under extensive criticism for its
unimaginative, homocentric planning and
management techniques. The Forest Service
conuols approx:imatcly three million acres in six
Southern Appalachian national forests. Despite
the contiguity of these lands, each national forest
is administered as a separate unit. Staff vision
and authority stop at the legal boundaries. As a
result, individual forest planners have set
inconsistent standards for managing shared
animal populations, lost opportunities to protect
roadlcss areas that straddle state lines, and
purposefully altered rare habitat in order to
incroduce elements already common on adjacent
private lands.
In the Katuah province, towns and private
inholdings comprise about half of the acreage
within official national forest boundaries. These
lands support agriculture, industrial forests,
developed and roaded recreation, and other
human-altered environments. Consequently they
have attracted hardy, invasive wildlife that
thrives in modified senings and displaces native
mountain species. A crucial role of federal
stewardship, therefore, is to promote natural
habitat continuity as a public investment in
biological diversity, clean air and water, and the
Southern Appalachian wild native heritage.
A satellite's-eye view of the Southern
Appalachian Mountains shows the Appalachian
public lands as a green island standing alone
above lowlands crowded with human beings
and the products of their ac1ivi1ies. This
mountainous ecosystem of tremendous natural
beauty and scientific importance is also in
increasing demand as a source for consumptive
supplies. A closer look would show public
forests fragmented by private inholdings,
development spreading across newly-cleared
hillsides, and wildlands straining under
increased resource use. Yet, to date, the core of
the Southern Appalachian habitat survives
relatively intact.
Invisible from overhead, yet just as real in
its effects on the highland forests, is the
administrative fragmentation that further stresses
the region's habitats. Southern Appalachian
forests fall under the jurisdictions of five state
governments, as many federal agencies, and
dozens of counties with differing objectives for
the use of their mountain commodities.
Countless private corporations also make
decisions based on their own perceived interests
in the resources of the Ka1uah province. The
accumulated effects of numerous land-use
decisions made in the isolation of corporate
boardrooms, federal office buildings, and the
offices of county or state agencies threaten 10
mortally fragment Katuah's natural systems and
desuoy their ecologi.cal functions.
If the administering agencies could view
the mountain region from the viewpoint of our
imaginary satellite hovering above, their
perspective and consequently their management
priorities might be changed:
• From overhead, it is clear that the
Southern Appalachians are a biological island,
the last remaining large block of forest habitat in
the southeast. Many areas can contribute to the
regional and national timber supply, most of
them better than these steep mountain forests.
But where better can we look for wilderness,
and the shady, moist storehouses of
undiscovered ecological value?
• The region's remote ridgelines and
pristine streams constitute rare wildland linkage
opponunities for migration, genetic exchange,
and the daily roamiogs of wide-ranging
mammals. These travelways could also extend
to wildlands in the Central Appalachians to the
north, and perhaps south into the Florida
peninsula as well, to ensure strong, adaptable
populations of black bear, mountain lion, and
other large predators. Broad corridors
connecting natural habitat areas along the length
of 1hc Appalachian range would serve as
ecological escape routes in cases of severe
environmental stress, whether of human or
natural origin.
rau.
19e9
�•The Appalachians are the headwaters of
all the great rivers east of the Mississippi. If
streams and rivers are not pure at their origins,
they can never be clean anywhere along their
length.
The expanses of forest that cover the
green mountains are also a fountainhead of
valuable oxygen in an increasingly polluted
armospherc.
• A regional perspective would correct the
misconception that each national forest should
provide the public with equivalent proportions
of all resources. The southeast supports an
abundance of cleared fields, thickets or young
"pioneer" trees, and the understory plants and
animals associated with early successional
habitats. However, areas of contiguous, remote
forest and old-growth comrrunities are precious
and rare. Species plentiful in one nationaJ forest
might be uncommon everywhere else; therefore
these should be preserved at the expense of
more ordinary forest uses.
• Research priorities and resource
inventories also attain broader significance when
framed in a regional perspective. State wildlife
officials and federal land managers currently
repon environmental characteristics in terms of
acres, head counts, and dollars. Such data arc
easily tabulated and readily available by state and
ownership category. Yet these quantitative
measures fail to capture the more comprehensive
information that is critical 10 effective habitat
management
Ta!L, 1989
• To ensure that resource u1ili7.ation docs
not deplete an ecosystem's natural variety,
managers must monitor across the landscape.
They must mitigate the encroachment or
common edge habitat into the diminishing forest
interior. They must delineate and protect
multi-state blocks of continuous forest and
migration pathways. Responsible stewardship
also requires improved biodiversity
measurements, the promotion of ecologically
rich old-growth stands, and the restoration of
degraded lands. These and other research
objectives necessitate inter-agency cooperation.
working relationships with private landowners,
and a more holistic view of the natural
environment and our relationship to it.
The responsibility for regional planning
docs not lie solely with public agencies.
Farmers, industrial foresters. university
administrators, even individual homeowners
must ask how their lands contribute to the
environmental landscape. Particularly those who
profit financially from Katuah's natural features
- the outfitters, resort managers. and members
of the entertainment and service sectors that
surround public lands - should suive to maintain
the integrity of the regional environment both as
a business investment and as a means to
compensate the land for its free use. Private
landowners can do a great deal to strengthen the
vitality of the region by managing their land to
help reconnect the broken pieces.
The time has come for landowners and
managers to acknowledge their shared
responsibility for environmental stewardship.
We can no longer afford to view properties as
discrete units unto themselves. to be modified,
unadvised, by their current legal authorities.
Businesses, families, and public agencies arc
but temporary guardians of many tiny pieces of
the Eanh. Yet the natural processes that permit
our physical survival, as well as foster creative
imagery and inspiration, besr operate
unconstrained by anificaJ divisions. In order to
maintain for the future the fundamental
life-support systems of humans and other
species, we must begin to counter the legacy of
fragmentation with a commitment to
environmental unity.
We must explore land uses that do not
deplete the Eanh's suitability for the other life
forms with whom we exist. We must instill a
deep appreciation for nature and natural
processes in our schoolchildren. We must not
insist on using. viewing, or populating every
available surface, so that truly wild expanses
may sustain the large animals who suffer in our
presence. Much to their credit, federal agencies
in the Southern Appalachians arc now
experimenting with cooperative management
programs. These require our encouragment and
participation. Ccnainly sacrifices of power,
pride, and privacy will be necessary to restore
our suffering environment Yet their significance
wanes beside the tangible and spiritual rewards
of a cooperative survival mission never before
attempted and never more important.
x.atfulh Journm pCUJe 9
�A Question of Value
by David Wheeler
The decades between 1880 and 1920
were the years of the timber barons in the
Southern Appalachian Mountains. This was the
great "logging boom," in which virtually all the
first-growth, "virgin" forest was cut off the
Appalachian slopes.
Fortunes were made during those years,
but the money did not stay in the mountains.
The wealth went to the corporate magnates and
investors in the eastern cities and in Europe.
When the ravishing of the Appalachian forests
was completed, the big companies headed for
greener forests to the west, and the local people
were left with a strong dependency on the
wage-earning system and without the means to
support it.
Today the old-growth forest, the first
forest, is gone, but the view that the forest is a
collection of resources, there for the use and
benefit of human beings still underpins our basic
attitudes and policies toward the Appalachian
woodlands.
The US Forest Service exemplifies that
attitude. Their policies and priorities suue plainly
that they consider the growing of hardwood
timber to be the fir.a purpose of the Southern
Appalachian national forest land.
In the Jefferson National Forest in
Virginia, two-thirds of the Forest Service budget
goes into timber-cutting and road-building,
which is directly tied to logging operations. In
the Nantahala-Pisgah National Forest, 40% of
the budget is allocated to timber and roads.
Beyond that, a good portion of the
adminis1rative budget (which comprises 25% of
the overall budget and is tallied separately) also
goes to overseeing timbering and road-building
operations. Only 3.4% of the NantahalaPisgah's annual budget goes to monitoring and
providing for the needs of wildlife.
The road-building that logging operations
demand is the most expensive and damaging of
all the activities carried on by the Forest Service.
This is particularly true in the southern
mountains where the slopes are steep and highly
erosive (see page 12).
The justification for this continued
environmental destruction and human intrusion
into remote habitat areas is the familiar "jobs and
money" refrain. Much ado is made of the timber
shortage that would result if unconstrained
logging in the national forests were to be
stopped. Timber industry lobbyists declare 1ha1
old-growth forest is wasteful, that there is
already more than enough land set aside for
habitat, and argue against evidence that shows a
forest diminishing in native diversity and
threatened in its ability to provide the clean water
and air that help to nourish life on the planet.
Unhappy over the timber quotas set in the
Forest Service's Land and Resource
Management Plans for the National Forests in
the Southern Appalachians, the timber interests
demanded, and won, an agreement from the
Forest Service to sponsor a timber demand
study, thinking that would give them leverage to
XQt\mh Journc:i! pa9e 10
Phoro by Roo Musick/Profea Ligltthawt
further increase the Forest Service's emphasis
on timber cutting.
The result was the "Southern Appalachian
Timber St udy" prepared by a team of
researchers headed by J. Edward de Steiguer of
the Forest Service's Southeastern Experiment
Station. The repon exploded like a bombshell
onto the environmental scene.
First, rather than verifying a strong
demand for hardwood lumber from the National
Forests, che repon found that the prices offered
had actually been decreasing over the last
decade!
. And, rather 1han showing that the
Nauonal Forests were making an important
contributi?n co the region's timber output, che
report pointed out that che National Forests
contribute only 10 percem of the regional timber
supply. And this 10 percent is largely wood of
poor quality, used mostly for making pallets and
boxes, but also for railroad ties, mine props
plywood, chipboard, and finally paper pulp. A
portion of the better-quality hardwoods are used
as veneer woods and in the manufacturing of
furniture, decorative trim, and hardwood
floorin~, but the study mentioned in passing that
a growing percentage of best hardwoods were
being exported out of che country 10 buyers
overseas!
The Forest Supervisor's office in
Asheville, NC stated that only 700 jobs
throughout the North Carolina mountains were
directly relating to timber harvesting in the
national forests. In rhe Ka111ah province only
rwo counties, Graham and Swain, are dependent
on logging in the national forest as an important
pan of their overal I economies.
But the forest, like anything that lives, is
much greater than the sum of its parts. The cash
price of the standing timber is a paltry amount
compared to the true worth of the forest. How
could one appraise the rich diversity of life in
Karuah, unequalled in the temperate zones of the
world? We can on.ly be grateful for the priceless
blessings of dark soil, pure water, and clean air.
We cannot calculate the inestimable value of the
fragile quality of wholeness.
There has been much controversy lately
about clearcutting and the methods by which
timber is cut in the National Forests. However,
as biologist Glenda Zahner has said, in the face
of the perceived dangers to the survival of the
whole Appalachian habitat it appears that the
question is not how timber is taken, but whether
timber should be cut at all in the Southern
Appalachian narional forests.
Well-known are the infamous national
forest "below-cost timber sales" that have come
to light in the past few years. These are sales in
which the expense of the wood, site access and
preparation, and the administrative management
of rhe sale are not covered by the price received
in the sale con1rac1. Thus, the Forest Service has
actually lost money selling timber in many pans
of the country, including the Southern
Appalachians.
Figures collected for 1987 from the six
National Forests in the Southern Appalachians
(including the Pickens Ranger District of the
Sumter National Forest in South Carolina) show
that the Forest Service lost $5.5 million dollars
in that one year alone from their disastrous
timber policies.
Below-cost timber sales constitute an
unauthorized hand-out 10 the lumber interests
from the agency • and thus from the US
taxpayers. The $5.5 million deficit from one
year of clearcutting the forest could pay 275 of
those 800 working timber-related jobs in the
North Carolina national forests one year's salary
of $20,000 to leave the forests uncut and to
protect them as viable and living habicats.
The succeeding generation of trees that
replaced those carried away during the great
Appalachian lumber rush are now reaching 60 to
80 years of age. The trees are approaching
sawlog girth and soon their growth rate will
begin to slow. This is the age of economic
maturity (not to be confused with biological
YaU.1989
�•
maturity, which is anywhere between 200 and
500 years of age). This is a critical decision
point in our policy-making: is the forest to be set
back to the staning point again, or is it to be
allowed to continue on toward the old-~wth
stage to provide optimal habitat for the native
foresr species?
The Forest Service has made its position
clear. On page 33, de Steiguer's "Southern
Appalachian Timber Study" said, "From 1977 to
1986, the National Forests progressively
increased the harvest volume of all stumpage
products except softwood pulpwood. Real
prices fell during the same period. In fact, the
price lines are pracrically a mirror image of the
volw11e lines." The report showed that the rate
of timber cutting in the Southern Appalachian
National Forests doubled from 63 million board
feet in 1977 to 126 million board feet in 1986,
even as prices were declining.
Wise business practice would suggest
witholding supplies when t.he price is low. The
Forest Service has done e1tactly the opposite
during the last decade, selling more and more
timber for less and less money. Because timber
quotas have been determined on the basis of
political considerations rather than a response to
the real market, taxpayers have been paying for
the privilege of having the National Forests
clearcut by the timber industry.
At the time of this writing, the Forest
Service is planning to again double timber
cutting levels in the Southern Appalachians
between 1986 and 1996. If timber sales continue
10 lose money at the same rate that they are now,
then the money lost on below-cost timber sales
wiU also double during that time.
Under the current versions of the Forest
Service's Land and Resource Management
Plans for the Southern Appalachian national
forests, almost 2/3 of the national forests are
deemed suitable for logging, and all of that area
is scheduled 10 be cut within the next 50 years.
The narural cycle of succession leading to an
old-growth, climax forest habitat will be cut
short throughout two million acres of the
national forest lands. Oak trees, many of which
will be just beginning to produce the acorn mast
so important to black bears and many other
forest inhabitants, will be toppled in clearcuts,
and a portion of the cut-over areas will be
burned or sprayed with poisonous herbicides
and planted in straight lines of white pine trees,
which create inferior habitat for most forest
species. The large, open clearcut areas left to
regenerate naturaUy wiU invite yellow poplar
trees to invade and take over land that may have
been dominated by oaks and other tree species
that prefer some degree of shade. Clearcuts do
encourage diversity - a diversity of weedy plant
and animal species at the expense of increasingly
rare old-growth habitats.
Today the old pattern of lumber
extraction is being renewed as "the international
timber commodities market." Once again,
Appalachia is being relegated to the position of a
t:olonized economy from which raw materials
leave the region for processing elsewhere, along
with the power and the profits.
The United States is vinually the only
country in the world with the capability to
produce temperate hardwoods for expon. Most
of the American hardwoods, particularly the oak
lumber that is most in demand, come from the
ratt.
1989
Appalachian Range. Canada is supplied almost
enurely from the nearby Nonhem Appalachians.
Because they are of higher quality, the northern
hardwoods are also preferred in the
discriminating European market. Buyers in the
Far East, however, are more price-conscious,
and increasing amounts of Southern
Appalachian wood has been sold in Asia.
It is difficult to determine how dependent
on foreign sales the mountain timber industry
has become, because lumber to be shipped
overseas is shunted from logger to wholesaler
and perhaps to several brokers before it finally
reaches its port of embarkation. The US
Depanmenr of Commerce conveniently requires
no records of the point of origin of exported
lumber.
Industry representatives and Forest
Service analysts say that of the total amount of
hardwood cut each year, only 40-50% is large
enough and of a quality that could be considered
for export. They estimate that approximately
20-25% of that export-grade wood is sent
overseas. However, because this is the
highest-quality material of the wood species that
are most in demand, the economic value of the
exponed hardwoods is much greater than their
percentage in volume and is very important to
the hardwood market as a whole.
Distribution of Annual Timber Removals
in the Southern Appalachians. 1980-1986
Fnrms
25.5%
Miscclb ncous
Owner.>
l1riV"J tC
52.8%
Nauona I Forests
10.0%
Oz hcr l'uhlic Aboencics
1.9%
S~ Moun1ain Treasun.sOI Rislc
Much of the expon trade in hardwood is
in kiln-dried, rough-sawn lumber. which is
processed in foreign plants and used for
cabinetry and furniture manufacturing. The
country of Taiwan is among the largest buyers
today. UnHke Japan and West Germany, which
produce furniture largely for their own internal
consumer markets, Taiwan manufactures
furniture for export, mostly to the United States.
The Taiwanese furniture industry is modern and
efficient, and labor in that coumry is so cheap
that they can pay to import lumber from the
United States and then ship finished products
back 10 sell at competitive prices in this country.
John Syme, forest economist at Clemson
University says, "Quite a lot of the furniture
manufacmrers, panicularly in North Carolina,
Tennessee, and Virginia, are buying fumimre or
components produced in Taiwan and other
Pacific Rim countries and then selling them
along with what they manufacture domestically.
This is typical of chairs in particular, and other
items that have a high labor content."
It is possible that consumers in the town
of Sylva, Nonh Carolina could buy furniture
that was made in Taiwan of wood that was cut
within 25 miles of their own home. While they
might notice that a piece is stamped "Made in
Taiwan," they probably would not notice that
the price tag includes fees for shipping the
materials halfway around the world and then
shipping the finished product aU the way back
again.
To stimulate a market that is not
fast-paced enough for their liking, timber
industry profiteers are supplying materials to
keep alive wood-based industries in countries
that, due to misuse and overpopulation, have
already displaced their native forests. On paper,
the hardwood timber industry generates great
profits at the export game, but little of the money
made ever returns to the region where the wood
was originally grown. The materials are sold
from the mountains with a minimum of
processing - jobs are being shipped away along
with the wood. II is the brokers and traders in
the large eastern cities who benefit from timber
exporting. They are few, bur they benefit
greatly.
Sending raw materials to have value
added elsewhere is not advantageous for the
regional economy, but ultimately it is the forest
that pays the greatest price. Ir is the Southern
Appalachian lwbicat that is being cut and shipped
away overseas. It is the black bear's food
supply, the shady canopy protecting the ginseng
plant and the delicate ladyslipper. It is the cover
that hides the thrush, rhe tall guardians who
draw down and measure out the pure running
water. It is the integrity of the biological system,
that subtle sense of balance that is intangible, yet
so important.
Here again is that persistent question of
value: for what we are losing, what do we gain?
The approach that sees the forest trees as
materials for human use requires chat the trees be
cut down and carried away - extracted - before
they are of value.
But the other approach that sees value in
the wholeness of living communities requires
that humans keep their hands (feet, and wheels)
off large areas of the foresL The Southern
Appalachian national forests are a significant
land area in the Southeast. They could be a
magnificent habitat area. Timber cutting, which
supposedly is providing the greatest economic
benefits, is proving to be a public liability
instead. The national forests in the Kan1ah
province are providing very litcle timber, very
few jobs, and very litlle money to the local
people. Yet for those scanty benefits the
mountain forestlands are suffering inestimable
damage to the natural habitat chat will take
centuries to repair where it is reparable at all.
It is time 10 bring our forest policies back
into balance with the forest.
The "Southern Appalachian Timber Study" by de
Steiguer. ct al., is available from tlze USDA Forest
Service; Box 2750: Asheville, NC: Katuah Province
28802. This anicle also drew heavily on the excellent
resource Moumain Treasures at Risk by Laura E.
Jackson (see page 8).
�Let's Close The Gate To Forest Devastation
by Anna Muir
"Our forests are national rreasures nor national rreefanns."
- St1u11or Wye/le Fowler, Jr. (D-GA)
As far as land use is concerned, the key to
protecting the Southern Appalachian forest
habitat is to deny human access. Access means
roads.
"In 1985, narionalforesrs in the sowliern
Appalachians contained 4 ,95 J miles of
permanent Forest Service roads. The agency
plans ro add 3,263 miles of new road ro this
transportation sysrem by the year 2030 in order
to meet increased timber sale levels. The
resulting 8,2 14 miles will surpass rlie distance
from Denver, Colorado, to New Zealand. In
less than 50 years, these national forests will
support alrrwsr two miles of road per square
mile of land, nor including state, county, or
private roads."
budgeted $13,600 per mile c road gentle slopes
o
and $22,700 per mile/or sreep slopes."
- Laura E. Jackson, Mountain Treasures at Risk
Timber sales add up to a net liability for
the Forest Service and thus for the US
taxpayers. In the Southern Appalachians alone
logging cost taxpayers $5.5 million in 1987. It
is a vicious paradox, because preliminary road
building doom;; any chance that a timber sale
might clear a profit before cu1ting even starts.
Present policy states that the only viable
method of timber cutting is clearcutting. Under
repeated clcarcuning the original forest is never
given a chance to grow back, thus clearcuuing
represents forest fragmentation and species
discontinuity on the grossest scale. But loggmg
depends on the expensive permanent roads
installed at the taXpaycr's expense. No roads, no
clearcuts.
- Laura£. Jackson. Moumain T~ at Risk
R oad const ruc ti on c reates severe
disruption throughou t many square miles of
national forest habitat. The soil erosion and
stream siltation associated with logging
operattons arc predominately the result of the
roading necessary to remove the timber. Great
amounts of topsoil, D"CCS, and native herbaceous
plants arc displaced all along the many miles of
roads pushed into the forest habitat. Roading in
steep areas undercuts soil and rock structures,
maximizing erosion, often res ultin g in
rockslides and soil slumping.
"Access is rhe demise of bear habirar, and
anybody with comrrwn sense will tell you that.
The bear in the Piedmont has been wiped out
and replaced wirh people. For every mile of
road you punch imo these rrwuntains and leave
open, you're jusr pulling anorher nail in the
bear's coffin." - John Collins, wildlife blologw and
big gamt program coordinawr, NC Wildlife Resources
Commission. quoted 111 Wildlife in Nonh Carolina
rrrJg<UIJIL
In an inter-depanmental memo released to
the public, US ForeSt Service Regional Forester
Jnck Alcock stated that, "Approximately 98
percent of all recreation (in the national forests)
takes place within three-fourths mile of a road."
Oisregardfog the obvious question of where is
one to find a patch of national forest that 1s nor
three-fourths mile from a road, the regional
forester's statement gives some idea of the
tremendous negative impact of forest roads on
the natural habitat and how tremendously helpful
closing roads would be to the rejuvenation of
that habitat.
'This is a wasteful program that continues
a Jcind offar red calf existence even in these days
of tremendous budget dejicirs ....ln the last si.:c
[!Seal years alone the Forest Service constructed
3,725 more miles of road than needed, by its
own projec1ions, for rimber harves1ing. Such
unnecessary roadbuilding was1es the taxpayers'
money, while valuable fish and wildlife habirar
is destroyed."
- Sen. Wyche Fowler. Jr (D-CA) on the floor of
the US Stnate. July 29. 1989
The primary purpose of the forest roads
in the Southern Appalachian national forests is
to bring in logging trucks. The Forest Service
has claimed that the mosaic of roads interlacing
the national forests is necessary to support the
jobs and money generated by timber cutting.
However, this claim has been proven false.
Timber sales on the national forests have
actually been losing money in recent years (sec
p. 10 ), and a primary reason is the cost of road
building in the steep mountain terrain.
"Across rhe nation, approximately
one-half of all Forest service rimber expenses
are artribwable to road costs. Road construction
is expensive, particularly in mountainous
regions where many national fores rs are located.
Planners for 1Jie Jefferson (Na1ional Foresr)
Jc:.citUah Journm
p ~ 12
197S
11l6S
19115
2030
T OTAL REGION.
• Past, Current, and Projected Forest Service
Permanent Road Milage on the Southern
Appalachian National Forests, 1974-2030.
Soun:..
flfowitam Trtasuru ill Risk
"The excessive logging scheduled for
remore and sreep terrain requires a degree of
roading that will severely degrade rhe moumain
environment. Within 50 years. 3,263 miles of
new, permanent roads are pro;ecred for rhe
Sowhern Appalachian national foreslS. Road
consrrucrion is rhe most damaging activity
conducted in norional fores1 management. Even
miligalion ml!asures cannor prevent erosion, soil
compaction, and habiratfragmentarion - ongoing
results of road consrruction and subsequent
use." - Laura E. Jackson. Mounu11n Treasures at Risk
The greatest damage by forest roads 1s to
habitat values as they occur in remote areas of
the national forests. And the most damaging
aspects of the forest roads are those caused by
"cumulative cffectS" - those incremental changes
that considered together add up to debilitating
qualitative changes in the overall environment.
Here is an example of "cumulat ive
effects:' A road was bulldozed to a clearcut site.
The logging trucks and heavy equipment went
in, did their job and, after some months, came
out, leaving a treeless forest area compacted and
criss-crossed by caterpillar tracks.
Some of the loggers were bear hu nters,
and they noticed bear sign while they were
doing their work. So, that fall, trucks with
kennel boxes mounted on the back raised dust
up and dow n the road, until the bear s were
hunted out, and the hunters moved elsewhere to
finish off the season.
Now familiar with the area, some of the
hunters brought a picnicking party to a pleasant
pool they found in the creek flowing beyond the
logged-over area. The following year some of
the families rerurned to the clearcut to pick
blackberries. And o ne of the teenagers
remembered the picnicking party when he and
his friends needed an isolated place to park and
drink beer, so four-wheel-drive vehicles
careened up into the forest several weekends in
succession.
The Forest Service, noticing all the use
their small, rough forest road was attracting,
upgraded the road to "meet the traffic demand"
with the result that tourists in their large cars
could ride all the way to the top of the ridge to
enjoy the view .... And so it goes.
Each of these uses is not significant in
itself. Each is legitimate in its own way. But.
compounded together, the overall effect is
devastating to the natural habitat that once
existed on that ridgetop, protected by several
square miles of impenetrable forest. Cumulative
effects all too often add up to a habitat
destroyed.
f"l:ltt, t 989
�"Anyone who can't see that open roads
hurt bear habitat has got to be blind."- John
Collins, wildlife biologist and big game program
coordilliltor, NC Wildlife ReS(Jurces Commission
Besides the direct monality due to road
kills and increased hunter ingress, roads are a
primary cause of the forest fragmentation that is
one of the greatest threats to habitat in the
Karuah Province. Roads mean people, and black
bears and other large forest-dwelling animals
shy away from traffic-bearing roads, so that
large areas of previously umouched habitat, far
wider than the actual area of the roadbed itself,
are eliminated with the construction and
subsequent use of new roads. Thus, the
creatures native to the old forest are pushed into
smaller and smaller range areas that are less and
less desirable as living spaces as roads are
constructed in areas that were once prime
habitat.
New roads also mean wide strips of
cleared land and carry "edge effects,'' one of
which is rapid invasion by early-succession
("weed") species of plants and animals, deep
into the once-unbroken foresL
Multiple Use M o dule
(MUM)
Rud NDM ill NaJural Areas JoMrnol
"Mr. President, we already have an
excess of Forest Service roads through our
national forests ...."
- Sen. Wyche Fowler. Jr.
(D-GA) on the floor of the US Senate.July 29, 1989
In the interest of habitat preservation, not
only should the US Forest Service halt its
road-building program in Katuah completely,
but in key habitat areas existing roads should be
closed, erased, and planted with fast-growing,
hardwood, pioneer tree species to restore the
natural character of the once-roaded areas as
quickly as possible.
Closing forest roads completely and
permanently would open large expanses of
forest in which the black bear and other
old-growth dependent species could roam
freely, strengthening the gene pool, and
rejuvenating and expanding the present
populations. Closing roads is a necessary
prerequisite for any programs to reintroduce
large carnivorous animals, such as the mountain
lion, to restore proper predator/prey balances in
the forest. Closing roads is a key pan of any
program to restore old-growth habitat in the
,
Southern Appalachian Mountains.
SparrowHawk
The sparrow hawk became his friend,
though distrusting him at first,
not seeing that when the man found it
entangled in fishing line at the junkyard,
he meant anything but harm.
But it softened as he sat in the
dark room beside it
silent, his eyes averted,
letting it discover that he held it captive
only because he cared
and would offer freedom when the May hills were green
and the air sweetened and warm.
Trust came when he fed it chicken
and trained it to fly from his fist
at field mice and grasshoppers,
nurturing its strength and confidence
to face the world again.
Yet he was reluctant to give it back
to the endless sky and distant Blue Ridge,
saddened not to hear its chirp
or feel the light talons as it lit on his head
or see the solemn brown gaze;
but his time with the hawk was borrowed,
and as it flew beyond the pines vanished with the stirring breeze he was glad to have known 1t at all.
- Julia Nunnally Duncan
T11Ct, 1989
D1awU1g by RobM~sick.
�TA
by Heather Blair
fg[(,
1989
�A PLACE FOR BEARS
An Interview with Dr. Michael Pelton
(This 1nttr11itw 1s a continuation of a
conlll!rsation btg"" ill issut 17 of the Ka!Uah Journal.)
Katuah Journal: What are the basic
clements for good bear habitat?
Pt/ton: In 1970 we questioned
southeastern state fish and wildlife agencies
about bear habitat Respondents indicated across
the board that black bears need good food
sources (acorns and berries) and thick
understory cover of some type There seemed to
be common agrccmcnt that these were necessary
clements for good bear habitat.
1bc third element is privacy - some degree
of seclusion and remoteness. Of these three
clements there is no doubt that the
privacy/protection element is the most irnponant.
Black bears are omnivores and have a broad
food habit. Throughout their range in North
America nuts and berries are always present.
Where these arc present the species will survive,
but only if there is some degree of privacy.
Kattlah Journal: Then how about the
effect of roads?
Ptll()n: Road density and rramc volume
arc the two factors that interact to determine the
degree to which a bear will avoid crossing or
even coming close to a road.
The animals can be affected in two major
ways. First, the road may make the habitat less
desirable. Therefore they shift their home range,
usually to a less desirable habitation. Thus they
would be more vulnerable to monality, as they
would have to move around more to find
adequate food, denning sites, or cover.
Secondly, a road may result in direct
monality. Besides obvious factors like road
kills, the mere presence of a rood invites people
to use ii. The more it is used, the greater the
possibility that hunting will be one of those
uses.
Katuah Journal:
Are there other
cumulative effects of roads?
Pelton: Certainly. Once a road is in place
and opened, it attracts all kinds of human
intrusion, whether it's logging or hunting.
The Twelve Mile Strip (an area between
the east border of the Great Smoky Mountains
National Parle and the Pisgah 1"ational Forest) is
an imponant dispersal area from the Park. It is
also a major hunting area. However, the Twelve
Mile Strip is essentially devoid of a resident bear
population. There is a high degree of road
access, which means heavy hunting pressure,
and the 1-40 freeway separates the Twelve Mile
Strip from the national forest, which is ccnainly
a barrier to bear migration.
A recent ttaffic surve)' we did on l-40
found that during the daytime a vehicle passed
the counting point every three seconds. At night
the traffic slowed to one vehicle every seven
seconds. The only real land bridge is the steep
ridge that runs over one tunnel. We also know
that there arc 13 or 14 culvcrtS in that area which
could be used to cross under 1-40, but we don't
f'11U, t 989
~ "11-Rltea
know if they arc being used. From road kills
we've found, we do know that bears do
occasionally tty to cross the highway.
When traveling the coastal area of Europe
last year, l found it very interesting to see their
road construction techniques. At locations where
we would "cut and fill" in this mountainous
countty, they "bridge and tunnel." It struck me
immediately that the "bridge and tunnel"
concept, for whatever reason they used it, is
ideal for animals in that it leaves large corridors
for dispersal movements, in contrast to the "cut
and fill" method that we use at present
The availability of acorns
drives the dynamics of the black
bear population in the Southern
Appalachians.
Katuah Journal: That's interesting,
especially since another major freeway is being
proposed up the 1-26 corridor into Tennessee. It
seems like it would be time to bring up
something like that.
You have also talked about acorns and
their imponance to the black bear population.
Pelton: The availability of acorns drives
the dynamics of the black bear population in the
Southern Appalachians.
Black bears react to this concentrated
energy source in amazing ways. Ecologically,
physiologically, and behaviorally they go
through a ttemendous change each fall.
Bears tty to incorporate prime acorn sites
into their home ranges. But acorns produce
sporadically, and in any given year black bears
will leave their traditional home range areas and
travel for miles to congregate at oak stands that
have abundant acorns.
During this "feeding frenzy," as we call it,
they sometimes seem to ignore a human
presence in situations in which at any other time
they would have jumped into the bushes and run
away. They also show much more tolerance for
one another at these focal eating areas. There
seems to be larger numbers of animals in smaller
areas than at any other rime of the year.
It also appears that bears can shift their
ability to digest various foods, particularly to
assimilate the fall mast more efficiently. Acorns
account for their ttemcndous fall weight gains,
which arc all put on as fat
Considered together, all these changes
point to the importance of acorns as a source of
food for the black bear. During the fall months
they put on their most significant weight gains.
This fat accumulation must carry them through
the winter denning and into the cub-bearing
season. We have been able to correlate the
availability of white oak mast and the percentage
of females lactating, and we found a direct and
significant relation to acorn production. More
dramatically, in the event of a failure of the
acorn crop, there is an almost complete faillll'C of
black bear reproduction. If alternative mast
c rops fail as well, it could mean w inter
starvation for the animal
The size of the acorn crop also directly
affects black bear mortality. A scarcity of mast
necessitates greater movements on the part of the
bear population. This makes them much more
vulnerable to all the factors of monality. It
affects them coming and going: natality
(reproduction) and mortality.
For example, in Tennessee this year the
state fish and wildlife agency is having to deal
with a lot of three year old male bears moving
out of the Great Smoky Mountains Narional
Park and ending up in Gatlinburg and
Sevierville. There is a dominance hierarchy
among black bears, and the subadult males of
two or three years of age tend to be the ones
who get kicked out and have to disperse to new
ranges.
This example fits in with events that
happened in 1984 when there was a tremendous
mast faillll'C. No cubs were born that year in the
Great Smoky Mountains National Park. That
meant that all the females were available to be
bred in 1985. Therefore, they all had cubs in
1986. These are the young bears that are now
(conlinuod on peg~ 16)
XAtUAh Journot Pll98 t 5
�bein& forced to look for new homes. It's
interesting how this situation today was
precipitated by the events of five years ago.
Katllah Journal: How docs clcarcuuing
affect black bears?
Pelton: My main concern is that
clearcutting may be subtracting from the
"principal," 10 put it in economic terms, of mast
producuon. There is a trade-off between the
summer mast that is produced for a few years
and the years of hard mast production that are
lost when oaks arc cut down. But my main
concern is that it appears that foresters still don't
have a full understanding of how 10 carry out a
clearcut and have predictable results in terms of
good, strong oak regeneration. We have made
numerous observations on the Pisgah National
Forest. In those instances it seemed that they
were not getting the regeneration they should
have. Thus this becomes a major concern. Once
a srand is cut, it may be lost to acorn production
for many, many years.
Another concern is denning. Bears do
sometimes den in the areas of thick undergrowth
created by a clearcut, and that's fine, but where
dogs are used for hunting, there is greatly
increased hunting pressure. The bears seem to
sense their vulnerability. The more exposed they
are, the more apt they arc 10 leave and abandon
their cubs. Female bears in particular need
secwe sites, such as large cavities in old, hollow
trees or rock crevices, in which to den. The
more secure the denning site, the more likely
they are to stay put.
Twenty-five or 30 years ago clearcuts
were hundreds of acres in size. Over the years
they have been shrunken in size until now they
are down to less than 40 acres in the Southern
Appalachians. These are beuer for most forest
species. It means more unbroken. contiguous
areas. Smaller cuts spaced apart seem 10 be a
more logical cuuing regime. Adjacent stands
should be allowed 10 mature to mast-producing
age.
Katllah Journal· What specifically could
we do to help improve habi1a1 for 1he black
bears?
Pelton: I think we need longer timber
rotations. I still contend that we need 10 examine
rotation times in light of the importance of
acorns 10 bears and other species. I have a
feeling that the rotation times need 10 be
lengthened to give the forest as a whole a chance
to be as it productive as it can be 10 produce the
food that is necessary. That production time
varies a lot from one variety of oak 10 another,
but I think that the rotations are probably still too
short
The other need is, as I mentioned before,
that foresters pay a 101 more attention to oak
regeneration when they cut. They need 10 make
ha1
sure that regeneration is advanced enough, 1
there are enough young oak seedlings and
saplings on the ground, so that maple or tulip
poplar or any other species don't overwhelm the
oaks and take over the site. Clcarcuts should
also be spaced so that acorn-producing stands
are adjacent.
roads. We have had a history of roads being
opened and closed, opened and closed,
re-opened and closed again in response 10
various political pressures.There needs 10 be a
consistent and Slandard policy throughout lhe
region regarding roads. Without it, there's no
doubt that roads are going to be quite detrimental
to black bears. Even gated roads arc being used
for illegal hunting. Total closwe may have to be
undenakcn.
The state agencies in North Carolina and
Tennessee are bolh putting a lot of thought into
their bear sanctuaries. It migh1 be timely 10
examine the sanctuary boundaries in relation to
where timber management activities and roads
will or won't be, so that lhe efficiency of the
system can be enhanced. They could make sure
I.hat the boundaries of a sanctuary take advantage
of a cenain prime white oak stand, for instance.
I think we need to learn more about designing
sanctuaries, but with a liule bit of thought and
planning, perhaps the system could be improved
considerably.
Dr. Michael Pelton has studied the
black bears in the Sowhern Appalachians/or the
last twenty years. He is recognized world-wide
for his knowledge and experience with bears
and has advised bear research and restoration
projectS in Norrh America and Europe.
Rtcortkd by David Whukr
Transcribtd by Marsha R111g
Edictd by Kim Sandland and Dovid \Vhttltr
About roads .. .ln a report I presented in
1985, I said that under present conditions black
bears needed 10 have wilderness or
quasi-wilderness, because of the indeterminate
policies of the Forest Service about closing
'Jfu:rc fell tl1e min liealin9
forty rlays
am! w e were fwatl ng, we w ere spfushi"'J
am! Caugfi£119
boos wUh our rwses in f wwers
aml throu9h tlui trus, nug9ets of s unlU)ht
and •v•rywhcr• 9run reachL"'] to fwld us
bark to touch am! 9run sprou ts, forgotten
in corners wfu:r• 9run had com. rw more.
C£u
7Mr• /eJ1. tlu& rain fu:ali"'],
mil£"'] am! f a!l£119,
remLmli"'J us of paths. rivulet.s /or9otten,
paths unilwtujit of, ways too new to Lrn<UJi.ne,
the joy of clesctmt unforesun, abandoned
to tlu& twists of mud am! stone, un.ltwwn,
new, quid.Ly. abrupt, steep.
rai,n remlndL"'J to fall w'tlwui ceasi"'],
fall 9Uully, /all gratefully,
fafl, lo119Cr and try f or tlu& bottom,
Ln mud, Ln stornJ, Ln green, Ln greetJ$St
magnif£ceru;e of rain,
the rain that falls ~lL119.
f"aCL, 1989
�ArlWOl'.I: l¥y JamM Rhea
If you ever talk to an old-timer, and you mention the word
"panther," be prepared for some emotion-laden and perhaps
superstitious stories. Human fear of the unknown has influenced
and shaped the Eastern panther's destiny. Because of this fear the
Eastern panther has been almost completely wiped out in eastern
Nonh America.
This article is an.anempt to decipher myth from reality and
to present evidence for or against the existence of the Eastern
panther today.
TI1e following is an example of the typical panther story
told to an old-timer of today by his or her parents:
'The night was dark and still. Daddy put a log in the
fireplace and then tricked us liule'uns in bed. The only sounds
were the hoot of a screech owl and inseccs serenading. And then,
all of a sudden - a clt1unp, on the roof!
Wha1's that, daddy?'we asked in fright.
They got us children down and we gathered around the
fire. We could hear the creature pacing back andforch above our
heads. It was rryinR ro claw up some shinRles!
'Don't be afraid,' Mommy cold us, 'it'll be alright.'
Daddy grabbed his gun from the wall. We knew it wasn't
a/rig Ju. Then there was a loud, piercing scream! We knew it was
the call of the painter."
Is this scenario accurate - or is it just exaggerated mountain
folklore? Was the Eastern cougar, or "painter," as it was called
by the mountaineers, so bold as to come up to a human home and
threaten to attack and kill humans? Do panthers still exist in the
Southern Appalachians? What were, or are, they really like?
Cougars were almost completely eliminated in eastern
Nonh America soon after it was seuled by European immigrants.
The attitude toward the great cat was the same auitude which
caused the "taming" and destrucrion of the wilderness. The
settlers anacked the animal, fearing it would prey on livestock
and humans. Also, the destruction of the deer population through
over-hunting and land-clearing, and direct hunting of the Eastern
cougar saw this subspecies to its demise.
1"aCC.. l989
According to Robert Downing, former Forest Service
officer in Clemson, South Carolina, the Eastern cougar (a
subspecies which differs from the Florida panther, western
panther, and twenty-seven other subspecies of Nonh American
panthers), is as elusive as the answer to the questions asked
about it. Many factors complicate the picture. First we must
understand the habits and peculiarities of the panther.
A cougar (Fe/is concolor) will live almost anywhere there
are deer, or enough of the other animals of its prey base, such as
racoon, opossum, rabbit, skunk, and fox. Deer, however, are by
far the preferred prey of the cougar. All predators are best
adapted for a specific prey animal. The deer is the right size and
speed for the cougar and has come to be almost the cougar's only
food source. ln Mexico where deer are few or non-existent,
panthers prey on smaller rodents solely. This means that the
panthers must spend more time and energy to kill more animals,
but also shows their exrreme adapuibility. Unlike bears. panthers
will not eat the meat of an animal they have not killed themselves.
Occasionally an individual panther will acquire the habit of
preying on livestock, although that occurrence is rare. Cougar
are not and have never been a real threat to livestock. Wild boar,
however, are definitely a possible prey animal for the cougar
(which has implications for restoring balanced ecosystems in the
Great Smoky Mountains National Park). Panthers feed only once
every week or two. They kill only when hungry, usually eating
pan of the deer and caching or hiding the rest to finish later.
Robert Downing is called at least once, and sometimes
several times, a month to investigate reponed sightings of the
Eastern panther. He is presently rraining other Fish and Wildlife
officials how to identify and verify rracks and scats. Only a
rrained expen can tell the difference between a panther track and
that of a large dog. Cats walk with their nails retracted (to keep
them sharp). except on rare occasions when they are in a hurry.
Panther scats average one and onequaner inches in diameter, and
are smooth like those of a bobcaL Another panther habit is to kick
up a pile of din and leaves on the edge of its territory and urinate
on it. This habit is also shared by bobcats and foxes, so it takes a
trained eye to determine the difference. Tracks are difficult 10 find
in the mountains because the ground is either hard clay or the
(continued on p:ige t8)
JC.at ®h Jo1mmC. pa9e t 7
�FRONT
COUGAR
"'"~
(continued from page 17)
constant rain washes the tracks away. Snowfall helps to locate
tracks, but high mountain winds, subsequent snow storms, and
melting make tracking in winter as challenging as any of the
seasons.
With so many sightings reported, Robert Downing finds it
hard to believe they can all be wrong. But it is also hard to
understand why there has never been an Eastern panther hit on
the highways, when 5-15% of the Florida panthers (another
subspecies) arc killed each year on the road. Perhaps the Florida
panthers find roads more desirable to navigate than low, rugged
wetlands. a problem the Eastern cougar would not have.
Cougars were formerly common throughout North and
South America. where they existed mostly on deer, bison, and
elk. Today only small pocket populations survive, mostly in the
western United States. Panthers are loners, rarely traveling in
groups or packs. An individual cougar in the west occupies a
10-20 square mile territory. In Florida each panther uses 50-60
square miles because the population pressure 1s not as great
There is no regular mating season for panthers. They will
breed any time of the year once they come to maturity at three
years of age. However, breeding for any one panther occurs only
once every two tO three years. The two or three kittens in each
litter are raised by the female. After weaning at two to three
months of age, they accompany the mother on hunts.
The panther ranges in length from five to eight feet,
including the tail, and weighs from eighty to two hundred
pounds. Their call varies. It can be soft like the cooing of a dove,
a rattling growl, or an eerie shriek -- sometimes described as
resembling the scream of an old woman. The panther does not
scream when it is about to attack, as myth would lead us to
believe. The bark of the grey fox is sometimes mistaken for a
cougar call, although there is no resemblance. Some owl calls
have even been mistaken for panther howls.
In Florida, and many eastern states, panthers are protected
as an endangered species. In western states cougar are managed
by state fish and wildlife departments as a game animal. In
Texas, there i s no protective legislation for the cougar
whatsoever.
A known population of panthers exists in Manitoba which
has spread west into Ontario, and south into the Upper Peninsula
of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota Maine is an ideal habitat
for the panther, as there are large areas with no public roads and
large deer populations. But so far no panthers have been
officially sighted there.
Before there can be any action taken to protect the Eastern
cougar and its habitat, the presence of the Eastern cougar must be
confirmed. Roben Downing has written a report fol' the USDI
Fish and Wildlife Service entitled: "The Current Starus of the
Cougar in the Southern Appalachians." In it he describes recent
reports, historical aspects, searches for sign, and research needs.
The Forest Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service pooled their
resources and sponsored Roben Downing's study when the
controversy came to a head in 1977. At that time several groups
threatened to bring suit against the Forest Service unless it hailed
timber harvests in an area where several cougars had reportedly
been seen. If you think you have seen a cougar or its sign, this
repon may help you to determine a true sighting.
The conclusion of Robert Downing's study is basically that
there is yet no conclusion as to the status of the Eastern cougar.
Although it seems fitting and right for panthers to be inhabiting
the southern mountains, not one official sighting has been made.
Until then, panther advocates have no basis for demandfog
protection for cougar habitat
The best thing one can do at this point is to get a copy of
"The Current Status of the Cougar in the Southern
Appalachians," learn all one can about tracks and panther habits,
and keep one's eyes and ears open when roaming the hills. The
true spirit of native Appalachia will shine forth when species such
as the panther (along with the American chestnut, gray wolf, and
black bear) are existing together in stable and self-sustaining
populations.
Roberr Downing's reporr, "The Current Sratus of the
Cougar in the Southern Appalachians," is available from rhe
Denver Wildlife Research Center; Department of Forestry;
Clemson Universiry; Clemson, SC 29631.
The Earth First! Biodiversity Project is collecting data for
an Eastern Cougar Study. Your help is needed to document
cougar sightings and habitat use in the eastern states.
If you see a cougar, remember as accurately as
possible the location; a description of the animal including height,
length, approximate weight, length of the tail, and distinguishing
marks; a description of the terrain; and an account of the event
Send information to: Eanh First! Biodiversity Project
2365 Willard Road
Parkersburg, WV 26101
Cougar tracks have four toe pad marks in a
semi-circle ahead of the larger metacarpal pad. There are usually
three lobes on the back of the metacarpal pad. The tracks of adult
cougars measure 2 3/4 inches or more in width. Cougars have a
central lead toe on each foot, and the two middle toes are not
symmetrical, but one is normally farther forward than the other.
Dog tracks appear similar to cougar tracks, but the toes arc
almost directly opposite each other, and claw marks arc always
visible ahead of the toe marks. Bobcat tracks are similar in
appearance to cougar tracks, but smaller. The tracks of a young
cougar will appear the same as those of a bobcat.
If you see a cougar track, make a plaster cast.
Here is how:
I) Prepare the ground surrounding the track by removing
any debris. Carefully remove any loose objects in the track itself.
2) Take a strip of light cardboard or plastic long enough to
surround the track, fold it into a circle and fasten lhe ends
togelher. Set it around lhe track.
3) Mix Plaster of Paris according to directions on package.
Once mixed, plaster sets quickly, so be prepared to pour
immediately.
4) Pour the plaster slowly over the track, taking care to fill
all the recesses, especially the toe marks, to avoid air bubbles.
Pouring too quickly will disturb the track. Pour plaster one inch
over the track.
5) Allow the plaster to harden. Then lift the cast and
carefully wipe away excess din and debris.
/
raet,1989
�Last fall, when the mornings turned c
turned to gathering firewood, we didn't hav
south-facing slope behind rhe cabin was doned
oaks. We discovered enough snags just along
the wood stove stoked all winter, and without I
summer I've found enough dead and dying oak
house next wioter, too.
Oaks are treasured trees -- valuabl~ fo~~r. !f!l~per
provide, valuable for their shady canopy and
wood and their sturdy beauty. But something is
oak forests of sourbcrn Appalachia. Since the
ll980's,
we've seen an increase in the mortality of oaks la
~land
h3nlwood fcxests throughout the eastern United ~ This
phenomenon, called• decline, has been o b s e r v e - y
since the early 1900's, bat foresucs~.ud 1
are just beginning to tmensi.v~ it! Ciiiil'di
k
is having on the forest ecosystem.
Oak decline is not caused by a single discaa odDlilllPa. bot
a series of interactions between environmenw strelles,
diseases, and insectS. A healthy oak ~ will begin to dec:Uae
when it is subjected to unusual stress, such u drought; fiosl
iniury or spring defoliation by insects. This causes physiological
changes in the tree and its root n~omes vllJn~ IO
lltlCk by the annillaria root'l'Offungus (Ari1tiJJaria metled), wllil:b
aormally lives on roOlS of dead trees. This runaus killS put oflhe
mot sySl!Cm, further weakening the tree and making it sa~
above ground auaclc by other diseases and iosects. The
two-lined chestnut borer (Argilus bilineatus) is often fond in
uees at this stage, its larvae making meandering galleries dna&b
the inner bark and eventually girdling the tree. As the aee
declines, ns growth slows down and the crown dies bact. Tbe
dead branches exposed as the leaves die are the most obvious
signs that a tree is being seriously stressed. If good condieiom
return, a young, vigorous tree may be able 10 recover, bat an
older tree will continue to decline and eveniually die, UiUll1y iwo
to five years after the stress first occured.
The U.S. Forest Service has been conducting surveys
throughout Karuah to determine how widespread oak decline ~
and which areas arc affected most severely. By combining aerial
surveys and data collec1ed on 1hc ground, resarchcn have
de1crmincd that oaks are declining in all southern upland
hardwood forests, but the damage varies greatly in different
areas. Oak species in the red oak group (including bhd. scarlet
and nonhcrn red oaks) are much more likely to decline lhan !hose
in the white oak group (white and chestnut oaks). Oak decline
1ends 10 be grca1cs1 in areas where trees naturally grow most
slowly -- on ridgc1ops, on shallow, rocky soils and on southand wes1-facing slopes.
Age is a fac1or, too. "Declines arc, by and large, diseases
of ma1ure trees." according to Sieve Oak, forest pathologist with
the Forest Service. "However, chronological age may not f>e the
best measure of tree maturity. On a high quali1y site, an
80-year-old black oak might be considered middle-aged, but on a
poor site the same ttcc would be a senior citizen, and probably
more prone to decline".
Oak seedlings arc relatively intolerant of shade so they
••id
br
'°
have a hard time establishing themselves under a forest caoopy.
Once a dominant tree dies and more fight reaches the g10lllld.
1hey tend 10 be out-competed by fas1cr growing seedling -yellow poplar, maple, sourwood, black locust In order 10 be
sure !hat oaks will be present in the next stand, it's generally
agreed tha1 there must be a substantial number of oak seedlings
and saplings already growing in tbc undcrstory before lhe
dominant trees die.
"If it doesn't maucr what kind of trees replace declined
oaks, then decline is of no consequence because some
regeneration will happen", Sieve Oak says. "But given the
problems of oak regeneration, it's not at all clear !hat oaks wilt
replace themselves after decline".
Understanding the biological causes of oak decline and
where it tends to occur gives some clues as to why we are seeing
ao increasing number of dead oaks in the green mountains of our
bioregion. Kan1ah forests were almost decimated by the "cut ou1
and get otlt" logging practices which prevailed around the tum of
!he century. As a result, the majority of these next-generation
forats are now in the 60 10 90 year range -- the age al which
oaks become more vulnerable to the stresses that cause decline.
1llc long-1erm drough1 we arc experiencing is surely a
contributing fac1or. Overall, the raie of global wanning since
1970 is higher than a1 any earlier recorded rime. If our heedless
consumption of fossil fuels continues to blanket the earth with
increasingly heavier layers of carbon dioxide, the drought stress
caused by higher tcmpcra1ures will have dire consequences for
the whole ccosys1em, and oaks may be among the firs! obvious
casualties.
Oak decline is also predicted 10 increase with the steady
advent of the leaf-hungry gypsy moth as It chews its way south
into these foresis. The gypsy moth, an insect pcs1 introduced 10
Nonh America in the ninc1eenth cen1ury, is expected 10 cause
significant amounts of defoliation in the near future.
One of the major current concerns about oak decline is the
impact it has on wildlife. As their crowns die back, declining
oaks produce less hard mast (acorns) and the nutritional value of
the mast may not be as high. In one declining stand surveyed, the
acorn yield was predicted to be 58% lower over five years than
would be cxpcacd in a hcahhy stand.
"Acorns arc very high in fa1 and carbohydrates", explains
Lauren Hi1hmn. Forest Service wildlife biologist. "They arc one
of 1he highest energy foods in !he forest".
This shortage creates a grave situation for all animals
which depend on acorns for fall and winter food -- black bear,
deer, eastern wild turkey, racoon, squirrel and other small
mammals. The populations of preda1ors such as bobca1, cougar
and raptors a.re also adversely affec1cd by decline, since much of
their prey consists of small mammals dependant on acorns.
According 10 Hillman, decline also decreases the diversity
of acorn species. Having a variety of mast in the forest, she says,
"cushions failure in one crop which may have a poor production
year. Given periodic hard mas(shonages, this could be a critical
fac1or for wildlife survival".
And !he impact of oak decline on wildJife wilJ be even
grca1er in the future because many dying oaks will be replaced by
(continued oo page 20)
foU, 1989
JC.atimn Journa! p1i9e 19
�olher species of trees which won't produce any hard mast.
"Black bear reproduction is directly dependent on. hard
mast availability", continues Hillman, and she asscns that 1f oa1c
decline continues to jcapardizc this food source, "the black bear
.
.
might not stnive".
If we consider long term trends m climate, the s1e~dy
advance of the gypsy moth and the current age of our .f?"=sts, 1.t is
reasonably safe to predict that oak decline is.a cond1uon wh~ch
will not be disappearing in the near future. Is 11 a problem which
needs to be addressed by forest management practices. or should
oa1c decline be viewed as one factor among many in the evolution
of a continuously changing ccosyst~m 7
.
The oak-dominated forests m the mountains of southern
Appalachia arc a result of land use history ov~r the last 200 years.
Past agricultural use of the land, woods _grazing, fire control and
the chestnut blight have all contributed to the present
predominance of oaks. But given ~hat we know a.bout ~ak
regeneration, it's a fair bet that there will
fewer oaks an K~u3!1
forests in the future if some oak decline management 1s!11
undenaken. If the resultant changes in wildlife habitat, species
diversity, wood supply and aesthetic valu~s are acceptable, t~en
there isn't any reason to try 10 reduce the impact of oak decline.
In areas where there is liule or no interference by humans, such
as in designated wilderness areas, oak decline and other n~tural
events are allowed 10 run their course. Then the ?Utc.ome 1s not
influenced by the imposition of management ObJecuves which
determine which resources to promote, oflen a1 the expense of
other resources.
However oak decline is increasingly being perceived as a
problem of fo~st health in forests which are being managed to
maximize one or more of these resources. The recently released
Draft Environmental Impact Statement co".ering the Grassy Gap
and Wesser timber sales in Nantahala Nauonal Forest. is one of
1he first public documents to address oak decline as a
consideration in the action alternatives.
The environmental and topographic factors which inc~
the incidence of decline cannot be altered by forestry pracuccs.
However there arc silvicultural treatments which can reduce the
effects of decline if the objective is to maintain a vigorous oalc
forest.
be
One such treatment is thinning. Reducing the density of
trees by thinning, especially when the trees arc ~l~tivcly young,
should help alleviate water stress. However, 1h1~mg can cause
an increase in armillaria root rot fungus, and u may actually
increase moisture stress if decline is already in progress by
exposing more of the soil surface to the drying effects of the sun.
Another management strategy involves encouraging oa1c
seedlings and saplings to grow in the understory of o~ stands
which arc declining, or which arc at high risk for dechne. As
noted earlier, oa1c seedlings under the shade of mature trees tend
to be out-competed by more shade tolerant species. If the growth
of these competing seedlings, saplings and shrubs is controlled,
the young oalcs will be in a position to talce advantage of
increased light when the mature trees arc gone.
The method chosen to control competing understory
vegetation is likely to cause some. controversy, si.nce .using
herbicides appears 10 be more effecuve and economical m the
shon tenn than cutting down the competing plants by hand.
Hopefully, this decision will be carefully considered in view of
its potential long term costs.. Much more needs t~ be ~nown
about the complex interacuons of these che1D1cals rn the
ecosystem before herbicides arc given a seal of appi:oval.
.
Some silviculturists advocate a second phase m the crcanon
of a vigorous stand: cuning down the declining mature trees.
From a silvicullural point of view, harvesting the big trees allows
enough strong light to reach the ground for the oak seedlings to
begin growing rapidly. Forest manag~rs "!BY .also .choose to
harvest declining trees based on economic obJCCUves, 1f the trees
can be sold as timber.
Harvest methods have been at the center of a great deal of
debate recently, with clearcutting generating most of the
opposition. And the controversy is likel>: to become eycn ~ore
intense with this issue, because clearcutung has been identified
by many silviculturalists as the most effective way to manage.oalc
decline. They affirm that if ~equate numbers of oak Sec<!lmgs
and saplings arc present rn the understory, clearcumng a
declining oalc stand is the most reliable way to ensure that ~e
following stand will be less susceptible to the stresses which
initiate decline.
The major harvest alternative to clcarcutting is managing an
uneven-aged forest by selectively cutting small groups of trees.
This harvesting is done periodically, usually every 10-20 .Y~·
and the trees arc selected in such a way that at least three d1sunc1
age classes will remain in the forest Uneven-aged stands are
valued for containing a diversity of ages and species of trees and
for their basically intact forest canopy.
However, oak decline is more likely to increase in stands
which arc managed this way than they arc in clearcut stands,
because uneven-aged harvest requires more logging road
construction, as well as more entries into the stand. This means
there is increased potcmial for soil compaction, i:oot system
damage and mechanical damage to the trees which arc not
harvested. These injuries decrease a tree 's resistance to the
stresses which cause decHne.
Skillful horse logging would subs1amially decrease lh~se
risks and would make uneven-aged management a beuer option
for declining stands. Unfonunatcly, neither the timber industry
nor the Forest Service consider logging with horses an
economically viable practice. Small woodland owners, without
the market pressures of big business, may find that using horses
to log decline-prone areas, thereby creating space_ for youn.g
vigorous trtts 10 grow, is a good way 10 m:in11ge de.chn .. on 1he1r
land and encourage biodiversity.
.
Oak decline is a biological fact in the forests of Katuah.
Watching robust, bountiful oak trees slowly lo.se th~1r stren~th
and die is an emotional experience. Oak decline is an issue which
gives us a chance 10 discuss what we value most about our
.
forests, and how we want 10 influence future forests by the
decisions we make now.
Photo abow, armillaria root rot fungus, courtrsy c{Strp~tt W. Oak
f"llU,1989
�PEOPLE & HABITAT
While many view the pastoral scenes and
remote majesty of the Southern Appalachians as
all-enduring, trends in human population
l migration and unrelenting resource extraction
have had monumental effects upon wildlife and
the diverse flora of their native habitat. Today
litlle remains unaltered by the effects of human
activity. The landscape we view today is a
threatened glimmer of what was once, but it still
exists as one of the most diverse ecosystems on
the North American continent.
A universal tenet that holds true for every
form of life is the ecological principle of
carrying capacity: a given habitat can only
suppon so many individuals of any given
species. Beyond that threshold the numbers of
the given species begin to decline or that species
begins to impinge on the ability of the habitat to
function and support other forms of life.
The principle of carrying capacity holds as
true for human beings as for any other life form.
The difference is that we are so insulated from
the greater environment by the barriers of
civilization, that we often do not realize the
impact we are having on local, to say nothing of
distant, habitats. In the case of homo sapiens the
situation is funher complicated by the effects of
a highly-developed technology, which adds an
additional element to the equation by magnifying
the impact of a given number of individual
humans.
Bioregional awareness leads us to become
as regionally self-sufficient as possible, so that
we restrict the impact of our presence to our
own bioregion. We also realize our
responsibility to accurately determine the
region's carrying capacity for human beings and
to limit our numbers accordingly.
A historical perspective of human
manipulation of the Katt.lab province will help
raise the question of the proper carrying capacity
for human beings in our bioregion - the level
that allows for the preservation of wild habitat.
land already subject to conditions of dire
overpopulation. The Old World represented a
virtually inexhaustible well of humanity that
flooded over the new frontier. After the
mountain highlands were first penetrated by
DeSoto in 1540, the question of access was of
paramoum importance in the development of the
Southern Appalachians.
The Indian culture tied to the land and her
offerings was rapidly overrun by the streams of
white-skinned settlers that moved in along the
major Indian trails 'through the Shenandoah
Valley and from the Atlantic Tidewater area,
widening the trails into roads as they went so
that others could more easily follow.
The first small communities sprang up
along the river valleys and larger coves of the
Watauga, French Broad, Little Tennessee, and
Hiwassee watersheds. Although few and far
between, their presence was marked by the
agrarian need for cleared land. The bottomlands
and wellands were cleared or drained firs1, and
!hen trees were felled on the side slopes to make
room for more fields and pastures. As the first
sertlemen1s became towns, the clearings spread
deeper into the mountains following small and
muddy roads that wound along the river and
stream tributaries.
Early In habitants and First Immigrants
The Cherokee Indians and the indigenous
people before lived in balance with their world,
utilizing the offerings of their Eden. Sources
estimate the native population co be about
22,000 individuals throughout the entire region
in the early 17th century. This number is
somewhat lower than pre-Columbian levels
because of war and disease brought by white
settlers. (Today, that number would be
considered only mediocre actendance at Fulton
County Stadium in Atlanta.)
The native people manipulated their
environment with a technology based on fire and
scone tools. Even though they had developed a
sophisticated system of agriculture before the
arrival of the first white people, it is clear they
never exceeded the ability of the region to
support them. They did not interfere with the
capability of the habitat to provide for other
forms of life; quite to the contrary, the native
people relied on that capability for their
continued existence.
The arrival of the first Europeans,
however, changed conditions drastically. The
first immigrants represented the overflow from a
1'a!L, 1989
Plwlo by Rob MusidJProject Ug/llhawlc
These first settlers lived largely off the
land, much in the manner of their native
predecessors. Like the Indians before them, the
white settlers annually burned off the forest
floor. However, because of their greater
numbers, this had a much greater effect on the
forest than it ever had before. Even so, until the
end of the 19th century most of the mountain
highlands remained an impenetrable wilderness.
Daunted by the richness of the New
by CHIP SMITH and
LEEK. FAWCETT
World, the Europeans regarded the productive
capacity of the land as limilless, leading them to
farm and hunt carelessly and without regard for
the future. Because they were completely
ignorant of ecological balances, they
exterminated game species of animals and birds
and slaughtered the native predators so that their
domestic livestock could free-range in the
woodlands. Hogs and turkeys were particularly
well-adapted to the forest environment and
thrived on 1he fall mas1 provided each year.
Once fattened, these were gathered into large
"droves" and walked along the "drovers' roads"
to markets in the piedmont
Mountaineers also traditionally foraged
for medicinal roots in the forest. As commercial
demand for these natural remedies began to
grow, medicinal roots became a prime baner
item in town and at the crossroad country stores.
As wagonloads of ginseng and other potent
roots and herbs began to roll down the twisting
mountain roads to the eastern cities, the rate of
trade began to threaten the survival of ginseng
and other herbaceous forest plants.
The Industrial Era
Grinding mills and small saw mills were
the height of industrial production in the
highlands until the mid-I 800's. The barter
system was the usual means of exchange. The
US Census estimated the population in the 18
western counties of North Carolina ac 200,000
in 1890. The lifestyle was still based primarily
o n subsistence agriculture, hunting, and
foraging.
However, in 1880. the first train into the
mountains pulled inco Asheville, and the
Southern Appalachians were changed forever.
The railroads represented a new degree of
access, and they brought exponential population
growth, absentee land ownership, and industrial
commerce.
The population of the city of Asheville
(which today is only somewhat greater than
65,000 people) mushroomed from 2,000 in
1880 to more than 10,000 by 1890. Tourism
also arrived on the rails, and sanitariums and
luxury hotels offered all the comfons a tired and
ailing flatlander could desire.
Commerce was the primary reason for
pushing through the railroads, and in the
Southern Appalachian region, commerce meant
timber. Large traces of land, often
30,000-200,000 acres in size, were opened up
to exploitation and soon surrendered their
bounty. Temporary company towns were built
at the base of major watersheds and railroad
lines extended into the highest coves.
The early timber barons were
industrialists, not foresters, and they neither
knew nor cared about the ideals of sustained
timber )'ields and forest regeneration. Their
mastery of the new steam technology gave them
access to the most remote reaches of the
mountain forest, and the destruction they
wrought there was unprecedented. The damage
to the species composition of the forest was
irrevocable, as was the damage to the soil. By
the early 1930's 80 percent of the mountain
(continued on page 22)
JC.awc:ih Jo'4rnat plMJe 21
�(continued from pqc 2 1)
landscape had been burned over. Little was left
to shield the soil from the area's high levels of
rainfall , and severe flooding occurred in 1896,
1901, and 1909, and periodically into the
1940's.
A mountain native, the Reverend A.E.
Brown provided first-hand insight in an
interview in the Manufacturer's Record ip 1910:
" ... these mountains were full of sparkling
brooks and creeks which required a two or three
week rain to make them muddy; today a few
hours of rain will muddy them .... Many of the
mountain streams are dry throughout the
summer and fall, while in winter, the waters
descend in torrents and do vast damage
rendering wonhless the bouom lands... The
sides of mountains have been denuded of their
topsoil and bouom lands have been overflowed
and swept away... "
Shortly after the end of World War I most
of the timber barons had tom up their tracks and
moved on to the Pacific Northwest. By 1930
only a few companies, such as Champion
Corporation, were left In the wake of the timber
rush, and at the onset of the nation's worst
drought and the chestnut blight, little was left for
human or beast.
The Present-day Forest
(or Wha t You See Is What Is Lefi)
Between the I 940's and the I 960's the
population of the Ka1uah province remained
static or even dropped The mountai n binhrate
remained high, as it had in the past, but many
young folks left the mountains to find wage
work in the cities of the east and the midwes1.
The bumpy roads offered a way out of the
mountains tO seek the American Dream.
During the 1960's and the I 970's,
however, a change took place. The isolation of
the "backward" Appalachians began 10 look
appealing to flatlanders sick of noise, crowds,
and pollution, and perhaps sick at heart at the
manner in which they earned their wealth. The
very isolation that had protected the mountains
from industrialization for so long now proved
their strongest attraccion. City-dwellers realized
that they could "have" that isolation - all they
lacked was a way 10 get there. Thus began the
era of the four-lane. The Appalachian Regional
Council brought in federal money 10 help state
governments upgrade old roads and build
modem expressways.
During this same period agriculture
declined sharply in the mountains - and with it
declined the traditionally high binhrate that had
always characterized Appalachia in the minds of
outsiders. With the construction of new roads,
in-migration became the driving force in the
population growth of the Ka1uah province.
Today the rate of biological growth (che ratio of
the binh rate 10 the death rate) remains at flat
zero or in fractions of a percentage point (0.07
percent in 1984), while the rate of in-migration
continues 10 rise dramatically, putting the overall
population growth of the Southern Appalachians
well above the national average. The number of
retirees translcx:ating to the mountains raises the
percentage of monality, but a look at the figures
shows the dominant influence of migration on
the regional population.
Lack of access has always been the
limiting factor on growth • the growth of human
populations, economic development, and
Xat®h Journal pa9e 22
industrialization - in Appalachia. Lack of access
protected the wild nature o f the mountain
habitat. Now the cork is out of the bottle. The
sporadic stream of in-migration has turned into a
flood. As over-populated Europe once offered
an inexhaustible supply of humanity to fill up
the New World, the large eastern cities now do
the same for the mountains, as the in1ersu1te
highway system offers an easy means of travel.
Along with the increaSe in new residents,
there has been a tremendous increase in demand
for recreational opponunities in the Great
Smoky Mountains National Park and the
national forests. Today, human management and
human use penetrates 10 the deepest reaches of
the forest on 4,900 miles of forest roads and
touches every aspect of life on virtually every
acre of the mountain forest habitat.
Meanwhile, wildlife has been pushed
back to the most remote areas of the forest in
search of food and safety due 10 the clearing
necessary for roads and development and the
associated noise.
Environment Committee assures us that al l this
developmen t can proceed with no impact
whatsoever on the "beautiful mountain scenery
that is so imponant to all of us" - in fact, it'll be
even beuer, because there will be more people
here to enjoy it wilh us.
Typical of this approach is the l-26
Corridor Association, a coalition of Western
Nonh Carolina industrialists, developers, and
their followers, who believe it is imperative 10
immediately upgrade the present Route 23 to
interstate proportions through Madison County
10 the Tennessee state line providing a d1rec1
connection between Asheville, Johnson City,
TN, and the large industrial cities of the
mid west.
Jerry Grant, the biggest developer in the
Katuah mountains, provides the following
insight via the /-26 Corridor Association
Newsletter: "We would be on the way to
somewhere - not the end of the line. We think
Asheville and this region are extremely fortunate
10 have an excellent liveability factor. We are
able to attract the right kinds of industry."
Those who still espouse this approach
have not yet realized that whenever we perceive
something as a resource, then it is automatically
for sale. And once sold, it is no longer ours. It
is gone.
In another public relations publication of
the l-26 Association, WNC at the Crossroads:
Crisis or Opportunity?, this theme of
development continues:
"Improving the US 23 gateway to
interstate standards opens the entire Ohio Valley
and Nonheastem US to the WNC mountain
expenence....Imagine how many more travelers
would discover WN~ if traffic now using I-77
and 1-75 could re-route via 1-26 through the
scenic Southern Highlands.... An interstate
would produce many business opportunities
away from its interchanges. Well-designed and
The North Carolina Highway Bill
(or Come One, Come All!)
This summer in Nonh Carolina the state
legislature passed a $9.1 billion Highway Bill.
Governor Ji m Manin's plan is 10 place "every
resident in the state within 10 miles o f a
four-lane road," build by-passes around seven
urban centers (includi ng Asheville), pave
10,000 miles of secondary gravel roads by
1999, and the remaining gravel roads in the state
by 2006 (see page 25).
To hear the road boosters talk, the new
roads are going 10 bring in all the good aspects
of industrial culture and none of the bad.
There's big bucks in it for everyone, we are
told, and, because we live in the mountains,
things will be as nice as they always were. The
;
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PR(S(NT 4 LA~ES
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f'aU:, 1989
�perpetual wild sanctuaries
It ts both a form of reverence
and a human need that we learn
at this time to intentionally leave
some wild places alone forever.
At this lime In Earth history. our
human species Is severely and Irreversibly
tmpacttng the ecosystems of the planet. As an
acknowledgement of our reverence for Life and
for the sake of our planet's biological heritage.
ll Is Important that we lntenllonally leave
perpetual wild sanctuaries where humans do
not enter....places where the non· human life
fonns tnd1genous to a pan.tcular area arc able
lo proceed lndeflnltely. undisturbed by human
presence. judgement. or Intentions.
This Idea Is not wtlhout precrdrnt. In
New Guinea there arc small areas of natural
vegetation left amid lands that have been
ovcr·grazed and ovcr·cut for cooking fuel.
These small fragments of natural diversity are
the burial grounds. rabu areas. sacred to the
spirits of the ancestors. where It Is blaspht>my
to tread.
In old English estates. amid the
Impeccably kept lawns and gardens. there Is
one comer kept wild "for the fairies • that Is
never entered These are probably areas that
would difficult lo matntaln anyway. and these
days the tradition Is most likely kept with
tongue tn cheek. but ll Is slill kept, as ll has
been for generations.
In the small country of Costa Rica the
newly-established tropical dryland forest
national park Is divided Into three pans: one
pan ts open to appropriate commercial use.
one pan Is only open to tradltlonal native use.
and the remainder Is not open to human use at
all.
Here In Katuah. there have always been
energy centers and sacred sites endowed with
spiritual power that were never entered except
by lndlvlduals or small groups of people who
felt compelled to venture there to fulfill a
specific spiritual mission.
ThJs idea could be easily translated lnlo
our own lime. lf people took ll to heart. Small
areas could be set aside on small tracts of land.
but setting aside a mountain range or large
areas of the forest to be forever undisturbed by
human presence would make a significant
difference tn the conditions of habitat and. no
less Importantly. would transform our
relationship to the land.
It Is both a form of reverence and a
human need that we learn at this lime to
Intentionally leave some wild places alone
forever. All who feel so tncllned are Invited to
set off an area of land - however large an area
for whJch the tndlvldual or group feels ll can
accept responsibility - as a perpetual wild
sanctuary. This could be done by purchase.
decree. or by personal witness. The areas could
be regarded as sacred shrines. devlc
dwclllng-places. burial grounds. or liberated
1.ones. In whatever manner It Is undertaken.
this commitment tnvolvcs a responstbtllty lo
respect the boundaries and lo urge others who
might come tn contact with the area to do the
same. It also Involves educallfllt the young
about the nature of this area and the purpose
for selllfllt ll aside. that they might be willing
to continue the practice.
ll Is time lhts Is brought forward as a
serious suggestion.
May all beings live wUd and free!
Plca.\C !lend any commcnis expressing your
rcacuons, dreams, or visions about a perpetual wild
sanctuary lO KatiUih Journal: Box 638: Leicester, NC
28748.
(conlJnUOd from Pl&C 22)
developed interchanges therefore not only
enhance the corridor's immediate environs, but
also seive as gateways which entice additional
development into surrounding counties.
"Regionally, the 1-26 gateway will
increase traffic throughout WNC. Thus,
thousands of businesses - both established and
yet-to-be stand to benefit...The US Chamber of
Commerce has determined that each additional
100 manufacturing jobs have the following
positive (sic) benefits on a given locale:
Non-manufacturing jobs .. ...............&!
Population increase...................... 202
Family units .............................. I 02
Increased school enrollments............ 61
(t ndguote)
The effects would certainly be positive for
the developers and real estate speculators who
stand to make a lot of money selling off the
mountain habitat. For current residents,
however, land booms do not necessarily mean
more jobs. They do mean higher taxes as the
local people absorb the costs of expanded water
supply and waste disposal services to provide an
infrastructure for the new industries. They do
without fail mean over-crowded schools, higher
crime rates, increased noise. congestion,
sedimentation. air and water pollution.
Richard Stiles. an economist for the
Western Nonh Carolina Tomorrow group, a
primary motivator behind the push for an 1-26
corridor, actually maintains that an
interstate- level highway would be less
ecologically damaging than expansion of the
present Rt. 23. He says that this is because an
interstate would have only limited access, rather
than being lined with development.
Such an analysis shows a complete
ignorance or disregard for the idea that there is
any limit to the regional canying capacity for
human beings.
T11U, 1989
Ptn:cmage Change in !>()pulation Size. Ra1c of Na1ural lncrcase.
and Net Mignuion Rate for lhc Average of !he Eighteen
Wt"stcm Counlle• of We.tern Nonh Carolina, 1940-1980
LEGEND:
- - Rate of PopulallOD Change
-""" ··· · Net Migrabon Rate:
· • • - - Ra1e of Natural ln~ase
25
20 -
15 10 5-
0-5 ·IO·
. :?Q -
1940-50
1950-60
1960-70
1970-80
(1971 l'"'JOC- )
Source: S«io-£c()namlc OverviLW of W~s1u11 Vorrli. Carol1NJ
fo r ti!, Vtu11aMla PusaJi VaiwNd Fou compilttl by the
.•t
Sou1hnn Appalachian Ccnlef, Man Hall College, Mars Halt,
NC
Direct displacement by the interstate
construction and resulting commercial
development will remove thousands of acres of
relatively undeveloped habitat. Migration routes
and range areas of different animals will be
disrupted by the cut-out, paved-over, and
fenced-in interstate route.
A new interstate route will greatly increase
fragmentation of habitaL The forest north of
Asheville will be severed by a route comparable
in size and volume to the 1-40 interstate. Instead
of one habitat area • however patchy and ragged
it is at present - there will be 1wo smaller areas.
The local gene pool, already in disucss, will be
divided in half once again.
However. the most damaging effect will
be the ucmcndously increased volume of traffic
that will pass over the new highway. A new
superhighway will mean more use. more
commerce, more in-migration, more human
demands on the already over-stressed
habitat. We long ago overshot the capacity of this
region to suppon the weight of our population.
As access opened the mountains to the ravages
of unrestrained technology at the turn of the
century, so now is it bringing in unrestrained
numbers of human beings. We arc the greatest
threat to habitat in the Southern Appalachians.
Rather than manage the forest to meet our
unending demands, we need to manage
ourselves. our numbers and our way of life. that
the forest may continue. In the long run, this
would be the best for all the inhabitants of the
mountain forestlands. ourselves included.
This process requires values that are at
once new and at the same time very, very old.
These values arc the substance of the biorcgional
vision. We need to learn/remember them and
pass them on. Only then will we be able to
approach a reasonable carrying capacity of
human beings in the Katuah province of the
Appalachian biorcgion.
~
Xot.Uah Journot p119e 23
�J
CAPTIVE BEARS FREED!
"ROAD MANIA" SLOWED
NabJral World News Service
Senator Wyche Fowler, Jr. (D-GA) led the US
Senate lo adopt an amendment to the interior
appropriations bill that cut the road-building budget of
the US Forest Service by $65 million.
Vowing lO curb "road-building mania" in the
Forest Service, Fowler called on his Senate colleagues to
pass the amendmenL They responded 55-44 in favor of
the measure. Twenty-rive million of the recovered money
would be returned to the federal treasury. The balance
would be used for stewardship programs, habitat
improvement, and land acquisition.
In calling for support of the amendment, Fowler
cited a Congressional Research Service study that found
that road construction was the most environmentally
damaging aspect of the Forest Service timber program.
OTTERS MAKE A COMEBACK
... AND A GETAWAY
Natunil World News Service
CARNIVOROUS PLANT LISTED
Norural Wbrld News Service
NllUnl) World News Service
Recent events in Cherokee drew attention to the
plight of caged and exploited black bears. One evening
this summer, several bears were "liberated" from
Saunooke's Bear Den show by unknown individual(s). A
large hole was cut in the outer wall of the enclosure,
through which the bears escaped along the creek into the
surrounding woods, and hopefully into the Great Smoky
Mountains National Parle.
The outcome for the escapees is unknown:
Saunooke has made no comment as to whether or not the
bears were quickly recaptured or escaped into the wild. In
any case, this evem effectively brought the bear's
situation to the attention of local media.
People for the Ethical TreaUTient of Animals
have annouoced plans to protest in Cherokee on
September 9, 1989. They have been warned off by the
Chief of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation,
Jonathan L. Taylor. A clear message appeared on August
15, 1989 in the Asheville Ci1iz11n-Times that any animal
rights protesters would be arrested and prosecuted for
"interfering• with the reservati.on practice of exploiting
bears. lo a pointed way. it is clear that on the
reservation, as in many areas or Katuab. the rights or
humans to exploit the bears supercedes any rights of the
animal species.
Loss of freshwater wetland habitat has
eliminated or threatened many plant and animal species
throughout the country. The US Fish and Wildlife
Service has recently proposed to add to the Endangered
Species List the mountain sweet pitcher plant (Sorrounio
rubro ssp. jonesii). Native only to a few motmtaln bogs
and streamsides in southwestern North Carolina and
northwestern South Csrolina along the Blue Ridge
Divide, the mounuiin sweet pitcher plant has been
reduced from 26 known historical populations to only
10. The pitcher plant has been the victim of drainage of
bogs. flooding. convctsion or the land for agriculture and
grazing, various other forms of land development, and
collection. Eight of the remaining 10 populations
survive on private land where they may be subject to
habitat alteration and collection by fanciers or
carnivorous plants; the other two are situaicd on State or
South Carolina lands. but are also vulnerable to
recreation and illegal collection.
The mountain sweet pitcher plant, like other
carnivorous plants, traps and digests insects for food. 11
grows up to 29 inches in height, producing showy.
typically maroon flowers gracefully suspended on single
tall stems, each covered with a hood. Insects. attracted to
the mouth of the pitcher by sweet secreted nectar, crawl
or fall into the pitcher. Their escape is prevented by a
smooth slippery surface just inside the mouth of the
pitcher. and by stiff hairs lining the interior or the pi!Cher
tubes, pointing downward. The insects are digested in the
enzyme.filled fluid secreted int the pitchers.
The mountain sweet pitcher plant and its related
species have long inspired curiosity and wonder. Unless
they are protected and s:ived they will soon inspire only
memories. Your comments can be addressed to the
Asheville Field Office: US Fish and Wildlife Service;
100 Otis Street (Room 224); Asheville, NC 28801.
ACID RAIN A PROVEN KILLER
NabJral World News Service
A link between acid precipitation and a wsease
which bas killed thousands of dogwood trees may have
been proven by US Forest Service plant pathologist
Robert Anderson and colleagues. Dogwood anthracnose,
or dogwood blight, caused by Disculo fungus species,
was first found to be infecting trees in the Northeast and
the Pacific Northwest about 10 years ago (see Kotuoli
Journal #21). Since then, it has spread lO many of the
Southeastern states and caused high mortality among
both woodland and ornamental dogwoods. More than one
quarter million acres in Kllttiah have been affected by the
disease.
Otters, absent from the Smoky Mountains
following excessive trapping and logging activities
during the 1930's, are making a comeback. Not only are
they successfully surviving in several reintroduction
sites, they arc claiming ierritoric:; across mountain ronges
from their points of rcintr0duction. Nine nvcr otters
were rclea.~ into thc Little River on the Tennessee side
of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and at
least two have crossed into Nonh Carolina drainages.
The ouers arc eluding the tracking efforts of
researchers. even though fitted with surgically-implanted
radio transmitters. Kim Dcl..o'1ier, wildlife biologist for
the Park. says, "Most of them have moved extensive
disuinces from the release site to other drainages. We
really don't know why they are moving so much."
Recently, biologists have been able to track the otters
only by air. A few oucrs from a 1986 release project an
the Cades Cove area of the Parle also were sighted later in
Nonh Carolina waters.
FtShermcn have expressed concern that ottcrs will
destroy game fish, but analysis or oner scat from river
banks bv University of Tennessee researchers revealed
that scat piles contain no trout bones.
"Trout are fast and much harder to catch," says
DeLozier. Instead. the otters prefer slow-moving fish like
white suckers. daces, sculpins, and hogsuckers, says
DeLo1Jer. For the ouers, •...these slow-moving fish ate
like picking sweets from a candy store."
The next proposed release of river ouers will Ulke
place as early as this winter in a watershed on the Nonh
Carolina side of the Park...but don't expect them to stay
there for long.
Xai.imh Journal pmJe 24
The disease is chanictcrized by putple-rimmcd leaf
spots. followed by twig, brunch. and stem cankers. Trees
ID the forest • parucularly trees growing ID moist
environments at high elevations - suffer more from
anthracnose than omrunental dogwoods located where the
disease can be controlled by cultural practices. Among
wild dogwoods, the disease is expected to continue 10
spread throughout the South.
In the past researchers had not been successful m
producing anthracnose symptoms on trees which had
been inoculated with lhe Disculo fungus in the
laboratory. In the recently reported experiments. one year
old dogwood seedlings were exposed to various levels of
simulated acid rain at a Forest Service lab. The seedlings
were then exposed to Disculo inoculum and the
subscquem rate of infection was noted. Exposed to the
fungus alone, the trees showed no sign or the blight. but
as the rain acidity levels were increased there appeared a
corresponding increase in infection. Research is
continuing to determine if the acid rain/anthracnose
connectio~an be observed in dogwoods growing under
field cond111ons.
Anderson's work will be helpful in effons to s:ive
the tree that bears the North Carolina state nowcr.
Perhaps more importantly. however, his experiments
have proven a link bclwecn acid rain and plant disease and
decline. It is commonly accepted that airborne pollution
is contributing 10 the deaths or red spruce and Fraser fir
treeS at high altitudes in the mountruns, but Anderson's
experiments offer the first scientifically accepted proof
that acid min is a major culprit in any instance or forcs1
degradation.
The logo above symbolizes the commitment of
the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League to protect
the integrity of the New River. The group is demanding
that the State of North Carolina carry ou1 its
rc.~nsibility to protect the river as a fcder:illy-dc.~ign:ncd
Wild and Scenic River area. The New is presently
designated a Wild and Scenic River for 26.5 miles or its
length, but this designation is threatened by an alarming
rate of de,•clopmcnt along its banks and a proposed water
treaUTient plan! upstream of the fcderally-pro1cc1cd zone
(sec Ka1t1aliJourna/ If 24).
Join the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense
League's efforts on behalf of the New River. Contact
BREDL: Box 1308; W. Jefferson, NC 28694.
raC!., 1989
�.
SAHC TO REVISE PROPOSAL
Nmural World News Strnce
The Southern Appalachian Highlands
Conservancy (SAHC) has announced !hot il will drop o
proposed National Scenic Area Proposal thllt the group
hnd drafted as potential leg1slauon 10 define m:inagemcnt
policy for the 24,000 acres of spcc18Cular landscape
known as the Highl:inds of R0311.
The ongin:ll propos:>I met w11h protest from local
l:indowncrs and building conl13Ctors who felt thllt lhcii
propcny rights would be violated by the plan.
The SAHC sud m a prepared sl3tcmcm, "Since u
has been our hope from the beginning !hot a proposal
could be drafted which met with the approval of all
part1e~ •... SAHC has withdrawn 1ts proposal for lhe
present and 1ntcods IO revise the same <;<>as IO hopefully
'™=Ct the conocms of local l'CSldcnts md landowners.•
The conservauon group pbns to hold both formal
and informal mceungs with all CO'ICcmcd to come up
wilh a new and belier proposal for keeping inl.3Cl the
beauty of the Roon Highlllnds.
NC ROAD BINGE
Nonnl World News Service
The North Carolina state legislature
overwhelmingly passed a bill o~ July 26 that will
contnbute greatly to mushrooming development in the
Klllliall province. By a House vote of 95-19 and a Senate
vote of 39-11, lhe legislature raufied a highway package
rood bill calling for S9. I billion for road construction
throughout the Slate.
In campaigning for the bill carher, Republican
GovClllOI" J1m Martin vowed IO bnng every resident of
the state within 10 miles of a fow--lanc highway. The
bill would fund major road-building and road-widening
projects and pave thousands of miles of ara,-cl roads.
Pnrndox1cally, the governor turned against his
own bill when Senate Democrats added a provision to use
incrca~ vehicle sales taxes for 11110 years to fund pay
raises for 1eaehcrs and swc employc:cs. But legislators did
not respond to the governor's last-minute call to tum
down lhe revised bill.
Among the projects IO be funded by the massive
highway constrUCtion act are widening of US 23 in
Madison County 10 cn::ue a four-lane roadway between
Asheville, NC and Johnson City. TN: widening of US
19-19E between Mars Hill and Ingalls m Avery County:
expansion of US 19 between Bryson City and Andrews:
widening of US 441 soulh of Franklin: and construction
of a loop IO circle west of Asheville between 1-26 and US
23.
1"c:i[(, I 989
FRIENDS OF GRANDFATHER
temperawrc in the river, which would cause populations
of fish and olha- life to decline.
Geologically, the Grandfather Mountain Window,
where some of the oldest rock exposed on earth juus out
of the gl'OWld, provides a unique glimpse into the past. 11
is estimated lhat Grandflllher Mountain is between 625 to
680 million years old, placing its formation during the
Precambrian era, a time when life still existed primarily
in the seti. and microorganisms were prom111CnL
Fncnd~ of Grandfather is c , rently securing
501(c)3 non-profit status with the Elisha Mitchell
Audubon Soc1c1y. It has also received suppon from the
Blue Ridge Group of the Sierra Club and is worlcing with
the Trust for Public Lands. To become involved or 10
send a donation to the Friends of Grandfather Mountain
Fund please write to them at: P.O. Box 239: Sugar
Grove, NC 28679.
Nonnl World Ne"°' Service
On !he northwest slope of Grandfather Mountain
hes 1,200 acres for sale. 900 acres of lhis is owned by
lhc Wilmore Corporation, headed by John Williams and
Hugh Monon. A master pion has been drawn up which
any developer interested in buying the property must
agn:c to. Tiie sellers see this master plan. which includes
a ski slope, shopping mall. convention center, golf
course, and 200 or more homesiteS as being earned out m
an envll"Ol\mentally conscious way.
Friends of Grandfather Mountain is a group of
concerned local citir.ens working to keep these
envuonmentally sensiuve areas mtact by initiaung a
media cnmpaign and an effort to purchase the land. By
purchasing the land and placing it in the care of a
conservation organi1.auon, perhaps future generations can
enJOY at least one moun1:1m whose i.rrcplacable beauty
lives unscathed.
In protceting the land, douns of species of plants
and animals would also be protccted. Many vnriwes of
irces, and several rare nnd threatened plants and animals
eiust on and near the 900 acre tract up for sale. Of pnme
botanical concern are the Blue Ridge goldenrod and the
Hclleri bla7jng star, both growing on the Profile Cliffs
directly above the endangered land. These species are
listed as critically globally imperiled by the Natural
Heritage Program. The Blue Ridge goldenrod is also
CODSJdered endangered by the State of North Carolina.
DU"CClly off the Shanty Springs Trail arc bent avcns and
lnuhng wolfsbane. These bcauuful plants arc also
globally imperiled. Their ap(>C3rllllce is considered rare
nnd highly localized.
The proposed development would also displace
hundreds of animal species mcludmg: deer. racoon,
opposum. red and grey fox, bobcats and an occasional
bear. Newly discovered is the presence of the northern
Oying sqwrrcl, a "Jlt'CiCS endangered in the Sl&IC of North
Carolina, just above the glade on the Shanty Springs
trail. These small, nocturnal creatures seem 10 be
declirung because of changes in vegetation and habitat
disturbance. The population of these rare squirrels at
Grandfather Mountain is the farthest north the species has
been discovered in the state. Also, disturbing the territory
below the hacking site for young endangered pe.rigrine
falcons may reduce the chance of the mature birds
renuning lO breed in lhal area.
From the westtm slope of Calloway Peak, the
highest peak in the Blue Ridge Range, spring three
pristme streams which form the headwaters of the
Linville and Watauga Rivers. Both rivers are currently
being proposed for designation as Outstanding Resource
Waters. The Watauga River may be unable to support
additional treated wastewat.Ct, awaillng further LCSts by the
NC Division of Environmental Management. Wastewater
treallllent standards for the nver have already been made
motC Stringent, and in some 111.S1allCC$ new pcnmts have
been denied. Any silt or 1dditional emuent into lhcsc
headwaters may ruin the nver"s quality. Of critical
imponance is the potentinl increase of average water
ACID VEINS
Narunl World Ne"°' Sen-a
The final mslallment of a ten year study on acid
rain for the Kau1ah biorcgion has recently been released
by Lhe Environmental Prolec:tion Agency. The final
rcpon states th:11. 1f current sulfur emissions continue et
the present rate, 129 streams in the region will become
acidic within SO )'ClltS, and 203 additional sueams will be
occasionally acidic.
Researchers also projected the possibility of
increases in sulfur emission during the same 50 year
period. Starling with a steady inc= of 20% in the first
10 years and continuing for 15 years, then leveling offin
the next 2S years. At lhis level 159 streams would
become acidic:, and 340 would be potcntJally vulnerable
IO periodic acidification.
Presently there are no S11C811lS in KatWlh that are
considered aciC:ic, and jUSt lhree are eswnated IO have an
ac1d-ncutrali21ng capacity or lower than 50
m1cro-equ1valcnts per liter • the estimated vulnerability
threshold or streams becoming temporarily acidic during
heavy snow melts and rainstorms.
Sulfur dioxide, wh.icb is convened in the
atmosphere into acid, 1s primarily produced by
C031-buming power plants and other industries.
Oxides or n11.rogcn arc released in approxim3tely
similar amounts by automobiles and industry. Even
though the CIU"Tcm presidential admlnlscraUon has
proposed a 10 million ton reduction in sulfur diollidc
emissions and a two million ton reduction in nitrogen
oxide releases over the next decade. one of lhe best means
to reduce poisonous emissions is energy conservation,
which lessens lhc need for both existing and proposed
power plants.
Here are some organizations that offer catalogs
contammg energy-effiCIClll products: Tiie Renew America
Prop:t: 1001 Connecticut Avenue NW (Sutte 63&):
Washington, DC 20036 (&02) 862-2999 and The Rocky
Mountain Institute: 1739 Snowmass Creek Road: Old
Snowmass. CO 81654.
�Gathering
I dream the spirits gather,
Gather in a space outside my
Room. They call my name over
DRUMMING
And over, I stand
Before them and their voices are
The howling of wolves, lhe cooing of doves,
LETIERS TO KATUAH
We are in another place,
They are touching me,
I feel like a candle
With a tall flame,
They give me messages,
When I wake I can only remember
The voices of doves,
Of Wolves, and the way
We wavered over this world,
Dear KatUah.
I'm writing to thank you for sending the
Katilah Journal all the way over to Swil.l.erlandl h's
very important lhat people sian to think and care more
and more about our environmental problems ALL
OVER the world!
I'm looking forward to your next issue!
The seem of sandalwood.
- Palricia Claire Peters
YourS sincerely.
Christine Moser
~t:.~S·
p$.
o-t$S
~ ri..~ \)~ tjl{C\;1!1
~G·s~~s
.~'.tS ....o~
,.c9v~st:.•S v
J\}t>G1!i :iS ~~
Dear Friends at Katrlal1 Journ(l/:,
Dear Katilah Journal People,
Your summer '89 issue on Ptau in the
Mowttains was a moment of serendipity for me as well
as good energy and inspiration. It connected with my
moment of comple{ing a silk screened print inspired by
and incorporating the Cherokee words for Water and
S~
7~(~:t;;)are:\JA 0' (pUJL'-)
Phone~ally pronounced:
~
-
q Ma.
Justice prevails - this time - in S.E. Georgia. If
here, anywhere! Your publication is excellent, keep it
running. Can we do an exchange with you?
At this time, it's a little out of balance, but the
best we can do. h's all part of the same problem greed and power.
Pax,
Martina. John and Donna
St. Mary's, GA
~
L/A1.,;1
-tho 1t1 :JU..
Several Cherokee people (Laura King, Pheasant
Driver, Mary and G.B. (Going Back) Chiltosky) helped
me with this identification and pronunciation.
~ 1hi1 G: spoken with urgency because water is
critically essential to life.
yours, delighted and connected,
Margaret Gregg
Jonesborough. TN
love Story
! lie wirh the Eanlt
Ukea lover.
Embracing Her
Enfolded in Her fragrance
In the heat of Her body
Through langucrous swooning afternoons
And rhythmic pulsing nights.
She is
With me
Dear KatW!h folks.
A new book is out. that all serious gardeners
and fanncrs should have. h's called Secrets of the Soil
by Peter Tomkins and Christopher Bird (Harper &
Row, 1989). Please try to get a copy!
- from Knotts Island, NC
Arowuim£
Inside me.
Oneness.
Greenness.
Wilderness.
Wildness.
Swirling in the spiral
Lost in Mystery.
Knowing the Unknowable.
-Mary dt La Va/ttte
Xatiulh Jou.rnal p1i9e 26
f'aU., 1989
�Dear Friends.
Greiuly enjoyed your spring issue. ns usual.
need to call your attention, however, to what I consider
the Planet Art article's wholely uncritical appr~~al of the
current 'crystal craf.e'. So I thought I would send along
Earth F1rster. Karen DcBraaJ's brillnnt linlc piece on
crystals as an 31ltcdote. from 'Live Wild or Die', n recent
Eanh First! dcnvauve. Please consider pnnting 1L
Sincerely.
Bill McCormick
Crozet. VA
Enclosed anic:lc {b) Karen OcBf.131):
Crystals. Their shimmering beauty vibrates
deep into your being, helping your being, helping you
setf-actuahzc wuh healing powers und guided
imageries. Cool and hip, right? New age and stylin',
yes? But at what price? Well. hell, can a price be put
on spirituality? Can a price be put on how the earth
feels when her powerful energy trnnsm1uers and hc:llers
arc ripped from her bowels for a profit, be u monetary
orspmtual?
The ripping (np off) of crysuils from the earth
is causing her to ulcerate. Great eroding <;ear; rc,ult
from the hungry hordes scouring the U.S.N:uional
Forcsts (mainly in Arkansas) and areas in other
counties, such as Mexico and Brazil. Armed to the
teeth wuh screwdrivers, shovels and bulldozers,
new-age hucksters and spiritual profiteers.
well-meaning heaters and seelcers of the sacred arc
mining and tearing at the earth with no thought of the
cost to her. The environmental impact of our
spiritually starved, buclc-hungry droves is not a
consideration.
Think about it. The next time you stroll by
Toots for Fools (no kidding) or any other nashy
crystal store in Santa Crut or elsewhere, and sec those
t.v. si1~ cryslJlls glimmering in the display window,
think about the hole it left when it was wrenched out
by its roots. like a bloody wisdom t00th from a gum.
And all those smaller oncs... thcy aren't laying around
the forest noor like pine cones.
"It resembles Gold Rush Days." said
Montgomery County Sheriff James Carmack in
Spectrum (Dee. 23, 1987). when asked about crysllll
seekers in the Oucitn National Forest and surrounding
areas in Arkansas. According to Carmack, people
vandalve the area by stealing crystals from legal mines
and digging illegal muics. These all cause erosion. The
Forest Service liberally grants crystal mining permit,,
3Ccording to Spectrum. but the fees generated don't
begin to cover the cost of m:>nitoring the mines or
contr0lhng 1llcgnl hunters.
Sure. crystals are poweiful. But maybe they are
where they are for a reason. Leave them there, where
the earth c11n use them as she sees fiL It is mter.:sung
thnt newagc folks, who profess to care for the earth are
so blinded by the crystal light that they are dcstr0ymg
whnt they profess LO love. Their cryswls are bloody.
Docs our endlessly raped earth need more of this?
The NFS and the crystal-hungry massc.~ need to
hear from environmentalists: crystal mining 1s yet
another massive wounding that our earth doesn't need.
We need to heal ourselves by healing the earth.
Boycou crystals! If you own them, don't O:iunt them,
which encourages others to get them. Let the NFS
know th3t you don't want them to grant any more
crystal mining permits. Let people know that crysrols
belong to the earth!
''
• J
'·
I
.'
Draw111g by Sw Adams
Dear KatUah,
I picked up the wonderful winter issue of your excellent and much needed publication at the Tremont Center in
the Smokies. This issue has changed my perception and my life. I hope to live in the area some day. although I mny
Opl to have a cabin in the woods of Kentucky or Indiana. It has been a dream LO live m the forest for a long time • by
a stream. I wish to support and join the struggle for unity with the planet we inhabit. for stopping heedless
exploiUltion and destruction, for nurturing life. I am in the process of nunuring my own life (much damaged in
childhood). This nunurmg is most harmonious with the healing of the planet.
Thanks for your work,
Starfire
Forest Voices
I
Sleeping on the wall of the world
arching over the sun with the c11n•e
off est trees
or
wlwse tips are rwe11ry leagues high
i11 the morni11g light
casting golde11 leaf shadows
in this green place.
The high wind
orchestrates irs wisdom
with the forest:
Be at peace with the fly
and pain of bursitis
Let the heali11g ofthe pla11et
be pan ofyou.
Be one with me
2.
Hush, the gods of the forest
are speaking.
They toss the sun with their fingers.
The liale gods rising
from the growui
are staffs oftruth,
each blade ofgrass
a word of wisdom.
3.
listen,
the voice ofthe wmer sings,
the naiad ofthe stream
whispers
10 the silent one
who rests by her way.
The butterflies above
are mating
and the weefolk
are white water rafting
dow11 her tiny rapids
in small spherical crafts.
She says thar happiness
is here with the jwnpingjish
alld the drops of rain
quietly sampling
the edge of1he storm.
Here hidden and safe
I would wish to stay.
4.
W01erfa/ls
in nLrlung laugluer
as white fire ascends
in balance
ofcoll/I/er energies
providing
one another's needs
in mandala
of reality,
body alld spirit.
-S111rfire Soledad
f'p(t, 1989
�(conlinucd from page 7)
habitat types represented in the landscape, the
belier the possibilities for rhc survival of rhc
whole. Older, more mature forests musr extend
over many contiguous sites, not just on ridges
and in coves, for successful migration of
species. For life to adapt 10 changing conditions,
reproduction of all but the most highly .inobile,
weedy species must occur on adjacent sites.
Following the mosr recent ice age, forest
communities migrated at a rare of only a few
miles per century as the climate v.'nmled over rhe
course of thou,ands of years In the coming
century, species tha• cnmnnsc marurc fore t
communities musr migrate ar a rate perhaps I0
times faster, an impossible feat from isolated.
fragmented habiratS.
Optimum regional biodiversity, therefore,
requires a continuity of habitats across the
landscape in a mosaic of mature communities
that includes all topographic conditions: ridges,
nonh and south slopes, coves, streams and
gorges, balds, and bogs. FederaJ protection has
recently been extended 10 many of rhc latter
communities (at least those thar are not
commercially imponant) as Congressionally
designated Wilderness Areas. But nearly all of
the remainder - the large areas of contiguous
second-growth forests that arc now
cconomicaJly mature - is destined for violent
disturbance before the tum of rhc cenmry.
Defining Old-Growth Forests
Forests managed for commercial timber
and wild game species provide a great diver:;ity
of plant and animal species through logging and
other planned disturbances. Therefore, it is the
conclusion of Forest Service policy makers that
timber and game management activities meet the
legal requirement for biodiversity. The one
condition that managed forests do not meet is
that of providing for the types of natural
diversity in critically short supply: those
associated with mature old-growth forests. The
condition "old-growth" is defined by the
Southern Region of the US Forest Service as
any forest stand over 100 years of age. This
completely arbitrary definition fails to meet the
biological requisites for a mature forest, because
it simply means that any forest stand older than
an economic rotation for commercial timber
harvest is classed as "old-growth."
From the biological standpoint, an
old-growth forest contains trees in all age
classes, including dying, standing dead, and
fallen dead trees. Because most of the trce
species that comprise old-growth stands in the
Southern Appalachian forests do not reach
biological maturity for 200-400 years (and
pcrhnps longer 10 be wcll-rcpresenied in t11e
dying and dead tree categories), the present-day
second-growth hardwood forests must be left
free of disturbance for at least another 150
years. Even then, many micro-habitat niches
provided by old windthrown trees, standing
dead snags, and rotting logs will not become
available until yet another century has passed.
More imponantly, most of the plants and
animals of our second-growth forests represent
mid-successional species, which are not those
that will eventually be present in the climax
communities. The maturing forests of today will
undergo dynamic changes in species
composition when left undisturbed until they
reach a condition of biological old-growrh.
JCGtwm )o"rnaL paq~ 28
Artwork by Joma RN!a
Herc we should dispel several common
misconceptions regarding old-growth forests.
First, old-growth srands arc not decadent.
On the contrary, they arc dynamic and teeming
with life. As old crees fall. many new niches are
created for other plants and animals, both in the
canopy overhead and in the rotting wood on the
forest floor. Many microhabitats undergo
constant micro-successions of plants and
animals, as new niches arc created and old ones
disappear.
A second myth is that "old-growth" is
synonymous with "wilderness." This is
cenainly not true in eastern Nonh America,
where we have very liulc true old-growth in
areas that have been Congressionally designated
as "Wilderness." There is one important
difference between the two. Legal Wilderness is
by definition for hwnon beings. a commodity
for people to enjoy as a recreational experience,
and it is managed as such by the public
agencies. Old-growth forest is for bioro,
preserved for the intrinsic value of all the
various forms of biological diversity therein.
Managing for old-growth, however, does not
exclude use by people. rn fact, old-growth
forests enhance benefits such as recreation,
wildlife habitat, visual quality, and stream
quality, as well as providing for essential
biological diversity.
Restoring Old-Growth Diversity
We return full circle to the opening
paragraph of this paper. "Today we stand at the
threshold of a great decision" - one of the most
imponant for public land use since the creation
of the national forests.
Current management plans for the
Southern Appalachian national forests call for
widespread timber harvest, largely by
clearcurting, for most of the 60 to 80 year old
second-growth stands that have reached
economic maturity. There arc provisions in
some forest management plans to temporarily
preserve five percent of each harvested
component (approximately 50 acres for each
1000 acres harvested) for old-growth .
However, these temporary reserves are only
fragments surrounded by young managed
stands, and even these may also be harvested in
the future. Tree species in the young stands
created by harvesting will be heavily biased
toward those with known commercial value,
such as eastern white pine, yellow poplar, and
the red and white oaks. This would reduce
natural diversity ai.d would also reduce the
potential for genetically stable communities in
the future. An orientation toward timber
management is not going to maintain regional
biological diversity in its broadest sense.
The United States IOOth Congress stated,
"The Eanh's biological diversiry is being rapidly
depleted at a rate without precedent in human
history....Mosr losses of biological diversity are
largely avoidable consequences of human
activity ....Mointoining biological diversity
through habitat preserv01ion is often less costly
and more effective than ejforrs ro save species
once tltey become endangered." (Quoted from
H.R. 4335. 1988, emphasis added).
We frequently hear reports of
distinguished biological scientists warning that
human-caused destruction of naturaJ habnats is
the single most serious threat to survival of life
as we know it on our planet. The loss of genetic
diversity and the loss of entire ecosystems arc
occurring at an accelerating pace around the
world. The Southern Appalachian Mountains arc
a pan of this grim picture. But the existing
public lands have the potential to restore the
natural diversity provided by the old-growth
forests currently missing from the Appalachian
biorcgion. Unbroken, naturally-functioning
habitats must be restored here to provide the
basic life suppon systems necessary to carry all
forms of life through rhe unfolding ecological
catastrophe of our times.
We can overcome rhc mental blindness
that would have us believe that providing
commodities for people is the uhimote use for
the Appalachian national forests. We can expand
our vision to keep in mind the value of habitat,
the foundation for all life. Whole and healthy
habitats provide the necessary elements for the
continued survival of the entire global
ecosystem.
Robert Zollner was a professor of
forestry at Clemson Universiry specializing in
the ecology of Sowhern Appalachian hardwoods
until lus retirement in 1988.
f'~U.. 1989
�LIVING GREEN
<O Christoph and Mary-Clayton Endcrlein
The Oreen Movement is more than 1 political ideology because Green vallltS also involv~ how we live every
day. This list is for thl>se who have lhe "Green Spirit" and would like IO i~rponlle II further tnlO _daily
living...Only by activating the ilel1IS on lhis list, can our grea1-grea1-grea1 gra~c~1ldren have an opponunuy.
interacl directly wilh lhe grea1 whales, lhe elephanlS. the ravens, lhe wolves. This hs1 was created by Interspecies
Communication board member ChrisU>ph Enderlein and his wife Mary-ClaylOll. Feel free IO copy. bul do llOl change
i1 wilhoul permission.
'°
Recycle paper, glass, and metals
.
Recycle motor oil, dispose of hazardous waste responsibly
Use cloth diapers
Reuse egg cartons and paper bags
Avoid using styrofoam
.
Avoid disposable plates, cups, utensils
Use rags instead of paper towels
.
Use paper bags, not pa~r towels to drain ~se
Give away rather than dispose of unneeded nems
IO. Use the back of discardable paper for scratch paper
11. Be responsible and creative with leftover food
12. Use the water from cooking vegetables to make soup
13. Mend and repair rather than discard !llld replace
14. Invest in well-made functional clothing
15. Buy bulk and unpackaged rather than packaged ~oods
16. Purchase goods in reusable and recyclable containers
17. Buy organic, pesticide-free foods
18. Avoid highly processed foods
19. Eat foods from low on the food chain
20. Compost your food scraps
21. Grow your own food (even small kitchen gardens)
22. Volunteer to start or help with a community garden
23. Suppon your local food co-ops
24. Discover where the foods and goods you buy come from
25. Buy locally grown produce and other foods .
26. Use glass and steel cookware rather~ alu1TU11um
27. Volunteer to maintain local parlts and wilderness
28. Buy living Christmas trees
29. Plant trees in your community
30. Learn about the plants and animals in your re~on
31. Discover your watershed and work to protect II
32. Oppose the use of roadside defoliants in your area
33. Use non-toxic, biodegradable soaps and cleansers
34. Use non-toxic pest control
35. Don't buy products tested on animals
36. Keep hazardous chemicals in spillproof containers
37. Put m a water conserving shower head
38. Take shoner showers
39. Tum off the water while you brush your te~th
40. Put a water conservation device on your toilet
41. Learn where your waste and sewage goes
42. Learn where the energy for your home comes from
43. Suppon your local utility's conservation programs
44. Hang your clothes out to dry
45. Be sure your home is appropriately insulated
46. Weather-seal your home thoroughly
47. Heat your home responsibly, with renewable energy
48. Don't bum green wood
49. Choose the longterm investment of solar energy
50. Tum off lights when not in use
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Ta!!.1989
Drawing by Rob Messi<:lr.
51. Tum down your hot water heater
52. Lower your thcnnostat and wear warmer clothes
53. Buy energy efficient elccuical appliances
54. Keep your car engine well tuned
55. Drive a fuel-efficient car that uses unleaded gas
56. Walk, bicycle, carpool, and use public transponation
57. Shop by phone first, then pick up your purchases
58. Use rechargable batteries
59. Research socially-responsible investments
60. Suppon local credit unions
.
61. Suppon local shops and restaurants. not chruns
62. "Adopt a grandparent" from the local senior center
63. Volunteer to cook for senior citizens
64. Provide for children in need
65. Hold a community potluck to meet your neighbors
66. Pick up liner along highways and near your home
67. Sponsor a clothes swap
68. Become involved with community projects and events
69. Organize or panicipate in community spons
70. Be responsible for the values you express
71. Educate yourself on global and "Third World" issues
72. Participate in sister city and cultural exchanges
73. Learn about the cultural diversity in your region
74. Work for global peace
75. Learn how your legislators vote, let them know your views
76. Be an active voter and anend town meetings
77. Vote for candidates who support green values
78. Become involved with your child's school
79. Encourage your child's natural talents and interests
80. Organize or join a toy co-op
81. Put toxic substances out of reach of children
82. Teach your children ecological wisdom
83. Listen to your children's needs and suppon their dreams
84. Discourage the use of violent toys in your household
85. Communicate openly with your co-workers and friends
86. Acknowledge someone who provides quality service
87. Work to understand people with different values
88. Be conscious of the struggles of oppressed people
89. Unlearn cultural sexism and racism
90. Acknowledge individual spirituality in yourself and others
91. Donate blood if your health permits
92. Explore ways to reduce the stress in your life
93. Practice preventive health care
94. Exercise regularly and eat wisely
95. Bring music and laughterinto your life
96. Learn about the medications you put in your body
97. Practice responsible family planning
98. Learn First Aid and emergency procedures
99. Take time to play, relax and go into nature
JOO.Decrease TV watching and increase creative learning
IOI.Have fun and be joyful!
JC.atiuah JournGt p!MJB 29
�Whether you are a New Age prosperity
afti m1a11onist or an idealistic pauper avoiding
guilt by association with money, either way you
look at it, inflation has deemed our dollars paper
symobls of wealth that does not exist. A
practical person cannot help but wonder how
long before the big balloon pops and blows all
our preny greenbacks away.
There is a low-level anxiety present
concerning our inflated economy which has
prompted many people 10 s1ockpile food. move
back to the land, and in many other ways be as
self-sufficient as possible.
This awareness is helpful in keepi ng us
on our 1oes and ready for change, which is
inevitable, even if it is unpredictable. However,
survivalist consciousness can be devastating if
you spend all your energy preparing for the fall
of the existing order and deny yourself the
bounty of the present, which is all we have
really got.
It seems important to balance respect for
the preseni solu1ion of problems within 1
he
world in which we live, however imperfect,
with a vision and steps LOward an economics
rooted in life.
Barter Fairs offer a deeply satisfyin g
eicperience for those who long to participate in a
tangible, life-oriented exchange system, where
true value is considered.
As an example, here is a trade I witnessed
at a Saner Fair in Idaho a few years ago:
George had an anvil that Dennis wanted,
but all Dennis had brought to trade were
moccasins, which George did not need. Dennis
kept coming back to George longing for that
anvil, which George could not find anybody
else to take. Meanwhile, George had found
some gorgeous jewelry he could not live
without, and in talking to the crafter he
discovered that she was looking for some
footwear. George told her about Dennis. They
did a threesome, and the goods shifted hands.
All three lightened !heir loads and left richer.
Ideally the three people involved in the
trade did not translate their goods into money
value and compare their worth that way. They
each il~d a.a abundance of something of which
they no longer had a need and convened it into
something they preferred to carry around with
them. The anvil may have been worth $150
new, but to George it was just unused heavy
baggage. Those jewels might have carried a
hefty price tag at a craft fair. but since George
had such a yearning gaze and such an open
smile, the artist easily chose to exchange them
for Dennis' moccasins, which could never have
been sold for so much money, but fit her feet
like her own skin, to her infinite comfort and
delight.
BARTER
FAIR
All judgement on money ethics aside,
bartering goods and services without the value
translation of money is a stimulating,
heart-warming, and enlightening activity. The
true value of things is discovered to be
subjective. The shifting of a fair full of items to
their most valuing recipients is wondrous in its
unfoldment; the grounds for transfer are
infinitely variable.
The phenomenon of the modem American
Bane. Fair originated in the Pacific Northwest, a
r
region with a well-developed bioregional
awareness and a strong emphasis on
self-sufficiency . The fairs are held
semi-annually. The autumn fairs, coinciding
with harvest season, are heavier on agricultural
produce. In the spring, people bring more
handmade items produced during the long
winter. Both fairs are rich in reunions of
friends, music-malting. sitting around campfires
late into the night, and all the peripheral activitiCl>
of the time and place.
Barter Fairs are different than flea
markets, although many people do bring used
clothes, tools, and other goods to trade. They
are more akin to the county fairs in the country.
There is a spirit of festivity and pride in personal
accomplishment and a sense of the bounty that
comes of humanity working with nature. They
are a celebration of the fruits of this union within
a region of Earth.
There is no reason I can see that Saner
Fairs need to remain unique to the Northwest.
Our southern highlands, historically short on
money and high on resourcefulness, seem
naturally suited to generate and support this kjnd
of community celebration and self-sufficiency.
Barter Fairs carry on a spirit with ancient
roots in prehistoric times, when wandering
tribes periodically gathered together in great
council circles to define and experience their
cultural autonomy. During later agric ultural
periods fairs continued to stir human souls.
Now in the age of K-Mart when you can hardly
find a service station for your car, and pliers fall
apart after one use, it is especially good to come
together to celebrate our connectedness and
support each other in our skills. Barter Fairs in
Katuah will breed a healthy blend of personal
pride and community empowennent.
(Anyone with ideas on a good location to
hold a Baner Fair in Kat1'ui11, please contact me.
The main considerations are a flat place large
enough to accommodate camping, parking, and
trading for l ()() or so barterers and some daytime
visitors; a good water source; and reasonable
access by larger vehicles.)
- Morgan Swann
wrire clo KatUahJournal,
orcaU (704)298-1770
'1\iaee, '1Wll~l 'Nat\Jri\ls
KRLRNU
T-SHIRTS. S WEATSHIRTS
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AND TO OLS FOR LIUI NG
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The besl text on Deep Ecology,
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160 Broadway
Ashevllle, NC 28801
Where Broactw.y ~
Merrlmon Ave 6
~240
by Dolores LaChapclle
"...we should be glad 1/ia1 we have teaclws such as
Dolores LaC/iapelle." - Katu:ih Joumnl 1123
OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK
Monday-Satu rday: 9am·8pm
Sunday: lpm·Spm
$23.00 (Price Ulcludes postage)
NC resikrus plt!4Se add S'k sales tax.
Orderfrom: KALRNU
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P 0 Box 282, Sy/yo, NC; K01aoh ProYinu 28789
f'at!, !989
�The dates are set. The location is chosen.
The Fourth Norch American Bioregional
Congress (NABC IV) will be held August
19-26, 1990 in the Gulf of Maine Bioregion on
the shores of Lake Cobboosseecontee ("where
the sturgeon leap" in the Penobscot language)
just west of Augusta, Maine and the Kennebec
River.
This Congress finds the bioregional
movement at a critical juncture. The burgeoning
ecological crisis is going to test the depth of the
movement's commilment. The stakes are high,
and while Third World countries are currently
taking the brunt of the ecologicar impact, we 100
feel the
pressur~
here in North America
a.~
the
fortes maintaining industrial society struggle 10
keep their power.
But times of crisis are also times of
change. What we are witnessing could possibly
be the last days of induscriaJ civilization. A great
deal depends on what we do in the decade
ahead. The bioregional movement could be at
the pivot point of a great change, or it could end
up as just another bit of flotsam sucked down
the tubes. The values we hold to and the actions
we take are what will decide. At NABC IV we
will have an opportunity to clearly state those
values and decide how we will put those values
into action.
Excerpt from World Charter for Nature
NABC IV
The Eanh is calling to us. Are we ready to
listen?
A delegation of bioregional folks from ·the
Kaulah province will crave! to the Gulf of Maine
for the NABC IV. We would like to see the
Southern Appalachians well-represented at the
Congress. Make plans now if you are interested
in attending.
For information on the forming Katuah
delegation, contact:
K011"1h Journlll
Box 638
Leicester, NC
Kanlah Province 28748
(704) 683-1414
For information on the Congress, contact:
Gulf of Maine Biorcgional Network
61 Maine St.
Brunswick, ME
Gulf of Maine Bioregion 04011
• Leopold, Aldo; A Sund Country Almanac; Oxford;
Oxford University Press, 1949
• Lovelock, J.E.; Goio: A New look at Life on
Earth; Oxford; Oxford University Press, 1979
A Shon List of Sources and References on
Biodiversity and Habirat Relevant to the
Southern Appalachian Forest
• Margolin, Malcolm; The Earth Manual: I/ow to
Work on Wild Land Wi1hou1 Taming /1, Berkeley:
Heyday Books, 1985
• Berger, John J.: Restoring the Earth: /low
Americans An Working to Renew our Damaged
Environment; New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1986
• Maser, Chris; Tht Redesigned Forest: San
Pedro, CA; R. & E. Miles, 1988
• Berry, Thomas. Tile Dream of 1h11 Ear1h; San
Francisco; Sierra Club Books, 1988
• lfuxton, Barry and Melinda Crutchfield, eds.:
Tiie Great Fores/: An Appalachian Story: Boone, NC;
Appalachian Consortium Press, 1985
• Cooley, James L, and Jane H. Cooley, eds.;
Natural Divtrsi1y in Fores/ Ecosystems: Proceedings of
tht Workshop: Alhens; Institute of Ecology, University
of GA. 1984
• Frome, Michael: Strangers in lligh Places;
Knoxville, TN: University or Tennessee Press, 1966
• Gordon. Lorimer C.: S1and flis1ory and
Dynamics of a Southern Appalachian Virgin Forts/; Ph.
D. dissenation, Duke University DepL of Forestry and
Environmental Studies, 1977
• Harris, Larry D.; Tht Frogmenltd Forest: Island
Biogeogrophy Theory and 1he Prtstrvo1ion of Bio1ic
Diversi1y; Chicago, IL: University or Chicago Press,
1984
• Jackson, Laura; Moun1oin Treasures al Risk;
Washingion, DC; The Wilderness Society, 1989
• Kulhavy, D. L., and R. N. Conner,
eds.;Wi/derntss and Natural Artas in Eas1ern United
States: A Monogtmenl Chai/tinge; Nacogdoches, TX;
Stephen F. Austin State University, 1986
1"titL, I 989
• Ma.stran, Shelley Smith and Nan Lowerre;
Mountaineers and Rangers: A flis1ory of Federal Fores1
Monagemenl in 1he Sowhern Appalachians. 1900-1981:
Washingion, DC; US Dcpan.mcnt of Agriculture, 1983
• Michaux, F.A.; Travels 10 tht Westward of 1he
Alleghany Moun1oins in the States of Oliio. Kentucky,
and Tennessee in 1he Year 1802; London; Barnard and
Sulizer, 1805
• Myers, Normnn Or., gen. ed.; Goia: An Atlas of
PIOlll!tory Monagtmem: New York; Anchor Books, 1984
• Nash, Roderick F.; The Righ1s of Nature: A
History of Environmental E11iics: Madison; University of
Wisconsin Press, 1989
• Norse, Elliot A.; Conserving Biological
Diversiry in Our National Fortsis; Washington. DC; The
Wilderness Society, 1986
• Norton, Bryon G., ed.; Tht Preservation of
Species: Tht Value of Biological Diversity; Princeton,
NJ; Princeion University Press. 1986
• Pringle, Laurence and Jan Adkins; Chains,
Webs, & Pyramids: Tht Flow of Energy in Na1ure; New
York; Thomas Y. Crowell, 1975
• Raven, Pete.r H.; The Global Ecosys1em in
Crisis; Olicago:The MacAnhur Foundation, 1987
Adopted by the United Nations
General Assembly
(9 Nov 1982)
".... I. Nature shaU be respected and iis essential processes
shall not be impaired.
2. The genetic vinbility on the earth shnll not be
compromised; lhe population levels or all life forms, wild
and domesticated, must be at least sufficient for their
survival, and to this end necessary habitaL~ shall be
safcguan:lcd.
3. All areas or the canh. both land and sen, shall be
subject to these principles of conservation; special protection
shall be given to unique areaS, to representative samples of
nil the different types or ecosystems and to lhe habitats or
rare or endangered species.
4. Ecosystems and organisms, as well as the land,
marine and atmospheric resources that are utilized by
humans. shall be managed to achieve and maintain optimum
sustainable productivity, but not in such a way as to
endanger the integrity of those other ecosystems or species
wilh which they coexist.
5. Nature shall be secure.<! against degradation caused by
warfare or other hostile activities.
6. In lhe decision-making process it shall be recognized
lhat humans' needs can be met only by ensuring the proper
functioning or natural systems and by respecting the
principles set forth in the present Chnner...."
This UN Charter can serve as a starting point for
local areas and regions to draft their own Charter for
Nature. Legally recognizing the rights of other
species is a critical step in bringing our species' syslem
more in balance with the Life systems in which we
pa rt id pate.
If you would like a copy of the entire UN
Charter, send a SASE to: Mamie Muller, Katuah
Journal, P.O. Box 638, Leicester, NC 28748 Katuah
Province.
Please keep us in touch with your efforts. Ho!
• Seed. John, Joanna Macy, et al.; Thinking Wee
A Moun1oin: Towards A Council Of All Beings:
Philadelphia; New Society Publishers, 1988.
• Shands. William E. and Robert G. Healy; Thti
Lands Nobody Won1ed: Washington, DC; The
Conservation Foundation, 1977
• Shands, William E., and John S. Hoffmnn, eds.:
The Greenhouse Ef!u1. Climate Change, and U.S.
Fores1s; Washington, DC; The Conservation
Foundation, 1987
• Spurr, Stephen H., and Bunon V. Barnes; Forts/
Ecology {3rd edition); New York; Wiley and Sons,
1980
• United States Congress: Technologies to
Main1ain Biological Diversity; Washingum, DC; Office
ofTechnology Assessment, 1988
• United States Department of Agricult.ure, Forest
Service, Southern Region; Atlanta, GA; Land and
Resource Monagtmenl Plans and Final Environmenlal
Impact S101emen1s:
C!Jauaboochee-Oconec National Forests
(Georgia), 1985
Cherokee National Forests (Tennessee), 1986
Nantahala-Pisgah National Forests (North .
Carolina), 1987
• Wharton, Charles H., and Harvey L. Ragsdale;
The Values of Unmanaged Notional Fores1s in 1he
Sou1hern Appalachians; Atlanta, GA; The Georgia
Conservancy. 1983
�evenrs
SEPTEMBER
19-22
ASHEVILLE, NC
"Parkways, Greenways, Riverways: The Way
More Beautiful" linear parks conference. lnt.crdisciplinary
discussion of al1ematives to preserve the scenic landscape
againsl development, pollution, billboards, and
commercialism. Sponsored by the Appalachian
Consonium. Great Smokies Hilton. Regis1rotion: $~25.
For more info., call (704) 262-2064.
,,
22-2'
. rt'
~J/\(
~-
/
,,r /
"\' ~ . .
)
-J V\J
<:--.._//
Ii= ::J ~ r
HOT SPRINGS, NC
"Walking Gently on the EartW' ~
with John and Penelope Youngb L
J
ynam1cs o evo UJ1on a t. e I ig so~ 't,.;p "
psych_ology ...a new evolutionary mysn.~sm.
Reading: The Dream of the Ewth b~ Tf":mas
Berry. SI 10. Sou~ern Dharma RylrQal C\\J'te~ RL ).
°·
/
(
OCTOBER ,
~
·
C,f{EROKEE, NC
Cherpkee Indian Fall Festival. Crafts, dance,_
stickball, archery, blowguns. exhibi~. midway. o..ilyadm~n: $3. A,! lhe Indian Ccremon,il\l Grounps.
3_7
Box 34-H; Hol Spnngs, NC 28743
t~
¥"' \ ) ,/
V--V \~
ASHEVILE NC
P
Child ~musical fantaS al>oul children
.
•
. .
eace th •
\, Y1
bnngmg peace to c world. Thomas ,vohe Audiionum.
Advance: S6 aaulls, $4 children and sr. citizens. Door: $7
d SS ~ . (704)
_
684 5530
an
·1
n
"I~ ~his r_etreat we will explore togetJ1er n
spmtual1ty of the Earth 1n harmony_w1
· if
J ·
nd h ·nS· hff ,, ~th
d
22-24
r
~
)
MORGANTON, WV
"
John Henry Blues feStiv#. ~usic,
workshops, theaLCr, more. Greer P•vill~. W~ver (
Park. Contact: Ed Cabbell; John HeorWl
SQl\iety;
Box 1172; Morgantown, WV 26507. 0fl4)~9 60?.
ASHEVILLE, NC
'11ie 'Dream of the 'Eartli.
'I1iomas 'Berry, autlwr of '11U '1>rtam
'Eart/i, 'flli{! sfum with us his concerns a6out mu
pfanet anti What fu means 6y "reinventin9 tk
fuiman at tk species kveC. 9:00 AM Iii Noon. Al
the Jubilee! Community Ccmer, 46 Wall StrccL For
more info, caJJ Mamie Muller (704) 683-1414.
23
ASHEVILLE, NC
African Drumming Workshop with Darrell
Rose. Noon 'ti! 3 pm. S20. At Troy Set7.ler's For
directions and info.: (704) 683·3405.
Evening African Drum performance with
Darrell Rose and Michael Saleen. Al Stone Soup, 9 pm.
FINCASTLE, VA
Firsl Annual Southeastern Men's Conference,
"Male Initiation and Isolation· wilh poet Rohen Bly,
James Hillman, Michale Meade (storyteller and musician
in the Ccllic tradition). and John Stokes, tracker.
Jn the post the "emotional bodies" of men were directly
ae1iva1ed by the interaction with elders, grand/others, and
mentors...What happens when the grandfathers are
aistant? ...How to hold to the duryofa father and not lose
the passion of a son? ...How to explore the rage, grief.
s'lro.me, anger, and joy inherent in the male psyche?
Registration: $450. For more info, wriie Fred Stephens;
'Box ~2; Raleigh, NC. or call Doug Lcaster(919)
782-2900.
·FILLED·
Write to bll put on mailing Ii.st for next year.
1
5-JS
MADISON, VA
"Wilddmcss Leaming Quest" - exploring lhe
viild, exploring ~e self. Sl60. Sevenoaks Pathwork
Center; Rt. I, BOX'~; Madison, VA 22n1.
17-20
'°6-8
JONESJWROUGl:f, TN
NAP~S Na~al Sl~rytelling Pe$,tival
fcaturirig mllJly famous nam~ in story·tellirjg. S5°'adull
»<>j·membets, S2S chi\dtt.n, $125 f~milie$. For ~re
inp>.• write f4ation3J AssQciailon for th~ Pn:se._rvalion &l\d
pcrpc1uati6o of Storytelll{lg: Box.__309; Joni;s,boroug~ .
37659foc call
~l~ 75~·2171.
- )
™
23
14-19
!p'tOXVl,LLE, TN
~nnual mecling of the Natural Areas
Assoc!lidon, \lllldentlal land conservation and restoration
organization. The fust day of the meeting will be devOLCd
1o th~lJibila.t of'lhe Soulhem Appalachian Mountains.
PulilcffiiViteb.. Hrau Regency Hotel. Contact J. Ralph
JordaJ;\TV ~; Norris, TN 37S2S (615) 494-9800.
.,_)
I
20.22
BLACK MOUNTAIN, NC
The Black Mountain Fall Festival wilh
,.s
lRASSTow ll, NC
~
/ ,.....
Vassar Clements, Allen Fontenot and the Country
Fall Festival al the JobD C. Campbj)ll Folk
dljuns. Roy Bookbinder, Rhythm in Shoes (step dance),
SchooL-'Mus)c. craftS, country danci1,1g. · )ohn._C.
• and more. Grey Eagle and Friends; Box 216; Black
Campbell Follc Sch09l; Brasstown, ~c· 28906,
Mountafo, NC 28711.
11·15
H.IGHLANDS, NC
20-22
HOT SPRINGS, NC
"Visual EnvironmentaHsm· photography
"The Song of Creation al Harvest Time•
workshop in the field and in lhe dnrkroom wilh Robert
harvest celebration in the Jewish tradition with Lynn
Glenn Kelchum and Michael Wilder. $250 includes
Goulieb, storyteller and rabbi of the Nahalat Shalom
lodging. Appalachian Environmental Ans Center: Box
Community, Albuquerque, NM. SI LS. Sou.them Dharmn
5SO; Highlands, NC 28741. (704) 526-4303.
Relreal Center. See 9/22·24.
12
BLACK MOUNTAIN, NC
WomnnSong at McDibbs. "Socilll concern
through harmony." S3. 119 Cherry St. (704) 669-24S6.
27
ASHEVILLE, NC
Thomas Berry will give the sermon at the
Equinox service of the Jubilee! Community. Service
begins at llAM 46 Wall S1rcc1. {704) 252-5335
ASHEVILLE, NC
"Mountain Sweet Talk" - a lwo-acl play with
the Folktellcrs, Barbara Freeman and Connie
Rcgan-B lake. The Folk Art Center Theater. Thursdays
lhru Saturdays - S pm: Sundays - 3 pm. TickctS: SS
advance from Malaprop's; SIO dooc. Reservations, cnll
(704) 25S-l l 13.
29- LO/I
ASHEVILLE, NC
"Restoring Biodiversity in the
Southern Appalachians: A Strategy for
Survival" conference on mountain habitat
13-19
24
NEW MARKET, TN
STP (Slop the Poisoning) School al the
Highlander Center. Tactics, strategy, and networking for
those working to stop industrial pollulion. Pre-register.
Call Highlander at (615) 933-3443.
30
CULLOWREE, NC
Moumain Heritage Day at WCU campus.
Clogging, shape-note singing, exhibils, crafts, food,
musical events, kids' shows. For more info, call (704)
227-72ll.
30-10/l
SWANNANOA, NC
Women's class on Jamaican culwral ceremony
with Rev. Queen Mother Azula. For more info, call:
(704) 29S-3935. The Eanh Center; 302 Old Fellowship
Rd.; Swannanoa, NC 28776
12-29
HI GHLANDS, NC
"Praying Feel and Dirty Hands"
Intergenerational Peace Conference led by Stepanie
Nichols. Carol Powers (The Peace Network) and Bob
Alpern. Programs on US/USSR cooperation, connict
resolution and non-violence, overcoming slrCeotypcs,
more - "leading people into action." SSS includes meals
and lodging. The Mountain Camp and Conference
CenLCr; 841 Highway 106; Highlands. NC 2S741. (704)
526-5S3S.
14
AS HEVILLE, NC
"Danger Down Under" groundwnter pro1CCli011
workshop. Health risks, citizen action, simulations.
Keynote: Larry and Sheila Wilson of Highlander Center.
S:30-4:00. Owen Conference Center, UNCA.
Pre-register: S15 to Clean Water Fund of North Carolina:
l lS Person St.; Raleigh, NC 27602. For more info, call:
(704)251-0518.
(Sec ad on back cover.) Pre-registration: S20 to
"Resloring Biodiversity..." c/o Box 233; Hot Springs,
NC 28743. For more info, call: (704) 251-6441.
27
ASHEVILLE, NC
Earth First! Road Show with Dakou Sid nnd
Roger Featherstone. Music and rabble-rousing. Stone
Soup, Broadway and Walnut. al S:OO pm. $4.
28
ASHEVILLE, NC
"For All Things Wild" Forest
Rescue Action Workshop. Strategy meeting
for activists wishing to help defend and restore
Appalachian habitat. (See ad on back cover.)
Pre-regiStration: SS to "For All Things Wild" c/o Elmer
Hall; Box 233: Hot Springs, NC 28743. For more info..
call: (704) 29S-3325 (ExL 250).
Drawing by Rob Messick
f"aCC., l 989
�10-12
28
4
ASHEVILLE, NC
·wt1d In the Str••h: The Feral
Q.all· Do.-..:• with Grondmother o"d
Strow
Com•
c::o&-tutT\ed
o.s
your
Q,...
BLACK MOUNTAIN , NC
David Wilcox, vinuoso local songwriter, at
McDibbs. S4. See 10/12.
fovortt•
~"·"'• onlmal or bird ... or .som•tN""S
10-12
MADISON, VA
"Living the Sacred Round: Lessons from the
Medicine Wheel.• Sevenoaks Pa!hwork Center, see
1W15-18.
wlldl
B 00 """" Loccrtlon to be c:>l'V'C>unc:.ed
10-12
CAMP NEW HOPE, NC
Celebrating the Dream ofthe Eanh
Earth, isn't this whaJ you want
28-29
WA YNESVlLLE, NC
"Chi Kung: An Ancient Taoist Mysiery" with
Ellen Hines of the Chinese Acupuncture and Herbology
Clinic, Asheville, NC. S50 includes room and board.
Contact S1il-Light Retreat Center; Rt. I, Box 326;
Waynesville, NC 28786 (704) 452-4569
NOVEMBER
4
FLETCHER, NC
"Improving and Maintaining Soil Fertility," a
conference sponsored by the Carolina Farm Stewardship
Assocuiuon. $15 includes lunch. For more info., call
Fairglen Farms (704)252-4414.
invisibly to arise in us?
11
(Rilke)
Reflecting the key Lhemes of Thomas
Berry. the conference will focus on the cerebral
as well as ki11esthetic interpretations of the
Dream of the Earth. With Miriam Therese
MacGillis, Amy Hannon, Marnie Muller, and
others. Workshops include: "Evolutionary
Remembering," "Exploring the Dream through
Movement and Sound." Annual Conference of
the Center for Reflection on the Second Law.
Info: CFRSL; 8420 Camellia Dr.; Raleigh, NC
27612
Cost: $9.50, includes postage
(NC residents please add S~ sales tax.)
raU,1989
CELlNA, TN
TN Alternative Growers Assoc. Fall
Conference. Includes soil improvement and backyard fruit
production. At Sta.nding Stone State Park. info: (615)
232-7777.
DECEMBER
BLACK MOUNTAIN, NC
Mike Cross at McDibbs. Shows at 8 and 10
pm Tickets SIO in advance. See 10/12.
..
...
Please specify size: Sm.. Med., Lg., X-Lg.
11·19
BLACK MOUNTAIN, NC
Livingston Taylor at McDibbs. Shows at 8
an 10 pm. Tickets SS in advance. Sec 10/12.
15-17
Beer & Wine Making
Supplies
•: Bulk Herbs, Spices, & Grains :.
In the traditional Cherokee Indian belier. the
creatures in the world LOday are only diminuitive forms of
the mythic beings who once inhabited lhe world, but
who now reside in Galuna'li, the spirit world, lhe highest
heaven. But a few of the original powers broke through
the spiritual barrier and exist yet in the world as we know
it These beings arc called with reverence "grandfathers".
And of !hem, the sirongest are Kanali, the lightning, lhe
power or the sky; Utsa'nati, the rattlesnake, who
personifies the power of the eanh plane; and Yunwi Usdi,
"lhe little man•, as ginseng is called in the sacred
ceremonies, who draws up power from lhe underworld.
Each is lhe sirongest power in its own domain.
Together !hey arc aJJies: tJ1cir energies complement each
other 10 form an even grcatct power. As medicine allies,
they represent the healing powers of the Appalachian
Mountains.
The medicine powers of Katuah have been
depicted in a striking T-shin design by Ibby Kenna.
Printed in 4-color silkscreen by Ridgerunncr Naturals on
top quality, aU-couon shins, they are available now in
all adult sizes tllrough the Kal:mu bioregional mail-order
supplier.
Order shirts from: KRLANU
Box 282; Sylva, NC
KatW!h Province 28779
SWANNANOA, NC
Marketing Alternative Crops seminar at
Warren Wilson College. Call Fairglen Farms (704)
252-44 14 for more info.
2
Natural Foods
rt'.ED'LC'LN'.E A.LL'L'.ES
WAYNESVILLE, NC
Weekend Meditation Retreat with Dorothy
Abbenhouse, president of the Theosophical Society in
America. $60. Stil-Light Retreat Center. See 10/28-29.
Vitamins & Supplements
Wheat, Salt,
& Yeast-Free Foods
Dairy Substitutes
•: Hair & Skin Care Products
111
200 West Kina Street. Boone NC 28607
\.•
'\..,_
704-264-5220
~~':"'
WAYNESVILLE, NC
Discussion and practice of "The Yoga Sutras
of Patanjali" wilh Leon Frankel. $60. Stil-Light Retreat
Center. See 10/28-29.
224'. broadway
ashcvi.lle. n.c
288o1
704-252-8404
=•
Ill
..
carolina costume
compaey
_J~ .._________________,
1
=-~
MOON
Gilts of Celebration
(EARTHWAY BOOKSTORE)
Books • New Age Music
Wildcrafted Herbal Producu
Gemstones • Unique Cards
Magazines • & More
WATER PURIFICATION EQUIPMENT
SOLAR PRODUCTS
Member NC Water Ouallly Assoeiallon
RANDALL C. LANIER
704-293-5912
HWY. 107
RT . 68 BOX 125
CULLOWHEE, NC 28723
(704) 264-7242
315 E. King Street, Boone NC 28607
e1ti11ese .,4(11p1111(/11re
DESIGNS
111tli
Jler/Jp/gl/I e/iHi(
by Rob Messick
lllustralion & Design
in Pen & Ink and Colored Pencil
P O Box 2601 • soone. NC 28607 • 1704)754-0097
78 EMT CMESTNUT STREET
AS>il:VIU.E. NC 28801
704 2S8-llOl6
M.C. M.VEBE. M.S., Ao.0.
UC. ACUPl.INCT\JRIST
EU.£H Hll<ES M.Ac.. ¥ M.
UC. ACUPUNCTIJRIST
�LEAD TESTS • Is your plumbing leaching
poi.~onous lead into your drinkingwatcr? Find out
for sure • lead-testing kit from the non-profit Clean
Water Fund of NC. All you need for Sl2. Send a
check w/ name and address to CWF: 138 E.
Chestnut St.; Asheville, NC 28801
MOCCASINS, handcrafted of elkhide in the
traditional Plains Indian style. Water-resistant,
rcsolable, and rugged - great for hiking! Children's
and infant sizes available. Write: Blue Feather
Moccasins; Box 931; Asheville. NC 28802. or caU
Patrick Clark at (704) 253-5047.
BLIGHT RESISTANT CHESTNUT - hybrid
American/Chinese Dunstan chestnut lJ'CCS - blight
resistant, limber growth form, productive orchard
crop with large, sweet easily-peeled nuts. Chestnut
Hill Nursery: Rt. I, Box 341-K; Alachua, FL
32615 (904) 462-2820
APPLE TREES - old-timey and popular
contemporary varieties on standard, semi-, or dwarf
stock. Send SASE for prices: Jeff Poppen: Long
Hungry Creek Nursery; Red Boiling Springs. TN
37150.
UNION ACRES, an alternative community for 20
families based on principles of stewardship,
equality, consensus, and simplicity. Spaces
available. Apply to Caroline Grant: Rt. I, Box
61-J; Whittier, NC 28789 or call (704) 497-4964.
ADOPT-A-TREE. Trees are the great conservators
of the planeL The Adopt-A-'Ire.e program will help
malce the vital connection between individual people
and individual trees. Donations accepted. For more
info. write to Box 144, Sugnr Grove, NC 28679
CHRISTIAN MA TCH-A-FRlEND seeks to bring
together Christian men & women. Interested
persons, advenisc free. We arc non-profit. For
information please send a self-addressed envelope io:
Gospel Ministry. P.O. Box 654, Clinton, TN
37717.
RENEWAL PROGRAMS- I provide individual and
corporate renewal programs for businesses &
organizations interested in healing themselves and
providing empowerment 10 others. Write: Kathie
Pieper c/o Pieper Associates, Rt. I, Box 238
Waynesville, NC 28786.
NEEDED: CHJLD-LOVING PERSON who loves
Lo be a nanny and housekeeper for my four
children. Hours, wages negotiable. Rm. and bd.
available. Asheville area. Call Morgan (704)
689-5382.
NEW AGE - group forming. All interested in
shnring about spirit to spirit communication,
channeling, visualization, healing, chakras, tarot,
etc. Emphasis on spiril and our connecLion lo
Mother Earth, visualizing positive growth and
nunuring. ConUICt Theresa C&rlson, 7501 Ruic Rd.,
Knoxville, TN 37920.
PEPPERLAND offers a variety of outdoor education
programs for church, school, or civic groups
year-round. We will help you design a program for
your group. Send for information packet to:
Pepperland Farm camp: Star Route; Farner, TN
37333.
"THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT' - a complete
rcpon on our changing environment for the next 60
years. $17.00 poslpaid, or write for more
information. Lorien House, POB 1112, Black
Mountain, NC 28711-1112.
APPALACHJAN GINSENG CO. ·stratified seeds,
seedlings, roots. Send for price list to: P.O. Box
547; Dillsboro, NC 28725.
DRUMS ·Custom handcrafted ceramic dumbecks &
wooden medicine drums. Call Joe Roberts at (704)
258-1038 or write 10: 738 Town Mountain Rd.:
Asheville, NC 28804.
THE PEOPLE OF THE ONE SONG - booklet of
stories and poems that tell of the people's dreams,
rituals, roles, and relationships from the arthetypal
memory of the past, present, and future. S3 to
Colleen Redman: One Song Scribe; Box 634;
Floyd. VA 24091.
MOON DANCE FARM HERBALS - herbal salves,
tinctures, & oils for birthing & family health. For
brochure, please write: Moon Dance Farm; RL I,
Box 726: Hampton, TN 37658
WOMANSONG - ongoing choral group forming.
Songs of beauty, meaning spirit, fun, peace,
cooperation, sisterhood. Come and sing! Mon.
evenings, 7:30-9, Asheville, NC. (704) 254-7068.
X-citUah Jo1mmL pci9e 34
SEA KAY AKlNG - Come enjoy peace and
solitude traveling with the rhythms of the sea.
Classes. day trips, overnight tours, custom charters.
Kayak/Sail boat tours to the Bahamas. Kayak tours
to Costa Rica. For more information contact:
Chnrlie Reeves, Sea Level Inc. POB 478 Tybee
Island, GA 31328 (912)786-5853
ORGANIC HONEY - Tulip Poplnr, Sourwood
and WildOowcr. From Patrick County, Virginia. No
chemicals. no white sugar, no heat, ever Strained
through cheesecloth and packed in heavy glass
canning jars. For a 4-oz. sample of our premium
sourwood and our catalog, send $4 to: Wade
Buckholts & Megan Phillips; Route 2. Box 248:
Stuart, VA 24171. (703) 694-4571
LO cook
NAMASTE FAMILY needs brothers and sisters to
join us in Lovi~g. Giving, Growing. Send Sl2
donation for writings and videotape to Namast~
Family; RR2, Box 578: Barnstead, NH 03225.
THE WATAUGA LAND AND WATER
CONSERVANCY • is a not-for-profit charitable
trust set up to protect the values and ecological
settings which sustain us both spiritually and
economically. If you are concerned about the purity
of the headwaters and watercourses, and the
preservation of wild and agricultural lands GET
INVOLVED. Write to Quality Living Publications,
POB I, Valle Crucis, NC 28691
"MAGIC AFTERNOONS" - for children at the
Unitarian Church of Asheville. An an program with
Linda Metzner in music, Norma Bradly in visual
arts, and Barrie Barton in creative movemenL It
begins Sept.ember 18th. Call 254-7068 for details.
NATURE LOVERS' COMMUNITY· Christians
only. SIOOO gives you life time ownership rights
on .5 acres. Whole prope.n y consists of 45 acres of
wooded calm and privacy. Write: Gospel Ministry,
P.O. Box 654, Clinton, TN 37717.
ITS THE ACHOO! SERVICE - Patch the clown
brings laughter and fun to the hospital. Join him
and the Gesundheit Institute at 2630 Roben Walwer
Place, Arlington, VA 22207 or (703) 525-8169.
PURE SORGHUM - and sorghum based desserts
toppings and chocolates. Handmade in the
Appalachian foothills. Free sorghum recipe brochure
send SASE. Candy sampler (2-KY Buckeyes &
2-Bourbon Balls) $2.00 postpaid. Golden Kentucky
Products, POB 246, Livingston, KY. 40445. (606)
453-9800.
MOUNTAIN DULCIMERS • made of black
walnut, red cherry, or maple. Tops available in
wormy chestnut, butlernut, sweetgum, sassafras,
western cedar and other woods. Contact: Mize
Dulcimer Company Rt. 2, Box 288, Bloumville,
TN. 37617 (615) 323-8489.
WEBWORKING is free. Send submissions to:
RHYTHM ALIVE • Handcrafted African- Style
Drums, workshops, learning tapes. drumbags. and
accessories. Please send SASE to Rhythm Alive! 85
Phenix Cove Rd. Weaverville, NC 28787 (704)
645-3911.
Drawing by Rob Messick
Kat1'ah Journal
P.O. Box 638
Leicester, NC
Katuah Province 28748
:r~u;.1999
�The Karuah Journal wants to communicate your thoughts and
feelings to the other people in the bioregional province. Send them
to us as letters, poems, stories, anicles, drawings, or photographs,
etc. Please send your contributions to us at: Kattiah Journal; P. 0.
Box 638; Leicester, NC; Kan1ah Province 28748.
The Winter 1989-90 issue of the Katuall Journal will be
concerned with the challenges and opponunities involved in
"Raising Children into a New Consciousness." We are interested in
hearing first-person stories, alternative schooling information,
children's resources (books, places to go. etc.), and any other
creative or pertinant ideas. Don't forget the canoons (kids love
canoons!).
BACK ISSUES OF KATUA H JOURNAL AVAILABLE
' ,!,!';;..,
~
~-
-
The Spring 1990 issue of the K atuah Journal will be
focusing o n "Wellness in the Mountains." We are looking for
information and articles on those who contribute to the healthful
quality of life in our southern mountains; especially through
accivities which promote self-responsibilicy and a high level of
wellness as the nonnal living state. A broad look at wellness might
include topics like stress management, spirirualfry, retreats and
adventures, service to others, Earth stewardship, having fun,
education, family and other relationships, fitness and nutrition, or
other areas of a satisfying lifestyle.
lncluded in the "Wellness" issue will be a directory of goods
and services related to wellness. There is no cost for a listing in this
directory. Please send in your name, practice, and a shon
explanation of your work or product, if you wish to be listed.
ISSUE EIGHT · SUMMER 198S
Celebration: A Way of Life · K.uuah 18,000
Ycan Ago • Sacred Sites - Folk Ans in lhe
Schools Sun Cycle/Moon Cycle - Poems:
Hilda Downer - Cherokee Heritage Cenaer Who Owns Appalachia?
.
ISSUETHREE SPRING 1984
SUSllllJUlble Agricuhure - Sunflowcn - Human
lmpac1 on lhe ForcSI - Childtcns' Education
Veronica Nicholu:Woman in Polilics - Uule
People - Medicine Allies
ISSUE FOUR ·SUMMER 1984
Water Drum Water Quality • Kudzu • Solu
"i Eclipse · Clurcu1ung · Trout • Ooing IO Weier
~I Ram Pllmps . Microhydto - Poems: Bennie
Lee Sincl&ir, J1m Wayne Miller
ISSUE FIVE · FALL 1984
Harves1 • Old Ways m Chcrolt~ • Ginseng •
Nuclear Waste - Our Cehic Heritage Bioregionahsm: Put, Prucnt. and Future John Wilnoty Healing Oatkness • Politics of
Partlcipation
ISSUESIX - Wl.NTER 1984.SS
Winter SolsticG EAl'lh Ceremony - Horsepasturr
River - Coming of lhe Ligh1 - Log Cabin
Root• • Mountain Agriculture: The Right Crop
- Williun Taylor . The Future of lhe Forw
ISSUE SEVEN • SPRING 1985
Sust1111able &:onomM:s • Hot Springs • Wortcr
Owncnhip - The Gru1 Economy • Seit Help
Credit Union • Wild Turltcy - Responsible
lnvCS1m1 • Working in lhc Web of Life
ISSUE NINE - FALL 1985
The Waldce Fo re11 - The Trees Speak Migrating Forats - Horse Logging - S1ar11ng a
Tree Crop · Urban Trees • Acom Bread • Mylh
ISSUE FIFTEEN - Spring 1987
Coverlets • Woman Forester • Susie McMahan
Midwife - Ahcmativc Contraception •
Bioscxuolity - Biorcgionalism and Women Oood Medicine: Mairi.=hal Culture . P1t1Jrl
LSSUE SIXTEEN - Summer 1987
Helen Waiae • Poem: Visions m a Garden Vi11on Ques1 • First Flow • ln1llllllon
Learning in lhc Wilderness • Cherokee
Olallcngc - "Valuing Trees"
Time
ISSUE TEN · WINTER 1985-86
Kate Rogers • Circles of Stone - lntemal
Mylhmalting • Holistic Healing on Trial •
Poems: Steve Knaulh - Mythic Places - The
Ulttcna's Tale - Crystal Magic •
ISSUE EIGHTEEN · Winier 1987-88
Vernacular Archiaecrure . Drcanu in Wood and
Stone • Mountain Home • Earth Energies •
Earth-Shchcied Living - Membrane Houses •
Brush Sheller • Poems: October DMsk. • Oood
Mcdic111C: "Shclaer"
~g·
ISSUE ELEVEN SPRING 1986
Community Planning • Cities and the
Bioregional Vision • Recycling · Community
GIJdenin&. Floyd CoWll}', VA - Guohol Two Bt0rcgional Views - Nuclear Supplement
Foxfire Gatnes • Oood Medicine: Visions
ISSUE THlRTEEN · Fall 1986
Cenaer For Awakening · Eliu.bclh Callari · A
Gentle Death • Hospice - Ernest Morgan Dealing Creatively wilh Oealh • Home Burial
Box • The Wake • The Raven Mocker •
Woodslore and Wildwoods Wisdom · Oood
Medicine: The Sweat Lodge
LSSUE FOURTEEN . Winier 1986-87
Uoyd Carl Owle • Boogcn and Mummers - All
Species Day • Cabin Fever University •
Homclca in Katuah - Homemade Hot Watu
Saovernalter's Narrative • Good Medicine:
lnaerspccics Communication
~UAt;)OURNAL
ISSUE NINETEEN - Spring, 1988
Perlcandra Gorden - Spring Tonics • Bluebarics
Wildnower Gardens - Granny Herbalist •
Flower Essences • '"The Origin of lhe Arumals ·
Saory • Oood Medicine: "Power" • Be A Tree
ISSUE TWEJIITY - Summer, 1988
Preserve Appalachian Wilderness - Hig)ilands
of Roan - Celo Community - Land Trust •
Arlhur Morgan School - Zoning hsuc • "The
Ridge" • Farmers l1ld lhe Farm Bill - Oood
Medicine: "Land" - Acid Rain - Duke's PowcT
Play • Cherok~ Microhydro Project
uve
Regular Membership........ $10/yr.
Sponsor.........................$20/yr.
Contributor .....................$50/yr.
Address
Enclosed is $
10 give
this ejforr an extra bOost
Zip
I can be a local contact
person for my area
Area Code
"'"'· 1989
Phone Number
ISSUE TWENTY-FOUR · Summer, '89
Deep Listening • Life in Atomic City - Di.reel
Action! · Tree of Peace - Community Building
Peacemakers • Ethnic Survival • Pairing
Projcc1 - "Baulesong· • Growing Peace in
Cultures - Review: The Chalice and the B/Dde
P.O. Box 638 Leicester, NC Katuah Province 28748
Name
State
ISSUE TWENTY-THREE - Spring, t 989
Pisgah Village - Planet An • Green City •
Poplar Appeal - "Cl- Sky" • "A New Eanh"
Black Swan - Wild Lovely Days • Reviews:
Sacr('Jf land Sacred Sa, / cc A1e • Poem:
"Sudden TaOils"
lSSUETWENTY-ONE - FaU, 1988
Chestnuts: A Natunl History - Restoring lhc
Chestnut - "Poem of Preservation and PnUc"
Continuing lhe Quest - Forests and Wildlife
Chestnuts in Regional Diet • Chestnut
Resources • Herb Noie • Oood Medicine:
"Changes to Came" - Review: Wliue u1ends
For more info: call Mamie Muller (704) 683-1414
City
-·-
ISSUE TWENTY-TWO - Wintu, •gg.g9
Global Wanning - Fire This Time • Thomu
Berry on "Biorcgions" • Eanh Exercise • Kor~
Loy McWhirtcr - An Abundance of Emp1iness
LETS - Chronicles of Floyd • Derry Wood
The Bear Clan
Back Issues
Issue#_@ $2.50 $_ _
Issue# _ _ @ $2.50 = $_ _
Issue# _ _@ $2.50 = $_ _
Issue# _ _@ $2.50 = $_ _
Issue#_@ $2.50 $_ _
Complete Set (3-11, 13-16,
18-23)
@ $35.00 = $_ _
=
=
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians Records
Description
An account of the resource
<em>Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians</em>, later simplified to <em>Katúah Journal</em>, was published from 1983 to 1993. A quarterly publication, it was focused on the bioregion of former Cherokee land in Appalachia. <br /><br /><span>The early issues of the journal explain the meaning of the Cherokee name, </span><em>Katúah</em><span>, and why the editors wanted to view the world through a bioregional lens, rather than political boundaries. A volunteer production, the editors took a holistic view in tackling social, environmental, mental, spiritual, and emotional topics of the day, many of which are still relevant. </span><br /><span><br />The <em>Katúah Journal</em> was co-founded by Marnie Muller, David Wheeler, Thomas Rain Crowe, Martha Tree and others who served as co-publishers and co-editors. Other key team members included Chip Smith, David Reed, Jay Mackey, Rob Messick and many others.</span><br /><br />This digital collection is only a portion of the <em>Katúah</em>-related materials in the W.L. Eury Appalachian Collection in Special Collections at Appalachian State University. The items in AC.870 Katúah Journal records cover the production history of the <em>Katúah Journal</em>. Contained within the records are correspondence, publication information, article submissions, and financial information. The editorial layouts for issues 12 through 39 are included as are a full run of the Journal spanning nearly a decade. Also included are photographs of events related to the Journal and a film on the publication.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
This resource is part of the <em>Katúah Journal Records </em>collection. For a description of the entire collection, see <a href="https://appstate-speccoll.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/937" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Katúah Journal Records (AC. 870)</a>.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
The images and information in this collection are protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U. S. C.) and are intended only for personal, non-commercial, and educational purposes, provided proper citation is used – i.e., Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians Records, 1980-2013 (AC.870), W. L. Eury Appalachian Collection, Special Collections, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC. Researchers are responsible for securing permissions from the copyright holder for any reproduction, publication, or commercial use of these materials.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1983-1993
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
journals (periodicals)
Language
A language of the resource
English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
<em>Katúah Journal</em>, Issue 25, Fall 1989
Description
An account of the resource
The twenty-fifth issue of the <em>Katúah Journal</em> focuses on biodiversity and habitat: forest ecosystem, old-growth forest, regional planning, forest devastation, black bears and Eastern panthers, and living green. Authors and artists in this issue include: Sam Gray, Robert Zahner, Laura E. Jackson, David Wheeler, Anna Muir, Julia Nunnally Duncan, Annelinde Metzner, Patrick Clark, Heather Blair, Chip Smith, Lee Kinnaird Fawcett, James Rhea, Rob Messick, Marnie Mikell, Patricia Claire Peters, Mary de La Valette, Sue Adams, Starfire Soledad, Christoph and Mary-Clayton Enderlein, and Morgan Swann, <br><br><em>Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians</em>, later simplified to <em>Katúah Journal</em>, was published from 1983 to 1993. A quarterly publication, it was focused on the bioregion of former Cherokee land in Appalachia. The early issues of the journal explain the meaning of the Cherokee name, Katúah, and why the editors wanted to view the world through a bioregional lens, rather than political boundaries. A volunteer production, the editors took a holistic view in tackling social, environmental, mental, spiritual, and emotional topics of the day, many of which are still relevant.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1989
Table Of Contents
A list of subunits of the resource.
The Great Forest by Sam Gray.......3<br /><br />Restoring the Old-Growth Forest by Robert Zahner.......5<br /><br />Regional Planning for Habitat Integrity by Laura Jackson.......8<br /><br />A Question of Value by David Wheeler.......10<br /><br />Closing the Gate on Forest Devastation by Ann Muir.......12<br /><br />Poem: "Sparrow Hawk" by Julia Nunnally Duncan.......13<br /><br />A Place for Bears: An Interview with Dr. Michael Pelton.......15<br /><br />Poem: "There Fell the Rain Healing" by Annelinde Metzner.......16<br /><br />Eastern Panther, Where Are You? by Patrick Clark.......17<br /><br />Oak Decline by Heather Blair.......19<br /><br />People and Habitat by Chip Smith and Lee Kinnaird Fawcett.......21<br /><br />Perpetual Wild Sanctuaries.......23<br /><br />Natural World News.......24<br /><br />Drumming.......26<br /><br />Living Green.......29<br /><br />Barter Fair.......30<br /><br />(Natural) Resources.......31<br /><br />Events Calendar.......32<br /><br />Webworking.......34<br /><br /><em>Note: This table of contents corresponds to the original document, not the Document Viewer.</em>
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<em>Katúah Journal</em>, printed by The <em>Waynesville Mountaineer</em> Press
Subject
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Bioregionalism--Appalachian Region, Southern
Sustainable living--Appalachian Region, Southern
Forest management--Appalachian Region, Southern
Human ecology
Black bear--Appalachian Region, Southern
Regional planning--Appalachian Region
North Carolina, Western
Blue Ridge Mountains
Appalachian Region, Southern
North Carolina--Periodicals
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English
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Text
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<a href="https://appstate-speccoll.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/937"> AC.870 Katúah Journal records</a>
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Appalachian Region, Southern
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<a title="Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians" href="https://omeka.library.appstate.edu/collections/show/79" target="_blank"> Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians </a>
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1980s
Acid Deposition
Appalachian History
Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Studies
Bioregional Congress
Black Bears
Community
Ecological Peril
Economic Alternatives
European Immigration
Forest History
Forest Issues
Forest Practice
Geography
Habitat
Hazardous Chemicals
Katúah
Poems
Politics
Reading Resources
Transportation Issues
Turtle Island
Wilderness
-
https://omeka-test.library.appstate.edu/files/original/6ac3b2d6326ea4a47a252670915b7c24.pdf
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Text
ISSUE 27 SPRING 1990
$1.50
BIOREGIONAL JOURNAL OF THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS
�Postage Paid
Bulk Mail
Permit #18
Leicester, NC
28748
P.O. Box 638 Leicester, NC Katuah Province 28748
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED
�Personal and Planetary
Transformation:
A Holistic Model of Healing.......... !
by Richard Lowenthal
The Healing Power...................... 4
by David Wheeler
Peace to Their Ashes .................... 6
by Sam Gray
Healing in Katuah........................9
by Doug Aldridge
"When Left to Grow" ................. 10
a poem by Rob Messick
"Calling to the Ancestors,
Calling Our Relations" .......... 11
poems by Stephen Wing
PERSONAL AND PLANETARY
TRANSFORMATION:
A HOLISTIC MODEL OF HEALING
The l3elly .................................. 12
by Lisa Sarasohn
by Richard Lowenthal
EARTH DAY 1990 !!. ................ 15
a special pull-ow supplement
Food From the Ancient Porest.. .. .19
by Snow Bear
Natural World News ..................20
Good Medicine .......................... 24
Drumming ................................ 26
Leners to Katuah Journal
Events ...................................... 29
Webworking ............................. 30
It is abundantly clear that the Earth is in
the midst of a tremendous ecological crisis.
Human societies the world over are also
experiencing phenomenal changes and crises as are the individuals who live in them. Our
collective destiny seems to be shifting rapidly,
and may well be careening out of control. A
very good question, at this point in our
evolution, is "What is happening to us and to
the planet - and where are we heading?"
Our planetary crisis, like all crises,
combines great danger and great opportunity.
If we are to meet the challenge successfully,
we need to understand both the dangers and
the opportunities - and learn how to deal with
them.
The best model I have found, to help us
approach comprehension of this planetary
crisis, is derived from the holistic
understanding of health, illness, and the
healing process. In order to better understand
what is happening on a global scale, we need
to consider the recently-articulated possibility
that the Earth may in fact be one huge living
being, with its own self-regulating systems.
Both the Gaia Theory of Lovelock and
Margulis, and Peter Russell's work on "The
Global Brain", point in this direction. If the
Earth is truly an individual, indivisible being,
the processes of personal and planetary
healing may mirror each other in many ways even more, they may be inseparable.
In the holistic view, physical i!Jness is
often the result of unresolved emotional and
spiritual issues, as well as the build-up of
toxic waste-products in various organs and
tissues of the body. Our increasing
understanding of the human psyche, and of
the interaction between mind and body (if
indeed they can even be separated), has
shown that suppressed emotional traumas and
long-buried negative self-concepts have a
constricting, deadening effect upon the
body/mind. They, too, may thus be
considered powerful toxins which 'poison'
our entire body/mind system. Their effect is
reflected in, and amplified by, the
accumulation of chemical toxins in the body an excellent example of the mirroring effect
implicit in the holistic model of healing. That
is, our body/mind system is an integrated
whole, in which toxins on one level indicate
(continued on page 3)
�STAFFTinS ISSUE:
Susan Adam
Heather Blair
Rob Messick
Mamie Muller
Lisa Sarasohn
Scott Bini
Jim Houser
Richard Lowenthal
James Rhea
Chip Smith
Rodney Webb
Manha Tree
David Wheeler
EDITORIAL ASSISTANCE:
Will Ashe Bason
Trip Halbkat
Michael Red Fox
Phil Ross
Jack Chaney
Michael Havelin
Marsha Ring
Kim Sandland
COVER by Martha Tree
Special thanks Kitty Boniske for providing a home for this
issue, and to Phil and Allen for their hospitality and
forbearance.
PUBLISHED BY: Kat"'1h Journal
PRINTED BY: The Waynesville Mounraineer Press
EDITORIAL OFACE JHIS ISSUE:
The Cenier for New Priorities, Asheville
WRITE US AT:
Kar"'1h Journal
Box 638; Leicester, NC; Katuah Province 28748
TELEPHONE: (704) 754-60')7
KalUah Journal is on Skyland BBS, Asheville, NC.
For information, call (704) 254-6700.
Diversity is an important clement of bioregional eoology, bolh
natural and social. In line with !his principle, lhe KatUalt Journal 1rics
IO serve as a forum for !he discussion of regional issues. Signed anicles
express only lhe opinion of lhc aulhors and are not necessarily lhe
opinions of lhe Ka1Ualt Journal edilOrs or slaff.
The lnlCmal Revenue Service has declared KatUalt a non·profit
organization under section 50l(cX3) of lhc lnlCmal Revenue Code. AU
conlributions IO Ka1ao1t aic deductible from personal income tax.
'LNVOC:ATWN
From the dark below
The young stem curves upright
Green into light
Leaves open their cluster
In the sun they sing
Wisdom of the stars
And blossom in the life of all creation
1l!E SOUTHERN APPALACFDAN BIOREGION
ANO MAJOR EASTERN RJVER SYSTEMS
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
Here in the southern-most heartland of the
Appalachian mountains, the oldest mountain range on
our continent, Turtle Island; a small but growing
group has begun to take on a sense of responsibility
for the implications of that geographical and cultural
heritage. This sense of responsibility centers on the
concept of living within the natzual scale and balance
of universal systems and principles.
Within this circle we begin by invoking the
Cherokee name " Kat1'ah 1' as the old/new name for
this area of the mountains and for its journal as well.
The province is indicated by its natural boundaries:
the Roanoke River Valley to the north; the foothills
of the piedmont area to the east; Yona Mountain and
the Georgia hills to the south; and the Tennessee
River Valley to the west.
The editorial priorilies for us are to collect
and disseminate information and energy which
pertains specifically to this region, and to foster the
awareness that the land is a living being deserving of
our love and respect. Living in this manner is a way
to insure the sustainability of the biosphere and a
lasting place for ourselves in its continuing
evolutionary process.
We seem to have reached the fulcrum point of
a " do or die " situation in terms ofa quality standard
of life for all living beings on this planet. As a voice
for the caretakers of this sacred land, Katuah, we
advocate a centered approach to the concept of
decentralization. It is our hope to become a support
system for those accepting the challenge of
sustainability and the creation of harmony and
balance in a total sense, here in this place.
We welcome all correspondence, criticism,
pertinent information, articles, artwork, etc. with
hopes that Kat1'ah will grow to serve the best interests
of this region and all its living, breathing members.
-The Editors
"'-t\&nh )ournaL Pci<Je 2
/
SprLnlJ, 199 0
�(conlinued Cmm peac 1)
toxic build-up on other levels as well. Spiritual, emotional,
mental, and physical problems :ire completely intertwined and
interdependent. There 1s no separation between them, yet there is
a twist to this scenario - there is usually a "time lag" involved in
physical manifestation.
This idea of "time lag" is imporunt, because it indicates
that we may not sec visible, outer effects or iMer trauma or
constriction for a long time. Conversely, when we do see outer
effects, or when we consciously "feel bad," we can be pretty sure
that toxic ideas or feelings have been poisoning us inwardly and
subconsciously for some time, and/or our bodies are
overwhelmed by toxins and stress.
Since all the various "levels" of our being are interacting to
produce "disease" (dis-ease). the most effective healing method
addresses what is happening on each level simultaneously. In
particular, it deals quickly and directly with any physical
"presenting problems", especially those that are imminently
life-threatening. (This is the fort.e of modem medicine.) It would
also - and even more importantly - prescribe a process of gradual
detoxification, "remedial learning", and therapy to help the
person heal on the deeper, more intangible levels as well
These deeper levels of healing present some problems,
usually of a psychological nature. What happens is this: as the
body/mind starts releasing toxins - physical or emotional - we
enter a "healing crisis" which can take many forms. Often there
be brief l'CCUJ!Cnccs <?fold illnes~s which were suppressed
with drugs; chemical toxms st.an coming out through the skin,
which can brcalc out in pimples, boils, or rashes; and we may
experience nausea, weakness, and dizziness. These physical
symptoms are not "problems" in themselves • in fact, they arc
pan of the solution. Problems arise when we give in to fear and
believe we arc "getting sick", instead of understanding that we
are releasing toxins as we heal.
But here's the rub: since repressed emotions arc
themselves mental and emotional toxins, it is likely that we will
experience a lot of fear - or anger, or sadness - as buried
emotions are surfacing to be released. We wiU also be releasing
and experiencing our cultural fear of emotion, and our training to
be afraid of our fears! For this reason, we need extensive
preparation and prior education about the nature of a healing
crisis: what it means, what to expect, and how to deal with the
emotional discharge. The crucial clement is that we learn to look
beyond OUlU appearances or the temporary ill feeling, and ro trust
that the body/mind krwws very well how ro heal itself when it is
w!"
properly supported in doing so. Withour this krwwing, this faith,
healing is much more difficult.
4) Simultaneously, humanity as a whole is starting to
awaken to the mind-boggling depth of the issues involved.
Tremendous social problems such as drug and alcohol addiction,
di~i~tegration of the familr, distrust of government, teenage
suicide and pregnancy, SOCJal apathy, and overall deterioration
of education and our quality of life arc spurring people to seek
new ways, new answers. The success and rapid spread of the
Alcoholics Anonymous movement, its many off-shoots, and
therapy and support groups is one facet of this process.
The primary toxin being released is
our toxic belief in separation - our
misunderstanding of our relation to the
universe, nature, and other people.
5) The entire planet and all of humanity is going through a
healing crisis involving the generation and release of toxins on
every level. The crucial issue seems to be this: whatever we
refuse to deal with inwardly MUST eventually appear outwardly,
and KEEP appearing outwardly until we 'get the message'. This
means that our 'inner' psychological reality and the 'outer'
ecological reality are in fact ONE reality. Because we have
allowed such a toxic build-up within ourselves and our societies,
and have NOT dealt with our inner and interpersonal realities
effectively, our world is mirroring our internal denial--by
manifesting externally the pain we believe we've 'avoided'. Thus
unbelievable amountS of deadly toxins arc being produced either
intentionally - i.e. plutonium and chemical/biological weapons or as industrial wastes. And these toxins arc either stored away
for 'safe' keeping or dumped directly into the planetary
ecosystem, with disastrous results.
This process is the 'outpicturing'- the outer result - of
psychological toxins that have been accumulating for several
thousand years. The primary toxin being released is our toxic
belief in separation - our misunderstanding of our relation to the
universe, nature, and other people - and with it the overwhelming
fear and defensiveness this disempowering belief generates.
6) As humanity's emotional negativity and toxic belief
systems rise up from the depths of the collective unconscious and
come to the surface (become conscious). they at first cause an
increase in violence, immorality, greed, exploitation, and
narcissistic behavior. Initially, people identify with these
surfacing negative patterns and act accordingly; they may
temporarily become even more fearful, self-centered, and
exploitive (as we've seen during the 80's). This 'regression' is
Now, if we apply chis practical, yet visionary, model of
healing to our planetary crisis, we might arrive at the following
"diagnosis":
part of the healing, difficult as it is to accept; it is making our
inner reality outwardly visible and tangible - and inescapable.
1) We arc now experiencing on a planetary scale the
destructive outer effects of long-standing, toxic beliefs and
feelings operating within us, and within our social structures.
The intensifying pollution and degradation of the Eanh is a
reflection of humanity's inner pain, denial of interdependence,
and emotional and spiritual degradation. The outer problems we
arc generating arc mirroring back to us, in no unccnain terms,
the concrete, tangible, and inevitable results of our arrogant and
divisive belief systems. This outer reality is making our
intangible INNER reality visible. Though we have prided
ourselves on our 'enlightened self-interest'. we arc now being
forced to see that our modern way of life is neither enlightened
nor in our best interests - or the best interests of the planet.
2) Some of these outer effects are threatening our survival
and the life of the planet - effects such as tropical deforestation,
over-population, the "consumer mentality", acid rain, the world
arms trade, erosion of topsoil, production of huge amounts of
nuclear and chemical hazardous wastes, etc.
3) These life-threatening problems should be dealt with
immediately, to at least reduce their impact and buy time so the
body (of humanity and of the planet) has the time and strength to
recuperate somewhat. This would require ecological, political,
and social activism on a very broad-based, grass-roots level. It
would also require that we institute educational processes that
help people oo COMMUNICATE and COOPERATE more easily.
~~S!J'UCtivc tendencies we have set in motion may really be the
We thus need to recogniz.c that all the "terrible" events and
SprLnq, 1990
1moal messengers of a far deeper, positive change; we need to
remember that appearances are not always what they seem. And
we especially need an educationaJ approach that can help us get
through the darkest moments - or years - of this planetary
"healing crisis." A vision of the positive end result - the
proverbial "light at the end of the tuMel" - will be absolutely
necessary, if we arc not to lapse into judgementalism, impotent
rage, or despair.
Fonunatcly, we already have such visions available to us.
Many writers and 'futurists' are exploring and communicating
a~ut the incredible transformations already occurring in such
diverse fields of human endeavor as physics, biology, the
psy~hology and treatment of addiction, 'citizen diplomacy',
sohd-waste management', economics, and world politics.
All these developments have one thing in common: the
gradu~I shift from a mechanistic, separative, controlling mode of
consciousness to an ecological, holistic, relationship-oriented
mode. This shift aligns us with the Earth; it is the fundameotal
inner shift which will allow us, as it progresses, 10 adapt to the
immense changes we arc experiencing. The old order based on
separation, exploitation, and fear is dying. Let us assist in this
tremendous transformation process, and panicipatc in the birthing
of the new, with courage, determination. and love.
,,
JGQt®h Jo1Mnat
PQl}e
s
�THE HEALING POWER
by David Wheeler
The Appalachian Mountains are old, and their power is
subtle. But their power is yet strong. Standing over the eastern
seaboard of the Turtle Island continent, the intangible influence of
~e Appalachians racli~1es out over all the lowlands so thickly
mhab11ed by human bemgs. As surely as that power is invisible
and inexplicable, its subtle influence is also vital 10 maintaining
the balance of life of the eastern half of Tunle Island.
To the original inhabitants of the Southern Appalachians
"medicine" meant power, and the mountains were always know~
to.~ sacr~ and powerful. Traditionally, Cherokee Indians of a
spmtual mind would plunge every morning into the river that
flowed by each village. Thus they partook of the medicine of
water and mountains. They ate wild foods and healed bodily
ailments with roots dug from the ground, roots lhat were full of
the medicine of the mountains.
C:Cnain peaks or waterfalls or other special spots in the
mountams were known as sacred sites where the spiritual energy
of the mountains was concentrated. The native people went to
these places for fasting and prayer, to find who they were when
they came of age, and, if they could, to die when their time was
at an end. They knew that these were sacred places, for they
could sense the energy directly. And did not Grandfather Eagle,
the most sacred of creatures, choose to live on the mountain
heights?
The ftrst white people who came to the mountains were in
awe of the imposing presence of the Appalachians. On the
~urface, the fi~t immigrants who followed 1he early explorers
mto the mountain coves and "hollers" seemed to be too engrossed
!n sim~ly making a livelihood .fo~ themselves, and too caught up
m praying to an abstracted Chnsuan God, to recognize the power
of mountains - but inside, deep down, they knew.
Others, coming 100 years later, recognized the power of
mountains and came for healing. First by carriage, then by
~I, they came to escape the flatland heat and to cure a variety of
ailments - most often tuberculosis, for which the only cure
known in both Europe and North America was to retreat to the
mountains. Well-known resort centers, spas, and sanitariums
were .built, an~ their prospe~ous ~de became an important early
cash mdustry m the mountains. This type of commerce was at its
peak when the lumber barons were just beginning their
exploitation of the region's timber trees.
Only the rich could afford the healing offered in the
mountains, so the patrons of the fashionable resort/healing
centers were largely southern aris1ocra1s with a sprinkling of
northern industrialists. The Line between "healing" and "vacation"
often became quite blurred. It was sometimes hard 10 tell a
popular spa from a resort hotel, as the same building often served
both purposes.
The warm springs of the town now called Hot Springs in
Madison County, and other mineral springs along the French
Broad, became known as healing places, and several spas were
constructed during the middle 1800's for people to "take the
waters."
Wilma Dykeman tells of the great resort/healing centers in
her regional history, The French Broad. She wrote:
"Health and pleasure were the attractions of the watering
places: the first providing a worthy excuse for the indulgence of
the second. Advertisements of the period mentioned immediate
cures, upon use of the mineral waters, for 'Diseases of the Liver,
Dyspepsis, Vertigo, Neuralgia, Opthalmia or Sore Eyes,
Paralysis, Spinal Affections, Rheumatism, Scrofula, Gravel,
Diabetes, Consumption and Chronic Cough, Diseases of the
Skin, Tetter, Indolent Ulcers, General Debility, Sleeplessness,
and Nervous Prostration.' The waters of many places were
reputed good for barre nness in wives and impotence in
husbands.
th~
Drawing by Rob Messick
Spri:rMJ1 ! 999.•
�''The Wann Springs, most famous of all the French Broad
watering places, mentioned in one of their brochures that
partaking of their minerals would 'bring the bloom back to the
chec_k, the lustre to the eye, tone to the languid pulse, sr:rcngth to
the Jaded nerves, and vigor to the wasted frame.' From all
co~tcmpo_rary accounts of t~e social life of the place, its patrons
amved with cheeks already in full bloom, eyes overflowing with
lustre,_ and pulses. in no need of stimulation beyond that of
moonlight on the nver or the shady tum in a lover's walk."
The city of Asheville became the hub of both the health and
society circles. In 1888 a German doctor named Carl van Ruck
established the first large tuberculosis sanitarium, arid, as word
got out about the beneficial mountain climate, others soon sprung
up around the area.
. . . To ~he wealthy visitors, who knew only the highly
c1v1hzed life of the lowlands, the mountain landscapes were
exotic and wild. The fine "foreign folk" thrilled at the rugged
scenery, the waterfalls and swift-running creeks, and the
mountain air, so cool and crisp even in the summertime.
T?<1ay, muc~ the same attractions bring people to the
mount~1ns. Ostensibly, they say they come for tourism and
rccrea~on, but the deepest _need is for healing: the healing of
relax~on from ov~·paced lifestyles; healing from crowdedness,
poll~uon, and existen?Cs overfull of people and machines;
healing from banal rouones, fast food, and TV-screen lives· but
most of all, healing from an inner emptiness of which they~ no;
know the source.
Easy accessibility has brought the culture of civilization
~eep into the m.ountains. They are no longer strange, exotic,
isolated, and wild, as they were to the early socialites who
thronged the fashionable watering spots during the late I800's.
But there are what seem to modem urbanites to be great expanses
of unbroken forest. There is water that is actually drinkable as it
~m~s out from a spring! This is a functioning native habitat this 1s wholeness, the world as it could be.
There are so few examples of natural native environments
in the eastern pan of the continent that the forests and mountains
of ~ppalachia serve ~ ~ important grounding point for urban
v1s1tors. From a hfe in which the human influence is
omnip~nt, from an environment that is largely manufactured or
synthesized by human hands, the Appalachian hardwood forest is
a d.ose of reality. The ~~man spirit needs places like this by
which to refresh our sp1ms and to judge our actions - a mark
from which we can see if our culture is straying.
This sense of wholeness could be the cornerstone for a
whole new relationship between the human species and the
mountains. As it becomes increasingly rare, that sense of
wholeness becomes increasingly precious. Restoring the heaJth
of the. Appalachian forest by ending commercial exploitation and
allowing the forest to grow towards its natural climax state would
be the key to this new relationship. It would transform the
physical landscape of the mountains and would perhaps also
work to change the inner landscape of human society as well.
This new balance would require a greatly reduced human
prc~nce in the n:iountain habitat area. The primary use of the
region at present is as a resource base to support a large number
of human beings - but this is obviously not the purpose of
existence for the mountains. This has to change.
The "resources" of the area, the continuing life cycles arc
needed instead to support large numbers of trees, herbac~us
plants, and native wildlife. There must be a core habitat area that
is no.t violatc;ct by human beings, but used only in ways that are
consistent with the demands of the natural habitat - a biosphere
preserve. With conditions throughout the world already under so
much pressure from the human presence, the mountains should
be primarily a place for restrained visits.
But there is a possibility that a greatly limited number of
humans could create a right livelihood in a buffer zone that
surrounded the central preserve by leading others to the
wholeness .~f the land - relating specifically through healing.
learning, spintual exploration, art, recreation, and initiation.
SprlrMJ, I 990
. These kinds of activities need, of course, to be approached
with great care. When the value of an experience is in the
wholeness of it, then practitioners must be careful that the sense
of wlwle'!es~ is not ruined by the number of people arriving to
take part in 1t. Access would need to be carefully rationed. This
level of experience is obviously not to be degraded with crowded
parking lots, souvenir snips, or giant ridgctop condos. People
come to the mountains to treasure what is rare and special - and
strong - about them. It destroys their special ambience to make
them over to appear just like every other place frequented by
humans.
At the Cumberland Island National Seashore off the coast
of south Georgia, ~mping is by permit only and reservations
must be.made well 10 advanc~. This policy is intended to protect
the fragile nature of the seaside habitat. A similar policy would
serve well in the Appalachian biosphere preserve to protect the
fragile sense of wholeness.
This sense of wholeness could be the cornerstone
for a whole new relationship between the human
species and the mountains. As it becomes increasingly
rare •. that sense of wholeness becomes increasingly
precious.
Thinking .in t!tis vein leads to visions of the possibilities of
a new way of life 10 the buffer zone - a way of life that could
partake of the power of the mountains without diminishing it
The beginnings arc already in place. Carefully and respectfully,
the rest can grow.
Th~re are .~dy many summer camps and several outdoor
leadership tra1mng programs that draw on the natural
surroundings and provide challenging expeditions, environmental
education, and initiation experiences for young people (sec
KatUahJournal #16).
There are already several major colleges and universities in
the Ka!Uah province. They need to re-orient their direction of
study to focus on the ~l~gical context of their region, but they
represent excellent fac1h11es that arc already available. Like the
University of Tennessee in Knoxville and North Carolina State
University do at present, the learning institutions of the region
could provide headquarters and support for extended field
expeditions and field schools in the wild. Like the Great Smoky
Mountain Institution at Tremont they could teach the knowledge
and the values of the wild.
Other courses of study could be les$ fonnal such as
tracking sch~ls that taught skills and deepened awarcn~ss of our
plant and animal relations, and nomadic primitive Eanh skills
schools that created their own camps wherever they were.
A new vision for the mountains would also include more
~calin~ centers scauered among the hills, where people could
retreat to convalesce, or choose among a variety of healing
programs. These centers could also be used for educational
seminars and conference/retreats.
.
Spirit~al centers, like the existing Southern Dharma Center
m Hot Spnngs, NC, could also hold seminars and spirituaJ
retreats, as well as guide long prayer fasts and vision quests deep
in the uninhabited biosphere preserve area.
In this way the mountains could contribute to the
r7juvenation and ~nrichment o.f the human spirit. At the same
ume. by approaching the land m a manner that was once again
respectful and reverential, the humans could continue the work of
transforming our relarionship with the land.
The mountains will heal themselves, if we allow it. If we
can bring ourselves to allow it, then the mountains will be here
with all their power to heal us when we need their healing.
It. all could come around. The ghosts of the grand old
mountain health resorts could return once again to inspire a new
transfonnation in mountain life.
�Peace To Their Ashes
by Sam Gray
The earliest myths of the Katuah bioregion
available to us are those from the Cherokee people
collected by James Mooney a century ago (1887-1890)
on the Qualia Boundary in interviews with tribal
elders who were among the last surviving links
with the most ancient oral traditions of the tribe. It
~011/,' be fitting to observe the centenary of this
important cultural transmission with an invocation
of gratitude to these elders: John Ax, Swimmer,
Taywadihi, Suyeta, Ayasta, and to the spirits,
creatures, all our relations about whom tl1ey so
eloquently spoke. In Mooney's words, "peace to
their ashes and sorrow for their passing", for wit/I
them pa~sed away a universe of animated grace,
subtle wit, profound teachings, and recitative power
that will not come tllis way again.
James Mooney was an ethnologist, a skilled
tta.nsmittcr of oral traditions, who included ethnographic and
historical data in his book Myths of the Cherokee. He
refrained from interpretive comment about the meaning of
various themes within the narratives.
Int~rprecive th~o~cs about mytholo~ical discourse arc
very ancient. Hellerusuc and Roman wnters as diverse as
E~emerus, Ovid, and Pausa_nius made interesting, though
bnef, comments on the funcoon and nature of myth. Within
the last century a great many, more complex ideas about
myths have been developed by anthropologists,
psyc~ologis~s. and culrura_l hi~torians. An unbiased survey
o_f this vast liter.uurc leads inevuably to the conclusion that no
single theory, idea, or typology can satisfactorily account for
all the myths of a given culture. This literature. as a whole,
does estab~ish that ~yths have imponant links to various
psycholog1ca1, social, and cultural themes within and
beyond th~ society of o~gin and that the centrality of
mytbopocs1s to the evoluuon of human consciousness is
indisputable.
For the anentive there is, somewhere within the
mythological narrative, an opening - a door through which
the things spoken of in the narrative connect with things
unspoken inside ourselves. The legacy of the Cherokee
elders, transmitted by Mooney, and the accumulated
awareness of the function of myth in consciousness permit
us to respectfully approach the ancient myths of KatUah.
JUDACULLA
.
On Caney Fork Creek in Jackson County, NC. there
is a large stone about the size of a recumbent bison. h is of
steatite-sandstone composition and is covered with incised
graffiti, pictographs, pcuoglyphs, or "Indian writing." The
local name for this stone is Judaculla Rock. A few miles to
the east, high on the ridge above the Caney Fork watershed
at a ~lac~ _wh~re Jackson, Haywood, and Transylvania
Counties Join, 1s a cleared area known to the white sculcrs
as Judaculla Fields which was often used by them as a
summer pasture for livestock. This ridge, grassy bald, and
the vast watershed beneath was generally known as the
abode of him who some thought of as "The Indian Satan":
Judaculla.
I have known this place and the name Judaculla since
binh, having descended on the maternal side from those
earliest white settlers in the Caney Fork the Scotch-Irish
clans of Parker and Coward (cow-herd). My grandmother
grew up on the farm that included Judaculla Rock and her
brothers, father, cousins, and uncles used to drive livestock
up the long trail each spring to take advantage of the lush
grass covering Judaculla Fields. My grandmother related to
me that when she was a li!tle girl she was told to sweep and
clean the rock. Whether this was to occupy an energetic child
on a long summer day. or expressed the notion that it was
better to have the satanic writings exposed to the christian
light of day than be covered by din and undergrowth, to lie
there, eventually forgotten and unsuspected, and work some
mischief on later generations, I never learned. She also told
me that on occasion, groups of Cherokee Indians would visit
the rock, camp beside it and "sing and wail all night long".
These and other stories were told me about this place when I
was a boy, and at ftcqucnt intervals over the four decades of
my life I've visited the rock and the Caney Fork watershed,
drawn there by an energy I could neither wholly identify or
describe.
It was upon reading Mooney's Myths of the Cherokee
that I learned further truths about the place. Judaculla is an
English corruption of the Cherokee name, Tsul'ka/u
me~ing "slant-eyed," and he was a mythic hero of th~
ancient Cherokee. The Judaculla Fields arc known in
Cherokee as Tsunegun'yi, meaning 'white place', referring
doubtless to the uninterrupted whiteness of the snow-clad
bald in the winter and resonating further with the ancient
Cherokee cosmology in which the color white was associated
with peace and well-being. It was in the peaceful fields of
Tsunegun'yi that the slant-eyed giant Tsu/'kalu had his
abode.
TSUL'KALU
. A giant, a great bunter, lord of all the game, wild,
sohtary, of monstrous aspect, never seen, but heard often
enough during summer storms, rumbling around up there on
Tsunegun'yi ; this was Tsul'kalu. And like all who are
solitary and monstrous, Ts"l'kalu knows loneliness and in
time, goes looking for a mate. There is a beautiful Cherokee
girl, call her Sada'yi, who lives with her mother down
(continued on page 8)
Sprl."'J, 1990
�.,~(~)
Spc~. 1990 ~
�(continued from page 6)
along Caney Fork. Sada'yi has begun to sleep apart from
her mother in the asi, the cave-like dugout made of logs and
earth that was a common feature of Cherokee homesteads.
By sleeping in the asi, Sada'yi indicates the autonomy of her
young womanhood and her receptivity to the unknown. So
one dark night Tsul'ka/U comes to her. She tells him that
her mother has said whoever she chooses for a mate must be
a great hunter and provider.
"I am that," says Tsul'kalu and, though she has not
yet seen him, she senses his power and his truth and she lets
him enter. His huge body fills the darkened asi and there is
just room for her own small body to lie beside him. ln the
morning, he is gone and outside hangs a freshly killed deer
on the drying poles. They continue in this way for many
ni~bts.
Eventually Sada'yi's mother, ever practical, points out
that they have enough meat, could her mysterious and still
unseen lover possibly provide some wood for the winter
fires? The next morning they find whole trees, tom roots
and all from the eanh, piled in the clearing. The mother,
though puzzled, is pleased and $he presses for funher
se.rvice: could he chop the wood for \hem? Next morning all
the wood has been removed; the clearing is empty. Chopping
and stacking wood is an activity embedded in the human
order, and Tsul'kalu has emphatically pointed out that he is
not of that order.
Sada'yi's mother, an irrevocable voice of the human
order, begins to insist upon seeing her daughter's strange
lover. She wants to know more about him, take his
measure, encompass him, and harness his prodigious
powers. Sada'yi conveys her mother's request to the giant
and after some persuasion he is willing. He insisrs that she
(the mother) must prepare for a shock and above all she must
not react to the sight of him by losing control and screaming
out, "USGA'SETJ'YU!" meaning "frightful". So next
morning, he remains in the asi past daylight, and when the
mother lifts the flap to peek at him she, of course, goes away
screaming, "USGA'SETl'YU! USGA'SETl'YU!" In spite
of her intentions, the encounter with this intrinsically wild,
monstrous, disproponionate being from outside the human
order obliterates her control. Tsul'kalu vanishes and does not
return for a time.
Meanwhile Sada'yi has her menses and there is a
copious flow of blood. Her mother, disappointed there's
been no conception, and meddling now ever closer into the
affairs of the lovers, gathers the blood and throws it into the
river. When next Tsu/'ka/u visits Sada'yi, he asks,
"Where's the child?"
When told there's been none, he asks, "Where's the
blood?"
She takes him to the river bank where the blood was
thrown in. Something calls silently to him from the river
and he goes into the dark waters, dives down seven times
and emerges with a small worm, which he carries cupped in
his hands toward the asi. By the time be has reached it, the
worm has grown into a baby girl which he hands to Sada'yi
saying; "Your mother does not like me and abuses our child,
so come, let us go to my home."
She embraces the child, takes leave of her mother, and
they go together up the mountain to peaceful Tsunegun'yi ..
T he New Garments
Although the figures and events in a mythic narrative
arc usually distinct, the narrative as a whole sometimes
seems inconclusive and directionless, as if it were silently
linked to other myths or to moments outside itself. The myth
connects with ourselves and with the world but in ways that
are elusive and not always subject to articulation. In this, the
myth is like the dream. Upon waking we often feel that
remembered elements of the dream are meaningful; chey
connect with and inform consciousness. Sometimes a patient
analysis of the dream will elucidate these connections but this
process is never free of a potential collapse because we know
there is always more; that the recollected dream arose from a
region that remains disordered, directionless, and connected
to material we cannot reach. Recognizing the original unity
of myth and dream, the Australian Aborigines call the source
of their myths and scories, "The Dreaming".
The myth of Tsu/'kalu connects us with the
relationship between the human order and the wild, almost
incomprehensible order of nature itself. Tsul'kaltl is of this
latter order. He is, in a sense, lord of it by virtue of his
disproponionate, monstrous aspect, his magical energies that
supply food and create life from what the human order
discards (menstrual blood), and his refusal to be fixated by
human seeing and judgement. Tsul'kalll's huge hands can
make love to Sada'yi , silently kill the deer of the forest for
her sustenance, and fonn a womb for the gestation and birth
of their child. Like the forces of nature, be sustains the
human order and, at the same time, is irrevocably in
opposition to it. There is but one way the human order can
experience and comprehend Tsul'ka/u's order, and that way
is indicated by the monster giant himself in the final episode
of the myth:
Sada'yi's brother has come to Tsunegun'yi to see
her. He asks to see her husband also. She relays the message
to Tsu/'ka/u and he instructs: "You must put on new
garments in order to see me."
The brother indicates he is willing to do this.
"Go then," says Tsul'kalu , "and tell your people to
gather in the townhouse and fast for seven days. During that
time they cannot leave the townhouse or raise the war
whoop. At the end of seven days I will come to them with
the new gannents and then they can see me."
The brother recurns and explains all this to the people.
They very much want to see this giant lord of the game and
immediately gather into the townhouse to begin the fast.
Now there is one man among them who is not of
them. He's from another place and of another clan. This
man steals out of the townhouse at night and eats. On the
seventh day the people hear a great roaring coming down
from Tsunegun'yi. As it comes closer it becomes deafening
and they are all terrified. Suddenly, he who has broken the
fast can bear it no longer and runs from the townhouse and
the village shouting the war cry. The roaring ceases, then is
heard receding back up into the high mountains around
Tsunegun'yi where it is silent. The people never c lothe
themselves in the new garments, and they never see
Tsul'kalu.
The meaning of this episode offers profound insights
into the nature of Cherokee spirituality. The new garments the purified desire of the people - have no exact equivalents
in contemporary secular experience. They are the necessary
transformation that a people must undergo in order to face
sacred power. Sada'yi was made "new" by the purity of her
erotic surrender to the god. The people as a group were co be
transformed by their surrender to the God's discipline. It was
this discipline that would have sustained their well-being,
their courage and their silence in the face of the
mind-destroying power of the slant-eyed monster Tsu/'kalu.
WA DON'
8prLfl9, 1990
�HEALING IN KATUAH
by Doug Aldridge
Hin the search for wisdom, the soul must sojourn upon the
earth, and dJUing this stay it will be enlightened as to the purpose
and care of the earthly temple, the body oft/ie soul, or the body.
Children can be taught the uses of growing things and their
prepara1ion. Many have not the desire to learn them, and seek not
the knowledge which is all abow them. These then must rely
upon the medicine man, such as I, to help correct the results of
ignorance. Mankind must experience and grow through all
phases of wisdom before becoming evolved into the higher
realm. If the spirit is moved, then shall the knowledge be
acquired. The Grear Spirit speaks to all."
- Mauzsan
Powhatan shaman, 1603
I - A Karuah Healing
I am a relative newcomer to Katuah. In seven years here
my family and I have taken root, and with each passing year we
have found greater aliveness in our relationship with the land and
its people. This growth has emerged primarily through a
closeness to the eanh - found in gardening, foraging, wood
gathering, and living in increasing harmony with nature. Two of
our three children, Autumn-Leaf and Forest Hean, were born at
home in an old house perched at the edge of Cherokee Forest.
The attendants at their births were friends, not technicians, and
they came to suppon us in the growth of our family. The skillful
assistance of Lucinda Aodin (see "Birth Power" issue 26 Winter
1989-90) was instrumental in the success of our homebirth
experiences.
Living this close to nature - a half mile from the nearest
neighbor, a half-hour from the nearest four-lane road - cultivates
a trust in unseen powers. We sense that we are surrounded and
supponed by the same forces that suspend the stars in the clear
depths of the heavens above our house, that sustain the grasses
through the freezes and thaws, that warm the eanb from within,
while they hurl the sun in its daily changing arc above the
ridgetops.
Our home wasn't built here for convenient access to
anyplace else. It's a steep, winding mile of a dirt road down to
Highway 321 as it curves around the mountainsides that drop
down to Watauga Lake. And the TV reception is about the worst
on the East Coast. But it is well situated in other, more important
ways. Abundant springs, up behind the house, kept us in plenty
of water through the driest days of recent drought. Strong winds
rarely reach us in the shelter of the ridges. Water flows into the
house by gravity, and the kitchen stove doesn't care about power
outages, because it bums wood. In winter, a sheet of plastic
around our front porch cuts our heating needs and creates a
sunroom for the whole family.
Closeness to our environment has had a profound impact
on our faqlily's health of body, mind, and spirit. Plenty of fresh
air, pure +.tater, sunshine, and relative freedom from noise and
light pollution make this a nunuring place for a young family and
contributes to our peace of mind. Spiritually, our homeplace
draws us closer to the Oneness of All Life. It is that spirit - The
Great Spirit - that called us here six years ago. And the lessons
we've learned here prepared us to find another home, larger in
proponion to our growing needs, and well-watered, wellSprl."'J, 1990
sheltered by the lay of the land, with good southeast exposure
and plenty of garden space - another old homeplace where
generations of Kauiahans have been born, raised, and grown old.
"Seek ye first the Kingdom of God," said Jesus of Nazareth,
"and all these things will be added unto you." I believe that. I
also believe that seeking the Kingdom, today, means returning to
the source, and I thank God that it is still possible in KatUah.
II - Seeking Guidance
In the winter of 1987-88, friends from Charlotte, Nonh
Carolina recommended that we get in touch with Harold Green, a
healing ans practitioner. While the family was thriving, we hoped
Harold could teach us more ways of preventing disease and
promoting our own well being. We had never had cause to turn
over our responsibility for our children's health to anyone else.
My wife Barbel and I felt we needed more guidance than we
could get from books.
When Barbel first spoke with Harold on the phone, he
looked inward for guidance, as he often does when asked
questions; he "got a yes," and agreed to come up from Charlotte,
where he was teaching healing ans and giving personal health
consultations, working - as always - for donations. I have seen
him work for no personal gain, and I have seen him accept a
feather and a stone with the same sincere thanks he gives for an
offering of money. The most imponant thing, in his view, is that
each individual take responsibility for his or her own welJ being.
Harold Green, it turned out, practiced Native American
healing ans. He is an associate of Chief Two Trees at the Native
American Studies Institute in Old Fon, North Carolina. Both
Harold and Chief Two Trees teach that each individual must
become a healer in order to be cured of "dis-ease." As the Chief
put it when I asked him recently about the philosophical basis of
this teaching:
"Everyone is a healer - everyone - but the art of healing is
studied only by a few. What we're about is to teach people to
heal themselves. The Christian Bible says 'Physician, heal
thyself.' So everyone becomes a healer. Now the art of healing
has been passed down through generations and generations."
Commenting on the surrender of personal power involved
in our transition from an agricultural to an industrial society,
Chief Two Trees said, "People got into the habit of paying
somebody else - to raise their garden for them, to manage their
health for them, to spend their money for them. They even pay
their minister to manage their spiritual being for them. They gave
away all their power, kept nothing for themselves. So what we're
about is to teach people again to go back to growing their own
garden, even in the smallest amount. Learn how to identify, to be
in harmony with nature through a garden. I don't care if it's in a
window, in an apartment Know the value of fresh food with life
force in it, freshly harvested within a few minutes of being eaten.
Second, we also teach people to think for themselves in a
spiritual way. Because no one can walk in your moccasins."
Harold Green's first visit to our home in the winter of
1987-88 was an experience that opened up for our family new
avenues of knowledge and practical, usually simple, techniques
of healing and preventive medicine. We quickly recognized in
him the teacher we bad been seeking. The home remedies he
(continued on next page)
Drawing by Rob Messick
�(continued from page 9)
taught us 10 concoct from leaves and roots, berries and bark,
herbs and flowers, brought us greater strength and vitality. And
the act of gathering and preparing natural tonics and remedies
deepened our kinship wilh the land, making real the concept of
the interconnectedness of narure, humanity, and spirit. Gathering
black walnut leaves and hulls in summer 10 dry and hang in the
pantry can be mere ritual (which has value). Drinking black
walnut tea, on the other hand, can be merely medicinal. But
when I gather them myself and prepare a tea and drink it and
serve it 10 my family, then I combine lhe healing virtues of rirual
and medicine, and the benefit is greater than the sum of the pans.
Harold's work with us has helped our whole family 10 heal
huns ranging from physical to spirirual dis-ease. Sometimes
through common sense advice, a1 other times through the
intuitive gift by which he channels divine guidance, and always
with a rich fund of practical knowledge, he has 1augh1 us to
reclaim personal power and heal ourselves.
The responsibility for ta.king or not taking his advice is
ours, and we do what we think and feel is right. Although we
were strict vegetarians, we have introduced medicinal quantities
of meat into our family fare at his recommendation. We have
been strengthened by it More slowly than he would have liked,
we have taken to sharing the knowledge of healing arts nutrition, iridology, herbology, reflexology, acupressure,
massage, crystal therapy, dream analysis, hydrotherapy - that we
have been building over 1he years.
ill - A Katuah Healing Continues
When I slatted seeing Harold Green, I thought I was in
good heallh, despite a bout of blood poisoning a year before that
could have killed me had I not gone to a hospital. By the time
Harold came there was only a scar on my right hand to remind
me that when it came to preventative medicine, I had a 101 10
learn. In fact, my immune system was still dangerously weak. I
began my own healing by taking responsibility for my condition
and accepting Harold's guidance. I attacked parasites first with
herbs and later colonies. I strengthened organs, whose weakened
condition showed in my irises, with specific foods and
supplements. l treated my ears and mouth, which had bred a
systemic yeast infection, with tea tree oil (mixed, for use in cars,
with castor oil in 1:10 proportion). All this strengthened my body
and helped eliminate toxin-producing, energy-sapping parasites.
(Chief Two Trees maintains that 85% of all diseases are caused
by parasites.) Gradually, I made gains in overall vitality.
. \'(hen I was strong enough in spirit, mind, and body
(whtch 1 really one strength), I entered a deeper level of healing.
s
My new-found strength was drawn inward, focusing on the
work of healing from the inside out. The ground I had gained
physically was apparently lost during this time. I feh weak and
listless. I developed rashes as toxins were discharged through my
skin. I had to trust my intuition that I was getting better, because
I felt sick.
At that time, in the fall of '88, I intensified my use of
therapies Harold taught me. lridology helped 10 identify organs
and systems that needed nutritional suppon. The "laying on of
hands" through massage, acupressure, and reflexology improved
energy flow through my body. Hydrotherapy sped up the
elimination of 1oxins. Through dream analysis I was able to lay
hold of the taproot of my trouble, a parasitic liver condition.
This period of intense healing lasted about cwo months and
subsided in the winter of '88-'89. The evidences of its passage
are 1he presence of healing signs in the irises of my eyes, along
with a general reduction of iris discoloration associated with
toxicity. I now have a new vitality that includes a much stronger
immune response and heightened energy and productivity.
Through this experience I have learned that medicine which is
limited to relieving symptoms maintains the underlying causes of
disease. True healing leads back through the symptoms to the
underlying cause, making the cure complete.
The ripples of my well-being have spread outward into
other areas of my life where progress was blocked. I'm writing
for a wider audience. More money is coming in. We will soon be
moving to our own home from a rented one. Barbel and I are
sharing more widely in the healing ans movement, and we have
found another teacher in Rudolph Poss, Ph.D., Director of
Boone's Life Energy Center. We are both working at the Life
Energy Cemer as therapists. Barbel recently returned from the
first of a series of trips to New York City where she shares her
knowledge of healing ans.
Yes, the ripples of my own healing carry the work of
teaching and healing far beyond my horizon. Change starts in
your head and works its way out from y.our guts. But it doesn't
stop with you. Heal yourself and you'll heal your world.
Physician, heal thyself.
Doug Aldridge is afather, a healer, and a writer. He also
teaches at The Kid's Country School (a homeschool in Doe
Valley), and is a lecturer in English at Appalachian State
University. He practices pressure point therapy at the life
Energy Center in Boone.
~
WHEN LEFT TO GROW
Surrounded by forest
That clothes the land
Wilh fallen leaves
From sleepy trees
The warming sun
An occasional breeze
The ever flowlng creek
By this peacefully calm day
Closely following this windey stream
Us cool motion over rounded stone
That makes a constant sound
Coursing the way lo an open sea
Hovering in the wind
Being like lhe white cloud
In clear blue sky
Gliding over rolling countryside
These hairs like limbers
When left to grow
Become long and full
This body like rolling hills
When lefl to grow
Becomes intrinsically well and appealing
A mind like integral relations
When left to grow
Becomes clear and tuned to pattern
JC.atUah Journal: pc:iqe 10
Poem and Drawing by Rob Messick
Sprl.nq, 1990
�Calling to the Ancestors, Calling Our Relations:
Poems by Stephen Wing
Feather and Shadow
We have come to the lime of the choosing
of ancestors.
This is the place where my ancestors came down
from thcir square hole in the sky
The world is
bigger than we can see, that
long horizon promised.
So they built ships.
My ancestors grew com here, this is the clearing
where they danced the year
Preparing to abandon
their bodies, they built cathedrals
where the ancient groves had been.
The world is bigger than we can see...
One by one the monks
fell unconscious in thcir cells.
My ancestors camped here in the Winter
of the Early Snow, they knew th<? spot by the stars
The unknown continent grew
vaster as they conquered,
the invisible cities grew richer
in their delirium: each
Crusad<?r, each Conquistador
conjuring a private mansion,
lying in his fever and his cloud of
mes.
This is wh<?re the young men came
fasting and singing, alone in the sacred land
It might have been my great-grandfather
bending, the boy at the plow
too young to remember that horizon
of unbroken acreage, hanging back
against the pull of the mule
to pluck a flint-shard from the vanished prairie grass -
Visiting the Deer
This is where my ancestors came
to honor their dead, this windy ridge in the sky
He looks up. Douds break
into feathers, streaking over
the horizon. He sees one
sweep across the sun and the bright land of his father falls
into shadow.
We have come to the time of the choosing:
This is my native place.
This mountain. This creek.
This is my native place.
•
Sp r Lr19, 1990
Going up to visit the long view
at the top of the hill
today I have
travelled the deer-trails:
bending to duck under
where the deer duck under
branches,
leaping where the deer l<?ap
dry ravines, coming at last
in to open sky:
gazing down where the deer gaze
down on human hospitalities
with wild shy suspicionWhen I caught my breath
I looked down and saw only
the houses of my
neighbors, the loop of road.
Going back I travelled
as usual down the track of tires
in the dirt.
Drawing by James Rhea
JC.atUah
Journm
pQ4Je 11
�Pabllillg ofVislutM Krisluta
Jaipur, India
The Belly
Your Belly Pulse ls The Earth Mother's Heart Beat
Your belly pulse
is the earth Mother's
heart beat.
Press into yourself:
exit the breath, expireand sink,
sink down in to
the consecrated center
intense, dense, compressed,
the consolidated possible;
life engaged unto itself,
life drawing light unto
itself, life compacted to the
one still one point.
And press yourself out again:
be filled by the breath, inspired--
to live,
to live in to
the world that's ever being born from you:
galaxies expanding, stars chasing stars,
filling, bursting the radiating joy,
life swelling beyond
itself, life exploding
light, life spiraling outward,
the turning world.
Your belly pulse
is the earth Mother's
heart beat.
The earth trembles
her rhythm
through us; our feet skip
along her surface
while beneath she beats
her molten drum.
-Lisa Sarasohn
C Lisa Samsohn 1990
by Lisa Snrasohn
Our bodies are a gift from the earth: the solid substance
of who we are comes from the soil. By the powers of sun,
water, plant and animal life, the soil's minerals undergo a
change in fonn and we incorporate them as organ and gland,
corpuscle of blood, muscle fiber and bone. Our bodies arc the
gift of a woman's belly. It is in a woman's womb that our
Lives begin to take on form. The umbilical cord links our
bodies to our mothers, bringing nutrients directly into our
bellies.
The belly is the measurable center of our bodies: it is at
the mid-point between the crown of our heads and the soles of
our feet. Healing traditions the world over -- the ancient
cultures of Egypt, India, China, Japan, Greece, and the
Americas -- know the belly to be much more: the center of our
vitality, the place from which we live. These ancient traditions
recognize the belly as the source point for our physical and
emotional well-being. for our sense of individual wholeness.
Clearing and strengthening the belly through movement and
breathing techniques leads to resrnenl health, freedom from
fear, self-mastery, and the power of personal presence.
These same traditions also recognize the belly as the
source point for our spiritual well-being. Clearing and
strengthening the belly allows us to experience our individual
Sprl.f\9, 1990
�connectedneu to the universe, to sense our intimate
participation in the Great Life. Although our original. physical
connection with our mothers' nourishment has long been
severed, there's a subtle cord mnaining between our bellies
and the mother-world. A vortex of primordial. creative energy
swirls into and out of our bellies, feeding our spirits and
sustaining our vitality - if we allow it to do so.
A clear, strong belly provides a secure feeling of being
"at home" - at home in the body, at home on this Earth,
well-rooted and generously nurtured, kin to the creatures with
whom we share this planet. In this light, attending to the
strength and health of the belly not only enhances our personal
immunity from disease, such attention also brings fonh our
personal contribution to healing the planet When we embody
the knowledge - when we feel it in our bones and know it in
our guts -- that we are one with the Earth, preserving the
integrity of our natural systems will no longer be a political
issue. It will be a mauer of self-respect.
Jn writing this anicle, my intention is to inspile you to
honor your body, and particularly your belly, as you would
have others honor the Earth. Drawing on my studies of
biology. regional planning, yoga. and lhcrapeuric massage, I'll
outline the anatomy of the belly, indicate a range of cultural
attitudes regarding lhe belly, and explore their influence on our
well-being.
What's In a Belly?
The Vital Organs
The abdomen ranges from the pubic bone of the pelvis to
the muscular diaphrngm at the base of lhe rib ca~e. It houses
the vital organs of digestion, elimination, and reproduction:
stomach, liver, gall bladder, pancreas, spleen, small intestines,
large in1estine, ovaries, uierus. The digestive organs process
and absorb nutrients, satisfying our hungers and providing the
energy and substance we require for all our life processes. It is
here, too, that toxins and waste products arc neuttalized, soned
out, and prepared for discharge.
Without regular physical exercise, mental stress and
shallow breathing tend to increase muscle tension and reduce
circulation throughou1 the body, increasing the accumulation of
toxins and unbalancing the flow of glandular secretions. These
factors can contribute to a host of abdominal dysfunctions,
including common ones such as indigestion, intestinal gas,
constipation, and menstrual discomfort.
From the poini of view of Western anatomy and
physiology alone, exercising 1he body, wilh particular attention
10 the belly, would seem to offer substantial health benefits.
The Body-Mind Connection
Jn her books You Can Heal Your Lift and Heal Your
Body, Louise Hay suggcs1s the specific patterns of thinking
which set the stage for various physical conditions. She
indicates lhat the accumulation of fat in general represents a
person's excessive sensitivity and his or her need for
protection. The fear a person feels, lhough, may be "a cover
for hidden anger and a resistance to forgive," she writes. ln
particular, a fa1 belly may reflect "anger at being denied
nourishment." She offers a positive affirmation to replace the
negative partem of though1: "I am always safe and secure. I
nourish myself with spiritual food and I am satisfied and free."
The psycho1hcrapis1 and bodyworker Lyn Davis Genelli
considers lhat the "pot belly" or "beer gut" which some men
develop reveals their "need to protecl their vital organs from an
attack." A large belly, she suggests, offers a sense of
protection in "the 'wars' of the production plan1 and corporate
suite..... Despite 1heir protesta1ions, men unconsciously love
their fat [belly) and feel tha1 the ownership of one... is a sign of
security, prosperity, and survivorhood."
My experience working with people who come to me for
therapeutic bodywork is in accord with the ideas these writers
Sprl."'J, 1990
have proposed. The condition, shape. and inner sense of the
belly reflect a person's willingness and ability to nouriJh himor herself emotionally, to digest new expcrieoces, to release the
past, to be courageous in the presence of risk, to generate the
self-approval which helps a person feel safe and secure.
ln working particularly with women, I find that
imbalances in the belly often relate to issues regarding
creativity. A bloated belly is like a storehouse, the place where
enormous creative power has been stuffed because expressing
that power has seemed to be either impossible or unbearably
risky. A woman who has not yet found a satisfying way to
express the fertility of her imagination may well embody the
image of the "pregnan1 virgin."
A woman's belly also ponrays her feelings abou1 her
sexuality and womanhood. Conflict.s related to sex,
pregnancy, child-bearing, rape, incest, and abortion will often
influence the belly's health.
The Belly Center
Japan: Hara
ln Japanese cuhure, the point two inches below the navel is
named "tanden". To indicate the whole abdominal region, the
Japanese use the ierm "hara," which literally cranslatcs as
"belly." Hara refers to this central physical region of the body,
and 10 much more: the rich human potential for psychological
and spiriiual development. The person wi1h hara is, as
approximated by our language, "gutsy." He or she has
developed the clari1y of his or her "gut feelings" and
consistently acts on the strength of this inner knowing.
In Hara: The Vital Cenier of Man (sic), Karlfried Graf Von
Durckhcim details the role of hara in the Japanese tradition and
also characterizes the physical, psychological, and spiritual
benefits of developing hara 10 people of all cultures. According
tO Von Durckheirn, the qualities of a person with hara include:
a feeling of boundless energy; enhanced immunity from disease
and rapid recovery from illness; easy and graceful movement;
creative imagination; tranquility, pa1icnce, inner calm and
flexibility; confidence, endurance, conienonent; penetrating
insight; a capacity for quick and mature decision-making; the
experience of security and lhc ability to mee1 changes with
equanimity and poise; a sclf-<:ollected harmony.
Von Durckhcim indicates that hara is significant for us on
two levels. For the individual, possession of hara "gives one a
special strength for living in this world." And on the universal
level, through hara "one is enabled to realize consciously one's
own being in the Great Being which is the ultimate meaning of
life." As hara develops and a person senses his or her own
immersion within, and identity with, the Great Being, he or she
"joyously experiences a new closeness to the world, to people
and lhings, to nature and God..."
India: The Ch.okras
The spiritual and healing traditions of Japan have evolved
from their initial source in yoga, the science of
self-development origina1ing in India more than 6,000 years
ago. Yoga recognizes a subtle core of life energy moving
through lhc body from the base of the spine to the crown of the
head. Along this column there are seven energy centers - seven
"chalcras." Each chakra corresponds to a location in the body
as well as t0 specific issues and concerns.
The belly region includes the firs1 three chalcras. Muladhara
chalcra is at the base of the spine, and rela1cs 10 our sense of
physical security and our individual survival, issues of trust
and mistrust. When lhis chakra is weak or congested a person
may typically experience fear - including fear of death, worry,
anxiety, and a fear of !erring go: "I feel threatened by ..." On a
regional and global level, solid was1c disposal and pollution
control seem to be "firs1 chakra" issues.
When it is clear and strong. the energy of lhis first chakra
generates self-sustaining instincts, urges, and initiatives; a
respectful awareness of the body and its functions; and a
healthy concern for self-preservation. I think of wilderness
survival training as a healthy "first chakra" activity: "l can take
(continued on next page)
JCQtUah Jo1.4mat PacJ'I 13
�(continued from page 13)
care of myself; I am always safe and secure."
1be second chakra is Swadhislhana, corresponding to the
reproductive organs and relating to sensuality. When energy is
congested here, a person typically experiences boredom,
frustration, and disappointment, often as the consequence of
overindulgence: "I feel incomplete unless I have ..." On a
larger scale, the problems related to over-production and
over-consumption of material goods arc "second chalcra"
issues.
In its clear expression, the second chalcra suppons the
faculties of imagining, generating ideas, recognizing
distinctions, and making choices. Enjoying beauty - savoring
tasty foods, appreciating good music, talcing delighi in vibrant
colors and rich texrurcs -- seem to me to be a healthy "second
chakra" expression: "Everything I need is already available to
me; the Universe supports me with abundant joy."
lower body, and belly center--between Heaven, Earth, and
the condition of being human. In order to perfect any pose,
holding its alignment with minimum cffon and maximum
relaxation, a person must discover for him or herself how to
intensify and use the strength of bis or her own belly. In this
process, a person also discovers how to sustain a balanced
relationship among upper body, lower body, and belly center.
1 see the belly as the point where energy descending
from the heavens through the torso meets energy ascending
through the legs from the Eanh. Such is the condition of being
human: living between the poles of heaven and earth,
embodying spirit, enfolding energy into matter, incorporating
consciousness.
The Cultured Belly: Views From Around the World
"If we are to heal the Earth,
let us start as close to home as possible:
let us start with the portions of Earth
which are our bodies."
The Wisc Woman tradition of herbal healing seems to
take a similar view. This ttadition perceives the intention of
Life to be so nurturing that our immediate environment
provides exactly the plants we need for promoting our
well-being. And these plants arc so abundant that we tend to
regard them as common weeds.
The third chakra is Manipura, ar the navel. It relates to
issues of personal will and the sense of emotional security.
Energy congested here often reveals itself in feelings of
jealousy, anger, resentment, hostility, and greed, resulting
from comparison and competition: "I bet I can make him
do .... " In a regional and global context, a third chakra issue is
political domination of one group of people over another.
As the energy at the third chakra clears and resolves, an
individual feels a secure sense of personal identity. I think of
healthy third chakra expression as self-empowerment - taking
assertive action in one's own best interest, motivated by self
esteem, and acting upon one's values no matter how unpopular
they may be: "I am at peace with my own feelings; I approve
of myself."
The stretching and breathing exercises of yoga energize
and clear the first three chalcras by bringing awareness to the
belly and by stimulating the flow of life energy up through
the central core. Some poses, such as Standing Leg Stretching
and Shoulder Stand, invert the torso and so apply the force of
gravity to draw the flow of energy down from the base of the
spine towards the crown of the head. Other poses, such as
Bow Pulling and Balancing Stick, require standing and
balancing on one leg while raising the other; they are difficult
to do without maintaining a sense of the belly as the pivot
point around which the body turns. In order to maintain
balance for more than a few seconds, a person must compress
the belly in towards the spine, increasing the density of the
belly center.
Poses such as Cobra, Locust, and Bow clear the
abdominal energy centers and also develop the power of
muscles in the abdomen, buttocks, and lower back. While in
these postures, a person must press the belly into the floor,
grounding it securely. Given this firm central contact and
support, the upper and lower portions of the body can lift
almost effortlessly: establishing the connection of the belly
with the Eanh allows the spirit to soar.
The poses of yoga bring the body into a configuration
which demonstrates the relationship between upper body,
As already mentioned, Oriental and Asian cultures
regard the belly with greatest respect, understanding it as the
center of life itself. Other cultures have given special attention
to the significance of the belly as well: belly dancing in the
Middle East and the vigorous ttaditional dances and midsection
massage of the South Sea Islanders ensure that the abdominal
muscles remain well-toned. I understand that two Australian
aborigine women will greet each other when they meet by
touching their bellies and foreheads together.
In American and European culture, the prescription for
physical beauty has included "belly in, chest out", as if the best
belly were an invisible one. Current fashions-high heels, tight
jeans, "tummy conttol" devices in underwear and pantyhose-work to flatten the belly, increasing the relative volume of the
upper body.
Hiding the belly and bringing attention to the upper body
signify the value our culture places on mental activity, speed,
and agility. Our attempt to raise Lhe body's center from the
belly to the chest, says Von Durckheim, reveals how we reject
our relationship to the Eanh: "The urge to transcend gravity is
quite natural to man (sic) as a spiritual being, but the desire to
break loose from the vitalizing bond with the solid earth is in
conflict with the law of his (sic) terrestrial existence."
European culture did not always consider the belly with
such distaste, however. Von Durckheim writes: "In the
Romanesque and Gothic sculpture the belly is clearly stated and
expresses strength...and calm acceptance of the bond with
earth....The Gothic belly seems 10 say: 'You cannot win
Heaven if you betray Earth."'
In The Obsession: Reflections On tire Tyranny of
Slenderness, Kim Chemin links our cultural attitude about
women's bellies with attitudes about pregnancy and childbirth.
She suggests that a womanly appearance-including a naturally
round and ample belly-- is threatening. It reminds us of a time
when as tiny infants we were helpless, totally dependent for
our survival on this huge, looming, rather frightening creature
called our mother. To see a woman with a large belly is to
revisit a primal sense of woman's awesome power.
Conclusion
A friend of mine often says, "How we do anything is
how we do everything." How we relate to our bodies and to
our bellies tells the ttuth about how we tend to the Earth and its
natural resources.
If we arc to heal the Earth, let us start as close to home
as possible: let us start with the portions of Earth which are our
bodies. Going beyond conceptions of good and bad, of
opposites and adversaries, to recognize the sanctity of all that
exists--including our very selves--this is the consciousness
which heals our bodies and will be healing our planet. And
we have a practical way to develop this consciousness, by
clearing and strengthening our bellies.
~
8pf'l-n4j, 1990
�~~
~UA~Jjf>URNAL
.
SPECIAL EARTH DAY 1990 EVENTS SECTION
Earth Day Just Dawning........ .
Earth Day affords us the opportunity to
publicly recognize our home planet as our source of
sustenance and nurturancc, and to acknowledge the
need Cor it to be honored, protected, and
appreciated. It is a time to admit that it is home
and life support systell\not just ror us humans, but
for the whole ecological life community in whjch
we participate. It is a time to celebrate its beauty
and diversity and its incredible cvolvement.
It is also a time to take responsibility for
this richness which we have been given. We must
recognize tha t our Insatiable demands are
darkening the future of life on this Earth. Even as
we accept that grim reality, we can rejoice in the
fact that by realizing our responsibility, we also
realize our power-that when we begin to change
ourselves and our lifestyles, the planet can begin to
renew Itself.
Let us mark Earth Day 1990, not as a
one-day affair, but as the beginning of a decade of
change, a decade of action toward an ecologically
sound future. Earth Day has the potential to be a
significant catalyzing influence. It can help to
mobilize an ongoing, citizen effort towa rds
~luating our environmental crisis and responding
to it. Earth Day can also provide an opportunity
to engage a much broader constituency on local and
regional levels.
Environmental action, the green pledge, the
environmental audits for home, business, and
institution, the pledge of allegiance to the Earth,
the Earth flags .... All of these need not become
"have-beens" artcr April 22; ra ther, they need to
become habits. Earth Day provides practical
guidelines and tools which can be shared with the
wider community --on an ongoing basis.
Our actions on behalf of the Earth during
the decade lo come are what will make Earth Day
1990 a mearungful even t. The problems we face
are global in nature, but our actions must begin here
at home in o ur own region:
• The extinction of Sp<'Cies threatens the
future of evolu tion. We can work to slop the
extinction of species by helping the black bear
here.
•Exploitation of the Earth as "rcsoun:cs• is
eroding the basis for life. We can help to stop
exploitation by protecting the forest here.
•The life cycles of the Earth arc being
poisoned by our pollution. We can join the effort to
stop the poisoning by demanding the beginning of
the end of acid rain. We can do something to stop
the poisoning by purifying our waler here.
It is almost 400 years since European people
first stumbled upon this continent. The invading
culture has been changing the face of this land
ever since. Now it is time to change ourselves. As
we celebrate the Earth, let us also accept our
responsibility ror lt.s future.
• The Editars of the Karuah Journal
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�Join in the celebration...
EARTH DAY
April 22, 1990!!
Celebrations and events will take
place "locally" all around the planet. In
our Katuah bioregion, there will be a
variety of events on Earth Day and
surrounding it. Here is a partial
listing ...Come join in the celebrations!
WATAUGA COUNTY, NC
APRIL 17 *Children's poster exhibit and Area
environmental exhibits. At Boone Mall. •concert by
Bill Oliver, well-known educator and environmental
follcsinger. At ASU Rosen Conccn Hall, BroyhHI
School of Music. Cont.act Harvard Ayers (704)
262-2295.
APRIL 18 • Environmental Exposition all day •
Earth Day storytelling with Karen Wallace. Al
Watauga Public Library. •Bill Oliver, mid-day conccn;
Judy Hunt, St.ate Represent.alive, speaking, 12:30 .
12:50 pm ; Earth Garnes, I - 2 pm. At ASU Mall.
•Speaker: Michael Robinson, Director, Na1.ional Zoo.
8:00 pm. Reception to follow. At ASU Fanhing
Auditorium. Contact Melissa Banh (704) 262-3098.
APRIL 19 •Environment.al exposition a.11 day: Janet
Hoyle, speaking 12:30 - 12:50 pm; Children's concen
with Bill Oliver, 1:30 - 2:30 pm. At ASU Ma.II.
•8:00 pm, Speaker: Thomas Berry, in1emationally
known speaker and author of TM Dream of IM Ear1h.
Reception to follow. Al ASU Farthing Auditorium.
Contact J. Linn Mackey (704) 262-2418.
APRIL 20 •s1eel drum band, 12 noon, a1 ASU Ma.IL
Tree planting on lhc ASU Mall, then moving to the
Boone Greenway. •Plant sale. a.i Rankin Gn:cnhouse.
• Awards, Children's poster exhibit, 7:00 pm. At
Boone Malt
APRIL 21 •Music on the ASU Mall. Bike-a-thon.
New River and Watauga River Clean up.• AJJ Species
Day Parade, starling 10:00 am, al the parking lot at
inlefSCCtion of King and Water Sts.. ending a1 ASU
Mall. Prizes for elerncnt.ary, middle, and high school
lellehers and studcnts...everyone invited to participate.
11:00 am, free ice cream. Cont.act Karen Lohr (704)
262-4089.
APRIL 22 EARTH DAY •Morning, Interfaith
worship.• Fun Run/Walk.• Earth Day ceremonies,
Earth games, storytelling, and music, beginning 12
noon. At ASU Mall. Cont.act Karen Lohr (704)
262-4089.
APRIL 22 EARTH DAY • Sunrise Ceremony with
stories and song. *Nature and wildlife hikes
throughout He nderson County. •Earth Day
Celebration, hands-on activities, storytelling, music,
recycling demonstration. Jackson Park,
Hendersonville, NC. Coniact Ms. Freudenberger (704)
693--0135.
BUNCOMBE COUNTY, NC
MARCH 19 • APRIL 30 Tree Planling. ConLact
Monte Wooum, Quality Forward (704) 254- I 776.
MARCH 29 Asheville-Buncombe EARTH DAY 1990
Community Meeting, 5:30 pm at the Unitarian
Univcrsalist Church (Charlolle SL). AJJ are encouraged
IO plan events for our own neighborhood or area and IO
voluntccr to help with local projects and events. To be
included in an area-wide calendar of Banh events, call
Dory Brown (704) 622-713 1 or write:
Asheville-Buncombe EARTH DAY 1990, P.O. Box
5855, Asheville. NC 28813.
APRIL 2 • 7 River Awareness Weck sponsored by
Warren Wilson College. Culminates with Swannanoa
River Clean-Up on SalUrday. Info: (704) 298-3325.
APRIL 7 Glad-Bagalhon open 10 groups and
individuals wanling 10 participate in litter clean-up
project and weigh-in contest. Contact Jane Wilson,
Qwilily Forward, (704) 254-1776.
APRJL 9 • 13 Project Pride Weck. sponsored by
Quality Forward and Asheville-Buncombe EARTH
DAY 1990. Experiential environment.al education
through lhe ans and sciences for students of Buncombe
County Schools. Info (704) 254·1776.
APRIL 16 *Free day al lhc Nature Center, Gashes
Creek Road, Asheville. (704) 298-5600. • Artisl°s
Earth Day exhibit unveiled; artists will exhibit !heir
environmental an in the unoccupied storefronts on
Haywood St. and Pack Square, Asheville.
APRJL 16-20 • Earth Weck at Aficrschool Programs;
Monte Wooten of Quality Forward is willing to come
to Asheville afl.erschool programs to give t.alks on our
earth and its environment. Cont.act Monie Wooten
(704) 254-1776. *Landfill Tours for EducaJOrS: group
or organization opportunity to tour local landfill.
Cont.act Steve Heisclman, landfill recycle coorinator,
or Monie Wooten, Quality Forward, (704) 254-1776.
APRIL 20 Conference: Resources a1 Risk: The
Effee1s of Acid Precipilation and Ozone on 1he
SoUJMrn Appalachians. 8:30am-4:00pm UNCA Owen
Center. Sponsored by: Western North Carolina
Tomorrow, USDA Fores t Service-SE Forest
Experiment Station and UNCA Environmenlal Studies
Program. Registration $5.00....Caten:d Lunch $5.00.
Contact: Fn:d Huber (704) 251-6104.
HEN DE RSON COUNTY, NC
APRIL 21 Art Auel.ion. Work donated by notable
area artists, proceeds go to saving the wetlands in
Henderson County. Cont.act David Malpass (704)
697-9557.
APRIL 20 Ctltbra1 IM Earth Story Thomas Berry,
ing
intemalionalJy-known spealce.r and aulhor of The
Dream of IM Earth (Sierra Club Press, 1989), will
give a talk at Owen Conference Center. UNC-A as pan
of community-wide Earth Week aclivities. 7:30pm.
No charge. Reception follows.
APRIL 21 The Sixth Annual Environment.al
Summit: Al IM Crossroads: lmpacl of Devtlopmenl
on Environmenlal Qualily. Speakers include.: Thomas
Berry, Cynthia Sullivan, BilJ Holman and others.
UNC-A Owen Conference Cent.er. Cont.act: (704)
251-6104.
APRIL 21 "Earth Energies" talk by Morgan Eaglebcar,
an Apache medicine man and great grandson of
Geronimo. 10:00-12:00pm; Opponunity to partake in
a sweaL Two lodges builL Beginning 12:00 noon.
Love offering accepted. At Eanh Center, Swannanoa,
NC. Cont.act: Zoe&. Jim Martin (704) 298-3935.
APRIL 21-22 Chez Op1 ion plans to show
environmental videos and distribute pamphlets in
SLOrcfront location on Haywood SL, Asheville, NC.
APRIL 22 EARTH DAY Celebration!! EvetyOllC is
invil.ed to wear Green for show of Earth solidarity!
• Bike ride for children and adults through downtown
Asheville. 12:30 pm. Contact Steve Millar (704)
254-0414. •Earth Day parade begins a1 2pm in
Downtown Asheville and marches IO City/County
Plaza. Everyone encouraged Lo join in!! • Earth
Games, Rainbow Games, and environmenlal exhibits
geared toward children. after the parade, at Radisson
Plaza Parking LoL •RALLY, wilh music, speakers,
sLrCCt lhealcr, and booths offering food, environment.al
products and information. •Bring your recyclables;
Scot Sanderson will have a recycling booth and will be
accepting plastic milk jugs. green and clear plastic
soda boules, aluminum, and sorted glass.
Pr oj ect EARTH (Environment.aJ Arrangement
Requiring Transportation that's Homemade) will aeate
a moveable environment.al display and show it in the
parade. ConlllCt: Project Eanh, PO Box 5855,
Asheville, NC 28813.
Re-invent Fair Have fun creating inventions from
recycled malCrial. Ideas can be pratical like making
sandals from old I.ires, or imaginative, like making a
perpetual motion machine from odds and ends. For
form and details, cont.act: Quality Forward, PO Box
22, AshcviJle, NC 28802 by April 16.
KNOXVILLE, TN AREA
APRIL 16 Murray Bookchin will speak a.t University
Center, UT campus. 7:00 pm
APRJL 21 • 22 EARTH DAY ECO-FAIR. Earth
Day Office: (615) 974-0643.
APRIL 21 EARTH DAY Benefit Concert. Earth Day
Office: (615) 974-0643.
APRIL 22 EARTH DAY Events • 5-K "Run for the
Earlh", sl8rtS a1 9 am a1 UT Vet School • Dance
againSt DeslrUCLion Marathon Benefit Dance• Video
festival •Earth Day Office: (615) 974-0643 or Center
for Global Sustainabili1y: (615) 524-4771.
�JOHNSON CITY, TN
NORTH GEORGIA
OTHEll RESOURCES:
APRIL 22 EARTH DAY CELEBRATION,
Downtown Johns on City, 1:00pm -5:00pm.
T~·planting, Music, storytelling, displays, recycling
fundraising, and Adopt-a-planter program. Contact;
Beuy Anderson, Director of Downtown Association
(615) 926-8546.
APRIL 17-22 Earth Skills Gathering. Twelve
individual ~ showing a wide variety of Native
American skills. Contaet: Darry Wood (704)
389-0428.
Eco-Net, an international computer network
link, will carry a national bulletin board for the
sharing of information, graphics, and ideas for
EARTH DAY events. EcoNet, 3228 Sacramento
Street, San Francisco, CA 94114/ (415) 923-0900.
KINGSPORT, TN
Earth Day Activities and events throughout Nonh
Georgia, contaet: Jirn Sneary (404) 226-0116, Dalton,
GA; Andrea Timpone (404) 535-1976 Gainesville,
GA; Christa FrangiJunorc (404) 351-3456 Atlanta.
GA.
APRIL 19 "Young Ecologist" Action Award presented
at Watauga Audubon Society Meeting.
GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLI NA
APRIL 21 EARTH DAY ACTIVITIES at Bay's
Mountain State Park, near Kingsport. Info: (61 S}
229-9447. Also Glad Bagathon and Recycling evenLS
in Tri-Cities area. Then. gathering at Davy Crockeu
Stale Park.
APRIL 22 EARTH DAY CELEBRATION sponsored
by Watauga Audubon, State of Franklin Sicmi Club
and ochers. Bluegrass music wilh cnvironmenUll lyrics,
storytelling, T-shins, 1-5pm at Bruce Park in
Kingsport.
FLOYD COUNTY, VA
APRIL 2 1 EARTH DAY AcnVITIES/ FUN DAY
FOR KIDS Kite flying. rccycUng exhibits, music,
food, local speakers. Contaec Mary Day (703)
763-2000.
EnvlroNet sponsored by Greenpeace Action and
open to the public. Greenpeace Action, Bldg. E,
Fort Mason, CA 94123. (415) 47U767.
APRIL 21 Earth Day Activities at Roper Mountain
Science Center. Speakers, music, booths, distributing
ttceS, ceremonial ucc-planting, free Ben & Jerry's ice
cream, living farm demos, and organic gardening,
nature walks, 9am-3pm. • Recycling Fa ir at
Greenville Braves Stadium, 8am-3pm. Contact: Linda
Elmore (803) 281-0090 . •Parade from Ci1y Hall lO
Heritage Green, 3pm-5pm. Contaet Jay Rogers: (803)
232-3690
APRil.. 22 EARTH DAY CELEBRATIONS around
the area. • Music at McPherson Park, 3pm-5pm.
Contact Mary Ellen Settlemycr (803) 240-4326
*EvcntS at Furman University, coruact: Amelia Fusaro
(803) 233-1232. Otl>cr Earth Day Activities &: related
events, contaet: Earth Day Steering Committcc for
OTHER EVENI'S
IntemaUonal ECO-City Conference will take
place in Berkeley, California, March 29- April
1, 1990. Keynote speaker. Dennis Hayes, Earth
Day Director. Info: Cerro Gordo Dorena Lake,
Box 569, Cottage, Grove, OR 97424. (503)
942-mO.
Earth Day Wall St. Action on Monday, April 23.
Contact: Brian Tokar, P.O.Box 93, Plainfield,
VT 05667.
Greenville, George Actehef (803) 288-8782;
OTHER EARTH DAY CONTACTS:
BLACKSBURG, VA
APRIL 17
Rainforest Sympos ium. Conl8ct:
Si.ephanie Trimmer (703) 951-5173.
Klds Netwotk Students all over North America
can share environmental data. National
Geographic Society, Ed. Services, Dept. 1001,
Washington, OC 20Cll7. (800) 368-2728.
Earth Day 1990 National Hdqtrs (415)321 -1990
Earth Day 1990 SE Regional HdqLrs: (404) 352-4080
Earth Day Southeastern Campus Coordinaior: ~i
Calloway (404) 876-8634
EARTHWEEK "MESSAGE OF THE DAY"
Earth Weck will nationally focus on an
"EnvironmcnUll Message of the Day": Monday (April
16} Energy; Tuesday (April 17) Recycling; Wednesday
(April 18) Waicr, Thursday (ApriJ 19) Alternative
Transportation: Friday (April 20) Toxics Information;
Saturday (April 21) Outdoor/Recreation. For more
info: Diana Aldridge (41S} 321-1990.
APRIL 18 Environmental Teach-In. CEC Auditorium.
1:30pm-9:00pm.
APRIL 20 •Earth Grove Dedication. Tree-planting.
ConL&ct: Heather McEllroy (703) 552-7897. •
Rainforest Benefit Concert. Buddy's ResL&urant
9:00pm.
APRIL 21 •Broomln' & Bloomin' Clean-Up 9:00am1:00pm •Bike Parade 2:00pm-3:00pm •Earth Festival
at Duck Pond 3:00pm-6:00pm. Contaet: Linda Binner
(703) 961-0586.
APRIL 22 PEACE-EARTH DAY CELEBRATION
Noon 'ti! Dark. At Amphitheater, Virginia
Poytcehnical Institute. Contact: Elizabeth DuFrane
(703) 232-2338. Environmental Audit Information for
Arca Colleges and Businesses. Conlllct: David
Hirschman (703) 951-8949.
ROANOKE, VA AREA
(jreen P{etfge
I pfeage to /Q my sfiare in savin9 tfu plamt 6y
f.tttin9 rny conum for cfu environment sfiape fww !:
Jilct: I pf.t49e to tU1 my utmost to recycle, UJnserve
tMl'//!J• saw fl/OUr, use efficient transportation, arul try to atfopt
a Gfestyf.t as if every tfay were 'E.arlli 'Day.
Purcfuue: I pfuf9e to 6uy l11llf use only tfwse proi{uct.s
feast fuzrmful to tfu environment. ?rlorwva, I wilI tlo 6usiruss
witli corporation.s tliat promote 9{06a{ environmental
ruponsi6ili ty.
'J/ote: I pk49c to vou arul support tfwse uuufufaw
wfw tkmonstrau an a6itflne UJnurn for tfst erwirrmment.
Support: I pfufae to support tfu pass49e of louJl. stau
arul fuftrol laws ana inurnational treaties tliat prouct tfu
environment.
Earth Day Activities &t related events. Coniact: Chris
Barlow (703) 774-0581 or 989-0802.
You COii return this pledge to your local Earth Day group or
mail ii 10 Earth Day 1990, P.O. Box AA Stanford Uni..,ersity, C.4
94309
�SUGGESTIONS FOR
PERSONAL INVOLVEMENT
·ElkinglOll, John, et al. The Green Conswner. Penguin,
1990.
•Capl:in, Ruth and Staff of Environmental ActK>n. Our
Earth, 011rstlwts. Bantam, 1990.
'.You tTUtJ(u want tQ.........
~ a hih - ~ a 6~ - diiM a tru - /Jiflt. t1ie
'Lartli a !Jift - (U{qpt a struzm - plant a tru 6e a utter·critter - astfast footf places tq use fess
protfur.t padc.Jiuitlfl - fimit use of pesticitles ion't tn:at soil fi{(J 4irt - avqjtf petro·cfilmicDl
transportation - fast for t1ie tlay -wal(.. G9fitfy.
jl
Recycling
• Help start a recycling routine at your school or
workplacc...aluminum cans, office paper, glass, CIC.
•Encourage your city and county governments lO set
up a curbside recycling program • Get your local
newspaper to print on recycled paper • Help gel a
"boUle biU" law passed by your Stale legislat.ure
Alternative Transportation
• Get bike lanes adopted for your city and county
Have some streets closed periodically, open only to
bicycles. • Ask that public uunsponation be improved
in your area and that mini-vans be explofed as part or
the solution.
Pfeage of jt{{egiance
to tfie 'FArtfi
I p(eage affegiance to tft.e
'F,artft., arul to tfie /fora, fauna
arul fiuman (ije tftat it supports,
one pfanet, irulivisi6(e,
witfi safe air, water ana soil
economic justice, equal rigfits
arul peace for a«.
Education
• Encourage your school to use the Earth Day '90
Lesson Plan and Home Survey which looks at energy
conservation, home toxics, transporuilion, water
conservation, and recycling • Encourage schools and
colleges in your area to conduct the Environmcnial
Audit • Adopt-A-Stream or other environmenllll project
at a natural area near your school • Tree-planting
aroWld school, and food for wildlife landscaping
Community Awareness
• Award businesses that use environmentally sound
practices • Help convert an urbnn vacant 101 inio a parlc.
or community gardens space • Support regionally and
locally owned businesses. • Buy products grown or
produced t11 lhc region • Invest in regionn.I businesses
Flying the Earth Flag!
Now is lhe time to encourage businesses,
schools, scout troups and others in the
community to get in the habit of publicly
displaying the Eanh Flag.
Sizes available: Large 3'x5' durable
nylon for inside or outside use; Medium 2'x3'
cotton for parade or inside use; and small
6"x9", on 15" stick. Available regionally and
nationally.
One regional source is: AshevilleBuncombe EARTH DAY 1990, P.O. Box
5855, Asheville, NC 28813.
Corporate Accountability
The Valdez Principles
A coalition of leading environmental organizations and
social investment firms have drafted a set of ten
guidelines for corporalC conduct concerning the
environment. They ore referred to as the Valdez
Principles. They address the issues of pollutants,
sustainable use of natural resources, rcducuon and
disposal of waste, energy efficiency, conservation, riSk
reduction IO employees and surrounding communities,
maarketing of safe products and services, damage
compensation, disclosure of poienulll hazards, need for
environmental representatives on corporate boards of
directors, and the value of annual corporate
environmental audits.
A copy of the Valdtz Principles is available from local
Earth Day groups as wrell as the Earth Day 1990
national ojfi~.
MAGAZ I NES
•Earth Island Journal. Enrth Island lnsutuLC, 300
Broadway, Suite 28, S:in Francisco, CA 94133
•£ -The Environmental Magazine P.0.Box 6667,
Syracuse, NY 13217. (800) 825-0061
•Raise the Stakes. Planet Drum Foundation, P.O.Box
31251, San Francisco, CA 94131
•World•Watch. Worldwateh lnslltut.c, 1776 Massachu:.eus
Ave., NW, Washington, OC 20036.
THINGS TO DO...
•The Earth Works Group. 50 Simple Things You Can
Do To Save The Earth. Box 25, 1400 Shlmuck Ave.,
Bcrlceley, CA 94709.
•MacEachcm, Diane. Save 011r Planet: 750 Everyday
Ways You Can llelp Clean Up the Earth. Dell, 1990.
-Council on Economic Proiorities. Shopping for a Beller
World. 30 Irving Place, New York, NY 10003
GOO D BOOKS...
•Raven, Peier H. The Global Ecosysuim in Crisis. The
MacArthur Foundation, 140 South Dearborn St.,
Chicago, n.. 60603, 1987.
•Berry, Thomas. The Dream of the Earth. San Francisco:
Siena Club Books, 1988.
•Sahtouris, Elisabet. Gaia: The Human Journey from
Chaos 1 Cosmos. 1989.
0
•Lovelock, J. E. The Ages of Gaia: A Biography of our
Living Earth. W.W. Nonon & Co., 1988.
•Myers, Nonnan Dr., Gen. Ed. Gaia: An Atlas of
PlaMtary Manageme/I/. New York: A(IChor Books. 1984.
•World Commission on Environmentand"DevolopmenL
Our Common Fui11re. Oxford: Oxford Uni.vcrsity Press.
•Nash, Roderick. The RighJs of NaJurt, A History of
Environmental Ethics. Madison: University of
Wisconsin Press, 1989.
•Taylor, Paul W. Rts~ct for Na111re: A Theory of
Environmtntol Ethics. Princeton: Princeton U. Press,
1986
•Berger, John J. Restoring the Earth: /low Americans
Are Working to Renew our Damaged Environmtnt. New
York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1986.
•Register, Richard. Ecocily Berkeley: Building Cities for
.4 lleaJtlty F"""'°~· BcrJco!Qy, Nortll Atlllntic Books,
1987.
•Berg, Pe1er, et al. A Green City Program For San
Francisco Bay Area Cities & Towns. San Francisco:
Planet Drum Books, 1989.
•Tokar, Brian. The Green Alternative: Creating on
Ecological Future. San Pedro: R. & E. Miles, 1987.
•Renner, Michael. Rethinking the Role of the
Automobile. Worldwaich Paper #84, 1988.
•Todd, Nancy Jack and John. Bios/1e/1us, Ocean Aries,
City Farming: Ecology As The Basis of Design. Son
Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1984.
•Margolin, Malcolm. The Earth Manual: /low io Work
on Wild land Without Taming It. Berkeley: Heyday
Books, 1985.
•LaChapellc, Dolores. Earth Wisdom, 1978. Also Sacred
I.And, Sacred Sez-Rap111re of the Deep, 1988. Finn Hill
Arts, P.O. Boll 542, Silverton, CO g1433.
•Henderson, Hazel.The Politics of the Solar Age.
Alternatives to Economics. Doubleday Anchor, 198 I.
· Sale, Kirkpatrick. lluman Scale . New York: G. P.
Putnam's Sons. 1980.
· Fulc:uolca, Masanobu. The Ont-Straw Revoluiion. An
ln1roduction 10 Natural Farming. Emmaus: Rodalc Press,
1978.
°:Meclter-Lowry, Susan. Econo1T11cs as If the Earth Rl'ally
Mallued. Philadelphia: New Society Publishers, 1988.
•Sprctnalc, Charlene. The Spiritual Dunensions ofGrun
Politics. Santa Fe: Bear & Company, 1986.
•Seed, John, Macy, Joanna, et al. Thinking like A
Mountain : Towards A Council Of All Beings.
Philadelphia: New Society Publishers, 1988.
This regional EARTH DAY 1990 EVENTS section
is compliments of Kaluah Journal; Bioregional
Journal of /ht Southern Appalachians , P.O. Box
638, Leicester, NC 28748. Published Quarterly.
Subscription: $10/year.
�FOOD FROM THE ANCIENT FOREST
by Snow Bear
In all the seasons, these mountains speak to us of their
beauty and sacredness. But ln the springtime rebirth of the
plant people, that beauty is projected in vibrant colors,
awe-Inspiring forms, fantastic abundance, and incredible
diversity. It is a good time for human beings to go to the coves
where ancient trees stand, to rest and watch, listen, and learn;
there Is strength, healing, and sustenance to be found there.
Some of the richest soil on Earth can be found In these
coves; In one such place I pushed my arm into deep, black loam
up to my elbow. In such soil grows Incredibly nourishing, vllal
foods. As you gather food from these coves, remember that the
old forests are disappearing beneath the chain saws and
bulldo:ters of a nation hungry for lumber and profit. I have been
told to speak prayerfully and announce my intention to the
spirit running through the life of that mountain. Pass over at
least four plants before picking one. Restore earth and leaf mold
to any holes left from digging roots - in fact, leave no visible
traces of your plant gathering. Do not gather plants in a heavily
trafficked area, such as hiking trails. I have been taught to
acknowledge the taking of any life with prayer and a gift (of
sage or t. bacco).
o
•In April and early May, the flowers known to botanists
as the spring ephemerals blanket the mountainsides. Many of
them are choice edible plants that grow abundantly to allow
gathering for food. Some of these Include:
TR0UT ULY (Erythronlum americanum) A yellow lily emerges from between two green and brown
mottled leaves. The leaves have a sweet flavor and may be added
to salads or cooked as potherb. The leaves that have no blossom
are choicest; after blooming there may be a slightly bitter
aftertaste. The bulbs are edible when cooked.
TOAOSHAOE TRILLIUM (Trillium sessile) •
The young leaves before fully unfolded have a sugary, sweet
taste. Bitterness makes the leaves unpalatable when the
blossom emerges. This trillium (and T. erectum, T.
grandiflorum) are good raw or cooked, but harvest only where
abundant.
SPRING BEAUTY (Clayton/a virgin/ca and caroliniana)
and RUE ANEMONE (Anemonella lhalictroides) - can often be
found together in immense patches on wooded mountain slopes.
The pea-sized tubers are an excellent addition to soups, stews,
and steamed greens.
•The ephemerals described above grow, blossom and die
quickly. Their growth cycle ends when the trees leaf out. Other
edible spring wildflowers have a longer growing season. These
include:
INOIAN CUCUMBER ROOT (Medeota vlrgln/ana) This wildflower occurs in so many different plant tribes such
as: mixed hardwood climax forest, hemlod< glade, dry oak soils,
or moist creekbanks. It often grows in large patches that may
be thinned. Its root ls while, crispy, and watery, similar to
cucumber or water chestnut in flavor and texture. It is best
eaten raw.
(continued on next page)
Sprl.ncJ, 1990
Drawings by K.im S111dland
�SC FOREST WATCH GROUP
WINS APPEAL
Nlllnl World News Savico
The South Carolina Forest Watch group worting
foa.<£.sfia<f:e
-Jr.ill i u,m,
(continued Crom page 19)
SOLOMON'S SEAL (Polygonatum biflorum) Until the end of August, the leaves and roots may be harvested.
In spring, harvest only lower leaves to avoid disrupting the
flowering cycle; after seeding, the top leaves are more tender.
The leaves, like the root, are sweet and slightly mucilaginous.
The roots are often three-quarters of an inch thick and ten
inches long. Try harvesting the oldest (back) end of the root,
leaving two-thirds of the root undisturbed. The root Is a good
source of complex carbohydrates when cooked In soups and
stews.
RAMPS (wild leeks - Allium ttioocum) Ramps are the only wild plant still honored with festivals by
entire towns! At these festivals, people may saturate every cell
in their bodies with the pungent, garlic-like smell of ramps
without being shunned by family, friends, or neighbors. I have
found this mountain gourmet food in huge quantities in moist,
gravelly soils (subsurface springs) and in the yellow
birch-grass meadows of the high mountain gaps. Cream of
"potato• (Solomon's seal root) leek soup with bluff mustard
greens or ramps steamed with puffball mushrooms on the side
makes a gourmet foraging meall
The raw ramp bulbs are very strong and health-giving as
a blood purifier and tonic.
BROAD LEAF TOOTHWORT (bluff mustard - Dentaria
diphylla) - The white, cross-shaped flowers are abundant in
late April. The plant grows in shallow leaf mold on creek rocks
and banks. The leaves are available throughout the winter, but
the hot mustard taste gets milder in the spring. The
Interconnected roots of the bluff mustard patch taste just like
horseradish - finely grated with mayonnalse and vinegar it
makes a good hot sauce or dip.
To eat the food of the mountains where the beings of
nature live in the undisturbed patterns of the long-ago forest
attunes our bodies with the seasons and climate of Katuah, our
minds with the beauty of Katuah, and our hearts with the nature
spirits of Kaltiah.
May we walk In beauty and balance in these ancient
mountains.
in the Andrew Pickens District of the Sumi.Ct National
Forest in South Carolina has successfully placed itself
between the chain saws and trees of Compartment 43 in
the Chauga River walelShcd. The proposed timber sale
would cut three different timber siands tomlling 90 acres
in one of the two largest unfragmented mauue hardwood
stands in the Sumter Forest. fl consists of 300
contiguous acres of mawre hardwood irees and contains
the oldest hardwood sLBnd in the forest. The cul would
divide mature stands almost in two and would border on
lhe oldest group of uees on two sides.
Late in September, 1989, Forest Wa!Ch members
heard about the sale only nine days before Lhe appeal
period was to end. A flurry of activity produced an appeal
based on four factors: fragmentation of Lhe forest
resulting in deleterious edge effects on native forest
species. lack of a site-specific analysis, overcuning of lhe
site, and Lhe impact of the clearcutting on the water
quality of Crooked Creek.
The appeal was quickly sent o(f to the regional
forester's office in Atlanta, and four months later, the
Forest Waich group received a five page reply that
seemed to be almost a complete vindication of the Forest
Service's position. The only concession to the Forest
Watch appeal was a statement saying that the .district
ranger had not documented his cumulative effects analysis
on water quality. Therefore, the group was surprised to
read at the bottom of the last page, "For these reasons,
lhe appellant's claim is upheld."
However. tile victory is only a panial one for the
Forest Watch group and the forest. The appeal was
upheld on only one of the four basic contentions set fonh
in the document: the water quality issue. The regional
forester's decision said Lhat, as there was no mention of
Lhe other issues in Lhe Sumter Forest's Land and
Resource Management Plan, they were not legitimate
bases for appeal.
The Forest Waichers fear Lhal forest supervisor
Donald Eng, a hardline timber man, will quickly return a
revised timber sale plan for Comparunent 43, so the
saws are delayed as little as possible.
Undaunted, lhe group has decided Lhat by refusing
to consider the issues or forest fragmentation and
overculting, and other possible uses for the old timber
stand and Lhe forest as a whole. the Forest Service has
escalated the action. SC Forest Watch feels that since
such imponant considerations have been neglected, Lhe
forest plan ilSClf needs to be amended.
The Sumter Forest Land and Resource
Management Plan is up for a live-year review this year,
and the Forest Watch organization is requesting
amendment or a complete revision of Lhe plan. If the
Forest Service denies Lhat request, the group will then
appeal Lhat decision. SC Forest Watch is determined to
bring about a long-term change of policy in Lhe Sumter
National Forest..
Contact
SC Forest Watch
Box657
Wesaninster, SC
KatUah Province 29693
SNOW BEAR Is a herbalist, naturalist, environmental educator,
and director of the Pepper/and Farm Camp. He can be contacted
by writing to Pepper/and Farm Camp; Rt. 4, Box 255-B;
Murphy, NC 28906 or by phone st (704) 494- 2353.
Sp r1.n9, 1990
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DIOXIN vs THE ENVIRONMENT
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Nani World News s.vice
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HELMS "STUMPS" NC FORESTS
As pan of an experimenlal pilot project, Ille Bush
administration recently released a list of southeasiem
national fon:slS where below-cost timber sales would be
slOppCd for two years.
North Carolina forest.s were mystenously
removed from that list. despite a Congressional study
showing that the Pisgah-Naru.ahala National ForeslS lost
$2.S million in 1988. h toter came to tight that,
although originally on th.at list. the Pisgah and Nanuthala
forests wcre om1ued aflcr sarong persuasion from Scnaior
Jcs.sc Helms.
A Nonh Carolina Forestry Associauon (NCFA)
newsletter article titled "Helms Helps National Fon:slS
in N.C. • reveals, "Helms used leuers from NCFA
members, Appalachian Multiple Use Council, and the
Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturcl'S Associauon to no1
only remove Pisgah-Nanlahala, but to force a review of
the whole below-cost initiative."
There arc 12 southeastern forests on the
below-cost liSt. including the Cherokee in Tenncsscc, the
George WashinglOll in Virginia, and Lhe Chatahoochcc in
Georgia. Bjorn Dahl, supervisor of Ille national forests
in North Carolina. was uncertain why Nonh Carolina
forests were rcrnoved Crom the program. "I know we
were on Ille original list." Dahl said. "We were advised
we were on, but when Lhe list came out we were off."
The proposal in the fiscal 1991 budget submiued
IO Congress in January would reduce the amount of
timber removed from the Wgeted foreslS by about 38
pcn:ent during a one-year test. One method of offsetting
the loss of pronts in timber sales was a pilot project that
will experimentally increase recreational use of the
forests. The prognun would mean higher fees for some
recreational uses and new fees for previously free
activities, such as picnic areas, boat ramps. and parking
lolS.
According IO the Forest Service the program will
have insignificant impacts on timber interest.s around the
12 national forests. Should the program continue for the
Delli five years an estimated S2S jobs would disappear.
Mary Kelly of the Western Nonh Carolina
Alliance poinlS out that the Pisgah-Nanuthala may have a
more sustainable future in recreation rather than timber
hqwdation. Kelly states, · we have a large number of
bade country and whitewaier outfitlCIS, and a large lOUrist
economy that 1s much more important than umber
resources IO our local economy, and it's unfortunate that
we weren't given the same chance to Lest out our ability
to manage for these resources."
Sowct: Asheville Citizen, Mat'ch 2. 1990
Spr L"'J. 1990
In the continuing saga of wa1et quality vs. dioxin,
we fmd owselves, once again, at a pulp and paper
processing plant. This time, we've moved over the
l1IOWllain from Canion and Olampioo Colporalion IO Lhe
Ecusta Corporation mill, on the Davidson River in
Transylvania County, NC.
The story is quite familiar. Chlorine is used as a
bleaching agent on wood pulp which, in tum, is used to
produce white paper products··m this case, lightweight
paper for bible pages and cigarette papers. Diollin. a
highly carcinogenic IOXin, is produced during lhis ~
and subsequently rclc.ased in the plant's discharge. In the
case of Ecusta, dioxin has been found in fish sampled
downstream from the plant in the French Broad River.
A considerable amount of wrangling has been
going on between Ille NC Department of Environmenlal
Management (DEM) and the EPA over whether or not
Ecusta's waStewater needs to be monitored. In February
1989. the DEM released a list of the state's toxic
discharge sites which would be required to clean up their
acL Ecusta was not on the lisl.
The EPA disagreed with this decision and 1n June
released ilS own clean-up list which contained Ecusta and
nine other Nonh and South Carolina mills. EPA then
informed DEM that Ecusta must also be included on the
state list, or they would overrule the state and seize
control of Ecusta's was1ewater permit, as allowed by the
Oc.an W31.Cl Act of 1979.
In July, the state capitulated and included Ecusta
on an amended but still preliminary tisL Finally, in
February 1990, the state released its final list, which
included both the EcUSta and Champion mills, and EcUSLa
was given a deadline of June, 1993 to comply with
newly developed state limits on dioxin discharge.
In a scenario familiar from Champion days,
Ecusta's parent company, the P.H. Glatfelter Company,
based in Pennsylvania, claims ii may be forced to close
the plant if required IO meet Ille st.aodards by 1993.
The EPA 's rote in pressing the state IO control
Ecusta's wastewater permit has been the focal point for
much of the prolCSl by those rallying to the side of the
county's largest employer. In a front page anicle io the
Asheville Citizen on 1/17/90, Esther Wesley, cxecutivc
director of the Transylvania County Chamber of
Commerce, was quoted as saying "Ecusta doesn't have a
problem-EPA has a problem. They rcally expect entirety
IOO much from a manuf.acturing planL •
The Glatfelter Company apparently agrees with
Ms. Wesley and filed a fcdcral lawsuit in January asking
US District Judge Richard Voorhees to prohibit the EPA
from invalidating OEM's original decision not to include
Ecusta on its cleanup lisL Much of the dissension among
Ecust.a, the state, and the EPA centers on confusion
about bow and where to measure dioxin in the river.
Fish sampled last year just below the plant had
up to eight times more dioxin than fish sampled 4.4
miles downstream. However, state and mill officials
point out th.at farmland and the town of Brevard's
wastewater treatmenl plant could pocentially contribule
diollin. To confuse mauers further. periodic samples of
Ecusia wastewater have not revealed mcasurcable levels
of diollin (although dioxin is more rctiably detected in
fish tissues than in waler samples).
In addition, there is liule agreement over how
much dioxin is IOO much. Despite insisting that Ecusta
discharge should be controlled, the agency has never
established wastewater limitations for l'lax·pulping mills,
or which Ecusta is one of two in the U S.
The DEM did not adopt a diollin standard until
October. It is not a uniform standard, but one based on
the quantity of a plant's efOuent and the receiving
waterway's ability to dilute iL
ract
Tbe one
which la 1101 coolusillg is that
dioxin is a very dangerous substance., especially when it
is on tbe loose in unknown quantities in the
envilOnmenL It is ""' acceptable to have communities
along Lhe French Broad River living in fear of dioxin
conramination.
The NC Division of Environmental Management
(DEM) is seeking comments on 1 proposal to identify
and set special proccctive standards for stmuns in the
SllllC iclcnliflCd as "High Quality Waiers." Over 900 miles
of streams in the western part of the state are up for
n:classificalion.
Write 10 the DEM in support of the High Quality
WalCtS rcclassifteation. Address comments to:
Greg Thorpe
NC Division of Environmental Management
Box 27687
Raleigh, NC 27611
THE DEFENSE OF WRIGHT
SQUARE
Nlllnl World News Service
Wright Square was a small green arc.a amid the
mini-malls in Highlands, NC. Sill 45 year old dogwood
trees and one old arbor vitae tree stood there until the
Town Board decided it needed additional padcing places for
downtown shoppers.
The November elections had brought some
changes to Lhe Lown. Voters had made their choices clear.
For the first time a woman and an
environmentally-leaning candidate were elected IO the
Town Board. The old board members saw that there was
going to be some opposition in their ranks, and decided
that before the new board was convened they would take
care or one tittle project: Wright Sqwirc.
Townspeople had thought th.at the square would
be one of Lhe fll'Sl topics IO be addressed when the new
Town Board was installed, so they were surprised one
Friday when bulldozc:n appeared in the square and started
to work demolishing the trees. Immediately women from
local garden clubs came to the defense of the bit or nature
left in the square. It was a school holiday, so they were
joined by some high school students, members of a
studen t environmental group, Youth Advocating
Planetary Improvement (YAPI).
Carrying a few Earth flags, the townspeople
stopped the demolition work for the day. Workers
lounged about their machines as the women clustered
around the trees, and a few of the students occupied the
branches of the dogwoods.
At the end of the day the workers left, and the
protc.slOrS also went home, congratulating themselves on
a job well done. However, unknown to anyone, during
the night Lhe bulldozers plus worters with chainsaws
were ordered IO return to the scene, and when morning
broke the town woke up to find Wright Square leveled to
the pavement.
The Town Board may have won a temporary
victory, but they stirred up a furor in the town of
Highlands.
As one woman put it, "Certainly we're concerned
about the trees, but it wasn't just about the uus. It wa<1
about a large number of people who cared deeply about
their environment not being liStened to by the governing
body of the town. It was also about the issue or
representative govcnwent.."
(continued on neut pigc)
Xat~
Journa£ pCMJ"- 2 1
�"~, '1051 ! P\R. ll~D. W ~"° 01111.
LUNCH "10 KEEP IT
(continued from page 21)
F~ESM
!"
Canoon by Docta 1)'
HAYWOOD COUNTY P ROPOSES
GARBAGE FEAST FOR BEARS
Na11nl World News Service
County and municipal govcmmenis lhroughou1
Ka1Uah arc wrcsl.ling with the looming specter of
mounlains of trash, and no place lO pul lhem. Haywood
Coun1y in western Nonh Carolina is no exception. The
prcsen1 IMdfill (i.e.• dump) 1s Casi approaching capacity
and will be closed wilhin lwo ycnrs.
Efforts by Lhc coun1y commissioners lO siie o
new dump in lhe CrabU'Ce community failed. Sirong
opposition, well-developed during Lhc "Siop Lhc Nuclear
Dump• efforis, derailed 1hc comm1ssionecs and lhe11
handsomely-paid "front man•. engincct Gary "Mackie"
McKay. Not lO be dclencd, McKay (who n:poncdly will
receive IO'h of the engineering COSIS LO site a dump)
proposed a new site in Lhc While Oak community on
Fines Creclc.
While Oak is lhe most isolated and leas1
populaled area in lbe county. It is adjacent 10 Lhc
once-magnificent Pigeon River. close 10 the Grea1
Smoky Mounlain National Parle, and lbe Hannon Den
Bear Sanctuary. It is here lhat McKay proposes a
IOO·acre dump. A representative of Tribble and
Riclwdson, lbe engineering company McKay h11ed lO
conduct groundwaicr lCSLS at lhe site, bas said, "We
couldn't have found a belier loc4tion for a landfill.•
The inhabitants of While Oak community
disagree. One residcnl, Bob Hessler, is worried aboul
pollution leaching from lhe proposed dump into lhe
Pigeon River. Hessler approached lhe county
commission wilh lhe idea of municipal trash composting
and was amazed lO find that no one knew what ii was.
Composting garbage reduces disposal problems
greatly. Through a biological fcnnentation process.
municipal waste producLS (liquid sewage, sludge. and
garbage) are Lransformed inlO a valuable, marketable
produce "Class r composL. Additionally, comp0s1ing
roduccs the built of garbage IO a mere 15% of ilS original
volume, which would require a much smaller landfill sile
for the remaining plastics and non-biodegradable wasteS.
As an al1cmative disposal method, composting a a
s
proven, eost-cffcctivc solution.
McKay seems oblivious to 1be fact thal
composting works. As County Commissioner Noland
put ii, "There may be a connict of interest with McKay."
There are olher problems with the location of the
proposed landfill. White Oak residents sought the
opinion of black beat researcher Mike Pelton, a professor
m lhc University Of Tennessee's Dcp:1rtmem ofForesuy,
Wildlife and Fisheries. In a prepared stalCment he swd.
"Landfills, garbage dumps, or any olber conccnLraled
source of human food or ~e serve as an awaction LO
bears. Throughoul Nonh America, wherever lhe two
occur in close proximi1y, problems have arisen. These
problems tend LO be particularly bad in or near zones of
protection for bears, such as national parks or designated
sanctuaries.
"The proposed landfill on Fines Creek in
Haywood County, NC meets all the criicria for being a
polential problem. Its proximily to lbe Great Smoley
Mounlains National Parle and the Harmon Den Bear
Sanctuary in lhe Pisgah National Foresl are of special
concern. ln addition Lo the above prollimily lO areas of
pro1ec1ed populaiions and high bear numbers, olher
factors add 10 the concern over lhe location of the
proposed landfill. One is its proximity to historic release
siu:s of problem bears by lhe National Park Service, and
the other is lhe vulncrobilily of bears attracted lO lhe site
while trying 10 cross 1-40.•
Because of lhe limited road system in the Park,
there are only lhree areas to relocate problem bears A
landfill adj3CCnt 10 lhe CaUlloochee area, where almos1 30
percent are released. could hnve sign1fican1 implications
regarding bear management. A majority of visLorlbcar
interactions occur on lhe central or wes1 end of lhe Park.
Therefore, ii is importanl lha1 a remOle rclocallon area be
available oo the easl end. Caialoochee is the only
reasonable area for consideration.
An ongoing study wilhin the Harmon Den Bear
Sanctuary suggests lhat lhe landfill as also wilhin the
reach of mosl snnclU31)' bcrus. Breeding-age fcrnales could
be drawn ou1 of lhe prolCCted confines of the sane wary,
where they would be exposed 10 much higher nsks of
mortality. Hunters frequent lhe borders of lhe sanctuary
area, and a ncarl>y landfill would encourage more bears to
aucmpl lhe dangerous crossings over lntctsta1e 40.
In response, McKay has suggested ughl.ly
bundling the garbage and wrapping ii in plastic--a la
Saran Wrap--to conlain the auractivc aromas.
Additionally, McKay proposes hiring a game
warden to patrol Lhe dump, to educate the local folks
aboul "dump bears," and 10 control poachers.
Presumnbly, this warden would also act as a traffic guard,
halting traffic on 1-40 lO allow bears to cross over from
lhe Hannon Den 8CM SanclU31)'.
Reahsucally, a composting opcrauon offers
Haywood County a much safer disposal mclhod thal
could be more centrally located on a smaller S•le tha1
would not present a danger lO the alrcady·abuscd Pigoon
River or to the local bears.
say, have been CSUlblished in geographic areas other lhan
lhe mountains and are not valid in lhe mounl3Jn locale.
Despite well-organized. suong opposition, lhe
Deep Gap generators will be buih if lhcy receive
approval in early March from the NC Utilities
Commission and lhc federal Rural Elecuification
Administtation. The "deep gap• widens ....
DON'T GO NEAR THE WATER
Nawral World News Servoc:c
Sedimenta1ion is the Kaiuah region's mos1
common form of waler pollution.
Until January I, 1990 state and private forestry
operations were exempt from any lcmd of sedimentation
cooirols • namely, the NC Sedimcniauon Pollution
Control Acl (NCSPCA) of 1973.
Now, even on privale and state con1111Cts, loggers
must adhere LO the following provisions 10 prevenl
sedimentation due to land-disturbing acuv1Lies:
I) Establish Bild mllinlain a sLrCWnsidc manage men I zone
along all bodies of waier.
2) Prevent any debris and wasies from entering bodies of
walCt.
3) Consuucl occess roads and skid trails so lhal
sedtmentation is minimized.
4) Apply pesticides and fcruliu:rs according to labeled
uses, and in such a way as 10 prevent adverse
impacis on water quality.
5) Leave shade over streams.
6) Provide erosion control for all large-scale din-moving
projcclS within 30 working days after ceasing
any phase of an operation or when bcgiMing a period
of inacuvity.
The NC Slllte Forestry Commission is
rcsponsable for reviewing loggang operations, writing
individual sedimentation conirol plans, and referring
CLOSING THE DEEP GAP
Na11nl World News Service
Moonlain People for Clean Afr (MPCA) and the
Blue RR!ge Envaronmcntal Defense League (BREOL) arc
leading the effortS lO s1 construction of diesel
op
generators in lbe Docp Gap area of Watauga Counly. The
generators are planned by lhe Nonh Carolina Electric
Membership Cooperative lO supplemen1 electrical power
supplied to lhe Deep Gap area by Dulce Power.
Opposition lO the proposal has been voiced for many
monlhs, and has included protests presented at public
meetings and picketing in fronl of the electric co-op's
Raleigh offices. The NC Division of Env1IOnmental
Management hlls altc3dy issued a pcrm11 lO the CCH>p lO
build the generatOrS.
Protesicrs state I.hat Ibey have nol received fair
representation from 1he state organi1.a1ion sci up LO
mediate between lhe people and the utili1y companies.
MPCA and BREOL have both taken the stand thal
lhcrmal inversions and fog common 10 the Occp Gap area
should prohibit the building of diesel gcncnuors and lheir
inevitable discharges of sulphur and nitrogen oxide acids.
The co-<>p has argued it will comply wilh state
emission standards, but the opposilion groups say lhat
these standards arc not sufficienL These regulations, they
non-compliant opcra1ions 10 the NC Division of
Environmental Management (DEM). Your assistance in
notifying lhe county foresicr or the OEM of violations
will malte lhis new "non-exempt" law work. Contac1:
NC Division of Environmental Man3gcmen1,
Land Quality Secuon
59 Woodfm Place
Asheville, NC 28801
(704) 251-6208
Drawing by Rob MC$$iclc
Sprl.nq, 1990
�YOU OTTER BE THERE
Nlllnl World News Savice
"They're cu1e and cuddly. bul lhey're wild
animals, and they'll bi1e," says wildlife biologis1 Mike
Carraway. River OllcrS lllC once again making a saand in
the mountains and foothills of KatLiah's eastern slope.
Ouers have been released by b1olog1S1s mos1
rcccnlly in the Ca1awba River in Burke County. Plans
include future releases below Lake James near
Morgan1on. Oucrs were once bunted for lhe1r beautiful
fur eoais, and !hey have been absenl from Kn1uah since
lhe early I 900's.
Rcmuoduccd oners seem to be strongly
eslllblishcd in lhc Great Smoley Moun1ains. where they
have migrated over high ridges and through forests IO
slake oul new ierritones far from lhe1r original release
si1cs. As lite newly-rclcnsed ot1ers make !heir way
upsueam. 1bey wi ll pencira1e in10 01her mountain
wa1ersheds. Since Ibey are now proiecied from pell
huniers, ouers should be able to conunue !heir strong
comeback in K.aUiah·s walCrS.
Drawin& by Jomes Rhea
PROTECTING BLACK BEARS
OAK RIDGE ON TRIAL
NC SOLID WASTE BILL
N.nnl World News Savice
Nlllnl WOfld News Savice
Nllll.nl World News Scrvi<ie
On May 2, 1990 lhe NC Wildlife Resources
Commission will bold special public bearings on lhe
topic ol raising the minimum hunting limll for blaclt
bears from SO pounds IO 100 pounds. Thac will be two
hearings tba1 nigh!. one scheduled for 7:00 pm at lhe
Smokey Mountain High School in Sylva, Jackson Co.,
and anolhct at lhe same time a1 KinSIOll High School in
Lenoir, Caldwell Co.
The entire Sou1hem Appalachian black bear
population is estimaled a1 2000 bears. The number of
cubs born each year varies widely depending on lhe food
supply, bu1 averages approximately 200-300 cubs per
year. Given the legal kill of 300 bears each year and a
poaching ra1e llta1 is llto ugh1 10 equal lba1, lhe bear
population appears 10 be barely holding its own or even
declining at !his time.
Yc1 habi1a1 stresses such as loss of bard mast
production due to oak decline, damage from lite
oncoming invasion o f lhe gypsy molh, increased road
construction and use, and continued clcarcuuing promise
10 pu1 additional pressure on lhe existing black bear
population in lhc near fu1ure.
Research by wildlife biologists bas shown that
lhe average age of female bears being killed in the
moun1ains is between 3.5 and 4.6 years. The average
female docs no1 bear young until age four. For a creature
wilh a poiential hfe cxpcclllncy of 20 or more years, lltis
early age mortali1y drastically reduces reproductive
capabiluy and lltrcaiens lhe species' abilily 10 rebound
from babitn1 pressures.
There is much to be done to guaranlCC lhal lhe
black bear will forever roam lhcse mounLains. Raising
lhe minimum hunting limil for black bears 10 100
pounds is one measure lhlll is now up for deb:ue. Those
who arc willing IO speak up for lite black bear should
aucnd lhe special hearings on lhe evening of May 2.
Those who canno1 auend lite hearings can cornmunicale
lhc1r opinion to the:
NC Wildlife R~ Cornm1~~ion
S 12 N. Salisbury S1.
Raleigh, NC 27611
Renders may well remember lhe announcement
for the Hiroshima Day demonstration al Oak Ridge
(Ka1iiall Jow nal #2A). Over 700 people joined in diRc1
action io procesl lbc Oalt Ridge facili1y's manufacwring
of nuclear weapon components. Of lhe more lhan 700
demonstrators, 29 were ancsted for crossing lbc line a1
lhe galCS of lhe Y-12 plan! in a ges1ure of non-violent
confron1:11ion. Two of the 29 arrested, Bonnie Kendrick
and Kathy Brown, enlCICd a plea of "llOI guil1y• and an:
preparing for lhcir trial, which is scheduled for June 7.
The women hope their uial will successfully
ques1ion lbe morali1 of the manufac1
y
unng and
deploymem of nuclear wcnpons. They plan to focus on
lhc environmental problems associated willt bringing
these implemenis of ca1astrophic destruction into
The Staie of North Carolina approved new solid
wasie managemen1 policies a1 the las1 session or lite
General Assembly.
Legislation adopted SlalCS lltat lhe preferred
melhod for handling the swe's solid waste problems is IO
reduce waste volume al the source. Following tbal. the
nex1preferable mclhod is recycling and reuse. If malUials
caMOI be reused, then composting is lhe preferred
disposal SU'al.Cgy. The least-preferred melhods of disposal
arc ancincralion and landfill dumping.
The solid W8SIC managemen1 legislat.ion also SIClS
an objective for 25~ of the slalC's wasie IO be recycled
by 1993. Local governments lhroughoul 1he SIBIC are
required 10 institulC recycling programs by July of 1991
to help achieve this goal.
The legislation also stipulates lltal large plastic
containers will have 10 bear labeli ng indicating !heir
composition, in order to help in recycling. h bans the
sale of packag ing containing halogena1ed
chloronuorocarbons (CFC's) and polys1yrene food
containers effective Oc1ober I, 1991. II also stalCS lhai.
beginning in October 1990, used oil will noc be accepted
&1 landfills; by 1991, lead-acid b:wcrics will be forbidden:
and lh:ll, beginning in 1993, yard trash will no longer be
Sprl"'J, 1990
existence.
Kendrick and Brown will base !heir plea on the
grounds of necessily. and will bring up case histories
from the Nurcrnburg Trials. The defendants arc galhcring
evidence of Ibo radioactive and toxic dangers in lhe Oak
Ridge area. They also have cxpcn willlesses who will
verify lheir plea of lite neccssi1y for civil resis1ance.
Among the witnesses appearing will be Robert Aldridge,
who designed lbc missile delivery syslCm for lhe Triden1
11-05, bu1 is now an ardcnl anti-nuclear pcaoc activist.
Francis Anlhony Boyle, a professor of inLCmational law
and author of lhe book Defefldjng Civil RtsiJtanet Under
Inttrnaticnal Law will also take lhe Sland.
The women feel lba1 we canno1 afford to carry on
"business as usual" while industrial pollution and
weapons production lhrcaien lhe life cycles of lhe planet.
Unul the threat is stopped, !hey say, lhcre will be ever
more public ou1cry, and more trials lhal raise lhe
imponan1 quesuons of cnvironmentnl safely, communi1y
heallh, and moral responsibilily.
Anyone who i~ inLCrcslcd in rinding ou1 more
aboul 1h1S trial or wishCli to make a dona1ion to the
defense fund, please coniact:
Oak Ridge Envuonmenllll Pe:ice AllUlllCC
P.O. Box 1101
Knoxville, TN 37901.
8CCCplCd.
The solid was1e management bill also aulhoriz.es
suppon and training activity 10 help s1a1e agencies and
local governments fulrill lhe objectives of lhe new slalc
policies on solid wasLC. This will be 1mplcmcnLCd by the
NC Dcpartmenl of Environmeni. Health, and Natural
Resources and lhe Commission of Hcallh Services. II
also charges the NC Department of Economic and
Communi1y Developmen1 to assist in rinding and
developing markets for composlCd products and recycled
mmcria.ls.
Source: News/ti/tr of tht IVattr Resourcts
RtSearch lnslitutt of TM Unilitrsity <!North Carolina
�HEALING THE WHOLE SELF
These are the words of a traditional Cherokee medicine person...
Sometimes to understand something, it's necessary to
dissect it, to take it apan into pieces. Western culture does that
well. But they have become so expert with the parts that they
have forgotten how the pieces fit together as a whole.
Western medicine dissects people by seeing them as
spiritual, intellectual, emotional, and physical. But there is a unity
between those pans. If a person gets sick spiricually, and if he or
she ignores that, the imbalance will evencually show up in his or
her emotional and psychological make-up. And if that person
keeps building walls to avoid facing their problem, eventually it
will manifest itself on the physical being, where it will put the
person into such a situation that he or she can't ignore it
My grandfather used to say that what we call the common
cold isn't a sickness or a disease at all. It's the Spirit's way of
saying, "Stop! Slow down! Here's an opportunity to see what's
going on in your life."
When you have a cold, you feel too bad to go rush and run
about But if you take the time to sit down, examine your life,
and be really honest with yourself, as you come to some kind of
conclusions, that so-called "cold" or sickness will go away.
But not all sickness comes from the inside, because one
half of the world is eating the other half right now, and there's
viruses and bacteria and accidents that can happen to the body.
A part of well-being is to be spiritually strong,
psychologically and emotionally. You do that by not avoiding
things. You make peace with your mother and father, if they've
messed you over. You forgive them, and you forgive yourself
most of all, because of the bad feelings you had, because they
didn't meet your expectations, real or not real. You come to peace
with that You can come to peace with the other expectations that
have not been met in your life, and other people who turned out
to be not what you thought.
Then, if something attacks you, it's less likely to be
severe, and your recuperative powers will be much stronger.
We have been placed in this world to strengthen our spirit.
We are here to learn, to overcome, and to take responsibility for
being here. People who totally neglect their spirit, and do nothing
to carry out the purpose for which we are here are more likely to
be susceptible to those external things that attack us. They might
stop a bullet, be attacked by viruses or diseases. Of course
anybody who makes love continuously with someone who's got
AIDS is likely to get it. We still have to learn common sense, and
take care of our own selves on that basic level.
Then there's the mental part of ourselves that comes in two
pans: there's the up-front, linear/critical, intellectual mind, and
then there's the emotional part.
The linear/critical pan of our brain is very limited in its
function. Its job description is that it deals with problems. If it
doesn't have a problem, then it makes one. And 99 times out of
100, the problems that it creates are negative, because that part of
our brain only wants to solve things. The Creator gave us this
ability so we would have a better chance of survival, so we could
figure out how to keep a lion from eating us or how we were
going to survive this freezing winter. It's a gift The lion's got
his claws and teeth; we've got this conex. Solving problems is
what it does. So to be healthy, you have to present that pan of
your brain with a problem - a positive problem.
The other part of our mental self is the emotional part. This
pan contains all our emotional feelings, positive or negative. The
catch is that the linear/critical part of the brain acts as a
doorkeeper. It locks the door to bad news. It locks the door to
things it wants to avoid. If I mistreat someone, even if I know
it's not good to mistreat people and HnowT did it .wrongly, my
mind may not want to admit to that. lncidentstike thar stagnme in
my emotional mind. All the feelings that arose when other people
injured me or hun me, all the anger and frustration from incidents
that 1 have not yet resolved with myself, all of that is hidden
away in my emotional mind.
I cannot avoid those feelings, even if my linear/critical,
problem-solving brain doesn't want to hear about them. So if I
build walls around that stuff with my conscious mind, it waits
there until night-time when my defenses arc down, and then it
comes out through the back door, through my dreams.
To maintain spiritual health, resolve as many of those
things as you possibly can up front. That's hatd, but it makes it
easier if we recogniu that we are going to make mistakes in our
lives. All life is is an education. We arc here to learn from this
experience. But sometimes we punish ourselves our whole lives
for mistakes we have made.
As much as possible, we need to deal with all those
incidents and the feelings they raise consciously at the moment,
because what happens to us in our dream state is as real as what
happens in daylight, and it's just as important Deal with those
things and go on.
That is the way to be where your power is. Personal power
is when we stop and take responsibility for our own actions. We
have a tendency to blame other people for things we do or don't
do. We blame other people or events outside ourselves for most
of the things that happen to us - particularly the bad things.
Actually, most - not all, but most - of the good or bad that
happens in our life is dependent on our own level of attention and
caring. But as long as people relinquish their responsibility by
attributing events that happen in their own life to something or
someone else, then they will never have personal power. They
are giving it away.
Along with personal power go happiness, sadness, and joy
- all those things are our responsibility. They arc created
internally, not externally. My wife is not responsible for my
happiness or my sadness. rt is me. It is happening inside here.
This is where I create these responses to the circumstances of my
life.
SprLrM), 1990
I
�Most people walking around in the world are separated
from their power. Their power is far in the future, or their power
is the past dealing with regrets and pains, unfulfilled
expectations, a lack of love, or whatever else is troubling them.
The result is that, while they are right here, they have no power.
They are always ahead or they are always behind. because they
are waiting for a future opponunity that never comes, or their
energies are behind them dealing with yest.erday.
If those people had their power right here, they could deal
with things. The only place we can deal with things is in the
present. We cannot spend our lives behind or ahead. We have no
personal power if our power is not located in the present
Otherwise, life is a question of "Eat, shit, sleep, and die."
People like that are the same as one-celled creature. That kind of a
life is a waste of soil and energy. That kind of person can do
nothing.
The way of healing used by the old Cherokee medicine
men involved conjuring. Conjuring means manipulation.
"Manipulation" is a bad word in the dominant culture. You don't
say you manipulate people even if you do.
But manipulation is alright as long as it is used for the
benefit of the patient and not for one's personal benefit A good
conjurer never conjures for himself. If a medicine man conjures
for himself, avoid him, because he will manipulate a situation for
his own personal gain. If a medicine person charges you for
anything, he's profiting from the experience of another person's
suffering. Traditional native people won't have anything to do
with that kind of person, unless it's a maintenance-and-repair
doctor practicing western medicine. That's just the way those
doctors do it.
The old Cherokees used to say that the white doctors
caused disease. They knew it, because the doctors charged for
their help, and obviously they didn't wanr their patients to get
well. That was how they made their living.
There are three levels of conjuring or manipulation. People
use the elementary fonn of manipulation every day to get their
way. A man often uses bis manliness, bis male aggressiveness.
That touches primal instincts in women or children. When the
dominant male is rowdy, they have a deep programming that
prompts them to split for cover. If a woman wants to manipulate
a situation, she uses her feminine sexuality. Those are
oversimplified examples of conjuring. In actual life we do it
mucl\ more subtly.
There is a higher fonn of conjuring, and that is by using
knowledge. Understanding how things work allows one to
manipulate a situation. A lot of things that western doctors or
scientists do seem like magic to us, because we do not
comprehend the principles involved. It isn't magic to them,
because they understand how it works.
It operates in another manner as well. Everybody has
within themselves a force that I call the Physician Within. If a
healer or a conjurer has a deep understanding of people, he or she
can contact and activate the Physician Within inside their patient.
But it talces a great degree of understanding.
For example, I knew a young fellow once who fell off a
rock cliff and was badly hurt. He was carried to a bed and Jay
there, drifting in and out of consciousness.
A medicine man came and looked at him, and then came
over to us and said, "I don't think he's going to live. He's hurt
bad inside."
They called another medicine man, a really old guy. He
came over there. He talked with the first medicine man. Then he
went over there and studied the victim, looked him over. He
knew the boy well. knew his situation.
The old man leaned over and was talking to the victim for
quite some while. The young man started moving around a little
bit He moved his body, and after a while he sat up and was
looking around. He was weak, but that old man had provoked
the instinct to survive just by saying some words to him.
Spr""'J, t 990
It took me three years to find out what words the old man
had whispered to that boy. Finally the old man told me. What he
had said was, "Your best friend, Everett, is messing around with
your girlfriend. I know it. I've seen him slip in there a couple of
times, and before you die I want you to know that he's been
putting one over on you all this time."
It seems so simple when you know the secret. But that was
a powerful statement for that boy. It made him mad. The old man
understood that. He had a practical understanding of the laws of
nature. If he did not know what was said, a western doctor
would not have understood. He would have thought that the old
man had been using some form of magic.
We all have cenain requirements as human beings. We all
want warmth, we all require nurturing. It's just as imponant to us
as supper. We want that hugging, we want that gentleness. A
good healer understands these things. The better we understand
these instinctual requirements, the better we will be able to
understand other human beings, and the better we will
understand ourselves and why we do what we do.
The spiritual form of conjuring, which is the most
powerful and the hardest to explain, is when individual healers
pull their whole being together - they are not hindered by their
limitations, their human nature is not getting in the way, their
self-interest is not getting in the way, nothing is blocking their
potential - and then they arc able to hook into the power of the
whole universe, the One.
When it all comes down to equations, the answer is One there's but One, and we're a pan of that One. There is incredible
power in being able to move that energy into the patient. This
energy provokes the Physician Within to give the energy center a
boost when nothing else will. This is a direct transmission of Life
Force.
The old Chinese conception of the Tao is much like what I
call "medicine." In this sense "medicine" is something very
different from the way the western people mean it
There's yin and yang. We might be tempted to call them
"good" and "bad," but they refer to the pairing of any and all
opposite forces, whatever they are.
The two forces come together. They come close to each
other, but they never touch. One comes moves toward the center
and becomes dominant. It stays until it's fulfilled, and then it
pulls back. As it pulls back, the other one is pulled in. It's a
dance. Everything is moving. What moves that process is call~
the Tao. And the center, or the space between the two opposite
forces, is medicine.
When traditional healers study medicine, they study
everything in between the two opposite forces. Without that
action there is no life. My grandfather said, "God is the energy
that started movement Whatever started motion is God." And the
motion God started was this.
From that space in the center, we can tap into the energy of
the Whole. When we do it ceremonially, we can concentrate the
energy of a group of people on the healing process that needs to
happen. A group of people can create a powerful phenomenon
when they can stop their own personal self-indulgence, even for
one split second, and move collectively on the same issue. It
doesn't happen often anymore, but when it does, it is uplifting.
Things happen that defy the understanding of the rational mind.
There is an old saying, "Magic comes when all doubt has
been removed from the mind."
�DRUMMING
LETTERS TO KATUAH
Dear KatUah,
I was reading in the Wildlife in North Carolina magazine
about the Chestnut trees and I hadn't thought about them much,
but I think it would be nice to have some big ones around. I
saw your address in there and they said that you had an old
issue of the Ka!Uah JourNJJ, which was about the Chesmut
tree. I would like to get one if you have any more.
I live out in the country about ten miles from Statesville,
a couple of miles from the small town of Catawba. It is across
the river though in a differen1 county. Let us hope that the tree
can make a comeback.
James Ford
Editors' note: We were pleased and surprised to receive over
75 requests for the ChestllUl Issue due to that menti()n in
Wildlife in North Carolina .
Dear KanJah,
I was recently adopted into the Seneca Nation, and I'm
seeking information on the Seneca People. Their language,
dress, spirits, and everything else I can find out. I would also
like to receive information on KatUah JourNJ/ to be sent to my
fianccC who got me very enthused in researching Native
People. She enjoys collecting artifacts or anything that
resembles Indian an woric. While I helped build her collection I
became interested in the reading of the history. She is part
Indian, but I forgot the People. I am now in prison and me and
her went our separate ways before my arrest, but I have not
stopped caring for her or sending infonnation I uncover to help
her. I get out of here in 5 months, and hope the Great Spirit
will rejoin us once again. I would very much like you to send
her a subscription of your Journal as a gift from me. Please bill
me for it and I will cover the cost as soon as I can. There is a
friend on my dorm who is starting to receive your Journal, so I
will be sharing his. Please send me any information you can on
real books on the American Indian. Than.le you for your time
and help in this matter.
Sincerely,
Robert Stigleman
Dear Kazuah Journa.J,
I am writing to lei you know about the establishmen1 of a
new organization in South Carolina, the Action Research Forum.
Our aim in founding this group is to promote peace,
justice, and environmental pro1ection through research,
education, and communi1y-based action.
We are currently compiling information about effons in
the deep south to achieve greater social and economic justice , ro
end racism, and to protect the environmen1. We hope that your
organization will send us some of your recent pubhcations and
reports, and that you will add us to your mailing list so that we
may receive regular news of your work.
Jn exchange, we will spread the word as best we can about
your organii.ation through our resource listings, and we will keep
you up to date about our effons (we plan to have a newslener).
We also plan to eventually have enough funds to make donations
to organizations such as yours.
If you have any questions, please feel free to write us or ro
get in touch by phone.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Bill Hall
Dear KanJah,
Recently, on a trip to Georgia, I came across an issue of
the KmUah Journal. I was very excited to find a publication
with such infonnation. Though I don't live in the area, rm
interested in the information you are compiling.
I eventually plan to move, and I may well move to the
Southern Appalachians. I am interested in self-sufficient living,
organic farming (which I am doing now), and similarly minded
people who don't worship the microwavable, plastic shrink
wrapped, computerized world.
I've enclosed money for a year's subscription and two
back issues. If you would kindly send me addresses about
organjc farming and small self-sufficient communities in the
bioregion I would be much obliged.
May the Great Spirit bless you for doing such work,
Daniel Shoag
Action Research Forum
P.O.Box 176
Starr, S.C. 29684
(803) 352-2757
Dear Kanlah,
Your statement of purpose tingled my bells, and
scanning the sample copy you sent clinched it. Now I'll go sit
in the garden and read every word of the issue. But first, here's
my SI0.00.1 want to see more.
Blue Sky
Sprlcn(}. 1990
�STONESCAPE
Dark morning tangled with the mind A labyrinth by wind designed.
But like a storm the window of the eye,
Shattered a depth beyond the will to cry.
Pale light littered the rooftops with our grief.
The wonder of it mirrored in each leaf.
We saw ourselves in shadows of a chill
Flickering the stonescape of our will.
- Sandra Fowler
.>ear Katuah,
We have been fortunate enough to receive your paper from
a friend who lives near Washington, D.C., where it is more
available than in our area.
I was so happy to see your issue on children and wished to
comment specifically on the article "Binh Power" by Lucinda
Flodin and Manha Perkins. The predominant misconception is,
in this piece and others like it, that midwives, free of the
sociological trappings of organized medicine will permit women a
more natural embrace of birth as a life changing force. It is true
that midwives often permit a couple to birth more in the setting of
their choice-what appears as untruth is that they give parents back
their power.
Birth is the completion of a circle, a psychobioecosystem if
you will, as fragile and complex as the Gaia. This circle, begun
in the embrace of conception, requires no orchestration or
observation by a 'professional", either in its beginning, or in its
completion in the act of binh. Do it yourself homebirth, as
presented by Marilyn Moran in her 1st book, entitled the same,
and in her collected birth accounts, entitled. Happy Birth Days, is
the tuest form of empowerment. It is no wonder, considering our
socially promoted birth norms (from hospital technology to
midwife at home) that the world is seeing more and more divorce
and breach of commitment. Instead of Poppa caressing Momma,
and assisting the life of their love into the world, the father is
assigned some minimal position behind mother while either a
doctor cuts, or a midwife massages the mother's genitalia.
Through the binh of our first child we experienced such
transcendental communion, such ecstacy, such fulfillment as one
in the universe. This would have been impossible should anyone
else have been present besides my husband and myself.
Midwives do not give back power by assisting binh - they
would empower by providing prenatal care and encouraging
fathers to fulfill their position as soulmate and companion in the
act of binh. True empowerment comes through accepting
complete responsibility.
I would love to see this view presented in your journal.
Marilyn Moran is a wonderful and eloquent woman, who I am
sure would appreciate the opportunity of presenting our
conflicting view - should it be your policy to provide open forum
in this way. Her address is:
Marilyn Moran
c/o The New Nativity
P.O.Box 6223
Leawood, KS. 66206
Thanks for all the wonderful work you do!
Praying for Peace,
Teresa A. Rasmussen
Nore: The editors would like to caUJion couples to be aware of
safety considerations when considering undenalcing an
unassisted birth.
Sprl.nq, 1990
The Fourth Turtle Island Bioregional
Congress (NABC JV)
will be held August 19-26, 1990
at Lake Cobbosseecontee,
near Augusta, Maine
in the Gulf of Maine Bioregion.
Faced with the developing ecological
crisis, the Congress sees its mission as
deciding whether the bioregional
movement is to become a ''visible
and viable social/political/ cultural
transformational movement" (and
creating the bioregional and
continental organizing strategies to
fulfill that goal) or to be primarily a
philosophical concept that permeates
other movements for change.
The movement does not need to
further refine its resolutions.
Rather, it is time to apply these
principles in practice in our
bioregions and across the continent.
People from the Karuah Province
will be attending the NABC IV, so
please contact the Katuah journal
(Box 638; Leicester, NC; KatU.ah
Province 28748) if you are going, so
that we may coordinate
transportation and consider how we
will represent our region at the
Congress.
Mail Congress queries or registrations
to:
Turtle Island Bioregional Congress
Gulf of Maine Books
61 Maine St.
St. Brunswick, ME
Gulf of Maine Bioregion 04011
Places for the Congress are going
quickly, so register immediately, if
you are interested in attending this
important event. Registration is $175
for adults, $100 for children.
�ENVIRONMENT-AL PHOTOS
WOMEN'S INTERNATIONAL
LEAGUE FOR PEACE AND FREEDOM
The Spirit of the Wild
James Rhea's artwork that was the logo
for the "Restoring Biodiversity in the Southern
Appalachians" conference and the cover of Issue
25 of the KatUah Journal. is now available to all
as conference posters and T -Shirts.
The posters are beautiful, four-color 11 .. x
17" renditions of the native species portrait with
conference information below and are available
for $2.00.
The T-shins are heavy-d uty, all-conon,
silkscreened by Ridgerunner Naturals. Only
large and extra-large sizes remain. They are
available for $10.50.
Prices include postage. NC residents
please add 5% sales tax.
All proceeds from the sale of 1hese i1ems
will suppon rescue actions for native habitat in
the Southern Appalachian forest.
Order from: KRLRNU
Box 282; Sylva, NC
Katuah Province 28789
The Womens International League for Peace
and Freedom (WILPF) is 75 years old this year.
The group was organized in 1915 at the Hague,
Netherlands. It has been an interracial
organization throughout its history.
The League came about when more than
1,000 Women's Suffragist leaders from 12 nations
met at the Hague to mount a campaign to abolish
war. Jane Addams of the U.S. chaired that
Congress. The participants chose the name
'Women's International League for Peace and
Freedom' and resolved to work to end intervention,
promote disarmament, negotiate regional conflicts,
and work for peace and freedom by non-violent
means.
Those resolutions and our commitment to
undoing racism as an influence in our society still
form the basis of the programs of WILPF.
The Asheville Branch of WILPF meets for a
pot luck lunch on the third Saturday of each
month at 12:00 noon at the Friends Meeting House;
227 Edgewood Rd. (off Merrimon Ave). Join with
us.
For further information call Dorothy (704)
298-9082, Brita (704) 667-0287, or Mary Kay (704)
667-04630.
SEE "EVENTS" for details a bou t WILPF's?Sth
BIRTHDAY FUNDRAISER on APRIL 71
The Appalachian Environmental Arts
Center is issuing a call for environmental
photography to be entered in an Eanh Day
photography exhibit to open in Greeneville, SC
on April 22, 1990.
The exhibit is intended to bring attention
to abuses of the natural world as well as to
celebra1e !he environment
Complete details on photo categories and
entrance procedures may be oblained by writing
Gil Leebrick at !he Appalachian Environmental
Arts Ce nter; Drawer 580; Highlands, NC
28741 or calling (704) 526-4303.
THE BURNING QUESTION
...AND JUST WHAT IS A
YAPI??
A YAPI (Youth Advocating Planetary
Improvement) is a species of concerned and
aware high school student committed to making
beneficial changes on the planet.
The idea began in Highlands, NC. where
the Y API's have organized and publish their
own newspaper, Reflections, for others of their
ki nd. They stand for world peace, the
environment, and an end to world hunger.
Y API supporters or individual Y APl's
wishing to stan a new chapter can contact the
group at this address:
Youth Advocating Plane1ary Improvement
Box 2136
Highlands, NC
Katuah Province 28741
MYLES HORTON MEMORIAL
t!lti11ae .,4(11p1111e/11re
ul
Jler/111"1111 t!li11k
74 EAST OESTMJT SmEET
ASHEVIU.E. NC 29801
70t·251MIOIG
EU.EN Hlf'IES, M.Ac.. ~ M,
UC. .MU'UNCTURlST
HUMMINGBIRD
The career of Myles Horton, Jong-lime
radical activist and co-founder of the Highlander
Research and Education Center, ended with his
death early this year. Myles was well-known
nationally as well as regionally for his work in
the causes of labor organizing and civil rights.
Friends and admirers of Myles Horton will
gather at Highlander early in May for a memorial
service dedicated to his memory.
Any who arc interested in attending the
event may call Alissa Keny-Guyer at (615)
933-3443 for details.
Bulk I terbs, Spices, & Grains
Vitamins & Supplcnwn1s lf?!~faw
WhC<ll. Sall & Yeas1-Frf'C
1-cxxfs
Dair} Subs11tu1cs
I lair & Skin care
Natural Food Store
&Deli
160 Bl'Olldway
Asheville, NC 28801
Wher'9 BroedWlly 11*ts
Mlrrlmon Ave• ~240
OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK
Monday·Slllurd.y: 9 am·8pm
Sunday: 1pm-Spm
(704) ZSS.785&
_,
f]\iagei 'JWtt~r 'Natyr<\l~
130 N. Main Street
Waynesville. NC 28786 (704) 456-3003
'Tht' t\ft'';ffl';:
S~~~
Oldl'SI & Ull<WSI
N111urc11 FoocLs Gmn•n(
704-264-5220
200 W. Klng St. Boone, NC
3 Bloclts from Campus
SprincJ. l 990
�€V€0t'S
18-2 1
BLACK MOUNTAIN, NC
The Black Mountain Festival.
Traditional and folk music weekend with Tim
and Molly O'Brien, Ethel Kathy Austin (black
vocal), Liz Carroll (fiddle) wilh guitarist Daithi
Sprouce, Figgy Duff, Harry and the Cajuns,
The Buzzard Rock String Band, Summe.r
Puppetry Caravan, more. Ans and crafts
festival, 5/21-24; contemporary and international
music weekend, 5!25-Zl (see lhose dates). Cost:
$12/day on weekends (vehicle camping $5
extra); $40 for weekend w/ tent camping or
bunks; $5/day Mon.-Thurs. For more info;
Grey Eagle and Friends; Box 216; Black
Mountain, NC 28711.
MARCH
WESSER, NC
Nanl.3hala lnlCmalional River Rally. Paddlers
from the Soviet Union and Othct countries will compete.
Sponsored by Nanlllhala Outdoor Center. Call fOC' dclails:
(7().1) 488·217S.
I S-26
17
ASHEVILLE, NC
Shadow puppet workshop and demonsll'ation
for children 7 and up with Hobie Ford and the Goldenrod
Puppeis. 10:30-11:30. Free.
22-23
BROWNS SUMMIT, NC
Lex Mathews Conference on Theology and
EnvironmenL Keynote: Thomas Berry. $25. Call The
LMd Stewardship Council (919) 821-4391.
19
GREAT SMOKIES PARK
"Forests and Trees of the Smokies." Visiting
lhe various forest associations of the Great Smokies.
S25. Sec 4/21.
2A
ARDEN, NC
"Bringing A Course in Miroclts into
Application," workshop with Aliana Scurlock at Unity
Center of Arden. 10 am • 4 pm. $65. Write: Dr. Frank
Trombcua; 671 Balsam Rd.; Hendersonville. NC 28739.
25-27
25
SWANNNANOA, NC
Willaru Huayu, lncan spiruual messenger
from Cuzco, Peru, will speak on lncan prophecy and
spirituality at The Earth Center; 302 Old Fellowship
Rd.; Swannanoo, NC 28776 (7().1) 298-3935.
28
Brevard, j\IC
The Traveling Ecological Road Show
featuring lhe YAPl's, hjgb school students for the
environment, at Brevard Episcopal Chun:b, 6:30 pm. For
information, call: (7().1) 526-92482.
21-22
GREAT SMOKIES PARK
"Wilderness Wildflowers.• Two-day
instructional wildflower identilicat.ion. Easy 8-milc hike,
camping. $50. Coniact Smoky Mountain Field School;
University of Tennessee Non.Credit Programs; 2016
Lake Ave.; Knoxville, TN 37996 (800) 284-8885.
APRIL 22 IS EARTH DA y THROUGHOlJf
THE KATUAH PROVINCE· SEE SPECIAL
PULL-OUT SECTION, PAGE 15, FOR DETAILS
APRIL
7
JOHNSON CITY, TN
"Wizard of the Wind," an environmental
fairytale, and shadow puppet workshop on dental care.
Museum BClmission fee. For info, call: (615)928-6508.
7
ASHEV ILL E, NC
Fundraiscr Concert fOC' International League
fOC' Peace and Freedom with David Wilcox. Joe and Karen
Holbert, Womansong. Jubilee Center. S7. Call (7().1)
298-9082.
HOT S PRINGS, NC
"Daily Life as Spiritual Practice," four-day
Zen retreat wilh Cheri Huber. Sl60. For more info,
write: Southern Channa Retreat Center. Rt. I, Box
34-H; Hot Springs, NC 28743.
23
ASHEVILLE, NC
The Tra veling Ecologicnl Road Show
featuring lhc YAPl's, high school students for lhc
environment.. at lhe Asheville School. For info, call
Evereu Gourley (7().1) 254-6345.
TUXEDO, NC
"National Forest Service Reform The Time l s Now!" Randal OToole, J eff
DeBonis, David Wilcove, Leon Minckler, Ned
Fritz, panels, field trips. Camp Green Cove.
Registration; $10. Meals and lodgi ng; $49. For
more info, call Western North Carolina AUiance.
(704) 258-8737.
2.S-27
BLACK MOUNTAIN, NC
Block Mountain Festival contin ues!
Contemporary and international music with Leon
Redbone, Ephlat Mujuru (mbira player from Zimbabwe),
Aor de Gana (Latin band), Lucy Blue Tremblay, Stark
Raven wilh lhe Twister Sisters (folk rock), White Boys
in Trouble, Goldenrod Puppets, more. See 5/18-20.
26-28
MADISON, VA
"Woman/Earlh/Spiri1 • gathering on
feminine spirituality. $210. For info, contaec Sevenoaks
Pathwork Center. RL I, Box 86; Ma<lison, VA 22727
(703) 948-6554.
MAY
JUNE
4..S
17-22
HELEN, GA
"The River Cane Rendezvous," the
Eastern Eanh Skills Gathering for 1990. Jim
Riggs (wilderness skills advisor for Cla11 of the
Cave Bear), Darry Wood, Snow Bear, Steve
Wans, Scott Jones, Eva Bigwitch, and Eddie
Bushyhead and other practitioners of aboriginal
ans will teach flintknapping, firemaking, plant
lore, native hide-1anning, split cane basketry,
primitive weapons and tools, and more.
Pre-rcgis1er: $125. Contact Bob Slack; Unicoi
State Parle, Helen, GA 30545 (404) 878-2201.
Sprlnq, 1990
5
FRENCH BROAD WATERS HED
Clean Streams Day • clean-up effons
throughout lhe French Brood River wniershcd. For info:
Transylvania Co.· Rich Fry (7().1) 884-3156
Henderson Co. · Jim Volk (7().1) 684-1423
Buncombe Co. ·Quality Forward (7().1) 254-1 TI6
Madison Co.· Jane Morgan (7().1) 689-5974
1·3
HOT SPRINGS, NC
"Non-Duality and Social Awareness"
workshop wilh Catherine Ingram. WOC'kfog for social
change while living in an understanding of non-duality.
SIOO. Southern Dharma Retreat Center. See 4/4-8.
5
GREAT SMOKIES PARK
"Geologic Evoluuon of the Great Smokies.•
Learn the language of the rock record to lnlCC the history
of the Smokies from one billion years ago. Dr. Don
Byerly, instruct0r. $25. See 4/21.
10
ASHEVILL E, NC
Matthew Fox of Lhc Center for Creation
Spirituality to spcalc ot Jubilee Center, 46 Wall SL. For
more info, call: 252-5335.
Drawin& by Susan Adam
NOTE: Tlie Founh North American Bioregional
Congress (NABC N) will be held August
19-26, 1990 at Lake Cobbosseecontee in the
Gulf of Maine Bioregion. Those who want to
attend should register immediately, as space is
filling up fast. See page 27 for details.
J{.Qt.Ucih Journot JXlCJll 29 •
�SUMMER
CAMP,
July
9th
thru
20th.
EnVironmeoaal ICtivitica sbated with die Eanh, plus
swimming, hilciq, bones, locs or run. Send
brochure to: Cllnp Wildlirc in the Meadow; lobo
IDd Dory Brown; RL l, Box 184-B; Hot Springs,
NC28743.
ror
DREAM TABLE GROUP on Western Carolina
University campus. Cullowhee, NC. Next meetings
Jn.2, 3/l9, 4/S. For more infomwlon, call Joyce
Prcwiu al (704) 293-5403.
RA WKWIND
RENEW AL
JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES (Sunroots)
organically grown • to eat or as seed tubers for
spring. contact Sicvco Knopp; S06 Menimon Ave.;
Asheville, NC 23g04 (704) 2S8-2S86 or (704)
682-3573.
EARTH
CO-OPERATIVB • g7 8Cre primitive rweat IDd
working community rarm in northern Alabama
mountains, j ust 1 lS miles nonhwest or ~ta.
Classes on alternative lifestyles and Nauvc
American philosophies. Earlh Renewal gatherings
planned on a quancrty basis. Facilities availiible for
private organizational use. For craft catalog or
schedule of events, call (20S} 635-6304.
SPIRITUAL PERSONAL ADVICE. Correspond
with your Native Gnndfather. All questions
addressed Crom Medicine Pctspcctivc. No charge
ever. SASE with teuer to: Blue Sky; Box S387;
Largo, Fla. 34649.
ADVENTIJRES FOR EVERYONE· Backpacking,
canoeing llama ltddting in the NC mountains, SC
barrier ~lands. Congaree Swamp. Families wi!11
young children and seniors wclcoc_ne • ~ w~
cany your gear. For moce informatson wnte: Magitt
TrUs; P.O . Box 6876; Columbia, SC 29Ui0.
MIND MAPPING • on-going classes in wriuen
ICChniquc integrating right and lei\ hemispheres Of
the brain. Groups and organizations welcomed. Call
Catherine Faherty at (704) 298-0077.
BIODYNAMICALL Y GROWN Corn seed.
Mi.n i-pops to giant fallers. Varieties for no-till
without herbicides , and for compost rather lhan salt
fertilization. For caialog plcau send SASE to:
Union Agricultural Institute, Rt. 4 Box 463S,
Blairsville, GA 30Sl 2.
WOODSCRAFT • Seeking to correspond with
persons interested in primitive woodscraft s~ills
such as, bow/drill rirc-making, t rackang,
snarc/deadraJ I trapping, cic. Have auended Tom
Brown's basic class. l.T. Garrison; RL 4, Box 667;
Spring City, TN 373g1.
ORGANIC HONEY · Tulip Poplar, Sowwood and
Wildflower. From Palrick County, Virginia. For a
4-oz. sample of out premium sourwood and our
catalog, send $4 to: Wade Buckholts cl Megan
Phillips; Route 2, Box 24g; Stuart, VA 24171.
(703) 694-4S71
I AM LOOKING FOR A POSITION with an
environmental awareness/action organization in
Asheville or neaiby. Prefer pan-time, beginning In
summer or fall 1990. Please contact laneicc Ray;
RL I , Box 1gg.J; Quincy, FL 323S l (904)
442-6474.
CREATION SOAP- hand-crafled herl>al soaps from
the Blue Ridge Mountains. Rose IDd lavender soaps,
moisturizing bar, shampoo/conditionct bar. Contact
Anna: RL 1, Box 278; Blowing Rocle, NC 2860S
(704) 262-2321.
YOGA FOR AU. AGES- Ongoing classes in the
Asheville area, workshops for groups, and private
sessions. Give yourself the gin or wellness and
peace. For more infonnation call Bonnie Kelly
(704) 254-869g,
WHITE CANVAS MATERI AL • 42 yards of 12 oz.
unused canvas, 6 ft. wide. Enough ror a full-size tipi
or very large tenL Cost $380. Wilt sell for $220.
(704) 29g.7639, Asheville.
SEERSUCKER BABY SUNG, with colonul beads
auachcd for baby's tccthing pleasure securely nestles
newborn through young child. For immediate
delivery, send $ 12.00 and parental shin size (S·XL)
to COZY CRADLES; P.O. Box 514; Tahlequah,
OK 74465.
SKYLAND • tog on lO lhe computer bulletin boanl
of the Smokies. Networking, plus news on the
environment, nature photography, games, computer
utilities, much more. Coniact Michael Havelin,
sySOp, (704) 254-6700.
MOUNTAIN DULCIMERS • made of black
walnut, red cherry, or maple. Tops available in
wormy chestnut, butternut. sweetgum, sassafras.
western cedar and other woods. Contael: Miu
Dulcimer Company; RL 2, Box 288; Blountville,
TN 37617 (615) 323-8489.
MlNl-FARM with beautiful mountain views. IS
acres: tn. woods, ln. fenced pastures. Modem
2-story Log House. 45 min. to Asheville. Please
contact: Pat Palmer: 409 N. Trade SL; Tryon, NC
28782.
90 ACRE MOUNTAIN PARADISE • We arc
seeking environmentally conscious buyers lO share
and help protect a unique cl beautiful ttact of land.
Call (704) 258-2586 or (704) 682-3S73.
RHYTHM ALIVE • Handcrafted African-style
Drums, workshops, learning iapcs, drum bags • and
.
accessories. Please send SASE to Rhythm Alive!;
SS Phenix Cove Rd.; Weaverville, NC 28787 (704)
645-3911.
NEW AGE COMMUNITY FORMING on 57 acres
of land. Located on sacred Cherokee Stone
Mountain. Visions of healing the earth cl our
children. Contact Sue Ann Ritter; Rt 2, Box 314;
Vilas, NC 28692.
CONSCIOUS COUPLE cl infant, wish to
lcam/wolt on organic £arm for housing + stipend
OR Clrelake a ~dence on acreage. Very comrniled
and sincere. Contacc Dan & Bast> Umberger; 347
Sinclair Ave. N.E.; Atlanta, GA 30307 (404)
Sll-2971.
VEGETA.RIA.N
MASTERPIECES •
tacto-vegetarian cookbook designed to provide
recipes for Slandard rare as well as gourmet dishes.
Over 300 recipes. Spiral bound, 403 pp. $ 14.9S ppd
from: 2122 Forest Dr.; Owloltc, NC 28211.
ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE LANDSCAPING SERVICE • Lawn maintenance, trees,
shrubs, nowc.cs cl edibles. Organic. Patrick Clark,
254-8116.
NATURAL CHILDBIRTH CLASSES specializing
in the Bradley Method. Classes are small. and
include nutrition physiology, consumcnsm,
parenting skills, and relaxation and labor suPP?"'
techniques. For mon:: infonnation cal~ or wme
Maggie Sachs; 808 Florida Ave.; Bnstol. TN
37620. (6 lS) 764-2374.
ASTROLOGICAL CHART with aspect grid and
key to astrological symbols. Send SIO, SASE, and
birthdate (mo/day/yr), binhlime (00:00 AM/PM},
and birthplace (city, state} to Sw Charts; P .0. Box
18205; Asheville, NC 28814.
NEW AGE GROUP forming. Emphasis on spirit
and out coMection to Mother Earth, visualizing
positive growth and nurturing. Contact: Theresa
Carlson; 7501 Rule Rd.; Knoxville, Tiii 37920.
MOCCASINS, handcrafted of clkhide in the
traditional Plains Indian style. Water-resistant,
rcsoleable. and rugged - great for hiking! Children's
and infant sizes available. Contact: Pauick Clark;
Earth Dance Moccasins; Box 931; Asheville, NC
28802 (704) 254-8116.
RECYCLED PAPER! • Directory of products
sources for the southeast. Suggested donation S 1.00
to Western North Carolina Alliance, PO Box
18087, Asheville, NC 28814 (704) 258-8737.
WEBWORKING is free. Send submissions to:
Drawing by Rob M~slclt
KotUah Journal
P.O. Box 638
Leicester. NC
K:uUah Province 28748
Sprl.nq, t 990
�The KatUah Journal wan rs to communicate your thoughrs and
feelings to the other people in the bioregional province. Send them
to us as letters, poems, stories, articles. drawing~ . or phowgraphs,
etc. Please send your conrriburiollS to 1LS at: Kattiah Journal; P. 0 .
Box 638, Leicester, NC; Kattiah ProvirLCe 28748.
Issue 28 of Lhe Karuah Journal (Summer, '90) will take up
the topic of "Carrying Capacity" and the burgeoning impact of the
human presence and human technology in the mountains. lf we are
to continue after the last industrial smoke-cloud and past the end of
real estate, we have to apply this important ecological principle to
our own selves.
Articles deadline: April 25 - Editorial meeting: May 12 Layout: June 2 until...
"Water ls Life" is a principle with which we are all familiar.
Issue 29 of the Kat"'1h Journal will concern itself with water and
watersheds in the Southern Appalachians - the blessing of water,
how it affecLs the lives of all of us who live here, and what we can
do to protect iL
BACK ISSUES OF KATUAH JOURNAL AVAILABLE
ISSUE THREE · SPRINO 1984
Sustainable Agncultutc - Sunnowcrs • Human
lmpacl on the ForcJI · Children.I' Educalion
Veronica Nicholu:Woman in Polilics • Liule
People • Medicine Allies
ISSUE FOUR · SUMMER 1984
W11cr Drum Wa1er Quali1y . Kudzu - Solar
Eclipse • Clcucutung • irout • Ooing io W11a
Ram Pumps · Microhydro · Poems: Bennie
Lee Sinclair. Jim W aync Millu
ISSUE AVE · FALL 1984
Harvest • Old Ways in Cherokee • Oinseog •
Nuclear Wu1c • Our Celtic Heritage •
Biorcgionalism: Past, Present. and Furure •
John Wilno1y • Healing Darkness • Politics of
Participation
ISSUE SIX · WINTER t984-8S
Winiu Solslice Earth Ceremony • Honcpasturc
Rivu • Conilng of the Light • Log Cabin
Rooca • Mountain Agricullurc: The Righi Crop
• William Taylor . The Furureoflhc Forest
ISSUE SEVEN · SPRINO 1985
Suslllnlblc Economics • Hot Springs - Worker
Ownenhip • The Orcat llconomy • Self Help
Credit Union • Wild Turkey • RcspoNiblc
Investing • Working m the Web of Life
ISSUE EIOHT · SUMMER 198S
Celebration: A Way of Life • Ka1l1ah 18.000
Years Ago • Sacred SilU • Folk Arts in lhc
Schools • Sun Cycle/Moon Cycle • Poems:
Hilda Downer · Cherokee HeriLage Center·
Who Owns Appalachia?
ISSUE NlNE · FALL 1985
The Waldee Forest • The Trees Spcalr.
Migrallna Forais • Horse Logging • Starting a
Tree Crop • Urben Trca • Al:«n Bread - Myth
Time
ISSUE TEN . WINTER 1985-86
Kate Rogers • Circles of Stone • internal
Mylhmaking • Holistic Healing on Trial ·
Poems: Sieve K.nauth • Mythic Places • The
Uk1cna·s Talc • Crystal Magic •
"Drcamspcaking.
ISSUE EIOIITEEN . Winier 1987-88
Vernacular ArchilCCrure . Dreams in Wood and
Stone • Mountain Home • Earth Energies •
Earth.Sheltered Living • Membrane Houses Brush Shelter • Poems: Oc1obu DMSk • Oood
Medicine: "Shcl1cr"
ISSUE TWENTY-THREE - Spring. 1989
Pisgah Village • Planet Art • Orecn Chy •
Poplar Appeal • "Clear Sky" • •A New Earlh"
Black Swan • Wild Lovdy Days • Reviews:
Sacred Land Sacred Sex, Ice Age • Poem:
"Sudden Tendrils"
ISSUE ELEVEN · SPRJ.NO 1986
Community Planning • Ci1ies and the
'Biorcg1onal Vision • Recycling - Community
Olldcrun&· Floyd County, VA • Ouobol •
Two Bioregional Views • Nuclear Supplcment
Fo.Uue Oames · Good Medicine: Visions
ISSUE NINETEEN · Spring, 1988
Pcrelandta Carden · Spring Tonics - Blueberries
WildOo wCT Oarden.s • Oranny Herbalis1 •
Rower Eucnces • "The Origin or the Animals;
SIOry • Good Medicine: "Power'" - Be A Tree
ISSUE TWENTY-FOUR · Summer. '89
Deep Lis1ening · Life in Aiomic City . Direct
Aclionl · Tree of Peace • Community Building
Peacemakers • Elhnic Survival • Pairing
PTOp:t • "Baulesong" - Crowing Peace ill
Cllltures · Review: TMCMUceOJtd IN Blode
ISSUE THIRTEEN · Fall 1986
Ccniu For Awakening • Elizabeth Callari • A
Ocnllc Dealh • Hospice • Ernest Morgan •
Dealing Creatively with Death • Home Burial
Box • The Wah • The Raven Mocker •
Woodslorc and Wildwoods Wisdom - Oood
Medicine: 'Tlic Sweal Lodge
lSSUE FOURTEEN · Winter 1986-87
Uoyd Carl Owle • BoogCTS and Mummen • All
Species Day • Cabin Fever Univenity •
Homeless in Kalolah • Homemade Hot Water
Siovemaker's Narrative • Oood Medicine:
lnu:rspccies Communication
ISSUE TWENTY · Summer. 19&&
Prcsctve Appalachian Wildcmcss . Highlands
of Roan • Celo Community • Land Trust •
Arthur Morgan School • Zoning Issue - 'The
Rid8c" • Farmers and the Farm Bill • Oood
Medicine: "Land" • Acid Rain • Duke's Power
Play • Cherokee Microhydro Project
ISSUE TWENTY.ONE · Fall. 1988
Chcs1nuis: A Natural History • Restoring the
Chestnut · "Poem of Preservation and Praise"
Continuing the Quest • Forats and Wildlife
Chestnuts in Regional Diel - Chestnut
Resources - Herl> Note • Oood Medicine:
"Changes lO Come" · Review: Where ugmd.s
Uve
ISSUE AFT'EEN · Spring 1987
Coverleu • Woman Forester • Susie McMalw\
Midwife • Allemativc Contraception •
Biosexualily • Bioregionalism and Women •
Cood Medicine: Malri.vchal Culture · Pearl
ISSUE SlXTE.llN - Summer 1987
Helen Waite • Poem: VisioN in a Oarden •
Vision Quest • Firll Flow • Initiation •
Leaming in lhe Wilderness • Chcrokeea
Olallengc . "Valuing Trca"
~UAttJOURNAL
For more info: call Rob Messick at (704) 754-6097
Name
City
Regular Membership........ $10/yr.
Sponsor.........................$20/yr.
Contributor.....................$50/yr.
Area Code
Spr LrMJ, 1990
State
Enclosed is$
to give
this effort an exrra bOost
Zip
I can be a local contact
person for my area
Phone Number
..
".,
....
lSSUllTWENTY..SDC- WINTER. 1989·'90
Coming of Age in the E<iotoic Eta • Kids
Saving Rainforest - Kids Tree.cycling CornpMy
• Conllict Resolution • Developing the Crcativ&
Spirit • Dinh Power • Dinh Bonding • The
Magic of Puppetry • Home Schooling • Narnint
Ceremony • Mother Earth's Classroom •
Oatdening for Childrcra
ISSUE TWENTY-TWO · Winter, '&&-89
Olobal Warming • f'tre This Time • Thomas
Betry on "Bioregions" • Eanh Excteisc • Kor6
Loy McWhirw • An Abundance of Emptiness
LETS • Chroniclea of Floyd • Oury Wood
The Bear Clan
Box 638; Leicester, NC; KatUah Province
Address
ISSUE TWENTY -FIVE • F.All., 1989
The Orcat Forest . Restoring Old OroWlh •
Regional Planning - Timber - Forest Roads
Poem: "Sparrow Hawk" - A Place for Bean
"There Fell the Rain Healing" · Eastern
Panther • Oak Decline • People and Habitat
Wild Sanctuaries · BllUI" Fair
28748
Back Issues
Issue # _ @ $2.50 = $_ _
Issue# _ _@ $2.50 = $ _ _
lssue# _@$2.50= $ _ _ ·
Issue#_@ $2.50 = $ _ _
Issue# _ _@ $2.50 = $_ _
Complete Set (3-11, 13-16,
18-26)
@ $40.00 = $_ _
postage paid
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians Records
Description
An account of the resource
<em>Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians</em>, later simplified to <em>Katúah Journal</em>, was published from 1983 to 1993. A quarterly publication, it was focused on the bioregion of former Cherokee land in Appalachia. <br /><br /><span>The early issues of the journal explain the meaning of the Cherokee name, </span><em>Katúah</em><span>, and why the editors wanted to view the world through a bioregional lens, rather than political boundaries. A volunteer production, the editors took a holistic view in tackling social, environmental, mental, spiritual, and emotional topics of the day, many of which are still relevant. </span><br /><span><br />The <em>Katúah Journal</em> was co-founded by Marnie Muller, David Wheeler, Thomas Rain Crowe, Martha Tree and others who served as co-publishers and co-editors. Other key team members included Chip Smith, David Reed, Jay Mackey, Rob Messick and many others.</span><br /><br />This digital collection is only a portion of the <em>Katúah</em>-related materials in the W.L. Eury Appalachian Collection in Special Collections at Appalachian State University. The items in AC.870 Katúah Journal records cover the production history of the <em>Katúah Journal</em>. Contained within the records are correspondence, publication information, article submissions, and financial information. The editorial layouts for issues 12 through 39 are included as are a full run of the Journal spanning nearly a decade. Also included are photographs of events related to the Journal and a film on the publication.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
This resource is part of the <em>Katúah Journal Records </em>collection. For a description of the entire collection, see <a href="https://appstate-speccoll.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/937" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Katúah Journal Records (AC. 870)</a>.
Rights
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The images and information in this collection are protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U. S. C.) and are intended only for personal, non-commercial, and educational purposes, provided proper citation is used – i.e., Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians Records, 1980-2013 (AC.870), W. L. Eury Appalachian Collection, Special Collections, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC. Researchers are responsible for securing permissions from the copyright holder for any reproduction, publication, or commercial use of these materials.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1983-1993
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
journals (periodicals)
Language
A language of the resource
English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
<em>Katúah Journal</em>, Issue 27, Spring 1990
Description
An account of the resource
The twenty-seventh issue of the <em>Katúah Journal</em> focuses on holistic healing: personal and planetary. Authors and artists in this issue include: Richard Lowenthal, David Wheeler, Sam Gray, Doug Aldridge, Rob Messick, Stephen Wing, Lisa Sarasohn, Snow Bear, James Rhea, Kim Sandland, Sandra Fowler, and Susan Adam. <br><br><em>Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians</em>, later simplified to <em>Katúah Journal</em>, was published from 1983 to 1993. A quarterly publication, it was focused on the bioregion of former Cherokee land in Appalachia. The early issues of the journal explain the meaning of the Cherokee name, Katúah, and why the editors wanted to view the world through a bioregional lens, rather than political boundaries. A volunteer production, the editors took a holistic view in tackling social, environmental, mental, spiritual, and emotional topics of the day, many of which are still relevant.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1990
Table Of Contents
A list of subunits of the resource.
Personal and Planetary Transformation: A Holistic Model of Healing by Richard Lowenthal.......1<br /><br />The Healing Power by David Wheeler.......4<br /><br />Peace to Their Ashes by Sam Gray.......6<br /><br />Healing in Katúah by Doug Aldridge........9<br /><br />"When Left to Grow": A Poem by Rob Messick.......10<br /><br />"Calling to the Ancestors, Calling Our Relations": Poems by Stephen Wing........11<br /><br />The Belly by Lisa Sarasohn.......12<br /><br />EARTH DAY 1990!!: A special pull-out supplement.......15<br /><br />Food From the Ancient Forest by Snow Bear.......19<br /><br />Natural World News.......20<br /><br />Good Medicine.......24<br /><br />Drumming: Letters to Katúah Journal.......26<br /><br />Events.......29<br /><br />Webworking.......30<br /><br /><em>Note: This table of contents corresponds to the original document, not the Document Viewer.</em>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
<em>Katúah Journal</em>, printed by The <em>Waynesville Mountaineer</em> Press
Subject
The topic of the resource
Bioregionalism--Appalachian Region, Southern
Sustainable living--Appalachian Region, Southern
Cherokee mythology
Holistic medicine
Health resorts--Appalachian Region, Southern
Alternative medicine--North Carolina, Western
Mind and body
Wild plants, edible--Appalachian Region, Southern
North Carolina, Western
Blue Ridge Mountains
Appalachian Region, Southern
North Carolina--Periodicals
Language
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English
Type
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Text
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<a href="https://appstate-speccoll.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/937"> AC.870 Katúah Journal records</a>
Rights
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<a title="In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted" href="https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/?language=en 8" target="_blank"> In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted </a>
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Appalachian Region, Southern
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
<a title="Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians" href="https://omeka.library.appstate.edu/collections/show/79" target="_blank"> Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians </a>
Format
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PDF
Journals (Periodicals)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1990s
Appalachian History
Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Studies
Bioregional Congress
Black Bears
Cherokees
Ecological Peril
Education
Electric Power Companies
Folklore and Ceremony
Forest Issues
Good Medicine
Habitat
Hazardous Chemicals
Health
Katúah
Plants and Herbs
Poems
Radioactive Waste
Reading Resources
Recycling
Stories
Turtle Island
Western North Carolina Alliance
Women's Issues
-
https://omeka-test.library.appstate.edu/files/original/c5ee330c977312a17d828d214a7916e6.pdf
05640bd372243437e62e080e13bbb8ac
PDF Text
Text
ISSUE 32 FALL 1991
$1.50
�Drawina by Rob M~siclt
~UAHJOURNAL
PO Bo:,,. 638
Leicester, NC
Katuah Province 28748
Printed on recycled paper
Postage Paid
Bulk Mail
Permit #18
Leicester, NC
28748
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED
�CONTENTS
Bringing Back !he Fire................. .
by David Wheeler
A Bil of Mountain Levity.................
by Barbara Wickersham
5
Climax Never Came.......................
by Henry Wender
7
ls the Southern Appalachian
Ecosystem Endangered?..................
by John A. Freeman
9
'Talking Leaves": Sequoyah............ 10
by Tom Underwood
Green Spirits: Seed Saving .............
by lee Barnes
12
Walking Dis1a11ce.........................
by Will Ashe Bason
13
Angle: Environment......................
by lvo Ballentine
13
Good Medicine: ..........................
14
Poem: "A Rotting Log"..................
by Brownie Newman
15
THEGRANOLAJOURNAL..........
16
Livin' By Their Wits
recorded by Rob Messick
An Old Family Tale
by Bess Harbison
BRINGING BACK THE FIRE
The Slide
by Rob Messick
Recorded by David Wheeler
How Can You Lose Anything as Big
as This Ego?
by Maxim Didge,
Paintings: "Mountain Stories".......... 18
by Robert Johnson
Natural World News.....................
20
Dying Soils, Dying Waters.............
by Emmelt Greendigger
22
Songs in lhe Wilderness.................
by Char/011e Homsher
24
500 Years of Resistance!................
by Emmell Greendigger
25
Save James Bay..........................
25
Drumming.................................
26
Off the Grid: Solar Ovens... ,...........
by Dennis Scanlin
29
Events.....................................
32
\Vcbworklng..............................
34
Ka11fah Konfusion.......................
35
foff, 1991
While Walker Calhoun is II/JI the only
person working ro keep alive the old
Cherokee practices and values, he is
definitely one of the people most dedicated to
restoring the traditional ways. When he
speaks of "the Fire," he means the spark of
life irself. and also the spirit behind the
Cherokee spiriwal life • so strong in this
region until even JOO years ago. But, like the
Cherokee white flour corn that was
cross-fertilized with the white people's
Yellow Dent \•aricty, Walker's spiriwal way
also shows traces of the white people's
Christian religion.
\Vhen I drove 11p 10 Walker's house, he
was sitting by a small fire in the side yard.
He had a ra1: wrapped around one pa111/eg,
and he was Ito/ding lo11g pieces ofriver ca11e
over rite blaze until tltcy became pliable. then
s1raigluenin1: them across his leg to make
blowgu11s.
lie stood to greet me. He was a slight
111011 with a ready smile that showed the worn
nubs of a few teeth.
"let's sit 011 the porch," he said. "It's
too hnt to work around this fire anymore."
I showed him a copy of rite Kattiah
Journal and, ofter consideri11g it a mmure.
without further prompting he began talking ..
Walker Calhoun: Katuah - that's the
name of the tribe. We're not the Cherokee.
When lhey wrote a history, they called us the
Cherokee, but really we're the Katuah tribe.
They've got the Katuah Band in Oklahoma,
and lhe Katuah Medicine Society out there.
That's our religion· lhe Cherokee religion·
the Katuah Society.
I'm supposed 10 put the sign up at our
stomp grounds we have just a.cross the river
up here in Big Cove... the name is the Raven
Rock Nighthawk Ceremonial Grounds ·
Katuah Society. We have dance there every
month on the last Saturday. In August we
have a big celebration • a Green Com
Celebration. We have a big time.
I was chosen to bring lhe Everlasting
Fire back here to the Eastern band. The
reason they picked me was because I was the
only one keeping our culture and heritage
from disappearing. That's why they chose
me to bring the Fire back where ii belongs.
I didn't know much about the Fire until
three or four years ago. Two men from
Oklahoma came and told me. We were sining
right here, and these two men came. They
mentioned Katunh. One asked me about it,
but I didn't know what he meant. It was later
when I learned what they were t.1llcing about.
Now, the Fire... people misunderstand
the Fire. At the ceremonial grounds we've
got a mound where the spirit is. We build a
Drawing by Rob Messick
(con11nucd on page 3)
X,ntunf, Journo(
pn9c
I
�~
LJAHJOURNAL
A BAD CASE OF EDITORTALSTAPH:
Susan Adam
Jim Houser
Lee Barnes
Anomal..ee
Heather Blair
Rob Messick
Emmett Greendigger
Mamie ~lullcr
Charloue Homsher
David Wheeler
EDlTORIAL ASSISTANCE:
Chris Green
Scou Bird
and Li'I Matthew...
Mountain Gardens Family
COVER: by Rob Messick
©1991
PUBLTSHED BY: Kart'iah Journal
PRTNTED BY: The Waynesville Mowitaineer Press
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
EDITORIAL OFFlCE THIS ISSUE: The Globe Valley
WRITE US AT: Kat(iah Journal
Box 638; Leicester, NC; Katuah Province 28748
TELE Pl IONE:
(704) 754-6097
Divcrsi1y is an imponam clcmcm of biorcgaonal ecology, both nntural
and social. In accord with !his principle Katuah Journal Irie.~ to serve as n
forum for lhe discussion of regional issues. Signed :iruclcs expross only lite
opinion of lite aulhors and arc no1 ncccss:irily 1he opinions of lhc Katuah
Journal editors or stllT.
The Internal Revenue Service hns dcclnred K01uah Joivnol a non-profi1
organizntion under sccuon 50l(c)(3) or lhe lnicmal Revenue Code. All
contributions to Ka,uoh Journal an: deductible from pcrson3l income l:lll.
Aniclcs appearing m Ka1uah Journal may be rcprimcd m 01hcr
publications wilh permis.~1on Crom lhe Ka1uah Journal slllff. ConUlCl lite
journal in writing or coll (701) 754-6097.
CORRECTION: m our las1 isssuc (Summer, 1991) lhcrc was an
error in lite article •Jack-o-Lanicms, Acid Ram, and the Elcctncal Life of lite
Earth." Brown Mountain is aclllally IOC3lcd in Burke and Caldwell Counues
of North Carolina.
Wltat would the world be, once bereft
Of wet and of wilderness? Let them be left,
0 let them be left, wildness and wet;
Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet.
Here,
in the Katuah Province
of these ancient Appalachian mountains
where once the Cherokee Nation lived in freedom
between the Tennessee River Valley and the Eastern Piedmont
between the Valley of the Roanoke and the Southern Plain
on this Tun le Island continent of Mother Ela, the Eanh
I lcrc,
In this place we dedicate ourselves to remembering our deep
connection LO the spirit of the land.
We bring this connection into the being and the doing of
our daily lives
When the land speaks, we listen and we act
We tune our lives 10 the changes, to the seasons
We respect the limits of the land
We preserve, defend, and restore the land
We give thanks for all that is good
Hannony with the land is no longer an ideal; it is an imperative.
The land is a living being. She is sacred.
As the land lives, so do we.
As the spirit of the land is diminished,
our spirits are diminished as well.
Ka11iah Journal sends a voice...
with articles, stories, poems, and anwork
we speak to the spirit of all the living, breathing
inhabitants of these mountains
in hopes that we, the human beings,
may find our place in this Great Life.
The Editors
- Gerard Manley Hopkins
KATUAH JOURNAL wanes ro communicare your thouglus and
feelings ro the 01/zer people in the bioregional province. Send them ro tlS
as lerrers, poems, stories, articles, drawings, or photographs, ere. Please
send your contribwions ro us at: Katuah Journal; P. 0. Box 638;
Leicesrer, NC; Kar(ltlh Province 28748.
OUR NEX:r ISSUE is concerned with the role of the element Fire in
the life of the mountains...forest Fire, how humans changed the
landscape with Fuc, Fire in the heanh, Fire as tool, Fire of the spirit.
Please submit all material by October 30, 1991.
JC.ati!Qn )ournat pa«Jc 2
THE SPRING, 1992 JSSUE will be concerned wilh "Sustainable
Agriculture and Regional Diet." We need your input on topics including:
sustainable agriculture (alternative ag., low input, appropriate ag.,
pennaculturc, biodynamics, etc.); seed-saving techniques; wild-foods
and medicinals; regionaVcommunity food production and marketing;
seasonal diet and recipes; food preservation; green manures and
composting; agroforestry; and especially recommended resources,
guides, and contacts.
Please send material to Lee Barnes; Box 1303; Waynesville, NC
28786. (704) 452-5716.
Ta(t, 1991
�(con1inucd !'tom page I)
fire on top. A lot of people misunderstand it they think that we worship the fire. That's
not it. The spirit of Fire is in that mound. The
Oklahoma people fixed it (put it there). They
said that was !he sll'Ongest Fire they had ever
fixed.
It came from the Redbird Community in
Oklahoma. That's the original Fire. They've
got some more at other stomp grounds, but
they get the spirit from the main one, at
Redbird, !he same one that this came from.
We've got the seven clans of the
Cherokee. We've got seven arbors around
the fire, each clan sits in their own arbor, and
when we start dancing, each clan comes from
their own arbor, and when they quit, they go
back to their own arbor.
We went a lot of different places to get
that place fixed. We went up to Clingman's
Dome to get a piece of dirt to put over here.
That's where the wisest medicine men of the
Cherokee had their meetings. I guess they
would go all the way to Clingman's Dome to
talk with God.
People forget about their culture and
heritage, they're going with the rest of the
world. The Green Com Dance has been
handed down from our forefathers, but it
almost went out of existence. It was going
down slow. They hadn't done it for about 50
years, until last year.
I was just a young boy when they did
the lllSl one 50 yean. ugo. 1 remember how
they danced.
The women would be dancing away
from the men, while the menfolks were doing
the Green Com Dance. When the men got
through, the women came over, and they
would stan doing the stomp dance, and then
the women would join in.
When the menfolk were dancing, they
would carry shotguns - each one would have
seven shots. They would go around a singer,
I believe they'd go around seven times first,
just walk it, and then on the eighth round,
they'd Stan singing, they'd go completely
around, and the second time 'round, at each
side the men, they'd shoot, each one. That's
the way we did it.
When we dance, that's the prayer co
God. We've got the Fire on top - smoke
takes what we're saying up to God. What
we're saying, God is the only One who can
understand it. We can't understand it
ourselves.
Sometimes in Oklahoma they dance all
night. That's when there's some reason, like
the Green Com Celebration or the Fire's
birthday. There was one time at the stomp
dancing in Oklahoma, it was broad daylight,
it was still going. They ran out of songs, they
started singing "Old MacDonald."
0L:J.l:J~
f'n{t. I 99 1
The leader sang, "Old MacDonald had a
fann."
They answered, "Hee yi, hee yi!"
I tell you, when they get warmed up,
tlleY_'re airing th~ Fire as they dance, making
mouons. They sing songs about God while
they're dancing, how they appreciate God.
Our Fire's birthday is September 29.
That's when it was lit, September 29. The
man who lit it, his name was Hickory Star.
He was the one who wanted the fire brought
back here, he said that this is where it
belongs. He just barely made iL He lit tlle
fire, went back home - he died there last
February. He brought the fire back, and tllen
he died.
Karuah JourMI: Do you sing old songs
at the stomp dance?
WC: Yeh. I don't know how old. This
was done before white men came to America
- way before. That was the way they
worshipped.
Kl: I'm glad you are starting it back
again. It would be a tcnible thing if we lost
that.
WC: Yeah. They've got a lot ofit back
now. Some of it they have in Oklahoma.
They know more about it tllan us, of course.
The Eastern Band, we just came from the few
who escaped and hid in the mountains. When
they came back. they didn't have nothing.
They took the Fire with tllem out west.
The Fire, that was their religion. That's the
spirit - it was within 'em. They carried the
Fire of the spirit.
They staned back doing it. To begin
with they did it in secret, because the
government didn't allow tllem to do that. But
they kept it up. Then the government passed
a low about freedom of religion (Native
American Religious Freedom Act), and then
they came out with it.
When I was a boy, I guess about 12 or
14 years old, I always heard my motlier and
some of the older people talking about the
Fire - the Fire in Oklahoma. l thought tllat
they had taken the name of the real fire with
them when they lefL That's tlle way a lot of
people believe yet.
Up at the Mountainside Theater (in
Cherokee where the drama Unro These Hills
is performed), they've got a name burning,
that they bum by gas, I guess, so that's the
not the Eternal Flame, for when they want to
clean it, they put the fire out. That's a
commercinl fire.
When they brought it back from
Oklahoma they actually carried the fire back.
I don't know exactly how they carried it,
somehow they kept it burning until they got it
to Cherokee. They called on a man in
~
Oklahoma to give them the Eternal Fire. He
didn't know what to do. They wanted the
Fire, so he gave them a name to bring baclc.
He didn't know what to tel1 them.
There's a lot of people interested in
Indian religion, I don't know why. I guess
that they think that they (tlle native people)
might be more right The Indians respect the
Mother Earth. They respect just about
everything in nature. You don't hear of any
Indians inventing something to kill people
with. They don't even talce part in inventing
everything. 1 guess they're thinking it's not
right. I believe it's not right, the way white
people use their inventions. The first thing
!hey do with an invention is they make it into
a war material. That ain't right. The Indians,
they're not involved in that. Maybe tllat's the
reason (white) people think that they (the
native people) might be more right.
God didn't intend it for that way, when
He created Man and the Eartll. We were
supposed to share the Earth and get along equally.
Everything that the Indian goes by, it
makes sense, even the legends. It makes
sense, all of it.
There's a lot to it. Back when I was a
kid, it seemed like they kept everytlling. They
kept the culture and the herirage, but it
gradually went down. When I found out, I
had to decide to bring it back. Nobody was
trying.
YJ: It's important to save whatever you
know.
WC: We are trying to keep the
ll'llditional way. We don't allow alcohol at the
stomp dance - no alcohol, no drugs, and a
woman that makes her period (who is having
her period) can't take part.
KJ: Now why is that?
WC: That's just traditional. They can't
eat with the rest of the family. they have to
have their own plate. And a married couple,
staying in the family way, they can't take part
in the dancing, either one of them.
KJ: Is that the way you do in your
house?
. WC: No. Like I said, it's going out of
ex1Stence.
The old-timers said that kept a lot of
sickness away. I believe it, because Indian
people were bigger people than they are now.
Now you see a lot of shon, fat Indians, they
used 10 be tall - tall people. So 1 believe that.
You don't hardly see a big Indian man
anymore.
(continued on pa,., 4)
�(c:ontinucd from page 3)
KJ: Will it help the young people in the
tribe to bring back the old traditions?
WC: We can't drag 'em. The drunks
know that they can't go there (lo the
ceremonial grounds) unless they're sober. I
believe that's going 10 work out slow.
They'll be wanting to go there, but they can't
go unless they're sober. I think that's the
way it's going to work.
J know that there are a lot of 'cm
peeping around there. They've been
drinking. You can see them way out in the
weeds, peeping out. They can't come in,
though. Within four days, if they've been
drinking, they can't go.
KJ: It's good work you're doing,
Walker.
WC: The first 11me I went 10 Oklahoma,
the head man explained 10 me all about how
that Fire was kept. While he was explaining
it, he said, "As long as you are doing God's
wiU. that's all that's required."
Well, that's all that's required for
anybody anyway. As long as you are doing
God's will and believe in Jesus Chris1.
KJ: How about the white people,
Walker? The Ind fan people have been hcrc a
long time, and they have old traditions that
they can get back in touch with. But the white
people haven't bt-cn here so long, and they
don't have such old traditions. ls there
anything they can do 10 get back in touch?
Cartersville and Albany. Georgia. Instead of
having Fire, they had a bale of hay.
KJ: That takes the power out of i1. ll's
hard to think about in the same way after it's
been commercialized.
WC: There's another thing: we can't
build the Fire unless we use a spark out of a
rock. My son's a fueman, he builds fires. A
man gave him a striker, it makes a big spark.
You can·t use a match or a cigarette lighter.
KJ: Do you ever use a bow and drill?
WC: No. This man said it wouldn't be
right. That's somebody's invention. The
spark was 1he real tradiLional thing.
KJ: Are you teaching somebody to
come after you?
WC I don't have to. The spirit's there
forever. If I die, 1ha1 won't bother i1. The
spirit 1s still there. they know 1he spirit is
there, so I don't have 10 Lc:11 1hem how i1's
done. lt's the Everlasting Fire.
KJ; What else are you trying 10 ,~ach
people?
(remedies). I'm not a medicine man. A lot of
people call me medicine man, but the
Medicine Man is down in Cherokee (referring
to the Medicine Man Gift Shop). 0aughs)
KJ: So these are plant medicines. You
don't do any conjuring.
WC: No. I don't go for that, it's against
my religion ConJuring and religion don't go
together. Just like alcohol.
KJ: llow did you learn the remedies
that you know.
WC: From my mother, she taught me.
Someone can teach you the different
medicines, but even if you understand what
kind of medicine a person gets, and you just
went and got that same kind of medicine for
everybody, it wouldn't be any good.
We've got to put our Creator first,
because we ain't got power ourselves unless
we put God in front. Then we can do it.
Thc medicine is just a point of contact.
Goel is the One who heals you. I understand
that. The medicine is just something 10 get
you closer 10 God. If you don't believe in the
medicine· no good, it won't do it. You've
got to have faith in the medicine, too.
/
WC: I'm trying to teach medicine, "hat
little mcdidnc I know. I ju$t know a few
WC: Well. I don't know. They're
supposed 10 keep up their tradition. their
culture, of whatever they arc. Each
nationality should keep their own.
KJ: It's hard for white people because
they have been away from 1he land for so
long. h's been hundreds of years.
WC: Thar's like these two men who
came from Pennsylvania. They were curious
about what l was doing.
"Our people ain't got nothin'," 1hey
said. "We're just here, that's all."
KJ: I think that's why a lot of white
people are interested in the native religion,
because that's how they feel. It's imponant
for everybody tha1 you keep the old customs,
the s1
omp dance and all of 1ha1.
WC: That's a religious dance, and we
can't do Lha1 dance away from the ceremonial
ground. The only place is down around the
Fire.
We can do the other dances 10 honor the
animals, the Bear Dance, the Beaver Dance
the Quail Dance. But the stomp dances we '
have to do around the Frre.
There's one big bunch from the Creek
tribe that has commercialized theirs. I saw
them do their stomp dance down at
Xatuah Journat page 4
WrUTEPATII
Moving in10 my solitude,
he wrestles me from stolen moments of peace
among the grand green pines, golden poplars,
and brawny. brown oaks
or rides a <1uie1, sure-footed mount along 1he ml.ii
that conscience leaves
into my sleep ChiefWhitepath moving his people from Georgia.
I le doesn't speak, but I can hear others weeping,
and often there's a scream of death
that deepens his frown.
ln his eyes I can read the desperate question
"How can so many people rest on the carcasses
of murdered souls, and not be thought
savage?"
· Dtborah J~s
ran, 1991
�A Bit E)f Mo~ntain Levity
"Laugh and the world laughs with you;
Weep, and you weep alone;
For the sad old eanh must borrow its minh,
But has trouble enough of its own."
Ella Wheeler Wilcox
In the minds of each of us, there are
worlds which no longer exist and which we
can visit only in memory and in i;haring with
others. We cnn not walk the same trail twice.
It has been my good fortune, however, to
have some of the people of Roan Mountain
share their hidden worlds of yesterday with
me, especially those of the Depression era. I
discovered therein a fascinating culture of
isolation, independence, and great good
humor.
They refer to the Depression years as
"hard times but good times" and their
wonderful sense of humor seems to have
been the glue that kept heads on straight and
held families together during those "hard
times." Banter, affectionate teasing, story
telling, and practical jokes were a way of life
. .. and still are.
I remember one day when I became
hopelessly lost in my ramblings around Roon
Mountain. I stopped at an isolated country
store. A porch rnn the full length of the small
building lllld held a number of ladder-backed
chairs. In one of these, tilted precariously
against the wall on its two hind legs, sat a
very old man eyeing me a bit suspiciously. I
C:lrCfully explained my predicament and
asked for directions. Without changing
expression, he surmized "You can't get there
from here." He paused, looked very stem,
then a big grin broke his face. A little levity
goes a long way toward turning problems
into laughter. I must have seemed really
uptight.
The language of their stories is filled with
subtle and not so subtle humor, sometimes
even a bit caustic, sometimes it bruised a bit
but served as a gentle reminder of what path
was allowed. Admonitions such as "Do
something, if it ain't nothin' but carry water
out of the branch and put it in the creek. It'll
keep from wearing the rocks out," indicating
that laziness was simply not allowed. For
children too young to work in the fields but
not out playing, "You're as lazy as a pet pig.
If your breathin' didn't come and go by
itself, you'd be to0 lazy to breathe." At the
table you might bear "Let your vittles stop
your mouth" when children got a bit too
rambunctious. About someone who got up
"feelin' poorly," "He got up cranky and
hasn't gotten over it." Then there's "You
look like the hind wheels of hard times" and
"You sure took your time. You'd a-been a
good hand to send for the doctor if the devil
was sick."
Oaildren were the target of much good
natured teasing, a son of initiation rite. Jim
Street tells of one such incident when he and
his brother Aoyd were on the receiving end
of a bit of "funnin'." Will Garland, a close
friend of the family, had brought Sam
Brinkley to talk with the boy's father about
:Foff, 1991
buying some property. Now Sam Brinkley
was famous for his long beard that reached to
the ground and which he kept carefully stored
in a pillowcase tucked inside his shin. The
boys, aged four and eight, had never
experienced that beard. "We were playing
head and beard. h skeerd us so bad we run
and jumped in the hog pen with the hogs. We
couldn't find no place else to hide. Daddy
then came and got us out and said Will, quit
skeering these boys: they're already crazy
enough.' Garland was always aggravating
and making cornstalk horses," Jim said.
us, telJing us these big stories about what
was going to catch us and everything. Ever
time I seen Brinkley auer that, he'd laugh,
but Floyd never did like him much."
Floyd was a born prankster himself. Hear
this one: Visiting preachers, especially during
camp mecrin's, wen: regular visitors at the
Street family table. One day when there
see~ 10 be an especially large number of
them and the children were having to wait
second table, the fried chicken seemed to be
disappearing at an alarming rate. Young
Floyd peered around the dining room door
and called to his mother, "Don't let 'em eat all
the chicken, Mom!" Turning, he ran out into
"We'd cut off a long piece and make his head
and we'd use a little stick or a slip off that
comswllc and make his neck and stick it on
that and then put on his legs and tail and his
mane and everything and we'd have cornstalk
horses. That's what we were busy a-doing
and we didn't think they was anybody
around. So Will Garland talked Brinkley into
sticking his beard around an apple tree and
a-scarin' us. We didn't know they was
anybody in a mile. He was about maybe fifty
feet away. We didn't sec him and he stuck
his head around that tree and Garland said
'Oh yes, I've got you this time' and he was
hid and all we could sec was the old man's
(COlllllluod on page 6)
Xnti1af1 Journat page S
�(coounucd l'rom piigc .S)
the night. 1 don't know if he go, a~y chicken
or not!
Humor was not always up front, and as
Malone Young so aptly put it, "Old time lying
wasn't really a vice. Land Sakes! Life would
have been dull as a froe if people didn't
stretch the truth," Storytelling was a real an.
Old men would sit around the country store
and see who could top the next one or swap
stories at bean stringin's or com i;huckin's.
During interviews, I was not always sure if
the story I was hearing was true or not. One
day I asked, "Is this really a true 5tory?" The
answer came quickly "Honey. if I'm a-I yin'.
I'll tell you." He didn't say when.
Sometimes the story would be quite true,
such as this one told by Howard Shell, but in
order to make them interesting they might end
with a funny questionable twist. Howard was
sining in the swing on his front porch when
I askc-0 him about witches. Ile immediately
got a mischievous linlt: twinkle in his eye and
10ld me his mother was a great believer in
witches. The story goes that she was having
difficulty geuing the milk to chum and
decided chat her cow was bewitched. She and
her son built a big bonfire. Then she went to
the woods and got two haw branches.
stripping the thorns to make a good handhold
but leaving them on the ends. She put her
daughter on one side of the fire and her :;on
on the other. As she poured the milk into the
fire. they beat it with the haw br.inches and
the cow wa.,; cured. Then he told me their
chickens became sick nnd his mother decided
they were bewitched. Again she built the big
bonfire, put one of the sick chickens into a
bag and threw it onto the fire alive. I waited
expectantly for the rest of the story which
didn't come. Finally I asked warily, "Well.
did they get un-bewi1ched?" "I don't
remember," he replied wilh a sly grin.
One charming lady has taken practical
joking 10 a long-running high. We'll call her
Anna 10 pro1ec1 the innocent. Anna is married
10 a very serious, reserved, channing
holiness preacher. bm ,his did not deter her
yen for fun. Let's call her husband Joe.
Every year, come April Fool's Day, Anna
auempted 10 play a joke on Joe and much 10
his chagrin, she always succeeded. Joe
logged and farmed, was generally hardworking and steady as you go. His horses
were of much value and importance to him
and were greatly cherished. Early one April
ls1. Anna slipped ou1 of bed early,ju~t :11
daylight. went outside and came rushing back
into the bedroom screaming that the horses
were tangled in the barbed wire and were
cuuing themselves badly. Joe, who slept only
in his wherewithals, rushed out into the
frosty. cloud-heavy morning, only 10 find
1ha1 he had been taken again.
The next year he threatened 10 whip the
children if they helped their mother play her
linle game. Anna had been after Joe 10 move
a hig pile of logs stacked in !he yard because
she was afraid the children would get hun
playing on 1h·em. but 10 no avail. There they
were. stacked 100 high for safety. Before
anyone else was up. she wen, 0111 into the
yard. pushed 1he logs over so they rolled in
every direction. then carefully maneuvered
herself under two of them in a way 10 appear
badly hun. When one of the children peered
out the window and saw her, he screamed for
his father. When Joe saw what he- thought
had happened, he leaped through the window
10 run 10 her rescue. only 10 have her sit up
when he go! there and say "April Fool!"
Could you live with a woman like that? He
has for some 60 years!
Another one of her delightful stories
in\·olved "siuing up with the body." The
custom was when a person died, the body
was kept a1 the home until it w~ interred.
During 1ha1 time. even a, night, friends and
relatives "sat up." One such night Anna was a
bit bored and she looked around for some
mischief needing to be done. She saw two
very pious women sining in straight chairs
leaning against the wall - sound ash:ep! She
took some soo1 from the chimney, mixed in a
The air is fine
for it gives me
what J need to live
••
.~·
$'
~:
:::
.•.
\
·
The water is my mother
for it holds me
as she would in dream
~
.•
Fire is my pride and foe
for when it snaps it says
it will overtake me
...
.•.
·• .
.•.
And stone, stone is my best friend
for it shows me the hardness of the world
-1.smanl Cirino
JI I
I h
•,.
.
-~.
•
Hard Scrabble
.!.
the ground I stand on
I
by Barbara Wickersham
.• ! .
as it prepares
I
The judge could no! solve ii and the man
went free. It was later solved: 1-Ie had killed
his wife, dug a hole 10 put her in, and his
name was Fox.
And then chere's the story about the man
who had 100 much moonshine anti killed his
cat ... bu1 we'll save that for another time!
They still remember, these people of 1he
mountain~ and they laugh and share their
funny stories. I love 10 laugh and r did so
enjoy listening - hope you did 100.
/
•
••
.•·
The earth is good
t 1 \'
Riddle 10 my riddle to my right,
Guess where I srayed las, Friday night.
The wind did blow and my hean did ache
To see what a hole that fox did make.
.. ·· ·· · . ....
.•..~·......-.:•:•:•:•:•:•:·........·•..•....
..·•·
....•.
...
The Elements
Xotimf, Jou1 nnC pn9c 6
little water, and painted their faces lndian
style No one would betray the culprit v. ho
had done the dastardly deed! Recently Anna
1old me she asked one of the women if !hey
wanioo 10 know who did it. The lady replied
"No, not now. I might get angry all over
again." So Anna didn't tell - and her secret is
cenainly safe wi1h me.
Long hours of plowing. hoeing com,
chopping wood, washing, cooking, etc. se1
these very bright people of devious minds to
crca1ing riddles. An nnicle about their humor
would be incomplete without a, least shanng
one nddle with you. Here is my favori1e
story of riddles shared (supposedly a true
story). The wife of a man who lived back in
the deep woods had disappeared without a
1rnce. Her family became concerned and there
was an investigation. The man was brought
before a judge and accused ofkilling his
wife. Apparently the judge musr no, have
been ahoie1her sure of his guih and he 10ld
the man if he could make a riddle tha1 the
judge could not solve. he could go free. Here
is the riddle:
·•
.•..•.
...
............
·•·
•
·~
•
Appalachian mountainside,
more rocks than grass.
Three cows graze sideways round,
short legs up hill, long legs down.
Farmer says there's green enough
to put milk in their faucets,
and maybe there'll be milk enough
to put green in his pockets.
{
._.
:::
~:
}
•.
~
•.
.•·
..
·•·
..
.....
·•·
-Mlba Barr.
e
.
.......·-•:•:•:•:•:•:•·.........,;.•·
.
•·
.• • ·
•
..
rnff., ,.19!1 I
1 . '1
�CLIMAX
NEVER
CAME
have ever been in an old-growth forest thm
contains tulip trees, you can see that they
have a Iarger crown than other species, Like
hemlock, sugar maple, or beech. And as tulip
trees fall over. they create an open patch that
is bigger than a gap left by one of the other
tree species. Intermediately tolerant or even
intolerant ttecs that wouldn't come up in the
space left by a sugar maple or a beech, come
up in the gap made by a fallen tulip tree. So
even in an old-growth forest you can have a
(OMlinncd on~· 8)
by Henry Wender
The idea of a "climaxfores1" has been
an appealing one w sciemists interested in
validating the idea of a 1111mral order in the
world. It has also been a term usedfrequelll/y
in the pages of the Katuah Journal to describe
the old-growth hardwoodfore.\'l.
Now it appears that n111ybe there has
never been a climax forest in the Southern
Appalachians, that the theory is too restrictive
to accurately describe the dynamic processes
of na111re in the mowuain highlands. JIere is a
report on the controversy
Scientists looking back at the
magnificent hnrdwood forest that once
covered the Southern Appalachian Mountains
felt a sense of awe at the splendor of the big
trees. The old forest had a feeling of
permanence and "rightness" I.hat was justified
by the observation of "succession" among
forest plants: after a disturbance smaller,
fast-growing plants repaired ecological
damage and prepared the site for larger tree
species and their accompanying understory
vegetation. The dominant uces and the plants
associated with them were termed the "climax
forest," for these trees were shade-tolerant 10
some degree and succeeded themselves in the
forest canopy. It seemed that unless an
outside disturbance threw the forest back into
an earlier stage of succession that the
dominance of ccnain tree sP-CCies was
inevitable. Certain species appeared 10 be
ideally adapted 10 the conditions of the region
and. unless interrupted, could maintain their
reign perpetually (or at lea.st until the
conditions of the cnvironml!nt changed).
Succession, the scientists said, always
reached a climax: "a self-reproducing 1cm1ina
community."
As with almost any abwlute statement
in science, contradictions began 10 appl!ar
within the idea of the climax forest. During
the 1970's, scientific questioning turned into
open revolt. One of the leaders of the
rebellion was Dr. Peter S. White, then a
researcher for the National Park Service at th
Uplands Field Research Laboratory ,n the
Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
White is now the director of the Nonh
C-irolina Botanical Gardens maintained bv th,
University of Nonh Carolina at Chapel I iill.
In a conversation in his office. he spok,
about how his observations clashed with the
climax theory:
" 11tey (the climax thcorhts) would
pn.-dict that in time a cenain cove site would
become a hemlock forest or a beech forest.
But th:it ~ocs nor happen everywhere without
interruption.
"Fire is an example in many
ecosystems. but 10 use an even subtler
example, tulip trees (locally known as yellow
poplar) are shade-intolerant, early
successionaJ trees. They colonize where there
is on abundance of resources and nutrients
and light and water.
'Tulip trees have a large crown. If you
:ft1CC. 1991
Phoio by Rob Meutck
Xatum, Journot PCIIJe
7
�of climax. They_
inU'Qduced "Polycli~cs," a
mosaic ot different climax situations across
the same landscape, and even "dis-climaxes,"
climax situations based on recurrent patterns
of disturbance. Others referred to climax as
an ideal situation that was valid for an
(ainunucd frum pqc 7)
persistent succcssional tree, just because of
their great size.
"So the ultimate progression towards
climax would occur only in some rare
situations. It docs happen. In a deep ravine, it
CARIHEAN ISLANDS
GIJ'
MOOE LS
,-,.......
$MALL
WATERSHEDS
DOMINICA
CUBA
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RECREATIONAL FOREST IN
SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS
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OIUIIRICANES
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AUSTRALIAN
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IJ''ALACHIAN
WILDFIRES
AREA IN THE 11.tlNGES OF
COMMERCIAL A\ISTIIALIAN
~IYSl'ECIES
Sc.le of dinurbonce and ICale of bnclscapcs for •umple ecosyslefflS. The hne between lhc
dTcctive.ly nonequihliriwn and 111c quai-eqwlibri1m 1.-,d,apcs is based 011 a SO: I ratio of landsape
cn:a to diJllllt)enu au. Cornbina&ions of disn.wbance and laidscape scales illu.waied uc: (a) Trerfalls
Oii imall W111Cn!w,ds; (b) W'llcl!n, on ama11 walaShcds; (c) WildfiRS on reaeaiioml foruu: (d)
AIISlnliln Corua ms on I.be nmie of Auslnlli111 £colyp1i,s specie$; and (c) Hurtian<s OC1 Carribc:m
hllnds. (from A Theory of Forest Oynamies by Herman H.Shup.rt)
might just be shady enough that hemlock is
able to exclude any intolerant plants
eventually, providing there is freedom from
fire or hurricanes. So in a cenain sense there
could be dominance by a few of the most
shade-tolerant species. But in most other
cases, I think thar that end-point of
succession was still a mixed forest which
never quite got to climax."
Key to the idea of climax was the
qualification "unless interrupted... " In climax
theory, disturbance, even natural disturbance,
was looked on as "endogenous," something
that came from outside the system and
interrupted the "normal" progression 10 a
stable climax. White and his scientific allies
maintained that disturbance was a natural
occurrence in the life of most forests and
needed to be included in any theory of forest
dynamics.
'There was a certain sense that
evolution creatcS ctiversity," White said,
"There is a reason why early-succession
plantS such as birch, pin cherry, or
blaclcberrics evolve in a system. and that
reason is that there is periodic disturbance, so
it felt that 10 look only at the end-point was
the wrong focus."
In nature, it is said, "change is the only
constant," and trying 10 deny disturbance an
integral role in the forest ecosystem seemed
10 be setting up a Static model lhat left out the
clement of change.
Scientists defending climax recognized
this, and they began to redefine the concept
Xawan Journat
- • , J. ".
h. t
P™Je 8
environment whether it actually occurred or
nOL
There came to be so many "climaxes"
that, in the eyes of White and his cohons, the
concept lost its meaning. "Every species is
climax in that it evolved within some
environmental setting and is extant within that
setting," he wrote in 1979 (emphasis added).
A nonhem hardwood forest setting
provides an example. The dominant species,
such as beech or sugar maple, depend on a
shady, liner-covered forest floor to germinate
their seeds. They are slow colonizers but are
very tolerant of shade and play a waiting
game. sitting as small saplings in the
understory until an opening appears, when
they use their height advantage and leap 10 fill
it.
While these species arc clearly
dominant, other early-succession species
persiSt. Yellow birch has light seeds which it
disperses widely, starting many seedlings on
I.be forest floor. But these seedlings arc
completely eliminated, except for those which
manage to take root on disturbed soil or on
moss mats covering rotting logs or rocks
from which they drop trailing roots 10 the
forest floor.
The fire cherry has persistant seeds that
live a long lime in the soil, waiting for a
ctisturbancc 10 open a gap in the upper
canopy. By such strategics, these
"early-succession" species, although never
dominant, keep their place in the the northern
hardwood forest. When larger gaps open up,
the "climax species" arc out-competed by
stands of the fas1-growing, light-loving trees.
Rather than a linear model always
approaching the goal of a final climax, 1his
appears to be a shifting balance of different
species competing amid a constantly
changing set of conditions.
"Dynamic equilibrium" or "patch
dynamic equilibrium" is how White describes
this continuing process. He mentions the
work of Herman Shugan, a professor at the
University of Virginia. ln his book A Theory
of Foresr Dynamics, Shugan modeled a
forest with disturbance patch size (maybe a
burned area plus the gaps opened by fallen
trees) on one axis and the total landscape siz.c
on the other axis.
If the total siz.e of the disrurbanccs was
one-fiftieth of the size of the forest, Shugan
said that the forest was in a state of
"quasi-equilibrium." If the disturbance area
included more than one-fiftieth of the forest,
Shugart said that the forest was in
"disequilibrium."
Shugart also drew some conclusions
about habitat ctiversity by examining patch
sizes on a landscape over time. ln his model,
maximum ctivcrsity was obtained when
one-fiftieth of the landscape was stirred up by
small, concurrent disturbances. On the other
band, a single massive disturbance, like a
hurricane or a large fire, would not produce
that same diversity of habitats, because the
character of the whole forest would be
altered.
This analysis is more relativistic and
flexible than the traditional climax model
because it incorpocatcs disturbance as pan of
the picture rather than trying to exclude the
influence of change. It can also give a picture
of relative stability. While there is constant
change and constant activity happening at the
local level, seen from a wider viewpoint a
forest's rate of food production, the average
amount of biomass, or the average size of
animal populations may bold steady over an
extended period of time.
'That equilibrium." says Peter White,
"since it has changclessncss within change,
could be seen as a climax landscape. It's a
big landscape with lots of inctividual local
dynamics, but they're all canceling out over
the whole. One could call that climax.
"Historically, the tenn 'climax' would
not have been applied 10 the patch dynamics
equilibrium, but given freedom from people,
and a constant equilibrium on a larger scale,
there is a stable landscape configuration that
could develop."
Change is constant The key is balance.
This viewpoint frees our minds from a linear
and goal-oriented perspective. lt integrates
the forest species and the forces that influence
them together into a larger whole. In this
view of evolution, the cycles of successfon
yield stability in its time while providing
necessary diversity to meet the challenge of
unceasing change.
Thuw to Or. Peter White for I.he infonnation ror this
arti<;lc. For more in-depth infonnalion. - his article
-Pattern. Process. and Natural Diswrbancc in Vcgctation" in
The Botanical Rrv~. Vol. 4S, No. 3 (Swnmcr. 1979) and
TM &oleo ofNOlrval Distrvbana and Pasch Dyll(tlflia.
edited by S. T.A. Piclcca and Peter While (Academic Press,
1985).
f"n(L, 1991
�..
1
IS THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN
ECOSYSTEM ENDANGERED?
by John A. Freeman
The Southern Appalachian area is one
of the beauty-spots of Earth. Yet there are
signs that this ecosystem is in trouble, that it
is breaking down, perhaps much more
rapidly than we are used to thinking
ecosystems can.
There is ample evidence that
ecosystems break down quite rapidly due to
stresses from overuse or abuse. Ln early
classical Greece, trees were so abundant that
the land was basically forest with isolated
clearings. Yet within two centuries trees were
uncommon enough that travelers mentioned
individual trees or small groves as guidepost~
along their routes
ln the American West 130 years ago,
travelers described the grasses as reaching
halfway up 1he sides of their horses. Today,
some of these areas seldom have grasses
more than a few inches tall and the carrying
capacity forcanle has been reduced by
perhaps 98 percent.
But surely our beautiful area wi1h its
forests is not on tha1 slippery slope,. Or is ii?
Fifty years ago, as a graduate student at
Chapel Hill, I chose 10 use three common
aquatic snails in a research project. One basis
for the choices was that they were readily
availnble in nearby srreams - I could collec1
1he seveml dozen of e;ich that l neede.c;I in a
matter of minu1es. Fifteen years later, in.
Piedmont ponds two of the snails were
common. The third, always found in small
streams and pi:eviously common throughout
these mountains, was rare. In 1956 r saw the
last one I have seen in this area. Six or seven
years later, the pond snails had almost
disappeared from the ponds where 1 once
collected them in large numbers.
By 1he mid-'60's, even superficial
observation showed that stoneflies and
mayflies were much reduced in the areas r
visited. Except for fishermen, most people
would not be concerned about the decimation
of these insects. However, the fact that they
are major sources of food for trout gives
them significance. Their loss has been
responsible for the need of frequent stocking
of trout streams 10 enable tr0u1 fishing in
most of the area. Other small creatures nre
rare in many areas wbere they were once
common. Some that come 10 mind are snakes
and other reptiles, and a wide range of
amphibians (frogs, toads, and salamanders)
which, as a whole, I estimate have been
reduced in numbers by perhaps 99 percent.
Many songbirds are also much reduced in
recent years.
Taking a longer historical perspective,
the top predators were reduced 10 only token
levels many years ago. Wolves, for example,
were once important in the balance among
animals in our area. Now, in an effort to
restore some semblance of balance. red
wolves are being reintroduced. The predatory
birds (eagles, hawks, owls, etc.) were once
reduced to small populations but fonunately
with some suppon by humans are makmg
comebacks.
:fa(£, 1991
In recent years, among the most
conspicuous changes have been among trees,
especially Fraser firs and spruces at higher
elevations, such as Mount Mitchell. As yet
less dramatically affected arc various oaks,
pines, dogwoods and 01her trees extending
thing of the past, possibly within decades and
almost surely within a century.
What can be done, if anything, 10 get
our beloved area off the slippery slope?
Unfortunately, about the only rhing we
can do locally is 10 apply as many "bandaids"
down into the valleys. That we have some
explanations - or tentative explanations - of
the changes we sec docs no1 reduce the fact
or significance of the.c;e changes.
Based on my own per;onal, though not
systematic, observations, I conclude that our
Appalachian ccosys1ems are under attack.
Once the slippery slope of ecosystem
degeneration i.~ reached, ecosystem
breakdown can be rapid. It leads 10 a nc:w
and different system that develops rapidly
unless remedial steps are taken promp!ly and
vigorously. The new ecosystem has a lower
tot.ill life suppon capacity than the original
from which it developed.
My conclusion is qualitative, not
quantitative: based on my observntions over a
lifetime in the Appalachian and nearby areas,
our ecosystems are already onto tha1 slippery
slope leading to dramatic changes, including
towered productivily. Just when sharp and
dramatic changes will come is unccnain, as it
is uncertain just whru the changes will be.
Unless dramatic steps are taken soon, the
ecosystems we know and enjoy will be a
as possible, for the basic causes of the
problem are much more widespread. Any
steps which lower the pollutants known as
acid rain or acid precipitation will help.
Global wanning and the depletion of
stratospheric ozone are widespread problems
1hat require more than local actions.
Fonunately, there is developing wide intereSt
in this country, especially at
non-governmenllll levels, in these problems.
Accords and bws mandating changes are
ei1hcr already in effect or arc being
developed.
Grassroots activists instinctively ask a
crucial question: "What is there for me 10
do?" Fonunately, there.arc several
overlapping areas in which we can be
effective.
Foremost, in my opinion, is increasing
awareness on the pan of the public and of
government officials that the mauer i~ critical
and that we cann0t afford to wait until all is
kTiown about such matters as what causes
damaged vegellltion.
Drawing by Rob Messick
(COIIIIIIUed on page 24)
1Gatuah Jo1..rnn£ PCMJC 9
�uTalking Leaves"··
1
,,,
The Life and Influence of Sequoyah
based on an interview with
Tom Underwood
Sequoyah was unquestionably a
genius. He developed an 86-character
syllabary of the Cherokee language that
enabled his tribe to become the only one of
the North American Indian tribes 10 become
literate. Sequoyah's invention allowed the
Cherokees to publish a tribal newspaper and
preserve many of their old teachings and
beliefs in written form. He is the only man in
recorded history known to have devised a
system of writing without knowing how to
read or write in any language.
Sequoyah was born in eastern
Tennessee sometime around 1776, the
half-breed son of a while man named
Nathaniel Gist and a daughter of one of the
Cherokee chiefs at the village of Echota.
There has been much discussion among
historians about his parentage, but today
there is little doubt that Gist, the son of a
prominent Virginia family, was Sequoyah's
true father.
Gist was a friend of George
Washington, and it is said that he was
working secretly for Washington, looking for
purchasable land in Tennessee. He lived with
the Indians for quite some time at the Echota
village. He did not leave there until the
Revolutionary War, when there was
discussion in the Virginia legislature of
d~laring him a traitor because he was living
with the Cherokee who were actively aiding
the British.
Gist traveled to Virginia and presented
himself before the legislature. He told them
that he was not a British sympathizer and that
he would recruit Cherokee to the colonial
cause. He brought 14 Indians to fight for the
colonists, but he did not return with them to
E~hota. After the independence was declared,
Gist settled in Ohio, and his family became
respected leaders of their time - one was a
congressman, another became a well-known
innkeeper in Washington.
After Sequoyah had invented the
syllabary and was on business in
Washington, he visited the Gist family on
one occasion, evidently at their invitation,
and was accepted by them as Nathaniel's
son, George Gist.
Some of the best written information on
Sequoyah is included in an odd collection of
documentS on the Cherokees compiled by a
white man named John Howard Payne.
Payne was a contemporary of Sequoyah and
transcribed first-hand n:collcctions of the
man.
"The Payne manuscript," as it is
known, says that Sequoyah's family on his
mother's side "was of high rank in the
nation. The famous John Waus was one of
them. Two of his uncles were men of great
distinction - one of the two was named
Tah-lon-tee-skee (the overthrower), and the
other Kahn-yah-tah-hee (the first to lcill).
"Kahn-yah-tah-bee was the principal
X.Otuah Journal
pac.,s 10
chief of Old Echota, the ancient town of
refuge, over which he presided, He was
called The Beloved Chief of All the People.'
1t was his exclusive duty and delight 10 be a
peace preserver.
"During some public assembly, there
was an onset of the whites, notwithstanding
it was a time of profound peace, and all the
Tndians fled, excepting Kahn-yah-tah-hee and
another chief, of whom there was some
distrust in the nation. They were both in the
square where the ceremonial had been gone
through. Kahn-yah-tah-hce arose from his
scat, and with a white flag waving, met the
marauders as they broke into the square.
Both chiefs were murdered brutally on the
spot.
"Some days subsequently, the invaders
having withdrawn, the people returned.
Carrion birds had devoured the body of the
one chief, but that of the other,
Kahn-yah-tah-hee, the Beloved of All, was
untouched, and unchanged even in death. His
hand still grasped the violated Flag of Peace,
and upon his dead lips lingered a benignant
(sic) smile."
Se.quoyah grew up a Cherokee and
identified with his tribal heritage. He never
learned to speak English. He had no wish 10
learn the white people's language. Even after
~eh~ invented the ~yllabary and was being
interviewed for a sencs of newspaper articles
!n Washington. he spoke through an
interpreter.
The boy and his mother lived at Echota
until he was 11 years old and then moved
down to Wills Town, in nonheas1ern
Alabama.
He never showed signs of his genius
when he was a child. He was 100 busy
helping his mother find a means of survival.
She ran a small trading post and outfitted fur
trappers on credit. Young Sequoyah would
go out in the forest 10 pick up the furs owed
to her for payment. He was alone much of
the time. He learned self-reliance and
supplemented the family's meager larder by
hunting.
When he was older, he learned several
trades. He was a silversmith for a time. The
Cherokee loved 10 decorate themselves with
fine jewelry - ear and nose rings, armbands,
bracelets, gorgets, and chains, and Sequoyah
became proficient at creating these ornaments
out of silver. He prevailed upon a white man
10 write his name in English and engraved his
signature on each piece of his work. He also
began 10 draw and was highly regarded
among the tribespcople on this account. He
latertumed to blacksmithing. But he was
never much of a farmer; he never could get
interested in hoeing com.
It was also said of Sequoyah that he
was "greatly considered among all the
handsome women." The Payne manuscript
tells us:
"...when he discovered that he was so
greatly considered among the handsome
women, he began to pay less attention to his
employment He neglected his silver worlc
and his drawing and went about visiting one
and another, and every day he had more and
more friends. The young men were always
pleased to see him coming where they were.
When he would arrive at any place where a
number of them were assembled around their
boule, they would call out to him, 'My
friend, my friend, let us drink whiskey
together... '
"But at that time he drank only water;
though he would. when thus invited, always
go fetch a quart bonlc of whiskey. and give it
10 his friends and then wait and let them drink
it by themselves. He went on thus for a long
while, but was at length tempted now and
then to taste a little with his friends - and
soon, a little more: until at last. he would
often get tipsey (sic) with his friends:
whereupon his friends increased upon him so
fast, that instead of a bottle, he would have to
bring a three gallon keg for their supply, and
he would make them all drink with him, until
the keg was empty."
One night Sequoyah and a couple of his
friends went to a Bible reading. They
listened, and going home that night they
talked about how wonderful were the "talki.ng
leaves," as the Cherokee described pages of
paper. To them the pages of a book sounded
like leaves rustling in the wind.
Sequoyah's friends said, "This is a
wonderful gift of the Great One to the white
man. We could never have this."
He said, "1 could do this."
They laughed at him. "No, you
couldn't do that," they said.
He said, "I can do it I can find a way
to make the talking leaves speak in Cherokee.
They laughed again and said, 'You're
crazy.'''
That set him off. Sequoyah went to
work. He first tried 10 devise symbols to
make sentences, then symbols to make
words. Everything wound up too
compli_cated. He started over again trying 10
figure It all out. From when he began, until it
was completed, Sequoyah worked off and on
creating his syllabary for over 20 years. He
eventually broke the Cherokee language
down into 86 basic sounds and assigned a
symbol for each.
He could not devise enough signs 10
designate the different sounds. so one day
when he found a discarded newspaper, he
picked symbols from the pages and adopted
them into his own system. That is why some
of the characters in the Cherokee syllabary
appear familiar to English-speaking people.
Sequoyah would become absorbed in
his work and retire to a small outbuilding on
his propeny to ponder on the syllabary for
long periods of time. He abandoned his farm
fields completely and left the raising of crops
and family entirely to his wife. She became
infuriated about this project that was taking
her husband away from his responsibilities.
One day, when his work was almost
completed, she burned his little building with
all his notes while he was away from home.
But he would not quit He staned over.
No one else in the tribe believed in his work.
The other members of his community
disrrusted his long periods of solitary labor.
The word began to go around that Sequoyah
was engaging in witchcraft He was losing
the respect that he had gained in the
community. Finally one day a friend named
fo(t, 1991
�tribal council, Sequoyah received wide
recognition. Now a famous man, he
remained quiet and withdrawn. The Payne
manuscript described him as follows:
"His manners were never forward and
are now become somewhat reserved. lt can
be seen that his mind is always busy within
him, and, especially when smoking, he
seems absorbed in thought. He is thin and
above the middle heighL 1n dress he :idheres
10 the old costume of the nation, but without
ornament; wears the turuc and robe, leggings
Tunle Fields came ro visit Sequoyah. The
Payne manuscript recounts what to0k place:
"'My friend,' Turtle Fields said to him,
'my friend, there are a great many remarks
made upon this employment which you have
taken up. Our people are much concerned
abour you. They think you are wasting your
life. They think, my friend, that you arc
making a fool of yourself, and will be no
longer respected.'
"Gist replied, 'Lt is not our people who
Cherokee Syllabary
Da
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'Vha
W,a
,/"ma
Re
l"ee
T.
rhl'
.oh,
f ,e
Ctme
f ,,
H m,
0 n l.hnaGnah J\.n
a
e
Yii,
Iln,
Q Que
'fqu,
l::fsa OUs
4 ,e
h s,
W,..
d1a .Ct1d
i
G,.a
G.wa
tDva
~ mo
J'mu
,,,. . , 4 nu
O'nv
quo le}quu f; quv
½$0 If'$, Rs.,
Z no
~ qua
t da
.
Ou J..,
A eo J gu .Egv
J.lho r hu &-hv
G,o M,u 4 1
v
o)o
I
Sde't1e .,L ] ,, Vdo Sdu I ~ do
L ,,p C,11
,J ,,o -'i'P 11u P 11v
lr,s,
K ,so cJ,su C ,sv
'J',se
/Jwu 6w
v
4£JWL'
J3ve nv fi vo Gvu Bvv
have advised me to this, and it is not
therefore our people who can be blamed if 1
nm wrong. What 1 have done I have done
from myself. If our people think lam making
a fool of myself, you may tell our people that
what ram doing will nOl make fools of them.
They did not cause me to begin and they shall
not cause me to give up. If I am no longer
respected, what l am doing will not make our
people the less respected, either by
themselves or others; and so I shall go on,
and so you may tel1 our people."'
We sometimes call Sequoyah's
symbols an alphabet, but 11 is actually a
syllabary, which correctly describes a system
of signs for the sy11ables of a language.
lf one knows Cherokee. it is fairly
simple to learn Sequoyah's symbols and
write the words of the language. Not many
go 10 the trouble 10 do it anymore, but the
fin;t person Sequoyah taught was his six year
old daughter. She was the one who
demonstrated his system to the governing
council of the Cherokee nation.
When Sequoyah t0ok his syllabary to
the council, the members refused 10 believe
it. It was 100 complicated, they said. There
were too many sounds. They would never
learn it.
He said, "h's so simple 1ha1 that I have
taught my six-year old daughter to use it."
They put him to the test. She wrote
down what they said while he was out of the
room, and when he came back, he read ii.
After the syllabary was accepted by the
rnrt, 1991
~
WI
~ WO
sometimes of buckskin, sometimes of blue
cloth - moccasins instead of shoes - and a
turban."
By this time there was intense pressure
on the Cherokee from white people who
wanted their land. Sequoyah left Alabama
with a group led by Chief John Jolly and
settled in Arkansas. He worked some salt
springs and taught the written language 10 the
Cherokees there. At one time, there were
more literate Otcrokees than there were
literate white people in Arkansas!
When the first Cherokees forced to
travel The Trail of Tears arrived out west m
1839, there was much resentment among the
earlier settlers because "the newcomers" were
talcing up the land. There was violent
dissension that threatened 10 destroy the tribe.
and Sequoyah turned his talents and
reputation toward the causes of peace and
tribal unity.
The tribal leaders met and decided 10
write a constitution that all factions could
abide by Sequoyah was elected president of
the group, and if not for his presence, there
probably would have been much more
trouble, because he was a man who did not
take sides and did not harbor grudges. He
was a leader and a man of peace, and it
turned out that he had great powers of
diplomacy.
When the constitution was negotiated,
the Cherokee moved all their belongings 10
Oklahoma.
Scquoyah's final trip was a mission to
Mexico undenakcn when he was about 67.
He journeyed the<e to bring a whole village
of Cherokee people back to Oklahoma.. The
group had starte.d west without a guide
during the Removal, and had wandered down
the wrong river and ended up across the
border. ln seeking for them, Sequoyah died
in the small town of San Fernando, Mexico
in 1843.
•••
Words become only insO'Umencs,
expressions. The written syllabary
significantly changed the world of the
Cherokees, but it is difficult even now to give
a definitive analysis of the impact that
Sequoyah, singlehandedly, had on his tribe. I
think that will have to wait for future
historians.
But one thing is clear: Sequoyah
wanted his people to be able to read and write
like the Europeans, and through his genius
and his efforts he allowed the Cherokees 10
have their own written language. It gave them
a chance to read, and many Cherokees
became better informed than their own white
neighbors. They took pride in that. and they
took pride in the fact that it was their
tribesman Sequoyah who had made ic
possible.
Once the syllabary was widely
circulated, the tribe installed a printing press
in a log cabin office at the tribal capital at
New Echota. It was set with specially cast
type and printed documents and a bilingual
tribal newspaper. TIie Cherokee Phoenix.
There followed translations of the Bible,
hymnals, and prayer books in10 Cherokee.
After the Removal, literate Cherokees sent
leners back and forth between Oklahoma and
the Eas1. Directly or indin:ctly, the printed
word broadened the horizons of every
member of the Cherokee tribe.
It gave the Cherokee a significant
advantage over other Native American aibcs.
Because they could read their own language,
they were able to become acculturated ro
white society easier than the other native
people. That gave them a better chance of
survival in the world they had to face.
Of course, this acculturation had its
negative effecL~. 100. In some areas the new
literacy increased the jealousy of some of the
Cherokees' white neighbors. And at the same
time that it was increasing the Cherokees'
pride and sense of tribal accomplishment,
literacy was also helping to destroy traditional
foundations of tribal society. lndividual
Cherokees became confused about who they
were and turned their back on their native
heritage. As the Cherokee Bibles and prayer
books helped to gain convcns to the Olristian
religion, the power of the medicine people
was eroded and the ages-old spiritual life
withered away.
But because ethnologiSt James Mooney
found small journals in which Cherokee
medicine people had ~ e d their magical
formulas, he was able to preserve a written
record of ancient lore that was lost to many of
the other tribes. Other valuable information
wrincn in Cherokee was preserved as well.
There are medicine chants written by Bird
Partridge in the Museum of the Cherokee
Indian that were written in the native
language, and I am sure I.hat there were other
items of the same natuTC.
(0l>lllinlled <lll P-'CC 24)
1'ati1 fl Jour nd.
a
po(JC
11
�GREEN SPIRITS:
Human societies, cultures, and cuisines
originally developed around the ecological
cycles of plant growth and dormancy. seed
set and tuber development in their regions.
Today it is still highly desirable for each
bioregion to be more self-sufficient in its own
food production. Diet should become more
regionally localized and more seasonable,
with different foods available at different
harvelit periods. Produce .,,. hich is storable
or dryable (potatoes, winter squash, etc.)
would come to be of greater imponance in the
regional diet.
Regional food production (especially
production utilizing low-input organic
methods) would act 10 stabilize regional
economics by decreasing our dependance on
foreign inputs, especially oil and
pem:x:hemicals. Any region can become
more self-sufficient in its food production,
distribution, and marketing.
Critical to the successful development
of regional agricultural economies is the
preservation of the dwindling amount of
remaining world-wide plant genetic diversity.
Thousands of locally selected vegetable and
fruit varieties have been lost in the last
century due to the change from growing
predominantly local, open-pollinated varieties
to the almost exclusive use of F1 hybrid
varieties. Modern hybrid plant varieties have
been developed for characteristics such as
high yield, case of production and uniform
harvest, but not for the generic diversity
which serves as biological insurance against
disease or insect attack.
Hybrid crop varieties have the
disadvantages of (1) genetic uniformity, and
susceptibility to major insect and disease
attack; (2) seeds produced from hybrid plants
cannot be saved and replanted, since their
offspring would not produce a uniform or
stable crop; and (3) hybrid crops require
massive amounts of outside inputs, such as
fenilizers and pesticides, to achieve high
levels of yield. With the loss of genetic
diversity in our food crops, we are losing the
diversity which has developed over millions
of yea.rs, the same genetic differences which
allow plant populations to survive climatic
changes.
PlanLc; which have diverse genetic
backgrounds are generally termed
"opcn-pollinnted" varieties (also called
"non-hybrid," "standard," "heirloom," or
"old•timey" varieties ). Open-pollinated
varieties are more or Jess, randomly
pollinated from genetically diverse parents,
resulting in unique offspring with a wide
range of physical and biochemical genetic
expressions Seeds from open-pollinated
plants contain a great deal of genetic diversity
from which agriculturists can select for
features such as taste, disease resistance, and
suitability of use. By selecting parents with
desirable characteristics. and by crossing
them in selected combinations. improved
varieties, which are more adapted to local
climates, soils etc., can be isolated. Another
major advantage of open-pollinated varieties
is that they retain their genetic diversity,
preserving genes which may be more
:Kcit.i'.w h Jo1.m mt pQCJe 12
Seed Saving to Preserve Biodi:ver~sty,
adaptable to changing environments. II is of
grem practical value to be able to produce and
save one's own seed. 1hereby being able to
gradually selec1 for desired improvements
and bcner local adaptability (i.e. better gene
combinations for a panicular climate or soil).
while retaining genetic diversity.
SEED SA Vl~G REFEREI\CFS
Robm Johnson. Jr. 1983. Growing Garden
Seetlr: A Manual/or Gardeners and Small
Farms. Inexpensive and easy to understand.
Available from Johnny's Selected Seeds;
Albion. Maine 04910. $1.95
Peter Donelan. 1986. Growing ro Seed. A
more detailied presentation. Ecology Action,
Self-Teaching Mini-series# 13. Order from
Ecology Action: 5798 Ridgewood Road:
Willeis, CA, 95490 $3.50.
Suzanne Ashworth. 1990. Seed ro Seed
Seed-saving techniques for over 160
vegetable crops. 240 pp., $20.00 ppd. Order
from Seed Savers Exchange (sec address
below).
SEED SA VJNG ORGANlZATIONS
The Flower & Herb Exchange (FHE)
Rt. 3. Box 239
Decorah Iowa 5210 I
($5.00 annual membership)
Fonunately, there is a growing number
of individuals and developing organizations
which recogni1.e the imponance of preserving
natural genetic diversity in agricultural crops.
The most widely known is the Iowa-based
Seed Savers Exchange, which is a loose
organization of people committed to seed
saving and exchange. The Seed Savers
Exchange believes that the best way to
preserve historical varieties is by propagating
them and distributing them to a widely
scattered number of seed savers. The group
publishes lists of available varieties and
addresses of members with panicular
varieties for exchange or sale. By keeping
open-pollinated plant varieties in the public
domain, the Seed Savers Exchange ensures
that they will be widely propagated and
distributed.
We highly encourage Kan1ah plant
caretakers to identify and promote the
preservation, propagation, and distribution of
local "follc-roce" varieties of vegetables,
ornamentals, and fruits. Local county fairs
can be better orgnnized to identify local
varieties still grown by the old-timers. Talk
with dedicated seed-savers to identify their
favorite varieties and then offer to purchase
or trade for seeds when they arc available.
Multiply these varieties and be sure to further
distribute and "spread the wealth" to help
prevent the loss of these natural treasures.
Secondly, interested gardeners should
seek out open-pollinated varieties and
encourage their use and distribution. Try
growing these varieties and selecting for
plants with improved qualitic:;.
Lastly. plant caretakers need to produce
extra seeds to pass along to other seed-savers
to encourage their increase and serve as
insumnce against the loss of these
irreplaceable heirlooms.
Seed saving can be a simple and
economical hobby. General and specific
information on saving vegetable varieties can
be gained from the books listed below.
Seed Savers Exchange
Rural Route 3, Box 239
Decorah Iowa 52I01
($25.00 annual dues, with reduced
r01esfor "reduced income" membership),
specializing in plant listing ofvegetables and
fruits.
Native Scc<VSEARCH
3950 West New York Drive
Tucson, Arizona
Specializing in S011tllwest
indigenous crops, such as peppers, beans,
dye plants, etc. Dues $10.00 per year.
COMPANIES SPECIALIZING IN
OPEN-POLLINATEO/HEIRLOOM SEEDS
Southern Exposure Seed Exchange
Box 158-N
Nonh Garden, VA 22959
Caralog $3 .00, credited to first
order.
Redwood City Seed Company
PO Box 361
Redwood City, CA 94064
Caralog $/ .00
Bountiful Gardens (Ecology Action)
5798 Ridgewood Rd.
WilliL~. CA 95490
Abundant Life Seed Foundation
Box 772
Pon Townsend, WA 98368
Seeds Blum
Idaho City Stage
Boise, Idaho 83706
Caralog $3.00.
Johnny's Selected Seeds
Albion, Maine04910
Dr•wmg by Rob Mc.nick
- by Lee Barnes
1'nrt, 1991
�Walking Distance
Our transpotation addiction is
responsible for massive ecological and social
damage. Our society is built around the use
of Lhe automobile. It is now necessary for
most people to use a car or bus to get to
work, school, to buy groceries or see most of
our friends. This is a very expensive situation
in currency oflife, money, environmental
qualiLy and in social disruption. Our highest
priority should be to establish villages and
re-establish neighborhoods in which the day
to day needs of the people can be met within
walking distance.
A pattern of local self sufficiency would
have many good effects on our lives and on
the environmenL Fuel use and polluLion
would be cu1 dramatically and people would
save a 101 of money. People be/long in a
walking based society. Children grow up m
greater sccuri ty, and oldt:r folks can live
longer in their own homes when supported
by a caring community. In local economy we
empower each other as we disempower huge
political and industrial cartels. Wal.king and
biking as means of rransponation reintegraLc
people with their environment while
providing a moderate and appropriate
execrcise schedule. People would live longer
and be happier. Inter actions with actual
people would tend Lo replace video reality.
We live in a world designed for cars instead
of people. In a world designed for people,
kids can find enough other kids for a
ballgame any day with decent wcaLher, and
adults can either have the solitude of the
woods or the compt1ny of friends within
walking distance.
Native peoples the world over have
almost always chosen to live in villages.
Synergy is the reason for this. a village is
more than che sum of its pans. In a village
there is more protection from wild animals
and violent people, cooperation in labor, the
sharing of resources such as ox and plow,
GASOLJtlE
JS A
DAJ\JGEHOUS
CHE},JJCA!.
ADDJc·r JON.
and there is the possibility of specializing for
greater efficiency. Even as rteenily as the
1960's most of the people of che world lived
in agricultural villages with forest and field
out the back door and friends and neighbors
out the fronL
One of the reasons people moved to
cities was that the rural villages were cultural
backwaters. This has changed in an era of
satellite communications and U.P.S .. Now
the ideas and goods of the world are readily
available in the wilds of anywhere.
ANGLE: ENVIRONMENT
Fifteen years ago I wrote in my journal
that l had three jobs. The first was for money
so I could keep a roof over my head, eat. and
function in society \\ith a grasp on
self-reliance. Having been a Boy Scout and
raised with respect for nature and a vision of
caring for it, I wanted my job 10 be a pan of
an ecological wlution and not more of the
problem. 8111 I remember thinking at the
same time that "Job One is for money 10 pay
my bills." 1 had to begin wi1h my
self-reliance and forge my conscious ideas in
the marketplace as l went along.
Working as a mechanic. I sometimes
wondered if cars weren't one of our major
problems. Eventually realizing that it was
true, I also had 10 keep in mind that I had
learned to make them run more efliciemly. So
I was able to organi:r.e my thoughts and ideas
with the security my paycheck gave me to
work on Job Two.
For Job Two I recycll!d cars. This was
more of a hobby than a job-type job. I did not
do tt for money, bu1 for the environment. If I
made money that was line, but I figured tha1 I
would do this job as part of a solution. It was
a feeling l kept in my private heart, but I
knew my work muse feed it. If I wns to grow
and strengthen and become a man in the
business world, I had to help in designing
that world for health. I was looking for my
own true man rather than the businessman and trying to keep the roof over my head. So
roff. 1991
ii was my goal not to let this work tax the
environment in nny way, but to engage me in
part of the cleanup. My own system of Earth
first.
In the college town where I lived,
students abandoned cars everywhere. It
didn't seem to mailer how simply they might
be fixed, with their own studies and
graduation on their minds. and maybe sights
set on soon buying a new car, off into the
field the old cars went. I fixed cars man>'
times by putting in a new bauery. Other times
I took two cars and made one good
one...feeding them back into the
:,ystcm... seeing that no good pans were
wasted.
Though technology might give belier
fuel economy from year to year, we must
consider the "Bic Clic" mentality in the
throwaway car industry, keeping in mind the
horsepower it takes and the 1ax on our
environment to keep up the new car cycle.
Seeing the rate at which so many of these
'"dead" cars got crushed, only 10 create a
demand for another ne\\ one, made Job Two
feel very good environmentally. It seemed 10
go out and out. if only in my own thinking,
towards my goals.
My third job was solely for the
environment. 1 would not use fuel nor
generate money: I picked up trash.
II felt so good when money was not my
motivating force. People around me thought I
Photovoltaics can give electricity to the most
remote community. A modem rural
community is an atttactive idea in a time
when cities offer more in the way of crime
and less in the way of cultural attractions. It
is now possible to have the best of
civilization and the best of rural life. The
village is an idea whose time has come again.
The industrial revolution has brought us
great progress in many areas but the pattern
of social disintegration and ecological
degradation that it has fostered must be
changed. Consumerism must be replaced
with a more broad minded philosophy that
cares about the welfare of the entire system.
In a localil.ed economy there are
micro-<:conomic niches for pan time bakers,
appliance repair people, haircuucrs, chicken
keepers, cow milkers, etc. The industrial
revolution separated and scheduled life, work
came to mean job, education came to mean
school, and all of society came to revolve like
a gear around the needs of industry. People's
lives took on the same scheduled and
sequenced rhythms as the assembly line.
Extended families shrank into nuclear
families and then to one parent families.
Prosperity came to mean economic growth
instead of a state of well-being.
Now there are other trends at work, and
these will eventually produce an age of
self-sufficient villages that produce much of
their own power and food and at the same
time can choose co be active members of a
global civilization. The world needs models
for this new generation of rural community.
/
by Will Bason
Drawing by Rob MC$~ock
must have really tlipped. And though a1 fir..1,
1admit, ii did feel a little crazy, I had begun
to realize "new profits" and decided 1hnl
linering was indeed crazier.
I also pickl!d up aluminum. There were
liuer baJTCls up and down both sides of the
street from my home all the way across town.
So every day after work r walked and picked
up paper and cans. The barrels came up like
clockwork, and in them I found an aluminum
mme. There was a can buyer along my route,
so that was my "bank" right on my path. If I
thrcatencd anyone's sensibilities, f soon
didn't care. Because of the social nature of
the work, I was discovering more of what
mnde what tick.
Before long I added up what it was
costing me to go to Job One, and realized I
couldn"t afford ii anymore. Since that time
I've found that I cannot afford 10 work for
money as my chief motivaung force. The
things I do, I do for different reason5. I get a
strong feeling that a lot of the problem~ in the
world, the ones we inherited and the on~ \\e
perpetuate, began and continue because we
have been so busy making money. And as
we start 10 find the things that rc3lly can
s:uisfy us. we also find we don·t need so
much money anymore.
I've learned that sclf-n:liance actually
begins with me - and not with the roof ove~
myhead.
,P'
by lvo Ballentine
x.ai.urui Joun\OL
page 13
�SERYING TI IE OREAT LIFE
These are the words of a traduionaJ Cherokee
medicint ptrson:
1 have said that there are three levels of
conjuring: the personal levt>I, the level of
knowledge, and the spiritual level. (See
Kartfoh Journal #27.)
The first fonn of conjuring is the ways
we know to persuade acquainmnces or people
we are intimate with - every day sort of smff.
The next level is conjuring by
understanding how things work. what I call
the laws of nmurc. The more knowledge one
has at this level, the more ability one has to
conjure.
The highest form is the spiritual fonn or
conjuring. This level requires more than
lenming 10 accomplish it. One can learn how
to do 11, one can completely understand how
it works, and still not have the ability to
make it work. The reason a person may not
be able to do it is because his or her
individual self is in the way.
The whole key to working the higher
fonm of conjuring is to get one's self out of
the way. That's the hard pan. To be a
conjuror requires a personality that 1s strong.
willful, and persistent. Tt takes super courage
10 confront one's own self. That's the biggest
enemy. the biggest monster that ever existed:
our own ego.
The equation for conjuring is One.
There is One Spirit that flows through us all trees, plants, animals, the Eanh. That is our
connection to all things. Getting our
individualistic self out of the way allows us
to hook into that One SP.irit. which is moving
all the time. It is very difficult to get one's
self out of the way, but someone who can
accomplish that may use the spiritual power
for conjuring.
Conjuring, as I know it, corresponds
most closely to the western concept of
"manipulation." And in the dominant culture,
manipulation has bad connotations, because
people don't like to feel like they have been
manipulated, when actually we arc
manipulated all the time. We are manipulated
by our culture. The German people were
manipulated in World War Il. Americans are
manipulated by capitalism and glittery,
materialistic things. Many of the Jewish
people a.re very tied in to their own culture
and their history as a people. We arc aJI
constantly being manipulated.
In a world in which we a.re manipulated
all the time, conjuring can be very useful.
The conjuror can heal people. The conjw-or
can heal people who might otherwise be
dead. The conjuror can interfere with their
fate.
For instance, in this culture it's
absolutely terrifying 10 be told, "You have
Xotuan Journal p!MJC 14
cancer." Cancer is known to be so bad and
usually fatal. When a doctor tells a patient he
or she has cancer, it's devastating. ln some
cases people stan dying right away. They
surrender and relinquish them~elves to the
disense. The will dies.
Doctors can't usually do much about
cancer. But the mind and the spirit together
are so powerful that somerimes they can
make a cure. Sometimes they can provoke the
spirit of the Physician Within to heal a
person, And one does that through conjuring.
If a conjuror is successful, it's amazing
what can happen. Sometimes conjuring on
the third level produces results that seem
impossible 10 people who arc looking at it
from an conventional viewpoint. What they
see cannot be explained in a rational, linear
way.
''Magic comes when all doubt is cleared
from the mind." I don't see events th:11 occur
on the spiritual levels as magic. I see them as
facts - events that can happen all the time.
They only seem extraordinary to people who
are caught up in the physicaJ, materialistic,
self-oriented culture.
Healing may appear to be magic and
mystical, but it isn't. It's a law of nature.
Everyone has the capacity and the ability to
do this if they can get their own self out of
the way.
A conjuror can also do terrible things.
He or she can do absolutely hideous, horrible
things to other people. The same energy that
can heal someone can be used 10 make
another person to sick - just by reversing the
process. But in my experience of watching
people who had the ability to use that power,
the majority of them never did horrible or
terrible things. The simple reason was: the
consequences. There is karma, and it affects
one's spirit. Misusing spiritual power is one
way to destroy the spirit, kill it. How could
that not affect someone spiritually?
Sending a sickness used to be called
"spoiling the saliva." The old peoRle believed
that the spit was the secret way to a person's
spirit. They believed that by spoiling the
saliva they could make a person's spiri1 sick,
and then, since everything is connected, the
biological or emotional being would also
become sick.
The conjuror used to concentrate on the
saliva. using it as the focus point for a strong
meditation. When a conjuror is using a
spiritual form of conjuring, he sees himself,
his real self. He then visualizes the Whole,
and sees himself dissipate into the Whole.
The thought that he takes with him is of the
saliva of the person he is conjuring. When he
rerums with the saliva spoiled, he sends it
back 10 the person, and the person gets sick.
Using the spiritual fonn of conjuring is
definitely interfering with fate. It is the fate of
all of us to die, yet 1 know people who were
healed from their cancer after being given up
for lost by the western physicians. That's
interfering with fa1e. There are consequences
10 interfering with fate, and the consequences
could be positive, or they could be negative.
Conjurors don't feel that the spiritual
burden of interfering in someone's life rests
on thcm. When they are asked to do things,
they do just what somebody asks them. The
person who requests the conjuring is the one
who picks up on the good or bad
consequences of the act, not the conjuror that's our reality. Conjurors consider
themselves to be like the pistol in a murder,
and, by asking chem, their diem pulls the
trigger. h's not the pistol that goes on trial,
it's the trigger-puller who goes on trial.
In tribal times the conjuror was
honor-bound to carry out any fequest. The
tribe used to set apart people to be good
hunters, chippers of arrowheads, or com ~
planters. That was their task in life. A
medicine per.;on was set apart 10 conjure, LO
be a healer, or to be a priest - and there could
be no personal limits set on ii.
The only request a conjuror could
refuse was one lhat would require him or her
to hurt the Great Life, the Whole. lf someone
asked me to conjure the State of Nonh
Carolina to let them dump their toxic waste
along the highway or 10 poison the river, I
would be injuring the Great Life. I could
refuse. Otherwise. a conjuror relinquished
his responsibility.
Still, there were ways to get out of
conjunng acts that one considered distasteful.
One way was 10 get the client to participate in
the conjuring as much as possible. A
conjuror could drag it out for several days to
test their will. Often a person would change
their mind in two or three days.
Or the conjuror could have the person
do some things that didn't absolutely
necessary need to h:lppen.
"Get me a cenain plant up on
Clingman's Dome. There's a li1t1e rock up
under there with some moss that grows on it.
You have to be there in two hours, and you
have 10 hop in from the north on one leg,"
and when they brought that, he would say, "I
need this one other thing. You need to wade
across the river and..." There were always
means 10 slow people down and make them
think about their actions.
As a lasl reson a conjuror could say,
"My will is not going to be into this, and I
don't know how effective this is going to be.
I suggest you go sec another medicine
person."
Because conjuring is manipulation, the
'Fn(l., 199\
�11
idea seems negative and threatening LO many
people of Lhe western culture. But who is 10
tell what is positive and what is negative?
One would have to have a seer in order 10
know before the fact.
As an example, neighbors often do
Lhings against neighbors when they have bad
feelings and resenonems. A medicine person
could do mild fonns of conjuring which
would relieve them of their bad feelings
toward their neighbor, because they felt that
they'd taken action. In the long run, it could
possibly be more positive to do some
superficial conjuring than to let those people
sit around with their resenunents festering
and their bad feelings gening stronger and
stronger. It's a psychological and emotional
pressure release. It's hard to try to justify that
to western people.
It could conceivably be a positive action
to cause somebody 10 get sick. In the culture
that we live in, there is no excuse to
relinquish responsibility to go out and smell
the flowers and just be. Sickness is the only
valid excuse. And sometimes there's so much
stress and pain in the lives of people involved
with the dominant culture that they will create
a sickness just 10 meet that need to relinquish
responsibility.
A good healer shouldn't limit him or
herself to biological matters; a good healer
shouldn't limit him or herself to social
matters. A good healer should understand
that there isn't anything in this culture that
will let us relinquish responsibility but being
sick. He or she is a priest A healer should be
able 10 say, "Listen, take a week off. Go to
the beach, do what you like 10 do."
Conjunng • manipulation - is good
when it serves the Great Life. That's the
governing principle. Through the whole
process, the conjuror has 10 keep the ego out.
Of course, it is true that "Where I go, ego."
There's a very fine balance there. I am
constantly asking myself the question, "Who
does this serve? Who does this serve?"
Because if l felt I was acting just to serve
myself and my ego, I would stop
immediately.
Conjuring puts one in a position of
power, but it has to be done without a sense
of power. Working on the spiritual level is
powerful, bul if the conjuror is receiving a
sense of power, rhen he is manipulating the
situation for his own individualistic intereSt
One of the ways you can tcU a good
healer or a good priest is that they just act
They do n0t think that ii might be benefiting
them. They accept it as pan of their individual
spiritual path. Things just keep happening.
Each incident could be a challenge, a test. a
blessing, a joy, or ail of these things.
Myself, rm not special. rm a human
being, trapped in a body that eats, shits,
suffers, and die~ just like everyone else.
And sometimes it's a curse and sometimes
it's a blessing, but that's just the way it is. I
accept iL
This role of medicine person has been
something that I needed spiritually. It's been
an ego challenge for me. There have been
times in my life when I've wanted 10
manipulate people for my own gain - and
known that I could have done it. Without the
slighiest bit of doubt, l knew I could get what
I wanted from these people simply because I
understood things that they didn't
understand. But I felt that doing that would
damage me in some way. It wasn't worth the
immediate gratification. It just wasn't worth
it.
People who are conscious, really
conscious, cannot be conjured or manipulated
in any way. But most people can be conjured
because their mind is someplace else constantly.
I have yeL to run across one person
whom l couldn't conjure 111 some time in their
lives. I have met gurus and ail other sons of
people, and at some point each of them
would slip into self, or imponance, or "my
trip," or some other negative state.
Yes, it would be wonderful ro live in a
world where people were so clear that they
could n0t be manipulated or conjured. That
would be the ultimate goal. But we are going
to have to be more advanced than we are,
much more advanced. I hope that we can
reach that point. It's one of those things that
are possible for the future.
Things wiU be different when people
stan seeing that we are pan of a living
/
organism, the Great Life.
A Rotting Log
Call ii a waste. Call it a shame.
And you are numb to this other life.
1lusoldoak
has barely had lime to die.
Alre.idy mushrooms grow through mosses
against hues of amber, brown, and gold.
A snake is rurll!tl up in a hole
beneath her weight.
A bear will winter ,n the heart
twelve feet h11,h
where lhe trunk broke off from the bottom.
To build a ncsl
a woodrat crawls into the ca,,ty.
To her life and dl'alh smell the same.
And arthropods th:it h\'c nowhcN! else
arc mo\'ing through the 50h wood,
laying eggs.
Thl'Y too arc dymg.
Ra,pt,crrics ,ind gr.ire:, grow up around
for slw ha!> falkn
hgh1 1s ll't into the for<.'SI.
Four years from now t"-o nroms
will fall to grow
on this rothng log
I win trees c,f the same mothc-r.
This de.ith 1s so ferule.
The fc,rcst keeps its promises.
PholO by Rob Mcss,cl.
rnrr.
1'191
J(ntunh Jou111n[ pnlJC 15
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BIOREGIONAL BURNABLE OF THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS
Livin' By Their Wits
It sure is a stitch watchin' all these
"back-to-the-land" people and the tourists
come to the mountains lookin' for serenity
and a good life. Those poor young folks
come here with these notions of raisin' a
family and havin' a piece of land 10 work.
while at the some time they're in need of a
high payin' job to get the land and the house.
Why the prices those tourists can afford are
enough to drive anybody whose been here a
while right through the roof!
Not only do they come with these high
minded ideas about doin' everything the
organic way. like that was some kind of
religion or somethin'. half the time they don't
even know the basics of tendin' a place and
they st:ut belly•achin' cause the works too
hard, or the bugs are drivin' um crazy, or
they can't get things happenin' the way they
wan't um 10 in the first couple years.
I know dern well we can't go back to
the old subsistance days like they were when
my folks grew up here. I guess I have to give
some of these young people a little credit for
tryin' to find a good way 10 live with the
land. But they always seem to be squablin'
amongst themselves about somthin' or
another. One wants to live on a piece of land
with a bunch of other people. while another
is satisfied to stick it out where they are.
Most of um can't figure out where they want
their kids raised either. and there's hardly a
school they feel is fiuin' 10 send um to.
h seems like when I was raised it was a
little clearer where a person stood. Livin' by
your wits wasn't just some nice thing to do
on the weekends, it was your bread and
butter. Usually it was our of necessity that
cenain people did ccnain things so a family
could survive. Nowadays theres all these
splinteriud groups like feminislS,
environmentalistS, pro-business factions, and
government people tryin' 10 tell everybody
what they think is besL I think they're all too
big for their britches if you ask me. Men sum
beho.vin' like women and women start
behavin' like men; the timber people and
these self-appointed environmental rescue
squads go at each other; these dem franchises
come in and pay people next 10 nothin' while
the money moves off to far away places; and
college trained officials from down in the
piedmont come and show off the version of
zoning 1ha1 seems to suit um best.
It all seems like some big jumbled mess
to me. As long as everybody is in it for
themselves I don't see how we are ever goin'
to conduct ourselves in such a way that
families survive, and schools can be places of
leamin', and govemmenlS don't have their
hands in everybody's business. It's like
there's too many vultures buzz.in' around
these mountians and not enough decent folk
to talce care of um and protect um.
1(.Qtuar~)ou.rna1 p09e 10
Some of these back-to-the-lander types
are more than a linle spoiled 100. They come
from cities where things seemed to be fed to
um all the time. They kinda remind me of
tourists thar hang around a little longer till the
money dries up. or their kids move away, or
they get tired of it and they leave. rew of um
have the backbone 10 make it through hard
times, but some of um learn how 10 li<aen to
the mountainside and how it can provide
medicines, food, warer. and materials for
shelter if they don't me~s around 100 much
with its own state. There's a lot of leamin' in
store for um if they take a likin' to it, but
most of um get huffy and impatient.
l just hope that if the cities start havin'
more problems and geuin' more congested
that they all don't keep comin' here thinkin'
there's some easy life just waitin' for um.
Maybe its good that mountain life is hard.
But that ain't goin' 10 stop um from comin' 10
have a look. that is as long as the price of gas
holds out.
recorded by Rob Messick
An Old Family Tale
My mother's youngest brother, James
Francis Dresenbury. came 10 Conway, SC 10
visit his sisters and brothers when I was a
linle girl. One day he gathered all his nieces
and nephews together and told this tale of a
happening when he was a little boy.
He began by praising his mother for her
thrift and saving ways. made necessary by
the ume just after the War Between the
States. Then he told us it wa.,; the time of year
when cherries were ripe. The trees had a
bumper crop and a bushel or more had been
seeded and made into cherry preserves. The
seeds had been left on the back porch for
several days. One morning my grandmother
told a little helper boy 10 empty these seeds
into the chicken ya.rd.
The next time anyone noticed the
chickens they were all lying prone around the
yard. Grandmother was not only sorry to
lose her prized chickens. but since she did
not know what had kilkd them. she could
make no use of the meat. But she decided she
would not have 10 lose the feathers too • so
they brought the chickens in and plucked the
feathers to use in pillows and feather beds.
The chickens were thrown our into the
yard to be buried later. About an hour after
that, someone exclaimed, "Look at the
chickens!'' They were gawking and walking
around stark naked. Their little tipsy spell had
worn off! The sun was beaming hotly and 10
keep them from getting sunburned, the girls
took some calico and made clothes for them.
by Bess Hwbison
The Slide
lt was a hot day in nonheastern
Tennessee. Leslie had been bugging her
parents for hours 10 take her and her little
brother to a campsite with a water slide. After
driving for hours, the family finally found
one and pulled in. Leslie's dad paid the fee
and made some small talk with the rotund
female auendant.
After they chose a spot and got the
camp ready for the night Leslie's mom let her
get her swimming suit on. At long last she
took her younger brother by the hand and
\\Cnl over to the big double tunneled water
slide that emptied into a cool pool. Her
brother wus more than a little scared at the
idea of whizzing around in these coiled
slippery runnels. so Leslie 1old him to stay at
the pool while she went to the top where au
the action got staned. She saw the water
gushing out of the pipe when she got to the
top. and the excitement was growing inside
her. The man watching the entry instructed
her 10 lean into the curves and off she went.
She squealed with excitement around
the first bank. Then aU the sudden the people
at the pool noticed a distinct change in the
pitch of her squeals. They had transformed
into blood curdling yells, as her brother and
some other grown-ups watched her come 10
the end of the ride twirling a large copperhead
above her head like a wild laso rope. As she
hit the water her grip on the snake loosened
and it was flung into the woods, where
presumably it got away unharmed. That
water slide has been closed ever since.
by Rob Messick
How Can You Lose
Anything as Big
as This Ego?
Back in my formative years. Actually a
little after what is considered the normal
formative years in terms of physical maturity.
but 001 in mental maturity, or emotional or
spiritual or whatever you want to call that
other pan of us that isn't the meat. Of course,
I'm still in my formative years for that other
thing. or stuff, and probably always will be.
Hopefully. a1 least. I wonder how many
parenthetical thoughts you're allowed 10 hnve
in a row? Sometimes I think all of my
thoughts are parenthetical. And so on.
Anyway, back in my formative years
during college, when r became exposed to a
world of ideas and the evolution or revolu110n
of the human being.
Being human.
f vowed 10 become a better person. By
God, or nature. or whatever, I was' going to
become a near perfect human being!
raft. 199 1
�No one is perfect.
The fust step on that evolurion, I
learned, was to lose your ego. r should have
seen it coming. The idea of striving to be
perfect and at the same time losing your ego
is, to put it lightly, a quagmire. Perhaps the
contradiction is obvious. The closer you feel
(your ego feels) that you (your ego) is
corning closer 10 perfection, the beuer your
ego feels. In fact, it's damn pround of itself.
And the bigger it grows.
I suppose that is the pitfall the mystics
always talk abouL 111ey always warn amid
their other mumbo jumbo that all of this
mumbo jumbo, and ego losing, can be
dangerous. I never understood that. Sitting,
contemplating one's navel, or chakras, or
marimbas or whatever. Never seemed very
threatening to me. It now occurs to me, that
what is really dangerous, and what they were
probably talking about, is thinking, or
suffering from the delusion, that one is
actually losing their ego. That's because,
while you think you're losing your ego, it's
actually growing. And your life becomes a
hypocrisy. In other worlds, you think you're
o ne thing but you 're actually 1he
opposite. Which leads 10 lots of embarrassing
moments when you're suddenly acting unlike
the perfec1 person you arc supposed tO be. As
a matter of fact you're acting like a perfect
asshole, but you're ego's so big that it's in
control and won't let you blame it. As a
ma uer of fact, it's telling you that it doesn't
even exist. A clever subterfuge to keep the
rest of your meat ignorant of the fact that
everything it's doing is to feed this ego that's
grown so large it needs constant nourishment
to keep from collupsing into a stinking rotten
heap that can be smelled by anyone within
visual distance.
So it blames others. It couldn't be
because you're selfish. Only people with
egos are selfish. You don't have an ego so it
must be them. It couldn't be because you're
not envious. Only people with egos are
envious. You don't have an ego. So they
must be assholes. Eventually. everybody
becomes an asshole, except yourself, of
course, and the world no longer deserves
your unselfish administrn1ions of good
works. Actually, 1he whole damn world can
go to hell in a handbasket, for all you care.
because you have your own world which is
your ego, which by now has grown 10 the
size of a small plane1oid. I measured mine
recen1ly, when arter ten years I found i1
hiding behing the nas1y remarks I was
making 10 my wife in order, I have since
learned, 10 make pillars for my enormous ego
10 rest on since it had grown so large that
even in the airy netherworld of egos, it could
no longer suppon its own weight. It is
currenly the size of Pluto.
How did all this come abou1?
rnnocently enough, at least if you were 10 ask
FausL It was initiated by a commendable
desire. I wanted 10 become an enlightened
individual who would nunure the
splendorous miracle of life and make it reveal
its most beau1iful aspects 10 me and those
around me, and eventually the whole damn
world. Yes. l was going to improve the
general lot of humankind through the exercise
of my perfec1ed egolcss will. Of course, it
would take me a few years to reach this state.
The method by which I would reach it was
meditation and aceticism. Hedonism,
raCC., 1991
ac.rually. We!I, a[rcr all, I wasn't going 10
nuss out on hfe JUSt because of this ego crap.
And soon.
Actually, just pure naked experience
was my goal, and women. I was actually the
product of a damaged ego. Damaged by
was doing. Of course, it probably assumed
from past experience that if l did know I
would have stepped in somehow and
screwed up the whole process. Which I think
is the whole point of meditation - gcniog
yourself out of the way so that you can just
constant female reJection during those
aforementioned formative years, meat and
01herwise. So I strutted my naked experience
among the dregs of society. Playing wi1h
1hem. parrying with them, but always (of
course) somehow feeling above it all.
Superior.
Each day expanding my awareness
through mcdiiation ... consciousness
expansion (i.e. ego expansion). Whal is ;1
human being without ego? Whom am I,
anyhow? A boneless chicken. And so on.
All throughout my stru1 I was doing
great acts. Or so I thought. Trying to s1op
nuclear weapons by having a conference of
six hippie college students in West Virginia,
and sleeping with the best looking one after
she played wilh my knee under the.: table.
Didn't do much to stop nuclear weapons, but
it did wonders for my ego. More fuel for the
fire Very linle effect on world peace.
But a great person (i.e. perfect human
being. Don'1 forget, that was my destination)
must do great things. Or at least things with
the stamp of greatness to feed 1hnt giant ego
which I was supposed to be losing. What I
was losing, was my meat. I staned 10 gel
quite thin. This ou1sized ego, which I had
convinced myself. was diminishing, drove
me 10 do all kinds of ~trnnge things. II used
my intellect to r.itionaliz.e every ego foeding
acl as a philanthropic act. It used my meal 10
take it places where it could feed . But it
didn't feed on organisms, ii fed on ~piri1s.
As I said, I now realized 1hat this was,
all along. the pl:in of a severely damaged ego
(an ego which had been victimized and
punished again and again for no apparent
reason, by a very confused piece or meat), to
save icself. First, confuse the meat with all
types of inscrutJble mysuc mumbo jumbo
and convince it that you are leaving entirely.
Next, make the meat go into self-induced
comas periodically so it won't be aware of
you as you sneak back in and take con1rol of
nerve central. Then make the meat go ou1 and
do all kinds of things with the veneer of
goodness. no matter how ineffcetual the acts
are. Make the meat think it is on a Godly
mission, maybe even a messenger or disciple
of God, so that it's willing to put up with all
kinds of nasty physical deprivations, while
the ego feeds, and feeds, and feeds.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not
saying this is all bad. My ego did need
fixing. I just wish it had let me know what it
take over. But now it really has gotten om of
hand. My ego has grown much to large and
has become an independent agent which
seems 10 care little, if a1 all, for myself, and
only keeps my meal around so tha1 it can
have corporality.
But I chink its beginning to be
confused. For instance, it can't understand
why world leaders haven'! noticed its
magnimity and come to it for advice. Of
course it probably has something 10 do with
the fact that it has ignored its meat to the point
that it has got it working in a sewer plant.
Maybe tha1 is all pan of its mas1cr plan. It
stuck me in a sewer plant shoveling shit, and
gave me a beautiful little boy and wife, to
show me, finally, that it really isn't gone, but
is actually the.: size of Pluto. Really much too
big 10 ever be s:uisfied. It needs to trim itself
down. Get back to fighting weight. Big egos
are seldom happy. They're always hungry.
Maybe I really can lose it this time.
Maybe the stink of the plant will drive it
away. Maybe I need to meditate, not on my
connection 10 the cosmos. but on the true
insignificance or my acts 10 the world at
large. and the very real significance of my
acts 10 one very litulc boy and one very
~pccial woman. The only good things my ego
ever did for me.
Actually working at a sewer plant has
probably done more to help me lose my ego
1h.in all the meditation and good acts could
ever do. Not JUSI because of the work, but
because of the male bonding of 1he work
crew, which consists of the mutual
destruction of self-wonh. Maybe it's due 10
an inherent understanding 1hey have of the
immensi1y o( the male ego, and they practice
this form of humiliaton 10 keep it in check.
While we of the enlightened new age SIJ'Oke
each others ego. until they devour our very
relationships.
In any evem, my ego is now shrieking.
Ifs starved, and it has revealed itself. It can
no longer hide (amazing that something as
big as Pluto could hide all that time).
Though, actually, I think everyone else could
see it. Everytime I looked around, however,
10 see what they were looking at. it ducked
··
out of the way.
Preuy nimble for such a big fellow'/'
/J!f
by Maxim Didgct
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t
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Near Todd at a bend on the New
Rh·er there is a spot b-.nown as Peggy's
Hole. It was named that because of an
incident that occured there at the
beginning of the 1800's. An elderly
woman named Peggy Clauson \Vas
going to church on Sunday morning
when she saw a dog run a bear off a cliff
at that spot. The bear landed in the
water and was stunned. Peggy waded
in, grabbed the bear by the ears and held
its head under the water until the bear
was drowned .
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An old lady near Canton told me
her grandfather was hiking near
Shining Rock when he was a young
man. A panther started following him.
I Ie started running and the panther
sped up. To slow him do""'ll, lhe man
took off his shirt and threw it down.
The panthc>r stopped long enough to
rip it to shreds, then started chasing
him again. The man kept throwing his
clothes down as he ran down the
mountain. By the time he got home, he
was completely naked.
This series of paintings came about while 1 was hiking and drawing in remote
areas of the mountains of Western North Carolina. There I met mosUy older people
who had grown up in the Southern Appalachians. Many of these people were very
friendly and once a conversation started, they would communicate their knowledge
of an area by telling stories.
These paintings are not meant to be illustrations of the stories, but a freer form
that incorporates commentary, associations, my own subjeclive reactions, and
elaboration on the images provided by the story and its place of origin. I'm attempting
to develop a fonn between illustration and pure painting.
As each day passes, we tend to lose our intimate connection to the Earth, and also
�n Stories
..",
,
I
1,
by Robert Johnson
At Cranberry when the old folks
there ~ere young, the parents used to
tell them that the pools of water in the
iron mines didn't have a bottom. If
they ever became unstopped, all the
water would go rushing out and take
the children, all the people and the
whole town of Cranberry with it.
I asked a young man how Standing
Indian Mountain got its name. He said.
"1 don't know. I guess an Indian just
stood there."
I asked a middle-aged man. He said,
"During the Civil War a band of
Cherokee Indians fought bravely here
and stood up to the enemy."
I asked an old man. He said, "Before
white men came here, Lhere was a
monster who lived on Lhe mountain
and would carry off people. So the tribe
posted a brave up on the mountain to
keep watch. The thunder spirit saw Lhe
monster creeping up on the brave and
sent down a bolt of lightening,
shattering rocks, destroying the
monster, and turning the brave to
stone. Today one can see shattered
rocks and a stone Indian on top of the
mountain."
stories like these that come from the pre-industrial culture of the Southern
Appalachians. These simple but powerful stories have an almost mythical quality,
and they embody a connection between the land and oral knowledge of the land,
which is a culture that is dying out. This project is my attempt to get to know Lhese
stories and to keep them alive a while longer.
Robert Johnson's paintings of ''Mountain Stories" are on display until September
27th 1991 at the Blue Spiral I Gallery; 38 Biltmore Avenue; AshevilJe, NC 28801 (704)
251-0202. The paintings will later be shown in the six counties from which the stories
came: Yancey, Macon, Haywood, Ashe, Avery and Rutherford.
�, ~~TER~HEQ.JWI..J?.S" ,,,.,.,t.
NIIIUnl World News Service
In 1989 the Water Supply Watershed
Protection Act sailed through the Nonh
Carolina legislature. The bill w~ passed
unanimously in the Senat~ and 1ll .~e House
there were only six votes ~ opposmo~. !he
legislation enacted protecnons for mumCJpal
drinking water supplies so that n~w .
development did not endanger Lhts basic
resource.
. ,
In August, 1991 North Carolinas
Deparnnent of Environmental Management
(DEM) held public hearings across the Slate
on the implementation of the new water
regulations. Public reaction was
.
unprecedented. Across the state the heanngs
were long and stormy. Each of the eight
meetings drew more than l.~ people. The
hearings in Asheville and Hickory were
anended by more than 1,500 people each.
The state was completely unprepared for the
surge of public interesL In Hickorx, the .
meeting site was changed 10 ~ locan~n with a
larger capacity, but after heaTlllg tesumon~
for one full day the speaking roster ~s soil
only one-half completed and the heanng had
10 be continued at a later date.
There was clearly-defined, and
sometimes biller, controversy at the
watershed protection hearings. The theory of
the Watershed Protection Act is that
development must be contr0lled in
.
watersheds that provide drinking water in .
order to protect the purity of the supply. This
raised the boogie of land use management,
the "Z word - zoning," in the mind of many
traditionally conservative landowners and
farmers. Some saw the bill as a direct threat
10 their property rights. Others saw it as the
first step in an insidious government plan to
gradually enact a full set ofland use
management contr0ls. As ~'lolly Di~gins of
the state Sierra Club orgamzauon said,
"Where locru governmcntc; should be seeing
'protection,' many are seeing only
'restriction."'
Development interests played on these
fears with a concencd public outreach
campaign, and aroused a strong opposition to
the w:uer protection measures. These . .
interests see a loss of profil in any rcstncuon
of development
The opposing pole at the public
hearings were environmentalists who
supponed the protective regulations and
protested that they were not strong enough.
Agricultural and silvicultural opcr.itions
should be regulated as strictly as
construction, they said. Presently the rules
provide water bodies only a IO foot buffer
against agricultural activities, which often _arc
major sources of erosion and wnter polluuon,
whereas buildings have to be outside a 100
foot buffer around protected streams.
There was also concern that
"grandfather" clauses. under which existing
buildings and projects would be exeml)t from
the provisions of the watershed protecuon
measures, would weaken the regulations to
the point of uselessness.
Also supporting the regulations were
town residents who did not take a supply of
pure drinking water for granted and wanted
10 ensure protection of their !Own wa_ter
supplies in the face of ever-encroaching
X.Otuof, Journal'. poge 20
development.
This round of the drinking water
protection fight is not yet over. ln light of the
controversy generated by the regulations, the
DEM has extended the public comment
period on the watershed protection
regulations until October 31. It is particularly
imponant that the DEM hears from the people
of the mountain region.
Direct co=nt.f 10:
Sttvt Zoufaly
Division of Environ~IUQI Management
8ox29535
Raleigh. NC 27626.
YES MORE WILDERNESS!
N1111r.il World Nev-s Sa-vice
Saturday, July 6, one of the bu~iest
rafting days of the year, there mystenously
appeared across the Nantahala River a long
banner saying "Yes More Wilderness! Save
Cheoah Baldi"
Rafters taking out downstream were
met by activists from the organi1ation
SouthPA W requesting responses for a
"Forest Service Evaluation Sheet."
.
"Did you know that the Forest Service
is planning a timber sale only 1/2 mile above
the Nantahala and within sight of the river?"
More than 95% did not know
"Do you think that the Cheooh Bald .
area, the: largest unprotected roadies.~ area in
the Nantahala-Pisgah National Forests should
be allowed to return 10 old growth?"
99% thought it should.
"Do you think that the Forest Service
should stop logging in the national forests?"
98% thought they should.
South PAW struck again at Forest
Service credibility at the agency's Reanalysis
Checkpoint meeting concerning the
re-evaluation of the Land and Resource
Management Plan for the Nantahala-Pisgah
National Forests. South PAW calJed for a
boycou of the meeting, saying that the Forest
Service refused lO consider the relevant
ecological issues in its planning.
The meeting was billed as a scoping
meeting, but a SouthPAW handout said
"Wrong End of the Scopel" declaring that
the Forest Service had its priorities reversed,
since it seemed to be more interested in
sellin-g,tirpbgr:,tJw!,pwJe:C~Jlll~~// i,
diversity o( the forest. In the flier the group
reiterated their position that the national
forcstS in the Kaninh Province should be
habitat areas free from roads and commercial
exploitation.
There were about equal numbers of
people inside and outside the Owen
Conference Center at the University of Nonh
Carolina Asheville where the Forest Service
meeting was held. But in C<?n~st _10 the
restrained and orderly mcenng ms1de the
building, those out on the lawn boisterously
chanted, laughed, and played drums and
kazoos.
At lunch time the activists congregated
at the student open forum in the lobby of lhe
university center to hear Buddy Newman
read lhe alternative forest protection plan he
authored for SouthPAW. Nantahala-Pisgah
Forest Supervisor Bjorn Dahl was among the
audience listening 10 the proposal and later
invited South PAW representatives to a
meeting with Forest Service personne! to
discuss 10 their ideas for the Appalachian
forests.
To take action on behalf oftlu: Appalachian
forest habitat. write:
SouthPAW
Ba:d/41
Aslu:ville, NC 28802
KILLING Lm'LE FISH
NIIUnll Wodd News Scrv,cc
A series of five different spills over a
seven month period last year that dumped
untreated wastewntcr, oils, and concentrated
foams into the Pigeon River will cost the
Champion International paper mill in Canton,
NC $60,000. These are the first fines ever
levied against the company by the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)..
According to Champion .~pokespe:Son David
Craft the mishaps were the first m recent
mem~ry" at the plant. The ftrst spill, of an
unknown quantity of untreate~ wast~":'ater,
was evidently the most damaging, killing,
according 10 Craft, "270 little fish." Croft_
maintained th:u neither the foam nor the oils
were hazardous to human or aquatic life.
Champion had originally faced a
$125,000 fine from the EPA;the m~imu~
allowed by law. However, after meeung wuh
mill officials last February and March, t11e
agency downgraded the fine. The company
representatives maintained that Champion
should not be assessed the full fine because
the spills were caused by malfunctioning
equipment and not by human error or
deliberate neglect The EPA seemed to agree.
Craft said that another reason for the reduced
fine was evidence that "Champion has taken
steps 10 mitigate the damage," from
skimming escaped oil off the nvcr banks to
closing the malfunctioning valves that
Champion maintains caused four of !he
spills. However, the EPA also penalized
Champion for failing to file a formal repon of
one of the spills within the required five
days, an oversight Craft blamed on an
"administration problem."
Oaft said that Champion would
probably not appeal the fin 7 "~e.~o bel!eve
that the amount of the fine 1s fair, he said,
calling the accidentS "a series of unintentional
and unrelated failures within the mill."
1'c:afL, t99l
�NEW PERSPECTI•VES 0N TRE "~'·
CHATTOOGA ..
Natural World News Sctvice
EnvironmcntaJ groups from three states
and three national forest administrative areas
have combined 10 form the Chanooga River
Watershed Coalition (CRWC).
The Chatto0ga is a beautiful river, one
of the most popular recreational rivers in the
Karuah Province. Pan of itS length has been
designated a Wild and Scenic River, and a
large tract in its headwaters area beneath
Devil's Courthouse near Highlands, NC was
recently bought by the Trust for Public Land
and transferred to the US Forest Service 10
preserve its pristine character.
The CRWC has wriuen an alternative
Land and Resource Management Plan for the
watershed which they are requesting the US
Forest Service 10 adopt. The plan is
important, first of all, because it proposes a
unified forest management program based on
watershed boundaries, rather than along state
or national forest tines. At present, the
Chauooga watershed is managed under three
different, and somerimes conflicting, national
forest management plans.
"A landscape with natural ecological
integrity is the desired future condition of the
watershed," says the CRWC proposal. The
coalition suggests a new, standardized
management unit, the Ecosystem
Management Area, 1hat would base
management on complete forest habitats
rather than on timber sale companmems.
The CRWC is requesting a meeting
with Forest Service supervisors and regional
and national personnel to discuss
implementing their plan in the Chattooga
watershed.
interest. the DO.Ii e11ct&fup with nver four
days of testimony which they scheduled
concurrently in auditoriums in two different
locations over a two-day period. ("Divide and
conquer," said one activist. "It's an old
tactic.")
Attendance at the hearings ,vas about
equally divided between opponems of the
plan and workers from Oak Ridge nuclear
facilities bussed to the hearing from work.
Although the workers, wearing T-shirts
saying "Complex 21" superimposed over n
map of Tennessee. made their presence felt,
of the 376 speakers more than 68% were
opposed to the pluronium plant, in the
estimate of the Oalr. Ridger newspaper.
The testimony was sometimes brilliant,
always heartfelt. Speakers talked about
cancer risks. damage 10 the environment, the
possibility of nuclear accidents, and the need
for disarmament now that the primary
adversary had dropped out of the game.
In the afternoon of the second day
srudents from Oak Ridge schools testified a1
the hearings. One student presented a petition
with 65 names of students against Complex
21 in Oak Ridge or anywhere else on Eanh.
Several high school students also testified at
the hearings, all opposed to the planL
The DOE will ruei~t written comme111s 011
tht Rocky Flats pluto11ium plant rdocatio11 until
Ocrotn~r 30. Mail r.omme111s to the Dtpartmi!fll of
Energy. clo:
Oak Ridgt E11vira11111t11tal and Ptace Alliance
Box 1101
KnoX\/ille. TN 37901
T~ Chattooga Riw!r Wattrs~d Coalitio11
Box368
Clayton, GA 30525
PLUTONIUM OR. .. NO!
Narun! World Ne..,, Service
"Please let me introduce myself. I am
Plutonium, the God of unnatural death and
suffering."
The black-robed figure with the grisly
skcleial face stood before the impassive
bureaucrats presiding at the "Reconfiguration
of the Nuclear Weapons Complex" hearings
in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. At issue was the
future of the nation's nuclear weapons
program, specifically the plutonium
processing facilities at Rocky Flati.,
Colorado. The plant has contaminated its site
in Colorado and has to move. The DOE is
considering locating it either at Oak Ridge or
the Pantex plant near Amarillo, Texas.
For the first rime ever, the Depanment
of Energy (DOE) had called for public input
on the future of the program. The agency
scheduled 15 hearings around the country.
TheorericaJly, they would listen 10 what was
said and consider the opinions offered in their
program and policy decisions.
People responded, aroused through the
effons of area peace groups spearheaded by
the Oak Ridge Environmenuu and Peace
Alliance. The hearings were scheduled to last
one day. Because of the outpouring of public
Tai(, 199 1
"WE DON'T BUY YOUR LINE"
The Appalachian Power Company
wants to build a 765,000 volt power line
through southern Wes1 Virginia and
southwestern Virginia. The tine is ostensibly
10 provide extra power in Richmond and 1he
eastern pan of the state of Virginia.
To sell their idea, the ucility company
se1 up a series of hearings along the line's
proposed route. They met with solid
opposition aJI along the way.
The company came to the meetings
well-prepared. They brought a 30 page
handout, coinplett Willi ~li~.'gl-Jphs:'~d
maps. They also distributed a report. "Faces
on EMF' (electromagnetic fields) to dispute
scientific evidence that high volrage Lines
cause genetic damage and degenerative
disease.
But the people were not buying it More
than 50 people opposed to the power line
showed up at the meeting in Giles County,
VA and 300 people attended the meeting in
New Castle, VA. Another meeting in Hinton,
WV also brought out strong opposition to the
line. A meeting in Monroe County, WV was
canceled because hearing officers feared
violence. The meeting was rescheduled,
however, and 300 people peacefully declared
their strong opposition 10 the power line.
As well as health concerns, people
attending the hearings feared that herbicide
spraying would contaminate their water
supplies, and that the power lines would mar
the scenic beauty of their area, which they
considered an imponant asset. Critics also
questioned the value of the plan, saying that
the new power line would encourage higher
levels of energy consumption and sidetrack
attempts to promote energy conservation.
Baud 011 a report ill the New River Free Pre,;.,;,
available from Box 846: Blacksburg. VA 24063.
1165 MEGAWATTS OF
POLLUTION
Nawn.I World New. ScMc:e
The Blue Ridge Environmental Defense
League (BREDL) is warning thar Duke
Power Company is planning to build a 1165
megawau electric generating plant in
Lowesville, NC in the piedmont county of
Lincoln. The plant would be fined to operate
on either diesel fuel or natural gas, but the
primary fuel source would be diesel. When
running on diesel fuel, the plant would tum
out 4,278 pounds of sulfur dioxide per hour,
according to BREDL director Janet Hoyle.
Sulfur dio,ude is a main component of the
complex of pollutants that produces acid rain.
The plant is proposed as a peak power
generating plant. meaning that it would only
operate at times of peak power demand when
electricity is most profitable. Duke originally
asked that the plant be allowed to operate
3,500 hours per year, but later reduced their
request 10 2,000 hours per year.
The proposed site for the plant is 56
miles southeast of the Linville Gorge
Wildeme:.s .Arca. Data collecred by Duke
Power and the NC Department of
Environmental Management (DEM) show
that prevailing wind patterns would bring the
acidifying pollution directly into the Class I
wilderness area. In their initial application.
Duke admitted that operating at 3,500 hours
per year, the plant would inetcase acid
deposition in Linville Gorge 400-500%.
Even at the scaled-back operating time, acid
pollution from the plant would be
considerable. The US Fore.st Service will
have the right to review the plant to see if it
would adversely affect the air quality of the
gorge.
For mare information·
Bl~ Ridgt E,wironmenra/ Dtfe11St uag~
Box8JJ
Gltndalt Spr111gs. NC 28906
�DYING SOILS, DYING WATERS:
Natural World r-iews
SPECIAL REPORT
Pollution, Collusion, and the Future of the Eastern Forests
by Emmett Greendigger
The 1990 Clean Air Acl seemed to
many citizens to be a sign that lhe federal
government would finally begin to rectify a
decade of willful neglect of envirorunenlal
issues. Now, however, little more than a year
after the act's passage, scientists are
beginning to conclude that the reductions in
atmospheric emissions mandated by the bill
will not be sufficient to protect sensitive
forest areas or mountain streams.
Resean:hers are discovering alarming
damage to forests and streams, damage that
to a great extent was ignored or soft-pedaled
by the government studies that led to the
Qean Air Act, and many scientists and
environmentalists charge that the research on
the effects of acid precipitation carried on by
the Reagan and Bush administrations was full
of design flaws, done in collusion with
industry, and guided by politics more than by
objective science. They charge that the
research was, in effect, rigged in favor of
"business as usual," rigged to such an extent
that many feel that the Oean Air Act is merely
a baby-step toward protection of the natural
landscape.
Scientific srudies of atmospheric
deposition began in earnest in the late l 970's
when the governments of US President
Jimmy Carter and Canadian Prime Minister
Pierre Trudeau initialed cooperative research
of the freshwater acidification that was
beginning to appear in eastern Canada and the
Adirondack Mountains of upper New York
State. The bilateral rcseareh was carried out
with the understanding that by 1980 an
agreement to reduce sulfur emissions by 50%
would be in place in ordec to protect
freshwater bodies in eastern Tunic Island.
But the regressive environmental policies of
the Reagan administration delayed nnd diluted
the bilaternl rese~. and several imponam
US researchers were fired from the study and
replaced by scientists who were willing to
tolerate the new administration's stalling.
Throughout the I 980's, to deflect crittcism,
Reagan's people pointed to the $570 million
National Acid Precipitation AsS¢ssment
Program (NAPAP) established by Congress
in 1980.
By 1982, the US-Canada project had
been terminated. [n its place was I\APAP.
whose smted purpose was to gather a
database of information about the effects of
atmospheric deposition to guide Congre~s
through the rewriting of the Clean Air Act.
llowevcr. throughout NAPAP's history,
scientisis of both the public and priv:11c
sectors ha~·e tried to \\1lm environmentalist,
of collusion between government and
indwmy on the study. Funds from electric
unlity companic~ and the papc-nnaldng
industry - obviously not dis1nten.:stcd
observers - backed large portions of the
study, ,, hteh intlucnccd the condusions
brought in by the NAP AP research. These
charges are based in part on the otherwise
inexplicable w:iy that NAPAP nam)\\t!d thc
Xn111nf1 )0111110{
ne:::
==
scope and range of acid-induced forest
decline studies. Vermont's camel's Hump
and Hubbard Brook in New Hampshire were
omitted as study sites, despite the fact that
these rwo eastern sites have the longest
record of soil changes related to acid rain.
Until 1986 forests in the Ohio River Valley the source of many of the pollutants that
cause acid rain - were not studied, simply
because there had been no papers published
in scientific journals suggesting that there
was a problem in the region.
Scientists also assen that the results of
the research were manipulated by a design
flaw: NAPAP's forest studies were limited to
a single measurement of the nuaieru content
of the soils at study sites, rather than a
methodology developed in Europe which
measures the rate of change in values over
time. Again, it is difficult to figure out why
NAPAP researchers chose the older method.
when a study of true rates of change would
have been far more useful to Congress.
Not until 1985, halfway through the
research period, when William Ruckelshaus
replaced Anoe Gorsuch Burford as
administrator of the EPA, did serious
research into forests and soils begin in
eamesL But by then it was too late. There
was little time for the imponant "reality
checks," field work, or the peer review and
publication required by NAPAP of all its
researchers. Consequently the Clean Air Act
was rewriuen while important new findings
about acid-induced forest decline were still
being evaluated.
Nonh Carolina State University
pathologist Roben Bruck received NAPAP
funding for seven years lOstudy forest
decline in Kalllah's high-altitude spruce-ftr
forests. I !is findings were largely omitted
from NAPAP's final repon to Congress
(despite the fac t that they were completed,
tested, nnd reviewed as specified by
NAPAP).
The final repon asserted that an
invasion of aphids was responsible for
spruce-fir deaths on some of Kaufah's
highest peaks. According 10 Bruck, this flies
in the face of the research he submitted 10
NAPAP, which showed that only 35% of the
dead trees at such sites as Mount Mitchell,
Grandfather Mountain. and the Grc:u Smokv
Mountains National Parl.. were infested with
aphids. What Bruck found were soil pH
levels as low as 2.7 and 2.8 and rampant
aluminum toxicity levels in the forest soils.
(See Kattialt /()11mal #9). This kind of data,
for obviou~ reasons, is not pleasing to
electric utilitr and paper companic~. and
evidently the .government shan.:s the corporate
distaste for emissions reductions. a~ it chose
rather to blame nature for fon:M decline in
Katuah.
Bruck and other scientist~ now tlclie,e
that one of the m:ij(.)r cause~ of fir die-back
and forest decline in eastern Turtle lslnnd 1s
the change m soil nutnents that occurs a~ lhl"
soil becomes increasingly acidic. Nurogcn
compounds found in acid min an: 1hought to
be a primary culpri1. Levels of nitrogen
exceeding by 20 to 40 times the wnounts that
soil could assimilate have been found in
declining forests all over the East. These
findings correspond to research results in
Germany, too, where nitrogen deposition is
thought to be a primary factor in the
catastrophic waldsrerben ("forest death") in
the Black ForesL Recent European findings
also indicate that in order to halt the damage,
nitrogen emissions must be brought down as
close as possible to the levels found in
unaffected soil communities.
Despite all this, NAPAP still seems
determined to understate the problem. In a
position paper published last summer,
NAPAP officials stated that Eastern forests
do not show any "widespread problems," a
position that seems unforrunatcly consistent
with their apparent lack of concern about
forest decline. Already, the much-ballyhooed
Clean Air Act begins to look like nothing
more than a "first step" toward reversing the
acid-induced damage to the forests. Scientists
now believe that nitrogen emissions must be
reduced by 75% (rather than the 15-25%
required by the Clean Air Act) to halt the
damage from atmospheric pollution.
In contrast, the NAPAP repon to
Congress stated that fonnerly "nitrogen
deficient" soils in commercial pine forests in
the South were being "enriched" by nitrogen
deposition, and its comments about the
effects of nitrogen compounds on other forest
types is so rife with qualifying phrases like
"might ...could...potentially" that it seems
bent on dismissing or discounting the
findings of many of its own researchers.
It seems that it will be quite some time
before we will see any tightening of the Clean
Air Act's controls on nitrogen emissions.
Meanwhile, concerned researchers believe
that eastern forests will collapse within fifty
years, as undernourished and weakened trees
give in to insects and disease, not to men1ion
a newer nemesis: lhe stress from climate
changes associated with the "greenhouse
effect."
As if the sl)\.-Clre of forests thinning,
browning, and dying were not enough, it
also appears chat Kauiah's seemingly pristine
mountain stream.\ are also extrJordinarily
vulnerable to the effects of acid pn.-cipitation,
A spate or recently released studies shows
thc11 extensive damage has already been done
to manr headwmcrs and streams in the
Central and Southern Appal,1chians,
including heavy losses to native brook trout
popula1i(.)ns. Like the forest rescar\:h, these
studies indica1e that the emissions reductions
mandated by the Clean Air Act \\ill barely
begin 10 solve 1hc problem. 111c dire
condi1ion of Appaktchi,1n mountain \\aters
has been rnost thorough!)' documentL'<l by Dr.
James Gallov.uy of the Environnk'nt:il
Sciences Dcpanmcnt at the University of
Virginia. who since the mid-1970\ h~s
published widely nbom Lhe many ,1spccts of
the acid precipitation problem. In 1979,
rnrr.
1
in9c 22
-
1991
�Galloway and a research team began the
Shenandoah Watershed Study (SWAS), a
;om1 project undenaken by the University of
Virginia and the National Park Service 10
"understand the processes that govern
b1ogeochemical cycles'' in the streams of
Shenandoah National Park (SNP). Since the
SNP receives the highest sulfur deposition
load of any national park. the SW AS turned
out to be a far-sighted study of the potential
effects of acidification in freshwater aquatic
ecosystems in the Southern Appalachians.
After a decade of research, the final SWAS
repon indicated "a poor prognosis for aquatic
watcrsystcms in Shenandoah National Park,
due to a combination of watershed sensitivity
and elevated acidic deposition."
The Galloway team concluded that 1hc
dcposi1ion of sulfur, hydrogen, and nitrogen
had increased as much as tenfold from
preinduslrial levels. The SW AS process of
sampling streams on a weekly basis over the
ten years of its research enabled it to make
three primary conclusions: "1) that a large
number of SNP streams were poorly
buffered against acidification; 2) that the
acidification process was being temporarily
delayed by sulfate re1en1ion in v.a1ershcd
soils: and 3) that the acidification of SNP
streams was an ongoing process.''
SW AS researchers predict that some
38% of 1he streams will end up with pl I
level~ below 6.0, the "biologically critical"
level for such streams, while the pH levels of
25o/i: or the streams will decline 10 a pl I level
of 4.7, near-total acidity.
In 1987, 10 broaden his study area,
Galloway and his researchers and a crew of
volunteers from Virgioiu's Trout Unlimited
organization began to monitor 350 streams in
Virginia's mountains. Preliminary repons
were alarming. The researchers found that
93% of the streams were sensi1ive to acid
deposition, and that some 49% of those were
extremely sensitive. Only 7% were found to
be adequately buffered by watershed soils.
Additionally, 10% of rhc streams were
already found to be acidic; in a natural s1ate
3% or less would be normal.
Galloway then chose 65 of those
streams for further monitoring. In June 1989
his research team reponed its findings,
concluding tha1 in spite of the fac1 that the
state's mountain streams drain "relatively
TnCt, 1991
pristine catchments proteeted from direc1
man-m.'lde impacts," they were ''receiving
heavy loads of sulfur from man-made
sources." They predic1ed that, assuming
l 990 deposition levels, at least 32% and
possibly as muny of 88% of the states 450
native trout s1reams will become acidic, with
pH levels 100 low 10 support the forage fish.
trout, amphibians, and aquatic insects who
presently live in and around these streams.
We can expect to see che same here in
Kaufoh, and soon. The Great Smoky
Mountains National Park receives the second
highest level of acidic precipitation of any
region of the eas1~rn United Srntcs. While the
lower deposition levels in Katuah have
delayed the kinds of effects seen in Virginia,
as early as 1978, NacionaJ Park Service
researchers had no1ed 1he poor buffering
capabilities of the streams in the park\ higher
elevations. And in 1984, EPA researchers
found the Davidson River near Brevard in the
French Broad River watershed had a pH level
of 6.55, dangerously near the biological
threshold of 6.0, placing it in 1hc "extremely
sensiuve" range.
According to scientists. this rrcnd will
worsen with 1ime. Among them, conscrva1ive
estimates hold that sensitive streams in
Kattiah's watersheds will undergo coipplete
alkalinity loss within 40 to 50 years. Since
levels of acid deposition follow a nonh-south
gr.tdient along the Appalachian chain, we can
look to moun1ain s1reams farther nonh to
predict our own future. In the Pennsylvania
highlands, researchers found no living trour
in 20%.ofthe
headwater streams
and concluded that
"the streams having
no fish as a group
had significantly
lower pl-I and
alkalinity and higher
dissolved aluminum
than those with
fish."
More ominous
evidence comes
from West Virginia.
According to Don
Gasper, a fisheries
biologist with the
Wes1 Virginia
Department of
Natural Resources,
the Cranberry River
rqrinllXI rrorn TMG/acu,J E.rr01ic
in the south-central
pan of the stale is
already "lost." Fish
population data for the Cranberry have been
kept since 1957. making it one of the few
eastern rivers for which historical change can
be documented. Over the past 30 years, fish
biomass in the Cranberry has decreased from
15 pounds per acre to less than five pounds
per acre, and 1he number of fish species in
the river has declined from 15 to eight. Since
the Oanberry drains one of the largest
wilderness areas in the East, Gasper believes
that "the only disturbance in that watershed is
that acid rain has been falling on it for 40
years."
The higher deposition levels in the
north account for the rapid changes and
drastic losses, but Katuah's lower acid
deposition levels do not mean that we will not
see similar effec1s. In fact, the reduced pH
and alkalinity levels found now in our
streams are familiar 10 chose who have becm
tracking the nonhem streams for the pasr
decade. According to Mark Hudy, a fisheries
biologist who studied the St. Mary's River in
Virginia as it died from acidification, "The St
Mary's may be a precursor of things to come,
what we'll all be looking at in 10 years...the
water quality on the St. Mary's when I
sampled the river 10 yean; ago was like what
we have now on rivers farther south."
Whal can be done 10 reverse the
acidification of Katuah's streams? Can we
learn anything from the damage to northern
streams? Most scientists arc pessimistic.
They lament that the region's streams were
neglected during the I980's as the Reagan
and Bush ndministra1ions stalled essential
environmental research. And, like their
colle,igues in soils and fores1 research, the
freshwater biologists do not feel l_ha1 the
reduc1ions mandated by the Clean Air Act
will be able to reverse the damage done. They
believe that a 70-80% redui;tion in emissions
might begin 10 restore acidifying streams.
According to Rick Webb. professor of
Environmental Sciences at the Universi1y of
Virginia, the n:quired 50% reduction in sulfur
emissions will mean that "only a small
number of the strea,n~ will incrca-.e in
:ilkalinity; most will still decline."
The state of West Virginia and the US
Forest Service are trying mitigation measures
- adding limestone to streams and lakes to
bolster their alkalinity - to reduce lhe damage
done by acid precipitation. But this method is
costly and strictly temporary. It is not a
means of rcs1oration for mountain streams.
Most biologists feel that the the money and
effon devoted to mnigation would be better
spent on funher research, and they believe
that only one thing will begin 10 save
freshwater ecosys1ems in the East: drastic
reductions of acidic emissions.
Political analy~ts think it unlikely that
there will be any funhcr emissions control
measures from Washington for at leas, a
decade. They point out chat even the Clean
Air Act levels represent a compromise, that
allies of the coal and u1ili1y industries
auempted to drive sulfur emissions
reductions as low as si:it million tons, from
the original call for a 12 million ton
reduction, and did succeed in having the
number sliced to 10 million ions in the finnl
version of the net.
This does not leave many scientislS
optimistic about the future of forests and
streams in the East Aske.cl if he 1hough1 that
Southern Appalachian streams would ever
recover, Jim Galloway replied, ''Some will
recover," he said, .. but not most"
It appears that after the long twilight of
environmental neglect in the 1980's, the
Clean Air Act is a case of "roo little. too late"
- a political pacifier too rife with compromise
and collusion to address in any honest,
meaningful way the damage already done by
acid min and atmospheric deposition - not to
mention the damage not yet e1,ident and the
damage still occurring.
An old maxim says tha1 politics is the
an of compromise. But unless politics can be
put aside, dead forests and dead streams will
bear out another U\lth: nature bas its own
bottom line. And nature bats last. /
X.Otuaf, )ournn( poCJC 23
�SONGS IN THE WILDERNESS
From the time I was two years of age J
spent most or my childhood summers on my
grandparent's farm in nonhem Colorado. In
the small town where I lived I was
surrounded by a warm extended family.
There was plenty of activity and always
another child to play with. But on the farm
the days dragged on. l can remember walking
up the dirt road away from the farm, acutely
aware of my loneliness, feeling overwhelmed
by the vastness of the rolling hills and
endless grasslands that extended for miles in
every direction. It seemed that I moved
aimlessly through a landscape which had
nothing to do with me. In this
self-consciousness of monality I became
aware of myself as separate from nature. It
was a moment of primal loneliness such as
everyone must face.
This modem human condition is not
that far removed from the tribal legacy. We
still require a personal initiation, a way for
each person to make peace with the natural
world. We have separated ourselves by our
ability to create worlds outside the cycles of
nature, yet ii is our creauve abilities that offer
us ways back in - into wholeness, communication and love. The pathways, the links, the
mediations, the magic needs to be made at a
personal level. We must ovcreome our animal
fear of isolation and death, and reach out with
our consciousness if we are to mature as
human beings. IL was at this moment of acute
loneliness that I first began to sing to the
Eanh and the sky.
I found that the ttan~fonnative power
of song was miraculous. From that day on,
there was a connection for me between the
Earth and my walking on the Earth and the
song. I remember walking down that same
din road in a state of bliss, singing my heart
out in thanksgiving for yet another spectacular sunset I found that when I sang, the
world seemed 10 light up and lighten up.
Phenomena that was of n transitory nature,
such as a cloud shadow passing over a
rolling hill, was suddenly revealed to me in
breath-catching splendor. Sometimes I sang
loud, sometimes soft. Sometimes r skipped
and sang, or danced and sang at the same
time. Special evencs, such as the bright
crispness after a summer thunderstorm called
for celebration songs. There were songs
waiting for me everywhere; songs in the elm
grove in the pasnm: and dJffcrcnt songs
down by the river.
Singing is a great protection. It sets up
vibration which cuts through time and space.
With our voices we extend the boundaries of
our bodies. In metaphysical terms, singing
causes the aura to radiate, which strengthens
the body.
In ancient primitive societies, everyone
danced and sang their feelings about the
inevnable passages of life. There were min
dances and war dances and songs to help rhe
com grow. There is evidence that the use of
music as transforming was much more
sophisticated than the simple melody, lyrics,
and rhythm format that we use today. ror
instance, at many ancient sacred sites the
acoustics arc very unusual. Circular walls
and passages can warp, bend, and amplify
sound. ln such a place, a single voice could
have created modulations, ovenoncs, and
vibratos. Add on the possibility of a chorus
with echoes, a drum or two, and a flute, and
the sound must have been magnificent. What
these sounds were used for, whether for
healing, initiation rites, or simply for the
sheer joy of creation, we no longer know.
The Peace Chamber being built by
Joseph Rael, at the Earth Center in
Swannanoa, NC and scheduled for
completion this fall, is a modem example of a
Native American sound chamber. Joseph's
vision of an oval shaped sound chamber has
resulted in the construction of 17 of these
chambers worldwide. The purpose of each is
to amplify chants for world peace. I visited
the roofless building at the Earth Center in
spring. Even without a roof, and possibly
because of the circular walls, the acoustics
were already unusual. Also worth noting is
that the chamber is on a very potent earth
energy site. The combination of sound, eanh
energy, and architecrual design should pack
some real power into songs for peace.
Looking back at my childhood songs
from the adult perspective, I realize that the
singing put me into an extended altered state,
that it was magic at its height. ft pulled me
completely out of the depression of loneliness
and gave me practical tools for survival. It
taught me to appreciate solitude. It is only in
solitude that songs come to me again. If there
is a song waiting for me, J try 10 leave my
adult cares behind and enter into the woods
with the innocence of a child. I make no
judgement about the quality of my voice or
how ridiculous I might sound if someone
should happen to hear me. There is a great
joy and freedom in this.
by Charlotte Homsher
Dnawmg by Rob Mcs,ick
/
(<ontin~ rram l"'i• 9)
We must convince the public and our
officials that a healthy environment is an
absolute requirement for a healthy economy
and not the other way around. The measure
of what should be done 10 protect the
environment is nor a mailer of good
"business as usual" economics.
We must work ar the local level to do
whatever is possible to move toward a
society that protects its ecosystems.
We must lower as quickly a.\ we can the
strains society places on our ecosystems.
This includes land use practices, development
of less damaging and less energy intensive
transponation, protection of enough critical
area 10 suppon all native species, and
controlling our population within geographic
areas so that the carrying capacity of the area
is not exceeded or is balanced within a larger
regional complex.
Finally, we must lead in an accelerated
movement to lower the environmental impact
of human habitation on Eanh. This involves
limiting the numbers of of humans Earth is
.
JCnt.i'mfi Journnl pQ(Jc 24
asked 10 suppon, making marked
improvcmcnis in our use of natural
resources, and bnnging human activities
down within a safety buffer set by the rates
of geological, geochemical. and biological
processes.
John Freeman is 1he chair of the Pisgah
Group of the Sierra Club. lie was a
profcs.'ior of billlogy at Wimltrop College fnr
30 years. He is al.w uwhor of 1he b()<J/c
Survival Gardening, which he and lu"s 11'ife
Grace self-published. The Freemaris are
presemly retired in Brevard, NC i11 the
headwaters of the French Broad River
waterslted.
This article 11-as reprimedfrom
Foor notes. the 11cws/e1ter of the North
Carolina Clwp1er ofthe Siella Club. The
11ewsletfer is al'ailable to Sierra Club
members ill the Stale For membership
i11fonnatio11, write the Sierra Club, 530 Bush
St ; San Francisco, CA 94108.
(conllnucd from P"te 11)
Overall, I think it was Sequoyah
himself who best evaluated thi: impact of his
\\1'lting sy:acm: ''What I am doing will not
make our people the less respected."
- r«orded by OW
Tom Undi'rwood. a liftlong rt.<id,·nt of the
Qua/la Boundary Rt.<en•aJion has always been
rnlt!rtsred ,n tht Clu:rol.Lt! cultural and arti.<tic
traditions. lie 1s a con1tnuing .rouru of knowledge on
the old wuys oftht tribe (stt Kn1tfah Journal 115) as
wdl as be1n11 a mo1or suppoNu of conttmporary
Indian arnsu.
1'om had ,.,;urn a manuscript for a hworical
booklet on tk lift qf St!quo>·ah which was,,, his
Mt:d1cint: Man Craft Shep the night tht! building was
thstroycd byjirt!in 19..~Z. llt: has since bun
rebwlding hisf/lt!s on the nativt! gcmus. llt! is ._·ell
acquaintt!d With thl' life of ti~ man who brought 1k
Chuoktt 1ht ,.,illt!n "'ord
:Fa(f., 199 I
�S00YEARS OF
RESISTANCE!
In October of 1492, as we all learned in
grammar school, Christopher Columbus
sailed the ocean blue and landed in the
Antilles to become the first European to
record his encounter with the land and people
of the Tunle Island conrinent.
Of the land he found, Columbus wrote:
"Large and very green trees, and great
lagoons, around which the trees stand in
marvelous groves. Flocks of parrots darken
the sun and there is a marvelous variety of
large and small birds, very different from our
own; the trees arc of many kinds, each with
its own fruit, and all have a marvelous
scent."
Of the native people he met in the
Antilles, who later were named the Taino,
Columbus wrote: "They are so affectionate
and have so little greed and are in all ways so
amenable that there is in my opinion no better
people and no better land in the world. They
love their neighbors as themselves and their
way of speaking is the sweetes1 in the world,
always gentle and smiling."
Within a year of Columbus' landfall,
the "miraculous groves" were gone, cleared
to make way for the rancheros and
plantations that would make the large
contingent of Spanish seulers wealthy, and
mining had spoiled the "great lagoons," not
to mention rivers, mountains, and native
farmlands. Within that year too, several
thousand Taino were shipped 10 Europe as
slaves, marking the beginnings of the slave
trade. Those who remained fell victim to
European diseases against which they had no
resistance, and to the barbarism and tyranny
of the colonists.
Thus was set the pattern of ecocide and
genocide which has been the dominant force
in the modem history of the Americas. As the
500th anniversary of Columbus' "discovery"
of the "New World" approaches, it appears
unlikely !hat the myriad official festivities
sponsored by governments of Europe and the
Americas will expose the darker legacy of
~uropean conquest. What they will offer
instead is a "QuincenteMial Jubilee" marked
by all the hoopla, pride, and patriotism that
modem technology can stir up.
fo!C, 199 1
r However. a grcA1nd weft qf publi{ ,
opposition. led by moigendus groups in
Nonh and South America, is gathering force
to assure that the celebrations do more than
glorify the ecocide and genocide wrought by
Columbus and the other colonists and
missionaries who followed him. In July of
1990 representatives of 120 indigenous
nations, tribes, and organizations met for the
first time in Quito. Ecuador to discuss their
peoples' slruggles for self-de1ermination and
10 organi1..e a unified lndi:tn response to the
official 1992 Jubilee celebrations. Their plans
call for alternative gatherings 10 celebrate 1he
resistance chat has enabled Indians 10 survive
the centuries of genocide and opprei.sion chat
1hey have suffered at the hands of the
Euro-Americans.
The coali1ion is also recalling that many
myths and prophecies of native peoples
throughout Turtle Island say 1ha1 chis period
of oppression would la.~t for 500 years, when
it would be replaced by a period of change
("Pachakutek'.) that will lead ro a better life
for the people, a life lived once again in
harmony with Molher Eanh.
At a time when the Euro-American way
of life is threatening lhe survival of all
peoples and of the planet itself, we all would
do well to listen and 10 follow lhe example set
by the indigenous people of a more
harmonious way of being.
It is up to us to make 1992 the first year
of Pachakutek, not the 501st year of
colonialism.
Resource pacuis for those inttrtsted in
organiting local alttrna1i11ts to the official/ts1111i11ts
art availablt from the following:
- Scarborough Fortign l,fiS$ion; 2685
Kingston Rd.; Scarborough. 0111ario. Canada MI M
IM4. Jnclude a nwney donotion 10 CO\ltr prillting ONJ
postagt.
- Cltrgy ONJ Lairy Concerned; Box /91J7;
Decatur, G~ 3003/ for $5.00 postpaid
The Sowh and Mtso-American Jndim,
Information Ctnttr. which strvts as a liason betwun
Indian people of the sowhcrn and the northern
con1intn1s. Is a good sourct of1nforma1io11 aboUJ the
alttrnativt ac1ivi11es plan11td throughow the
Americas. Write to SAJJC: Box 7550, Berktlty, CA
94707.
1/'Jf)U art illltresttd in helping 10 organiu
ahernativt 1992 t~nlS in Kataiah, write Jeff Smith at
207 Coxt A~.: Ashevillt NC 28801 or call (704)
259-5333.
- by cmmtll Grundiggu
Save James Bay
Stop Hydro-Quebec!
Ancestral lands of the Cree and Inuit
cultures as well as the entire James Bay
ecosystem are being threatened by a
mega-hydroelectric project known as the
James Bay Project James Bay, a shallow salt
water bay which forms the southern tip of
Hudson Bay in Canada, is the largest
nonhcrn river drainage system for Tunic
Island. Fresh water from vinually every
major river in the hean of 1he continent flows
into James Bay where it mixes with the Bay's
snit w:lter over marshy tidal flats to create a
vast and diverse ecosystem.
'These rivers make the Bay a rich
ecosystem teeming with caribou, moose,
:i: ~;wer as wellbearseals.1he manyl3cluga
as
walrus,
whales, polar
and
anadromous
fish that return from the ocean 10 spawn in
the fresh water rivers of James Bay. This is
also the nesting and s1aging ground for the
'central flyway' for most migratory birds
from geese and ducks to some shore birds
who may carry ou1 a migrncion that brings
them as far south as Tierra del
Fuego.....(Thc land around James Bay) has a
dclica1e ecology of coastal mmhes, muskeg
and pinelands that provide a rich garden in
which the animals and Native people have
lived for tens of thousands of years."
(Winona l..aDuke)
The fames Bay Project is a
mega proJect of Hydro-Quebec. Quebec's
Premier, Robert Bourassa. sees 1he entire
province as "a vase hydro·elcctrie plant in the
bud... ". Phase I (1971-1985) of the Project
has already destroyed a great deal of habiUlt
and lands. Phase II and Phase lll are even
more massive undertakings. Phase II would
impact an area greater than New York State
and New England combined and would
destroy 15 major rivers.
However, Phase III is the most
extravagant. h is a $JOO billion scheme to
build a 100 mile dike across the mouth of
James Bay so that freshwater from 1he Bay
can be pumped (possibly by nuclear pumps)
to the Great Lakes, and then to the Midwest
and Southwest United States!
This project if completed would cause
devastation of the entire James Bay
ecosystem which is the hean of the largest
remaining wilderness in Tunic Island as well
the cultural genocide of the native people
who would lose their traditional means of
subsistance through hunting, trnpping and
fishing.
Already ten thousand migrating caribou
have drowned crossing the Caniapiscau River
during a 1984 Hydro-Quebec water release.
If all the dams proposed by Hydro-Quebec
arc built, 350,000 square kilometers will be
directly impacted, Over 25,000 ~uare
kilometers \I.ill be flooded. Countless lakes,
ponds and temporary ponds will be
drowned. Critical wildlife habitat will be
fragmented and migration routes destroyed.
Destruction of chis habicat will doom
thousands of migratory bird~.
In September of 1990. the Canadian
National Energy Board approved the expon
of Hydro-Quebec electrici1y 10 the US. There
are formal efforts in Maine. Vermont, and
New Yorlc to call for the cancellation of any
contrnc1s with Hydro-Quebec. lndividuals
and organizations around North America art'
joining the fight to save James Bay.
For more informa1ion. contacr:
Northeast Alliance to Protect James Bav
139 Anrrim Street
/
Cambridge, MA 02139
..
(617) 491-553 I
•
X.Ot uc:ih Journot J>CIIJC 25
�. ",
DRUMMING
LETTERS TO KA TUAH
Dear Kmualt,
This kulwie says that idle hands arc the devil's
wockshop when iJs preuy damn obvious IO anyone
who sits down and thinks about it that idle hands nrc
definitely not a workshop and that the devil's
worbhop has m1111y many busy busy hands. Ovec
achiever type A workaholics with hyperactive
thyroids have predictably lllken over at the throUle of
neatly everything and ate proceeding to make the
world a miserable place to be for anyone who likes to
go fishing or read a boolt or simply to do her pan in
the effort to conserve energy by silLing down and
bcmg quiet.
Motorboats chum our lakes into oily froth.
AirpLllles arc aJmo:.t always whining in our cars. All
terrain vehicles defile the America others pass by.
shnttcring silence and leaving ruts that open into
gullies lhat are geo logical re minders of the passing
of some busy idiot who wos out SpiMing his wheels
and wasting all sorts of resow-ces when he should
have been home playing with his luds or l:lying in a
hammock.
Poople in general and rncD m particular QJ'C
taught that Ill order to be respected we should make
our mark on a world. The world is nlrcady llWkcd up
with graffitti-like doings of the do-do culture and what
we now need 10 learn moSt is s10pping. Don't just do
something, Slalld there.
Will Ashe Boson
Floyd, VA
DcarKmuoh.
Vour article about dowsing slruck an
inu:rcsting chord with me. I have been fortunate 10
get to hike with a group of Retired Citi,..cns or
Gatlinburg over the past sevcml months, and because
of that have met some very fascinating people not the
least or whom is a man named Herb Oabo, a real
mountain man who gi-ew up in the Roaring Fork
section of what is now the Great Smoky Mountnins
National Park:. He now lives in that same area about
two houses from the Park bouod:IJ'y. He still climbs
the mowitnins and walks the ridges almost every day.
At 80 he is still ahead of the pack except when he
siops IO share a bit of history or a talc of sons. It i.~
one of t!lcse talcs that came tO mind when I read your
article. Herb can divine for bodies! • and find them.
The rods arc held loosely in the hands and when he
comes IO the grave. they tum in. I have watched him
do this and it is exuemely fascinating.
The Parle Service asked him and Frank Cart.er,
another dowser. 10 help them with a cemetery in the
Roaring Forlc section which had been badly damaged
by tourists - roc:ks which were really old grave
m:utcrs had been knocklxl over and some even canicd
out of the cemetery. With 1he1r dowsing rods, Hcrb
and Frank were able to rcnlign the graves, replace the
m:IJ'kcrs, and arc now c:nrrying fill din to cover the
IOOlS and ftll in washouts caused by the he.Ivy lrllff'ic
of many feet. For the umc being. the ccmelCI)' is
fenced off and will be unul the n:pciiring and =ding
arc compleled. In that ccrnclct)'. thctc iS a grave for a
leg. A man lost his leg in a logging occident and
Xnti1af1 JounmC p119c 26
insisted on having it buried with a formnl funeral.
Herb u:11s another inlelCsting story about
finding the grave of Jasper Mellinger. Years ago
Jasper had "l:ud-by" his com crop and was going to
Nonh Carolina 10 work a few days tn a blacksmith's
shop. Instead of walking the long way around, he
took the "nigh" way through the hills. Art Huskey
had a bear uap set and Jasper got caught m 11. On
finding him there. it is alleged, Art or his son
knocked poor Jasper in the head with a pine knot and
buried him m a shallow grave. Herb was detenmncd
to find lhnt grave. long since heavily overgrown. He
walked the hills for about a year bcfo,e he loaltcd the
grave only 10 discover there were four bodies buried in
the =e area. He ha.~ cleaned out lllOUlld the graves
• and a path lending 10 them and 1s now placing
mnriccrs for t!lcse people. He has deccnnincd who
three or the bodies arc and will mark the other
"unknown: Hero is a real storehouse of knowledge
and mountnin lore.
Barbara Wickersham
DcarK01111Jh,
I read with great in~t the interview with
Tom Hendricks, "The Responsibilities of Dowsing,·
in the Summer "91 issue of Kmu.o.lt JournLJI.
Hoving recently writu:n IO the Amctic:ln
Society of Dowsers expressing concern at the
non-holiSllc actions of some dowsers, I found Tom's
comments cncoumging. I have been dowsing for a
number of YeaA, mostly locating with L-rods. More
recently I hnvc been conccntroting on trying to
undcrslll.nd Eanh energies. I rend, and dowse., and find,
but feel the need to work with someone who really
knows what they arc doing. Look forward to hearing
from you.
Yours sincerely,
Joy Doheny
DeatKmuah,
s
Something a wrong with the U.S. Forest
Service le:idcrship. They can't 11\llnage our forests
properly due to a spurious pl31l they adoJ)led 25 years
ago. h can be likened 10 a disease in its effccL Call 11
"clcarcuHLtS." Ever since they've been obsessed with
denuding our forestS. They promoted the spread of
this infection to colleges and univen;iucs th.It prcp:ire
future foresters. Certain limber interests, long
affiicu:d with th IS dlSCaSC. have wdcd and supponcd
the Fore.st Service leadership m iL~ addiction and arc
confusing us with a SS0,000.000 misinformation
campain. Their purpose: 10 cut the 5~ left of our
ancient forests at huge profits to them.,;elves within
the neitl 5 to 10 years using the befuddled Fo~
Service leadership to gnm their end.
Once it was the people and the Forest Service
versus timbcrers. Now it is umbcrcrs and the Forest
Service versus the people. A tide of public concern is
rising IO stem this disease in its devnsiation with
powerful mcdicruion to be pn:scribcd by Congress.
Previous prescriptions have failed because the Forcst
Servioc leadership refuses 10 swallow the medicine
that would return it to its fonner stnte ofhc:llth. The
"Santa Claus syndrome." of practically giving away
our trees hntvesu:d at our expense. is also of gi-eat
concern to people.
tn lodinnn 120,000 people signed petitiOns and
wrote thousands of leuets, including congressmen and
lhe governor, ealling for protection of biological
diversity and regeneration of old growth. A poll of
voiers 31'0und the Hoosier National Forest showed
69% are so upset they want to bnn all logging. The
entire congressional delcgnuon or fllinois is
demanding the Forest Service Stop being Sania Claus
with below-cost sales. Arl<ansas and Texas have asked
for a halt 10 clearcutting. South Carolina people arc
asking for a ch411ge m mn~cment. In North
Carolina over 16,000 people and over a thousand
businesses signed pctiuons in a shon period of time
10 halt clearculting. A number of Forest Service
employees and supervisors, not willing to allow this
disease to reach epidemic proportions. are organizing
and asking thru the infected leadership accept
prescribed congressional medication so that the Forest
Service can survive.
I must add that a number of private forest
growers with large and small forc.~ts arc not infccu:d
with "clenrcu1-1tis." They arc surviving low prices
caused by Rnst Service leadership direction. These
forests are a JOY 10 visit compared with the shambles
pre.sent m our ll3tionaJ forests. These many growers
arc not liqu1d3tors. They believe in a tomonow for
themselves and their children. Why can't this be true
for the nntional forests?
Grandfather and Grandmother, we have the
time. We love this land and want 10 leave it beucr for
our children and grandchildren. We've seen the umber
locuslS consume our forest before. It doesn't have to
happen to the Inst gr.md trecS standing. Th.rec bills in
commitu:c need support; HR 2S01, HR 1969, and
HR 842 to help k.ill the infoction. Three congressmen
10 reach arc Harold Volkmer. Eda la Gana, Goorge
Miller (House of Rcprcscntativcs, Wnshington. DC
20015). There arc also three senators; D.ile Bum~,
Pntricl; Leahy, and Wyche Fowler (Scn.,tc Office
Building. Washington, DC 20010). Even though our
hands arc tired and weary, \YOn't you pick up a pen
and write? Let's inspire them in Washington.
Bob Gerry
Franklin, NC
Drawing by Rob Messick
rnrc., 1991
�Dear Ka1uah.
A friend gave me his copy or your Summer'!) I
Ka1uah Journal. nnd I am impressed by lhe imcgri1y
of lhe journal. One of my grcn1-grnndmothcrs wns a
full-blooded Cherokee, plus my family hns roois in
1he Miami Nation. Sadly, I never paid any heed to
this heritage until the last yenr or so. though I have
always been an enrth person. ever drawn 10 nature fascinated by forcsis, ~ueruns, wild Iire, lightning. I
rc.ili:u: that this is pan of my being, and am
beginning 10 look more closely at the wisdom of
thOl,e who came before me.
I would hkc 10 know if a publicauon s1m1lar
10 your; cxisis in the Indiana region. I would be
interested in lellming more about my foreflnhcrs, but
I'm n0t too sure where 10 start. Thank you for :iny
help you can offer. and 1100k forward 10 hearing from
you soon.
Since my return home I have fell myself often
"losing focus· with nil the technology nnd
matcriohstic vibrations that surround me. I h3ve
found th3l one thing I can do 1s make my way to a
stnnd of treeS very ncnr here and allow myself 10
recapture lhc feeling of the Smokies, the •me·
I am working with the Appalachian Women's
Guild on the Monteagle Mountain ~lion of the
Cumberland Platc3u. It seems lO me, thot this
mountain could be an exemplary bioregional
devclopmen1 - it cou.kl become self-sufftcienL ll is at
this lime extrcmdy depressed economically which
Respectfully,
Jeff Zaclulry
Dcar Ka1uah.
IC I h:id closed my eyes and envisioned the
perfect. most harmonious appro:ich 10 life in the
Soulhem Appalachians I could not have crentcd :i
more beautiful image than lhc people who conlribute
10 your journal and those who arc the rtal members of
the Katu:ih Province. I think I hove found my venue,
and my only regret is that Tdid not have the courage
10 head such a wonderful movement myself.
I'm a graduate student at Appalnchian State
University in Boone, NC studying and working lO
preserve the biodiversity and ecology of these great
mounlllins. I have struggled with 10lerance of the
modern, dcvelopmcn1-00nsumcd elite of this town and
this region. I am so happy 10 find the power in your
numbers.
Please let me know more about your cause.
your people, and your apparent passions 10 prcscrvc
the way of the conscious man and womnn. I wnnt 10
be a part of the movement, and be counted among
you.
God Bless,
J1mmy Bnrbcc
-=----
Dear KaJuah,
I was recently introduced 10 your wonderful
publication and would like 10 know more about
K01uah and how I can become involved.
In the past it seems I made less lime for myself
10 read or enjoy the beauty or life nround me.
However, due 10 a recent car occident I've found
myself with the time lO do anything and the physical
ability 10 do almost nOthing.
So I n::id.
I probably never would have come 10 know my
world, or Katuah, if it were not for the accident and a
special man in Lake Toxaway who lOOk the time 10
talk 10 me about life, healing, and Ka1uah. For th:11 I
am very thank:ful.
I thank God as I grow physically and spiritually
stronger everyday, and look forward 10 living as I
never have.
Seize the Dayl
Paula Flanks
Dear K01uah,
I live in a very popul:itcd, "built-up· pan of
Florida. and decided in June to e,;plore the Smoky
Mounuiin.~ with my friend 10 Slill, nnd re-center
myself. We had a wonderful, amazing, and
lr.lnsforming lime • and while there I discovcrcd your
publication.
Tm!, 1991
Paintina by S\1$111 Adam
rediscovered there. The Olhcr is 10 open Ka,uoli
Journal lO any page and begin IO~. The
commitment :ind dedication to Life of your writcts.
people like myself - puts me back on my chosen
pnth. Thank you for sharing and afrummg.
Yours in light,
Susan Rueter
To the Editors:
I was given a copy or lhe Kaiuah Journal.
Spring, 1991. by a friend, Cicio Myc1~k. I have just
this morning read II and am moved to find such an
enlightened group ru work. II IS like finding a pan
of your family that had been ml$mg. r want to
connect with you as projects in which 1 am im,ol ved
p:irnllcl yours in this issue.
I include my story which r have JUSt wriuen
for the Episcopal Chwch. (see excerpt below) The
opposition to a hazardous waste incinerator (three
limes the size of any existing facility which promised
to take haw-dous waste from at k:asl 20 sta.ics)
which I organized, changed my whole life. I now
work full lime on establishing a true grassroots
environmental nerwork m Tennessee that will connect
with other similar networks nationwide. (Thank God I
hnve a husband who C113bled me lO give up my
gainful employment in order 10 do this volw:uecr
work.)
I attended the Episcopal Church Envaronmenlal
Conference ,n Kanuga. NC in April llihcte I met
Jeremy Rifkin, president of the Grecnho~ Crisis
Foundation in Washing10n. He invited me to auend n
conference in Wa.mington at the end or Scp!Clllbcr
lhnt will plan a grassroots Conunental Congress for
May of 1992. I Ulke great hope that this Con tinenlal
Congress will have sufficient impact on the political
paities to change the t.otal disrcgrud for the
environment (my opmjon) that both parties have been
exhibiting.
gives llS fcrtilc ground for movmg in lhc direction of
interdependent living.
I also work with a group which ,s creating a
vision of community when: physicnlly and mentally
handicapped and non-physically handicapilcd can live
in an interdependent relationship where the arts and
celcbrauon oflife you spcalc of will be an integral
part of our circular community. We will have a
biodynnmic farm, a gteenhou~. woodworking shop,
Appalach1311 cmfis, design and making of allcmative
clOthing for the physically challenged, a printing
operation. and opportunities and encouragement for
all 10 develop their individual spirituality in an
atmosphere or love.
In fighting the evil of the inciDCnllOr, people
were brought together who have the underlilanding and
cnprabililics or making the Biorcgional Economy or
the whole mountain IOP work along with the special
community.
I celebrate your enthusiasm, your dedication,
and your Being.
Light and Love 10 all of you,
Marilyn Williams
Chau.anooga. TN
~rpttdfrom Marily11 Williams' story:
Morion County LS an economically depressed,
rural county comprised of a long valley swrounded by
mounlllins, indented wilh coves traversed by the
Tennessee River. This topogniphy results in a
phenomenon cnlled thermal invCTsion. Very often,
tempcroturc changes will force the air down and hold
it against the floor of the valley so that it cannot
escape over the mount2ins. Any kind of smoke-t;toct
indu.«ry would be unusually bad ror the area. I blcr
lcamcd that lhcnna1 invcnion was ·no problem· for
those who warued to site a haz:lJ'dous wastt
incineralor on lhe TenllCS5CC River in our county.
(c:auinued on I"'&" 28)
JC.Qtuah 1oumnl
J)(IQe
27
�(continued from pa,:c 27)
I alt.ended a meeting of our County
Commission and heard lhe president of a commen:i:il
hllzardous was1C incinerator COfflJXUlY IC.Jl lhe
commission and all present he did nOl care whwier
we voted to have him there or nol; he certainly
wouldn't icll us he wouldn't be the.re. We later le:uned
the same group had been defeated in four olhct
counhcs through use of the Local Veto Option which
we voled to hnve him there or not; he ccnainly
wouldn't tell us he wouldn't be there. We lat.er learned
the same group had been defeated in four olhcr
•
counties through use of the Locnl Vct0 Opuon which
was a Tennessee law. We knew quiic well that our
legislature had jus1 removed this law that gave
citizens ~ right to protect their property ond lhe
health and welfare of lhcir children. This 1s a
constituuonnl nght bom of n Ocmocmcy.
I C:lmC from Ilic rooeting angry. I was angry
tlmt in a land where freedom was supposed IO nng
from every mounlllln IOp, a man could siand before us
and arrogantly icll u.~ he 11o us - in so many words •
gomg 10 force on us something that we knew would
dcsll'Oy our property values and endanger our
children., lives - and for what? For profit
• My anger 1ncrenscd with the rcalm1tion that
the citizens of this Staie have every right to expect
thc,r elcc!Cd, paid official\ to make laws to protect Ilic
Jives and property of lhe people of their Staie, I snw
ourselves in the posiuon of bemg forced to do the JOb
for ourselves.
I called a meeting or friends to organv.e n
protesL I sent announcements 10 both the
newspapers, but they did not print 1hcm, We had IS
people ai the rll'St meeting. We each IOOk
rcspons1bili1y or getting others at the next mccung,
and we prepared notices to be ID.ken to the papers. At
the ncxt meeting we h.ld 26 people to plan a town
meeting to discuss the opposition to the incinerator.
At that meeting we had press from lhe city of
ChatUlnooga and 400 orderly people. After that we
had the attention of the clcclcd offici.l!s and the loca.1
press and radio stations.
Two months later, at 7 AM over 3,000 finn,
but orderly, infonned people gathered in the .square at
South PilL~burgh to confront the rcprcsentauves of
FTI who came with armed Pinkenon gu:ll'ds, The
people with their children wore T-shirts reading,
"Two, Four. Six, Eight; WE WILL NOT
INCINERATE." Cars had bumper stickers saying
"DANGER - NO INCINERATOR." Posters staung
firm opposiuon were held high. Many wore gas
mask.~. A-:. representatives of the incinerator company
Milked into the building where they had come to
conclude the mlc or the propsed incinerator site, m on
orderly fashion. the crowd began to chant, "Two,
Four, Si~. Eight - WE WILL NOT INCINERATE!"
The day b.:forc the mlly a UPl reporter who
knew the area, called me and a.,ked me how mony
people J thought we would have a1 the rally. I said
that if--.c did 001 have 01 lcai.t 2,000 I would be
sorely disappointed. He laughed, saying, "If you ha\'c
2,000 people in Marion County come out for
anything, I'll be greatly surprised. Those people luve
never been togcthcr on anything."
When I arrived m South Piu.sburgh shortly
be~ 7:0Q that morning on June 14. 1990, I lil!w
people coming "in droves; as we say. They were
commg from all over in large numbers, and icars
rolled down my race because I knew m my hcal1 that
weh3d won.
Four d.lys laicr, F11 announced they would
not build in Marion County or "any of the
surrounding area."
... I saw interesting and miraculous things
happen in this united effort. I saw shy young mo°'.crs
come forward and tell me, "l"ve never done an),1hmg
like this before. I just Silly home and talce care of my
family, but I'm not Slllying there and watching this
Juppcn."
I saw them transformed into outSpOken,
tireless worker.; who conducted meetings in their
communities to get the word ouL Some or them
called me and cried at the heanless roccplion they
encountered sometimes in the bcgiMmg when they
called on bu.'ilnesspcople to put petition~ in stores or
to tallc at city council meetings; but they never guve
up. They went right back, and !hey bccnme StrOngcr.
as they were empowered b)' the love lhey had for thi:,r
children. It occurred to me at lhc time, if the Earth i.s
10 be saved, 11 will be by mothers and those who
share the feelings or mothers.
I saw children become awurc of somctl11ng
they hlld always Uken for gmntcd. School chil.drcn
made posters and wrote letters 10 elcclCd officials.
ng
They bccrunc int.:rc.,tcd in recycling. I saw a bondi_
of people joined by a common cuus.e. I sow a commg
together of people who would prohably never have
come 10 know each other. I sa--. a ri'i<! in the
consciousnCSli of people. Then: was an elevation of
sclf-e:;1ocm. Th.:se was a knowledge gamed thm one
person can still make a dilTerencc if the)' take the hand
of their brother/sister and slalld up for whal they
believe is righL Since the mc.mcmtor fight, I have
seen others tnke the mniaiive 10 sl:llld again.st other
1njustic.!s in their communit.lc.s. •
The People are Angry! A Monual on \Va.tre
llauvdou...t to tht Ilea/th of our Cllildren in itMetsu
i.s available from Tcnne:.scc Grassroois
EnvironmenUll Network; Boll 15038: Chaunnooga,
TN3741S
Get a set of 10 assorted
folding cards with
artwork you see in
I<atuah Journal.
• You1h Camps - ~ P,ogrem1
• Family Camps· Teach0< Tra.,,ng
• Communuy Programs
• Camp Slaff Training
• Outdo« Pn,gram Consulting
(Envelopes included.)
by Rob lJlessick
Send $11.25 postage paid
to:
RM DESIGNS
r.o. aox 2601
ProgomJ to encouoge
end Earth OWOl8'l8$$.
celebrol1on. ldn&Hp and hope
$611
PO 8oK 1306
Galltnt>,,,g, terY10lSee 3n38
615-436-6203
BOONE, NC 28607
whole earth
grocery
NATIVE FLUTES
Two styles mode of cedar or walnut
woods in the traditional manner
Hawk Littlejohn
Sourwood Farm
Rt. 1, Box 172-L
Prospect Hill, NC 27314
(919) 562-3073
•
NATURAL
ALTERNATIVES
FOR HEALTHFUL
LIVING
446 c p;arkw•y craft ~ntcr • •uilc 11
gatlinburg, tcnn~ 3n38
6 15-436-6967
Xat(iah Jou r not pn9c 28
'
,,
Union Acres
A,r Alternative
-
•
Acrt.agtforSale - Smoky Moun/111n Lrving
wilh II focus on spiri/114/ 11nd
«ologit:Jll valuts
For more informalron;
Contact C. Gran/ al
RDult 1. Box 61/
Whittier, NC 28789
(704) 4974964
NATURAL MARKET
WHOLE FOODS • OULK
FOODS • VITAMINES • HERDS
• FAT FREE FOODS • TAKE
OlTTFOODS • SNACKS • NO
SALT, NO CHOLESTEROL
265-2700
823 Blow,ng Rock Rd
lloonc. NC 28607
:fnfL 1991
�,
-
0FFTHEGRID
SOLAR OVENS
by Dr. lnnnis Scanlin
This issue's 01/The Grid 1ues1 collUMis1
is Dr. Dtnnis Scan/ill, Proftssor ofApproprialt
Ttchnoloo at AppalacNIJJI State University;,.
Boone, North Carollna. Dennis is cwrrently working
on a project sponsored ITy the Su.sklinablt
Dtvtlopmelll Center of ASU to bring so/Ju ove11
ttCM()/olJ to the rural pu,plt ofGllllUma/a. Solar
o - ttcM()loo is pani&ularly appropriJJu in Ct111ral
America wlttn thert is a lot of s1111 and a probltm
with defortSiaJilJ11 as ptoplt u.sc rht forests to prqvide
woodfor cooki/11.
So/Ju ovens could, obviDu.sly. N>t ~ u.scd as
freqUUlll)I hut in Katwolt as ill Ca1ral Amtrica, bu/
rhty could ctrtamly su,,e as All OMXillary tltUf1
source IO ~ wed whutevtr possible to / - , ow
demands 011 wood, proflOM, oU ONl/or tltcrricity.
DtfortSIJJ/k,11 is IU)t cwu11tly a probkm lwre (~sides
timber sales), bUI It col/Jd ~CO/fflt OM if rht opdollS
of oil, propane and/or tltcrricily _,., too expensive
or IINIWlilabk, as is Ille t.aU ill rwol CcfllrtJJ
America. As Dr. Scanli11 lius IO poilll 0111, "lhtre is
"" silltlt tMTlJ fXIIUIUO.. 1ht suslDiJsabh t11tro of
our fwurt will come from a ~ f J ofsourcu. Solar
OVtftS w{J/ be OM of IN>U. •
·td.JimHou.su
Solar Cookers have been receiving a lot
of attention recently in both the developing
and developed regions of the world. This
attention is well deserved because these
ovens are a truly appropriate technology.
First of all, they really work. They are
also cheap enough to be accessible to
virtually everyon~ easy to construct with
locally available materials; simple to
understand and operate; utilize renewable
energy; and reduce our dependence on
centrally supplied energy or, in the
developing world, diminishing supplies of
increasingly expensive fuelwood, wi1hout
having any adverse impacts on the
environment They can be a pan of the
solution ro the many problems facing our
world.
There are two basic types of solar
cookers. The first is the direct or focusing
parabolic dish cookers, which are usually
about 4 feet in diameter and reflect all the
solar energy striking them onto a focal point
which is usually about 18 inches above the
center of the dish. A pot of food would be
supponed at this focal point. Their
performance can be very impressive,
achieving temperatures over 600° F;
however, they can onJy heat one pot of food
at a rime, can be difficult to construct, need to
be focused every 15 to 30 minutes and don't
work very well on panly cloudy days.
Effons 10 market these cookers have
largely failed because of their tempennentnl
nature and because people don't like standing
out in the sun while cooking. The whole
TaU, 1991
SOLAR OVEN
Drawing by DoMis Scanlin
process of cooking with these cookers is too
different from traditional methods.
The indirect or box ovens have been the
focus of most of the recent interest in solar
cooking. An indirect or box oven is simply
an insulated box with a glass or plastic cover,
and one or more reflectors to increase the
amount of sunshine entering the box. Food is
usually placed in dark colored pots with
covers. The pots full of food are then placed
in the solar oven and absorb the solar energy
entering the oven. These ovens reach
temperatures between 250 and 450° F, can
cook several pots of food at the same time,
work on partly cloudy days. aod are simple
and inexpensive to construct
Many indirect or solar box ovens have
been designed over the last few years;
however, most fall into one of two
categories: single reflecror or multiple
reflector.
The single reflector type is the least
complicated variety. It is an insulated
rectangular box with a shoe box type lid and
a single reflec1or attached to the lid. It was
first developed in 1976 by Barbara Kerr and
Sherry Cole of Tempe, Arizona and is the
design presently being promoted by Solar
Box Cooker International, 1724 11th Street,
Sacramento, CA 95814. They have plans
available for $3.00.
Plans are also available from Kerr
Enterprises, Inc., P.O. Box 27417, Tempe,
AZ 85282, (602) 968-3068. They also have
complete kits for a well designed cardbo:ud
oven for about $55.
Kits are also available from Basic
Solar, Harvard Square Suite 67, 1430 Mass.
Ave.. Cambridge. MA 02138.
Kits or plans are not really necessary,
however, as one could easily be constructed
with either cardboard or wood. One good
source of cardboard boxes is Xerox paper
boxes found in schools and businesses.
Banana or apple boxes found in the local
grocery store are also quite sturdy, as are
cardboard file boxes which can be purchased
for about $3.00 at an office supply store.
These boxes could be covered with contaa
paper or painted for increased water
resistance.
The box could also be constructed from
large sheets of cardboard or with peices of
wood. Plywood and lxlO's or lxl2's have
been used. There may be undesirable gases
emitted from the plywood, which would
contaminate your food, but I'm not sure
about this potential problem.
The box should be large enough to
contain the desired size of pots which will be
used. but not much larger. The inside
dimensions of the Kerr/Cole cooker
mentioned earlier arel8"x22"x7". This size
can hold 3-4 pots of food and can cook a
meal for 4-6 people easily.
Insulation on the sides and boaom of
the oven wiU help it attain higher
temperatures by reducing heat loss. The
easiest is Thc.rmax foil faced insulation
secured with foil rape (not duct tape). There
may be hannful gases given off by this and
(continued on page 30)
Xatuah 1ourna! om1e ? Q
�(coniinutd from page 29)
01hers have objected to its use; however I
have not noticed any strange odors or tastes
in food cooked in an oven insulated with this
material, and when I called the manufacturer,
I was told there have been no problems
associated with ils use.
Another insulation scheme is 10 use a
smaller box inside the outer one and put
crumbled newspapers or fiberglass insulation
between the two boxes. Still another is to
fold cardboard so that trapped air pockets are
fonned and put these peices into the bottom
and on the sides of the box. With !he last two
Home Power Inc., POB 275. Ashland, OR
97520; and The Solar Coo~ry Book, Beth
and Dan Halacy, Peace Press 3828 Wilat
Avenue, Culver City, California 90230.
A variety of foods including soups,
stews, bread, chicken, cakes, rice, potatoes,
lasagna, and a variety of other vegetables can
be cooked in a solar oven. However, it does
involve some behavioral modification. One
needs to check the weather report for the day,
plan the day's dinner in the morning, put it
together and in the oven by around 10 or 11
and point the oven towards the south.
Obviously some foods will cook faster than
others. Baked beans and hot dogs can be
heated up in about I hour. Lentils, brown
rice, and soy beans will take substantially
longer. But just about anything can be
cooked in one good sunny day, or even a
panly cloudy day, if placed in the oven in the
morning and if the oven is reoriented towards
the sun a few times during the day. Around
noon is the ideal rime for solar cooking
because that is when we are receiving the
greatest amount of solar radiation.
There is no worry about burning foods.
Dark enamel, glass or ceramic pots work
well. TI1e dark-colored pots absorb more
radiation. Most cooking should be done in
convered pois.
Several solar cookbooks are available,
including Eleanor's Solar Cookbook, Eleanor
Shimcall. Cemese Publishers, 7028 Leesburg
Place, Stockton CA 95207 and Favorite
Recipes From Solar Cooks, Solar Box ,;,!!II'
Cooker International.
schemes the junction between the inside and
outside of the oven needs to be covered.
The reflector can be consmicted from
cardboard with a reflective material such as
aluminum foil, reflective mylar or a glass
mirror glued to it. Glass, plastic cooking
bags (available in grocery stores), or teflon
can be used for the glazings. Multiple layers
of glazing will result in better performance.
The glazing can be attached wilh aluminum
tape, wooden strips and nails for a wooden
box, and/or caulk. Multiple reflector designs
(fig. I) achieve higher temperature.\ (300-450°
F) but are more complicated to construct.
These cookers usually have a door on
the back side, but can also be constructed
with a shoebox type lid so the whole oven,
withou1 a bottom, fits over a shallow pan,
which would hold the pots of food.
Plans are available for $10 from Our
Sol.tr Systems, Box 55891. Tucson, AZ
85703. Two books with plans are also
available: Heave11s· Flame. A Guidebook 10
Solar Cookers, By Joseph Radabaugh,$ IO,
Complete ovens can also be purchased
from Clevlab ($15 - $275), POB 2647,
Liuleton, Colorado, 80161 and from Sunlight
Energy Corporation ($179), 441 lW. Echo
Lane, Glendale, AZ 85302 (602) 943,6492.
Figure 2 shows an exploded view of a smnll
p
muhiple reflector oven similarly inspired by
the Clevlab $15 Sunspot Solar Oven. This
same basic construction can be expanded for
a larger slant face type mulliple rcflcct0r
oven.
FRENCH BROAD
FOOD CO-OP
•• • Co05Umcr0wncd Since 1975 • ••
We Sell Food that Nourishes
I Iumans and Sustains the Earth
OPEN TO T l IE PUBLIC
Mond,,y· FriJay 8:30 AM to 8:00 r:--1
Saturdav 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM
SundJ)' I :(l(J P\I 10 6:00 PM
(704) 255-7650
Home! A Bioregional Reader
1/o,,u:! A Biorcgional Rtader, juit publi.\hcd hy
New Society Publi$hcrs, offcrs· nn c,ciung vision :uid
slOltcgy for creaung ('.enlogic.ii ly su~btn~htc
communnics and culture., rn hannony v. ilh the limiL~ nnd
rcgcncrauve powers or the £2th." It ha.~ gathered a.niclcs,
stories. and potnL~ of O\'Cr forty writer~ and acuvm.~who
have contnbu!Cd both co ddining biortgionalism a.~ a
J)Olitic;il philosophy and to the pracuce of "living rn
place.· Comnbutors mcluJ.:: Gary Snylkr, Pttcr Berg.
Caroline Estc,, Wendell Rcrry, a, well as Mnmie Muller
of the Karunlt l<mrnnl. Gr:ipl11cs in the book include the.•
\\Ort of Katuah's Rob Mcsskl..
The book is a large-format r;ipcrhack with 192
pages. includrni; resources and a reading list. Copies arc
available by mnil for S15.70 from RM Designs: Boi
Tnlhng Lto,~.s i~ • mor11hly
JOWMI nf ~ ecoloay, in.<rircd
p,,rwoaJ 11e11,·i= rooted UJ CNtheo
~piri11111iiy. Pu1 i"'-<;ues bnc
!car~ ani,lcs by Gary Soy<kr.
St.Vba"'k, John Sec:J, Joa.nna
Macy, B111 Dc\'all. Looc Wolf
Circle!'. Barhara Mor, etc.
Tnlki11g uo1n SJICU~ for the
narural "''-'"d and for the rdcinJliog
ot our own 'l-11d 51>in1.
Suh5COpUon~ an, S 15.00 on.)Ut/$18.000U1,1dc U.S. S25.00
two yc.tn/S36.00 ouwdc U.S .
~nd ch«k or M 0 . 10 :
Tnlkwg Lto,·a
1430 W1llamcuc #36 7
Eugene. OR 97401
503/342-2974
90 8i11m11rc Avcnul! A,hevallc, NC
2 Blocks South ol Downtown
rrutoNSETc:1
+.
•
0
~
I
.
.
- tl1c new al tcnmt.h·c
•
i
to tJ1c sleeper sofa
wiil1 OYcr 4,000 vcars of
customer ~atisfacH~n built in.
--
2601: Boone, NC 28007. Print,,, or Rob Mcssick's
illustrations from the book are also avnilablc from the
same llddn=
Taff, 1991
�The Bell: A Call to Peace
'The Bell
publishes
commentary and
news about peace
events and
resources. We digest
the best an1clcs
questioning war as a
solution 10 conflict
and exploring
peaceful alternatives
of foresight and reason. We continue to cover
the aftermath or the Gulf War, the policies that
brought us to that war, and the effect of
militarism on our country. our environment,
and our world.
"We accept contributions in the way of
writings, p<>cms, artwork, etc. The Bell is an
all-volunteer project that is dependent on
donations."
Issue #6 of The Bell, which contains an
interview with a woman who has maintained a
ten year, 2·1-hour-a-day peace vigil across the
srrcet from the White House, is currently
available.
TI1c Bell is published by Col/ten Redt1w11 and
Ah,yn Moss. To rrceivt The Bell, send a donmion to
Box 634; Floyd. VA 24091.
Permaculture Conference
The 6th Annual Eastern North America
Pennaculture Conference will be held
October 11-13 at the Standing Stone State
Park, near the town of Livingston m
nonhcast Tennessee.
Friday, October 11 • Field Day at Earth
Advocates Research Facility with an
inrroduction 10 Pcrmaculture.
Presentations on Saturday and Sunday,
October 12-13 - Keyline; Pcrn1aculturc and
Spirituality; Solar Power; Bio:.helters;
Low-income Community Development/Land
Tnms,
Monday, October 14 - Tours of nearby
Hidden Springs and Long Hungry Creek
Nurseries.
Costs are: Field Day - $20, Conference
registration (sliding scale) - $50-75 single,
$75-100 family. includt!s dorm lodging and
meals. Tours are free.
For directions and additional
infonnation, write: Eanh Advocates; Rt. 3,
Box 624; Livingston, TN 38570.
•
TURTLE ISLAND
BIOREGIONAL
CONGRESS
Mark the date!
The fifth
Turtle Island
Bioregional Congress
wm be held
MAY 17-24
at
Camp Stewart
Kerrville, Texas
(northwest of San Antonio)
Rl'g1strahon fet.-s hav<.> not b<.>cn set, but lhcn~
will bc r1.-dured rat<.>S for those who apply
bcfore0cccmbcr31, 1991
For funhcr infonnation on fees and
arrangements, contact the
Turtle Island Office
Box 140826
Dallas, TX 75214
(214) 324-4629
Bioregional Congresses
01.ark Area
The Twelfth Annual Ozark Area Community Congress, OACC
(pronounced 'oak") XII, will meet September 20, 21, & 22, 1991 at
Hammond Mill Camp in West Plains, Missouri. OACC has met for 12
years as a working congress (not merely a conforcnce) developing a
vision for the Ozark region based on nature's ecological rrinciples. They
focus on a range of issues including forestry, water, sustainable
agriculture. education. health, community economics, etc. This year's
congress includes a number of workshops as well as a barter fair. For
more infonnation. contact OACC, Box 3, Brixey, Missouri 65618. (417)
679- 4773.
Great Lakes Area
The Great Lakes Bioregional Congress will meet October 4, 5, &
6, 1991 in Hell (no joke), Michigan. The Congress promises to be a
celebratory, educational, fun weekend. Zones of discussion will include:
Water/Air (repon from International Joint Commission meeting, Great
Lakes Beach Sweep, toxic issues, aquatic intelligence); Eanh ( organic
farming, land use, restoration, tenure); Justice (social justice, people of
color, 500 years of resistance with dignity); Culture (alternative
economics, children, bioregional education, art, sacred sites); Habitat
(co-housing. sustainability); Nature (biodiversity, wilderness, forestry,
land defense). Scholarships available. Contact: Bearrice Briggs, % Wild
Onion Alliance, 3432 N. Boswonh, Chicago. IL 60657. (312) 929-5565.
Ohio River Watershed
The Ohio River Watershed Bioregionnl FestivaVCongress will be
held October 11-14, 1991. Entitled "Coming I Jome: Spirituality and
Ecology of our Region", the Congress is "open to all who desire to create
ways of life which are in harmony with the natural patterns and cycles of
the bioregion." All attendees are asked to panicipate in storytelling,
camping, sharing homegrown entenainment, produce, and seeds. The
Congress will be held at the fann of the Sisters of St Fmncis outside of
Oldenburg in southeast Indiana. $ I0/individual; $25/family. For more
information, contact: John Gibson, 3038 FalJ Creek Parkway,
Indianapolis, IN 46205; (317) 925-9297.
rnrc. ,.,
t!l!Jl
REGIONAL RADIO
Featuring Crossroads music, NPR news and music
p rograms, regional news and information
concerning health, education, government,
recreation, and the environment.
WNCW • FM P.O. Box 8().1
Spind,11~, NC 28160
(704) 287-8000
Xotimh Journot pn')C ~ I
�27-29
GREAT SMOKIES PARK
"Ecological Spintuafity.• exploring our
spiritual relationship to nmure. Topics will co~cr
theology or nature, 1'a1ivc American spir11uality,
stewardship responsibility. Pre-register: SSO. For info
about this and other programs. conUICt Great Smoky
Mountains Institute at Tremont; GSMNP: Townsend.
TN 37882. (615) 448-6709.
SEPTEMBER
11- 13
llLACK '>tOUNTAlN, NC
Black Mountain Mu~ic ~1ival, featuring
HorseOics, Metropolitan Blues Alls1ars, Dnv1d
Wilcox, Dr. Bubba and Ille O.K, Bayou Bnnd, and
other traditional and contemporary mu~icions. Will
also include African Drum Festival with Darrell
Rose. Cont:itl the Black Mountain FcsLi val Office.
PO Box 216, Black Mountain. NC 28711. (704)
669-4546.
Ongoing CIIEROKEF., r-;c
Exhibit: "The Beu in Cherokee Cultucc."
Cherokee Hcri1age Museum and Gallery, Hwy. 441
and Big Cove Rd.: Cherokee, NC 28719. (704)
497-321 I.
CULLOWHEE, NC
Mountam Heritage Day. n cclcbrauon or the
music, dance, crofL~. nnd folklife or Katunh. Cherokee
songs, shape,note singing, gospel, clogging. Life
skills dcmon.s1r.1tions and more. Mountrun Hcniage
Center, Western Carolina University. Cullowhce, NC
28723. (704) 227-7129.
SW ANNANOA, NC
Wnllace Black Elk, Lako1:1 Sioux mcd1cmc
mon. will lecture and conduct h<mling ceremomics 31
the Earth Center. Friday night: S25. Weekend: S150.
The Earth Center: 302 Old Fellowship Road:
Swannanoa, NC 28778. (704) 298-3935.
21
29
11-13
ASHEVILLE, NC
2nd Annual Organic Gro.,.crs Murkct Day
Organic produce, fruit, and growing ~upplics on sale.
8-4. WNC Farmers' Market; 570 Brevard Rd. For
more info, cnll Jim Smith (704) 252-4414.
20-22
HIGIILANDS, NC
"Cclebnumg Gay Spint Visions·
conference for gay and bisexual men. Spc.ikcrs include
poet James Broughton and author/healer Andrew
R:imer. Workshops on chakra b:ilancing, life ma.~k
making. n,e Warrior, and more. Music and artists'
m:irkcL ?re-register: S169 includes food and lodging
at The Mount:iin Retreat Center. For info, contact
Conference: 104 Trouer Place: Asheville. NC
28806. (704) 252-0634.
22
DUNCOM tlE COUNTY, NC
12th annu31 French Broad River Rafting
Cleanup. Tidy up the river from shore or from a mrt:
call Quality Forward a1 (704) 254-1776 for meeting
places and space on a rofL
WESTERN NOR1 H CAROLINA
North Cnrolino Fu-s1 Citizens Big Sweep
will coordinmc river cleanup~ in 18 WNC counties.
For events on your tribul3ry, com.act Pat Brinkley at
WNC Development Associn11on, (704) 252-4783.
28
ASHEVILLE, NC
Ellen O'Grady will speak about her
expcnenccs among Palestinians and lsrnclis during ten
months spent on o Middle East Witness delegauon.
Unitarian Universnlist Church, 2 pm, sponsored by
Rural Souihem Voice for Peace. For more info,
contact RSVP: 1898 Hannah Branch Road;
Burn.svdle, NC 28714. (704) 675-5933.
OCTOBER
Ongomg CHER OKEE, NC
Exhibit: "Coowccskoowcc (Chief John
Ross)" Cherokee Heritage Museum ond Gallery. Sec
"Ongoing" • Sept
1-5
CII EROKEE,
Cherokee Fall Festival 31 the Ceremonial
Grounds. Traditional dancing and costumes. dunce
competitions, weapons dcmonsu:uions. Chcrol.;cc
HcritJgC An Show running concurrently in the
Museum. For info. coll (704) 497 9195 or (800)
438-1601.
22
23
AUTUMN EQUINOX,
FULL MOON
4-6
JONESBORO, NC
l9ch Annual National Storytelling
Festival will feature yarn-spinners from all
over, including some of Appalachia's best.
For info, call the National Association for the
Preservation and Perpetuation of Storytelling
(NAPPS) at (615) 753-2171.
11-13
VALLEY HEAD, AL
Brooke Medicine Eagle at Hawk wind. (See
"Wcbworking" page.)
11-13
11,EW MARKET, TN
"Building Bridges 13c{woon Community o.nd
Educational lnstitulions" workshop. Designed to
show community activists how to make good use of
university and college resources. The Highlan~ r
Center. Sec 9/13-15.
I 1-20
HOT SPRI NGS, 1'C
"The Buddhist Prcccp1s for Daily Living"
silent rc1.rea1. guided by Cheri Huber. The 16
Bhodisatvn prcceplS as guidelines for deepening one's
spiritual practice. Pre-register: S325 includes vegan
meals and shared room . For information on 1hi5 and
other rc1rcat.s and workshops. contact Southern
Dharma Rc1rca1 Center: RI. I, Box 34-H; Hot
Springs, r-;c 28743. (704) 622-7112.
ASHEVILLE, 1'C
"The Solar Wisdom or the Incas· wilh
Willaru Chasqu1 from the Peruvian Andes. Gnosuc
wisdom of the central sun, imerplnnctary mission of
the E.T.'s, revolution in consciousness, universal
community, and the lnc:in calendar. 7:30 pm at
Jubilee, 45 Wall SL Free - love offerings accepted.
For more info. contact Valerie Naiman (704)
645-5110.
12
17-20 UNICOI STATE PARK, GA
25-29 ASHEVILLE, NC
"Kituwah" - an imenribal Native
American cultural celebration. Included will
be lifestyle ans demonstrations, competitive
dancing, juried fine arts show, traditional
crafts sale, and dramatic performances. All
events will be at the Asheville Civic Center.
Admission $2-7. For info, contact Kituwah,
46 Haywood St., Asheville, NC 28801.
(704) 252-3880.
HIGHLANDS, NC
WNC Alliance Annual Membership
Meeting al The Mountain. Open 10 the public.
Worlcshops, nature walks, lcgislntivc upda1e. Keynocc
speaker: James Blomquisl. head of the Public Londs
Program for the Siem Club. Workshops on
biOJcgions, mcdj:Juon, environmental effectiveness,
and lhe timber sale appeals. ConlJICt WNC Alliance:
B011 18087: A~heville. NC 28814. (704) 258-8737.
7
NEW MOON
10-13
NORRIS, TN
12th Annual Tennessee Fall Homecoming.
a cctebralion or lrlldmonal mountain cullure at the
Museum of Appalachia. Music, crafts,
demonstrations of rural life skills, in addition to the
Museum's regular cxhJbits. For info, call the
Museum of Appalachia at (615) 494-7680.
FnJI Ennhskills Workshop will offer
serious instruc1ion in the ans and lifeways of
indigenous people. Skills include making fire
by friction, plant identification, tanning
buckskin, stone and bone tools, stalking and
tracking, native drums and rattles.
Instructors: Darry Wood, Snow Bear, Scott
Jones. For info. contact Bob Slack, Jr.;
Unicoi State Park; Helen, GA 30545. (404)
878-2201.
18-20
27-29
ll-14
LIVINGSTON, TN
6th Annual Eastern Nonh American
Pennacuhurc Conference. Field day, nursery
tours, workshops: keyline, pennaculture and
spirituality, solar power, bioshelters, land
truSlS, more. Pre-register: Weekend - $50-75
(sliding scale), Field Day - $20 additional, to
Eanh Advocates; Rt 3, Box 624, Livingston,
TN 38570
SWANNANOA, NC
Dance, drumming, and teaching with
Brooke Medicine Eagle, healer and licensed counselor,
al the Earth Cen1er. S11ong emph3s1s oo women's
ways, but bolh men and women are welcome. Friday
night: $25. Weekend· SISO. See IWl l-13.
18-20
VALLEY HEAD, AL
"Women's Ceremonial Intensive" at
Hawkwind. (Sec "Webworking" p:1gc.)
Ta([, 1991
J
�SWAl'\ r-. ANOA, NC
"Rcncwmg Worship" Conference spon.sorcd
by Asheville Jubilee Community examinmg
Crcauon SpmlU3hLy through Lhc works of Ma11hew
Fo~. S250 1u11,on + S200 lodging. Jubilee: 46 W311
S1.: Asheville, NC 28801 (704) 252-5335.
NOVEl\IDER
21-25
23
F ULL MOON
NEW M ARK ET, T N
Appalachian Writers Workshop a1 1he
HighlMdet Center. Sec 9/13-15.
25-27
25-27
HI GHLANDS, NC
"Fall Landscape Workshop" with
photographer Sam Wang. Pre-register: $250 includes
lodging. For information about this and other
photography workshops, contact Appalachian
Environmental Ans Center; Box 580: Highlands, NC
2874 I. (704) 526-2602.
26
SWANNANOA, NC
Sweat lodge at th.: Earth Center Sec
10/11-13.
HALLOWE'l-:N (SAM ll AIN)
31
6
23
SWANNANOA. NC
Sweat lodge al the Earth Center. Sec
10/11-13.
NFW 1\100"1
7-9
G REENV ILL E, NC
6th Annu:il Altcma1ivc Farm Field Days.
Tours. seminars: aquaculture. markeung. compostmg,
cover crops, f>C$t mMagement, more. For info. write
Caroli no Farm Stewordsh1p A~sociation; Box 511;
Pittsboro. NC 27312 or call Jim Smith m Asheville
4.
at (704) 252-44 1
28-30
WAYNESV ILLE, NC
"Steps 10 Pc:icc" workshop with Sanderson
Beck. Inner ond outer pc:ice nnd the principles which
bring about peace. h3llllony, jusuce, and respect for
freedom. S60 includes vegetarian meals Md lodging.
For info on this and other program5, contact
Sul-Light Retreat Center; RI. I, Box 326;
Waynesville, NC 28786. (7~) 452-4569.
8-10
VA LLEY HEA D, AL
"A Weekend lnicns1vc on Lakota Ways• at
Howkwind. (Sec Wcbworking" page.)
9-10
SWANNANOA, NC
Dhyani Ywahoo 111 Lhc Eanh Ccmcr.
"Dhyani calls on u.~ 10 become Pcacckccpcr; in our
hearts and in the world." S200. Sec 10/11-13.
16-17
VA LLE Y II EAO, AL
Healing Arts Weekend al lillwkwind. (Sec
'Webworking" page.)
20-24
HOT SPRI NGS, NC
"Tam,ng the Monkey Mind" mcdit.ition
rctrc.it guided by Ven. Thubten Chodton, M ,\mericM
Tibetan BuddhlSI nun. Southern Dharma Retreat
Center. Prc-rcgi~tL-r: $170. Sec 10/11-20.
21
DECEMBER
5
NEW MOON
7-8
GREAT SMO KIF.S PARK
Winter llighcountry C.1mping. For info on
this and other field school comses. conlllct Smoky
Mounmin Field School: 600 Henley SL (Suite 105);
Univ. or TN; Knoxville, lN J7902. (615) 974-0150
or (800) 284-8885.
DO YOU ll'ANT YOUR IIAPPENINGS US-TED IN
HIE KATUMI EVENTS CALENDAR? listings arc
free. Mail tl~m to 1/rother 8/uir; JOO Webb Cove
Rd: A.fhtvilfe, NC 28804. l.isltngs for Issue 1133
must bt submilltd by Nov. 15.
FULL MOON
22-24
NF.W MARKET, TN
An11-Env1mnmcnt:il llaras.,mcm work.shop
at the fl1ghlandcr Center, Environmental ac1h·1sts
will learn how 10 dc0ccl harn,smcnt from the
polltic,1Vcorpor.i1e power st.nJCturc. Sec 9/13-15.
"The an!,.l°s oldest
.lnd l.ugcs1 natural
ioodsgnx.:,ry"
811/k l lcrbs, Spices, & Grains
Vitamins & Supplements
Y.'11eat, Salt & Yeast-Free Foods
Dniry S11bstit11trs
Hair & Skin Cart' Products
Beer & Wi11c Makiug Supplies
200 W. King St, Boonr, :-:c 2S607
(70-l) 26-1-5220
l)r4wing by Rob Me;s.,d,
rJ
tJf.u
~ Sand_y Mush
Herb N ursery
WH OLE FOODS
VITAMINS
ORGANI C PRODUCE
WREATHS • POTPOURRI
• HERBS • TOPIARY
Complete Herb Catalog - $4
Describes more thn11 800 pla11ts from
Aloe to Yarrow
160 Broadway
Asheville, North Carolina
Open 7 Days a Week
Monday - Friday 9 am - 8 pm
Saturday 9 am - 6:30 pm
Sunday 12 pm - 5 pm
Tal.t, 199 1
A.I.A., Resource Information Analysis
Neil Thomas and Andy Feinstein
3 05 Westover, Asheville, NC
(704) 252-6816
Rt 2, Surrett Cove Road
Leicester, North Carolina 28748
Pltone for appointment to visit
(704) 683-2014
�0
•bwo~ ~,! ~
We
'
a fee of $2 .50 (pre-paid) per enrry offifty
words or less.
Submit entries for Issue 1133 by Nov. I5,
1991 to: Rob Messick; Box 2601; Boone,
NC 28607. (704) 754-6097.
Tl-IE MOUNTAINS - arc calling me home. I'll be
there in Spring of 1992. Nuds: {I) a place 10 put
a tipior s111411 camper (nc:ir a wruer source). (2) a
babysiucr between home and Asheville or
Swannanoa (ttansfering 10 school lhete), and (3 J a
JOb. Skills: (I J Organic Gardener {2) Vegetnri.an
Cook ( 3) Herbal Prcparatioos. Contact me ac
Kathleen Ashley; 1302 Two NO<Ch Road #17:
Lcitingt011, SC 29072.
MUSIC BY BOB AVERY-GRUBELavailJlbleoo three
casseues.. Treasures iii the Stream and Circles
Returning are folk/roclc-jaiz, and a JCCcnt release of
original chants and songs, Light iii tht Wind. is a
cap~ll.a. Lyric sheets included.. Send SI0 for each
tape or$26 for all thrce 10 Bob Avery-Grubel: RL I,
Box 735; Floyd, VA 24091.
'69 FORD VAN, high·l0P, very good condition. $900.
Call (704) 488-9347 (doc10r's office - leave message).
Kllty StOkely.
HlGflLANDER CEN"leR • is a community-based
cducaLion:11 orgnni:wion whose purpose is to provide
space for people to lcam from e.ich Olhcr, and to
develc,pc solutions to environmental problems based
on their values, CJtpcricnces, and aspirations. They
also put out a quarterly ncwsteucrcalled llishlander
R1:por1s. For more infoml!UJOII contact Highlander
Centu. 1959 Highlnndcr Way; New Mank.ct, TN
37820 (615) 933-3443
RAW CHEMICAL-FREE HONEY • Tulip Poplar,
Sourwood, and Wild0owcr honey rrom the forests of
Pauiclc County, VA. No chemicals. no white sugar,
no heal ever. Sunincd through chccsccloth and p:ickcd
in glass. Limited qU31ltities. Call or wnte for prices
& availability. Wade B11tkholls • Bull Mountllin
Beekeepers: RD 2, Boit I 516; Stunrt. VA 24171
(703) 694-4571.
WISE WOMAN TRADmON. Fall RooLWOtk
Wed.end with Wh1tcwolf. November 8-10. For
women and men. Dig roots, mnke medicine, I.cam
Eanhwisc healing through Joumeymg, drumming,
and dreaming. Wann donn and hearty vcgclllrian
meals. One hour from Asheville. Donation SISO 100. some worlt exchange avnilablc. Wh11ewolf; PO
Box 576; Asheville. NC 28802.
LAND FOR SALE: 10 actc privlllC cove. Large organic
field. rustic: farmhouse with spring fed water nnd liOlar
symm. SITl411 solar ,1ruc:wre. SS0.000. Call (104)
649-9266 for Tom.
NATIVE AMERJCAN CEREMONIAL HERBS • we
offer a large variety of sages. IIWCCI grass. natural
resins, and everything ncccssary for smudging. Native
smoking mixtures, flute mu.,ic, pow-wow mpcs. and
ocn:monial songs. Essential oils. and mccnscs
speciflcally made for prayer. offering. and mcdiuilion.
For catalog call or write: Essencial Drcnms: Rt 3.
Box 285: Eagle Forlt, Hayesville, NC 2890-I (104)
389-9898.
Xatimfl Journot pt19c 34
PlEDMONT BIOREGIONAL INSTITUTE • For those
who live in the Piedmont area, there's a bioregional
effort well underway. Jom Us! We would npprecillle
any donation of time or money to help meet
operating expenses. For a gift of S2S.OO or more. we
will send you a copy of John Lawson's journal, A
New Vo.)12ge 10 Carolina. Also come find out about
the Lawson Pro.,ect. PB!; 412 WRoscmnry Street;
Chapel Hill, NC27516: Uwharria Province. (919)
942-2581.
BODY R11n-,1MS from Pl311Clllly Mothers· a
beautiful and paraclical calendar for women to ch:irl
their "moonthly" cycles. Send $3.00 plus S1.00
poSUlge 10: Planclllly Mothers Collcctivc(c/o Nancie
Yonker); 5231 Riverwood Avenue; Saraso111, Fl.
34231.
FAMILIES LEARNlNG TOGETHER·
Homeschooling families organization. Discuss
issues, give mutual support. shllre ideas and
resources, and gnther for family activities. Write
Doug Woodward; 68 Lakey Creek; Franklin, NC
28734 for infonnation.
LOCAL RECYCLING CO-OP • crunched by glass
price cuts! rr you have any interest in the recent cut in
glim prices by the Owens-Brockway Company, and
would hkc to help do something about the flawed
economics of recycling, or just shale information,
please write BretNelson; 1578 Bow Hill Road;
Christiansburg, VA 24073.
THE LOVING WELL COMPANY • is a group of
people wooong together to suppon and promote what
worb 111 health and education. We arc building a
communuy dcdicrucd to pence and 10 livmg in a
healthy relationship with one allOlher. For more
infonnauon write Naomi Ross; 1433 Woodland HIiis
Drive NE: AllanUI. GA 30324-4627.
"BLOW YOUR MlND" • with the celestial sootlung
music of "Medicine Wind" by George TOCtorClli. Also
c.xouc fine-tuned bamboo nutcs in many keys nnd
modes. For more information send LO'. George
Tortorelli; 86 NW 55th Street; Gainesville, Fl.
32601. (904} 373-1837
LAND FOR SALE • Magnificent view with small
house m beautiful Spring Creek. NC. Ten miles
south of Hot Springs. NC (o!T Route 209), and one
hour west of Asheville. S25.000 f01 I.Ind and house.
Perfect for the sctr sufficient life. CaU Landa Deyo at:
(704) 675-9575.
NATJVE AMERICAN Fl.UTE MUSIC· Richard
Roberts, a well lcnown west TN new age nutist (ab
Zero Ohms), is now 3V3il~blc an the Ea!i! TN/NC
area. For rclaitiog and uplifting pcrfOrmMCC$ or UIJJCS
conlllCC Richard Robcns; Box 821; Noms, TN 37&2g
(61S)494-8828orRL I.Box 136RD;Lamar,MS
3~2 (601) 252-4283.
WE NEED. three families to complete our five family
community/neighborhood. Private south facing cove
with streams, sprangs. and views 1n Weaverville. NC
area. You get 5 to 10 acres for your home nnd equal
intueSt in I 10 acres of common land. S2S,000 to
30.000 depending on house site. Call (704) 658-2676
ror more infonnntlon.
~~
,"l' ~
HAWKWIND
Eanh Renewal Cooperative - invitcs you to
pan.icipate ma season ofctnsscs and gruhcrlngs to
tnke pince a1 our lush, 70 acre wilderness rctm1L
Ccnttally locnlCd to Georgia and Tennessee in the
Northern Alabama Mountains, our campground and
focilitics arc ava.ilablc to members, public gnthcrings
and private organizational use. Monthly prog,ams
range from Organic G:u-de'1ing, Native and Eanh
Philosophies, IO the Environment, Healing
Programs, Self Reliance, Women m Transition and
much more. Safe Family Camping. Send SI.SO for
oewslctu:r ond schedule of events to: 1-!Qwkwind; PO
Box 11; Valley Head, AL 35989. (205) 635-6304
BROOKE MEDICINE EAGLE • join this very special
Elllthlceepcr, healer. and teaehcr who has dedicated her
life 10 the people. Raised on the Crow Rescvailon in
Montana, she is a licensed counselor, and has been a
moving force behind the movement to ruum 10 the
traditional ways of honoring the Earth. Broolce will
shatc with us her lmditions, songs. dance and
drumming as well as her strong insight into the
"women's ways.• October I l-13th, $160 for the
wcelccnd intensive. For reservations & details contact
Hawlcwind at (205) 635-6304 (evenings best).
A WEEKENDINTENSIVEONLAKOTA WAYS·
Morning Star and Gilbert Wallcing Bull provide
ttaditional Lakota ceremonies 10 their community.
They teach Lakota tradiuons: the ceremony oflhc
Stone People's lodge, the S:icred c:honupa , lhe vision
qllC:il and the Sun Dance prcpru-ation. November
8-I0th, $160 for ru11 weekend. includes Clll11ping.
Ceremonies open will\ no fee. ConUICt Hawlcwind at:
(205) 635-6304 (evenings bcsl).
WOMEN'S CEREMONIAL INTENSIVE· The
Hawkwoman Cucle mvi1.es you to gather for a
wcelcend of song, dance, drumming. and ritual
ceremony for purification and crcat.ion of cen:mooiru
Loots. Together we will explore the many roles of the
Earth Women, and the ways that ceremony can be
used in everyday living. October 18-20, camping fees
and o love offering to cover materials and teacher
costs. Contnct Hawkwind nc (205) 635-6304.
HEALING ARTS WEEKEND· Hawkwmd brings :i
scncs of nawnil hc;iling systems together. Joan
professional mass3ge therapists, herbal healers, body
workers :ind join m purificntion ntU31s to remove !he
dis~ and bring the body m10 b31ancc. No,-cmbcr
16-17, S80 for lhe whole ...,eekcnd. Conuict
Hawlcwmd ac (205) 635-6304 (evenings best).
NEW MOON & SOLSTICE GATHERINGS •
Hawkwmd honors the Earth People and !he Natural
Native Rituals of clc.insing and renewal. We come
togcll1cr in lodge ocrcmony, singing, drumming,
dancing, and sea:;onal mcd1ui11ons. Native philosophy
classc~ and women's circle meet on Sunday.
Novcmb,;r 9/10, December 7/8, December 21/22 Pot
luck meals, camping fees. :ind love offering IO
suppon resource ccmcr dcvclopcmcm. ConlllCt
HawkwinJ ac (205) 635-6304 (evenings best).
rnct, 1991
�l'cl \i~e -to \We in "
5ociet_-J that )sn· -t
aysf.,nct1ona1
BACK ISSUES OF KATUAH JOURNAL AVAILABLE
ISSUE TIIREE- SPRING 1984
Sustainable Agricuhure • Sunnowcrs • 1lumnn
Impact on the Forest - Childrcns' Educauon •
Veronica Nicholas: Woman in Politics - Little
People - Medicine Allies
ISSUE FOUR· SUMMER 1984
Water Drum • Water Quality - Kudzu - Solar Eclipse
• Clearcutting - Trout - Going to Water· Ram
Pumps. Microhydro - Poems: Bennie Lee Sinclair,
Jim Wayne Miller
ISSUE FIVE· FALL 1984
Harvest. Old Ways in Cherokee· Ginseng· Nuclear
Waste. Our Celtic Heritage - Bioregionalism: Past,
Present, and Future · John Wilnoty - Healing
D:lrlcncss • Politics or Participation
lSSUE SIX - WINTER 1984-85
Wmter Solstice Eanh Ceremony • Horscpasturca
River. Coming of tile Light· Log Cabin Root·
Mountain Agriculture: The Right Crop • William
Taylor • The Future or the Forest
ISSUE SEVEN· SPRING 1985
Sustainable Economics - Hot Springs • Worker
Ownership. The Great Economy· Self Help Credit
Union • Wild Turkey. Responsible Investing·
Working in the Web or Life
ISSUE EIGHT· SUMMER 1985
Celebration: A Way or Lire - K81uah 18.000 YCD.rS
Ago • Sacred Sues - Folk Ans in the Schools • Sun
Cycle/Moon Cycle· Poems: Hilda Downer _
Cherokee Heritage Ccntcr • Who Owns Appalachia?
ISSUE NINE · FALL 1985
The Waldee Forest • The Trees Speruc • Mlgral.ing
Forests • Horse Logging • Starting a Tree Crop •
Urban Trees· Acom Bread· Myth Time
ISSUE TEN - WINTER 1985-86
Kate Rogers • Cin:lcs or SlOlle - Internal
Mythmnking • Holistic Healing on Trial • Poems:
Sieve Knauth - Mythic Ploccs - The Uktcna's Tale CryslOI Magic - "Drc:imspcaking"
ISSUE THIRTEEN · FALL 1986
Center For Awakening - Eliulbcth Callari · A
Gentle Death • Hospice - Ernest Morgan • Dealing
Creatively with Death - Home Burial Box • The
Wake. The Raven Mocker - Woodslorc and
Wildwoods Wisdom • Good Medicine; The Sweat
ISSUE FOURTEEN· WINTER 1986·87
Lloyd Carl Owle - Boogcrs and Mummers· All
Species Day • Cabin Fever Univcrsi1y • Ilomelcss
in Kauiah • Homemade Hot Water· Stovcmnkcr's
Nrumtivc - Good Medicine: lntcr.,pccacs
Communication
ISSUE FIFTEEN • SPRING 1987
Coverlets • Woman Fores1cr • Susie McMahon:
Midwife - Ahemative Contraception • Bioscxuality •
Bioregionalism and Women· Good Medicine:
Mmriarchal Cuhure • Pearl
ISSUE SIXTEEN - SUMMER 1987
Helen Waite. Poem: Visions in a Garden - Vision
Quest. First Aow - lnitinuon - Leaming m the
Wilderness. Cherokee Challenge · "Valuing Trees"
ISSUE EIGHTEEN· WlNTER 1987-88
Vernacular An:hitccture - Dreams in Wood and Stone
. Mount.ain Home - Earth Energies - Eanh-Shchcred
Laving - Mcmbrone Houses · Brush Shelter·
Poems: October Dusk. Good Mcdicino: "Sheltcrff
ISSUE NINETEEN· SPR£NG 1988
Pcrclandra Garden. Spring Ton,cs • Blueberries Wildnower Gardens - Granny Herbalist • Aowcr
Essences . "The Origin or the Animals:" Story •
Good Medicine; "Power" • Be A Tree
ISSUE TWENTY· SUMMER 1988
Preserve Appalachian Wilderness - Highlands or
Roan • Cclo Community • Land Trust· Anhur
Morgan School - 1.oning Issue· "The Ridge" •
•
Farmers and the Farm Ball • Good Medicine: "Land
• Acid Rnin • Duke's Power Play - Cherokee
Microhydro Project
ISSUE TWENTY-TWO· WINTER 1988-89
GIObal Warming - Fire ThlS Time • Thomas Berry
on "Bioregions" - Earth Exercise· Kort Loy
McWhirtcr • An Abundance of Empuncss • LETS •
Chronicles or Floyd - Darry Wood • The Bear Clan
ISSUE 1WENTY-THREE • SPRING 1989
Pisgah Village • Planet An • Green City - Poplar
Appeal • "Clear Sky" • •A New Earth" - Black Swan
• Wild Lovely Day.f • Reviews: Sacred Land Sacrt!d
Su, Jee Age • Poem· "Sudden Tendrils"
Lodge
32
,
~
UA~OURNAL
PO Box 638 Leicester. NC Katuah Province 28748
For more info: call Rob Messick at (704) 754-6097
Regular Membership........ $10/yr.
Sponsor.........................$20/yr.
Contributor.....................$50/yr.
Name
Address
Enclosed is $_ _".'""".'.'T":""'. ro give
this effort an extra boost
City
Ya!L, 199 1
State
Phone Number
Zip
I can be a local contact
person for my area
ISSUE TWENTY-FOUR • SUW.1ER 1989
Deep ListCning - Life in Atomic City· Direct
Acuon! - Tree or Peace - Community Building·
Pc:iccmakets - Ethnic Survival - Pairing Project·
"B:utlesong" • Growing Peace m Cultures - Review:
Tiu! Cha/iu and ihL Blade
lSSVE TWENTY-SIX • WINTER. 1989-90
Coming or Age in the Eco7.oic Era • Kids Saving
Rainforest • Kids Trcccycl mg Company • Connie,
Resoluuon. Developing the Creative Spirit· Birth
Power • Birth Bonding - The Magic or Puppetry •
Home Schooling - Naming Ceremony • Mother
Earth's Cl3S.$l'OOl!l - Gnrdcning for Children
ISSUE TWENTY ·SEVEN· SPRING, 1990
Transformauon. Healing Power· Pcoce 10 Their
Ashes. Healing in Katuah - Poem: "When Left 10
Grow". Poems: Stephen Wing - The Belly· Food
from the Ancient Forest
ISSUE TWENTY-EIGIIT • SUMMER 1990
Carrying Capacity - Setting Limits to Growth •
What is Overpopulation? • The Rood Gang • The
Highway to Nowhere - The 1·26 Project· "Caring
Capacity" • People and Habit.at - Design mg the
Whole Life Community • Steady State· Poems:
Will Ashe Bason • Tran$p0f!Crnativcs • Review:
Cohousing
ISSUE TWENTY·NINE • FAl.l./WlNTER 1990
From the Mount.ains 10 the Sea - Prolile of The
Little Tennessee River· Heodwatcrs Ecology· "It
All Comes Down to Water Quallty" - W:ucr Power.
Action for Aquatic Habitats - Dawn W:nchcrs • Good
Medicine: The Long Human Being • The North
Shore Rood - K:uuah Sells Out - Watershed Map of
the Kawah Provance
ISSUE THIRTY • SPRING I99 I
Economy/Eeology - Ways to a Regenerative
Economy • "Money as the Lowest Form or Wealth"
• Clarksville Mimcle - The Village· Food Movers·
Lifework. Good Medicine: "Village Economy··
Sheltoo Laurel • LETS
ISSUE THIRTY-ONE· SUMMER 1991
Dowsing • Responsibilities or Dowsing · Electrical
Life of the Enrth • Katuah and the Earth Gnd • Coll
of the Ancient Ones - Good Medicine: "On
Aggression" • Time to T:ike the Time to Take the
Time. Whole Science. Tuning In
Back Issues
Issue # __@ $2.50 = $._ __
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Issue# _ _@ $2.50 = $._ __
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Issue# __@ $2.50 = $._ __
postage paid $_ __
Complete Set
(3-10, 13-16, 18-20, 22-24, 26-31)
postage paid@ $50.00 =$_ __
:K.at ucih Journot. pa9e 35
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians Records
Description
An account of the resource
<em>Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians</em>, later simplified to <em>Katúah Journal</em>, was published from 1983 to 1993. A quarterly publication, it was focused on the bioregion of former Cherokee land in Appalachia. <br /><br /><span>The early issues of the journal explain the meaning of the Cherokee name, </span><em>Katúah</em><span>, and why the editors wanted to view the world through a bioregional lens, rather than political boundaries. A volunteer production, the editors took a holistic view in tackling social, environmental, mental, spiritual, and emotional topics of the day, many of which are still relevant. </span><br /><span><br />The <em>Katúah Journal</em> was co-founded by Marnie Muller, David Wheeler, Thomas Rain Crowe, Martha Tree and others who served as co-publishers and co-editors. Other key team members included Chip Smith, David Reed, Jay Mackey, Rob Messick and many others.</span><br /><br />This digital collection is only a portion of the <em>Katúah</em>-related materials in the W.L. Eury Appalachian Collection in Special Collections at Appalachian State University. The items in AC.870 Katúah Journal records cover the production history of the <em>Katúah Journal</em>. Contained within the records are correspondence, publication information, article submissions, and financial information. The editorial layouts for issues 12 through 39 are included as are a full run of the Journal spanning nearly a decade. Also included are photographs of events related to the Journal and a film on the publication.
Source
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This resource is part of the <em>Katúah Journal Records </em>collection. For a description of the entire collection, see <a href="https://appstate-speccoll.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/937" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Katúah Journal Records (AC. 870)</a>.
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The images and information in this collection are protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U. S. C.) and are intended only for personal, non-commercial, and educational purposes, provided proper citation is used – i.e., Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians Records, 1980-2013 (AC.870), W. L. Eury Appalachian Collection, Special Collections, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC. Researchers are responsible for securing permissions from the copyright holder for any reproduction, publication, or commercial use of these materials.
Date
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1983-1993
Format
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journals (periodicals)
Language
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English
Type
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Text
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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<em>Katúah Journal</em>, Issue 32, Fall 1991
Description
An account of the resource
The thirty-second issue of the <em>Katúah Journal</em> is a call for humans to return to a simpler way of life, following in the ways of the Cherokee, or Katúah, tribe. Authors and artists in this issue include: David Wheeler, Barbara Wickersham, Henry Wender, John A. Freeman, Tom Underwood, Lee Barnes, Will Ashe Bason, Ivo Ballentine, Brownie Newman, Robert Johnson, Rob Messick, Bess Harbison, Maxim Didget, Robert Johnson, Emmett Greendigger, Dr. Dennis Scanlin, Deborah James, Leonard Cirino, Melba Bari, and Charlotte Homsher. <br><br><em>Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians</em>, later simplified to <em>Katúah Journal</em>, was published from 1983 to 1993. A quarterly publication, it was focused on the bioregion of former Cherokee land in Appalachia. The early issues of the journal explain the meaning of the Cherokee name, Katúah, and why the editors wanted to view the world through a bioregional lens, rather than political boundaries. A volunteer production, the editors took a holistic view in tackling social, environmental, mental, spiritual, and emotional topics of the day, many of which are still relevant.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1991
Table Of Contents
A list of subunits of the resource.
<p>Bringing Back the Fire by David Wheeler.......1<br /><br />A Bit of Mountain Levity by Barbara Wickersham.......5<br /><br />Climax Never Came by Henry Wender.......7<br /><br />Is the Southern Appalachian Ecosystem Endangered? by John A. Freeman.......9<br /><br />"Talking Leaves": Sequoyah by Tom Underwood.......10<br /><br />Green Spirits: Seed Saving by Lee Barnes.......12<br /><br />Walking Distance by Will Ashe Bason.......13<br /><br />Angle: Environment by Ivo Ballentine.......13<br /><br />Good Medicine.......14<br /><br />Poem: "A Rotting Log" by Brownie Newman.......15<br /><br />THE GRANOLA JOURNAL.......16<br />Livin' By Their Wits, recorded by Rob Messick<br />An Old Family Tale by Bess Harbison<br />The Slide by Rob Messick<br />How Can You Lose Anything as Big as This Ego? by Maxim Didget<br /><br />Paintings: "Mountain Stories" by Robert Johnson.......18<br /><br />Natural World News.......20<br /><br />Dying Soils, Dying Waters by Emmett Greendigger.......22<br /><br />Songs in the Wilderness by Charlotte Homsher.......24<br /><br />Save James Bay.......25<br /><br />Drumming.......26<br /><br />Off the Grid: Solar Ovens by Dennis Scanlin.......29<br /><br />Events........32<br /><br />Webworking........34<br /><br />Katúah Konfusion.......35<br /><br /><em>Note: This table of contents corresponds to the original document, not the Document Viewer.</em></p>
Publisher
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<em>Katúah Journal</em>, printed by The <em>Waynesville Mountaineer</em> Press
Subject
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Bioregionalism--Appalachian Region, Southern
Sustainable living--Appalachian Region, Southern
Cherokee Indians--Social life and customs
Sequoyah, 1770?-1843
Appalachians (People)--Social life and customs
Ecosystem health--Appalachian Region, Southern
Acid Rain--Appalachian Region, Southern
Solar ovens
North Carolina, Western
Blue Ridge Mountains
Appalachian Region, Southern
North Carolina--Periodicals
Language
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English
Type
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Text
Source
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<a href="https://appstate-speccoll.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/937"> AC.870 Katúah Journal records</a>
Rights
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<a title="In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted" href="https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/?language=en 8" target="_blank"> In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted </a>
Coverage
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Appalachian Region, Southern
Is Part Of
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<a title="Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians" href="https://omeka.library.appstate.edu/collections/show/79" target="_blank"> Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians </a>
Format
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PDF
Journals (Periodicals)
Temporal Coverage
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1990s
Acid Deposition
Agriculture
Alternative Energy
Appalachian History
Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Studies
Bioregional Congress
Cherokees
Community
Earth Energies
Ecological Peril
Economic Alternatives
Electric Power Companies
Fire
Folklore and Ceremony
Forest Issues
Good Medicine
Habitat
Katúah
Permaculture
Pigeon River
Plants and Herbs
Poems
Radioactive Waste
Reading Resources
Recycling
South PAW (Preserve Appalachian Wilderness)
Stories
Transportation Issues
Turtle Island
Villages
Water Quality
Wilderness
-
https://omeka-test.library.appstate.edu/files/original/5ac6c68fc9a4ef339c7624f779acbcb4.pdf
d9ea21ad706d54448902d9872b20ba5c
PDF Text
Text
ISSUE 34 SPRING 1992
$2.00
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~UAlrljOURNAL
PO Box 638
Leicester, NC
Katuah Province 287 48
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Drawing by Rob Mcssiclc
Postage Paid
Bulk Mail
Permit #18
Leicester, NC
28748
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Printed on recycled paper
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED
�Paradise Gardening....................
3
by Joe Hollis
Community Sponsored Agriculture..5
by Hugh love/
"lfYouDidn'tGrowlt... "...........
by Ralph Garrett
7
Eating Close to Home.................
by Peter Bane
9
Silas McDowell's Vision............
by Perry Eury
11
Poems..................................
by Allison C. Surherland
12
Native Foods..........................
by Bear with Runs
13
Cover Crops..........................
by Mark Schonbeclr.
15
Plant For Tomorrow: Hemp........
by John Ingress
17
Katuah Cultivars......................
by Lee Barnes
18
Blowing in the Wind.................
by Charlotte Homsher
19
The Web of Life:
A Katuah Almanac...................
by Lee Barnes
and Rob Messick
20
Good Medicine.......................
22
Natural World News.................
24
"Whose Rules?"......................
by David Wheeler
26
Big fvy.................................
by Emmett Greendigger
and David Wheeler
27
Drumming.......... ..................
28
Saving Wild Seeds...................
by Lee Barnes
29
Resources.............................
31
Review:
"Apple Pie in Your Face" .............. 34
Webworking..........................
37
Events..................................
38
Sprl.nq , 1992
Sustainable Agriculture and Regional Diet
It is rrom the atoms of our bioregion's
soil, water and air that our cells are
constructed and renewed. Within many
unique webs of life, we become our physical
selves and thus must share responsibility for
our impact on the delicate systems which
allow us life.
Bioregions need to become more
self-sustaining, self-governing, and
self-healing. An imponant step in obt.aining
this goal is the development of regional
sustainable agriculture and greater utiliz.ation
of seasonal diet.
Agriculture must be more ecologically
sustainable and regionally specific, since each
bioregion is unique in its combination of
climate, soils, and adaptable plants for food,
fibers and fuels. Within each bioregion:
• Cultivaled crops should be
ecologically produced in harmony with the
Earth's gifts of sunshine, frost-free growing
season, am renewable cycles of soil fertility.
• Sustainable agriculture teehniques
must maximize soil regeneration and nutrition
produced per acre, rather than simply
maximizing yields.
• All materials and energies must be
more efficiently recycled within the biaregion
that produced them. We must blanket our
soils wilh greater gifts of cover-crops and
green manures .
• We must reduce our total dependency
on a dangerously narrow base of major food
crops and monoculture techniques, and
diversify our use of currently recognized and
potentially usable wild-food plants.
• Preservation of remaining genetic
diversity is critical to prevent the final loss of
irreplaceable gene combinations. We need 10
renew the use of genetically diverse,
open-pollinated seeds to retain variability in
our fields to insure protection from
catastrophic crop loss due to genetic
uniformity. Local seed-saving could allow
independence from extra-regional seed
sources.
• Most imponanlly, humans in each
bioregion must accept total responsibility for
their region's ecological health and
self-sufficiency in food production.
A regional diet should be nuaitious and
healthy; pleasant to eat; consumed more "in
sync" with regiona.V seasonal cycles of
production; and involve foods which can be
preserved using, low-technology food
preservation techniques, such as solar
drying, smoking, salt preservation and
pickling.
We need to review each region's
traditional diets, as guides to efficient,
non-destructive food production, and
carefully learn from each region's own
unique seasonal production of abundant
crops such as fruits (berries, etc.), nuts
(chestnuts, acoms,etc.), and wild seeds
(grains).
"Getting back to the garden," as Joe
Hollis tells us, will be no easy taSk.. We must
embra.ce the best featureS of current and
developing techniques and philosophies for a
sustainable future.
In this issue, we address the potential
for regional, sustainable agriculture and
regional diet by reviewing Katuah's historical
foods and agricultural cycles. We explore
new ideas for food production and marketing
systems, and provide some specific
information on wild plant seed-saving,
recommended vegetable varieties, and cover
crops.
We hope this issue will "seed" further
investigations into sustainable agriculture,
regional autonomy, and self-healing. We are
what we eat, and are ultimately responsible
for the heallh of ourselves and "all our
relations."
May we be more receptive to our
planet's council, and our mutual future.
Dr""'Ul8 by Pcgi
- Lee Barnes
�~JAH JOURNAL
EDITORIAL SLASH:
Maria Abbruzzi
Lee Barnes
Chris Davis
Charlone Homsher
John Ingress
James Rhea
Susan Adam
Heather Blair
Emmen Grecndigger
Jim Houser
Rob Messick
David Wheeler
EDITORIAL ASSISTANCE:
Sherman Bamford
Jesse Jones
Bill Melanson
Pegi
Breeze Bums
Richard Lowenthal
Mamie Muller
Donna Stringer
Thanks 10 Celo Community and RSVP for hosting Xa,uah lhis time.
Special thanks to l<Alherme Adam and Staff of ATIRA
COVER: by Rhea Rose Ormond
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
PUBLISHED BY: Karuah Journal
Here,
in the Katuah Province
of these ancient Appalachian mountains
where once the Cherokee Nation lived in freedom
between the Tennessee River Valley and the Eastern Piedmont
between the Valley of the Roanoke and the Southern Plain
on this Turtle lsland continent of Mother Ela, the Eanh
PRTNTED BY: The Waynesville Mouniaineer Press
EDITORIAL OFFICE THIS ISSUE: Billy Home and Gardens.
WRITE US AT: Kaniah Journal
Asheville
Box 638; Leicester, NC; Kaniah Province 28748
TELEPHONE:
(704) 754-6097
Diversity is an imponant clement of bioregional ecology, both narural
and social. In accord with this principle Katuah Journal tries to serve a.s n
forum for lhe discussion of regional issues. Signed articles e.xpress only the
opinion of lhe authors and are no, necessarily the opinions of the Katunh
Journal editors or staff.
The Internal Revenue Service has declared Ka1uoh Journal a non-profit
orgnnization under section 501 (cX3) of the Internal Revenue Code. All
contributions to Ka1uah Journal are deductible from ))Cl'SOlllll income c.ax.
Articles appearing in Katuah Journal may be reprinted in other
publications with permission from the Katuoh Journal stnlT. Contact the
journal in writing or call (704) 754-6097.
tNVOCATLON
The Greatest Friend I have in life
Has brought me here to dwell
Awhile among these green, green hills
And by the watery well.
The water from that wondrous well
Has made my eyes to see
And loosed my tongue to sing with joy
That such a Friend could be.
Here,
In this place we dedicate ourselves to remembering our deep
connection to the spirit of the land.
We bring lhis connection into the being and the doing of
our daily lives
When the land speaks, we listen and we act
We tune our lives to the changes, to the seasons
We respect the limits of the land
We preserve, defend, and restore the land
We give thanks for all that is good
Harmony with 1he land is no longer an ideal; it is an imperative.
The land is a living being. She is sacred.
As 1he land lives, so do we.
As the spirit of the land is diminished,
our spirits are diminished as welL
Kacuah Journal sends a voice...
with articles, stories, poems, and anwork
we speak 10 the spirit of all the living, breathing
inhabitants of these mountains
in hopes that we, the human beings,
may find our place in this Great Life.
The Edit.ors
j
• The Incredible String BQ/ld
Bonier by Jason Tueller
KATUAH JOURNAL wanrs to communicate your rhoug/,rs and
feelings to the other people in the bioregional province. Send
them t.o us as leuers,poems, stories, articles, drawings, or
photographs, etc. Please send your coruributions to us at:
Karuah Journal; P. 0. Box 638; Leicester, NC; Katua/1 Province
28748.
OUR NEXT ISSUE will be involved with the continually
controversial topic of Councils, and how to create more viable
methods of decision-making in the future. Possible topics
include: Native American sovereignty, the State of Franklin,
JCQtuah Journat page 2
Town Meetings, Council of All Beings, Regional Rainbow
Gatherings, Grassroots Groups, Conflict Resolution, and more?
Submit all material by April 30th, 1992.
THE FALL, 1992 ISSUE will be about the role of wood in
the life of the mountains. Please send articles evaluating the
present timber industry, logging stories, and visions of ecological
and sustainable ways to cut and use wood. Please also send
pictures and drawings of wood and woodworkers. Deadline is
July 30, 1992.
Spri.ng, l 992
�PARADISE GARDENING
by Joe Hollis
W c wam 10 save the world, and we
want 10 save ourselves. It's the same thing.
The problems confronting us arc enormous
and at every level: personal, social, planetary.
l will spare you a list. My aim is 10 suggest
that they are all symptoms of one problem,
and to propose a solution.
The problem: 10 find a way to live on
Earth which promotes our health and
happiness, conducive to the full development
of our innate potential, and, a1 the same time,
is "democratic," that is, available to all, not
using more than our share, and harmonious
with the biosphere's evident drive toward
increasing diversity, complexity, and
stability.
Our world is being destroyed, in the
final analysis, by an extremely misguided
notion of what constitutes a successful
human life. Materialism is running mmpant
and WILL CONSUME EVERY11iING,
because its hunger will never be sated by its
consumption. Human life has become a
cancer on the planet, gobbling up all the
flows of matter and energy, poisoning them
with our waste. What can stop this monster?
Nothing. Just lhis: walk away from iL
It is time, indeed time is running out, to
abandon the entire edifice of "civilization/the
State/ the Economy" and walk (don't run!) to
a bener place: home, to Paradise.
J
•••
1) Paradfae is, first of all, a garden. A
garden in which everything we need is there
for the taking.
2) And Paradise Gardening is a way or
life which serves to maintain the garden, and
is in turn maintained by it. Ecologist Eugene
Odum calls this being the 'ecosystem
manager:' "an organism that utilizes a small
frac tion of the total energy budget and in
return provides a service which aids the
system in its funclion and continued
survival." (This concept "illustrates the ideal
which man should imitate in his auempts 10
manage a natural ecosystem.") Genesis, with
the characteristic compression of myth, says
we were put into the garden "10 dress it and
keep it." Same thing.
3) Parndise Gardening is not work.
Work is a subjective concept: one person's
play may be another person's work. h has
nothing to do with effon: tennis, for
example, is usually "play" (unless you're a
"pro"), sitting at a computer terminal is
frequently "work." Work is whatever you are
doing when you'd rather be doing something
else. Paradise Gardening is "not work" in the
same sense that what a bear does all day is
"not work." This distinction is the same as
that which the Taoists make between "doing"
and "not-doing." Genesis refers to the same
matter in saying that only outside the garden
do we have 10 earn our living "by the sweat
of our brow."
4) Paradise Gardening is not
agriculture. From chemical to organic
sprLr19, t992
agriculture is a step in the right direction, but
only the first step. Agriculrure itself is, after
alI, half of the one-two punch that knocked
us out of Paradise in the first place. Good
farmers, to be sure, love nature; but they love
her in the context of plowing her up every
year and deciding what to grow next. Our
addiction 10 annual species and disturbed
habitats has put us at odds with the main
thrust of the biosphere (and with ourselves).
Oh, Eanlt is patient and Earth is old
And a mother of Gods, but he breaks lier,
To-ing.fro-ing, wit!, tlte plow teams going,
Tearing the soil of her, year by year
Sophocles, Antigone
Every spring, nature begins again 10
clothe the Earth in beauty. It is the process of
succession, the initial strands of the intricate
web, the rebirth of the Tree of Life. And
every autumn we scrape it off, rake it into
barns, take it to market: we increase human
diversity and complexity (butcher, baker,
candlestick-maker ...) by appropriating to
ourselves processes which are meant to
benefit all
•••
Drawina by Rob Messick
Paradise is a habitat and a niche. Mircca
Eliade refers to the universal "yearning for
Paradise": Memories coded into our genes of
our place, our fit. How, after all, does a bird,
for example, select a place to build a nes1? So
many factors to consider (and such a small
brain!). It simply picks the most beautiful
spot available. It was born with a "template"
of paradise.
Concerning this the Book ofOdes
says, "The twittering yellow bird, the bright
silky warbler, comes to its rest in the hollow
corner of the hill." and Confucius commented
"Comes to rest, alights, knows what its rest
is, what its ease is. Is man, for all his wit,
less wise than this bird of yellow plumage
that he should no, know his resting place or
fix the point of his aim?"
Like any other creature, we are our
niche. By our physiology and behavioral
programming we arc born to live a ccnain
kind of life. Paradise is our birthright and our
duty,
Now, instead, we take up a niche in
civilization. The premise of civilization is that
if everyone is a less than complete human
being (''1'11 be the brains, you be the back"),
ii will be beuer for all of us. This insulting
premise has guided us for so long that many
of us are unaware of an alternative. We
(cnnunucd on next page)
Xotl'.wf, )ourlfflt pcu_,e 3
�(COlllinucd from page 3)
equate "making a living" with "making
money." Thus we spend the best hours of
our lives pursuing our careers, being pan of
the cancer.
But everything needful to be
completely human is available to us close by
in our environment - the garden and the
ocighborhod. We can rely on the truth of this
because "human-ncss" is a creation of the
environment, the most recent manifestation of
a coevolution between our genes and all the
other genes in the world that has been going
on since the beginning of life on eanh. Much
chancier is the possibility that everything we
need to be completely human is available to
us in the city, or through money.
population level, live and coexist as foragers
(ecosystem managers)? "Caught in the devil's
bargain " how can we "get ourselves back to
the garden"? (Joni Mitchell, "Woods1ock")
The strategy here proposed, Paradise
Gardening, may be described as :'in1ensified
foraging." David Harris, in a scnes of
papers has explored "alternative pathways to
agricul'ture." Particular!~ valuable is ~s .
distinction between "agncultural mampulaaon
and transfonnatfon ... agricultural utilization
•••
The last time we lived in paradise it was
as "foragers": hunters and gatherers,
omnivorous, opponunistic exploiters of a
variety of environments. Specialists, not of
disturbance but of diversity.
This lifestyle has attracted much
attention recently (at the very time that the last
vestiges of it~ being eradicated). Toe view
that foraging is an adaptation superior to
agriculture is now well established in
academia and the same theme appears in
popular literature (e.g. Bruce Chatwin, Tl~
Song/Ines and Vargas Llosa, The Storyteller,
both inspiring).
A revolution in the study of the human
niche was prompted by the realization that
foragers, far from living on the brink of
starvation, as previously imagined, actually
had more leisure than anyone else since (Lee
and deVore, Man the Hunter).
Boserup (The Conditions ofAgricultural Growth) suggests that there have
never been any "agricultural revolutions," in
the sense of a sudden invention of a great
new way 10 produce food; but rather that
increases in food production always come at
the cost of even greater increases in labor (or
fossil fuel) input, that the techniques were
always well known to the producers, but
resisted until finally demanded by rising
population (or the demands of the upper
classes for a surplus, a 'cash crop').
"Agriculture permits denser food
growth supponing denser population and
larger social units but at the cost of reduced
dietary quality [less diversity to choose
from), reduced reliability of harvest [eggs in
less baskets], and equal or probably greater
labor per unit of food ... agricuhure is not a
difficult concept but one readily available to
hunting and gathering groups ... " (Mark
Cohen, The Food Crisis in Prehistory).
Agriculture, in rum, allowed population
to expand more rapidly. Any attempt to live a
foraging life in the modem world would
seem to be onJy an interesting but ultimately
imlcvant exercise of the "historic village"
variety. That "there is no going back" is
merely a truism. What those who recite it
mean to say is that there is no changing
direction, progress can be only a straight line
- from an original home in natw-c 10 a world
eventually completely human, domesticated,
fanned.
At this point, I would rephrase the
"problem" with which this essay began: How
can we, with our contemporary tastes and
Xatuafl Jou~ P~. 4
"better" future. "No act is good unless its
goodness is seen in the innnediacy of the act.
An act which justifies itself by appealing to a
later good ... all appeals to reason,
expediency, and necessity, are appeals to the
very forces that wreck all ideals. One must
have courage and be willing to take risks."
(William Thompson, Evil and World Order)
Ecology teaches that a "pioneer"
(disturbed) environment favors life forms that
are fast-growing but shon lived,
wide-spreading, ''greedy" - designed 10
capture the maximum of sunlight and
unoccupied soil. But eventually they are
succeeded by the trees, which, because they
invest energy in making wood, grow more
slowly at first, but are more stable,
longer-lived, and finally faster growing,
more influential, the "dominant species,"
towering above.
We have spread ourselves over the
Eanh, and used or burned just about
everything that is easy to get The age of the
greedy ones draws to a close. (They don't
know it yet.) At last, we may hope, the
'competitive advantage' passes to the
practitioners of permanence, rootedness,
slow growth and steady accumulation, the
vertical expansion of the human spirit into
realms unchanecl, or long forgotten. A tree
derives its satisfaction from the view
achieved.
•••
may - and, if sufficiently intensive, usually
does - lead to the IJ'llnsformation of a natural
into a largely artificial ecosystem: lhe
replacement of a tropical forest by plantation,
of temperate woodland by whcatfields ...
But agriculture may also proceed by a
process of manipulation which involves the
alteration of selected components of the
natural system rather than its wholesale
replacement - a method of cultivation which
involves substituting certain preferred
domesticated species for wild species in
equivalent ecological niches and so simulates
1he structure and functional dynamics of the
natural ecosystem."
Harris has recently edited a collection of
papers (From Foraging to Fanning) which
further explores the emerging realization that
many "non-agricultural" peoples were in fact
engaged in intensive and sophisticated plant
exploitation, previously unrecognized
because their plant management practices did
not fit our idea of agricuhure.
•••
Our goal is to "naturalize" ourselves
in lhe environment. This will involve
changing ourselves and changing the
environment: convergence toward "lit"
Perfect fit means the free and easy flowing of
matter and energy between ourselves and our
environment: life lived as a complete gift from the garden to us, from us to the garden.
But that is in the future; what we need
now is a process, leading to that goal, which
is justified on its own terms. Focus on the
ideal Paradise Garden wilJ tempt us to ta.Ice
shoncuts, perpetuating the same old panem
of selling out the present for some imagined
The process of Paradise Gardening
involves:
- Extricating our life-support system
from civilization/the Economy (bluntly,
money), and reattaching it to the natural
world of garden and neighborhood. This will
be a gradual process requiring a real analysis
of our needs and expenditures.
Thus, for example, cars and gasoline
arc nor needs but only the means to the
satisfaction of needs. The solution is not
gasohol but reducing the reason for travelling
(usually the getting and spending of money).
Concerning this the TM Te Ching says, 'The
country over the border might be so near that
one could hear the cocks crowing and the
dogs barking in it, but the people would .
grow old and die without ever once troubhng
to go there." (sec Joseph Needham, Science
and Civilization in China, vol. D, ch. 80) for
a discussion of ''the political program of the
Taoists: the return to cooperative
primitivity. ")
The key 10 the self-justifying nature of
the process is this: things made or done .by
professionals or machines may be technically
superior to one's own efforts, but are
generally lacking in a quality which,
following Carlos Castenada, I will call
"hean.
0
Satisfaction from things bought usually
peaks at the moment of purchase and declines
rapidly. Needs which a.re met by the
interaction of ourselves and nature are more
deeply mer.. and there are wonderful surprises
along the way. The truth of this will be
evident to anyone who has ever made
anything "from scratch." What seldom occurs
to us (someone doesn't want it to occur to us)
is that an entire life can be constructed on 1h1s
basis.
(c:on11nuod on page J2)
Drawing by Mkhacl Thompson
SprLt1-9, !9!12
�.,,..
.
..
It ,
•
'
#
'
••••••
,
''•
,.,.
COMMUNITY SPONSORED AGRICULTURE
As lhe end of the century nears,
several things must be faced. Tho food
supply is not only tainted. it is devitaliz.ed. In
particular, foods lack nourishment for
integrity, uprightness and willingness. These
qualities depend upon individual attitudes,
but they require nutritional support
Things could get worse, and probably
they will. But, here and there people are
looking at their options and choosing 10 make
a difference. They want to suppon endeavors
that remedy the problems caused by lhe
bigger-is-better mindset. One of the worst
concerns is the loss of more than seventy
percent of the world's topsoil in the last
hundred and fifty years. Instinctively people
sense a need to encourage sound agriculture.
At the same time they want 10 buy food that
not only is free of pollution, but has an inner,
vital impulse toward life. The..-.e and related
faclOI'S motivate a trend toward agriculturally
based producer/consumer communities that
regenerate the land which feeds them.
The acronym CSA stands for
Consumer Supported Agriculture,
Community Sponsored Agriculture, or
Community Supponed Agriculture,
depending on whom you are talking 10. In all
cases it indicates a vertically integrated
agricultural operation.
However it may be done, the CSA
group provides what is necessary to grow
their food. Fortunately, not everyone has the
same things 10 contribute. Usually fanners
who can work the land successfully are in the
shortest supply. But, from these farmers'
points of view, consumers are in shon
supply <>r laborers are hard 10 find at crucial
times. The CSA is not functional until
farmer, farmland, labor, operating capital and
consumers arc lined up in cooperation.
CSA fanns vary. Some are located in or
near metropolitan areas where consumer
interest is high. Olhers involve more distance
between the land and consumers. Many sell
"shares" in advance of their year's
production. Others require an advance
deposit, refundable in everything from
produce, canned goods, eggs, honey and
cheese, to meat, flowers, herbs, firewood or
wool. Tn some cases consumers come 10 the
farm to get their food. In others, weekly
deliveries to distribution points may be
necessary. One CSA may have monthly
potluck dinners, developing strong core
groups and dividing up tasks between
mothers, accountants, farm apprentices,
lawyers, fixers, and fanners; while others
may be seat-of-the-pants operations stripped
to the bare essentials.
CSA's have several things in common.
[n one way or another they all encourage
farmers and consumers 10 understand and
suppon each other. They enable participants
to invest their resources in the land and ilS
beuennenL 1be means of production belongs
to both producers and consumer.;, as they
contribute skill, labor and capital, and take
responsibility for leaving the land better off
for their use of it. Nevenheless, in some
cases the land is owned privately while in
Spnnq, l992
by Hugh Lovel
others the CSA is organized as a cooperative,
a land trust or a research and training
institute.
Besides nutritious food and a healthier
environment there are many subsidiary
benefil!i. By having the moral and financial
expenses. In 1985 I was laid off as a bridge
carpenter in Atlanta, and in 19861 tried to
farm full time, selling produce to stores and
in pl!lking lolS. It was hardly a way 10 make
ends meet. I knew there had to be a better
way. The Biodynamic Association quarterly,
support of a community, the farmer has
backing for experimentation. Members may
want exotic items like Chinese cabbage,
Annenian cucumbers. Roquefon cheese or
Louisiana hot sauce, and the fanner has 10
learn how to produce these items.
The CSA can also be an educational
opportunity for young adults interested in
becoming farmers. By apprenticing on a CSA
farm they experience growing and preparing
a wide variety of products. Moreover,
members and their children learn how their
food is produced, and there .ue therapeutic
benefits in this especially for those growing
or convalescing. Lastly, the farm is a haven
from the vicissitudes of city life. Conceivably
it will provide alternatives 10 employment in
economic hard times.
The idea h that consumers support the
farm and the farm supports the consumers.
Biodynamics, ran an anicle on CSA's. I
drew up a prospectus with a copy of the
ruticle and distributed it to a few people in the
Atlanta area. They told friends, and for the
first season l had twenty-eight members sign
up.
r did not want to promise 100 much, so
I only offered breads, honey. pollen, eggs,
yogurt. and vegetables in season. I asked for
$100 deposits, refundnble in groceries. This
money got me through February, March, and
April when I planted but had nothing 10 sen.
A1 the end of April I had my first
delivery of spinach, lettuce, and seasonal
herbs. The season went on to green onions,
garlic, English and sugar snap peas, yellow
onions, potatoes, cabbage, beans, com,
summer squash, tomatoes, okra, beets,
collards, leeks, winter squash, turnips and
Chinese radishes. The garden was finished
by mid-November, though I made one last
delivery of pork after Thanksgiving.
Because che fann, Union Agricultural
lnsutute, Blairsville, Georgia, was 125 miles
from Atlanta, I made a Saturday run 10 three
Since the only CSA I can re.tlly
describe is the one I founded, I should tell
how it was set up.
During the 1980s I directed a fledgling
founccn acre biodynamic research and
training farm, working off the farm to pay
(QOl\linued on nut page)
Drawing by Pcgi
X.awah Journot pc:a(Je 5
�(OOlllinuod &om pegoS)
drop-<>ff points. Members received a weekly
newsletter and order fonn that 100k me rwo
hours a week at the typewriter and copy
machine. Bookkeeping was on index cards
with names, addresses, dates, and sums.
Mostly I concentrated on running 1he fann,
picking the number one vegetables, recycling
the residual vegetation through forty
chickens., twenty rabbits, and 1wo pigs for
fertilizer, and n:planting with the next crop in
the rotation. Although I kept bees, the honey
and millc for yogun came from nearby farms.
1brought in organica!Jy grown wheat and rye
for bread.
Out of26 weekly deliveries, I counted
on members to order at leas1 half the time
with average orders of twenty dollars, a
gross of $7,280. I believe I took in a littJe
more than that, but my bookkeeping did not
prove it. J realize lhis may not seem like
much, but my expenses were low enough 10
make ends meet All I had was the land and a
small pic_!cup truck, rototiller. lawnmower.
scythe, pitchfork, axe, scuffle hoe, claw
cuJtivator, wheel hoe, push planter, and
seeds bred for response 10 my methods. It
was a start.
Consumer int.crest was strong simply
from word of mouth. I could expand, but a
larger investment was required. The fann
needed woods, barns, fences, greenhouses.
pastures, orehards, and fields all in good
measure. none at the expense of the others. I
did not have to hurry things. The land
consisted of mixed forest slopes and
bottomland with good water bur not
especially good sun. There was plenty of
brush clearing, rock picking and hay planting
to be done. And there were only three or four
acres that could be added to the truck garden
no mancr how I adapted 10 having more help
and machinery.
At my organii.ationaJ meetings in
February and Man:h of 1988 I asked for a
S33 membership fee as a capital invesuncn1 in
the fann, plus the hundred dollar deposit.
Again bookkeeping was only sufficient to
show how much was paid and how much
was delivered. Picking, bnlcing, and packing
orders were changed from Fridays 10
Saturdays, and deliveries were changed to
Sundays. This allowed members 10 visit the
farm and panicipa1e in picking on Saturdays,
while I caught the least city traffic on
Sundays and still picked up organic grains
and supplies for the farm
An apprentice, Matthew Persico, cut
intensive beds into three acres of sod with the
rototiUcr. We planted a fourth of it in
potatoes, for which we had compost In the
rest we inu:rplanted com with soybeans for a
modest fodder crop. We built a smaJI barn
with three sta!Js, hay storage, and an
apprentice's apartment. I bought two calves
to raise in the small barn yard, and phased
out rabbits since the cows made more
compost and were easier to feed on a large
scale.
For fcrtiliu:r I brought in hay, com,
and soy meal for the animaJs while J cleared
~ I _pastures, arch~. and hay fields. The
m~bon was to achieve self-sufficiency,
WJth the £arm producing its own feeds,
s~, and ttansplants, breeding its own
livestock:, and producing its own compost
Starting its fifth year in 1992, this
Xatiloh Jouf'nQ( PQ«Je 6
CSA, UAI Coop, can service 80 households.
We have a reconditioned 35 year old tractor,
three or four apprentices, six aCICs of row
crops, cheesemaking, three bovines, eigh1y
chicke_ns, two pigs, and a smaJI transplant
operanon.
. O_u1side_ of i1s soil: the farm is 001 ye1 a
capuaJ mtenswe operauon, despite a $16,000
gross in 1991. Dynamics and momentum arc
a large part of the operation. Herc are some
derails:
Peas must be planted as early as
possible. In Union County, Georgia 1hat is
lat~ February or early March. Lenuce,
spmach, and onions may aJso be planted
from early March on. Lettuce, cabbage and
collards should be planted under row
coverings for transplanting as it warms up.
The early plantings are better able to stay
ahead of the weeds, though frequent
cultivation - weather pennitting - is advisable.
It helps considerably to have pennanent sod
around cultivated beds.
In winter and early spring the cows are
eating hay in the barn and every so often it
can be mucked out to make a compost pile.
With spring warmth, the rye and clover
covers on the beds shoot up and are cut for
fresh feed or for hay. The stubble is
cultivated two or three times over a three
week period, so that it is digested and mellow
before planting.
. I set out my cabbages and potatoes in
Apnl; followed by com, beans, and cucurbits
in May; and tomatoes, peppers and okra in
June. Garlic is planted early the preceding
October, so that it and yellow onions are
harvested in June and followed with bush
beans. Crops like spinach, lettuce, com and
beans can be staggered to produce a moderate
but steady flow of each vegetable, extending
the season. Compost is given especially to
the greens, while root crops like carrots,
radishes, and turnips do much better
following behind without compost.
Since my grassy borders around beds
an: level with the beds, both borders and
beds can be mowed simultaneously for the
cows, pigs or chickens. In May 1here is so
much to cut that haystacks must be made, 10
be fed in the winter when all the summer's
com stover is gone.
During the growing season the chickens
are fenced in a long, hillside coop containing
a thick stand of bamboo and a nesting house.
At the top of 1he coop, sawmill bark,
sprin.kJed with dust from the locaJ granite
quarry, is added for bedding. My
lawnmower has a rear bagging feature, and
every day I give the chickens a heaping
wheelbarrow load of grass, clover, and herb
clippings from around the beds, which I
mow on a monthly schedule. This keeps the
egg yolks yellow while adding to the deep
litter in the coop. Every so often this is made
into a compost pile.
I use a biodynnmic planting calendar for
working crops according to 1heir root, fruit,
flower, or leaf characteristics. For example,
while potatoes are actually a swollen stem
formation, they are plamed as though they
were roots because the roo1-like characteristic
is being emphasized. Likewise, cauliflower
and broccoli, although 1hey an: flowers, are
plan1cd as leaf crops because they have to be
held back to 1he leafy stage of development.
They an: eaten only as buds, not flowers.
l also apply biodynamic preparations,
which have profound nutritionaJ significance.
And I grow speciaJ crops that do not
contribute income but contribute to the overall
balance and heaJth of the farm. Finally. I
avoid faulty practices. Planting the whole
fann in cucumbers or semng off all the
compost, 1 would never do.
One of the goals of crop rotation is to
allow for a healthy nitrogen cycle while
cropping. Compost is given liberally to leafy
crops that need plenty of nitrogen, such as
lettuce, spinach, cabbage, and collards. It
may be given more sparingly to fruiting crops
which follow the greens, such as com,
squash, tomatoes, and okra. It is withheld
entirely from the roots, such as carrots,
radishes, and turnips, which follow the
fruits. Then I plan1 legumes such as beans,
peas and lentils to draw in new nitrogen and
produce rich compost as their vines are
digested by the farm animals. Then the cycle
begins again wi1h compost to the greens.
Another goal of crop rotation is 10 vary
as much as possible the kinds of plan1s
grown. Thus it may be a good idea to follow
lettuce with carrots, or collards with onions,
but it is a bad idea 10 follow le1wce with
spinach or carrots with parsnips.
There is aJso interplanting. Planting
com with soybeans, spinach wi1h garlic,
tomatoes with sweet basil, dill with cabbages
su_mmer squash with popcorn, and pumpkins
with field com, makes for a lively variety.
Nature has ways to create abundance.
Perhaps most imponantJy, the
pennanent grass and clover walking strips
between and around the beds keep the soil
fauna heaJthy and erosion to 1he minimum
regartlless of the weather. We need to think
abou1 these things.
Not so long ago all farms produced
food out of soil, water, air, and warmth
because there was life. Nature charged
nothing for her pan.
Orawu,g by Rob Mcuid<
(continued on p. 32)
Sprl.mj, 1992
�"IF YOU DIDN'T GROW IT,
YOU DIDN'T EAT IT"
Food Production on a Self-Sufficient Mountain Homestead
as told by Ralph Garrett
Way back when Twas a boy, I lived at
my grandma's and grandpa's up above the
Lown of Sylva in Jackson County, NC. My
grandpa was a farmer and a brick mason, and
he also made bricks.
I grew up during the Depression. IL was
a little worse than it is right now, but it's
going 10 get worser than this, I'm afraid.
My grandpa and grandma owned about
three and one-half acres around their house,
but we tended a 12 or 15 acre bottom that
was up in Addie where the band mill is now.
We also planted 10 or 12 acres up on Fisher
Creek in com and different things. It was
about 25 or 30 acres all told. We grew
enough for everybody in our family, some 10
sell besides, and enough 10 feed the animals,
too.
We raised cows, chickens, and pigs to
eat, and we had horses, mules, and oxen 10
help us with the work. With them we plowed
and planted com, beans, field peas, Irish
'taters, sweet 'taters, sorghum for molasses,
and all different kinds of cornfield crops.
And grains. We'd sow a great big thing of
wheal for our flour, as well as winter oais 10
feed the horses while we were workin' 'em
in the summer time.
Then in the garden we had carrots.
radishes, parsnips, rumips, and different
kinds of greens - leuuce, onions, collard
greens, and all those.
We also had peach u-ees. I got a
whuppin' many a time for getting in the Blue
Goose peaches - big, fine, pretty peaches.
They'd get to tumin' a little bit, and us liule
boys, we'd slip around and try 10 get us one.
J remember how we used to eat. The
usual thing of a morning when we got up,
we'd have side beef or ham - fried good and
brickle · brown-eye gravy, some eggs, and
some biscuits.
Some days we'd have homemade
applesauce for breakfasL We'd heat it up and
have some hot biscuits and butter, and put the
butter and some sugar in the fruit, and you
had a good break.fast.
We'd also cut com off the cob, and
have it fried with biscuits and homemnde
molasses. That's what we had a whole lot of
mornings.
Our big meal was at dinner time, 12
noon. Supper was the evening meal. Al
dinner we'd have cornbread, hog meat or
maybe beef stew with vegetables. You can
get beef stew now in a can in the store, but
we had big pois of it, homemade, with two
or three vegetables in it, and some vegetables
on the side, too. Or we'd have great big pots
of homemade vegetable soup. We'd make the
soup with okry (olcr.1), tomaters, beans, and
onions. We put every kind of vegetable in
there.
In the summerumc for supper we'd
usually have com on the cob, new 'taters,
green beans, cornbread, and biscuits.
Sometimes we'd eat supper without meal, but
Sprtng, 1992
usually we had meat at the table three times a
day, whether it was beef, pork, or chicken.
We didn't have desserts every meal,
like they want now. Dcssens came mostly on
Sunday or Saturday when there was family
coming. We'd have plain ca.Ices with
down there 10 get some flour, some salt,
sody (baking soda), balcing powder, coffee,
and sugar. We just bought small amounts of
sugar, until it come canning time. Then we
would buy whatevercanningjars and lids
that we needed and 50 and 100 pound bags
of sugar to put up jellies and jam. We
young'uns liked LO get old-time candy, like
wax candy, horehound candy, and all kinds
of stick candy at the store. But we never had
money to buy very much there.
A year on the farm went like this:
Winter was kinda slow. We'd be cutrin'
firewood, sittin' by the fire, and relax.in'.
DrawiJI& by J.,,.,. Rhea
applesauce spiced up and pu1 in between the
layers. They called that old-time fruit cake.
They'd pile four or five of them up in a
straight pack with the applesauce in between
each layer, then applesauce down over the;
top ofic. Now, that was a dessen! Today if
someone gets two layers of cake, they think
that that's 100 much, but we had.five layers
of cake! We ate what we wanted, because it
was simple.
Or maybe they'd make a cherry pie.
What they call a cherry pie now is just a little
ol' thing. What we called a cherry pie was a
big bread pan full of cherries with dough
through 'cm. They call 'em cobblers now,
but we called 'em cherry pie.
Grandma also used 10 make sweet
potato custards and sweet potato pie and put
sweetening on it - marshmallows or brown
sugar, good things like that.
If we didn't grow it, we didn't cat it.
That's right. There wasn't no supermarkets,
there was only an old country store. We'd go
We'd spend time a-shuckin' com and
thrashin' out the peas, Crowder peas and clay
peas, through the bad days.
We also had 10 get our harness and
equipment fixed up and in first-class shape.
We had to be ready. so that when the ground
got right we could go right to work.
We didn't use no fertilize (fertilizer).
We used compost, and we gathered that in
the winter, too. We'd clean out the horse
stalls and the cow stalls. We'd throw it in a
bin that was outside the winder (window),
and we'd mix leaves in with iL That would
cause it to heat in the bin. In the spring we
wouW haul out that compost. spread it on the
field, and plow it in. That enriched our land
and made our crops do better.
We staned plowtn' in February and
March, what we didn't already have plowed.
The first crop we put out was the
different kinds of greens - cabbage. collard
greens, you could do them early. Usually,
(canlinucd on nai pqe)
Xatuah Journal POCJI'- 7
�(cullinucd from page 7)
people around here would sow a bed of
turnips or rutabagas, too.
Irish pouuoes were planted next during
the dark of the moon in Man:h, and maybe
we'd put some green peas out in the garden.
Radishes, onions, and parsnips were early
crops, we could get an early start on them,
100.
We would s1an our own S\l,'CCt pouuo
sets. We'd get them bedded down between
April 10 - 15. Then they'd be a-comin' up in
May. Sweet potatoes was a big crop. We
used to plant big fields of 'em.
Around April 15 - 20, we'd plant the
first corn. It would grow up a linle bit, but
not enough that a frost would hurt it bad.
Unless there come an ex try unusual hard
freeze, com would grow on though.
Flour com, popcorn, and com for the
livestock: those were the main kinds of com
we planted. We also had a liule of what we
called llim com. When it got hard, it was
hard as a rock, but it made real good roasting
ears. When sweet com came along, we
started planting sweet com in the garden.
Now people plant fields of sweet com.
The biggest thing was to rotate the com
plantings so that they would come in slowly,
so we could harvest them and take care of
them, instead of having all the com oome in
at once. We would plant some com on April
15, some the first of May, and then again at
the last of May.Hit's not a dry year, you can
plant com in June. It's starting to get dry
then, but sometimes a crop'll make. It's a
short season up here in these mountains, but
some years I've bad three different spaces of
com comin' in.
We always figlftd the last frost would
come around the tenth of May. 1bcn we'd set
out OUT garden vegetables. Any kind of plant
that the frost would affect - like peppers and
tomatcrs - we'd wait 'ril after the tenth of
May, after the frost line.
The cornfield peas, we'd plant them
after we worked (cultivated) the com for the
first time. I'd wait until the com was up
around my throat, and then l'd plant the peas
in between the com. We did the cornfield
beans, like the White McCaslan bean or the
Kentucky Wonder, the same way. l would
plant big com where I was going to plant the
cornfield beans. Then the com would support
'em and shade 'em. Shade is what keeps the
insects away better than any of this spray that
we can buy today.
We'd harvest the wheat when the heads
bowed and tumed yeller. The timing
depended on what kind of wheat we had. and
when we had planted it in the fall. We
harvested it by hand with a cradle. We didn't
have combines like those that cut the wheat
now. We had to do it with a cradle.
At the end of June, we'd finish up with
the wheat and we'd sun our first mowing of
hay. We mowed the hay with a mowing plate
and raked it up with a pitchfork. We'd shock
it • put it in shocks or round piles - and then
we'd come through with the wagon or the
sled, and load it 10 the barn. and put it in the
barn loft We'd pct up great barns full, and
then we'd put up big stacks of hay around
stackpolcs. We'd sUtCk com tops and fodder
the same way around the Stackpole at the
XatuQf1-Journat PCUJe 8
barnyard, where we could jusr go get it to
feed the cows and the horses.
All summer, we were mostly hoeing. It
kept us busy. We'd start work as soon as it
got light enough to sec what we was a-doin',
and we worked 'til dark.
Now at dinnertime, right at the heat of
the day, we gave them horses a good full
hour to two hours to be at rest. And we done
the same thing. We ate, we rested, and then,
when we went back 10 work, we worked 'til
dinner.
ln July when the blackberries and the
raspberries came in, we'd pick berries. We
would take a wagon up on Fisher Creek, and
we'd pick washtubs full of blackberries!
w11.i)
J'"J~
Everybody went, everybody picked,
everybody washed - everybody helped with
canning berries for a few weeks. Some of the
men might be off working on a job
somewhere, but everybody up at the house
just flew in and got busy.
Pretty soon the com would start coming
in, and we'd stan getting roasting cars with
our dinner. And we'd start canning
vegetables. too. We'd can all kinds of
vegetables. We canned beans, 'matcrs,
peaches, fresh ok:ry (okra), fresh com - all
different kinds of food out of the garden.
In the fall of the year, we'd be pectin'
the apples, and pcelln' peaches. Them Blue
Goose peaches came in about the same time
as apples. We'd boil the fruit down and make
apple and peach bu11er.
We had an apple peeler. You just stuck
the apple on and tumcd the handle, and ii
peeled the apple and took the core out of iL
Then we just cut it and made bleached fruit.
Or we mashed it up, cooked it, and made
applesauce.
Bleached fruit is made by burning
sulfur. We'd put the fruit on a rack, cover it
with a cloth, light the sulfur in a sulfur
burner, and leave it all night The action of
the sulfur makes the fruit stay white, it
doesn't tum brown, and it will keep all
winter. Then we would put it in big 60-gnllon
oak barrels, and we'd put up so many barrels
of bleached fruit.
We also P.l!t up ~ I s ofp\cld~
beans. Wr:!d !\ii up big barrels of beans
broke up and washed, put water in there and
add salt to sour 'cm and make 'em pick!~.
The same way about roasting CaJ'S. That was
our pickling stuff.
At canning time we also fixed a lot of
jellies and jams. We'd make apple jelly and
grape jelly. And we'd make peach preserves:
we'd peel sweet, cooked peaches like we
were going to can 'em, and put sugar in there
and cook it down until it come clown like
makin' candy, and 1ha1 was good preserves.
Around that same time we'd also be
cuttin' the com and puuin' it up in the com
crib. We'd cut the tops, and pull the fodder,
and put that up to feed the cows and horses.
We didn't leave nolhin' in that field that a
cow could eat. We kept the com in the com
crib, and we kept the peas in big bags inside
in the house where they'd be getting drier and
drier from the heat, so they'd shell easier.
Whenever we got that done, it was
coming to frost, and we had 10 get them
sweet potatoes out before it frosted. If it
frosted on the vines, we had LO get the vines
off right quick before it rained. so that the
frost wouldn't run into the sweet potaroes
and ruin ·cm. When we got 'em up, we'd
wash 'cm, and take 'cm to town to sell them,
anywhere from a gallon to five bushels,
whatever people wanted.
After the frost was the time to cut the
sorghum and make molasses. We had to strip
the cane down. cut all the blades off it. and
cut all the tops off. Then we'd haul all those
cane stallcs to lhe cane mill and put 'em
through the crusher. The juice would run out
into a vat. and we'd cook it off in what. they
called an evap<ntor until it came out syrup.
Several families made sorghum. Some
had bees. We didn't have no bees, but we
had some people who had bees. We'd just
get some stands of honey from them.
We also used to go into the woods and
gather up chestnuts. I'd go bacJc yonder and
gather up a 75 pound short sack. all the
chestnutS I could carry, and bring 'em home,
and we'd eat on them. I also used to like to
get pawpaws and persimmons. Now I'm
tcllin' you, them old persimmons make a
good pie.
And there were always some bear
hunters who would bring in some bear meat.
l know I ate a IOl of bear meat. Back when I
was a boy, bears were just as common as a
milk cow. It was nothin' to see a bear down
at the settlement. But they just got to bang,
bang, bangin', killin' 'em all they wanted, 'tit
there was a 101 of waste.
Right at the first of November, we'd
have to go back into the fields and clean the
'tater patches off. The usually thing was that
there was late roasting cars and some late
beans in the 'tater patch, and after we
gathered them, we cleaned all that off, weeds
and all, so we could plow our 'taters out
After they dried good, we'd put 'em in the
root cellar. Everybody had a root cellar. Lots
of them were dugouts in the bank, but they
were still root cellars where we'd keep the
bleached fruit, the potatoes, and the lcrnut
Everybody also bad a smokehouse
where they'd smoke their meat. and they'd
(ainunlllld on page 33)
Ornwing by Miehkl Thompson
Spri.ng, 1992
�~, ... .. w ...
EATiNG · LbsE ro HOME
c
by Peter Bane
The Logistics of a Permanent Culture
Consider your next meal: It's
mid-winter and what can be found to eat
nearby? The supermarket offers Iowa beef
and Idaho potatoes, Cnlifomia rice and
broccoli, Mexican lettuce and tomatoes, salad
oil from Brazil or Dakota, Aorida citrus,
Washington apples. The Standard American
Qiet is a marvel of technical complexity and a
sad reflection of cultural banality. Divorced
from place and season, available nationwide
and year round, itS cosmetic perfection and
shiny packaging are a glamour concealing
enonnous unmarked costs and catastrophic
instabilities.
Lurking behind the plastic sheen are the
collapse of rural communities, bankruptcy of
farm families, loss of topsoil (an average 20
tons per ton of grain produced), poisoning of
farm-workers, toxic residues in food, air,
soil, and water, cruelty to animals,
destruction of wildlife habitat, deforestation,
and the cultivation of plagues and diseases
heretofore unknown.
Most of the food we presently eat is
seriously denatured (lacking in nutrient value)
by chemical destruction of soil life and is
funher degraded by transport over long
distance. Our diet, combined with poor air
and water quality and compounded by the
stresses of crowded and hwried lives has led
directly to an epidemic of degenerative
diseases: heart attack, cancer, diabetes,
hypertension, leukemia, AIDS.
Worse than all of this, if that is
possible, our food now requires from 10 to
50 times the energy to produce and deli vet to
the table as it returns to the eater as calories of
nourishmenL We couldn't continue this way
without a huge subsidy of fossil fuels. We
are literally eating oil. And when it runs out as we know it will in 30 to 40 years - we will
starve. Of course, long before that
eventuality, our agriculture will have
collapsed from a host of other problems: the
shortage of water, excess UV radiation,
susceptibility of our genetically-narrow
monocultural staples (com, wheat, rice, and
potatoes) to insectS, diseases, climate shifts,
war, and revolution disrupting trade. The
production offiber and timber is similarly
vulnerable and destructive.
If the Standard American Diel is insane
and bound for collapse, then how should we
grow and eat our food? Imagine, if you will,
the life of our predecessors in this land. The
Cherokee, the Iroquois. and other Eastern
forest dwellers cultivated com, beans. and
squnsh; hunted deer. turkey, and small game
which were abundam in the woods; gathered
wild berries, nuts and greens. They caught
fish in lhe streams and collected mushrooms
from the forest floor. Around their
seu.lemcnts they selected and planted fruit
trees. berry bushes, and other useful
perennials.
The world of global IT3de, of oil W:lJ"S
and industrial production is a world of
artificial surpluses and scarcities, of unjust
expropriations and moral decadence. Yet we
have a vision of living in Katuah with natural
abundance, and a dedication to libeny and
1
SprLng, 1992
Drawing by Rob Messick
justice for all. How then can we move from
this disturbed and troubled world into one In
which all our true needs and wants are met
without despoiling the earth and robbing
from our grandchildren and our neighbors in
other countries?
aim of producing the greatest sum of yields in
the least practical area for the murunl benefil
of all creatures. He was certain thal small
areas dedicated to human needs could provide
net surpluses of food, fibre, and energy
while augmenting both genetic diversity and
We need a new way of thin.Icing and
seeing and new tools for problem-solving.
And we need to address fundamental human
needs: clean air, water, and food in sufficient
quantity, shelter appropriate lO climate,
satisfying and useful work, meaningful
human contact, and immersion in a natural
world.
This search for a new paradigm in the
built environment and our interaction with
nature emerged as a response to industrialism
and gradually merged into the science of
ecology. Frederick Law Olmstead, the great
I9th-century American landscape architect.
realized that the growth of cities and of
industrial work threatened the natural
foundation of human sanity. He sought to
ameliorate the effects of both by renewing
vistas of nature in urban parks and
greenways. ln this century, Lewis Mumford
extended these considerations of human scale
and sanity 10 the choices we make about
technology, and Ian McHarg and his
associates projected a concept of design
based on intrinsic capabilities of landscape.
Aui.1rlllian ecologi~t Bill Mollison
transformed his own studies of
environmental psychology imo a practice of
landscape design and coined the term
"permaculture" from "~nent agrioonm:."
or "pem1anent culture" to describe a proce,;s
of assembling artificial ecologies of crop
plants and animals to mimic nature with the
wildlife and resource conservation.
Toe understanding and application of
permaculture design over the past fifteen
years has taken several main forms: the
restoration of degraded landscapes; the
creation of naturalized food foreslS as a locus
for human habitation; the building and
retrofitting of strueturtS to incorporate
climatically appropriate energy and water
harvesting, and to suppon food production;
and the design of economic and
communication structures appropriate to local
production and trading. The work may be
found on American homesteads, in European
municipalities, and among African villages.
New towns have been created in Australia.
and long-term economic decline reversed in
regions of Nepal and India using
pennaculrure principles.
Pcrmaculrurc draws 1tS models from
patterns in nature and embraces many
integrative disciplines: agricultural ecology,
urban planning. landscape architecture.
decent:ralist economics. and shamanism.
among other.. Key insights which apply to
all living )ystems include the following
principles:
I) Design by Relative Location place all elements {house. pond, road, plants)
so as to maximize beneficial relationships and
minimize antagonisms.
2) Select clemcntS to perform \lultiple
Funclions.
(contmual on nc,1 page)
Xotuah JounlO! page 9
t
�!'
)
(001Uinuod &om pegc 9)
3) Suppon every important function
with Multiple Elements.
4) Efficient energy planning through
analysis by zones of access and Sectors of
outSidc influence.
5) Use Biological Resources favor perennials.
6) Recycle Energy on site.
7) Use and accelerate Natural
Succession to establish favorable sites and
soils. Integrate animals, plants, humans, and
StruCt\Jl'CS.
8) Polyculture & Diversity of
beneficial species to promote productive,
stable, interactive systems.
9) Pay attention to Edges & Natural
Patterns.
Pcnnaculture rcstS on an ethical
foundation of care for the earth, including all
living and non-living things; of care/or
people, so that all people everywhere may
have their basic needs met; and the
contribution of surplus time, money, and
energy to achieve the aims of earth and
people care. Permaculture also has a Life
ethic, valui.ng life and all ilS multiplicity for
its own sake. Cooperation, not competition is
the key.
How then might a permanent culture
take shape in Katuah? We can begin at our
doomeps by cultivating a diet appropriate to
our region - one based on the planlS and
animals which grow here naturally and which
have acclimated following introduction - and
extend that process into gardening and
fanning those same species regeneratively.
We can learn to eat seasonally even as we
take advantage of other cultural IJ'ad.itions to
Xatuah Journot pQ(J& l 0
enrich our diet.
Anyone can fimd space for a few leafy
greens and herbs, vegetables which
pound-for-pound afford more nutrition than
any other food category. Grown within a few
steps of the back door in mulched soils, they
will survive almost year round if given a bit
of care against summer drought and winter
frost. Even apartment dwellers in the city can
grow in containers on a balcony or in a
windowbox. Cold frames against a south
wall, a small greenhouse, or even movable
cloches can supply a steady stream of salad
which didn't have to cross the Continental
Divide to grace our table. The familiar
European and Medilerranean vegetables:
lettuce, celery, carrot, onions, broccoli, and
many others, are adapted to cold climates and
may with protection, overwinter in the
ground. Root crops and brassicas (cabbage,
kale...) are especially well-suited to this
method. These same vegetables don't grow
best in our summer heat, but that is the
season when the tropical American and
Indian plants - tomato, corn, beans, squash,
melons, eggplant, peppers, and okra
flourish.
We arc blessed throughout Katuah with
generous forests whose dominant members
include excellent nut trees: walnut, chestnut,
oak, hickory, and pecan. We should
recognize these allies for the food resources
which they offer. Let us plant them in our
yards and parks; conserve and catalog elite
trees where they Stand; and take care in
harvesting to leave the best, tallest,
straightest, healthiest, most vigorous, and
most fecund trees for seed, and tnk:ing only
the lesser examples for timber and fuel wood.
Fruit trees too should be planted in
every yard, along roadways, in parks, and in
neglected spaces in lhe cities. Besides the
traditional apple, pear, peach, plum, cherry,
and apricot, many areas arc suited to ugs. We
have the native pawpaw, the maypop vine,
and the persimmon which holds itS fruit on
the tree well into winter. And the mulberry,
which is one of the earliest fruits in spring, is
hardy, easy-to-grow. and prolific. Members
of the Eleagnus family - autumn olive and itS
cousins, provide not only a shower of tasty
fruit, but improve soils by fixing nitrogen at
their roots, as docs the
juncberry/serviceberry/saskatoon tribe
(Amtlanchiet spp. ).
~~
By inrerpianting and stacking vertical
layers into the garden, we can achieve greater
total yields than is possible with single crops.
Our naturally forested region provides the
model for a productive food forest with crops
grown at the canopy, mid-level, understory,
shrub, herb, and root layers, and on vines
running throughouL These food forests
prpvide abundant wildlife habitat and make
excellent forage systems both for humans and
for domestic poultry, sheep, and pigs where
access can be controlled. In very small
spaces, even in the city, bees, rabbitS, and
pigeons can be tended co augment food
production and household income.
Even more important than the
establishment of food forests everywhere is
the organizing of food markelS. We need to
connect capable growers throughout the
region with networks of town and city
consumers to support the development of
healthy fanns and to increase urban-rural
exchanges. These community-supponcd
farms stand a much better chance of
implementing the diverse cropping strategics
needed for ecological restoration than isolated
fanners trying to outwit the commodity
traders. Subscription farming is a way to
create new jobs in agriculture and offer
alternatives to existing farmers.
Strengthening the farm economy;
marketing food locally; and cultivating our
natural suengths in uee crops, fisheries,
berry and bulb production, can provide the
basis for many new, locally manufactured
hand tools, farm implements, craft- and
housewares. These burgeoning local
economies need methods to augment local
trading, and to retain and recycle wealth
wilhm the community. Local currency and
baner systems work well. The L.E.T.S., or
Local Employment & Trading System, is one
such example. (Further infonnacion from the
Institute for Community Economics,
Somerville, MA.).
If we ask again about sustainable
agriculture and pennanent culture, "What is
to be done?", the answer becomes clearer.
1) Eat what you grow and what is
available locally and in season.
2) Grow things that you like that arc
adapted to the area, and which do not travel
well.
3) Plant and tend food forests
everywhere people live, especially in cities,
using public as well as private space.
4) Conserve genetic diversity and
excellence by nurturing elite specimens and
by exchanging heirloom seed and
scionwood.
5) Trade sw-pluses locally. You needn't
grow everything, or even anything, if you're
a good plumber, teacher, baker, or
candlestick maker.
6) Organize food production to suppon
responsible growers.
7) Make direct market links wherever
possible. Know ~here your food come~
from and where u goes.
,,P'
Peter Bane publishu The Pcnnaculturc
Activist. a fUJlional quarttrly journalfor North
A=rico Born in Illinois, M now lives with his
family in Middle TtnnLSst.t w~re Mis putting his
itkas inJo practice. For m«e information please
contact him at Route I, Bo:i 38; Primm Springs TN
38476
· Drawing by Dawn Shiner
Sprt119, t 992
�I,
Silas McDowell's Vision Of
Mountain Agriculture
by Perry Eury
"Amongsr rhe valleys of the somhern
Alleg/UJllit!$ somerimes winter is succeeded
by wann wearlzer, which, cominuing through
the months of March and April, brings out
vegetarian rapidly, and clothes theforests in
an early verdure. This pleasant spring
wearher is renninated by a few days rain, and
the clearing up is followed by cold, raking
winds from the ,wrrhwest, leaving rhe
atmosphere of a pure indigo tint, though
which wink bright stars, bur ,ftlte wind
subsides at nig/11, the succeeding nwrning
shQws a heavy hoar frost,· vegetation is
unerly killed, including all manner offruit
germs, and the la11dscape clothed in verdure
the day before ,ww looks dark and dreary."
- Silas McDowell
On the morning of April 28, 1858,
Silas McDowell encountered this bleak scene
when he went out to inspect his fann. The
Macon Coumy fruit grower hnd spent almost
thirty years establishing his orchard of 600
apple LreCS near the banks of the Cullasaja
River. However, this late spring freeze
"made nearly a clean sweep from mountain
valleys in Western North Carolina of lhe
richest promise of a fruit crop that we have
ever had." For anyone else, the incident
would have been a crushing disappointment.
For McDowell, it was another opportunity to
examine nature's mysteries and to find a
bener way of fanning in the mountains
McDowell had deliberately selected a
shehered valley for his orchard. Only a settler
too poor to buy bouom land would have tried
to grow fruit hiJh on the mountainsides. And
yet, on this Apnl morning, McDowell
realized his mistake. While his own aces
"seemed as if clothed in a black pall," he
observed on the mountains looming over his
orchard a broad horizontal band of vegetation
left unscathed by the freeze.
Around 1780, Thomas Jefferson had
witnessed similar temperature inversions in
the Shenandoah Mountains of Vtrginia. He
reported, "I have known frosts so severe to
kill the hiccory trees round Monticello, and
yet not injure the tender fruit blossoms then at
bloom oo the t. p and higher parts of the
o
mountain."
Silas McDowell understood that this
was more than a quirk of topography and
climate. He suspected that thermal belts could
be the secret to successful fruit production in
mountainous areas. By the summer of 1858
he wrote that "all description of fruit trees
which have the good fortune to be located in
this vernal region, are now bending beneath a
heavy crop of fruit." He began to promote the
value of this zone for fruit growers and
contributed a repon to the United States
Agricu/cural Reports Jor 1861.
In his articles on the "belt of no frost"
McDowell explained, "The beautiful
phenomena of the 'Verdant Zone' or
Thennal Belt' exhibits itself upon our
mountainsides, commencing about three
hundred feet vertical height above the valleys,
SprLng, 1992
and traversing them in a perfectly horiz.ontal
line throughout their entire length like a vast
green ribbon upon a black ground."
Born in South Carolina in 1795,
McDowell moved to Asheville in his youth
for training as a tailor. He practiced his trade
in Charleston and Morganton before settling
in Macon County's Cullasaja Valley, where
he gained renown as a fruil grower, amateur
Silas McDowt/1
naturalist and story teller. His articles on the
mountains were published in popular
magazines and caught the auention of leading
botanists, who sought his help in finding rare
plants of the Southern Appalachians. When a
visiting scientist asked which college he had
auended, McDowell pointed to the hills
surrounding his farm and replied, "These
wild mountains are the only college at which
my name has ever been entered as a sruden1!"
In a tribute to Silas McDowell, T.F.
Glenn remembered him as modest and
unassuming, and also "intuitive, impulsive
and passionate. His companionship with
nature was a marked feature to the most
trivial objects of beauty and sublimity. By a
native force of genius, by dint of fiery energy
of will, by persistent application, he
sunnounted obstacles."
McDowell's tenacious efforts to raise
winter keeping apples had earned him a
reputation among southern fruit growers even
before the thennal belt episode. When
McDowell and his bride, Elizabeth, moved to
Macon County in 1830 they brought a baby's
cradle filled with small apple trees from her
grandfather's orchard near Asheville. Being
especially fond of winier apples, McDowell
chose varieties recommended by northern
pomologists. His results were like those of
other southern growers. "I made a complete
failure," he confessed, "for when my trees
began to bear fruit, it matured and fell from
the tree long before the proper time, and
though they were an excellent collection of
Aurumn Apples, there was n0t a good Winter
keeper amongst them."
For fifteen years, McDowell struggled
to raise winter keepers. Then, the editor of a
farm paper in Athens, Georgia, suggested
that he lake grafts from native seedling
apples. McDowell followed James
Cannack's advice and searched the hills
around his home for fruit stock. His quest
was successful.
"Amongst old Oterokee seedling Apple
trees - as well as other Southern seedlings, I
have succeeded in conferring on Southern
Pomology a llist of names of Winter Apples,
which both as to their highly aromatic taste,
as well as late winter keeping qualities,
cannot be excelled by as many varieties of
Winter Apples in the United States." His
catalog of new apples featured the Carmack,
Nickajack, Bullasage, Mavereck Winter
Sweet, Royal Pearman, Hoover, Golden
Pippin, Buff, Kingrussen, and Neverfail.
"None but late keepers in the list," McDowell
n01ed with delight.
ln 1870, William Saunders with the
Agriculture Department concluded, 'There is
not a doubt about it, the fmest winter apples
in America arc grown on th.ese mountain
lands." McDowell could take much of the
crediL
McDowell, always concerned with the
region's economy, believed that vineyards
established within the thennal belt could be a
mainstay of mountain agriculture. 'The
Grape," McDowell predicted, "will never fail
to yield to the husbandman a rich and
abundant crop of its luscious and
hean-cheering fruit; and had the vine
locomotion, corporal and mental sense, I
would bid it to 'Tarry not in all the plains; but
flee to the mountains for its life,' and take
refuge under the protection of lhe Thermal
Stratum!"
Much as he had in his quest for winter
apples, McDowell explored the mountains to
find superior varieties of grapes. He
speculated on the potential of hybridizing
some of the specimens, "W e cannot well
command our risibles when, in fancy, we
anticipate the aspect of that monster Grape
that will be produced by the hybridal cross
betwixt the Hon. A.G. Semmes's eight
pound bunches and the Mammoth Grape
Prof. C. D. Smith and ourself measured
yesterday, the single berries of which gined
three and a quaner inches around."
Afler the Civil War, McDowell
continued to write on agricultural topics,
presided over the Fruit Growers Association
and pleaded for extension of the Western
Nonh Carolina Railroad. He was constantly
learning more - from natural phenomena, the
culrure of the Oterokees and the latest farm
journals. In his judgement, the climate and
the terrain of the mountains did not have to be
obstacles to successful farming. Instead, the
unique character of the mountains could
suppon a distinctive form of agriculture.
Diversity was one aspect of the
mountain agriculture he envisioned.
"Dairying, grape culture, bee culture, sheep
(continued on page 34)
�Mountain People
The grey winter sky hovers over the village,
threatening to swoop down with nightfall.
A woman carries burdensome logs to her cabin
and feeds them to the wilting flames in the heanh.
She wraps a moth-eaten quilt
tightly about her sinewy frame,
to shut out the icy strands of December
squeezing through chinks in the walls.
Her hands are weathered with time like the mountain, the palms
grooved like the tire tracks frozen into the eanhen road.
These are hands that once held warm lovers,
brought orphaned raccoons in from a storm,
angry, caring hands that spanked naughty children,
and comfoned them when frightened by distant coyotes,
and scratched their backs until they found the itch,
and opened the tightest jars of jam...
The people of the mountain are quiet,
one with themselves, one with the mountain,
but in the lines on their faces, in their strong hands,
in their calm way,
they tell how they work and breathe,
and brim with life,
like the woman rocking before the fire
in that small cabin on the hill,
her heart a smoldering ember,
warm despite the howling wind outside,
whipping through the firs on the mountainside.
- Allison C. Swherland
Quintessence
Never have I seen the sun like one winter's afternoon
late last February. The wannth was drenched into those
hills of the Blue Ridge, into the stalks of yellow and orange,
rolling back finally to the dark mountains, and the still
darker clouds.
We ourselves were engulfed in shadow, steadily
approaching that sunlit stretch of road before us, that
splash of quin1essen1 light.
A gentle warmth touched !he back of my neck.
and I turned, 10 see but a sliver of silvery white light
at the horizon, light which eked out from under the stormy
tumul t of blue-black clouds.
And soon we were immersed in it, bathed in Ught,
the light of spring, or almost summer. It glinted through
the strands of hair in my eyes, and I squinted to keep looking.
So I closed my eyes and breathed, and let it seep into my
veins, and warm my forehead and my cheeks and my shoulders.
And suddenly it was gone. We were in darkness. among the
mountains, and then just shadow. We meandered through those
hills of greenblack forests like a mountain brook in early
evening, now and again coming upon a splash of sunwashed
hills, searching for that light, until the sun went down.
- Allison C. Swherland
J(Qtu.!Jh Journal
p09e 12
Drawings by Mictu,,,I Thompson
Spri-119, 1992
�NATIVE FOODS
I was brought up in the remote
reaches of the Cherokee Indian
Reservation. My family were "a-aditionals."
That means that they stuek to the old ways
of the lncJjan people, believing them 10 be
the beSL We did some things in exactly the
same way they were done by our people
before contact with the white man. As a
boy, I used to go into the woods and hunt
squirrels with a blowgun, for instance. In
other ways, our life, while not exactly
similar 10 the ways of the anc~stors, echoed
the manner in which they lived and gave a
clue to how it was done before.
In the earliest times, our people lived
off the land. They hunted their meat and
gathered plant foods in the foresL Later,
agriculture became their base, that's when
their culture really blossomed, because they
spent Jess time in gathering food.
Agriculture was a stable way of
surviving, but they also hunted and foraged
food from the wild. A srnple food in times
past was chestnut bread. This represented
the Cherokee's mixed food supply: com
from the fields and chestnuts from the wild.
An abundance of both. And if one source
failed, they could fall back on the other to
carry them through.
I heard that a professor said that a.bout
the time the white man came here the
Cherokees were spending about three days
a week for survival. Most of my life in
modern society l couldn't make a living
working seven days.
In my life. I've spent a lot of time in
the woods, and l lcamed that the secret of
survival in the forest is to puc no limits on
what you eaL Like a bear, see everything as
a potential meal. Everything! Game and
fish, of course, but also crawdads, frogs.
bugs, worms, grubs in the logs. Hornet
larva popped on a hot rock are very good.
It used to be a kid's job to sit under a
holly tree with a blowgun stuck up between
the branches to shoot at the cardinals.
robins, or any other little songbirds that
came. People say. "How did you pluck
them?" but we never plucked them. We just
threw them into the fire and rolled them
around until the feathers had all been singed
off. We treated all the little birds and small
animals like that. We never skinned a
squirrel.
I remember one time I was out, and I
ate tent caterpillars that were feeding on a
wild cherry tree. I roasted them. The fire
singed the hair off - most of it. They
swelled up into little puffy morsels. They
did have a queer taSte, but I was hungry
and I ate all of them I could find.
But we did not have 10 eat insects
except in famine and songbirds were more
hunting trophies for the young. Larger
game was plentiful. In the older rimes the
people ate woods bison, deer. birds like
passenger pigeon and grouse, and
groundhogs.
Drawing by James Rhea
But they would not eat possums. The
Cherokees thought the possum was the
lowliest creature on the Eanh. When
DeSoto came th.rough, one of his company.
a man called The Gentleman of Elvas,
wrote that when they SlOpped at the village
that was near the present ciry of Asheville,
they demanded food for their travel-s from
the natives. He recorded that they were
given "several hundred dead dogs without
any hair on their tails." He did not realize
how the Cherokees despised the possum as
a food sourt:c and what a political sutement
this was.
Plant food was plentiful as well. The
people would gather berries in the
summenime, chestnuts in the fall. When
the che~tnut trees were alive. there was a
large chesmut harvest every year • bushels
and bushels of chestnuts. Properly dried
and stored, they would last all winter.
The people also ate chinkapins.
Chinkapins are related to chestnuts. The
by Bear W ith Runs
tree looks very similar 10 a chestnut tree.
The nuts were a little bit smaller than
chestnuts - somewhat larger than a beech
nut.
Acorns were imponanl, too. They
leached them in water to get out the tannic
acid and then ground them into flour or
roasted them in the fire. They probably
preferred the white oak acorns, because
those have !he least tannie acid.
My grandmother used 10 make little
cakes out of white oak acorn nour, com
meal, and honey. She would also add
persimmons, if we had them. Those cakes
were good! They were a heavy food • a
little bit went a long way
In the old limes. the people would eat
a lot of ,mnas, the wild potatoes that grow
:llong the creeks. And in the spring. ramps
and wild greens, like branch lettuce,
s/10-1011 (or so-chan, green conenower •
ed.). Indian cucumber, and nettles, arc
(cxmlinucd on nnt page)
:KAtuan Journot ~ 13
�(continued
rrom page 13)
plentiful. Mushrooms are good, if you
know what you are looking for, but they
aren't very filling.
It's interesting. One person can
forage really well alone, while foraging for
two people is difficulL But with three
people it becomes easier, because two can
forage and the other one can prepare the
food.
When the Cherokees smned planting,
they added some new foods to their dieL
Com, of course, was a staple, beans, and
"punkins," as they called them in my
family, meaning any lcind of squash.
We ate green com as "roastin' ears,"
dried corn was ground into flour and eaten
as cornbread. Everybody grew their own
corn, and everybody thought their own was
better than everybody else's.
The com we would keep in a com
crib. We put the beans in sacks and hung
them up in the barn or under the dogtrot
(roofed, but open air passageway between
two separate sections of a building - ed.) at
the house.
The early people built very neat,
efficient com cribs. They were raised off
the ground on poles, bad a tight thatched
roof, and walls made of panels woven of
bark or wood splits that were daubed with
clay or mud to keep varmints out. The com
was stored in there on the cob.
Mother trimmed the com husks and
packed them to save for cooking chestnut
bread, bean bread, or com dumplings. The
traditional way was to wrap them in com
husks and boil them. When the corn shucks
ran out, Mother would wrap them in green
oak leaves. That would tum the com blue.
Mother ground com a litlle bit at a
time as she needed it. She never ground
very much because weevils would get in
into ground meal very quickly.
Back long ago, before they had ovens
to bake in, they made mealcakes that were
either boiled or roasted. We used to do !hat
when l was young. We would call !hem
hoecakes. We always carried com meal
when we were traveling. To prepare the
cakes, we would mix the meal with boiling
water to "kill the com." Killing the com
causes the dough to stick together. Then we
would flatten them out, lay them on a flat
rock, and let them roast as brown as lhey
could be.
In the old days, lhc warriors would
carry parched com in a long bag by their
side when they were on the trail. They
parched shelled com by throwing it into a
hot fire and leaving it until it got brown (or
more likely black), and then grinding it into
powder.
On the trail, they would trot from
dayUght to dark, heading for Iroquois
country. When they saw a stream up ahead,
they would pour some of the powder into
their hand while they were running. As
they crossed over the stn:am, they would
bend down while they were still moving
and grab a handful of water and keep
trotting. That was the only food that they
would take alo11g their route.
Beans were important to us, too. The
elderi; told me that the originnl bean was red
and white, and it came from the south.
Xatuah J~rnoL pf.UJC 14
Pinto beans were my family's
favorite, and we must have raised one-half
acre of pinto beans every year. A visitor
could come into our house any day of the
week and find a pot of pinto beans on the
stove and bread in the warmer on top of th~
stove - cornbread, and later when l was
growing up there were occasionally flour
biscuits, but lhat was not often.
We had meals only once or twice a
day, but we ate whenever we got hungry.
That was the way I was raised. If 1 got
hungry in the middle of the day, l'd just
run in, take a bowl of beans, grab some
bread, and eat up.
When people found that
domesticating livestock was easier lhan
hunting, they began raising animals as well
as growing crops. My grandfather said that
the turkey was the first animal to be
domesticated, and it domesdcated itSClf.
When the Cherokees began raising com,
they would build litllc racks in the cornfield
and assign the kids to keep watch to scare
off the crows and wildlife. The turkeys
loved the com so much they just wouldn't
scare, so the people just penned up the
turkeys and fed them com in the pen to
keep !hem out of lhe fields.
The Cherokees ate turkey, but !hey so
prized the turkeys' feathers for making
ornaments and beautiful capes, lhat my
grandfather said, "We used to care more
about 'em for their feathers than for the
meaL"
Because we ate what was provided
locally, lhe diet of the Cherokee fndians
changed with the seasons of the year.
In the green com season, when the
first com turned ripe enough tO eat, besides
the roasting cars we would cat squash and
other vegetables, fish, and chicken. But we
never ate game in the summenime, because
we were afraid of a parasite we called
"weevils" or "foxes." (insect larvae, also
called "warbles" by white people - ed.)
This was a big wonn that got into squirrels,
rabbits. and deer. You could often see two
or three of them sticking out of an animal in
the late summer and early fall. IL was large
and black, pointed on one end. It would
bore into the skin and live off the moisture
and the blood of the animal.
We never ate game at all until the
worms were killed by the first frost. There
were taboos about killing animals until after
the weevils were gone.
But we ate chickens. And we caught
fish all summer long. The old way to catch
trout was with trout baskets. They built up
weirs in the stream made out of rocks.
They piled up rocks forcing the fish into a
narrow channel that flowed into the trout
basket. As kids, we used to build weirs in
Lhe stream, too.
We also ate frogs and any turlles we
came upon during the summer season - if
we came across a mud turtle, that was just a
didn't have any lard on them at all. But they
tasted really good. We fed them some
garbage 10 keep them around, and they ate
bugs and snakes, but we would kill them
right after the acorn crop was down, and
that's when they would be their nicest.
Hogs raised on acorns and com taste totally
different than the meat you buy today. Fall
was the fat time for everything that lived in
the forest - including the Indians.
Father smoked meat, and Mother
would can trout and other kinds of meat in
jars. She would boil them outside in a big
washtub that would hold 30 or 40 cans. We
ate a lot of meat in the fall and early winter,
and then we ate dried food until the spring.
ln the old days people would put
dried food in clay pots and carry them up 10
the asi, their dugout winter shelter. The
food would store there until the wintertime
when the people arrived and would live in
the asi surrounded by their food supply.
My Mother would dry berries,
persimmons, squash, any kinds of food we
could get. We had a tray about lhe size of a
screen door made of honeysuckle vines
woven into a mat. h was hung it over the
wood stove. We would lower it, she would
lay out all the slices, and then we would
help her pull it back up. When it wasn't in
use. we just pulled it up against the ceiling.
It always stayed over the wood stove.
I like to think that is how they did it in
the old times: hung a mat over lhe central
fire in the house under the smoke hole.
We had chestnuts, and we had com,
so no one really went hungry. The diet may
not have been nutritionally stable all year,
but we had enough.
The hardest time of year was late
February and early spring. By then we
were craving greens. Tobacco helped with
the hunger. Tobacco depresses the appetite.
But we were doggin' for vegetables. In the
meantime we drank teas: sassafras tea,
birch tea, pine needle tea, which had a lot
of vitamin C, and spicebush tea.
My mother used to make cough
medicine for me, anyway l think it was for
me, but Grandpa would drink a lot of it.
She'd catch him at it, and he'd go "Hunh.
hunh, hunh (like he was coughing)." It was
wild cherry bark and pine need.Jes. They
were boiled down and after all the needles
and bark were taken out of it. she added
honey until it was really !hick, and then she
cooked it down some more. It was nice. It
was really nice. It was good and sweet.
Then, a little later in the spring, the
sho-tan came in. Everyone would have a lot
of that. get the shits, and clean out their
bodies. My grandmother would also make
us a tonic from a gray lichen called
"turkey's tail." Later the ramps would be
ready, the growing things would be getting
green, and everything would balance out
/
again.
treat.
We were meat eaters in the fall, for
sure. We never did have any cows. 1 didn't
eat beef until l was 2 l or 22 years old. But
we did have some old skinny hogs. They
were as lean as they could be. l remember
my father complaining about how lhey
In spilt ofth.t: droll nomt he has odopttd/or
this articlt, Btc.r With Runs IJ a full-blooded
Chtroku Indian. lit livl.S in quiet anonJmity ofl
tht Cherolctt India/I Rt.str.•ation
Drawing by Pcgi
Sprl..™3, 1992
�COVER CROPS
On-farm, Solar-powered Soil Building
by Mark Schon beck
During my four years as an agricultural
researcher at the New Alchemy Institute, I
chose to focus on cover crops because they
perform so many different functions on the
farm, utilizing primarily solar energy. The
only off-farm input is the seed - a few
pounds to one hundred pounds per acre,
from which thousands of pounds of organic
matter arc accumulated through
photosynthesis. In contraSt, most soil
amendments entail imponing hundredweights
or tons of materials for each acre.
A cover crop is a crop grown not for
harvest. but to protect, maintain or enrich the
soil A green mallW'e is any crop (but usually
a cover crop and/or natural weed growth)
which is tilled into the soil to add organic
matter and feed the soil biota. Cover crops
and green manures protect soil against wind
and water erosion, suppress weeds, provide
habitat for beneficial insecis, add organic
maucr, add nitrogen (legumes only), and
make other nuoients more available to the
next crop. Most cover crops can also be
grown for grain (e.g., rye, buckwheat)
and/or livestock forage (e.J/ ., clover, annual
ryegrass, alfalfa).
Cover cropping is a cornerstone of
sustainable agricultural systems in most
bioregions, and this is cenainly true for
Kawah. Why do I make this claim? I'll Stan
with a brief digression into soil ecology...
In both natural and agricultural
ecosystems, plant growth depends on the
organic matter cycle in the soil. Soil
organisms continually break down soil
humus, thereby releasing nitrogen,
phosphorus, potassium, and other nutrients
for plant roots to absorb.
The carbon from the organic matter
appears in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.
Plants convert carbon dioxide b:ick into
organic compounds in photosynthesis. In
natural ecosystems, leaves, other plant
residues and animal dung thar fall to the
ground feed earthworms and other soil
organisms. These creatures change the
residues into humus, thus replenishing
organic matter reserves. Most of the nucrients
can cycle back and forth between soil and
plant almost indefinitely, except when intense
rains wash some of them away.
Nitrogen is more volatile, and some of
ii inevitably slips away into the atmosphere or
groundwater. Fortunately, there arc
numerous species ofbac1eria and blue-green
algae in the soil that can fix (convert)
atmoSpheriC nitrogen back into forms that
plants and soil organisms can use. The most
effective nitrogen-fixing bacteria, the
rhizobia, form a symbiosis with the roots of
leguminous plants such as clovers, beans and
black locust trees.
Sprl.fflJ, 1992
Agriculture disrupts this
nutrient/organic matter cycle in three ways.
First, clearing the natural vegetation exposes
the soil surface to sun, wind and rain.
Because humus is a lightweight and
finely-divided material, a disproportionate
amount of humus is lost when soil erodes.
Extreme temperature and moisture
fluctuations at the soil surface can also bum
up the humus and deter biological activity,
leaving a son of "dead zone" in the top inch
or so. Second, tillage accelerates the r(lle at
which soil organic manerdecomposes. This
happens because soil disturbance brings
additional oxygen into the topsoil, thus
speeding bacterial action. Initially, the
resulting burst of nucrient release promotes
heavy crop yields, but the soil wears out
unless the organic mauer is replenished from
other sources. Third, harvest removes
nuoients, and these must be replaced
regularly. Because synthetic chemical
fertilizers do not feed the soil life and tend to
upset the soil's balance, biological farmers
use organic and natural mineral fcnilizers,
such as compost, leaf mold and ground
limestone.
Organic fanning often entails adding
large amounts of organic amendments to the
soil. lf these materials are brought in from
off-fann sources, this is not sustainable
farming, as this removes materials from the
organic matter cycle on someone else's land.
Also, iransporting bulky amendments from
their point of origin 10 the farm consumes a
lot of fossil fuel. Composting manure and
crop residues produced on the farm is more
ecologically sustainable, but may be quite
labor·intensive. Often, the amount of
residues produced on the farm docs not meet
all the land's organic matter needs.
Cover crops use sunlight to produce
organic matter in place, and, in the case of
legumes, to fix nitrogen. In contrast,
manufacture of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer
uses a tremendous amount of fossil fuel.
Once a cover crop is established, its l"OO(S
bind the soil together, significantly reducing
erosion even before the foliage fully covers
the ground. As the cover crop canopy closes,
it effectively stops erosion.
Cover crops such as buckwheat
suppress weeds by growing rapidly and
casting dense shade, whereas winter rye, oats
and sudan grass release natural substances
that suppress weed seedlings (this
phenomenon is called allelopathy).
Legume cover crops often add 50 to
150 pounds of nitrogen per acre in a single
season, thus replacing the nitr0gen harvested
in most vegetable and grain crops.
Buckwheat, lupines and sweet clover have
roots that can absorb relatively insoluble
fonns of phosphorus that other crops cannot
access. When the cover crop is tilled in, the
phosphorus is released to the next crop.
Some cover crops and deep-rooted weeds can
extract potassium, calcium, or ccnain
micronurrients from the subsoil or from
insoluble minerals.
A mixed gra:.s/legume cover crop (e.g.,
clover/timothy, or winter rye/hairy vetch) can
produce three to four tons of dry organic
matter per acre in a year, and the proportion
of nitrogen to carbon in such a mixture is
often ideal for humus formation. A three ton
cover crop provides about as much organic
matter and nitrogen as a 10 to 15 ton manure
application, and the cover crop does not need
10 be hauled into the field, but simply mowed
or tilled in.
The biggest challenge in using cover
crops is allowing them enough time to reach a
good size without sacrificing a whole season
of vegetable or grain production. The
simplest approach is to plant the cover crop
immediately after harvest, but this is often in
fall, leaving the cover crop little time before
winter.
One altenullive is overseeding, or
planting the cover crop while the production
crop is still growing. In moist, fine•texturcd
soils, small-seeded cover crops like clover,
alfalfa and ryegrass can be broadcast on the
soil surface between rows of com. squash,
1oma1oes. broccoli or other widely-spaced
crops. Jn coarser soils or drier conditions. the
se.ed can be incorporated by light hoeing or
cultivation. The cover crop grows slowly
beneath the esmblished vegetable. then spuns
ahead after the lauer is harvested and cleared.
Another method is to plant a slowstaning cover crop such a.\ clover~ the same
time as a grain is planted. After gram harvest,
the clover is grown until the following
spring, then tilled in. Clover plus grain
(ciontinucd an p1gc 16)
Ora..,ing by Rob Musick
�stubble give excellent wintertime erosion
conuol, and provide a lot of organic matter
with a good c:irbon-nitrogen balance.
When a green manure is ,tilled into the
soil, a burst of biological activity occurs
which can be detrimental to crop seedlings
for a shon rime. Thus it is a good idea 10 wait
two or three weeks after turning the crop
under before direct-seeding vegetables,
especially small seeds like lettuce and carrots.
An alternative method is to mow the
aboveground pan of the cover crop, and
gather the clippings to mulch another bed or
build a compost heap. 11 is much easier to
spade or plow up the crop stubble withou1 all
that shoot biomass there, and the waiting
period needed before direct-seeding should
also be shoncr. Some cover crops can be
killed by mowing at the nght ume. Their
clippings can be left in place and vigorous
crop seedlings (e.g., cabbage, 1oma10)
lnlnSplanted through the mulch without
tillage. Success with this varies because the
mulch cools the soil and can aurac1 slugs.
Clearing an eight to twelve inch diameter area
around each seedling reduces these problems.
Different cover crops arc suited to
different purposes. A few specific examples
follow. The first six are non-legumes and do
not add nitrogen, the rest are legumes that can
fix niuogen.
Winter rye is very hardy, overwintering
as far north as zone 3a (annual minimum -35
10 -40 degrees F). In the Katt.iah bioregion,
rye planted by early October will protect the
soil and suppress weeds effectively. Rye
planted in early November will do well and
produce lots of organic matter in spring, but
there is a risk of winter erosion, as the cover
will be thin.
Rye is useful for talcing up and
conserving any soluble soil nitrogen left over
from the growing season. The crop can be
difficult to manage in the spring because it
rapidly gets very tall and tough. When grown
alone, it can also ccmporarily 1ie up soil
nitrogen and release allelopathic substances
that can inhibit growth of the nex1 crop. If ii
gets away from you, mow-kill the rye after
the heads have emerged and begun shedding
pollen. Or let the rye go to maturity and reap
some nice grain and/or seeds for next year's
cover crop. Seeding rate is 90-150 lb/acre
(note: one pound per 1,000 square feet equals
about 44 lb/acre). using the higher rates for
later plantings.
Win~r wheOJ can be used similarly 10
rye, though it is a little less hardy, somewhat
shorccr and later to mature. It may also be
easier to manage in the spring. Sow 90-120
lb/acre.
OOJS, another small grain, is much less
frost-hardy, and is generally killed the first
time the temperature drops to 15 or 20
degrees F.. Oats can be planted in early
spring and mowed or turned under in early
summer. They can also be planted in August
or early September and allowed to grow until
killed by hard freezes. This leaves a thick
protective mulch that is easier 10 manage in
spring than a live rye crop. though the
~um of organic matter will be less. Sow
90-120 lb/acre..
Annual ryegrass is marginally
winter-hardy in zone 6b (annual minimum -5
to 0 degrees F), and can either be planted in
early spring or in August-early September.
Ryegrass fonns an unusually dense root
sysiem that gives excellent erosion
protcccion, fosters good soil strUcture and
"mops-up" leftover soil nutrients so they
don't wash away. Unlike the three preceding
crops, ryegrass ca11not be mow-killed, and
must be spaded or tilled in. Rye and rycgrass
are often confused, bu1 they arc easy 10 tell
apart. Rye has the edible, wheat-berry sized
seeds, while ryegrass has fme, fluffy seeds
that look a lot like lawn grass seed. Sow
20-50 lb/acre.
Sudan grass is a fast-growing,
fros1-sensitive summer annual that can
produce a tremendous nmount of biomass. le
requires warm, fertile soil, and is well suited
to planting after harvest of early spring
vegetables like lettuce or peas. It suppresses
weeds through both competition and
allelopathy, and can be cut twice for mulch
(prized by strawberry growers), compost
mmerial or fodder (cawion: let it grow a1 least
24 inches tall, preferably more, before
feeding to livestock, as young sudan grass
contains toxic amounts of cyanide). The
stubble may be subl.tantial enough 10 hold the
soil over winter and add a li1tle organic matter
when turned under in spring. Sow 20-50
lb/acre.
Buckwheat is a mos1 useful green
manure for shon fallow periods in vegetable
culture. It can be planted any time after the
las1 frost, up to the middle of August.
Buckwheat emerges and shades the ground
rapidly, choking out weeds. It reaches 2 to 4
feet and begins 10 flower about 30 days after
planting, and should be mowed or turned
under at most 45 days after planting 10
prevent self-seeding. Two or three successive
plantings of buckwheat, followed by winter
rye, with each crop tilled under, reduces
populations of stubborn perennial weeds like
quackgrass. Buckwheat is also excellent bee
forage, and is good for mobilizing the
phosphorus in a rock phosphate applica1ion.
Sow 50-100 lb/acre.
Clovers are small-seeded legumes that
Stan slowly, but can fix 50 to 100 pounds of
nitrogen if allowed to grow a full year.
White clover is a low-growing (4-18
inches, depending on variety), long-lived
perennial, and is suited to "living mulch"
applications (be sure you don't confuse it
with white sweetclover which can reach five
to 10/eet).
Red clover is taller (18-30 inches),
faster-growing, shorter lived and very shade
tolerant. ll is we11 suited to overseeding into
established vegetables in August if moisture
is adequate.
Alsike clover is intennediate between
white and red clovers, and is more tolerant of
clayey, wet or acid soils. Unlike the 01hers,
crimson clover is an annual, which can be
planted in August or early September and wi11
overwinter in the milder pans of Kaniah (it's
risky here in zone 6b). h can also be planted
in early spring. ln addition to fixing nitrogen
and producing 3 t0ns/acre of organic matter,
crimson clover has spectacular deep red
blooms. Sow clovers in early spring or late
summer, 4-8 lb/acre for white clover, 8-15
lb/acre for red or alsike, and I5-25 lb/acre for
crimson. Clover seedlings don't like ho1 sun,
so it helps to plant oats at 35-50 lb/acre with
the clover to provide light shade, then mow
the oats at heading. Crimson clover can be
mow-killed just after 0owering, while the
other clovers cannot.
Hairy vetch is a legume which has
recently enjoyed a resurgence of interest. h is
a winter annual vine with small purple
flowers and can fix 100 to 250 pounds of
nitrogen per acre. Vetch is hardy to zone Sa
(annual minimum -15 to -20 degrees),
although frost-heaving can be a problem if
harsh freezes alternate wilh !haws. It can be
planted in September, either alone or with
rye, wheat or oats, at 20-30 pounds of vetch
plus 50 pounds of grain per acre. Vetch/rye is
an excellent combination because the rye is
strong enough tO support the vetch vines in
spring, 1he rye roots help prevent frost
heaving, and the combination is more
effective than either crop alone in stopping
erosion, suppressing weeds and building
humus. Also, vetch can be mow-kilJed once
it has begun to flower, which happens about
the same rime that rye sheds pollen. Other
vetches include bigflower vetch (hardy in
most of Katt.iah), common vetch and purple
vetch, both of which are winterlcilled at 10 to
20 degrees F. Their residues release nitr0gen
in the spring, thus these vetches may be
valuable planted in August ahead of the next
year's early spring greens.
Sweet clovers are biennial legumes with
very deep taproots that open the soil and
bring up nutrients. White sweetclover likes
rich, moist, somewhat clayey soil, and gets
very large in the second season, while ye11ow
sweetclover tolerates droughty, sandy soils
and is somewhat smaller, about 4 LO 6 feet
tall. Hubam sweetclover is an annual white
variety that produces lots of organic maner in
a short time, but may self-seed and become a
nuisance weed. Sow sweetclovers in April or
August at 12-18 lblacre. alone or wilh 35-50
lb oats/acre.
Alfalfa, the "queen of forages" can also
make a heavy nitr0gen-fixing cover crop and
provide a highly nutritive mulch. Alfalfa is
somewhat finicky, requiring deep, rich,
nonacid soils high in phosphorus, potassium,
and calcium. Under good conditions, it is a
long-lived percMial lhot can be cut for
several years for mulch, compost or forage.
Sow a1 15-20 lb/acre, pn:fembly with oats at
35-50 lb/acre and/or timothy or other
perennial forage gross at half its normal
seeding rate.
Mark Schon/Jeck Ph.D.•formuly a rcscarckr
with Ntw t\lchtmy. is now inll()/vtd with tht
fnstitutt for Sustainable Living. Wind.n..-ept Farm;
Rt. I, Box 35: Chtck, VA 24072 which products
{JII uctlltnt ncwsltlltr, TcJtinh.
Sprlll<J, 1992
�Plant for Tomorrow:
HEMP
by John Ingress
"Whal is c/wJ uncercainflush low on
the ground, tlwt irresistible rush of
mulci111di,w1LS green ? Aformigl,t later, and
the field is brown no longer. Overflowing ir,
burying it out ofsight, is the shallow tidal sea
of the hemp, ever rippling. With that in
view, all ocher shades in namre seem dead
and coUIII for nothing. Far reflected,
conspicuous, brilliant, strange; masses of
living emerald, saturated wirlt blazing
sunlight."
•from The Reign of Law; A Talc or lhc Kentucky
Hemp Fields by l=s Allen Lane (1900)
Although the Earth has always had
"environmentalists" - people and entire
cultures who respect the forces of Nature and
who try 10 learn from and work wirll those
forces - our industrial/scientific society is
coming 1ownrds environmentalism from the
opposite pole: by discovering how pollution
has disrupted the web of life.
The thread that binds these issues is
1he non-sustainable nature of our dependence
on fossil fuels (and u-ees, because forest
habitats cannot be replenished a1 the rate at
which treeS rue being cut). To dismiss hemp
as a possible solution because ii is of the
genus Camwbis with "marijuana" ( a
pejorative misnomer) is akin to dismissing
Galileo because "the world is flat." For the
moment, let's consider only those varieties of
cannabis referred to as "headache weed,"
containing little psychoactive THC.
Hemp is one of humanity's oldest
cultivated crops. The weaving of hemp fiber
as an industry began 10,000 years ago (see
Jack Herer, The Emperor Wears No Cloches,
1990). By the 27th century BC. the Chinese
cultivated hemp for fiber, medicine, and
herbal use. Since that time, cannabis has been
continuously incorporated into virtually all
the cultures of the Middle East, Asia Minor,
India, China, Japan, Europe, and Africa, and
its uses for oil, food, and relaxation were
developed.
The first laws governing hemp in 1he
Americas were those requiring colonial
Virginia fanners to grow hemp. Violators
could be imprisoned. Washington grew i1,
Jefferson smuggled Chinese seed at great
peril; the first drafts of the US Constitution
were written on hemp paper. The Census of
1850 counted 8,327 hemp plantations of
2000 acres or more, mostly in the South.
In 1916, USDA Bulletin No. 404
reponed that one acre of cannabis hemp, in
annual rotation over a 20 year period, \\0Uld
produce as much pulp for paper as 4.1 acres
of trees, requiring no polluting chemicals.
The hemp pulp technology wa~ invented by
USDA scientists in 1916, but awaited the
mvcntion of dcconica1ing and harvesting
machinery. These arrived in the mid-10-la1e
1930's. at the same time as the DuPont
Company was patenting processes 10 make
plastics from oil and coal, as well as new
Spn119, 1992
sulfate/sulfite processes to make paper from
wood pulp.
Coincidentally - some say
conspiratorially - the Marijuana Tax Act of
1937 effectively outlawed the entire cannabis
plant family on the basis of it's "reefer
madness" properties. No1 only DuPont
profits, but those of large timber holdings,
were wriuen into law. (William Randolph
Hearst, whose "yellow journalism" was
instrumental in the marijuana scare, owne-0
hundreds of thousands of acres of timber,
destined for newsprint).
A working definition of sustainable
agriculture might be those practices that
assure the means of survival - food. fuel,
fiber, and medicine. The mining and use of
fossil fuels. unless absolutely necessary. is
only "economical" in 1cnns of shon cerm
profits. As Buckminis1er Fuller poinis ou1 in
1he book Critical Patl1, it took millions or
years of pho1osyn1hesis, decay, and
accumulation of organic material 10 produce
the oil and coal we use today. By determining
replacement values. he calculates gasoline to
be wonh $2.'i million dollars per gallon! One
might say it's priceless. Or. since burning it
is killing the planet. one could say it has
negative value when removed from the
ground for applications for which a
renewable, sustainable resource, such :is
hemp. is available.
The cannabis hemp seed is a
complete source of vegetable protein, :ind the
USDA food comparisons found hempsecd
lower in saturated fats than any other cooking
oil. including soy and cnnola.The byproduct
of pressing hemp seed for its oil is a high
protein seed cake.
Hemp fiber makes fabrics that are
stronger. more insulating, more absorbent,
and tonger lasting than cotton. More than
half the textiles we use today are imponed,
due to environmental concerns and labor
costs. Hemp requires little fertilizer, and no
pesticides. Local industry could revive.
Hemp is the world's most prolific
source of plam cellulose, which is the basic
raw material used for plastics, fabrication
material, chipboard, fibelboard and other
construction boards.
For more than 3,500 years, cannabis
has been, depending on the culture or nation,
either the moi;1 used or one of the most
widely used plants for medicines. If legal, i1
would immediately replace an estimated lO to
20 percent of all pharmaceutical prescription
medicines and could be added, as extracts, 10
another 20 to 30 percent. From 1842 10 1900
ii made up half of all medicines sold, with
vinually no fear of its "high."
In 1937, the AMA and drug
companies testified against the Marijuana Tax
Ac1, because cannabis was known to have so
much medical potential and has never caused
any observable addictions or death by
overdose. It is known to be helpful in ca.~s
of asthma, glaucoma. tumors, nause:i
resulting from chemotherapy or AIDS,
epilepsy, back pain, and stress among its 100
or so kno\\ n applications.
If we would let it. cannabis hemp
could have a bright future providing
humankind with food, fuel, fiber, an~~
medicine.
fr
For addiuonol informaJu,n on w u.ses of
rhe MIii/i plan/, wme 10: Fnendsofllemp: Bo;(98/:
Mars /lilt, NC 28754,
x.cituah Journal. JJCllF t 7
�KATUAH CULTIVARS
Cultivated Varieties of Vegetable and Fruits
Recommended for Ka mah Bioregion
We received a handful of Kaniah
gardeners' lis1s of favorite fruil and
vegetables varieties. The resulting list is a
chefs' cornucopia. and generally includes
personn.l favorites for productivity, taste,
nuaition, and relative freedom from
problems. Codes for seed sources for the
more difficult-to-find varieties (when known)
are included at the end of the article. Happy
Gardening!
We invite Katuah readers to send us
your favorite varieties (esp. Open Pollinated
{O.P.) or non-hybrid varieties) and your
list of not-so-m:ommendcd varieties (this is
also imponant info!) for developing a more
comprehensive regional listing. Thanks for
your giving...
Perry Eury (Kalmia Center, Sylva, NC)
-rates Red Jewel sweet poiato as a
favorite! He continues to have problems
with disease on legumes. but has had good
luck with a crowder pea, Purple
Knucklehull (SH). He highly recommends
the recovered "Cherokee" Com, a delicious
white com with pinkish blush-- makes lhe
BEST cornbread! (from Cherokee Boys
Club).
Hueh Love! ( Union Agricultural
Instirute, Blairsville, GA) -- Hugh is a CSA
Producer, dedicated to regenerative,
biodynamic agriculture. He loves the English
green pea. Little Marvel which does not
require staking in his intensive, three rows
per wide bed spacings. Sugar Snap edible
pod peas are a favorite with his cus1omers.
He recommends Blue Lake Pole and
Yellow Wax Bean, as productive, but
recommends choosing "rust" disease
rcsistanL varieties. He recommended
Purple Top Tumips (greens and root multicrop!) and rape greens (Vates).
Cherry Belle radishe~ are recommended
for quick maturing spring radishes, and for
Fall planting, Chjna Rose radish.
Touchon is a great coreless carrot, and
Bloomsdale Spinach is recommended as a
standard. Hugh notes that spinach will last
longer in the spring (nor "bolt") if you grow
spinach with low levels of nuaients (esp.
nitrogen).
G}en Hubel (Certified Organic Grower.
Waynesville, NC) has done well with edible
podded pea Snowflake and Sugar
Daddy, and the english pea Knight. He
suggests the beans Easy Pie and the Yellow
Wax bean, Gold Crop. He likes the shon
season tomato Russian, but has had much
"Blight" disease problems with his tomato
varieties. His best crop is his potato crop
including Kennebec, Purple Peruvians,
Red Pontiac, Yellow Finn (SB) and
rates Butte average. He recommend!. agains1
Yukon Gold because of potato bug
problems (lururtm, might be a "trap-crop"! ).
He has had good yields with Black soybeans
and the edible at green-stage Butterbean
soybean. His best crops are his lenuces,
:IC4Nan JO\lf'nat PCUJe 18
recommending Red Oakleaf, Sangria,
Lolla Rossa, and Red Romaine
(SHP).
Will Ashe Bason (Floyd Co.• south.of
Blacksburg, VA) especially likes Lutz
Greenleaf Keeper (SESE) bee!li, as the
~ I keeping. sweetest and mos1 render. He
grows white, yellow and red po1a1oes, but
has had worst "Scab" disease on reds which
do 001 keep as well. He likes his yellow
poiatoes best! He notes broccoli and cabbage
do well. but need to be treated with the
biological insecricide, Dipel (B1). He
advises to plant fall varieties of cole crops
and plant these seeds in late spring. He has
found Sunroofs (the native sunflower,
Jerusalem Artichoke) easy 10 grow and s1ores
well in the l!:r0und over winter. He
recommends blueberries as a fruit crop which
tolerates warm early spells and l:11e frosts, but
recommends additional peal or organic matter
in the planting hole. Will states that Shiitake
mushrooms are relanvely easy 10 inoculate
int0 chestnut oak logs, but may require a year
to get going, but then may "fruit " for years.
He is especially happy with Scarlet
Runner Beans, which are best in flavor,
and make a ''preny good" dried bean. These
are most easily shelled when ''perfectly" dry.
He grows his beans in the garden space left
available after the spring crop of snap peas
(although this may eventually lead to disease
problems in time- ed.)
Mark Schonbeck (Instiru1e for
Sustainable Agriculture, Windswept Farm,
Check. VA) shares his favorite varieties of
"non-hybrid, good flavored, nuaitious, with
good keeping qualities, resistance to pests
and diseases, and ease of haJvest and
processing." (Whew! What criteria!)
Windswept Farm gardeners were
impressed by the grain sorghum.
Mennonite (SESE), yielding over 7 lbs. of
grain from a 100 square foot plot . The
cooked grain iasted somewhat between wheat
berries and brown rice (but had 10 be leached
of the tannins from the grain by boiling and
changing the cooking waters). Hickory
King white flour com, although it grew 10
feet tall, survived thunderstorms, showed
little earwonn damage, and had little mold or
maggot problems. They no1ed that Purple
Peruvian and Saginaw Gold potatoes had
less potato beetle problems than other
varieties. They had problems growing carrots
in their poor soil but Danvers U6 carrot
grew well withou1 becoming woody, and bad
little weed problem. They especially favored
Long Standing Bloo~dale spinach,
with its excellent flavor and winter hardiness.
They recommend several beans including
Chinese Red (SESE) azuki beans
(yielding equivalent 10 2500 lbsJacre), which
grew without any Mexican bean beetle attack!
Swedish Brown common bean had lower
yields (eqiv. 1500 lbs/A.) but have an
unusually good flavor. A local adapted
pinio-type October Bean, obtained from a
neighbor, yielded well and had slightly less
bean beetle damage than other varieties. A
Redkloud Kidney (SESE) bean was
badly chewed by beetles, but managed to
yield as much as the azulcis.
Barbara Duncan (Herb Enthusiast,
Franklin, NC) -- recommends her favorite
perennial Greek Oregano (SHP) which
she prefers for its ease-of-culture (although
hard 10 genninate) and strong, distinctive
taste.
Lee Barnes (Plantsman, Waynesville,
NC) - I've had repeatable success with
Peruvian Purple potatoes tender,
finger-sized and beautiful mixed with yellow
or white potatoes in Potato Salad! Early
Jersey Wakefield cabbage is more tender
and sweeter than other varieties. Celery
(Golden Self-Blanching and Giant
Red(actually pinkish) (SB) does well if
seeds are sown indoors early (60 - 90 days
prior to transplanting). Favorite superhot
peppers are Thai and Habanero (RCS)
(great for hot vinegars, too (()() hot to eat!),
which do best if transplan1ed after mid-May,
or when soil 1empera1ures are greater than 00°
F. My favorite eggplant is the tender
"finger-shaped" Japanese varieties, and I'm
currently addicted to the hybrid eggplant
"khiban". Can anyone recommend an O.P.
variety? Purple Top turnips are favorites!,
while ruUlbagas and kohlrobi do very wcJI if
sown 2-3 weeks earlier than for turnips.
SESE • Southern Exposure Seed
Exchange, P.O. Box 158, North Garden,
VA22959
SH - R.11. Schumway. P.O. Box
I, Graniteville, SC 29829
HA - Hastjng.s. P.O. Box 115535,
Atlanta, GA 30310
SB -Seeds Blum, Idaho City Stage,
Boise, ID 97333
SUP- Shephard's Garden Seeds,
6116 Highway 9, Felton, CA 95018
RCS- Redwood City Seed Co.,
P.O. Box 361, Redwood City, CA 94064
(See KJ # 32 Fall 1991 or master
Resource List for additional seed sources.).
By Lee Barnes
Drawing by Rob Messick
Spr\n4), 1992
�..
--BLOWING IN THE WIND
by Charlone Homsher
When 1 was growing up in
southeastern Colorado, my family hnd a
Sunday afternoon ritual. Every Sunday we
drove to the wheal fields south of town lo
check the moisture content of the soil.
There were usually live or six children;
sisters, brothers and cousins who piled out
of the pickup. My father knelt on the
ground and dug into 1he soil with his bare
hands as we surrounded him waiting
breathlessly. If the subsoil was moist Lhcn
he held up his handful of din, triumphant.
If it was dry, then the eanh sifted Lhrough
his fingers. We all goL a chance to look at
lhis little piece of eanh, wrenched up :IIld
turned over by the sweat of man, the inner
eanh which in some mysterious way would
either give us an ample crop or wither the
grain on the stalk.
This memory of my father, first
digging and than holding the soil in his
palm in a gesture of triumph, is stlU vivid in
my mind. More than anything else it
symbolizes to me the ambivalent
relationship he had to the eanh and 10 his
inherited occupation of farmer.
Before the Homestead Act of 1862
brought white seulers in hordes, there were
no towns or setdements on the prairies. The
Cheyenne and other Plains Indians were
nomadic hunters and gatherers. They found
an ample supply of wildlife sheltered in the
tal1 prairie grasses that grew as high as a
man's chest. By the I 930's the virgin
prairie grasses had been plowed under.
Everyone knew the plowing was out of
contr0l but no one could stop it. There was
always a new wave of homesteaders
detennined 10 farm. One of the excuses
used for plowing up the prairies was I.hat
the grasses were just weeds, after all; and
like weeds everywhere, they would thrive
on their own. Unfonunately the grasses
never returned. What did grow back was a
scraggly grass, euphemistically called
buffalo grass, only a few inches high, nor
high enough 10 sprout under the layers of
sill deposited by the high winds.
Not many people realize I.hat I.he
dusrbowl didn't stop with the depression
era. Even in the fifties, the fields were still
blowing. A dustsronn that would lai;L for
days could be sianed by one farmer. If a
fanner plowed his field in a dry spell and
the farmer next door happened to plow his
at the same time, it could stan a chain
reaction. The lifegiving topsoil from one
field could blow overnight into the next
county suffocating all vegetation in its path
and causing the hair 10 fall off the backs of
grazing animals.
Once 1he prairies were plowed there
was never a settled farm life. The eanh
simply could not sustain the population.
The first mass migration off the prairies
were the Okies of the dus1bowl era who
abandoned their small holdings for
California. The postwar era continued the
cons1an1 trickle of fanners into the cities.
SprtncJ, 1992
Since the land was no longer fenile and
intact as it was as a prairie, ii was the
evolution of fann pracrioe LO acquire larger
properties in order to make a profit This
me.int depending on ever more
sophisticated farm equipment LO handle all
that land, and borrowed financing to pay
for the whole operation. The foreclosures
and farm auctions of the seventies and
eighties where a result of the farmers'
inability 10 repay their massive loans.
Postwar govemment policies
encouraged expansion, as did the ever
burgeoning agribusiness industries. One of
the biggest hoaxes ever perpetrated on the
American fanner was the postwar sentiment
that the American fanner was responsible
for feeding the world. This grandiose
responsibility with its heavy psychological
load, was just more fuel for the
expansionist fodder of big crops at any
cost. Politicians stressed the imponance of
the fanncr in protecting democracy, a
responsibility that reached beyond national
borders. (Empty bellies not only cause
suffering but foment revolution.) The
postwar farmer had a mission and a duty.
Fanning is a pan of the myth of
creation. The farmer is supposed to
understand things 1ha1 other people don't.
He works in cooperation with nature. He
knows when to plant and when 10 harvest.
The farmer feeds everyone. A land without
its local farmers soon shrivels up and dies.
or so the myth goes. Or at the very least the
food prices escalate. The farmer as
supposed to be the sail of the eanh, the real
backbone of America, the man who keeps ii
all going while the rest of the country runs
amuck in the cities. At the same time he is
expected 10 remain isolated, cut off from
the mainstTCam of society, a laborer whose
opinions are considered wonhless. The
fnnner is dealing with some heavy
propaganda from without and expectations
from within. The fanners of the fifties ond
sixties were nearly frantic in their push to
mtiinstream fanning into the standnrd of
living of the while middle class. Fanners
wanted cash in the pocket, brick ranch
houses and college education for their
children. The very idea of making fanning
a respectable profession is a historically
brazen tissurnption. ln every civilized
society the farmer is the low caste, the
ignorant, humble servant of the soil.
Here is another sticky contraclictlon.
Farmers were forced off the fa.nm that they
said they wanted 10 keep and lost a way of
life that they professed 10 Jove, yet they
pushed their children into learning skills
that would be of use only in the cities, thus
assuring that the way of life could not
possibly be handed on. This could be seen
as either a foresighted concern for future
generations or a disinheritance. I never did
find an easy answer 10 Lha1 one. When I
was about fifteen my father drove me to lhe
original family homes11:ad. We walked 10
the middle of the field behind the rock
house between Lhe apple ort:hard and !he
sandy banks of the dry creekbed. I hadn't
been 10 that field in years.
Dad pointed ar the bare eanh under
the stubble of lhe last crop. With great
solemnity, he told me that he had hired a
water witcher (a dowser) who had said that
there was enough wa1er in that panicul:!r
spot for a well. The drilling crew was
arriving the next day and he wanted me 10
know how things really stood. If they hit
water, I would get to go Lo college. If
no1 ... well ...1here was nothing worse for a
young girl than lO rot in some dying farm
town.
I Ils arrirude was typical of the worry,
fear, and despair of fann fathers of that era.
In contrast to this dreary scenario, I am
reminded of the description of small scale
farmers in Japan in the wonderful
philosophical treatise on nature and
fanning, The One Straw Revolution. In
that book, Masanobu Fukuoka describes
how fanners of old Japan, before
mechanization and before life got so
frenetic, took off for a three month holiday
in the winter 10 hunt rabbits in the
mountains. They also wrote Haiku poetry.
Fukuoka claims that there was even a time
when fanning was considered a sacred
work.
In my family, of all the children who
knell with my father in the fields and got
that first lesson of the harshness of the
Eanh and its potential fertility, lam the
only one who still owns land and I do not
own fannland. In an ironic cwist of fare it
was the sudden, unexpected sale of my
grandfather's ranch that paid for my piece
of mountain.
Over the years, l occasionallv run into
one of the ex-fannboys with whom I grew
up. Meeting them is very similar 10 how I
have heard Vietnam veterans de..~be
encounters \loith each other. Looking into
each other's eyes we recognize the vast
expanses of psychic space between our past
and our present, the bridges that we have
had 10 bum to travel such distances
00Cllinuod on page 32
Draw111g by Rob Messick
Xatuah Jo\4rnm pQ()e 19
�~
5
E
p
T
E
M
B
E
A
0
11th
• ~fore C.1ting wild
edibles, be sure or their com!Ct
Identity and proper preparation.
Times may vary in your area.
Native and naturaliud plant
listings rcncct average beginning of
�- .-
0
18th
~
-
C
r
�"MEDICINE TRAINING"
These are the words ofa traditional
Cherokee medi'cine person:
My grandfather was one of those who
believe that everything has a spirit - the
stones, the grass, Lhe soil, everything. To
him, it was apparent that anybody could
communicate and work with these beings.
He believed that no one was any more
magical than any other person. It was just a
pan of being human, and civilization
domesticated that part of ourselves, and
turned everybody's reality around to
whatever white man's reality is. Everybody
had to have the same reality.
As soon as I was born, he saw physical
signs on my body thOt told him that I was
destined 10 be a medicine man. One of the
biological signs that he noticed were simian
creases (sharply-defined creases extending
from between the thumb and forefinger
across the palm - ed.). I have two of them.
When a baby is born in the hospital,
western doctors look at it to see if it's eyes,
teeth, nose, mouth, etc., are all in order,
and then they check for simian creases,
because they are a sign of Down's
syndrome. Eight out of ten babies who
have a simian crease have Down's
syndrome. I had one on each hand.
Now my grandfather had no idea what
simian creases were or what Down's
syndrome was. But he did notice that they
were an unusual physical occum:nce on my
body. There were other physical signs, but
I don't know what they all were.
He took the matter up with other old
people that he talked with, and they all
agreed with his interpretation of the signs.
After that, r was preordained by my
grandfather 10 be a medicine person and
blessed by the elders.
They gave me a naming ceremony.
They held me up and called in all of
Creation from all the directions and
introduced me. Then they offered my spirit
to the Creation, saying, "This is your
relative. This is how he will be known."
When I was a child, I would "make
things happen." 1t was like fantasizing. 1
would see something happening in my
mind, and it would occur. I could make
somebody come over to my house. r could
find something in the woods. Little things,
but r was encouraged 10 exercise that
ability.
I was also encouraged in things that the
white culture would consider foolish. If I
came home and said that I saw some Little
People in the woods, the adultS would said,
"Well, that's great! What were they doing?
How were they doing it?"
In while society parents would say,
"You're a fool," "Don't do thaL Act like an
adult," or, if they were very liberal, "Ooh,
he's got an imaginary play friend."
Most of culture is just habits. If things
don't work for you, over and over, then
you drop them. If something works, over
and over, then gradually it becomes part of
your reality and then pan or your identity.
And as a child the fact that r had certain
abilities just became a fact of my life. I was
encouraged in special ways 10 follow a
certain direction.
For instance, one of the very first
memories I cnn remember was seeing a
baby push out of a woman. Kids were nol
normally allowed to be present for that sort
of thing. But the elders thought that I was
good luck, juSt by being the. '".~ause
people thought that I was special, they
reinforced it b) IJ>"..ating me that way. Of
course, it didn'l take much to convince me
that I was special! Everybody thinks that
they have a special destiny. That's
unders1andable, and it's true to a certain
extent, but it very seldom comes oue in the
way that we would like it 10.
That was the way they began my
training. It was the most natural thing in the
world. A lot of it was just being raised by
my grandparents and being around old
people a lot of the time.
Most of the kids my age grew up
around fathers who had been in World War
ll. My grandfather wns 69 years old when l
was born. And as a boy he had lived with
his grandfather, who had fought at
Horseshoe Bend with Andrew Jackson.
Through my grandfather, l had a direcl
connection to those times. In my childhood
adventure games I pretended 1 was hiding
in the mountains during the Removal,
eating grubs and bugs, and running from
white soldiers with tall hatS.
I lived in a world that in many ways
was quite archaic. The Cherokee language
that my grandfather spoke was an archaic
version of the language they speak today.
Growing up among these elders, pan of my
thinking was archaic. I don't know if it was
because of the way that I was raised, but I
was more marurc than most males my age.
r also had a sense of being content to be
with myself. When I think of my
childhood, r think of myself as being alone
much of the time. That leaves a mark upon
you. For one thing, it made me more
peaceful being with myself. I never seem to
need entenainment. l don't need diversion.
My mind is all the diversion I need.
My early training was just spending
time with those old people. We might be
out collecting sho-un or ramps, and we
would run across a woman whose specialty
was birthing. She would point out a plant
and say, "This is good for teeth, cutting
teeth, cutting teeth," she'd say. Or "Sore
mouth," or "This is good for white
tongue," (thrush). Another time we would
meet somebody who had a lot of
knowledge in another area. That was the
way I teamed. lt was structured, but it
wasn't a structure. It was spontaneous. Yee
I had a sense that it was importanL
The only les.wns r learned by rote were
hem were long, but
the formulas. Some of 1
they all have basic Structures and themes
that run through them that make them
simple to remember once you catch the
pattern.
The formulas were in a special
ceremonial mode of the Cherokee language
that was symbolic in its meaning and older
even than the speech my grandparents
used. A modem-day speaker would not be
able to understand it. When you say, "Way
up on high where the four black ravens
rest, r call you down here, and r ask you 10
pull the black smoke all over this," what
does that mean to a modern Cherokee? It
doesn't mean a thing. But II is incredibly
meaningful to me.
Sprt.119, 1992
�Most of my training was learning how
to learn. Leaming how to use my mind.
They taught me by giving me the answers
to questions· questions I hadn't even asked
ye1. I had the answers; I had to find om
what the questions were. h's a good way 10
learn. It talces a lot of patience.
1 might be walking with my gr.indfather
or one of his friends, and we would sit
down and build a fire, cook a little
some1hing, and, as we were sitting there,
he might say, "Ginseng." Or he might say,
"lt's inside yourself." Or he might say, "It
comes when all doubt is cleared from the
mind." Just out of the blue. It would have
no reference to any1hing that we were
doing. The first few times, l started to ask
questions, but after awhile I stopped asking
qucs1ions.
My grandfather would say, "You may
not understand now, but you will
understand. You're not ready for it. But
lis1en. Pay attention to everything."
"Don't trot around knowledge," he
would say. "Knowledge without
understanding is worse than tits on a boar
bog, so wail Ir will come to you."
And it has come to me. I have been
caught up in new experiences, when I did
not know what to do, and, all at once, the
answer would be there, clear as a bell. I'd
had the answer all along, and I had finally
ran into the question.
People talk to me about their life
problems. Often they are going through a
Jot of suffering. SomeLimes I feel like a
third person sitting there watching myself
talk to them and helping to solve their
problems. rm not egotistical. I know
where it's corning from. Still, T feel
absolutely amazed. rm not me any more!
That's the way my whole life has been:
I've had the answers, but I haven't had 1he
questions. fve been running into the
questions throughout my whole life. In that
sense, it has made my life easier. I don't
know if I have run into all the questions
yet. I'm still looking. though, because
sometimes the answers will fit many
questions.
•
canvas bag. He kept everything · absolutely
everything • in this bag.
I would be walking down the trail past
a clump of bushes or a blackberry thicket,
and all of a sudden he would sL,nd up in it.
He scared me every time. He \\Ould just
appear. And he'd grin. A1 that most people,
even those who knew him, would run. But
he was a boyhood friend of my
grandfather, and I think my grandfather
was his only friend. He never manied,
and, when my grandfather died. in his own
way he took responsibility for me for
awhile. This wasn·t much, because he was
very seldom around. But he always
appeared when I needed him · every time r
needed him.
Owl did magical things. He was the one
who taught me how to eliminate doubt in
my mind. And that's the best gifL he ever
gave me.
Eliminating doubt makes magic happen.
I was brought up with no limits as to what
my mind could do. but then, as I got older
and exposed to other people, they put doubt
in my mind. Owl taught me how to remove
that doubt.
He did not give me a set of simple
instructions like, ~stick your nose in your
ear, and this will all go away." It was a
combination of things. He said that 10 clear
the doubt out of my mind I had to go
through a rational, linear process. It was
something that one had 10 be taught over a
period of time. And with my formal
experience of magic, it didn't talce me very
long to learn it.
Talso learned how to focus. If I can
visualii.e something, and see it in my mind,
and hold it in my mind, and do it in my
mind • and drop it! - it never fails. When I
was a child, I could do it easily. But as I
grew to be an adult and developed doubt. I
had a more difficult time. The fonnulas
would help me to keep my focus, son of
like daydreaming.
*
One of the old men was a special
person to me. He was a medicine person.
People came to him for conjuring and
docroring, and he was good at it. I always
referred to him as Owl, but that wasn't his
name.
He was probably six foot four, if you
straightened him out, but as a child his leg
had been broken and badly set, and he
leaned over to the left. He also had an eye
that hnd been damaged, so that although he
could see ouc of it, it was puckered up into
a fearsome squint. He was a fierce,
mean-looking old man, but he was as
gentle, caring, and loving as he was
scary-looking.
He always had a long World War I
overcoat with him. I can remember Lhe big
brass buuons that went all the way down
the front. When he wasn't wearing his
coat, he would roll it up, tie strings around
it, and carry it over one shoulder. On his
other shoulder he would carry a funky old
1
I remember a scene that happened
repeatedly. Owl and I would be walking
down a trail, and I would be talking to him,
when suddenly he would grab me by my
shirt and pull me into the bushes.
"Stand still and be quiet," he would
say.
We would stand there, sometimes for
ten minutes. Then 1 would hear somebody
coming down the trail and look up. It
would invariably be somebody that Owl
didn't want to see.
After the person was gone, I would
say, "How did you know he was coming?"
Re would say, "You know it, 100! You
know it, tool But you're so goddamn busy
chattering and talking. Busy! Give yourself
a break."
He would say, "You know
everything."
faery time I would ask Owl weighty,
involved questions looking for profound
answers, he would just look at me and
shake his head.
He'd say, "You kMw I.he answer," and
I.hen "Goddamn it, you don't need no
teachers."
And it's true. That's the big lesson. The
minute we become leaders or followers, we
have lost our power.
Owl also taught me the imponant
principle that most things don't maucr, and
I don't have any place to go anyhow. When
1 somehow indicated that I had learned this,
he was delighted.
"You got it!" he said." That's
absolutely wonderful! lf I've never done
anything else in my life, this is the greatest
thing I have ever done!" /..;:.!Ill"
He was great.
p-
End of PART I
)
Drawings by Troy Scwa
Sprt.mJ, Hl92
C
�., ~
PROTECTING THE PARK AND THE BIOREGION
Nanni World News Service
Since itS dedication in 1940, the Great
Smoley Mountains National Parle has been the
crown jewel of the Southern Appalachian
ecosystem. The Park is protected as a de
facw wilderness throughou1 much of ilS
550,000 acres and is the keystone of the
natural habitat in the southern mountains. The
Parle occupies a cemral location in the region
and acts as a preserve for rcmnanlS of the
original old growth forest and many rare and
endemic species of plant and animal life. It is
a natural habitat large enough to accept
~introductions of wide-ranging mammals
like the red wolf and the ouer. It is a dispersal
poim from which species can migrate to
replenish the the three million acres of less
protected national forests that sWTOund its
borders. Eoologically, the Great Smoky
Mountains National Park is of great
importance as a stabilizing factor 10 the
natural life community of the Southern
Appalachian Mountains.
The Great Smokies Parle also stands as
the ecological standard by which we judge
the health of the rest of the forest. But
although the Park is pro1ec1ed on the ground
throughout most of its area, the Park
ecosy~tem is deteriorating from pervasive
polluuon that drops from the skies. Because
of the high altitude of 1he Park's highest
ridges, clouds carrying contaminants gather
a1 their creslS and drop their deadly burdens.
Thus, atm0spheric pollution that affects the
w~ole re~on tends to be concentrated at high
alntude s11es such as those in the Great
Smoky Mountains Na1ional Parle. The Park
acts as a barometer for the ecological health
of the region as a whole.
1:"10.w the Park is also sailing fonh as a
flagship in the defense of the regional
ecosystem. Under the provisions of the Clean
Air Act, most national parlcs and some of the
larger wilderness areas are defined as Class r
meaning that no significant deterioration of '
the air quality in those areas is 10 be
permiued. Yet continued indusaial
d~elopment constantly increases the already
senous pollution that is undem1ining the
ecological health of the Park and the
mountain forests.
Thus, in the fall of 1991 James M.
Ridenour, Direc1or of 1he National Park
Service ~S) of the federal Deparunem of
the lmenor issued a statement declaring that
proposed developments near the Great
Smoky Mountains National Park and the
Shenandoah National Park in Virginia would
have an adverse ecological impact and were
unacceptable under the tenns of the law.
ln Tennessee, Ridenour's s1mement
referred specifically to a proposed expansion
b%" me Eastman Chemicals Company in
Kmgspon that would include construction of
a new$ I00 million coal-fired boiler that
woul~ spew 1,542 tons of nirrogcn oxide per
year mto the atmosphere.
Ni~gen oxide is a precursor of
atmosphenc 01.0ne. Resource specialis1s in
the Park have already identified 95 plant
species that show signs of damage from
~mne contamination, indicating that pollution
m the Park already is extensive.
NPS researchers also point out that
since 1950 visibility in the Park has declined
40%, and the famous blue haze from which
the Great Smoley Mountains derived their
name has turned into a siclcly gray or a
poisonous-looking yellowish white pall
depending on the season.
'
Because of aonospheric contmination
"Soil and water resources are at serious risk "
wrote NPS Regional Director James Col~
in a letter 10 the State of Tennessee
expressing the Service's opposition to the
Eastman expansion project The NPS holds
that any debilitating influences within a circle
tha1 extends 120 miles around the Park in all
directions would adversely affect the air
quality of the protected area.
LICENSE TO DUMP
Nanni World News Service
. ~n E~vir?nroental Protection Agency
adm1mscranve Judge on February 12 struck
~own challenges.to the discharge permit
ISsued to Champion lmemational Co.
allowing them 10 put was1es from its Canton
papermaking plant in10 1he Pigeon River.
The primary objections came from the
Dead Pigeon River Council, an organization
of downstream residents. The group's ma.in
complaint is that dioxin produced in the plant
is affecting 1heir health and the health of the
environment below the mill. They are also
concerned about the color and odor of 1he
river\ "':'hich are evidence of the heavy waste
load It 1s forced to carry and are hurting the
economies of the towns below the Canton
plant
The five-year discharge pem1i1 has been
stalled in coun since 1989. Confident of
victory, the company has proceeded with a
$250 million modernization plan for the
antiquated paper mill, installing new,
non-chlorine bleaching lines and water
mwcrs for recycling water that may cu1 river
use by one-third. The company hopes 10
approach a 50-unit color limit that during the
~nnit c~ntt;?versy ~our years ago i1 &aid was
1mposs1ble 10 attain and would force
closure of the plant.
The Dead Pigeon River Council is
deciding whether 10 appeal the judge's rulmg.
ECOTAGE,
Nanni World.Newt Service
''
In what might be another case of
"ecotage" in Karuah, over $50,000 wonh of
damage was done to various pieces of
logging equipment in the Buck Creek and
Rich Mountain Areas of Macon County on
February 2, 1992. lnves1igators claim that the
incident is the worst recent example of
apparen1 ecotage directed at the timber
industry in western Nonh Carolina, stating
that virtually every piece of equipment on the
rwo sites was affected. The saboteurs
punctured truck and skidder tires, cut
elecaical wires on bulldozers, cut hydraulic
and air lines on other equipment, and placed
tacks on roads leading to the sites. According
to officials of Hennessee hardwood, one of
the timber companies hit, new skidder tires
will cost $1025 each, and the hydraulic lines
will cost from $60 to $400 apiece to replace.
Hilton C3bc. an independent logger whose
equipment was damaged, said he has no
insurance 10 repair or replace his equipment,
and Jack Hennessee, Jr. stated that the
deductible is so high on his insW'ance that
damage suffered by his equipment would not
be recovered.
No individual or group has come
forward to take responsibility for the action,
but the loggers are certain the sabotage was a
protest against logging in the national forcs1s.
"(lbe ecotage) is against the timber
industry," logging contractor Lloyd Cook,
also of Macon coun1y. told the Asheville
Citizen-Times. "They've started a war. 11
looks like we are going to have to defend
ourselves. They are not playing fair."
The Hennessee company plans to hire
security persoMel to guard their logging
sites. "They brought it to me," said
Hennessee to the Citizen-Times. "I didn't
take it to them."
Forest Service investigators and Macon
County law enforcement officers reported
that they bad found foot and tire prints at the
sites. On February 6 the Macon Coun1y
Chapter of the Western North Carolina
Alliance posted a $200 reward for
"infonnation leading to the arrest and
conviction" of the perpetrators. However, at
press ume no progress had been made in the
investigation.
CUB KILLERS ARRESTED
Naunl Wnrld N""'• Scr,,,cc
A mother bear and her three newborn
cubs were killed by poachers on January 3,
J992. Michael Lee Correll of Black
Moun1ain, NC was arrested and charged wi1h
the slaying. Another man and two women,
also from Black Mountain, were charged
with transponing a bear out of season.
The crimes are all misdemeanors and
carry a fine of at lea.,t $2,000 per offense
plus a restitution cos1 of $1,035 for 1hc bear.
The two men said that they were
raccoon hunting when their dogs roused the
mother bear. Apparently the mother bear was
denning on the ground and was awakened
and frigh1ened by the hun1er~. She died, nm
only a vicLim of poachers, bur also of a lack
of mature den rrees in which she could hide
during her winter dormancy.
Spr1.t19, 19!12
�RADIOACTIVE SURPRISE
Narunl World News Service
A congressional hearing held before
Rep. George Miller's Interior Committee
heard evidence that barrels of hazardous
materials sent from Oak Ridge Tennessee
came with a free surprise in every barrel radioactive waste!
The hearing was caJled after journalist
Peter Schenkel of the Stare-Times Moming
Advocate in Baton Rouge, LA collected
irrefutable evidence that the Martin Marietta
Company, contractor 10 the Department of
Energy (DOE) at the Oak Ridge, TN nuclear
weapons complex, had been mismanaging
radioactive waste. Since 1980 the company
has sent about 10,000 tons of hazardous
wastes containing small amounts of
radioactive materials to 16 commercial
incinerators not licensed to handle such
substances.
The company knew it was violating
regulations. All references to uranium were
whited out from shipping orders. Clyde
Hopkins, the president of Martin Marietta,
told the congressional committee that the
documents were altered for "national security
reasons."
Leo Duffy, specialist in waste handling
for the DOE, disavowed any DOE
responsibility, saying that if Martin Marieua
thought that changing documents was a
proper interpretation of DOE regulations, the
company was very wrong.
Martin Marieua's actions were not only
inappropriate, but also clearly illegal, in
violation of Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Environmental Protection Agency, and state
regulations. However, no criminal
investigations have yet been begun in the
case.
Ralph Hutchison, of the Oak Ridge
Environmental and Peace Alliance (OREPA),
said, "What happened was that Martin
Marietta unilaterally decided that there was
not enough radiation in the wastes to worry
about Although the toxic substances
contained more radiation than they were
allowed 10 bum in their own incinerator, they
still sent the shipments on to other private
facilities. The company in effect established
its own private BRC (below regulatory
concern) levels."
Journalist Schenkel was investigating
Rollins Environmental Services, a large
hazardous waste processing facility in Baton
Rouge, in January of 1991 when he
discovered documents indicating that they
may have received waste materials from
Martin Marietta Energy Systems that were
contaminated with radioactivity. As Schenkel
probed deeper, he began to run into the kind
of roadblocks that suggested that he was onto
a story that was bigger than he had expected.
llis persistence uncovered the Martin Marietta
activities. Fearing a scandal, the company
stopped all off-site shipments of hazardous
wastes during the summer of 1991.
Shenckel is not content that the full
implications Martin Marietta's actions have
been revealed. He was quoted in the OREPA
newsletter as saying, "I am not convinced by
any degree that they know the full extent of
radioactive material released."
Sprlf\9, 1992
He said that papers recently procured
from Oak Ridge give chemical analyses of the
shipments. They show the presence of
cobalt, strontium. and yttruim, which can
occur naturally but often arc radioactive
isotopes. The chemical analyses give no clue
as to their isotopic form. When Schenkel
asked, "Were any of these radioactive
isotopes?", company representatives admitted
that they did not know and no longer had any
way of finding out.
What is clear is the nature of Martin
Marietta management. Ralph Hutchison says,
"Martin Marietta took over (as the major
contractor in Oak Ridge) in 1983 after Union
Carbide was caught with mercury on their
hands, and Martin Marietta has supposedly
been doing everything right. Now in the last
month we find out that they have been doing
the same old stuff."
"A PATTERN OF ABUSE"
Natural World l',cws Savsu
The firing of Karin Heiman (see Karuah
Jour110l #31) as a US Forest Service botanist
was not an random incidence of arbitrary
authority. Repression against employees who
arrive at conclusions contrary to agency
policy has been a common occurrence in the
Forest Service.
This was uncovered in hearings held by
the Howse of Representatives Civil Service
subcommiuee, chaired by Rep. Gerry
Sikorski (0-MN). The comnunee found that
the Forest Service offered harsh punishment
to whistleblowers, even when they were
pointing out illegalities in Forest Service
activities.
At the close of the hearings on January
23. Rep. Sikorski said, "This needs to 1,c
investigated by the Depanment of Justice.
There is a pattern of abuse. There is a pattern
of ignorance. There is a pattern of delay and
retaliation."
NATURAL WORLD NEWS BRIEFS
NO RADIA TION...THIS TIME
The truck was wheeling down I-26 on
February 27 when just outside of Asheville,
NC flame spouted out from one of the
wheels. A Buncombe County sheriffs
deputy pulled the truck over and Sgt. N. K.
Goering of the State Highway Patrol
appeared on the scene. It was just another
breakdown.
"It appears that it was a just a truck that
broke down and this particular truck
happened to be carrying a radioactive
product."
What?! Yes, radioactive waste, going
from Northern State Power Co. in
Monticello, MN to the Barnwell Waste
Management Facility in Barnwell, SC.
"Until I obtained all my readings, I was
concerned," said Sgt. Goering. State troopers
carry geiger counters in their vehicles?
Apparently the possibility of a nculear
accident has become accepted as a
probability.
"You never know what kind of wreck
you might be called to," said Goering,
"because you never know who is going up
and down the highways."
Maybe this is something we need to
know.
The fire m the radioactive waste truck
was contained. No radiation was released. It
was just another day on the highway...this
time.
tnforma1ion from ,~ Asheville Ci1i1.cn-T1mca or
'1.mfn.
"Warh.tod WatcMrs" art o,-ganizing to monitor
move=nt of truck comY>ys carrying nuclear weapons
maJcriaJs on 1-40 and 1-26 /OWdl'd tht Trilknl
Submarine base in St. Mary's. GA. For in/ormolion
on becoming a Warhead Watcher, call Amy Mozingo
(704) 253-3854.
• To protect imperiled aquatic species
and their habitats, the NC Wildlife Resources
Commission has submitted a proposal to the
state Environmental Management
Commission asking that portions of 33
watersheds in IO of the state's river basins be
protected as High Quality Waters. Included
are portions of the New, the Watauga, the
Tuckasegee, the Linville. and the Little
Tennessee Rivers.
• The "Ballenger bill," proposed by
conservative Rep. Cass Ballenger, a
Republican from North Carolina's 10th
District, has passed the House and awaits
action by the Senate. The bill would protect
the Lost Cove and Harper Creek areas in the
Posgah National Forest.
Sen. Terry Sanford (D-NC) has
introduced a companion bill in support of
Ballcnger's legislation.
• Charles Taylor is the best friend the
local timber industry has in Washingt0n. It's
true - he said so himself before a meeting of
the Multiple Use Council, a timber lobbying
group.
• A Superior Coun judge in Wake
County ruled that the town of Highlands
needs no environmental impact statement 10
build a sewage treatment plant that would
dwnp 500,000 gallons of treated sewage a
day in the Cullasnja River. The citizens group
Save Our Rivers immediately appealed the
judge's ruling and asked for a restraining
order 10 stop work on the project until the
appeal is heard
• Ten otters were reintroduced into
streams arounci the Great Smoky Mountains
National Park last February. Six were
released into Cataloochec Creek and two
more pairs were released into Hazel Creek
and the Little River. Three of the Otters
released in Cataloochee were pregnant
females expected to bear young this spring.
NII/IJroJ World N~ws I, rdilrd •,
e-m Crundit,:rr.
�WHOSE RULES?
The Drinking Water Protection Controversy in North Carolina
"ll's the biggest cave-in in the history
of the Environmental Management
Commission. lt's remarkable that big money
overpowered science and public suppon."
This was the conclusion of Bill
Holman, environmental lobbyist in the Nonh
Carolina state legisl.nrure, about the change in
the watershed protection rules proposed by
the state's Environmental Management
joined the campaign after it got going, but the
finances and the strategy came largely from
big urban developers in the three metropolitan
areas.
The development consortium had paid
little attention to the 1990 public hearings. In
1991 they turned up the heat. They called up
association. Carla DuPuy was formerly a
eouniy commissioner in Mecklenburg
County.
Barnes is from Wilson, NC and Brady
is a lawyer from Lenoir.
. . ~Wc~s~ ~~~-~:f~~i~~f~:~
, . 'liearings on regulations adopted in 1990.
The original regulations, created in
1990 under a mandate from the Water Supply
Watershed Protection Act passed by the state
legisl:uure in 1989, were designed to protect
sources of pure drinking water for towns and
cnies across the stale. They basically set up
two areas around a lake or an intake point
from a river from which drinking water was
drawn: a critical area, one mile around the
water supply point, and a protected area, five
miles around the water supply point.
Watershed iypcs were graded according to
the amount and iype of development that
would be allowed within the critical areas.
A WS-1 watershed was the highest
grade. in which the entire area was essentially
publicly owned and development was not
allowed. Residential developmenr was limited
from one house per every two acres in a
WS-Il area 10 one house per acre in a
watershed graded WS-IV.
Industrial and large commercial
development, like large shopping malls, were
prohibited in the critical areas or WS-Il and
WS-ITI watersheds, which were designated
as primarily residential or agricultural areas.
These restrictions raised the ire of
well-monied and powerful developers. ln the
words of the Charlotre News and Observer,
''The developers realii.ed that the standards
the commission approved in 1990 were real
con1rols. They actually would protect the
water permanently - and thus could threaten
the making of forrunes of the quicker, dirtier
son."
The developers argued thru the EMC
had substantially changed the rules since the
public hearing, and therefore the commission
should hold more hearings.
Leadcrniip for the eonsonium came
from a development project in Durham called
Treybum. The two developers of that project
are Clay Hamner and Terry Sanford. Jr..
Also involved were the North Carolina
Homebuilders Associntion; Duke Power's
Crescent Land and Timber Company; John
Crosland, an intluential homebuilder in
Chnrloue; the Cornwallis Development
Company, which is a subsidiary of Coon
Mills textile company; the backers of an0ther
project called Watt Creek Park, an industrial
development in the City of Burlington's
watershed; and prominent developers in
Guilford County.
Most of the energy for this effort came
from the Piedmont. Some of the smaller
developers in the mountains, and some of the
agricultural interests - like the Fann Bureau :KatilM Journm pO<Jf 26
connections, pulled strings, and contacted
local builders and real estate companies
across the state to pack the local hearings. As
a result the hearings were divided · often
bincrly (sec Koruah Journal #32). Because of
the public interest, the EMC extended the
comment period. They received 2,652 leuers,
the most comment the commission had seen
on any issue except hazardous waste. Ninety
percent of the tellers were in favor of
retaining the stricter watershed conirols.
But apparently hearing rooms are not
where government policy is formed. The
developers pulled strings W1Lh the EMC and
organized a campaign to frighten local
officials about watershed regulation. lf the
watershed protection regulations were kept in
place, they maintained, economic
development in the Stale of North Carolina
would cease entirely. The members of 1he
EMC wilted under the heal. They repudiated
1he1r fonner conclusions and offeted up a
watered-down version of their own
proposals.
Of a panel of six hearing officers, four
supported weakening the rules. and two were
opposed. The four supporters were Virgil
McBnde, Doug Boykin, Robert Griffith,
Carla DuPuy, while Cllnrlic Brady and
Michael Barnes opposed the changes.
Boykin and Griffith are developers
themselves. Virgil McBride was fom1crly a
lobbyist. Although he never lobbied for
development intercsis directly, he worked for
industries closely connecting to development
and construction, primarily the trucking
Orawu,g by Midu,el Thompson
In the end, by a vo1e of 11-5 the EMC
cul the size of the critical area in half, from
one mile to one-half mile in radius. The new
rules doubled the amount of residential
development allowed in WS-JI and WS-UJ
areas, to one house per acre in WS-n areas
and one house per one-half acre in WS-m
areas. Under the new regulations industrial
development and shopping malls are allowed
in the WS-ll and WS-lll areas (only landfills
are prohibited), if they do not discharge
wastes directly into the streams and lakes
from which people will be obtaining their
drinking water. In a WS-IV area industrial
discharge is allowed directly into the scream.
The new, weakened regulations do not
go mto effect until 1994, so developers have
two years to begin projects that would not
come under the junsdiction of any watershed
protection rules.
Bill Holman's assessment is that, ''The
hearings were only for show. Big money
working behind the scenes gulled the rules."
Whereas the earlier watershed
protection regulations were drafted with
assistance from environmentalists, business
people, local governments, and scientists,
'"There was no technical basis in the hearing
record for the changes that were made.
There's nothing in the hearing record that
said it was alright to double tl1e density of
development in protected watersheds. There_
was n01hing in the hearing records that said u
was alright to have indusoial developmenL
The changes were totally political. h was
government behind the scenes," Holman
Sprl.nq, 1992
said.
�Observations by commission mem~r
Barnes seem to verify Holman's conclus10n.
"I never saw any facts and figures 10 change
what we passed in 1990 10 what we have
here today," Barnes Lold the Asheville
Citizen-Times.
Holman said that conservation groups
are going to appeal the EMC vote on the
watershed protection regulations and that they
are going back to the State legislature to ~sk
for more specific drinking water protecnons
10 be enacted inLo law.
The threat to people's health and
well-being resulting from inadequate
protection of drinking water supplies is real
indeed. However, the drinking water
controversy also brings to light broad
questions about how decisions are made in
Nonh Carolina.
The Environmental Management
Commission is the policy-making board for
the Deparunent of Environmental
Management (DEM), part of the Depanment
of Health, Environment. and Resources.
Many of the s1affo~the pEM have.scientific
credentials, but their acnons are gwded by the
EMC, which consists of lay people, chosen
for their influence and political orientations
more than their expertise. And chosen not by
the people of the state, but by !h~ go,vernor,
who appoints 13 of the comm1ss1on s 17
members, and by the lieutenant governo~ and
the speaker of the house, who each appoint
two.
The Environmental Management
Commission makes important decisions, as
the present controversy shows. These
appointed members of a government
commission have great power over sia~e
policy the future of the land, and the hves of
many people. Yet the~ 3:e insulated ~ro.m
informed scientific opinion and pubhc input.
rn effect they constitute a ruling elite,
ostensibly legal and aboveboard, duly
.
constituted by state law, yet more responsible
10 powerful special interest groups a_nd state
power brokers than to any democrauc
institutions or interest in the natural
environment.
The actions of commissions like the
EMC are shielded from public panicipation
and control, and are carried out largely
unnoticed except in cases such as the
drinking water proteetion controversy. The
public does not often get to see the degree of
power wielded by the members of _th:
Enviromental Management Comnuss10~ and
the others like them, much less to be pnvy to
the directives coming from the high officials
who appointed them. l~ their ~c~ons ~ere
more visible, the resulung pohc1es rrught be
quite different.
People need clean drinking water.
Aquatic habitats need protection from
development. And the power of "government
behind the scenes" must be broken.
- by David Wheeler
BIG IVY
The hiker moves quietly, in awe of the
great trees beneath which she walks: u_ntil she
is brought up short by a splash ofbnlban1
color on the forest floor. A small cluster of
the rare Gray's lily shine in the dim forest
light. A short way down the the trail her eye
is drawn by the bright yellow of broadleaf
coropsis, and, there! - t~e pale be~uty of~
bleeding heart plant. This clearly 1s a special
place. This is Big Ivy.
.
Located in the Black Mountains beneath
the much-visited Craggy Gardens, the Big
rvy area is less well-known but. in its own
way, equally as beautiful and scientifically
perhaps much greater in importance than the
popular scenic attraction above.
Big Ivy contains large areas of
old-growth forest and a long list of rare plant
and animal species. Thirty-two rare plants
(including 18 listed as "rare" in the State of
North Carolina and 14 species that are
"watch-listed" in the state) and eight rare
animal species inhabit the area.
The large patches of old-growth
forests, a disappearing habitnt in the Sou.thern
Appalachians, account in part for the vanety
of unique species in Big Ivy. But an unusual
geological formation has given to the area
soils that are "circumneutral," nearly neutral
in pH, compared to ~e aci<l;ic soils gene~ly
found in the mountains. This has resulted 10 a
number of plants and plant as~iati~>ns n?t
found in other areas of the Katuah b1oregion.
Big Ivy is critical to the overall biodiversity
of the Southern Appalachians.
But all is not idyllic in Big Ivy. Because
of its diversity, the area has c_ome under
much scientific study, and sc1enus1s feel that
conditions in Big Ivy are declining largely
due to timber sates, which have caused loss
of endangered habitats and rare species as
well as fragmentation of the irreplaceable old
growth forest. The area is at a critical
Drawing by Mich11el Thomp,on
Spri.NJ, 1992
moment: there are healthy habitats and
populations yet in Big Ivy, but each
succeeding activity in the forest m~es new
inroads into already-threatened habitat areas
and further tips the balance toward
irrevocable destruction.
The big trees, however, offer an
irresistable lure co loggers and the US Forest
Service which concrols the area. In July of
1991 th~ Toecane Ranger District rel~ a
draft environmental assessment for a nmber
sale in Sugarhouse Cove. The assessment
designated approximately 2,3~ acres of
timber in the project area as ''swtable f~r
cutting." Mentioned in the plan altem~nves
was the construction of about four miles of
new road into a previously undisturbed area.
The response from area scientists and
environmentalists has been blunt and
passionate. Local biologists and botanists in
particular, have offered Lhe USFS the
benefits of their research and learned
opinions about how a logging ope~tion.
would affect the rich diversity of this unique
area.
Among them is Jim Patrenka, a
.
biologist at the University ofNonh Carolina
Asheville, who in a scoping letter.to the
USFS informed the agency that his research
indicates that every acre that is clearc~t in
Sugarhouse Cove will mean the derruse of
some 3 200 salamanders, including members
of rare ~d threatened species. This is a death
rate, according 10 Patrenka, that will ~ a
chronic depression of salamander populanons
in the area.
Biologists in other specialties share
Patrenka's concerns. In the past, accord!ng to
local activist Haywood Greer, planned umber
sales in the Big Ivy area hav~ caused. some
friction between Forest Service officials and
scientist.s working with the Nonh Carolina
Wildlife Resources Commission, who
objected to the damage that would be done by
the logging activities. Other i:e~hers have
found lhm p1m timber upc:niu~~~ in the area
have decimated local commumues of
sensitive plant species, such as goldenseal,
whose recovery has been very slow, if the
species is recovering at all.
Right now the proposed lo~ing in
Sugarhouse Cove is on hold.~n~ng further
studies of the plant commumn~,; 10 tJ:ie
planned sales units. These s1ud1es will be
carried out this spring. Hopefully they,
combined with the weight of scientific_
opinion, will dissuade the Forest Se~1ce .
from carrying out their plans to cut umber m
Sugarhouse Cove.
AnOLher action being considered by the
Forest Service is the construction of riding
trails through Big Ivy for the benefit ~fa
nearby commercial riding stable. While.some
people would be able to have pleasant rides
through the old growth f~st areas, they
would unwittingly be cau~m~ severe effects
10 the forest they were enJoying.
Big Ivy does not need 10 be logged or
suffer rides-for-pay 10 be of value. The area
is of greater value as it is: This val_ue can be
maintained by only one sunple acnon: to
leave it alone. Big Ivy is just too special to
end up being just another timber sale.
• by Emmm Grw1djgger ond David W~elcr
~
�Wblz Wisdom (01' the Two Uggeds
DRUMMING
DearKatuah,
I found your anicles on the past
history and possible future desirability of
human use of fire to influence Southern
Appalachian ecology t0 be most interesting,
and l believe that fire could be a valuable tool
for ecosystem management At pxescnt we
have 100 much early successional habitat in
Kauiah, and we should, for now, lay down
the tools (such as fire) that reverse
succession.
Organic matter is a critical element in
the regeneration of new forest soil. The soil
organic mauer harbors the life of the soil. It is
where microorganisms live, grabbing
nutrientS and cycling them back into plant
growth, instead of losing them to erosion or
leaching. Microorganism.~ also attack rock
particles, breaking them down 10 create new
soil.
Organic mauer also keeps I.he soil
cool and moist, protecting plants' fine root
hairs and giving I.hem a fertile medium in
which 10 grow, thus keeping up plant growth
and production.
Burning destroys organic mancr, and
we should be encouraging and conserving it
to nourish the next generation of I.he forest
There is also I.he possibility that the
greenhouse effect will result in massive fires.
We need to protect the forest against that as
well.
Since the arrival of the white man,
cool, moist habitatS have been greatly
decreased, and xeric, hot sites have been
greatly increased throughout the region as a
whole. There arc plenty of overgrazed slopes
near human habitations which would suppon
pines and oaks. If we want pines, let's plant
them on overgrazed hillsides. If we want
oaks, let them invade our pines.
Cool, moist, habitats are under auack
in Katuah, while hot, dry ones are all too
abundant Don't play with fire.
Sincerely,
Jesse Jones
Asheville.
Swannanoa River Watershed
Dear Ka11lal1 staff,
What I'd like 10 know is this: how
do you do it?! lime after time you people
keep coming up with inspiring themes and
relevant materials and then laying it all out in
visually inviting spreads which seem to get
beucr and better all the time?
David Wheeler's anicles in the recent
Fire issue, as is usual with his work, speaks
so clearly and comprehensively. Rob
Mes~ick's excellent organic artwork produce
depth and flow. I can't imagine the
tremendous amount of work, much I'm sure
donated, going into the production of each
Katuah! What a sense of pride it must be for
all involved when it finally slides together
and goes to print.
Being an "outsider" from over in the
Ohio ruvcr Bioregion, I find the journal none
the less relevant and immediluely meaningful.
At our Solstice gathering l passed the latest
issue around and many jotted down your
address, so expect to hear from Lhem soon.
(Raves on Rob's tunle on the back cover).
Hoping the coming seasons bring all
of you much peace and contentment,
inspirations and joy.
Sincerely,
Dave Ort
Phoc,, councsy or lhc Mounl.lDI Hcriiqc Center
Dear Editors,
l discovered Ka111ah Journal at
Mountain Crossings in Blairsville, GA last
summer. That well worn issue has been
re-read on many occasions - its time 10
subscribe!
While I currently don't reside in
Katuah, this summer I'll be moving closer 10 Cherokee County, GA. r wani to rap into
the Kauiah spirit and become aware of the
environmental issues and concerned people
of the area. The Appalachians have always
been like home for me, maybe because I
spent my childhood summers there.
Keep up the good work and positive
efforts.
Piss not into the water,
nor on any mother, child, or father.
Water is not the proper medium
to relieve repeated bladder tedium.
Piss off the walk, path, pavement, or road,
piss not on flowers, birds, or toads.
Piss near, never on, the plants and trees
where no one cares, hears, or secs.
To kill poison ivy or athletes feet
join Latinos: peace on cet.
Never piss in the same spot twice,
not anywhere that h's not nice,
nor within the sight of prigs or wardens.
Piss near borders, hedges, gardens.
Piss on national, state,
jurisdictionnl boundaries
on conventional and nuclear weapons
foundaries.
Follow wolf and coyote
10 the reaches of your domain.
Piss on dogturds and cowpies,
mountain and plain.
Piss not on the trail, campflIC,
bed, or nursery,
nor writing cursive, cursorial, or cursory.
Piss not on any creature, especially fishes,
nor hasty love, slow rage, good wishes.
Piss not on tools, machines,
electrical devices,
electric fences, antennae,
nor ho1wire splices,
not TV sets nor video games,
tho' temptation may be great.
Piss on prejudice, injustice, hate.
Piss on all oil spills and spillers.
Piss on dream-, plant-, or animal killers.
Piss on soil and compost heaps,
never on sailers, flyers, or creeps.
Piss on dirtied or painted stones
on sca1tered or unburied bones.
Put piss little by little where it belongs,
nor in sink, creek, spring, or ponds.
Give proper pisscrs privacy and honor.
Piss on llfe-pissers, messers, conners.
Piss on anyone caught on fire
with anything less than true desire.
Piss not intO Lhe wind nor in the water
but on the idea that it doesn't mauer.
- version read at Coifee House one night,
Fall,1990
by Erbin Crow.from his legacy
SPRJNG
Sincerely,
Nancy Moreland
Kasuah Peoples,
Another tender, angry, beautiful, and
compelling year of Kamalr Journal! This last
year's writings and illustrations were
exceptionally insuuctive and reverent. In
what other publication does lhis combination
of an, education, acnvism, and prayer exist?
1 love you very much,
Nancy Ligni12.
Old winter has retreated
10 the nonh, her snowy remnants
wasting into pools that feed
the swelling bulbs and heave
life fonh • all bursting cells
and swarming molecules.
· Caroline Rowe Marrens
�SAVING WILD SEEDS
by Lee Barnes
Individuals should sttive to collect,
preserve and increase their bioregions'
remaining wild and cultivated plant genetic
diversity. (See "Seed Saving to Preserve
Biodiversity," Ka11,ah Journal# 32). While
the best means of protecting a region's
genetic heritage is by preservation of large
areas of natural ecosystems, we can collect
seeds and cuttings of useful wild plants and
further increase these plants in our gardens
and backyards. The most valuable,
irreplaceable, and exportable resource of a
region arc copies (seeds, cuttings, etc.) of its
unique genetic heritage, the value of which
far exceeds any mineral or energy wealth
which could be exponed. Talce care not to
collect over a quarter of an individual plant's
seeds, leaving plenty for wild animals and
natural seed disaibution and renewal.
Wild-plant seed collection and
germination techniques vary greatly from
those commonly used with normally
cultivated fruit and vegetables. Our cultivated
varieties have long been genetically selected
and modified over historical times by
gardeners who selected for ease of harvest
and unifonn germination. It is preferable to
collect seeds of wild-plants which grow
within one degree of latitude (about 70 miles)
and from similar elevations to which they are
to be grown. This is to maximize the
favorable selection of locally adapted genetic
traits which will result in winter hardiness,
and other adaptations to local growing season
and regional micro-climate.
Wild seeds commonly mature and are
released over periods of several weeks.
These seeds are genetically programmed 10 be
released, remain donnant through winter, and
then germinate irregularly over long periods
of time. This trait serves as generic insurance
by preventing all seeds from sprouting at one
time and perhaps be lost to a major natural
catastrophe, such as major drought or fire.
The simplest seeds for the wild
seed-saver to collect and save a.re the "dry"
fruit seeds (nuts, dry legumes, sunflower,
cattail, grasses, etc.). These dry-fruits mature
and release relatively "clean'' seeds which can
be collected and stored with a minimum of
cleaning and processing. Most seeds need 10
be cleaned of any remaining fruit pans (chafl)
to reduce disease and insect damage during
storage and germination. Most "dfy" seeds
need to be dried to six 10 ten percent
moisture, then stored at low temperatures and
low humidities. Plant seeds which are usually
"dry-processed" include apple, pine, spruce,
fir, sumac, and grapes.
The most important factors affecting
seed life are humidity changes and storage
temperatures. Seeds for planting should be
stored in moisture-proof (also insect and
animal-proof) containers. Save only "sound"
and firm seeds and nuts. Some seed-savers
place a bay leaf in their storage containers to
repel bugs. (Anyone know of local herbs for
~is purpose?). Storage in wide-mouth glass
Jars with rubber gaskets is ideal. Preferably,
store these at low temperarures between
Drawing by Rob Messick
Spri.nq, 1992
40-32° F. - each 9° F. decrease in storage
temperature below 80° F. (to 32°) will
commonly double seed longevity.
Plants which produce "fleshy" fruits,
(such as persimmons, berries,
jack-in-the-pulpit, etc.) require additional
cleaning and processing. Aeshy fruits
encourage natural disaibution by being
"tasty" to animals and humans. These seeds
often require additional processing by being
passed through an animal's acidic gut, or by
natural fermentation by microbes to remove
the fleshy fruit tissues. Fleshy fruits
(especially members of the Solanaceae plant
family) can be processed by a honicultural
process called "fennentation," whereby
mashed-up fruits nre allowed to fennent to
destroy pathogens and chemicals that inhibit
germination. Then the seeds arc separated
from the pulp, washed, dried, then stored.
Another technique to separate small
seeds from their fruit is called "floatation."
Small fruits are "mashed" and soaked in
water for several days, so that
microorganisms can Stan 10 soften and digest
the fruit pulp. This partially digested fruit
pulp is then mixed with additional water and
processed by being agitated in a blender
using short "pulses" (or by rapid whipping
with a whisk). Healthy small seeds then settle
to the bottom where they can easily be
collected by pouring off the floating "pulp"
(some plants have seeds which normally float
- look for whole, uniformly shaped and
colored seeds). For better results, replace the
steel blender blades with a shon piece of tire
rubber so as to cause less damage to the
seeds. This technique is successful with
fruits of dogwood, strawberries, persimmon,
holly, juniper, magnolia, and sassafras.
Most wild seeds of temperate zone
crops require additional handling to duplicate
the natural conditions of cold winters. These
seeds require a cold, moist "stratification"
period to overcome genetic and
environmental blocks to germination.
Temperate wne plantS have biological means
of counting time ("internal clocks"), and
measuring day-length and "chilling"
temperatures. These seeds will not grow until
their internal clocks are satisfied with a
sufficient number of genetically detennined
hours of effective chilling (for example,
requiring a minimum number of hours
exposure - hundreds to possibly thousands of
hours of temperatures between 4S O and 3S 0 ).
Examples of plant seeds requiring moist
stratification include beech, walnut, many
oalcs, and filbens. It is especially imponam if
you collect wild nut trees to be sure to collect
seeds from areas which have similar numbers
of chilling-hours as the location where you
plan to grow them.
Another factor to consider when
choosing to grow plants from seeds is the
mnturation period of many long-lived
perennial plants (esp. fruit and nut trees).
Perennial trees and shrubs must grow
through a genetically influenced maturation
period before they begin to flower and bear
fruit (a son of transition from juvenile to
sexually mature, adult phase). These plants
are usually propagated by asexual means (not
involving seeds, but by cuttings or grafting).
Most of these plants produce seeds by
cross-pollination, and do not reproduce
"true-to-type" (the offspring are not
necessarily similar to their parent-plants)
from seeds, and may hove long maturation
periods. By asexually propagating fruiting
trees (cuttings, budding, etc.), one can select
superior plants (such as with larger fruit, or
tolerance to pests) and produce genetically
identical rooted planrs. These rooted cuttings
from marure trees will usually produce fruit
in just a few years, thus skipping the I ~20
years (or more!) before fruiting if grown
from seeds.
Seed longevity (defined as the average
period during which seeds can survive and
then grow) falls into three categories slum-lived (need to be sewn immediately or
within days/weeks of collection, and never
allowed to completely dry out); medium-lived
(months to S-10 + years); and /011g-lived
seeds (which may remain viable IS to 100
years, and arc able to survive until
environmental conditions are favorable for
germination.
Shon-lived varieties (spring-seeded
maples, serviceberry, paw paw, persimmon,
and sumac) - must not be allowed to totally
dry or they will die. Some seeds must be
sown immediately upon release from mature
fruits to prevent funher development of
growth-inhibiting chemicals which affect
their ability to grow. This group includes
Franklinia, trillium and many
difficult-to-germinate seeds.
Most medium-lived temperate wne
plant seeds (most K.aruah native plants)
require cold, moist stratification, whereby
seeds are stored in moist conditions (in moist
peat or sand) at 32-40° F. for two 10 three
months to overcome internal blocks to
(continued on p. 30)
Xatuah
Journot
P°'J& 29
�germination. Ao easy way to treat these
species is by mixing cleaned seeds with i:qual
pans of moist sphagnum moss or coarse sand
(in a medium that is moist, but not too wet squeeze out excess water!) in moisture
retaining conrainers (zip-lock bags work
well) stored at normal refrigerator
1emperarurcs (40-45° F). Many long-lived
seeds (thick-seeded legumes, water lilies,
morning glories) require physical thinning of
thick seed coats by microorganisms, or
hastened by partially filing, or nicking
partially through the impervious seed coats to
allow passage of gases and moisture to the
donnant embryo.
Saving wild seeds for home
germination is the first step in establishing
wild-food gardens in your back yard. (avoid
trying to transplant mature plants from the
"wild" - this is rarely successful due to
massive root-damage, and also saips the
natural habitats of productive wildlife foods
and new plants). Native agriculturists first
cultivated wild plants which natu:rally
established themselves from seeds and
discarded roots thrown onto their trash-heaps
(original "compost" piles!) and disturbed
areas (fire cleared areas, etc.). ff one can
provide the proper growing conditions, the
low-input culture of these planiS will allow
easier plant gathering without excessive
demands on the diminishing wild
populations.
Earing wild and "semi-wild/
semi-cultivated" plants in "season" will
provide one with fresh, nutritious foods and
a "reunion" with the cycles of nature.
Eat weU and give thanks for 1he tasty
gifts of our Green Spirits!
C.S. Schopmeyer. 1974. Suds of Woody
Plants in tM United States Fon:st Service, USDA
Agriculture Hnndboolc No. 450. USDA. 883 pp. •
TIIE reference for seed handling and gcrmin3tlon of
188 genera of woody plants ruuive or IUIIW'lll'faed in
the U.S. Very detailed with additional rcfcn:nccs.
fbrry Phillips. 198S. Growing and
Propagating Wild Flowers. U.N.C. Press, 331 pp.
$14.95 • especially well-written !llld beautifully
illustraled rcforencc on seed nnd spore p~tion or
native NC plants. Includes calendar of blooming d:ues
and commercial plant production timetable. &ccllentl
BURNING BUSHES
Azaleas, with mouths aflame,
Plant Propagation References
Ignite the mountainside each spring:
Hudson Hanmann and D. Kester. 197S. Plant
Propagation: Principles and Practicer. 3rd Ed.
Prwlic:c-Hall, 662 pp.• the defmilive text-book on
plant propagation l The-Ory and practlcal inro.
cry out In tongues no man can claim,
lheir ancient message siuling.
Michael Dirr and C. Heuser. 1987. Tiu!
Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation: From
Sud to Tisiue Culture. A Practical Working Guide to
the Propagation of Over I 100 Spt1cies, Varietit!f and
Cultivars. Varsity Press, 239 pp. - TIIE guide 10
propagatlon or woody plants used in Nonh America.
Includes prcfcmd l)l'Oll0gation ICChniques (seed,
cuttings, cu:.}, as well as. seed treatmc,us and specific
rooting percentages, etc.
Caroline Rowe Martens
ddu of the Big Cove dance
tpeak• of traditions and tinp tb.c
Booger Danu,
Com
Dance and • dotCJI 01hcrt with
drum and ranle.
c...,.n
WHERE TIIE
Get a set of 10 assorted
folding cards with
artwork you see in
Katuah Journal.
(Envelopes included.)
byRobW~ck
Send $11.25 postage paid
to:
Rob Messick
P.O. BOX 2(,()1
BOONE, NC 28607
RA YENS ROOST
~
Chcrolcce traditional
tonp of Wallcc:r Calhoun
__,._...,...,
CA.11111'1 ANO IOC*UT
It WAIL Sil
....,..
ATTil&c:e,ru$JO
MOI/NTAJN tlurrAGl ~
Wll'l'Ul< CAIIOUl'IA Utll\llllSITY
Cuu.ow11D, NC l87ll
(704)227-7129
Spring, 1992
�I•:.,,.
tt•· r ,.
9
Sustainable Agriculture and Regional Diet:
Annotated Resources
These l'CS0W'0CS were nx:ommendcd by KJlumh
ConlribulOl'S as their favorites. Price estimates are
included for reference and may not be currcnL Most
are in print or available from Inter-Library loans. A
more complete liSt ( 11 pps. w/ 117 resowces) is
available from Lee Barnes (P.O. Box 1303:
Waynesville, NC 28786) for S2.50 ppd. or send five
or more annOla!Cd resources for a liee copy. Ho!
Sustaioab(c Agrirollocc
Trauger M. Groh and S.S.H. McFadden. 1990.
Farms ofTomorrow: Communiry Supporttd Farms;
Farm Supported Communities. Biodynamic Farming
and Gardening Associalion. Inc. 169 pp. About
$12.00 - begins with several essays on the
philosophical underpinnings of CSA's (Community
Sponsored Agriculture), then describes 7 successful
farms, and concludes with practical info on slllrting
and managing a CSA. Valuable to both CSA
growers and sharers.
Jeavons et al.1983. The BacJcyard llomuttad
Mini-Farm. & Garden I.A)g Book. 10 Speed Press.
196 pp., 58.95 • gives economic data about intensive
gatdening income profits.
Eliot Coleman. 1989. The New Organic
Grower. Chelsea Green. 269 pp., $19.95. excellent
guide 10 beginning mlltket gardeners, stressing the
8-ycar crop rotnlion developed by Coleman,
including inlClScedcd green manure crops, etc.
Robert Rodale. 1971. The Basic BOQk of
Organic Gardening. Rodalc Press. 377 pp•• a classic
(and inexpensive) inlrO to organic gardening
principles and techniques. If you buy only one Rodale
Book, buy this one!
Sustaioabtc Piel t FQQd PcrsccvaOoo
Cherokee, 19th, and 20th Century recipes used by
sculcr; on Hazel Creek, in Ille Cire.u Smoky
Mounmins. Includes information on historical
cooking Lechniqucs uulizing mostly regionally
produced foods.
Jerry Conner. 1991. Eats From IM Peaks
Carolina Mountmn lleritage Cookvy. Ridgetop
Assoc. Pubt.. 111 pp.• $14.95 - modern adap!Otions
of trndilional recipes by n mastcr cheri Delicious!
Mary Ulmer. 1951. Cherolc4!t Coolclore.
Self-publ. 71 pp.· tradilional Cherokee recipes. Great
mush!
Stephen Facciola. 1990. Cornucopia: A Souru
Book ofEdible Plants. Kam pong Pub!. 677 pp.
$35.00 • i.ncrcdibte botanically arranged guide to
edible plnnts, the best of its kind! Describes over
3000 edible plants Md lheir commercial .sources.
Extensive review of cultivars of over 100 major food
planlS. LislS 52 pages of domestic. foreign and
commercial sowces for these plants. Exten~ive
Bibliography and appendices. Chcclc It out!
Lee Peterson. 1977. A Field Guide to Edible
Wild Plants of Easttrn and Ctntral North America.
330 pp. $9.95 · illustrated with plant grouped by
habitat where they can be found.
Paul Hlltnel and Mary Chiltoskey. 1975.
Cherout Plants and Their Use.s • a 400 Ytar 1/istory
. Self-publ.. 65 pp•• reference to 450 plants used by
the Cherokee, including botanical names and uses.
Noc illustrntcd.
Tom Brown, Jc. 1985. Tom Brown's Gui.de to
\Vild Edible and Medicinal Plan1s. Berk.Icy Books.
241 pp. S7 .95 • another in a series of spiritually
sensitive guides to co-surviving with wildness.
H.ighly recommended!
Stanley Schuler and E. Schuler. 1973.
Preserving the Fruits of tht Earth; How to 'Put Up'
Almost Evuy Food Grown in the United States in
Almost Everyway. Galahad Books.· 234 pp.·
general chapters on methods or food pre.wvation
(drying. smoking. brining, etc.) followed by a most
complete encyclopedia of foods and tl1eir common
preservation methods.
USDA. 1977. Canning, Freaing, Storing
Garden Product. USDA Agric. Info. Bull 410.86
pp. Free· Excerpt from 1977 Yearbook of
Agriculture. Gardening/or Food and Fun. Ovczview
or canning and drying techniques • This is
representative of nU/ll(l'()us free publications available
through your Agricultural Extensioa Service. Be sure
to chock out other tax-paid resoun:es available.
Bcginnnl Cookbooks t wna-PJ;int Eocai:1011
John Freeman. 1985. Survival Gardening and
Survival Gardening Coolcbook. John's Press, 102
pp., $10.95 ea. · excellent guides 10 sustaimtblc.
healthy food growing and pre~n. Thorough
coverage of human nulriti011:1.I needs and how to meet
these using foods from the garden.
DW1J1C Oliver. 1990. Cooking on /laze/ Creek:
Tlit Best of Southern Mountain Cooking.
Sclr-publishcd. 261 pp., $13.95 • ll'lldiLionaJ
Spri.tuJ, 1992
Deborah Lee. 1989. Exploring Nature's
Uncultiva~d Garden. Havelin Pub!. 195 pp. $14.50 •
extmotdinary guide to wild foraging which deals with
eastern and west.em philosophy and sensitivity to
plants. Very highly recommended!
Nccessruy Trading Company: Box 305; New
Olstlc, VA 24127. offers wide vllricty of organic
glltdcning supplies, naturnl pest controls, cover crop
~.etc.
Sandy Mush Herb Nursery; RL 2, Surreu
Cove Rd.: Leicester, NC 28748 (704) 683-2014 •
extensive Iisling of herb plants, unusual perennials,
CIC. (Cat. $4.00)
Edible Landscaping; Box Tl; Arion, VA
22920 • specializing in locally-adaptCd, pest-resistant
varieties of common and unusual fruits.
Qcenoizatioos t Nmslcuccs t blaeazioes
The Mountain GardtfU!r Ntwslt!Jtu from
Organic Gardening Cooperative; Rt. 3, Box 409-N:
Sylva, NC 28779 (ncw/monlhly). sponsors
monthly moctings (3rd Wed.ncsdoy, 7:00 pm) at
Jackson Co. Library (Sylva).
Appropriate Technology Tranefu to Rural
Areas. ATTRA 1991. ATTRA l-800-346-9140 -a
fedemlly-funded resource organization aimed at tnilarcd
information-search for assisling commercial and
production-level clients (their funding limits their
ability 10 help backyard, individual growers). Have
helpful Resource LiSIS. "Videol:/Slides/Tapcs oo
Sustainable Agriculuue• (18 pp). "Sustainable
Agriculture Organizations and Publication LiSt (24
pp.), etc •• Also produce lnformation Packages on
diverse info such as "Green Crops and Gtccn
Mllnurcs; "Direct Marteting." CIC. Excellent
resource! Writennd thnnlc your officials forconlinued
funding of this experienced, J'eSOW'Ceful, enlhuswtic,
and dedicated group.
The Virginia Association for Biological
Farming; Box '252; Flint Hlll, VA 22627 •
non-profit organizalion, co-ocdimucs organic
cenificalion, seminars, Flltm Held D3ys, and
farmer-to-farmer networking. S25.00 year.
Carolina Frum Stewardship Association; Box
511; PillSboro, NC 27312 -organic ccnification for
both Carolinas. Involved in LISA grnnts, on-farm
demos, and annual Farm F'ield Days.
The U.S. Dispen.flltory. (any editioo prior
1930.) • invaluable info on plants, their makeup and
how olficially used at the tum of the century (avail.
for SS0-100 from used boolc dealets).
Tennessee Alternative Growers Association;
Rt. 2, Box 46-A-1; Indian Mound, lN 37079
Bceioool Sctd aoa r1001 Spoo(i«:cs
Georgia Organic Growers Association: 1185
Bend Creek Trail; Suwanee, GA 30174
Southern Exposure Seed EJtchange; Box 158;
North Garden, VA 22959 (804-973-4703) •
specializes in heirloom varieties adapted to the
Central Virginia Mountains. Recently founded "Seed
Shares TM: The Gardener's Seed Bank", a project 10
distribute extremely rare plant Cultivars. Also sells
Seed Saving Supplies. (OIL $3)
~
R.H. Shumway; Box I; Gmniteville, SC
29829 (C:u. $1.00) • dependable, well established
(since 1870) seed house specializing in traditional
varieties. Also southern ad:lpted fruit and nut
variclies.
Kalmia Farms: Box 3881: Chnrlotlc.sville, VA
22903 • spccialiJ.CS in multiplier onions. shallolS and
garlic,
)C.Qtuafl Journot J)O()C 31
�Parld~ Gardens
(con:linocd Crom p. 4)
- The (re)integration of needs: not to lhe
market for food, the spa for exercise, the
doctor for healing, theatre for entertainment,
school for learning, studio 10 create, church
for inspiration, etc., but to lhe garden for all
these ar the same rime.
- Enriching the garden with useful and
beautiful species and learning to incocporate
them into our lives. We begin, of course,
with the present and potential natural
vege1ation, to which may be added species
introductions from similar areas worldwide;
then sUgh1 modifications of the environment micro-habitat enhancement - and lhe resultant
possibilities for new species: a paleue of
plants, a Cornucopia• never available 10
previous generations.
- Hand labor. We all have two hands,
one lifetime, 24 hours in every day. These
are "democratic" factors. Working by hand
on a small piece of land we can create a
Paradise with relevance for all. Money, and
machines can not get us there any faster, in
fact can't get us !here at all. They only lead us
astray.
•••
We live during a narrow window of
opponuoity. Having come, at lase, to lhe
realization that a revolutionary shift of
consciousness and lifestyle is required, we
find that we have only a few generations in
which to complete the changes, before it will
be too late to make a ttansition (environment
degraded, resources depleted, species cxtinc1,
soils eroded/polluted, population doubled ...).
Our enemy is a paper tiger because it
cannot deliver the goods. The world waits for
examples: to be shown, llOI told, a better
way. Paradise Gardening is vastly more
meaningful than the 'biodomc' experiment,
and anyone can play.
We have been putting thls off for too
many lifetimes now.
Commuaity Sp(IIISC)ttd Agriculture
(continued from p. 6)
Blowing In the Wind
Now we arc told that modem farm
inputs make unprecedented levels of
production possible. Without heavy spending
on inputs lhe world supposedly could not
suppon all its people. We have absurd
quantities of petroleum and natural gas going
into food production, leaving an eroded,
salty, toxic wasteland behind. We should
know beuer, no matter what our twin "big
brothers" of government and industry say.
The most basic rule is balance. We
want balance between opposite polarities,
heaven and canh, silica and Lime, grass and
clover, bee and canhworm, give and take.
This also means balance between people,
plants, animals, microbes, and minerals.
With balanced crops and livestock, rhythms
and activities build up momentum within the
fann organism. This rule implies that the
greater the diversi1y the greater the health and
stability of the farm. That is something to
think abouL
In the past five years hundreds of
CSA's have sprung into being across lhe
continenL It is an idea whose time has come.
It is catching on. A few bits of land here and
there arc being turned into healthy farms
again. Wealth made at the expense of the
countryside is seeking its return. In half a
century we may no longer see com to the
horizon in a toxic cloud.
On lhe one hand we face slavery and
ruin due to our own hypocrisy and moral
poverty - giving ourselves up to the good old
new world order. On the other hand more
and more people are taking responsibility for
their own Lives by way of home birthing,
home schooling, alternative medicine,
recycling, edible landscaping, and building
energy smart, non-toxic homes. CSA's are a
natural developmenL We have a choice.
geographically and emotionally. Instantly
we recognize in each other a shared
experience that is purely American. intense,
evocative, and yet of which very few
people can speak.
In !heir eyes I sec bitterness, guilt,
denial and nos1algia all at the same time.
Many of these ex-farmboys are very
successful by city stanclards. They have no
more tie to the land than a vague frustration
of being tom without emotional healing
from their roots. I have often thought that
the way we, as a society, raise farmers is a
very good way to raise the kind of farmer
who so thoroughly hates the land that he
would wish to wreak vengeance upon il for
not giving him the life he wanted or was
told 10 wanL At the very least these
fannboys are suffering from heavy psychic
wounds.
War is a good analogy for what we
have done to ourselves and our land.
Clcarcuts and plowed prairies are
devastated, barren places. Modem,
environmental warfare, which threatens the
fertility of the land, extends the acts of
aggression to furure generations.
Some of us have begun to sec the
Earlh as sncrcd ground. We realize that
whatever our occupation, farmer or not, we
are sustained by lhe fruits of the Earth. The
real challenge of Earth stewardship is not to
rcrum 10 some slavish peasantry, wiling
relentlessly upon the soil, but to sec the
way (The Tao) in which the rhythms of the
needs of man, can fit into the rhythms of
nature.
My vision of the future farmers of
America is men and women who are able to
combine the very best of themselves with
the cultivation of the Earth. r would like to
see farmers celebrate the fenility of the
land. I would like to sec the balance
between the needs of an individual and the
getting of nourishment. I would like to see
the plowing of a field done with grace, as
an act oflove, quietly waiting for the right
moment, then turning the earth gently,,., #
reverently.
fr
llqh lo\lCI is a biodynamic and CSA/ar~r
maruting in the Atlanta. GA ar~ At his/arm, Unu,n
Agricu/11ua/ Institute; Rt. 4, Box"63S: Blairsvilk,
GA 30512, llugh restarchn rtgtntrarive ogricult1Uc
and is tk\lC/oping local cu/ti vars of ltafy g r ~
(continued from p. 19)
"You see the beauty of my proposal is
Jr needn't wait on general revolution
I bid you ro a one-man revolution
The only revolution tlUJJ is coming"
(Robert Frost, "Build Soil")
• Corn11COf11a. S. Facciola. Kampong Pub.,
1870 Sunnse Dr., V1SU1, CA 92084. Astounding new
pubhQltion. Three lhousand edible species, many
more lhousnnds of culliva,s, sourocs of supply .ind
infonnation for c.ich entry
ltH /loll,s mttnds 10 product anothtr amclt
dtalmg mL>rt wtth local practice. /It is also
dn<tlopmg a ~,.sfe11u b) and/or fJ<fJOnJ, engaged ,n
t!M! rtaliuuu,n cf Parodi~ os a gartkn PltOJt stnd
,a-nts. and sugg6tions UJ him at 3020 Wht1t
Oai. Cruk Rd : Burn.rvtllt.NC 287/4
l'ho4o COUJ1eSy of Ille Mo11n1ain Hcn1.1sc Ccnll!r
:>i:A\hmh Journot JXUJe 32
Spnng, 1992
�o.
(continued from page 8)
I
J
!4'1 ,
•ft -,
.,.
just keep the meat out in the smokehouse. It
was nothing to kill two or three yearlings to
make the beef. My grandfather, he know'd
how to blister beef and hang it up. He'd bum
hickory wood to where it would just be
a-making the smoke. We would cure hog
meat and smoke that as well.
We'd cook a piece of that ham down,
and it would naturally-born have brown
gravy. Yeah! Not guessed at. I know by
experience.
We'd always make sure to have greens
in the spring, greens in the fall. In August,
when we was plowin' the com for the last
time, we sowed late greens in amongst the
com. We'd sow turnips and rutabagas
mostly.
As soon as everything was put up, we
started fall plowin'. We didn't have these fast
tractors that can plow everything in a day or
two, so we'd plow whenever we got the
chance. We tried to get as much done in the
fall as we could. And we plowed in the
winter, if we were able. I've plowed many a
day and it was snowing.
It was a lot of work, back then,
growing all our own food. But everybody
did it. If anyone wanted to go out and do that
now, I'd have only one thing to say ro them:
"Get busy!"
Halph Garrell is 71 years old, still
working as a mason, and still living in his
hometown · Sylva, NC in the Tuckasegee
Rivu watershed.
This article was excerpted from a
conversation with Ralph recorded by David
Wheeler and Avram Friedman on Jarwary 29,
/992.
Painting by Susan Adam
Kalmia Center, Inc.
Sylva, NC
(704) 293-3015
Custom tilling, organic fe:rtilli:ers, kelp meal,
colloidal phosphate & many more products
and services for abundant gardening and
healthful living.
f'~.~11<\
"I
told
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Talking ua,-es isa mon1hly
JOUfDA) of d~ ecology, inspired
pm;onaJ aeriv1sm roo1ed Ill earthen
sp,nruali1y. Pa.'il tSSUeS have
fea1ured articles by Gary Snyder,
Slarbawk, Jobn s-i, Joanna
Macy, Bill Devall, Lone Wolf
Circle!>, Barbara Mor, ecc.
Ta/Jcj11g ua,-es ,peaks for the
oarural world and for the rekindling
of our oWD wild spmt.
Subscriptions arc SI 8.00 one
year/ S24.00 outSide U.S.
Talking UOl't'S
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Eugene, OR 97401
503/342-2974
,prl.n9, 1992
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tlluncll II ptOpitOOWIIUlnldol\1Alld I'm ""' ff I OIi lullw lllem I woutan I
•Ill IO QIIN'CU!t II 111W datllls f«91' 11
TIii ll\S- IS IIO , - no!''
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Don't Pay Taxes for War
,fc,tlT'I It
I\ 11'\d '"•
0
I! l
National War Tex Resistance
Coordinating Committee
REGIONAL RADIO
Featuring Crossroads music, NPR news and music
programs, regional news and information
concerning health, education, government,
recreation, and the environment.
PO Box 774 Monroe, ME 04951
WNCW- FM r.O. Box804 Spindale, NC 28160
12071525-7774
(704) 287-8000
�Si.las ~tcDowen -~n1inucd from p. II ,
,
husbandry supplemented by a woolen cloth
fac1ory. Are these the only iu:ms of new
indusuies our moumain section is capable
of?"
He went on 10 suggest one more. "I
have recently learned tha1 a man studied Fish
culture, constructed him a lhree-acre pond
near the city of Atlanta, Ga., and then from
Florida procured a can of eggs of the Scaly
Trout species." After hatching lhe eggs and
raising lhe fish to marwity, lhe man realized
an income of fifteen lhousand dollars in one
year.
Wanting to anempt a similar venlUie
with mountain trout, McDowell had a small
pond build amid a grove of oaks near his
home. ',Oeir feed will consist of lhe waste
from the kitchen and table, with all small
animals tha1 come my way, chopped up fine,
supplemented by a lazy ca1, in an emergency.
1bere is nOlhing but lhe lack of a pure srream
and vim to hinder any man having a mountain
fann, to do the same thing, and have fat trout
for breakfast every day lbe year lbrough."
McDowell lived long enough to see lhe
impact of extractive industries on the
mountain environment. When Western North
Carolina's first corundum mine opened near
McDowell's farm in 1871, he turned a
disaster into a blessing.
Thiny years before, a flood had swept
across the best portion of his farm, "a fertile
bonom field of about 50 acres." McDowell
described the damage, " I found !hat field, on
which I expected to make forty bushels of
com to the acre, to be a miniature Sahara of
white sand, and would no longer pay lhe
expense of resetting and keeping up the
fences." The field had remained in !his
condition until the coming of the corundum
mine, which was polluting the Cullasaja
River. "As the mine was worked by means of
a hose-pipe, a red stream of clay and water
came running down the mountain's side
defiling our beautiful river and Cb8$ing away
lhe fish."
•"
• ·,•
ft occurred to McDowell that he could
protect the river and reclaim his field at lhc
same time. ',Oanks to Sir Samuel Baker for
his suggestions in relation 10 redeeming some
of the African desens by silting chem with the
muddy watc.rs of the Nile. And I forthwilh
applied to Col Jenks, who controlled the
mine, for leave to run a ditch down the
mountain from lhc mine to my sands - a
distance of three-fourths of a mile. The next
thing I did, was to throw up a dike on the
river side off the bottom, 10 hold on lhe sands
the muddy waters until they are absorbed - a
thing not hard 10 do, as the sands swallow
them up very fast and 'thirst for more.' The
water of my ditch performs the carrying
service of ten dump cans, and does the thing
for nothing and we may add, loads itself.
This enterprise I view as my last act in life's
drama, and I feel ambitious to do the lbing
well, and make my bes! bow to my
fellow-farmers as the curtain drops."
Silas McDowell died in 1879. His life
work, promoting agricultural practices
appropriate to the region, endures. McDowell
brought curiosity, ingenuity, perseverance
and humor 10 the task, qualities that would
enhance any effons to renew mountain
agriculture as we approach the 21st century.
01992
Perry Eury and his wife, Laurel, are the
founders of Kalrrua Center, Inc.. an org011iwtion
devoted 10 Sfl!Will'dship of the land in •die,u;e to
God Kalmia Center is a ,wn-profit organiu11ion
ojferiflg sv.ices and produasfor abundant gardening
and healthful living.
Perry is completing a btx,i, entitled
Appalachian Arcadia: Mouniain Fnrms and the _~
ProvidcnceofN31Un:.
~
HAWK'S HOOPS
A unique experience in
Designing, Creating, and
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Jenti1ah Journal Pt196 34
REVIEW:
"APPLE PIE IN YOUR FACE"
as American as you
a cassette by Robert Hoyl
To paraphrase Edward Abbey, "lf
you're going to fight for your country, you
have to take on the government."
Roben Hoyt remembers one moment
that had a profound effect on bis life. He was
leaving nonhem California after combatting
corporate power and FBI harrassment as pan
of the effon to save the old growth forest
during Redwood Summer, 1990. A friend
met during lhe action gave him a hug and
said, "Roben, you're a good American."
This insight crystalliz.ed in Roben's mind,
and when he arrived back home in Georgia
he wrote it down as a song:
"All you good Americans
read between the lines
Help your siblings everywhere
w open up closed minds
Stand up to those who are ro blame
For crimes commi11ed in our name,
All you good Americans
Things can't stay the same."
Roben Hoyt "grew up a child of the
military complex," moving from base to
base. Yet somewhere along the way he found
a vision of hope for a different kind of
"American." His vision includes act.ion for
peace, racial equality, and the environment; it
involves compassion for animals and his
fellow human beings. lt also involves outrage
that lhe dreamkillers have a comer on the
national vision. Roben has launched a
personal crusade to assign a new meaning to
the word "American."
Robcn's original, guitar-driven music
is about that struggle against the powers both internal and outside - that want to kill lhc
world and stifle the human spirit. His
newly-released cassette, as American as you,
is a musical treat. The acoustic folk sound
provided by Robcn, David Ormsby (bassist),
and friends is fast-moving and crisp.
Roben's unique singing voice is elecll'ic,
charged with intensity and truth. His lyrics,
too, are charged particles !hat do not abide a
stagnant complacency, and if one harbors
secre1 staShes of illusion, prejudice, or
selfishness, they can sting. Yet to those
whose hearts arc open to the world, the
songs of Roben Hoyt arc energizing nnd
enlightening.
. The S~uth has a new regional pocL
W1th his guuar, a paraplegic cat, and a lot to
say, Roben is staning to travel more beyond
his home city of Atlant3. Lisicn fOr him!
We1I be hearing more from Roben Hoyt.
-DW
'as American as you" is available on
cassette/or $JO postpaid from Folk-the-Boat,
8 ox 2355; Decatur, GA 3003 I
Spri-n9, 1992
�Emergency Appeal for
European Seed-Saving Groups
Political changes in Europe have not
only upset govemmems. but have threatened
the survival of over a dozen grassroot
seed-saving and rare animal pre~rvation
organizations. Nancy Arrowsmith, a
well-published seed-saving promoter ~ow
living in Austtia, repons that the resulung
chaos threatens the survival of numerous
non-governmental organizations (NGO's)
involved in seed-saving projects and the
potential loss of irreplaceable varieties of
vegetables, grains and rare animal breeds.
In her article, "Emergency Appeal For
European Seed-Saving Groups"(l 991,
Harvest Issue, Seed Savers Exchange), she
outlines the activities of over a dozen
organizations and provides contact addresses
to which donations may be sent. These
groups are solely responsible for the
preservation and dissemination of
open-pollinated, non-hybrid plants and rare
animal breeds.
For more information contact Nancy
Arrowsmith, clo Noah's Arie; Postfach 139: A-3500
KreMU/ Donau, Austria. (DonaJions should bt! by
checks made out in U.S. Currency).
For a photocopy of the article men1ioned, write
to Lu Barnes: P.O. Bo:;c 1303: Waynesville, NC.
28786.
"The arc.i's old~
and larg~t natural
foods grocery •
Bulk Herbs, Spices, & Grains
Vitamins & Supplements
Wlieat, Salt & Yeast-Free Foods
Dairy Substitutes
Hair & Skill Care Products
Beer & Wine Making Supplies
200 W. King St, Boone, NC 28607
(70-1) 264-5220
Listening to the Military
"Save Our Rivers":
The Armed Forces Listening Project,
created by the Rural Southern Voice for
Peace based in the Celo Community,
Burnsville NC is looking for "a few good
men and women" to survey active-duty
soldiers at miJitary bases throughout the
world.
The Listening Project (see Kanlllh
Journal #24) is an open-ended survey
designed to involve both the listener and the
speaker in a joint vemure of discovery. The
Anned Forces Ustening Project is designed
to stimulate nationaJ discussion about
alternatives to violence, bridge ideological
boundaries, and stimulate discussion about
issues of personal responsibility and national
ethics.
Topics for this Listening Project will
vary depending somewhat on the location,
but will include: solving intemationaJ
conflicts without violence; solutions to racial,
religious, and ethnic strife, civilian-based
defense, and especially questions generated
by previous Armed Forces Listening
Projects.
The Arnled Forces Listening Project
was begun at the US Marine base Camp
LeJeune, where conscientious objectors
to the Persian Gulf war were being
court-manialed The Project subsequently
traveled to naval bases at Norfolk, VA and
St. Marys, GA. The Listeners found
that sailors displayed "a strong streak of
pragmatism." They were surprised that half
the sailors interviewed were in disagreement
with the Gulf War. HaJf the speakers also
voiced suppon for nonviolent solutions to
international conflict But as important as the
stanling answers that they heard, were the
effects on the interviewers of personal
contacts with military personnel. Volunteer
Lois Miller said, "The Listening Project was
a revelation to me. I had no idea that I would
encounter such depth of feeling from big,
tough Marines."
To take pan in future chapters of the
Armed Forces Listening Project, write: Rural
Southern Voice for Peace; 1898 Hannah
Branch Rd.; Burnsville, NC 28714 or call
{704) 675-5933.
The Cassette Tape
The Town of Highlands, NC_ h!IS
obtained a permit to dump half a million
gallons of wastewater per day int~ the scenic
Cullasaja River. Appeals, both neighborly
and legal, have so far proved futile.
This river has always been used for
recreation. Since ancient times it has been
used for the Cherokee Indian ritual of Going
to Water. Since 1837 local churches have
held baptisms in lhe river.
Local musicians have rallied and
produced a tape containing original songs by
Barbara Duncan and gospel runes sung by the
Foxfire Boys. Barbara sings "Save Our
Rivers," the group's theme song; "You Don't
Miss Your Water Til Your Well Runs Dry,"
written years ago but unfonunately still
timely; "Go Fishin'," "the only real love song
she has ever written," according 10 her
husband; and the beautiful ''Rainbow
Springs."
The Foxfire Boys were recorded live in
a concen in Clayton, GA. The churches of
Macon County, panicularly the Baptisis,
have united in the effon to protect the
Cullasaja.
The tape "Save Our Rivers" is available
for $10.00 postpaid from Save Our Rivers;
Box. 122; Franklin, NC 28734.
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Prospect Hill, NC 27314
(919) 562-3073
)(.ati&an Joumm poge 35
�The Katuah Tapes
TURTLE ISLAND
BIOREGIONAL CONGRESS V
POPULATION EXPLOSION
"ln the next seven years the population
of Nonh Carolina will explode. Are you
ready?
'The August issue of MaIUTiry Market
Perspectives predicted Nonh Carolina will be
fifth in the nation as a retirement choice. This
is in addition to the regular population
movement from Florida to North Carolina.
"Seeking to escape from a nightmare of
pollution, high crime, water shonages, and
traffic congestion, these re-retirees are
heading north ..."
This is not a warning to county
commissioners and planners to have their
1.0ning ordinances in place. This is a call to
action for developers and real estate investors
from Green Watch, an environmental
newsleuer for the real estate indusuy.
(Environmental? Yes, "the financial
environment of real estate." as the paper's
masthead proclaims in green ink.)
Another word of environmental
wisdom from Green W01ch; "Remember,
they aren't making any more Nonh
Carolina."
- - life's nec1:Ssitiesfarlas - -
Tara Clayton, a long-time friend of the
Kat1wh Journal from Rougemont., NC, is
May 17-24
Camp Stewart, Kerrville,
near San Antonio, Texas
Every two years people gather from all
the bioregions of the Turtle lsland continent
10 communicate and celebrate the bioregional
movement at the Continental Bioregional
Congress. This year the event is being held in
south central Texas.
The focus of the 1992 Congress is on
Circles of Change. These are levels of work
ar the gathering and in people's home
bioregions:
- Mapping and Organizing
- Links of Communication
- The BioregionaJ Story
- Living at Home, and
- Ecosystem Conservation and
Restoration
There will also be time devoted to
sharing biorcgional cultures, men's and
women's gatherings, and young people's
activities.
Admission will be by preregistration
only and all registrations must be received
before May l. Registration is $225-300 for
adults, $100 per child aged 3- 11. All food
and lodging are included for the entire week
of the Congress. Checks should be made
paynble to "Realistic Living· TIBC V."
now recording the contents of each issue of
the journal on cassette Ulpes "for the purpose
of reaching elderly Native Americans in the
Veterans Administration Hospital in Durham
and for nursing homes as well."
Others who are interested in procuring
recorded versions of the Katuall Journal may
be able to purchase tapes from Tara.
Anyone who would like 10 send n
donation to help this idea along is encouraged
10 do so, as funding for the project is limited.
ConlOCt:
TaraClayr.on
Box461
Ballama, NC 27503
Mail to: Realistic Living; Box 140826;
Dallas, TX 75214.
FRENCH BROAD Fooo Co,oP
90 Bn.TMOR£ A ~
~ AsKEvu.LE
(704)255-7650
your community
grr,«ry•tou
....,.,....,...... 10,_.. ....,....... ,,..
....................
EARTH KIN
Programs to 81'1COU'oge
58lf and Earth oworeoess.
celetl<allon. kl~p and hope
O~<::?Jto
c\....., S c ~ s
l'\UI\"\..$
to""°'itlG- t.ool(.S
CA.~~s
~086~ 1804
~-\)~'l, M.c.
Q.871$-
• You1h Camp& • School Program,
• Fam,ly Camp& • Teacher Tnalning
• CommUOlly
Union Acres
Programs
• Camp Slal1 Tra,n,ng
• Ou1door Prog,.m Conl\Jllong
An Alternative
j
PO 800C 130C>
Gottinbl.fg. Teme~ 37738
61 S-43o-6203
NATURf\L MARKET
WHOLE FOODS • BI.Jl..K
FOODS • VITAMINES • HERBS
• FAT FREE FOODS• TAKE
OlJT FOODS • SNACKS • NO
SALT, NO CHOLESTEROL
265 2700
823 Blow,ng Rock Rd
Boone, NC 28607
Acrolgtfur Salt - Smoky Mountain living
with• focus on spiritlllll and
«ologiclll tlQ/ues
For more information:
Contact C. Grant at
Routt 1. &x 61/
Whittier, NC 28789
(704) 497-4964
whole earth
grocery
•
NATURAL
ALTERNATIVES
FOR HEALTHFUL
LIVING
-146 c J>.lrkway cr~ft center • suite 11
g;,tlinburg. tcnn~
37738
615-436-6967
�ECHOES OF AVERY • a cassellC recording or songs
writlen and performed by Avery Q>uniy, NC
elementary school Sllldcnts with artis1 in residence
Thad Beach. Historical songs with II regional
flavor, lyric reciiaLion and singing. Casscuc liner
includes lyrics. Send $4 .95 (includes posiage} io:
Thad Beach; RL 2, Box 422, Waynesville. NC
28786.
THE RJVER CANE RENDEZVOUS 1992 • is on
April 28th - May 3rd a1 Unicoi Staie Park an
Georgia featuring in-depth canhskills training,
tools & techniques for living in the natural world.
Over a dozen top.ranked instructors including Snow
Bear, Dany Wood, Doug Elliot, Tammy Beane,
Jim Riggs, John & Geri McPherson. Scott Jones,
Sieve Wa:us and Oierolcee elders Walker Calhoun,
Eva Bigwiteh and Eddie Bushyhead. $145.00
regisualion includes meals. For more info eontac1
Bob Slack c/o Unicoi SLalC Park; Helen, GA 30545
(404) 878-2201.
BEGINNING CHEROKEE LANGUAGE BOOK·
supplemenled with two casseues. Slll:Sses alphabet
& proper pronunciation. The first textbook wriuen
for use in IC8Cbing and learning the Cherokee
language. (346 pages) S39.95 plus $5.00 shipping.
Catalog also available with ca.~ . books. pipes,
dance slicks, drums, feathers, furs, buffalo products
and more. Craft supplies also available. (plcaso
specify). Send $2.00 to the Muskrat Trader; P.O.
Box 20033; Roanoke. VA 24018.
HIGHLANDER CENTER - is a community-based
educational organization whose purpose is to
provide space for people to learn from each other.
and to develop solutions to environmenlal
problems based on their values. experiences. and
aspirations. They also publish a quarterly
newsletier called Highlander Reports. For more info
contact Highlander Cerucr; 1959 Highlander Way:
New Mankel, 1N 37820 (615) 933-3443
PCEDMOm' BIOREGlONAL INSTITIJTE · For
those who Ii vc in the Piedmont area, there's a
biorcg.ional effon well undc.way. Join Us! We
would appreciate any dooalion or Lime or money to
help meet opcra1ing expenses. For a gif1 of $25.00
or morc, we will send you a copy oCJohn Lawson's
journal, A New Voyage to Carolina. Also come
find ou1abou1 the Lawson Project PBI; 412 W
Rosemary S1ree1; Chapel Hill, NC 27516;
Uwharria Province. (919) 942-2581.
EARN $200-$500 • wcclcly mailing travel brochures.
For informal.ion send a siampcd 3ddn:.sscd envelope
to: Galaxy Travel, lnc.; P.O. Box 13106; Silver
Springs, MD 20911.
I WV£ TH£ EARTH - a casseue recording of
environmental songs by the GrcaJ Smoky
Mo110U1ins JnsLi1u1c at Tremont in celebration of
the 20th anniversary of Eanh Day. Includes "SCAT
rap," "Tho Garbage Blues; and morc. S9.95 plus
$2.50 shipping for each tasSellC. Mail Otder plus
check to Grea1 Smoky Mountains N&1uml History
Associauon: 115 Park HcadqWlltCrs Rd.:
G11Llinburg, TN 37738.
NATIVE AMERICAN CEREMONIALS Hnndcrafled Native American Ceremonial supplies,
include Drums. Cus1om Pipes. Medicine B3gs,
Swcctgnw, Sage, Feathers, Rawhide R:ur.Jes,
Tobaccos. Pipe Bags, Native AuteS, and more! For
free catalogue write: P.O. Box 1062-K Cherokee,
NC28719.
• Spf1,n9, J992
NATIVE AMERICAN CEREMONIAL HERBS • we
offer a lllrge variety of sages, sweet gross, natural
resins, and evcsything necessary for smudging.
Native smoking mix1urcs, 0ute music, pow-wow
tapes, and ceremonial songs. EssentW oils. and
incenses specifically made for prayer, offering, and
meditation. For catalog call or write: Essencial
Dreams; Rt 3, Box 285; Eagle Fork; Hayesville,
NC 28904 (704) 389-9898.
SUMMER APPRENTICE WEEK JULY 3·9 Weekend opt.ion, July 3·5. Wtth Wise Woman
Tradition leacher Whitewolf. Workshops, weed
walks, harvesting medicinal hetbs, Moonlodge,
Women's Spiri1uali1y. Beautiful location one bouJ
from Asheville. Cornfonable dorm or tenting:
vegelari3n meals included. Sljding scale.
work-exchange avai.lable. Write: Wolf, P.O. Box
576; Asheville, NC 28802.
THE ALTERNATIVE READING ROOM· is an
unconvenlional library, free and open to lhe public.
Our collection interests include lhc envll'Ollllleni.
social and poliLical issues, lhe media and peace. We
have over 200 magazine suMCripLions. The book
and video collections also emphasize the
environmcot and political concems. Books and
VCR's can be checked OUI. A VCR player is
available for watehing films in lhc reading room.
Located 812 Wall St #114: Asheville, NC 28801
(704) 252-2501. Mon/Wed/Fri 6-Spm • Tues/Thur
1-8pm • Sat/Sun l-6pm
COHOUSING COMMUNITY BEING FORMED·
in lhe Asheville area Residenis organize, plan, and
design a cooperative community where individual
homes cluster around a common hoUS8 with shm.d
facilities- laundry, workshops, children's room,
dining room, cu:. Opponunitles for energy
efficient, ecologically sound land use. Inquiries
invited. Contact: John Senechal; P.O. Box 1176;
Weaverville, NC287&7 (704) 658-3740.
A VIDEO ABOUT LAND TRUSTS • has been
produced by lhe Land Trust Alliance to explain in
layman's tcnns what a land trust is. 2.7 million
acres of land have been saved by nonproli1 land
trust organizations in America, This video
documents this movement's successes. Cos1 is
S2l.00 for individuals and $14.SO for LTA
members (include $4.SO for J)OSl3gc). Contact: The
Land Trust Alliance; 900 17th SI. NW Suite 410:
Washington, DC 20006 (202) 785-1410.
HAWKWIND EARTH RENEWAL COOPERATIVE
- is o 77 acre wilderness reucot locatcd on Lookout
Mountain Parkway in norlhcm Alobama. Easy
access, safe family camping, year round weekend
programs fealUring Nalive American elders and
earth teachers from around lhc world. Strong
spiritual foundation with Earth Renewal emphasis,
membership discoun1 co-op. There is no charge for
Native American ceremonies; rescrvali.ons rcqu.irod
for all visits please. Childcare often available.
Wriie: P.O. Box I I; Valley Head, AL 35989 (205)
635-6304. For quancrly ncwslcuer 1111d program
updlucs send S10.00.
TURTLE ISLAND PRESERVE· Summer Youth
Camps nre a unique cnvironmcnlal education
experience_ Learn primitive living skills,
Appalachian Mountain living skills. ond Eanh
awareness.
• Boys Camp (ages 11-17) June 28 -July 11.
•GirlsCamp(ages 11- 17)July 12-July 18.
• Junior Youth Camp (ages 7-10) June 14 • 20.
For more info conlaCt: EuslllCC Conway; RL I.
Box 249-B; Deep Gap, NC 28618 (704) 265-2267.
LIFETIMES & AGES - a new release from Bob
Avery-Grubel full of new age vocal music
~ploring lhe mystery or life - lyrics included.
Available on casseuc for SI0.00 plus :SJ.00
shipping, and oo CD for S 15.00 plus $1 .00
shipping. Send to: Bob Avery Grubel; Rt. I, Box
735; Floyd, VA 24-091.
DAVID & CATifY BROWN • known by lheir
friends as Ahwi & Wohali arc looking 10 network
wilh people who live in lhe Katuah area and who
wan1 to form o community along tradilional
Cherokee lines as closely as possible. They are
both of Cherokee-Scots hcricage. They have lhree
home-schooled boys who would like some pen
)'31s. If you are inierestcd in ne1WOrking conlllCt:
Ahwi & WohaU Brown: 1915 Buckley Sireet;
Chattanooga. TN; Chickamaugan D1striel 37404.
• Webworking costs! T~re is now a charge ofS2.JO
(pre-paid) per entry of50 words or lus. Submit
entries for Issue #35 by May 15th 199210: Rob
Messick; Box 2(,(JJ; Boone.NC 28607. (704)
754-«>97.
Alternatives ...
The Diuctory of ln1tntio11al Conumu1111e., is lhe product or 1wo years of intensive rcscarcil, and is lhe mosl
comprehensive and accuraic dirccLOry a,ailable. II documcnis the vi~ion nnd the daily hfc of more than 350
communi1ies in Nol'lh America, and more than 50 on
other continenL~. Each community\ listing includes
name, address, phone, and a dcscnJ)tlon of lhe group.
Ex1CDs1vc cross-rclercnc mg and imkxmg makes the information =y 10 access for a wide vanc1y of users. Includes mnps, over 250 addiuonal Resource listings. and
40 rel3tcd a.rucles.
32!1 P3gcs
8-1/]:,.l l
Perfectbound
Ocwbcr 1990
ISBt,; Number:
0-9602714-1-4
$16.00
Adil S2.00 postage
& h3Jldling for first
book. S.50 for each
additional; 40%
discount on orders
of 10 or more.
Alpha Fann. Deadwood, OR
(503J964--5l02
...
�18
GIU".AT SMOKU:S PARK
·Gourmc1 Gnvin' in Ille Great Smolucs·
class will le:leh edible pl.int ID and preparation
Pre-register S30. For mfo on this and other field
courses, comact Smoky Mounlain Field School,
Un1v~1y of Tcmiesscc, Non-Credit Programs,
600
Henley St.. Suite IOS, Knoxville, TN 37902.
(800) 284-8885.
21
ASHEVILLE/CLEVELAND
National Day of Outtage Against
the US Forest Service. Let the forests live!!
Demonstrations wiU be held at 11 am al
Forest Service offices in Asheville, NC and
Cleveland, TN. For infonnation about the
Asheville action, call (704) 299-0860 or
(704) 586-3146. For information about the
Cleveland action, call (615) 524-4771.
GREAT SMOKIES PARK
Spring WildOowcr Pilgrimage. G u,ded
walks to the bcs1 wlldOowcr Siu:.s in the Parle.
lntcipretative prcscnllllions each evening. Conl3CL
23-25
evencs
SWANNANOA, NC
Annual Western North Carolina
Environmental Summit will be hosted by
Warren Wilson College and include
infonnation on current issues, workshops
and a legislative update. Pre-register:
contaet WNC Alliance; Box 18087;
Asheville, NC 28814. (704) 258-8737.
BLACK MOUNTAIN, NC
"Facing the Automobile Crisis" cransportation issues conference will
examine NC's ttansponation priorities and
feasible alternatives. Man:ia Lowe, senior
researcher with Worldwatch institute,
keynote speaker. Workshops, panels. Ar
Camp Rockmont. Pre-register: $75-125
includes meals and lodging. Contact WNC
Alliance (704) 258-8737 or (704)
689-5988.
4
28-5/3
MARCH
4
18
FULL MOON/ WORM MOON
21
SPRING EQUINOX
21
SWANNANOA,NC
Foll Moon Sweat Lodge beg.ins at
noon. Fat info about participaiing, and dau:.s of
GSMNP; Gatlinburg, TN 37738. (61S)
436-1262.
24-26
Oilier monthly full moon lodge ccn:monies, con1a0t
The Earth Cenlcr, 302 Old Fellowship Rd.,
Swannanoa, NC 28n8. (704) 298-3935.
27-29
BOONE, NC
African Drumming Workshop, presented
by Rhythm Alivcl at H1l11Dp Haven Rctrc3t Center.
Prc-rcgi5uauon rcqwred: drums available eo rent for
lbe woricshop with advllllCC notice. Coniac1 Akal
Der Shatonnc 01 (704) 264-1384. for info on Olher
dlUmming workshops and events, con111e1 Rhythm
Alive!; Box 3331; Asheville, NC 28802. (704)
255-8020.
KNOXVILLE, TN
River Rescue - cleaning up the
fLTSt 50 miles of the Tennessee River. Help
the Clean Water Project clean up the river!
For infonnation, call the Center for Global
Sustainability at (615) 524-4771.
9
18-29
VALLEY HEAD, AL
ASHEVILLF.., NC
Forestry Commission Forum w1U
Seventh generation Cherokee herbalist,
Medicine Bear (D. Walt Burchcu) will :Juw
knowledge abou1 lhc use or plants during a 1wo diay
workshop. Pre-rcgisier: $125. For info on lhlS and
n~~.ct WOllcshops, comact Hawkw,nd Eartb Renewal
Cooperative; Box 11; Valley Head, AL 35989.
inv11e di5cussion of forest use and wildlands
preservation. Co-Sl)OnSOl'Cd by Sierra Club and
other group~. Contact Nick Stcfanou at (704)
685-3881.
(20S) 635-6304.
Environmental and Earth Skills Famil)•
Gruhcring, with Hawk and Ayal HW1'1. Fire by
friction, uacl:ing and $Ulll<1ng, sptnt animal
journeys, plant and medicine walks, llinllulapping,
cordage nnd hide 13ruling. Adults: $80, chi~:
S70. Contac:1 Long Bl'OIICh Environmcnwl
Education Center: RL 2, Box 132; Lc1ces1cr, NC
28748. (704) 683-3662.
APRIL
3-5
SWANNANOA,NC
ApprcntJce cias:; with Morgan Eaglcbcar
will e.tpl~ IJlc proper use of herbs and other
'1calmg tools from the Native American
perspective. First clllS.~ in a four-pan series. For
info on Lhii and other classes, con1ae1 The Eanh
Ccnlet. Sec 3/21.
Xouiah JournaL p~ 38
'
10-12
17
LEICESTER, NC
HELEN, GA
''Rivercane Rendezvous" is
Eanhskills !raining, tools, and techniques
for living in the natural world. Instructors
include Snow Bear, Drury Wood, Doug
Elliott, Tammy Beane, Jim Riggs, and
Cherokee elders Walker Calhoun, Eva
Bigwitch and Eddie Bushyhead.
Pre-register: $145 includes meals. Contact
Bob Slack, Jr., Unicoi State Park, Helen,
GA 30545. (404) 878-2201.
MAY
1-3
TANASr RIDGE
Bchane (May Day) Gatbc:ring BJ
Morningstar Farm. May pole, song, dancing.
Celebrate High Spnng! For informntion and
uavcl directions, call (704) 586-3146.
1-3
ROAN MOUNTAJN, TN
34th Annual Roan Moun111m
WildOowcr Tours and Birdwalks. Con111e1 Ro:in
Moun111in Sl3le Park at (615) 7n-3303.
Fl;LL MOON /PTNK MOOS
Drawing by Rob Mel.Sick
Spr~»9. 1992
�··:KATUAH
2
WFSTF.RN NORTH CAROLINA
Clean SIJ'Callls Day will involve
coordinated clean.up in Buncombe, Madison,
Henderson and Transylvania counties. For info
and lrnShbags, contac1 Quality Forward. Soc 4/6.
MARSHALL, NC
Spoon Carving WOl'kshop is an
introduction 10 lmditional woodworking IOOls and
rcchniqoes, iaughl by Drew Langsner.
Pre-regis1cr: SISO includes meals and camping
(dormilory also available). For info on this and
other woodworking classes. conU1C1 Country
Workshops, 90 Mill Creek Road, Marshall, NC
28753. (704) 656-2280.
KONFUSION =·
Rob Messic\<.
coniact Great Smoky Mount:1ins lnslltulc at
Tremoni; Rt I, Box 700; Townsend, TN
37882.
(615) 448-6709.
JUNE
HOT SPRINGS, NC
"Taoist Medilation for Beginners" will
include instruction, group mcdiuuion, and periods
or silence. Led by Linda Gooding Md Sllaron Reif.
Pre-register: S145 includes vegan meals Md
lodging. For info on this and other retreats, conLaC1
Southern Dhnrma Rctre31 Center. RL I, Box
34-H,: H01 Springs, NC 28743. (704)622-7112.
5.7
16
FULL MOON / FLOWER
MOON
2·3
9-10
VALLEY HEAD, AL
Earth Slcills workshop with Darry
Wood. "Wilh a knife. on axe, and a saw, I can
mnke a life in lhe woods.· R~l and
undcrsianding are what allow us lO live ligh1ly
on lhe land. Hawkwind Earth Renewal
Cooperative. See 3/28-29.
14-18 CHEROKEE NF
Sou!hPAW Spring Council. Join
the region's biocentric environmental
group to plan forest rescue and !he
Kan1ah evolutionary preserve. USFS
appeals, paving moratorium, Earth skills,
non-violence training for direct action,
and more. At Jennings Creek area. For
travel directions and info, caJI (615)
543-5107 or (704) 299-0860.
GREAT SMOKIES PARK
Spring Naturalis1 Wccl(cnd is a chance
lO lewn about the natural hisiory oflhc park
Crom local cxpertS. lnstruciors will include Dr.
Mike PellOn, Dr. Fred Alsop, and Dr. Ed
Clebsch. Pre-register: S75 includes meals Md
lodging. For info on lhis and other progrnms,
15-17
KERRSVILLE, TX
The Fifth Tunic Island Biorcgional
Congress. Bioregional people from across the
continent will gather 10 celebrate and sll':llCgi1.e
an ecoccnlric way of living. Pre-register:
$225-300 includes meals and lodging. ConlllCt:
Realistic Living; Box 140826; Dallns, TX
75214. (903) 583-8252.
17-21
The Black Mountain Festival.
Four days of great music with Goose
Creek Symphony, Norman and Nancy
Blake, Ada Korey, The Chicken Wire
Gang, Brooks Williams, songs and
stories for children wiLh Bob Rosentahl,
Ian Bruce from Scot.land, Steelorama
reggae, the Flying Mice, other
performers, and more dancers than ever
before! $65 for the duration. For more
info, call (704) 669-2456.
CHEROKEE, NC
Sieve Moon, shell engravings. and Joel
Queen, s10ne sculplUl'C and pouery, in a
two-person show at lhe Musewn of lhc Cherokee
Indian.
30
WAYNESVILLE, NC
Bead Weaving workshop: me peyote
stilCh for medicine or spirit bag weaving.
Pre-register. $30 plus materials. For info on this
and olhcr programs, conl3Ct Sl.il-Ligh1
Theosophical Retreat Center; RL I, Box 326;
Waynesville, NC 28786. (704) 452-456
/,
-
Spr~. 1992
-
'
Kaluah Province 28748
For more info: call Rob Messick a1 (704) 754-6097
PO Box 638 Leicester, NC
Regular Membership ........$10/yr.
Address
Sponsor.........................$20/yr.
Contributor.....................$50/yr.
State
Zip
FULL MOON
20
SUMMER SOLSTICE
AMONG THE TREES
Katunh Rainbow Tribe Solstice
Gathering. Somewhere in lhe national forest brothas
and sisters will gather 10 create a magical village or
love and lighL Location Md exact dates 10 be
annoWlCed. For information wriie lO HO! Newsle11er,
Box 5455; Allania. GA 30307, or call Allanta
Rainbow Light Line, (404) 662-6112.
17(?)-21
Enclosed is $::----- to give
!his effort an extra boost
12-14
MASSANETT A SPGS., VA
6th Annual National Forest
Refonn Pow Wow will include group
discussions, workshops and field trips 10
view several forest management
techniques. Pre-register: $76-122 includes
meals and lodging or campsite. Contact
Forest Reform Network; 5934 Royal Lane
(Suite 223); Dallas, TX. 75230. (214)
368-1791.
3-10, 13-16, 18-20, 22-24, 26-27, 29-33
- - - - - - -- - - - - - - - -
Ke°UA~OURNAL
Name
15
23-24
- -- -- - -- -- - - -- -- - --- - --- -- - --
City
JOHNSON CITY, TN
"Places and the Displaced" is drama
inspired by lhe quinccntcnninl of Columbus's
voyage, written and performed by The Road
Company. Box 5278, Johnson City, 1N 37603.
(615)926-7726.
22-25 BLACK MO UNTAIN, NC
BACK ISSUFS OFKATUAH JOURNALAVAILABLE
34
9-13
----
Back Issues;
Issue# __@ $2.50 = s.--Jssue # __@ $2.50 = $•--Issue# __@ $2.50 = s.--lssue # __@ $2.50 = $____
Issue# __@ $2.50 = $_ __
postage paid $_ __
Complete Set:
(3-10, 13-16, 18-20, 22-24, 26-32)
postage paid @ $50.00 = $_ __
Phone Number
XA~ JournaL page 39
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians Records
Description
An account of the resource
<em>Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians</em>, later simplified to <em>Katúah Journal</em>, was published from 1983 to 1993. A quarterly publication, it was focused on the bioregion of former Cherokee land in Appalachia. <br /><br /><span>The early issues of the journal explain the meaning of the Cherokee name, </span><em>Katúah</em><span>, and why the editors wanted to view the world through a bioregional lens, rather than political boundaries. A volunteer production, the editors took a holistic view in tackling social, environmental, mental, spiritual, and emotional topics of the day, many of which are still relevant. </span><br /><span><br />The <em>Katúah Journal</em> was co-founded by Marnie Muller, David Wheeler, Thomas Rain Crowe, Martha Tree and others who served as co-publishers and co-editors. Other key team members included Chip Smith, David Reed, Jay Mackey, Rob Messick and many others.</span><br /><br />This digital collection is only a portion of the <em>Katúah</em>-related materials in the W.L. Eury Appalachian Collection in Special Collections at Appalachian State University. The items in AC.870 Katúah Journal records cover the production history of the <em>Katúah Journal</em>. Contained within the records are correspondence, publication information, article submissions, and financial information. The editorial layouts for issues 12 through 39 are included as are a full run of the Journal spanning nearly a decade. Also included are photographs of events related to the Journal and a film on the publication.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
This resource is part of the <em>Katúah Journal Records </em>collection. For a description of the entire collection, see <a href="https://appstate-speccoll.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/937" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Katúah Journal Records (AC. 870)</a>.
Rights
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The images and information in this collection are protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U. S. C.) and are intended only for personal, non-commercial, and educational purposes, provided proper citation is used – i.e., Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians Records, 1980-2013 (AC.870), W. L. Eury Appalachian Collection, Special Collections, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC. Researchers are responsible for securing permissions from the copyright holder for any reproduction, publication, or commercial use of these materials.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1983-1993
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
journals (periodicals)
Language
A language of the resource
English
Type
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Text
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
<em>Katúah Journal</em>, Issue 34, Spring 1992
Description
An account of the resource
The thirty-fourth issue of the <em>Katúah Journal</em> focuses on sustainable agriculture and regional diet. Authors and artists in this issue include: Joe Hollis, Hugh Lovel, Ralph Garrett, Peter Bane, Perry Eury, Allison C. Sutherland, Bear With Runs, Mark Schonbeck, John Ingress, Lee Barnes, Charlotte Homsher, Rob Messick, David Wheeler, Emmett Greendigger, Michael Thompson, James Rhea, Dawn Shiner, Troy Setzler, Erbin Crow, Caroline Rowe Martens, and Susan Adam. <br><br><em>Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians</em>, later simplified to <em>Katúah Journal</em>, was published from 1983 to 1993. A quarterly publication, it was focused on the bioregion of former Cherokee land in Appalachia. The early issues of the journal explain the meaning of the Cherokee name, Katúah, and why the editors wanted to view the world through a bioregional lens, rather than political boundaries. A volunteer production, the editors took a holistic view in tackling social, environmental, mental, spiritual, and emotional topics of the day, many of which are still relevant.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1992
Table Of Contents
A list of subunits of the resource.
Paradise Gardening by Joe Hollis.......3<br /><br />Community Sponsored Agriculture by Hugh Lovel.......5<br /><br />"If You Didn't Grow It..." by Ralph Garrett.......7<br /><br />Eating Close to Home by Peter Bane.......9<br /><br />Silas McDowell's Vision by Perry Eury.......11<br /><br />Poems by Allison C. Sutherland.......12<br /><br />Native Foods by Bear with Runs.......13<br /><br />Cover Crops by Mark Schonbeck.......15<br /><br />Plan for Tomorrow: Hemp by John Ingress.......17<br /><br />Katúah Cultivars by Lee Barnes.......18<br /><br />Blowing in the Wind by Charlotte Homsher.......19<br /><br />The Web of Life: A Katúah Almanac by Lee Barnes and Rob Messick.......20<br /><br />Good Medicine.......22<br /><br />Natural World News.......24<br /><br />"Whose Rules?" by David Wheeler.......26<br /><br />Big Ivy by Emmett Greendigger and David Wheeler.......27<br /><br />Drumming.......28<br /><br />Saving Wild Seeds by Lee Barnes.......29<br /><br />Resources.......31<br /><br />Review: "Apple Pie in Your Face".......34<br /><br />Webworking.......37<br /><br />Events.......38<br /><br /><em>Note: This table of contents corresponds to the original document, not the Document Viewer.</em>
Publisher
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<em>Katúah Journal</em>, printed by The <em>Waynesville Mountaineer</em> Press
Subject
The topic of the resource
Bioregionalism--Appalachian Region, Southern
Sustainable living--Appalachian Region, Southern
Sustainable agriculture--Appalachian Region, Southern
Appalachians (People)--Social life and customs--History
Community-supported agriculture--Appalachian Region, Southern
Cherokee Indians--Social life and customs--History
Cover crops--Appalachian Region, Southern
Permaculture--Appalachian Region, Southern
North Carolina, Western
Blue Ridge Mountains
Appalachian Region, Southern
North Carolina--Periodicals
Language
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English
Type
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Text
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<a href="https://appstate-speccoll.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/937"> AC.870 Katúah Journal records</a>
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a title="In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted" href="https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/?language=en 8" target="_blank"> In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted </a>
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Appalachian Region, Southern
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
<a title="Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians" href="https://omeka.library.appstate.edu/collections/show/79" target="_blank"> Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians </a>
Format
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PDF
Journals (Periodicals)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1990s
Agriculture
Appalachian History
Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Studies
Bioregional Congress
Black Bears
Book Reviews
Cherokees
Community
Ecological Peril
Economic Alternatives
Folklore and Ceremony
Forest Issues
Good Medicine
Habitat
Health
Katúah
Permaculture
Pigeon River
Plants and Herbs
Poems
Radioactive Waste
Reading Resources
Stories
Turtle Island
Water Quality
Western North Carolina Alliance
Wilderness
-
https://omeka-test.library.appstate.edu/files/original/6242ad52b617091c87c9539ed560f662.pdf
ceae3b1dd3f95de061a292ba6f7dcc7d
PDF Text
Text
,.-.c---URNAL
ISSUE 37 WINTER 1992-93
$2 00
�Green Man
(a.Jc.a. Joe Hollis)
Photo by Nancy Herman
/
~UAHiJOURNAL
"-
PO Box 638
Leicester, NC
Katuah Province 28748
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New Address Inside!
Postage Paid
Bulk Mail
Permit #18
Leicester, NC
28748
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Printed on recycled paper
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED
�eoNPENTr0
In The Morning..........................
by DcnnL~ Frederick
Green Man and Green Woman........ 4
by Rob Messick
Floyd 2020.... ............ ...... .........
7
by Will Ashe Bason
Ecology...................................
8
by Rob Messick
Drawing of Sequoyah..................
9
by James Rhea
The Legend
of James Whitehead.....................
by
10
Bnrbaru Wickersham
Raven1....................................
by Fran
11
Freudenbcrgcc
Kid's Page...............................
Rhea's Fairies.......................... .
13
Drawings by Lucile Morgan...........
14
Drawing by Bob Johnson..............
15
Drawings by Pegi.......................
16
The Solitary Tree........................
17
...
,.
...
12
by Charlotte Homsher
Wildwoods Wisdom....................
18
by DougElliou
Natural World News....................
20
Mandalas.................................
22
hy Roh Messick
Gourds.................................
23
by M1ch:icl Thompson
Poem:
A \lu~ Jmm Hawk'.r Nest. .. .. ...
24
by Gcr.tld George
Economy.................................
25
by Rob MClisick
Drummmg................................
26
Rev11:ws:
Beyond The Beaury Strip
Reshapitrg Modern Culture.. .........
by Rob
H
Sleep well, my darling,
Sleep we/1 my love.
Srars in the heavens
Are shining above.
The labor has ended,
The journey is done,
So resc now, sleep now,
My sweec one.
1
"Jack?"
The old man rose and looked out the
window at the lowering sun, the last rays of
the day flowing golden over the ridges. It
was so good to feel the spring again, to hear
the bird.~ and taste the warm savor of the
spring air. It had been a long winter, a hard
biller-cold winter. Snow, storms. endless
dark, and endless wind. It had been hard on
him, harder on her. He looked over 10 where
she lay, her profile softly outlined by the
crossglow of the sun through the window
and the candles around her head. He smiled.
She looked peaceful, he thought Rested.
"Jack, you 'bout ready?"
That was Ethan. He was a good man •
good friend and neighbor. I le had been for
fony-three years, ever since he and Sarah had
moved onto the f!Um next to Jack and Emma.
"Yeah, Ethan, I reckon so."
McssJCk
Events....................................
32
Webworking............ ... ,.............
33
W~1
1-tcr, 1992-93
© 1990 by Dennis K. Frederick
She was so beautiful, so oddly
beautiful when Jack first saw her. She was
sitting on the other side of the room when the
music started, and when he asked her to
dance with him, it was all he could do to get
the words out When she stood up and
moved into his !UTTlS, he truly felt like he was
holding an angel. She had dark brown hair
and grey eyes and a smile that could outshine
the moon. When she smiled up at him he felt
like he was melting down and burning up
inside all at the same time. And when they
kissed for the first time • and every time after
• it was ... complete. After they were married,
Jack said the greatest joy in his life was
waking up beside her every morning. He
thanked God for that, every day.
"Ethan, do you think that everyone who
wants to come is here?"
They never had children, Jack and
Emma, not a one, not even a quickening.
That made Jack some sad. knowing that after
Emma died there would be no pan of her to
carry on in the world, but then he'd look at
her across the room or across the garden and
he couldn't be sad for long, 'cause she was
here now, and that was enough. And she said
she didn't mind at all, 'cause she'd found a
way to have all the children she wanted and
not a one bother her in the middle of the
night, for she became a school teacher.
Now, Emma didn't run the usual son
of classroom. Oh, she taught them their
letters and numbers and all like that, and
taught them well. But that was only on days
when the rain or the cold kept them indoors.
On other days she would have them outside
walking in the fields or running through the
woods or tromping up and down the creek
beds. She said that God's world was the best
classroom there was, and the only way to
learn about it was to go out in it. And those
kids? They loved it. And they loved her. You
never saw a brighter, more sparlde-cyed
bunch in your life.
Drawing by Rob Mcuick
(continued on page 3)
lultimf~ Journot Jla<J"-
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ARTITORT
ALSTAFFTIIIS ISSUE:
Rob Messick (Coordinaror)
David Wheeler
Sherman Bamford
Charlotte Homsher
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Heather Blair
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COVER: byRobMessick ©1992
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PUBLISHED BY: KanUJh Journal
EDITORIAL OFFICE THIS ISSUE: Backbone Spur Gardens<
Globe Valley< Grandfather Ranger District< Pisgah
National Forest < Katuah Province
WRITE US AT: Karuah Journal
Rt. 8, Box 323; Lenoir, NC; Katuah Province 28645
TELEPHONE: (704) 754-fm7
Diversity is an imponant element ofbion:gional ecology, both natural
and social. In accord with this principle K(J[uah Journal uies to serve as a
forum for the discussion of regional issues. Signed articles express only the
opinion of lhe authors and are OOl necessarily lhc opinions of the Katuah
Journal edi«n or slllff.
The lntemal Revenue Service has declared Ka1uah Journal a non-profit
organization under section 50J(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. All
coou,1>utions 10 Katuah Journal are deductible from per.;onal income w.
Asticlcs appearing in K(J[uah Journal may be reprinted in other
publications with permission from lhe Katuah Journal stalT. Contact the
journal in writing or call (704) 754-6097.
'L'.NVOCA.TW'.N
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PRJNTED BY: The Waynesville Mountaineer Press
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STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
Here,
in the Katuah Province
of these ancient Appalachian mountains
where once the Cherokee Nation lived in freedom
between the Tennessee River Valley and the Eastern Piedmont
between the Valley of the Roanoke and the Southern Plain
on this Turtle Island continent of Mother Ela, the Earth
Here,
In this place we dedicate ourselves to remembering our deep
connection 10 the spirit of the land.
We bring this connection into the being and the doing of
our daily lives
When the land speaks, we listen and we act
We tune our lives 10 !the changes, to the seasons
We respect the limits of the land
We preseJVe, defend. and restore the land
We give thanks for all that is good
Hannony with the land is no longer an ideal; it is an imperative.
The land is a living being. She is sacred.
As 1he land lives, so do we.
As the spirit of the land is diminished,
our spirits are diminished as well.
Katuah Journal sends a voice...
with articles, stories, poems. and artwork
we speak 10 the spirit of alJ the living, breathing
inhabitants of these mountains
in hopes that we, the human beings,
may find our place in th.is Great Life.
The Editors
KATUAH JOURNAL wanis ro communicate your thoughts
and feelings to the other people in the bioregional provillce. Send
them to us as letters, poems, stories, articles, drawings, or photographs, etc. Please send your contrib1uions to us at: Katuah
Journal; Rt. 8, Box 323; Lenoir, NC; Katuah Province 28645.
TJIE SPRING ISSUE will be dedicated to sustainable
tourism and transport. including green alternatives to travel. Be
sure to include those wonderful drawings and photos on the
subject! The deadline is February 1st, 1993. Send to Rob
Messick; Rt. 8, Box 323; Lenoir, NC 28645.
Jose Arguelles
Xatuah Journot page 2
OUR LAST" ISSUE will! be filled with your closing
comments and contributions, an index lO the 38 issues of KattUJh
Journal, and a listing of biorcgionally oriented organizations in the
Province (see page 34 for details). AJI Things Must Pass...
Wtnter, 1992-93
�(conlinued from page I)
"I think they are, Jack, and she said we
weren't to wait 100 long."
That last year when she couldn't get out
of bed, Emma had cried about being useless.
until one day she figured out something she
could do. She would have Jack bring in an
egg or cwo every few days from the
henhouse, and she would lay those eggs
alongside her body under the blankets where
they would stay warm until they hatched ouL
Then she would talcc the chicks and put them
in a box beside the bed and tend them there
until they were big enough to give away. and
then they would go to whoever in the
community was in need. That made her smile
again. She was quite a woman.
"I reckon it's time, then."
Jack pulled on his coat and turned to
nod at the men waiting in the doorway. He
stepped out ont0 the porch and was amazed at
the number of people standing outside. There
must have been two or three hundred of
them. Somehow he'd forgotten 10 keep track
of the growth of the community. The new
stores, the good roads, the churches, the
increasing number of children in Emma's
classroom - all this had somehow failed to
register in his reality, for Emma was all his
world. To live with her on their farm in these
mountains - this was all he needed. Just to
work ha.rd and love her.
The six men brought Emma's coffin out
of the cabin and raised it to their shoulders.
Up the hill they went. followed by Jack,
Ethan, Sarah, and all those others, up to the
top of the hill where there stood an old oak
tree. Its branches spread wide to shade a little
fenced-in area enclosing a freshly-dug grave.
They set the coffin down beside the hole,
and, wlten all the people had gathered
around, Jack spoke to them.
"Friends, Emma and I want to thank
you for being here. She would have felt
honored to know that so many of you came
to see her off. We want to thank those who
sat up with us last night, we thank the
women who got her ready and the men who
dug her grave here. She asked me to be sure
it was this particular time of the day when she
was buried. She loved tile evening. Said it
seemed co her a fitting time for a funeral,
'cause this way she got a good night's sleep
before waking up to the good Lord's glorious
morning - her very words. So, Emma, you
sleep now, and these folks and 1, we'll see
you on that morning. I love you. Rest well."
Jack nodded to the preacher, the service
proceeded, the people sang Emma to her rest,
the coffin was lowered, the hole was filled
in, and the stone was SCL Everybody went
back down the hill to the house where there
was food and drink and they all stayed
awhile. Then they began 10 cirirt away home,
the lanterns on their wagons shinning like
fireflies disappearing into the woods, until
there was only Jack and Ethan and Sarah lefl.
"Will you be alright, Jack?"
"Oh, I'll be right as rain by morning,
Sarah. I'm just going to sit here on the porch
for awhile like she and I used to do. She did
love it so."
''I'll stop by in the morning."
'Thank you, Ethan. Good night."
,,
"Rest well. I'll see you in the
morning."
Ethan and Sarah's wagon moved off
down the road and the musical stillness of the
night sectled over the old man on the porch.
His eyes looked up to the hilltop, then far
beyond for a long while, then they closed.
When Ethan and Sarah came by in the
morning, they found Jack still sitting in that
chair, past all waking in this world. Ethan
found a wide boartl and they laid Jack out on
it. They put Jack in the back of the wagon,
put in a few more boartls. hammer and nails
and a shovel, and they drove the wagon back
up to the top of the hill to that oak tree. They
spent the rest of the day digging Jack's
grave, nailing his coffin together around him,
and lowering him down to rest beside Emma.
They filled in the hole and moved the scone a
bit so that it settled down over both.Jack and
Emma. They stood in silence for a long time
and at last they turned for home.
"Ethan?"
"Hmmm?"
"l've been thinking about it. and I do
believe that yesterday was the longest time
that Jack and Emma had spent apart since
they were married."
"I guess he just could'c live with the
thought of waking up alone. Well, he won't
have to, now."
Drawing by Lucile Morgan
Wtt1ter , 1992-93
Sleep well, my darling,
Sleep well, my love.
Srars in the heavens
Are shining above.
The labor has ended,
The journey is done,
So rest now, sleep now,
My sweer one.
The journey is over,
The morning has come,
So rest now, sleep now,
Mylovt.
"This su,ry was inspired by somtthing
D()(; McConnt'II told mt a couple of~ars ago. and by
the spirit of the mountain people who IIOW siuround
me."
Denn,s Frtduick was born on the sowh
s,de o/Clucago in /950, grew up in the li11kfarm
town of MuJdldJury. IN. and autnlkd Indiana
Univtrsiry mtermi11t111ly for several years. lie moved
10 7ennessee rn 1979 IQ work/or a rouring
1mpro~isa1ional thttUrt company where ht mt/ his
wife. Lucinda Flodin, l'hey tool up life together in
1984, and 111 1986 discovatd S/Qrytelling osa tandem
pe,formmu:t art. They liw with tlrtv scns. Forts/ and
Cody. on 28 acres of mo1,1111llln glory in Carttr
Co1,111ry, TN and make 1htir living as uave/i11g
storytellers.
DeMis and UJ.CiNJa havt produced rwo
audio /ape~. Strawberries m the Snow and Mounlain
Sptrirs, each SIO 00, ppd from R1.J. Box 726; ~
llampton. TN J7658.
~
X-atuoh Journot page 3
�~tuah Joumal,
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pcuw;1,4
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Orawmga by Rob Musick
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Wlntcr. 1992-!13
�t.nter , 1992-93
"'1titmi. Journot PCUJC S
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Drawing by Rob Muncl<
l.>i.ntcr, 1992-93
�FLOYD 2020
by Will Ashe Bason
There was little doubt by the mid-90's
that the superstonns were the result of global
cllinate changes produced by inefficient and
thoughtless industrialization. The frequency
and severily uf the Sturms increased during
the '90's making tens of millions homeless
and completely destroying lhe electricity
distribution systems of huge towers and
wires. The US Army was put to work
building communities which could withstand
the intense winds of lhe superstonns. Each of
these villages had several large underground
storerooms in which people could talce refuge
in a storm. Some homes and structures were
built to wilhstand the high winds, and some
were made to be dismantled and stored when
a stonn threatened.
The US Army built over 5,000
eco-villages housing over three million
people during the '90's. Many other
settlements were built privately. Jimmy and
Rosalyn Caner were leaders in a movement
in which poor people came together to build
protected villages. Still, millions of people
who had lived in beautiful homes wilh many
• luxuries were reduced to living in shack.s
built of tarps and broken lumber near hastily
dug storm cellars.
During the mid- and late '90's, refugees
from the West Coast went out in waves, each
bigger lhan the last, just like the quakes and
eruptions that set them in motion. Many of
the people who were most tuned in to the
narur:il world were among the first to leave.
In most cases, people had 10 sell their homes
and non-movables for nearly nothing. They
loaded up lheir mini-vans and hitched up their
trailers and headed east - much as previous
pioneers had headed west. Many of the
people who had been involved in building
cuilural alternatives were drawn to areas in
I.he Blue Ridge Mountains where these
1,>lnt.er, t992- 93
alternatives already had a foothold. Floyd
County absorbed nearly 3,000 West Coast
refugees between 1993 to 1998.
After the huge back-to-back storms of
1995, the old power grid was gone for good
in Floyd County and throughout most of the
southeastern US. About half of the people in
Floyd and several surrounding counties were
homeless. That year there were so many
emergencies that US and UN services were
unavailable. The radical restructuring of the
world economy 10 our reality-based exchange
system was not yet complete, and localities
everywhere were reduced to their own
devices. A team of local engineers and
architects developed several types of
buildings which were made of local materials
and could withstand extremely high winds.
Over the spring and summer of 1995 more
than 2,000 people worked on 14 villages
which by winter were homes to 5,000
people.
These communities consisted of a large
central building surrounded by cottages. The
sites were picked for favorable water power
and they all generated enough electricity for
lights in the cottages and refrigeration
facilities in the central buildings. The couages
seemed like castles 10 people who had been
living cooped up with friends and relatives in
sometimes amazingly cramped and cold
conditions in the winter of '94.
Over the next ten yean,, many more
small, sheltered, and self-powered
communities were buill in the county. Today,
Floyd's 14,000 people have 42 communities
of more than 100 inhabitants, while in 1990
12,000 people had only one such
community. This restructuring into small
communities had many unexpected benefits,
and today there are few who would trade our
present life for the world that the winds
swept away.
The villages of the Blue Ridge upland
plateau differ considerably from each other,
as some were fonned by fann families who
had been in the area for many years, and
some were fonned along alternative lines.
Many communities have a Native American
feel to lhem, several are African-American,
and two are Spanish-speaking. A village near
Buffalo Mountain is a Cherokee-speaking
community, the northernmost of their
confederacy. These various groups all mingle
in the town of Floyd, which is still the largest
settlement in the county. The Saturday market
in Floyd is colorful and noisy.
The village of Marin is somewhat
typical of the communities that were built in
Floyd County in the mid-'90's. Fourteen
cottages were originally built and served as
homes to over 50 people lhe first winter. The
village maintains a sizable herd of cows and
sheep and cultivates orchards on gentle
slopes. The village has nearly 10 hectares of
good river bonom land on which it raises
grains and vegeiables. Marin has a
water-powered grain mill, saw mill, and
woodworking shop. The shop produces
several types of wooden flutes which have a
good reputation and earn the village most of
i1s rrnde credits. This is in keeping with the
musical motif of the villages of the area almost all of the local communities suppon
themselves most by manufacturing various
musical instruments.
The Blue Ridge area was one of the
most "backward" regions of the old US
economy, but it came through the economic
transition in much better shape than most
other areas. Literacy rates rose sharply and
infant monality rates fell, exactly counter to
corresponding trends in the rest of the
country and most areas of the world. The
self-reliance of the old farm communities of
the area combined wilh the ideas for
alternative economic and energy systems that
newer residcntS brought with them to create a
.,
better way of life.
Drawing by Pcgi
X-Gtooh )our-nm pQCJe 7
�Xatuml )ournm piiqe 8
Drawing by Rob Mcuick
Wrntcr , 1992-93
�Drawing of Sequoyah by James Rhea
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THE LEGEND OF JAMES WHITEHEAD
by Barbara Wickersham
Once upon a time a man named James
Whitehead lived up on the head of Tiger
Creek way back up in the mountains of
Caner County, Tennessee. He had a right
nice farm and he loved 10 fish and hunt One
day while young James was ou1 huntin'
something happened that changed his life
forever.
It was gettin' kinda late, near dark, and
he was 1hinkin' strongly abou1 h~din' home
for supper. Suddenly he happened upon a
tiny cri1ter lying frigh1encd and crying in the
grass. He stared in amazement figurin' as
how it must be a new-born baby tiger. h
was, of coun;e, a baby mouniain lion,
commonly called tigers or painiers by people
thereabouts.
He quickly looked all around but saw
no sign of mama so he picked up the liule
fella, gemly wrapped it in his hand.kerchief,
and promptly carried ii home for his wife to
care for.
Now it just so happened that his wife
had recently given birth herself, and, since
Xotimn Journal page 10
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she couldn'1 figure any 01her way to save the
little critter· not owning nny tiny baby bottles
or eye-droppers - she simply nursed ii along
wi1h her own baby. The baby tiger grew
quickly, was s1rong and healthy, and soon
was returned to the moun1ains where ii
belonged.
Folks around there got to calling James
"Tiger," and forever af1er he was known as
Tiger Whitehead, the man who saved the
baby tiger.
Tiger's real claim 10 fame, however,
wa~ his hunting prowess. He managed to
keep meai on 1he table for his burgeoning
brood most of his 86 years and during tha1
time he actually killed 99 bears. When he was
on his deathbed, one of his sons brought a
bear cub to him, saying "Kill this bear so we
can say you killed 100 bears," bu1 he
refused, saying he had never killed except
when he had to. His gravestone proudly
proclaims "He killed 99 bears."
...
Since 1984, Barbara Wickersham has
collabaraJe.d will, Ron Vance in gathering
stories of the Roan Mountain area. Tile two
are both native Appalachian people with a
long-rime fascination for the history.
fitera111re, and language ofthe white mmmtain
folk. In February of /985 they applied for
and recieved a University ofTennessee
Research Grant to help in the contitu4(Jtion of
their oral history efforts.
Their primary objective is to co/leer
historical facts, tales, riddles, expressions,
old plwtos - anything rl111t will capmre the life
of the Roan Mountain people just before,
during. and after the Great Depression. To
clme they have interviewed 62 people and are
.Hill working.
ifyou have riddles, old games, ghost
stories, or a good tale you would like 10 share
with them, or ifyou hll\/e a lead on a
particularly good interview prospect, they
would appreciate your help. Contact Barbara
Wickersham at 7314 John Norton Road;
Knoxville, TN 37920 or call (615) ...::All'
577-1072.
Drawing by Rob Messick
p
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Fran Freudenberger 1 a storygatherer currently residing in the Crab
s
Community o f Katuah rro,1nre. For infomiation contact her at TH E O PEN
CIRCLE, 1112 W,llow Street; Hcnderson~ille, NC 28739 (70-I ) 696-3659.
.
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_
Gazed out O\'l'r the charred stillness
and thought ..
'This was once the Earth?"
I le listened to the smoldering silence
and thought ...
"This was once Her Breath?"
Then Raven raised his wings
In Anger
and new away.
by Fran Freudenberger
Drawu,g by Rob Memc:lr.
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�KID'S PAGE
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Jeffrey Hollis - age 4
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"Drngon at a Croquet Game"
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Desiree Cafaro - age 11
Juniper Myers Walters - age 10
,C:amal\ Jotmmf paqc 12
Lane Raskin - age 7
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Jade Alysen Kornegay - age 8
!.>inter, I 992-'
�I,
l grew up in Missouri and experienced
the Ozarks. Friends of my parents bought
some land by a mountain creek and built a
shelter. "'rhey called it Rocky Branch and I do
believe that was where I first encountered
fairies.
In my adolescence our family moved lO
cultural Cleveland where my father's dream
was realii.ed - to play his viola in the
Cleveland Orchestra in the great Severence
Hall. When I sat in the hall, I would gnze up
at the ceiling embellishment and watch the
fairies' wings flutter to the beautiful music. I
later learned that the ceiling was designed
from the lace on Mrs. Severcnce's wedding
veil. (l have also found fairies on recent trips
10 the an museum and felt like a fairy while
studying ballet!)
After years of an school, universities, a
teaching profession, and a marriage I realized
that I needed 10 get back to the land. The
early memories of Rocky Branch were still in
my head.
lvmtcr, 1992-93
I found some land on a 30 mile
reservoir nonh of Amherst, MassachusetlS
and began to build my dream, and to connect
back to the great Mother Earth. I lived on this
secluded land by myself and felt the
closeness of all the plant and animal spirilS
that surrounded me. My only fear was of the
hunters who evemually destr0yed my dream,
burning my house down.
rt was nine ye-ars ago when I came 10
Kaulah Province from New England. I
followed the ridge of the Appalachian
Mountains south and landed in a parndise
garden. As I drove toward the South Toe
River Valley, a rainbow crossed the road and
1 knew that this must be the place where
fairies live.
At that rime Joe Hollis was looking for
someone 10 help in his garden, and 1
enthusiastically agreed. He offered me a yun
(Mongolian teepee) to live in which became
my home for three years. The gardens
expanded and I found fairies flinering about
everywhere. Joe took me to beautiful
wildflower coves filled with thousands of
trilliums, and 10 the ridgetops of the Black
Mountains where I first saw galax and other
wildflowers that did not grow in the
Appalachian Mountains in New England or
anywhere else I've ever lived. These
mountains have a magic about them that I
never felt in any oiher mountain range.
Lost and homeless for years, I had
followed the mountains south, guided by the
faith and hope that I would find a home
where fairies dance. Mountain Gardens in
Celo. NC is that home where now our son
Jeffrey runs through the garden looking~
~
fairies.
p
• Rhea Ormond
Drawing by Rhea Ormond
�Drawings by Lucile Morgan
-
Coffey's General Sion: in Edgemont
�Drawing b~ Bob Joluuon
�Xatimh Journat• pnge 16
Drawings by Pcgi
l,) i.n«ir, 1992-93
�The Solitary Tree
by Charlotte Homsher
Nature is not static, but an
ever-changing process. Water moves so
swiflly we can not focus on the lines of the
current. Weather can change abruptly.
Encounters with wild animals are fleeting and
unusual. Only trees remain accessible to
everyone, sturdily rooted in place long
enough for us 10 study them. In issue #36 of
Kan,ah Journal, I wrote about the
relationship of trees to each other in a grove.
In this anicle, I address the individualistic
trees who stand alone and offer us insight
into difficult questions.
We live at the close of a century of
momentous change, in an era of transition
from one age to another, in a time of
tremendous challenge. Now as never before
we hold the fate of humanity and of the
survival of the planet itself in our hands. It is
easy to forget, so quickly are events moving
in the epoch sense, that the process of decay
(which is the grandest transition of all)
happens slowly enough within a human
lifetime for us to grasp the meaning of the
cycle. For instance, the era of the great
American chestnut tree came to an end in the
thirties, yet the skeletal trunks of the
chesmuts could still be seen scanding upright
on the Blue Ridge Parkway into the sixties.
I believe that even in death trees still
teach us. There is a lightning-charred hollow
trunk still standing at Catawba Falls. My son,
who was silt at the time, told me very
matter-of-factly that this hollow tree was
where the lndian spirits live. He understood
perfectly that the hollow places are homes,
protection; not only den trees for bears and
possums, but empty places where creation of
all sorts can take place. A hollowed-out
standing tree would be a good place for a
vision quesL Nearly every power place has a
tree of this kind. Inside the pregnant darkness
of a hollow tree, one can hear a sound, a
distonion similar to what one hears from
placing a large sea shell neltt to the ear. These
trees arc like drums for the Earth. I call the
sound that they funnel the roar of the Earth.
Jn the Reems Creek area, there is a
massive trunk of a dead 1ree that is unusual
not only for its size, but also because of 1he
way in which the trunk twis1s up from the
ground in a spiral pattern. The spiral twisting
is indication that the tree grew on a power
spot. The tree was able 10 bring up this
powerful Eanh energy which came up the
tree in a spiral vortex movement, and makes
this energy available to the plam life, the
animals, and the humans in the vicinitv.
I am sure that this was a council.tree, a
meeting place, when it was alive. Now that
the tree is dead, the Earth energy that comes
up through the root system of the trees in that
area is now spread out among several mature
trees. What is left for us 10 see are the
remains of lessons of the past. I have heard
of people finding crystals and unusual rocks
under these spiral-trunked trees, but 1
personally prefer not to disturb these trees
which are, of course, still den trees.
1.,lnter, 1992-93
Even more poignant, arc the trees
which are still living, still sprouting even
when 1he heartwood is gone, and sometimes
when nothing is left but half a hollow trunk. 1
consider 1hese to be medicine 1rees, or
healing trees. These arc easy trees to step
into, to put one's belly against the sapwood
and release fears and sorrows. l have fell no
particular grief within these trees. They are
very noble. They have a breadth of
experience which embodies all of the
transitions between life and death, fertility
and decay. They have opened themselves up
entirely 10 the erosion of the weather and 10
causal examinauon or their internal
processes. They continue life even wuhin the
process of decay.
Healthy, live trees also teach us about
times of transition. Double-trunked trees
which have grown 1ogether embody many
qualities of duali1y. separateness. and
blending. The sweet birch is a good example
of this. The bark of the young sweet birch is
smooth but becomes scaly and rougher with
age. A double-trunked swee1 birch, which
has one smooth trunk and one rough trunk,
may appear to be one tree but is actually two
trees of the same species at different ages of
growth. This phenomenon of the double-
trunked tree 1s even more obvious when trees
of different species sprou1 at the same time,
seed next to seed. It is common to see trees
which have one character, one predominwn
shape, yet which are combinations of beech
and hemlock, for instance, or ironwood and
maple. These are wonderful teacher trees. By
studying t'he qualities of the two worlds, the
crossroads of separate species, we can
recognize ourselves at a crossroads and gain
insight into ways of growing gracefully as
individuals into the oneness of the greater
vision of Iife.
Trees have their own cycles and
reasons for being that have nothing 10 do
with humanity, yet we have intruded into the
natural processes 10 such an elttont that O"Ces
may not survive without our intervention. I
think it is very possible that a time v.ill come
when we will garden trees to keep a species
alive just os we now garden vegetables. Until
that time tllere is still the chance 10 persuade
the ,,ild trees to prolong their lives, 10 keep
the forest vibrant, happy, and healthy so that
our children and our children's children can
learn from the trees. We can do this by
entering into the realms of nature with /;;!I'
humility and genuine gratitude.
fr
Dr•wing by Pegi
�.
./4
"The Serpent and The 1
J
f
I
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.,__
/
/
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,,'.~
In thls joyful compendium of
woodslore, ancient legends, humorous !ales,
and perceptive insights, Doug Ellion opens
our eyes to the world of planes and animals
and !he many ways of rediscovering our
natural heritage. Wi!h !he easy voice of a
storyteller, he shows how nature provides all
our needs • not only food, clothing and
shelter, but also the spiritual truths that can
enrich and transform our lives.
In !he pages of Wildwood.s Wisdom
you'll view nature through !he eyes of many
people from different walks of life, some
who embody ancient wisdom, others with
sc1cnufic knowledge, and still others who
have been touched deeply by an encounter
with !he natural world. You'll hang out with •
Native Americans, Appalachian mountain
folk. and biologists. And you11 hear stories
of Pentecostal snake handlers, hoodoo root
doctors, possum breeders, and even a New
York stockbrocker, to
Doug Elliott also
adventures - hitchhikir
sketching along the Re
capturing snakes, colic
walking softly in the b
expound on plants and
small with enthusiasm
"This book is abl
exploring, and dwellin
of an ecosystem 1eemi1
and change. It is about
dwelling place within ,
we interact with the en
world at large." The be
illusmued with over 01
by the author. Wildwo
journey of awakening,
world we may not ofte
are forever joined.
Doug Elliott is a
�Egg" and Other Tales ...
>name a few.
o draws on his own
ing across the country,
:ocky Mountains,
leering folklore, and
backcountry - to
d creatures great and
ri and witty reverence.
JOUt being home, about
ng oo the earth as pan
ing with life and death
11 finding that sacred
1OUllClvcs, from where
nvironmcnt and the
>OOK i~ abo beautifully
,ne hundred drawings
ood1 Wisdom is a
:, of being at home in a
en sec but to which we
1 naturalist,
herbalist,
storyteller, and wildlife anist who has been
ranging woods and waters since childhood.
For the past decade he has lectured,
conducted workshops, and performed
storytelling in concert with various
organizations including the American
Museum of Natural History and the
Smithsonian rnstitution. Doug is also the
author of Roots: An Underground Botany
and Forager's Guide. He lives with his wife,
Yanna, on a homei;tead in Kaulah Province,
Rutherford County, North Carolina.
To order Wildwoods Wisdom send
$22.95 pl1Ls $2.00 shipping to: Paragon
/louse; 90 Fifth Avenue; New York, NY
100/ l.
To receive a listing of Doug's activities
in your area you can contact /um 01: Rt. 1,
Box 388; Union Mills, NC 28167
Drawings by Doug l!lliou
�1•
" ARSON!
"I
,t",,t
N.nnl World News Savic.:
ArsoniSLs suuclc the Hennes.sec Hardwood
Company of Franklin, NC early on the morning cl
November 30, 1992. setting IWO foes that did more
than SS0,000 damage and woonding owner Jack
Hennes.~ee in an exch:inge of gunfire. The action was
apparcnlly to discourage the logging comp:iny from
carrying 0111 a contraCt on the Rich Mounuun umber
sale m the Highl:inds Ranger Dl5Ulct of the Namahala
National Forest.
This was only the la~t in sabotage actions
agrunst the Ilcnnessee Company during 1992: vandals
dLo;ablcd equipment belonging 10 the company and nn
indcpcndcnt su!KontraCtor while Hcnncssce was
working the Rich Mountain sale last winter, and the
Hennessee office was the target of vandaJig-n earlier in
the month or November.
In response 10 a threatening leticr, Jack
Hennessee. the owner of the company, was keeping
watch on the plant on the night or Sunday, November
29. He said lhat after dozing he awoke ai 4 a.m. the
following morning to find that a large floodlight
overlooking the mill was ouL He went oulSide IO
check on the situation and saw that a 100tshed in !he
debarlcing section of the plant was on fire. According
to Hennessee, he saw what appeared to be a person
runn111g around the comer of the shed. He fll'Cd on the
person with a handgun. Al lhe same time he saw
another fire flaring up ne:uby m the plant's chipping
operation. At lhat moment he heard two shots and
was knocked to the ground.
When he roused himself later on, Hennes.sec
called lhe county sherilrs department and lhe
ambulance. At the hospital he ICM!ed he had been
suuck by a bullet, which passed through lhe flesh of
tus back, not wounding hun seriously.
Hennessee is convinced that the attack was
motivated by opposition 10 the company's logging
the Rich Mountain Timber Sale, which 1s divided
mto 15 units scauered arowid the town of Highlands
in Macon County. Other actions against the company
have been din,cu:d specifically against that timber
operation.
In a widely-publicil.cd incident during February
of 1992, saboteurs tore the~ and cut hydraulic
lines on skiddersand looders belonging 10 Hennessee
that were parked m the Buck Creek area of the Rich
Mountain umber sale.
On lhe night of November 13, 1992 vandals
cnlCl'Cd the Hennessee Company omces through an
open back door, dumped drawers and files on the Door
about the room.
painted slogans Wee
"Clcarcuuing Ba.~wds" and "You11 Never Cut Rieh
Mountain" on the office walls. A drink machine was
broken, and a smaJJ pis10I was also stolen from 11
desk drawer.
One week lalllr, Hcnnc.=e emplnyu_~. on
doing a routine check before morning sl3Jl-up, found
th.11 someone had attempted 10 sabotage the chipper
by putting a large p,pe wrench down the mouth of lhc
machine where it would have done extcn\1ve damlgc
to the blades.
ll1en.on Fnday, November 27. 1992,
Hcnnesscc h3d received an unsigned letter at the
company offices staung that "the end is near." This
was what prompr.cd him 10 set a watch on the plnnt
and
ll1e North Carohnn State Bwcau of
fnvcstign1ion is assisting the Mncon County Sheriff's
Department 111 the mvcsugation of the recent lll'SOn.
OfflCCrS said that mal.Crials had been sent 10 Raleigh
for annlysis, 001 that it was too C3rly in the
mves1ig;ition 10 say anything about iL, progress.
~tuah Joumat· PmJ" 20
TRYING cmCUMSTANCES
FOR CHAMPION
Na1ural World News Sarvicc
APPEALS UPHELD
Nlllnl World News Sovicc
In September, 1992, the US Congiess voccd 111
favor of a bill supponing the nghLof the public to
appeal Forest Service timber sales. When it was
signed by the prcsiden1 Im.ct in the fall. the legislation
became law.
Some were worried lhat pr0visioos added by
Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) would unduly tle the hands
of citizens. According to Peter Kirby, Southeast
Regional Director of the Wilderness Society, most,
but not all, or the problems with the btU have been
resolved. Congress has added a section from Sen.
Wyche Fowler's (D-GA) earlier measure that requires
the Fores1 Service 10 inform the public about
proposed actions and provide specific opporwnilics
for commenung. In addition, ciw.ens still have 45
days in which to appeal. llOl 30 days as had been
proposed in the Craig bill.
The bill does add some new restrictions to the
right to appeal, however. The Forest Service will
only allow persons 10 appeal ifwriucn or oral
commentS arc submmcd on the proposed action, or if
the Forest Service is notified about the per.;on's
mrcrcst in the activlly.
The FOi'est Service will only be given 45 days
to review an appeal, 001 100 days, as currently
allowed. tr the Forest Service does not make a
decision with111 45 days, the original decision will
stand. Dissatisfied panics will then have lO talce the
Forest Service to court or take Lo the uces.
REAL BARTERING
Nanni World News Scrvia:
The Alarka Laurel saga continue.~. The 2,000
acre trael, which cootains a rare spruce bog and a
scenic wa1erfall, was 10 be pun:hased by the North
Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission a~ a game
refuge, bU1 lhc shifting winds of stale policies
changed lha1 arrangcmcnL
•
The latest proposal is a bnd swap between the
TruM for Pubhc Land (TPt.) and the US Forest
Service, F ~ Supemsor Bjorn Dahl hlls proposed
thal Al:u-ka Laurel be tmdcd for a t .SOO acre uac1 on
Fontaf13 Lake. which would then be made available
for priv:ue lkvelopmcnL The TPL 8"0!JP 1s agJcc.ible,
and the Swam Coun1y Colnmiss10ncn; seem lO favor
the idea. Appro,'DI by Swam County re.~idcnts hlls
been a major stumbling block in resolving the fate or
the Alarlca Laurel tracL
Ncgoumions may be ex1cnclcd, and 1he
arrangement would requuc a public hearing, which
may be held in Bl)·son City as early as December,
1992, although the date was not available when this
issue went lO press.
A lawsuit brought against Champion
Intemauonal Corporation by seven frunilies ftling on
behalf of2.600 homeowners on the Pigeon River and
Douglas Lake in Tennessee ended in a mi51rial on
October 16, 1992 oficr one month of testimony
before the US District coun in Greeneville, TN.
The plaintiffs soughl S3.9 million m
compens:tlion and S365 million in punitive damages
for a decline in the value of their wau:rside propcnies
allributable 10 the presence of the highly toxic
chemical dioxin, which is produced m the chlorine
bleaching process used by Champion in the
papcmuwng operations at its Can10n. NC mill.
Although the jury was hung on conflicting
claims of the virulence of dioxin presenlCd by
witnesses called by the plaintiffs and by Champion
Corporation, the trial made public unponant
infonnation abou1 the company and the way it doe~
business.
One willlCSS called lO the stand was retired US
Navy Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, who ordclCd the
release of Agent Orange, a dioxin-laden defoliant,
dunng the war in Vietnam. Zumwal1 told how his
son was killed by diseases conU'IICtcd from e,qiosure
10 the herbicide.
Knowing whal we do aboul dioxin, said
Zumwalt, "it is not only unethical. but reprehensible"
for the paper indUSIJ'y to continue 10 produce the
cancer-causing c:hemieal.
Al Smith, a rcured deputy director of the
Environmental Protection Agency who worked
closely with the Champion permitting process in
1987-88, also testified for the plaintiffs. He contended
against consiant objections by defense auomeys for
90 minu1CS on the stand as he tried 10 tell in detail
how Champion staged an elaborate campaign 10
manipulate public opinion on the issue of the Canton
mill's operating permiL He said that he was
convinced that Champion's threal to lay off 2,000
workers from the Canton mill for environmental
reasons was "a ploy."
Attomeys for the plaintiffs also introduced 11
memo from an executive with the Price-McNabb
Advertising Company of Asheville, whicll was hired
as a consultant for Champion's media campaign. The
memo directed that Champion spokespeople should
debate the permit "in a manner that tires the puhlic
and the media of the ISSue."
Phillip NC31, a rewed eng1IIC(I', added
creditability to the clnim put forth by
environmentalists that Champion was holding the
area "economic hostage· to win its way m the permit
ballle. During the permit dispute, Oliver Blackwell.
then manager of the Canton mill, Slllr.cd rcpe31Cdly
that ll was "technologically unfeasible" for the
company to meet stale water color rcqu11emcnts. Neal
1esufied tha1 during the same period the company had
held a patent on a proces.~ he had designed 10 remove
color from the waia. The proce.s~ wa.~ ne,·cr alluded
10 anJ never used, Neal said.
In the closing days of the tn31 a real esmte
appraiser stated that the threat of dioxin h.ld adv~y
affected land price.~ around the lake. S11ll the jury
could not reach a clear decision. The plaintiffs declared
emphatically thnt the lawsu11 will be brought to trial
again.
1Ji1i.t~r, ,1992>"93
�BOISE CASCADE:
"THE PUBLIC BE DAMNED!
Narural World New, Service
Boise Cascade Corporation. one of lhe
companies proposing to build chip mill opua1.1ons
that would denude foresllands in soulhea.s1m1
Tenne.~. has declared lhat it will proceed with its
consu-uction vlans without waiting for a ~hipping
pennit required by the Tennessee Valley Authority
(TVA). If they do not receive a barge permit, the
timber giant would send the chips to port overland by
truck instead of on the river.
Because or overwhelming opposition to the
dcstrucuve chip mills eitpre.ssed at public bearings,
TV A has been "leaning against" offering the permits
to the chip mills (see KaJuah Journal 1136).
Boise Cascade has put off construction uni.ii
January, and environmentalists are wondering if their
move is nOl a bluff designed lO force TV A's hand.
Local activist Bob Mitchell of the Tennessee Valley
Hardwood Alliance was quoc.ed in the Chananoogo
Times as saying, "They think that if they go in and
destroy the beauty along the river ahead or time, there
won't be anything lO argue abouL The whole region
is against these people, and it's going lO be a
continuous media event if they try to come in hero.
"Even 1f it is a bluff, they will have destroyed
that section of the river."
The local group Tennessans, Gcorgit111s, ond
Alabamans for Environmental Responsibility
(fAGER), which came together over the chip mill
issue, has raised the possibility of calling a national
boycou of Boise Cascade if the corporation proceeds
with its construetion plans. That decision, too, is on
hold until Boise Cascade makes its intentions clC3l'.
ART ROWE v. FREE SPEECH
NIIIUnl Wedd News Service
It seems that the Forest Service has been gerung
testy about its image lately. Earlier this year, the
Daniel Boone National Forest wrote threatening letters
to activists, falsely claiming that the display or Smokey
the Bear caricatures was illegal.
Recently, Paul Myer.;, a member of the
environmental group SoothPAW, attempted lO
distribute a mer to visiior.i at the offices of the Pisgah
Ranger District and posted a copy on the public bulletin
bo:ird. The flier simply asks readers to comment on the
draft amendments to the Pisgah/Nantahala management
pion before December 16. ltencoumges support for
formulating a plan alternative that protcets the
Pisgah/Nantahala National Fore.sis as naturally
functioning ccosyStems. makes ecological restoration a
primary go31, and ends ta~payer-subsidiu:d logging on
these public rorests.
When Myers discovered that Dislricl Ranger Arl
Rowe had taken down the flier, he contacted the district
ranger, asking whal he needed io do to post and/Or
distribute the Dier. Rowe advised Myers against even
distributing the flier, saying that he was "not sure if
there is any appropriate authormu.ion" and that "there
are rules a.~ to what can and can't be distributed.·
Recent coun cases do not suppon Lhis position.
Alier the Foresl Service tried to censor signs in the
wc.~tcm US. the Department of AgriculbJJC baned the
Forest Service from interfering with the right of free
speech. The Forest Service could only specify where the
distributors could go. and even then, only when there
was a clear danger to public safety.
Fortst Wateh, a publication or'Cascade Holistic
Economic Consul1811ts, observes that the Forest Service
typically discourages activities that cast it in a poor
light II uses intimidolion when this ploy docs DOl
work. Myers believes that Art Rowe is uying to delay
distribution of the SoulhPAW fliers until after the
deadline for public comment on the plan amendment
Stnd fellers on the Forest Plan to: SowhPAW;
3 CI/JXlcm Pl.; Aihe vi/It, NC 28801. They will be
prtunttd to the Forest Suvict by December 16.
GEORGIA EXPANDS LIST
Nanni World News Service
Georgia has added 135 species to the 79 species
currently proc.ectcd under its suue endangered species
acL The upandcd list includes a large number of
threatened and endangered planis, birds, and mussels
native lO the Appalachians, including the
monkey-face orchid (PlaJanthera inlegrilabia), a rare
plnnt found near wetlands.
The list was expanded in sp11c of objections by
a lobbyist for Sea Island n:oort, Union Camp
Corporauon, and Georgia-Pacific Corporauon who
claimed that the additions would interfere with priv:uc
property rights. The Georgia Department ofNawral
Rcsoun:cs did not find this claim plau.~iblc: the
Georgia endangered species act applies only lO
statc~ed lands and federnl lands managed through
coopcmuvc agreements with the Sllllc. In addition,
national forests typically protect state listed species
under a "protcetcd" or "sensitive" species de..~gnation.
(c:onlinuod on page 29)
For more informo.tion or 10 help fig hi 1/te chip
mills, contact TAGER: Box 764: Sowh Pi11sburg,
TN 37380
SHOW SOME IMPROVEMENT
Nawnl World New, Service
North Carolinians are hoping that recent
Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) hearings
will be a springboard for saner uanspon.ation policy.
Members of the newly formed NC Allillnce for
Transportation Reform spoke at the hearings for the
fina time, advocating a switch to lJ'lUns, buses, van
pools, bicycles, 1111d foot-power.
At a hearing in Morganion. member.; or the
group chided the NC Department of Transportation for
focusing single-mindedly on new rood construction
while ignoring alternative transpOl'1lltion, better
planning, maintennnce of exisung roads, nnd other
mOfC cost-effective systems. They cited othct serious
costs associated with rood-building, such as declines in
wildlife populations and air quality.
WNC Alliance Transportation Task Force
member Jim Barnes, who came to speak against
four-lamng portions of U.S. 221, noted tha1 the NC
DOT seemed lO be acting on its own narrow pohucal
agenda more than on the public's behalf. Barnes, a
com bot veieran, quoted a swement by Secretary of
Transportatioo Thomas Harrelsoo that implied that
people wocking for transponation rcfOITll were pan or
the "CCCP" (Russian communists) and told DOT lO
stop the auacks.
~- ....,i
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CLEARCUTS
in Crandfoth<:r Ranger Obtnct
Pi~g;th N•lt0Ml Fol'\'!\t 1967-1992 •
•
~IS
_ ... Wa1t-r,htrd-,.
- - -Watrrway,
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-
, COUJ1171.J,,oo
«:. _ _ US....,_~..._.,,__,,.,,,..,,lltrp•u-'""&MM-111,.._,111,,-,
. ,.....__,t._&,__..W'ftt._Mll ... lWa.
Send wrillen comments on tM TIP 10: Thomas
llarrefson, Secretary ofTransP«tmion; J/ighway
Building: 1 S. Wilmington St.; Rakigh, NC 2761 l
To become a 1ranspona1ion reformer, write:
NC AtlitJ11Cefor Transpor101ion Reform: P.O. Box
1002: Chapel Iii/I, NC 27514
,,.,inter-, 1992,..93
This map was produced for the Foothills Environmental Alliance (FEA) by Rob Messick to document
the extent of clearcutting on the "Grnndfathcr Ranger Desert" in the Ptsgllh N11tional ForesL The Allmnce i.1
calling for an end io clearcutting on public lands in lhe diwict, saying thal. so many acres have already been
logged that the cumulative effects of so much cutting have affected the area as a whole.
Fore.st Service Ranger Mike Anderson has refused to meet with the FEA, so lhe group ha.~ taken their
map and their appeal to the media and the public.
�MANDALAS
by Rob Messick
�Michael Thompson was raised in Kentucky and Indiana. His formal education
was at Eastern Kentucky University and the University of Tennessee. Michael started
his artistic career as a porcelain artist; his porcelain pieces are in many states and
several countries. His pen and ink works have been published in Kat11ah Journal and
Appalachian Heritage. He has illustrated several booklets and one book. He now lives
in Berea, Kentucky where he works in aniques and porcelain restoration.
!Ji.nter ,' 1992-93
�POEMS
The sun of my mind rises
Nourishing and encouraging
The growing branches
of my heart's wisdom
With an enlightened mind
And a heart as strong
As an old oak tree
My body can face the wind
And call to joy.
The View from Hawk's Nest
Pegl
'Tire world's longest steel, arch bridge with a single
span of 1700 feet opened on Oct. 22, 1977, as an integral
part of West Virginia's interstate system."
- from a post card text
When the aliens came,
they couldn't seem to stand it;
They looked at it, some of them
even admired it;
Had said:
"Overthere shall be a sanctuary
for Whomever"?
The huge gorge,
the swift-running river below,
the long ages of slow carving;
Instead, they ran roughshod
right over the canyon;
But then they had to get somewhere else;
So they spun long strands of steel,
and spanned the chasm;
they straddled it.
What if,
standing here for the first time, seeing it,
they had decided instead
to stop?
Had said:
''No, this is it, we go no farther,
this edge will suffice"?
Had said:
"No, what is over there will be theirs
who have it"?
(Mostly deer,
sun-motUed trees,
and rhododendron;)
Had said:
"Let that be the Overthere
where we celebrate our restraint"?
Xatimh Journot pngc 24
In hardly more than an instant they bridged
all that had taken the water
forever to open up;
And hurriedly went on their way
scurrying evermore west
to the Earth's end;
Then, lo, one particular day,
they came back;
"Bridge Day," they called it;
They dangled ropes down and climbed up it;
they put parachutes on and jumped off it;
they raced their motorcycles over u;
they laughed and then picnicked upon it;
'Once each year we'll come again and mock this gorge,"
they said;
"Once each year we'll have
'Bridge Day'."
by Gerald George
l,.lu1 trr.
1992- 93
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l.Jtnu r , 1992-93
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�DRUMMING
Ocnr Kataali,
Hey Rob • way 10 go. Looks like you got your
anal complex in ncwsprinL Most folks just pu1 it on
1hc outhouse wall or I.ell bath.room jokes to their
friends. 111 bel you've grossed ouI half of Kauiah
Province.
P.Winklor
Hickory.NC
Ocnr Karuah,
Re: lhe "CMOOn" in the Fall '92 Kauiah. "the
b10-movcmcnt.•. it's as slow as a bowel movcmcnL•
• now CRUDE I not lO mention inaccurate (rm
sorry to learn Mr. Messick is constipatcd, but please
SJXITC us, your readers, this kind of knowledge in your
last 3 h.~c.~).
Un<:igncd
Charlouc. NC
• Reply: Than! you for your commtnt.r. I
suppou you tw0 think that art should ncvtr be
ojftnsiw:. I don't agree with that. Man) comics and
artists use the irracioMI 10 get a pomt acros.r. They
also play with taboo sub;ects rtgularly.
FrtJ/lltly I have mtt too many
tnvirollflll!ntalists who haw: diffic11/ty laughing 01
tht:mstlvts. In the Fall, /991 issuto/Kat~nh Wt"
pla}'l!d with tht sumingly sacrosanct KatuahJournaJ
logo and it becamt Granola Journal/or this vuy
reason Why is it that the sense of humor is among
the most controversial of human pursuits?
The "Ka1'1ah Ko,rfu.sion~ comic in isslll! 36 hod
a play on words that was IIOl =ant to be 1~11 this
seriously. I/you would liu to see m()Tt: ufmy 'anal
comp/a' please re/t:r 10 Katuah Journal issut 1112
(Summn- 1986) 111 an article t!nlitled "The Sacred
Sca,ab"for which I cartooned idtas the Kauiah edito~
hod aboui scarab beet/ts raking care of the sort of
miff )'OIi fuul III ou1l,ouses. 1/appy body funcnons!
· RM
De.u-Katuah,
I was inl.CrCSICd to read the review of Kattiah
iffl!e #34 in lhc latesl issue of Anarchy mnga.,me.
1lle mrun reason I've written is bccnu.w rm fa1tly
heavily involved with lhe UK Earth First! nelwork
and am presently beginning 10 compile an nnicle on
the Iheme of·Rcfon:sting the Eanh." My intent in
producing this article for the UK Emth F'l/'SlJ
magll7.ine called Wild is:
I) Because a (X)lll~ve n:fon:stmion drive
would go a long way to mitigaung many of the
disasuous side cffeCLS.of our presenl way of life (who
knows, it could even ushet m a ocw "modem
primitive• golden age, and talce lhc l)fCSSW\l off our
animal brothers and sisterS).
2) It means that us radical c:nvironmentaliStS
can be proactive rather lhan reactive • seuing our own
agenda rather than always decrying "theirs.• lt is not
enough jUSl lO oppose.. A pc)Siti ve vision o( ours acts
as a binding force and gives us something 10 strive
for mthcr lhan fight agrunsL
3) Living in lhe United Kingdom I yearn for a
wilderness, an unn:gulaled expanse. Seeing an
American wilderness (of a kind) - Yosemite· had a
profound cffCCl on me.
XAt6bh. )outnat page 26
4) The planting of U'CCS seems 10 me lO be
very life-affuming - a way 10 give somelhing back (or
"pay the rent," as US EF! people say). It is a way to
create something rather lhan prevent something rrom
being desaoyed.
I see lhc article as having two secLJons. 1lle
fu;t will cover and promoli: groups already engngcd m
reforestation - e.g. Trees for Life. Scottish Tree Trust,
Sacred Tree Trust, Reforesting Scotland in lhe UK.
Gccen Bell in Kenya. Si-A-Paz in Nie4ragua, clC.
The second will promote the idea of a
uec-based life itself and ex:imine lhc pr05pCCts for tl1is
THE. LAST~F~~
l<ATUANS
Dear Kataali,
My deepest thanks 10 all of you for Ka16uh
Journal. It was really good reading, and rm sorry nex1
summer it will be all over.
Please, jf You plan 10 publish Katuah again in
the future, or any other journal or books. le! me
know.
Good Luck To All of You,
Giuseppe Moretti
Man10va. l181y
Dear Katuah,
We are two historians Crom Austria. For about
1en years we worlt and publish on new spiritual and
alcem:itive movements. At the same time we are p:in
of lhese movements by ourselves. We are both acLJve
in lhc non-prol'it association "For the Earth, for
Life/Working Circle Hopi. Auslri3" which suppons
traditional lnduln issues and promou:.s spiritual
practices in the: Gennan-spcalcing an:a.
After the decline of communism in Eastern
Europe there is an increasing 1endcncy toward a new
regionalism throughout lhc continent. We con5idcr
the bioregionaJ,sm a~ a very tn!Cl'Cs.tmg alternative to
the estabhshcd stau:-sysiem. We want lO inronn the
public rn the German-speaking coonincs by means of
sc1cn1ilic work about biorcgionalism which b
unknown in Europe. So we request your help by
sending us information material on your specific
work and acuviucs, and by answering the following
questions:
• Is your vision of bioregionalism connected
with an egaliianan, hierarchical, or other order of
society? (which)
• Arc foreign people wekome in bioregional
areas or is it the aim of bioregionahsm that pc,ople 01
foreign cullll/'U - e11cluded?
•There is a big con~uon of biorcg1011al idea~
with Nauve Amcncans. ls there any coopcrall<>n
and/or do you SUPJlOll Indian land rights struggles
cu:.?
We are looking fOfWlltd lo hearing from you.
Sinc:crely Yours.
Dr. &luard Gugcnbager
Dr. Roman Schwcidlcnka
A-8984 Kainisc:h 29
Austria, Europe
Dear Katuah.
I fll'St read Karuah JourMI boci wilh issue 1127.
I luld ;ust finished 1wo year. with the Peace Corps in
the Philil'fl111CS, and had rclWllcd home 10 Ellijay, GA
10 visit with my Dad. The arucle by Richard
Lowenthal :ibo1.1t personal and plancwy healing blew
me away. I remember I sat on lhe public bench in
front of the Dallon, GA pos1 office and read lhc: article
by Lisa Sarasohn about the belly. "If we are lO heal
the Eanh, let us st.art as close to home as possible,
let us Stan with the ponion of the Erulh which is our
bodies.· Since I.hen our wife delivered our fll'Sl child.
as a future social model as oovocated by the
Such words wri11en by lots of d1ffcrcnl people over
Movement for Compassionate Living. George
these past few years It.we helped me so much. Mostly
French, permaculturists, and so on.
I'm quiet, but I feel reassurance m knowing thal
Your publication sounded like ii would be
others feel things like me.
worth reading in n:la!Jon lO this article. If you know
What's most imponant for y'all publishing 1hc
of any Cun.her relevant matuial, such as lhal I have
journal 1s your own healths. Maybe if the journal is
outlined above, I'd be very grateful 10 hear from you.
diffic:ull to pull iogether using just volunteer input,
Youn Sincerely,
we could increase our yearly subscnplion to say
Dominic Franklin
twenty-Ii ve dollars, and then have a small stipend for
Brighton,UK
lhe core members of the SUlff. I think that Ka1uah
semis out a really powetful voice, and I think lhlll ,n
times 10 come we'll sec more and more people
looking ror such a voice in lhelf search for lhclf place
in this Great Life.
In appreciation,
Scou Richardson
Baguio City, Philippines
Drawing by Dous Ellioct
JJi.ntei. 1992-~
�Dear Kan1ah,
......
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Dear Katuah,
1 ••···:
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ILL MISS YOU!
BIGTIME
With Love, Peace, and Hope for the Future,
HalWlllSOn
M:ith The Noturt Con.m-wincy
Minneapolis. MN
_.
Thanks C« all your work. We love Katuah
Journal and will miss you!
The Magic Fac10ry
Rome.GA
DcarKatuah,
lwassoodcnedbytheannoonccmentto
discontinue publication of Katuah Journal. Your
contnl>ution lO bioregional awan:ncss and thinking
has reached beyond K.alliah.
The mspuation the joomal has provided for me
will be missed•
The best to all of you,
Tom Hawkins
Ravenna.OH
Dear Ka1uah,
So SrKry to hear you all are ceasing publication
• this truly is tht btst biortgional journal in the
country!
Dear Kataah,
Dear Katuah.
We recently came to North Carolina to camp
in the Sunburst area of Pisgah National Forest. We
were there for a weelc and had an opportwlity to visit
Cherokee, NC.
On the way into the city we passed an
interesting edifice which turned out to be Native
Traditions, the non-profit organization which
suppons experiential education for youth. We wmed
in because I thought it was a herb shop and I have a
great interest in herbs. (If you know the store perhaps
you will understand my mistake.)
I was delighted with the enterpnse, even
though it wasn't a herb store. My two boys and I
were fascinated with the items oCfered frK sale, along
with the lending library and Sequoyah Trueblood's
concept.
While paying ror two crystals the boys had
selected. I spotted a C-Opy of Ka111ah Journal on a
nearby uibtc. I reached frK a copy 10 add 10 the
purchase thinking it was a Cherokee local newsletter
and that it would be intem.ting 10 road. The young
Indy at the counter would take no payment for ill J
wn.~ further impres.,;oo! However I was even more
impressed when I finished reading that summer 1992
issue! So impressed that I would like lO ~ubscribe.
I subscn'bc to Circlt Ntrworlc News from
Wisconsin, Mymcal Realms"from Briton, nnd \Vild
and Wudy from ldaho. Thi.~ Katuah Journal is a good
counter JlOlnl . I enjoyed it!
Thanks again ,
C. L. Mahoney
Ros.~ford, OH
"Now is tht Season of Dying
Tht Long Dark Night A'bornin'
Bui sh.hh! Usttn...
The Trus Stand Tall A'gin the Bi11u Wind
Awaitm' tht warm glqwA' Morniri'."
DearKatuah,
Your publicauon 1s right on targeL To me.
ltving close to the L'l.lld is the most imponant thing
we can do. I am glad 10 send you $50.00 for ALL of
your remaining back l~sues. They will become a
valued pan of my library as I learn to live
hannoniously with my biacgion - The Mississippi
River Delta.
Long Live the E.arth,
George Nctwcrlccr
New Orleans, LA
(The Forest's W/lll'ERSONG)
I was saddened by your news. The passing of
an important piece of all our lives - but I'm glad to
have known and been a pan of Katuah for the time I
was.
Peace,
Fran Freudcnbcrgcr
Hendersonville. NC
Thankyou,
Dana Vandcr Els
Winooski, VT
Dear Katuah.
Sad news indeed! Have you considered trying to
get some foundation in the region to underwrite three
years of an editor's salary rK wha1evcr expense is most
critical?
Send two copies of Katuah Journal with your
proposal, and who knows, it might w«k. The
Dirtctory of Foundalions is probably available at you
local library.
Keep Katuah Afloat!
Ken Morrison
Babson Park. FL
Dear Ka1uah.
Dear Katuah,
Sorry 10 hear about KDluah's ceasing
pubIic31ion. A line J()umal which will be hasd to top.
I wish all of you well and thank you frK your years of
service to the people of the province and the rest of us
lucky enough IO come across iL
Regard.~
Onwings by Rob Messick
LccMcm:r
Baltimore, MD
Although l did expect it sooner or later I still
hoped 1wouldn't sec the ad on Page 34 Fall '92
saying good-bye.
It was through Katuah Journal that I rully
wised up 10 natural resources • the w:iy they were, arc.
and can be again - and I can't po~bly thank you all
enough for that , At least you arc going out with
dignity, aware that you did reach a lot o f ~ with
your message of hope, expressed so beautifully in
your "Statement of Purpose."
It is my hope that you can, in the foreseeable
future, once again send II voice. •• if not. you have
accomplished much anyhow.
In closing, for th,: benefit of anyone who IS
interested in gaming good insight mto just how
esscnual lltCS arc to human life, and how wonderous
they an: up close, may I sugg~ a book cnlltlcd rhir
Green World written in 1942 by Rutherford Plan. in
reprint now through Dodd. Mead, and Company. Mr.
Plait undcrnood ucts, and his love for them shows
through. Though an amrueur Mtumlist. hi5
knowledge SUrplSSCd many "eitpertS" and This Grun
World e:imed him the Burroughs Awanl as the year's
forcmosi literary worlt in nature writing. I urge folks
10 get this book, if no others.
(continllCd on ne,,1 P"&e)
XA~,Jin.m9':, ~~.
�Dear Katualt,
It m:ilccs me snd 10 think about Kaluoh Journal
being put to sleep!
Fondly,
B31tara Wickersham
Knoxville, TN
(continued from pa;;c 27)
Again, lhank you :ill ror guidance when I mo5t
needed n worthwhile dinx:llon an life • II won't be
forg01ten ..•
P.S, - I'd like 10 extend a "good day!" IO S:tm
Booher, 'l'hcthcr he i, or isn't rcl31Cd lO the B«>hcrs
in £ar Eastern Tennessee. A brother manicd into that
clan fnr a while.
Keep lhe Path,
Jclfl.achary
Dear Kllluoh,
Thanks for all your good work through the
years. Katualt has been 311 inspiration!
Pcac:e and Slmhinc,
Bob Fairchild
E:l.slCmKenwcky
Appropriate Technologies
Oe.,r Kllluah,
I nm oorry lO discover your journal jUSl as it is
about IO cease publication. I am currently a graduate
student in Foresuy a1 Notth Carolina S131e
University. I hope to S1Jlr1 a homestead in the North
Carolina Appalachian Mountains soon. Pcrh3ps some
day we will meet?
Peace,
DcnnisOwnond
Raleigh.NC
Oeat'Klllu,Jh,
I am sorry to hear that you will be CC3Slng
publiaillon... Katuah 1s a ftl!C joumal and it will be
sorely missed!
Jennifer Brownlie
Gulf B=.c. FL
Dc:it Kattlah,
We nre sorry to hear about KatJiah Jour11i1I
eea~ing publication. especially ~incc we~ recently
1hscovcroo )'OU • •a voice in the waldeme."-'1.•
I would also lake to order a near complete sci
of lxK le issues.
Good luck ond thank you.
Cyntlua Maddo~
and Ben C.ampbcll
Gn:cnsbom. NC
Xoti,ah Journni patJC 28
De:irKotiiah.
Sorry 10 hear I.hat Katuoh Journal will stop
publicution. Best Wish<:s for the future.
Bartxua WhiLCner
Salisbury. NC
Dear Katualt.
We am very sad to hear you will cease
publishing Katuoh Journal, We look forward IO each
issue. it always lirts our spiriii; ro tCad the ankles and
poems. Good luck 10 you all in your future
cndca\'Ol'S.
Peace,
Steve and Jo Knight
Allanm,GA
Dear Kat(wh,
I'd Ii.kc 10 obtain a copy of lhc l:iiest issue of
Katiiah JourNJI fcawriog rorcsis, wood woit. and
wood workers. Heard that this might be your final
issue. ll<>pe it's 1101 true. Every issue I've seen has
been absolutely lop notch • mieresting, relevant,
cullurally and biorcg.,onally enrich111g. Please say 11
ain·1 sol
Thanks very much.
OaveKahnn
Full Circle Foresuy
Gaiberville. CA
D.:arKatualt,
We are compilmg and editing a ·Good Wood'
guide that lisis source.~ of suruinably-h:u'vc~tild wood.
and produclS mruJe thereof Do you have any leads for
producers in yOllr area that might be mlCl'C6ted?
Also, our new ncwslcucr 1s coming 001 an a
week or two· would you like LO uchange? We all
were 1mpr-cs,;ed by your journal, and were sorry to
hear you're closing down.
Thanks,
Ken
lll~titu1c for Sustainable Fon:s1ry
P.O. Box 1580
Redway, CA 95560
Pnnt by Laura Braolt Janun • agt II
DearKatwh,
Over the years I've wriucn about the U.S.
Forest Service. May I inlJ'Oduce the Association of
Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics
(AFSEEE)? Among its members arc over 2,000
profcss1on:ils m the Forest Service. They am very
upset with the polilici.iation of the U.S. Forest
Scr.•ice wherein it no longer serves the best intcreslS
or the public. Therefore they are sharing infonnalion
to bring about reforms. He.re are quoc.ntions from
information they have provided on how to save our
National Forests from waste. "U.S. National Forests
I) supply only 14% of U.S. wood producis 2)
comprise only 8.5% or our country's land lllC3 3)
contain SO~of rtffl3ining wildlife habitat in the U.S.
4) supply SO% of the cold-wrucr fisheries habitat in
1he U.S. S) provide abundant clean water and air 6)
make up lhe I.isl remaining S% of our native forests
in I.he conlinerual U.S. 7) and represent the la~t
vestiges or functioning ccosysiems. critical for the
preservation of remaining biological diva,;ity.
These environr11Cnl:il value.~ eannoc be supplied
anywhere else: they can only be found on our
remaining public lands.
The U.S. does 001 need more wood from the
N;11ional f-orcs1s. Consider the following !.implc
conservution and recychng ~ll'lllcgy. which would
mon: 1han make up for lhecurrcnt 14% or wood
products coming from U.S. National Forests:
• Increasing the efficiency or our mills in the
U.S. IO literally cul mare wood Crom each log.
Technology aln::idy ovailnblc and being used in J:ipan
would increase our "supply" a full 27%-. almost
double what comes Crom National Forests.
• Using mon: post-consumer recycled paper
producis, making use of both sides of paper. reducing
the use of di~lc paper producL~. and eliminating
wood wa5te in lhc construction process. These steps
m addiuon 10 mill efficiency would save us 50% of
the trees we are cutting now • nearly four times the
wood coming from National ForesL~.
While AFSEEE is not necessarily advocating a
halt to public lands devcloprl!Cnl and logging, we do
advoe;ite a complete mor310nurn on any development
of remaining roadless an::is or old growth. AFSEEE
says unul we instJtutc a simple, rauonal conscrvuuon
and recycling strategy, the public shOuld not have to
give up the incredible cnvironmenllll values or our
Notional Fore.,ts for a mere 14% of the wood prducL~
supply. Nor should we lose hundreds of m1lhons of
our tax dollnrs m selling lhe heritage of our National
Fore,, lands to tamber companies for lhesc
unnCCCS'iaf)' wood producL,. •
Oc:ir wise friend.,! Un51Crupulous Limber
mtcre,L\ pn:,;cnUy conuol lhc admini~ll'lltion and
Congreis and are quietly aucmpting to PG"-~ laws so
tha1 they can loot our and our children's hcril!lgc. the
b,1 rcinnining 5% or ancient forests. Subscribing to
lnnrr Voiu (P.O. Box I 1615; Eugene, OR 97440)
\\11l help ket'p you infonned. Our conccm:d western
cousins need our help 10 save our ancient trees and the
life tl1cy suppon. Congrcs~mcn who defer to such
special unscrupulous mtcrc51., again~! the public good
arc 1m:spoosiblc, de.~f\·ing or a hfe-long vacallon.
:111d should be so informed politely. Won't you please
help for the :sake of your grnnd.hlltlrcn? Yoo havi: the
time and the means. Ancient tn:cs contJnuc to fall
n~,ly.
Z. Andrew Gerry
FranJJan,NC
lvint.cr, I qgz-93
I
�(continued from page 21)
BAD OPPORTUNITY
TIMBER SALE APPEALED •
BY INDUSTRY!
Nllllnl World Nc,ws Sttvi«
N•unl World News Set\<icc
Following an order from lhe ccnuul office of
lhe Southern Region of lhe US Forest ScN1ce. the
Jefferson National Foresl has stopped issuing decision
nouccs for Opponunity Areas (OAs). OAs average
7,600 acre.~ each on the Jefferson
Under the old system, lhe Forest Service issued
one-t,me decision notices for mosl ForesL Service
ocuv111cs in 311 OA over a period of live or more
ycru-s. Freed Crom the rcsLraintS of lhe old sySI.Cm, lhe
Forc.~1 Service is planning a flurry or umber "3lcs. ll
h:is begun using a rudimentary, nonbinding OA
document lhat offers linle hope for expaod.ing
nongame habiuu, special areas. or semiprimitivc
recreational opportunities.
Environmenial groups have nol been qwct.,
however. In October, represenialives of lhe CitilcrtS'
Ta.~k Force for Foresl Management, the Appalachian
Trail Conference, SoulhPAW, and the timber llldustry
met with Ille Deputy Regional Forcsccr. Only lhe
timber industry backed !he change.
A second meeting is planned, lhis lime with
Regional Forester John Alcock. The Cili,.ens' Tiwt
Force ha. provided Alcock wilh a number of aises and
materials on the OA system. The group has reminded
him lha1 it was he who signed the f0test pl3n aficr lhe
OA sysicm was worked OUL The Task Force argues
lhat lhe OA system was designed 10 compensate for
an otherwise deficient plan. Wilhout it, lhe Jefferson
1'ational FOfCSI is essentiBlly ·ptanless." and must
begin opernting on imcrim guidelines until a
satisfactory new plan is approved. To lhe nonh, !he
George Washington National Forest has been
operating on interim guidelines for several years. The
C1tiicns· Ta.~ Force ha.~ enlistO<I lhe help of the
Sou1hem Environmental Law Centec in preparing its
If 1mit1tion is lhe sincetest form of noucry,
then lhe Muluple Use Council JUSI /o~s Lhe region's
environmental groups! ~timber industry advocacy
group adopted an environmcnlalist iactic m Scpccmbcr,
1992 by entering an odmmistralive appcaJ wilh lhe US
Forc.~1 SeN1cc on the Sugarhouse Cove limber sale.
Sugarhouse Cove is in lhe Big Ivy area of nonh
Buncombe County. Big Ivy IS known for us
biolog1cal diversity and has been recommended 3S a
biological reserve by a coalition of scientists and
activists (Si:i!K01uahJourna/ #34).
Ths substance of the induSLry appeal was an
hi~1orical oulline or the Big Ivy area and a stand
history of Lhe timber sale companmcnts. The
h1~1orical oullinc went back JO J)IC-Columbian times
and traced a history of human use up JO lhe present
day.
The comention or lhc appca) is lhat lhe umber
sale should be expanded. The reasoning is that because
there arc species of threatened pl.ants in Big Ivy and
becaleiC much of Dig Ivy has experienced periodic
human dislurbance, "lhe question might be raised" Ihm
"site disturbance is necessary 10 lhcse plants and !he
lack of site disuub:lnce may bar lheir recovery as a
species."
The obvious flaw in lhe logic of the appeal is
1h31 no cause-and-effect relationship is ~hown. Because
there are lhrcatcned plant species in an area 1h31
experienced human disuu-bance does not mean lhnl the
planlS arc dependent upon diSlurbancc. Much more
prolxlble for species of native woodland plontS IS that
they are continuing to exist in lhc area in spite of
disuubances. The particular species in question were
not named in lhc industry's appeal.
If disturbance oncouraged lhrealClled plan15, lhc
highly disturbed areas or human habilation all around
lhc national forests would be rife wilh rare and
endangered plant species. Unfonunately, this is not the
case. Native species need nauve habitat.. which for the
rare forest plantS is lhe old-growlh hardwood foresL
For many speci.:s, the public lands are their los1
refuge, and i n ~ human use is lhreatening lheu
last haven.
Enlightening as is the dissertation on lhe
history of the human use or the Big Ivy area, 11 in no
way makes an across-the-board case that race plant~
require clcarcuis.
case.
For more in[ormarion. write: Citizens' Taslc
Foret; 2753 Tanglewood Dr. SW; Roanoke, Va.
24018
ROADS CRISSCROSS
PARKWAY
Narura! World News Service
It's lhe law! An obscure passage in !he 1989
North Carolina Highway Trust Fund Act bas cituens·
groups and Blue Ridge Parlcway orrtcials worried.
Tucked in among the other verbiage is a clause that
requires the st:ite 10 rave all its roads - 17,000 miles wnhm IS y~. Fifty to 60 of lhese roads cross lhc
Blue Ridge Parkway.
When lhe Parkway wa.~ e~Lilbli!Jled as 11
nauonal park, the North Carolina and Virginia
Dcpanments ofTran.,ponauoo (OOTs) n:ccived all
nghtS of way foe inlefSCcung public roads. The
Parkway administration is therefore Lrying to v.ork
coopcrauvely w1lh lhe NC DOT. Accordmg to
Ranger Jim Fox, lhc Patkway has an cxt.cnsive
da1.1ba.o;c on rare plant communities and archaoological
sues. It will urge DOT to avoid these are:is and to
m.'lke changes whenever road plan~ CJlCOUl'3gc
increased uuffte and high speed driving on the
1l3Jtway.
Citi,cos groups arc also dismayed by the
proposal. Paul Pritchard of the National Parks Md
Conservation A~iation has exprcssoo concern
about the project's potential to interfere wilh wildlife
comdocs along the Parkway, In an Asheville
Ciri1e11-Timn artlclc. he stated, "the moce we cut it
up, lhe more difficult il is for nalllle to survive the
acts of mon."
lo>u1ter, 1992-93
OPEN SEASON ON COYOTE
Natural World New. Serv,a,
CO)'OIC 1, ptrSOfl(J flOfl grata in lhe Stale or
North Carolina.
The NC Wildlife Rcsoum:sCommis~ion
0.-/CWRC) has cl~ilied the coyoie as a •non-game
wildlife specie.~· (hke a groundhog) and is proposing
an open, urucstciclcd hunung = n on lhc wil>·
canine.
Since large nauvc preda10rs have been
extcrmina1ed in lhe Sou1hcast. ll1crc has been an open
niche in lhe area ecosystem, To fill Lha1 niche, the
coy01e has migrated into Nonh Carolina from the
wc~1 and has naturnli,cd itself in the Kaniah biorcgion
and lhc wesiem piedmont Pockcis of coyoc.c
i;culcment have also occurred 1n lhe caslCm part of the
st.11e, probably as a rc~uh of human intrOduction.
Coyotes arc opportunistic cau:rs. They are
naturally prcda!Or'i, :ind will hunt animal~ as laq:e as
deer down JO animals as small os rabbits, bird.~. rut.~,
and mice. But coyoccs eat whatever is easiest JO find,
which may perhaps be scavenged carrion or plant
materials. They also will take domestic livC$tock -
calvci;, turkeys. chickens, or pig.~. In doing so, lhcy
rove run afoul of farmers, who ha\'C :i strong political
VOICC.
Whecc coyotes e.~lish lhemsclves, the red
fox disappears - either outcompel.Cd or killed outright
by lhe coyote. Foi1 hunters arc but a small part of the
NCWRC con.~utucncy. but lhcy. 100, arc vocal and
consti1u1e a strong lobbymg group for !heir aclivilie~.
Thus an open season on lhis "undesirable
alien."
"Nobody believes lhnt lhe coyote population
can be eradicated, but we don't want JO hinder
anybody's cffons to conLrOI a specific situauon; says
Peny Sumner of lhe NCWRC.
The coyote may also have a damaging effect on
nl!CmptS to reintroduce lhe red wolf, anolhec prcd:itor.
The budget for red wolf remr.mduction includes money
for indemni1ies to farmers who lose livestock lhrough
red wolf predation. The small populations or red
wolves presently loose III the wild are fairly easy IO
moo11or. But if these populations grow, it will
become more difficult to tell if a predation incident is
caused by a wolf or a coyoie. Any pralation will lhen
become "wolf predation" in lhe eyes of formers who
will in~is1 on payment.
"This could break lhe budget of the wolf
progmm, • says Sumner, and could abort Lhc: whole
reintroduction proje,cL
TOO MANY DEER
N&llltll World News Scrvia,
In lhe late 1980s, eminent biologists William
Alverson, Donald Waller, and Stephen Solheim
reported lluu an overabundance of deer was damaguig
ran: undcrsiory planlS in Pennsylvama. including
some plants also found in lhe Southern Appalachians.
Damaged plants were found even in the middle of a
4,07S acre virgin foresL
Now a 1992N01ural A.rtas Journal on.icle by
Sco11 Miller and Susan Brnuon documen~ lhc imrac1
of deer browsing on lhrealened and endangered pl.inLS
across lhe United States. Based on a review of
scientific literature on the \ubjcx:1 and interviews wilh
173 scientist..~. na1ural h~niage inventory bo1.0J11sts,
Nature Conscrvoncy land stewanls, federal land
resource managers, and US foh and Wildlife ci1pcns,
Miller and Bratton compiled a list of 98 rare planl~
commonly disturbed by d<XC ovcrbrowsmg.
The ~,udy found Lhat fedcrally lhre:itcned and
cnd.mgcred plants like lhe Virgini:i round leaf bU'Ch,
small-whorled pogonia, and swamp-pink are at ri~.
Olhcc pfanl~ native JO Lhc Southern Appalachmn.s are
affocled by deer as well: the list mcludcs over 40
Soulbem APJl31achian species IJlCluding spider-lily,
gm,;cng, blazing star, Canada lily, Gray's lily, bog
twaybladc, Appalachian 1woybladc, 1111d nonhcrn
pitcher plont
Miller and Brnuon llOIC Lhal deer populauons
in many an:a1 are higbct than they have been
hisl0rie31ly. They suggCSt that human disturbance,
fragmentation. and a high proporuon of early
suce. ~iOIUII gro"''lh are contributing 10 the problem.
...
In addition, they nnc.1 that fragmentauon makes rare
plant communities more a::ccssible to deer.
�used
cultum'struggling t6 be heard, Iather
than being a pioneer on the fringes.
Pathelic Art is not an expression of
naive resignation, but an
acknowledgement that irony, when
you're getting gang-banged in an
information orgy, is a pipe dream."
Ceremonial chairlbcis 1/iie been
for thousands of years by many cultures to
provide a unifying force to help bond human
beings together in a common spirit with
shared values and attitudes. The rituals and
ceremonies varied, but the basic principles of
developing inner awareness and
understanding of the Universe were similar.
A oon-projir organiUllion called The
Fo1111da1io11 For Earth's Ancestral Voices has
been Ionned to work specifically on
completing the Sound Chamber in
Swannanoa, NC. The foundation is seeking
donations in order to comp/ere construction
of the dome.
For more information write: The
Foundalion For Earth's Ancestral Voices;
302 Old Fellowship Road; Swannanoa, NC
28778.
- from Ralph Rugoff in tht catalog for a
show in Los Angeles tilled "Just Palhdic. • Utne
Reader, lpg 99) Noo/D« 1992
~
SOUND CHAMBER
IN SWANNANOA SEEKS HELP
The World Peace/Sound Chamber
being built at the Eanh Center in Swannanoa,
NC is the eighteenth such chamber to be
constructed. These chambers are scattered
around the world in England, Sweden, New
Zealand, Switzerland, Australia, Germany,
Austria, France Finland, and the United
States (in New Mexico, Colorado, Texas,
Connecticut, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia,
New York, and Nonh Carolina). An
unassuming man known as Joseph Rael or
Beautiful Painted Arrow is the visionary
father of these chambers.
Pathetic Art
Has Arrived
"... although artists throughout
history have been able to stand outside
society, secure in their ability to define
art and to offer social commentary,
today they can fill no such vital role.
Artists are more marginalized than
ever - and these days, marginality
means being trapped inside the media
c.o~itlt. taoo~
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Dairy Substitutes
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celebfotlon. ldnshp and hope.
• Youlll Camps • School Programs
• Family Camps· Teacher Training
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615-436-6203
whole earth
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Xatuan Journ<it page 30
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TaDing ua,-es is I monlbly
jow'na1 of deep ecology, 111SPiml
persooaJ ac:11v1sm rooted in eanhea
spnitualil)'. PU! iSSUC$ have
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Talhng UOW!S speaks for the
oatural world aod for 1be rekindling
of our own wild spu11.
Subscriptions arc $18.00 one
year/ $24.00 OUISide U.S.
Tallci11g ua,-u
1430 W1tlamette 11367
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503/342-2974
Wtnter, 1992-93
�BOOK REVIEWS:
Beyond the Beauty Strip:
Saving What's Left of Our Forests
- by Mitch Lansky
This new book by Mitch Lansky has
been touted as one of the most imponant
books about the Stale of the environment
since Rachel Carson's Silent Spring. Mitch is
a resident of Wytopillock, Maine who has
become known as a "premier backwoods
rebel" challenging many of'the accepted
assertions about the timber and wood
producl'> indusoies. His book presents clear
facts about what has happened to the North
Woods and considers the economic, political
and social influences that have added to the
serious ecological problems there.
A major event that spurred the author
into action occurcd in 1976 when he watched
as planes dropped pesticides on his propeny.
rle later sued the company responsible and
sraned the citizens group called PEST
{Protect our Environment from Sprayed
Toxins). PEST was successful in regulating
existing spray progams by introducing the
use of compunds such as Bt and creating
buffer zones. The group disbanded in 1988
after pesticide spraying programs ceased in
Maine.
Beyond tire Beauty Strip offers a hard
look at the effeclS of industrial forest
management and the results of "bottom-line"
liquidations of forests so prevalent in the
I 980's. Mitch has brought together
convincing information that points to changes
thut must happen in order for business.
human communities, and the forests to find a
sustainable relationship with one another. As
a man who has done many kinds of work in
the lumbering trade, and who has thoroughly
researched forestry issues, this book is yet
another log of evidence in the clarion call for
sane forestry!
bioregional circles: "Two monsterS have
ruined agriculture and country life, as they
have ruined cities and city life. These
monsters are private speculative ownership of
land and the centralized overuse of the
factory." It is reassuring to know that the
bioregional movement has such able
predecessors.
"The School of Living is an educational
organization dedicated to teaming and
teaching the philosophy, practices, and
principles of living that are self-empowering
for individuals within the general aim of
establishing decentralized, ecologically
sound, self-governed, and humane
communities. All of its resources, but most
specifically the land it holds in trust, arc held
in responsible stewardship for present and
future generations."
This is the mission statement of the
School of Living which is remarkably similar
to the cuhural side of many bioregional
statements. The bioregional movement has
sought to blend the preservation of regional
biodiversity with the maintenance of human
cultural concerns while revealing the impacts
these forces have on one another. This
inherently antagonistic mix.cure has proven 10
be very difficuh to resolve. to say the least.
and has in some ways overloaded the
bioregional movement to the point where its
very wholism is what makes it vulnerable to
exclusion as a "fringe idea" by the general
populace.
No maner how much a good idea
appeals to common sense, those seeking
social and ecological justice are not in power,
and often don't want to be. This book shows
again that grassroots groups and individuals
acting on their own conscience must continue
10 insist on justice if justice is to manifest in
the world.
- reviews by Rob Messick
THE INST11lJTE FOR DEEP ECOLOGY
EDUCATION
otrww
A 2-Week Summer School in
APPUED DEEP ECOLOGY
~f.14,1993
Shet!M R . - C . - , Philo. C4
sn
Reshaping Modern Culture:
The Story of the School of living and Its FoU11dtr
• by Mildred Jensen Loomis
lolitt~r. 1992-93
For a listing ofbooks published by rhe
School of Living, including Reshaping
Modern Culture ($17.50 plus postage), write
ro: School of Living; R.D. I, Box 185A;
Cochranville, PA /9330 or call (215)
593-6988.
This IS
I/IUJnsive tramrng for
scwtsts, educators. thersp,scs.
and community organizers The
program will offer sklll bu,fdmg in
eco-psychology. restoration ecology. communrr:y mcervention. end
new educational tech111ques for
transform,ngenv,ronmenr.alvelues
end behavior. Join With our diverse faculty m bndg,ng the "gep·
between culture end nature, UI'
ben end wild, soc,af 1usace end
deep ecology.
Order from: Tilbury llouse Publishers;
The Boston Building; 132 Water S"eet;
Gardiner, ME 04345 ($19.95 plus postage).
In 1934 Ralph Borsodi founded the
School of Living in southeastern
Pennsylvania. It soon became a place where
advocates ofself-surlicient living and land
trusts came 10 work, :.tudy, and live. The
author of the book Reshaping Modern
Culrure, Mildred Loomis, joined the school
soon after its inception and was a leader in
work done there until her death in 1986.
With a lively inlroduction from Hazel
Henderson, this work gives a detailed
description of the history of the School of
Living and its founder, but it also serves as
an inspiration for relative newcomers to
decentralization principles in the bioregional
movement.
The following statement by Borsodi
lc.ipt out at me as a confirmation of the same
problems we have come up against in
Ralph Borsodi wrote prolificly about
the errors of modem industrial society, and
his argumencs against it are perhaps even
more relevant today than when they were first
wriuen. Today the School of Living
continues his work with projects in
community land trusts, permaculture,
geonomics, and alternative education, and
production of their membership newsleucr
Green Revolution.
Facu/tymcfude: Joanna Macy, Bilf
Devall, Randy Heyes, Elizabeth
Roberts, Ed Grumbine, Rechel
CARDS
byRobl\/~
Get a set of 10 assorted
folding cards with
artwork as seen in
Katiiah Journal.
Send $11.25 ppd to:
Rob Messick
Rt. 8, Box 323
Lenoir, NC 28645
Bagby, Freeman House, David
Abrsm, Suphsnis Kiwi, Csrl
Anthony, Ds l/id HHnks, Uu
Faithom, Alan Drwngson, & ~
ers. Greduer.s credit end Continvin(I Educeaon credit IIVStlBbfe.
For brochure ca/I or fax:
(3D3) 939-8398
or write
THE INST1TUTE FOR
DEEP ECOLOGY EDUCATION,
Bo.x229D,
Boulder, Colorado, B03D6.
,C.Otuan Jolmia!.
pn1JC 3 1
�DECEMBER
FEBRUARY
20
SW ANNANOA, NC
Chanting in the newly
completed Peace Chamber held each Swiday
at 5 pm. For info, contact The Earth Center;
302 Old Fellowship Rd.; Swannanoa, NC
28778. (704) 298-3935.
21
8
22-27
MARSHALL, NC
Ladderback Chairmaking
tutorial with Drew Langsner. Traditional
woodworlcing skills and use of specialized
hand tools. Enrollment limited to two
students. $575 includes meals and lodging.
Pre-register. For info on this and other
tut0riaJs, contact: Country Workshops; 90
MiU Creek Rd.; Marshall, NC 28753. (704)
656-2280.
Winter Solstice
ST. MARYS, GA
10th Annual Peace Witness and
Reunion at Kings Bay Naval Submarine
Base. Sponsored by From Trident 10 Life.
Contact: Metanoia Community; 1702 Hwy.
70 E.; St Marys, GA 31558. (912)
882-4820.
26-28
HOT SPRINGS, NC
Annual New Year's Retreat.
Meditation, chanting, and meditative
movement to welcome the new year, led by
Marcia Rose and John Orr. $295 includes
vegan meals and lodging. Pre-register:
Dharma Rettcat Center; Rt. 1, Box 34-H; Hot
Springs, NC 28743. (704) 622-7112.
Full Moon
MARCH
27-1/4
8
20
SWANNANOA,NC
Fire ceremony offered ror the
healing of Earth's waters, held on the 7th of
each month. Contact The Earth Center. See ·
12/20.
7
Spring Equinox
SWANNANOA, NC
Sacred sounds workshop
offered by Beautiful Painted Arrow (Joseph
Rael). For info, cont.act: The Earth Center.
See 12/20.
20
8
Full Moon
8
JANUARY
Full Moon
SWANNANOA, NC
Gathering of Tiospaye.
Celebration and fellowship with the extended
Earth.centered family. Potluck meal. For
info, contact The Earth Center. See 12/20.
Drawing by Rob Messick
21
SWANNANOA, NC
Dedication of the Peace
Chamber. Ceremonies will also include
initiation of the elders and a Wopelia
(''giveaway") of thanksgiving for the
completion of the Chamber. Contact: The
Eanh Center. See 12/20.
- - life's necessiti.csfor kss - -
FRENCH BROAD Fooo Co-oP
KalmiaCenter, Inc.
Sylva, NC
(704) 293-3015
Custom tilling, organic fertilizers, kelp meal,
colloidal phosphate & many more products
and services for abundant gardening and
healthful living.
rJ ':Thu
~
Sarujy M,,sh
Htrb Nurse,y
WHOLE FOODS
VITAMINS
ORGANIC PRODUCE
160 Broadway
Asheville, North Carolina
Open 7
Days a Week
Monday - Friday 9 am - 8 pm
Saturday 9 am· 6:30 pm
Sunday 12 pm - 5 pm
NATIVE FLUTES
Two styles mode of cedar or wolnu1
woods In the traditional manner
Hawk Littlejohn
Sourwood Farm
Rt 1, Box 172-L
Prospect Hill, NC 27314
(919) 562-3073
WREATHS • POTPOURRI
• HERBS • TOPIARY
Complete Herb Catalog - $4
Describes more tha11 800 plants from
Aloe to Yam,w
Rt 2, Surretl Co,•e Road
Leicester, North Carolina 28748
Plio11e for appointment to visit
(704) 683-2014
lv!.ntcr, 1992-93
�••
~
BEGINNING CHEROKEE LANGUAGE BOOK supplemented with two casseucs. Suesscs alphabet
& proper pronunciauon. The first textbook wriuco
for use in ieaching and learning lhe Cherokee
langW!gc. (346 pages) $39.95 plus S5.00 shipping.
Camlog also available with tapes, books, pipes,
dance sticks. drums, feathers, furs, buffalo products
nnd more. Craft supplies also availnblc. (please
specify). Send $2.00 to the Musknu Trader; P.O.
Box 20033; Roanoke. VA 24018.
THE ALTERNATIVE READING ROOM · is an
unconventional library; free and open to lhe public.
Our collection interests include the environment,
social and political issues, the media and peace. We
have over 200 magazine suoocriptions. The book
and video collections also emphasize lhe
environment and political concerns. Booics and
VCR's can be checked OUL A video player is
available for watching films in lhe reading room.
Located at 2 Wall St.#114; Asheville, NC 28801
(704) 252-2501. Mon/Wed/Fri 6-gpm • Tues/Thur
l 8pm - Sat/Sun l-6pm
0
BACK TO THE SOURCE • is an adventure m the
spcciacular beauty of our remaining wilderness nnd
is the highest quality backpacking guide sctvice
available. We spcciali7,e in small group, minimal
,mpact JOumcys into the most remote wildlands m
,\mcrica. For a brochure wnte: Back to the Source.
Lee Mercer; 3611 White Ave; Baltimore, MD
21206. (410) 426-6016.
\UTOI\OMF.: DISTRIBUTION - is a unique mail
order nnd rCIJlil 0111Jc1, neither •1ef1" nor "right,"
th:11 cnme-s hanl to find books, magazines,
bumperstickcr.., buttons, post cards, lapcs, posters,
and ~hirts We rc:iturc items that encourage
self-determination and commuruty rather than
government or "partisan· !;O(ulions. We dare to
dream of a future without o)1Jll'ession, where we aui
live m harmony with nnture, while each having all
that is needed ror personal dignity, happiness, and
hbcny. If these goals interest you, send SI and one
29 cent stamp to receive our catalog: Autonome
Distribution; P.O. Box 791191; New Orleans, LA
70179.
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY, WATER.AND
SANITATION - Dealcr/ill.5t.aller of photovoltaic,
micro-hydro, and other independent electric
systems, energy conserving bulbs and showcrheads,
solar and wood-burning water heaters, cisterns and
composti.ng toilets, water filtration, and more:
Ekat/EcOIOICCh; 1.50 Gravel Licit Rd.: Dreyfus, KY
40426;phonc((i()6)986-6146.
WISE WOMAN TRADmON • Spring Greens
Weekend will be held April 30-May 2 in the NC
mountains with Whitewolf. L.eam to identify and
create med!cmes with the healing herbs or Spring
and cclebrat.e the return or Green Life! Suggc.~
doruluon SIOO (~liding scale ror work cxchange):
Whit.ewolf; P.O. Boll 576; Asheville, NC 28802.
EARTI-1 KEEPER. a quancrly publication
rediscovering Ancient Wisdom and ArL Earth
Keeper is fcawring articles on native ceremonies,
spirituality, crafts, simple living, relationships, an,
herbs and plants, recycling, and much more! One
year sub!lCriplion foe $14. Two years ror only $24:
Earth Keeper; P.O. Box 242-K: Whiuicr, NC
28789.
NATIVE AMERICAN CEREMONIALS· feawres
handcrafu:d Native American ceremonial supplies.
We carry drums, pipes, mules, flutes, pipe bags,
feathers, rawhide, swcetgra.Ss, sage, tobaccos,
abalone shells, buckskin, cercmonial herbs, bead
loom and bell lots. native maps, and more. Free
catalog! Nauve American Ceremooials; P.O. Box
1062; Cherokee, NC 28719.
HAYWOOD COUNTY - Are you tired or "uavcling"
to workshops and "paying" for knowledge? Are you
intere.sl.Cd in Mother Earth; bancring products and
services; giving/auending workshops in herbalism,
beekeeping, auto mechanics, ete.? Not a "club," a
community. Call Dana@ (704) 926-8008 or
452-3538 with your ideas.
FOUR DIRECTIONS PRODUCTION COMPANY •
J>reSCnts the first program in the \•idco series,
"Que.st of the Eanh Kccpcrs," a ,;cries on the
ritual~. c:anh-hcaling pracuces, and ccremooics ol
indigenous cultures around the world. Featured m
the first producuon is •Sun Bear/ Vision of the
Mcdic,nc Wheel." a video oo persona.I and planetary
healing: Four Dircc:uons Producoon Company;
P.O. Box 70; Valley Head, AL 35989.
Alternatives ...
The Dvectnry of lntentw11,,1I Conununitiet ,~ the product Of two years Of J01Cns1ve n:sean:h, illld IS the most
comprehensive and occuraw direct.Ory avadal>le. ltdocu·
mcnts the ,•1s1on and the c:btly h£c of more lhan 350
eommunillc.s m North America, and more than 50 on
other contincnb. Each community\ hsung include.s
name, address. phone, and 3 dcs.;npoon of the group.
E~tcns1v,: cross-referencing and 111ll.;.<mg m:Jkc,, the information easy to accc.~li for a wick: vwicty of users. Includes maps, over 250 odd,tiorml RC)Ource listings, and
40 related articles.
328 pages
8-l/2xl I
PcrfC<.'thound
October 1990
ISBI'< Number.
0-9602714-1-4
Sl6.00
Add S2.00 postage
& handling for first
bOok, S.50 for each
additional: 40%
discount on orders
of IO ur more.
Alpha Fann. Deadwood, OR
(503) 964-5102
LM'f
BALD EAGLES - arc\tii~g ii;
~nncssee
Valley in unu.~ually high numbers this year :is n
result of rec«d cold ttmpenuuros in the northern
states. The Ch:uunooga Nature Centi!!' IIMOWlCCS
"Engle Wateh 1993," a film and eagle view,ng
session prcscnl.Cd by the centcr's program
coordinator Ray Zimmerman and members or the
Emma Bell Mjlcs Chapw or the Audubon Society.
Dale: Janua,y 10, 2 to 5 P.M. Cose S2 to $5.
Contact Ray Zimmerman@ (615) 821-1160 for
details.
LAND TRUSTS - have saved over 2.7 million acres
in America. In spite of this, most people do not
n:allzc how land truSts operate or how lnnd truSts
can help individuals and communities protect the
land they love. A new video, "Land Trusts in
America: Guardians or lhe Future,• is useful to
anyone in the conservation community: Land Trust
Alliance; 900 Seventeen.th SL NW, Suit.e 410:
Washington, DC 20006-2501.
THE APPALACHIAN TRAil. CONFERENCE its 32 alrlWlled clubs, and 5,400 members have
been mairuaining the 2,143 mile Georgia lO ~-f.ainc
footpath since its completion decades ago. Today
dedicated volunl.CClll share in efforts U) ensure
permanent protection of lhe footpath and
surrounding grecnway. To find the club nearest
you, writ.e: Appalachian Trail Conference; P.O.
Box 807; Harpers Ferry, WV 25425-0807.
COMMON GROUND • the annual Journal where
grassroots women speak from the heart. Our 1992
issue wa.s wriuen by indigenous women throughout
North America. Our 1993 issue will focus 011
farmworker women of all colors and cultures. A
second publication, "Groundings." is a !-ea'iOn:il
newslci!ct which builds a 11Ctwork of solidarity.
published by a community or people who
experiment in non-violent v.-ay~ of doing justice:
Common Ground; P.O Box 64717; Baton Rouge,
LA 70896.
THERE ARE AN ESTIMATED 3,000 intentional
commun1ues m the United State$. "Follow the Din
Road,· a new video by mdcpcndcnt filmmaker,
Monique Gauthier, is an excellent introduction tor
anyone int=tcd in the succci;.,;cs and struggles of
con1cmporary int.eriuonal communities: Send S28
to Monique Gaulh1e{ - FTDR; I Evcrg,ccn Ct.;
Landcnburg, PA 19350-9389.
GANDHI, A PRACTICING ATTORNEY, once said
that "the true function of a lawyer wa~ to un1t.e
parues riven a~under. • A new organi.7.alion has been
<:litablishcd to create a ncr.worlc or t.,wycrs, law
students, and olhcr conflict resolution
professionals. The group wdl explore ways to seek
resolution of issues through mcdi:u.ion, using the
courts only as a last resort. A guiding principle or
lhc group is respect for the dignity of each person
involved. Another goal is helping children of
divorce by reducing the conflict between their
parents. Wnie: lntcmauonal Alliance of Holistic
Lawyers; P.O. Box 26; Middlebury, VT 05753.
LOCAL ACCOUNTANr would like to assist
cnvironmcnmlly-awu,c businesses in their
accounting and booklcccp1ng wort: Sherman
Bamford: 163 Beavetdam Rd.; Asheville, NC
28804.
, Wtbworklng i.f available for $2 .50 (prtpai4) for
eaeh entry of 50 words or lts.s. Submil tnlriesfor
ISSUL 1138 by Ftbruary 15. /993. Mail 10 Katuah
Journal; Rt. 8, Box 323; LtllOir, NC 28645. (704}
754.6()97,
1.littt«, 1992-93
Xotiiah Jour nal JXl(JC 33
I
�Dear Members of Katu.ah Journal,
After nearly 10 years of service to the Katuah
Bioregional Province, the KJltuah Journal newspaper
will be ceasing publication in the summer of 1993. We
have not been able to find enough people able to take
long term responsibility for a project of this scale on a
volunteer basis. While we are stopping the journal, we
will keep the non-profit organization "Katuah" alive in
order to have the option of carrying out future
In the spring we will publish issue #38 devoted to
alternative transportation in the Katuah bioregion. The
final summer issue will contain an index to the KJltuah
/011rnal, a listing of other bioregionally-oriented
organizations in the province, and tie up loose ends.
Thank you for your generous support of KJltuah
/ournal over the years. Without your help the paper
would not have been as vibrant or as vital as it has been.
bioregional projecls.
We decided to end the tradition of publishing the
The Board of Directors for the Katuah organization
will consist of: David Wheeler, Rob Messick, and Lee
Barnes. We will meet at least once a year to keep track of
organization business and to discuss future options. Any
member who has project ideas or is interested in
participating in this process should write us at: Katuah
Futures; Rt. 8, Box 323; Lenoir, NC 28645 or call (704)
journal with some measure of strength, rather than
watch it slowly fizzle out. If you have comments or
suggestions for the future, we would like to hear from
you.
Sincerely,
KJltrlah Journal Staff
754-6097.
D..
I would like to order issues:
#38 (Spring 1993) Alternative Transportation
#39 (Summer 1993) Index & Resources
For a total value o/$5.00
J<atuah Journal Rt. 8 Box 323 Lenoir, NC Katuah Province 28645
Issue #39 of the Kati,ah Jo11rnal \viii contain a
resource guide to groups and organizations devoted to
protecting and restoring the natural world in the
bioregion and working to sustain the web of life and our
human economic and social systems in Katuah.
We have postulated the following categories of activity:
Regional Economy
Health and Healing
Appropriate Technology
Appropriate Transportation
Councils & Decision Making
Peace Issues & Conflict Resolution
Shelter
Education
Agriculture
Spiritual Life
Natural Emlogy
.D111wing by Mic:haal Thompson
Name _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
Address _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
Town _ _ _ _ _ _ State___ Zip _ _ __
The success of this project will depend on your
participation. Please send us information about your
group and other groups that are working in your area.
Offer other categories, if you like. Use additional sheets
of paper if necessary.
Give name, address, phone number, a one
paragraph description of their work, and possibly a brief
quote expressing their purpose. Enclose a copy of the
organizational logo, if possible, and any photographs or
drawings of group activities or the products of their
work. Please also enclose your name, address, and phone
in case there is a need for follow-up contacts.
Submissions must be received by April 31, 1993.
Mail to Katuah Journal; Rt. 8, Box 323; Lenoir, N"C 28645.
,.,inter, 1992- 93
�,
-·~KATUAH
KONFUSION:·-
Katuah konfvs1
on
has \>een canceled
due to ,.e11
censo,.sn"i?.
ihe c:ar"toon i st
ha~ 'oeen fired
because he. is
oe,.
full of *@* %.
BACK ISSUES OF KATUAH JOURNAL AVAILABLE
ISSUE FOUR • SUMMER 1984
Water Drum - WalU Quality - Kudzu - Solar Eclipse
- Clearculling - Trout - Going io Water - Ram
Pumps - Microhydro. Poems: Bennie Lee Sinclair,
Jim Wayne MiUer
ISSUE FIVE- FALL 1984
Harvest - Old Ways in Cherokee • Ginseng • Nuclear
Waste - Our Celtic Heritage • Bioregionalism: Past,
Present, and Future - John Wilnoty - Healing
Darkness - Politics of Panicipation
ISSUE SIX· WINTER 1984-8S
Winier Solstice Eanh Ceremony - Horsepasrurea
River· Coming of the Light • Log Cabin Root •
Mountain Agriculwre: The Right Crop - William
Taylor - The Future of the Forest
ISSUE SEVEN· SPRING 198S
Sustainable Economics - Hot Springs - Worker
Ownership - The Great Economy - Self Help Credit
Union - Wild Turlcey - Responsible Investing Working in the Web of Life
ISSUE EIGHT- SUMMER 1985
Celebration: A Way of Life - Katll3h 18,000 Years
Ago - Sacred Sites - Folk Ans in the Schools • Sun
Cycle/Moon Cycle - Poems:. Hilda Downer Cherokee Heritage Center . Who Owns Appalachia?
ISSUE NINE· FALL 198S
The Waldce Forest - The Trees Spealc • Migrating
Forests - Horse Logging - Starting a Tree Crop Urban Trees - Acom Bread· Mylh Tune
ISSUE TEN - WINTER 198S-86
Kate Rogers - Circles of Sione - Jntemal
Mythmaking - Holistic Healing on Trial - Poems:
Steve Knauth - Mythic Places - The Ulaena's Talc Crystal Magic - "Drcamspcalcing"
ISSUE THIRTEEN - FALL 1986
Center FOi' Awakening - Elizabeth Ca.llari - A
Gentle Death - Hospice - Ernest Morgan - Dealing
Creatively with Death - Horne Burial Box - The
Wake . The Raven Mocker - Woodslore & Wildwoods Wisdom - Good Medicine: The Sweat Lodge
ISSUE FOURTEEN· WINTER 1986-87
Lloyd Carl Owle - Boogers and Mummers - AU
Species Day · Cabin Fever University - Homeless
in Katunh - Homemade H01 Water • Stovemaker's
Narrative - Good Medicine: lnl.Cl$p0Cies
Communication
ISSUE FIFfEEN • SPRING 1987
Coverlets - Woman Forester - Susie McMahan:
Midwife • Alternative Contraception - Bioscituality •
Bioregionalism and Women - Good Medicine:
Mmrinrchal Culture - Ptarl
We 11ave limited numbers of
particular back issues. Order back
issues soo11 to i11s11re availabilitlJ,
TI1cre are no more entire sets of
Katt,ah Jounral available. Tlte ,rear
complete sets of back issues will be
di111i11isl1i11g as limited copies sell out.
ISSUE SIXTEEN· SUMMER 1987
Helen Waite - Poem: Visions in a Garden - Vision
Quest - Fust Flow - lnitia1ion • Learning in the
Wilderness - Cherokee Challenge - "Valuing Trees·
ISSUE EIGHTEEN· WINTER 1987-88
Vernacular Architeclure - Dreams in Wood and Stone
- Mountain Home - Eanh Energies - Eanh-Sheltcred
Living - Membrane Houses - Brush Shelier .
Poems: Octobu Dusk • Good Medicine: · shelier"
ISSUE NINETEEN - SPRING 1988
Perelandra Garden· Spring Tonics - Bl11Cberries •
Wildflower Gardens - Granny Herbalist - Flower
Essences: - "The Origin of the Animals:" Story Good Medicine: "Power" - Be A Tree
ISSUE 1WENTY • SUMMER 1988
Preserve Appalachian Wilderness - Highlands of
Roan - Celo Commllllity - I.and Trust - Arthur
Morgan School - Zoning Issue • "The Ridge" •
Farmers and the Farm Bill • Good Medicine: "Land"
- Acid Raio - Duke's Power Play • Cherokee
Microhydro Project
ISSUE TWENTY-TWO-WINTER 1988-89
Global Warming - rll'C This Time. Thomas Berry
on "Bioregions· - Earth Exercise - Kort Loy
McWhiner - An Abundance of Emptiness - LETS •
Chrooicles of Floyd - Darry Wood • The Bear Clan
ISSUE 1WBNTY-THREE - SPRING 1989
Pisgah Village - Planet Alt - Green City - Poplar
Appeal· "Clear Sky" • •A New Eanh". Black Swan
- Wild Lovely Days - Reviews: Sacred lllnd Sacred
Sa, let Age - Poem: ·sudden Tendrils"
ISSUE lWENTY-FOUR • SUMMER 1989
Deep Llsiening - Life in Atomic City - Direct
Action! - Tree of Peace - Community Building Peacemakers - Ethnic Survival - Pairing Project ·
"Baulcsong" - Growing Peace in Cultures • Review:
The Chalice and 1lu: Bfodt
ISSUE TWENTY-SIX - WINTER, 1989-90
The Ecozoic Era - Kids Saving RainfOl'est - Kids
Trcecycling Company - Conflict Rcsolul.ion Developing Creative Spirit - Birth Power - Magic of
Puppetry - Home Schooling • Naming Ceremony Mother Earth's Classroom - Gardening for Children
ISSUE TWENTY-SEVEN· SPRING, 1990
Transformation - Healing Power - Peace l0 Their
Ashes - Healing in Kaulah • Poem: "When Ldt to
Grow· - Poems: Stephen Wing - The Belly · Food
from the Ancient Forest
ISSUE TWENTY-NINE -FALL/WINTER 1990
From the Mountains to the Sea - Profde of The
Liu!c Tennessee River . Headwaters Ecology - •11
AU Comes Down 10 Water Quality" - Ware Power.
Action for Aquatic Hnbil1llS - Dawn Watehcrs - Good
Medicine: The Long Humnn Being - The Nonh
Shore Road • Kattlah Sells Out • Waiershed Map of
the Katuah Province
ISSUE nnRTY • SPRING 1991
Economy/Ecology • Ways to a Regenerative
&onOl'ny • "Money is the Lowest Form or Wealth"
• Clarksville Miracle - The Village - Food Movers.
Lifework • Good Medicine; "Village l!conomy• Shelton Lawe! • LETS
ISSUE nnRTY-ON'E - SUMMER 1991
Dowsing • Responsibilities of Dowsing • Elecuical
Life of the Earth - Katiiah and the Earth Grid • Call
of the Ancient Ones - Good Medicine: "On
Aggression• - Time to Take the T!Dlc to Take the
Time - Whole Science - Tuning In
ISSUE nnRTY-TWO • FALL 1991
Bringing back the Fire - A Bit or Mountain Levity .
Climax Never Came - "Talking Leaves": Sequoyah Walking Distance· Good Medicine: "Serving the
Great Life" - The Granola Journal - Paintings:
"Mountain Stories"- Songs of the Wilderness
ISSUE THIRTY-Tl-lREE • WINTER 1991-92
Fire's Power - What ls Natural • Fire and Forge The rlfSI rll'C - Hearth and Fire in the Mountains Good Medicine: "The Ancient Red" - Midwinter
rlf'CS: poems by Jeffery Beam - Litmus Lichens
ISSUE nnRTY-FOUR - SPRING 1992
Paradise Gardening - Community Sponsored
Agriculwre - Eating Close 10 Home - Native Foods
- Cover Crops - Kalunh Cultivars - The Web or
Life: A Kalll3h Almanac - Good Medicine "Medicine
Training• - Poems by AUison Sutherland
ISSUE nnRTY-FlVE - SUMMER 1992
Consensus - Problems with Consensus - Tribal
Council · Elda - The State of Franklin - Regional
Rainbow - Steve Moon: Shell Engravings • Good
Medicine "Medicine Training ll" - A Look Back
ISSUE 1HIRTY-SIX • FALL 1992
Using Wood • Appalachian Logging - Old Logging
Days - Working the Woodhlnds - Logging with
Horses - Invasion of the Giants - From Industry io
Endeavor - Ecological Forestry - The Chair in the
Tree - Reading the Grove
Back Issues:
Issue# _ @ $3.00 = $_ __
Issue# __@ $3.00 = $_ __
rssue # __@ $3.00 = $._ _ _
Issue# __@ $3.00 = $._ __
Name
postage paid $ _ __
Address
Chy
Near Complete Set:
State
Zip
(4-10, 13-16, 18-20, 22-24, 26-27, 29-36)
postage paid @ $50.00 =$ _ __
Ka tuah Journal Rt. 8, Box 323 Lenoir, NC Ka tuoh Province 28645 • (704) 754-6097
lvLnter, 1992- 93
Xati1nn Journal p<llJ& 3 S
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians Records
Description
An account of the resource
<em>Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians</em>, later simplified to <em>Katúah Journal</em>, was published from 1983 to 1993. A quarterly publication, it was focused on the bioregion of former Cherokee land in Appalachia. <br /><br /><span>The early issues of the journal explain the meaning of the Cherokee name, </span><em>Katúah</em><span>, and why the editors wanted to view the world through a bioregional lens, rather than political boundaries. A volunteer production, the editors took a holistic view in tackling social, environmental, mental, spiritual, and emotional topics of the day, many of which are still relevant. </span><br /><span><br />The <em>Katúah Journal</em> was co-founded by Marnie Muller, David Wheeler, Thomas Rain Crowe, Martha Tree and others who served as co-publishers and co-editors. Other key team members included Chip Smith, David Reed, Jay Mackey, Rob Messick and many others.</span><br /><br />This digital collection is only a portion of the <em>Katúah</em>-related materials in the W.L. Eury Appalachian Collection in Special Collections at Appalachian State University. The items in AC.870 Katúah Journal records cover the production history of the <em>Katúah Journal</em>. Contained within the records are correspondence, publication information, article submissions, and financial information. The editorial layouts for issues 12 through 39 are included as are a full run of the Journal spanning nearly a decade. Also included are photographs of events related to the Journal and a film on the publication.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
This resource is part of the <em>Katúah Journal Records </em>collection. For a description of the entire collection, see <a href="https://appstate-speccoll.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/937" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Katúah Journal Records (AC. 870)</a>.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
The images and information in this collection are protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U. S. C.) and are intended only for personal, non-commercial, and educational purposes, provided proper citation is used – i.e., Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians Records, 1980-2013 (AC.870), W. L. Eury Appalachian Collection, Special Collections, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC. Researchers are responsible for securing permissions from the copyright holder for any reproduction, publication, or commercial use of these materials.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1983-1993
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
journals (periodicals)
Language
A language of the resource
English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
<em>Katúah Journal</em>, Issue 37, Winter 1992-1993
Description
An account of the resource
The thirty-seventh issue of the <em>Katúah Journal</em> is dedicated to creative works that represent bioregionalism and biovisions: stories, essays, drawings, and local legends. An announcement explains that, while the publication is coming to an end in 1993, there are plans to continue the Katúah Organization which will focus on bioregional projects. Authors and artists in this issue include: Dennis K. Frederick, Rob Messick, Will Ashe Bason, James Rhea, Barbara Wickersham, Fran Freudenberger, Lucile Morgan, Bob Johnson, "Pegi", Charlotte Homsher, Doug Elliott, Michael Thompson, Gerald George, and Rhea Ormond. <br /><br /><em>Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians</em>, later simplified to <em>Katúah Journal</em>, was published from 1983 to 1993. A quarterly publication, it was focused on the bioregion of former Cherokee land in Appalachia. The early issues of the journal explain the meaning of the Cherokee name, Katúah, and why the editors wanted to view the world through a bioregional lens, rather than political boundaries. A volunteer production, the editors took a holistic view in tackling social, environmental, mental, spiritual, and emotional topics of the day, many of which are still relevant.
Date
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1992-1993
Table Of Contents
A list of subunits of the resource.
In The Morning by Dennis Frederick.......1<br /><br />Green Man and Green Woman by Rob Messick.......4<br /><br />Floyd 2020 by Will Ashe Bason.......7<br /><br />Ecology by Rob Messick.......8<br /><br />Drawing of Sequoyah by James Rhea.......9<br /><br />The Legend of James Whitehead by Barbara Wickersham.......10<br /><br />Raven! by Fran Freudenberger........11<br /><br />Kid's Page.......12<br /><br />Rhea's Fairies.......13<br /><br />Drawings by Lucile Morgan........14<br /><br />Drawing by Bob Johnson.......15<br /><br />Drawings by Pegi.......16<br /><br />The Solitary Tree by Charlotte Homsher.......17<br /><br />Wildwoods Wisdom by Doug Elliott.......18<br /><br />Natural World News.......20<br /><br />Mandalas by Rob Messick........22<br /><br />Gourds by Michael Thompson.......23<br /><br />Poem: A View from Hawk's Nest by Gerald George.......24<br /><br />Economy by Rob Messick.......25<br /><br />Drumming.......26<br /><br />Reviews: Beyond the Beauty Strip | Reshaping Modern Culture by Rob Messick.......31<br /><br />Events.......32<br /><br />Webworking.......33<br /><br /><em>Note: This table of contents corresponds to the original document, not the Document Viewer.</em>
Publisher
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<em>Katúah Journal</em>, printed by The <em>Waynesville Mountaineer</em> Press
Subject
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Bioregionalism--Appalachian Region, Southern
Sustainable living--Appalachian Region, Southern
Human ecology--Appalachian Region, Southern
Appalachian Region, Southern--Social life and customs--Miscellanea
Legends--Tennessee--Roan Mountain
Floyd County (Va.)--Fiction
North Carolina, Western
Blue Ridge Mountains
Appalachian Region, Southern
North Carolina--Periodicals
Language
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English
Type
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Text
Source
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<a href="https://appstate-speccoll.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/937"> AC.870 Katúah Journal records</a>
Rights
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<a title="In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted" href="https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/?language=en 8" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted </a>
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
<a title="Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians" href="https://omeka.library.appstate.edu/collections/show/79" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians </a>
Format
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PDF
Journals (Periodicals)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1990s
Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Studies
Book Reviews
Children's Page
Community
Earth Energies
Ecological Peril
Folklore and Ceremony
Forest Issues
Habitat
Katúah
Katúah Organization
Pigeon River
Poems
South PAW (Preserve Appalachian Wilderness)
Stories
Transportation Issues
Turtle Island
Villages
Water Quality
Western North Carolina Alliance