Greenwire: Solar energy plants being built in California have some residents concerned that they could encroach on massive American Indian carvings depicting the flute-playing god Kokopelli. Historian Alfredo Figueroa has been taking the lead in challenging businesses and the state to try to protect the carvings.
At issue are three plants being installed around Blythe, Calif. A joint project from Solar Millennium AG and Chevron Energy Solutions would be the largest, placing mirrors on 7,030 acres of public land. Figueroa believes the installation might happen on the carvings of Kokopelli or Cicimitl, an Aztec spirit.
The companies say the claims are “completely false.” Rachel McMahon, director of governmental affairs for Solar Millennium said, “The image is adjacent to our transmission line, but they don’t interfere with each other.”
The Bureau of Land Management is evaluating the carvings and working with the California Native American Heritage Commission to determine if the geoglyphs have a sacred value, which could help get them more protection. The projects have also been hit with complaints about damage to the desert habitat or aesthetic problems.
The massive carvings, discovered by a pilot in 1931, are best seen from the air. The carvings near the Colorado River are thought to be 3,000 to 4,000 years old, while ones deeper in the desert could be as many as 12,000 years old.
Figueroa, who is part Yaqui, Pima and Chemehuevi, says the region around the carvings is Aztlan, the supposed mythical birthplace of the Aztecs. He has led spiritual dances to protect the site and vows to continue the fight against the solar projects however he can.
“Maybe they have good intentions in pursuing clean energy, but they will erase our history,” said Netze Cauhtemoc, one of the dancers. “It would be like throwing up a shopping mall in the middle of Jerusalem” (David Kelly, Los Angeles Times, April 24). – JP