Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Native American Walkabout 2014 (March 22)

Xochitl, Pat Macpherson, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly; ArroyoSeco.org (Facebook)
If the Buddha -- a wanderer -- went on a walkabout, what would he be doing? "May peace and balance be restored to Mother Earth and all who walk upon her" (Eco_Bela/flickr.com)

Buddha Mind, Buddha Body: Walking Toward Enlightenment (Thich Nhat Hanh)
Tim Martinez led hikers to Hahamongna (JPL/Devil's Gate Dam), where they learned about its rich Native American heritage and how to protect it. Comments on the Devil's Gate sediment removal draft EIR were due on Jan. 21, 2014. (See here for more information).
View of flood control basin as it fills from atop Devils Gate Dam with JPL in distance
 
Old Los Angeles (tongvapeople.org)
What better way to celebrate the equinox and welcome spring than to set off on an aboriginal walkabout?

The original inhabitants of Los Angeles were the Tongva, who considered the Hahamongna watershed "sacred" land. The rain that falls in the forest rushes down the mountains and percolates through springs rising before flooding down into the Los Angeles Basin into the Pacific Ocean.

The Foundation
One of the most spectacular accomplishments of the Arroyo Seco Foundation (ASF) is reestablishing the Arroyo chub, a native fish in this major tributary of the Los Angeles River.
 
The ASF mission is to preserve and enhance the Arroyo Seco (dry gulch) from the San Gabriel Mountains down to the Los Angeles River, reforest the region, and promote environmental and cultural (Tongva/Gabrielino and Chumash) awareness of one of Southern California’s greatest natural resources. More
Hahamongna Watershed Park, next to dam and its usually dry basin (PasadenaWeekly.com)

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