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By Greg Stone
STAFF WRITERIndians at Plymouth Rock could have prevented mountaintop removal mining, Brenda Jo Narog says.
"They should have turned their backs, ate their own food and left the Pilgrims to starve," she said. "That would have taken care of it right there."
White society's legacy since then has been one of environmental destruction, Narog and fellow members of the West Virginia Native American Coalition say.
Members say they will continue to speak out against the "devastating" practice of mountaintop removal mining. Mountaintop removal is a form of strip mining which removes the tops of mountains to get at the coal seams underneath. The mountaintop waste often winds up filling stream beds and valleys.
The practice has generated plenty of opposition from environmentalists and attracted the attention of federal regulators, who have held up permits for some operations.
About 30 Native Americans gathered in October at Coopers Rock State Park near Morgantown to show their opposition to mountaintop removal.
Narog says the coalition is organizing other protests and activities but would not say what they are, for fear of coal company sabotage.
There are about 100 members of the coalition, hailing from different parts of the state. She guessed that there about six other Native American groups in West Virginia. Most of the members are of mixed ancestry, said Narog, who is half Seneca.
Some can't or don't want to prove that they have Indian blood, she said, while some acknowledge that they don't. "They're just supporters of our group and lifestyle," she said.
Narog said the group's agenda does not include lobbying the state Legislature.
Native Americans have traditionally questioned the use of participating in the workings of government, she said.
Copies of the speeches delivered at Coopers Rock have been collected and bound in a pamphlet called "The Hills Are Exploding."
"The elders say that the white man was not successful in killing all the Indians, and so he is going back to using elements of 'total war' ... destroying the land, polluting the water, killing the animals...," said Linda Karus of the West Virginia Native American Coalition Elders Council, in the forward to the pamphlet.
To contact staff writer Greg Stone, call 348-5195.
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