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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.
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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
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journals (periodicals)
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English
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Text
Dublin Core
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Title
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<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
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1993
Language
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English
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Text
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periodical indexes
PDF
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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>
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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Postage Paid
~UA~)OURNAL
Bulk Ma~
Permit #18
Leicester, NC
P.O. Box638
Leicester, NC
28748
Katu ah Province 28748
ADDRESS
CORRECTION
REQUESTED
ISSUE 20 SUMMER 1988
$1.50
BIOREGIONAL JOURNAL OF TH E SOUTHERN A PPALACHIANS
�THE TRACKS OF THE PANTHER
Will Mark the Length of the Appalachian Range
..... and Beyond
CONTENTS
The Tracks of the Panther............... 1
"Wilderness is not a land-use designation!"
Alphonso Lubek
Highlands of Roan ..................................6
Celo Community:
50 Years on the Land ..................... 8
Celo. lnterview.................................... 1O
Land Trust: Tenure for Our Time.. 11
Learning Community......................... .12
Mountain Landscapes at Risk ......... 13
Rest in Perpetual Wilderness ....... 14
"The Ridge"............................................15
Farmers and the Farm Bill... ........... 16
Good Medicine:
"Relating to the Land" ............. 17
"It Comes in a Mist" ...........................18
Duke's Power Play.............................. 19
Cherokee Micro hydro Project... ..... 21
Drumming: Letters to Katuah ........ 22
by David Wheeler
Photographs by Gil Leebrick
Leave for awhile this world of
damaged and broken life cycles, and step
into a different time frame. Leave the
deranged pace of our society - the quick
buck, fast food, the instant replay - and
move to another rhythm. In this time
perspective, forests and glaciers flow and
recede. Slowly and ponderously the
mountains breathe, inhaling and exhaling
through the ages. Species migrate across the
face of the Earth, through time in which
there is no time, only an endless procession
of seasons and the stars circling overhead.
This is evolutionary time. From this
time space we can see indusaial society as a
sudden wound that tore open the Eanh's
flesh and let in dangerous poisons,
diseases, and putrefactions which threatened
our planet's very existence. But the wound
is now slowly healing over. The last traces
of infection and sick, decaying tissue arc
now disappearing.
See a new race of human beings, few
in number, their bodies strong and sensitive
to the world, their intuitive faculties awake
and aware to every shift in the energy
patterns around them. These people are not
driven by goals or guilt from artificial
motivations or formulations of good and
evil. They live simply, keeping their senses
unencumbered to fully receive the greatest
delight: the gift of existence in a world that
is whole, that informs and provides every
motivations or formulations of good and
evil. They live simply, keeping their senses
unencumbered to fully receive the greatest
delight: the gift of existence in a world that
is whole, that informs and provides every
facet of their lives.
These people live in small tribal
circles surrounded by the powerful forces
of the natural world. They see themselves
as the eye at the center of the world - the
part of the whole that can look back on
itself, see itself jn its entirety and delight in
the intricacies and movements of the life
pattern mandala.
The camps of these humans are small
islands in the midst of the flow of the
world. Wilderness to them is not a rare and
specialized category. Wilderness is their
reality • sometimes fearsome, but never
alien or forbidding. Wilderness is the central
fact of their existence. It provides for them.
It shapes their consciousness as well as
their physical existence. And when the
time comes, wilderness takes their lives.
Wilderness is habitat is home.
Life at the center of the world can be
sustained forever, if the people think and
live in evolutionary time.
The step into this vision of the world
may seem like a long one to us, situated as
we are in this time, but in actuality it is not
so far. We are only 400 years removed
from it on this continent. And we need to
think in these terms, for this is ecological
reality. This is a vision of the world in
balance. We need to think of it, aspire to it,
before we can achieve it
It is from this perspective that we are
offered the proposal "Preserve Appalachian
Wilderness" (PAW) authored by Jamie
Sayen of Stratford, NH and first published
(continued on page 3)
KATUAH- page 1
SUMMER- 1988
�CARRYING WATER:
Scott Bird
Christina Morrison
Chip Smith
Rob Messick
Marnie Muller
David Wheeler
EDITORIAL ASSISTANCE:
John Morris
Jack Chaney
Michael Red Fox
John Lang
Colleen Williams
Will Ashe Bason
Judith Hallock
Michael Hockaday
Oliver Loveday
Cover Photo by Gil Leebrick of the
Environmental Arts Center, Highlands, NC
Invocation by kore loy mcwhirter
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
EDITORIAL QFFJCE nus ISSUE:
Worley Cove, Sandymush Creek
PRINTED BY: Sylva Herald Publishing Co., Sylva, NC
WRITE US AT:
Katuah Journal
Box 638
Leicester, NC
Katuah Province 28748
TifE SOlll'HERN APPALACHIAN BIOREC!ON
AND MAJOR EASTERN RIVER SYSTEMS
TELEPHONE:
(704) 683-1414
Diversity is an imponanl element or biorcgional ecology. bOth
natural and social. In line with this principle, the Katuab Journal
lries to serve as a forum for the discussion of regional issues. Signed
anicles express only the opinion or the authors and arc not nccessnrily
!he opinions of the Katuab Journal editors or stare.
The Internal Revenue Service has declared KatiJah a non-profit
orgnniMtion under section 50t(c)(3) of !he Internal Revenue Code. All
contributions to KatUah are deductible from personal income tax.
'LNVOCA.TWN
summre solstice songe
I speake forre the darke forces
I amme the seede
the light-mongres have forgottenne theirre purpose
we gathre ande growe
no one canne live withoute oure beinge
evenne the sma!Jeste glimmre
is made greate
inne oure presence
a!Je muste returne to us
you maye dance ande dragge atte youre sbadowes
wishlnge themme awaye
whenne you wearye of the battle
forre supremacye and separationne
you wille come to reste inne oure annes
we wille rocke you to sleepe
to the songe of the moones' darke face
she singes of youre memorye
thatte we are one
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 ofresponsibility
for the implications of that geographical and
cultural heritage. This sense of r~sponsibility
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 "Kantah" as the old/new name for
this area of the mountains and for its journal as
well. The province is indicated by its nawral
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 priorities 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 ofthe 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 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 Katuah will grow to serve the best
interests of this region and all its living, breathing
members.
- The EdiJors
KATUAH - page 2
SUMMER - 1988
�(continued from page I}
in the Eanh Firsr! Journal. The PAW idea is
simply to create a continuous wilderness or
habitat area from the Florida Keys to the
Laurentian Mountains in Quebec, using as a
foundation the present protected route of the
Appalachian Trail. The idea seems
outrageous in the present social context, but
it is actually a modest transitional step
toward ecological sanity.
A continuous wild habitat the length
of the Appalachian Range could provide the
first requirement for wilderness, space, and
in time enable the return of unique plants
and large animals - panthers, bears, wolves,
moose - that have been exterminated
throughout all or parts of the mountain
chain. lf the PAW plan became a reality,
plant and animal species could migrate
freely from Karuah to the Gulf of Maine
bioregion to the north, and likewise to the
Aorida Peninsula bioregion to the south.
"The 'backbone' for this wideranging habitat," says the PAW document,
"already exists, albeit plagued by slipped
discs and cracked vertebrae. The
Appalachian Trail runs for over 2,000 miles
from Mt. Katahdin in nonhem Maine to
Springer Mountain in northern Georgia.
"Wild areas along the Appalachian
Trail must be expanded, buffered, and
protected in perpetuity as wilderness. Only
then will the backbone suppon the weight of
the massive wild areas throughout the
C3Stern reaches of Tunic Island which will
be joined to the Appalachian Trail
'wilderness backbone' by means of wild,
natural corridors. In this way the
Adirondack wilderness (in NY) can be
linked co the Appalachian Trail in the Green
Mountain National Forest (VT) via Lake
Champlain and other riparian and terrestrial
wild corridors."
KA1UAH - page 3
A continuous wild
habitat the length of the
Appalachian Range could
provide the first requirement
for wilderness, space, and in
time enable the return of
unique plants and large
animals - panthers, bears,
wolves, moose - that have
been
exterminated
throughout all or parts of the
mountain chain.
Of the Katuah province, PAW says:
'The Southern Appalachians.....are home to
the most varied deciduous forest in North
America. Due to the extraordinary range of
plant habitats and climates, 2,500 tree,
shrub, moss, and lichen species occur there,
1.500 of which are flowering. There are
over 200 endemic species, including 40
wildflower species.
'There are more than 25 wilderness
preserves in this area, but, unfortunately,
most are of the usual variety, i.e., less than
10,000 acres. Almost the entire length of the
Appalachian Trail from Springer Mountain
to the northern tip of the Shenandoah
National Park traverses National Park,
National Forest, or designated wilderness.
There is enormous potential for 'big
wilderness' in the southern Appalachians.
"This is the good news. The rest of
the story is more familiar. Roads parallel or
bisect much of the Appalachian Trail.
National ForestS and Parks are not managed
for wilderness, and most designated
wilderness is fragmented and confined to
mountain tops with spectacular views. The
lower reaches, drainages, swamps, valleys,
and less scenic areas - in shon, the areas
with the greatest biological diversity and
species richness - are generally
unprotected."
The proposal also mentions
re-establishing the American chestnut tree,
once a dominant species in the Appalachian
woods and a major food source for the large
wildlife populations that inhabited the
mountain forests.
PAW activist R.F. Mueller and olhers
in Virginia have proposed a 65,000 acre
"Shenandoah Wilderness Area" in the
northwest corner of the present state
boundaries. The PAW proposal states that,
"This proposal is PA W's highest shon tenn
priority even though the Shenandoah
Wilderness lies approximately 30 miles
from the Appalachian Trail. Appropriate
buffering and connecting corridors in
National Forest land will connect it to the
backbone. It should be noted that in the long
run PA W's vision calls for greatly
expanding this core area.....
"The Cranberry Back Country in the
Monongahela National Forest in West
Virginia, fifty miles as Raven flies from lhe
Appalachian Trail in Virginia, will also be
joined by natural corridors to the
backbone..... (The Cranberry Back
Country) offers promise of supporting a
healthy wolf population which could begin
to radiate to other wild areas such as
Shenandoah Wilderness, and then up and
(continued on page 4)
SUMMER- 1988
�(c.ontinued from page 3)
down the Appalachian Trail Wilderness
network.
"The Cranberry Back Country is
composed of the 35,000 acre Cranberry
Wilderness and the 45,000 acre Cranberry
Back Country which merits immediate
wilderness designation. Surrounding the
Cranberry Back Country is a large block of
roaded, but wild, Monongahela National
Forest and other public and private lands
which provide good buffer to the core
wilderness..... "
The northernmost of the large,
protected habitat areas would be a Northeast
Kingdom Wilderness Park and Biological
Preserve in the northeast quadrant in the
present state of Vermont. The PAW
document says that this area is particularly
important, because "For four of the most
wilderness-dependent species - cougar,
lynx, wolf, and pine marten - blocks of
400,000 acres or more in wilderness are
needed to maintain viable, stable
populations. For the cougar, a 400,000 acre
wilderness is needed specifically in Vermont
to assure thriving, interbreeding populations
elsewhere in the Appalachians, because this
species has a country-wide distribution and
prefers mountain realms."
Below Springer mountain the habitat
zone would continue south to link up with a
proposed habitat area for the Florida panther
and other native life forms that would
comprise most of central Florida.
"One possibility," mentioned in the
proposal, "would be to continue the
Appalachian Trail southwest from Springer
Mountain into eastern Alabama's Talladega
National Forest and thence eatsward to the
Chattahoochee River south of Columbus,
Ga.
"A similar priority exists at the
northern end of the Appalachian Trail A
route north of Katahdin, hopefully
incorporating the St. John's River and the
fabled Allagash in Maine to the Gaspe
Peninsula region must be devised The goal
is to ultimately reach the Canadian tundra.
Then the tropical will be truly rejoined with
the tundra, just as migratory birds have
KATUAH - page 4
continued to keep them joined throughout
the centuries of ecological fragmentation and
destruction."
"We must consider the
natural history of the region
and the ecological needs of
wild/ife and the landscape,
rather than continuing to ask,
"What is politically realistic
in the context of industrial
.
A merzca.?' . . . . . we must
consider the whole system,
not what sort of a
compromise we can sneak
through Congress."
"Our basic strategy," says the PAW
manifesto, "is to identify large, core
wilderness areas which are to be protected
in perpetuity as federally-designated
wilderness. Surrounding these cores will be
buffer zones. The inner buffer zones will be
managed as mature forests, thus increasing
the effective size of the wilderness core.
They will mitigate the impact of civilization
on the core areas and will mitigate the
depredations of wildlife species on humans
and their possessions. Appropriate benign
human activities like canoeing will be
permitted.
"Outer buffer zones would border on
human settlements. Primitive hunting and
long-rotation forestry might be permitted in
the inner portions of these outer zones. The
outermost sections, which actually border
on developed areas, might permit more
intensive forestry, including tree farming,
recreation, and possibly low-density
housing.
"These buffered wilderness cores
would be linked by wild corridors to other
nearby cores. These corridors must be wide
enough to permit the flow of species,
individuals, genes, and energy, and to
provide space for habitat patches."
Elsewhere in the PAW document
author Sayen explains the need for massive,
undisturbed habitat areas:
"The issue of predation points out the
importance of large wilderness preserves,
preserves of 400,000 or -more acres. As is
well known, many plant and animal species
undergo periodic fluctuations in population
and range. During periods of unusually
favorable weather, species tend to expand
their ranges and populations. When
conditions change adversely, range and
population contract to below-average
numbers.
"Herbivores like moose and deer feast
off early successional plant species that
colonize natural disturbance areas. But after
a number of years the plants mature and
grow out of reach of the herbivores, or the
SUMMER- 1988
�browsing pressure causes a decline in
vegetation locally. Large moose and deer
populations can no longer be supported. and
they either decline or go localJy extinct and
move on co another, more hospitable
locales. The decline of the herbivore
population affords plant communities a
chance to recover.
"Meanwhile, the decline in prey base
causes the wolf population to decline or go
locally extinct, as it follows its shifting
prey. Gradually, the herbivore population
builds up in favorable new feeding areas
and the wolf population follows. The cycle
goes on endlessly, and in time herbivores
return to the first site, whicb by now has
recovered from earlier overbrowsing. It is
essential that wildlife and wilderness
managers recognize this cyclic phenomenon
and that a wide range of ecosysteµis in
differing states of succession be inclulied in
a wilderness preserve to insure chis dypamic
process. This requires that we manage for
processes rather than for individual
species."
The PAW proposal is a challenge to
us to dare to break the boundaries on our
thinking imposed by the current social
order:
"We must consider the natural history
of the region and the ecological needs of
wildlife and the landscape, rather than
continuing to ask, "What is politically
realistic in the context of industrial
America?'.....We must consider the whole
system, not what son of a compromise we
can sneak through Congress."
The vision embodied in PAW is also
a challenge to our society as a whole,
because "Merely setting aside large
wilderness preserves will be fruitless if we
continue to generate acid rain; nuclearwaste;
pesticides and herbicides; overpopulation;
and a violent. exploitative attitude towards
others (human and non-human)."
Can our species live up to the
standards of wilderness? This question is
crucial to the success of the venture to
"Preserve Appalachian Wilderness," but it is
also the ultimate question of our species'
continued survival in the world.
KA TUAH - page 5
Jamie Sayen, the author of the PAW
manifesto, is also tlu! author of the book Einstein in
America. lie is a member of Conneeticut Valley
Earth First! and was a spawner in the Salmon
Revival Run up the Connecticut River this
summer.
Gil Lubrick is residenf plzofography
teacher and workshop leader at the Appalachian
Environmental Arts Center in llighlonds, NC. lie
has fought of Honolulu Community College and
NC Cenrral University. His landscape photographs
hove been nationally exhibited and reside in
numerous public and private collections.
Copies of the complete PAW
proposal are available for $3 .00 ppd. from:
Gulf of Maine Books; 61 Maine St.;
Brunswick, ME 04011
In addition to the outline of the
wilderness plan, the paper also contains
valuable background information on the
formation of the Appalachian mounrain
chain, a brief history of the Appalachlan
Trail, thoughts on the importance of
wilderness and the need for large,
wuJisrurbed habitat areas, and more specific
specifications for wilderness in the
nonheast.
THE POSSIBLE WILDERNESS
For more information on the
importance of large-scale wilderness
habitats, read The Fragmented Forest by
l.Arry Harris (University of Chlcago Press,
1984)
Potential Wilderness Areas in Appalachia
SUMMER-1988
�Xnown as the Highlands of Roan, the Roan Mountain
massif is a magnificent isolated mountain mass of 23,000
acres located in Caner County, Tennessee and Avery and
Mitchell Counties, North Carolina It is a vast high country
with huge grassy areas that roll and undulate in every
direction. Winds, averaging 25 miles per hour year-round,
ripple the tall sedges and hair grass ...like seaweed in a great
tide. l n late June, Catawba rhododendron blooms color the
ridges purple. Flame azalea and mountain laurel splay orange
and pink against blue-grey backdrops. In winter, the winds
pile snow deep in the protected valleys while rime ice clings
to exposed twigs on the summits. Unaka, the Cherokee word
for "white", gives the range its name. Season by season,
almost moment by moment, the Roan reveals itself, always
displaying a wide spectrum of mood and ecological treasure.
The Roan provides a haven for an extraordinary
diversity of plants and animals, many of which are rare and
endangered. Each year researchers, teachers, and amateur
ecologists come to the Higltlands to study the many species
and seek new finds. Throughout the nineteenth century,
botanists from around the world visited the Roan in their
studies of Appalachian flora. The quote (on next page) from
Elisha Mitchell, for whom the East's highest mountain is
named, is indicative of the high regard these botanists held
for Roan Mountain.
The balds are treeless areas of sedges, grasses and
wildflowers covering several hundred acres along rounded
KATIJAH - page 6
ridges and peaks from 5,400 feet to 6,100 feet above sea
level. Wild, yet tranquil, rugged yet fragile, this place is not
like any other. Great rocks, weathered and timeworn into
strange and fascinating shapes, jut from knee-deep grasses.
Wind-wracked, rocky crags edge the balds. Ancient
many-colored lichens, centuries old, creep across the rocks at
the rate of only 1/16 of an inch every 25 years.
Season f>y season, almost
rnom.ent f>y m.om.ent, the '.R.oti.n
rnvealS i-tsd f , alwa y s d:i-spCa.yi-fl-9
· a wi-d:e sp ectrum. of mood: and:
ec0Co9i.cal t r easure .
For fifteen of its 2,100 miles, the Appalachian Trail
traverses the Higltlands of Roan. It crosses the great balds
and moves into the conifer-covered Roan High Knob-Roan
High Bluff area, providing hikers with some of the most
striking natural vistas along the entire Trail. lo season,
wildflowers carpet the Highlands. Acres of white fringed
phacelia cover the ground in May, accented with splotches of
may apples with white and purple violets, trout lilies and
many other early spring flowers. A month later the balds are
streaked yellow and red with hawk weed and other
sun-loving flowers.
·.
SUMMER- 1988
�'Lt ts the most &ea.u.ti.fut and will
& r epay the Ca&or of ascendi.~ i.t of
est
aU ou.r h.i.qh. mou.ntai.ns. 1Ji.th. the
except w n. of a &
oc:Cy of roe~ Coo~i.~
[ ilt,e the rui.ns of an o[c:C casUe near i.ts
sou.th.western. ex.t remi.ty, the top of th.e
R oan may & c:Cescri.&ec:C a.s a vast
e
meadow wi.th.ou.t a tree to obs t r uct a
prospect, w h.ere a person may 9a.[[op
fl.ts fwrse for a m ile or two wi.th. North.
Caro[i.na. a t fl.ts f eet on one si.c:Ce and
Tennessee on. the other and a 9rea.t
ocea.n of mou.n.ta.i.ns ra.tsec:C i.n.
tremendous &tllows i.mmedia.tay
a.rou.nd h.f.m . 1.t t.s the eLyst.u.m of the
southern &ota.nt.st, a.s a. nu.m&er of
From a boianist's perspective, the Roan Mountain
massif is superlative because of the outstanding diversity and
the exceptional quality of plant communities found there.
Over 300 species of plants a.re found on the Highlands,
including the very rare Gray's lily (lilium grayi) as well as
spreading avens (Geum radiatum) and Blue Ridge goldenrod
(Solidago spithamaea). There arc more nationally or
regionally ranked rare species on the Roan massif than any
other site in the high mountains of the southern
Appalachians.
Roan Mountain also has varied and abundant wildlife,
a fact which can be attributed to its exceptional habitat
diversity-a product of latitude, altitude, geology, vegetation,
and even history. At least seven of the thirty rare mammals
listed in Endangered and Threarened Plants and Animals of
North Carolina have been reported in the Highlands. The
Ronn massif is a vast, high altitude island surrounded and
isolated by low and narrow valleys and rolling hills. Because
its slopes vary in steepness, soil composition, orientation,
and drainage, it suppons a mosaic of vegetation types and
microhabitats, and these are of sufficient total area to sustain
substantial animal populations.
Ice Age History
Roan's dynamic Ice Age history transformed the
18-mile ridge into a fauna! melting pot of northern relics,
southern invaders, and local isolates or endemics. The Roan
was left a northern island in a sea of southern deciduous
forests. These factors as well as the low level of human
activity have created the living space for a spectacular array
of animal species. Roan Mountain's major habitats arc
generally described in terms of their dominant vegetation.
Distinctive attitudinal plant zones, from the spruce-fir forests,
grass balds, and rhododendron heaths at high elevations,
through northern hardwood and oak forests to valley
hardwoods and old field sites, largely simulate the Latitudinal
sequence of habitats from southern Canada to southeastern
US. Thus a few species, such as the New England cottontail
and the bog lemming, arc at or near their southern limits and
may be relics of a past ice age. Others, like the opossum and
southern flying squirrel, are warm-climate species which
periodically invade the upper slopes.
Some species arc confined to one type of habitat on a
pennanent or seasonal basis. For example, meadow mice
inhabit the grass balds, a habitat used by the rare snow
bunting only in winter. Other species occupy the adjacent
pans of two vegetation wnes: the threatened northern flying
~----.1
pCa.n.ts a.re fou.nd 9rowt."9 t.n th.ts co[c:C
and h.u.mt4 a.tmosphere wnicn a.re not
seen GCJGt.n. u.n.tU we ha.ve 9one
h.u.ndrecls of mUes fu.rther north."
- EUsh.a. M.t.tcheU, 1839
squirrel frequents the lower spruce-fir and upper northern
hardwood forests. Still other animals-shrews, jumping
mice, salamanders and many invcncbrates--require ccnain
micro-habitats within a zone to provide special foods or
refuges. Finally, active carnivores (least weasels, spotted
skunks), large species (bears, bobcats, and foxes), and fliers
with special needs (owls, bats, hummingbirds) must range
widely over the mountain and, in fact, would probably not
survive if confined to a single area. The Roan also provides a
haven for over a hundred species of birds during nesting,
migration and wintering. Bird sitings include the bald eagle,
golden eagle, peregrine falcon, snow bunting, raven, alder
flycatcher, and saw-whet owl.
Need for Protection
This whole extraordinary area is in great need of
protection. Fortunately, the Southern Appalachian Highlands
Conservancy is working to preserve it. The Southern
Appalachian Highlands Conservancy (SAHC) is a
non-profit, tax-exempt organization founded in 1974 with
two goals in mind: to ensure the means whereby the
Highlands of Roan wiJl be protected in perpetuity against
development and other incompatible uses and to establish a
continuing program of stewardship for these lands.
Efforts to protect the Highlands were begun under the
auspices of the Appalachian Trail Conference (ATC) in 1966.
Most of the initial preservation work of the Highlands was
directed toward the proteetion of tracts along the Appalachian
Trail in preparation for their purchase by the ForeSt Service.
Conservation efforts were carried out by the Roan Mountain
Preservation Committee of the ATC, with the cooperation of
The Nature Conservancy. In time it became evident that the
Highlands of Roan project would require a greater cffon than
could be accomplished through a committee of an
organization concerned with the entire Appalachian Trail. As
a result, the SAHC was organized to take responsibility for
fund-raising, land acquisition, and land management
In the mid 1960's, the US Forest Service, cooperating
with the ATC, instituted an acquisition program on Roan
Mountain. So far, SAHC has assisted the US Forest Service
in acquiring 4,300 acres. When combined with the Forest
Service's previous holdings, a central core of 11,800 acres
has now been acquired as public lands. The remainder of the
protection effon is focussed around this core area. As most
of the Forest Service's planned Appalachian Trail corridor
acquisition work has been completed, it is now up to other
organizations and individuals to complete the mountain's
protection.
(continued on page 2.S)
pho10graphs councsy of SAHC
KATUAH - page 7
SUMMER- 1988
�C 1981 John M. Morgan
CELO connu.Nt'Jy:
50 YEARS ON THE LAND
by Marilyn Cade
While fireworks were exploding for the bicentennial
anniversary of the United States Constitution, in a small
valley at the feet of the Black Mountains in Yancey County,
NC another anniversary slipped by quietly, almost
unnoticed. 1987 was the fiftieth year of existence for the
Celo Community, the oldest land stewardship community in
the nation, but life flowed on as evenly as the South Toe
River, which winds through the valley.
Celo Community, Incorporated (CCO is an eclectic,
occasionally eccentric, collection of people who all unite on
the idea of saving and preserving the land. They are painters,
carpenters, architects, glass blowers, poners, weavers, and
farmers by trade. Some are staff at the Arthur Morgan
School, an alternative junior high located in the community.
The school grounds are also the location of the Celo
Press, a small publishing firm. Rural Southern Voice for
Peace, a newsletter published by members and non-members
of Celo Community, has its offices on the campus as well.
The Barrus family runs a summer camp for children
with an emphasis on interlinking with handicapped children
and children of different races and socio-economic
backgrounds.
The Celo Community land base is owned, not by
individuals, but by the CCI. An individual or family cannot
purchase title to any of the community land, but rather leases
a "holding". The price is actually a "deposit", calculated
according to the local price for a similar piece of land in the
surrounding area. But community agreements govern the use
of the land, and land speculation, subdividing, clear-cutting,
abusive agriculcure, etc. are not available options.
If a member withdraws from the community, the
amount they paid as a deposit is refunded, without regard to
any appreciation in land value since the original holding was
taken. Any buildings or homes are treated separately, with
refunds equalling the cost of replacement value including
depreciation.
For members, the advantages of community
landholding outweigh the loss of traditional ownership.
Residents are attracted by the concern shown for the present
and future well-being of the land. They want to live on a
protected large tract, where certain areas are kept wild. And
they enjoy sharing the community life.
Cooperative ownership is contrary to the notion that
KATUAH-page 8
hwnans arc given dominion over lhc Earth. It is based
instead on the idea that we arc given stewardship over it, that
we are accountable for our actions. This principle is now
being advanced in the land trust concept, a new model for
land tenure currently being practiced in Lhis country.
Ernest Morgan, a community member and son of
Anhur Morgan, says, 'The land trust is designed to avoid the
exploitive nature and abuses of individual land
ownership...The land trust concept is something lhat western
society urgently needs to face up 10."
Celo Community advocates the establishment of more
land trusts and cooperative ownership arrangements in the
region and beyond. The population of the community bas
stabilized and they are no longer actively seeking new
members. They hope that their role at the present time could
be as an inspiration and a model for lhe development of other
community experiments.
Depression Roots
The Depression and the t 930's were years of great
economic and social turmoil. ELhics in daily life seemed
desirable and even practical. People, especially young
people, were ready to experiment with new ways of living
and working outside the failing mainstream economy.
W illiam Regnery, a Chicago philanthropist, at this
same time sought suggestions for new charitable causes from
Arthur Morgan.Then Presidc.nt of Antioch College in Ohio,
Morgan had been an engineer who built successful flood
control dams, later becoming Chairman of the Tennessee
Valley Authority. He was a Quaker who had already thought
a good bit about the difficulties of leading a fulfilling life in
the modem world. He felt that there should be an opportunity
for young people to try new approaches to making a living.
Morgan told Regnery of an idea conceived in
conversations during 1932 and 1933 with Clarence Pickett,
the Executive Secretary of the American Friends Service
Committee. They wanted to somehow provide a situation in
which the young people then seeking answers from them
could instead work out their own solutions to leading a
fulfilling life.
With the general industrial collapse of the Depression,
they decided a rural piece of land suitable for families to
develop into individual farms would be most practical. This
whole idea appealed to Regnery, and he agreed to finance the
land if a suitable spot could be found and if Morgan and
Pickett would serve on the board of directors.
Morgan envisioned a small community situation. He
SUMMER- 1988
�wanted the land to be located in an area sufficiently isolated
that the settlers could pursue new goals without the
distraction of old habits reinforced by the wider world. A
small community would have more influence on how its
children grew up. A small community could support positive
values and beliefs among the adults.
If Morgan sounds utopian, that was not his intent. He
denied being io any way a visionary. He stated from the
beginning that there would be no religious, political, or social
code binding the community together. In a memorandum for
the community written in 1937, he said, "It takes more than
economic need or craving for congenial society to hold men
together. Set religious or political dogmas tend to be a
dividing influence. Above all other reasons for living and
working together, there needs to be a strong common
purpose..."
As to the land itself, Morgan desired a location that
was arable, affordable, had wholesome neighbors, and was
blessed with a natural beauty.
After several months of combing the Southern
Appalachian Mountain region for such a site, the search
ended in the valley of the South Toe. ln 1937, 1200 acres
of woods, somewhat exhausted farmland, streams, and
pasture were bought in the Celo area of the valley.
Land-sharing was not a clear objective when the
community first began. The earliest residents were renters
who were already living on the land when it was purchased
by the community. One of them was appointed a manager.
The goal of encouraging young families to be self-sustaining
was the primary object. However, most of the first families
who came had no financial resources. The struggle for
simple swvival prevented them from taking a larger view of
the community and its future.
Managers succeeded one another in frequent
succession, each one recruiting different kinds of people to
pioneer the community. Tenant farmers, socialJy troubled
families, bible colJegc graduates, and ex-missionaries came
for short periods of time between 1937 and I 945, with
largely unsatisfactory results. The community tried and then
gave up farming, dairy herds, a sawmill, timbering, and a
nursing home. By 1945, only five families remained in the
community.
Community Revival
1945 was clearly a watershed year for the Celo
Community. After some early members withdrew their
membership but kept title to their land, the first steps toward
community ownership were taken.
Conscientious objectors moved to the community after
the war, bringing with them a new idealism about the
community and land use, and they supported the land
cooperative idea.
It was also in 1945 that the land manager system was
finally abandoned at Celo as well. It was replaced by a
steering committee of fi vc people, one from each household.
The committee met once a week, and the whole membership
met once a month. The meetings have continued without
interruption since that year.
Members regard the meetings with varying degrees of
enthusiasm. One of the ongoing problems for the community
is maintaining a much higher level of group involvement than
most people have previously experienced. But since all
decision-making power rests with the meetings, they arc an
indcspcnsable part of the Cclo Community life.
There are also four standing committees: Finance,
Membership, Property, and Land Use. It is evident that half
the specific concerns arc about land.
Sara Smith, a daughter of a Celo family, wrote in a
college paper that "the single common bond for CCI
members now is the land they hold in trust".
During the 1950's more people came to Celo and
swelled the population to 20 member households. The "back:
to the land" movement and disaffection with prevailing
political and social conventions in the 1960's brought still
more members. Others came after being introduced to the
area while resident craftspeople at the Penland School of
KATIJAH - page 9
Crafts in nearby Mitchell County.
As the new members came, they tended to build their
houses in tucked-away comers of the woods. There was a
strong sense of wanting to pioneer and to feel self-sufficient.
However, the spreading population could quickly have made
the forest into a suburb. Realizing the danger, the community
about 17 years ago began to set aside land for a wild area. Of
the community's 1,200 acre land base, at least 300 acres arc
now in forest preservation.
Within this wild area, overseen by the Land Use
Committee, arc examples of the usual and unusual wild flora
of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. There are plant
communities that date back to the time of the glaciers. There
are endangered species found in some of the coves and
bogs. Use of the proteetcd area is limited to bikes and nature
walks.
Much of the community is bounded by National Forest
land. At ti.mes this has been seen as an asset, as for years at
a time there is no activity in these areas. However, the
National Forest is managed land, and the Forest Service
builds new roads and marks off timber sales for clearcuttlng.
Community members sec these actions as a threat to soil
stability as well as destruction of valuable forest. They lobby
the government and the Forest Service co limit this manner
of land use. They arc concerned 001 only with the land they
hold in trust, but with all the valley and the wider mountain
area.
Many members of the Cclo Community are active in
various organizations and strongly support local efforts to
preserve the environment, such as the Friends of the Toe
River. Bob Johnson, a wildlife enthusiast who is on the
Land Use Committee, has observed that "this is prime condo
country". AU around the county there is unprecedented
growth. County political leadership has expressed little
concern with curbing this development, and in fact probably
encourages it. The Southern Appalchians were economically
deprived for many decades, though chere has been much
improvement over the last 20 years. Still, it causes leaders to
sec any growth as a good thing.
Arthur Morgan, 50 years ago, predicted that decades
of upheaval lay ahead for the nation. Among his many
concerns he included land conservation, endangered species,
alcernative living opportunities, animal rights, and the need
for a new cornminment. He once remarked bow much he
would relish being a 25 year old starting ouc life in the Cclo
Community, ready to take on the challenge.
Morgan had some final thoughts on Celo when he
wrote a brief history of his experience with the community:
"It seems co me that Cclo Community and the surrounding
neighborhood is a favorable setting for an interesting human
adventure lasting through generations, which will not be a
retreat from life, but an adventure in living."
C 1981 John M. Morgan
SUMMER- 1988
�r--~·-·--
1
I
A Conversation
Ruth Ostrenga and Rio Alden have
Jived in Celo Community since 1985. In
February of this year they became official
members of Celo, where they now run a
plant and flower business called High
MoUnJain Greenery.
Christina Morrison of rhe Katuah
Journal spoke with them one afternoon
about how it feels to belong to a land
stewardship community.
with
Ruth and Rio
of Celo Community
Katuah: What does living on a land
cooperative mean to you?
Ruth: I've lhought about it a lot lately
and I've realized that its so much about
relationships. It's preserving a large piece of
land and looking to see what's the best use
for lhe land with people who have pretty
common values. And that requires working
lhings out in a community fashion where
you come together and have to really
communicate and see more sides than just
your own. I value that a great deal-growing
and moving through my stuff by being in
relationship-so what better place to be than
in a community where I'm pressed with it a
lot?
K: I understand that the. Forest
Service doesn't actually sell the land; they
sell lumber companies the right to clear-cut
And then the Forest Service builds the roads
for them and reseeds the land and actually
ends up losing money on the deal. And we
all lose the forest
Ruth: Exactly. Those are the kinds of
things we really have to take a look at. And
I know that lots ofus he.re don't approve of
this mis-use of government land and feel we
don't have the say we should have in it.
Ruth: I've had a dream for a long
time of growing good food for a large
number of people. And now that we're here
it's starting to seem feasible ...The idea is to
put up several composting greenhouses that
can grow food al l year round. They're
self-heating and also create C0 2 for
optimum growing conditions. I've already
asked to lease one of the open fields so we
may soon be growing enough food for the
whole area. Fresh vine-ripened tomatoes in
January! I know I'll need more energy than
mine to make it work, but I also know there
are others here who'd get excited about it
too.
/(: Sharing land seems to open up so
many possibilities. It's surprising that lhere
aren't more communal projects going on
that utilize th~ land.
Rilth: J ~c;e Ce!o,as )c.ind of divided
iMo two spaces--there are long-time
members who've.already figured out bow to
make it and then there are young ones wilh
families wJ\o are t;trusgling to 9uild houses
and take Qare of kids...so there's not a lot of'
extra energy for even things like stopping.
the clear-cutting. People are still doing
things they'd be doing anywhere and that is
getting their acrs togeiher.
K: How about your relationship wilh
lhe land itself?
Ruth: That's something lhat took a
while to sink in... that it's my land--all of
this is my land--yet it's not. A big thing is
that I have a voice in deciding anything that
happens in regards to it. That feels really
good. I feel the importance of taking
responsibility in all respects for what we're
doing right now to the Earth...and if I have
a band in a pretty good size chunk, then that
feels good to me. Also, because we're a
community, we have a wider influence than
just within the land trust. We can be an
example to others who want to do the same
thing - preserve large pieces of land.
We can also help to influence what
happens to other areas around us. Most of
our land backs right up to the National
Forest. land that the ~Forest service has
control over (that is actually ours too - only
not as directly), and they're going to be
selling off parcels to the lumber industry for
clear-cutting not far from here. That feels
really awful
K: Any dreams of what you'd like to
see here?
Rio: T here's been a lot more
cooperation lately about almost everything
though .... childcare, building projects-it
seems like a growing trend to give here and
take there and trade.
So....and this is kind of a wild idea, but I
thought perhaps the community could buy
rights to that land instead of the timber
companies. What better use for a chunk of
money? And if we bought the land they
wouldn't have to build a road or any of that
- so that could be subtracted from what
they'd normally charge and they'd actually
end up owing us money! (laughs) I can't
wait to run this by the land use committee.
K: So when you take care of a piece
of land you realize how connected it is to the
whole area.... Even though I'm not a
member, it's great to live near Celo and
have so much land to walk on with fewer
roads and fences and no "No Trespassing"
signs. It's a real feeling of freedom and
welcome. Living here, you can even forget
what it's like out in the "real world" where
land seems so arbitrarily divided up.
Rio: I think I would call this the real
Ruth: We've started a small garden
club of organic growe~--and there's even a
local person down the road who has joined.
It's a real nice thing to be connecting wilh
others in the area-feels like starting to reach
out and cover the whoJe planet in terms of
cooperation and doing things in a good
way....
Hey, there's the osprey! (points
above river) They've stayed around for
three weeks now--they might be raising
babies.
K: Are there any areas where you'd
like to see change?
Ruth: Some members would like 10
see more things done communally. We have
workdays once a month for 4 hours and
they're a great way to get things done and
help each other out. They'd really been
fizzling out, lately - like 2 people showing
up. But the last workday was really good,
Rio: I think it was partly your
enthusiasm...
Ruth: Yeah, I got really fired up at
lhe last meeting and presented it as a
wonderful opportunity for everyone.
world.
K: What was the job?
Ruth: I bet the trees would agree.
(continued on page 24)
KATIJAH-page 10
SUMMER- 1988
�LAND TRUST:
Tenure for Our Times
Among primitive tribal societies the
world over, the Earth was seen as a living
being, as alive and conscious as we. There
were no "resources," but the mother planet
gave her children what they needed to live.
The natural forces were potent elemental
beings. The idea of "owning" land or
"resources" never came to mind until the
development and spread of European
society.
lo our western culture land is
parcelled out and sold, and once money has
changed hands, owners assume it is their
right to have their way with "their"
property, whether or not it is in the interests
of the land, the wider human community, or
the life community as a whole.
In 1945 the members of the Celo
Community saw that individual land
ownership threatened the continued
existence of their community, and put their
land base into common ownership.
Members of Celo now lease a "holding,"
which grants a holder the right to live on
and the right to use the land within
guidelines set up by the community's
Property Committee.
This arrangement was a forerunner of
the land trust concept, which was developed
by Roben Swann and Ralph Borsodi during
the 1960's. A land trust is a corporate entity
(usually incorporated as not-for-profit)
which is empowered to hold land.
Land trusts are set up for a variety of
purposes:
- in rural areas they can be used to
make homes and fanning land available to
community people as the Community Land
Association is doing in Clairmont in
nonheast Tennessee.
- in cities they are a powerful t.ool for
resisting gentrification and making homes
available to low-and moderate-income
people. The South Atlanta Land Trust,
which is restoring a declining neighborhood
in Atlanta, GA is an example.
-Conservation land trusts put Large
tracts of undeveloped land into trust to
preserve them in perpetuity
The Ozarlc Regional Land Trust of
Canhage, MO is an umbrella organization
worlcing to foster all three approaches in the
Ourlc mountains, as well as initiating
educational projects in ecological land use
and farming practices appropriate to that
bioregion.
In each of these situations the
essential purpose of the land trust is to
remove the land from the speculative
marketplace so that. for whatever reasons, it
can no longer be treated as a commodity.
In a conservation land trust, human
access to the Land is strictly limited. In rural
community Land trusts, pans or alJ of a tract
are made available for human residency and
appropriate use such as ecological
agriculture. In an urban setting, land trust
holdings are dedicated to uses most
beneficial to the community, whether for
residences or community service areas.
The non-profit land trust corporation
retains title to the land and leases rights to
community people, subject to land use
KATUAH-page 11
Drawing by: Laurie Pierce
guidelines of varying strictness depending
on the purpose of the land trust. These
leases are usually long,term contracts that
may be passed on to descendants.
Leaseholders who wish· to terminate a lease
are allowed to sell the equity they have
earned (i.e., the value of buildings and other
improvements). Often tbe land trust reserves
first options on these equities and buys them
to re-sell to the next leaseholder.
Land trusts can slow down runaway
developmenL Land trusts can enable farm
families to gain access'to agricultural land
where Land speculation (as on vacation
home properties) has caused highly inflated
land prices. Land trusts can also preserve
wild areas far beyond the lifetime of an
individual owner.
It is now a widely accepted principle
that we cannot own ~nother of our own
species as propeny. Someday we may
evolve to the point where it would be
incomprehensible to own an individual of
any species as propehy. And someday,
someday, we may progress to a stage where
we once again regain the primitive sense of
a free and living Earth that cannot be cut into
pieces, cannot be bought or sold.
The land trust, then, is a
stepping-stone to the re-sacralization of the
natural world. It is a legalistic mechanism
suitable to the complexities of modem
society, but it offers a way forward into a
new and ancient relationship with the land.
RESOURCES
to help in unch:rstanding and implementing
land trust:
BOOKS
The Community Land Trust
Handbook by the lnstitwefor Community
Econormcs (Rodale Press; Emmaus, PA;
1982 - available for $6.00 from ICE, see
address below). "Through land trusts,
co171171Wiities can regain control oflocal land
and Jwusing. This book tells how.for both
nual and urban communities."
New OrJaniutional Prospects for
Community and Conservation Land
Trusts by Gregg Galbraith (available for
$12.50 ppdfrom the Ozark Regional land
Trust, see address beww). "A legal study of
the nl()tUI of a regional land trust to assist
the development of other regional land
trusts."
PERIODICALS
Communit1 Economics - quarterly
newsletter with articles abow develo~nts
in community land trusts, community
revolving loan funds, and other community
development issues. Available by donation
from ICE (see address beww).
ORGANIZATIONS
Jnstituiefor Communil)I Economics
151 Montague City Rd.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Oz.art Regional Land Trust
427 S. Main St.
Carthage, MO 64836
Solllhe.asr.un Land Presuvali,on Trust
305 Buclchead Ave. NE
Atlanta, GA 30305
The School ofLiving (land Com11Uttee)
do Common Ground
Rt. 3, Box 231
Lexington, VA 24450
The Katuah Regional Land
Trust is looking for charter members. This
new organization is dedicated to "serving
first the land, and then the life nourished by
the land" by "reserving and restDring narural
habitat areas; the ancient sacred sites and
places of power; and a land base, whether
rural or urban,for humans to conduct their
lives in accord wilh the conditions of nature
as found in the KatUah Province of the
Appalachian bioregion." Please respond to:
KatUali Regional land Trust; Rt. 2, Box
108-A; Whittier, NC 28789
~
SUMMER- 1988
�LEARNING COMMUNITY
by Judith Hallock
Arthur Morgan School is a unique
boarding school for 24 girls and boys in
grades seven through nine. Named after an
innovative American educator and activist,
the school is based on the principles of
Maria Montessori, Mohandas Gandhi,
Arthur Morgan, and the Religious Society
of Friends (Quakers). The stated central aim
of the school is to help each student grow
into a confident and responsible young
person.
The school property is part of Celo
Community, an intentional land stewardship
community. The 100 acre campus consists
mainly of woods and meadows and is
largely surrounded by national forest.
Elizabeth Morgan, Anhur Morgan's
daughter-in-law and founder of the Arthur
Morgan School, did not go to school until
she was the age for eighth grade. She had
been lightly tutored by her parents, but she
had mostly played around her home, helped
her mother, read books, and made music.
When she finally did start school, she found
it exciting and raced through high school in
three and one-half years as an honor student
Elizabeth oommeoted that the amount
of time children spend in school is usually
out of proportion to what they learn there,
and that most schools are a great waste of
children's time. School, she said, is mainly
a gigantic baby-sitting operation designed to
keep children out of circulation in a society
in which children no longer have any
meaningful function except to grow up.
It was her experience as a public
school teacher that inspired her to found the
Arthur Morgan School in 1962. She felt that
adolescence is a particularly crucial time in
the development of the whole person. Patty
Keene-Windsor, school clerk, a central
administrative position at the Arthur Morgan
School, defined some of the special needs
of puberty-aged young people:
"The years between 12 and 15 are
KATUAH- page 12
crucial years for developing a sense of self,
and to do some brt;alcing away from family.
It's a time of questioning habits and ways of
doing things, challenging the way your
family does things. It's a time of change and
rebelling."
In meeting these special needs, the
Arthur Morgan School offers a
community-based response.
"The main focus of the school is for
staff and students to create this community
together," said Patty.
Through conscious commuoitybui lding, the school becomes a
working/living/learning/caring place. in
educating the whole person, a whole life
approach is taken, and the loving, healthy
oommuoity becomes the core of the learning
experience. At the same time, a I :2
staff-to-student ratio suppons individual
needs.
Values, which have been largely
separated from education in the public
schools, are an integral part of the Arthur
Morgan School, and are directly related to
community ideals. Cooperation, respect,
openness, sense of self, responsibility, and
interdependence are all qualities of a healthy
community, and are learned by participation
in the school oommunity life.
''By creating this oommunity, we are
teaching community skills. We are giving
the students an experience and a model that
they can carry always. If they have
experienced hearing each other, working on
problems, being interdependent, in a small
oommunity like this, they will Temember
that when they move into a bigger
community, or when they start thinking
about the world," said Patty.
Housing at the school is in family
groups, with each composed of several
students and two houseparents who share
housekeeping functions as well as teaching
and/or other staff duties. These families live
in wood-heated homes on campus.
Margot, a houseparent at Arthur
Morgan School, wrote of her experience,
"Ideally the job of a houseparent is to create
a harmonious family environment for the
students dwelling under her roof. We try to
offer the students a secure and supportive
place to return to after their school day.
Since many of our students are seventh
graders leaving home for the first time, we
strive to maintain a family setting. The
boarding houses are not dormitories, rather
individual homes with structure and rules
varying with the different houseparents.
"What I find unique about
houseparenting these young adults is that I
can give them both support and positive
criticism in a more or less objective manner.
Their exposure to other peers of different
backgrounds expands their universe and
encourages social responsibility. The
houses reflect the philosophy of the school
in microcosm."
Breakfasts are cooked and eaten in the
houses, as are weekend lunches and two
dinners each week. All other meals are eaten
together in the school dining hall. The diet is
largely vegetarian, with an emphasis on
fresh whole foods, natural sweets, and
organic produce from the school's large
organfo garden.
Weekdays begin with a short
community gathering to share songs, skits,
and announcements. All students attend
classes in four core subjects - English,
social studies, science, and math. Though
individually designated by grade levels,
students are grouped in these classes only
by ability and interest. Class sizes are small,
so teachers can focus on individual needs.
Students are encouraged to see connections
between their classwork and the outside
world.
Academics are supplemented by an
electives program. Each student can choose
up to six classes a semester from such
offerings as music, drama. arts and crafts,
shop, languages, sports, and dance. Neither
electives nor core subjects are graded.
Students and parents receive instead
periodic written evaluations of the student's
work.
Leisure activities include special
Saturday night activities such as a dance,
talent show, group game, or sweat lodge. In
addition, weekends often include soccer
games and housefamily outings. Much time,
both on weekends and weekdays, is spent
outdoors.
The mountain forest surrounding the
Arthur Morgan School provides students
with a wide variety of outdoor experiences.
Extended trips in the fall and spring are
supplemented by periodic day hikes and
overnights.
Patty said, "We provide challenges in
this area that we are pretty sure the students
can meet: like being able to stay out in the
mountains for six days, or walking or
canoeing certain distances. At this age,
when these kind of physical challenges are
met, and the students feel they have
succeeded, there is a great feeling of
exhilaration."
Each spring the students explore the
world beyond Katuah on a three-week field
trip. In recent years they have put on a
travelling show, canoed the Florida
Everglades, and assisted at a refugee camp
on the Texas-Mexican border.
(conlinucd on page 26)
SUMMER-1988
�Land Use Planning in
Buncombe County, NC
by Carol Lawrence
Whether or not it is mentioned by
Asheville promoters recruiting new
businesses, one of the attractions of
Buncombe County - along with the clean air
and water, year-round temperate climate,
and stunning natural beauty - is the freedom
to develop land outside the city in any way
the owner sees fit.
There is, in other words, no overall
counry zoning plan.
The last attempt at county-wide
zoning was made in 1973. It was not
successful. Johnny Robens, a Flat Creek
resident who worked against the recent
zoning proposal there, remembers that
attempt.
"It went down like the Titanic," he
recalls.
Buncombe County Board of
Commissioners Chairman R. Curtis Ratcliff
recalls it the same way.
"When commissioners held hearings
on that proposed zoning plan, the further we
got into the county, the more opposed
everyone was."
"I doubt that there is currently enough
pro-zoning sentiment to revive the
county-wide plan," says Jim Coman,
County Zoning Administtator. "There is not
a consensus among the commissioners on
county-wide land use planning and
regulation. Undoubtedly, some are more in
favor of it than others. Among residents,
there's certainly limited desire for zoning
out in the rural areas. What I hear over and
over is 'We don't wanr anybody telling us
what to do with our land_"'
As a result, land use in the regions
surrounding Asheville is a matter left up to
each individual township. And the recenr
events in Flat Creek point up exactly how
difficult it can be to develop land use
planning on a local basis.
Earlier this year, the Vulcan Materials
Company of Birmingham, Alabama took
out a long-term lease option on a 99-acre
parcel of land in the Flat Creek area. Their
intent: 10 quarry granite and produce
crushed stone. Controlled blasting would
open up a large pit, eventually going down
some 200 to 400 feet. The granite in the
substrata would be extracted, crushed, and
hauled away in trucks.
In compliance with procedures
established by the North Carolina
Department of Natural Resources and
Community Development (NRCD), Vulcan
sem notice of its plans to all Flat Creek
residents owning adjacent land. Upon
learning of this intended development, area
residents became concerned. In fact, they
were so concerned that when the NRCD
sponsored a public bearing in the elementary
school on the hot, muggy night of August
6, the auditorium was packed with 400 area
residents. Another 400, unable to fit in,
remained outside.
Overwhelmingly, those attending
disapproved of the proposed quarry.
Together, they began to investigate what
they could do to prevent the coming of the
quarry. Thar's how Flat Creek residents
started what is called a community planning
program. This option, open to any
KATUAH - page 13
AT RISK
Photo by: Chip Smith
Buncombe County township, allows
residents to establish a community planning
council, which, in tum, can draft land use
(zoning) ordinances.
On October 17, after two months of
work by a 15-member planning council and
community input at the Buncombe County
Planning Department, a comprehensive
zoning ordinance was presented to the Flat
Creek residents for approval. As evidence
of the interest sparked by the zoning
question, 1,560 residents - 600 more than
cast ballocs in the last Presidential election turned out to vote. The proposed land use
ordinance was defeated by a margin of
nearly 3 to 1.
Manha Claxton, an Asheville
pediatrician who lives in Flat Creek, served
on the community planning council and
continues active volunteer work against the
proposed quarry. She explains the move
toward zoning this way: "We started
looking at zoning because of that quarry.
We were concerned about things like the
effects the quarry would have on the fragile
water table, whether the blasting would
cause basemenr walls to crack, how safe the
children would be in school buses that share
roads with large rock 1:IUcks, not to mention
the nuisance of noise, dust, and blasting
vibration."
"We knew, even in early August, that
passing of the zoning ordinance would not
necessarily keep Vulcan out; they started the
application process before we started the
zoning process. We proceeded because we
hoped that strong anti-quarry sentiment
combined with a zoning ordinance
prohibiting quarry expansion might cause
Vulcan to rethink that particular site."
Johnny Roberts, a 43-year resident of
the Flat Creek area and owner of a local
store, agrees that local sentiment ran against
the quarry. Yet he, like many others, voted
against zoning.
"The main thing is that people here
own their land, they pay for it, and they
don't want people telling them what to do
with it," he says. "The County has very
strict rules about building and construction
and people just feel that's enough."
There will be no zoning in Flat Creek.
And Flat Creek residents - who by and large
still oppose the proposed quarry - have not
solved the problem of persuading the
NRCD to refuse Vulcan's mining permit
application. Further, Flat Creek citizens
could find themselves in this sicuation again,
should another company announce plans to
build an asphalt production facility, for
example, or open another tavern adjacent to
the elementary school, or develop a
multi-acre mobile home park.
In every case in Buncombe County
where there has been interest in
community-based zoning, it has been in
response to unwelcome development. The
two communities in the county that enacted
local zoning, Beaverdam to the north and
Limestone to the south, did so out of
concern, the former about housing
development and the latter about a junkyard.
IUnkVard.
Currently, residents of an area on
Goldview Road are investigating zoning
because they do not want the new Craggy
Prison located in their neighborhood. They
approached the Commissioners for help in
developing prohibitive zoning. The
Commissioners responded by asking them
to try to establish a community planning
program for the whole French Broad
Township, rather than just the Goldview
Road area. Given strong anti-zoning
sentiment present in rural Buncombe
communities, it may be impossible to do
that
"Because of the differing opinions,
zoning is a difficult question," says County
Attorney Keith Snyder. "For the most part,
where there's interest in zoning is in
portions of townships that are highly
urbanized. In the outer perimeters of the
county, they are against it.
"Rather than have piecemeal, partial
zoning, I recommended to the Commission
that they do a comprehensive analysis of the
county. We know which areas are becoming
urbanized. We know where the large tracts
of undeveloped land are. Looking at all
those things together, the Commission
could then develop policy on where industry
should locate and where there should be
shopping centers and where there should
only be residential building."
In the meantime, county residents though in favor of protecting their
community's water supply, clean air, and
propeny values - may have little say in what
happens in their neighborhoods.
Reprinted from the Winter, 1988 issue of
Dircovery
News
a publication of
Asheville-Buncombe Discovery; 46 llaywood St.
(Suite 336); Asheville, NC 28801.
~
SUMMER - 1988
�REST IN PERPETUAL WILDERNESS
by Billy Campbell
In the densely popula1ed highlands of
the island of New Guinea in the lands of the
once cannibalistic Fore ( pronounced
"!or-AY") tribe, there are still pockets of
untouched wilderness. These are the sacred
groves, or pies masalai, near which the
bodies of their dead are buried. The Fore
regard these areas with/ear, believing that
here the ghosts of the dead are waiting to
possess the bodies of any who enter.
Because of their fear, beamif11l, wild,
untouched stands of the original forest still
exist in the midst ofagricultural lands and a
teeming human population.
When my father died, the funeral
director, a decent person and a friend from
childhood, steered us toward his
top-of-the-line casket It cost more than a lot
of cars do. We settled instead for the only
wooden model that he had. He cautioned us
that it was not "watertight," but consoled us
with the fact that Dan Blocker (Hoss
Cartwright on the TV show "Bonanza") was
buried in an identical casket
could we not put the money that is spent on
expensive burials and sterile plots into the
purchase of natural settings that could also
act as protected habitat areas?.....Sacred
groves, certainly. The money that we invest
in funerals and "perpetual care" today is
considerable. The Wall Street Journal stated
in May of 1985 that there is more than $4
billion invested in funeral trusts in this
country.
I live where the mountains drop to the
piedmont in South Carolina. Land here goes
for $800 per acre. Together, one thousand
members of a memorial society, each
contributing $1,000 (which is only
one-quarter the cost of my father's burial)
could purchase l,250 acres of land: a
The pies masaJais of the Fore inspired
me with a different idea. I would rather
have laid my father's body to rest in a wild
setting, full of the quiet and peace of
nature...a place reached by a trail instead of
a road, where trees would stand guard over
my father's remains and in turn be
nourished by him to stand tall in his
memory. Why is this not possible? Why
While some might want their remains
cremated and their ashes scattered, others
would want a marker designating a specific
place of interment. Instead of the usual
tombstones, more natural markers would be
appropriate. ln keeping with the concept of
creating vigneues of wilderness, living
plants, or colonies of plants, might be best.
A particular burial site might be graced by a
colony of orchids,for example, or perhaps
trilliums.
Living memorials could be
coordinated by a resident restoration
ecologist in areas that have been heavily
impacted. ln such a setting, an American
chestnut tree might make a particularly good
memorial. Because of the continuing blight
problem, native chestnuts will probably
need human help if they are to survive
outside of orchards. The setting would offer
a rich source for ritual. Imagine a
communion ceremony using chestnut bread
and muscadine wine. Limited harvesting of
stunted rrees from the forest would yield
materials to make heirloom baby cradles,
marriage beds, or even caskets. While it is
consistent with most religious beliefs, the
practice of using funeral parks could be
transforming, "greening" Christianity,
Islam, or other spiritual practices.
Next he showed us the vaults. The
first was Italian scrolled, guaranteed not to
leak for 100 years and able to withstand
thousands of pounds per square foot of
overpressure. I cold the director that it all
seemed silly. First of all, who was going to
check to see if it leaked, and who cared if it
did? Such strength might come in handy if
we were trying to protect the corpse from a
direct nuclear strike. but otherwise it seemed
pretty useless. I suggested that we not have
a vault.
The director seemed aghast at the
idea. "Billy, the casket you picked is not
watertight. If you don't get a vault, in a few
years the ground above will.....sink. in.
Family members would have to deal with
the fact that din and water are.....going
in .....on the loved one." Ultimately, my
father's body was pumped full of toxic
chemicals, placed in a casket, which was
placed in a vault, buried in an
over-manicured graveyard, and covered
with pea gravel. The whole affair cost
$4,000.00.
parks are hazardous waste dumps, filled
with small, sealed capsules of toxic
chemicals, the grass abpve artificially
maintained a perfect green with another
assortment of toxic materials.
significant parcel of land that would serve as
a lasting (and, to my mind, a fitting) legacy
for furure generations.
Large undeveloped tracts near towns
would be the first sites to be considered as
memorial forest areas, especially those
unlikely to be protected by government or
other private programs. Unprotected Indian
mounds, especially those in proximity to
extensive woodland areas, would be prime
sites. The membership in a given area might
sponsor a survey and biological inventory
of significant sites.
Burials in this memorial forest would
have to be simple. Bodies could not be
preserved, and any containers would have
to be built of easily degradeable materials.
Formaldehyde, with which bodies are
preserved in standard practice, is a
poisonous material. Present-day memorial
I wish my body to nourish a part of
the Living forest, marked only by a colony
of trilliums or a chestnut tree, in an area that
would be pleasant and rejuvenating for
others to visit, in which they would be
reminded of life's continuing cycles of
growth and death, decomposition and
rebirth. This would be truly a sacred place.
Any others who are interested in
joining a memorial forest society may
inquire (send no money, please) of:
Dr. Billy Campbell
P.O. Box 152
Westminster, SC 29693
or write to the:
Katuah Regional Land Trust
Rt. 2, Box 108-A
Whittier, NC
Katuah Province 28789
~
p
(see page 11)
Dr. Billy Campbell practices family
medicine in Westminster. He is a good Scot
and true to his clan.
Drawing by: Wes Wyau
KATUAH - page 14
SUMMER - 1988
�r
THE RIDGE
There is a ridge in southern Virginia over which I enter and leave my
farm. Deer leap and call on this ridge, ground hogs scurry to their holes,
wild turkeys range. An almost white skunk lives in an old pile of handmade
brick, which I would like to use were they not his home. I've seen a silver
fox on this ridge, and thought a 'possum really dead, and sat spellbound as
deer walked close and looked at me.
Here the moon rises damp and close and the stars seem near touching.
The unseen life of night lingers in the early dew and the sun rises with
ringing echo from two ridges and a river over, where a farmer calls his
cows. Unless fog has quietened the world, a blue line of distant ridges
separates the sky from all the fields and tree tops that lie before it. The
day's last color slips westward behind a mountain that humps large and
green, protective.
Breeze skips up the pass to this high place or shifts to wind that
rushes in from the woods to the north. An unmaintained road cuts beyond
those woods down to the house, too steep in ice or mud for my jeep. I park
atop the ridge and climb a split rail fence. Pasture grass nods as I walk,
and halfway down the familiar path, cool air from the spring dampens my
face. Grouse flap the air as they rise. I glimpse my house in the hollow
below.
The ridge is more than passage to my home and place where I walk at
each days beginning and end. The land itself is a friend to talk to and the
animals answer. Here I learned to stand alone and discovered myself joined
to all life. It is my place of beginning and entry to a larger world.
© 1988 &y Nancy Bcir nharcit
KATUAH - page 15
SUMMER-1988
�FARMERS AND THE FARM BILL
By Chip Smith
Late in 1985, the U.S. Congress
passed into law the Food Security Act, or
"Farm Bill." According to the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, the
administrating agency, the intent of the bill
is to "reduce soil erosion, minimize the
amount of wetlands and grasslands being
converted to cropland, and reduce surplus
commodities, which in rum will strengthen
the overall farm economy.''
The impetus for this bill was the
realization that the governme.nt has actually
encouraged soil erosion and loss of
wetlands by allowing farmers to include
highly erodible lands and converted
wetlands as part of their "base acreage" for a
variety of farm support programs. This
policy contributed to the crop surplus and
falling commodity prices which have fueled
the recent era of unpaid loans and farm
forecloswes.
To Congress, "farm" means the
corporate superfarms of the west, midwest
and coastal regions, but agriculture in
Karuah is affected as well.
Legislation passed in Washington
cannot afford to be sensitive to special
problems and paradoxes on the local level.
But in Kanfah, implementation of the Farm
Security Act is rife with paradox. While the
goals of the act are necessary and valid and
the principles on which it is based are
admirable, the sweeping generalizations in
its provisions are causing hardship and loss
and may force more small farmers off their
mountain landholdings.
In Katuah, agriculture is a
small-scale industry that is no longer the
major contributor to soil erosion problems.
A "Land Development Security Act" or a
"Road Construction Security Act" would be
more effective in controlling soil loss and
stream siltation.
Yet, the conservation provisions of
the Farm Bill state that fields with a slope
greater than nine percent are "highly
erodible land" and are to blame for
excessive erosion and lost productivity.
Furthermore, if farmers are to receive
the benefits of the various farm support
programs, they must submit approved
conservation farm plans by 1990 and have
them implemented by 1995. The locaily
governed Soil and Water Conservation
Districts, with assistance from the U.S. Soil
Conservation Service, are in charge of plan
approval. The Conservation Reserve
Program has also been established for those
who wish to be subsidized for retiring
croplands to pasture or tree farms.
At the head of Long Branch in
Yancey County, North Carolina two old
timers, Raines and Eugene Hughes tend
burley tobacco. Their farm is an original
version of small-scale mountain agriculture.
They bought it as a gullied-out and
overgrown depression farm in 1936.
KATUAH-page 16
Today, the pastured hills, neat garden, and
"baccer" patch reveal much of their
independence and stewardship.
Proud and outspoken, they resent
what they feel is a judgment passed on their
farming abilities.
"Well, I tell you - I don't think too
much of that Farm Bill myself," said
Raines. "You don't have much freedom
anymore, do ya? Somebody telling you
something what to do all the time, seems
like.
"Anytbing's gonna get eroded, if it's
not got a cover on it"
And Eugene said, "We've always
farmed that way, ever since we were kids.
Our dad was the first man to start that in this
section here. It looks like a plan to cut us
small farmers out, is what it looks like."
Today, the conservation provisions of
the Farm Bill require the installation of
erosion control practices such as terrace
systems, grassed water ways, field borders,
and/or alternate year crop/cover crop
rotations. For mountain farmers already
short on tillable land, conservation
compliance means fewer crops, smaller
profits and a questionable future.
Tobacco has been a staple of
mountain agriculture for generations,
because tending burley is a labor intensive,
family operation. It requires very little
mechanization: a borrowed tractor and
planter and the garden tiller will do. The
labor needed for weeding, cutting, hanging,
and grading the leaf is provided by family
members.
Tobacco growing is possible with
resources mountain people have, and a
productive season can bring a profit of at
least $2000 an acre.
"To fellers like us it means a lot," said
Eugene. "It goes right back on the farm,
what we get from tobacco. That's what we
set aside to pay our taxes, buy our fertilize,
and such.
"People here in these mountains
depended on tobacco until these factory
plants came to town. We're one of the few
who still live off the farm."
Raines and Eugene realize the good
intentions of the Farm Bill, but as Eugene
put it, "Those fellers haven't been outta
Washington in a while:
"lf we was younger we'd kick more.
We always looked forward to farming all
our life. People say anymore: Well, I may
farm this year and I may not next year.'
Nowadays a feller will just get him a job at
the plant."
Raines said, "It's a haphazard way to
farm. It's just turned around from the way it
used to be."
Realizing
an too well the
consequences of noncompliance, Eugene
lamented, "We're gonna try to comply with
the law. Take two fellers that's 75 and 77
years old - we've not got too many years to
grow, have we? We're Appalachian
paupers, but proud of it."
In the midst of renewed interest in
stewardship and small-scale mountain
agriculture, many of our teachers are
packing up shop. These mountains are no
longer a barrier to the fast paced "outside
world." An inflated land market has pushed
propeny values out of the reach of local
Plant jobs are pulling family
people.
members off the farm, and discount stores
entice them away from agrarian values.
Tobacco abuse kills, but an alternative
crop to fill the place of burley in mountain
agriculture hasn't been found. In short,
while the Farm Bill may help clear the
streams, in the Appalachian mountain
country it is inadvenently contributing to
the demise of a way of life.
SUMMER- 1988
�"Relating to the Land"
(These are the words of a traditional Cherokee medicine
person)
My grandfather told me that one day when his
grandfather was sick and they knew that he was going to die,
he called together some friends and the members of his
family and spoke to them. My grandfather was jost a boy at
the time, and he could not hear what was said, but his
grandfather got up and he looked strong and healthy. The old
man gathered a group of men and boys, and, though he was
young, my grandfather was allowed to accompany them.
They walked and camped for a month through western NQitb
Carolina and parts of eastern Tennessee. They carried his
grandfather some of the time, but most of the time he walked
by himself.
They went to places that, seen through a boy's eyes,
seemed insignificant to my grandfather. They would go to a
rock and his grandfather would look at it and rub all over it,
and then maybe he would tell them to take him to some little
creek up in a cove someplace, and he would peer around in
there.
He was tcliving bis history. These were places that
were familiar to him, that represented part of his life, and
each place was important to the old man. To him, the land
was personal. These places wetc a part of himself. They
were alive as the world was alive.
Western culture sees the world as dead. But the Indian
People know the Earth as a living organism. The screams are
the Earth's blood. The soil is the flesh. The plants and the
leaves are the hair. The rocks are the bones. The wind is the
breath. The Earth is one living organism, and the human race
is part of that organism, not something set apart.
Everything has a spirit. Everything that is living seems
to be an in. ividual entity, separate to itself. Each of us seems
d
to be an individual. bot actually, we are each made op of
trillions of parts - things that can be seen and things that
cannot be seen. And all those pans are dependant on one
another. The planet is the same way. It is the same kind of
life just larger. And the human species is just one of the pans
of the Great Life.
Collectively, the individual spirits of everything that
lives make up the Great Spirit When you conjure, and you
hook into power, that is your power. But you have to feel
part of it first. We get our power from being able to move
evenly with the other pans of the Great Life. There is no trick
or magic to it, other than knowing yourself as a pan of this
life.
KATUAH-page 17
Our gifts of intelligence and creativity were given to us
so we could be caretakers, so we could perpetuate the Great
Life. It is our role, our pan of the plan, to be conscious. The
side effect of that is ego. Some people call it lust or sin, but
it's separation from God. It's true, because what we have
here is God, whatever it is.
At some time the human race reached a point in its
developement where our ego overrode all the innate
understandings we had held since we were primeval slime,
or whtaever we first were. Now, our biggest conflict is to
concrol our intellect that has grown by such leaps and bounds
in such a short period of time.
Our shortcomings are reflected in the culmination of
European or western culture, which is highly individualistic:
Western culture makes people believe that the Earth begins
when they are born, and is over when they die. They have
the most incredible notion that there is a God up in the sky
that serves us alone and, the ultimate of ego, that we are
created in his image. He made everything on this planet for
our use, and if we can't use it, it's a weed or crash.
The best story my grandfather ever told to show the
difference between European and Indian ways was to say
that when an Indian man bunts the bear, and be kills the bear,
be gives thanks, and promises the bear to use all the parts of
his body, for that is the bear's gift to us.
If an Indian man goes out to hunt the bear, and the
bear rips him down and eats him, there is no hostility against
the bear. It wasn't the bear's idea that be was to eat meat
The Creator.put this notion in him.
.
.,
The people would mourn the man and grieve for him,
but there was no anger toward the bear. It was just the
creature's nature, just like it was the man's nature to be out
hunting him. There was no separatiQn from the bear at all,
If this were to happen to a white man, the others
would go out and comb the mountains and kill any bear they
saw.
We arc all predators. But western man cannot tolerate
another predator. Wolves, mountain lions.... white people
don't want them out there as competitiou. They don't eat
them. The only other predators western man eats are fish.
They aren't going to eat a wolf, but they will kill him off. If a
creature can be domesticated, controlled completely, and
made useful to humans, then it's from God. If it can't be
made useful, then they eliminate it God made a mistake
there.
·
For European culture there. is no concept of balance,
no concept that we are pan of a greater whole. It is alien; it's
like they arc from another planet. Look at how they throw
their crash and litter around! Would they do that at home? It
all goes back to the ego that says we are made in the image of
God and all this was created for us.
In the body of the world, we are cancerous cells.
Cancer is when a group of cells in the body goes crazy for
one reason or another. There are environmental reasons for
why we are acting so crazy, reasons which we created
ourselves. But there are still some deeper reasons why we
are susceptible to this disease of the spirit. After all, we are
the product of millions and millions of years of evolution,
and everything else is evolving along with us. We m
responsible for ourselves. We may not be able to stop
accidents, or something somebody else does to us; but the
sickness and disease, we are responsible for all that.
The world was not made for us alone. My
grandfather's grandfather said that we are mainly observing
what is happening in our own lives. We can dodge things a
little bit to the left or to the right, but the major aspects of
things we are just observing. Observation....tbat's what we
are doing.
SUMMER - 1988
�- Soil acidification could release
bound aluminum in toxic amounts.
- Nutrients could be leached out and
lost from acidified soils.
- Excess nitrogen, acidification, or
released heavy metals could deplete or
destroy soil microorganism populations or
the mycorrhizae fungi, which Live in a
beneficial relationship with the roots of the
spruce and fir trees, causing nutrient
deficiencies.
NATURAL WORLD NEWS
REPORT
"IT COMES ON A MIST..... "
"The bottom line is that someone at
some point has to make a decision as to
whether or not the evidence is strong
enough to do something about acid rain .....
"We have a lot nwre informarion now
than we did two to three years ago. The
nwnality of trees has increased tenfold over
the past five years. But we could spend
another 50 years studying this issue and
never gather enough proof to slww that A
plus B equals C."
- Roben Bruck, to the
AsbeyWe Ciifilul, March 5, 1988
Since 1983 Dr. Robert Bruck has
been coordinating a team of field scientists
from North Carolina State University
(NCSU) investigating the mysterious
dieback of the spruce/fir forest that was
once a grand mantle draped over the
shoulders of Mount Mitchell and the other
peaks of the Black Mountain range (see
KatUah Journal #9).
Using the most sophisticated
equipment, the researchers have been testing
the soil, soil microorganisms, and the trees
themselves, to determine the amount of
airborne pollution the mountaintops are
receiving and the effects of this pollution.
Their field work is supported by
experiments in climate control chambers and
greenhouse tests to determine the tolerances
and parameters of the tree species. Another
team of NCSU scientists funded by the
Environmental Protection Agency doing
intensive studies of the chemistry of the
orographic (associated with mountains)
cloud cover that shrouds Mt. Mitchell and
the Blacks for 250 days of the year.
The data these scientists have
produced are chilling. During the year
1986-87 Ml. Mitchell received
approximately 122 kilograms/hectare
(roughly equal to pounds per acre) of
acidified sulfates. Ouring that same period
approximately 65 Kg/ha (lbs/a) of nitrates
were deposited on the mountaintop.
Ozone, when in the lower
atmosphere, is a gaseous pollutant
panicularly damaging to plants. It is formed
when nitrogen oxides are combined with the
hydrocarbons produced by auto exhaust in
the presence of sunlight. Ozone is
frequently present at concentrated levels at
the top of Mt. Mitchell. Of 3,000 readings
taken during 1986, one quarter approached
or exceeded a level of 80 ppb (parts per
billion), which was shown in greenhouse
tests to be acutely toxic to young fir and
spruce trees.
At the same time the mountaintops are
bathed in an acidic mist which registers a
2.5-3.4 pH level. Because pH is figured
KATIJAH - page 18
Cm.tree
logarithmically, the clouds' lowest pH
levels are 1,000 times more acidic than
normal atmospheric conditions.
Precipitation, which is more diluted, ranges
from pH 4.0-5.0.
Those clouds, so gentle in
appearance, are panicularly threatening to
the upland forests. They are formed by
moisture-laden air, which, as it rises over
the mountains, cools and condenses into
fog. In the process it attracts and bonds with
particles of airborne, water-soluble
pollutants, and this concentrated, poisonous
broth settles on the tree needles, where
much of the toxic payload is absorbed
before the droplets fall, branch by branch,
to the soil.
The variety of chemicals in the mist
solution could affect the trees in different
ways at each stage of their journey to the
eanh:
- Acidification could damage or
destroy foliage, as was observed after one
highly acidic cloud covered the
mountaintop. Forty-eight hours later the rips
of exposed spruce needles were brown and
dead.
- Acidic oxides, alone or in
combination with ozone, could leach
nutrients from the foliage.
-The chemical pollutants could
interfere with the tree's metabolic processes.
- Excess nitrogen could increase
susceptibility to frost and freeze damage.
Pollutants can also work through the
soil. In one experiment. seedlings were
planted in soil taken from the top of Mt.
Mitchell to a lower elevation. 93% of the
seedlings died. Examination of the soil
showed that it was highly acidified and low
in the nutrient elements calcium and
magnesium.
Toxins in the soil could damage trees
by some or any of these means:
To come to grips with the problem of
the airborne pollutants, " ..... the scientific
and policy-making communities wilJ have to
find common ground in dealing wich
'imperfect knowledge,"' wrote Dr. Bruck.
He is warning us that, although his
team and other scientists will be keeping up
the intensive investigations they have
maintained for the last five years, it would
be a mistake co postpone decision-making
until a clear and simple cause-and-effect
relationship is proven. The situation is
simply too complex. That the high-altitude
boreal forest is being subjected to massive
doses of airborne pollutants is clear. But it
is impossible to isolate a single chemical
compound or a single process as being the
sole culprit for the forest decline. The
different chemical permutations and
possibilities are endless, as would be the
wait if positive proof of the reasons for the
tree dieback were required.
It has been clearly shown, however,
that a great percentage of the sulfates being
carried on the air currents are produced by
coal-fired utility plants and smelcing
industries.
It is also known that most free nitrates
are put into the air by automotive exhaust
emissions.
There are sophisticated scrubbers
presently on the market that, if installed in
the tall industrial smokestacks, could
remove much of the sulfates now being
spewed into the air. Catalytic converters are
now being developed that could reduce the
level of nitrates produced by automotive
traffic by 85%, according to Bruck.
Nothing is going to avert the need for
a basic change in the way we live our lives,
but we are not going to have the chance to
effect a change, unless we take steps to
alleviate the ecological catastrophe we are
creating. And, meanwhile, we are
sacrificing other species daily to our
wantonness.
Again quoted by the Ashcyil le
~Bruck said:
1:
0
300
j
200
E
£
"The technology is available today,
right now, to clean up the vast majority of
the problems I am showing you the daJa on.
Tlrat is what can be done if you decide as a
society that this is a problem and that we
need to do something abouz it."
100
5 15 25 35 45 55 65 75 85 95 1~ 115 125
0.-IPl>DI
SUMMER- 1988
�NATURAL WORLD NEWS
REPORT
Duke Power Company of Charlonc,
NC, intends 10 purchase the Nantahala
Power and Light Comany (NP&L) in
Katuah Province. The Linc is proposed 10
carry bulk electricity from Duke installations
on the piedmont to Nantahala's service area
in the mountains. But scratching away the
surface reveals that there is more, much
more, at stake in this project than the needs
of a small rural utility company.
The Linc is 10 be 26 miles long,
strung from hilltop to hilltop on towers that
would range from 125 10 175 feet in height
and 100 feet wide at the base, costing at
least $30 million to construct. It will carry
two 230 kilovolt (KV) high-tension lines
from Duke installations in the Jocassee
watershed to a point near Cashiers, NC,
from which point a single 161 KV line
would continue on to tie in with a
sub-station planned for construction in the
small community ofTuckascgee in Jackson
County, NC.
The Line would climb out of the
Jocassee Watershed, leaving an ugly scar
through the basin of the Toxaway River.
Along its route The Line would march up
the sides and over the top of Toxaway
Mountain, marring the face of that mountain
beloved by residents and summer people
alike in Transylvania County, NC. It would
stretch along the sides of the Pamhcnown
Valley, a spectacular area that harbors sights
of sheer cliffs and rare vegetation not 10 be
found anywhere else in the cast.
The Linc would bisect imponant wild
habitat areas in the Greenland Creek
drainage and the Tuckascgee River Valley,
which arc large areas of uninterrupted forest
that would be cut in two and laid open
forever after to disruption by humans and
their machines. Fanher down the valley,
The Line would swallow up property and
homes and heedlessly push aside families
who have lived on the same farms and
homesites for generations.
One evening in May representatives
of citizen and environmental groups and
residents of the NP&L service area came
together to talk about The Linc. As the
conversation moved around the table, and
each participant spoke of his or her own
perspective or fears on the issue, the pieces
of the giant jigsaw puzzle that is Duke's
master plan for the Kauiah Province, fell
into place.
Ripped Off by Alcoa
Veronica Nicholas, a county
commissioner in Jackson County, told of a
decade-long struggle between a group called
Citizens for Low-Cost Power and the Alcoa
Aluminum Company, the industrial giant
that presently owns NP&L (sec Katuah
Journal #3). Originally, Alcoa had set up
hydroelectric generating facilities on the
TV A lakes in the Tuckasegee River
watershed as a public utility, which meant
DUKE'S POWER PLAY
that the company had certain privileges in
acquiring land and setting rates that went
along with the obligation to provide power
to the residentS of the area.
However, soon after the generating
facilities were completed, Alcoa split its
holdings into two companies, Tapoco
Company and NP&L. Tapoco, although it
was originally established as pan of a public
utility, was kept to feed Alcoa's voracious
energy appetite. NP&L remained a utility to
provide for the area residents, but it was
clearly a "neglected stepchild" of the parent
corporation.
When Tapoco was a utility, almost all
of the area's electrical needs were met with
hydroelectric power generated in th.!
mountains. After the split, NP&L's
generating capacity had to be supplemented
by power purchased outside the region.
This resulted in the ludicrous situation of
Alcoa siphoning cheap electric power from
the mountains, while ratepayers in the hiUs
paid to have nuclear power "wheeled in"
from the Tennessee Valley Authority. Not
only did the nuclear power cost more, but it
had to pass directly through the Alcoa plant
on its way back to the mountains!
NP&L ratepayers finally rebelled in
1977 and began legal motions to regain the
use of Tapoco's generating power and 10
recover the money with which they had
been subsidizing Alcoa. The case went
through extended litigation, until the
ratepayers were flatly denied by an
unsympathetic conservative bench on the
US Supreme Court in 1987.
"II feels that (with this sale) we arc
simply changing masters," said Nicholas.
"It is becoming increasingly clear that we
are losing our power to determine the use of
our natural resources. That's what my main
input will be tonight: Tapoco is not included
in thjs sale to Duke Power. Alcoa is trying
to relieve itself of itS public obligations, just
as it did in the l950's when it tried to sell its
transmission lines to Duke. If this sale goes
through, Tapoco will be supplying the
power Alcoa needs for smelting aluminum,
and our ability to provide for ourselves will
be forever gone."
Biology professor Dan Pittillo,
chairman of the Western North Carolina
Alliance and a resident of Jackson County,
added, "NP&L has never been funded
properly, and it has not been able LO keep up
with their maintenance as they should, so
that there is S40 million in maintenance that
needs to be done in the next ten years.
"Duke promised us that when they
purchased the company, ratCS would remain
stable for five years. rm thinking, though,
that after that time the rates we will have to
pay will go up from the 4.5-5 cents per
kilowatt/hour that we arc paying now, to
8-9 cents per kilowatt/hour, which is about
what Duke's rates arc at present"
Pittillo also displayed a copy of a
Duke Power annual report, published in
February, 1988, which boasted that, "If
regulators approve the acquisiton, we expect
that NP&L will become a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Duke Power. The company
(continued on next page)
KATUAH-page 19
SUMMER- 1988
�HOLD THAT LINE!
WHAT'S ON THE OTHER END
OF THE DUKE POWER LINE?
- HABITAT & SCENIC AREAS
DESTRUCTION?
- NUCLEAR DEPENDENCY AND
NUCLEAR WASTE?
- RATE HIKES FOR EXPENSIVE
IMPORTED POWER?
- MORE DAMS? ENERGY
EXPLOITATION OF THE MOUNTAINS?
)!
~;
- ..
c:
• ·c
LET'S GET THE FACTS BEFORE DUKE BUYS OUT
NANTAHALA POWER AND LIGHT
S! •
-
Write to the public staff of the NC Utilities Commission.
Support their request to postpone hearings on the
Nantahala sale until, September.
Address: Antoinette-Wike, Public Staff, NC Utlltltles
u
c •
2
S!
,, >
c( .Cl
Commission, P.O. Box 29520, Ralelgh, NC 27626
M ,... fOf ttf HO\.D THAT llNIJ l o• -
Otll• "°" NC tUU
(continued from page 19)
will in turn supply bulk power to
supplement NP&L's hydroelectric
generating system. To deliver that power,
Duke will build a transmission line to the
NP&L system and gain a direct link.for the
first time with the 7VA, which serves more
than 3.1 million customers in seven states.
That link will create the opportunity for
other bulk power sales to the west."
(emphasis ours)
Showdown at Coley Creek
Sitting near Pinillo was Bill Thomas,
public lands chair for the NC state Sierra
Club chapter and a co-chairman of the
Jocassec Watershed Coalition. Duke has
nlready damaged a pristine wilderness area
in that basin with a pumped-storage project
on Bad Creek.
Thomas said, "The Jocassee
Watershed Coalition is tied up with this
transmission line in some fashion, because
Duke is considering putting a second 2100
megawau pumped-storage facility on Coley
Creek at a cost of $3.3 billion dollars. We
thought aJI along that they were jiggering
their electrical demand forecast to make it
appear as if they would need a 5,000
megawatt output in their service area by the
year2000.
"What I'm thinking now, when I sec
this NP&L move, is that there is no penalty
co Duke for over-forecasting if they have
this pipeline to the west. What we are seeing
is the use of North Carolina resources being
used for Duke's profit, as they extend their
tentacles to the west. That's a matter of
public policy that needs to be debated quite
fiercely."
Thomas continued, "Jim Hendricks,
principal engineer of Duke's design
division, and others have told us that the
ultimate plan is to put in a 500 KV line.
That means that any route that is chosen will
have two sets of towers and a 1,000·1,500
foot right-of-way.
"500 KV lines are up in the voltage
range where possible adverse health effects
are something you can't just brush off. I
don't know much about electromagnetic
KATIJAH - page 20
radiation fields, but it has been brought up
as a possible cause for health problems in
other places."
"Why, western North Carolina is
being set up like dominoes!" someone
exclaimed. "If they can get that line in, then
they can justify Coley Creek. And, while
they've been saying they need it to supply
NP&L, all along they've been wanting to
sell power to TVA and even further west!"
''What we are seeing is the
use of North Carolina
resources being used for
Duke's profit, as they extend
their tentacles to the west.
That's a matter of public
policy that needs to be
debated quite fiercely."
"We Didn't Want to See lt"
A woman resident from the Sapphire
Community, located along the route of The
Line as it passes through Transylvania
County, said, "It would have been just
above our house. We didn't want to see it,
but we didn't know what effect physically
living under those lines would have. So we
sold our house because of it
"Duke gave us a very good price. We
asked them if we should price it without our
furniture, but they said that they wanted co
keep the furnishings, because they were
going to use the house for an executive
retreat. That doesn't sound like a public
service company to me."
Dan Pittillo said, "A main issue in this
discussion is the attitude that Duke is taking.
Duke is working like an aggressive business
1hat is interested in selling power and
keeping people working on their projects.
They are doing what is good for business.
Their interest is not the people whom they
are supposed to be serving. They are not
interested in conserving energy. Why, if
Duke were on a conservative bent, they
would have no need for this whole system
whatsoever!"
Others in the room spoke as well.
Several Jackson County residents were
unalterably opposed to Duke Power's
nuclear record and the company's lobbying
effons to bring the Southeastern Compact's
low-level radioactive waste dump to North
Carolina. They wanted 1he NP&L sale
stopped completely.
Some of the most vigorous
opposition came from members of a
property-owners' group around Lake
Toxaway, whose main interest was in
maintaining the value of their area as a
vacation spot. They complained of Duke's
high·handed methods in not consulting with
local people as The Line was being planned,
buying the right-of-way propenies under
false pretenses, and announcing the project
only after the property was purchased and
the company was already commi11ed to a
specific route. Although Duke's publicity
said alternate routes were being considered,
the propeny-owners said that the company
could produce no alternative plans when
asked to do so.
The group gathered together that
evening represented different people from
different points of view, but each piece
added co the puzzle made the whole picture
of Duke Power Company's plans for the
"development" of Katuah become more
frighteningly clear.
David Wheeler
SUMMER 1988
�Tiffi CHEROKEE MICRO-HYDROELEC1RIC
DEMONSTRATION PROJECT:
An Appropriate Community Energy System
(Readers are referred to the article
"llomemade Electricity• by Richard llotaJing in
Ka11jah Journal #4 concerning the value,
simplicity, importance, and •how-10• of
micro-hydroelecrric power gtner01io11.)
Tucked away in the shade of a cool
mountain holler on the Cherokee Indian
Reservation is a prototype of an advanced
technology still little-known to the world.
It 1s not made with circuits and
capacitors, but rather with concrete, plastic
pipe, and common sense. It is a
micro-hydroelectric system that taps the
kinetic energy of the Galamore Branch, a
small creek flowing down from the Great
Smoky Mountains National Park into the
Raven Fork in the Big Cove Community.
Electricity produced at the site powers
the Big Cove Head Stan Center, the Big
Cove Community Center, and the Big Cove
Volunteer Fire Department building. The
project has been developed through the
cooperation of Appalachian State
University, the Energy Division of the
Nonh 01rolina Depanment of Commerce,
and Save the Children, lnc ..
by Michael Red Fox
With its abundant water supplies and
steep slopes, the Katuah Province is ideally
suited by climate and topography for
micro-hydro power production. It is hoped
that the Cherokee project will serve as a
model that will help increase popular
awareness that micro-hydro is a benign,
narural, and renewable energy resource and
will encourage the development of
micro-hydroelectric sites in other areas of
Kan1ah.
The site on Galamore Branch was
located in an early study of
micro-hydroelectric si1es in Katuah. The
study found 1,950 suitable micro-hydro
sites in the mountains that would be capable
of producing a combined potential output of
34,000 kilowaus of energy if developed.
Fifty-three of these sites are on the
Cherokee Indian Reservation and represent
a combined potential output of970 kilowaus.
The Big Cove micro-hydro system
divens a design flow of 1.2 cubic feet per
second through a six inch diameter PVC
penstock (pipe) for a distance of 2,500 feet
10 develop a net head (drop) of 210 feet
The intake structure is located at a
point where the streambed is less than six
feet wide and consists of a poured concrete
dam, which divens water into a concrete
seuling basin.
The energy generated by the falling
water is convened by a Pelton turbine wheel
into a design power output of 12 kilowaus.
The small turbo-generator is located beside
the Head Start pre-school building, which is
the primary load center that utilizes most of
the electricity produced The maximun load
for lhe pre-school is 7.4 kilowatts, which is
currently being reduced somewhat through
load management devices and more efficient
lighting.
Under federal law, small electricity
producers have a right to be connected into
the commercial power grid. However, the
Galamore Branch project is too small for
interconnection to be cost-effective.
Operating on a "stand-alone" basis (not
connected to the larger utility grid) requires
a ballast to prevent the electrical generator
from over-speeding when the load is low.
Currently the ballast load is divened
into two three-kilowatt resistance space
heaters mounted on the basement wall of the
Head Stan Center. However, plans call for
an integra1ed system in which the
micro-hydro plant will complement a
passive solar greenhouse to be built on the
side of the school building, which will
include water containers for a solar algae
pond aquaculture operation.
The water absorbs solar heat directly
and will not need backup heating in the
winter. But electrical resistance coils buried
in a bed of sand below the containers will
act as electrical ballast for the micro-hydro
system and will provide additional heat for
the tanks.
It is fitting that the Cherokee people
are developing this energy alternative. By
utilizing lhe natural products of the
ever-circling environment, they are
following the traditional values of their
culture in a modem context.
Micro-hydroelectric power is a
liberating technology. lt is a technology
scaled to living and working in place. It has
minimal negative environmental impacts and
could be a significant resource in developing
the new, land-based economv of Katuah.
Micro-hydroelectric power production
is site specific: each unique stream site
determines a different configuration for a
micro-hydro system. But the principles are
everywhere 1he same. The Galamore Branch
project provides descriptive exhibits and
workshops on micro-hydroelectric power
generation.
For information on visiting the
project, contact:
Save the Children
Box33J
Cherokee, NC
Ka/Uah Province 287I 9
or call (704) 497-6092
Michail Red Fox Is a whitt person
living on the Cherokl!e Indian Reserva1io11. fie was
involved in the design a11d construction of tht
micro-hydroelectric instal/Olion 011 Gal.amore Branch
aN1 is now head opera/or of the project.
KATIJAH- page21
SUMMER-1988
�spruce mountain song
DRUMMING
LETTERS TO KATUAH
~
If I could take this broken world
and give it back it's trees
it's gentle healing summer rain
f
~
it's clear, cool, autumn breeze
then I could rake the magic of the wood
the magic of the mind
and spread it then to ail my kin
to all of humankind
~
~
.i
And yet I know even as I speak
that this cannot be done
J.
I feel the earth through every pore
my healing bas begun
we start out as a candle flame
we will become the sun
~~i
~
~
~ ::°'b::::g: ~ethe
~
l
~.
-
earth
Mara Bradburn, 16
~
Robert Stough
Deny.PA
'..t
:rl·
~~
;~
~
~
4
~
~
;
~.g
~.~ i·
~
~
.... .It's funny how I picked today to read this issue of
Katuab, because I took a long walk through the woods
today with my neighbor (I live in the mountains of north
Georgia). We walked an old road that runs by Sharp Mt.
Creek I often stopped to wonder what life was like here in
these woods hundreds of years ago and how peaceful it must
have been to be one with nature, in this sacred land.
I will be looking forward to bearing from you.
Valerie Ansted
Jasper, GA
~
~
~
kt.
~
!§
t~~~~~~~~~.\t:19~..~~~~ .
Dear Kattlah,
We're busy in this area trying to repel the
Superconducting Supercollider the governor of this state
thinks should be in Durham, Granville, and Person counties.
We're talking forced relocation of (at least) 100 or so
families, some who have lived here for 5-7 generations
already.
The SSC is an atom smasher (53-mile underground
circle), that will produce particles of energy called muo.ns,
that will penetrate soil, rock and groundwater tables. It will
only be used for 25 years, at which time they have no idea
bow they will deal with the leftovers (our children).
Please help us pray for the Eanh and our children here
in the flatlands.
Tara Clayton
Rougemont, NC
KATUAH - page 22
summer morning dew, the nightclouds gone,
dawnlight glowing on the old sugar maples,
tree-snails stiJTing in its thick moss-fur,
i take the deer-trails through soaking meadows,
thoughts flowing with the yellow swallowtails
over hucklebeny meadows bumming with bees,
past moccasin orchids, young ferns in the sun,
through flame azaleas and wind-twisted birch
into deep spruce shadows, mossy and still,
then down a ways along a faint grassy trail
to a cool spring among ancient spruce/sages,
and rested there awhile. a stone for a pillow,
a feather in the hair of the wild old nx>untain,
then wandered on, sailing with the ravens
over jwnbled rockfields and tangles blowdowns,
by flowering witch-hobble, snow-petaled comets,
sparrows chatting in gnarled gray hawthorns,
a lone swallow skimming the crest
above the broken wing of the old wrecked plane,
i a thoughtless seed drifting on the wind,
each moment a cosmos sprouting,
waves of gn:cn mountains rolling me home,
soaring free, clear blue sky in all my mind
Dear KatUa b,
Thanks so much for the time and interest you are
giving to help make our vision become a reality. Without
such concern of kindred spirits we know that very little
would ever be accomplished.
As I mentioned to you, we need any useful donations
of building materials, hand tools, garden tools, heavy farm
equipment. livestock, and even workers to help clear and
build shelters on over 18 acres, recently purchased to provide
needy people with a "farming community home"!
Thanks again,
Cherie & Tom Lowry
Rt.#5, Box 216 T
Ellijay, GA 30540
(404) 838-4636
SUMMER- 1988
�APPALACHIAN SLEEP
In sleep,
each tree
becomes
the one cree,
each flush
of rhododendron,
color for the cheek
oflhedream
I rub with
dozing fingers,
each mountain,
something to climb
without thinking,
to soar above it
effonlessly
as a brash-feathered bird.
I do not leave
the glorious ou~lde
as I slip beneath ,
the sheet
but bring it w\tb me,
to wearcomfonabJy,
to wrap round
the child's soft body.
John Grey
C RMDESIGNS
Spring Equinox Dream 1988
There is a group of us out on a kind of platfonn and
we are watching a performance: dancing and farting around.
It feels more like a show than a performance. There are some
of the kids among us participating in the performance that is
going on to music. It is a kind of trapeze they are playing on
that is pulling them over humps in the straps etc. They seem
to be having fun playing on it, though the apparatus does not
seem to be working very well. At some point we realize that
!here is an authority that is about to impose a soning on us.
We each have numbers and are seated on these smooth
rounded pebble like soners that glide easily on the floor
surface. As we are being sorted we go through openings in
which we can not see the ends or where they come out. I
realize that I do not have a number, and begin to also realize
that I am being sorted toward the low end of the numbers.
People with low numbers or no numbers are soned for
extinction by the brutal authority. As I am finally sorted into
this category 1 become restless and begin to search for ways
to get over to the groups with higher numbers, such as 8 or 9
and find it very intimidating and difficult. There seem to be
no physical police yet their presence is still felt. I have with
me a metallic object that has on it a symbol like a planet or a
rounded form and a there is a feather sticking out of it It
becomes a spirit guide to me as 1 get a rush of energy from it
and find my way to survival. This magic symbol in metallic
form spoke to me with wisdom and 1 easily made it to the
group that slipped past the authority. It showed me that I had
my own energy with which to escape the trap that was made.
Later we are walking through a passageway and I am so
amaz.ed that we made it through alright. I remember the spirit
guide and its assistance. Together some friends and I realize
that this is all a movie of ourselves that we are watching, and
we are walking out of a kind of theatre in the earth. Soon we
are all together in the yard of our house around a fire. There
is a friend who is burning huge sticks of incense and we are
talking, and eating, and laughing.
RM
You know
Sometimes
in the quiet cool of summer dusk
I sit oo the porch after a rain
has washed the dark mountains and covered them
with quiet mist
a restless dream
rising and rolling
and the still hum of a million trees
lulling to the milky sky
like
This moment
as the river murmurs in its sleep
a hot tongue of lightning licks a distant ridge
the husky voice of far off thunder
sends a shudder through the bedded earth
she turns and breathes a long green sigh
and in her subtle sleepy way
Whispers the answer
- Tony Fisher
KA TUAH - page 23
SUMMER- 1988
�A Conversation
with
Ruth and Rio
of Celo Community
continued from p. 10
Ruth: It was one of the worst things!
-the worst! How to deal with multiflora
rose.
K: lt seems that people here have
very different lifestyles and interests that
keep them busy and not as involved with
each other as they might be. That may make
support difficult. Yet diversity can also be a
strength ...
the dark. Someone put a flashlight in the
middle of the circle and there were just
shadows... and there was such a difference
in the way people were sharing! That was
when I talked about the next workday...and
I was able to be real vibrant and alive 'cause
everyone wasn't staring at me. It was like I
was in the dark by myself talking to I don't
know who.
Ruth: Yeah- I really value the large
age diversity here. You have the wisdom of
people who've been here so long and have
been through all the processes and then you
have the young sprouts wilh new ideas and
energy--it's such a nice mixture.
K: Because some want to use
herbicides and some don't?
Ruth: Yes, and some don't even care
if we get rid of it
Rio: What's neat about the older
members is how open they are to new ideas.
And how they can even joke about
themselves and the community and how
crazy it is here.
Rio: And some say, "We've been
fighting it forever and it's getting away from
us so let's have careful use of chemicals and
just get rid of it "...and it's become such a
touchy subject people don't even want to
bring it up anymore.
Ruth: I remember hearing an older
member talk about the process in the
meetings being just like in a family--how
you're certainly going to have
disagreements so you just go ahead and
have them and move on. And you still love
each other because you're a family.
Ruth: So it took some new people to
say, "Let's go folks ... those who wanna do
it, come on out - we'll have a great time!"
K: So what'd you do?
Rio:
And knowing that the
difficulties not only pass but that they're
useful. And that new energy is coming in
and things are moving constantly.
Rio: We cut and grubbed... and got
rid of a Jot!
.~
Ruth : Life would be like that
E anywhere, only there are more rewards and
Ruth: And the same day a big group
also cleaned up the river. People were really
enthusiastic and had a fun time together. I'd
like to see that trend continue.
~ more possibilities here than I can imagine
:i
d
Ruth: People not being open with
how they feel.
Rio: I tend to say very little in the
meetings because I'm often intimidated.
Ruth: But you're loosening up.
Rio: I have to-I'm secretary of the
Property Committee so I have to read my
minutes and if people think I didn't do it
right I have to go through that.
K: It's great you're doing it.
Rio: It is. I do see it as a good
process for me.
Ruth: One of the best meetings we've
had recently was last month's. There was a
thunderstorm and the lights went out and
three-fourths of the meeting took place in
KATUAH-page24
K : Making a commitment to land is
.9
Rio: Some of the complaints now are
about how group process in the meetings is
so difficult. ..
K: Because of communication
problems?
having anyplace else.
seems to give a blessing to whatever
happens there. It almost assures success
because the land is so giving in return.
1i' such an important thing to do these days .. .it
!
K: Sounds like you should hold all
of them that way! You mentioned
relationships before and how important they
are in communities ... yet some people
probably came here panly to avoid deali.ng
with others as much ...aod suddenly find
they're as close as ever!
Rio: That reminds me - Billy
Bernstein wrote a hilarious song after he'd
been here awhile -·it goes something like "I
thought I was dropping out but it looks like
rm dropping in"!
Ruth: Celo is also getting fairly large
and that makes group process all the more
difficult
Rio: And there arc so many opinions
and the aim is to reach consensus on
everything. It also seems that with groups in
general it's hard to make commitments and
follow through on what you say you'll do.
It really takes supporting each other.
Ruth: That makes me think about
owning land. We owned some land in
Minnesota and I never even felt like I owned
it even though it was in my name. Holding
land as a community feels much closer to
true ownership. I want to call it
stewardship. It's about taking care of land
the way it needs to be taken care of and not
about saying, "I can do whatever I want
with it!" That doesn't even make sense to
me.
I'm really grateful to Arthur Morgan
and the others who started this place - and
all the work that's gone into it over the
years. And the longer fm here, the more I
appreciate it. It's such a healing
place... there's healing going on, and you
can't even put your finger on it - it's just
happening.
SUMMER - 1988
�The "'i4Jhtan4s of Roan
continued from p. 7
The SAHC is leading the way in securing this
much-needed protection. Examination of a broad range of
alternatives has led SAHC to conclude that protection can
best be accomplished through a blend of federal, state and
private ownership. SAHC encourages governmental
protection where appropriate, receives gifts of land and buys
land from willing sellers using donated funds. To date,
SAHC has protected approximately 900 acres through private
means and has partially funded a 693-acre acquisition by the
state of Tennessee. Approximately 9,500 acres still remain to
be protected.
SAHC's protection strategy Involves four approaches:
I. Receive gifts of land, including conservation
easements and other partial interests.
2. Encourage additional acquisition by Federal and State
agencies.
3. Purchase lands or interests in lands with donated
funds; own and manage such lands. The bulk of the
protection will be accomplished by this means.
4. Register lands under the respective Stare Namral Area
Registry programs; since registry is nm binding upon the
registrant, it may be considered only temporary
protection.
Cooperating with SAHC in saving the Highlands are
state agencies in North Carolina and Tennessee as well as the
US Forest Service. Endorsing the program are the National
Audubon Society, the Garden Club of America, the
Appalachian Trail Conference, and numerous state 8Jld local
organizations.
Without an active plan for preservation, it is likely that
much of the area now unprotected would eventually be
purchased by developers. In the early days of the
preservation effort, a part of the area was purchased by
developers. Fortunately these tracts were since acquired by
the US Forest Service. To date there have been two kinds of
development pressures: 1) second homes and 2) high density
recreation. Development activity bas been particularly strong
o.n the North Carolina side of the mountain. The largest
stngle development is on Beech Mountain, about 10 miles to
the aonheas1 of the Highlands of Roan. A particularly
controversial development is that on top of Sugar Mountain
where a concrete ten-story condominium is visible from
many points. Public outcry against this intrusion was so
great that the NC Legislature passed a "ridge law" restricting
construction on mountain tops; however, there is no
equivalent law for the slopes. Numerous smaller
developments are in the vicinity. Throughout the
Newland-Linville-Boone area, second homes are appearing
on many ridges and in rural areas.
The high density recreation developments have so far
been primarily oriented toward skiing. One large tract within
the preservation project boundaries was earlier surveyed as a
possible ski resort and determined to be among the top ten
sites in the southeast. (The same tract was considered as a
site for a Tennessee Regional State Prison.) There are large
ski developments on nearby Beech Mountain, Sugar
Mountain, Big Bald, and at Seven Devils. If skiing business
increases, development pressures will escalate.
The adverse consequences of developments within a
unique natural area are worth recounting: First, developments
limit accessibility by the general public. The owners of
second homes want privacy. Other facilities may be limited to
club members or pacrons. Second, it is clear that the health of
the animal populations within the Roan massif depends upon
an adequate range over which they can roam and feed.
The entire massif provides protection for certain
species that individual tracts a lone cannot provide.
Rare plant and animal species are more likely to survive in a
large area of protected tracts. Third, the views from the
higher summits depend absolutely on the absence of
incompatible development on the massif itself, particularly
within the project boundaries adopted by SAHC. High
density recreation facilities, public or private, could be so
heavily used that the present naturalness-would disappear.
KATUAH- page 25
'lt is cCea.r that the health of the
ani.mat poputati.ons wi.thi.n the
.Roan massi.f depends u.pon an
adequate ran9e over which they
can rnam and feed. The enti.rn
massi.f prnvi.des prntecti.on for
certai.n. speci.es that i.ndi.vi.du.a[
tracts a!on.e cannot provi.de.
SAHC realizes that the task of land protection cannot
be accomplished simply by acquiring lands and conferring on
them a certain conservation status. A continuing stewardship
program must be exercised to prevent damage from
ever-present threats to existing natural values. SAHC's plan
is to keep the Highlands of Roan the way they are: to
maintain the balds, to leave the forests undisturbed. to
encourage retention of fanning and other rural activities on
the lower slopes, and generally to let the lands be available to
the visitor on foot. The overall goal of SAHC's stewardship
program is to accommodate nondestructive scientific,
educational, and recreational uses of the Highlands of Roan
while protecting their biological and physical features.
To assure survival of the rich fauna and flora of Roan
Mountain, SAHC is keenly aware that management plans and
preserve boundaries must consider both habitat diversity
and t he total size of the a rea to be protected.
Boundary and acquisition decisions based on the narrow
distributions and requirements of individual plant species and
a few special plant communities will not suffice. A broad
view of the protection zone-·one which considers
wildlife habitat, animal mobility, and critical
population size--is more likely to ass ure
preservation of both the flora and the vast wildlife
legacy.
Vital to the success of SAHC's plan to preserve the
Highlands of Roan is a strong and successful fund-raising
program. SAHC has launched a major effon to raise the
approximately $10 million needed to complete the private
share of the protection plan. Nearly $1,000,000 has been
raised so far mainly from individuals. Individual
memberships in SAHC are available from a $10 minimum
Subscribing Membership to $1,000 or more as a Life
Member. Currently SAHC bas approximately 1800
members in 40 states.
SAHC also receives donations. The project is an
excellent vehicle for individual tax-deductible giving.
Appreciated land, securities and other property may be
donated without payment of capital gains tax; donors may
take a tax deduction on the market value of the gift as well.
The donation goes into the land fund and is used for the
acquisition of tracts within the project. SAHC also maintains
a perpetual register of memorial gifts. Also a number of
members have named SAHC as beneficiary in their wills; no
estate taxes are payable on bequests to tax-exempt
organizations. Another common form of giving is to take out
a life insurance policy and make SAHC the beneficiary and
owner of the policy. Such donations are tax-deductible as
well as the premium payments.
Becoming a member of the Southern Appalachian
Highlands Conservancy and volunteering time and skills is
an excellent way to participate in the protection of this
excraoidinary treasure-the Highlands of Roan.
~
Southern Appalachian Highlands Conser vancy
P.O. Box 3356, Kingsport, TN 37664
(615) 323-3677
This ar1icle was compiled by Marnie Muller of
Katuah
Journal Crom SAHC materials, panicularly
the SAHC Case Statement. Special thanlcs to Stan
Murcay of SAHC.
SUMMER-1988
�LEARNING COMMUNITY
-Arth ur Morgan Schoolcontinucd from p. 12
'The reason we have such a variety of
experiences and such an openness about
giving the students choices is because we
know that there arc things that each student
can do well. We make an effon to help find
out what they are, and we let them know in
a sincere way that they arc good enough,"
said Patty.
ttEvery situation is approached
slightly differently. We try to give
everybody involved a chance to talk about
their perspective. We try to clarify all the
specifics of any problem. We might use the
chalkboard for writing 'this is his problem
with the issue, and this is what he would
like to see happen' and 'this is her problem
and what she would like to see happen' to
get everything clearly out
'This can be done in a small group,
or in the all-school meetings which happen
weekly. It is a consensus process and deals
with the issue in a way that can satisfy
everybody. Discipline often comes in the
form of a proposal that is carried on during
a trial period, such as from one all-school
meeting to the next. and then re-evaluated."
In this way students have the opponunity to
participate significantly in making decisions
that affect them.
Cooperation is another quality needed
in a healthy community. This means sharing
the work as well as the play. Students arc
involved in all phases of community
responsibility - cooking, cleaning, wood
gathering and spli11ing, and gardening.
Wor k teaches responsibility and
interdependence as well as practical skills.
Patty said. "If a student doesn't want
to do their chore at lunch, and their job is to
wash dishes, then that throws everything
off. It means that whoever is drying and
potting dishes away can't do it, or has to
wait In practical ways like that we try to
poi.n t out that each student's personal
actions affect everyone dse.
"This isn't the right school for
everybody. We want to be clear about what
the school is. We're flexible in trying to
meet each student's needs to an extent, but
if a student has a problem with stealing
things, for example, we're not willing to
lock everything up so that ccnain student
can remain here. If a student can't cope with
the 'freedom within a structure' that we
offer here, we're not going to change our
whole philosophy."
Elizabeth Morgan in her notes
referred to a quote from Mahatma Mohandas
Gandhi that summed up that philosophy: "A
school should be built by the children,
should seek to be self-supporting, and
should never be finished!"
,
DE.SIGNS
by Rob Messick
1
1tus1ra1lon & Design
in Pen & Ink and Colored Pencil
P.O. Box 2801 •
Boone. NC 28007 •
(704)7~;
111.TMVIOLET l'UWICATIOtl AHO fllTBllMO IYITfMI
GM PlflODUCTI • WATSI AHAL\'Ill
.HWY. 107
RAN~
C. LANIER
~2
RT. II IOX 125
CUL.1..0WHEE, NC am
T-SHIRTS, SWEATSHIRTS
For ADULTS and CHILDREN
15 ORIGINAL
HANO-PRINTED
NATURE DESIGNS
EACH COWRFUL
DESIGN IS
PRlN'IED ON
QUALITi T' s
AND SWEATS
Chinese
Acupuncture
and
Herbology
Clinic
M. C. Majebe
Licensed Acupuncturist
78 East Chestnut St. Ashevllle, NC 28801
(704) 258-901 6
KATIJAH - page 26
S~R-1988
�. ........
NABC ill
From Aug 21-26, 1988, Lhe Third North
A meric an Biorcgio na l Con gress
(NABC III) will draw Turtle Islanders
from all over the continent to Vancouver,
British Columbia, for a five-day celebration
of their varied cultural forms and their
commitment to the restoration of ecological
harmony on this pan of the planet
NABC Ill will adopt a cultural focus,
encouraging panicipants to express their
bioregional identities by telling their stories,
presenting displays and mapping projects,
exhibiting their arts and craflS, and sharing
their cerebral and ceremonial activities.
For more information, write NABC III,
Box 99, Lillooet, BC, Canada VOK !VO.
Individuals or groups wishing to contact
other NABC participants from Katliab may
phone (704) 683-1414.
For a copy of NABC ll Proceedings, a
112-page report on the 1986 Congress,
send $11. 50 (p & h included) to Ha.rt
Publishing, Box 1010, Forestville, CA
95436.
Cry, Sacred G round: Big Mountai n
U.S.A. (© 1988) by Anita Parlow js a
compelling oral testimony of Navaho
sheepherders who describe the religious
beliefs that underlie the impressive
resistance to stop a disinheritance from their
sacred ground. The Navahos who share
l11eir stories do so to make certain that what
is happening will not be forgotten - and that
it be stopped. As one Medicine Man told the
author, "our children will know that we
knew how to live.as' Navahos and we knew,
too, how to die as Navahos.
Cry, Sacred G ro und, produced by the
Sacred Lands Project of the Christie
Institute, includes 50 photographs and
artwork by award-winning artist William
Franklin.
,
.
The Sacred Lands Project of th.e Christie
lnstiuae, 1324 North Capitol Street, N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20002
Who Owns North Carolina is a
420-page guide to the largest landowners in
the state's 100 counties, tile result of the
most exhaustive land ownership
investigation ever undertaken for a state or
region in the U.S.
Maps, charts, data analysis, and
interpretative essays offer statistical details
and comparative ranlcings of each county's
largest landowners, data on forestry and
farming in each county, rankings of the
counties by 25 different social, economic,
and political characteristics, and discussion
by the project's investigators of the cultural
significance of their findings.
The book is available for $30 for
Katuah readers (mention our name). Write:
lnstitme for Sowhern Studies, P.O. Box
531, Durham, NC 27702
The International 4th World
Assembly will hold its seventh assembly
this summer, July 31-August 4, 1988 at
Meredith College in Raleigh, NC. The 4th
World is an informal group of people from
all over the world who affirm the right of
urban neighborhoods and rural villages to
make their own decisions abopt their own
Jives. The theme this year is "Community
Economics As If the Earth Mattered".
Registration is open to all. Full conference
fee including meals, lod ging and
proceedings is $150.
For more info: School of Living, 7th
assembly; 3030 Sleepy Hollow Rd, Falls
Church, VA 22042.
Economics as If the Earth Really
Matte r e d is the first in a new series of
books from New Society Publishers
exploring the possibilities for creating an
accountable economy. The book by Susan
Meeker-Lowry offers hundreds of
suggestions of how average people can
invest their money and/or their time in
building a new economy in harmony with
life-affirming values. Subjects covered
include boycotts, shareholder action,
socially responsible investment funds,
small-scale investing, projects i n local
economic control and worker-ownership,
new community economics, tools for
reinvestment and.revitalization, alternative
exchange systems, and seeds for the future.
Dozens of names and addresses and
resource lists round out this unique and
exciting book.
Meeker-Lowry, publisher of Cara/yst-a
quarterly newsletter for those interested in
small-scale socially responsible investing,
offers us new glimpses of ways in which
people are using their participation in the
economic system as a vehicle for the
expression of consciously chosen values:
living in harmony with the earth, fighting
poverty and injustice, combatting feelings of
helplessness and hopelessness, and building
lives which combine diversity and
synthesis, integration and balance.
New Society Publishers, P.O. Box 582,
Santa Cruz, CA 95061-0582
The Ca r olina Associa tion fo r t he
Ad va ncement of Midwifery (CAAM)
is a grassroolS organization whose goal is to
remove the current legal restrictions that
prevent direct-entry midwives from
practicing in North Carolina. CAAM's goal
is to promote competent and legal midwives
to serve the women and families of North
Carolina. CAAM wants members from all
over North Carolina. Membership ($10/yr)
entitles one to receive future issues of
Midwifery News as well as contribute to the
effort to make North Carolina a state where
parents have real choices about giving birlll.
CAAM, Rt.1, Box 201 M, Durham, NC
27705
A unique
summer comp
uduenture
Natural Food Store
& Deli
160 Broadway
Asheville, NC 28801
{704)683-1414
68:M795
Where &oadWay rMets
Merrlmon Ave & 1-240
OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK
Monday-Saturday: 9am·8pm
Sunday: 1pm-5pm
ror
young people
6 - 18 years old
Woods, water, trail experiences,
horses, crafts, Indian lore
free brochure available
Pepperland Farm Camp
Star Rout e Fiimer, TN 37333
{704) 253-7656
KATUAH - page 27
SUMMER - 1988
�€V€0t'S
7-10
LINVILLE, NC
The Highland Games at
Grandfather Mountain. Caber toss, sheepdog trinls,
Highland dancing, bagpipes. $8.00/day. For more
info, call (704) 733-2013.
9
HELEN, GA
·Appalachian Mountain Music
Festival" at Unicoi State Park; Helen, GA 30545.
Call (404) 878-2201.
GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS
"Big Game Observation." S4S.
Smoky Mountain Field School Sec 6/},5-26.
9-10
JUNE
19-2S
BRASSTOWN, NC
"June Music and Dance Week" at
John C. Campbell Folk School; Brasstown, NC
28902.
SUMMER
20
CELEBRATION
SOLSTICE
22-26
HIGHLANDS, NC
"The Art of Landscape
Photography" workshop with Gil Leebrick and John
Scarlata. $2SO incl. accommodations. Appalachian
Environmental Ans Center; P.O. Box 580;
Highlands, NC 28741
GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS
"Wild Mammals of the Great
Smokies" field instruction with Dr. Michael Pelton.
$45. Smoley Mountain Field School; 2016 Lake
Ave.; Knoxville, TN 37996.
25-26
29
Full Moon
29
RABUN GAP, GA
"Wild Fems" expedition with
Marie Mellinger. $8 incl. lunch. The Hambidge
Center; P.O. Box 339; Rabun Gap, GA 30568 or
ca1J (404) 746-5718.
13
New Moon
13
RABUN GAP, GA
"Materializing the Shadows."
Investigating stream life with Dr. William
Mcl.arney. The Hambidge Center, SQC 6(29.
17-23
m G HLANDS, NC
"Transcendentalism on the
Mountain" seminar at The Mountain; 841 Highway
106; Highlands, NC 28741
29-31
CELO, NC
"Midw i fery
in
the
Mountains" conference. Workshops on
"Herbs in Pregnancy and Binh," "Medical
Questions," "Body Work," "Tricks of the
Trade," more. With Lucinda Flodin;
Barbara King, MD; Lisa Goldstein; Pat
Roy; others. $55 incl. meals. Lisa
Goldstein; 823-C Hannah Branch Rd.;
Burnsville, NC 28714. (704) 675-5316.
30.31
GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS
"Mushroom ldcntific.ation," for
beginners. $45. Smoky Mountain Field School, sec
6/2S-26.
22-24
HOT SPRINGS, NC
"Rhinoceros Glances at the Moon:
The Art of Movement as Meditation.• Tai Chi
weekend with Jay Dunbar. $75. Southern Dharma,
see7/l-4.
22-24
GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS
Family Weekend at Great Smoley
Mountains Institute at Tremont. Hiking,
siorytelling, music, more. AdultS:· $4S. Children:
$35. Write at Townsend, TN 37882 or call (615)
448-6709.
RALEIGH, NC
Fourth World Conference
("break down all the big powers into their
ethnic or bioregional areas") - bioregional
sp~ers, including Jim Berry, Peter Berg,
Susan Meeker-Lowry, and Mamie Muller.
At Meredith College. $150. For more info,
write School of Living; 3030 Sleepy
Hollow Rd.; Falls Church, VA 22042..or
call (703) 237-7507.
24-29
JULY
1-31
ASHEVILLE, NC
"Mountain Sweet Talk," a two-act
play with The Folktellers, Barbara Freeman and
Connie Regan-Blake, at the Folk An Center on the
Blue Ridge Parkway. Advance LickctS: S8.00. Call
(704) 258-11 13.
GREAT SMOKIES PARK
"Teacher and Naturalist
Week" (and anyone interested in learning
more about the natural world). Joseph
Cornell (Sharing Nature with Children),
guest instructor. "Learn about the natural
history of the Smokies and ways of
effectively motivating people toward a
deeper appreciation of the natural world."
$145. Great Smoky Mpuntains Institute at
Tremont. See7/22-24
31-8/4
24-30
1-4
HOT SPRINGS, NC
"Writing Down the Bones."
Writing, meditation and yoga retreat with Natalie
Goldberg and Frances Kean. SJ20. Southern Dhnrma
Retreat Center; Rt 1, Box 34- H; Hot Springs, NC
28743.
ROANOKE, VA
"Celebrate Love• conrerence
sponsored by Visions or Tomorrow at Hollins
College. Cllls.<:es, events, conccrtS. Program: S165;
w/ food, acc. $290. Contact: Jan Settle; Rt. I, Box
310-A; Goode, VA 24556
28
AUG.UST
l
LAMMAS
FESTIVAL
1-28
ASHEVILLE, NC
"Mountain Swee1 Talk," sec
7/1 -31.
1-31
C HEROKEE, NC
"The Art of Cherokee
Fingerwcaving" cxhibil at the Cherokee Heritage
Museum and Gallery; Box 477; Cherokee. NC
28719.
5-7
GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS
Naiuro Siudy Workshop fOI' adults.
$45. Grct1t Smoley Mountains Institute al Tremont,
see 7/22-24
Full Moon
12
KATUAH- page 28
DAY ( Mid s ummer )
New Moon
SUMMER- 1988
�27
ELKrNS, WV
August.a Fcs1ival - 11adilional
music and dance wilh all the 11immings. Write
August.a Hcriiage Ccn1cr, Davis and Elkins College;
Elkins. WV 26241.
Full Moon
12-14
22-28
WILLIS, VA
"Women's Wellness Week"
with Libby Outlaw (massage therapist);
Carolyn Moore, MD; Katherine Chantal
(herbalist); Christine Byrd (nutirtional
counselor); much more. Pre-register: $295
incl. food and acc. Indian Valley Holistic
Center; Rt. 2, Box 58; Willis, VA 24380
26-28
LOUISA, VA
· women: Cclcbra1ing Our
Divcrsily - A Multiculiural Galhcring•
wi1h
workshops, performance, dance, culwml sharing.
S35·75 sliding rec. Wrile Women; Twin Oaks
Communi1y; Louisa VA 23093 (703) 894-5126.
10
New Moon
1-30
CHEROKEE, NC
"Ayun'ini (Swimmer): Cherokee
Shaman" exhibi1 al Cherokee Hcrit.age Museum and
Gallery. SceS/1-31.
2-5
BRASSTOWN, NC
"Labor Day Music and Dance
Weekend" wilh Pelc Sulhcrland, Karen Billings,
Marlha Owen, olhcrs. John C. Campbell Folk
School, sec 6/19-25.
3-5
HIGHL ANDS, NC
"Pinhole in lhe Landscape,"
pinhole camera workshop wilh Eric Renner. "/ use
no viewfinder or exposure meter; I rely upon the
passion and the timing within myself and the belief
that it will worlc." Environmcnllll Aris Ccn1cr, sec
6{22-26.
17-18
HARRISONB UR G, VA
"Restoring Wilderness in the
East: A Deep Ecology Perspective"
conference featuring Dave Foreman (Eanh
First!), Gary Lawless (Gulf of Maine
Bioregion), Jamie Sayen (PAW), Barbara
Dugelby (Earth First!), David Wheeler
(Kataah). Sponsored by Virginia Earth
First! and Virginians for Wilderness;
co-sponsored by Karuah. At James Madison
University in Harrisonburg. Registration:
$10 advance, $15 at door. For more info:
write VA EF!; Route 1, Box 250; S1aunton,
VA 2440 I or call (703) 885 6983.
17-18
HE LEN, CA
"Native Americans of lhc
Soulheast• a1 Unicoi St.ate Park, see 7/9.
4
GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS
"Wild Mammals or lhc Grcal
Smokies," see 6125-26.
/'
TU~
f~LL GATME~NG
RND THROE FRIR
SEPTEMBER 30 • OCTOBER 2 , 1988
in Floyd County, VA
Actiuitie s, Music, Dancing, Workshop s
Bring: camping equipment, musical instruments, trade goods
For more information, contact:
Katherine Delauney
Will Ashe Bason
Travianna Farm
Rt. 1, Box 217
Check, VA 24072
(703) 745-2708
(703) 651-3492
Need a ride? Share a ride? Call your local Katuah contact person or:
Eastern slope (NC, GA, SC): David Wheeler (705) 586-3146
Tom Hendricks (704) 689-5382
Western slope (TN):
Sariah Loveday (615) 688-7408
KATUAH - page 29
SUMMER- 1988
�STARSPAN ASTROLOGICAL PROFILES:
Relationships, life chans, forccastS. ChartS and
proCcssional taped readings also available. P.O. Boll
10413; Raleigh. NC 27605
WANTED: LAND in western NC. Flllllily seeks 5
or more acres, preferably near Cullowhee, to
preserve and evenwally inhabit U you have or know
or affordable land, contaeL Bob and Mary Davis; 213
Wesunorcland Ct; Georgetown, KY 40324 (502)
863-4267.
MOON DANCE PARM HERBALS - herbal salves,
tinctures, & oils for birthing & family health. For
brochure, please write: Moon Dance Farm: Rt 1,
Box 726; Hampton, TN 37658
FUTONS by Simple Pleasures - affordably priced.
Send SASE for info 10: Simple Pleasures; RL. l,
Box 1426: Clayton, GA 30525 (404) 782-3920
FREE CATALOG - Our books cover solar energy,
natural foods, mCUlphysics, fiction, and poetry. The
latest project is Black Mountain Rtvitw, with
!hemes on lhe individual vs. society. Write: Lorien
House; P.O. Box I 112; Black Mountain, NC 28711
EUSTACE CONWAY- Guide and 1eaeher of
primitive Earth Skills with emphasis on fire
building, hide tanning., shell.er, and foraging. He
teaches at public schools, parks, environmenlal
cen1ers, and classes of au kinds. For more
information contact him at: 602 Deerwood Drive,
Gastonia, NC 28084 or call Allein Stanley al (704)
872-7972
POLE STAR RETREAT CENTER available for
rental. Days. weekends, or weeks. Conferences,
workshops, CIC. in privalC, rural setting. 30 ft yurt,
camping, swimming. Localed near Boone, NC.
Contact: Rt 2, Box 59: Zionville. NC 28698
(904) 385-2071.
GARDENERS are encouraged to visi1 our Paradise
Garden for instruction and inspiralion (free) and/or
perennial plan1 sale (cheap). ArtistS are inviied. IO
come and crealC in lhe garden - painting, drawing,
and photography are encouraged. We also have a
cabin available in exchange for working in lhe
garden. Mountain Gardens; 3020 While Ouk Crock;
Burnsville, NC 28714 (704) 675-5664.
M. TREE DESIGNS: Illustrations and Design Beyond the pages of lhis journal, I work in pencil,
colored pencil, ink, cul paper, and batik. Fine and
graphic an to express and enhance our lives. Logos,
brochures, books, portrailure, window and wall
hangings. Contae1 Martha Tree (704) 754-6097.
DAYSTAR ASTROLOGICAL SERVICE - natal,
transit, comparison chartS. Very accurate. Only
S3.00 each. Chris and Will Bason: RI. 2, Box 217;
Check, VA 24072 (703) 651-3492
ALTERNATIVE COMMUNITY in the Smoky
Mt'ns. of east TN. 10 acres with creek, springs,
views. good neighbors. Be a part for $8500. Call
Leslie (615) 453-1538.
STIL-LIGHT TREOSOPHJCAL RETREAT
CENTER - a quiet space for personal meditation,
group inLCraction lhrough s1udy, and community
work, and spiritual seminars. Contact Leon Frankel;
Rt l, Box 326; Waynesville, NC 28786
WOMANSONG - ongoing choral group forming.
Songs of bcau1y, meaning spiril, fun, peace.
cooperation, sisterhood. Come and sing! Mon.
evenings, 7:30-9, Asheville, NC. (704) 254-7068.
CRAFTSPEOPLE - send price listings 10 Gifted
/lands of NC, 331 Blake S1; Raleigh, NC 27601
(Au'n: Bern Grey Owl) - unique shop presenting
35-40 craflers' works in Raleigh's City Market All
crafts considered.
HAND-CARVED WOODSPIRITS. mys1i:al
hiking staffs, and wall hangings by Steve Duncan.
For brochure, please wri1e Whippoorwill S1udio;
Rt 4, Box 981: Marion, NC 28752.
ASTROLOGICAL CHARTS - natal. progressed, or
solar re1um. 4-page prin1ou1 includes wheel wilh
planetS and houses, aspecLS, midpoin1s, and
keywords. Specify name, binh time, date, place, and
chart type. StO 10 Phoenix Productions; Rt 2, Box
59; Zionville, NC 28698.
RM DESIGNS - I use the media of pencils, colored
pencils, gouache, pen and ink, and photography in
creating unique fine and graphic art I can make
diagrams, logos, finished prints, and designs for
brochures, calenders, cards, books, CIC. Mandalas and
symbols are my 1cndency among other styles.
Contact Rob Messick (704) 754-6097,
LAND TRUST in lhe forming on 57 acres near
Boone, NC seeking families wilh slrOng visions and
resources to manifest a peaceful place for our
children to grow in love and to survive lhe coming
of lhe new age. Paul and Susan Del Rios; RL 2,
Box 314; Vilas, NC 28692 (704) 297-4937
LETTERS OF FRIENDSHIP AND SUPPORT
would be appreciated by incarcerated brothc.r. Write
10: Rick Whitaker #85670; Box 2000; Wartburg,
TN 37887
DRUMS - Custom handcrafted ceramic dumbccks &
wooden medicine drums. Call Joe Roberts at (704)
258-1038 or write LO: 738 Town Mountain Rd.;
Asheville, NC 28804.
ALTERNATIVE COMMUNITY now forming in
the mountains of norlh GA. Join olhers seeking
greater cooperation and self-sufficiency. Based on
spiritual and ecological values. Properly is now
available. (404) 778-8754.
BLIGHT RESISTANT CHESTNUT - hybrid
American/Chinese Dunstan chestnu1 trees - blight
resistant, timber growlh form, productive orchard
crop with large, swee1 easily-peeled nutS. Chestnu1
Alli Nursery; RI. J, Box 341-K; Alachua, FL
32615 (904) 462-2820
BLOW YOUR MIND wilh "Medicine Wind."
Finc-1uned bamboo nu1es and soothing musical
recordings masterfully 1rancemit1ed 1hrough
"Medicine Wind"/Gcorge Tortorelli; 86 NW 55 SL;
Gainesville, FL 32607 (904) 373-1837.
ORGANIC FERTILIZERS, herbs, and
organically-grown, local produce at the WNC
Farmcss' Markell Look for the Fairglcn Farms stall,
unitS F and G in lhe wholesale area of lhe Farmers'
Markel; 570 Brevard Rd.: Asheville, NC (704)
252-4414
"ESSENCE" - the all-one skin/dress/
jumper/pantaloons wilh nursing pockCIS. Earlhwcar;
ROI, Box 75-CI; Carl1on, PA 16311
SMALL HOUSE on land trust in rural NC
mountains in exchange for pan-time farm chores and
occasional companionship to creative, joyful,
mentally handicapped adul1 (or olher labor, such as
carpentry). Quaker Camily. Meeting nearby. Write:
Bob and Dot Barrus; Cll!llp Celo: 1349 Hannah
Branch Rd.; Burnsville, NC 28714
ARCHITECTURAL ADVICE AND DESIGN:
Adam Cohen; Rt. 2, Boll 217; Check, VA 24072
"TREASURES lN THE STREAM" - a casset1e tape
of songs by Bob Avery-Grubel. SIO to Rt. I, Box
735; Floyd, VA 24091.
WEBWORKJNG is free. Send submissions to:
KatUah Journal
P.O. Box 638
Leices1er, NC
Kauiah Province 28748
ORM DESIGNS
KATUAH - page 30
SUMMER - 1988
�Mtdlcln,..
The KatUah J ournal 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: Kat:Uali
Journal, P. 0. Box 638, Leicester, NC, Katuah Province 28748.
.?tllfts
In the fall, Katuah will look at Castanea dentata, the American chestnut
tree, and its importance in restoring Appalachian habitat. Any information about this great
tree's past and future will be welcome.
"Hand Made," exploring the benefits of living simply and creatively, will be the
focus for the winter issue of the Katuah Jo um al.
·BACK ISSUES OF KATUAH AVAILABLE
ISSUE THREE - SPRING 1984
Sustainable Agriculture - Sunfl~wers - Humm
Impact on the Forest - Children.s' Eduution
Veronica Nicbolu:Woman in Politics - Little
People - Medicine Allies
full C'olor
ISSUE FOUR - SUMMER 1984
Waler Drum - Waw Quality - Kudzu - Solu
Eclipse - Clearcutting - Trout - Going to Waicr
Ram Pwnps - Microhydro - Poems: Bennie
Sinclair, Jim W ayne Miller
T-sfilrts
w
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 spiritual barrier and exist yet in the
world as we know it. These beings are called
with reverence •grandfathers·. And of them,
the strongest are Kanati, the lightning, the
power of the sky; Utsa'nati, the rattlesnake,
who personifies the power of the earth plane;
and Yunwi Usdi. "the little 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 powers of KattJah have been
depicted In a striking T-shirt design by Ibby
Kenna. Printed in 5-color silkscreen by
Ridgerunner Naturals on top quality. all-cotton
shirts, they are available now in all adult sizes
from the KatUah Joumal.
"To show respect for this supernatural trinity
of the natural world is to in turn become an ally
in the continuing process of maintaining
harmony and balance here in the mountains of
Katuah."
To order, use the form below.
ISSUE AVE - FALL 1984
H:irvcsl - Old Ways in Cherokee - Ginseng Nuclear W ute - Our CeIlic Heri111ge Biorcgionallsm: Put. Present. and Future John Wilnoty - Healing Dlllkncss - Politics of
Participation
ISSUE SIX - WINTER 1984-85
Winier Solstice Earth Cct'cmony - Horscpasturc
River - Coming of the Light - Log Cabin
Roota - Mountain Agricul1ure: The Righi Crop
- William Taylor - The Fururc of the Forest
ISSUE SEVEN - SPRINO 1985
Sustainable Economics - Hot Springs - Worker
Ownership - The Great Economy - Self Help
Credit Union - Wild Turkey - Responsible
Investing - Working in the Web of Life
ISSUE EIOHT - SUMMER 1985
Celebration: A Way of Life - Katuah 18,000
Years Ago - Sacred Sites - Folk Ans in the
Schools - Sun Cycle/Moon Cycle - Poems:
Hilda Downer - Cherokee Heritage Ccnicr -
Who Owns Appalachia?
ISSUE NINE - FALL 1985
The \Va.Idec Forest - The Trees Speak Migrating Forests - Horse Logging - Starting•
Tree Crop - Urban Trees - Acom Bre.od - Myth
rune
ISSUE TEN- WINTER 1985-86
Kate Rogers - Circles of Stone - lnicmal
Mythmalting - Holistic Healieg on Trial Poems: Steve Knauth - Mythic Ploces - Tbe
Uktcna's Tale - CryJtal Magic -
I'"
ISSUE ELEVEN - SPRINO 1986
Community Planning - Cities and the
Bioregional Vision - Recycling - Community
Ocdcning- Floyd County, VA - GllSOhol Two BioregioMI Views - Nuclear Supplement
Foxfire Oames - Good Medicine: V'tSion.s
ISSUE THIRTEEN - Fall 1986
Cenicr For Awalccning - Elizabeth Calllri - A
Gentle Death - Hospice - Ernest Morgan .
Dealing Creatively with Death - Home Burial
Boit - The Wake - The Raven Mocker Woodslore and Wildwoods Wisdom - Good
Medicine: The Swea! Lodge
ISSUE FOURTEEN - Winier 1986-87
Uoyd Carl Owlc - Boogen and Mummers - All
Species Day - Cabin Fever University Homeless in Katuah - Homemade Hot Wau:r
Stovema kcr's Narrative - Good Medicine:
Interspecies Communication
ISSUE FIFTEEN - Spring 1987
Coverleis - Woman Forester - Susie McMahan
Midwife - Alterna tive Contraception Bioscxuallty - Bioregionalism and Women Good Medicine! Maniaclwial Culwie - ~
ISSUE SIXTEEN - Swnmcr 1987
Helen Waite - Poem: Visions in a Garden Vision Quest - First Flow - Initiatjon Leaming ie the Wilderness - Cherokee
Challenge - "Valuing Trees"
ISSUE EIGHTEEN - Winier 1987-88
Vernacular Architecture - Drums in Wood and
Stone - Mountain Home - Earth Enc.-gics Earth-Shch•m'<I Living - Membrane Houses .
Brush Shelter - Poems: Oc1obq Dusk - Good
Medicine: "Shelter"
ISSUENINETEEN-Spring 1988
Per!eandra Garden - Spring Tonics -Blueben:ies
WildDower Gardens - Granny Herbalist Flower Essences - "The Origin of the Animals:
Story - Good Medicine: "Power" - Be A Tnoc
"Dreamspcaking"
~~'
~UA~URNAL
For more info:
call (704) 683-1414
P.O. Box 638 Leicester, NC Katuah Province 28723
Back Issues
Issue#_@ $2.50 = $_ _
Issue#_@ $2.50 = $_ _
Issue#_@ $2.50 = $_ _
Issue# _ _@ $2.50 = $_ _
Issue#_@ $2.50 = $_ _
Complete Set (3-11, 13-16,
18-19)
Regular Membership........ $10/yr.
Name
Sponsor.........................$20/yr.
Contributor.....................$50/yr.
Address
Enclosed is$
to give
this ejfon an extra boost
City
State
@ $25.00 = $_ _
T-Shirts: specify quantity
color: tan
S_ _ M _ _
L_ _ XL_ _
@ $9.50 each............$_ _
Zip
I can be a local contact
person for my area
Area Code
KATUAH - page 31
Phone Number
TOTAL PRICE=
$_ _
postage paid
SUMMER-1988
�
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 20, Summer 1988
Description
An account of the resource
The twentieth issue of the <em>Katúah Journal</em> focuses on preserving wilderness in Appalachia with a look at land trusts, the Preserving Appalachian Wilderness (PAW) proposal, and Cherokee perspective on relating to land. Authors and artists in this issue include: David Wheeler, Gil Leebrick, Marilyn Cade, Christina Morrison, Laurie Pierce, Judith Hallock, Carol Lawrence, Billy Campbell, Nancy Barnhardt, Chip Smith, Martha Tree, Michael Red Fox, John Grey, Rob Messick, and Tony Fisher. <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
Table Of Contents
A list of subunits of the resource.
The Tracks of the Panther.......1<br /><br />Highlands of Roan.......6<br /><br />Celo Community: 50 Years on the Land.......8<br /><br />Celo: Interview.......10<br /><br />Land Trust: Tenure for Our Time.......11<br /><br />Learning Community.......12<br /><br />Mountain Landscapes at Risk.......13<br /><br />Rest in Perpetual Wilderness.......14<br /><br />"The Ridge"........15<br /><br />Farmers and the Farm Bill.......16<br /><br />Good Medicine: "Relating to the Land".......17<br /><br />"It Comes in a Mist".......18<br /><br />Duke's Power Play.......19<br /><br />Cherokee Microhydro Project.......21<br /><br />Drumming: Letters to Katúah.......22<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
Sylva Herald Publishing Company, Sylva, North Carolina
Subject
The topic of the resource
Bioregionalism--Appalachian Region, Southern
Sustainable living--Appalachian Region, Southern
Human ecology
Wilderness areas--Appalachian Region, Southern
Celo Community--History
Land use, Rural--Appalachian Region, Southern
Land trusts
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)
Acid Deposition
Agriculture
Alternative Energy
Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Studies
Bioregional Congress
Community
Economic Alternatives
Education
Electric Power Companies
Geography
Good Medicine
Habitat
Katúah
Katúah Organization
Poems
Reading Resources
South PAW (Preserve Appalachian Wilderness)
Turtle Island
Wilderness
Women's Issues
-
https://omeka.library.appstate.edu/files/original/1f2e1b45f5e29afd5e7816d6d6f26b51.pdf
e62be1d7412c88f48ec27a25918ab429
PDF Text
Text
ISSUE 26 WINTER1989-90
CHILDREN
$1.50
�~LJAt-t JOURNAL
P.O. Box 638 Leicester, NC Katuah Province 28748
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED
Postage Pa1d l
Bulk Mail
Permit #18
Leicester, NC
28748
�Coming of Age in the Ecozoic Em .............. l
by Tlwma.1 Berry
Kids Saving Ratnforest................................4
b) Sama/a l/ir.H
Kids' Treccyding Company............ .......... 5
ConOirt Resolution and the Family............ 6
by Ellie Ki,,cade
Developing the Creative Spirit. ...................!i
h\· /.i1uia J1c1mer
The Balloon is a Unicom ............................9
b) Art.1p1ri1 Swdio
Birth Power.................................. ............ 10
b) luc111da Flodin amt .Wanlru Pnk111s
Birth Bonding........................................... 11
b\ Jan \'erJiaexhe
Coming of Age in the Ecozoic Era
The Magic or Puppetry:
An Interview with Bonnie Blue................ 12
by 111omas Berry
by Chriltinll \.forri.w11 uiul Karc11 n mk1m
Horne Schooling..................................... 15
II) 001111 Wnmiward and Trilli Scver111
Ceremony................................................ 16
Trailin/llud
Mother Earth:
The i\atur;1l Classroom.......... ..... .. ... . •IX
111 Sma11 Grie.mwicr
Bmdegradable Diapers............................ 1R
lw Al'l\'a .Ill/ Romm
Resources............ .................................. 19
Gardening Tips tor Children ............ ..... 19
by T<>m )'n1111gblood-Pe1er.e11
\
i\atural World News............................... 20
"From the
Diary of a ~1odem Child".......... .. 24
by Roh Messi< k
Pocket Culture::.......................................24
by \Viii A.1/ie Basm1
Drumming......................................... ..•. 26
Fon:st Rescue:
An Ecological Manifesto.............. 29
Webworking.......................................... .30
We are now at the end of the Cenozoic
Era of the planet Eanh's 4.5 billion year history.
During the Cenozoic time which has been
occuring for the last 65 million years. most all of
the lire fom1s with which we are familiar came
to their foll development. The Cenozoic is nlso
when we humans came into being. I lowever.
this era is rapidly being tcm1inated.
Not only the human, but even more so.
1he functioning or the entire planet is being
altered. The climate, the chemistry of the
atmosphere. 1he wa1er and the soil, our relation
to the sun, all the bio~ystem' of the planet, e\en
the geological structure of the planet: all 1he'e
are being altered in the most extensive
transformation that has ta.ken place on the planet
Eanh in the last 65 millicm years. So extensive
is the d1ssolu11on of the life systems of the Earth
during the past century that the viability of the
human cannot be taken for gr-Jnted.
T he long-term survival of our children
depends on understanding the depth of what is
happening to the planet at present--it is essential
to admit that what b occuring 1s nothing less
than biocide. It also depends on rekindling a
relationship between the human and the natural
world that is far beyond the exploitive
relauonshi ps of the industrial mode. A different
kind of prosperity and progress needs to be
understood which embraces the wlwle Life
community. All our human institutions,
professions, all our programs and acti vities need
to funcuon now m this wider Life community
context.
It is time to evoke the emergence of a new
E.'Uth period which can be identified as the
Ernzoic era. Even now the shift is beginning to
1;ike place in which a relationship or mutual
enhancement between humans and the naturnl
world is being regarded no1 only as possible but
essential to planeiary survival. I low do our
chtldrcn fit in wilh 1his change . .
Hea/1hy £111"irm1me111
Our children need a healthy Eanh in
which to live. A sickened planet is not
conducive to healthy children physically, or to
their emotional or psychic security. Continued
conu1mination of water, soil, air and other life
syMems by unnecessary and unsound
production practices is jeopardizing their future
existence ao; well as that of the planet.
Children need pure air and water and
sunligh1 and fruitfu l soil and all those living
fonns that provide the context in which human
existence can be properly nunured. Only if this
context is kept intact and an appreciation of it is
passed on will we fulfill our obligations to our
children and to the planet.
Membership in the l ife Community
Our children need 10 be able 10 see that
they are members or the whole Life communiiy
of the natural world about them, not just
members of a local or even global human
community. Human society as such is an
abscraction. The only real community is the
entire community of the natural world. No pan
of this integral community has either existence
Dra1< tng by Rub Mo.nick
t 98S
c:ontu1ucd an p. 3
�J<eLlAHJOURNAL
~STAFF THIS ISSUE:
Andy Half-baker
Rob Messick
Marnie Muller
Rodney Webb
Chip Smith
Richard Lowenthal
Christina Morrison
James Rhea
David Wheeler
Heather Blair
EDITORIAL ASSISTANCE:
Stephen Bartlett
Will Ashe Bason
Susan Griesmaier
Michael Havclin
Scott Bird
Jack Chancy
COVER by Zack Brick, age 6, of Floyd Community.
Reprinted from the Blue Mountain School Calendar
(for sale from Colleen Redman; Box 634; Floyd, VA 24091)
THE SOUTHERN APPALJ.CHIAN BIOREGION
ANO MAJOR EASTERN RIVER SYSTEMS
PUBLISHED BY: Kanlah Journol
PRINTED BY: The Waynesville Mountaineer Press
EDITORIAL QFACE nus ISSUE:
Worley Cove, Sandy Mush Ouk
WRITE US AT:
Ka1Wih Journal
Box 638; Leicester, NC; Katuah Province 28748
TELEPHQNE: (704) 683-1414
Ka/UahJournaJ is on SkYland BBS, Asheville, NC.
For information, call (704) 254-6700.
Diversity iJ an important clcmeot or bioregional ecology, bolh
nalUral and social. ln line wilh !his principle, the Kataah Journal tries
io serve m a forum for lhc discussion of regional issues. Signed aniclcs
express only the opinion of the authors and arc not necessarily lhe
opinions of lhe Kataah Journal edilOl'S a staff.
The ln1U1181 Revenue Service has declared Kataah a non-profit
organiulion Wlder section SOl{cX3) of the lnicmal Revenue Code. All
contributions IO Kataah are deductible from pcrsooaJ income tax.
'LNVOCA.TWN
I think ouer ogoin my smell oduentures,
My fears,
Those I thought so big.
For ell the ultol things
I hod to get
And to reach,
And yet,
There Is only one greet thing The Only thing To Hue,
To see the greet doy thot downs ,
And the light thot fill s the w orld.
- Inuit song
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
Here in the southern-most heartland of the
Appalachian mountains, the oldest mountain range on
our continent, Turile 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 natural scale and balance
of universal systems and principles.
Within this circle we begin by invoking the
Cherokee name " KatUtih" 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 Mountai11 and
the Georgia hills 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
periuins 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 " situalion in terms ofa quality standard
of life for all living beings on 1his planet. As a voice
for the caretakers of this sacred land, Kat"'1h, we
advocate a cenlered approach to the concept of
decentralization. It is our hope to become a support
system for those accepting 1he 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 thaJ Ka/Uah will grow to serve the best interests
of this region and all its living, breathing members.
-The Editors
~
k)t,nt.er ,1989-90
�Coming of Age in the Ecozoic
E r a-continued from p. 1
or life apan from the other members or the communiry.
We arc awkward at this manner of thinking because many
of our religions as well as humanist traditions carry a cenain
antagonism toward the natural world. But now the refusal to
acknowledge the intimate membership in the corrununity of Earth
is leading to their own destrucrion as well as that of the planet.
The next generation can survive only as functional members of
this larger community. Our children are instinctively aware of this
wider sense of identity. We need only foster I.his awareness.
Earth Literacy
Our children also need to be literate about the Eanh. They
need to learn not only how to read books composed by human
genius but also how to "read" the Great Book of Nature. Again,
absorbing this Great Book is natural to children. Alienation from
this primary educational experience has been, in our generation,
the source of unmeasured disaster to every aspect of human
existence.
A true prosperity requires being able to understand the
language of nature. Native peoples know this language. II is
primarily the language of the Earth, a language of living
relationships that extend throughout the universe. We have here
within this Nonh American conrinent a superb natural setting in
which our children can become Eanh-literate, capable of
undemanding what their world is telling them.
Energy Awareness
Our children need to understand how to function with the
energy of I.he sun and wind and the water rather than with the
energies of fossil fuels or of nuclear processes. Our inabilny to
use these other energies properly has led to a situation in which
the planet Earth is covered with grime and poisons. These toxins
are not only eating away with their acids the very stones and
structures of all the great cities of the world, but they are also
harmful to the planet itself.
The understanding of more benign energy forms and the
skills to interact with them effectively are absolute necessities for
the survival of our children in a sustainable life context. In
addition, it is imponant 1ha1 these energy systems be designed
with sensitivity and a sense of appropriate scale.
Our children also need to understand the healthy limits of
their bioregion's capacity to provide energy and to suppon life.
They need to be encouraged to envision a way of life that can be
compatible with Lhose natuml limits. Helping children get in Lhe
habit of conservation as well as recycling is an imponant step tn
encouraging them to co-exist with the rest of the life community.
Food
Our children need to learn gardening. The reasons for this
reach deep into their mental and emotional as well as into their
physical survival. Gardening is an active participation in the
deepest mysteries of the universe. By gardening our children
learn that they constitute, with all growing things, a single
community of life. They learn to nurture and be nunured in a
universe Lhat is always precarious but ultimately benign. They
leam profound reasons for the seasonal rituals of the great
religous renditions.
More immediately, however, i'> the question of physical
survivaJ. With the ever-increasing loss of soil on which
food-growing depends, with the rising innaiion in the economic
sphere, with the need for food grown in a proper organic context,
and with the crowded situation in our urban centers, the capacity
of our children to grow a significant umount of their o~n food on
very limited areas of Eanh will become an increasing urgency.
Elementary education especially might very well begin and
be developed in a gardening context. How much the children
could learn! A language related to life! Emotional responses 10
blossoming and fruitful plants. social cooper:11ion, death as a
source of life. They could learn geology and biology and
ascronomy. They could learn the sources of poetry and lner.iture
and the ans. They might even be saved from the sterile and
ephemeral world of Atari.
WUller. 1989- 90
Participawry Role
Our children need to be prepared for their role in the
fruitful functioning of the Great Earth itself, the first and greatest
of all "corporations". They need to learn that the underlying role
of all human corporative enterprises is to enhance the functioning
and meaning and value of this primary corporation, the planet in
which we live. If the Eanh becomes bankrupt there is no future
for anything that lives within the Earth.
The remarkable achievement of the Earth in its natural state
is its ability 10 renew itself and all its living forms. There is a
minimum of entropy in the Earth system_ Energies arc cycled
recycled indefinitely. The infrastructure renews itself. No
human process can do this. NeiLher automobiles nor Madways,
nor subway systems, nor fossil fuels, nor railways, n..ir power
plants, nor nuclear generating plants renew themselves_ They
Inst but a few years and then rust away and the resources of the
planet arc no longer sufficient 10 renew them.
A completely different role of the human in relation to the
Earth begins to identify usclf. One which functions in a different
fashion and with different ideals from the highly entropic,
exploitative manner in which our culture functions at present.
Recognizing our intimate membership in the whole Life
community and becoming literate in its wisdom and language,
our role becomes that of dynamic panicipator. ln recognizing this
intimate connecLion, we begin 10 understand and align ourselves
with 1he natural world's capacity to be self-emerging,
self-propagating, self-nourishing, self-educating, self-governing,
and self·hcaling.
Experience of the Sacred
Our children need to understand the meaning and grandeur
and sacredness of the Eanh as revelatory of the deep mysteries
and meaning of the world. Rather than teaching them to disdain
the natural world as unwonhy of their concern. it would be most
helpful if our religious traditions would move toward a stronger
emphasis on the glorious phenomena of the universe about us as
modes of divine communicauon.
In a special manner, through celebration and ceremony,
our children need to observe and esteem the spontaneities of
nature in our own bioregions here in the different areas of Nonh
America; spontaneities that give expression 10 genetic diversity
which is the most precious endowment of the living world.
Without 1he marvelous variety of living forms that swim in
the sea and live and move upon the Eanh and ny through the air,
our own human understanding, our emotional life, our
imaginative powers. our sense of 1he divine, our capacity for
verbal expression; these would all be terribly diminished. If we
lived on 1he moon, our sense of the divine would reOcct the lunar
landscape: our cmouons. sensitivities and imagination would all,
in a similar manner. be through a lunar mode of expression.
So with our children, they are what they are and have such
remarkable expansion of life because of that share in the natural
world that they have here within the Nonh American continenL
The radiance of their surTOundings is even now reflec1cd in the
radiance of our children's countenances.
Sc11se of History
Our children need a sense of their historical role in creating
this coming ecological age. 1hc F..cozoic. This future world is
something that has never existed before within the context of the
whole planeL We are involved in an irreversible sequence of
planetary developments. For the first time an integral form of the
planet Earth wi1h all its geological contours, its living forms and
us human presence has become possible as a vital, functioning
plane1ary whole expressing itself in its unbroken sequence of
splendors tn movement and song and an infinite variety of color
in the sky and throughout the continents.
There 1s truth in the expression--· The Dream is at the heart
of the Action. The greatest gift we can give our children is to
assiM them in their dreams of a planet of pure air and water and
sunlight and soil. where the community of all living beings can:.,;l!I'
~·
nourii.h in the celebration of existence.
A
Thomas Berry noted geologian and awlwr of The Dream of the
Earth (Sierra Club Books, 1988), is presently collaboraring with
physicis1 Brian Swimme on a new book, The Universe Story.
l'lb •'lnoenu Reny
�~iftFJ. §trfilkT~ ~ftfp
$11~~ ~ ~~T:P41
in
'!8~&11.
illus~uon
by Jermain Mosely
Mrs. Woods' science class at
Asheville Alternative School has
been studying forests and
rainforests in particular. We went
to the "Discovery Place" in
Charlotte to see an exhibit on
Rainforests and have studied
about forestry in class and at
Holmes State Forest.
We have learned that if all the
rainforests are destroyed then our
oxygen will decrease a whole lot.
We have also learned that the
rainforests are ancient. They are
very special and important to us.
They give us many products as
well as 1/2 the world's animals
and plants.
Our class is getting together and
making money to help save these
forests So far we have almost
made $300. With that we will be
able to buy 10 acres of land out of
a rainforest in Belize .
Jc.iiWcih Jo1Ul1Q( pllc:Je 4
'
•I
We have been raking people's
leaves in our neighborhood for
$1.50 or more if the yard is really
big. All of the people's yards we
have raked, have given a little bit
extra. One boy in our class raked a
medium size yard with his friend
tor a man and got $30.00.
We have worked very hard on this
project and hope that we will
encourage other people to pitch in.
We put pictures in the halls of our
school. A few nights ago we had a
woman named Mrs. Jeanne
Cummings come to our school to
show some slides of her
'Earthwatch' trip to a rainforest in
Borneo. We had live entertainment
and refreshments that night. It
was very exciting for all of us.
Do whatever you can to help save
the Rainforests, it is important to
all of us and we hope that these
Rainforests will survive.
/
By Samala Hirst
kll-ntcr, 1989-90
�Ph""'' b~ Karen W•tkin'
Hey, all you people out there,
have you heard of the new business Kid's T reecycling Co.?? !!
It all started when our teacher started talking about
how imponant trees and recycling are. We think 1hat
this is a great Saving-The-Trees business and a grea1
class project.
We sell all sorts of recycled paper producls like paper
1owcls. rissuc and 1oilet paper. On 1hc lirst day we
only got two orders. Then we got more and more
orders every day and week. We have $65.00 so far.
Do you know when we get older there won't be many
trees lefl? There won't be hardly any paper. Don't let
1hat happen! We all need to recycle. S1art now at
Kid's Treecycling Co. We are in third grade at
Asheville Alternative School. South French Broad
Avenue. A ... hcv1llc. NC 28801. Ourtcacheris
Victoria Maddux. You can call her in the evening at
{704)- 645-4593. Call now and become a "Recycling ..
Ci1i1en"
-·-hy: llana Craig. l.arJ Weaver, Ken;. Wahcr,\Vill lknnen.
Molly Ru ... h and Alesia Summey.
l./UlU:t, 1989-90
�Conflict Resolution
and the Family
Conn1ct. Every family has it. Household chores,
homework, messy rooms, schedule connicts, ~pace invasion~.
values collisions, power struggles, and scape-goating have all
been long-srnnding and universal sources of stress in 1hc
American family. The quality of family life. though, is
detennined not by \.\hethcr or not a family has conflict but by
what they do with it.
It is commonly recognized that parents have a great
innuence on the overall process of dealing "'ith the inevitable
conflicts that plague families. What is frequently overlooked.
however, is the contribution that children have 10 make in the
conflict resolution process. Children are our greatest source of
inspiration and creativity; they have internalil.ed fe\.\er rules and
limitations and "yes--bu1--tha1 wouldn't work bccause"s and have
a natural spirit of discovery that can set the stage for new and
more expansive ways of thinking.
This article is based upon my own experience as a par.:nt
and as a conflict management consultant and educator. coupled
with the perspectives of my daughter Dana. age 14, and my son
Nick, age 10. We will citplore three imponant variables which
operate to affect an individual\ or a fomily'~ response to conflict:
Spirit, Personality/Well·Being, and Skillfulnes5.
by Ellie Kincade
Spiritff he Spirit of Possibilit)
Spuit is the auitude with which we approach problems and
conflicts, and is the foundation of the process of resolution.
Thomas Crum, author of The Magic of Conflict. makes two
imponant points about the nature of conflict:
ConOict js a na111ral phenomenon. We see it everywhere in
nature - the magnificent beauty of mountains, canyons, beaches
was formed by eons of connict. In our human relationships,
from the intra- and interpersonal through global levels, the
choices we make determine whether the intense energy inherent
in conflict will be a del.tructive force or as Crum says. will be
"the best sandpaper around for smoothing out our lives"
ConOict js noi a comest. Winning and losing are goals for
games. 001 for connict resolution. Resolving connict is rarely
about \.\ho\ right: it's aboul the acknowledgement and
appreciation of differences.
Dana's summary of a positive spirit toward conflict is:
*Trust one another.
,. Approach problem situations with lo\'e. (Y?u can
love someone and be angry at the same nme.)
t.n.rtrt'r',~90
�•Be flexible and willing lO undersl:lnd another's
point of view.
Nick adds:
•Take responsibilny for your own "stuff' and
realize thal whal you do affects others.
•Anticipate your own and others· needs and try to
prevent conflicts from happening.
•Have a sense of humor, even when there are
problems!
Every family has to find its own unique way of
discovering and fo:.tering a spirit of possibility for dealing with
issues. Families who creatively integrate faith, hope. charity. and
love, and playfulness into their everyday lives develop the
flexibility. willingness and perspective to change gracefully and
powerfully over time. They bring this creative power 10 every
conflict or advei;ity they face.
The family who believes that it is possible to find win/win
solulions (rather than win/lose solutions) to their conflicb. finds
them! A fringe benefit of lhis philosophy about confl1c1 1s that
children (and eventually 1heir parents too!) learn that what they do
and say makes a difference, thnt conflicts can be resolved v. ithout
baules and that problems lhat seem "impossible" to solve arc
really just challenges to human flexibility. compassion and
creativity.
Dana defines respect as the wtllmgness to allow each
person the freedom to express their true and unique self.
Affirrmng differences, making allowances, and building on those
differences facilitate conflict resolution. We've grown up with
homogeny as an ideal. Think about the all-American metaphor of
the "melting pot" where cliversity becomes lost ma kenle of drab
glop. Consider, instead. 1he image of a salad where each
ingredient maintains its discrete qualities while adding volume,
texture, nourishment, variety, and beauty to the whole.
Each individual's personality de1ermines their preferences
and style in dealing with conflict. Nick emphasizes that often he
needs space and wants to be left alone when conflict arises; when
he "cools orr· he is better able to talk about it. Dana usually
wants to talk things out nght away, bu1 sometimes wants time 10
think things out alone. She stresses the importance of asking one
another for what we need and being considerate of our different
needs. Individual differences rue, in fact, one of the greatest
resources in problem ~olving. Division of labor conflicts can
often be easily resolved by having family members volunteer for
their "favorite" chore. For example, Dana and Nick bo1h like to
cook: I much prefer the mindlessness of cleaning up afterward.
Dana likes carrying in the firewood and Nick builds and tends the
fire. or cour.;e those preferences and inclinations do change in an
evolving household, so frequent communication and negotiauon
arc a musr.
In a favorite 'Peanuts' car1oon. Sally is complaining, "I
hate everything! I hate the whole world!" Charlie Brown
responds. matter-of-factly. "I thought you had inner peace."
Sally replies. "I do, but I still have outer obnoxiousness!" We all
have outer obnoxiousness. the level and intensity of which is
directly relatec.! 10 our general state of well-being. One's state of
well-being (or lack 1hereof!) may be lhe most significant factor
affecting the individual's ability to respond to conflict with
tolerance, flexibility, creativity and a "Spirit of Possibility."
The three of us agree thnt a bad day at school or work,
exhaus1ion. pressures of upcoming events, or a general sense of
malaise is often the root of our outer obnoxiousness which can
lead 10 conflict. Here are several things families can do to
enhance 1he well-being of individuals and the family unit:
Herc are some fun ways families can develop and exercise
the "Spirit of Possibility":
•Play games like, "There's Not Only One Way 10 Do Anything".
Discover throogh brruns1onnmg the many f>O"-s1h1l111cs m a snuauon.
How many different wa)'~ arc there to m:ike p<1ll<!akcs? To plant a tree?
To w~h a window? Wc"vc ycl IO find an acuvity lhal can he done m
JUSl one way. Make the jOlhl)' or brrunstonnmg commonplace. so tl1'1l
11 occurs more na1urally in connict snuauons.
•Keep 1rnck of "Impossible Things• that happen an the world Read and
d1SCus.s news s1orics, historical evenL~. sporting accomplishmenb.
amazing inventions, ulcs of survival and raniaslic JOumcys, and mo~l
1mporwuly, personal life cxpcncnccs m lhc accomplishment or "The
Impossible". For example:
Remember when ...
..."Nick almost gave up finding a shark's t0olh at the beach-and then
found live!"
·~"Grandma 105t her diamond ring m lhc gnx:cry ~iorc parking 101 and
wcnL b:lck lhat nighl and found 1L"
..."Dana though I she'd never be able to afford her trip to the Soviet
Union and !hen raised all the money for tile lrip by selling hct pocll)
books."
Our true contcmpornry heroes arc ordinary people in ordinary
cin:umslallCCS who occomplish cx1100td1nary tilings.
• Acknowledge. and celebrate seasonal changes and cytlical
llllnsfonmuions, e.g. watch 1hc moon wax and wane. gardcM grow.
birds migraic. cocoons spin and haich. seeds di\-pc.rsc. Notice and honor
developmental changes in ram1ly member;: e.g. have celebrations m
honor or landmark events. bcginnmgs. endings. and annavcrw1cs-·
there's always something IO cclcbrutc, rrom lo<;t w:cth to maJor rites of
passage. American l1'3d1tion I\ lacking in mual. Look to other cultures
and uad11ions and creaic your own! Gncve the losses and welcome the
new growth !hat rollows
Personalil~ Factor~
and Well-Being
(I) Eyeball the week ahead 10 alert one anolhcr abou1 high ~lre5' limes
and ask for cxlr'd supJ10n, e.g. Nack mak<:S school lunches when Dana
has a track meet so she can get some cxtnl rest: Dan3 covers dinner
when I need to prepare for a worlc'\hop. Communic~ning m advance
•Experience and affinn your conna:ledn~ to tile world·•ll·latgc Mike
family dcc1s1ons about what contnbuuons io m:t.lcc 10 commumty and
global service projects. The needs, a~ we look around u•. arc
overwhelming. Learning lO make choice~ aoout how to u<c: our
personal energy and rc~rces 1s a b;i~1c hfc skill for hvang m th" age.
Remember the story of 1hc person at the edge of the '>Ca, tossing
beached si.arfish back mto the occan. A man appro:1chcd und '"I.ell,
"Why arc yoo bothering to do tha11 Then: arc so mnny. Whm d11Tcrcncc
docs it make io save a few?" 11ui person p3uscd. thought. smiled nnd,
tossing ano1hcr \lllffitj\ mto 1hc sea, replied •1t make' a diffcrcnc.: to
that one:
•explore mull1-cuhurnl perspectives by cncuuragmg c~changc~
through pen.pals. ho,11ng mtcmauonal ''i\ltOrs, or travel D.> your
g1fl·shopp1ng lhrough catalog., that \upport collage mdu\trlC\ 1n
,·nrious cuhures around the world. Dana involved our cnurc famil)·.
from C03Sl to coast, in her ci111..cn-diplnmacy trap to lhe Soviet Union
lhis past summer She enhanced our ·spirit or Po~1l>1hty" by making
her own dream come true and ~he created a network of connectedness
bctwc:cn many Sovic:ts and Americans \\ho share the larger dream or
world peace.
&.>Lnte.r, 1989-90
about schedules 1\ connic1 pn:vcnuon!
(2) Milke \tree;,; mnnagcmcnt a family alTair. Take walks. have joint
"temper tantrum'· 10 let off sicam. talk about your drc3111s, give one
anolhcr massag~. have ·,1op-:icuon hug~· (prionty hug> can mltrTUp!
any ac11vi1y, C\cn an argument). Plan healthy menu.' together, hsien lO
music. dance. LAUGll A LOT! llavc nightly snuggles before bed.
Every f;tmily ~ds to discover and invent 1ts own 'tlC'' managcmcn1
plan Suppon one another's mdl\·1du.al \l.l'CSS marugcmcnt programs,
IOO. Dana ruid Nick ga>c me space for mcd11auon, racqlldball, or naps.
Tran.•;pona110n to tllcir 'JX>rb. academic and ~ul cvcnL~ is a pnoruy
for me.
(3) Learn w1lh your ch1IJrcn wmc tools for ccn1ermg. n:laxauon 8lld
sp1r11ual renewal Pra)'Cr. mcd1ta.t1on, visunli1.ation, brealhmg, }Oga,
dance. ~ns. and CCr1ilm man1al JI'\.\ (p:llllCUlllfly the nuid, powerful
and non-v1oleni ans suc;h as a1k1do and T11.1 Cha). arc all ways to
develop a relaxed, Oc.ublc. balanced. aucnuvc, and strong poMllre.
From tl11$ ccnicrcd siate at is easier to move with confidence and care
through life's ngors.
(oontiml<d an~ 23)
�Developing the Creative Spirit
by Linda Metzner
Imagine a warm, lazy summer's day, sky very blue.
You are on your back watching clouds roll by. What do you
sec there in the clouds? How docs it sound to you? Can you
move the way the clouds move?
What are the possibilities? Can your imagination take
you places you've never been before? Are there new ways to
get there?
If we are not utilizing the body-mind's creative
capabilities, we are allowing ninety percent of the nco-conex
--the largest and most recently-developed pan of the brain--to
go unused, an ocean of untapped potenrial. The work of a
lifetime, in tenns of mind evolution, is to make new
connections, to use the heart-mind, the whole brain and the
nervous system, to crave! to new realms on new paths, 10
envision and create ever-greater inter-relationships among
things.
A deeper goal of the teaching of creativity. and of an,
is to offer a starting-point, a vocabulary of the spirit, tools
for climbing through the changing terrain of the mind. The
dilemmas of our lives are dealt with by looking not just or the
problems but with them, around them, inside and outside of
them, and beyond them.
Imagination, "the ability to create images not present to
the sensory system;· involves the creation of thousands of
physical connecting links between neurons in the brain. If the
neurological structures for creative thinking are allowed to
develop in childhood, regardless of the end product of the
imaginative thought, then the resulting system of abundant
connecting links will be available to the adult as well.
Joseph Chilton Pearce, m his book The Magical Child.
speaks about a cenain point in childhood, especially between
the ages of seven and eleven, where vmually any suggestion
can be adopted and utilized by the child, if it is given without
doubt or ambiguity. Wnlking through fire, healing ~·ith the
hands, clairvoyance, many typ;!S of "paranormal" abilities arc
really extensions of creative thinking exhibited by children
given "pennission" to experience them.
Here are a few travel tips for the lifelong journey of
nunuring the creative spirit within ourselves and others:
Play. relax, go slow. New ideas will come from places
that are beyond your conscious control. Make time for
them.
Listen to your dreams, your flashes of insight, your
intuition. Try not to label mind processes as weird or
useless. Don't be shocked if you hear of other sounds,
colors, or beings a child is conscious of. You arc tapping
into a world Edith Cobb calls "common-plus-cosmic".
Give yourself guidelines for creative activities.
AJlow the mind to play with one or two small features,
and explore all the possibilities: a few colors. a few
textures, a musical interval or timbre.
Try to have material that presents ever-increasing
challenges, but stay grounded in past work. In teaching
music, try to stan with the body, with movement. for
every new idea introduced.
JC.Qiiuih
Journat p1t9e 8
"Compe1itions are for horses, not anists" (Picasso).
Don't compare, rate, evaluate or "improve" anyone's
work. Ask the anis1 to tell abou1 ii and get some insight
into her/his thinking.
Have some open rime, some open space, and some
open materials. Keep a box of bright colored papers,
scissors, glue, fabric. markers, pencils; loose clothes for
movement: a variety of sound-makers; typewriter or tape
recorder for stories.
Study and learn. Be aware of how others are taking
new leaps and exploring new territory.
Look for examples in life of an going outside old
boundaries: murals, mobiles, architecture, pantomime,
storytelling. This is the same evolutionary process found
in frogs, flowers, and blue-footed boobies.
Look at how it's been done in other places. In Africa,
animal forms become patterns on cloth; in Bali, girls
dance as goddesses in a trance state; in China, a five-note
scale played on bamboo pipes forms an orchesrra. Other
cultures have already transcended some of the artistic
boundaries that we've inherited in ours.
After working alone, try working with one or two
others. Your ideas may expand synergbtically, way
beyond what you had alone.
Learn simultaneously to respect others' crearions as
you create your own. Sometimes this calls for quiet
listening or watching others, or spending time with
someone else's finished work. What new ways does
he/she open up 10 you?
A mind that craves new solutions, new paths. can leap out
of trenches of conditioning and make miracles happen. This.
after all, is how the Universe 1s being created, even as we
speak!
RESOURCES:
CATALOGS
• Animal Town CoopcraU\'C Ventures
PO Box 2002. S:tnlll Barbara. CA 93102
• Chmabcny Book Scrvice
2830 Via Orange Way Su11.c B, Spring Valley, CA 92078
• Geode Educational ()pllon~
PO Box 106, We.~1 Che.qcr, PA 19381
• Music For Lillie People
PO Box 1460, Redway, CA 95560
• Suzuki Musical lnsuumcnis
PO Box 261030. San Diego, CA 92126
• World Music Press
11 Myrtle Avenue, PO Box 2565, Danberry, CT 06813
SUGGESTED READING
Adams, James. The Cart 01ld Feeding of Ideas. Addison· Wesley. 1986.
Amabile, TCIC.~ Growing Up Creative Crown Publishers, 1989.
Cobb, Edith. The Ecology of lmDgina11on in Childhood Columbia
Umvcrs11y Press, 1977.
Gardner. Howard. Frames of M111d: Tht TMory of Multiplt lnttll1gtncts.
Basic Books, Inc. 1983.
Pearce. Joseph Chihon. TM Magical Child and TM MallU;al Child Matures.
E.P. Dunon, New York. 1977
Piening, Ek.lcchan:I and Lyons, Nick. Educating as an Art, The Rudolf Si.cincr
Mciliod. The Rudolf Si.cuicr School Press. NY. 1979.
Reck, David. TllL Music of tM IVholt Earth. Charles Scribncr'5 Sons, NY.
1977.
~
lmdo Merzner reaches Orff music and co.directs Anspirit, a
srudio of creorive orrs in Asheville. NC. She is a composer 011d
arranger and direcis rlie choral group, Womansong.
H.l~nter, 1989-90
�The :Balloon Ls A. Unworn
These ukas /or cJ.vfik>plrJ.9 c:reattvit!I i.n mlldrcn '""
s!Jared U'ith us from A.rtspu1t, 11 i;reato-e art..s studio 1n
Asm:i•1Jle, NC. 1'!4:mbcrs 1nc{Ulk: 1'frls A.rrwld. (day). 'BarrU:
'Barron (m<wcment), Norma 1Jradky (paper), Vicki.
aadh~UIJ (ft/x:r ), and lmdu 1'f4Urwr (musu;).
Xak.e a sefJ-portrait with pieces of coCored.
paper. Choose the coCors that
you.. IJorr.. as smaU:
' - mmn the most to
or as i.ur9e as ~ou Llke.
1.nter , 1989- 90
�by Lucinda Aodin and Martha Perkins
We need co recognize how imponant it is that women
take back their power· the natural power of creation is ours.
While a woman feels most in concrol of the birthing experience
in her own home, it is most important that she be able to
exercise her power wherever a binh should happen.
Women often do not realize the tremendous reservoir of
power that is theirs to tap into when they are delivering a
newborn. Birthing a child is the most powerful activity that our
bodies can perform, and a woman who can binh with power
will be a better mother and a stronger woman. No matter where
a baby is born, the mother should be able to accomplish it with
the full power that is inherent in the act and with the dignity of
womanhood.
We recently viewed a slide show of binh as represented
in an throughout history from cave glyphs to modem
obstetrics. Traditionally women are shown birthing upright,
strong and confident. A woman helper ·or sometimes a man •
is behind her; a midwife is below and in front of her. Paintings
and drawings from around the world and throughout the ages
of history all depict this trinity of birth... until modem times.
As the picrures draw closer to the present, the woman
sinks fanher and farther back into the images until she
disappears from the picture altogether. In recent photographs of
operating room situations the woman giving birth is not even
visible. She is flat on her back. her whole body draped except
for a gaping vagina, which usually has been cut. She is not
mother or a person, but a thing. Watching those slides brought
home instantly what has happened since our birth power has
been stripped from us.
functions of her body, mind. and spirit, and she is delivered.
She is not giving birth, or delivering her new-born life. She is
being delivered, which implies that she is being set
free ... "Deliver me from this childl" ... who is then taken away
to the nurseries, to the bath, to be re-warmed after its small
body is chilled.
This separation creates much emotional hardship for both
parents and child. But the love of a mother and a father is
amazing. It reaches beyond the hardship and bonds in love
with their child • but childbirth and bonding does not have to
be so hard.
We tend co think of power in terms of its mis-use rather
than thinking of power as being healing and strong. A
woman's birth power is power in its pure sense: power that is
not manipulative, not selfish. Birth power is selfless. Labor is
a series of overwhelming surges of energy, powerful waves.
Binh is a power act. It is one way in which a woman quests for
a vision and finds her pince in this life. In giving birth a woman
must exercise the ultimate strength of yielding. In yielding to
her labor she draws on the energy of the life foroe. Our culture
tends to consider yielding as an act of weakness. But in giving
birth, yielding is the strongest act. h is the strength of the
whole uruversc that brings a baby into chis world.
When birth is a narural act of power, a woman is not
delivered. She embraces the power of her womanhood, yields
to the strength of her body and her spirit, and gives her baby
passage into his or her own life. Watching births we have
learned that a midwife's job is to guide a woman into her
power· to work with a mother, to educate her, and to help her
to use her innate knowledge. It is amazing to watch the change
in a woman as she comes into her power.
Entering a hospiial a woman feels small and
insignificant, like a pebble amid the looming technology. It is
unnerving. The situation is out of her control and her mate's
control as well. Every intervention tells her that she knows
nothing about the procedures of birth and that her instincts arc
not to be truSted. The hospital staff is in command. She is not
IO yield tO the power of birth. Rather, anaesthesia takes over the
We arc successful as midwives when at the end of a
birthing the woman says, "I did it. Thank you for helping me."
If a woman says,"I couldn't have done it without you," we
have not done our job well enough. The mother deserves the
credit. After all, she has done all the work. If someone were to
ask us, "What is the job of a midwife?", we would reply, "To
give back chc power."
.
~t.UA.h
.
.
JounwaC p"'.JS 10
�•
To rcali1.C the binhing power we must first relearn the
birthing process. It is an ancient process, a wise way, and
generations of humaniiy have proven that it works. Then,
anned with our knowledge, we must demand 1ha1 our
institutions change with us. Our hospitals. doctors, nurses, anJ
midwives have to allow us as women to have control over our
own health - no, we as women must take control.
Families will never be srrong until we take back the
power of birth...and until we have power and strength in the
family. we will never truly heal the Eanh.
Lucinda Flodin and Manha Perkins art both motlU!rs a11d
work togetlier as a midwife team in the area s11rrn11ndi11g their
lwmes in the Doe River watershed.
by Jan Verhaeghe
Midwives nuending home binhs know the success of
their calling-the welfare of the mothers and babies in their
care-depends in pan on the special time immediately after
birth. No midwife worth her salt, excep1 in a m.iner of life or
death, would take a b:lby from the mother.
What exactly is binh-bonding? Birth-bonding is the
uninterrupted time immediately following binh when 1hc
mother and baby establish the foundation for their
relationship by re-connecting in every aspec1 of their now
separate lives. The most intense and the most important
period for birth-bonding is the firlit two hours but cenainly
Iasis until the baby falls into 1he deep steep infants experience
St!Veral hour.; after binh.
During bonding, mother and child becollll! linked
psychically in a way that defies our ability 10 analyze the
experience. The newborn is extremely impressionable and
everything that happens during this period leaves a deep
imprinL The natural longing of 1he baby is to re-establish i1s
cquilibrium--to be wann, 10 be held, to suck. to hear a
familiar heartbeat. To be separated from the mother at this
time must leave a la.sung and discressed memory. I believe
bonding is visual, tactile, aural, oral, olfactory, and
hormonal and occurs most easily when the mo1her holds her
baby and interacts wi1h it through the senses during 1hc
sensitive period immediately following birth. The "en face"
posilion--touching and being touched, hearing and being
heard, feeding and being fed. learning each others
smells-are complex interactions that occur with case when a
baby is placcd--and left--in its mother's arms.
The mos1 immediate person to bond wiih a newborn i~
the mother, but it is very important that fa1hers also bond
with their infantS. Fathers who have had 1he opponuni1y to
bond with one child but not with another 1ell 1he same storie_,
as the mothers of these children. Fathers of C-sccuon babies
often are better·bonded with their infants than the mother
simply because a woman who has just undergone major
surgery cannot give her full allention to her infant Siblings
bond wi1h an infant v.ith outsianding positive results as .... ell.
Many well·mcaning physicians and hospnal personnel
feel tha1 a mo1her's holding her baby for a few minuies on
!he delivery table constitutes "bonding". However, true binh
bonding means mother and baby are nm scpara1ed for hours
or even days following 1he birth. While the imponance of
binh-bonding has caugh1 the auention of many hospitals, us
~,it.er,
l 989•90
specific meaning and significance has often become sacrificed to
hospital routine. For citample, the widespread use of anaesthesia
in hospiial binh.s continues to be common practice.
My first three binhs in 1hc 60's were under Demerol
and Scopolaminc, an amnesiac. With "scope;• a mother
"forgets" the birth Cltperiencc and is too drugged to look at her
baby who is also drugged. Twenty-four hours later, I was given
my first look at my baby. I had no memory of the binh, and the
baby seemed a perfect stranger. Having missed out on sucking
during the minutes following birth, the baby seemed not to know
what to do the first times at the breast, and I invariably felt
rejected by each of my babies. I also felt inadequate as a mother.
With each baby, a kind nurse suggested trying again later and
went off to the nursery to give the baby a bottle. As a result I and
many other women often questioned our ability not only to
breastfeed a baby but to care for an infant. Later on many of us
found little satisfaction in raising our young children.
b:lby but to care for an intan1. Later on many of us found
linle satisfaction in raising our young children.
I am fonun:11e to have had another chance at childbinh
and an opponunily 10 experience birth-bonding with two
babies. With these babies or the 70's, one born in a hospital
but with no drugs, the other born at home attended by a
midwife, 1 breastfed with ease and confidence. In addition, I
never felt any alienation from my babies, never knew
post-partum depression, and experienced child rearing as a
joyous and fulfilling experience--in my 40's.
As a result of my mid-life binh experiences. I became
a labor suppon person, childbinh educator. and activist.
Undoubtedly the most important a.~pect of my las! 1wo binhs
was the binh-bonding I had with my babies. Meeting and
observing many mothers and babies over the last eigh1 years,
I am convinced 1hat bonding has a profound effcc1 on how
we parent and on how our children grov. spiritually as well
as mentally and physically.
When I first became nctive with childbinh in the RO's,
I could not help bu1 noiice that mothers who expressed joy
and who had an air of serenity about them as they dealt with
their children were mothers who had drug-free deliveries and
who were not separated from their newborn. ln 1nlking and
corresponding with moihers who had experienced binh
bonding with one child but no1 with another, I found the
same story over and over. There were many more
difficulties of every kind where there was linle or no
bonding. These babies had problems feeding, cried more,
were often unhappy as toddlers. The mothers often fell
rejected by the babies, were frequcnily depressed, and
questioned their abilities 10 mother Where there was
bonding, the opposite was true.
While no one wants a mother to experience any more
pain than is necessary, the use of anaesthesia in whatever form
is 1he factor most likely to prevent bonding. While an epidural
anaesthetic (injected between the layers of the covering of 1he
spinal cord) allows a woman 10 be awake, it canies with it
many risks that make funherintervention likely. With an
epidural, a woman mus1 lie almost motionless for a long time
which compromises the baby's oxygen supply often making a
C-section necessary. Even if she avoids surgery, she has no
control over her body from the waist down and often
experience~ headaches which further inccrfen: with the bonding
process.
Natural childbirth may seem an impossibility 10
women v. ho have been taught 10 fear the experience.
However, with preparation and loving suppon. the great
majori1y of women experience childbirth a:; an exhilarating
even! with binh·bonding the a.\pcct that has the most positive
long-term effect.
Jan \'erliaeghe lives in tlw Hendersonville, NC are.a and
provides c/Uldbirrh prepara1im1 for ho~ and hospilJl/ bin/~
XcltUM )o"-rt1.GL PIMJC
l
l
�The Magic of Puppetry
An Interview with Bonnie Blue
by Christina Morrison and Karen Watkins
Karuah: How did you become a professional
puppetee11 You said it was a gradual process?
Bonnie: J used 10 be an extremely shy,
sensitive, unself-confident person. And going
from 1here 10 an outrageous puppe1eer... you
could ask why such a change?
Kanlah: Was it the positive response to your
gift with puppetS?
Bonnie: I didn't have the confidence to see my
gif1s. ll was playing with children. And by
doing voice exercises, breath exercises, mime,
developing charac1er, realizing what my body
was doing when I was hunched over and
covering my hean. And just grokking those
things, understanding them, made me open
up. That's all. I just got to break my own
rules.
Katuah: And do all those things your puppets
were doing!
Bonnie: Yeah, through the puppets I got to do
them. And I got 10 realize how fun it was to
run around my universe smashing my rules
and "supposed to's." And then I got to see
this whole new person in here that I liked!
You know, self-likin~. It's so much fun
teaching self-liking. Kids like themselves...
they say, "I made rhis puppet and irs great!
Bonnie says it's great. I know it's grear!"
Kau1ah: Do you make your own puppets?
Bonnie: Yes. Snooge was the first puppet I
built. He's a three foot tall abominable
snowman with a 2 year-old personaJity. So he
says things like, "You! Come! Give me hug!
Oh ho, that tickle Snooge; that make me
happy!" (laughter)...That kind of lovable
fella. And the show was a take-off on
Scrooge; that's bow we got his name.
Ka!Uah: How do you manipulate them? On
strings?
Bonnie: I know ... well, I'm glad you're here.
(laughter)
Frog: You know, its a funny thing about
peoplc--thcy'll laugh al anything, won't you?
AHAHAHA!! Oh, look at that- there's a gnat!
Bonnie: No there's not ...
Frog: No wonder I've got a headache...
Frog: Right up thcre ...comc on you liule
guy...(hystcrical laughter) HUSH! You
might sea.re him away! ... bcre be comes!!
(buzzzzz·---slurp!I) 1 LOVE GNATS!!
Bonnie: And the other hand makes your ann
move, and T don't have more hands to rn:ike
your feet \lr'alk.
Katuah: Oh that's great! The kids must go
wild. I bet they can talk to him for hours and
cell him all their feelings...
Bonnie: Yeah, they do. and I.hey wanna touch
him a loL.
Frog: Get their hands in my mouth ...
Bonnie: These arc moving mouth puppets so
they·~ not on strings. I play with Mr. Frog
most often in the classroom- he's a good lap
puppet. Snooge is hard lo put on my lap, but
Frog here...
Bonnie: He does a series, Frog here. He comes
to the classroom and helps me teach. First of
alJ, l teach three forms of character. Physical
character-when they build their own puppets
they think about how we look and our
differences, like hair color, etc. The second
fonn is vocal cbaractcr-nol just talking but
sound effects:
Frog: Hi! (deep, froggy voice)
Frog: .... Nyaat...... ncooow .....secceccuurp! !
Kawah: HL Frog!
Bonnie: And the third form is movcment--how
lo move their hands when they're making it
talk. And within moving character you have
the concept of gravity. For example, you
Frog: Hello...about time I got outta my basket.
);:Q Li4an
l
''
( .
don't let a puppet float because frogs don't
float - they jump up, they come down. So we
do this and he helps me teach gravity. The'
way I do it is he begs me 10 make him walk:
and I say, "I can't, I only have one hand-one
hand's in your head, see?
Frog: Aaarrghhh!!.... But I wanna walk!
Bonnie: I'll make you hop!
Frog: I don't wanna hop. I never liked to hop.
I wanna WALK!!
Bonnie: So then he'll say, "Hey. haven't you
been teaching these kids how to use puppcts7"
And 111 say "Yeah". And he'll whisper to me
-and I love making puppelS whisper cause the
whole class is listcning·--hc'll say...
Frog: ...Maybe a couple of them could help me'
walk ...??!
Bonnie: So we do. A couple of kids come up
and each takes one of his sticks and I say.
"Now before you sum, remember we have lb
exaggerate everything with a puppet. We're
gonna lift each leg high in the air, bringing It
far forward ... "
Frog: Jllicelegs,huh?
Jomrm! pa«Je 12
I
I
1\:
Winter, t 989-9l
' f
I
1
•ll
�Bonnie: And then down just a linle in front of
the other leg... And then I get them going
really fast and Frog'll say, "Oh this is so
exciting! So exciting! I get 10 walk!" And his
legs are going everywhere and he goes
"AAAHHHHI!" and falls down! Major
crash!... And then he goes:
Frog: .... UUUUHHH ..... .AAARRRGHHH!!
....(painfully pulling his legs up) How long
have you two been walking, anyway? Don't
you know you don't pick up both feet at the
same time? That's hard on the old frog belly...
(J1ysrerica/ laughter)
Bonnie: (to us) Are you alright? h's a
wonderful way to show teachers how 10 use a
puppet to teach a concept.The kids don't even
know they're learning about gravity... they'rc
having fun.
try, even when it comes to folding a piece of
cardboard. Third graders will say, "I can't; do
mine!" And I'll say, "Silliness!, of course you
can! If r gave you a snowy hill and a piece of
cardboard you'd bring it back to me loonng
like a rag!" And then every time, no mauer
what it looks like, I'll say, "Perfect!,
wonderful!, you guys are so good!"
Katuah: Do you stage any productions in your
program?
Bonnie: No, I don't have time. First I do a
demonstration of puppet types. I bring in
shadow puppets, string puppets, rod puppets
and scenery puppets--trccs that talk. And full
size body puppets like Momma and Baby
Dragon.
Ka!Uah: And they're getting their bodies into it,
so it's not just this abstract concept.
Bonnie: According to Dr. Joseph Chilton
Pearce, who wrote The Magical Child,
children ICMn best when rhey use their bodies.
That's why they'll be banging, clicking,
rocking ... and then they're told to sit ~till! But
a lot of rcachers now are using this idea. They
say,"When r reach syllables, we drum!
Katuah: And your kids also make their own
puppets, right?
Karuah· They must love having a puppet to take
home.
Katuah: And do their kids get out of hand when
they're with you ... because they need to let
loose?
Bonnie: No, actually they don't. The thing is
that Lhcy're not very creative - they're afraid to
try. In classrooms where the teachers are
saying "very good," "good for you," "my
class is so great!"-- the kids can't wair. They
Slllrt throwing their voices right away, they're
anxious 10 explore new ground. But where
the teachers are afraid and need to have
"proper" behavior, the children arc afraid 10
Wlnter, 1989-90
Bonnie: I encourage the teachers to follow up.
And after creating and learning to use I.heir
puppet I let each one come up and do
something wilh their puppet for the class. So
they really discipline themselves and focus on
it and create an imaginary friend ... and. you
know?, its not really imaginary anymore.
Katuah: Most kids are taken out of their
imaginations and into "reality" way too soon.
And all the creative potential that's losL..
Bonnie: It's true. The imagination is a preuy
special space. C first learned this watching
mime anists. Totally blank scage and they
create imagcs...pulling ropes, falling in love,
picking a flower. And the audience secs the
flower, a yellow flower and it smells like a
daisy ....
I do a story called "The Fishes' Wishes",
where puppets are by a nver, going fishing
and there 's a troll under a bridge and all that.
And once a 3 year old came up afterward and
said, "How come your feet aren't wet after
standing in that river all that time?" So there's
a magic that goes on between audience and
performer... that realm of imagination where
you can walk without your body and be there
with other people. And it's a place of extreme
pleasure.
Katuah: It's also unportam for kjds to work
through their feelings with fantasy. Like dolls
--it's play therapy. But \\.hen they get past
second or third grade they get messages that
it's not ok to pretend. they're not supposed to
play dolls (especially boys). And puppets give
them that okay.
Bonnie: Yes. They bring in an old sock,
knick-knacks, buttons, lace, etc .. and I
provide the furl) hlllt and moving eyes.
Bonnie : Oh gosh, they love these puppets.
First they glue the fabnc mouth pieces
together, which 1s prcuy challenging, and I
take it as an opportunity to affirm them.
Number one, when you're working with
puppets you cannot fail. Anything you do 1s
brilliant, and the more you do of it, the beuer.
So they make brides, punk rockers, little
girls, a lot of dragons. Then I say, "Go home
and empty your junk drawers!" And the next
day they bring in all kinds of stuff to decorate
them. Fabric, nut shells, boule tops, yarn ...
and we lay a big pile on the table and I insist
that the children do all the choosing.
And some teachers just can't sra11d it. They'll
say, "Red and orange don't match". So I say,
"But it doesn't maucr with a puppet- the
wilder the beuerl Let's see what it looks like."
Its just the "shoulds" we all learned as
children that they're passing on ...
Kaniah: So you leave them t0 create plays on
their own.
Bonnie: 1 think kids are pretty willing to
pretend up until third or fourth grade. Mostly
sixth grade is the oldest age I work with.
People are afraid to try puppets with older
kids.
Kauiah: Why?
When I introduce Momma Dragon I
say, "One of the things we're going to study
is character- physical, moving and vocal
differences". And while I'm doing that I'm
putting her head and hands on and I say, "Has
my physical character changed, by the way?"
And they say, "Yeah!" And I spread my body
out and start breathing really deep and take a
big, slow step. By then they're backing up,
staning to squeal. Then I slowly tum around
and make her look at one of the kids who's
not backing up 100 much. And then I come
forward and swallow that child!
Katuah: Oh my Goddess! You're kidding!
Bonnie: No--the head is so big it could
encompass your whole body. And then she
stands up and says "YUMMM• " And that's
how I begin the program.
Then they stan thinking about what they want
to make, and the second day, we glue the
mouths of the hand puppctS together. Then the
third and founh days we finish the puppets
and the fifth day we do skills ... breathing,
talking, eye contact, gravny, moving. sound
effectS.
Bonnie: In America, people think puppets are
for children ... in the European countries
people know puppets are for all ages. And
puppetry is also fairly new here, whereas it's
thousands of years old in Europe and the
Orient.
I love the origin stories. I know there used to
be puppets of Jesus that opened and closed
their eyes and mouths, and most of these were
burned during inquisition times--and I
imagine so were the puppeteers! And in Java
the puppeteer has been their spiritual teacher
for cons. He goes from village to village and
sets up his scrim and docs a shadow
production for 2 or 3 nights ... and of course
they don't have lights, so they use the fire. In
India and Java they call the veil of the shadow
scrim the "veil of the worlds".
Kauiah : There arc so many ways to use
puppets that most people aren't aware of. I
taught French 10 a kindergarten using a puppet
who only spoke French. He'd tell me he was
embarasscd cause he couldn't speak English
and was afraid the kids wouldn't like him. So
immediately the children said, "tell him we'll
continued on next page
JC:ol.UM Jo14rnoC pcaqe 13
�speak in his language!" And they all wanted to
learn French so they could talk to Giuseppe.
Bonnie: How perfect. I'd really like to work in
the depths of the education system and give
teachers the tools to usc ...altcmatives. Most
are so frustrated with all the paperwork. They
say, ''I used to be able to do art work with the
kids but I don't get to have fun with them
anymore."
gone into ans. And their parents have grown
up with very little ... but through this program
they meet so many different kinds of artists. It
gives them an idea of the world other than
T. V. and their own backyard.
When I first staned "'ith Mountain Ans I was
just going to perfonn and teach abou1 puppets.
And then I gor the idea for having kids make
1he1r own puppets and so much has come out
of it--all the characters- I had no idea.
Katuah: Do you ask teachers to stay in the
room while you're there?
Karuah: Getting the kids involved ... expressing
rhemselve~. Thar's the magic of i1.
Bonnie: I like the teachers to be there and pick
up on it and help our. And I've also had
teachers inhibit the class wnh their "supposed
to's". Especially with the sound effects. That
drives teachers crazy 'cause they've spent all
year teaching the kids not to do those things.
And then I'll say,"Lct's hear your voice. let's
hear it loud!", and the kids arc going wild and
the teacher's looking at the door...(laughs)
But they've got to realize they can let it all
loose. They can take a puppet and be fun and
make the kids laugh and they won't lose
conrrol or respect, they will gain it. If they
dare to share with a child in their realm, then
they've gotten inside and can teach much more
effectively. If they'll go into the child's world
rather than criticizing the child for not being m
the institutional world ...
Bonnie: The primary value is definitely
expression--in every form. in any form--and
the accep1ance of that expression. Self
acceptance: teachers accep1ing their
self-expression, children accepting theirs.
teachers accepting children. and children
accepnng teachers.
At the end of my program when the kids
introduce their puppets 10 the class. every
once in a while I'll get a teacher who'll do it,
too, and the kids love it! They'll say."Wow!.
she made a voice for her puppet"' And I know
the teacher might feel like an idiot. especially
when she's supposed to be a standard in a
group and she's asked to do things that are
real weird and silly. So going through and
daring to feel that sillinesi. and create an
expression--daring 10 do that is. I think, the
greatest transformer. I've seen it first of all
with myself, ho11. brave I've gouen, and I've
seen it with the cluldren.
In 1his process I've taken a close look at life
and how we hold ourselves, the way we look.
our hean area. With a puppet. if the bean's
covered you know how Lllat feels • it's sad.
And with love you're throwing it out. With
anger, you cover it, tum it away. look down
the long nose. I teach those types of
expression.
Katuah: Their world ...
Bonnie: It's not even the teacher's world - it's
the 'supposed to be' world. And they were
taught 11 and they're still trying to be very
good at it. But there are lots of exceptions...
like Mrs. Thompson in Brevard. She takes her
lcids out and teaches them to plant trees and
grow seeds and mke care of animals. She
teaches respect for nature. And she docs ii on
her own.
Katuah: What's your feeling about the
Mountain Arts Program?
Karuah: You're reaching a 101 about human
relations and the self--much more than just
"puppets".
Bonnie: h's wonderful. The thing I love about
it is we're touching the really rural
communities. If it wasn't for Mtn. Ans those
kids wouldn't be gelling hands-on contact
with artists very often.They have strong
spons programs but not a lot of funding has
Bonnie: Teachers will say, "Kids that never
talk have their puppets talking!" Or, "I learned
so much about this child from his puppet and
what it's saying."
Sometimes I see children who might be abused
at home and they'll punch their puppet or the
JC.citiwh Journa! pciqe t 4
puppet 1s very aggressive and wants 10 chew
and bite. So I might say to the puppet,
"What's your name?" And the puppet says.
"None of your business". And I say, ''Well
aren't you glad to have a boy like this?" "No.
I hate him." And I say, "But he sure did a
good job making you. that I can say for sure".
And the puppet gets quieter, softer ... So I
plant a little seed of positive. It's all I get ume
to do but it could be taken so much funher.
That's why I encourage them to hug the
puppet...
Katuah: And make friends with their puppet.
Bonme: Yes. Because they're expressing to
themselves, talking 10 themselves. Another
1hing about problem children ... If you have a
class of twenty-eight kids and one or two are
hyperactive or disruptive, the teacher usually
puts them in the hall because she doesn't have
1ime to deal with them. So I know that child is
lacking love. Love really heals a battered
child. So the disruptive child I find. which
doesn't happen much 'cause with puppets
even those children arc usually pretty
engrossed ...
Karuah: They just want a little more attention
from you.
Bonnie: Exactly. And that's what I give them. I
give them what they wanr. I make them come
up front and hold my hand. I'll pat 1heir hand
or put my hand on their shoulder if they'll let
that happen. And I'll say, "you need to hold
my hand, that way if you don't hear my
message with your cars, you'll feel it from my
energy". I reach them about communication
without words. I'll use gesture and mime and
rouch because the problem children need to be
touched.
Katuah: Do you wish you had more time to
spend wnh each group?
Bonnie: Definitely. It'd be nice to teach
puppetry as a full time cumculum. If you have
a good puppet teacher you can have art and
thearre in the same school. .. and you don't
have to use only puppets. You could combine
creative writing, theatre and an .•. And you
might be doing Midsummer Nigl11's Dream so
conum:cd on p. 28
WLntcr, 1989-90
r
�by Doug Woodward and Trbh Severin
There arc many different reasons pan:nts
might want to teach their children ut home. As
parents, the two of us panscularly want to
nurture in our children the 4u.1lities of love
crcativuy. mdcpendcnr thinking, enthusiasm for
learning, a po~11ivc ..elf-1mage. and a spim or
co-opcra11on (rather than compctiuon) with
others.
As there is no altcmauvc school in Macon
County where we live, we at one point were
seriously considering moving to an arc:1 that
offered a good choice in alternative education
Then we heard mention or homeschooltng and
decided that maybe the quality education we
sought could best be provided right here at
home.
The "social problem" often mentioned in
connection with homeschooling gave us pause.
however. We were afraid that our young one>
might become isolated at home and not have
enough interaction with other children. Our
worries were needless. We found that there
were many other families involved in
homeschooling m our area, and that there were
plenty of activities planned to bring the
homeschoolers together. The more we read and
the more we interacted with other families, the
more assured we were that the "social problem"
of homeschooling was not a problem at all. As
we watched the children interactmg in small
groups, we could not help but think it was a
favorable co.1trast to the usual social experience
found in a classroom of 25 or 30.
If, like us, your family is interested in
homeschooling, you might find that you are not
as alone as you might think at first. Even in rural
Registration
The suuc of North Cnrolina requires that 11 child
be registered by age seven for public, private, or
homeschooling. For informauon on Ille requ1remcnis f0<
regis1ntlion of homcschoolcrs, wmc:
Staie of North C..olma Division or Non·Public EdllCllltOn
c/o Ron Helder, DIJ'CCtor
532 N. Wilmingion SL
Raleigh, NC 27604
(919) 733-4276
The states of Virginia and Tennessee regmcr
homcschool children through the county bonrd$ of
education. Contact your local board for mfonnalioo.
areas the homeschooling population h
significant, and chance~ are that the.re will be a
support group dose by.
Homeschooling support groups can serve
1heir member' in a number of ways. l.c:r's loClk
at the children first ·1 hough it\ true that the
parents can direct the kids toward rradit1on:d
mu~ic cla;scs, sports activities, and classes for
special skills. socializing with other
homcschoolers has benefits all its own. When
families get 1ogc1hcr, the age grouping is vertical
and scattered. not horii.ontal as is found in an
onhodox classroom. A ~ix-year--0ld might learn
1he needs of an infant. share thoughts with a
teenager, and deal with adults on a personal
level r.ither than as authority figures. Harmony,
tolerance, and cooperation are fostered.
Even wuhin the fun activities,
opportunities for learning abound. For example,
our group pressed apples this fall. Children
involved in the ga1hering, washing, chopping,
pressing, and bouling of organically grown fruit
are likely to come away with more than just the
mste of juice in their mouths!
Adult members of a support group always
have their own skills 10 share, whether they use
these skills in the course of earning a living, or
whether these are activities that they just love
doing. And do not forget the emerging skills of
the children. They, too, have something
imponant to teach the adults. if we will listen.
Family activities • planned so that bo1h
spouses can panicipate - are the heart of the
social opportunities in a support group.
Potlucks, field trips, campouts, and service
projects are but a few of these.
On the other side of the coin, mcntorship
Finding Help
for Your Homeschooling Program
Magazines
llomt EdJ<c011011 MogortM
Box 1083
Tonaske!, WA 98855
programs offer a one-on-one growing and
learning experience. Here a child can select an
adult who offers a skill m which he or she 1s
interested. The child makes the contact and
together the child and the adult work our a time
when that skill is being used and the young one
can ohscrve or participate.
Support groups also offer the parents
infoimation to help them get staned and to aid in
dealing with legal requirements. The group can
also provide curriculum help, creative ideas,
workshops, connection to state or national
homeschooling organizations. and plain old
empathy!
We greatly appreciate the nexibility and
choice involved in homeschooling. The
children's love and enthusiasm for learning has
been fostered by studying subjects in which
they are most interested and when the readiness
is there. We srudy subjects in an integrated
manner. always making it "hands on" as much
as possible. If the children become interested in
Indians, we get involved in native dance,.music,
cooking, crafts, st0ries, and more. Since we
continue to be actively involved in bicycle
touring, canoeing, and ,backpacking, we just
take the cllildren along. We can spontaneously
take off on an adventure withowt the hqsS'le of
school schedules. A family field trip is a highly
educational expcriem.:c:! •
Leaming togettier continues to be exciting
and challenging as our falJlily-continues io.make
its own path into eCluca[lpn'. No longer do we
~lk about relocating to anoiher ~a in S8anfh of
an education that fits our children's needs, for
we've found it right here ~t home.
A Bcka Book Publications
Box 18000
Pensacola. fl.. 32523
Calvcn School
IOS Tuscany Rd.
Bnllimorc. MD 21210
Oak Meadow School
Bol 712
Blacksburg, VA
24060
Gr11wing Witlwut Sclwo/111g
2869 Massnchuscus Ave.
Cambridge. MA 02140
The Sycamon: Troe
Ttaching Books and Matt rlals
CoSta Mesa. CA 92627
Rainbow Resource Center
The loc:al library is a good place to begin your
search for aYllllable homeschooling mrucrials. Some local
libraries have worked with homeschooling groups in
pun:hasing books, petiod1cals, and assisting in the
Organlu t ions
National Homeschool Assiocialion
Box58746
Seattle, WA 98138
(SOO) 486-135 I
(S<rvius: o quarterly newsle11u. teoclttng rt-'Ourct
file, homuclwol trove/ directory, tttn·IO•lttn program,
apprtnticeslups and mtntorships for homtschooltrs.
student uchan~, oN1 o 11twslt11tr digest ~rviu.)
k'lnwr, l 989-90
Box 365
Taylorville, lL 62568
2179 Meyer Place
John Holt's Book and Music Siorc
2269 Massachuseus Ave.
dcvelopma11 or vcrucal files on homc.schoolmg.
Cambridge, MA 02140
lnrorma tlonal Book1
Educational Spccuums/
JltNnlSdtool RtDtkr
Bluestocking Press
Box 1014 (Dept. AF2)
by Mad: and Helen Hegener
Ttaclt Yowr Own by John Holl
Pliurvillc. CA 95667
�-If! 1' SUI., J11,,t'J1, Sf
(If/ ye fl1•f -nt•i/e ~ ff, , -Ae"
·Ceremony
/ 6it1 rP'U -Aeor ,,,, e.t
/1t fo r~11r 11'1/t(f (
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c'"'J'"' ye, I httf /.rL
1v?Ake 1~~ pt1fh $wt"o'/I, tf,.f ii
fhe br~w 'J' ffte f 'r jf ,
1
ff! f: M~Js, CJ,"Js, ~,>t, y;,,.Jf
fJ/ f' lf,.f
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On f ye, I iyl"re,,.
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11
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ifte hnnJ "/ /(,e se<n.J hill
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Jf lls Valle~s, 1?.ivtrf, L~s,
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7fe,~, C/r4'~eJ; 1df
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/hfo 'f""4r m//{ff ~o au..~ ti '1e~ /,(~
Ohse,,f '/'' I iH>tff.,rc..
"WJii<~ ii~ /'"'It, SmooH,1 f/,o/ if Jn'!J read
-/4t br~w 1 /f,e
tJ,1 hi//
rJ
tk Omalia 1"£an prayer Urtmtm!J introtfucine a
new6orn dsi!tf to tk natural worUf.
Ofun, in cqnttmporory cultuns, tk new5orn is fo~
introtfuutl w tk fiuman cOtlflflunity and to tk tfiviru
orrftr··out not spu.ifially to tk natwTJl ul0rl4.
!Here in tliis urem.ong, tk naturof wo& is atftfresstd
rllrectly in anrwuntin9 tk arrival of tk diilrl into tk
mUfst of tk wfwfe Lift community.
'Ifijs is
Illustration by James Rhea
.t, '
==
........
Q .,,,.
��Mother Earth The Natural Classroom
Early one morning, I sat outside with my
dnughtcr reading a children's ~tory .. h "'as a
story dealing with bircb, habitat, animal
adaptations. predators, and camoullag_c. In the
middle of the story. we nouccd the 11n1est bare!
dan under the eaves of our garage. How did ii
get lhrough? It :.queaked underneath such a
small space. !low hard to believe. More careful
observation ~howed uo; there was indeed a
hidden nest. We could h.'lrcly see the bits of
l\\igs showing through. What a pcrf.:ct
accompanimem far the story we were reading.
It was one of those wonderful examples of
~ynchronici ty. One 1.hat Nature is so famous
for, if only v.c arc patient and obscrvan1
CnOUl!h .
~ If only classroom tC.'lching could h:ivc
more moments like that in science or
environmental studies. In my teaching
experience, I have noticed how attuned to nature
students become when they arc allowed. More
often than not, experiences like that arc reserved
for "field trips," and those occur too
.
infrequently. We are usually forced to bnng
natural science inside the classroom rather than
r.ake the students directly to the Eanh.
Twenty years ago, when l first read Si/enc
Spring, 1 was amazed nt how we were S?
closely intenwined to the Eanh. Why didn't we
pay nuention back when it was written?
Couldn't we have avoided many of our recent
environmental pitfalls? Now, as we enter the
L990's, having had some very harrowing
cnvironmenrol disasters, it is clear that schools
can no longer ignore the imponance of teaching
and providing hands-on experiential
cnvironmenlal programs. Leaming has to extend
beyond the boundaries of the classroom.
For the past three years, I have been
involved with the Nonh Carolina
Adopt-A-Stream Program which is part of lhe
National Save Our Streams Program. The
Strcam Program activities are primarily
bands-on, very environmentally conscious
lessons. Since our school is a five-minute walk
from a stream, we are able to rcgulnrly take
advantage of the opportunity to visit the stream.
The children considered the activities
wonhwhile and fun - and could see that they
were making a difference. The program
integrated well into our second and third grade
cwriculum by including science, social studies,
languuage ans. creativity, and problem-solving
skills.
In order to allow children to realize what a
unique and precious place our Eanh is and to
understand their participation in it, we need to
step outside of our classrooms. Mother Eanh
can teach us about our home, but we need to
make provisions for being th.ere in direct contact
with her. Students need to be outdoors ·
observing, listening, sensing - when Mother
Eanh shares her synchronistic lessons with us.
Second grade .mlllem Quinn \Vardin andpre-kindergarrner Anna Srein cleaning a srream ne.ar rhe_r
1
scltool on Clean Streams Day, 1988.
Photo by Tun Reid
Biodegradable Diapers:
Not What They Say They Are!
It sounds like a dream come true disposable diapers that are environmentally ~fe.
"Degradable is a wann and fuzzy word, hke
organic and natural," said R.A. Denison, a
senior scientist at the Environmental Defcnst:
Fund.
Unfonunately, "These plasucs are being
sold as a way to reduce waste and that is a
hoax," says Jeanne Wirka of the Environmental
Action
Foundation.
A truly degradable material breaks down
into basic constituents like water and carbon
dioxide through natural pr~esses. The n~w
diapers do indeed break down 1mo...smaller b11s
of plastic. But in the dry, oxygen·~tarved
environment of modem landfills, they might not
break down much at all.
"Li11lc is known about what happens
during and after the degradation process to
chemical additives, toxic heavy metals. and
other plastic ingredients," said Ann Beaudry in
an anicle in Motlutring Magazine. And "even the
eventual breakdown inr.o small pieces of plastic
offers no solution to the landfill capacity crises
because the breakdown of throwaway diapers,
disposable or biodegradable, take up just as
much room in the landfill as the original."
Large amounts of human waste arc also
- Susan Schneider Gries~!# deposited in the landfills possibily b!'Ceding
virulent strains of pathogens such as poho virus
fr'
Suggested Rtadint:
which may find 1.heir wny to underground water
SltariJtg Nt111Ut with Children by Joseph Bh3tat Cornell
sources. Toxic chemicals also follow the snme
Keepers oftlu! Earth by M. Caduto
route to the water sources.
Streamwalkingfor Kids by Gwen D1ehn and Susan
There has been a large eco-marketing
Gricsmaict (NC Stn:am Watch Program, 1988)
campaign for single-use "biodegradable diapers"
C!IMtcling people ONl nlJIJVt, Lesson plans. (Great
targeted at natural food stores and environmental
Smoley Mll\S. !nstirute at Tremont, Gre:u Smoky
catalogs, aimed at reaching environmentally
MlnS. National Park. Townsend, 1N 37882)
conscious parents.
Xl••Unh 7ournnt PIUJ'- 111
For four and a half years our family has
"recycled" cloth diapers in the wnshing machine.
You can use 1.hem from one child to the next,
tum them into rags when they're worn out, and
let them truly biodegrade when they're no longer
usable.
Of course cotton production often uses
pesticides, but there is little comparison betw~n
that and the daily disposal of 5 to 15 plasuc yes, PLASTIC! · diapers.
Most kids are in diapers for 2-3 years.
The cost comparison is nbout $84 per month for
disposables, $26 per month for clor.h through a
diaper service, or a one time cost of about $50
for a few dozen cloth diapers if you buy and
wash your own.
"Each family that chooses natura l,
recyclable conon diapers for their child prevents
I ton of waste from entering the solid waste
stream each year," wrote Benudry.
I hope this makes you reconsider whether
f
you want to buy into this fal~e dream o_ the
disposable diapers or the reality of creaung a
healthy environment . Let's stop trying to take
the easy way out.
For more resources and infonnarion on
how and why to use cloth diapers, feel free to
call me at the Traditional Binh and .Natural
Family Health Colleccive; 36 l Sterling St.;
Atlanta GA 30302 (404) 880-9172.
'
- Aviva Jill Romm
"Doubts are Voices on Dcgracbblc Ptasuc: W3SJ.c." NY
Tim(S, 10/25~9
"B1odcgr11dablc Diapers: A Pseudo Soluuon." Ann E.
Beaudry. Molhtring Magam1t, Fall. 1989
•
"The Ethics or Diapering," R.W. Hollis, Motltering
MaglWM. Fall, 1989
~
Wi.nt..er , 1989- 90
�RESOURCES
Tips for
Gardening with Children
Parenting
from Tom You11gblood-Pe1erse11
.\lo1huU1J: \lag;vmc
P.O. Bo~ lo'IO; Santc Fe. NM 87'>0-l
Start i.mall - a 6' x 10' garden can be a perfect ·
size for a liule one.
N11n1inng Tf>d.1~
187 Cao;clh Ave.: San Fmnc1S1:0, C,\ Q-l 11-l
Have fun! I put this toward the top of the list
because remember, beauty b in the c:yc of the
beholdl.'r. This means no garden is perfect, and
it's as much the proceH as ii is the results, for
children.
Education
/'h(' C)t 11/The Chtld., Rulh \fueller
(!'le" Soc1c1y Publishers)
The best garden layout is narrow beds - no more
lhan three feet wide so the children can work
from the edges - and wide paths that can fit two
willing and eager workers.
Ch1ldhodd- l lu. l\'aldorf Pc·r.1{1('Cli>-c, by ~ancy Aldri.h
R1. ::?. Bo~ :!675; We>.iford, VT 05-19-l
Grc:en J~ic/Jcr
c/o Tim Grant: 95 Robcn Succt; Toronto, Onwrio
M5S 2K5, Canuda
What to plam? Whatever the children like toe.at
and nibble. lf that list 1s shon, you can
supplcmem wtth vegetables and flowers 1ha1 are
especially fun to grow. Like cherry tomatoes,
sunflowers, ever-bearing srrawbcrries and
nastuniums. All of 1hese can be nibbled
fresh ..... tmmedia1e gratification is one of the
easiest ways to keep children interested in the
garden.
National Dirtctory of Alttrnative SchocfJ, National
Coahuon of Al1crnauve Community Schooh
R.D. I. Bo~ 378: Glcnmoorc. Pa. 193-l 3
1lorne ~1wn Magaw11:
P.O.Box IOIB: Tona.tj{e\, WA 98855
\1t:rlyn s Pt!n
P.0.Box 1058: Ea~t Greenwich, RI 02818
Skipping Stones
80574 H:11.c1ton Road: Coungc Grove. OR 97424
Our Fwur<' al Stake: A lunugtr's Gwck 10 Stopping the
Nuclear Arntf Rare, Melinda Moore & Laurie
Ol'i<:n, ti tJ/ , (New Soe1e1y Puhfohcrs)
l.111/e Fritnds for Pt!aa
4405 29th Street; Ml. R.1n1cr, MD 20712
Kid'IArt Nt!WS
P.O.Box 27-l: Mt.Sh:lsm CA 96067
Nauonal Home School Assocwuon
P.O.Box 167; Rodeo, NM 88056
American Montcsson Sococty
ISO Sib Ave.: New York, NY 10011
Waldorf lnstilutc
260 Hungry Hollow Road
Spring Valley, NY 109n
Stop War Toys Campaign
C/o Wur Re''-'lCrs' Lcaguc - NE
Box 1093: Norv.•11:h. CT 06360
Who's Calling tilt Sho1.1: /lo" to Re~nd £f/wn·tly 10
Children's Fascina11on Kllh Illar Play and War toys
by N311ey Crls.<oon-Pa1ge and Diane Levin
(New Society Publishers)
Stopping Abuse
Nallonal Child Abuse HOl Linc, l-800-4AC-HILD
National Association for I.he
Educ111ion or Young Children
1834 Connccticul Ave. NW
Wa~ing1on, D.C. 20009
Children's Defense Fund
122 C St NW; Wa.'>hingion. DC 20001
The Nalionnl Association for Mediation 1n Educauon
425 Amity St.; Amhcrs1, MA 01002
Child Welfare League of Amcnca
440 First SL NW (Suue J 10)
Washington. DC 20001
Nnlional Coaliuon or Altcrnouvc Community Schoch
58 Schoolhouse Rd.: Summertown, Tn. 38483
End Violence Agamst lhe Next Gcncruuon, Inc.
977 Kcclc1 Ave.; Berkeley. CA 94708
Changing Schools
Teacher; College 918
Ball Struc l.inivcrsity
Mu11cie, IN 47306
ramily Violence Research Program
Family Rc=h UiboralOry
Univcr~11y of New Hampshire
Durham, NH 03824-3586
Peace and No n-viole11ce
An OutbrC'alc of fi:aci:. Sarah P1nlc.
A "fanual on Nonv1oltnci: and Childrtn.
compiled ancJ edited by SitphanicJudson
(New Society Publishers)
,,li..n t.er, 1989-90
Kidsrights
3700 Progi:c~ Blvd.: Mount Dora. FL 32757
N3UOnal Chtld's RighlS Alliance
P.O.Box 17005; Durham, NC 2no5
National Commiu.ce for the Prevention or Child Abuse
332 S. Michigan Ave.; Chicago, 0. 6060
Get real 1ools. (small ones), not toys for your
children. No matter how young, don'1 waste
your money on flimsy plastic 100ls in toy stores.
Purchase smaller-sized good quali1y tools for
$4-$5.00 from hardware or garden shops.
Have the children wear old clothes and shoes.
I telp the child clean and put away all tools when
finished.
Again, HAVE FUN!
Tom Youngblood-Perersen ls director of
the MAGIC Commu11iry Garden programs in
A!iheville. NC. fie and his wife Berh eat
11aswriw11 buds in their own garden with their
five year-old so11, Evan, and plan to imroduce
the1r newbofll. Campbell, w rhe fun of it, as
well
Childre11's Media
Four Arguments for tht Elimination of Television
by Jerry Mander
Action fat Children's Television
20 Unh·ersity Rd.; Cambridge, MA 02138
Council on lnitrracilll Books for Childn:n
1841 Bro:idway; New York, NY 10023
Lollipop 'PoWCJ Press
30S £.Chapel Hill St.; Durllam. NC 2no1
Much of I.he information for these resoiuces came from:
lloliftic Educa1ion Rt!'oli<"W,
P.O.Box 1476; Greenfield, MA 01302
'Ifuml;s to X/n.!JO'l 'Xlfl9for fufp in cmnpili119 tfiis
resourus listintJ.
/
X4ti4ah ) o'4rnat palJtl 19
�HOSTAGEPANTHERTOWN
FREED
ACTION FOR BEARS BRINGS
RESULTS
Nlllrll World News Savice
Nlllrll Worid News Service
With the aid of the Nature Conservancy and
national politicians, negotialions for a major hostage
release wcre compleled Monday, No~cmber 27 when
6.295 acres of the Panlhcnown Valley in the headwaters
of lhe Tuclcascgcc River WllletShcd were tnWfcrrcd IO the
US Forest Scrvke.
The valley has been the sub.)CCt of controversy
since 1988 when Duke Power Company bought Ille l.r1ICt
as part ol ilS land acquisition program for a high-voltage
11811Smission line IO go lhrough the hcan of Transylvania
and Jackson counties In North Carolina. Much
opposition IO the pawer line cenicrcd lllOWld lhc idea of
"Save Panlhcnown Valley."
Oulte bought the propeny suddenly in 1988.
Ownership of the whole property was a powerful
negotiation IOOI 10 help Duke secure 11S preferred route
for the power line. Once the route was established.
selling the propcsty to the Nature Conservancy was easy
for the ginnl energy corporauon, as 11 only required an
800 acre comer of the land for the tmnsm ission line
right-of-way. The sale softened some opposition 10 the
power line, which 11"ill cause ml1JOT habi1a1 disruption
along its route and spur damaging development in its
service area, nnd gave Duke ihe appearance of being
syrnpnthetic IO cnvironmcnial issues.
However, Panlhcnown is a unique and scenic area
and home IO several rare plant species. IL~ future appcnrs
10 be much more secure. The Forest Service will
temporarily manage the land under a 4-C land
management classification, which restricts use 10
non-motonzod recrcauon and favOlli black bear habil31,
and promised IO preserve its 'ICCnic beauty and unique
geological and biological features. The publrc attention
the valley has received will most likely be a strong
guarantee for lhn1 promise.
A demonstration on behalf of black beats cag
on the Cherokee lndioo Reservation for tourist auraction
bas apparently brought results. The September
demonst.ration, led by PETA (People for the Ethic
Treatment of Animals) and allCnded by 100 maJChers
including many Crom the rcserva1ion, wallccd from
Oconoluf1ce Visitors' Center 1n the Great Smok
Mountains National Park to the infamous Saunooke'
Bear Land, cited as providing some of the wors
conditions for animals among CAhibits tn this country.
Chief Ed Taylor mcl the group and told them no
ID meddle with internal affairs on the reservnlioo and
go home. The response to this was a chorus of shou IS
"We are home!" from many of the dcmonsi.nuors wh
were residents of the reservation. The Chief then told lh
group ihat Indians were tired of outsiders telling the
what lO do, app:ircruly forgetting lhal. the exhibit owners
on whose behalf he was speaking were all while pcopl
who hnd leased space on the rcscrvntion IO cash in on lhe
summer tourist now. Muuenng, Taylor then got into hi
car and retired from lhc scc.ne.
But Taylor was affected by the dcmon~tration.
The following month he brought a resolution into th
Tribal Council thnt wou Id hnve required that bears
kept in "natural habitat areas" on penalty of SI ,000 fo
''iolallon. The Council. however, replaced this rcsolu tio
with one that said the caging o( bears 1s "presenting
problem• and nuthorized the Council 10 invcs1ig:ue th
pol>~ibility of the habitat area.
BENTON MacKA YE TRAIL
After nine years 3 dedicated group of volunteers
has comptcu:d a 78.5 mile hiking trail from Springer
Mountain, Georgia Lo the COhuua Wilderness Arca on
the Tcnncs.'iCC "lllle hnc.
The hiking p:ith is called the Benton MacKaye
Trail after ihe founder of the Appalachum Trail system.
Pans of the trail follow an early fll3n for the Aflll3l3chian
Trail. which was later ch311ged IO ilS prcscn1 route.
The remarkable aspect of the Benton MacKaye
Troll is that it was constructed entirely by voluntcc~.
who have worlccd steadily over a nine-year period to
complete the uaJI through the Goorgia mounuuns. Much
work still needs Lo be done 10 bring the path 10 11s
proposed termination po101 in the Great Smoky
Mountains National Park, but trail votun1cers were
jubilant to have completed lhc first ~uge of the route.
Officials of the Southern Region of the US
Forest Service agreed early rn the llllil's hisiory Ihm they
would back the propo:;ed route if the Georglll segment
were completed.
A Tennc.'iSCC chapter of the trail volunlecrli has
been formed IO extend ihc trail nonhwan:t through the
Unicoi MounUlill.\ IO reach the Smokies.
• scurce: article by John llarmon (n 1hr Atlanta
Journal-Constitution, October 14. 1989.
FOREST PLAN REMANDED
Narlnl World News Service
The Chief of the US Forest Service, Date
Robenson, on September 28, 1989 sent back the
bclcllgucrcd Land and Resource f\.lanngemem Plan for the
Nantahala-Pisgah National Forests, saying in panicular
Ihm the plan places too much emphasis oo clC31CuWng
as the method of choice for lumbenng and 3Jso allows
projected umber sates that would fail 10 recover their
CO~ts.
While not spcc1ficnlly outlawing clcarcutting or
any limits on its use. Robcn.o;on dircctcd the N-P
National Forest staffs 10 research altcmauvcs w the
clcarcutting technique and to be more nex1b!e m their
thoi~ of logging methods. His denial Ytllidatcd yc:ITS of
work by conscrvation groups, parucul:irly the Western
North Carolina Allianc~. to convince the Forest Service
to stop 1ts smgle-minded reliance on the clcarcuumg
ux:hnique.
The Chiefs directive also said the rorcst rtan did
not adequately JUstify proposed timber sales Lha1 would
have resulted in the loss of additional tax money IO
subsidi1.e clcarcuts in the Southern Appalachians. In
1987 the Nantahala·Pisgah National Forests lost a total
of S2.5 million in bclow-<:ost limber sales. (l1lc For~l
Service accounung procedure was changed in 1988 lO
make it more d1fficull 10 dctcnmnc the economic swtus
of timber SJlcs 1n indl\·1duat rorc.sts. hut 11 Is csumated
that tosses held steady or rose slightly in that year.) A
rccelll study author11cd by the Forest Service, Tiie
Southern Appalachian Timber Study. documented a
decade-long price drop in hardwood lumber in the
Southern Appalachians. Robcnson's memo duected the
Nauonnl Forests ndm11ustrauve siaffs to incorporate these
more recent figures m their review of timber ~les
policies and umber qUOlaS.
Chief Robertson's remand order showed most
clearly the political nature of the US Forest Service. for
the issues of clcarcutung and below~t salcs that he
dealt with in his administrative order were drawing much
negauve publicity IO the agency. However, the Chief,
white urging caution in the construction of fore.~ roads,
did noc suggest any specific changes in road pohc1e.s in
the N3ntahala-Pisgah Na11onal Forc.,ts. Alw, white he
called for specific plans 10 provide hab11111 for 12
threatened and cnd:lngercd ~pccics, he did not cnll for a
forests-wide roadlcss areas survey IO determine the noed
for wildcmcss areas and undisturbed habnat. as called ror
m particular by the rcgion:ll office of ihe Wilderness
Society. Thc.sc 1s~~ arc as 1mponan1 as lhc clcarcumng
issue. but 11 ~med th31 ihcy were neglected m ihe
Chiefs repon because they had not aroused a vociferous
public outcry ag111ns1 the For~t Service as h3d the umber
policies.
The message is clear; 10 bring chnnge to the
nauonal forests, stir 11 up.
~uing
II
WE BRING GOOEY THINGS
TOLIFE II
Narunl World Ne"'• Service
South of Hendersonville Nonh Carolina, in th
below the East Flat Rock comm unit
where some I 50 peorle draw their drinking water
concentration~ of a canccr·causing mduslnal solvcn
exceed the siatc stnndard by at least 3.500 times
The General Electric lrghting fixtW'Cl> productio
plant in lfcndcr,on County has ~ixu:cn undergroun
Storage t.anks, two waste water trcaunent ponds, and
sludge 1mpoundmcn1 on land owned by the plant. Tw
landfills. a recently reported le:tlcing drain pipe, and
1983 chemical spill arc all contribuung factors to lh
!isling of this s11c by the Nonh Carolina Clean Wate
Fund as one of the 22 WOrsl groundwntcr contaminatio
site.~ in Nonh Carolina.
The Fund has also C!\llmaled ihat 35,000 peopt
in lhe stale arc drinking water w11h some degree 0
contamination. Nonh Carolina has the c;ccond highcs
number of household wells in the United States
(822,000) as there is a ready supply of gruund water
SOlllil of which is working 115 way to the sea from lh~
mountains of the Katuah region. It appears iha1 we Ill'
playmg a dcm11I game of "chemical do-or-dare" wnh
untamtcd war.er, esscnunl to our health and lhnt of lhc
groundwntc~
b~hcre.
A~ one of the "toxic 22" shes of sever
contamination in Nonh Carohnn, General Elcctri
contmucs to release poisons inio the underground wnters
which participate in lhe cyd1c now of water through Lhc
E:uth. It tna)· seem like these chemical ·sotu11ons' are
gone from 'sne', yet when they rc.•wface will G.E. really
be bnnging good things 10 life?
. To register comments concerning G.E.'s
you can ca.II the G.E. coMumer products
IOll·frcc number 1-800-626-2000.
praeucc~.
�PICKENS DISTRICT
FOREST WATCH
Nanni World News 5cr'1ice
WHAT'S H.A.A.P.-ENING??
Narural World News
ELA (Ecological Living Ahemativcs), a broad·
based eco-forum rccenlly ronned in East Tcnncs.'ICC, is
addressing some local problems lhal threaten the Holston
River 00..tjn and area rcsidcncs' heallh. One of the group·~
firs1 ac1ions was an 1nformnuonal demonslra1ion to
promoic press coverage of an upcoming pubhc bearing
concerning a permit rc-issunl for the was1e-wa1er
1tCalmen1 facility or 1he Hols1on Army Ammuniuoo
Plani (H.A.A.P.). located in Hawkins and Sullivan
counties. The plan1. managed by Easunan Kodak,
manufactures RDX, Composiqon B, HMX, HMX·TNT,
RDX-Plaslicv.cr and other spe(:1fteally ordered exple>sive
compounds used m the U.S. and sold on the in1cmational
weapons markc1. The action consis1ed or 15 ELA
members cxh1b111ng signs reading "National Dcfen~ al
Whose Expcn~?" and "Don'1 You Wish You Could Ea1
The Fish?" as well as posters promoung the lime and
d:llc or Ille publt<: hearing. Mcmbcts handed OUl lcallclS
to employees ond mo1ori~1S pa~smg through I.he busy
faciory inu:rsccuon.
!\.lost hearings m Ille o.rca receive small aucnd:ulCe
and liU!e or no public eommenL However. the heanng.
held Nov. 30. auracicd approx1ma1ely 30 people,
indicating the success of the group's action. Al the
beanng, comments were scheduled 10 be limi1cd to
subject maucr rclevan1 lO NPDES Permit #TN0003671
only, relating specifically to water polluuon control
guidelines. Activ1s1S speaking, though, insisted on
citing several problems at the plant which contribuLC 10
water pollution. even though they were not included 1n
the pcnniL
Among these problems is a huardous waste
landfill at the plant that has recently been re1llrflCd to
service. ft is feared that leaching from this area. as well
as other runoff from the 5800 acre plant, could cause
additional accumulauons of 1oxins in the river. Among
the elcmenis seeping from the munilion~ plant are vinyl
chloride, chromium, cyanide and nickel. Some IOxins Ind
heavy metals occur m the daily discharge crtlucn1 in
amounts grca1er than one pound per day; some occur in
ci1cess of 10 and 15 pounds per day. All discharge goes
inlO the HolslOn River which must absorb other wastes
as well. Eastman Kodak's PET plastic factory lie.:; just a
rew miles upstream. On Nov. 15 Easunan cxpcnenced a
"typical" spill loosing 36,000 pound., or acetic acid in10
the Holston. These accumulations, as well as ogncuhural
run-off, together contaminate the river which is the
source or lite Ci1y of Morrisiown's drinking waLCr
supply.
1f you would hke IO register comments on Ibis
and other problems concerning water pollu11on in
Tennessee, wri1e to: TN Dept. or Heallh and
Environment (Div. or Water Pollution Conttol); 150 9th
Ave. North: Nashville, TN 37219, or call (615)
741-7883.
If you would like IO know more about ELA and
upcoming activiues, write to: ELA; P.O. Box 851;
Jonesborough, 1N 37659.
k'i.nur, 1989-90
1
1l
'.'
While the "Up State" may be viewed as ju~t a
smllll comer or South Carolina. it holds a promineni
place along 1he cas1.em cscnrpment of the Soulhcm
Appl3chain Mountain Range. It is 31so home 10 a
growing number or bioreg1onal folks actively involved'"
the "public input" process of the Sumter National
Forest's Andrew Pickens Dislnct.
South Carolina Forest Wa1ch is presently
appealing two comparunen1 plans in the Chauga River
watershed. 1xlscd on the lack of a prcharvcst "hydrologic
survey•. which would have addressed the prot.cCtion or
two brook trout sucams and the conversion or the forest
IO a pine plantation. Additionally. the planned umber cut
was based on a study conducted in the piedmont and not
on steep mountain slopes.
"Those who arc only good with hammers sec
every problem as a ruul." Quoting Abraham Maslow.
Forest Wruch ttca..~urcr Richard Cam eqilamed that the
1985 Long Range Pinn for the district reveals a narrow·
minded approach to muluplc use. "The Plan relics
heavily on the conversion or milled hardwood and pine
forests to pllllltations or hybrid pines plan1ed on ten by
ten foot spacm~ Wildlife received very llUle auenuoo .•
"In order 1ha1 we might co1ribu1e to the
re-educa11ng of the Fores1 SCfVicc, we've done a 101 or
Sllldy on our own. Aside lrom our meetings with the
USFS and private timber interests. our bimonthly
mce1ings host a variety or speakers and lcanung
experiences. We also manage 10 gel out and cruise
management companrnenL~ in the Picltcns Oistr1c1."
For more information on the South Carolina
Forest Watch, wntc:
P. 0. Box 657
we.,tmmstcr, South Carolina 29693
CLEARCUTTING
HAS ABAD DAY
Natural World News S..,.jc.,
Research findings reported at a US Forest
Service-sponsored work.shop in September di.o;putcd the
notion that clcarc:utling provides crucial forage for cen.ain
species of wildlife. The audience at the "Wildlife
Considerations in lmplemcnung the Land and ReSOUtce
Managemcn1 Plan" mccung was addlCsscd by =hers
from various soulhcastcm universities.
Recent work Bl the Univen1ty or Georgia has
shown that deer appear IO be very adaptable 10 a wide
variety or forest types. Contrary to popular belief, deer
depend less on the type of browse found in clcarculS than
they do on a variety of hard mast (acorns and nuts)
provided l'y mature forests. Turkey research 11 Clemson
h:l.s also revealed tha.l 1urkeys make liulc use or clcarcuts,
needing a variety or hard and soft mast.
Similarly, Univcrsi1y of Tenncsscc reseateh ha~
shown that bears make very ligh1 and seasonal use of
forage in clcan:uts. depending more heavily on a good
selection or hard mast. Furthermore. the roads as.<;0eiBICd
with logging have proven IO have a severe impact on
bear populatlon.s. Bears have been found to use rough
woods roads and skid lnlib as they LrBvel in scarth or
forage, but they avoid ~ystcm roads, whether open or
closed to vehicle traffic. Thus, roads affect bear
populations by effectively reducing Ille size of their
range. as well as by providing easier access for hunLCr.>
and poachers.
Representatives from the NC Wildlife
Commission also spoke and indicated their concern
nbouc the effect of the Forest Servicc·s !'03d·building and
harvc.qing practices on wildlife population<.
THE CASE OF THE
DISAPPEARING TRJTIUM
Natural World News SetVice
The US Dcparuncnt of Energy (DOE) has again
suspended 311 commcrciai ~hipmcnts of 1ritium. the
radioacti"e ~ used in nuclear wlll1lc::lds, after significant
quantities of it turned up missing. Tritium is used in
biological and energy research and in making luminous
lights, signs. dials and w:u.ches as weU es being used to
increase the power or nuclear warllcads.
The halt in tritium shipments was 111nounccd in
July or 1989 after an inconclusive search for: five grams
or the element that laboraiory records said had been
shipped to commercial customers. bu1 which buyers said
had never arrived. ln August. the DOE said it would
resume mosi shipmcnis after bilS or the missing malerial
were found. The dcpartmcnt discounlcd the likclihood or
theft at that time. Only a few special shipmenis have
been made since then.
An in1emal lab rcpon said d~pancies in the
shipping records d:lted at least IO 1985. In some cases.
customers reportC<I they h3d received 40 percent ~
tritium lhan they had paid for.
A copy or the confidential July 20 report and
rclalcd Oak Ridge documcnis were obtained through a
legally enforceable request under the Freedom of
Information Act. lnvesLigators for Martin Marien.a Energy Systems, wtuch nms opcr311on:; at the Oalt Ridge
nuclear complex, said in the report that a significan1
amount of 1r11ium had been losL m a lest shipment
bc1 ween buildings. It appeared lhat Ille I~~ amounted to
abou1 two grams. approxima1ely half thc amoun1 used in
a smglc aiomic warhead.
According 10 the conliden1ial rcpon, workers
loaded the Lriuum into a container, which was sent to
another bu1ldmg. There pan of the contents of the
coniamer was unloaded for sampling, then repacked and
scn1 back 10 11.s ong1nal locauon. Thrcc-qW111CrS of the
tritium was lost in that round trip. Leakage and
procedural jXUblcms wcte ruled OUL
Reprcscniative Edward J. Markey (0) or
M3ss3chusctts swd, "You have IO \l/Olldct what kind of
Keystone KOJl!I operntion the Dcpanment or Energy ha!.
down at O:ik Ridge. when they lose more than 22,000
cunes or tntium in a I.Cl;! designed IO find out why DOE
keeps on losing l.nlClt or tritium."
DON'T CROSS
DA GREAT PUMPKIN
Nuunl WorldNcwsSavlcc
The WCSICnl North Carolina Alliance undcrsoc:ml
lhe gTOUp's opposjuon to wide.~ead clcarcu1ting in the
na1ional forests by staging a Halloween day
dcmonsLretion in front or the US Forest Service
headquaners m Asheville. The action specifically
protested a proposed clearcut near thc popular Craggy
Gardens area on thc Blue Ridge Parkway. The clcen:ut
would be in full view or tourisis at the visitor cerucr.
"Even the Great Pumpkin says, 'Don"1 cu1
Craggy.'" rc3d a sign held by young David Gilmour of
the group. The Alliance noted that lhis panicular cut.
which would be 12 acres in $tlC and less than a mile
away from the visitor center, is especially mappropriatc.
(Other acuvists were of the opinion. however, that the
Forest Service should be required 10 do oil their
clearcutting within sight of major IOW'i.\t auractions.)
As a result or the aucntion the Craggy clearcut
has received, the Forest Service is re-evaluating the
!ituauon. lrutcad of allowing the ll'BCt IO be clearcut, the
agency may n:quuc selective culling. which would lca.-e
~ or the trccs standing • or 11 may spare the enure 12
11CrtS. The decision is yet 10 be announced.
JC.at~
, l
Jo\&rnaL p1i9t1 21
...
'
�Natural World News
SPE C IAL REPOR T
ALARKA CREEK
CONTROVERSY
by David Wheeler
The headwaters of Alarka Creek rise high on the
Cowee Ridge, where !he North Carolina counllc.~ or
Swain, Jackson, and Macon comer. The creek\ origins
are on !he Alarka Laurel properly, l1lOtC than 2,000 :icre.~
of IJlnt.I which includes 35 :icre.~ of a unique red
spruce-bog association. The creek runs lhrough 2,000
acres or watershed uninhabited by human bemgs, along
!he way wmbting over the Alarka Falls. once a place for
fasting and p111ying held sacred by lhc native Chcrokcc
people. Until 11 reaches the Alarb Community in Swam
County. lhe wate.rs of lhc croelc are clear and support a
nallll'lllly-reproducing populntion or brook IJ'Oul
However, Alarka Creek is in clanger. The Alarlc.:J
LaW'Cl propcny, owned as an invcStmcnt by a panner.;hip
or land speculators, has been on the market for years.
Only now is a developer showing <iome interest in the
acreage. The identity of the developer is a catefully-kcpl
~ret. but it is known lh:lt plans for the Almb Laurel
propcny include a golf course and a luxury resort.
At the request of William Mcl.amey, an aqu:ttic
biologist living in Macoo County, biologists from the
NC Dcpruuneru of Envuoruncntal Management {DEM)
visited Al:uka Crcd: and ~led the wnu:r.;. Biological and
chemical tcsL:i confirmed that lhe wntershcd met the
stringent standards for qualirica1ion as a state
"OulSlanding Resource Water• (ORW). Streams 11ut
11\CCI ORV/ standards arc lamentably very few. and.
clearly, Alarka Crock is an lllca worlhy of protection.
But omcu1J efforts 10 preserve Alarka Creek have
run Into an ob!<lllCle. There is still resentment in Swain
County towards the insensitive acuons or big
government, which m the mid-1940\ condemned !;ind in
Swain, OSl.CllSibly for the citpans1on of !he Great Smoky
Mountains Nauonal Part, but which in ac1U3!11y lumcd
OUI IO be largely for lhe bencn1 of lhc Tcnnc.'--« Valley
Authority for lhc creation of Fontana Lake.
The focus for 1hc ire of 1his generation of Swam
County citi7.cns is a promise made by the govemmcm i.ll
the time of the land acquis1tOl1$ for a road that would p;is~
on the north side of 1hc lake. now within lhc Park
boundaries. That promi~ was never fulfilled, althoogh
lhc infamous North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms ha,
blocked a bill lhal would have finanC13lly compcnsalcd
the cow11y.
The uprc_o;s1on for 1h1s anger 1s a group called
"Citizens Against Wildemc.~~: which ha.~ a siorcrrom
office in Bryson Ci1y. lhc Swam county _,eat. The group
owes 1l1 existence and probably much of 1L~ crroc11vcncss
to the slrollg wppon of Senator Helms Alway' on the
lookout ror a political situation IO man1pulau: 10 has own
advantage. Helms took the "Ci111.cn~ Against Waldcmc.s"
under his ••mg and has fanned 1hc fires of their
rcscntmcnL The group's baule-<:ry 1s; "We are ltvmg
poorly because 85% of our county 1s under federal
control."
Abrka Creek lw been caughl rn the whirlwind
This ,.."a$ clc;arly revealed when a reprcscmauvc from the
Trust for Pubhc Land journeyed up tO lhe mountains to
look at the an:a at William Mcl..amcy's !QQUCSL
"He thought he was coming up to look at <1 pn:Uy
creek with a waterfall," said Mclarney. "Bui when he
51,.. the area. he said. ilus )!)ould be a national priority
fo •ur organi1.ation!' When he communicated h1~
lin1' "I'' IO the nntional office. they agreed w1lh hi$
II.\
<r.lcnt and gave cooseru 10 the project Bui to make
a lnJnsfcr, they needed sponsorship from some
appropriau: n:itional political figure. such as a senator or
a congressional reprcscn1J11Jve but none was to be found.
The reason: Jesse Helms. So efforts by the Trust for
Public Land to help A!arlca Creek have been stalled:
The Alarb Creek issue came to a head when lhe
DEM held a public hearing on lhe ORW classification 111
the Bryson City courthouse on the evening or November
2. 1989. The district couruoom was p3Ckod. Over 250
people aucndcd the hearing, mos1 of 1hem on short
notice, because the public announccmcn1 or the mceung
h:id nol been published in the county newspaper until the
week before the hearing dale. Mosl of lhe speakers
present were from Swam County, and m~l expressed
strong opposition to an ORW classilicauon for Alnrka
Creek. Regnrdless of the ickology behind 11. local power
is a fonnidablc force and noc to be underestimated.
The proposed development on Cowee Ridge
seemed to be synonymous with economic pro~rity m
lhe mind.~ or most or those who spoke agams1 the ORW
classific:iuon. Several dccned the opinions of "oul'idc~·
from ncighbonng M:lcon and Jackson counties when they
spoke in support or prou:cuon for Alarka. "You're JUst
saying that because !'.iacon alre.ady ha.' six malls." called
a woman from !he audience at one poim.
"!l's very ironic." eommcnlCd William Mct..amcy.
"They were calling people who laved 20 miles away
'outsiders.' while a California developer who ha..,n't even
revealed his name 11nd was rcprescnicd only by 1wo
Georgi.i lawyClS is considered one of lhcir own.
"PCISOllally. I would l\OI favor any ~lution to the
ultimaic fate of the Big Laurel lh:11 would lock Swain
County people out. and a big development would do lh;al
more effoctivcly than nnything else anyone could do. The
kind or people who would frequent that place don't want
locals around Swain County rcsidcnis couldn't afford to
buy a membership. and even If they were w gc1 m !here,
they wouldn'l find whnt they were lookmg for . 1 don't
think any or lhc.<;c people play golf.
"There would be short·lerm jobs building lhe
resort complex and a few permanent JObs taking care or
!he buildings and lhe grounds. Bul by all acounLs 1he
m3m access rood is more than likely going LO go down
!he Macon County side of the mounuun. Until 1t reaches
the Alarka Community. the road into Swnin Cou.nly is
cxuaort.11nari!y ~lcep. A four-wheel drive vehicle can
make ll prcuy casily...whcn lhc roat.l's dry . However, 11
would be a tremendous JOb to put a first-<:lass. paved
highway in lhcn: th:11 would be comrorublc anti snfc ror
expensive car;.
·1 feel SltOngly that lhe economic benefits ror
Swain Counly are being grcally exnggemte.d. Swain
Coumy would receive an addition to their tax base and a
few minimum wage jobs, bul lhen lhey would also gel
all the run-off and all the golf course pcsuc1dcs, and lhe
county would have a 101 of add1t1onal costs for
ma.inu:nance and county service.~.
• Anolher element of irony 1s lhal dcvclopmcnlS
arc rrcqucnlly ralionnlizcd wi1h lhe argumeni lhat
property values arc going to go up (which in lhis cnse I
am sure 1s true), as if that were a good thing. For a
l'C311or or person who has a piece or property and is
interested in selling ii, a rise in property value.~ is a good
lhmg. Bui for an)•onc else who is Uying 10 hold property
or 1s m the market to buy property. a rise m costs is an
unwelcome development These people may not be able
to alTord to buy land or may lose propeny they already
own v.hen the land values go up. The grca1 majority or
people from Swnin who spoke up in favor of
development arc acwally ca.~ing themselves out the door
by calhng for big monc) IO move mto thcll'county."
The hcanng in Bryson City did not tell the whole
story. When they heard of the Alarka Creek dilemma.
other local people, largely from Jackson and Macon
coumies, responded with a massive leuer-wnting
campaign to tho DEM c;ilhng for protection or 1hc
watcr,hcd. Apparently Alarka Creek is well·known and
:ipprcc1111ed as o spccanl place by many people in its
\·icinuy.
There was also $0me reaction 10 1he strong
pressure exercised in Swam County by the Ciuzens
Aga1ns1 Wilderness group. One local woman lOOk lhc
swnd a1 the publu: hC.lling and lCMfully told the audience
to pay aucn11on 10 what they value and be cautious about
what they would lhrow away. It was obviously a great
effort of will for her to male such a swtcmcnl, and she
wns the only speaker m support of the ORW mc:isure
who received applau:;c from the crowd.
111crc were othcn; who did not dare 10 lake 1h:11
courageous suind. Wilhom Mclarney said lhat he
received phone calls after 1hc mecung from Swai n
County nntives who had attended the h.:aring, but felt too
mumidated IO publicly voice support for Alark.a Creek.
"It's a complicated issue." s:iys Mcl.amcy. "The
people of Swain County have real grievances.
parti,ulatly in rcgnrd to Fonwl\3 Lake. Unfortuna1cly,
these gricvanres arc being man1pul3tcd.
"The wider issue to 'TIC. which gives me pause
when I lhmk about it, ts whnt has the greater soc1cly
done lO the...: people 10 create the situation 1hu1 c;cpn:.. \Cd
...
1lo;elf at th;it hcunng?"
~
Or1wmg by Junca Rhc•
�The synergy that 1s created when each family member take!)
responsibility for their own well-being and suppons the
well-being of others, is another resource that serves the process
of resolution when conflict docs arise. And of course, the greater
the level of well-1>¢ing in the household. the less obnoxiousness
and conflict there is!
Skillfulness/ Talking it Out
According 10 Dana and Nick, "talking it out"--and
sometimes over. under. around and through--is the main process
for conflict resolution. There are three aspects to that
communication process: lisrening, Expressing, and
The quality of family life is detennined
not by whether or not a family has conflict but
by what they do with it.
Problem-solving.
lisrening. Although the most powerful communication
skill, listening remains underused by us all. It is still much easier
to give advice, preach, argue, moralize, lecture, or change the
subject than it is to reaJly listen 10 what someone else is saying.
"We listen with our answers running," a colleague of mine said
recently. Reflective or ac1ive lis1ening, on the 01her hand. is
listening with your heart, listening for the unique essence of the
speaker's experience, and letting the other person know that they
have been heard by repeating back to 1hem their message as you
heard it.
It is particularly challenging to lis1en to another person's
point of view in the mids1 of a conflict situation; i1 is, however,
the cornerstone for resolution. Listening acknowledges and
validates (not necessarily agreeing with) the other person's
perspective and encourages important data in the conflict to
emerge.
Expressing. The other side of listerung is expression statements about perceptions, interpreta1ions, thoughts, feelings,
wams, and actions. In conflict situations, it is helpful to state
your experience in a way that gives specific information that can
be clearly understood by the other party. Such direct expressions
arc commonly called "I Statements," (as opposed to accusatory
"You Statements.")
Nick is the resident expert on "I Statements" in our house
these days. His fifth grade class is studying conflict and its
resolution in a Mediation Center program called "Fuss-Busters."
Through the guidance and modeling of a gifted and committed
teacher, the students are learning to express their anger and
frustrations in an "l feel
when, _ _ __
because
" format. The objective of the "I Statement" is
to communicate your feelings in a way that does not put down or
attack the other and engages their assistance in resolving the
conflict. Nick explains that if the other person does not respond
helpfully, then it's time to ask the teacher for help. As the year
progresses, trained student mediators m the classroom will be
available 10 help resolve those conflicts.
Dana reiterates that being assertive and letting your family
and friends le.now what you're feeling and what help you need
from them prevents conflict from building up. Communicating
immediately and specifically and in a non-blameful style opens
the door for positive resolution.
Problem-Solving & Conjlicr Resolurion. Frequently, the simple
expression of feelings or needs and a chance to vent or be heard
dissolve would-be conflicts. Just as often, however, living in
these bus~, high-stress, complicated times, family members need
to put their heads together to solve problems. We've noticed that
unsolved problems become conflicts to become resolved· if
Confl~CtS arc ~Ot fCSOlved, they re-emerge, often growing in
magrutude until .a blow-up occurs, or, worse, family members
separate and distance themselves from one another in an
avoidance pattern.
.
. Consider these typical modes of responding to conflict
snuanons:
I. Competition - "I win,• J get all rrry needs !Mt; you get 110thi11g.
2. Accommodation - "You win," I give ui; you get everything.
3 Avoidance - Neithu of ws geu a.ny1hing.
4 Compromiu - EtUh of ws gi11es a /i11/e fJJld gets a li11le.
.S CollDbor(JliJ)n - "Win - Win,• we wief111t IN probum aN.i
fwJ a crtasive sollllion that sat4fies both of our Mtds.
lollnter, J 989-90
~!though each o~ these a~proaches may be appropriate at
some umc, ~oU:iborauo~ provides the m~st longlasting and
mutually sausfyang soluuons. In collaborauon. the problem is
auackcd - not the people! And what would it be like if the
problem were embraced as an opportunity to fine-tune family
functioning, rather than attacked?
In the process of collaborative connict resolution, a critical
stel? is for ~II concerned to clearly define the problem in terms of
their own interests and needs. After carefully listening to each
person verbalize their side of the conflict. then all can come to an
agreement on the definirion of the problem.
In their book Gerring To Yes. Fisher and Ury recount che.
example of t~o sisters fighting over one orange. Finally, in an
effort to be farr, they compromise and cut the orange in half. One
sister takes her half, peels the orange and cats the orange. The
other sister takes her half, throws away the fruit and uses 1he peel
to bake a cake. Clearly, a far superior solution would have
emerged had they identified what each person's interesis were.
The more accurately the problem is defined in terms of basic
interests and needs, the more easily and quickly it can be solved.
The process of creatively managing conflict, stress and
change in families is a dynamic and continuous one. The more
enriching, supportive, compassionate and fun that process is. the
less resistance we feel coward it. When conflict is approached in a
"Spirit of Possibility" toward healthy change, when individual
differences and personal well-being are protected and honored,
and when families are committed to using the skills of open
communication and problem-solving, conflict becomes a resource
for growth rather than an clement of disintegration.
Ellie Kincade 1s assisrant director of 1he Counseling Cemer ar
UNC-Aslll!ville. She is also a consulranr in t/11! Aiki approach 10
creQlive corf/lier resolutwn. conducring workshops in the fields of
edµcarion and human services.
SUGGESTED BOOKS
Ct11ing 10 Y1.s Roger Fisher and William Ury
TllL Magic ofCofl/liCI Thomas Crum
Parent E/ftctiveness Traimng Thomas Gordon
Swttl D'eamsfo' Lillie Onts: Btdlimt! Fan/IJJks
10 Build Self Estum Michael G. Pappas
RESOURCE ORGANlZATJONS
Childrcn"s Ctcativc Response to Conflict
c/o Fclbwship ofRcconcili.11.IOn
Box 271, Nyack. NY 10960 (914) 358-4601
Na-th Carolina Ccn1e1 for Peace Education
214 Piusboro Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27514
(919)929·9821
The Eanh.stcwanis Network
cto The Holycatth Foundation, PO Beu 10697
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110 (206) 842-7986
The Mediation Cciucr
408 County Court House. Asheville, NC 28801
(704} 2S 1-6089
The Nauonal Association for Mediation in E.ducation
425 Amity Sueet. Amherst. MA 01002
Parents llld Teachas for Social Rcsponsib.ility
PO Box St7. MOtCIOwn, VT 05660
�From the Diary of a Modem Child
How can I find a moral sense
when falsehood lives
protcetcd in governments?
\\'hen playing false becomes the norm
kids begin 10 wonder what's the form?
Our role model> have been S10len
our culture hns been stolen,
corponue bored rooms determine
our feeding, our clo1hing,
tnmsp<>rting, and :;chooling style
A way of gathering in council
has been stolen by govcming images
or faces we never see
Menning ha:; been
~laced
by scllini;,
polling. and man ipulaung ...
Waste bas been accelerated
a~ we consume resources
and spil out the remains
on pi lcs of rock idols.
profiteering religions.
and streams of vidio Ulpc
Is then: any way we can reclaim our live.~
from corporate and industrial wastelands
or pictures that lie,
jobs that don't work, :ind 'inter uiinment'
tha1 teaches escapism a.~ a way of life
that rcsponsibilily is boring·
doesn't move fast enough •
requires too much undeNanding ...
Who is more immature
the grown or the growing?
At times it is in·sensing 10 think and feel hov. much and
how quickly some aspects of human ~ociety are vanishing. It is
as though the forces of our ungainly comple~ evolution arc
usurping our ability to Ulke the time 10 recognize 1he v.onder and
POCKET CULTURES
by Wtll Ashe Bason
When we look seven generations away we first sec ourselves
and our children and then the grandchildren that are on tne Way.
This is where our impact on the future is. I low arc we raising
ourselves and our children and prepanng for our children's children
Now? How can we restructure our lives so as to bener nunure
ourselve:. and our children and our children's children? What sort
of environmcm is best for growing whole and healthy humans?
How do we bring this environmem into reJlilV in Katuah?
Many of us "grew up" in the false commumries of modem
amcrican cities or suburbs. These were and arc cnvironmenL<; which
foster alienation. Almost everywhere is owned hy someone. People
are "at home" only at home! lllc streets arc the only common
ground around, and they belong 10 cars. There 1s relatively dense
population without the community spin1 which would make such
density bearable or even pleasurable. In reaction against this, some
of us have chosen to live in rurul areas. We have tned to isolate
and insulate ourselves from the dominant culture. Our children
don't really underswnd this but they do understand that they want
to be able 10 sec their friends more often then they do now, living at
lhe end of funky driveways at 1hc end of long din roads. Fulfilling
this need usually means school and spons and other activities
which are driving us to drive. But the driving is not the worst of it,
How can we build a new society, one without the faial dis eases of
the old, if we send our children during their fol'TTl.llive yC41l'S to
institutions whose very nature fosters competition, where
s:icredness of place and being arc not even on the graph. Modem
)C"I
uon Jo~r~
pn9~ 24
necessity of simple enduring cultural bonds. Child "forwaroing"
in the context of a dominating culture, or absence of culture, can
be a very unsettling, frustrating, and paradoxical experience. Do
we re-invent human cullurc again to satisfy the need to bring
rights and meaning through the symbols we put into practice? Do
we attempt some kind of symbiosis with a decaying power
structure that needs a dose of creative innovation? Or do we just
open the floodgates and let the grimy warer of predigested images
and infonnation come into our senses without any sense of
becoming in-sensed?
The ad-age of images and sounds coming across screens
and speakers 10 thousands of people each day may seem "cool"
and scintilating but what arc their effects on the long-range
accretion of mind, feeling, and decision for a child? Is it possible
10 create a suppon network that promotes family healing in the
face of squashing pressures from a society that apparently
doesn't represent or value many of the vital aspecb of its own
being? Some of these impon-ances are sustainability, care for
those less privileged. more extensive ecological well being,
relevant work. a sense of the biological region we inhabit as
home, and a healthy supponive extended family.
What is the c:ltect of poverty on families m the Katuah
region (and not just for us SCRUFFIES or Smanemng
C:1retakers, Rurally Urbane, Fueled For Impoverished Ecological
Survival)? What is the real effect of turbulence in 'broken
homes' and 'instant familes' full of conflicting and compromising
inrerests between close relatives and step-relatives on the gcner.il
patterns of society?
Perhaps 1hese questions arc 100 deep, yet these are the
kinds of far-reaching ques1ions often coming to awareness these
days. A major difficulty in trying 10 summon the context in
which our vitals can flourish, wilhou1 being continually
smothered in stress, manifests in the allure of electTOnic media,
and its exrensive computer manipulation of visual and acoustic
"space" that we all share. As this auruo/video gaming sucks in
more and more attention it is essential io realize that it is not a
clear expression of the whole mind of our species. The complex
whole fields of human life encompass far more than movies.
sit·coms, ads. and canoons could ever fuUillingly u:mslate.
Commercial media is IJ'Uely an aucmpt by the few to dominate or
falsify for the many. The right of choice in the means and content
of any particular kind of media hypnotism should be considered~
primarv to essential responsible hum:in freedom .
~•
Corporeally. Rob Messick
American public schools are lhe melting po1 lef1 on 100 long to boil.
They arc tee vec reali1y. At their best. they are only capabk of
teaching the parts. Meaning lcs> lhL~ of wurds and dead f~g.
organ:.. Our children only choose them because we haven t given
them an alternative. We have presumed and pretended that
providing an ahemative to school was mostly a mauer of legality
and academics. In fact tt means providing a commun11y in which
children can find friends as well as intellectual stimulation and
emotional security.
11 is no1 enough 10 m~ulute ourselves from the dominant
culture. We have 10 create new culture. Not another candidate for
dominam culture. but hundreds and thousands of pocket cultures.
Pocket cultures that anfully represent unique hum:in ad:ipiarion to
unique and sacred places. Cultures m harmony with their
environments and thus in harmony with each other. A iangihle
culture of l'C.'.11 relationships between people and animals and plants
and water and din and stone and architecture and real stuff hke that
there and not a culture of tapes and magazme.~ and books and
workshops and videos and seminars and full-Oedge~·n8J'$. etc. The
culrurc that we have built m each other's heads is beautiful and true
and meaningless unless it leads to way of life, which it will.
The world is changing rapidly. Humans arc very. very
numerous and on the move almost everywhere. Everyday we hear
about more refugees and more homeless people. Earth's cities are
overcrowded and choking on their own waste. It is a world of
villages that will emerge from this nigh1marc. A world in which
people once again know their neighbors.!'- ~orld ~ sobered by the
environmental con sequences of our unthmking acuons. that respect
for and worship of nature will once again be no1 the dommant bu1
lhe only religion.
(c:on11nucd on ncxc P•&•)
kllnter, l 989 - 90
�I know lll3Jly people of good ecological conscience who have
bought land and wish 10 have a comm~nir_y. yet insist on living
miles from each other. If a person ts wishing to move 10 one of
these communities. about the fauxcs1 pas one could make would be
t0 pick a house s!~t I~ near 10 a!1 ~i~ting home, ~nd 100 near
usually means vmhin sight of. This 1ns1s1ence on d1s1a~ce seems .
downright unfriendly when J_udged by '!ie Cherokee. T1beun. Thai.
Dogon, Greek. Zulu, or Zuni (to name 1us1 a very few) standards.
There is a very good book called A Pmtern Language by
Christopher Alexander and some ~f his friends: and this l?ook i~
very highly respected among arch11ecrs and designers for its radical
and coherent approach to archi1cc1ural planning. There is a paucrn
called "connected play space"' and the book goes on to cite
information to the effect that there is a direct corm;pondencc
between neurosis and the number of friends that a child has
growing up. Alexander and company used some statistics on family
size and average 11ges of children and came up with the figure of 64
families as the number needed 10 insure that all children would have
a good chance to find friends. They suggest that what children need
is a community of this size in which each home borders on a
continuous play area. In such a place, children would do much of
the work we now call childcare. This is a much more time-honored
and natural arrangement than the pauems we sec non-functioning
around us at present. Children learn responsibility in taking care of
other children. They also generally have a whole 101 more fun
tllnte.r, 1989-90
hanging ar&ind with other kids. Saner and happier kids could help
spread these virtues 10 the older folks.
Adolescents have a compelling need to be around their own
kind, which suits the rest of us just fine. This is sure easier 10 bring
about in a small community than in isolated fanns1eads. Young
people have a terrible SIJ'Uggle just trying to exist economically
IOday. In villages and small communities young people can get
good jobs and sec their friends regularly without the expense of a
car. The ttansition from child 10 adult can be more gradual and
na1ur.t.l 1han the current IJ"Cnd which is usually to move away from
parents and friends who can function as a suppon group. Perhaps a
101 of suicide and depression is related to fear.; of nor being able 10
"make it on one's own'.' In a village or small community \\C: make
it on our own 1oge1her, a much more reasswing and slllblc
arrangemem.
Perhaps future generations will look back at the dominant
culture's concept of land ownership with the same horror with
which we now view slavery. Up until fairly recently most of the
\\Orld's people lived an agricultural village communities in which
some or all of the land was owned or used in common. This
common usage certainly more clearly reflects the basic biological
reality of 1he planer we share. Children growing where some of the
land is ~hared have a bener chance of learning ro see land as an
en111y in it's own right.
�Dear KatUah,
Another excclltnt issue (Fall, 1989) ·But I mu't Like exception with
lhc statement m Pnmck Clark's otherwise Cine arucle on the Eastern
cougar/panther/paint.er. He wn1es: •Although it seems fitting and right for
panthers tO be inh:lbiung the southern mountains. not one official sighting
has been made. Until lhcn, panther ad"ocat~ have no basis for demanding
protection for cougar habita1.0 (p.18)
Wrong. The burden or proof is on the government to "prove" !here nr.:
no pamhcrs. Until then. we must err on the side or lhc cml:ingcrcd cnt1er :llld
manage as though lhcrc arc cougnrs.
Curr.mil)· wildlife managers go by the dictum, •Extine! until proven
ext.anL • We must rever<;e this: "Extant until pro"cn e~tincL • 01hcrwise,
unscrupulous and/or incompetent managers c:in ignore even the best
sightings. awruung the day someone brings in a cougar carcass to prove ther~
1ll'C (oops, wue) cougan here.
No compromise,
Jwmc Saycn
Prt.ltnJt Appoluchian IVildl!l'MSS
DRUMMING
LETTERS TO KATUAH
Yts, wt agru. f hanks. Jamie. ·eds.
Dear Kaui3h.
At first. thank you for sending me a copy of the Katlinh Journal and
the U.N. Charter for Na1Urc.
I agree wilh your "StatemenL or Purpose·'. I enjoyed about all lh.:
Joumal's articles, you're really on the right way; I wish every 81oregions
should have a journal like yours.
Herc in ltaly, the BiOregional Movement is ju.st starting. That's fine.
but I lhink. they're sull a bit humon-ccnu:rcd.
I. as member of lhe Italian Wilderness Association's D1rec11ve
Council. am trying hard to spread an ccoccnuic awarcncSl; among i~
members..
O.K. Happy llllils tO all of you.
Cioo,
Morcul Giuseppe
Mantova, Italy
Dear Folks,
Congratulations on your grc:it "For All Things Wild issue!
I, IOO. am deeply concerned nboul the "Norlh Carolina road binge."
The same insanity grips Virginlll. We need 10 form a coohuon ag:Unst the
most environment.ally dcslIUCtivc clement in technology. (I wrote an article
about it in lhc earth First' Jow-nal, Vol. IX, No. II. 1988).
The on-going and looming cnv1ronmcnuil destruction is truly
pl:inct-shalung and i~ the mojor clement in lhc "grccnhot1~ effect" when the
infrastructure is considered
Unfortunately there seems to be a strong block, e"cn among
cnvironmcntahSlS, r.t. the automobile. We need t0 overcome lhis nnd tach
individual mu.it act to reduce dependence drastically
Tunnies ngoin for a great issue.
Enrlh Firstl
Bob Mueller
Dear Kaltiah,
I have enclosed several pamphlets explaining lhc Na11onal Peace T3X
Fund Bill. This bill 1s designed to allow !hose persons consc1cn1iou.~ly
opposed IO war IO have thc military ponion Of their taxes dirccled toward
peace rclaled proJCCl.S. Over onc-lhird of our 1ru1 dollars arc going for current
military expenses, 10 say nothing or lhe add1tionnJ 19% t0 take Ct11e of past
military expenses.
Fof mon: inform:iuon aboul lhc Peace Tax Fund Bill, please write io:
National Campaign for 11 Peace Tax Fund
2121 Decatur Pt. NW
Wa-.hington. DC 20008
(202) 483-3751
Mrs. llarold Sir.Idler
Dear Ka.Wah People.
I think you JUSt keep geuing better and bcuer! Congrntula11on~ on
puumg t.ogethcr an cons-1stently fine JOUmal.
But I'm upset! I can't believe Kataah of all plaec.,. lhousht 11 wns ok
to pnnt a want ad for "Christions Only." J really gOt goosct>umps when I '1111\
that ad. I wonder why none among you removed 1t from pnnt Did you think
it would offend no one? (Why?)
l~s so out or your charnctcr 10 print something discnmin:itmg "'h1ch
could only be painful to members of our emerging community I'm sure you
won't do u ngain. bu1 I want to let you know how I feel.
Sincerely.
Randee Brenner GoodslJl<h
Thanh for )'011.r kind words for 1~ Kaulah Journal. l\'t fttl that
inc/1Uw11 of 1~ ad is not 11uusarily n11.1 of choracta for ·1\'eb,.·orl11111"
which fr 111tt.ntkd to h('/p connect people cf t~ rtgwn with rach mhu. Thll.S
ii rtfkcu the divusity ofpeople and 111tuc1.11111~ rtgio11.
To i11dicatt that a f1U1ctio11 is "for chrwians 011/y" dot.< not
necessarily co1Utit11.1t discrimlflaJiDn. bw rather Is 1ntt!ndtd to connut
"'.t:mbus cf a s~cijic interest group. • tds
JC.a• ah Journm ptu)e 26
l.ltnlcr, 1989-90
�Hau Kauiah,
I am wriung lh1s lcllcr to you m reference to our ncwslcucr called
'echoes of lhc drum'.
I am interested m pulling 11 m the wcbworkmg section of lhc Katllah
Journal. Bui I wlll explain a liulc about ii before I go any further.
'echoes of lhc drum' 1s no1 your onlinnry ncwslcucr. It is not hke the
of the ocwslcucr~ that only put news in 11. The news thnt we put in the
newsleucr revolves around und1tional teaching or the Ntui\'C American
Indians and lho1r Sacred Red Road. h eamo 11bou1 as a need to be able to get
1r.1du1onal tcachmgs m10 the iron houses (prisons) throughout Tunic hlJlnd.
rcs1
I was a member of the Thunderbml Pmon Alliance. but when I saw
that their goal was ne>I to tench but to become an acthl't sort of group. I
separated myself from thc organi1.a1ion. And followed the mcditmc teaching
thu1 I was brought up in. As a Lakot.a and descendent of several medicine
icachers and trad1uon;ll leaders of my people, I left the radical a' u vi st ways
behind and chose 10 seek a more aauvc involvement in gcmng the trnduional
tcoch1ngs ms1dc the 1ronhouscs. And since money wns a big factor 111 not
being able to buy books frQm publishers. I <;ought a \•isie>n "hlte I was
inside lhc solitary confinement MX"llon of the Staunton Corrccuonal Center.
As I fasted and prayed to Wnkan Tan~a. the vision came 10 me. And m the
vision l saw the Ancestors calling out 10 me 10 tca.:h the teachings of all
indigenous tribes. and not just only the Lakota way,. Because 111-.dc the iron
houses there were more than JUSt Lakol<ls and behind the iron doors. The
vision told me 10 remember bad. to when the drums sounded out with
messages 10 the different villages. To become one with th•· 'ound of lhosc
drums. And Ihm was the bcgmmng of the' ision or which I now follow. And
1hal 1s where the ncwslcucr got 1lS name from. II h called 'cch<X!s of 1hc
drums'.
The hardcM pan afterwards wa.~ to spc.ik to the Eld.: rs and TClKhcrs of
the different tribes, to help me in this end<'.a,·or. And they saw the sUlt'Cfll)' in
whal I wa.~ doing. And th.:y have all come 1ogcth.:r and pro' id~ me 11. ith
teachings I will cnclo'e a copy of the ncw,lcuer. The next part was 10
resolve the issue or nm to wruc each and every warden of the different iron
houses 1hroughout Turtle hland. So I went to the Lihrary of Congress m
request for an I S S.N permit. And u 11.as granted. and therefore clc;mng
another step m getung the teachings inside the iron houses by way or a
ncwslcucr
And from the initial 75 ncwslcncrs that were sent lo 1hc guys and
women 1hroughou1 Turtle hl:md, the ncwskncr has grown to a ma1l111g l"t
of over four-hundred and flfiy now. And 1hc 1mponan1 thing 1s thal 1hc
ocw~lc11er 1s free or chargc. This is in ;icc;ordancc wnh the traditional 1c:11;hcrs
that I have gi,cn my word to, that I would m no way ~II what 1~ given to us
by th.: Grl'lll Sp1nt. And therefore I have done so. And II will be the pohr~
thal th.: newsleucr will never be sold, nor will then> Ile a -.uhscripuon r.i1e ror
ll.
The one message " 1hu1 the ncwslcuer is nQI onl) for 1nmale<. bu1
for ull who wisll to lcum from the teaching th:u arc in the newsletter>,
We don't a.sk for any donation for the ocw~lcncr. we asi.. that 1f
anyone wishes IO receive the ncwslcuer, tha1 lhcy help with the postage of it
We give to all that Wl.'h 11, whether they can aHorJ to send postage or not. It
will not be denied to anyone that wants 11. And our mo1lm1t hst 1s growing
daily. So 1f an)·onc who wishes to rccc1\'C it. they c311 do so by writing the
following people and they will be pul on the mailing li\t.
I.) Thundcrhawk, 157372, Editor
Rt.2Box Ill BIWld, VA 24315-9616
2.) Moonyccn Scay, Publi:>hcr
P.0 Box 860; Vcron;i, VA 2441!2
3.) Zandc Griffith, AsM. Editor, 'echoe.~ of the drum'
R.R. 1; Box 11 l·B: Pamphn. VA 23951!
From v. hat I ha\'c 11. riucn you may lake anylhmg oul of 11 and put 11
the Wcbworkmg scc1ion. Or 1f you choose 10, you may me and wnt.:
nhou11hc ncwslcucr once you have read 11. I will do~e thi' lcuc-r for now.
lllld m clo~1ng I Jlf8Y that th.: Four Wm<;h do grant you the People of Kat~1
Jllany of beautiful 'iOngs of joy. \\'akan Tanl;a ntCI un wclo.
I rClld your wonderful papcr and was cxcucd by it. You arc really
doing a grea1 thing by pubhshmg the kind~ of things you prin1. One
cmicbm: 11.hy nOI prim on recycled p:ipcr'!
Sintetcly,
Lonna Richmond
Kno~villc, Tcnncs.~
Good question! Ont wt've often cn11sidertd. With all our local
pruittr.<, rtcycltd paper would nu:an tlrat 1<-e would havt to bu}' o full roll of
rtcyclt:d new.<print UI an enormous prirt wt cll!lnot anywhere near afford.
Rccytlahlc f'<ll'e.T u tht be.ft wt con dQ riRht now. ·eds.
Dl:ar KatU.lh,
I just had 10 write and express appreciation for your summer '89
issue. It 1s a very thorough message mspinng all who read 11: to act rather
than to ri:act. JOin wilh others for peace, listen mlhcr th.an shove. Welcome
messages to a world or people rc.idy to run if we ,,lightly scno;c a hmt of
bcm!l pushed. And lhcn ...as I looked for your address I saw a book review on
/hr Chaliu arid Tiit Bladt--an incredible book I'm currently rtadmg Some
things ju,1 fall in place, don'1 they!
My heartfelt th:inks,
Brcc1.e Bum.\
Quincy, Florida
in
Visual comments on tefc~·ision by Thom Preston (left)
and Rob Messick (above).
Muakyc Cya.,m.
Thunikrhawk
1t K.Ul®n • 1.1 nDI paqd 27
;r.
''
Jour r '~
ft
�New ELF In Town
For six years Franklin and Susan Sides
have been head gardeners at the Mother Eanh
News demonstration gardens in Hendersonville
in the upper reaches of the French Broad River.
Now they have taken the first steps to distill their
collective experience into a self-published
newsletter that, in their words, "chases the soul
of gardening."
Rather than emphasizing the "how-to"
aspects of gardening, their small publication will
concern itself more with the delights and fears,
the successes and mistakes, the small revelations
and moments of humor that gardening brings.
The Sides are asking for help for their
infant publication. Quotes, shon articles, humor,
poems, prayers, leuers, diaries are all eagerly
solicited.
And, of course, chan er subscribers are
also welcomed. The first issue of this infant
publication is scheduled for March, 1990.
To contact Franklin and Susan Sides with
submissions or inquiries, write them at: Rt. I ,
Box 57; Fairview, NC 28730.
continued from p. 14
The increasingly critical planetary
environmental situation has led many activists,
both young and old, to the conclusion that polite
protestations are not enough ro solve our present
ills and that means of direct action arc necessary
to save life on Earth in all its many
manifestations.
This holds true for the Ka1uah Province as
well. A core group of fifty activists has fonned a
Southern Appalachian chapter of Earth First!, a
continental group known for its srrong stands
and creative actions on behalf of the planet and
all its species. The local chapter has taken the
name Earth Liberation Front (ELF).
The new group is action-oriented. At its
first meeting the chapter decided to make its
initial focus the controversy over cleareutting in
the watershed from which the city of Asheville
draws its drinking water and took 11 field trip out
to the area the following week.
"This is only a beginning," said one
activist, identified only as Roadkill, "The
natfonal forests are being decimated by roading
and habitat destruction, and rampaging
development is taking over more and more
available habitat area. Our goals are to bring an
awareness of the ecological law of 'carrying
capacity' to the human population he~ and to
restore wild habitat hy creating a large biosphere
preserve in the Southern Appalachians that
would be linked by connecting corridors to other
preserve areas up and down the whole
Appalachian Range "
To jom ELF in its effons as pan of Eanh
Fu-st! or for more information ahout the group,
write them at Box 17 I: Alexander. l\C; Katuah
Province 28701.
'-''=
'I $
~~ BARE
.~
..=.,.;
11'
:J
ESSENTIALS
Natural Foods
.~
..
Wine Making
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 K011iali Jmmw/. is now available to ;ill
as conference posters and T-Shins.
The poster. are beautiful. four·color 11" x
17'' renditions of the native species portrJll with
conference information below and are available
for $2.00.
The T-shins arc heavy-duty, all-cotton.
silkscreencd by Ridgerunner Naturals. Only
large and extra-large sizes remain. They are
available for$ l 0.50.
Prices include postage. NC residents
please add 5% sales tax.
All proceeds from the sale of these items
will support rescue actions for native habitat in
the Southern Appalachian forest.
Order fmm· KALANU
Box 282; Sylva, 1\C
Katuah Province 28789
•: Bulk Herbs, Spices, & Grmns
Vicamins & Supplcmcnrs
Wheat, Salt,
& Yeast-Free Foods
Dairy Substitutes
•• Hair & Skin Care Produus
•
I11 200 west Kini! Street. Boone NC 28607
.. \....
~\)-=-
:c
:c
111
__)~
704-264-5220
~·
=4'..
1
124 broadway
ashevJlc. nc
28801
]04-252-8..(04
carolina costume
compa11y
Katuah: Approval - giving 100% approval so
there's no failing involved - that's what's
lacking in our schools and why there's so
much fear. It's incredible when you see how
receptjve kids are to approval • 'cause Lhey
have so much to give.
Bonnie: It's attitudes. As the teacher walks
through that door - how the children respond
as a group is directly related to her attitude.
Directly. I've seen it so many times that l feel
it's an absolute truth. If the teacher is
affirmative and listens to the children and
inspires creativity then the children are eager
to learn.
Teachers all have to take psychology but if it's
not their interest they may nor use it. But
everybody's interested in what's fun and
funny. They say people learn 80% mo~e
effectively when they're laughing! Ev~~ tf
you're not using puppets you l'lln be pos111ve
and have joy in th.: classroom more often than
not.
Katuah: Could you say what you love most
about your work?
Ilonnie: h 's fun' I have a great time. ll's
definitely not something I cho:,;e - the puppet:;
chose me.
/
~
Beer &
Supplies
you could get literature in there, 100. But
there's so much specializing in schools that
you don't get to put things together. And
puppetry puts it together.
I'd like to see the<ltre become a standard pan of
elementary education ... for teachers to have to
take puppetry in order to be educators. I've
created workshops where I teach teachers how
to use puppets in the classroom and Textend
that to counselors and therapists ... anybody
who works with people. I'd like to get rid of
some of the rules and standards and replace
them with imaginative, affirmative attitudes
and teaching methods... then you're right on
the crux of the whole problem in the
institution.
801111ie Blue ca11 he camacted a1
PO Bo.\ lo57.
Asltcville. NC 28802 (7()./) 6./5-9918.
l\10LNTAIN ARTS PROGRAM
C'rc.1w.I 1n I IJ1!3, lh~ Mouniam Mts Progr-dm
(\!AP) ha." 'J'O!Nm.'d hundred' of ani,t·m rc,11kncc
rrogram< for sd1ool • in wc,tcm 1'C. \' isu;il anisl< .
dr~mall\IS, Jugi:lcr'. clo" ns, rn1111~'· mu,1cians,
crafl<Jl<.'Of>l.: and wr111 ""orl. in >ehool\ r11r a wc.:I••11
;i umc, 1yricall> '11<.·nJmg al kasl l\\O week' In a
rnun1v. Rcs1Jcnc1c' i:"c -iudcms an opponuniL}' 10
r:it1ic,1patc m tfifktcnl an forms With \\Or~ing
profc""onJh who ha'c ll tugh lc,cl of energy :inJ
,111hu,,..1.,m for their a.t. An) one intcrcslCJ m ha•mg
.1n ar11s1 1n their .s<. hoot may coma< I a "chool
.1dm1ni,1talor :ind rcq11~,I a 'l.tAP rrogr.un C'urrcntl)·
\IAP 1s .;cr,·mg 14 coun11c' with 27 .ir1""· An"tlrom ;ill d1sc1pllnc\ arc cnrnuragcd 10 a[>f>I). For
inronnouon or to reqllr\l llll ap1•ha111.. n, ""tc \11\P.
no, 11611. Bumw1lk:, ;-;c 21!71.!, (7(>1) f.8~·721'
t.>rntlr . t 989-90
�FOREST RESCUE IN THE KAT UAH PROVINCE
(An Ecological Manifesto for the Southern Appalachian
Bioregion)
These are program ideas drawn from the discussion at the
forest rescue action workshop. "For All Things Wild," held on
Saturday, OcLOber 28 at Warren Wilson College. The workshop
was held on the day following the conference "Restoring
Biodiversily in the Southern Appalachians: A Strategy for
SwvivaJ" and drew heavily on the ideas and analysis presented at
the conference.
All human use wirhin the biosphere preserve area must
conform to the demands of old-growth habita1 10 maintain ample
numbers of all native species. A grassroots initiative will be
needed to bring this issue before the federal Congress.
2) There can be no funher road construction within the
regional biosphere preserve, and we must begin clo~ing exi~ting
roads that in1erferc with the needs of old-growth habuat species.
The context for these proposals is the Preserve
Appalachian Wilderness proposal envisioned by Jamie Sayco of
New Hampshire. Put simply, the PAW proposal calls for a
system of large evolutionary or biosphere preserve areas along
the AppaJachian Mountain Range connected by wide mignuion
corridors to enable the movement of individual species and
genetic information up and down the length of the mountain
range. The preserves would maimain a variety of viable habitat
areas and characteristic ecosystems in protected landscapes large
enough to suppon the largest native carnivorous predators and
diverse enough to maintain all representative native species. (For
a more detailed explanation of the PAW proposal, see Ka11iah
Jour1111/, Issue 20.)
The "Restoring Biodiversity in the Southern Appalachians"
conference clearly demonslTated the necessity for profound and
immediate change. The Appalachian hardwood forest is being
severely compromised by human activities It may soon be unable
to fulfill its integral role in local and planetary life support. We
arc already in a crisis situation, and we need to think .and act
boldly to meet the ecological demands of our time. The current
political and social realities are self-serving and irrelevant due 10 a
distorted world-view which values the continued dominance of
Lhe human species al any cost. To conform to these present
realilies would only lead us further along a suicidal course. A
bold new vision based on ecological reality is required instead.
To correct the imbalance beLWeen the human inhabitants of
these mountains and our natural habitat, and to preserve the
original inhabitants - the native species - we must act. These arc
necessary first steps toward ecological sanity in the Katuah
Province:
l} A// the 3.5 million acres of public lands in the Southern
Appalachian Mountains shall be mandated to be a regional
biosphere reserve. AU inholdings need to be incorporated a~d the
national forests shall be extended to the purchase boundanes to
complete the biosphere preserve area.
'lljaee, '1\!tllngl 'Na@raj,s
T-S HIRTS. SWEATSHIRTS
For ADULTS and CHILDREN
ORIGINAL HAND·PRINTED
NATURE DESIGNS
3) Commercial logging in the biosphere reserve area must
cease. This would not be an undue economic hardship for the
region, as only 10% of the wood cut in the Southern Appalachian
region comes from the areas presently in national forest.
Compared 10 the ecological and social value of a large preserve
area, the dollar value of logging in the national forests is
inconsequential!
4) The Southern Appalachian Biosphere Preserve must be
connected to other natural areas. To this end:
- create a wide, viable wildlife corridor between the
Cherokee National Fores1 in Tennessee and the Jefferson
National Fores1 in Virginia
- re-define all major waterways as aquatic habimt corridors
from the mountains to the sea
- and create a corridor connection between the Southem
Appalachian bioregion and the Florida Peninsula biorcgion.
5) Bring human population lo a level within the ecological
carrying capacity of the bioregion - a size which does not
interfere wi1h the integrity or functions of the natural life
community in the Southern Appalachians.
,
Rather than promote accelerated growth, we must work to
decrease human numbers and impact to bring our species to its
proper level of influence within the region.
6) T ake a leading role in efforts to end atmospheric
deposition/air pollurion that is destroying the Southern
Appalachian forest and contributing to global warming.
7) Change our individual and social consciousness and
lifestyles to harmonize more closely with the natural conditions:#
the Southern Appalachian bioregion.
p
..
- David Wheeler
t!lti11ue At11p1111t/11re
all
Jler/J111D111 t!li11it
CALL or WRITE for
FREE COLOR CATALOG
DE..5 1GNS
by Rob \lessic.k
Jllus1ra11011 & Design
in Pen & Ink and Colored Pencil
Natural Food Store
& Dell
160 Broedw9y
Ashevllle, NC 28801
Wher9 Broedw9y ~
Mmmnon Ave & ~40
OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK
Mond.)'·S.un:lay: lllim-8pm
Sund.y; f ptn-Spm
(704) 253-7656
Wl.ntcr, 1989- 90
~t.Uah )ournGt P'"Je 29
�RECYCLED PAPER! - Directory of products
sources for the sou~ Suggcsacd donation S 1.00
ao Western Norah Carolina Alliance, PO Box
18087. Asheville. NC 28814 (7~) 258-8737.
HOMESCHOOLING FAMILIES gaaher on a
weekly basis. weather permitting, at Lake Louise in
Weaverville, NC on Wednesdays from 11:30 am
until 1:30 • 2:30 pm. We arc a small group, very
mfonnal, and open to anyone who wanas to join us
to exchange energy, infonnauon, ideas. and
playume. For more information, call Alice
Coblcnu (7()4) 6S8-2676.
BIODYNAMICALLY GROWN Com seed.
Mini-pops to giant fillers. Varieue.~ for no-aill
wilhoua hclbicidcs • and fOf compos1 ralher lhan salt
rcnilization. For caaalog please send SASE 10 •
Union Agriculwral lnstituae, Ra. 4 Box 463S,
Blairsville. GA 30512.
MOUNTAIN DULCIMERS • m3de of black
walnua, red cherry. or maple. Tops available in
wormy chestnut. buuemut, swcctgum, o;o~fras.
western cedar, and other woods. ConlllCt: Mize
Dulcimer Company; RL 2. Box 288; Blounaville,
37617 (615) 323-8489.
GREENING CARDS· concspondencc and advocacy
cards for people who care. Onginal an reproduced m
color. (10% of proc;ccds don<lled ao proJCCLS ror peaoc
and jus11ce.) Wriae to Ginny Lentz. LovEanh
™
SEA KAYAKfNG ·Come enjoy peace and solitude
llllvehng wiah lhe rhylhms or lhe sea. Classes. day
trips, overnight aours, cusaom charters.
Kayal;/Sallboat tours 10 lhe Bllhamas. Knyak tours
to Cosaa Rica. For more informntion contaca:
Charlie Reeve:;; Sea Level Inc.: POB 478; Tybee
Island, GA 31328 (912)786-S8S3
Creations: Box 144S: Black MounaaJn, NC 28711.
MOON DANCE FARM HERBALS· habaJ salves,
tincaures. &: ojls for birthing cl family health. For
brochure, please wriac: Moon Dance Fann: RL I,
Bolt 726: Hampton.
37658.
™
SCffiNCE TEACHER, ecologically aware, dcsm:s
land in KatUah, preferably E. Tenn. or W. North
Carolina for evenaual il\Mbiaauon. Mu.~1 lie well
w/ road fronaage. Conaaca: B. Bicmullcr: Soulh
Brunswick H.S.: Mammoch JcL, NJ 08852.
AUTHOR SEEKING RECIPES for wild fOOds
10 comribuaors JR book
upon publication. Recipes needed for fi'lh. game,
wild plants. Thomas K. Squier, N.D.: Ra. I, Box
216; Abcrdc<:n NC 28315.
cookbook. Will give c.rcdia
CONSCIOUS COUPLE & infana, wish 10
learn/wort on organic farm for housing + slipcnd
OR carelake a residence on acreage. Very comm1aed
and sincere. Wana to leave ahc cuy and profcss10ns
to work IOW8rd scU sufficiency. Can rcloc:ue Cllrly
June '90. Open to Options. Please Con13c:1; Dan &
Barb Umbcrget: 347 Sinclair Ave. N.E.; Allanm.
GA 30307. (404) S21-2971
SKYLAND • log on to the computer bulletin board
or the Smokies. Networking. plus new~ on the
environment. natwc photography. giuncs. compuaer
utilities, much more. Conaiiet Michael Havelin.
sysop, (704) 254-7800.
NATIJRAL CHILDBIRTH CLASES 'PCCiali1mg
In Lile Bradley Method. Classes arc small and
include nutrition physiology. consumerism.
parenting skills, and rclaxaaion and labor SUJll'O'I
techniques. For more informaaiOn call or write
Maggie Sachs; 808 Florida Ave.: Bri~tol, TN
37620. (61S) ?M-2374.
"THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT" • a complete
report on our changing cmironmcna for lhc ncxa 60
years. $17.00 po~tpaid, or write for more
information. Lorien House; POB 1112; Blac~
Mountain, NC 28711-1112.
•
PURE SORGHUM - and sorghum based dcsscr~
toppings and chocolates. Handmade m the
Appalachian (OOthiUs. Free sorghum recipe bto.:hure
send SASE. Candy sampler (2-KY Buckeye~ &
2-Bourbon Balls) S2.00 J>Cl'\lpaid. Golden Kcntuc:ky
Products; POB 246: livmgslOO, KY 40445. (606)
453-9800.
X.Oti&ah Jo\4rno! p"'Jl' 30
WANTED: HOUSE TO RENT. Profo..
"S1onal ccllha
and arust with one child are IOOking for a country
house. m lhC SUITOUn<ling A1.hev1llc, NC area from
June I, 1990. Please conuact Ron & Rachel
ClearfielJ: 7800 Colhn.~ Avenue; Miami Beach Fl..
33141 (305) 86S-048 I.
CIRCLES RETURNING • a new cassette by Bob
Avery•Grul>cl' This JS music 10 touch lhc soul and
heal ahe heart. Lynes included. To order send SIO
per casscuc to: Bob Avcry·Grubcl; Rt l Box 735:
Floyd, VA 2400 I
St..~FOODS • fresh. hand-made herbal skin
prepwaaions at '="able onces. Send for price list~
106 E. Ma111 SL. Johnson City. TN 37601
REMEDY FOR rnE COMMON COLD?· I've
found one; it\ natural and 11 works Send S3 and
your SASE to: Heaven on Enrah; 482 Whue Oal.
Cle Rd.; Burnsvlllc, NC 28714.
RENEWAL PROGRAMS· I prov1Jc mdiv1dual and
corporate renewal programs for bus1ncsse~ &
organi1.ations interested m hcahng thcmsclvc~ and
providing cmpowcrmcna 10 oth.:~. Wrote· Kalh1c
Pieper c/o Pieper A~~oc1ntcs: Ra I, Box 238:
Waync.~v1llc, NC 28786.
CREATION SOAP- lund·crnfacd herbal soaps from
the Blue Ridge Mounwn.~. Rose and bvcndet soaps,
mo1>1uri1.mg bar, slumpoo/cond1t1oncr bar. Contnet
Anna: RL I, Box 278; Blowmg RoU, NC 28605
(7™) 262-2321.
YOGA FOR ALL AGES- Ongoint; cla.<;:;C.S m the
Asheville lllC;l, workshops for group~. aml rnvaac
sessions. Give your..clr the s1fa or wellness and
peace. For more 1nfonna11on .:all Bo~ Kelly
(704) 2.S4-8698.
ORGANIC HONEY· Tulip Poplar, Sourwood,and
Wildnowet. From Patrick Counay, Virginia. No
chemicals. no white sugar, no hC11t, ever. Strained
through cheesecloth and packed JR heavy glass
canning J31'S. For a 4-oz. sample of our premium
sourwood and our catalog, send S4 10: Wade
Buckholas & Megan Phillips; Route 2. Box 248:
Stuart, VA 2A 171. (703) 694-4571
STIL-LIGHT THEOSOPHICAL RETR EAT
CENTER • a quiet sp3Ce for personal mediaalion,
group inaerneaion through study, and community
won:. and ~p1titual '1Cm1rnir;. Conmca Leon Frankel;
RL I, Box 326; Waynesville, NC 287116.
MOCCASINS, bnndcruftcd of elkhide in ahc
trlld1lionnl Plains Indian style. W:ucr rc,~iswna,
resoluble, and rugged • gtC<lt for hiking! Children's
and infana sizes available. \'/rue: Blue Feather
Mocca~ms: Box 931: Asheville. NC 28802, or call
Pollick Clark Bl (7~) 2S3-5<};7.
NATURE LOVERS' COMMUNITY • Chrisainns
only. S1000 gives you hfctimc owncl'>h1p righlS on
.S acres. Whole propetty consists of -is acres of
wooded calm and privacy. Write: Gospel Ministry;
P.O. Box 6S4: Clinton, TN 37717.
RHYTHM .6LIVE • Handcrafacd African- Style
Drums, workshops. learning tapes, drumbng_~. and
aacssoncs. Please send SASE IO Rhythm Ahvc!;
SS Phaux Cove Rd.: Weaverville, NC 28787 {704)
645-3911.
NEW AGE · group forming. All mtcrc~aed m
\haring about spirit to spirit commun1cotion,
channchng. v1suah1auon, hc;ihng, chokrns, IMOI,
etc. Emphasis on spmt and our connccaion to
Mother Earth, v1suaH1mg po~11ivc growth and
nurturing Conaact· Thcrc"a Carlson; ?SOI Ruic
Rd .. Knoxville. TN 37920.
WJ:BWORKING 1s free. Send submLssioos to:
Kattlah Journal
P.O. Box 63R
Lc1.:.:,acr. NC
Katllah Province 211748
Wint.er, 1989- 90
�The Kan1ah Journal wanrs ro communicate your thoughts and
feelings to the other people in the bioregional province. Send them
to us as le11ers, poems, stories, articles. drawings. or pliowgraphs,
etc. Please send your comributions to us aJ: Kati/ah Journal; P. 0 .
Box 638; Leicester, NC; Kati/ah Province 28748.
The Spring 1990 issue of the Ka11foh Journal will be
focusing on "Wellness in the Mountains." We are looking for
information and aniclcs on !hose who contribu1e to the heahhful
quality of life in our southern mountains; especially through
activities which promote self-responsibility and a high level of
wellness as the normal living state.
Issue 28 of the KatUa11 Journal (Summer, '90) will take up
the topic of "Carrying Capacity" and the burgeoning impact of the
human presence and human teehnology in !he mounrains. The issue
will look beyond the last induscrial smoke-cloud and past the end of
real estate, when we apply !his imponant ecological principle to our
own selves.
BACK ISSUES OF KATUAH JOURNAL AVAILABLE
ISSUE THREE · SPRING 1984
Sustainable Agricuhure • SunJlowcn • HWTWI
Impact on Ille Fon:st • Cltlldrcns' Education
Veronica Nicholas:Wom1n m Poli11cs • Linle
People • Medicine Allies
ISSUE FOUR · SUMMER 1984
WateT Drum • WalCT Quality . Kudzu - Solu
Eclipse • Clc.vcuuing · Trout • Going IO Waler
Ram Pumps - MICIOhydro - Poems: Bennie
Lee Sinclair, nm Wayne Miller
ISSUE FIVE . FALL 1984
Hll'Vcst • Old Ways in Cherokee . Girucng ·
lofuclear Wu1e • Our Celtic Heritage ·
Bioregionalism: Past, Pre""t, and Future •
John Wilnoty • Healing DatlaiC$S • Politics of
Participation
ISSUE SIX · WINTER 1984-&s
Winier Solstice Eanh Ceremony • Horsepastur<
River • Coming of the Light • Log Cabin
Rooia • MO\llll&in Agiculture: The Right Crop
- William Taylor ·The Future of the Forest
ISSUE SEVEN · SPRING 198S
Sustainable Economics - Hoi Springs • Worker
Ownership - The Great Economy . Self Help
Credit Union - Wild Turkey • Responsible
Invuting • Woricing in lhc Web of Life
ISSUE ElGIIT - SUMMER 198S
Cclcbntion: A Way of Life · KauW. 18,000
Ye«n Ago • S-W Sites • Folk Arts in Ille
Schools • Sun Cyclr./Moon Cycle • Poems:
Hilda~ . Chuobe HaUa&e Cenll::r.
Who Owns Appilachia?
ISSUE NINE· FALL 198S
The Waldu Forest - The Trees Speak •
Mi&ratin& Forata • Hone Louina - Swtini a
TrecCrop • UtbanTrea -AQQQI Bn:.od . Myth
Tmo
ISSUE TEN · WINTER 198S-i6
Kate Rogers • Circles of Sionc • Internal
Mylllmaking • Holistic Healing on Trial •
Poems: Steve Kmulll • Mytltlc Places • The
Uktena's Tale • Crystal Magic
"OrcamspW.ina"
ISSUE TWENTY ..ONE • Fall, 1988
Chutnuts: A Natunl Hwory • Restoring the
Chc:AAut . "Poem or Preservation and Praise"
Continuing the Quest - Forests and Wildlife
Chestnuts in Regional Diet - Chestnut
Resources • Herb Note . Oood Medicine:
"Changes to Come" • Re•iew: Wliuc legmds
Live
ISSUE ELEVEN · SPRINO 1986
Community Pl1nning - Cities and the
Bioregional Vision - Recycling • Community
Gardening· Floyd County, VA - Gasohol •
Two Bioreglonal Views • Nuclear Supplement
Foxfire Games · Ooocl Medicine: Visau
ISSUE TWENTY-TWO · W°U11er, '88--89
Global Warm.ing • Fire This Tune - Thomu
Berry on "Bioregions" · Earth E.xcrc:is4' . Kort
Loy McWhiru:t - An Abundance or Emp<inea
LETS - Cllroniclea of Floyd • Darry Wood .•
TheBIOlltClm
ISSUE THIRTEEN . Fall 1986
c - For Awakening • Elizabelll Callari - A
Gentle Death • Hospice • Ernest Morgan Dealing Creatively with Death • Home Burial
Box • The Wake • The Raven Moc.ku •
Woodslorc and Wildwoods Wisdom • Oood
Medicine: The s.._ Lodge
ISSUE TWENTY-THREE - Spring, 1989
Pisgah Village • Pl111e1 An - Orcen City Poplar Appeal - "CllOllt Sky" · "A New Eulh"
Black Sw1n • Wild IAvcly Days - Reviclwa:
Socred Land Socr«d Sa; Ice "6«. Poem:
"Sudclcn Tc:ndrits"
ISSUE FOURTEEN . Winter 1986-87
lJoyd C.rt Owle • Boogers Ind Mummcn • All
Species Day • Cabin Fever Univonity •
Homeless in Kaulah • Homemade Hot Wat..Stovemalter's Narrative - Oood Medicine:
Interspecies Communic:alion
ISSUE EIOITTEEN. Winter 1987-88
Vamcular Archilecture • Dreams in Wood and
Sione • Mountain Home • Earth Energies •
Euth-She.llcred Uving • Membrane Houses •
Brush Shelter • Poems: Octobu DWJt. • Good
Medicine: "Shell.Cr"
ISSUE FlFTE.E.N • Spring 1987
CoverlelS • Wom1n Forester - Susie McMahan
Midwife • Alternative Contraception •
Bioscxuality • Bion:gionalism 1nd Women Oood Modicinc: MAlriudW Culture - Petarl
ISSUE NINETEEN · Spring. 1988
Perelmdra Cl~ · Spring Tonics • Blueberries
WildOower Gardens - Cranny Herbalist •
Flower Eucnces • "The Origin of lhc Animals:
Siory. Good Modlcinc: "Power" - Be AT"'°
ISSUE SIXTEEN · Summer 1987
Helen Waite • Poem: Visions in a Garden •
Vision Quest - First Flow • lnitillion •
Leaming in the WUclemess • Cherokee
OWJcnp - -Valuing Trees"
ISSUE TWENTY · Summer. 1988
l'luave AppaJacru.n Wildr:mw · HiaJ!landl
of Roan • Cclo Community - l.IDd Trust Anh11r MOf1111 School - Zonin1 luue • .,,,_
Ricl&e" • Farmers and \he Farm Bill • Good
Medicine: "lMld" - Acid Rain - Duke's Power
Play · Chaokee Miaohydro Projoc:t
ISSUE TWENTY ·FOUR - Summer. '89
Deep Listt:rting · Life in AIOmic C"lly - OiftlCt
Actlonl · Tree of Pe.ce • Commuruty Buildlftg
Pcaccmaltcrs - Ethnic Survival • Pairing
Project • "Ba.tllesong" • Growing Peace in
Cullurea · Review: Tltc Clta/iuOlld IN Blatk
ISSUI! TWENTY-FIVE· FALL. 1989
The Gn:at Forest • Resl.orina Old Orowtlt •
Regional Planning • Tunbcr • Forest Roada
Poem: Sparr- Hawk. · A Pl..:e f« Bun •
'7/uu FLU 1/tc RtWi HLaElfl" • l!utern
P1nthcr • Oak Decline • People md Habiw
Wtld S--n.s - Daner Fair
- - - ---- - - - - - -- - - - - -- - - - - - - - -- ---- - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - ~UAtt)OURNAL
P.O. Box 638 Leicester, NC Katuah Province 28748
Formo~info:
Name
Regular Membership........ $10/yr.
Sponsor.........................$20/yr.
Contributor.....................$50/yr.
Address
City
call Mamie Muller (704)683-1414
State
Zip
Enclosed is $
to give
this ejfon an exua bOOst
I can be a local contaet
Area Code
loll.mer, 1989-90
Phone Number
person for my area
Back Issues
=
Issue# __@ $2.50 S_ _
Issue# _@ $2.50 = $_ _
Issue# __@ $2.50 = $_ _
Issue# __@ $2.50 = $_ _
Issue#_@ $2.-59= $_ _
Complete Set (3-1 J, 13-16,
18-25)
@
S3s.oo =s__
1
�
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 26, Winter 1989-1990
Description
An account of the resource
The twenty-sixth issue of the <em>Katúah Journal</em> focuses on children and parents: their roles in family and in the bioregion. Authors and artists in this issue include: Thomas Berry, Samala Hirst, Ellie Kincade, Linda Metzner, Lucinda Flodin, Martha Perkins, Jan Verhaeghe, Christina Morrison, Karen Watkins, Doug Woodward, Trish Severin, Susan Griesmaier, Aviva Jill Romm, Tom Youngblood-Petersen, Rob Messick, Will Ashe Bason, Jermain Mosely, Marnie Mikell, James Rhea, Martha Tree, and David Wheeler. This issue also features an interview with Bonnie Blue, puppeteer. <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
1989-1990
Table Of Contents
A list of subunits of the resource.
Coming of Age in the Ecozoic Era by Thomas Berry.......1<br /><br />Kids Saving Rainforests by Samala Hirst.......4<br /><br />Kids' Treecycling Company.......5<br /><br />Conflict Resolution and the Family by Ellie Kincade.......6<br /><br />Developing the Creative Spirit by Linda Metzner........8<br /><br />The Balloon is a Unicorn by Artspirit Studio.......9<br /><br />Birth Power by Lucinda Flodin and Martha Perkins.......10<br /><br />Birth Bonding by Jan Verhaeghe.......11<br /><br />The Magic of Puppertry: An Interview with Bonnie Blue by Christina Morrison and Karen Watkins.......12<br /><br />Home Schooling by Doug Woodward and Trish Severin.......15<br /><br />Ceremony: Traditional.......16<br /><br />Mother Earth: The Natural Classroom by Susan Griesmaier.......18<br /><br />Biodegradable Diapers by Aviva Jill Romm.......18<br /><br />Resources........19<br /><br />Gardening Tips for Children by Tom Youngblood-Petersen.......19<br /><br />Natural World News.......20<br /><br />"From the Diary of a Modern Child" by Rob Messick.......24<br /><br />Pocket Cultures by Will Ashe Bason.......24<br /><br />Drumming.......26<br /><br />Forest Rescue: An Ecological Manifesto.......29<br /><br />Webworking.......30<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</em> <em>Mountaineer</em> Press
Subject
The topic of the resource
Bioregionalism--Appalachian Region, Southern
Sustainable living--Appalachian Region, Southern
Puppeteers
Conflict management
Natural childbirth
Child rearing--Appalachian Region, Southern
Home schooling
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
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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
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
PDF
Journals (Periodicals)
Agriculture
Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Studies
Bioregional Definitions
Black Bears
Community
Education
Electric Power Companies
Folklore and Ceremony
Forest Issues
Habitat
Hazardous Chemicals
Health
Katúah
Poems
Politics
Radioactive Waste
Reading Resources
Recycling
South PAW (Preserve Appalachian Wilderness)
Transportation Issues
Turtle Island
Villages
Western North Carolina Alliance
Wilderness
Women's Issues
-
https://omeka.library.appstate.edu/files/original/9f2387ce382112b7b0a8bda018a48500.pdf
09fa3efa31f6a47dc90c3efbe5b45134
PDF Text
Text
ISSUE 28 SUMMER 1990
$1.50
�~UAH JOURNAL
PO Box 638 Leicester, NC Kaluah Province 28748
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED
Postage Paid
Bulk Mail
Permit #18
Leicester, NC
28748
�Carrying Capacity ....................... 3
by David Wheeler
Setting Limits to Growth:
Interview with Dr. Gary Miller.......•.•.•. 5
Recorded by David Wheeler
What Is Overpopulation?................... 7
by Stephe11 Bartlett
The Road Gang ......................... 8
by Rob Barro11
The Highway to Nowhere ............ 9
Opening Pandora's Box:
The 1-26 Projec1 ......................... 10
by Rob Barron
"Caring Capacity" .................... 11
by Will Ashe Bason
People and Habitat. .................. 12
by Chip Smith and
Lee Kinnaird Fawcett
Designing the
Whole Life Communicy.............. 14
by Marnie Muller
Steady State ................... ........ 15
by .Tim llouser
Poems by Will Ashe Bason ............. 17
Good ~lcdicine........................ 20
Transportcrnativcs .................... 22
by Pmrick Clark
Imagining
the End of Real Estate ................ 23
hy Jlecrdire P. CotUic'Cllt
Naturnl World Ncws .................24
!\Jan and the Biosphcrc ...............27
Drumming ............................. 28
l.e11crs to Katuah Joum31
Review: Cohousing .................. 30
by Will Ashe Bason
Events .................................. 33
Wcbworking ...................... .... 34
----
,
A f': are blesL The Katuah Province
V V~f the bioregion of Appalachia is a
place of beauty with abundant rainfall,
verdant forests, rich bottomland soils
developed from the old rocks of the hills,
and a wide diversity of plant and animal
species. The highland forests have provided
well for a human population for 14,000
years. They have maintained sttong
populations of other animal species for eons
longer than 1hat. And they consistently
perform important life suppon services for
the entire planet.
Yet today the growth and
development of human culture in the
Southern Appalachians is threatening the
viability of the system as a whole. And we
do not seem 10 know how to conttol ii. We
cannot control it because the idea of physical
"growth" is enshrined on a cultural pedestal
and is considered to be among the ranks of
the holy - beyond question. Physica1
"growth" is the economic watchword of our
society, the one tactic that has never failed
us. It is the measure of our economic
success in the concept of our Gross
National ProducL It is seen as the panacea
for all our economic ills, local or national.
But now our concept of infinite
growth has collided headlong with the
physical Limits of our biosphere. We have
passed the point of diminishing returns, and
our response is to squeeze our environment
all the tighter, even as it becomes
increasingly apparent that our world can no
longer stand the strain. But we still seem
unable to give up our addiction to the:
concept of infinite increase. We mochfy the
word "growth" with the limiting adjectives
"quality" and "responsible," but vinu~lly no
one is willing to publicly bring up the idea
that here in the Katiiah Province we have
alreotly surpassed the ability of the l3nd to
suppon our great numbers and our grea1
enterprise.
This is because the idea of carrying
capacity is not widely known. Carrying
capadty means the extent of a habitat'~
ability to suppon a conunuously sustainable
population of a particular species. Any
aspect ofhabita1 can be the critical clement
that limits carrying capacity for a given
species, although food or water are usually
the determining factors.
Even 1hose human beings familiar
with the notion of carrying capacity are
reluctant to apply it to our own species,
feeling that it violates some unspoken
human ttusl to admit that we, too, are bound
by the inevitable laws of Oeation. The truth
be known, in the Karuah bioregional
province we need to work to lessen our
species' impact on the ecosystem that
sustains us. But instead our numbers and
impact continue to rise.
The two-headed bogey of growth
and development is going to be one of the
most crucial issues facing all of us in the
Karuah Province in the decade 10 come. In
the mountains, developmem is synonymous
with access. Access today means roads.
Where the roads go, habitat destruction
follows. In some ways, the futare of our
. region is as simple as that
"'for Cife. in t~ mountains
is fi'Tling in tfanger
Of too many people.,
too many macftine.s... •
S""8 {yriu 6y Jolin 'Dentler
To understand whaL is happening to
us and to our region we need to understand
the idea of carrying capacity. We need to be
able to wield that idea incisively in order to
communicate to others about what is
happening and to bring about change.
The solution is for us to redefine the
relationship between our species and our
mountain habitat We need to see that we are
the mountains, that we are the forest Our
model is the old-growth forest itself. When
a forest is in the early stages of succession,
i1 grows aggressively. using up great
amounl.'i of energy, producing great
amounts of biomass. This is known as a
young forest. In the study of anthropology,
a society such as ours that expands
aggressively into the world is also known as
a young culture.
A young forest is constantly
growing toward whaL is known as the
climax condilion. In the climax, or
old-growth. forest, the processes of growth
and decay are maintained in a precise
balance Lhat is sustainable indefinitely. A
forest in the climax stage is considered 10 be
a ma111re forest. Like a mature forest, a
mmure culture emphasizes conservation of
energy, makes less demands on the world
around it, and is capable of continuing
1ndefini1ely in a condition of sustained
equilibrium with its surrounding habitat.
We, at the height of our destructive
cultural adolescence. need to decide: are we
going to add yet another ecosy_stem to our
list of conquests, or are we going to grow
into maturity as a culture ~d come once .
again into balance with this beautiful land m
which we are blest to live?
Drawing by Rob Messick
-The Editors
�~LJAH JOURNAL
STAFF TI IJS ISSUE:
Susan Adam
Patrick CJark
Karen Lohr
Stephen Banlett
Jim llouser
Mamie Muller
James Rhea
Chip Smith
Tersh Palmer
David Wheeler
Manha Tree
Rob Messick
EDITORIAL ASSISTANCE:
Will Ashe Bason
Jack Chaney
Michael Havelin
Scott Bird
John Creech
COVER: by Rob Messick © 1990
BACK COVER illus1ra1ion by Joaquin Wlu1e Oak. a na1fre o/1he
Chumash tribe of the west coast. The Chuma.sh cul/lue has all but bun
destroyed- there are fl() full-blooded tribal memben, and 1he language and
sp1ri1ua/ traditions hU\/t1 been lost. All 1Jra1 remains is o/ 1he old ways of the
uibe is in tlu! art tradilion, which Joaquin and a few others carry on.
Joaquin and his family are currently li1•ing ln Black /.fountain. NC.
PUBLISHED BY: Katt'talr Jo11ntal
PRTI\'TED BY: The WayneSVtlle Mo11nrai11eer Press
ED!ffiRIAl. OffJCE THIS ISSUE: The Globe Valley
WRITF US AT:
Kattial: Joumal
Box 638; Lcices1er, NC; Kaiuah l'rovincc 28748
TEI EPllOl'l:E: (70-i) 754-6097
Kaniah Jaurnal is on Skyland BBS, Asheville, NC.
For infonnation, call (70-i) 254-6700.
THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN BIORECION
AND MAJOR EASTERN RIVER SYSTEMS
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
/Jere 1n the southern-most hear1/and of the Appalachian mou11tains, the
oldest mounUJin range on our continent, Turtle Island· a small but growing group
has begun to 1alte on a sense of responsibility for the implications of tha1
geographical and cultural heritage. This sense of rcsp0nsibility centers on the
concept of living wit/Jin the natural scale and balance of univer.ral systems and
principks.
Within this circle we begin by invoking tht Cherokee name " Ka11lah"
as the old/new name for this area of the mountain.fund for us journal a.swell. Thr.
pro»ince is indica1ed by 11s natural boundaries: the Roanolc.e Rn·u Valley to the
nnrtl1; tl1e foothills of thr pit'dmont area ro the east: Yona MouMain and thr
Georgia liill.t to the south; and the Tennessee Riw~r \'alley 10 the wcs1
Thc cthtoria/ priori tie.< for us are to colleet and dinemina1e informn11on
and cnerJ!Y wliich J'(rtain.1 ,Tpecifica/ly /fl this region. and to foster tltr.11...,wenr.ss
tlt111 the land is a living bdng dcsl'rving of our lo»c and respect. LMng in this
manner is a way 10 ins1ue the .mstainabiliry of the bio.fpht:re and a /a.wns: p/au
for aurstfrc.f in its continuing tva/111t0nary proctss.
We sum to luwe reached thi: fulcrum {'<Jint ofa· do or die si111at1on in
terms of a quality .ttandard of life for all living beings on this planet. As a \'CJ/CC
for the rautllUrs o/ tht1 sacred land, K111"'1h, we advocate a rrnttrcd approach 10
th.: conupt of dccen1raliza11on. !1 i.f our hope to become a suppc•rt sy.flem for
thou accepting the challenge o/ .fu.flainab1/iry and 1he crca11on <if lwrmony and
balance in a total scMe, hetc in this place.
\l'e we/rotrU! all correspondence, criticism. pertinent information,
a.rticlcs. artwork, tic. w11h hopes tlrat Kattlah will grow to scr1•e the best 111urem
of this rtgion and all ils li\•ing. breathing trU!mhers.
.~
• The Edi1ors p-'
H
D1vcrs1l) 1s an tm(IOl'l:lnl dcmcnl of l:>1oreg1onul ecology, both
natural and social. In line w11h lh1s prmcipk. tho: J.'atWih Journal tries to
serve as a forum for the discussion of regioml JSsucs. Signed nttic k~ ~xprc!>.~
only the ormion of the authors and arc no1 ncccssar1ly the opinions or the
KatWih Journal tditors or staft .
The Internal Revenue Service ha~ declared Kattlnh a non·prolit
organizauon under sccuon 501(<:)(3) of the Internal Revenue Cod.:. All
contributions to Kat"'1h are dedoc11blc from personal income uu.
'LNVOCA.T'LON
The Wonder of lhc World
Nature's Beauty and Power.
The shape of things
Their colors. lights. and shades.
111esc r saw.
Look ye also while life lasts.
- InscrlpUon on an old English gravestone
~
KATU~RlN·1Ht·YEf\~- 2022.?
Cart.oon b) Rob Messick
.. .
Summrr, 1990
�CARRYING CAPACITY
by David Wheeler
ln 1944 a small island in Alaska was
stocked with 24 reindeer. There had been no
reindeer previously on the island, and 1hc
animals had no natural predators. Lichens and
other na1ural foods were plentiful and 1he
reindeer prospered. They prospered ro the extent
that by r963 there were 6,000 of the animals
inhabi1ing the island. By then the island was
badly overgrazed, and the severe snowstonns
tha1 s1ruck the area that winier decimated the
herd. By the winter's end there were only 42
reindeer left, only one of them a male. all of
1hem probably sterile from nu1ri1ion deficiency,
living in a badly degraded environment.
This small tragedy was recorded by David
R. Klein in the Journal of Wildlife Managemem.
It is known today as a classic case of the
consequences of violating 1he carrying capacity
of a defined habitat area. The moral for 1he
wildlife managers reading the story was that the
reindeer herd should have been managed to stay
below a maximum density of five reindeer per
square kilometer, a level that 1he island could
have supported indefinitely.
In the natural world, when a species
exceeds the carrying capacity of 11s given
habitat, if it canno1 expand its niche, then 1ha1
species sufferi; a dicback, usually from
starvation, until its numbers once again drop
back wi1hin the limits or its habitat's carrying
capacity.
Although we recognize the
idea of carrying capacity, we are
reluctant to admit its relevance to
our own species. The concep1
arose from the observations of
ecologists. who apply i1 as a
mauer of course to any
popula1ion being "managed" to fit
into a particular human-dcfmed
habitaL But even though we have
reached the geographic and
resource limits of the globe and
human habitat is now limhed as
well, we still hcsi1ate 10 apply the
concept of carrying capacity 10
our own kind. There is a myopic
assump1ion that somehow our
own selves are exemp1 from this
natural law 1hat applies to every
species in Creation.
The na1ural area in which
to calculate carrying capacity is
the bioregion, as the bioregion is
the basic uni1 of habitation, for
the human as well as 01her
species. It is relatively
uncomplicated to estimate the
carrying capacity for plant and
animal species once their habiiat
needs are known. In nature all
creatures are closely linked 10
their habitat and when one crucial
clement of 1heir life support
system is ovenaxed, usually food
or water, the species begins to
experience dicback. It is
Summer, 1990
characteris1ic tha1 overpopulated animal species,
like the unfortuna1e reindeer herd on St.
Mauhcw Island, usually degrade 1heir local
environment 10 some extent, sometimes
irreversibly, as they anempt to scrape out the last
shreds of sustenance before the population is
pruned back 10 sustainable levels. The role of a
predator species is co srrenglhen lhe gene pool of
their prey and 10 keep the population of 1he prey
species within the limi1s of carrying capacity,
preventing this environmental degradation.
The classic equation for figuring the
impact of a human socie1y is: population size x
1mpac1 of technology =effect on the habitat.
These factors are modified by the spiritual and
ecological altitudes of 1he socie1y. This equa1ion
is no1 useful in arriving at specific number
values, but rather it illustrates relationships. II
tells us, for example, that a slight rise in
population among the people of Turtle Island
has a much greater impact on the planetary
environment than a large rise in population in
most Third World counties because of the
garganiuan appe1ite of our energy-iniensivc
technology.
Human industrial technology has
complica1ed the idea of carrying capacily as it
applies to our own species. A habi1a1's carrying
capaci1y can be s1ressed either by
over-occupation, by excessive resource
extraction, or by waste disposal overload.
Modem society, supported by our high-intensity
technology, can stress a regional habitat by the
sheer volume of resources i1 consumes, by
simply monopolizing much of the available
space, by turning out more waste than natural
systems can process, or by 1uming out wastes
so exo1ic or so toxic 1ha1 digesting organisms
cannot assimifate them.
Mos1 imponamly, however, we humans
have learned how to reach beyond our own
bioregions to import resources necessary for
life. Early human beings were dependent on
their immediate bioregion and the well-being of
the other species with which they shared iL
Today we can exhaust the resources of one
region and then put off the ecological
consequences of our ill-use by en1ering another
region and ex1racting from there the resources to
maintain, or even to expand, our bloa1ed levels
of consumption. Each time we reach beyond the
bounds of our own bioregions to find 1he
materials to suppon life or to dispose of our
waste products, we drain the vitality of the
victimized region and bring hardship 10 all its
inhabitants - plant, animal, nnd human.
We also are able 10 extend our reach
through rime. By drawing off fossil fuels
deposited in pas1 millennia, we have boosted our
numbers and our rares of resource consumption
to extravagant levels, c~ting an ecological debit
that will be lef1 for coming generations 10 pay.
For example, energy-intensive industrial
agricuhurc is "mining" soils, causing severe
long-tenn degradation by forcing them to feed
much greater numbers of people
and animals than their capabilities
allow. Another example is our
fossil fuel wastes, which for
centuries will remain toxic
momenioes of the brief flowering
of industrialism. While we have
all the fun, our dcscendents will
have to resolve all the long-term
problems crea1ed by our energy
bonanza.
It lends a sense of urgency
to 1he ques1ion of carrying
capacit)' when we realize that we
are driving 100 species per day
into extinction and habitats
world-wide are constantly being
degraded
by
our
Himprovcments." We seem quite
willing to sacrifice the existence
of any other species, even the
greatest and grandes1, rather than
relinquish even 1he slightest
aspect of our prodigal lifestyle.
When we drive other life forms to
extinction, clearly we have gone
too far. ln doing this we not only
diminish the present world; we
threaten the planet's evolutionary
future.
Carrying capacity is not the
only balance to which we have to
pay attention in this world, but
for the purposes of evaluating our
success as a species, it is a most
useful one. Predator species have
(continued on next page)
JGQtimh ) 01unm p1a9e 3
�Photo by Doug Woodward
CARRYING CAPACITY (conunucd from p. 3)
instinct~al popul~tion. controls that help them
keep t~e1r.~pulauons m ~ance ':""ith their prey
• temtonahty, no maung during lactation
periods, long gestarion times. In some cases
infant monality rates are helped by adult males
wh? will kill and eat young cubs in their
temtory. Predators "know" somewhere in their
make-up that il is to their advantage to keep their
populations Jean and spare.
Humans seem to have retained this sense
of survival while living as nomadic and
semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers. Tribal people
had a variety of contraceptive melhods: herbal
magical, and ritual. ln some tribes wome~
would nurse their children into their founh and
fifth year, thus decreasing fertility. In some
hunting societies when times were hard,
mothers would sometimes bury a child rather
than let it live to face possible slow starvation.
Even nomadic hunting societies had unspoken,
but clearly defined, boundaries to their
wandering. Primitive people bowed to the
nece~ities imposed by their role as a predator
species.
The development of agriculture is marked
as a turning point in our conception of
ourselves. Agriculture allowed much denser
le~els of population, and a large number of
children per family became a desirable goal in
most agricultural societies, as it meant help in
I.he fields and a buffer against the high infant
monality engendered in the more densely
populated, unsanitary agricultural villages. It is
accepted as a general rule that when peoples tum
to agriculture, their populations shoot up.
However,
on
Turtle
Island
agricultural/hunting societies contradicted that
rule. ~ere in the Southern Appalachian
Mountams che Cherokee Indians maintained
balanced numbers in chis region of abundant
resources for many generations. The Hopi, the
Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) tribes, and the
Man~an repf7sented other native people:> who
pracuc:ed agnculture yet kept their population
levels in tune with the ability of their regions to
provi~e. It ~s t><?ssible to have resources enough
and soll ma.mlalll a balance with the land.
Recent archaeological finds show that
Neolithic agricultural societies in Europe also
JGcitUah Jourt;'QL ~Cl~, 4
had achieved that balance. However, the
Inda-European nomads who conquered the
continent never learned that an. Europe was
already filled to overcrowding when Columbus
opened up the New World for exploration at the
end of the fifteenth century. The Black Plague
had diminished the population somewhat, but it
had quickly recovered. There was not land
enough for all, so under the primogeniture
system fathers gave their holdings to their oldest
son and the younger sons went viking , to the
Crusades, or to the monastery. They saw I.he
world as theirs to plunder.
Immigration to the New World vented the
building population pressure in Old Europe and
postponed the dire predictions of Malthus in the
late eighteenth century concerning the miseries
of a land overcrowded beyond its carrying
capacity. Conditioned by life in the Old World,
the white immigrants coming to Tunic lsland
saw the. cont~ent in terms of opponunity:
economic capual, untouched resources, and
productive land - opponunity, in other words
'
for exploitation.
Today, with world population at five and
one-quaner billion and the population on this
contin_ent.at 420.100.000, returning to Carrying
capac11y 1s, more than ever, a necessary goal.
Yet the etruc of today is "growth." Growth is
seen as being synonymous wilh prosperity. But
when cells grow without heed to the needs of
the greater organism, this is called "cancer."
And this is precisely the nature of industrial
society in the world today.
We need to regain the predator's sense.
As a species, panicularly here in I.he Southern
Appalachians. we need to reverse the growth
et~1c. and restore the balance. If we are not living
wnhin the bounds of sustainability for our own
bioregion. then we are leeching energy from
other people and other species in other
bioregions or from the non-human species of
our own reJ?;ion.
For 500 years on this continent the
dominant influence has been to direct our energy
outward. to change the world to meet our
perceived wants and needs. We are now
realizing that we are not greater than the world,
that we are part of the world. With that
realization comes responsibility. Now the wsk is
to change ourselves and our society to fit the
demands of the Greater Life, specifically life as
we find it in our respective bioregions.
For the sake of the Greater Life, we need
to set aside large areas where native species can
find a home and the narural processes prevail.
For the sake of the Greater Life, we need
to curb our appetites ("Live simply that others
may simply live."). It is imperative that we use
all appropriate methods to limit our numbers.
For the sake of the Greater Life, we need
to c:ease. the productio~ of all slowly-degrading
rad1oacuve and 01herw1se toxic materials. Once
pr<>?uced, they inevitably end up in the life
chain, and the destructive influence of their
poisons accumulates in the body of the Eanh.
For the sake of the Greater Life, we need
to honor and show respect for the process of
death as well as for 1he process of birth.
Although the fact is masked by the
of latter day civilization, we are
JUSt as dependent on our regions as our earliest
forebears. As stated above, bioregions are the
basic unitS of habitation. They are our sphere of
influence, o~r gift and our challenge. We may
venture out mto the world, but our bioregion is
always "home." When we are willing to
recognize our limits, we wilJ find them clearly
stated in the life offered by our biorcgion~
~omogeneity
~
JAJI. ADDITIOS
A EASURE OF PROGRESS
~~
Phow counesy or lhe N&1 Ri- Fru Prus
Su.m,mer, 1990
�SETTING LIMITS TO GROWTH:
ANINTERVIEWWITHDR.GARYMILLER
KaJ(talz Journal: How does carrying capacity work in
nature?
Gary Miller: The limits of a habitat's carrying capacity for
any given species come into play during what 1 call the "pinch
period," when one of the basic factors of that species' life
support - available food, proper conditions for reproduction,
growth space, water, etc. - becomes a limiting factor. A species
will reach carrying capacity when one of these limiung factors
stops population growth or causes population decline.
To carry that over to the human population, we are now
seeing clearly that certain areas - like Central Africa - are having a
very difficult time feeding themselves. Many pans of the United
States are now running out of water, so water availability is
becoming a critical limiting factor. There is no doubt that there is
a whole series of limiting factors that are going to affect human
carrying capacity, whether in terms of a region or in cenns of the
planet.
We don't know what the planet's ultimate carrying capacity
for human beings is. It's highly variable according to the
different parameters at work in different regions of the world.
Some ecologists are saying that the human population is double
the planet's long-tellll carrying capacity for our species. In other
words, the true biological, long-term, sustainable carrying
capacity for the people this planet can support is presumably
somewhere in the 2 1/2 billion range. We arc now approaching
five and one-quaner billion people.
KJ: Having fossil fuels available really complicates it.
GM: The fossil fuels that we are now extracting allow us to
exceed carrying capacity, because they offer an artificial way to
support great numbers of humans. However, that energy supply
is finite. Natural gas and oil will run out in the near future. Coal
will probably last some 200-400 years in the United States.
If we were 10 lose these fuel sources immediately, it \\'OU Id
cause all sorts of misery for the human population, because
vinually all the methods we in the West use to grow our food and
create our extrnvagant creature comfons arc based on fossil fuels.
Food production, one of the most important issues defining
carrying capacily for humans, is clearly now a function of fossil
fuel subsidies in the developed countries.
We live in a world agricultural economy based entirely
upon readily available and relatively cheap sources of fossil fuels.
The orange juice produced in Brazil, the apricots and strawbemes
produced in Spain. or the couon products grown in Egypt can be
shipped any place around the globe in a very shon period of time.
Water from the mountains of Nevada irrigates produce grown in
the San Joaquin VaUey of California. But try to accomplish that
when fossil fuel supplies are exhausted! That's when the real
issue of carrying capacity will be felt and understood by our
species.
KJ. Also for human beings. the qucsuons of values comes
into it, too. Right now we are continuing our own support at the
standard to which we are accustomed by sacrificing other
species' life suppon systems, thereby driving them to extinction.
GM: Based on our present population numbers and level of
resource consumption, we are basically incompatible. We have a
tendency to monoculture virtually everything, and once we take
out the native grasslands, the native upland forests, and wetlands
and replace them with monocultures, about the only thing that can
survive are the plants and the animals that are broad generalists
and a few parasites and predators that thrive off of those
monoculture species.
KJ: How about in the mountains? Arc there ways in which
it is evident that we are violating our region's carrying capacity?
GM: One thing 1 think of right away i~ the _rapi.d rat~ of
loss of flatlands the mosc suitable farmland 10 this b1oregton.
Those bouoml~nds are also prime areas for industrial and
Summe~,
t 990
•
Phoio by Rodney Webb
commercial s11e development, which means shopping malls and
all the things associated with malls and strip development.
Concentrated housing is also going up on relatively flat
land. The best farm lands available should be set aside for
farming so that we can support ourselves if and when we find
ourselves in a pinch period. If our supply lines are ever cut,
whether because of a war. or because we run out of fossil fuel
energy, or because of a natural disaster, we will have to rely on
our ability to produce food locally. But much of our prime farm
land is going under pavement and building structures, never to
be reclaimed. For all intents and purposes, that land is lost
forever, and with that land we have lost our ability lO cope should
any of these hypothetical disasters actually occur. Mu~h of the
bouomland habitat has disappeared, and as a result na11vc plant
and animal populations have declined. Very few mountain
wetlands exiSt today.
I question the quality of our present political leadership. It
seems like we need to call a moratorium on growth. There needs
to be time set aside to plan for the future. We need to plan now
how we are going to accommodate all species' survival. How
many people can we accommodate here before we do irreparable
harm t0 our support ecosystems and to the natural biota?
KJ What would be the most effective way to put a
moratorium on growth?
GM: One of lhe ways is for the citizenry to demand it. That
isn't likely to happen.
Another way would be for the lcad~hip of the community
to call for it, realizing, in their wisdom, that we live within finite
systems.
Another way is simply to not extend the ~ecessary
infrastructure services - such things as roads, electnc power,
water, and sewer.
KJ: Those items are presently thought of as services, but
they act in a much more aggressive way. Simply having those
layers of infrastructure in place guarantees growth.
GM: Absolutely. If you want an area to grow and dev~lop.
extend water lines, streets, power, and sewer. and ll 1s
guaranteed to develop.
There was an article in the Asheville Citizen on March 7,
1990 that told how the Asheville City Council approved a
subdivision by a 4-3 vote despite testimony from the fire
department stating that they would not be able to ~uarantee fire
protection to that development, be<:ause the slope 1s too steep to
get the fire trucks up under icy conditions.
What the city council said was. "We want to keep
growing."
�What the leadership should be saying is, "If we can't
protect the people who would be living there, then the developers
shouldn't be building there."
I think that in this case our leaders were shirking their
responsibility and cenainly not looking out for the general
public's best interestS.
KJ: But on the other hand, not having the infrastructure in
place effectively prohibits growth ...
GM: ...Or at least keeps it at a very low density, because
most developers are going to be wary of developing a large
project where they can't be guaranteed infrastructure.
Kl: So the infrastructure has a pivotal role as far as the
extent of development.
GM: Yes. One of the biggest problems we now have in
Asheville, NC where I hve, is is the controversy around
extending the water supply infrastructure. The first choice of the
city leadership was tapping the French Broad River. For various
reasons the public said no.
If the voters were to say forcefully, ''No, we don't want a
new water supply, let's make do with what we have," saying in
other words that conservation should be a first priority, that
would put a crimp in long-term growth here.
The same thing is true for the sewer system. The sewer
lines are continually being extended. We have hundreds of miles
of pipeline that arc in critical disrepair, with leaks showing in
different locations throughout the city and the county, and still the
only time the administration ever hesitates to extend the sewer
lines is when the state threatens them with a lawsuit saying, "You
already have too many leaks in that area and the manhole covers
are popping out whenever it rains. You can't possibly extend."
So the city calls an emergency meeting, and they give a
million-dollar contract, rush in and repair the immediate
problems, and then they can extend the line and add more houses
in that area. They repair the sewer system just enough so that
they can go further out, which stresses it all over again.
Kl: Then the new power lines that Duke Power Co. is
going to put through the counties south of here is not just a
neutral kind of thing.
GM: Any time you extend any major form of
infrastructure, it cannot be defined as neutral. Any time those
services are punched through, they definitely tend to promote
growth.
KJ: In the mountains one of the most imponant types of
infrastructure is roads, because in the mountains access is always
one of the major limiting factors. When access is gained to an
area, that means that the people come, and as the access improves
and becomes easier, that brings more people. It happens very
consistently Wt as soon as there is access, the maximum number
of people come in.
GM: Absolurely.
It's creeping incrementalism. Everyone assumes that this
linle road here or that little activity there really doesn't make any
difference. But this occurs hundreds or thousands of times every
single day in any given region, and when one translates it to a
world-wide scale, one can see that we are forcing lms of
organisms and the habitats that are required to suppon them into
siruations that are life-threatening. There are 5 1/4 billion humans
out there; each of them, every day, has some son of effect on the
environment.We all make decisions that are in our own best
interests. We rarely think in terms of the best in1eres1s of the
woodpecker, the salamander, 1he migrating songbird, or the oak
tree; yet all the creatures of the forests and of the waterways
perform critical activities that benefit us both directly and
indirectly.
Kl: In this region the major effects of roads would be to
ei1her increase the density of human beings in certain areas or to
bring human beings into areas that were previously uninhabited.
GM: An example is the proposed Route I-26, which is to
link Asheville with a Tennessee state highway to Johnson City.
AU of the areas through which this new route will pass are going
to experience a period of extremely rapid expansion, simply
because they are going to be accessible to an estimated 12,000
vehicles a day.
Any time a major interstate is put through a rural area
where there is relatively low-priced land available, there is a
likelihood that someone is going to buy up land for industrial and
commercial development. There will be a lot of strip development
and probably small mini-industrial parks will sprout up along the
route. As a result, an increase in air pollution will occur as
nicrogen oxide, a precursor for tropospheric (low altitude) ozone
formation, is formed by all the passing vehicles. We now know
that low-level ozone is a major toxicant to plant Life in the
Southern Appalachians.
But of course that is what the growth and development
people m this area are willing to settle for. They are willing to
sacrifice a high quality environment for a middle quality
environment
The wisdom of that approach is highly debatable. Someone
looking at the long-term sustainability of all species, not just the
human species, quickly comes to the conclusion wt we just can't
keep growing indefinitely in an area that has such very special
features. To my mind the Southern Appalachian Mountains need
to be recognized as the highest kind of bio-rescrve, as opposed to
just another location for industrial and commercial development.
The mountains have exceptional physical and biological
traits. Large sections of the moumain habitat should be set aside
as a major genetic reserve area. There should be guarantees that
this special bioregion is not subdivided into a thousand small
biological islands surrounded by human developments and the
resulting pollutants.
(continued on page 21)
GM: A big boom occurred here as a result of the opening
of the 1-40 interstate. It was a coast-to·coast route that brought
thousands of new people through this area each week. many of
whom found the Southern Appalachians to be delightful and
decided that in some form or other they were going to come back
here and spend more time. Many of them have returned to visit,
and many of them have in fact moved here as permanent
residents.
KJ: That principle works on all levels. l-40 meant that
more people came into the region. a road going up into a new
cove or hollow means that there will be an innux of people into
that hollow, and a road going out into 1he national forest, means
that more people use that pan of the forest.
G.\f: Any rime we humans can open up access, sooner or
later people are going to use it. and that leads to increased use of
the area where that road has been added.
KJ· So stopping roads and roadbuilding would be an
imponant pan of limiting human territorial expansion.
JGal.Uah JourrmL PR9& 6
Su.f!\ma-, 1990
�WHAT IS OVERPOPULATION?
Reflections on China and Karuah
by Stephen Bartlett
My Chinese friend had jus1 arrived m Madison, Wisconsin in order
to spend a year s1udying English. He was hom~ick and in culture shock.
If I had no1 spent two years wilh him in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province. the
People's Republic of China, 1he commen1 he made 1hat warm July
evening would have been completely incomprehensible 10 me. We were
sitting on a lakeside pier when a family of ducks came circling around
overhead in the pink dusk and splashed down into the wa1er nearby, a
stone's throw from the towering University waterfront
Chen broke the silence with this innocent question: "Whose ducks
are those?''
After a stunned silence, I managed to reply "Nobody owns them.
They are wild ducks."
My words plunged Chen into a deep contemplation. Finally, be
said, "How marvelous! Bui who will eat them?"
Behind this cross-culmral schism there lies both tragedy and hope.
For China is not only a land where humans have devastated Nature, but
also a place where people have learned some profound ecological lessons
~nd p_u_t them int? practice.. Ah.hough the 240 million human beings
mhabmn~ ~e United States 1s su_ll a s~all number compared to China's
1,080 m1 lhon, we have a per capita environmental impac1 somewhere in
the range of 40-60 times 1hat of a common Chinese person due to our
s1unningly "afnuent" culture. We have been on 1his inherently rich
conuncnt only a very short time in Chinese tenns, yet we have already
managed to lay waste ro a vast area of our land and deplete resources at
astonishing speed.
What then can the Chinese teach us to allow us to avoid the terrible
des01Jcoon they have experienced over the centuries? Can we live beuer
wii~ less, live more fully on a smaller scale, live more humbly in our
bodies and on our lands?
Jiangsu Provin~e is a sophisticated humanized landscape. There
where deer ~nc~ frohcked perhaps two thousand years ago, 77 million
people_ now live 1n a well-watered'. canal-irrigated alluvial plain the size of
Georgia, on the ba~ks of che Hum and Yangtse Rivers. Seventy-five per
cem of th~ pe~ple live on uny rural plots of less than one acre per family:
the rest hve m crowded, bicycle and coal-powered cities encircled by
dense seulcmentS of truck gardeners who supply nil lhe produce the city
will consume. Despite a dense population, the rural landscape is relatively
diverse ecologically, and almost entirely edible.
Rice grown by hand in paddies is irrigated by canals and ditches
swarming wich fish which in tum feed Oocks of domesticated ducks and
geese who supplement Lhe rice/tofu diet of the humans whose wastes arc
returned to the fields, which yield bountiful harvests of grains. beans,
oils and vegetables, whose leftovers go 10 the family pigs. Travelling bee
keepers migrate northward in spring as the flowering trees blossom.
reaping honey harvests and cross-fcnilizing the crops and fruits along the
way. Water buffalo wallow in canals in summer and huddle behind hay
stacks in winter and resolutely turn the soil the rest of the time. They
endure extremes of temperature and live on both water plants and dry land
foods, making their upkeep easier. Wild birds are sometimes trapped, and
the bountiful rivers are fished for the protein foods they can provide.
Sunflower seeds arc munched by the ton in movie theaters and the husks
arc used as mulch the next day. Occasional woodlots and windbreak trees
between fields and along roads improve the microclimate, reduce erosion,
and supply wood produc1s for tools and other uses. Almost nothing is
wasted, but almost everything is put to human use.
Where we lived in Yangzhou--a small city by Chinese standards
wi1h its 350,000 odd mhab11ants, life was made bearable and even frutiful
due to these charac1eristics of the Chinese lifes1yle:
1) Bicycles arc the main source of transport and local shipping. Air
pollurion and noise from vehicles is minimized. People are fit.
Stephen Ban.km in a field in China
2) All. of the myriad vcgetnbles. fish, eggs. tofu and meat arc
purchased directly from the farmers themselves who, hv10g within a 2
mile radius of street markets, make their way by pedal power. Thus, Lhc
food distribution system is extremely efficient and avoids Lhc use of
fossil-fuels.
3) Farmers rely mainly on human wastes for fertilizing (ir being the
most abundant source!). They double as sanitation workers by collecting
all the "night soil" in "honey buckets", caning it to their fields to sit in
holding pits, and using 11 on their crops, most of which will in tum be
consumed by the city folk. The quality and tas1e of the food was
cxcelleni, as was the variety. The only drawback is the danger of the
spread of diseases such as hepatitis, a danger avoided mainly with the
technique of quick and hot stir frying of foods in fuel-efficient woks.
4) Shoppers go out daily carrying their purchases in straw baskets.
There is very little plastic or paper waste generated. Produce sellers
appear at dawn at almost every street comer in the ci1y where staples such
as cabbage, noodles and tofu can be boughL
5) People maintain healthful routines. They ride or walk to their
jobs which arc invariably near their homes. They arise early and enjoy
afternoon naps during most of the year.
6) A sophisticated, human·shaped ecosystem has been evolved
lhroughouc the countryside where many ecological niches are filled with
edible creatures. Frogs and other beneficial creatures nre protected.
Female fish at binhing age are thrown back. Fanners use land
intensively. double cropping rice in summer and reaping a winter harvest
of wheat or barley as well. Yields are on Lhe average of 2 to 3 times those
of American farme~. per acre. Humans rely mainly on vegetable protein,
thus enabling every acre of land to suppon at least JO people with basic
grains and soybean products. Sophisticated crop rotations are standard
practise.
7) People do not bum fuels to keep warm in winter but tum to high
energy foods such as pork fat. and many layers of flannel underwe:ir.
Even goose down stuffed co:tts and pants are common in rur.il as well as
urban areas. Air pollution from burning diny coal is thus minimi~d.
(Note: in the bitter cold of nonh China, coal burning is common and is
cause for terrible air pollution.)
Lest we anempt to idealize the Chinese way of life, we must be
awttre that they have arrived at such an ecological and egalitarian lifestyle
only after laying waste to much of their land, especially in the vast Yellow
River Valley in nonhem China, the cradle of early Chinese civilization.
So ~at has the destruction been that the majestic Yellow River 1hreatcns
to change course yet again and is perched prccariouslv behind dikes at a
height of 9 meters above the arable plain of Shandong Province. It is kept
m check only through the continual effom of millions of man-days work
to constantly reinforce the dikes with soil dredged from the mouth of the
River!
(conunucd oo pace 30)
Summ£T, t9!JO
Xlituah Journal pa!JC 7
�THE ROAD GANG:
PORT RAIT OF A STATE TRANSPORT AT ION DEPARTMENT
by Rob Barron
During the Depression years, when local
governments were going bankrupt, and the
economic fabric of the state was coming
unravelled. the s1a1e government of North
Carolina, in order to keep the road system
solvent and functioning, took over all the counry
roads and all the major city roads in the state.
Since that time, vinually every major road in the
state has been under the domain of the Nonh
Carolina Depanment of Transportation (DOT), a
proud and arrogant bureaucracy that wields great
political and economic power.
The DOT is responsible for maintaining,
and expanding when necessary, North
Carolina's 76,000 mile road system. The DOT
executes the will of the state Board of
Transponation. The Board numbers 25 of the
most powerful people in the state. Board
member~ include pre~idems of trucking
companies, an execuuve of a billboard
company, construction executives, and one
woma~, the daughter of a family that develops
shopp10g centers. They are all politically
prominent and won their appointments to the
Board through their valuable contributions of
money. and influence to the governor's political
campaigns. These are the people who make the
transponation decisions for Nonh Carolina.
To have control over roads is to have
political leverage within the state government.
The DOT has an enormous budget. It has a
dedicated source of revenue and does not have
to come back to the legislature every year to
plead for a budget and submit its workings to
legislative scrutiny. And DOT funds are
discretionary, meaning that the Board has
complete control over how they arc spent. Thus
road funds also act as political capital.
Lobbyist Bill Holman, who works in
Raleigh on behalf o f the Nonh Carolina Chapter
of the Sierra Club and the Conservation Council
of North Carolina, says that, "Paving
somebody"s road, or widening somebody's
road, or opening up somebody's propeny with a
road ~s one of the wa>'.s tha_t a governor can help
out h1s supponers. It is a rune-honored practice
in North. Carolina politics, spanning both
Democrauc and Republican administrations. The
building of highways is the single biggest pot of
discretionary pork barrel in the state budget and
it is almost tota ll y under the control of the
governor and his appoin tees. ..
'They are into more Political wheeling and
dealing than any other agency J know. The
amount of money and the amount of discretion
they wield is truly incredible. It's an
unbelievable hassle for the Division of Parks
and Recreation to spend several hundred
thousand dollars renovating a park - and it
probably should be that way, so that there is
some accountability for how public funds are
spenL But go over to the Highway Dcparunent.
and there is an enormous amount of wheelin"
and dealing going on involving projects i~
which millions of dollars are at stake.
"I don't think that there is much
out-and-out, undcr·the-table, illegal corruption
involved. There is a 101 of what I call "legal
corrup1ion," which is not illegal, but ii sure
Xatunn Jotnnal'. pnlJi: 8
does stink. There is a lot of politics in the paving
of roads. The location of a road determines that
some people make moot. on land use
speculation and others don't. Paving
contractors, the people that mine 1he rock,
consulting engineers, all those people wire
themse.lves into the political process with
campaign contributions. There's a lot of
patronage in the DOT. So, although it's not
illegal, let me just say that I'm not convinced
that it's public money well spent."
"I've worked wi th the
Forest Service before. and the
DOT makes the Forest Service
look like warm, fuzzy teddy
bears."
- Bill Holman, Sierra Club lobbyist
The Board of Transportation's greatest
power is control over the future of development
m the state. In Nonh CnroJina, it is fairly easy to
get a septic tank permit, a well permit, and a
building pennit. The state is notorious for its
lack of zoning regulations. Thai means lha1 the
only barrier to development is siting a road.
Since the counties lost control of their local road
systems, virtually all road decisions go through
the B~ai:d of Transportation. Local county
comm1ss1oners may, however, request changes
in their county's priority roads list, and the DOT
almost always accepts their amendments.
It is easy 10 see why roads are almost the
exclusive focus of the Board of Transponation.
Roads are power. Roads are money. Roads are
influence. Rai I roads, public transportation
programs, and energy conservation programs do
not offer such personal enhancement and
charisma.
The DOT believes in roads. Roads make
changes happen. Roads produce results. The
agency takes pride in doing itS job, laying the
pavement so that people can drive their cars and
trucks to get there faster, wherever they want to
go. They are engineers. Their task is to find the
shonest distance between two points. But the
agency also sees itself as the the facilitator of
economic development. 11 is a strongly-held
myth that highways bring prosperity. Around
the State House m Raleigh it is almost axiomatic
that, "~o~ds mean jobs." This is a corollary of
the prm?1ple .that, 'Gro~tb is good" - growth
almost mvanably meanmg the conventional
model of industrial factories and shoppmg
malls.
Since "growth is good," the DOT sees no"
reason why local governments should have
plans m place before new highways are laid
~own. :ro the _DOT, urban sprawl isn't ugly and
inefficient, tt s growth. And if developers are
geui.n~ rich because the people's tax money
subs1d1zes the sewers. w:1ter, and roads for their
projects, why. the people should be grateful.
llley arc gettmg growth.
As an agency. the DOT seems to think of
the environment as something that has to be
moved aside to get a road through. The National
Environmental Policy Act and the North
Carolina Environmental Policy Act now require
environmental assessments and in some cases
more thorough environmental impact statements
for highway projects. ll still is a :;truggle,
however, to get the DOT to follow
environmental regulations.
Road construction has massive direct
~ffec1s on the land. ~t best,. a new highway
involve~ eart~·mo.v1ng, soil turning and
compacuon, obbterauon of trees and other native
vegetation, fragmentation of forest habitat, and
of course habitat displacement in favor of the
usual pavement and grass highway landscape.
At worst, rondbuilding involves all this plus
stream siltation, filling of wetlands, and
destruction of rare and endangered habitats.
But unquestionably the most destructive
aspect of highway construction is the increased
human use and inevitable permanent
devel.oement that moves in along every road
once 11 IS in place.
An interesting dichotomy occurs here. Jn
selling their road plans, politicians and DOT
of!icials trumpet the amount of development that
will follow once road construction is completed.
They wax eloquent about the new factories.
malls, homes, and additional people the new
road will bring.
Once the road plan is adopted, however,
and it is time to prepare the environmental
assessments and impact statements, that same
development becomes completely insignificant.
It is a "secondary impact," implying that it is not
at all of primary imponance, and the public is
assured that this project (whichever project is
under discussion) has been carefully planned to
have little effect on the local environment. Jn the
language of the DOT, that same developmen t
that will have such a tremendous ecomomic
impact on the community wiJl be only a speck
on t~e local landscape, hardly enough to
menuon.
Up Aga inst a D·9 'Dozer
Environmentally-concerned citizens have
found the DOT to be an obstinate agency to deal
with, especially as the Depanment considers real
estate developers and contractors to be their
special constituency.
Holman says, "I've worked with the
Forest Service before, and the DOT makes the
Forest Service look like warm, fuzzy teddy
bears. The DOT is a relatively arrogant agency.
It is an agency that is used to getting its way. It
is an agency that is convinced that it is right, and
it doesn't take kindly to environmentalists or
anyone else proposing alternatives or criticizing
a particular route. So far, we have had very little
success in working with the DOT. They have
had so much clout, they haven't needed to
negotiate."
I low the DOT comes to have such clout is
apparent in the story of the Highway Trust
Fund, the $8.8 billion highway construction bill
that the Nonh Carolina legislature passed nearly
unanimously in 1989.
Eugene Brown. a political activist from
(contmucd on ncit p>.gl')
Summer, I 990
�THE HIGHWAY TO NOWHERF.
1he Durham area, tells 1he s1ory of the
Highway Trust Fund legislation:
"Jt was an example of the old saying I.hat
there are two things thar you should not
watch being made: sausage and state
laws. It epitomized the pork-barrel
approach to enacting legislation.
"When the legislators arrived in Raleigh
last year, most of them knew I.hat there would be
some type of a highway bill. Governor Manin
h~d promised that there would be a highway
bill. (Speaker of the House} Mavretic wanted it,
along.with some other key legislators. So they
esrablished a Highway Study Commission. This
commission traveled throughout the state and
held a long series of public meetings, basically
with the Chamber of Commerce people, elected
officials, developers, and bankers. The
commission came and basically said, "Well, do
you need any new roads here?"
"What do you think the response is going
to be from folks who fi1 into any of those
categories? h's going to be, 'Sure, we need
some new roads!' The Highway Study
Commission turned into a "gimme" session. h
was almost like asking fraternities if they wanted
free beer or asking the Pentagon if it needed any
new weapons.
."During the course of this study, very few
questJons arose about economic priorities,
cost/benefit ratios, alternatives to automobiles,
or mass transit. The politicians wanted new
roads, and they used the Highway Study
Commission to instigate what they called
"grassroots suppon" - but basically it was big
money support.
"Once the Highway Study Commission
report was in, the leading politicians came back
10 their colleagues in the I louse and the Senate
and said, "We need this road bill." So someone
from Charlotte said. 'Well. 1 know that you
need a few roads down east. but what can you
do for me?' and someone else said, 'What can
you do for me up in Winston-Salem?'
"It was a mushroom effect. ft blossomed,
not like nowers, like weeds. The strategy that
""'.as used to pass this bill was a very simple one:
give everyone what they want. And that's
exactly what happened - everyone got promised
everything they wanted."
. Almost all of North Carolina's legisla1ors
capitulated to the power of the growth ethic, and
the $8.8 billion Highway Trus1 Fund was
adop1ed wi1hou1 any serious opposition on the
noor.
Stalling the Machine
Bill Holman secs some hope in legislative
slrategies 1hat can chip away at the roads
package. "Remember," he says, "that one
legislature cannot bind another, and legislators
often change their minds, especially when they
hear from their constituents."
Even if the DOT received all the $8.8
billion allotted for roads, it would still be
impossible LO build all the roads listed in the bill.
And getting all $8.8 billion may be a problem.
The state government is already $419 million
overdrawn on its budget. All the other
depanmcnts of the state government arc feeling
the pinch and may begin to hover around the
smell of pork fat coming from the Highway
Buildinl? in Raleigh.
ln i1s eagerness 10 build roads, the DOT is
itself falling behind in its own maintenance
program and may have 10 divert construction
funds to care for roods already built.
Ed Harrison. Transponation Chair for the
NC Conservation Council and the NC Sierra
Club chapter. says that one lesson 10 be learned
i~ vigilance. He emphasizes that transponation
planning is a long·term process, going in seven
steps from conccpl, to proposal, 10 planning, to
Traveling slowly along a winding
secondary road I 0 miles from the town of
Robbinsville, North Carolina, drivers are often
surprised when they come upon a major
highway development that leaves the small
county route and strikes off into the far
mountains.
They have stumbled onto the entrance to
The Highway to Nowhere.
h is also known as the Tellico
Plains-Robbinsville Road. It extends '>i7 mil"S
through the Nant;ihala l'\ational forest bet\\ ccn
the two towns, one in Monroe County,
Tennessee and the other in Graham Count\',
Nonh Carolina. The tWO•l:tnc highway runs on
a wide, graded ro:idbed that cuts through terrain
that is steep, wild, and dangerous, disruptini: n
remote habitat area I.hat was once a sanc:tuary-for
the most reclusive of native wildlife. It is a road
that should never have happened. From its very
beginning the project "as ill-advbt:d, and its
history is one of destruction that has become
more Wld more expensive each s1ep along its
route.
The road was begun in the nurry of public
works spending during the War on Poveny
years. Residents of the two towns requested the
road, dramatizing their appeal with a wagon
train from Tellico Plains 10 Murphy, Nonh
Carolina 10 show the distance they had to travel.
The projec1 was authorized in 1962 to be
cons.tr~cted by the F~der~I Highway
Adm1n1strauon (FHA) as n 'scenic highway to
spur economic development in the two towns."
Construction began on both ends of the
road in 1965. On the Nonh Carolina side 4.6
miles of pavement were laid up Santeetlah Gap
along what is now the boundary between the
Joree Kilmer.Memorial Forest and the adjoining
Shckrock Wilderness Area. Work s1opped in
1969, however, wilh the passage of the National
Environmental Policy Acr (NEPA), which
required environmental impact SU1temen1s for
major projects throu~h sensitive areas.
Environmental groups successfully protested the
route through an ar~a soon 10 be designated
"ildemess, and a new alignment was chosen.
The roadway already buih was abandoned and
still can be seen. a monument to the folly of The
Highway to Nowhere.
Construction was resumed until 1977
when excavation in I.he Hemlock Creek-McNabb
Creek drainage on the Tennessee side uncovered
a deposit of pyriric rock material, which
releases a highly acidic leachate that kills stream
life. The short-term response was to release a
20% solution of sodium hydroxide, a highly
caustic but shon-lived chemical, that raised the
pH at the mouth of the creeks to 5.8. Then the
pyritic rock deposits were buried under topsoil
which wa~ limed and reseeded as a permaneni
control measure.
. li?wevcr, continued wa1er quality
mon11onng revealed that, although the addition
of the sodium hydroxide solution had
temporarily raised pH to levels tolerable to fish
nnd other stream life, as soon as these ll1:atments
were stopped the rneams had become acidic
again. The permanent mitigation measures had
failed.
(ccntilwcd on page 27)
(continu<d on page 11)
S\lmmn, t 990
,........
...
�It is 3!' innocu~us-seeming Listing among
the many in the thick TIP (Transportation
lmproveme~t Plans) book published by the
Nonh Carolina D~P!1f_tment of Transportarion
(DOT): NC D1111s1on 13 .. ID number
A-10..•. .30.4 miles from 1-240 in Asheville,
NC to rite Ten11essee state line a1 Sam's Gap
fo11r-la11e freeway, part on new
/ocation ... $136,700,000 .... But these few
simple_ phra~es spell more change for the
mountain region.
A1 present Route 19-23 leaves Asheville
North Carolina as a four-lane highway on th~
way to the Tn-City area of Johnson Ci1y
Kingsport, and Bristol. Tennessee. Just north of
\1ars I lill the route divides. with Route 19
veering east to Burnsville, and Route 23
continuing as a two-lane road, improved with a
passing_ lane on some grades, over Murray
Mountain and up 10 the Tennessee state line at
Sam's Gap on the Appalachian crest. On the
01her side of the mountains, 1he road winds
dow!l through the Cherokee National Forest,
passing t~rough massive earth-moving and road
construcuon before reaching Erwin, Tennessee
and 1hen continui~g <?n 10 Johnson City,
Interstate 8 1, the Ohio River Valley, and points
north and west.
T~e 15 miles of road construction
proceeding on the Tennessee side will widen the
route to a four-lane all t11e way to the state line at
Sam's _Gap. The Sme of North Carolina is
prepanng to do the same, either by improving
Route 23 along its present route (Alternative A)
or by creatin g Route 1-26, a contr0lled-acces~
freeway that would rake a srraigh1ercourse from
Mars Hill 10 the state line (Alternative D). Just
for the sake of discussion the DOT also offers a
"n<? ~uild" alternative 1ha; would leave the route
as It IS.
. . "Alternative A" would cos1 the state $48
null_1<?n and would cause the relocation of 77
faauhes and five businesses. "Alternative D"
would _cost $64,850,000 and would require the
relocanon of 52 families and six businesses.
The DOT, lhe "Chambers." lhe bankers,
~e truc.kers, .. and the developers favor
Al~emauve D, of C?u~. They promise 5,400
vehicles per day bnng10g money, Jobs. and
goods for the backward and impoverished
people of th~ moumain region. They say that
Route 1-26 will open the door of opportunity for
the So~thern Appalachians, connccling them
more directly to the eastern population centers
and the midwestem industrial centers.
However, I-26 is more likely 10 open
Pand~ra's mythical box of troubles.
H1stor:call}'._. new roads bring increased auto
polluuon, increased land prices. increased
mfrns~cture taxes, and increased crime and
congestion wherever they go. Most of all.
however, they ~ring more people. "ow quiet
rural areas. Madison and Yancey Counties will
never be t~e same after the opening of 1-26
channels inter-state traffic throug h their
m?untains and the side roads are upgraded and
"'1dcned to ex1cnd !he development.
As Ed Harrison, Transponation Chair for
the NC Conservation Council and ~C Sierra
Club Chapter, tells us. highway projec1s are a
OPENING
PANDORA'S BOX:
THE I-26 PROJECT
TO COLUMBUS
TO CHARLESTON
long time in the making. The idea of upgrading
Route 23 was first proposed in 1973 in the
Appalachian !-lighway Development Program.
Study began m 1977 and the alternative route
now touted as the 1-26 corridor was
~ecommended in 1978. The concept was stalled
m the early 1980's, but interest was renewed
wh~n T~nnessee began widening the corridor on
~heir. s1d~ of the state line.. Preliminary
1den11ficauon of the alternative routes now being
c?mpleted. 1he .DOT is now analyzing the
different a!1em~11ves. An environmental impact
statement 1~ bemg prepared by the J.E. Greiner
Co. of Raleigh. The final environmental impac1
statement is schedule~ 10 be completed by
August, 1991. The design phase will continue
until the spring of 1994, when the DOT will
begin 10 acquire right of ways. Consrruction is
scheduled to begin in the spring of 1996.
The environmental impact of the new
highway corridor would be immense. Thc:re is
no such thing ru. an environmentally-sensitive
four-lane highway project, and the DOT is
notorious for causing sedimen1a1ion problems.
The proposed 1·26 route parallels or crosse:; 15
stream~. The road plan calls for an interchange
on Big Laurel Creek, known as one of the 1en
best trout streams on the the French Broad river
watershed. The four-lane ..., ill make a wide
break i~ the Appalachian Trail at S:im's Gap.
There 1s talk of a welcome center on the
ridgeline of the Appalachian crest.
But Appalachian Trail hikers are nor the
only ones walking the mountains. The widt:ned
1-26 highway clearing will be a significant
b~rrier l? migration, particularly for
wide-roaming black bears. It will eliminate
native forest habitat for one-half mile on either
side of 1he roadway and cause further opening
an~ frn~mentation of the Pisgah National Forest.
which is already patchy, ragged. and poorly
conncc1ed.
~Vhcn a forest is broken open by n road or
other 1mrusion, interior-dwelling species 1ha1
pr.:fcr shade and larger trees lose their habitat
and rerrem 10 poorer habi1at areas. They become
more vu!nerable 10 more aggressive
edge-dwelling creatures that take their territory
and .raid th.cir food s~pplics: The gene pool
declines as II becomes increasingly difficulr for
shy, backcountry species to find breeding
partners, because the once-extensive habital has
been cut into smaller and smaller islands from
which individuals find it harder and harder 10
escape.
Biolo~is'ts propose various mitigation
sch~mes:_ using European "bridge and tunnel"
engineenng, as opposed to the traditional
American "cut and fill" method. Bridges and
tunnels leave natural wildlife crossings 1ha1 are
safe fro~ l~e highway traffic. However, they
funn~I w1ldl. fe traffic_ into lhesc few designated
1
cro.s~mg pomts, making them easy targets for
wa1ung hunters. To avoid this unfair advantage
hunting would have to be banned for one-half
mile on either side of the roadway. Leaving
c~ver and thick underbrush 10 the edge of the
n!lht of way would help protect crossing
am ma ls.
Th~ primary problem in highwa>·
c?nstrucuon, however, is what is termed by the
h1ghw~y department as "secondary effects.''
Essenually, these are lhe results of human
access. Because of the highway, there will be
more people traveling through. More of these
p~ople will stop and stay. Because of the
highway, more people will move funher into !he
ru:al areas of t~e counry - it will be easier to
drive 1.nto the cuy 10 w~rk. Land prices will go
up. srnctly because of highway access.
Those who live along the 1-26 corridor
now may not be able to afford to do so ten years
in the future. The area may not look the same,
and they may not want to live there ten years in
the futu!.~· The proponents of the 1-26 plan talk
of 1hc 101crchange developments" that will
se.rve as_centers from which economic growth
w~ll radtate ~ut 1n10 the county. They will do
this; there will be convenience stores. used car
lots, fa~t food restaurants, and shopping centers
extending along the roads away from the
1~1erchanges in every direction. The
"mterch~nge developme!1ts" will sci the pace for
growth in the 1-26 comdor, and they will also
set the style for growth : fast. cheap. and
dependent on automotive transportation.
F~land will be traded in for parking lots. and
Madison and Yancey Counties will begin 10 look
like every other area "along the slab."
-RB~
NO BUILD®
XatUah Journaf '>IMJe lO
S\&mmer, 1990
�THE ROAD GANG continued rrom ~c 9
program, to final planning and design, followed
by land acquisition. and then cons1ruction.
He emphasizes that the first stages,
concept and proposal. are where it is easiest 10
block road cons1ruc1ion: 'The planning process
gets voted on by local officials, and having
liason with local elected officials is really the
best way to keep IJ'ack of what's going on. I
find that what works is to keep them in office
and tell them, 'Anything that ever happens with
a road, tell us .. .'
"Catch a new road early when it's just a
sketch line on a map."
The $8.8 billion road bill may be an
expensive lesson for environmental activists and taxpayers as well. Bill Holman renects on
the lesson that hopefully has been learned:
"The highway bill has served 10 wake up
Lhe environmentalists about the imponance of
these transportation plans. We have played a
very small role in the transportation debate, but
trnnsponation is behind the sprawling kind of
gTowth we have in North Carolina. Now the
DOT has woken us up."
Because the behavior patterns of deer or
bear arc not likely to change greatly. it is possible
10 come up with a number which represents the
carrying capacicy of of a panicular IJ'aCt of land
for these and other animal species. People have
much more complicated behavior and their
numbers matter much less than how they choose
to live. What do they eat and where does it come
from? What do they wear and where does it
come from? What type of buildings do they live
in? What type of fuel, if any. do they bum, and
what do they burn it in? Are they spread out or
focalizcd in their habitation pauem? Where do
they shit? What are their recreational activities?
What kind of shoes do they wear? What kind of
pets. if any, do they keep? Where, how, and
how much do they travel? What is their water
usage? What is their attitude towards wildlife?
The number of people in any given area is only
one ~f many variables in a carrying capacity
equation.
We can imagine a community of people
who ride to work on bulldozers, cut trees all day,
and keep a gun with them at all umes for
shooting anything that moves. At night they
retreat to a nuclear-powered castle and cat several
pounds of songbird tongueburgers. What 1s
Katuah's carrying capacity for this type of
rugged individual?
It is also easy to imagine tribes of people
wirh a religious reverence for nature and their
own place in it. Their homes and clothes are
modest. Their villages are powered by the Sun
and by the people themselves. Bicycles are the
means of transportation. Amaranth and com
Summer. 1990
"CARING CAPACITY"
grown in river bottoms are the main foods. They
tend huge oak and chestnut groves and share
their bounty with all creatures. Their waste is
recycled so that there is really no waste. What is
Katuah's carrying capacity for these people?
What right do we have to say?!
"What is our carrying capacity for love?"
is a much more relevant question.
There will be n srrong tendancy to rry 10
form some simple equation such a~ "number of
people x level of technology
=
carrying
capaciry." ff rhis could be divided by level of
conciousness. ic would be closer to the truth, but
it leaves out the factor of land suitability, and
leaves me wondering what we arc trying to prove
with this son of argument anyway? Anyone we
talked into leaving with this line of reasomng
would be the very person we wanted 10 stay•
Overdevelopment and the degradation of
our natural environment is a terrifying disaster
and we are so frustrated in coming up with
solutions that it is very tempting to point to
human numbers as the root of the problem. This
is a dangerous oversimplification. It takes away
our own culpability, which i~ a considerable
factor in the case of everyone I know. With very
few exceptions we still use cars and/or plug into
the main electrical network. Few of us recycle
everything possible or use recycled products in
all the places which we could. Few of us, at
present. use composting toilet~. Few of us grow
more than a symbolic amount of our own food.
Our clothes f114ly be made of cotton and wool. bur
where did these fibers come from? What is
sprayed on the couon? What happens to the
lambs? What mills knit the fibers into cloth? We
are a culture in transition. It is, in some respects.
a forced march into the future in which we are
panicipating. A trail of tears where our own
sorrow at the plighr of our people and our planet
moves us ever onward toward simpler and belier
ways of living. To sit down now and cast blame
on others is not a very honorable thing to do.
Most of the people who are most vocally
concerned with the environmental quaJity of
Kauiah arc themselves transplants 10 this region.
This makes it especially hypocritical for us to
blame newcomers or the simple gro~th of
numbers for the area's problems. We should
concenlnlte instead on developing a satisfying,
low impact life-style which is so atlnlCtive that it
is irresistible.
There is no percentage for us in ma.king
people feel guilty for their existence. There is
everything for us to gain in maintaining and
spreading a positive vision of humans living in
harmony with Earth and Spirit. As we work to
raise our level of conciousness. our lifestyle
becomes sustainable and our population growth
stabilizes, not as a burdensome discipline, but as
willing and joyous obedience to our own besr
interests.
,
• Will Asht! Bason
X.Otulih Jou~n4' pa9c l t
--
�PEOPLE AND HABITAT:
An Historical Overview
the entire region before white comacL
The native people manipulated their
environment with a technology based on fire and
stone 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 ro provide for other
fonns of life; quite to the contrary, the native
by Chip Smith and Lee Kinnaird Fawccu
This is a first. The Kan1ah Journal is
reprinting one of its own articles. This article
first appeared in a longer fom1 in Issue 25 (Fall,
1989) and was the seed rhar developed into the
current issue on carrying capaciry. lss11e 25 is
sold 0111 and no longer ll\lailable, and this article
provides valuable links in denumstrating how
carrying capacity works in our region, so
we are running this shortened and revised
version of the original piece to give a
complete treatment ofthe topic.
While many view the pastoral scenes
and remote majesty of the Southern
Appalachians as all-enduring, trends in
human population migration and unrelenting
resource extraction have had monumental
effects upon wildlife and the diverse flora of
their native habitat. Today little remains
unaltered by the effects of human activity.
The landscape we view today is a threatened
glimmer of what was once, but it srill exists
as one of the most diverse ecosystems on
the North American continent.
A historical perspective of human
manipulation of the Kauiah 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.
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
land already subject to conditions of dire
overpopulation. The Old World represented a
vinually inexhaustible well of humanity that
flooded over the new frontier. After the
Early Inhabitants and First lmmigrants
The Cherokee lndians and the indigenous
people before them lived in balance with their
world, utilizing the offerings of their Eden. Best
estimntes give the native population as anywhere
from 22,000 to 50,000 individuals throughout
mountain highlands were first penerrated by
DeSoto in 1540, the question of access was of
paramount importance in the development of the
Southern Appalachians.
The native culture, tied to the land and her
offerings, was rapidly overrun by the streams of
white-skinned senlers that moved m 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 marki:d by the agrarian need
for cleared land. The bottomlands and
wetlands were cleared or drained first,
and then trees were felled on the side
slopes to make room for more fields and
pastures. As the first settlements became
towns, the clearings spread deeper into
the mountains following small and muddy
roads that wound along the river and
stream tributaries.
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
World, the Europeans regarded the productive
capacity of the land as limitless, leading them to
farm ard hunt carelessly and without regard for
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�also arrived on the rails, and sanitariums and
luxury hotels offered all !he comfons a ~ and
ailing flaLlandcr could desire.
Commerce was the primary reason for
pushing through the railroads, and in the
Soulhem Appalachian region, commcrce meant
timber. Large tracts 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 !hey neither
knew nor cared about the ideals of sustained
timber yields and forest regeneration. Their
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 the fall mast provided each yea.r.
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 ciries, 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-1800's. The baner system was the
usual means of exchange. The US
Census estimated the population in the
18 western counties of North Carolina
at 200,000 in 1890. The lifestyle was
still based primarily on subsistence
agriculture, hunting, and foraging.
However. in 1880. the first train
into the mountains pulled into
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
rainfall. and severe flooding occum:d in J896.
1901, and 1909, and periodically into cbe
1940's.
A mountain native, the Reverend A.E.
Brown provided first-hand insight in an
interview in lheManufacruru's Record in 1910:
"•.. these mountains were full of sparkling
brooks and creeks which required a rwo 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 bottom lands... The
sides of mountains have been denuded of their
topsoil and bottom lands h~ve been overflowed
and swept away ...
Shonly after the end of World
War 1, most of the timber barons had
rom 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, litLle was left for human or beast:
T he Present-day Forest
or
(What You See Is W hat ls Leh )
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 I930's 80 percent of the mountain
landscape had been burned over. Lmle was left
to shield the soil from the area's high levels of
Between the 1940's and the
1960's the population growth of the
Kaufah province slowed. The mountain
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 cast and the midwest. The bumpy
roads offered a way out of the mountains to seek
the American Dream.
During the l 960's and the l 970's,
however, a change took place. The isolation of
the "backward" Appalachians began to look
appealing to flatlanders sick of noise, crowds,
and pollution. and perhaps sick at hean at the
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�When we design our human systems, we need to
assure that we are not disrupting this flow of life,
which is integral to our own llie.
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,
Designing with the Whole Life Community in Mind
by Mamie Muller
The solely human<cntercd approach to design in which the
environment acts as in.1mmate baclcdrop lo human activity is n9 longcr
possible. It has resulted in disruption of the wider life community of the
planet and has begun threatening our entire biological life support systt>m.
We in this Euro-culture .ire finally beginning to realize that we al"t'
of the Earth. Advances in tht' scit'nccs are bringing to us the information
th;it we arc literally in the planet not on it and that our human activities
are intimately interwoven with the water cycle, tht' air cycle. the carbon
cycle. We al"t' beginning to rcahz.c that the way we form our :.culcmcnts,
our transportation routes, our commt'l're, and other hum.in functions not only
affect hu1rJ1n culture, but the whole ecological community of which we arc
a part.
At present. our contemporary capacity for accclerallon and
cxpont•ntiali1..:ition has brought the question of human impact on the
natural world out ol the rc:ilm of "a ni<e thing tu consid(·r· in dl'Slgn and
placed it squarely in front of u~. asa qul'Stlon 0f sur11h•al. Yet, our ability
to rL'-<.'Onstcllate our human systems m response to dirL'Ct fceclti.1ck falls
short o{ what is required.
One consideration In understanding this dih:mma ts to rcJlize that
wens n culture may not be fu/111 ugzstering the fccdb:lck wc arc n.'« 1vmg
as to the dcllllstation of the planC't. The mformatton coming in m.1y be
octually outpaang our oomprchtns1.0n of 11. It may also be th.it our
perimeter& of rcahty have become so limited that we arc not fully
"hearing" the natural world ~peak to us about this cruoal information.
Our insular patterning of urbamzat1on. including concrete pathways,
processed nutrihon, and televised m1lity m;iy bi! blocking us from this
information. We may simply be recording ~·hatcver is coming in a5 "noise"
or "static" and may not, in fact, be fully not1dng the drasllc d1m1rushmcnt
in quality of life.
What now-Those of us who arc catching ghmmcrs of the vibrant,
!unctioofng life communuy that surrounds us and co-exists with us need to
revive our capacities to sec, hear, taste, fccl ...beyond the "broadcast1xr
Kati'mh Jou!nnL PC19C 11
boundaries of the rontcmporary world. We need to discern what is
supcrfioal to our hfe support system and what is elemental We ncecl to
Ix-gin insisting on design models that describe to us the full reality of our
situation-both human as well as IX'Ological.
In our modclhng, we nl'cd to ac:knowlcdge natural boundarit'S, not ju5t
human-m.1dc boundancs, and to lillc.c into full account ecological systems
suc:h as watersheds, wind patterns, gcologiCll formations, etc. Our models
ncecl to incorporate ecological prindpf('!; such as entropy, renewal,
biological exch.1nge, canying cap.1dty, and appropriate scale in an
integral way We ncecl 10 be factonng m rra/ costs o( projects not just the
"set prices-. Rc.11 costs include environmental considerations, hc.ilth
considerations, as well as cumulahw affects and long·tenn conscqut'n<X?S.
A primary asp<>Ct of th<.> ecological modd is oni:? of orculatio11. The
cll'$1gn of hum11n routes needs to be done in the context of other kinds of
routes and patterns of orculation. The water cycle, the air currents. (even
the Eiirth m ll5 orbit, and the moon in us orb1t)".all circulate and h.wc a
tX'aring on each othl.'r. /II ignition routes or animals; routes of :5(.'(.<ds m the
wind, pathways or the sand-sharing dune s~k'ltl; animal route:, for Bl"CCSS
to water, tocxl, and for returrung to br<"Cdmg grounds; routes of bees
p(lllin.-iung flowers, etc. arc all ilspc<"ts of the ctmil:itory p.ittcm of thl'
\\id~ Life community. Human route~ arc ill tht context of thb symphony of
movement.
In this culture we tend to think ufthc farth nsa "noun·, but in
act1L1hty, a grt'at deal of Earth functions as "verb" And our models need to
reflect that. \\'hen we clcsign our human systtms, we need to as~mrc that we
arc not disrupting this flow oi hfe, v;hich is mtt'gt'al to our own life.
lntercstmgly, with our culture's sencral overall design promoting cxcc:;sivc
mobility. our chihzatlon is bl'\."Omlng "verb" as well, whether we like 11 or
not. Our nc:ccss to work, school, social ach\~tics, and so forth requires th.it
we "circubtc". The fact is that many of us arc conung to "dwdl" m our
automobiles as well as our homes. Poor or non-existent urban planning as
Summitr, t 99!1
�well as other physical and psychological factors have created forced
mobility and diminished the quality of life not only of humans but also the
rest of the Ufe community.
When conditions reach such proportlons as they have now, in tenns
of the welfare of the planet as well as that of humans and its other
inhabitants, what is required in our modelling and our problem-solving?
In order to develop comprehensive models, we need to be in touch with
what values we want to nurture as a culture. No culture is value-free. Form
informs. The forms that we craft to encompass and facilitate our human
activities inform and shape us at every tum. Form reflects values whether
we itttenlionally ascribe to them or nol IL is important that we bring into
consciousness the values we want to nurture and let them become an integral
aspect of our d1?Sign of human systems.
It is essential to understand what is elemental to the life support
system and what is superficial. We need in a public way to acknowledge
our community priorities and encourage policy-making and incentives to
support these priorities. We also need to develop comprehensive indicators
for ecological health.
In this culture we tend to think of the Earth
as a "noun"... but in actuality, a great deal of
Earth functions as "verb".
Also in our modelling. it is essential that we employ more than 1ust
linear logic. Linear logic gives us solutions such as "add a lane"' to deal
with population increase and the rise in motor vehicles on the highways.
Relying on this kind of logic, we end up with the solution of "44 lanes of
interstate traffic". Multi-dimensional logic is required. logic which
encompasses questions of scale, cumulative effects, appropriate use,
multi-level interplay of factors, etc.
And logic is only D7U! facet of our neurophysiological capacity for
perception and problem-solving. We have available to us whole ranges of
perception and creative interplay for interacting with the Life community
in which we live. We have the capacity for in-depth perception and
imaginative reflection as to how our human designs would interact with
and affect the whole...both spatiallyI physically, developmentally, and
psychically. We have the capacity to kinesthetically perceive rhythms
as well as the disruption of rhythms, and we have the imagination to
envision restoration.
Design can serve to obfuscate or reveal the natural world to us. It can
heighten or reduce our capacity to synchronize with other life rhythms
besides our own. A culture can actually design for symbiosis, CXH>peration,
mtegratton, and inclusion with the wider ecological Ufe community.
What is important in design is the reliance on fresh, attentive perception
regarding the nature of our multi-dimensional reality rooted in the natural
world.
This is a pivotal time in our planers history. We have the capacity
to witness whole ecological systems at work and to design our human
systems to comprehensively interlace with these wider processes. It is up to
us to renew our inherent capacity to "'listen" to the natural world...and to
act in concert with it. Only when we let its full reality be present to every
aspect of our senses are we capable of designing for our own well-being in'
relation to the rest of the Life community.
This paper was part of a presentation by Thomas Berry and
Marnie Muller at the Third Biennial International Linear P11rks
Conference held in Asheville, North Carolina, Katuah Prouinct, ~
~t~
~
Steady State
The Economics of 'Biophysical Equilibrium and Moral Growth
by Jim Houser
"Ecology means the study (-logy) of the home (eco-), while economics means the
management (-nomy) of the home. Accordingly, economics is merely a branch, or
discipline, of the larger study of ecology."
The coming of Spring makes me realize the KatUah region is quite
probably one of the last few paradises left on Earth. Perhaps, it is one of
the few places on Earth that have ever been paradise (or as close as we
on an earthly plane can get). Whatever the case may be, it is
undoubtedly a paradise now. The air feels clean to the lungs. It is crisp
and soothing. and fills one with a strength and a sen~ of well being. The
wat<.'r Is abundant and clean, making the soil rich and fruitful. The
flowers bloom everywhere in the Spring; a wild panorama of colors and
sublime beauty which I don"t quite understand why we deserve. But then
1 realize that we don't "deserve" it. It is just here, and so arc we. It ts
part of us, and we are part of ll There is no question of whether or not we
deserve it, we are simply here. The question 1s whether we can hve on
this land "'lthout ncccssanly destroying it. As Wendell Berry says in
the Gift of Co()J Land,
To live we must daily break the body and shed th!! blood of
creation. When we do this loVlngly, skillfully, reverently, it is
a sacrament. When we do it ignorantly, grccd.ily, clumsily,
destructively, ii is a desecrallon. ln such dcsccration we
condemn ourselv1:s to spintual and moral lon<?hness, and others
to want.
There is a new group of C<"onomists who decry the lack of moral and
c!thical judgements in modem economics and cite this ddicicncy as one of
the reasons for our current economic: and ecological d~tenoration. They
arc led by Herman E. Daly, an economics professor presently employed in
the envtronmcntaJ section of the World &nk.
S"'mmcr, 1990
Daly maintains that modem economic thoory docs not concern itself
with ultimate endS- The standard textbook definition of economics states
that it is "the study of the allocation of scarce means among competing
ends, where the object of the allocation 1s the maximization of those
ends." But modem economic scsence has taken on the guise of an exact
science, like physics, and has, accordingly, made itself devoid of ethical
questions, focusing all of their attention on what Daly refers to as
Intermediate Ends, hke food, warmth, and education. Jn current economic
thinking, success is attained by achieving these goats, regardless of the
means employed, whether they be a tolilhtarian state, environmental
degradation, or destruction of life.
Daly likes to point out, however, that economitS began as a branch
of moral philosophy. T.R. Malthus m htS classic work the Pnnriples of
Politiazl Economy wrote, "Political Economy bears a nearer resemblance
to the soence of morals and politics than to that of mathematics." For
the early economists like Adam Smith, who wrote Tht Thtory of Moml
Sentiments, the most important test of economic institutions was thcir
effect on moral character.
For economists to cut themselves off from knowlcdgt' obtainC'd
through introspc-chon 1s a perversion of their dlidpline. What has
happened as a result is that economists have li\'ed up to the observation
of Oscar Wilde who pointed out that "an economist i5 a man <sic> who
knows the pnce of everything and the value of nothing".
In h1> three books, Strady-State Economics; Economics, Ecology,
Ethics: Essnys on iz Sltady State Economy (which he edited); and For
tht Common Good, wnttcn with theologian John Cobb, Daty attempts to
bring economists, and everyone else, back to a realm where they can
(ClOllllnll<d on ncitt pegc)
Ju.u.\+nh Journ~ ptUJC IS
�(oonlinued &om page IS)
discern the true value of things. He calls this realm the "steady-state
economy;" an economy consciously directed according to the laws of
ecology, as all economies should be, since ecology 1s the basis for
understanding the conditions under which economics and humanity must
function. Ecology means the study (-logy) of the home Ceco-), while
economics means the management (-nomy) of the home. Accordingly,
economics is merely a branch, or discipline, of the h1rger study of ecology.
Orthodox economists do not realize this, says Daly. He cites the
futility of considering a rise in the Gross National Product (GNP) as an
indicator of a healthy society. Obviously, any theory which espouses
unlimited growth in a finite biosphere 1s absurd. Modem economists get
around this by claiming that GNP is a measure of value. while ignoring
the physical aspects of this value. As Daly points out, the fact that
wealth is measured in value units (dollars) docs not negate its physical
dimensions.
We could place a higher and higher value on anything for an
infinite length of time, but the actual supply of any material is clearly
finite. To give raw materials "value" we must use energy, and, according
to the second law of thermodynamics, that total pool of energy 1s always
decreasing. As Daly points out in Stcady-Stalt Eco1wmics,
Daly calls the flow of production and consumption "throughput."
"Steady-state" implies equilibrium, in which the rate of inflow is equal
to the rate of outflow. A balanced rate of throughput is the key to
maintaining the equilibrium or the "constant stock," (the life support
capability of the natural world).
Daly uses the analogy of a lake to make this point clear. In order to
maintain the level of a lake, the amount of water flowing into the lake
must be the same as the amount flowing out. Ir more water flows out than
nows in, the lake would eventually dry up.
A constant water level can be maintained with either a high or low
rate of flow. However, a high rate of flow runs a great amount of water
through very quickly. Daly points that at the present time our rate or
throughput should be as low as possible, so we at the same time conserve
our resoun:es and minimize the amount of refuse. M<?asuring our economy
by GNP encourages mmumization of the throughput flow.
'A'hile the human household has been rapidly grow;ng. the
environment of which it is a part has steadfastly remained
constant in its quantitative dimensions. Its size has not
increased, nor have the natural rates of circulation of the basic
biog<.'<X:hcmic;il cycles that man e>.ploits. As more people
transform more raw materials per person into rommodihcs, we
experience higher rates of depletion; as more people transform
more commodities into waste, we experience higher rates of
pollution. We devote more effort and resources to mining poorer
mineral deposits and to deaning up increased pollution, and
then we count many of these extra expenses as an increase in
GNP and congratulate ourselves on the exlTa growth!
Thus GNP can increase every year without ever indicating a decay
of the ecological u nderpinning of the production system. That
ultima tely, is the main point: by overproducing we destroy our
production capability.
Daly likens the steady-state economy to a mature ecosystem. A
young ecosystem, like a newly growing forest, emphasizes production,
growth, and quantity (high production efficiency). A mature ecosystem,
such as a climax rorest, emphasizes protection, stability, and quahty
(high maintenance efficiency).
Daly claims that we have reached the mature stage of our system
and we need to emphasize quality over quantity, maintenance over
production, or otherwise, as we see happening today, we will bury our
life-sustaining ecosystem under a pile or our own garbage. He insists that
the flows of production and consumption must be minimized instead of
maximized as they are in the infinite growth economy.
This docs not imply, however, that Daly is advocating stagnation or
regression of human society. It 1s a grave mistake to consider a constantly
rising GNP as the mark of an advancing culture. As John Stuart Mill
said,
It is scarcely necessary to remark that a stationary
condition of capital and population imphcs no stationary state
o f human improvement, there would be as much scope as ever for
all kinds of mental, cultural and moral and social progress, as
much room for improving the art or living and much more
likelihood of it being improved when minds cease to be
engrossed by the art of getting on.
ln the steady-state economy the central concept must be the stock of
wealth (people and capital, in its widest definition which includes
natural resources and processes), rather than the flow of income and
consumption, as wealth is defined at present.
rn reality, the entire concept of generating income is an illusion.
Humans cannot "generate income", we can only take what is here. The
key is to not use up the life energy a t a rate raster than nature can
regenerate it. Obviously, we are not following that principle. In the case
of fossil fo<?ls, as E.F. Schumacher points out in Small Is Beautiful, we
continue to treat an ever-scarcer resource as income rather than capital.
Ecologically, we a re burning our "business capital" even as we proclaim
the health or our "business."
I.
One of the bases of a low throughput economy is a greater durability
or goods, which applies not only to how long they last, but also to how
easy it is to put them to another use (recycle). Our current economic
system encourages planned obsolcsccnC!!, since we have to maintain a
constant market for our ever-increasing production (which led to the
downfall of Detroit).
A low rat<l of capital throughput also means that we would spend
less time on production and create more leisure time. Under our current
economic system, we rear decreased production and leisure lime, because
that would mean people are out or work. Timc-int<?nsive activities like
rricndship, care of the elderly and children, meditation and reO<?ction,
are sacrificed in favor of commodity-intensive activities. Hence, we
ha,•c the Shopping Mall as the social center of the 90's (have run, meet
people, L.lkc the kids, and CONSUME), rather than social centers
which promote and help strengthen community and family values.
The steady stat(! economy also implies a low throughput rate for
population (the other component of the total stock), which would me>an a
balanced birth and death rate, and a long life expectancy.
Our society docs not seem to recognize that an ever-growing rote> of
per capita consumption for an ever-growing population is impossible. A
steady population depleting resources and creating pollution at a slow
rate is the ideal. The limits regarding what rates of depiction and
pollution are tolerable would be derived from our understanding of
ecology.
These limits address the question of how many people can live in an
area and still maintain paradise. The question is: at which point or
human population does the desecration of creation become unavoidable?
This limit is the "carrying capacity" of an ecosystem. It has been
demonstrated that when a population significantly exceeds the carrying
potential or its ecosystem, there then results a sudden die-off within
that population. So we need to reach an optimum population based on
the carrying capacity of our biosphere.
My suggestion Is to do away with the GNP and substitute a CNP
{Qlrryi~ fotcntial) as the true measure of our economies success.
CNP reflects the needs which Daly says our economic indicators
need to monitor. Rather than measuring growth Ilk<! the GNP, the goal
for the CNP would would be to maintain the population;CNP ratio at
one. In other words, H the goal is to maximize our population while
preserving ecological integrity, t he ideal would be to keep the
population as close to the determined carrying potential as possible.
(connnucd on page 29)
..
.
)(.Qtuah Jourrml. J>"ge 16
..
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... ~
--
Summer, 1990
�Hoedad
I throw my hoedad
into sandy loam, thinking
of my children's children as I
bend to plant a tree.
I throw my hoedad
into a rock and experience
more fully the pain in the
swollen joints of my right hand.
I throw my hoedad again
and again and again and again and again
in the strange and savage
dancing of the mad treeplanter
leaving lines of pines across
the hills of Tennessee
Eagerly i press my taproot
firm into dark moist
slit
gumbo, sand, rock, and churt
duff or dust or just plain dirt
Slam Barn Cram and jam
I throw my hoedad, stomp and scram.
I grit my teeth and throw my hoedad and
place a wimpy little pine tree in what
was recently a hardwood forest.
Covering a little piece of grid and a
bureaucrats ass for him.
Making sure there will be cellulose
for adult pampers for aging
baby boomers.
I throw my hoedad, pull
back on the handle and
am brought to my senses by
the powerful brown smell of wild
ginger and Here i am
on this Sunlit mountain in the
early Spring
I throw my hoedad and pray
the people will re member Earth
I plant a tree and p ray that
We will all remember.
Will Ashe Bason
Slimmer-, 1990
Compost
I'm composting my past
empty rinds of just deserts
broken shells of old barriers
the coffee grind
I'm composting my passed
bullshit raps and
chickenshit fears
111 throw them to the microbes
let lhem bum a little quicker and
hotter in the flame of living and
dying. Fork it all, i'm chunking
funky pumpkin headed notions on the pile and
turning over a new
leaf mold. Leaving my leftovers.
I'm composting my past.
Free carbon now!
break down all cellulose walls.
I'm not for getting it
i 'm just for letting it
rot
and when it's cool and
dark and doesn't even
stink, i'll shovel it up and
use it in my garden. I'll
grow roses and rootabagas in
re memberance that Here
i come, back again.
Will Ashe Bason
�I
1).)1
I
D~gn IJltd calligraphy l1y Marnie Muller
�•
l
'
I
�(l'bcseare !he words ofa traditional Olerolcco medicine person.)
Archaeologists estimate that the Cherokees first migrared into the
Southern Appalachians 6,000 years ago. They figured this by carbon-dating
potrcry that they found at the Old Echota village. The poucry was tempered in
the southern way, but it was lroquoian in design. That showed that it was
Cherokee. The Cherokee have lived here for a very long time.
Our population was always expanding. but very slowly. It was told to
me that there were about 50,000 Cherokee when de Soto came through. If
the white people had waited 200 years to make it over here, they would have
had to deal with just two lribcs in the east, the Cherokee and the Iroquois.
I think the people's effons to limit their population were quite
conscious. We weren't troubled by plagues, and life expectancy was better
than that of the white people when they fLCSt came here. The Cherokee chief
Junaluska, for example, was way up in his nineties when he died. We were a
healthier people than we are now. If children got past their first three or four
years, they generally lived to an old age.
There were several methods of birth control. Dodder is a
commonly-seen fungus. It grows in long, yellow strings and wraps itself
around other plants, because it's parasitic. As a contraceptive, it was given to
men. When it worked. it worked; but it wasn't that dependable. I wouldn't
trust it. But they probably had more faith than I do.
There was another method. When a woman had .a baby and the man
took away the afterbinh, he would cross one ridge for every year he didn't
want to have another child before he buried it But l wouldn't trust that
either. Thar's why it wouldn't work for me. Magic comes when all doubt is
cleared from the mind.
They had no sex when the women were in the moon lodge (during
their menstrual period), and a man would always fast from sex before
hunting and war. Those things helped. Every time people were involved in a
spirirual ceremony, they would fast from sex for three days before.
Young people got married any time after puberty. Girls could get
married after their first menstrual period. And they didn't wait long. But I
think that attirude made a difference. The native people didn't have all the
sexual taboos that arc a part of the white culture: that sex is wrong, diny, evil
and bad, and that a person has to have a piece of paper and a preacher to do
it. The native people had a different attitude about sex. And I think that made
a difference in child-bearing as well
It seems that people who were closer to the Eanh had natural
population contr0ls. Their populations always seemed to hold steady. That
usually hinged on food availability, but a.round here food wasn't a very good
control. The people grew crops, and there was a lot of game and wild foods
in the woods, like berries and chestnuts.
OC course they still encountered hard times when their crops were
short and there was no game. There could be late floods lhat would wash out
the com, or a late frost would kill a lot of the acorns, or it would be dry
when the chestnuts were supposed to blossom. Such things would happen.
Times like that would trim off some of the marginal people, some of the old
people and some of the babies.
The people had a different attitude about death back then, too. They
accepted it when it came. They didn't cry to hang on to life or to people they
were close to. When it was your time to go, it was your time to go.
In our tradition it was said that the spirit wasn't fixed in a child until it
was three or four years old, and no one was surprised when a young child
died or an old person died.
The clan system was an important pan of our culture. There were
seven clans in the tribe, and there were strict sexual taboos about marrying
within the clan. I was told by my grandfather that the tribe had capital
punishment for two. n:asons, and incest was one of them. 1!1cest meant
marrying anybody within your clan. Clan members were your kin.
You could travel to a small village 300 miles away, and even if you'd
never been there and none of your people had ever been there, if there was
one family of your clan there, you would be taken care of. Tho~c peopl.e
would not be biologically related to you, but they would take you m ~ thell"
family and treat you like family. But you sure couldn't mess around with one
of the girls. That would be like fooling aroun~ with your cousin. ~d ~ou
had no desire to ... well, maybe you had a passing moment, bur you d think
about that capital punishment and said, "Naaah."
The clan system didn't slow anybody down from getting married, but
it did keep everybody's genes spread our, so thar people could live in small
groups without becoming inbred. It made possible a smaller gene pool.
The people had different ideas about technology, too. It's like my
grandfather said, "We knew about the wheel, but if you make a wheel, the n
you have to make a road. If you make a road, then you have to build bridges
and keep it all up. So why bother to put yourself to all that trouble?"
He would always make that remark to me when I would tell him Lha t
one of the white people's justifications was that "we never used the land."
He was amazed by that. He was always quite upset about that, because the
native people used the land as much as the white people did, but they used it
in a different way. They left much less of a mark on it. But the white people
thought that the land was not being used unless it was used with the attitude
that it was for the humans, instead of seeing the humans as being a part of it.
We did slash and burn agriculture. We would use a stretch of
bottomland until it was poor, and the com wouldn't grow big anymore, then
we would move down the river to another patch of river cane, bum it, and
live there. Meanwhile, the first cane patch would grow up, and in a few
years we'd move back to that fLCSt cane patch. This is how we used iL
Passenger pigeons were part of our diet, and we'd eat as many as we
wanted. Even so, when the white people came here flocks of passenge r
pigeons still blackened the sky. We had bufffalo and elk and large animals
like that in the mountains and they were plentiful, and we had what we
needed. But we don't have any of those now.
Today, if your com patch gives out, you can't just move dow_n the
s
river, because somebody else owns the land downstream. Now there 1 the
concept of private property and so many more people.
It's hard to explain about a culture with a "non-propeny attitude"
toward the world. Trying to explain our attitudes toward dying, birth control,
and population control is like crying to explain the fourth dimension in a three
dimensional language. It's the same with the attitudes behind the taboos
about not pissing, vomiting, shitting, or throwing your trash in the river.
When I was a kid, going down the mountain roads I could sec outhouses on
logs out over the branch.
I'm pessimistic about the fate of the human race. It's hard to be an
optimist when I sec that no one is willing to give up anything. Our future is
going to require sacrifice.
It used to be that people didn't sec themselves as creatures that were
superior to narurc; they saw themselves as part of nature. To move evenly
with everything was the ultimate goal of the Indian's personal growth
spiritual and physical, and to be out of harmony meant that you weren't
moving with everything.
If you killed a deer, you said prayers and apologized. There was no
hostility. It was no personal thing. If a bear killed you, it was the same way.
The idea was to move in hannony with the planet instead of seeing it only as
your personal resource or as an enemy that you had to conquer.
Keeping the ceremonies was important to maintaining that relationship
The ceremonies were a way to pull the community together, and they wer~
also a means of seeking hannony with the environment
Summer, 1990
�{continued from page 6)
KJ: Do you think zoning
could be significant?
GM: I! seems 10 have
worked everywhere else it's been
tried. Unfortunately the people
here are notorious for opposing
zoning as an option for limiting
grow1h. Their general reaction is,
"Don't tell me whal 10 do with
my land," and that's where the
argument ends. There is generally
never any extended debate, and
there is generally never any
opponuni1y 10 consider voling in
something like this.
In areas of the country
severely impacted by growth and
development, people now
recognize that ins1i1u1ing zoning
is the only way that they are
going 10 reduce growth to sane
levels. Without zoning,
everything is done in a hnphazard
way, and industrial and
commercial sites grow up next 10
housing. and so fonh.
Florida is now making
zoning mandatory in almost every
community. Other states that have
experienced large increases in population in the past now use
zoning as an effective way to control development and to protect
cnvironmencally sensitive areas.
KJ: Another factor in 1he whole equation is loco!
transportation. Being an essentially rural area, the mountains lead
to a lot of vehicle traffic.
GM: Yes, that is correct. This terrain does not lend itself to
car-pooling or mass transit. because 1he population 1ends 10 be
somewhat dispersed. There are rew easy-access, straight-line
transpona1ion corridors, which means that mass tronsit is difficult
tO SCI Up.
KJ: On the other hand, 1hough, the s1eep terrain has made
it difficult for industrial developmen1.
GM: There is always going 10 be limited industrial
development here, because the region just isn't favorable for thn1.
In that sense our steep terrain is a saving grace.
We might be ove~m by shopping malls or hamburger
stands - we might be "Pigeon Forged" · but I don't think that we
will be over-industrialized.
KJ: But in 1erms of habitat destruction ...
GM: ...Having second homes and malls is 1he same as
having an industry. There will be continually more strip
development, de-centralized shopping in all directions.
KJ: As far as reacting to out-of-control growth and
supporting maximum habitat in the mountains, what do you think
people can do?
GM: It is going 10 be dirticull to do anything abou1 it,
because usually all the people in power arc growth boosters. My
suggestion is, if people want 10 understand the dynamics of 1he
politics in their area, they should look into the backgrounds of 1he
Jl'Ople who hold public office. Check out the people on the water
boards, on the sewer boards, and see if there are corporate or real
es1a1e affiliations. Voters should look at the people on the town
councils, on the county board of commissioners, see who lhey
are, and ask about their environmental agendas before returning
14em to office.
Summer, 1990
a
The next thing people
should do is to encourage people
with views similar 10 their own 10
run for public office and then
work hard to have them elected.
lf people want to decrease the rate
at which growth is tal<lng place in
their area, they need to seat
candidates representing lha1
viewpoint on the governing
boards of the sewer districts or
the water authorities {or the
transportation depanment at the
state level), so that biodiversity is
a priority for those key agencies.
At present virtually all the
infrastruc1ure boards arc
controlled by pro-growth people.
Those people who want to
expand this area's role as a
sanctuary for biodiversity need 10
ge1 cracking politically a1 all
levels, because right now their
message isn't getting through.
KJ: One of the reasons the
message isn't gelling through
politically is because people are
thoroughly convinced that our
economy is based on growth, and
1ha1 the success of our sylilem is
Phoio by Rodney Webb
measured by the amount of
growth, rather than by water quality, clean air, and ample habitat
for all species.
What kind of opnons do we have in a situation like that?
How can we change people's consciousness about ii?
GM: In this coun1ry we do not have mnny good models of
communities or regions that have a long history of no-growth
development.
So l guess 1he thing to do is to point out examples where
communities - even entire regions - have ta.ken the "grow at all
costs" direction and have ruined what were fonnerly nice places
to live. Florida and Sou1hem Calirornia are examples of large
regions lha1 once had exceptional qualities which were lost in a
very short period of time. That is why Floriclians are now
moving here, and Californians arc moving to Oregon and
Washington.
Tl all goes back to 1he whole mind-set tha1 says we have 10
keep growing, growing, and growing. Somehow people believe
that growth is for everybody's good.
Yet in thiny years people look back and ask, "What did T
loser'
The answer is, "You lost everything."
"What did I gain?"
"You gained one problem arteranother."
Dr. Gary Miller has been director of the Environmental
Smdies Program at U11iversil)' of North Carolina Asheville since
the fall of 1983 Ar that rime the program had one majoring
smdent; now it has almost 100.
Miller holds a BS in biology. a masters degree in
botany/zoology, and he received a doctorate in plant ecology
from the Uni\'ersit)' ofNorth Carolina at Chapel Hill.
For 15 years he lfred in New York State where he was
primarily interested in research on vegetation in freshwater
bodies. lie still spends his summer months exploring rlwtfield of
research.
lie and Ids wife have a daughter, who gradumed with a BS
in biology from UNC-CJiapel Hill, and a son. who is majoring in
biology and chemisrry in his last year at Chapel Hill.
• lnttrvlew rtcordtd by Doi# \Vhttltr
I
\
�TRANSPORTERNATIVES
By Patrick Clark
NaturaJists Henry David Thoreau, Ralph
Waldo Emerson, and John Muir all knew the
secre1 long ago. They saw the senselessness of
going around in motorized vehicles, when the
feet do just fine, thank you.
Why spend time cooped up in a box on
wheels when you could be our 1hcre gcuing
around by foot, with the birds and fresh air, and
getting good exercise? These words of Thoreau
from Walden arc as true today as they ever have
been: "We do not ride on the railroad, the
railroad rides on us ....If we stay at home and
mind our business who will want
railroads....Why should we live with such hurry
and wns1c in our life?"
Automobiles give the illusion of being a
fas1 means of cransporration, allowing users
more free time. Yet after considering the time
spent to finance, operate, and maintain an
aiu?m~b~e (nor to mention time for building and
mamtammg roads and traffic regulations), rhe
automobile doesn't seem to get us anywhere any
faster than our own two feet.
The auto has been and is a needless waste
of the environment and rhe human spirit, bur
we've gouen ourselves into a fix. Our entire
economical system is built upon fossil-powered
transponation. Roads have desecrated the "land
of the free". Noise. pollution. accidents, and
vi~ual decadence (i.e. America's transponarion
system) are woven into the fabric of American
society.
The need to get around will always exist,
but perhaps our society travels more 1han is
necessary. There arc ways to i;1ruc1ure our
communities and lifestyles to eliminate much of
the traveling we do. Where do we go? Work,
s~hool, rhe sto~. library, movie. pany, dance,
fnends house, Sierra Club meeting, conference.
the beach. What 1f mosc of these destinations
were closer in--lct's say biking di~tance. (The
conferences and the beach would require either
carpooling, public transponarion, or extended
time off for bicycle touring). Roads would be
narrow soips of concrete or gravel with flowers
JC.awQ(~
Journa( pca«Je 22
and 1rces on either side, raking us through
pleasant countryside and neighborhoods. No
cars or ttucks roaring by with fumes and smoke.
By slowing us down 10 a human-powered
speed, self-propelled uansponation connects us
to the Earth and 10 ourselves. It is a link to our
past and could be an integral pan of our present.
Grecnways (linear parks with hike/bike paths)
are catching on all over the country. Hiking and
biking paths arc being constructed to ger us all
around the continent
Today a person can walk the length of the
Appalachian Mountains and beyond on the
legendary Appalachian Trail. Throughout
Karoah arc numerous n:crc.ational trails built and
maintained by groups such as the Carolina
Mountain Club, including the new Mountains to
I.he Sea Trail (which has 260 continuous miles
already completed). While the tourism industry
is promoting aesthetic and recreational values in
this area, roads arc still more numerous than is
compatible with the forest Recreational walking
is fine, but it is not going to stop the acid rain,
noise poUution. and the habitat disruption/
destruction caused by the millions of vehicles
driving through the Kanlah province each day,
some of them 10 get to the hiking rrails.
The bicycle is Jess impacting than most
other forms of transportation on the
environment. With it, one can get to places
mostly unreachable without a car or a lot of
rime. And yet bicycling is still slow enough for
face to face human contact and cnjovmenr of
birds, flowers, and sky. Costs· to the
environment arc minimal and monetary expenses
are a fraction of those needed to own and
operate a car. So stress is lessened in more ways
than one.
Enlightened engineers are working on
solar-powered vehicles. These will be great, and
J'll be the first to invest in one, but the need will
still exist for walking and biking. What can a
person do 10 adopt a more self-propelled
lifestyle right now while in transition to our
bikeways/walkways society?
Getting to work is one of rhe most
imponant aspects of self-propelled rranspon·
0raWll1g by Rob Mcuick
ation, because this is a trip most people take
almost every day. There arc tricks to doing it
right such as dressing for the weather, carrying
items needed at work, and being presentable
once you get there. But once in the habit, this
commute is quite satisfying and relatively
stress-free.
I know bicycling works. ln metropolitan
areas. people commute many miles by bicycle,
contributing to clean air by reducing oil
consumption and lessening traffic congestion. I
joined them for awhile when t lived in
Washington, DC, and biked eighteen miles
round-trip through the Rock Creek Park
Greenway. There I met people who decided cars
were not for them. With sidebags and trailers,
even families were getting around without
difficulty. Some third world countries have
never had auto-caused problems because
bicycles have always been a necessity.
Herc, bicycling can be more challenging.
Bike paths haven't caught on much ye4 distances
arc greater, roads arc narrower, the terrain is
rugged. and !here are blind comers. Still, it can
be done. We need to keep pushing for bicycle
facilities and educate city planners and
motorists. (Join your local bicycle club.)
Recycling and organic vegetables and solar
energy arc fine, but wi1hou1 sustainable
transponation they will remain futile anempts a1
environmental restoration.
Resources:
Worldwatch Institute
P.O.Box 6991
Syracuse, NY 13217
For information on the Bikcways Task Force.
contaet Mary Helen Duke
(Transponation Coordinator)
Land of Sky Regional Council
25 Hentagc Drive
k;heville, NC 28806
(704) 254-8131
The Bikcways Task Force needs
volunteer help for a bike route mapping project
and bikeways legislation.
Summer, 1990
�IMAGINING THE END OF REAL ESTATE
by Hectfilre P. Condeau
There arc munncrs about, for those intuitive and sensitive enough to
hear them, that our relationship with Biosphere as in need or profound
reconsideration and even rc--invention. Many of our current attitudes about the
Earth and its capacity to sustain life arc reflected in the continuing musty
precepts or Feudal "tenants" and practices. By such methods land is to be
held as property by those in power. It can be bought only at a price by those
who h.:ive the means to pay olf others in power for the right to "own" the
land. Military service is required by the "lords" of thl:' kingdom in order to
protect its sovcreignty and to maintain obedience to the kingdom. If
Feudalism ended with the creation or a declaration that stated "all people
are created equal" why arc there still Landlords that relish in raising prices,
Corporate Castles in far-off lands, and Kings of Business that wear crowns of
excess profits on their heads while "vassals" must suffer through the best
they can· with little opportunity to get past class structures designed and
maintained by those unable 10 relinquish their grip or economic power over
other people in human society?
What is called for is the crcation of different value systems m
mediating the relations within human societies, and particularly in how
human societies rclate to the Biosphere. By maintaining systems of
lnduslrial Oass (ie; capitalist or socialist) where money and resources are
"bottlenecked" by the State, Corporations, or privileged classes, those who
arc not involved with such 'elites· are often lert out of the primary
decision-making or the society. Then a dangerous situation can develop in
which there is a lack of communication in the society, and it becomes
fragmented
This fragmentation is easily transferred onto our relations with
H~hit"'" •·thcr than our own, and the many forms or life that inhabit them;
from bears to bugs to bacteria. What would be the consequences or human
beings regarding the health or ecosystems other than their own as crucial to
the viability of all life including its own? I think ii would mean th.it
individual ownership of the land would come under intl'OSC scrutiny, and that
for human beings to be able to "settle·· or live in a particular area they would
have to be able to prove their worth as caretakers or 'friends' of the land.
This would have to be done in the context of the inhabited region, and also in
light of current awareness or lhe complex inter-relationships among many
fonns or biota that make a region of the Earth what it is.
Ultimately, It would mean that our basic models for economics,
business, industry, and even our own day-to-dny existence would change from
that of a rigid dominancc-<!ulogi%ing system of Real Estate, Development for
the? sake of bloating growth, and Factories dispersing contaminants into vital
air, water, soil, and biota or the planet. The models would change into
Ecosystems· With multiply mixing long, medium, and short duration
circulation patterns, or feedback luop~. 'These cycles moving through the
Biosphere int~atc the ingestion, absorbtion, and excretion or various forms
of chemical and radinnt energy from multiple Types or organisms and the
solar wind.
We exist in a complex array of feedback loops, within the region we
co-mhab1t. The C5SCntlal inter-rclahonsh1p between organisms and
l'nvironmcnts at various SCOJ'L'S of the Earth is the basis for a difforcnt kind ot
undcrst.lncling than thl! prevailing ''bch.lve as though machines arc the only
model of reality that matters" kind of athtude that we h.:ive been fed by the
bulk of modem science. The emphasis now shifts from co~ntrating on
lnch\;dual kinds or ~y~tcms thcmsch-~ to the energy or mrormatlon that is
moving between many kinds of s~tcms.
In this spirit let's focus on the relationship between human
communities, institutions. neighborhood,, hou~holds, ramih(.'S, and
indh'lduals in the context of the broader and more ecologically diwrsc
Bion.'t;10ns they inhabit. In this century our emph.1sis ha~ been on the
mtel\Slve "h.1rVC$ting" of energy in the forms of ruel, building materi.ils.
rrunc-rals, foods, water, and other n.'-sourccs from the greah'r hfc community
or the region. Our paras1uc tendencies as a spccics have ortC'n been
ewer· looked because of ingr.11ncd habits through which "profit" ramcd m
this way from ecological .1nd geological sources became 1 HE way to <'nsure
that our families or communiues would survive. This was p.uUally due to a
past of scarcity and harsh~s, and our relative 1Mbility to undcr:>tand and
change the basic patterns of susta1n.1bihty in the planet. Now thb has
changed, and so h.1s our rclallon with all other living beings.
The lndustnal era with all its far reaching efrccb or cont.lminahon
and 1labitat d~lruclion has paradoxically come around to face us with a
~ery mto our own values as a 'body" or humanity. The "power" put into
mdu~~ 1s now showing a potential or rar Jess scarcity than previously
c;xtsted m the ~lk'Cllve h_uman endeavor. Yet the "price" for being able to
bve m some kmd or rdnllvc harmony with non· human Pabilats and have a
Summer, 1990
''THE IMPACT OF liUMANS
IS NOW MATC\llMG 'fHAT Of ME.TEORS''
technology th.it is able to be efficient and does not drastically interfure with
the basic morphology or health or a given rcg:on 1s this... We need to
regulate our numbers because our impact is proving unsust.lmable not only for
ourselves, but also in regard to the diversity of habitats around us which are
the source or potential well bcmg for such complex creatures as mammals. The
main predators we now have to worry about are Ourselves, colliding
asteroids, volcanoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, some micro-organisms and
viruses, and our own industtatcd excreta such as bombs, plutonium, dioxin, and
a plethora of other toxic chemistries cookcd from petroleum. Thus we ne«! to
create ways of internalizing, with our minds and hearts, some fonn of species
population limits.
One question that comes to mind when thinking about the potential
'carrying capacity' or human beings in this Mountain Bioregion of l<atUah is:
What arc we to do with thl! Feudal Legacy of economically unjust and
environmentally unsound concepts and pmcticcs that have bcC'n accepted as
the only way or "doing business" in the region? What if the "upper classes"
can afford to buy land or houses and arc unable to make sound decii;ions about
its destiny and the destiny of the people living there? Is there any real Sense
to be found In a rash of second homes being built in an area where wages are
low and there is homclcssne!.57 There will need to be some 50rt of sy~tcm of
mediation and justice m working through the relations within the hum.1n
community and th.lt o( the many communilic:. or lifo that su~tain the human
community. This appears 10 be one of the great challengl'S to the pol(!ntial
maturity of human beings Into a non-scl£ish role within the Biosphere.
To ch.:inge our attitudes about the land around us from treating ii as a
machine, deshned to be both our "raw fuel" and our scwl!r, to that of
<'ClllogiC'al or inter-recycling modes, would change both our thinking and our
everyday experience of how our hvcs can be organized. Ry slowing the
overall flow of energy through our community systems~ maybe nblc to
reduce some or the conlusro ambitiousness and ch.1os that 15 b«oming the
norm for many people on the North American continent. We exert stress on
biogrogr.:iph1cal cnvironmcntS around us by extracting too much from th('m
and sluughing off too much of the energy we can't recycle onto them. This
energy takc:; th•" forrn or i;asrous compounds :.uch as carbon dioxide, nitrous
oxide, and sul(cr dioxide exhau,;tmg from po\';L'f "plants" and automobiles. It
~1kcs the torrn of finite '\lrcams of once-US(' packaging around many
"products" from foods to motor oil. It also takes the forrn of fluids such ns
solvents. rCB's, dyes, and pcst1C1dcs..
Our 'work' now seems to be that of re-Inventing our technologies and
the effect~ of our tcchnologi~ on the greater ecologies or the Earth, so that
the rollccttve and personal force of our Impact can be reduced without
continuing lo use "props" as ever more l'fl\1l'Onmcntally expensive energy
slaves such n~ automobiles and coal burning power 'plants'. Who dcadcs
what is environmentally appropriate and what ls not? Would it go to a
Global type consensus, or would the people of each Biorcg1on be nblc to fine
tune their practices in .1 :>pcctrum of specific areas from Humanlcss Preserves
to concentrated human actil.-ity?
(continued on ~ell)
Cazto0n by Rob Messick
JGntimh )ournci( pcuJe 23
l
�REQUIEM FOR OAK RIDGE
Nanni World News Service
HOW BIG IS A LEGAL BEAR?
Nanni WC>rld News Service
More than 350 people jammed the bleachers 111
the Smoky Moun1111n High School in Sylva, NC in one
of two bC<lliogs called by the NC Wildlife Resources
Commission (NCWRC) io hear opinions on a proposal
lO raise the legal hunting limil for black bears 10 a
weight of 100 poun~. Many oC those m the gym wen:
bunters who wanted 10 keep the present 50 pound weight
limit. but approx11na1ely 50 people aucnded the hearing
In support of the higher limiL
Unifonncd wildlife offiCCIS were slBtiOllCd a1 the
enlr.lllCcs lO the hcanng. hnodtng out a s1:11emcnt by the
s1a1e chap1cr of lhe Wildlife Socic1y. a biologisis'
organiui1ion, lhat staled tha1 group's opposition 10 a
higher weight limit, and a program printed for the even1
by the NCWRC that also contained a statement saying
that such a change was incffcc1ivc, Biid lha1 habit.al was
Ille primary factor in block. bear survival Several of !he
speakers vehcmcn1ly sugges1ed 1hnt 1h1s acuon
compromised the impaniali1y of Ille NCWRC 111 the
hearing.
Discussion at. the hearing wa~ heated, fueled
mostly by dwigrcemcnt about the si1,c and statu~ of the
bbck bc3r population.
Proponent<; of 1hc higher weight lunit argued 1ha1
at the prcscm 1ime 1he black bc:it population was
reproducing cilher just a1 or below the minimum lc\•cl
ncces"'1ty for continued viabili1y. They s:iid that an
occurring o:ik dcxlinc, atmospheric polluuon, and the
advcn1 of Ille gypsy moll! "'ouJd put further pr~sure.~ on
the black bear popul:11ion, p~urc.s 111:11 the bears could
not ~usl3in . Raising the weight limi1, they said, would
ulklw female bears more years m which 10 breed nnd odd
lO the populauon
Humers defended 1hcar ethics and pracu~ ;,ind
S3id, "Besides, there'~ hclb of~ ou1 lhcrc.•
h wns no1 ~urpnsang to those who attended the
llC:ltlng tha1 one momh later the NCWRC voted ll-0 10
!'Clain the pound we1gh1 l11ni1 ror Ille black bear.
Paul Gallamore of the Sou1hcm Ap113lachian
Bl.lck Bear Federation. wh"h lud been a major force
behind lhc we1gh1 change proposal, said, "This as
d1scouragmg, however. considering 1hc runount or mpu1
1he commission rccch·cd. We know 1ha1 they go1 more
than 1,000 lcu.ers m favor of r.usmg Ille hm1L"
so
Xatuaf1 Journat
pn~
24
11 was a damp dawn 1uming slowly into a mis1
y
Sunday morning - Earth Day, 1990. Seventy mourners
gathered and held hands in a circle at the ga1es of the
Y-12 N11Clcar Weapons Componem Plllnt in Oak Ridge,
Tennessee. The sad strains of Moian's "Requiem•
played in Ille background.
"We begin Earth Day with a time of mourning
for the Enr1h in O:ik Ridge. Beyond this fence. in these
buildings, the brightest of human minds have overlooked
Ille most profound and obvious iruth • that our place in
creation is 10 be p3t1 of it. in rclntion.~hip 10 the Earth
and all crcatwcs, and to care for Iha! which susuins us."
the Rev. Ralph Huichison told the black-robed circle of
friends with foces p:ain1ed whiic.
"This morning we acknowledge that the
rclmionship be1wcen humankind and lhc Earth is broken.
Jn this pbce we have abused the Enrth from which all life
comes-· twisting the gift of life into forces of death. In
what was once the gentle f:itming communi1y of Whe:lt.
we have beaten ploughs.hares into swords. Md we have
lost our priorities.•
Following the brief ceremony, a young maple
tree was planted in front of the Y -12 sign. Ney Pinedo, a
Pcruvirul Indian in 1hc United SUllllS raising support for
the Amazon rain fores1, spoke "in Ille nnmc of 2,000
tribes" and gave a blessing 10 the sapling. "This is a
symbol of life away from death." Pinedo said.
REPRIEVE FOR ALARKA
Nanni World News Service
The NOrth Carolina Dcpar1mcn1 of Environmenllll
f\.13nagcment (DEM) made a political compromise :ind
decreed that the waters of Alarkn Creek arc no1
"Ouisl31\ding Resource Waters." as biological tesis show.
but •High Quality Waters." a sligh1ly inferior
classification. However. that ruling was still enough to
hold off developers inicrc.~tcd in turning the well-known
na1urnl area inio a golr resorL The developers decided not
to citercisc their option IO buy the propcny. and Alarka is
safe· temporarily.
Opinion in lhc three counties coniiguous lO Ille
property was mixed. At a public hcnrmg in Swam
County in November of 1989 the reaction was
overwhelmingly m favor of the dcvelopmenL Of the
lcuers received by the DEM, however, I IS were for
prolccting lhc crcclc, while 25 s1ood opposed. Two
hundred and eighty-seven people signed petitions
supponang proLCCtion and 195 signed agains1 ii. Most of
!he opposition was cenlCted an Swain Coun1y, •vherc Ille
Citizens Against Wilderness group has organized voters
io oppose any fedcrnl or suic land protecuon programs.
WHAT WOULD THE TREES SAY?
N11un.J World NcwJ 5.,.....,
Two hundred acuvists from the soulllcasl and
01hcr regions across the conuncnt came ioge1hcr f\.by
2S-27 10 131k aboul S3\ ing Ille 1hrcatencd l'orcsts or this
land.
Tiic fifth · Nnuon:il Reform lhc ForeM Service
Pow-wow" mc1 a1 Camp Green Co,·e an Tuxedo on 1he
Green River in North Carolina.
A maJOnl)' of 1he group agreed on a statcmcm
called "The Green Cove Pl;itform" lha1 outlined wa~s to
return native d1vers11y 10 1he fore.\! and create mccntivcs
for a more ecological rcla1ionsh1p wuh na1ural
forc.<llanch.
Ned Frit1. of Texas. 3 leading elder in the
movcmcni to resist clearcu1ting, :<p<>ke to 1hc conference
:ind led discus.<aons.
Jeff DcBonis, a founder of the Association of
Focesl Service Employees for Environmental Ethics,
which agiuuc.s for ecological forest practices from wilhin
the Forest Service ranks, spoke about the sllltus and
program of the AFSEEE organization.
Dr. Roben Zahner, professor emeritus or forestry
at Clemson University, outlined the steps necessary 1
0
restore the eastern old-growth forest; Walton Smilh , a
retired forester and membeT of the Western Norlh
Caroli na Alliance, spoke abou1 lhe system of
uneven-aged forest management he has developed al his
Waldce Forest in Macon County; and David Wheeler
urged auendccs to approach forest Issues from an
ecologically realistic rather than a politically •reatistic"
standpoinL Bun Kornegay, a wilderness expedition leader
lllld president or the Bartram Trail Socie1y. offered
valuoblc insighis as he considered what Henry David
Thoreau would think aboul today's environmental
movcmena.
Bill Oliver and Glen Waldeck rocked the house
with their songs of Ille movement that were al once
inspiring and emcrtaining.
FREE THE FOREST!
FREE THE BEARS!
NAnnt World New1 Service
In a daring daylighl raid, six nmja commandocs
from the Earth Liberation Front (ELF). lhe Kaulilb
chapicr of the group Enr1h Firs1!. rescued and released
Smokey the Bear from the Nantahala-Pisgab National
Forest hcadquan.c:rs in Asheville on April 17
The rescuer$ approached lhc building and rc1umcd
with the Conner hosuge, who, when asked about his
condi1ion, said, ·rn be alrigh1 when l get ou1 of these
damn panis. • before 1clling of the horrors of captivity and
Ille brainwaslung techniques used in a vain effort to erase
his innntc mcmoTics of hfe in Ille wild.
Not to leave the Forest Service wilhout 11 mascot,
I.he group inuoduced the prcn to Stumpy, lhe paper
mach€ stump. their cllJ'ldidatc to more accur.iicly rcprcscm
Forest Service policies 10 the public at latge.
As black-su11cd commandocs esconed Ille bear to
safety, Ran,gcr Fred and Rangercltc Fredericka came on
the scene, evidently io pacify the crowd and 10 1um the
unscttling event to the advanlllge or the govcrnmcnL
Ranger Fred fim gave a discourse on silvicultural
economics for those present: "We in the Farce Circus
manage the nauonal forests in a muUiphtudc of uses 10
maximize profiL Got a question? Keep 11 '1il Inter.·
He then regaled the nudiem:e with folksy, friendly
siones m the warm, caring manner of a Ir.lined publicisL
"Some day you here arc gomg to take your young
ones out inio the fonner forest slump communi1y, and
you will be able to impress lhcm wnh your knowledge
of woodslore. 'Now that over there; you can tell them,
'is a popl:ir siump. And over !here is a hemlock s1ump.'
And they will listen for hours to en1cr1nining and
educauonal stories abou1 our r1:11ional stumpland.•
Jeff Smllh then re;id the "Ecological Manifesto
for th~ Katliah Province" (5CC Kt11UJth Journal #26).
which "'as complcicly ignored by 1hc media, who focused
!hear coverage on the more frivolous pans of Ille action
and tttillatcd their public w11h occnsional mention.~ of
"trcc·~p1king" in relation to 1he ELF group.
One month la1cr, on May 21 , in ano1hcr vain
a1tempt to focus media aucntton on the ecological needs
of 1hc fores1 hab1ta1, 1he ELF group and members of n
new group, Rescue Rangers, returned 10 the Forest
Services. Two members of Rescue Rangers, Da,·id
Wheeler and Rodney Webb. posted copies of 1he
"f:eologacal M;imfc~IO for the Kaufah Province• and !hen
ch3incd themselves 10 the orricc doors, complc1cly
blocking them for onc·h:!lf hour unul taken into cus1ody
by federal marsh;ils. Dcmonslr:ltors on the sidewalk sang
3nd charalcd.
Swmmcr. l 990
�"Stop the logging! Close lhe roads!
The hardwood f~t has to grow!"
as lhc two resistors were lllken away.
"The US Forest Service has lost 11S mandate."
Wheeler told lhe press. "It has shown itself incap:ible of
caring for lhe forest lands entrusted IO 1L The ngcncy sees
iL~ mission as representing human interests in lhe
forests, rather lhan serving the ecological nctds of lhc
forest 11.SClf.•
The "Ecological Manifesto for lhc Ka1uah
Province" calls for lhe public lands in the Southern
Appalachians 10 be cons1i1u1ed as an evoluuonary
preserve IO keep nauvc species from exunclion as a result
of the present ecological crisis. All further logging and
roadbu1lding would be prohibited in the evolu11onary
preserve, and human use would have 10 confonn to 1he
nctds of habitaL
The program also calls on the people of the
province to stop atmospheric pollution. 10 adapt their
lifc.~1yles to fit within the carrying capacity of the rci;ion,
and 10 cultivate an ou11udc of respect for the natural
world.
For their act of civil disobedience, Wheeler and
Webb face 30 days in jail and a S50 line, and an
additional S5,000 fine under a special government law.
Cont.1CIS:
Rescue Rangers
Box 282
Sylva, NC 28779
Earth Liberation Front (ELF)
Boit 171
Alexander, NC 28701
For copies of the "Ecological Manifesto for the
Katunh Province," write 10:
KmUahJournoJ
Box 638
Leicester. NC 28748
CLEAR CUTTING:
WAY TO GO? OR GO A WAY?
RETURN OF THE RED WOLF
MIDDLE CREEK FALLS
Nanni World Ncwl SCl'licc
Natural World News Service
In March, I990 three pai~ or red wolves wen:
released on the Tennessee side or the Gre:u Smoky
MountaiM National Park. If this rein1todueuon IS
suecc.~sful. n permanent population of SO 10 100 woh·es
will roam this pan or the red wolf native hab1U11.
Just over ten years ago lhc red wolf 11.·as extinct
in the wild. Forty wolves along the Gulf coast were
captured by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and placed
ll1 captive breeding programs. Originally the program
was at Point Defiance Zoological Park m Tacoma
Washington, but it wa~ later expanded IO include six1ccn
other facilities. By 1989 the populauon had grown 10
105 animals. However, it is only through reintroduction
10 a free eitis1ence that they can regain the vigor as a
specie.~ that millcnia of evolution hnvc given them. The
Fish and Wildlife Service released a drnf1 Red Wolf
Recovery Plan in 1989. which aims al establishing a
tollll populauon of 550 animals, v.•ilh 200 animals living
m wild rar"s and other protceted areas. The Great Smoky
Mountains National Park 1s considered a pnme
inuoduclion site.
By reintroducing the wolves 10 the Smokies it is
hoped that the smaller coyote. which has migrated 10 the
Smokies since 1985. will be driven out. This logic is
somcwruu skewed, however, since the coyote, through
the process of interbreeding, was considered one or the
major thrcais 10 the small surviving population of red
wolves on the Gulf coast. Why this phenomenon would
not occur again is not uplained.
If the first release proves successful. a second
stage will be implemented in which twenty wolves will
be released in the more remote areas or the the s17.000
ocro part.
The last wild wolves in the Smokies were killed
m 1910. A shy animal, the loner red wolf, which docs not
hunt in packs. is absolutely no thrcal IO humans.
The Middle Creek Falls lie n0t far from lhc rood
between Scaly Mountain and the town of Otto in Mlcon
County, NC, but not many h:ivc seen them. However.
they arc well·known :ind wclf.Joved by those who ha"e
clambered down 10 visit them. Since 1916 they have
been public propc.ny as pan of the N:intahala National
ForesL
Now Dudley M:inning. a resourceful developer
who has acquired property around the falls, wants lhcm
for the crowning jewel and main selling poml for a
residential development he is planning for the site.
The US Forest Service h;is a practice called
land-swapping, in which they publish 11 list Of private
lands that they f.:el are stra1cg1cally important 10 the
completion of the national forest, and offer 10 swap for
these parcels with other Forest Service land of equal
value but less Slrotegic imponance.
Manning has bought 1wo parcels of land on the
Forest Service swap list, one a 1.252 tract along the
French Brood River m Madison County, and 1he other a
157 acre traet along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Jackson
County. He is offering IO trade both these properties for
the 665 acre~ comuinmg the Middle Creek Falls.
Local people are upset. Jonathan William~. a
writer and publisher from Highland~. t\C, says, "There
:ire sacred phlccs here and there on the Earth, where a
person can develop depth of feelings . and this is one of
lhcm ... I want ii left alons. Change around these pans too
often mcansrumation.· And Keith Day. a member or the
Bartram Trail Society, has begun an active grassroots
campaign on behalf of the falls.
These people and their neighbors arc asking
others lo write to Gary Benneu; lligblnnds Ranger
District; RL 2, Box 385; Highland~. NC 2874 1 asking
that the US Forest Service raise additional funds IO
acquire necessary lands and not uade off beautiful scenic
places like Middle Creek Falls.
NATURAL WORLD NEWS continued p.26
Nalllral World News Service
Three recent announcements by the US Forest
Service give a comment on lhe agency's forest
management policies.
On April 23. the day after Earth Day, Forest
Supervisor Bjorn Dahl announced 1ha1 as a part of the
revised forest management plan for the Nantahaln-Pi.~gnh
National Forcsis clearcutting would be dc-empllllsizcd as
the Forest Service method of choice for timber cutting.
He cited public opposiuon 10 the prac tice and
instructions from Forest Service Chief Dale RoberlSon in
his remand of the Nanlahala-Pisgoh I S-ycar management
plan.
"We can change, and we are changing." Dahl said.
There is good reason for skepticism. Less than
one month after this dcclaralion, 1he Forest Service
announced anol.her timber sale, called the Bee Tree Sale.
in the Pisgah National ForcsL E:o:ccp1 for a ~moll area
close 10 a creek, the entire sale tract is to be clearcut and
hauled out by cable-logging equipment, which L~ rc-.crved
for work on steep slopes.
Envtt0nmcnt.11is1S arc up in arms about the sale,
and the We.stem North Carolina Alliance, which has led
1hc oppos11ion 10 c:lcarcutung in the mountain province,
plans lO appeal the sale.
The Forest Service made ilS own comment on its
ctearcutting policies when it revealed that clcarcuuing 111
the Nation:il Forests in Nonh Carolina had cost lallpaycrs
S2.64 million in bclow-cos11imbcr sales in 1989. The
losses in the N:uuahala·Pisgah National ForcsL~ were
grc:ucr th:m that, bealuse the Uwharrie l\'a1ion:1l l"orc~t in
the piedmont area milk.cs a profit on its timber sales.
Summer, 1990
b
~Limh
Journm Pa1J"- 25
�(ocmlinucd &om pege 25)
on them the invisible stress and reductJon in lifcsp:in
continue to be a plague and consequence of our excessive
human over- depe:ndancc on fossil fuels. rubber, and
mined metals from far away places. From this we
structure our socicocs, from this they may also become
dcsUucl~
IT MUST HA VE BEEN THE
ROSES
Narural World News Sc"'ice
Orawmgs by James Rhea
EASTMAN CO.:
WORLD-CLASS POLLUTER
Nanni World News Savicc
The Tennessee Eastman plant, ~dqWlltcn; and
the largest production plant of the Eastman Chemical
Corporation has been r:mkcd as the l(>p air polluter in
Tennessee and 14th in the Uni1ed Swtes in a study
recently released by the Environment.al Protection
Agency and the cnvll'Onmental group Citizen Action.
The Eastman plant rtlC.'.lSCs 40 million pounds of
1oxic chemical~ into the air each ye.v. 1l1e chemical
ace1one makes up 80% of the annual COilie release. Kodak
reported tnfornuuon nbout its polluung ncliv1ues in
accordance wuh lcgist::uion en11llcd 1he Emergency
Planning and Communi1y Right 10 Know Act.
The Kodak plane employs 11,000 people and
makes fibers, chemicals, and plas1ics. II has been caJlcd
co cask bcf<>tt by cnvironmenlal groups who documented
tha1 plant emucn1.s were also polluting the Holston
River.
CAN WE SA VE THE DEVIL '?
NllUral World New. s~.,.,
On Marth 14th 1990, the TruSI for Public Lands
(fPL) decided to purchase 828 acre.~ in Macon Count)'
known locally as the Devil's Courthou;;e. which is
loca1ed on the upper wa~ed of the Chattooga River.
The Devil's Courthouse as composed of sheer granite
cliffs which drop from the height~ of Whiteside
Mounlain to the cove below. Al~o an this upper
watershed 3.l'Ca of the Chatcooga River are =kb und a
wnter fall named Silver Slapper.
This upper aru of the river (five miles west of
Cashiers, NC) ha.~ been thrcaccned by developcmem for
some ume. The lower pas..<:;iges of the ChaltOOjµ are well
known and tm1·elcd by river raftc~. who paddle and slosh
throug)I what is dc•ignaled by the federal government as a
"Wild and Scenic River."
The US Forest Service attempted 10 acquire the
lands 111 the upper water \hcd or the Ch:mooga earlier this
yenr for inclusion in the Nantahala NatJonal Forest.
Fund.~ for protecung this enllle wa1crshcd have not bocn
fonhcomrng from Congress. The area has now become
the cop priori1y land acqui~ition of the USFS. The Tru.<t
for Public Land~ is encouraging the public to support
Congressional fondrng necessary lO conscrvc thi5 viwl
11.-:ucrshod. By 5paring u from the ravages of the l'C$0rt
Xatiuih Journa( pll!JC 26
market. perhaps its bcau1y and integrity can still be
enjoyed by ooming generations.
LIFE IN THE OZONE (revisited)
Nanni World Ne~ Scrv""'
Most of us do it every day: get in the car and
drive to the store, or to work, or to drop off the kid~
somewhere. The effects or doing this are generally not
apparent to our senses, except for perhaps the smell of
exhaust or a p:lUl in the wallet when the car needs rcpall'.
Bui the foct is that every tJme we ignite those
flaming engines of au1omotive "progress" we create a
brew of gasoous cxhnust thm ha~ far more effcet on the
current atmosphere than we at first rcali1e. One of the
gases created in the "ake of the.~ comb1m1ve cauldrons
is ozone • a deep blue, explosive, poisonous, and
pungent gas th:l1 exists as three combined oxygen atoms
(OJ).
The existence of 01.one in the outer "1rnle>5phcrc
is essenual 10 screening excessive ultraviolet radintaon
from the surface or the Eanh. Yet iL~ cooccntmuon m the
inner atmosphere causes rcsparruory problems an
mammals, and mh1b1ts the growth or sortwood trees and
flowering plants. For human bcmg.s 11 is the elderly and
the young that are the mOlil adversely affcclCd by life in
the 01.one. 1lydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides, which are
emitted from puttering cars and trucks. come into
chemical rc~c:tion in the presence of sunlight and create
these insidious tt1unc molecules. Cnrs and truck~ arc the
primary source of o~one in these mountains.
Summcmme can find us with levels of this molecule
exceeding the 113tion.:il ~L:lndards of public health.
A nauonal study mto the sources and effects of
OlOne contam111a1ion wa.~ ordered ten year ago by the
Congress or the United States. As the study nears
completion, it has cost 5 million dollar~ and included
over 1,000 sdcntJsts and engineers. Final rcpons on the
01one in the air of the inner atmosphere over western
North Carolm3 are due later this year. What the rcpon
found 1hus far 1s tha1 ozone 1s the worst form of air
contammataon an the Katuah Province. Acid rain, a
related problem, affects higher clevauons primanly, and
according to James Mahoney 11 as the concentration of
acid~ m wa1cr..hcd soils and forcsL~ at these elcvauon~
thJt i~ currcnuy causing the gn:.-ucst concern, The lower
elevations have yet to show damage as seven:.
Our strCCts and highways appear as s=t trac:ks
of 1numstve chcm1cal conversion and d1Spcrsion. For the
pcclesu'iln moving across them, or the passenger passmg
A rcpon recently released by the Swte of Nonh
Carolina showed that the Champion paper mill in
Canton, NC is responsible for some of the dirtiest air in
the enure swte. From January 10 June of 1988 the
concentrations of particulate.'\ in the air of the area
exceeded state standards five times. These cases account
for all but one of the major violations of air QW1l11y in
1988. Suspended particul::ucs or this area were the hig)lest
of 74 site.~ studied statewide.
The state standard for these aerial molecules is
150 micrograms (mg) per cubic meter. The average at the
Canton site was 78 mg, but it reached heights of 216 mg
during that y<::Jr
A spokesman for Champion International
attributed the increase or partieulmcs to a new road built
for carrying lime thnl was not watered down tO keep ll1e
dust from nying off. A tack or rain that year also
incn:a.o;cd the potential for moving dusL They claimed
that the problem diminished when they increased effons
to keep the lime powder down. Since then the ambient
air conditions have cleared somewhat and the slate now
consider,; Champion to be an compliance with the Stllte
Slalldartl.
The dan:ctor or the Western North Carolina
Rcgioru:il Air Pollution Control Agency, which is an
independun1 group that monitors air quality for State
officiaJs, claims 1hat conunucd hii;h levcls of particulllte
would be a "nuisance· anJ did not ncceS!>arily indicJtc o
danger to anyone breathing it. However, the report they
produced also claimed that extreme exposures to
panaculate-fillcd rur c:ll1 cause aggmvation of heart and
lung dascru;c, and e<m increase the likelihood of cancer and
other respirn1ory problems.
A broken filler ma ltme kiln at the Champion
plant was also cited :is a concributing factor to the
increased concentrations of particulate. As complaints
"filtered' m from local residents the lime kiln was finally
rep:ured in 1989. How muc:h airborne pollution is IOO
much? Ask not for whom t.he smokestack fumes. n
fumes for thee.
TURNTI\G DOWN THE POWER
Nanni World News Smlicc
The board of directors or the NC Electrical
Membership Corporation (NCEMC) voled on May 29 to
drop all plans to construct a diesel-powered peak
generating system a1 Deep Gap in Watauga County. The
board also made it clear that it would not undertake any
further plans for building diesel-generated power
St:ltions.
The board cited licensing delays, public
opposauon to the project. and "respect for the wishes or
the BREMCO (Blue Ridge Electrical Membership
Cooperative) board." which in a face-saving gesture had
requested an end IO the prOJCCL
ln spite of a loud public outcry. NCEMC had
been aggressively pressing ahead with plans for the
generating stauon until the Rural Electrificauon
Adm1nastra1ion. which had yet to approve the proposal,
made a public announcement that it had questions as to
the Stalion's effect on the local environment
Oppo:;1llon to the Deep Gap swtion was led by
the group Mounutan People for Clean Mountain Atr and
the Blue Ridge Environmcnt.ll Dcfcno;e League.
Summer, 1990
�SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN
NlJl"f.7 Ai lD Tl..J:E B10SPFJEit.:E !PROGRJ11Vl
The Man (sic) and the Biosphere
Program is an international program started by
the United Nations Educational, Cultural. and
Scienrific Organization (UNESCO) in 1971 to
work in particular habitat areas "to build a
harmonious relationship between man (sic) and
the environment on a scientific basis." The
international MAB program has identified a
network of biosphere reserves in characteristic
biomes (natural regions) around the world.
Each biosphere reserve is based around a
core zone, a wild landscape which contains as
much of the representative diversity of the
region as possible. Outside the core zone are
various special use areas to promote
preservation and study of rraditional land use
techniques of indigenous people, in-depth
rcsean:h into the ecosystem, and demonsr.ration
and study of habitat restoration methods.
Surrounding these inner areas would be a
multiple-use zone, or what is called an "area of
cooperation," where sustainable human use
would be practiced.
The project is regional in scope. This is
shown in the Southern Appalachian Man and the
Biosphere (SAMAS) project, which has
outlined an area almost identical to the Katuah
Province as the Southern Appalachian Biosphere
Reserve.
SAMAB was created by the agreement of
~even government agencies in 1988. Southern
Appalachia was chosen by UNESCO as one of
the first biosphere reserve areas because of "the
region's unique and globally significant
ecosystem" and because "the Southern
Highlands, like many other regions of the
world, have been subjected to largely
uncontrolled growth in population and auendant
development, particularly in the past two
decades." UNESCO recognized the Southern
Appalachians as "one of two areas in the United
States which best exemplifies biosphere reserve
concepts."
The SAMAS organization already has
several projects already underway. Among these
are:
- developing a computerized ecosystem data
base for the region,
~ training specialists to inventory biological
diver.;ity (planned are links with Latin
America to monitor migratory bird
populations).
- detecting and chaning climatic changes and
ecosystem responses,
- developing environmental education programs
for elementary schools,
- encouraging an environmentally-compatible
tourism industry,
- and creating a coordinared resource managrnent
plan that could be offered to developing
countries.
The basis of SAMAB is cooperative
regional planning. While the regional model
being promoted by the organization is excellent,
and the project goals arc largely laudatory, the
project now consists only of the regional
divisions of six federal agencies - the National
Park Service, the USDA Forest Service, the
Southeastern Forest Experiment Srnrion. the US
Fish and Wildlife Service. the Economic
Development Administration, the Department or
Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency,
and the Tennessee Valley Authority - the same
federal agencies now watching over the rapid
degradation of Kattlah's natural habitat
The SAMAS concept is still in its infancy.
Optimistically, the organization could renect a
new outlook and a new commitment on the pan
of its member agencies and the organizations,
public and private, who join subsequently. The
possibility is there. But SAMAB could just as
easily be "business as usual" under another
guise, if operating policies and power
relationships remain unchanged throughout the
region.
~
The organization is also interested in
beginning a program to tally the botanical and
pharmaceutical values of Appalachian plant life.
lndrdefeinr lte / " bo
f
I
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-
-
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"Multlple Use ArH
(Alea of CooP41ratoon)
Human senlements, forests and
rangelands. and other us4s m11nagad
lo ach•ove greillost possiblq hnrmony
with tha porpose of th11 biosphere
"'
Rohabllllallon Ar11
Demonstration of m11tll0ds
lo restore degraded
landscapes
\. 18591119
,
......,;.;;.:.;....:__ _ _ _ _~--_..,1
"Core Zone
1
""
Conservation or natural
&eosyslams and biological
drvars•ty, baseR111>
,
9COlogical monrto11ng
,)
,
Tradlllonal Us. ArH
Experimental Auearch Area
Conservation Md study ol
Manipulative rese;irch
twmomous land uses,
Ion managed ecosyslems .
1y.p.,ally by 1nd9nnous
~
,)
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HIGHWAY TO NOWHEREwnunucd from p. 9
FHA planners returned to the drawing
boards. After locating other deposits of pyrilic
rock ulong the proposed route, they reloca11:<l the
roadway 10 another alignment lhat avoided much
of the acidic rock deposits. They then let ne''
construction contracts for the revised route plan.
Smee the new contracts have been h:t, pyritic
deposits have been encountered in one of the
four segments built in Tennessee and three of
the six segments in "ionh Carolina.
Where pyritic deposits have been
uncovered, they have been "encapsulated" in an
effort to prevent :mv contact '' ith water. which
brings the acidic con1ponents into solution. The
rock is excavated, placed over constructed
drains, covered with agricultural lime, and then
capped with concrete. The success of this
method is being evaluated by a research te.1m
from the University of Tennessee. and .stream
monitoring is being done on a regular basis in
cooperation with the US Forest St:rvice.
St4mmet, 1Q90
The highway project has also suffered
slumps and slides that have added to the expense
of the work. David Govus is a grading
contractor in Ellijay, Georgia who goes
frequently to the wild country below I looper's
Bnld to hunt grouse. He says, "It's an
unbuildable site...They arc hanging the road on
a very steep ridge just above Santeetlah Creek.
It's getting close to a 45% gradt: along in there.
There are places you can hardly walk up.
"They're having to gouge out the ''hole
side of the mountain, and they've already had
several major slides. Pan of the road coming
from lhe Robbinsville side just slid off the
mountain. It came 300.400 feet down and
wiped out a Forest Service road that ran parallel
below.
"This was last December. even before \\.'C
had the big rains in February."
Repair work on lhe slides are currently in
progress. and one more contract for the final
eight miles of road is due to be let this year. The
section 10 be completed passes over Wright's
Creek, known locally as one or the finest native
trout streams. The road plans call for the
highway 10 cross over the creekbcd five times.
This threatens the stream's survi\'al. as the
headwaters area of Wright Creek contains some
of the steepest slopes and some of the largt:st
deposits of pyritic rock along the entire route of
the new roadv. ay.
Da\'id Govus says. ''If somebody could
go up there and look at it, it would make them
sick enough that they would understnnd how
stupid it is. Somebody who appreciates the
Southern Appalachian Mountains and who
undernands the pressure that's on them can see
that the Forest Service land is the last bit of the
landscape that's not being totally developed.
And here is a wild chunk of !:ind lhat ~hould be
a wilderness area, which instead is having this
useless highway pu1 through it."
,
)(.Qt~
)owncal pmJeo 27
�Dear Sirs.
Your spring number is a bi1 difficuh to accept as good Ecology.
I refer to Snowbird's illustration and write-up on edible wild
flowers! We need to protect them - as they are disappearing as
development and poor foresU')' practice ruin their habilllt and areas of
growth - Why eat wild flowers? • Better way to conserve.
•
Yours truly.
Miles L. Peelle
Brevard, NC
DRUMMING
LETTERS TO KATUAH
To Whom It Concerns:
Howdy there! I mec1 David Wheeler at the Environmental
Summit at UNC-A Saturday. He mentioned that Kat1u1h JC1urnal had
a write-up in your last issue on the black bear in regards to the White
Oak Communi1y and landfill.
This community is my home. I've been working real hard to
stop lhis siting. I gave David information regarding this. My concerns
are grnve as r feel the noise will ~isrupt the nesting pil~at~d
woodpecker and other birds ·the red-tailed hawks, etc. that reside m
my mantre hardwood forest that will never be disrupted.
I love the sounds of the birds. I really feel for the black bear,
the ones 1hat will be poached and the young who will learn an
un-natural way of being. The situation was o~e of politics. If th.e
bear could vote instead of people, they would wm. My community 1s
remote and small · only 90 households. The black bear will be
severely affected and the damage permanent. We need help from all
who love this wilderness species. I do know without help from the
outside, our politicians will win. They're determined. We do have
. .
people allying with us now, ~ut we need ~verybody. .
Enclosed is money, of which l would hke the last issue pertammg
to my concerns with the siting of a landfill in White Oak. I'm very
active in the light to stop it, your resource might should of sought me
out. The rest is for the cause. Thanks.
Editors' Note: People on th~ editorial staff had some questions abow
this initially, bm after smne discussion we decided to go ahead and
prillt tire article. Thank yo11. though.for voicing your concern.
WIU7t Snow Bear tells us is:
"\Ve certainly don't want to drive wildflowers to extinction.
Tire particular plants I chose co write abolll grow in large numbers
where. the\' occ1tr in this area.
"I also ga~·e specific instr11ctions for gathering the plants ill a
respectful ll'a)' The whole point about writing abo11t the wild plams
and their 11ses is to com·ey a respect/or those beings.
~1 think that people lfring their lil'e.1· i11 harmony with rite
mo11111ains. knowing rlre edible and medici11al uses ofthe native wild
plants. would be more inspired 10 preserve the plants and their wild
habirat. I don'1 tlii11k that the number of people who go inro wild
areas and pick a salad are going 10 mean the end of the wild native
plants. b1u if a species becomes rare, we certainly should not gather
it. The major threat is in the wholesale destruction oflzabitac."
?lie Sinners
"ITU sun gives tfie 'East a ji111J{ slupy norf
am{ slips away 6eliina a rosy fii[f.
'IHiife I, at peace for once, suting on my [1".rcft,
'lfien, 'Listen,· a cric~t sfui{(y calfs. 'Listen!'
.?l.na tfte evening gossips 6e9m.
Sincerely,
Carolyn Gann
Rt. 4. Box 191
Waynesville, NC 28786
'?(aty tfU{, • a malicious tattfttak si119s out.
·x..a1y aU!n 'tr a wyalf nemt replies.
'?(p.ty aitf.' '?(p.ty aitfn t.' '1(.aty tfit{.' ''])itf11't/'
Cfiarges am{ counter ones tftstur6 my soul
'Ofi, Lori{,' I 9roa11, 'ls tfrere no e111f to si11?'
Dear People.
.
I discovered your fine journal while staying at the Hot Spnngs
Inn last weekend.
T was so taken by your issue on "Children" that 1 intend. to
incorporate some of the ideas into the environmental educau<?n
curriculum of my school · The Montclair Coopcrauve School 1n
Montclair, NJ.
... Also (please send) a back issue on "Forests". I became
concerned with the clearcutting visible from our hike on the
Appalachian Trail and would like to get your views.
Thank you,
Lora Cooper
Berkeley Hts, NJ
'Stop it!" I sliout into tlie noisy crowtl
'/won 't liave s(anaer in my own 6ac~arti.'
Yet as I speak_! 6fusfi for ptrfuly
Jts my tfissem6lin9 mina ~eps wontfering too ·
'!JUI s(u.?
· Marie 'Woori
Dear Kauiah Folk,
I live in the New River Valley, which ha5 become grist for the
DEVELOP • DEVELOP • DEVELOP mill, indiscriminate and
insntiable. A green Conservancy has sprung up, but oh so tentatively.
unfueled by the real estate busine$$. I hope for ideas from Ka11lalt, as
well as good company. Many Thanks!
Sally Spangler
Rt. 2. Box 4
Christiansburg, VA 24073
Union Acres
An Alternative Community
-SrrwJr;y Mcnmtain living
Ulilh a focus on spiritual and te0logiC11/ 1JOluts•
Acreage for sale/ Beautiful lrnCIS of prh'lllC land available for
homeSICllding. Approxim:ucly eigh1y :ic~. surveyed into 24 lots
of ooe. two. or four acres each. ~vcn acres of common land
including cn:dc, meadow. playground, and scenic views.
Common property managed by communily conSCl\SllS.
Eartb sttwardsbip/ consensus democracy( organic gardening! noopoUuling
ttebnolocia/ atttrnalhe children's schoolf rttyclini: «Dier/ retrtalS and
.. orkshops/ aod other rooptrali"t tndtu·or~ 5uch as food co-op, etc.
For more infonnauon· C. Gmnt. RL I Box 61 J, \\'hittier. NC 18789 (704) 497-4964
•
The editorial staff would like to extend a special thank
you to Thomas "Breeze" Rums for his donation of a 10%
lit11e lo Ka11ialz Jownal.
P.Jd AdvcrtlSCmCDI
JCnltmh Jatnnul P"9C 28
Summer. 1990
�STEADY STATEcon11nucd from p.9
CNP also satisfies the missing ethical
component in modern economics which Daly
foments. The CNP of an ecosystem can be increased
depending on the amount of care, concern. and
respect the indinduals within tt m;imfcst for
their hfc community. Carelessness, dii.dain, and a
lack of respect lower CNP.
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 Kaulah Journal. is now available to all
as conference posters and T-Shins.
The posters are beautiful, four-color 11" x
1 renditions of the native species portrait with
7"
conference information below and are available
for $2.00.
The T-shirts are heavy-duty, all-couon,
silkscreened by Rldgerunncr 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 fror;n the sale o_f these .itcn:is
will support rescue acuons for nauve habitat in
the Southern Appalachian forest.
Order from: KfllflNU
Box 282; Sylva, NC
Ka111ah Province 28789
Ultimately. all of lids investigation and
discussion has to do with choosing a quality or life
in Katuilh. However, as Daly writes, "quality
involves difficult judgements. and imposes
self-definition and respons1b1ht;-•.. quantity (the
CNP measuring stick I involves merely count mg and
arithmetical operations that givt' everyone the
s.Jme answer and impose no responsibility". It is
easier, but not necessarily more accurate, to
measure progress by the quantity of concrete,
buildings, parking lots, people, and/or dollars in
an area.
But is this real progress? Cannot progress of
society occur without physical growth of structurus
and/or people? The building of a home, or of a
community, is more than just the erection of
structures.
It is the creation of a living
environment which will help meet, in a
sustainable way, the needs of those people who
live there. Arc not improvements in the quality of
food, air, water, justice, and community relations,
progress? Could not the successful maintenance of
ecological diversity, and the support systems
which are the foundation of this diversity, be
considered progress?
This is the supposition of the steady state
economy "Progress" is the maintenance of the
"best" conditions - in a word, quality. In the
growth economy, "progress" is the ever-increasing
growth in quantity of physical goods and services,
leading to the destruction of production capability
and life support potential.
(cost) $24 milhon in state and students money, and
promote the growth of the univer:>ily. An increase
in the quantity of dollars to an areil is by
ddinit1on .1 ~good" thing for that area.
But would the present supporters of lhe
construction project still be clamoring for the
government money if the dollars were being
offered to build a radioactive w.Jste storagc
facility? Of course not. In th.JI instance they could
easily see the difference between quantity and
quality.
John Stuart Mill put it \'cry simply and
clearly over 100 hundred years ago when he spoke
of a steady Stille economy:
If the earth must lose a great portion of
its pleas.1ntncss which 11 owes to things that
the unlimited increase of wealth and
population would extirpate from it for the
mere purpose of enabling it to support a larger
but not happier or better population, I
sincerely hope for the s.ike of posterity that
they will be content to the stationary long
before necessity compclls them to it.
,
RESOURCES
Berry, Wendell. 1987 Tht Gift of Good Lo11d. Nonh
Poinl Press, San Fransisco
Daly, Hcnnan E. 1977. Steady Stott Economics. W.H.
Freeman and Company, San Francisco.
Daly, Herman E., editor. 1980. Eco110mics, Ecology,
Ethics· Essays on a Steady Stott Eco110my. W.H.
Fn:cmnn, S::111 Francisco
Daly, Hcnnan E.. nnd John B. Cobb. Jr. 1989. For the
Common Good. Beacon Press, Bosion.
Schulll3chcr, E.F. 1973. Small is Bca111iful: Economics
os if Ptoplt /ltartertd. Perennial Library, New York.
MOO N
D ANC I NG
The proposed regional activities center at
Appalachian State University is a good example
of this conflict between quantity and quality. In
the minds of many, the proposed coliseum is
"good" because it will increase seating capacity for
events to 11,000 people, create a number of jobs
(mostly temporary) for local workers, bring in
Gift• of Cdebrauon
(EARTll WA\1 bOOKSTORE)
<!
Books • New Age MU$ic
Wildaafted Htrbal Product~
Gmutones • Unrqul' Card.i
Maga~mcs
• & Mort
(704) 264-7242
1 IOB Wc..>!>t King Street, Boone,
NC 28607
by Jomes Profitt
Down in Sylva
bear claws haunt the while clapboard town
~rung briefly between two mountains,
and the breathing or wild Appalachia moves
m and out of the mill's steam spirals
up into the sky.
A creek dribbles half-heartedly
through the edge of this pince.
Cherokee lies twenty miles west.
There, a hundred Indians ride the bed
or a red Chevy pickup with a cooler of beer,
lawn chairs, and ancient, laded Levis.
Al lhe trading post a small, stunted bl.Jck bear
p.1ces his days evenly.
Oh-God-am-l-immort.11-never-to·melt-my-bonesand-fur·a nd -hot-brca th-into-I he-stone-of· thisplacc?
cries a wee; disgruntled bear soul into quiet hillsides.
In the summds fading. men move into those hillside~
carrying nfll'S and trailing dogs
lhJrsting for blood in the ho.trsc,
secret l.mguilgc of hounds.
S\&mmcr, 1990
e1ti11ae ,At11p111ttl11re
WILDLIFE
"'
Jlerbp/gl/I e1i11it
T-SHIRTS. SWEATSHIRTS
'l\iage, 'JWfl~I 'Nat!Jraj_s
'''"
~~
~o'~ ~ C/~~ 130
ILC IAAJEBE. I.I. S, Ac..O
UC~T
v•~
0
,
vo'f.t,·,;p'>
~~:C,o·"
Dept. K
N Main Street
Waynesville. NC 28786
(704) 4~~3..Q03
,.~
........ ~·"
�Review:
Cohousint A Contemporary Approach I• Housing Ourselves
This is a book about bringing tile small community back to
modem society. The authors, Kathryn McCamant and Charles
Durrett, are a husband and wife design team who visited 46
cohousing communities in Denmark. the Netherlands and Sweden
before writing this book. They lived at many of these communities
for days or months and this gives their book depth and autnenticity.
This is a nuts and bolls guide to gathering a group of like-minded
folks :ind building a community.
The communities the authors studied in Europe were all quite
different from each other, but they also shared important features.
The groups were all democratic, and there was a refreshing absence
of charismatic leaders. They all had various amounts of resident
participa1ion in !he design process. AU of the communities provided
private dwellings for families as well as common space for group
activities. Some of the groups were cooperatives, some had owned
units, some rented units, some had both owners and renters, and
many had ownership similar to condominium arrangements.
The communities varied in size from 6 to 80 households.
There was a scrong consensus from both of these extremes as well
as from the middle ground that groups in the range of 15 to 30
households is optimum.
Some of the communities were buih entirely by hired help
while in others the residents did various amounts of the cons1J'Uction
work. Some of the communities were very poUlically-mindcd, some
very ecologically-minded, some didn't seem to mind at all.
lbe advantages of a small community are almost too
numerous to mention, but lower cost of housing, children's
playgroups, music ensembles, protection from crime, teenage
music rooms (Most of the communities had them!), greater energy
efficiency, laundry rooms, saunas, soccer fields (or baske1ball
courtS), workshops, walk-in freezers, darkrooms, and any other
resource one can imagine being shared profi1ably, make a good
beginning of a list. My own favorite advamage is enelly efficiency.
Through a cen1r.1l heating sys1em and co-generation, a small
community can have wannth and power at a small percentage of the
ecological and monetary cost 1hat a comparable number of
independent houses would use! Small communities can take
advanrage of the solar, wind, and water resources which would be
beyond lhc reach of one family and beneath lhe notice of a 1own or
city. Efficiently congregating humans in small communities leaves
much of the land for other species.
All of this makes basic good sense. The quesuon left is
"how do we get there from here?". Colw1ising is a very good guide
for this journey. It is a beautiful as well as a practical book with
plenty of color photographs and thoughtful architectural drawings.
It is published by Habitat/fen Speed Press and well wonh the
$19.95 it costs. If you are interested in living in community, you
~
should read this book.
·reviewed by Will Ashe Bason
Cl-ONA conlinucd !Jom p. 7
China's remaining 12% of forest cover is threatened by population
pressures and by the demands for wood of the industrialized areas of the
country. (One day I saw a 100 foot long log of Washing1on State
Douglas Fir being caned down 1he street by straining peasants!)
Modernization and rising expectations funher threaten this evolved system
by polluting the supplementary sources of protein foods found in the
waterways, by acid rain, and by the loss of prime arable lands to urban
sprawl, rural industry and private house building in the countryside. The
lure of modem lifestyle now projected on millions of TVs is a powerful
destabilizing force throughout China.
Dut the lessons of China seem unequivocal. If we are to avoid her
terrible mistakes and if we are to find harmony with the Nature of our
own continent, we can learn from intelligent observation what the Chinese
have had to learn by dire desperation. We can avoid China's plight by
applying the solutions the Chinese (far too late perhaps) have developed
to deal with the ecological challenges they face. We can ignore China (or
Ethiopia, Mesopotamia, India, Egypt, etc...} nt our peril.
Consider then for a moment what life in Kaniah would be like if we
could emulate the present resourcefulness and humility of the Chinese.
The intensively farmed prime lands of a few valleys around Asheville
could feed the entire population without strain. Thousands of acres of
pastures could be returned to forest/woodlot, since we would be eanng
soybeans and grains instead of beef and pork. These could provide fuel
for home heating and cooking (not to mention vigorous exercise for axe
wielders). Since we would be a low energy society, we would have to be
doing crafts, farming and domestic arts close to home. We could dispose
of our automobiles.
Noise, carbon emissions from fossil-fuel burning and the mental
stress of the modem lifestyle would deminish. Our communities would,
of necessity, be closer knit and less mobile and would thus be stronger
sources of social solidarity, so lacking in our ultramobile, treadmill
"American life". We would require less things to have as we begin to be
farmers, craflSpcople, musicians, artists, woodsmen, poets. Our forest
lands would become less accessible and therefore more wild. Old growth
forests would come into their own again, since our economy would be
one of sufficiency, not cancerous growth. Nature could move closer to
us, even as we become more natural people at home. The artificial
demarcation between the Wild and the Civilized would fade and the two
would intermingle and fuse. An economy of small farms, sm.111
businesses, and mutual interdependence would blossom.
People would look on their surroundmgs with a keener eye to the
deeper rhythms, functions and mystery. Like the Chinese. we would
11lways know at a given moment which way is nonh and which way is
south. We would be closer to the we;11her and be in tune with the seasons
at a deeper level.
XRtt".nh Journot pnl)G 30
Summer would last longer in our minds and be sweatier. Autumn
would be more poignant and festive with community harvests. Winte1
would be leaner, more intimate and contemplative. And Spring would
simply mean more.
When Spring came to Jiangsu Province! It meant an end 10 the wet
and cold with no cenrral heating. nn end to 9 layers of clothing, 1
0
jumping jacks and pushups at dawn, to sponge baths. to turnip soup, to
grim faces. Spring meant new life, hope and comtort. The first
cucumber never tasted so good as ii did in Jiangsu Province.
Let's try to avoid the kind of situation where someone will have to
ask this question, "Whose ducks are those?" Let the ducks remain wild in
a healthy wilderness. Let a lone hiker ask permission to kill it and give
thanks for eating it. Let the mystery of isolated bears return to our
psyche, as we tend our gardens of plenty gazing at the distant mountai ns.
The Way. the Tao, exists. Let us follow it.
Stephen Barrleu c1urefllly lives on the campttS of Warren Wilson College
in Swamwnoa, NC where Ire leaches and directs the International Smdent
Program lie and his family plan to move w land they have purchased in
the Dominican Republic, where they will farm and encourage rural
development.
~
-
....
· ~
:'litm 1r1
I
.,,. ,, , ,,,JCf'IU
704·264·!)210
200W. KlngSt. Boone. NC
3 Blocks Crom Campus
Sumn~cr.
1990
�END OF REAL ESTATE coru.inued l'rom p 23
CurTCntly, much human attention 1s put into designing ever more
effective ways of killing each other. In many governments this approach has
proven disastrous to the ecology o( their regions and to their own economies.
By diverting even a fracbon of the now of human 'money', attention, and
concern involved with 'destructo-tcchnol9gies' into those forms which work
with the timing and material energy cycles of the sun and livmg bJO'Phere it
is possible that we can d~1gn basic humAn scale systemS which fulfill the
needs of housing. food, he•lth care, travel, tcachtng. and rommunicauon
without thrusting our energy discard'! he; pollutants) onto the hfc sustaining
environments around us. It means our new "job~ will be to monitor the flow of
many fonns of energy •nd make sure 11 is ~cLlble or reusable "ithm the
human community, and that what 1s released into the habitat of other
animal, plant. and microbial communities is d1Scstabll' by thl'm. PCB's for
instance are vl'ry difficult for bacteria and fungi to decompose, while some
other chemicals such as organic 50aps are degradable. II would mc.1n
adopting a similar kind of energy respos1bihty as we would find in a forest, a
creek, pond, or meadow - not allowing a valuable form of energy "go to
waste". It would mean de5igning stores and industries with systems and
containers that are re-usable. Also worth considering arc food producers that
work directly in a villagl' or town in which foods arc made fresh and the
need for wrappers and containers would be minimized. Our
"ncw~mploymcnt" would also mc.1n finding and using 11\dteri.als that arc
more organically digestable by the rest of the biosphere, or at least
digestablc in a more reasonable time range.
The utterly ironic process of going away from the home or homestead
to earn money from someone else to be able to purchase land and housing that
some great day m the future you hope to live in and enjoy (perhaps with a
family) is a sad •nd telling story of the lack of clear prionhes in modem life.
ln a region where Real Estate was NOT long (or queen), there would be
encouragement in finding a "house and land" for people who are, or are to
become good stewards. One responsibility of the Village would be to keep
track of lhe turnover (le; births and deaths) of lhe population of the vlllage
and relay this informabon to young couples for example, who are awaiting
ho~. Within local Village agn.'Cmcnl!i about the canymg capacity of a
farm or pan:cl of land their payment would be in the eifort and skills they
applied "on sight". It may abo be appropriate In such contexts to have LETS
trading 5)'5tl'IT\S (sec Katllah Issue 22) far goods and services not e)!Changed
through cuh or precious metals..
Banks charge "intCl't$1" to thO!>e who 'have not' now for the chinc:e
that the)' may possibly 'h3ve' later. This *interest" has traditionally been
coming from the workings of the Sun and 81o~here through pLtnts, animals,
rung;, and bacteria Now we have replaced these renewing forms of Interest
with numbers and the Earth's storage of fossil fuels- which were placed
there inadvertantly by the death of living organisms - perhaps in order to
keep carbon atoms from contnbuting to the over-concentTation of greenhouse
gasses in lhe atmosphere.
Could a system be created through which land or a house would be
"worked" and taken are of by a person or a family and "paid for" by the
work they actually do while living at the residence? It would certainly
assist the effort in reducing the now of harmful and mundane molecules (such
as automobiles spitting out their weight in carbon-dioxidl' m one year) which
is creating an enVJronmcntal crisis for many of the larger multi-cellular
organisms like ouselves. The overarching context of the present economy
prescribes that there must be a middle person involved to retail, or scoop-off
some extra money m the transaction between a human family and the land.
Most of lhe "monitary profit" from someone actually living on the land they
are trying to acquire goes off to someone else wllO is free to walk off with it,
through the craft of law and Instituted customs. By giving value to what the
source of wealth is; the know-how, plants and animlls, materials, tools,
hulTWl and other than human relations, and the capacity of human bciilgs to
be adequate stewards in this process - we could possibly find ways to g;ve
back to the land the attenhon that is being taken away from ii l?.Y 'Working
Jobs' that •re often meaningl~ (or ha\•c htllc to do with actual hfe support)
and become nearly purpo$Clcss to the attempt of finding harmony in human
relations. and within the relations of the region they inhabit.
Mind you. there would h<l\'C to be some stnct prohibitlons to people
that would abuse such a woy of "eamfog a living". No ultimate guarantee
exists that ways of hum.ln fundamentalism. trickery, commcroahsm, and
"nus-m.11"1gcment• that have been C\idcnt In our past will not find l~ wny
into such a Re-'"ISiomng or the basic pnnciplcs of Real Estate. At the same
time, how could we prevent such regulation from becoming too rigid and
burcacratic7 One s11ggcs11on comes from Anthropological studies showing that
groups, or etrclcs, of "primitive" people numbering only as many as 40, were
able to communicall' about b.151c assumptions mtlsl clearly and clfoctivcly,
e\-en though the ways they organizl'CI their affairs were not always linear or
Summer, I 990
'rational'. Perhap; this kind of organizing in the context of non-lethal
technologies would aid in decision making more than large, overly
cumbersome 'bodies' of people haggling over agendas and policies for long
periods of ttmc, •nd insi5ting on rigid heirarchical fonns of order.
There would be hard work involved for those choosing to be a ~rt of
such an ecologically minded approach to human hre support in the greater
contCl<t of H•bitat rreservatlon. A justice syMem that involved inhabitants
other than human, along with the repo0$ib1lity or human caretakers And
the carrying capacity of the land would be one very different from the
primanly urban and l'llCdlJlmainy mdustnal slate as it exists now. Such a
system would involve biology as a cruelal aspect of such an intcr-spcoes
JUStire. The main problem With this would perhaps be find mg Agreements
about what such a fonn of justice v.ould ~n. and how offenders to it would
be dealt with. Would we samply rccapttulatc our CWTent shamefully
inadequate ways of "lmpnsoning" people an an Ecological State, or would
there be community service penances?
An l'COnomk system of accounting the direct work done on or from a
"peace" Of i.nd for housing. or the ability to hve ma given plare and obtam
life suppprt in a VJllage ronk'ltt, ls also quite foreign to our way of life now
(though II has rc-ci.1~ted many tim..'5 through the human past). Instead of
proving you are Worthy to an employer, perhaps you could prove 11 to a
council within a community or village <or group of villages). Would such
villages be patterned afkr collccllve socictil'S m which crucial lands, tools,
and foods arc distributed more l'Venly among the populace? Or would it be
fashioned after market l'COnom1cs 1n which what a person or fAmily is able to
create and sell on a market dl!tcrm1~ their wealth and status in lhe
community? The collective notion seems to prove too uniform in character with a sti!fiing of diversity and often of helpful innovations as well.
Capitalistic notions appear to be too diverse - the markets fill with multiple
products that require specialized means of repair and the pooling of capital
becomc?S paramount to overall ecological health. I thtnk there will be some of
both ol lhesc ways of cultural organizi!ll; involved 1n an ecological approach
to human commumhcs, much as in th~ practice of Land Trusts (see Ka!Uah
lsue 20). In a Land Trust the foundcn determine 'guidelines' whlcb
pcrchascrs of land in the rommunity must agrre to in order to '1nJy" anto IL
The land is removed from lhl' "frre market" of busmess. and IS open to the
decisions of loCal residents who are in rlttd of maintaining the land's
integrity ~or their own survival.
Our current lnduslrial Chaos in ~l contributes to the stiffHng of
human CMrgf cs and experiences in finding collective and perso~I ways of
M<lture (or climactically stabalizing> ecological relauol\lhips with the
many cycles of energy and form found in the ·nch" and rare environments of
this Uving Planet. To find an order now, that is not a throwback to a
supposed order of long ago, is our current challenge. An option for ecological
in~ty, an which industries would perhaps become Tnl '"plants", is not an
absolute proposition, however. An astcrlod rould collide with tliC Earth and
throw the Earth's living systems into a chaos far more inteMe than what we
are doing with our bombs and industries now. Can we retrieve from the
self-Initiated chaos and fear from whicli we have been building Into
"mlhtary industrial complexes" for hundreds of years? C..n we create a
polity that does not seek to manipulate and scavenge the lives of the
•common people" thay proport to support?
The expericnct' of human corruption. greed • .and power struggle5 for
social positiorung cannot be left out of consideration when. imagining
ecological villages. Yet if the bulk of Non-roal estate societies revesred
women, m1nontics, relative honesty and ea>logical health, apprenticeship.
•nd non-partici~hon in militarism more than It does the previou!lf
mcn11oncd "attributes", the chances or more JUSI social ~ems rould have a
greater potent1<1I of cof!Ung Into existence. In ~· there ili now a.c1oler
mutual ronsistcncy brtwecn our own ~II being .and that of the enVlronmcntal
context of the Earth
Unpredic;tabillty and tunnoU arc likely to percolate in human
societies. Even (r we can design villages that are ecologically sound there arc
no guaranl1?6 that OUT social and personal Ills "'ill be cured. Such secnunsly
"fmrretenal" concerns as conflicts of assumpuons. violent behavior, drug
addiction, croWding. lying and dcrual, romantic relatio~ gone sour, ~ge
rebellion, disfunctlONll famihcs, ond other maladies of the human coru:huon
are os mbmatcly ln\•ohro with these so called 'Green Technologies' as the
design of the systems themsclvcs.
It may be true that by Cl'l'attng a more healthy context between
oursdn.-s and the blola uf 1hc rq;lon we Inhabit :;ome or ou~ current social
malaise C'an find a plare to heal old wounds, yet it is too easy to think that
there Is some •fix" that we can put on our soctelli.'S that will heal this once
and for all. There must also be an nccompanying inner ab1hty of the
personality to become 1nll'g1'.tll'CI into a group larger than Itself, v:·h1le
.
rcuunmg the self-assertiveness nl'Cl'SSlry for identity and protc<:non. , .
JCatUah Journat pa9e 3l
�PEOPLE ANO KABITAT ccnlinued &om p.13
manner in which they earned !heir wealth. The
very isolation that bad protected the mountains
fro!11 induslrializatio~ for ~ long now proved
their strongest attracoon. City-dwellers realized
that they could "have" that isolation - all they
lacked was a way to get there. Thus began the
era of the four-lane. The Appalachian Regional
Council brought in federal money to help state
governments upgrade old roads and build
modem expressways.
. During th!s same period agriculture
dcclmed sharply m the mountains • and with it
declined the traditionally high birthrate that had
always characterized Appalachia in the minds of
outsiders. With the construction of new roads
in-migration became the driving force in th~
population growth of the Katuah province.
Today the rate of biological growth (the ratio of
the bmh rate to the death race) remains at flat
zero or in fractions of a percentage point (0.07
percent in 1984), while the rate of in-migration
continu~ to rise dramatically, putting the overall
populauon growth of the Southern Appalachians
we.11 above the national average. The number of
reurces tr3nslocaling to the mountains raises the
percentage of monality and skews the biological
growth rate somewhat, 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
popul~tic:>ns'. ec<?nomic development, and
mdusmahumon • m Appalachia. Lack of access
protected the wild nature of the mountain
habitat. Now the cork is out of the bottle. The
sporadic stream of in-migration has turned into a
flO<?d. As ov~r-populatcd Europe once offered
an mexhausnble supply of humanity to fill up
the New World, the large eastern cities now do
the same for the mountains. as the interstate
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 opportunities in the Great
Smoky Mountains National Park and the
national forests. Today. human management and
hullllln use penetrates to the deepest reaches of
the forest on 4,900 miles of forest roads and
touches every aspect of life on vinually 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 to the clearing
necessary for roads and development and the
associated noise.
The Norlh Carolina High~ay Bill
(or Come One, Come All! )
. l n 1989 the North Carolina state
legislature passed a $8.8 billion Highway Bill.
Go~emor.Jim Martin's plan is to place "every
resident m the state within 10 miles of a
four-lane road," build by-passes around seven
urban centers (including Asheville). pave
10,000 miles of ~e~ondary gravel roads by
1999, and the remaining gravel roads in the state
by 2006.
To hear the road boosters talk. the new
roa?s are g?ing to bring in all 1he good aspects
of 1 n~ust~al culture and none of the bad.
There s big bucks in it for everyone, we are
to!d, an~, because we live in 1he mountains,
thm~s will be as nice as they always were. The
Envaronment Committee assures us th:it all this
development can proceed with no impact
k:otMm ) 0 1.0 ·\iQL pJ9 e ~i
whatsoever on the "beautiful mountain scenery
that is so important to all of us" • in fact, it'll be
even better, because there will be m()re people
here to enjoy it with us.
THE FOURTH TURTLE ISLAND
BIOREGIONAL CONGRESS
(NABCIV)
In reality, the greatly increased volume of
traffic that will pass over the new highways will
h~ve a tremendously damaging effect. New
highways mean more use, more commerce
more in-migration, and more human demands
on the already over-stressed habitat.
Since the 1960's the word "access" has
taken on a new and more sinister meaning with
the widespread use of the television set. The TV
has had a rapid and unprecedented effect on
mountain culture. With a TV in almost every
home, the cultural isolation of the mountains is
at an end. The greater society comes right into
the living room almost every night of the week.
The cultural model is no longer local, but is
broadcast from New York and Los Angeles. and
the image now permeating the minds of the
mountain people is the same as that being
received by the rest of the population of the
continent, wherever they live.
There are no regional distinctions in this
model, it is bland and homogeneous. It is also
urban in nature. as most of the dominant culture
is urban-based, and it causes dissatisfaction in
the minds of rural viewers, who begin to feel
that they are being left out of the American
Dream when they see urban consumpuon
patterns and urban lifestyles on the flickering
screen. The TV has caused great changes and
great contradicrions in the Appalachian way of
life. With Lhe powerful weapons of the TV and
the automobile, the cultural conquest of the
mountains is nearly complete.
will be held August 19·26
at Lake Cobbosseecontee, near Augusta,
Gulf of Maine Bioregion
As access opened the mountains to the
ravages of unrestrained technology at the cum of
the century, so now is it bringing in an outside
culture and unrestrained numbers of human
beings. We are the greatest threat to habitat in
the Southern. Appalac hians. Rampaging
development will be our greaiest local concern in
the decade ahead.
We long ago overshot the capacity of this
region to support the weight of our population
and our induslrial technology. Now, 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 arc at
once new and at the same time very, very old.
These values are the subsmnce of the bioregional
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 b1oregion.
S pecial thanks to Tersh Palmer a nd
Karen Lo hr for their contribulion.
The fourth continental Bioregional
Congress is convening to plan strategies and
share energy to meet the challenges of the
coming decade, which is shaping up to be a
crucial one in the development of the present
world culture.
The species of life on this planet are being
hard hit by the weight of human numbers and
human technology. The future of planetary
evolution is at stake, and we cannot waver or
hesitate in defending the other creatures of the
world and their habitats. They are disappearing
rapidly, and once gone, they are gone for good.
But our actions would be in vain if we did
not establish new and different cultural styles ways of living that are specific to the natural
regi?nS that support them ... ways of being that
tap m10 the deepest roots of their natural living
plaee...these are what will endure.
The potential of the next ten years is
tremendous. Let us come together for the sake
of the world and all that is wild.
If you arc interested in at!Mdiog NABC lV from
lhe Katuah Province, conl.3Ct the K a1uah Journal (Box
638: Leicester. NC; Kalu3h Province 28748) to
coordina1e transponation and consider how we will
represent our region at the Congress.
Rcgis1rn1ion for NABC IV is SJ75 for odults,
SIOO for children. Mrul Congress queries or rcglstrntions
to:
Turtle lsland Biorcgio113I Congress
Gulf of Mnillc Books
61 Mainc SL
New Brunswick, ME
Gutr or Maine Bioregion 04011
.r!!J'
,te:.-'
WNC ALLIANCE
HIGHLANDS-CASHIERS CHAPTER
A new chapter of the Western North
Carolina Alliance has been formed in the
Highlands-Cashiers dismct, the uplands of
southern Jackson and southeastern Macon
Counties on the Blue Ridge Divide.
This area comprises the headwaters of
some of the most important water sources in the
southeastern quarter of Turtle Island. The
Cullasaja, Cha11ooga, Tuckasegee, and
Whitewater Rivers rise here, as well as
Tessentee and Middle Creeks, important
tributaries of the Little Tennessee River system.
The new Alliance group states its purpose
as being an effective grassroots organization
promoting a sense of stewardship and caring for
the mountain environment. Their goal is to
protect and preserve the quality of the land,
water, forests, and air through education and
public participation in policy decisions at tll
levels of business and government.
For more information about the group,
ca!J the WNC Alliance office at (704) 2588737.
.,(4m'mU, 1990
j
�27-29
JULY
SWANNANOA, NC
Vision Ques1 wi1h Morgan E:igle Bear.
Offerings. Those wishing to paruc1pa1e, write Morgan
C/o The Earth Ccn1cr Sec 6123-24.
HOT SPRINGS, NC
~ Cherokee Law and Holy Land: Leaming
About Row to Live in Nonh America..• Woricshop with
Dr. Robert Thomas, raised in a traditional comunity m
the Eas1em Ozarks. Storytelling. fasting, discussions,
Sacrifice to the Fire, Salu1c to the Sun, Pipe Ceremony.
$95. Pn:-regis1cr. Southern Dhanna Reuca1 Center. sec
7/13-15.
4-8
12-15
Asheville Anisis' Markel & Fes1 on Lexington Ave
Downtown Asheville. NC. Thru 1he summer on Fri,
Sal, & Sun, 10 am • Sunset Exhibi1or.; will include
local anisL~. environmental, educational, & social
concern groups, food. Local musicians pcrfonning and an
open slllgc daily. For info. call (704) 251-2313.
in
Full Moon Sweat Lodge every Saturday closest
to the foll moon at the Eanh Center, Swnnnanoa. NC.
Call (704) 298-3935.
JUNE
21
SUMMER SOLSTICE CELEURA T ION
23-24
SWANNANOA, NC
Drum-Making Workshop with Pal Slark.
Building a medicine drum. S150. supplies included. The
Eanh Cemer; 302 Old Fellowship Rd.; Swannanoa, NC
28776. Call (704) 298-3935.
24·30
TOWNSEND,TN
"Teacher & Naturalist Weck.• "For classroom
tcachen, nar.uralists, and anyone intercs1cd in learning
3boul the natural world." With Doug Elliou. Eustace
Conway, music by Lfa and Lynn Shaw. Sl50. Contacl:
Great Smoky Moun1nins Ins1itu1c al Tremont;
Townsend, TN 37882 (615) 448-6709.
U..27
KNOXVILLE, TN
Economic Dcvelopmcn1 as ir Women Maucred
Conference. Co-sponsored by Levi Strnuss Foundation,
Tennessee Valley Authori1y, Episcopal Diocese of Eas1
1N. Info: Vicki Creed, Community Aff3ll'S; Levi Strnuss
& Co.: P.O. Box 15906; Knoxville, TN 37901.
27-7/1
tu GH LANDS, NC
"Landscape Photography in the Blue Ridge
Mountains" with Gil Leebrick and Dan Rohn.
Dcmonsuations, field trips, and darkroom session.~ S200
includes lodging. Appalachian Environmental Arts
Ccn1er; P.O. Box 580; Highlands, NC 28741 (704)
5264303.
30-July 8 CELO, NC
Rural Soutticm Voice for Peace Office Building
Workcamp. A specu1I week for volunteers. skilled and
ull$lt1llcd, 10 come help build RSVP's new orrice
building on the Celo Community Land Trusl Info:
RSVP: (704) 675-4626.
\I
LI NVILLE, NC
35th Annual Grandfather Mountain Highland
Games and Gathering of Sco1tish Clans. Pag3entry. pipe
bands, Scottish athletics ceilidh. For more informa1ion,
wruc Box 356: Banner Elk, l\C 28604 or call (704)
898-5286.
HOT SPRI,GS, NC
"Po1n1ing at the Sun; Holding Up the Moon:
The Five Ammal Frolics" w1rh Jay Dunbll' and Kathleen
Cusick. Workshop on ancient exercises from China used
to prepare mind for both martial arts and meditation. $70.
Pre-register: Southern Dharma Rctrea1 Center. RL I, Box
34-H; Ho1 Springs, NC 28743.
26-8/5 FOLKMOOT PERFORMANCES
Folk Performers from Austria, Bulgaria,
France, Greece. Hunmgary, Indonesia, Ireland,
the Ukraine, Phillipines. and possibly Haiti.
Performances in Haywood, Buncombe, Macon,
Henderson, and Madison Counties. Call the
Folkmoot office for schedule and prices: (704)
456- 3021.
13-15
14 15
SWANNANOA, NC
"Women's Ceremonial Mask-making"with
AniLD Maloney. teacher wuti the Bear Tribe. Free
per.;onal power through the use of ceremonial masks.
S 100. The Eanh Center, see 6123-24.
AUGUST
2
SWAfliNANOA, NC
Buck Ghost Horse at the Earth Center. Open
talk. Love offering. See 6{23-24.
2-4
HELEN, GA
"Mountains or Imagin:uion" Puppet
Fesllval Helen Festc Halle Pavilion For info.. call Pat
Minnaugh (305) 925-6833.
3-5
16-22
WILLIS, VA
WOMEN'S WELLNESS WEEK ·
Nurture and Heal Your Body, Mind and Spirit.
"Womerls Wellness Week gives us the time,
energy, and gifts of our sisters and the E.anh to
help us heal ourselves, our species, and our
planet home". Pre-register: $350. For more
information write or call: lndian Valley Retreat
Center; Rt. 2, Box 58; Willis, VA 24380
(703) 789-4295.
WEAVERV ILLE, NC
The Golden Rod Puppets perform! with
friend Hobey Ford. Weaverville Library 11 am.
SWANNANOA, NC
"Sacred Teachings of the People." Buck
Ghost Horse (uadluonal Sicangu-HunkpaJD Lakota). The
Coming or the Sacred Pipe, Pipeways. Arrival of the
Seven Sacred Ceremonies, HlstorY of the Sioux People.
SI 00. The Eanh Center. Sec ~3-24.
19-26 LAKE COBBOSSEECONTEE,
GULF OF MAINE
The Founh Nonh American Bioregional
Congress to be held this year in the Gulf of
Maine Bioregion. (sec facing page)
19
22-27
HI GHLANDS, NC
Workshop on "Sexism and Peacemaking"
featured as pan of "Mountain Great Escape" wcck a1 the
Mounlnin. Pre-rcg1stet in advance for wcrk.<hop or fer the
whole week. See 7/1·6.
26
WVTHE\'JLLE, VA
The Golden Rod Puppets pcrfonn! wilh
friend Hob<.:y Ford Wylhc·Grnyson Libraries. 11 om.
Drawings by Suwn ~
24-26
LOUISA, VA
"Celebrating Our Diversity• • Women's
Gathering. At Twin Oaks Community. Sliding scale
S35-S95. Info: Women's Gathering, Twin Oaks, Louisa.
VA 23093. (703) 89-1-5126.
SEPTEMBER
11-12
UlGHLANDS, NC
"The Political Landscape" with Roben
Dawson. An with a purpose - the photographic image in
the environmental movement. $200 includes lodging.
Appabchian Environmental An:; Cen1cr; sec 6127-7/1.
�wwrac~~.~O~
unused can,·as. 6 fL wide. Enough ror a full· size TIPI or
very large tenL Cost S380. Will sell for $220. 298-7639,
Asheville.
Living Wheel Herb Company.Ceremonial and culinary,
wildcrafted and organically grown herbs. Send for a fn:c
cat31og. P.O. Box 427 Tonasket. WA 98&55
WOODSCRAFT - Seeking to correspond with petSonS
mterestcd in primitive woodscraft skills such as.
bow/dlill fire-making, u-.ick.ing, snan:/dc:Utlfall uupp1ni;,
etc. Have attended Tom Brown's basic class. J.T.
Garrison, RL 4, Box 667. Spring Cuy, Tn 37381.
Wicker Worker. Wicker fomilure restored. Cane. spht.
and rush sealS woven, ba.~keL~ repaired Experienced SC3l
weaver. "If you can't, we cane." Andrea Clll!kc: 27 MaJt
SL, Asheville, NC 28801. (704)253-624 l.
MOCCASINS, h311dcrafled of clkh1de in the tnld1tionsl
Plains Indian Style. Waicr resiSlant, resalable, and rugged
• great ror ltilcing! Children's and infant si7.C.~ available.
Wntc: Earth Dance Moccasins; Bo-.. 931: Asheville. NC
28802, or call Patrick Clnrlc at 254-8116.
The Infinite Light Fellowship is opening a Meditation
Center which will offer mid-day medi11u.1ons, as well as
evening and Sat. worlcshops on spiritual growth, dreams,
healing. Open IO all. Ant Iron Bldg., 20 Bauery Parle
Ave., Asheville, NC. Info: Al Bouchard, (704}
254-2080.
CIRCLES RETURNING • a new cas~cttc by Bob
Avery-Grubel! This 1s music to touch the soul and heal
the hcalt. Lyrics included. To order send SIO per casseue
to: Bob Avery-Grubel: Rt. I Box 735: Aoyd, VA
24091.
Sl<lNFOODS • ftelih, hand-made hcrtxll skin prcpar.11.ion~
at n:a.o;onable pnces. Send for pncc hsc 106 E. Main St.;
Johnson C1ty, 11'1 3760
RSVP is building an ofllcc home of our own and asking
for your help. Half of the S25.000 cost already raised or
pledged. Solar design and help wnh appropriaic tcch :iJso
doll3tcd. Labor will be by Volunteers for Peace and
regional voluntccrs. Please join us in making big ~tcp
into future.
CREATION SOAP· hand-crafted h~rbal soops from II~
Blue Ridge Mountains. Rose and lavender soap$.
mob1ur1<.ing bat, •hampoo/condi1ioncr bar. Comact
Anna; RL I, Box 278: Blowing Rock, NC 28605 (704)
262-2321 .
Wanted: Home & Shop Space for Light Woodworking.
(400 sq. fL+). For rent or exchange: would prerer within
IS miles of A~hcv1llc. NC. Needed 9/90. We are
responsible and caring. Md would love C3J'lhconscious
neighbors. Brce1.c Bums, Janc1cc Ray &. Silas, Rte.l.
llo1188-J. Quincy, Fla 32351, (904) 442-6474
I AM LOOKING FOR A POSITION with an
cnvironmcnl.'ll awarcnc,s/acuon organi:i.alion m the
Katfuh region located m A~hcv1llc or nearby. Prerer
pan·llme, beginning 1n summer or fall 1990. A
writer/ncwslencc editor by trade, I have cxpenence in
lobbying, rccruttmg and tr.umng volunteers, leading and
organi7.mg cvcnis. Please contaet Janc1ce Ray, Rt. I,
Box 188-J, Quincy, FL 32351. (904)442-6474.
J(.Qt®h Jo,muaf. pa<]& 34
SPIRITIJAL PERSONAL ADVICE. Concspond with
your Nauvc Grandfather. All qucsuons addressed from
Medicine Perspective. No clurge ever. SASE with letter
to: Blue Sky, Box 5387, Largo. Fla. 34649.
ADVENTURES FOR EVERYONE • Backpacking,
canoeing, llama trekking m the NC mountains, SC
barrier islands, Congaree Swamp. Families with young
children and seniors welcome • llamas will airry your
gear. uam MINIMUM IMPACT
rr.chmque.~.
r.cology,
plant and animal identification, rockchmbmg, whitewater
C311oemg. etc ... Emphasis on perlOllal growth. For more
information write: Magik Trek~. P.O. Box 6876,
Columbia, SC 29260.
GRE.ENll'G CARDS • correspondence and advocacy
cards for people who care. Onginal an reproduced in
color. (I 091: of proceeds donated to proJCCIS for pc.ace wid
justice.) Write IO Ginny Lco12. LovEarth Creations; Box
1445: Black Mountain, NC 28711.
ENVTRONMEl\'TALLY SENSITIVE l..Ai"IDSCAPL'lG
SERVICE- Lawn maintenance, trees. shrubs, Oowcrs &.
edibles. Organic. Patrick Clark. 254-8116.
WORK FOR PEACE. STOP PA YING FOR WAR! For
informauon about conscientious resisl3occ to war Ulllcs,
including resources. local contaCts, phllosophy, how-1o·s.
and consequences, contact the National War Tax
Resistance Co-ordinaung Commill.CC, P.O. Box 858 IO,
Seattle, WA 98145. (206)522-4377.
MOON DANCE FARM HERBALS • herbal salves,
unctures, & oils for birthing &. family health. For
brochure, please write: Moon Dance Farm; Rt. I, Box
726; HWTlpLOn, TN 37658.
Spiritual Knowledge shared. advice given 10 those who
are seeking or m need. Always personal and strictly
confidential. Contnbutions acccptod, but never required.
Send SASE 10: Circle Communications, Boit 412,
Dillard. GA 30537·0412
NATURAL CH1LDBTR1ll CLASES speciallLlng in the
Bradley Method. Clas...cs are small and include nuDition
physiology, consumerism, parenting skills, and
rclaxauon and labor support techniques. For more
informa11on call or write Maggie Sa.ch~: 808 Florida
Ave.; Bristol, TN 37620. (615) 764-2374.
NEW AGE COMMUNITY FOR~IJNG on 57 acr~ of
land. Located on sacred Cherokee Stone Mountain.
Visions or hc.:iling the c.:inh & our chi ldren. Parcel~
avadable. All Southern Exposure, strong creek runs
through middle, with little creeks on either side. Many
springs. gentle land. Contact Sue Ann Rmcr, Rt. 2.
Box 314, Vila~ NC 28692.
SKYLANO • log on 10 the computer bullcun board of
the Smokies. Networking, plus news on the
cnv1ronmcn1, nature photography, games, computer
ullhtics, much mate. Contact M1ch.:Jel Ha,·chn, sysop.
(704) 254-6700.
ASTROLOGICAL CHART with a.~ct grid and key to
astrological symbols. Send SIO, SASE, and btnhda1e
(mo/day/yr), b1rthtirne (00:00 AM/PM), and birthplace
(cny, Sl.3.te) 10 Star Charts. P.O. Box 18205, Ashev11le,
NC 28814-0205.
HAWKWrND EARTH RENEWAL CO-OPERA11VE is
an 87 acre primitive retreat and working community
farm.. Located in the Northern Alabama mountains, just
115 miles northwest of Atlanta. Classes on altcmauve
tifcstyles and Nau"e American philosophies nre available
on a regular basis. A schedule or events is 0\'311.lblc upon
requCSL Healing Arts and Ean.h Renewal gatherings arc
planned on a quarterly basis and facitilJCS are available for
private organizational use. For infonnntion or catalog of
Native crafts & products. call (205)635-6304.
MOUNTAIN DULClMERS • made of black walnut, red
cherry, or maple. To~ available in wormy ches1nu1.
buttcmut, swcc1gum, sassafras, western cedar and olhcr
woods. Contact: MU.e Dulcimer Company; Rt. 2, Box
288; Bloumvillc, TN 37617 (615) 323-8489.
SPECTRE OF THE WITCH • Call for slides. Artists
within a 200 mile radius of Asheville, NC arc invited 10
submit work exploring images of the Witch, from
goddess power through feminism. Deadline for reception
of slides is September 10th. Send to: "Spectre of the
Wnch:" 37 Baltimore Avenue: Asheville, NC 2880 I.
ORGANIC BONEY • Tulip Poplar, Sourwood and
WildOower. From Patrick County, Virginia. No
chemicals, no white sugar, no heat, ever. Strained
through cheesecloth and p:ickcd in heavy glass ammng
jars. For a 4-ol. sample of our premium sourwood and
our catalog, send S4 10: Wade Buckholts & Meg311
Phillips; Rouie 2, Box 248: Stuan, VA 24171. (703)
69-i-4571
STIL·LIGllT THEOSOPlllCAL RETREAT CENTI:R •
a quiet ~cc for personal mcchtallon, group interaction
through study, and communuy work, and spintual
seminar.. Contact Leon Frankel: R1. I, Box 326;
Waynesville, NC 28786.
Let MEDICINE WIND blow through your mind! Exotic
handmade Bomboo FlutcS. rare scales. fine tuned. Free
hrocurcs. Wntc: Mcdicl!IC Wind Music: 86 NW 55 SL.
Gainesville, FL 32607.
RHYTHM ALIVE • Handcrafted African· Style Drums,
workshops, learning tapes, drumbags. 311d accessoncs.
PIC.1SC send SASE lo Rh)thm Ali\'c!: 85 Phenix Co\·c
Rd.: Wcavcrv1lle. NC 28787 {704) 645 3911.
V..'EBWORKl?l:G is frtt Send submL~sions to:
Ora"'1ng by Rob Mu..ck
Kat1illh Jour110/
P.O. Box 638
Lciccster, NC
Kattlah Province 28748
S"mmu. 1990
•
�Tire Katuah Journal wams ro comm1111icme your thoughts
and feelings to the other people in the bioregional pro,•ince Send
rlzem to us as /euers, poems, stories, articles, drawings, or
photographs. ere Please send your co11tribwio11s to 11S or: Katuah
Journal; P. 0. Box 638; Leicester, NC; Ka11iah Provillce 28748.
"Water is life" is a priflciple with which we are al/familiar.
Issue 29 of 11te Katuah Journal will concem i1self wil/1 wa1er and
watersheds in 1/ie Sowhern Appalachians - the blessing of water,
how it affects 1/ie lives of all of us who live here, and what we can
do to protect it. Ariicles deadline - July 20: Edi1orial meeting August 4; i.A)•oUJ - September 8 until...
"Jobs" IS a word tha1 is ust!d like a club to silt!nce dis.uni and beat dO\\n
tht! impulse for creutivl! living. In tht! .~ense of "right l1velilwod," worJ; ho~ on
important place in our lives, and we nud 10 acknowledge its role while
questioning how it is used as an instrument of oppre.rsion by the dominant
culture. The regional economy is the physicol /oundalion of the l:>ioregionol
vision. /low is it being realized?
BACK ISSUES OF KATVAH JOURNAL AVAILABLE
ISSUE THREE- SPRING 1984
Sustainable Agriculture • SunOowcrs Human
Impact on the Fo!C$1 · Cltildrcns' Educa1ion
Veronica N1cholas:Woman 1n Politics • Liulc
People - Medicine Allies
ISSUETEN-WINTER 1985-86
Kate Rogers - Circles of Stone • Internal
Mythmaking - Holistic Healing on Trial
Poems: Steve Knauth • Mythic Places · The
Uktcna"s Talc - Crystal Magic ·
'1)rcomspcalUng"
ISSUE FOUR SUMMER 1984
Water Drum • Water Qualily • Kudi.u • Sow
Edipse - Cliwcuning · Troul • Going 10 Watet
Ram PwnJll Microhydro Poentt: Bennie
Lee Sinclair. Jim Wayne. Miller
ISSUE FIVE - FALL 1984
Harvest - Old Way• in Cherokee Omscng
Nuclear Waste
Our Ce.Ilic Heritage
Bioregionali1m: Past. Prescn1, and Future
John Wilnoty - Hc.alutg Darkness - Poliuc:s of
Paniclpation
ISSUE SIX WINTER 1984·85
Wmtcr Sobticc Eanh Ceremony • Ilorsc!""'lutc
River • Corning of the Light • Log Cabin
R00te - Mountam AS""ul111"'; The R1i;ht Crop
• Willi= Tl)llnr . The Furur< or th~ Fore.-i
ISSUE SEVEN SPRING 198S
Swtamable EconomK• Hot Spnng• Woikcr
Owmmh1p • The Orcat Economy - Self llclp
C"rcdn Union • Wild 1 urkcy • Respo1U1ble
Investing • Working m the Web of life
ISSUE EIOIIT · SUMMER 1985
Celebration: A Way of Life - Katliah 18.000
Years Ago - Sacred S11A:S • Folk Alu. m the
Schools - Sun Cycle/Moon Cycle Poc1m:
Hilda Downer ·Cherokee Hcntagc Ccrucr
Who 0wm Appd111:hi11
ISSUE NINE· FALL. 1985
The Waldec Forut - The Treu Spe.ak
Migr&11ng Forests - HO<$C Logging SWhng a
Tree Crop - Urban Trees . Acom Brc.d • Myth
ISSUE El.EVEN SPRlNC 1986
Community Planning • Cities and the
Biorcgion.al Vision • Recycling - Community
Gardening· Aoyd County. VA - Oasobol Two Bion:gional Views • Nuclear Supplement
Foxfire Carnes - Oood Medicine: Visions
ISSUE THJRTEEN Fall 1986
Cent.er For Awakcnmg Eliu~th Callan - A
Oentlc Death - Hospice • Ernest Morgm
Dealing Ctcauvcly with Death Home Burial
Box • The Woke • The Raven Moeltu Woocblorc and Wildwoods W1..tom • Good
Med1cmc: 'Ilic Swc:.it l..udgc
ISSUE FOURTEEN · Wm1er 1986-87
Lloyd Carl Owlc • Boog= and Mummers • All
Species D•y • C•hm Fever Un1vcrS11y Homcleu in KatUAh - Homemade Hot Water
Stovemakct's Narrahve • Cood Medicine:
lntenpec;11!r. Communic:1tion
ISSUE FIFTEEN Sprmg 1987
Co•crleu • Wom1111 Forester - Susie McM""4n
Midwife
Ahcmauvc Conuaccpllon •
Bio..:xuali1y • Biorcg1onah•m and Women Good Medicine: Mattim-chal Culture · PCtJrl
ISSUE SIXTEEN - Summer 1987
Helen Wlitc • Poem: Visions in 1 Carden •
Vision Quut • First Flow - IJlitlalion •
l..caming in the Wildemcss
Cherokee.a
Challenge "Valuing Trus"
ISSUE EJCIITEEN Wintu 1987-88
Vernacular An:hitcc:ture Drums in Wood and
Stone . Mountain Home Elll'1h Encrgiu
Earth-Sheltered Living - Membrane Houses •
91U5h Shelter Poems: October Dw:s:k • Oood
Medicine: "Shelter"
ISSUETWENTY-TIIREE-Spnng, 1989
Pisgah Village • Planet Art Crccn City •
Poplar Appeal • "CIClll" Sky" •A New Earth"
Bio.ck Swm - Wild Lovely Day.t • Reviews:
Sacred Land Sacred Su. Ice /\g«' • Poem:
"Suddai Tendrils"
ISSUE NINETEEN - Spring, 1988
Perclandra Canlcn - Spnng TonK:S Bl114bcmcs
WildOowcr Gardens - Ormny Httbllis1 •
Flower Essences · "The Origin of the Animals:
Siory. Good Medicine: "Puwcr" - Be A Tree
ISSUE TWENTY-FOUR· Summer, '89
Deep l..is1cning - Life in Alorruc City • Direct
Action! Tree of Peace Communily Building
Peacemakers • Ethnic Survivll - Pairing
Project - "Baulcsong" • Orowing Pc111:c in
Clllllll'Cll Review: TM Chaliee and IN 8/4de
ISSUE TWENTY • Summer, 1988
Pr_..., Appabcli1.,., Wildcmcs:s Hight.nds
of Roan Colo Community 1..and Trust •
Arthur Morgan School · Zoning luue • 'The
Ridge' - Farmcrs md lhc Farm 8111 - Oood
Medie1nc: " l..md" • Acid Rain • Dukc"s Power
Play · Cherokee Microhydro ProJl.-.:1
ISSUE TWENTY ONE - Fill. 1988
ChcsUluts: A Natural Hmory - Rcstorin& the
Chestnut - .. Poem of Preservation and Pr.uc"
Continuing t11c Qu.:.st • Forc•ts and Wildlife
Chestnuts in Rcg1oruil Diet • Chestnut
Resource' • Hctb Note - Oood Med1c1ne:
"Ow>gc• to Corne" • Review: W}we vgpiJs
Uw1
-
- - - - - --- - -- --- - --- - -- -
Box 638; Leicester, NC: KatUah Province
For more info: call Rob Messick at (704) 754-6097
Nrune
Regular Membership ........ $10/yr.
Sponsor.........................$20/yr.
Contributor.....................$50/yr.
Address
City
Area Code
Summer, 1990
State
Phone Number
Zip
ISSUETWE.NTY.SEVEN • SPRIN0, 1990
Tr1U1Jformohon - llcahni; Po11.cr • rcxc to
Their A•hes • Hcalins in K111uah P~m:
''When left to Crow" • Poems: Stcphrn W'm&
Tl>< Belly • Food from the Ancient f'arcst
ISSUE TWEJIITY-TWO • WintcT, '88419
Global Warming • Fi"' ThiS Time • Thomu
Berry on "BiorcglOI\•" • EaJ1h Exctcuc • Kod
Loy McWhiru:r - An Abundllncc oCEmpttness
LETS Chronicles of Floyd - Oany Wood
Th<> Bear Clan
rune
~UAH JOURNAL
ISSUETWENTY.SIX WINTE.R, 1989.'90
Coming of Age in the Ecoro1c Era • Kids
Saving Rainforest · Kids Trcccycling Compau~
. ConOict Resolution - Dc•clnping tl1c Creative
Spirit - Birlh Power • Binh Bonding The
Magic or Pupp:uy H<>m< Sci-ling • NllllUllf
Ceremony Mother Earth's aassroom •
CardC'ning for Children
Enclosed is$
to give
this effort an extra boost
I can be a local con1ac1
person for my area
28748
Back Issues
Issue#_ .@ $2.50 = $ _ _
Issue # _.@ $2.50 = $_ _
rssue # _ @ $2.50 = $ _ _
Issue#
.@ $2.50 = $_ _
Issue# ~ _@ $2.50 = $_ _
Complete Set (3-11, 13-16,
18-26)
@ $40.00 =
s__
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
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 28, Summer 1990
Description
An account of the resource
The twenty-eighth issue of the <em>Katúah Journal</em> focuses on "carrying capacity:" growth, development, and population of human systems in relation to the environment. Authors and artists in this issue include: David Wheeler, Stephen Bartlett, Rob Barron, Will Ashe Bason, Chip Smith, Lee Kinnaird Faween, Marnie Muller, Jim Houser, Patrick Clark, Hectáire P. Condeau, D. Goode, James Rhea, Marie Wood, 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.
Carrying Capacity by David Wheeler.......3<br /><br />Setting Limits to Growth: Interview with Dr. Gary Miller | Recorded by David Wheeler.......5<br /><br />What Is Overpopulation? by Stephen Bartlett........7<br /><br />The Road Gang by Rob Barron.......8<br /><br />The Highway to Nowhere.......9<br /><br />Opening Pandora's Box: The I-26 Project by Rob Barron.......10<br /><br />"Caring Capacity" by Will Ashe Bason.......11<br /><br />People and Habitat by Chip Smith and Lee Kinnaird Fawcett.......12<br /><br />Designing the Whole Life Community by Marnie Muller.......14<br /><br />Steady State by Jim Houser.......15<br /><br />Poems by Will Ashe Bason.......17<br /><br />Good Medicine.......20<br /><br />Transporternatives by Patrick Clark.......22<br /><br />Imagining the End of Real Estate by Hectáire P. Condeau.......23<br /><br />Natural World News.......24<br /><br />Man and the Biosphere.......27<br /><br />Drumming: Letters to Katúah Journal.......28<br /><br />Review: Cohousing by Will Ashe Bason.......30<br /><br />Events.......33<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</em> <em>Mountaineer</em> Press
Subject
The topic of the resource
Bioregionalism--Appalachian Region, Southern
Sustainable living--Appalachian Region, Southern
Human ecology--Appalachian Region, Southern
Appalachian Region--Population
Regional planning--Appalachian Region, Southern
Transportation--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)
Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Studies
Bioregional Congress
Black Bears
Community
Economic Alternatives
Electric Power Companies
Forest Issues
Good Medicine
Habitat
Hazardous Chemicals
Katúah
Pigeon River
Poems
Politics
Radioactive Waste
Reading Resources
South PAW (Preserve Appalachian Wilderness)
Transportation Issues
Turtle Island
Western North Carolina Alliance
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Text
/-�
�UAWURNAL
P.O. Box 638 Leicester, NC Katuah Province 28748
Postage Paid
Bulk Mall
Permit #18
Leicester, NC
28748
�FromMountains to the Sea
uy uafMyczack........................•....•
1
Profile of a Southern Appalachian Watershed:
The Little Tennessee River
(An Interview with Dr. William Md.amcy)
rtcortkd by David Whttlu.....................3
Freshwater Canaries: The Spotfin Chub
b y William Mclarney.........••.•.........•..5
Mudwatch and Fmoount: The Environmental
Survey of the Little Tennessee
6
by William McLarnq.......................••
Headwaters Ecology and Blgh Quality Habitat
by Mary Kelly.........................•.••....?
"It All Comes Down to Water Quality"
by Mitlit Buchanan............................8
Water Power: Ac.tion for Aquatic Habitats.... IO
Dawn Watchers
uySncw Bear ................................ 11
Adventures on the River
uy uaf Myaack.............................12
Accessory toMurder: Watts Bar Lake and the
Public Trust
uy LeafMyczadr........•.........•......••...14
Poem: "Country S10re"
by Witliam MU/u...••.......•........•......14
The Nonh Shore Road: Environment or
Development in the Great Smokies
by Pmrick Clark..............................15
The Long Branch Composting Toilet
by Paul Gallimore ..•...............•.....•... 11
GoodMedicine: The Long Human Being....18
Katuah Sells Out!!
by Bud Young and Rodney Webb............ 19
Watershed Map of the Kauiah Province......20
Namral World News. ...........................22
Green Spirits: Karuah Rains
by Lte Barnts................................26
Off the Grid
uy Jim lloustr ...............................21
Drumming (Letters (O Katuah) .................28
Early Warning: The Gypsy Moth ls Coming!
uy Ed lytwack..•......•....•............•...30
Poem: "Unbound"
by Gaston Siniard............•........••.....31
Events.............................................36
Webworking.....................................38
TaUMint.u, 1990
FROM MOUNTAINS TO THE SEA
by LeafMyczack
It begins as dense, moist clouds riding
the prevailing winds 11p from the Gulf of
Mex.ico. Meeting the Corest updrafts from the
AppalachianMountains, the clouds release their
wet cargo over the rich forest below. The rain
drips to the ground through the leafy canopy,
seeps into the dark soil, gathers, and begins to
triclcJe down the mountain slopes. Ct is here
where the River is born. SmaJJ riwlets become
streams, splashing and tumbling down rock
strewn beds. When enough of these feeder
streams converge, creeks form, and Lhey in rum
•
receive additional aibutaries.
From the slopes of the old mountains of
Kanlah, the growing rivers bring their watery
gifis 10 the valley lands. But rivers do not lend
themselves to arbitrary beginnings. The health
of a river is the culmination of an ongoing,
cyclical process. The health of rivers depends
on atmospheric as well as ground conditions.
Sulfates, nitrates, and toxic gases are washed to
eanh in the form of acid rain. Here the
contaminated water combines with herbicide
residues used by forest abusers and with din
paniclcs from bulldozed land. The first stream
f ormed is already poisoned. Add industrial
chemicals, silt from road construction, salt
fertilizers, utility company herbicides, raw
sewage, and the result is a river much
diminished in itS capacity 10 suppon life. Even
before the rivers leave the Appalachian foothills,
their health is often severely compromised.
Most humans have forgouen that we arc
dependent on the interplay of all life. We think
we can clear the forest without harming the
river, or that we can diny the atmosphere
without harming the forest. Even when
confronted with historical evidence of
environmental impact, ecologically destructive
patterns continue unabated, especially when
there is money involved. Greed seems to be the
engine of destruction. Cut, rape, slash - "How
much money are we making?"
Rivers, in order to be healthy, must have
a healthy watershed. The atmosphere and the
ground must be clean in order to maintain the
aquatic environment. To protect the life of the
river, steep slopes musr be closed to logging
and development. The less roads, the better, for
roads only promote the migration of ecologically
abusive people and materials. Rivers are
intended to be pathways for rich organic
nutrients leached from the mountain slopes to
feed the diverse aquatic communities living in
the estuaries. Damming rivers inhibits this
cycle. In place of nutrients, rivers now carry
water-soluble toxins that are deposited in delta
and estuarine habitats.
This Katuah region, sacred in all its
biodiversity, is in great danger. The forest ones
and the river ones call out for help. The scream
of pain is almost constant among them. But their
voices are not going unheard. Joining these
voices are human voices - Lhe voices of
caretakers, poets, Earth defenders • aU
advocaLing a respect for all of'life.
Ycs, brothers and sisters, trees and rivers
do have rights Lo life and good health. Let us
sing and dance to life in aJJ its many forms. The
dance of life must supersede the chant of death,
for without our relatives we are diminished in
spirit, mind, and body. It is not a political
struggle we are engaged in, but a spiritual quest
to find the wellsprings of our soul. Listen
closely, and you will hear great wisdom from
Karuah. Be creative with your work and your
life. for these are your honor song.
- illustration by Cielo
(canlinucd p, 12)
XAtuah Journot � t
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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
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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 29, Fall/Winter 1990
Description
An account of the resource
The twenty-ninth issue of the<em> Katúah Journal</em> focuses on water quality: the Little Tennessee River watershed; Watts Bar Lake; development in the Great Smokies; and solar composting toilets. Authors and artists in this issue include: Leaf Myczack, David Wheeler, William McLarney, Mary Kelly, Millie Buchanan, Snow Bear, William Miller, Patrick Clark, Paul Gallimore, Buck Young, Rodney Webb, Lee Barnes, Jim Houser, Ed Lytwack, Gaston Siniard, Rob Messick, Bob Clark, Marnie Muller, Marlene Mountain, 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.
From Mountains to the Sea by Leaf Myczack.......1<br /><br />Profile of a Southern Appalachian Watershed: The Little Tennessee River (An Interview with Dr. William McLarney), recorded by David Wheeler.......3<br /><br />Freshwater Canaries: The Spotfin Chub by William McLarney.......5<br /><br />Mudwatch and Fincount: The Environmental Survey of the Little Tennessee by William McLarney.......6<br /><br />Headwaters Ecology and High Quality Habitat by Mary Kelly.......7<br /><br />"It All Comes Down to Water Quality" by Millie Buchanan.......8<br /><br />Water Power: Action for Aquatic Habitats.......10<br /><br />Dawn Watchers by Snow Bear.......11<br /><br />Adventures on the River by Leaf Myczack.......12<br /><br />Accessor to Murder: Watts Bar Lake and the Public Trust by Leaf Myczack.......14<br /><br />Poem: "Country Store" by William Miller.......14<br /><br />The North Shore Road: Environment or Development in the Great Smokies by Patrick Clark........15<br /><br />The Long Branch Composting Toilet by Paul Gallimore.......17<br /><br />Good Medicine: The Long Human Being.......18<br /><br />Katúah Sells Out!! by Buck Young and Rodney Webb........19<br /><br />Watershed Map of the Katúah Province.......20<br /><br />Natural World News........22<br /><br />Green Spirits: Katúah Rains by Lee Barnes.......26<br /><br />Off the Grid by Jim Houser.......27<br /><br />Drumming (Letters to Katúah).......28<br /><br />Early Warning: The Gypsy Moth is Coming! by Ed Lytwack.......30<br /><br />Poem: "Unbound" by Gaston Siniard.......31<br /><br />Events.......36<br /><br />Webworking.......38<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</em> <em>Mountaineer</em> Press
Subject
The topic of the resource
Bioregionalism--Appalachian Region, Southern
Sustainable living--Appalachian Region, Southern
Watersheds--Tennessee, East
Watersheds--North Carolina, Western
Watersheds--Virginia, Southwest
Human ecology--Appalachian Region, Southern
Water quality--Appalachian Region, Southern
Gypsy moth--Control--Environmental aspects
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" rel="noopener"> In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted </a>
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
https://www.geonames.org/4666185/watts-bar-lake.html
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
||||osm
Watts Bar Lake
||||osm
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" rel="noopener"> Katúah: Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians </a>
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
PDF
Journals (Periodicals)
Alternative Energy
Appalachian History
Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Studies
Bioregional Definitions
Book Reviews
Community
Economic Alternatives
Education
Folklore and Ceremony
Forest Issues
Geography
Good Medicine
Habitat
Health
Katúah
Katúah Organization
Plants and Herbs
Poems
Politics
Radioactive Waste
Reading Resources
Recycling
South PAW (Preserve Appalachian Wilderness)
Stories
Transportation Issues
Turtle Island
Water Quality
Wilderness
-
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dd9e0daeaf638e3c9c89f1668668b7b7
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Text
ISSUE 31 SUMMER 1991
$1.50
�Drawing by Rob Messick
~UAt1 JOURNAL
P.O. Box 638
Leicester, NC
Katuah Province 28748
:ic.\e
0 " ()
@
~
Postage Paid
Bulk Mail
Permit #18
Leicester, NC
28748
.,.
(I
Printed on recycled paper
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED
�Oowsing..................................................... 3
by David Wheeler
The Responsibilities of Dowsing:
An Interview with Tom Hendricks............5
by Madeline H. Dean
Ceremonies of the Moment:
An Interview with Joyce Holbrook...........6
"Jack-o-Lantems," Acid Rain,
and the Electrical Life of the Eanh............8
by Clyde Hollifield
Poem: "Old Houses".......... ,..................... 10
by Richard Nesrer
Kaufah and the Eanh Grid ....................... ! 1
by Charlotte Homsher
The Call of rhe Ancient Ones.................. 13
by Page Bryaru
"If the Eanh Is to HeaJ,
Our Heans Musr Be Broken".................. 15
by Richard lowenrlial
Good Medicine: On Aggression.............. 17
THE EARTH - SHE LIVES!
Poems by James Proffirt.......................... 18
Green Spirits: Sacred Forests.................. 19
by Lee Barnes
Off rhe Grid.............................................20
by Jim Houser
Natural World News................................21
"Jusr Doing Their Job"............................ 23
by Emmel/ Greendigger
Time to Take the Time
to Take the Time...................................... 25
by/vo
Drumming............. " .................................26
Whole Science......................................... 29
by Rob Messick
Tuning ln................................................. 29
by Charlotte Homsher
Review· Light in rhe Wind........... .. - ....... 30
Chestnut Grafting Project........................ .31
by David McGrew
Events......................................................32
\Vebworking............................................34
Su11u11cr, 199 1
Tradirional cultures around the world
have always had a close relationship to
the world around them. Dependent as
they were on their immediate
environment to meet all their needs, it is
not surprising that they were closely
attuned to the rhythms of their
surroundings and the messages that
came from the landscape.
The foundation of their spiritual
belief was that the world is alive. TI1ey
saw the Earth as a being, a Great Mother
who provided for all her children's
needs. With ritual, music, and dancing,
they conversed with the Earth and with
all the aspects of her power.
Here in the Southern Appalachian
Mountains, the native Cherokee
inhabitants accepted the forces of the
world as living beings and addressed
thern in their prayers and ceremonies.
They saw the mountains as great beings
of awe and grandeur, isolated and
imposing. At times of spiritual transition,
they went to sacred sites, places of
extraordinary power, to do their fasting,
praying, and divining, or to make a
vision quest.
As humanity turned toward
civilization and sought security by
insulating ourselves from our
environment, our former connection to
the world and the awareness that it
engendered slowly dissipated. Skills that
were once necessary for survival came to
be considered "folk customs" and
superstitions. In our minds the Eanh
died. As we relied more on our
intellectual brain and its offspring,
science, for our survival, we began to
see our world as a "system" under the
rule of "laws" that were mechanical,
linear, and absolute.
However, in the "backwater.. areas,
like 1.he rugged Appalachians, white
settlers from Europe kept alive customs
that dated back to pre-Christian times in
the Old World. They used the power of
wild roots for healing. They planted their
crops by the signs of the moon. They
would call on a "water witch," or
dowser, with a forked stick to find an
underground waler source. These
practices are with us even today.
(c:ontinucd on page 3)
Xatuoh Journat p09e I
�EDlTORlAL STAFF Tl ITS ISSUE:
Maria Abbruzzi
Lee Barnes
Christopher Davis
Charloue Homsher
Jim Houser
Lorraine Kaliher
Emmeu Grecndiggcr
Richard Lowenthal
Rob Messick
Mamie Muller
Rodney Webb
David Wheeler
We'd like 10 offer special thanks for the inspiration of Mounlllin Gnrdcns.
Thanks and fare well 10 John Creech. Happy trails, compadre!
COVER: by Rob Messick © 1991
PUBLISHED BY: Kau,ah Journal
PRINTED BY: The Waynesville Mo11111aineer Press
EDITORIAL OFFTCE THlS
JS SUE: The Globe Valley
CONTACT US AT:
Ka111ahJ011rnal Box 638; Leicester, NC;
Ka1uah Province 28748 (704) 754-6097
Diversity is an impon.am elemcm of bioregionnl ecology. both
nawral and socinl. In line will1 this principle. the Katuah Journal tries 10
serve as II fomm for the discu&;ion of rcgion:il issues. Signed rulicks
express only the opinion of the nuthors and arc not ncccss:irity the
opinions or lhe Katuah Journal editors or staff.
The Internal Revenue Scn•1ce has declared K a1uah Jo1u11al a non.profit
orgnniz.:ition under section 501(c){3) or Lhc lntemnl Revenue Code. All
contributions to K,uuah Journal are dcducublc from pcr!IOn:il income wx.
Aruclcs appcnnng in Katuah Journal may be reprimcd in olher
publications with permission from the Katuah Journal sulf. Com:ict the
journal in writing or call (704) 7S4-6097 or (704) 683-1414.
ApOW<Jlj
~
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 VaJley of the Roanoke and U1e Southern
PJain
on this Turtle Island continent of Mother Ela, the Earth
Here,
In this place we dedicate ourselves to remembering our
deep connection to 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 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
The photo of Darry Wood and Eva Bigwitch at Lhe R1vcrc;mc
Rendezvous on page 12 of Kauiah Jourl\ill #30 should hove been credited
10Jim Riggs. Jim is a photogrnphcrand 1c:ichcrofprimitive skills "ho
was also n guest insLructor at Lile cvcnL
'L'.NVOCA.'TW'.N
Ancient Mother,
Ancient Mother,
You who have waited so long.
You who have waited so long
for your children to return,
Your children are returned.
Here we arc.
-Swait lodge song
Ham1ony with the land is no longer an ideal; it is an
imperative.
The land is a living being. She is sacred.
As tl1e land lives, so do we.
As the spirit of the land is diminished,
our spirits are diminished as well.
The Ka111ah Journal sends a voice...
with articles, stories, poems, and artwork
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
Xatimh Journot pngc 2
....
�(continued from page I)
Bui as the urban commercial cuhure
penetrated even the isolation of the
Appalachians, for many people the moumains
lost their magic. They could see the old hills
only as another collection of available resources
to be taken out, totalled up, and rung into the
cash register. That unbroken connection 10 the
life of the mountains, the life of the Earth, has in
the last 100 years faded and almost died ...
But it is not gone. When the astronauts
took the photos of the Earth from outer space,
it became suddenly obvious that our planet is a
fragile round ball suspended in the vastness of
space. From tha1 new perspecrivc we can see
that the Earth is whole. comple1e, an organism
unto herself· and beautiful. II is also obvious
that she is part of an even grander scheme - a
cosmic ecology. We hove a place in the
universe: an alignment with the stars, planets.
and galaxies: a relationship 10 the cosmos.
When we touch the Earth here in Katuah
Province on this Tunic Island continent, we mp
into an in1erlocking web of energies 1hat
extends out into the fanhcst star galaxies.
Scientific breakthroughs like "the Gaia
theory" and the "new physics" seem revelatory
to our jaded intellcccs. The Gaia theory states
scientifically that the Earth breathes through ils
atmosphere and regula1cs its own respirarion not only is the Earth a living, breathing
organism, but ii is also conscious on some
level! The "new physics" theory sets fonh a
conception of the world radicallydivergen1
from Newtonian physics - one that seems
almost more metaphysical than physical, closer
to a study of consciousness than of matter. But
t11cse scientific concepts are acrually not new.
They were in the prayer of a Cherokee
medicine man standing with anns uplifted by a
waterfall. They were what an old woman could
feel through her forked dowsing stick as :;he
walked the land.
Tho medicine people and the dowsers
knew the geology of the mountains. They
knew the depth of the fault lines and 1hc deep
waterveins. They also could perceive the web
of energy encircling the Earth. But they were
not scientistS. They worked from their
intuition; their practice was handed down from
reacher to srudent as pans of long-standing
traditions. The Gaia theory, the new physics,
and the other recent departures from onhodox
scien1ilic thinking offer scientific evidence of
the life and consciousness of the world 1hat
these old ones felt so clearly, so long :igo.
There is still much mystery in this
round globe that looks so vulnerable and
beautiful from ou1er space. In this issue of the
Ka11uihlournal we invite the reader to learn. to
speculate, to begin to think of a whole world
mind, a unifying world energy that connects us
10 every other place, 10 every other being on the
Earth, and 10 the s1ars.
The Eanh 1ums, we tum; everywhere
we look we are one world.
-The Editors
Sl11t11ncr, 1991
DOWSING
A Briefe Treatise or Digression Concerni11g the Long Historic a11d Practice of tlu• Art
a11d Erstwhile Scie11ce of Rliabdo111a11cy
by David Wheeler
"All alike grasp tire forks of the twig witIr
tlreir hands, clenching tlreir fi.rts, it being
necessary tlrat tire clenclredjingers slumld be
held wward tire sky i11 order tlrat tire twig
should be raised at tlUJJ end wlrere the two
branches meet Then they wander hither and
tlritlrer at random through mountainous
regions It is said that tire moment tlrey place
their feet on a vein the twig immediately mrns
and nvists, and so by its action discloses the
vein: when tlrey nwve their feet agaill and go
away from tlUJJ spot the Mig becomes once
more immobile."
• from De,~ metallica. one of lhc ftN wnucn
rcrcrcnces 10 dowsing. by Ocorg,u, Agricola. 1556
This is the commonly conceived pic1urc
of the dowser, or "water witcht walking the
land looking for underground veins of water.
However. to be a dowser a person does
not have to walk the land, use a forked s1ick, or
even be searching for water. Dowsers come in
more flavors than ice cream • they e>.hibit many
different attitudes, abilities. and mind states.
In ilS purest form, dowsing might be
defined as the perception of intangible or
spiritual energies. Usunlly dowsers use their
ability in looking for some1hing. In his paper
"The Divining Rod: A His1ory of Water
Wi1ching," written in 1917, Anhur J. Ellis
says. "In tracing the history of the subject it is
found that divining rods have been used for all
of the following purposes: (I) To locate ore
Drawing b) Rob Meu1<k
deposits, (2) 10 discover buried or hidden
ucasure. (3) 10 find lost landmarks and
reestablish propcny boundaries, (4) 10 de1ect
criminals, (5) to analyze personal character, (6)
to cure diseases, (7) to tmce lost or strayed
domestic animal~. (8) 10 insure immunity
against ill fonunc when preserved as a fetish.
(9) 10 locate well sites. { I0) 10 trace the courses
of underground streams, {11) to determine the
amount of water available by drilling at a given
spot, ( I2) to determine the deplh at which
wa1erorores occur, (13) 10 determine the
direction of cardinal pointS. (14) to determine
the heights of crecs, and ( 15) 10 analyze ores
and w111ers."
Dowsers today also search for the
answers to questions; negative and positive
Earth energies; missing persons; and waywan:1
spirits. They da1e archaeological finds and
contac1 UFO's. As well as the tr3ditional
forked stick. dowsers use a straight stick;
L-shaped mcl41 rods; wire; a dangling
pendulum (usually made of me1al or s1one but
possibly of other m:uerials); their hands; or
pure perception 10 find the object of their
search. Dowsers do not have to be on the site
but can make contact through maps,
photographs, or a person's possessions.
Clearly. the general category of "dowsing"
covers a wide variety of experiences and
abilities.
But how does it work? Dowsing is
clearly an e,cuasensory experience that draws
(ccntmuodonnc,tpAJ:C)
JCatud, Jounuat P°'JS 3
�(c:crnmuai Crom pai;o J)
on a different pan of the brain than our intellect
and our everyday awareness. Walter D.1le. a
yeteran dowser in his eigh1ies Yiho hvcs
outside Ashevilk, NC, ~ayi. lh:11 there is encrg)'
evervwhere and that, "We are able tu iocus in
on iiin much the same v.ny that you might tune
in to channels on your TV ~r. Do\\:.eri. can do
very remarkable things, and v.e can prove it. 1
don't know how 1t's done, but II depcnds on
our abil1ty to use this energy thm is everywhere
- even though we don't ~ee it. We don't sec radio
waves, we don't see TV trnnsmis.\ions. It's very
much the same."
Ano1hcr dowser, Vern Peter.;on. says,
"Dowsing is puuing out an idea or a question
of what you want. and 1hb v.ill set up u
vibration. If you are looking tor water, for
insmnce, the vibration will correspond to water
under the ground that you can fed when you
get over it with the dowsing rod.
"It leads 10 an advancement of
consciousness., There's no end 10 where you
can go. The longer you smy in dowsing, the
more you learn. and the more that you learn
how much 1here is to kn6w."
Other dowsers speak of spiri1ual
influences, a direct channel 10 higher
intelligences or 10 the Supreme Intelligence, as
explanation of their abilities.
Dowsing is nor a new phenomenon. tr
seems 10 be an innate pan of the human mind,
and many practitioners maintain that dowsing
was at one time one of our ba.~ic sense
perceptions, and that ii is only with the advent
of civilization that this ability has atr0phied in
our brain. Animals seem to have the nbili1y to
find water, and it seems logical thm in more
primitive times we would have relied more on
this type of awareness to locate food and water
and be alen to dnnger.
There is tangible evidence that S1one Age
humans in Europe and the British Isles had
dowsing abilities. Modem-day dowsers are
finding 1ha1 the megaliths or "standing s1ones,"
However. as anything 1h01 can be
deeply veiled in mystery affords a good
opportunity/or swindlers, there can be
no reasonable doubr that many of rhe
large group ofprofessio,wl finders of
water. oil, or other minera/J who take
pay/or their "service'' or for the sale of
their "instruments" are cleliberatt>ly
defrauding the people, and that 1/te total
amount of nwney rhar 1hey obtain is
large.
- 0. £. Meinwr.
Uniwtl Staies Geological Sur\'c)',
1917
giam rock formmions erected by prehl!>toric
humans, are aligned with underground
wutercourscs or 1he 1;rid lines of the Eanh's
energies.
There nn: pictures of ancient Eg, pti:.i.ns
holding what appear to be forked divining
rods. There nrc various Biblical references,
such as to Aaron's rod, 1hn1 dowsers claim a~
evidence of their crafL In 1882 R.W. Raymond
wrote:
"'1ti1nh JournnC pnl).C ·l
Drawing by Ocorgc Agricola. I 556
'The Scyrhians, Persians, and Medes
used them. Herodotus says 1ha1 the Scythians
de1ec1ed perjurers by means of rods. The word
rhabdomancy, originated by the Greeks, shows
1ha1 they practiced this an; and 1he magic power
of the rods of Minerva, Circe, and Hermes or
Mercury is familiar 10 classical students. The
lituus of the Romans, with which the augurs
divined, was apparently an arched rod ...
Marco Polo reports the use of rods or
arrows for divination throughout the Orient,
and a later traveler describes it among the
Turks. Taci1us says that the ancient Germans
used for this purpose branches of fruit trees."
During the Middle Ages, when
me1al-working became common and
widespread. miners ~ought veins of ore by
digging trenches by hand. The amount of labor
involved mnde any shortcuts extremely
valuable, and, while there were physical
indications of the presence of ore, divining
came to be intel-'1"311)' associa11.-d with
prospecting, panicularly in the mining districts
of Germany. Divining rods came 10 England
with German miners brought in by Queen
Elizabe1h I to develop the languishing mining
industry in Comwnll, and they spread from
there throughout the Bri1ish Isles.
Dowsing has been controversial
thmughou1 the his1ory of civilized rimes. Since
it was often involved with the production of
weahh, there w-as alwavs the likelihood of
charl:11anrv and fraud. And since ii is conceme<l
with the deeper realms of the human mind.
dowsing holds 1he possibility of transcendent
consc1ousncss, but is olso fraught with
mystery, contradtction. and tear.
The church became interested in d0\\Sing
· some S3Y through jealousy, others say
through fear - and, although ecclesiastical
,1ttitudes and interpretauons were ne\er
con~istcnt, at least initi:illy the l'hurch e;,;hibitcd
an umbiv-.ilcnt auitudc toward the divining rod:
it was considered dangerous and discouraged
among the geneml populace, but its use Y.,ts
widely practiced as a priestly function within
the church. Church ti1uals and prarer;; were
superimposed on wha1 was obviously a very
pagan pracrice - partly 1 strengthen the di vine
0
influence, and panly 10 protect against eanhly
persecution, ii is supposed.
During the time of 1he Inquisition,
dowsing was associated with witchcraft and in
some areas became justification for torture and
a capital crime. There yer remains a legacy of
fear and secrecy lingering from that p.-iriod.
Practicing dowser John Shisler says, "Even
today, if I go b:1ck into certain areas of the
mountains, I'm a 'water witch.' A lot of your
traditional Bap1is1s will still say that 'witching'
is the work of the devil."
Dowsing came 10 Turtle Island with the
earliest colonists, where i1 met a people who
apparently still retained a basic anunemenr to
the land as evidenced by 1he eanhworks 1hey
created, 1heir many sacred sites, and the vivid
They call it psychic. I call it a gif1,
sir. I use it for /lis glorv anti mankind's
purpose. I do11'1 charge to go find water,
I'll ask 'em 10 come after me and bring
me back - if they want to donate a
penny, I appreciate it; if 1hey do11'1, well,
I'll go anyway.
I use it/or what I feel in my heart.
and I re.\{'L'Ct it for what it is.
- J.C. Ga::mvay, dowser
legends assoc1:i1ed with them. From the
beginning ~Willer witching" was p:111 of the
colonists' folk culture. Many of the wells still
used in New England were located through the
abilities of dm.. seri.. Early European
immigrants brought dowsing imo the Southern
Appalachians. At first, it was not necessary 10
locate underground water because of the
abundant springs, bur when people began to
need wells, they sough1 help from those v.ho
had kepi alive the traditional "witching"·
(continued gn page 28)
S1Un111cr, 199 1
�THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF DOWSING:
An Interview with Tom Hendricks
OK. But if they can't, then 1 don't think they
ought to do iL
Ka11ial1: People seem 10 be amazed that
they have the power 10 do these things.
111: It's a major responsibility. 1 1hink
that regaining power is OK. so long as there is
a balance. an understanding. Asking
permission is very imponant. I've always had
a strong intuition. J developed it in my
dowsing. Intuition tells us c,cactly what we
need 10 know.
Kat(,ah · When did you stan dowsing?
Tom Hendricks: About ten years ago. A
man T knew in Madison County at the time was
president of the Appalachian Chapter of the
American Society of Dowsers. I learned
techniques from the society. I slowly got to
meet everybody. I met hundreds of dowsers
from around the country and from across the
seas. J sroned off with the pendulum and
L-rods. l would use the pendulum 10 ask yes
and no questions, L-rods to find a water source
or whatever else l was looking for. At some
point. I started realizing l was getting the
feeling before either one of those tools worked
I started paying anention to lhe feeling and
didn't much rely on the tools. l preferred to
deal with the energy itself.
Kan11Jh: You could have the feeling of
where water was, for instance?
TH: Yes. Most dowsers hang onto the
tool forever. Some people have real elaborate
pendulums. When l was still using a
pendulum. I picked up whatever I had around
10 make one, a piece of suing and a rock.
l met an old guy from Tennessee who
didn't necessarily use tools. He just felt iL A
real good dowser told me how he was bringing
him back from Tennessee on interstate 40. The
old guy said that they had just driven over a
major fault. So they Mopped and checked with
their dowsing rods. He had felt a major fault
under a moving car. He was real sensitive.
But dowsing itself is filtering into all
kinds of things these days. It has been
incorporated into the whole new age
movement. I've noticed, not a total lack of
auunement, but only panial auuncment.
K01uah: From the dowsers themselves?
TH: Not all dowsers. A lot of dowsers
were being real exact with what they were
doing. But a few dowsers were into playing
with the energies, talcing things out or context.
ln the dowser's society we were never taught
to be concerned with looking at the whole
picture.
I was clearing our someone's house 1ha1
had a lot of weird energy lines running through
iL..
KalJJIJh: From the Earth?
TH: Yes. You can get negative energy
from water, from fault lines and other ways.
These energies arc disruptive to the human
system. In dowsing that panicul:ir situation. 11
seemed to be OK to move the energy. We
moved it around the house. Bue it staned me
asking questions: "Should this energy be
moved? Do I have the right 10 move this
energy?"
K01uah: Would it be a question of why
the cnerijy is being vented at that pan.icular
location. And what the reason is for it?
Summer, 199 1
Kam.ah: That requires a different
lifestyle than most people have.
TH: The energy needs venting, but docs
It need to be vented in this particular place? ls
it OK to move it?
Katuah: The Earth has allowed a lot of
manipulation.
TH: The Earth has allowed abuse. She
is regaining her will, yet we continue to abuse
her. Something l have learned is that when we
dowse, we should ask whether it is OK on all
levels.
One time l was out dowsing with an old
timer and his daughter and all of us came to this
tremendous flow, a major vein of water. Yet,
when they went to drill it, nothing happened.
Another dowser came over and said, "Don't
you sec the Indian spirits?"
Native American spirits were still
protecting the area and 1hey had interfered.
They were angry at white people for all the
abuse we have done, and so they were mixing
signals. That got to be another question to
consider: "Are there any entities here that may
interfere?"
With me it went further. I asked, 'Why
would they interfere? What arc their reasons?"
I ta.kc it as far as 1can.
There are plenty of eanhbound spirits that
are wandering around Josi. That is another
aspect of dowsing, sending eanhbound spirits
on their way. Dealing with spirits is tricky
business. You don't always know why they
arc there or what they are doing. There are so
many things involved in life and death that arc
beyond our understanding.
I haven't been dowsing in years. I'm
even beginning to question dowsing for a well.
Do l want to dowse for someone to punch a
hole? There are enough holes being punched
into the Earth.
The idea of mining crystals really bothers
me. I think people ought to leave crystals
where they arc unless those people arc 1otally in
tune, can sec or feel the energy, know where it
comes from, where it's going and why the
energy is moving. Crystals take on energy 1hcy need to be cleaned
I know a man who planted a garden with
crystals. He put in a center crystal, and then he
planted other crystals equidistantly all the way
around it at the pyramid angles and generated
heat. This guy was preuy tuned in, but I'm not
sure whether even he asked if he was
interfering with any other energies. I think if
people can contact all levels of Ufe and be sure
that nothing else is disrupted, then it would be
Orawu,g by Rob Messick
TH: Our culrurc is very sick. I've come
to rcali:ze that a 101 of dowsing that is done just
feeds the sickness. I know people who arc on
payrolls for oil companies. They dowse for oil
and gas. They are making money by telling oil
companies where to go punch the holes.
When l backed off from dowsing, 1
began a healing for the will. As I understand ir.
the will is the female energy, the mother
energy. It is the pan of the godhead that
moves, that feels, thm gives life. The masculine
energy is the spirit.
The will has been so far removed from
human understanding and consciousness that it
is barely there. To my understanding, it is
because of the loss of will that we are so out of
balance. The w ill, the female energy is thal
which feels, that which gives birth. I need to
use my will in order 10 understand.
Developing intuition is listening 10 the will.
Ka1uah.: Is this your self-healing? Or are
you trying to manifest this outside yourself in
your environment?
11 I: 1 believe that the personal healing
musr come first. The disharmony is within
ourselves. We need 10 get in 1ouch with our
own dilemmas and fears. There are lost
emotions that we deny. I also think that b) our
own dishannony, we allow things to hun us.
If we were in harmony with ourselves, the
negative energies from the Earth could pass
through us without finding a place to collect. I
think emotions cause blockages and tl"llp
whatever wants to be trapped in us.
So lately I have been focusing on
self-healing, rather than manipulating negative
eanh energies. We humans feel we have a
right 10 do anything that we want to do. We
have got to realize our shoncomings. We have
responsibilities 10 ourselves.
Ka1uah: Are you going to get back to
dowsing?
Tii: A friend of mine wants me to
dowse for a well and I should do it for him.
The healing I'm doing is leading me through
places I've never experienced before. pans of
myself that 1have never experienced before.
So l don't know what is going to happen. I
feel, in a sense, that I am still dowsing by
healing my will and strengthening my intuition.
I listen more, not with my cars nccel>S3rily. but
with my whole being.
;,
Ruorlkd by Madl!llrw II Dean
Xat ua h ) oun\Ot ~ 5
�CEREMONIES OF THE MOMENT
An Interview with Joyce Holbrook
by Charlotte Homsher
Joyce was born and raised on a/am, in
Wilkes Co11111y, NC. She taught in midwestem
co//ege.f/or 17 years before remrning u, the
mountai,is. She ,ww smdies and teaches Earth
energies throu1:ho111 tlie Southeast.
•
Kat(iah: What is the nature of the energy
grid on Eanh?
JH: There are many ideas abou1 chis. The
similarity in the ideas is tha1 the Eanh is
surrounded by nee working lines of energy in
1hc shape of a dodecahedron, a
three-dimensional figure enclosed by twelve
sides. Looking at the grid on a smaller scale, it
would seem to be divided into uiangles. The
triangle is fundamental to so many things; it is
the basic geometry of life. l would imagine that
. in accord with the hermetic principal of "as
above, so below" · there is triangulation
involved in the energetics. not only of the
human body, but in subsystems of the body,
even at the cellular level and probably at the
molecular level.
It is my opinion that it is the life force
energy, whatever that may be, that powers the
grid.
Katt'iah: What happens when the cosmic
energy hits the Eanh grid?
JH: When it hits the grid, i1 runs along
the lines of the grid.
Kacuah: The lines of the grid sometimes
being called the "Icy lines"?
JH: Yes, the Icy lines. We know that
there 1s cosmic energy coming into the Eanh.
Th.is has been verified scientifically. However,
as far as r know, it has not been verified
scicn1ifically that the Earth is surrounded by an
energy grid or that this cosmic energy runs
along it. These are theories of more recent
times.
Karual1: Does any of thi$ energy
originate from inside the Eanh, or is it all
cosmic energy?
JH: I think it is cosmic, bu1 it docs have
an aspect tha1 comes from inside the Earth. If I
stand on a vonex point, a high energy point. I
can feel an energy that comes up through my
body from the ground and then goes back
down in a spiral fashion.
I also feel thllt whatever hum:in
consciousness does affects the grid. So,
obviously, this war-like consciousness
impinges on the communication network of the
planet and goes out and affects the whole
planet
Katualr: Can you comment on what is
happening with the Appalachian ~Ids and
ridge1ops in relation to Eanb energies?
"My whole approach to working with Earth
energies is to get away from ritual and recipes, to
enter into the spo11ta11eity of life." J.H.
spiral. That I am sure of, because I have felt it.
In the newer theories of physics, the though1 is
that matter itself spirals in on a vortex inio
mamfestation out of pure consciousness. You
could say that vortices exist on every level,
even down 10 atoms. And they exist, perhaps,
within our own bodies nnd in the Eanh itself.
JH: My personal experience with energy
comes from the fact that I sense it and see it. I
see auras over mountains in the same way that
some people see auras around people, and I
feel the energy.
The Appalachians arc the Grandparents of
the planet. They are gentle. old, wise, and
loving. These things can not be measured
scientifically. This is sensing through the heart
and by feeling the energy of nature, rather than
through the ra1ional mind. Love can be felt
from nature, i1 truly can, when a person's heart
is open. And lhe Appalachians embrace you
very much like wise old grandparents. There is
a certain quality that grandparents lent 10
society, and there is a certain quality th:11
grm1dparent energy lends to the Eanh.
The Rocky Mountains have a youthful,
vibrant, rather masculine energy. There are
many people who feel that the energy of the
Appalachians is essentially feminine. But I
have also felt mountains within the
Appalachians tha1 feel very masculine. For
instance, the Black Mountains are masculine.
My cabin is on a flank of a mountain that is
ma~culine in essence. Pyramidal mountains
essentially feel masculine. The balds :-.re round
and smooth, and those feel feminine. They are
very healing. They wi II raise your energy. I
often see golden lines of energy over balds.
JH: It could, although r have seem a
similarity. 1 had a whole group of people 001
by the Missouri River at a location that wa.~
both in a vortex and on a grid line. The people
all felt the line, and everyone had the same
response as 10 how they needed to align their
bodies in order to feel best in respect to the
line.
Ka11ialr. Could you explain about the
different kinds of voncxes?
Kauiah: How is Katuah affected by wh3t
happens in another place on the Earth?
JH: They arc as different as people are
different. The dowsers repon that they see· ·o
exist where grid lines cross. They are definitely
associated with water activity, flowing water,
lakes. oceans, and underground water. There
arc people who say that there are male and
female vortices. There are also people who
describe them as either electric or magnetic or
electtomagnetic, which is balanced between
male and female. l'm not real sure about that.
Bui I have felt energy move in a vortex. It does
JH: Before the San Francisco eanhquakc
m 1989, I was driving with my sister, and I
Katuah: How can we beuer auune
ourselves to the Eanh?
JI(: By exploring feeling. Find particular
places, either by direct sensing or by using
dowsing tools, and then simply stand in those
places until you can sense with your body how
they feel. Your magnetic orientation is
imponant - whether you face north, east.
sou1h, or west.
Kariiah: Would this differ from person 10
person?
looked at the mountains. The mountains looked
like they were in so much pain. I 1 my sistc:r
c!d
that something was happening, and the quake
occurred within a few hours.
Katuah: So all the Eanh is feeling what is
happening in any one place?
JH: Right. But canhquakes are also a part
of nature, and so they arc not an anomaly.
Slfmmcr, t991
�w
#=fj
They are ad-jusanents in nature itself.
I think, in particular, mountains are
antennae to register what the Eanh is doing.
Also streams will register the Earth's pulse,
attitude, and vibrations in the same sense that
your bloodstream is going to register what is
going on in your body, the energetics of your
body.
Ka11iah: How do you do Earth healing?
JH: Places call to me. Roan Mountain has
called me many times, and Chimney Rock as
well. Killian Mountain has called me recently. r
believe narurc is a conscious being and
communicates wilh us. There is a thing called
the spirit of a place. there is an essence to Roan
Mountain, or essence to Table Rocle. that has a
consciousness to iL And consciousness
communicates with consciousness.
When I go 10 a place, I try to humble
myself and tune into just "being." I don't go
purposefully like some doctor or technician
trying 10 ''fix something." I just go there, and I
tune into the essence of the place. I always pray
in these places. I think it is very imponanL l
always pray for inner guidance in any particular
moment or situation. And then I may begin to
chant, a chant that is not a recipe. 1don't do
recipes. I do chanting, toning, and movement
for the moment. My whole approach to
working with Earth energies is 10 get away
from ritual and recipes, to enter into the
spontaneity of life. Life has its magic for the
moment, has its light for the moment, has its
peace for the momenL And that becomes an
experience that involves the movement of the
body, the voice, the bean, and the feelings. If
we allow these aspects of ourselves to blend
with the pince and the moment. then we can
unlock our bodies, unlock our voices, and
unlock our hearts. This is allowing divine love
to flow through us. from the place to us, and
from us to the place. Once connected, we
network out over the grid, over the pathways
that are, into the whole system, into the
universe itself, nnd into every other person on
the planet. Aod this is the healing. The real
healing in life is to relax, let go, and allow love
to flow, because love is, it is of God and it
simply is. We do not have 10 create it.
Ka11'iah: Do you go to places where the
Earth has been desecrated by humans?
JH: Yes. I have been led to places where
people have damaged the Eanh. I did this at a
whole workshop once in Kentucky. Several
people felt led to go this place where for years
people had dumped tmsh off the side of the
road, and it had fallen into a ravine. The
essence of that ravine was speaking to us, and
it seemed to be choking and poisoned.
We held hands in a circle, we prayed, and
then we moved 10 places where we felt
comfonablc alongside the ravine. We then
entered into silence. One of us began to tone,
and then another began to tone, and as it turned
out, there was a triad. There were three
women, including myself, coning in what
became a triangle. This was all spontaneous.
And the energy staned to flow down the
ravine. Another woman had visions, very
powerful visions, of an old medicine man who
came up and spoke to her. It was such a
-
powerful experience that many of us began to
cry. We could feel the Eanh saying thank you.
That particular day, there was no wind
whatsoever, yet single leaves on the trees
would just flutter, even though there was no
wind to flutter them. We were amazed at what
we saw in terms of narure physically
communicating with us. And she really does,
but people don't notice that.
This is my philosophy of healing. It is
love that heals. In the process of working with
an area, I may end up using some stones to
build a wheel, if I feel led 10 do this. But again,
I do not have a recipe where I say, 'Take x
amount of stones... '' I just go there and allow
myself to be pan of the totality of the
experience. In doing this with nature, we learn
how to beuer do that with each other. Instead
of building rigid ways of interacting in
families, we learn to flow with the spontaneity
of the moment.
,.
,.
-
JH: Yes, I think the time has come that
we have to reconnect with the Earth. We have
lost touch with her, and in doing so we have
lost touch with ourselves. To reconnect with
her is to reconnect with our own individual
souls and with each other. I sec it as the answer
to bringing love to the planet and to bringing
healing. If you go out and lie on the ground,
you will be comforted and the problems which
disturbed you wiJI just seem to go away. I
know some very powerful places that will just
wash away your troubles.
For information abo111 Earth Energy
workshops with Joyce Holbrook, write her at
Box 1095: Burnsville, NC 28714.
K(ll1iali: Could you say something about
the vision you had about making your own
medicine wheel?
JH: The vision was shown to me to make
it of olivine, but at that time l had not seen
olivine in nature. A friend told me about an
outcropping near an abandoned olivine mine.
When I went there. I did not just go in and take
rocks without asking permission. I was given
these rocks, and I took 12 home and made a
wheel, and they turned out lookingjust like I
saw 1n the vision. It is on my property. and I
go sit in it. Tt is very powerful, and it has
taught me that we are a wheel within a wheel.
The wounds in our lives which are not healed
are broken circles. Medicine wheels help us sec
what we need to release to come to full circle
again.
In going to power places, we can find
within ourselves what is s1ill wounded. If we
work with these places, things may come up in
our memory, emotions mny come fonh, which
can snow us what needs healing. Nature is of
God. Nature is full of healing, hannoniling
forces, just as we are. if we can come to see
thaL
h is a spiritual experience when I work
with the Earth. 1 go out by myself a lot. I do
this to bring harmony into my own life. If l
have not gone out for three or four days, l just
have 10 re tum to the Eanh.
1 was down in Stone Mountain, Georgia
recently. Stone Mountain is a very powerful
place. It has been contaminated with a lot of
materialistic consciousness. but there still are
places there that ~ very powerful, and local
people could use these places to :ttt!lne and
align themselves. Stone Mount,un 1s a power
point for the whole Southeast. lf we were not
so numb to feeling and sensing energies,
people would be able to sense these things.
My sister and I have done a lot of work
together in the mountains. One of us will say
that we should go to a cenain place. and we
will go and tone and sing and pray toge~hcr.
This has been very powerful for us as sisters.
It is a wonderful thing to do with members of
your family. It brings harmony into a family.
Go inside a stone
That would be my way.
Let somebody else become a dove
Or gnash with a tiger's tooth.
I am hnppy to be a stone.
I
From the outside the stone is a riddle:
No one knows how LO answer it.
Yet within, it must be cool and quiet
Even though a cow steps on it full weight,
Even though a child throws it in a river.
The stone sinks, slow, unpenurbed
To the river bottom
Where the fishes come 10 knock on it
And listen.
I have seen sparks fly out
When two stones are rubbed,
So perhaps it is not dark inside after all;
Perhaps there is a moon shining
From somewhere, as though behind a hill Just enough light to make out
The strange ,1tritings. the s1nr-chans
On the inner walls.
-CS
Karuoh. Do you have a vision of humans
and the Eanh hving together in a more
harmonious way?
Drav.,in& by RobMcmck
Sum nu:< , 1991
JCotimn )ournot pQ(JI!- 7
�"Jack-o-lanterns," Acid Rain,
and the Electrical Life of the Earth
by Clyde I follifield
The lights do not stay strictly on
Brown Mountain, but seem 10 occur
throughout the whole area. I have seen
them in Linville Gorge. We once saw a
light on Hawk~bill Mountain, which is the
next hill beyond Brown Mountain. It was
cruising up and down lhc mountain,
circling lhe hill, moving at abouL treetop
level. It was moving a too fast to be
someone walking with a light, and it was
not a vehicle, for there is no road over !here
on which a vehicle could travel.
S
rown Mountain lies southeas1 of
Grandfather Mountain near the Linville
Gorge Wilderness Arca in Avery County
II is an unimpressive, nondescript
mountain, little more than a tong low ridge,
but it is a focus of curiosity because of
strange phenomena known as the Brown
Mountain LightS.
There arc a lot of different ideas about
what the lights look like. Some people say
they arc a bright light. Olhcrs 53y that they
arc a faint glow. Some say they arc diMinct;
others say that they are diffu~c. Some
people have seen them in the summcnime;
others say that they see them best in the
winter. I believe that there are ns mnny
different opinions as there arc people who
say that they've seen them. And a lot of
people have seen them. The Brown
Mountain Lights have been known in that
area for generations. There arc old folk
tales about them. The local inhabit:ints call
them "jack-o-lantcms."
I have been interested in the Brown
Mountain Lights since I was a teen-ager.
Friends and I would camp out on Table
Rock on summer weekends and were
sometimes rewarded by a sight of the lights
at the foot of the mountain or drifting up the
ridges. They appeared ns Huie lights above
the treetops. They were not diffuse or
blurry, but were rather small, brig.ht ligh1s,
usually about the color of a mercury vapor
lamp nnd shining as brightly as n
streetlight. They usually ap~d late in the
evening nnd in the very early morning.
On one occasion about eight or ten
years ago, I snw little flashes of light all
over Brown Mountain, as if somebody hnd
set off thousands of flashbulbs all at once.
It was like ligh1ning, outlining the top of
the ridge. II only hs1ed for several seconcl~.
and then it was gone, bu1 it occurred three
or four times that night. It was like
elcctricnJ discharges popping off all over
the mountain.
Other times the lights are long-hvcd.
They may appear, move around up on the
ridge for several minutes, maybe go behind
Xotunh Journat pm.JC 8
the hill, and then come back out again.
Today it is hard to pick out Brown
Mountain from 1hc background of anificinl
lighis. If you arc looking at Brown
Mountain, you arc just as likely to sec
something beyond it, like Lenoir or
Morganton, or houses built on Grandfather
Mountain, Blowing Rock, or Boone. My
criteria are. first, 1h01 the lights have to be
against the side of 1hc mountain where I
know there's no habitation, and secondly,
that they have 10 be acting strangely •
moving too fast. shooting lilce a skyrocket.
or coming up over the ridge.
Scientists have initiated some smdies
on the Brown Mountain LighlS. but they
have found the tights to be elusive. Many
times when they have tried 10 make
observations. the lightS have not appeared.
Some of the studies that were carried out
tried 10 dismiss 1he occurrences as swamp
gas or other easily explainable events.
However. I personally have seen two lights
n~proach each other from opposite
dm:ctions. Sometimes they bump together,
sometimes they move apan. but when they
nrc moving in opposite dircc1ions, one of
them has 10 be moving against the wind.
Gases \\OUld have to move in the same
direction as the wind, so it is apparent that
the lights arc not gaseous in nature They
look like a specific object, rather than a
blurry. windy-blown name. Even when
they arc moving rapidly. they rc1:1in their
sh:tpc. A fast-moving gas cloud would tend
to diffuse.
1 think 1hat the lights arc simply
something that we don·t underMand. They
arc a natuntl phenomenon that is outside
our knowledge of physics.
I have spent whole weekends
watching for the lights and been rewarded
by only one sighting, or somcumcs even
none. The lights seem 10 appear randomly.
However, I have a feeling that they arc
excited by electrical :.tonns. When I went
"light-hunting" with my friends, we would
ay to go in August, on an evening after a
big_ electncal s1onn.
Also, the Brown Mountain Lights are
no1 the only electrical phenomena in 1ha1
area. One cold night in November LWO
years ago, some friends and I were up on
Tobie Rock looking for the Brown
Mountain Lights, and I kept seeing little
flashes of light nickering around the edge
of my vision. They were dim, but I could
sec lhcm moving, panicularly when l
brushed against a bush. It was subtle, but
when I opened the blanket Lhat I had
wrapped around me, I saw that the inside
of lhe blanket was sparkling with light. I
jumped up and called the olhers over, and
we examined it. Little sparlcs of light would
appear when I dragged the blanket on the
ground or rubbed i1 against the bushes. The
sparks did not seem like static electricity.
They did not give us electrical shock:..
They did not jump or crackle or make any
sound. They were just there. We never saw
any Brown Mountain Lights that night, but
this amazing new sigh1 gave us plenty 10
think about. We joked about how we had
come looking for lhc Brown Mountain
Lights. and they had been around us all the
time.
Maybe there is some connection
between the electrical sparks and the Brown
Mountain Lights. I did not know. but I
decided 10 check it ou1. A few weeks laLer
some friends and I went to Grandfather
Mountain, and we saw a lot more of th:tt
same kind of electrical spark. The lights
were in our blankets, on our clothing, on
the bushes. The Grandfather Mountain
swinging bridge was sparkling.
It looked like what is known as St.
Elmo's fire, which appears frequently in
sea stories. It was a cold. clear night, and
the "'ind was blo"' ing hard. Our clothes
were tlapping in the wind, and the lights
would appear on the trailing edge of our
co:tts. If I stretched out my finger near
another person's coat, the fire would jump
to the end of my finger. Jt was uncanhly.
We saw a great deal of activity there 1ha1
night.
My old blanket. which was made of
some blend of wool and acrylic, was
lighting up more than our other clothing.
and J got the idea that we could use it ns an
electrical indicator. Later that month. I took
that blanket up 10 the top of Mt. Mitchell. It
was another cold December night, nnd the
blanket lit up. I experimented as Jtame
Drawma by Rob Mcssicl
S111nn1cr, 1991
�down th': Parkway by stopping periodically
as I descended in elevation and trying the
blanket each time. The sparks diminished
until I got down to about 3,500 feet, below
which they did not reappear. I theorized
that the phenomenon was connected
somehow to cold nights and high elevation.
I went out on several other cold
expeditions that winter to different
locations, and we tried some other
experiments. I had heard that fluorescent
light bulbs would sometimes light up under
high-voltage power lines because of the
electrical emissions. So one time we carried
some fluorescent bulbs lO the top of Mt.
Mitchell. When we opened the trunk to get
them out, we saw lights nickering up and
down the shafts of the bulbs. They would
light up when we whirled them through the
air, touched them 10 bushes or to the
ground, or even when we passed them
back and fonh among ourselves.
We didn't see much of the St.
directly from the air. He said that they
receive as much as 11 % of their nitr0gen,
not through the roots, but through their
leaves.
These specially adapted nonhem
plants are built so that high levels of
elecuicity in the in the air around them
induces what Professor Aurela calls a
"coronal discharge" at their edges or needle
tips, which ionizes (or adds an extra
electrical charge 10) chemical compounds
containing nitrogen, so that the ionized
ourogen atoms can be fixed into the plant
tissues. The coronal discharge happens
often, but it only breaks over into a visible
state five or ten percent of the time.
However, because the air today also
contains sulfur and niuogen pollutants
(which we know as "acid rain"), these too
arc ionized, and the plants fix them into
their tissues as well, causing great damage.
Because the air is poisoned, this process
which was once vital for their survival is
Cl.08'1L ELECIIIICAL CIRCUIT
or
Schematic various electrical proc:csin O,c global clcc:lnc:11 circu,t
Sowce: the Earth', Ekctrical r:.n,iroMIUII by E. Philip Kinl,r and Raymond G. Roble
Elmo's fire that night, and we thought that
what we were experiencing was some type
of static electricity. 1decided that I would
find out. Rather than continunlly freezing
on mountaintops, l went over to the
National Oimatic Data Center office in
Asheville, which is pan of the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of
the US Department of Commerce. I was
passed around between six different offices
and never found anyone who had heard of
these occurrences. I corresponded with
experts in Washington, DC: Boulder,
Colorado: and Fairbanks, Alaska before
someone directed my attention to Professor
Asko Aurela at the Wihuri Physical
Laboratory of the University of Turku in
Finland.
This man knew all about iL fie
amazed me when he told me that the
electrical phenomena we had been seeing
was connected with acid min! He explained
that in the nonhem latitudes, because of the
poor, thin soils, and the short growing
season, some varieties of plants - like
Norway spruce, Scotch pines, and lichens have evolved the ability to absorb nitrogen
Summer, 10!1I
now speeding these plant species toward
destruction.
Professor Aurela told me that coron.il
discharge is similar in nature to what he
called "the luminous pillar," a wide shaft of
light going straight up into the sky, and
another phenomenon named "low aurom."
The fascinating thing about these
occurrences, as he exrlained, is that they
are all natural parts o the: Earth's electrical
environmenL Thundel'5tom1s arc like big
generators pumping high voltages of
electrical current into the Earth's electrical
circuit. There arc thousands of
thunderstorms active around the planet at
any one time. sending 50-100 bolts of
lightning down 10 the Eanh's surface every
second. Thunderstorms do not occur
everywhere; it requires heat to produce a
thunderstorm. 11terefore, on each side of
the Equator arc thunderstorm belts that
extend from the tr0pics up to the middle
Latitudes.
The other side of this electrical system
is several hundred feel under the surface of
the Earth where there runs an energy flow
known as the Telluric current. Sometimes
the Telluric current disrupts transmissions
through oceanic cables, because it gets so
strong that it produces static on the wire.
Because the seasons in the Nonhem
and Southern Hemispheres are reversed,
during the winter, when we are seeing
electrical phenomena on ML Mitchell and
Grandfather Mountain, thunderstorms are
playing over the Amawn basin and in
South America. They send energy currents
up into the ionosphere, a layer of the
Earth's upper atmosphere. Thunderstorms
are instrumental in keeping an electrical
potential difference of about 200,000600,000 volts between the Earth and the
ionosphere. The ionospheric current flows
north across the Equator and comes back
down, 001 at the North Pole, but at about
«I' nonh latitude in central Canada. This is
the area known as the "auroral ring,• where
there is a lot of northern lights activity,
more even than at the Nonh Pole.
On the Canadian plains during nights
of a lot of electrical activity, people cannot
use the telephone, and sometimes the whole
power grid goes down because the long
wires build up so much electrical static. The
Southern Appalachians are at the southern
edge of this electrically active zone. If we
didn't have mountains here, we would not
experience electrical phenomena at all. But
mountains arc an imponant pan of the
Earth's electrical energy circuit. One-third
of the Earth's electri.cal current returns 10
the Earth at high mountain peaks. There is a
blanket of thicker atmosphere, called the
"planetary bound.µ-y layer." that extends
one mile above the surface of the Earth and
nets as an electrical resistor. As the air gets
thinner at higher elevations, it offers less
resistnnce, and electricity c;in now more
easily through it. High mountains like the
Southern Appalachians act like lightning
rods, or electrical receptors, that penetrate
the planetary boundary layer and conduct
the electrical energy back to Earth.
The Ea.nh's electrical energy moves
in a great circle. When a thunderstorm
occurs in the Amazon River Basin or in
South America, the energy travels to the
nonh, comes into a mountain peak, returns
to the ground, and travels underground
back 10 South America. When it is
summcnime in the north, the polarity shifts
so that the thundcl'5torms here gener.11e
current which is sent back through the
ionosphere 10 the south. It is like an
alternating current on a yearly cycle instead of sixty cycles per second, it's one
cycle per year - six months one way, six
months the other.
Professor Aurcla also has a gr.1ph of
the daily variation m electrical activity, and
the graph shows that here in the nonhem
hemisphere the highc.\t level of activity is
between l l and one o'clock at night. As
happens here, most of the thunders1om1
activity in the southern zone occurs just
before sundown, so the surge arrives up
here around midnight, and then activity
tapers off towards morning. There's a daily
variation, and there's a seasonal variation.
We just happened 10 be on Grandfather
Mountain during a period of peak activity.
(conttnucd CG po&< 10)
JGoti&ah Journot
pal)&
0
�Old Houses
Even exposed to all weathers
it takes many years
for a strong house, untended,
10 collapse of itself.
First the boards have to weather,
shedding even the little life
the ax lelt them.
The doors, swollen with rain,
must open, inviting owl and vole
and every creature at random
like a kind of ark:
men without money
and lovers at play
on the one brown mattress.
Boys in summer must stone
the windows to blindness.
then grow themselves
into sternness and silence,
assuming the weight of their lives.
The wine bonles smashed
in the oorner must gather dust
and the eaves go crazy with birds.
and the floors curl up
like sleepers grown cold.
Then the stones it sits on
must sink in the wet eanh
as they open at last
to the frost's slow demolition.
TIii tho whole house slumps,
a haven for snakes, so low
nol even the wind
caJ1 rattle it anymore.
II
No strata
of wills. deeds, papers,
stacked in the courthouse
can tell you
how it came to this,
why the rose bush runs wild
over the back steps,
and a rag doll is left
down cellar by a stack of books. No matter.
Today is one out of many
and you are happy.
Nothing here is haunted.
Squirrels skitter off like regrets
· as you enter their chamber.
a tourist, a snapshot.
The old boards give back the light
with a kind of joy, the rose
llght of evening, the sun's
dark laughter. For it takes.
it takes many years.
- Richard Nester
Drawing by Rob Memck
(aintinued 6om page 9)
ls all this related somehow to the
Brown Mountain Lights? Maybe it is!
Perhaps Brown Mountain for some
geological or physical reason is more
conductive. Perhaps i1 is positioned in such
a way, or iis roots go down to a cenain
depth beneath the Eanh so lha1 it aurac1s
more of this kind of activity.
Maybe not.
However, for whatever reason, there
are fireballs shooting around on Brown
Mountain. And in the Andes Mountains in
Peru, 1he highest mountains in the Southern
Hemisphere, where one would expect to
sec an elecaical activity center, there is a
phenomena called the "Andes LlghLc;":
mysterious lights that can be seen among
I.he mountain peaks. In guidebooks I have
seen references to lhe Brown Mountain
LighLS tha1 describe I.hem as being
"...similar to the Andes Lights in Peru."
They seem to be much the same. Bur who
knows? We just do not know enough yet to
be sure.
Xatimh Journot ptuJe t 0
Resource Reading:
The Earth's £/ecmcal E11viro11ment by E.
Philip Kirder and Raymond G. Roble,
co-chairmen (National Academy Press:
Washington, DC: 1986) .
lightning, Auroras, Nocturnal lights, and
Related Phe,wmena by W.R. Corliss
(Sourcebook Project; Glen Arm, MD:
1982)
Aurela, Asko and Risto
Punkkinen,"Atmospheric Nitrogen Dioxide and
Nonhem Plants," Report of Kevo Subarctic
Research Station 17: 1-6 (1981)
or
• Schematic diqiam ela:uic c:wn:i,15
in lhe ionosphere and inner magnctosphett.
Sowa,: the Eanli's El«tricol EnvirOMIDII
b)I E. Phibp Ki.rdcr and Raymond 0 . Roble
Punkinnen, R. and A.M. Aurela,
"Production of N02 and Sound in Positive
Streamer Discharges," 7th lnternatio11al
Conference 011 Atmospheric Electricity
(American Meteorological Society,
Boston, 1984)
Summer, 1991
�KA TUAH AND THE EARTH GRlD
"The Earth grid" is an energy
system that surrounds the emire planet.
Dowsers think of the grid as a network
ofelectric and magnetlc energies.
Meraphysicians see the grid theory as yet
atwther demonstration that 1/ze Earth is a
self-regulating system and a consciollS
being. There is a wide divergence of
viewpoints on the nature of the Eartlt
Grid and Katuah's place in the system.
Following are s1mu11aries of the opinions
ofa few of the individuals in Ka11,ah
who routinely work with Earth energies:
Joll11 Shisler is a biolocation
co11sultan1. Using a combinatio11 of traditional
dowsing techniques a11d scientific equipment,
he assis,s clients i11 choosing building sites and
construc1i11g buildings for optimum health. He
takes inu, accow11 Earth energies, climate, soil
rype, and also the surroundlng lu1111an-created
energy fields.
Theories about Lhe Earth grid began to
surface about 50 years ago in France and
Germany. Dr. Josef Oberback of Gennany
originated the lheory of two grid systems, a
cosmic grid which runs nonh to south, and east
to west; and an Eanh grid system which runs
northeast 10 southwest, and northwest to
southeast. The two grids lie in close proximity,
wilh the Eanh grid crossing points about seven
inches away from the crossing points of the
cosmic grid. There is constant energy exchange
and interaction between the two grids, and ii
can become difficult to separate the two when
mapping.
There is no mystery about the grid. It is
nothing more than vibration, or frequency. The
two grids can be mapped and measured
Superimposed on each other, the two grids
create what would be ca.lied in electr0nic
tenninology, a "2 x 2 memory core system" of
el~oical and magne~c fields. These crossing
points could be descnbed as "spiral vortex
energy."
Except in the event of earthquakes, the
Eanh Grid fluctuates very li1tle. The cosmic
grid fluctuates seasonally, expands and
contracts at sunrhe and sunset, and shifts
during eanhquakes. The Christian church
calendar, which bases its holy days upon the
old pagan holidays, follows the seasonal
fluctuations in the cosmic grid. On October20
near All Saints Day, the cosmic energy field '
begins to expand. By December 20, the cosmic
grid lines are as large as nine feet in width.
This i~ also the time of year when people
e,cpenence more heallh problems. By February
2, the day when the Christ child was
introduced to the church, the cosmic grid lines
have receded back to their normal size of two
and one-half inches in width.
Everything that we do 10 the Earth attracts
the magnetic flux in the Earth at the local level.
If we dig up tree roots, put in dumps, or place
huge culverts in the Eanh, as we are doing
now, we change the lines of magnetic flux.
The human adult is composed of70%
water. Every atom in our bodies is replaced
periodically. We lose two pounds of cells per
day. We have new skin cells every thiny days.
We are in a constant state of change. Every
blast of energy goes through our bodies,
whether that energy is from the Earth, cosmic
rays, magnetic s1onns, or human-made
electronic energy.
It is not only the gcopathic location of
one's residence that determines the debilities 10
which one is most liable. We arc changing !he
molecular structure of our bodies because of
the barrage of the horizontal electrical field
which we have created, as opposed to the
venicaJ field of energy coming down from !he
cosmos and the steady-state electrical field
coming up from the Earth. We arc affecting
ourselves at the cellular level so rapidly that we
have stepped up our own evolution by 50,000
years.
by Charlotte Homsher
Richard Crutchfitld, a dbwser from
Weaverville, NC works 1 ridgecops along 1l11t
Jte
Blue ridge Parkway searching for negative
vortexes and evldence of ancienc sacred sites.
Richard works with two basic grid
energies. The Curry grid of magnetism is the
Eanh Grid. It runs in lines nine co ten feet apan
around !he globe in a nonheast-southwcst
orientation. These lines are intersected by
peipendicular lines about the same distance
apart. The intersections have positive, neutral,
and negative energies which alternate along !he
lines.
. The Hartmann grid is the cosmic grid
which overlays the Earth Grid. The cosmic grid
has wider lines which vary in width according
10 where the Earth is in relation 10 1he sun, and
other factors. The fluctuations of the cosmic
grid influence our behavior.
{conunucd on nu.I page)
The new double pcntadodecahedron grid p:iuern now emerging
Summer, 199 1
• from Nrw Earllo Odystty by Joseph Robcn.JochmJJ1s C) 1989
Xatimh Journot paqe 11
�(conlil!ucd from pogo II)
Richard has found much evidence of
ancient sacred sites in the mountains. Of
panicuJar interest 10 him arc the many large
rocks which were cut and placed in the
landscape by the ancients who placed "walls of
energy" into the rocks.
Richard uses t11e tenns "positive.. and
"negative" to describe vonex energy as either
heallhy or unhealthy. Po:.itive vortexes are
generally found where the vege1ation is lush
and the area seems invi1mg. There may be fairy
rings in these areas. The negative vortex area.,;
can be recognized by scruffy vegetation and
fallen trees. The negative vonexes become
unhealthy for various reasons, possibly
including violence from old cultures or our
own negative thought forms. Using dowsing
tools, Richard reverses the flow of energy in
the negative vortexes. I le believes that he is
aiding the healing of the Earth by helping to
restore unblocked flows of energy.
• rn late winter, 1991, Richard perceived
with his dowsing rods that there were two new
energies on the ridgetops. The first was a
steady, unfluctuating su-cam of energy which
came from the nonhwest and blanketed the
mountains. This energy was of a very positive,
healing nature. There was also another kind of
energy which was moving uphill at knee level
with both negative and positive polarity flows.
Richard docs not think either of these new
energies is geomagnetic, nJthough they may be
related 10 the life force energy which comes in
through the node system of the Eanh Grid. He
believes that the energy may have been
activated by very sophisticated pre-planned
engineering on the part of someone or some
force, possibly by the ancients. When this
energy hits sacred sites, the siLes seem 10
spring back to life. Medicine wheels activated
by this energy are very powerful.
Bill Waften has smdied Native
American prophecies and traveled exrensivel>•
to sacred sires the world over. His eleventh
book, Pilgrimage, will be available this
summer at the United Research lighJ Cemer
near Black Mo111110i11.
The Cherokee Indians recognized that the
Earth energy in Katiiah was feminine/right
brain energy. They refe~d 10 Grandfather
Moon and Grandmother Sun until they were
forcefully reloc~ued to Oklahoma where the
prevalent energy was masc11line/righ1 brain.
The masculine counterpan 10 the Katuah
area in the United States is the Four Comers
area. The Hopi peace prophecy states that there
will be global peace when the Rainbow is
completed between the Hopi Four Comers area
and the Cherokee Katuah.
In 1984 Diana and Jim Gourc from the
United Research Light Center began prayer
group pilgrimages from Cherokee, North
Carolina to the Four Corners area.. They
believed that they had anchored the Rainbow
into the etheric. However, they were not aware
of the Cherokee interpretation of the prophecy
that called for extending the pilgrimages 10 the
Mount Shasta area and nearby Black Butte,
California. The prophecy also called for
prayers for all the people who lived between
these three power poinlS.
Pilgrims from Kntuah who wish to fulfill
the Hopi peace prophecies may travel the "Icy
lines," or lines of power, by way of the Grand
XatiUJh JoumaL pa<JC 12
811/ IValrcrs
Canvon, Southern California, Mount Whitnev,
and north to Mount Shas1a: or by an alternate.
route from the Four Comers area to the Gmnd
Teton Mountains, the Bighorn Mountains,
Yellowstone National Park, and then west to
the Mount Shasta-Black Butte area.
Mary arrd Joseph Jocllma11s recemly
moved to Sowlt Carolinafrom New
Hampshire. Mary is a karmic galactic
astrologer and Joseph is known/or his book
Rolling Thunder. The Coming Earth Changes.
The pair co,uittct 1011.rs 10 sacred sires aro1111d
the world and are co11sidered authorities on
ancient cultures arrd vortex energy. Together
they research what they call the "evolving
crystal grid." Their grid theory involves
complex patterns ofgalactic co11jiguratio11s,
ancient symbols, and sacred geomerry.
According to the Jochmans, the Earth is a
living evolving, crystal fonn. She has points of
power on her surface which increase in number
every time she moves into a higher energy.
Along with the increase of power points, there
is also a corresponding increase in the lines of
energy (the grid) between these power points.
When the continents were splining apan
about 220 million years ago. 1hey broke along
Lhe lines of a tetrahedron. Since Lhat time the
geomeaic configuration of this grid has become
ever more complex.
The Earth is now undergoing a massive
shif1 which will result in 1he most complex grid
yet. The new grid will be a double
pentadodecahedron. The power points on this
new grid will increase from the present 64 to a
~otaJ of 486 poccntiaJ sacred sites. The ancients
located their sacred sites and built their
monuments on or near the grid power poims.
Many of these old sites will be dying or
changing purpose as the new power points
emerge. The Harmonic Convergence of 1987
marked the beginning of these changes. The
new crystal grid will be in pin~ within 30
ye:irs. The energy now being anchored into the
Sou1heas1 is feminine, intuitive, hean energy.
Mary claims that the m.ijor power poini for the
Capricorn Compassion node will be anchored
in the Carolinas or Tennessee by 1996.
Compassion as defined by Mary means
"the ability to communicate one's compassion
for all of life," The old anchoring point for this
compassion energy was the ancient mythical
Allanth which is off the Florida coast. There
are manv Karmic connec1ions between Ka11iah,
Atlantis; and Lemuria. Remnants of the land
mass of the old Atlantis can still be found in Lhe
Southeast. In Peach Tree Rock, a heritage trust
site in South Carolina, there arc visible crusts
of rock from the original Atlantis.
The Elbenon quarry district in Georgia,
site of the largest granite deposit in the world,
is sitting on the edge of a huge mass of
crystalline rock 35 miles long. This same
crvstalline mass is connected to the
underground mass of Stone Mountain. When
the crystalline energy is triggered by the
anchoring of the new grid, many mountains,
such as Stone Mountain, will become
reawakened. Also the EJbenon granite, which
has been exponed around the world, will
become reac1iva1cd with the Compassion
energy.
According to Joseph, the Eanh will not
allow manipulation of these higher new
energies. We cannot force the changes, and
neither can we stop them We can delay the
anchoring of the energies for a time by our
resistance 10 change, bu1 the Earth will be
reborn no matter what we do. The Earth
changes do not have to be cataclysmic if we can
"allow the Eanh Mother to go through this
birth." We are the creatures with the greatest
po1entiaJ 10 lose everything in the Eanh
Changes, yet we are also the potential
midwives. "We are the Earth Changes
ourselves. If we change within ourselves first,
then we become a force of change to bring lrUe
co-creation to the planeL"
Those who wislifor information about
the Jochmans' Alma Tara Multi-versiry, the
Universal Magi Apprenticeship program, or to
subscribe ro their newsletter. may write them
a1; Jlox /0703; Rock Hill, SC 29731.
Mary & Joseph Jockmans
S11mmcr, l 99 l
�THE CALL OF THE ANCIENT ONES:
The Spiritual Re-Awakening of the Great Smoky Mountains
:Cl
has become increasingly evident over
lhe past decade lhat the Eanh is indeed
chan~ng. All around us rhe climate becomes
more unprediclllble while volcanoes awaken to
cast the earlh's blood heavenward in fiery
splen_dor. De~rts grow larger and areas of rich
and tillable soil grow smaller. Rivers and seas
continue to pound lhe continental shores,
carying their signarures into lhe landscape
while battles rage for the cleansing of their
polluted walers. UnnaturJl clouds block lhe
swlight from our cities, and the land groans
wilh the pain of greal quak<!S thal rend and tear
the fault lines lhal lay in lace-like patlems over
lhe plane1's surface. All the while, humanuy
wages war amongst ourselves, economic
siabi!ity wav_ers. and political, social, and
religious penis challenge our very survival.
Bui th<;se are the frightening negatives
regarding planetary change, for arnidsl all lhe
apprehension and uncenainty some
wonderfully positive global events are
(!CCUrring lhat are unprecedented in modem
umes.
These events will perhaps do more to
open the minds and heans of humans to a
greater awareness of the truth of the "living
E~''. theory than anything the academic or
s~1enllfic "".orlds could ever offer to prove or
disprove this age-old tnnh. An explanation of
these events spans lhe fields of geology and
geomancy, and encomp~sscs lhe perspectivCl;
of_l~e sa_cred ecology of Native American
spmtunlity as well as related beliefs and
practices of other ancient cullures.
The body of Mother Earth is dotted with
special power sites, bolh natural and
human-created, that were recognized and used
by our ancestors for lhe performance of their
~cred c~remonies. Balefires have lil up the
mght skies on the grassy slopes of ancient
Av~lon while priests and priestesses wound
their way through the stone circles at
Stonehenge and Avebury. Patient eyes have
awmted Grandfather Sun 10 make i1s annual
imprint upon the walls of Newgrange in Ireland
and Chaco Canyon in the American Sou1hwes1.
Sacred mountains all over the \\-Orld have
beckoned pilgrims to lhc1r summits and the
healing waters from holy rivers, wells. and
springs have blessed and repaired 1he bodies
and souls of the faithful who have lilied their
chalices with sweet waters, 1hc Earth Mother's
very source of life.
Yes, our forbears were clme to the Earth.
They called her Mother. TI1ey knew lhe
wholeness of Nature and lived their lives as 11
conscious relauve pan of all the planet'!> life
kingdoms. It was precisely because of tl11s
closeness that our ancestors could sense the
and potent _life force of the planet being
emmcd at specific sttes. It "'as to those pfaces
that they retreated for healing and
rcplenis~me_nt, and it was there that they did
ceremonies in honor and recognition of the
natural earth forces around them lh3t gave
power and purpose lO their hves.
ra"':
Since the latter days of the Allantean em,
Summer, 1991
by Page Bryant
Pun&al An by We. Wyan
humans have gradually moved forward in
evolution. Civilizations have come and gone.
Many spiritual traditions have sprung from the
Atlantean "root," presided over and preserved
down ~rough rime br Egyptian hierophanlS,
Delphic oracles, Celuc pneslS and priestesses,
My_stery Schools, and adepts and shamans of
vanous culrures. As evolution proceeded,
ho~~ver, modem times and society nnd new
religions pushed the Old Traditions into the
darkness of obscurity
This, like the Earth, is changing. Once
m<?i:e the Wisdom Teachings and the social,
sp!ntual, and ecological values they foster, are
being sought by modern aspirants. At thi~
panicular lime. a revival of interest in Native
American spirituality is spreading like wildfire
worldwide, due no doubt to its embodiment of
the principles inheren1 in the Earth Religions of
the ancienl past. These principles have a
tremendous bearing on our ecological problems
of today.
People are seeking lo learn about
ceremony and are using it as a loo! for gaining
a closer relationship with the planer. a
relalionship 1hat has long been lost and/or
devalued. As a result. the location of sacred
sites is of intere~t to thousands of sp1riwal
seekers worldwide, and ceremonial voices have
begun to resound, once again, within sacred
stone circles, medicine wheels, fairy rings. and
other cercmon1al grounds. Power spots or
vortexes. long dormant. have begun to awaken
during this time of planetary change and
ren~wal. Their power will once again be
available 10 empower humans and members of
other kingdoms to progress into a New Dawn.
While doing the re~arch and channeling
for The Earth ChanReS Survival Handbnok
some ten years ago, my Spiril Tc,Kher. Albion.
lor whom I have been the "mstrUment" for the
past twenty years, gave infonnauon aboot lhis
time of planetary change and mentioned ccn.un
pl3ces in Nonh America 10 "'hich people would
be drawn, some tcmporanly and others
permanently. The intense degree of natural
eanh power, the "energies," if you will, was to
be the reason why individuals would foci such
on attraction lo these places which would also
be where "Light Centers" would spring up.
designed to teach nnd guide spiritual seekers.
The~ places, which Albion called "way
slations," would ah.o be safe. in every way,
during the planetary changes. They would be
places where lhe land ilself would be tile
greatest teacher. One of these locations was
identified as the area surrounding Asheville
Nonh Carolina. Olhers were Sedona, Ari~na.
where my husband and l lived for eleven years;
southern Colorado; pans of Hawaii; and Santa
Fe, New Mexico, to name bur 3 few. While
trying to make a decision as to the proper
location for a move. due to a droughl thar
Albion predicted would become much worse,
and for olher personal desires, Albion brought
the Asheville area to our anention o.s the plac~
to which he would like l0 see us move. [a thal
~ession, ~e Teacher offered some interesting
infonnauon aboul the Great Smoky Mountains
lhat I feel is important to share with my
rea~ers,- I am, for the most part, using
Albion s exact words so that the reader might
get lhe "feeling" that the Teacher tried 10
portray:
"...The Great Smoky Mountains
themselves arc the Elders... the Ancient
Ones:.. whose voices have sung the Song of
Creauon on the North American continent
longer lhan lhe voices of any other mountain
range. They arc so very, very powerful, and
lhat power may be explained in lhree ways.
"First, because of lheir particular situation
geologically, and lhe powerful influence of the
ne3=1by sea. the~ mouniains arc magnetic in
thet.r charge of hfe force. Magnetism is of the
nature of lhe element of watt..-r. It is conducive
to helping one rum wi1hin, 10 tap the
subconscious and the Collective Unconscious.
Magnetism promotes ~nsitivity and awakens
the psychic and intuitive faculties wilhin human
consciousness. Magnelism is lhe feminine
force in Nature. These mountains are filled
with natural springs and underground river.,
and caves that have a sublerrancan water
source.
"Secondly, because we are labeling lhem
as "magnetic mountains," they are conducive: to
the energies necessary to assist Spiritual
Seekers \l.ith their Vision Quests more so than
any other mountains in the world at lhis umc
. 'Thir~ly. the Smokie~ hold the 'memory'
ol th~ breaking up of the continents dunng
previous planet.1ry changes and of the mountain
building procc.,s. They have 'recorded' the
ancient voices of Nature tha1 are unmatched on
your continent. Smee the l:m period of Eanh
changes, some len thousand year.; ago, these
great mouniuins have hecn 'asleep.' their
energy but a shallow breath. It was aho during
ll10se ancient times of upheaval that lhese
mountains were first inhabited by Allantean
m1grnnt, who spread throughout the \I.Orld
~eekmg refuge nnd ne\l. beg.innin~. To this
day. there arc ancient rock and b:trk scrolls and
SO!llC cave drawings that arc 1\tlamc.1n an their
on gin 1h:11 still exi~t wilhin various pans of
these mountains.
"This place has long been the site of
:m:ane ~ercmonies. Although man) of lhe
mountain peaks have been worn do"'n wnh
time. there were once seven summits in the
Smokies which were u~cd throughout the
centuri~ as ceremonial !;lit:;. The areas around
(aJlllurucd c,n llellt J>OS•)
Xotuah Journal JlCl()C 1'3
�(coniinw,d liom Pl&• 13)
them still comain n:mnaotS and artifactS of the
Old Ways. Some of 1hosc whom you call
Native Americans were born from these
Atlantcan ancestors, while others migrated
here from other continents and settled into this
land. For a shon time, the mountains remained
awake to their full energy potential before
slipping into an introvened slumber. Once,
through time, their power re-awakened for a
shon time, to embrace the native people who
fled into lhem for safety so that they and their
tradition might survive the thrca1 of the
invaders for later rimes. These who the
mountains hid were those you call the
Cherokee.
"Beginning in the middle of the decade of
the 1980's, the Great Smoky mountains began
LO awaken once again 10 their full power. This
process will be comple1e by the year I 993.
Between now and 1hen, many will be drawn 10
this area. They will come to live and to study
and to 'connect' themselves with Mother Earth.
Teachers will come 10 the area and some will
establish Light Centers. Ancient ceremonies
will be practiced once again on these mountain
slopes and the Native American tradition and
people will become stronger and more
irnponan1 to the natives themselves. Sacred
sites throughout the mountains will re-awaken,
sites such as Chimney Rock, Blowing Rock.
Mt. Mitchell, Wayah Bald Mountain,
Grandfather Mountain, Flat Rock, and Looking
Glass Rock will once more embrace Seekers
and emit their most potent power. The waters
of the Smokies will become more potent and
can be used for healing the body. They will be
rich for growth and fertility. The planis of the
area will increase in their potency so that their
medicinal value will be greatly enhanced. The
formation of 'brotherhoods' and 'sisterhoods'
will have their birth in these mountains once
again."
must be and what my future as a teacher mus1
be. It is here, in the Great Smoky Mountains
that I will live and work 10 awai1 and
experience the awakening of the Ancient Ones.
It is here that r will listen to 1he Voice of the
Earth Mother sing the song of Creation... of
Wholeness... and of Rebirth. And, it is here
1hat I will seek to add my ·ligh1· 10 the ·ugh1s·
that are already here... in peace and in harmony
with the Spirit Forces and the Greai Devas of
the Mountains.
So mote it be!
Page Bryant is a ttacl~r and p.rychic ofmany
years txptritnce. Shr has sludit'd atensivt'ly with
Nativt American mtdicmt ttachtrs and is familiar with
naJivt' prophecies abow the currtfll Earth changes. She
has wrttttn st11tral books, one of IM bt'st known Ming
The Earth Changes Survival Kandbook. fltr /WO nr:wtsl
rtkasts art. Tcrmvis1on, a pr~r on sacred sitts o/tht
world. and The Aquarilln Guide lO N;wve American
Mythology.
Page and l:t'r husband Sco11 Guynup, a visionary
artis1, havt optntd 1he Mystic Mowuain Rt1re_a1 and
Ltar,ung Cuittr and may bt' rtaehtd at -,07 8rUJIS\l,1C'Jc
Drive; Waynmillt', NC 28786 (704} 456-6714.
This article was reprinted from Eanh Walk, tht
ntwsltlltr ofThe Earth Ctn/tr, which is dedicated 10
personal <kvelopmtnt and Earth htaling by bringing
s1udtnts toge1/iLr with well-known Native l.!ru!rican
ltachus Olld holding regular spirltMDl ceremonies ill 1hr
narivt ,radicion. The Earth Center is mam«zintd by Zoe
and Jim Marun. Contact them 01 302 Old Ftllowship
Road, Swannanoa, NC 28n6 (704) 298-3935.
WIIEN THE MOUNTAINS A WAKE
Upon hearing the Teacher's words, I
knew, beyond doubt, where 1 must relocate.
knew what the next step on my path of life
(from a conversation wi1h Page Bryant)
"My spiri1 teacher Albion has repeated
numerous times in speaking of the Eanh
Changes, 'We don't wan1 you to limit
yourselves by thinking about 1he Earth in only
the physical sense. When we say Earth
Changes we are talking about geological and
climatic changes, but we are also talking about
social, political, and spiritual changes.'
RESOURCES
······~.
.... . .~~~~.1!·~·-· -
• Earth Ascending. Jose Arguelles (Bear & Co.
Publisher.i, Santa r-c, NM. 1988)
• Thi! Divining Jland: The 500 Ytar Old Mys1try q/
Dowsing. Chris10phcr Bird (New Age Press; P.O. Box
1216; Black Mounlain, NC 28711. 1979-1985)
•Ttmn•ision. Page Bryant (Hi1rpcrMd Row, New York.
1991)
• Anti·Gravity and tlu- World Grid Ed1tc.d by David
Hatcher Childress (Advcntwts Unlimited Press; Box 22:
Stelle, IL 60919. 1987)
~
/(:i;<-:;;~\
..:·
.
..
• •
•
·:.
.
•
......
,
_
~
··....
··.........'
.......
..... . .
,
··-
..........
.......... . l ....\ ... ······-.........
:
;
.,-..
••
I
jlll'"li~l.'i,,,__
.
'•
·..:.
-
....
..
.
.
,
• r(!C()rtkd by DW
• The Earth Sp,ril. Its Ways. Shrines and Mys1tries.
John Mitchell (Crossroads Publislung Co., New York,
NY. 1975)
• T~ Ntw Vi= Over Atlantir. John Mitchell (Harper
and Row Puhlishcrs, San Pranci51CO CA. 1986)
• Looking Gia.rt Univtrst: The Emogmg Scitnce of
IVhokMSS. F. David Peat and John Briggs (Simon &
Schuster, Inc., New York. 1984)
• Tht Ancitnl Srienu ofGtomancy. Nigel Pennick
(Townes & Hudsen. Ltd., London. 1979)
•
o!
••
• "Geomancy: A Tawny G111111mor; Steven ~ l in
Rais,: tht Sraus (Spnng, 1984 • Planet Drum
Found:11ion; P.O. Box 31251; San Francisco, CA
94131)
• Where ug1wi.f livt. Doug Ro~Jln (Cherokee
Publicnlions: P.O. Box 256; Cherokee, NC 28719)
• Black Dawn • Bright Day. Sun Bear & Wabun Wind
(13.e.lrTribe Pub.; Box 9167; SpocMc, WA 99209. 1990)
Wet England. 1984)
• Nttdlu o[Srone. Tom Graves (Granada Publishing
Lid. 1980)
:.
.:
d
~
• Ear1hmind. Paul Devereux, John S1ccle, and David
Kubrin (Harper and Row Publishers, New York. 1989)
• Ftng Shui: Thr Seitnet ofSacrtd Landscape in China.
Em~ J. Eilel wilh commem.:iry by John Michell,
(S)'IICJ'getic Pless; 24 Old Gloucester Street: London
-... ,
. . ~. .
"The sacred sites in the Appalachian
Mountains are coming into their power. 1993 is
a year tha1 I feel will be intense in every way.
Bui people are not going to be able ro
experience that power until they reconnect
themselves 10 the Mother Eanh.
'There are mnny ways to regain our
connection with the Eanh. One 1s 10 educate
yourself about the Earth. That is what my book
The Eanh Changes Survival Handbook is all
about.
'That is well and good, bu1 we need 10 go
a step funher. We need 10 learn from the native
people. and the most imponam thing we can
learn is ceremony.
"We have to get back into doing the
ceremonies 1ha1 honor the forces in narure.
We've jus1 become 100 sophisticated for our
own good. Jus1 try getting up in the morning
and greeting the sun. Take a handful of
cornmeal and throw it up toward the Sun and
say, 'Thank you, Grandfather. Thank you for
the new day.'
"Do that for seven days - ir you don·t feel
better, more connected 10 the Sun and 10 the
Earth, then don'1 do it any more.
"Something simple: we have a sign by the
water tap in the the kitchen tha1 says,
'Remember the water spirits.'
"People want to know what that means. I
ask them, 'When is the last time you gave
1hanks to the water spiri!S for being here?'
"They say, 'What?'
"Obviously it's no1 a question of when
was the last rime, because they have never done
it before. They've never though1 abou1 it 1ha1
way. Well, I lived in the desert for 12 years,
and r learned 1here 1ha1 it's really important 10
have a good solid peace with the water spirits.
'That's some1hing to think abouL We
lake these things for granted. That's the big
enemy: we lake all these things for granted.
No1jus1 the Eanh, the waler, and the air, but
also each other.. .life! If people can stop doing
that, then we've staned the ball rolling."
• TM Ages ofGOia: A Biography of our livin1 Ea,-1/t.
J:imcs Lovelock ry./.W. Nonon & Co. Inc. New York.
1988)
Orawina by Rob Meaick
• Sacrtd Pious. James A. Swan (Bear & Co.
Publishing. Santa Fe, NM. 1990)
• Ear1h Wisdom. Delores LaChapclle (Finn Hill Ans;
P.O. Box 542; Silvcr1on, CO 81433. 1~78)
Summer, 1991
�"If the Earth Is To Heal,
Our Hearts Must Be Broken":
Two Experiential Approaches to Reconnecting with the Earth
by Richard Lowenthal
Earth Dance
Since August oflast year I've been
deeply involved in the fonnation of an
innovative environmemal youth program called
EanhDance. There are two primary "guiding
lights " behind this program. First is the belief
that our youth need in-depth and experiential
knowledge about our environmental crisis - .
and about viable, practical solutions. Second 1s
the observation that young people are
.
disenfranchised in our society, and are growing
up feeling helpless and/or apathetic about their
future. They are desperate for guidance,
support, and hope. They are seeking a positive
aliemative vision.
In speaking with groups of young people
throughout the Asheville, North Carolina area,
EanhDance director Mark Fields and I have
been astounded and saddened to hear the
bleakness of many kids' vision of the future.
Even from nine and ten year olds, when we ask
them to imagine the world twenty years from
now, we hear responses like:
"In 20 years there won't be any eanh."
"1 see the whole planet covered in black
smoke."
"The hole in the owne layer will keep
growing, and we'll all be fried by radiation."
They have good reason to be frightened
Although our culture voices concern for our
childrens' future, it ii; simultaneously
devouring the planet and pirating the natural,
financial, and social resources essential 10 the
future of the coming generations.
Amazingly, environmental education is
still considered an educational "frill," and sits at
or near the bottom of the totem pole of
educational priorities. This error is a symptom
of OUT failed relationship with the natural
world. This massive failure in tum translates
into failed relationships with our children, since
we are initiating them inro a social system badly
out of touch with reality. And buying a child
off with a new computer or video game doesn't
change the underlying truth: if we really cared
about our children and the world they are
inheriting, we would be doing much more chan
we presently are ro deal. with t~e profo~nd
social and ecological cnses which cononue to
deepen around us.
Within our society and within each of us
individually, there exists a _pressing n~ed for
adaptive change and conscious evoluuon, a
need that we consistently refuse to recognize.
We need 10 honor the Eanh, to begin again to
nunure the awareness chat this planet is our
Home, that we belong here and are responsible
for caring for our Home place.
One way to promote this aw3:"!"CSS, an~
the sense of caring nunurnnce that n evokes. 1s
through planting trees. This spring,
EanhDance sponsored a tree ~ale and plan tin~
project for young people, wh1<:_h w:c: unique m
its multi-leveled approach. This proJCCt had
three interconnected goals:
1) To empower young people (age 9-18)
to act on behalf of their communities and their
S1nt111ia-, 1991
Planring trees al GrQ.NJ[Olhu Mountain
natural environment, and 10 literally get "in
touch" with che Earth by planting trees.
2) To teach kid5 that environmentalism
and money-making can coexist, and in fact can
In
suppon each other. _ this case, 40~ of the
money raised by selling trees went directly .
back to their environmental groups or classes m
school, 10 be used for other environmental
projects chqsen independently by each group.
(The remaining 60% of the proceeds covered
EarthDance's expenses in coordinating the
project.) One group donated its earnings 10
black bear protection work, while an~ther
chose 10 buy and protect an area of r:unforest.
Yet another group set its money aside to fund
the projects of the environmental club during
the coming year.
3) To conduct a liCientific experimen1 .
based on soil rcminemlizarion as a therapeutic
technique for healing both !;Oil and trees. In
coordination wilh Dr. Roben Bruck, a
nationnlly known expen on acid min and plant
pathology, EanhDance arra!'lged for tree
plantings on areas at Mt. Mi1chcll and
Grandfather Mountain that have been
devastated by a combination of airborne
pollution, insects, and fungi.
Using a na1urally derived mineral rock
dust study groups remincmlized half of the
where trees were being replanted, while
the remaining areas were left alone to serve as
controls.
Dr. Bruck expects 1he rock dust to
significantly im~rove th_e ~es' chances of
survival due 10 its alkahmzmg effect on the
soil and 'the concentration of irace minerals it
provides for the trees' nourishment In
.
Germany. large-scale remine:-l1iw.tion efforts _m
the Black Forest have been highly successful m
rejuvenating dying forest stands.
.
.
Herc m Asheville, another expenment 1s
under way on the Audubon Society's new land
at Beaver Lake, where kids planted 200 trees -
area;
~vcamores, hickories, pecans and hybrid
chesmms - and remincml1zcd half of them.
EanhDance is also planning future projec1i, to
explore whether reminemlization can, ns Dr.
Bruck suspects, minimize or perhaps stop the
damaging dogwood blighL
All the!">C effons arc imponant, yet the
crucial aspect of the EanhDancc approoch is the
focus on active involvement and experiential
education for our youth. Technical solutions
and temporary improvements will no~ suffice lO
insure a sustainable society and a habitable
planet. We need a drastit "change of hean"
even more than a "change of mind." We
already realize the gravity of OUT situation; th~re
is plenty of terrifying inf0rnl3tion oa that topic.
What we need now is courage, inspiration and
lwpe. We need hean-lcvcl inspiration to get _us
motivated, but inspiration never lasts unless 11
is convened into hope and encouragement
through direct personal experience.
As Mark Fields puts it, ''The problems of
our world ultimately spring from OUT sense of
separation from life and each other. The mos1
effective way to heal this sense of separateness
is through building connectedness and
community: actual involvement in life.
"In thinking 1his through, I concluded
that OUT children arc the most effective
"acupressure poin1" within human society 10
quickly tum things around. Most a~ults arc
either so busy or so shut down emononally that
they arc simply unavailable for intensive
involvement. Our kids, on the other hand, arc
desperate for involvement, for real participation
in life. And the kids have the most to lose, too.
They know we need to preserve the planet, but
they aren't seeing much real change; they arc
offered public posturing and "green" slogans
instead. This conveys a negative message to
our youth, and increases their frustration and
cynicism.
"If young people don't have a positive
oullet for their energy and youthful enthusiasm,
they tend to lapse into depression or apathy.
But if their potential energy is guided and
convened into activated. energy, then they can
work to change the direction into which our
planet is heading - and they can feel much
beuer about themselves and their future. Only
if a tremendous grasH'OOts movement arises,
among both children and adults, can we move
towards righ1 relationship, wholeness, and
harmony. I see this movement as one of the
bare essentials for the survival of humanity and
the planet - and it 1s happening. and slowly
growing, becau:;e II is so desperately needed.
We need more than anything 10 reconnect with,
and honor, our Source.·•
MurJ; Firld.r is aformrr busi11essman ondflowtr
farmrr who spent many )·ears living in the f<Jln/oresu of
Costa Rica lit rtlMTMd nnrth ,n 1988 fuling a dup
r.onu,11 for ow social and p/JJMUJry tn1v-0=111. and
rpent tM [WI two ~ors dew/oping the ideas bthilld
EanhDanct. Phone (704) 2.52.Jlll/8 or writ( to
Ca11hDa11cc htStllutt: P.O. Box 2155: Ashl!Vlllf. NC
28802.
(continuod on nm r•i:•)
�(conlinued rrom page 1S)
Children already have the connection.
Little kids know - they feel it. It's amazing
how much more they know than we do, how
much more they sense. They just need
encouragement.
Karualr: I grew up surTounded by deep
woods, arid I used to spend hours and hours
exploring them. That was important for my
growth, but most kids don't have that
anymore. Their feelings are intact when
they're very young. but without encouragement
to feel their relationship to life around them,
they start to lose touch. It's like autism, in a
sense. We withdraw into the "separate" self,
and cut ourselves off from reality.
ReCreation Experiences
Another Asheville-based program,
ReCrearion Experiences, was begun last/al/ U>
literally bring people "down to earth" through
wilderness skills and outdoor living training.
Based on the Native American ways 111ughr by
tracker Tom Brown and his staff. ReCreation
Experiences is led by founder Dave Torbett. I
spoke with Dave about the focus of his
reaching:
Karuah Journal: What was the genesis of
ReCrearion Experiences?
Dave Torbett: About 8 years ago I began
to envision developing a program to help
people "come home," as I call it. Our culture
has a built-in mentality that wilderness is "bad"
or "dangerous," so we insulate ourselves from
it. Backpacking has become very popular, but
even then we're insulated. We wear heavy lug
boots, we carry massive backpacks, we sleep
enclosed in tents. We pack in our stoves and
ice cbestS and lanterns, then go home feeling
we've been "back 10 nature"! Despite the big
wave of backpacking and outdoor recreation,
we still have not gouen back to the Eanh.
So I began 10 dream about an alternative
to those kinds of camping and outdoor
programs - a way to take people home, help
them feel corilfonable with the Ennh, help them
learn skills that teach them that our Mother
provides everything that we need. It's very
simple living.
There's an old Apache saying that as far
a.s humans' feet are protected from feeling the
Earth Mother, that's how far humans' hearts
will be from knowing her as M0ther.
lf people's hearts aren't broken again,
and they don't reawaken into a loving, caring
relationship with the Earth, environmentalism
will do some good, but in the long run people
will tire of it and go back to their "convenient,"
desrructivc ways. So I feel we have to woo
people back to our Mother.
Xntuafl JoumoC P<1CJC 16
DrawingbyRobMculclt
Katuah: It seems that the fundamental
problem is our separation from nature.
OT: Yes. A lot of it comes out of the
Puritan mentality, which maintained that
anything passionate was bad, including sex and
nature. Anyone who's spent much time
outdoors, or been out when the wind's
blowing and the sky is tom apan by lightning,
knows nature is passionate and alive, and not
some thing that we can control. But our
western mentality says, "If we can't dominate
it, then we will kill it" Thai is still how we
approach life: we analyze it, we do endless
scientific studies... but there is an clement to the
Earth that is spiritual, that is deep - something
unfathomable. There's something magical
about iL Our culture tries to obliterate that, to
w1pei1 out.
Karuah: Our obsession with conb'OI
seems 10 be a major problem_
DT: Making fire with a bow drill
provides a good example. If you don't work
with the wood, the cord. and the tinder - if you
try to dominate them - you may grind through
that fire-board, but you don't get a fire!
Once while we were doing a workshop
for a group of parents, the lead instructor,
Steve Ashmore, became very frustrated
because he couldn't get a fire. He wns
cranking hard on that bow drill, and nothing
was happening. Finally he just laid everything
aside and said "J quit." About 1wo seconds
later, he looked over. and the '>'ind had sparked
a coal in his tinder bundle. His tinder bundle
was 5moking, it was on fire. He got a fire by
saying ''OK. I give up."
This was a great spiritual experience for
Steve. As long as he had fought the energy
and tried to control it, nothing had worked.
But when he let go, the wind blew the coal
into a flame for him. Trans formative moments
like tha1 happen 10 people when they get back
to being a pan of nature. When we're willing
just 10 stop. put our bare feet on the Earth. and
listen to her speak and b~thc...thcn we arc
able 10 be transfonned.
DT: Yeah, Tom Brown uses this
example: imagine you've been lying in a
hospital bed for 10 years. Your muscles
atr0phy, and when you try to get up you can't
walk, you have to relearn how to walk. We
have innate awareness skills: we know how to
live in harmony with the Earth, we know how
10 be in balance, we know how 10 let the spirit
flow within us. But as our feet became
removed from the Earth, our awareness skills
atr0phied: all the spiritual awareness, the
e,cpanded vision, the sensing of the movementS
of our animal and plant brothers. All those
sensing skills became atrophied.
When people go outside, even for a little
while, you hear them say how good they feel.
Well, it's that reconnection. But since it's so
unfamiliar, we have to help people define what
they're feeling and realize that it's good.
Sometimes people ask me if I'm "New
Age," and I tell them, "No, it's a very "old
age" thing we're doing. It's pan of us, we've
carried a club a lot longer than we've earned a
pen. We're toolmakers and craftspeople.
We're more comfortable with creating, sensing
and moving with the Ennh, than with anything
else.
Katuah: How does that deep
rccoMcction with nature unfold inside us?
What can we do to nurture it?
OT: We have to gradually recover our
inner sense of being comfonable with the
Earth. This may mean starting with small
periods of time when you can go outside and
be alone and listen. You begin to rune your
senses once again. You listen for sounds. you
smell whatever's in the air, you begin to look
with expanded vision. If you lie down on your
stomach and look at one six-inch square piece
of ground, you could fiU a notebook with all
the things you see.
There's a wonderful, mysterious place
right there in your back yard. Take your shoes
off. stand in the grass, then step away and look
at your foorprint. That's the beginning of
tracking: observation. Begin to observe what
comes in and out of your yard, what lives
there, what grows there. Begin to research all
the plants that grow there. Take longer periods
of time to be silent, breathe. and let the Earth
speak to you. Let the spirit that moves in all
things speak and move in you, and trust w~3;,,.
t
you begin to sense and feel.
fr
RcCrtaJion ~ritncts. an &mh skills and
a/llllltlMIII program, offas work.tlwps and training 10
1/rt public. PhcM (704) 252-8688 or writt to
RcCrearionuperitncrs:46 Wall S1ru1: Asheville NC
28801.
SummcY-, t99t
�,
I
ON AGGRESSION
In 1838 Andy Jackson said that we
should move aside for "civilized man,"
meaning white people with their plows,
schools, technology, etc.. I think about the
thing that happened in Iraq and I think about
the wars carried on by "civilized man," and the
way that we think about them. For instance.we
consider ourselves "civilized" because we don't
indiscriminately drop nuclear bombs on our
enemies. But at the same rime it's "civilized" 10
thre:1ten people with nuclear weapons by
havmg thousands of them
To me this says that one of the things we
haven't addressed is our own aggression.
Looking around today, 1 see that spunking m
dny-care centers has become an issue, and the
argument is brought up that "the reason that
there is so much crime. is because there is not
enough spanking."
. Now how could a child not grow up
bemg aggressive when adulL'i hit him because
they assume that his behavior cannot be
~~lied in any other way? Spanking and
h11ung (as well as neglect) by adults is what
causes wn.rs and criminality • not the tack of
those!
r recently witnessed white kids having a
fight. One was an 11 year old boy who was
pounding on a nine year old. The older boy's
father came out with a big leather strap and beat
the older kid for hitting the younger1>ne. That's
how aggression and wars are perpetuated.
We learn by example, all of us, adults
and children. ln raising kids, it isn't what one
says that is important; it's what one does. But
in thi~ cul~urc ki?s are expected 10 respond to
what ts s:nd, while the adults think that they
can do whatever the hell they want to. And they
don't realize that the children are learning from
wh~t they are doing, not from what they are
saying.
The way to communicate non-violence.
to say that there are other ways 10 solve our
human problems than to nuke our enemies or 10
go aftei them with high technology weapons •
is 10 live that kind of life.
After awhile, we're expected 10 notice
when we're doing something that doesn't
~ork. ,:tie v:iay we measure how well a policy
1s working 1s by the results ...and we're still
slaughtering ourselves wholesale.
The native people never thought that
spanking was the right approach 10 dealing
with children. To us spanking seemed barbaric
- it was a barbaric, savage thing that dominant
culture men did to their children.
The traditional family was different from
the fa!11ilies. of today. F~r.one thing, they were
more inclusive. In a tradiuonal family the old
people were respected. They were the
caretakt:r.;, the nunurers, and the teachers of
the children. They weren't meaningless lives
best stuck off in a faraway house 10 die.
Today we don't seem 10 have time to take
care of our children or our old people. We're
100 busy making money 10 survive or 10 get
ahead. We often leave the ca.re of our family
Su111111cr, 1991
(These n.re the words of a IJ'Dditiorol Cherokee medicine ~n.)
members 10 "professionals." But most of these
"professionals" arc people who arc hired off
the street to work a menial job for a minimum
w~~e. Or we i:elinquish the responsibility of
ra,s,ng our children 10 the school system. It
ends up that frustrated, underpaid,
Lower T/uuvkrlwle
under-respected people have the responsibility
for talcing care of our families.
In a traditional family, the children were
indulged - their every whim was met. But they
we~ also made 10 feel like they were pan of the
family and welcome 10 panicipate in family
ac~ivi.ties. This ~esulred in a different way of
1h1nkmg, what 1s called a "cultural bias."
People's identity was defined first by the
family, then by the tribe and by the clan.
Everybody, when we get hun. wants
sympathy and empathy. r can remember as a
small kid falling and crying, and somebody
picking me up, hugging me, and raking care of
me. I can rcmembt:r that. But as I got older the
grown-ups just stopped reacting like that. They
gradually had me become more responsible for
myself. That went on up through the pubeny
and moon lodge ceremonies.
As I got older, if I misbehaved, people
would simply walk away and act hun. White
people call this rejection, but I don't see it as
rejection at all. When as an adult, if someone
violated cultural customs, but in a way that was
not too serious, people might not talk with that
person for a week. That was a powerful
reprimand. The need 10 belong 10 the family
and clan groups was so strong, that it was a
motivating factor in modifying people's
behavior. The most serious punishment was 10
be ostracized from the tribe. That was worse
than death. If someone was ostracized from his
family or clan, there was probably a 90-95%
chance thnt person would commit suicide.
That's a cultural bias. That wouldn't
work in this culture. People don't have that
tribal sense now. Today it's every man for
himself.
Just about every one of the native tribes
recognized that the tram,ition from childhood 10
adulthood was a very imponant stage in a
person's. life and marked it by some son of
c_elebrrmon or pubeny ceremony: Pubeny is a
t1~1e w_hen young peopl~ are having a variety of
b1olog1~I change:. commg over them. and it's
also a urni: when they are staning 10 question
and doubt the thing:. that have been taught 10
them by the older people. This is called "the
~bellious stage" now. h is a time 10 question. a
umc to a.\k: "Is there a God?" "Is Grandpa full
of shit?"' - important mauers like that.
Instead of trying 10 hold that energy
down, or lock it up, or conrrol it, traditional
people would encourage the young ones to
search and 10 :;eek out answers for themselves.
!'I~. one said, "This is the only way that there
1s, because experience taught them that if there
was any truth or goodness or sohdriess 10 the
philosophy that the young people were raised
by, they would come back home after they
were allowed to question, to doub1, and 10
experiment for themselves.
I sure as hell did it, and the older l get,
the more I find myself acting like my
grandfather. Every once in awhile I look in the
mirror, and I think he's standing there. And
when I hear myself talking 10 my children, I
hear his voice. I've gone in a big circle in my
life. That circle went way, way out there, but
now it's come back around. But that's fairly
nonnal - that is, if there's any basis 10 the ideas
one was brought up with.
We also recognized that there was
aggression in human beings. The white people
have always thought that we had lots of wars
among ourselves. but I think that our ''wars"
were more like long-1enn, off-and-on feuds.
We certainly weren't without aggression, but
w~ ~!so didn't ~eep armies and build up
m1l11ary s1ockp1les. In warfare and in raising
children we were several thousand years more
advanced than the dominant culture of today.
Instead of putting all our energy into
designing new weapons and military hardware,
we sho_uld be 101e_lligcnt or civilized enough to
deal w11h the basic problems of our aggression,
our selfishness, our self-centeredness - not just
with the symptom.-..
We have 10 face the fact that aggression is
pan of us. It's pan of our t:rue name. Uut the
dominant culture doesn't really address that.
The present society substitutes "the big stick
theory" - since we expect other humans 10 be
aggressive, we create a big military to proteet
our wealth and our ideas. c-un·.~ on ne11 pa1e)
- · _,
)(,(ltimf, Journal pa<)C 17
-.
�(c:o111inucd from~ 17)
The Cherokee people recognized our
muuml aggression. They would arrange
stickball games. Somelimes lhey senlcd
disputes with u game of stickball. The word for
"ballgame" was the same as the word for
"war." People. ;ot hun playing stickball;
somelimes pooplc even got killed.
We certainly didn't solve the problems of
aggression, but we had ways 10 deal wich
them. Jn the Cherokee way of thinking, for
example, there was no concept for cowardice.
When we were having a baule 1,1,ith our
neighbors, maybe the Creeks or somebody
else, and we felt that we were losing too many
of our people, even though we might be
winning the conflict, we would just pack up
our weapons and go home. We acted like 1his
because life was sacred m us. The loss of too
many people was more than we could handle.
Indebtedness :ind revenge were parts of
our culture in which we were nor VCI)'
advanced. The basis of the clan justice svstcm
was retaliation. Everybody knew thal if ihey
tre:ued a member of :1no1her clan badly, they
were going to get their ass kicked by all the rest
of the clan. It made people think twice about
mistreating someone, but the clans had 10 kick
a lot of ass 10 uphold their reputations so the
system would keep functioning.
In clan maners we weren't as much a
tribe a.\ a confederation. If someone was killed
who wasn't kin or a clan member, other people
often were not too concerned. Some Cherokee
villages fought with the Creeks for years, while
at the same time other Cherokee villagl!s were
friends 10 the same Creeks. But revenge was a
powerful motivation.
However, there were restraims. The
nation had what they called "red villages" and
Aging...Changing
Asheville, May.
Jordan's jus1 now learned
how 10 replace a pacifier between tiny we1 lips
curled sweetly beneath May's sun
while the new leaves of wild strawberries
and blue-purple briars discover
how it is warm and sad and odd
beneath a cloudless Appalachian ceiling.
And down the pebbled road
I know through the inference
of tre~ crashing through irees
and the sorrowed, bloody thud of wood to earth
lha1 the firs lll'TOSs the ridge
arc just now learning, too:
seeing how the cones shake and drop
through lhe popping, cracking, fibrous wrenching
of hot, oily metal teeth.
The blue twist of two-cycle oil breath
dissipa1es, quite satisfied, up and away
through a canopy of needles,
waiting in the silence of death
for the imminent drying.
The bridge has tumbled into the deep.
Below the sloshing, muddy torrents
!here are creatures calm and curious,
monsters bloated, white, and wide-eyed,
and between them somewhere in the murky stew
an understanding odd and unspoken.
Finned ~a1urcs stare at rare monsters queerly,
wondenng what purpose they've come to !,C!Ve,
To reclaim appliances, furniture, tires, boulcs, and else?
To 1emp1 with wonn, jig, or spinner?
Or perhaps only 10 say "l have driven submerged".
The monsters stare back, but do not see or question
• though lips are poised for speech.
Hair standing on end pointing downstream, body
slowly swaying, stiffening.
Above, quiet whispers of drizzle
beckon the sun's fading 10 hurry. And upstream
muddy banks doued with the living who stand among
red and yellow and blue s1r0bes, dizzy, pointing
downstream, are disappearing in the rising.
The living Stare also, blindly
into swirling eddies of death.
"w hi1e villages." Generali v it broke down th111
the aggressive people lived in the red villages,
and the non-aggressive people lived in the
white villa~es.
The "Beloved Woman" was another
built•in check within the syMcm. If everybody
got all excited about something 1he Creeks had
done and wanted to go make war right away, a
Beloved Woman could say, "Listen, there's not
going to be any warfare," and 1here wouldn't
be any warfare. We had cenain checks and
balances that developed through the centuries. I
don't know if it was ever consciously though I
out, but it fit in witb our cultural biases.
How the clan system of justice would
have developed in the future if it had not been
contaminated by an influence as strong as
western cuhure, J really don't know.
Poems by James Proffitt
Ancient, crude magnificence
evolving from distant overtones
to immediate, restless anger
low and .still and brittle.
Cracking pop splitting
flash of flashes
and flutter of an in splinters
sweet pine mood rain pouring hail
and sulphurous love of electric
kissing a nameless fir
clenched to the crest
of a trillion ton stone.
This is the beginning.
What if old age is a healing crisis? - the
harder old age is, the more healing is needed,
As we get closer 10 Spirit, we cleanse naturally.
Old unhelathy habits of body and mind come 10
the surface - we're more sensitive - more
unable 10 abuse ourselves without instant
repercussions.
~hat_ if we looked at aging as prosperity?
Prospcnty IS abundance. The more we have of
something, the more prosperous we arc. With
age our numbers build like money in lhe bank experience - wisdom - value.
When we age, we slow down so we can
notice more. We learn how 10 conserve our
energy, so that we can better become involved
in olher realms besides the physical.
Our culture has taught us that old age
often means sickness. Bu, these sicknesses are
probably only the accumulations of lifelong
habits that harden us when we do not face
issues and feelings in relation to ourselves and
olhers...When we are not willing 10 change.
The word change has age in iL It also bas
can. lf we can stay open and make the changes
we need to as we go along, the healing crisis
needn't be so hard. Don·, let lhc healing pile up
until 1he end. Ligh1en up your load. Count your
blessings and your years - and when you reach
I 00, it could be like collecting interest on a life
well invested.
• C Redmage
Rcprint.cd from !he Floyd ReSl)urce Cooperative
Muulrller; Bo~ 81: Floyd. VA 24091
A bear's nose quivers fur pointing
that way, buck's ears and tail twitching
water hissing steaming up and away
from charred wood
echo of a fading, wordless language.
Later earth whispers beneath a sagging
canopy wrecked foliage
heaving and sucking
expelling long ceremonious sighs
having wealhered one more
and only rhe foamy brown rnge
of a river below and subtle, renewed
spirit in flora to show.
D,_,,,, by f1t1 Graef,:
Xati«lfl Joumat pnge 18
(from IN CllMrttc Ught on tho Wind. .K~ p.
JO}
Summer. 1991
�SACRED FORESTS:
Recommended Guide to Old Growth Stn11ds
Green Spirits, our generous plant allies.
gifl animal-kind with food, medicine, and
counsel. While all animals consume 1he fiber
and flesh of plants, few seek out the counsel
and cures offered by plants.
My favorite way to immerse my soul with
plant and eanh energies is by entering and
communing with the old growth forests. I
prefer the 1enn "old growth forest" over the
romantic misnomers "virgin forest" or
"wilderness," which only exist in the minds of
civilizations which have left the forest. Old
growth forests are defined by many criteria, the
most obvious of which are: the relative freedom
of disturbance by humans; the presence of large
trees and an uneven canopy structure; an
abundant fungal component; and the presence
of logs in alJ stages of decay.
I gain reverence by day-hiking into these
wooden-cities of forest inhabitants, where I
temporarily become a citizen of these woods.
But the greatest spiritunl sensitivity'comes to
ptc after $pending three or more days in the
fores1s. Gradually. one becomes more "in
tune" to the subtle rhythms and energies of a
truly balanced ecosystem. Words poorly
describe this personal experience; I can only
encourage readers to directly visit and
experience these green energies first hand and
with open heans. One should enter the forest
with a sense of reverence and should "leave
nothing but footprints ... "
Katuah's Green Spirits are best felt and
embraced within the old(cr) growth forests,
especially within the protected areas of the
region's largest preserve, the Great Smoky
Mountains National Park (hereafter called "the
Smokies"). Detailed trail maps of the Smokies
can be purchased at any of the visitor centers in
the Park, or can be obtained by mail from the
Great Smoky Mountain Na1urnl History
Association (Grea1 Smoky Mountnins Trail
Map- GSMNHA; Rt. 2, Box 572-B;
Gatlinburg, TN 37738. $1.00 postpaid).
More detailed trail infonnation can be ob1ained
from the Sierra Club's Hiker's Guide to the
Smokies (Mur!less and Stallings), available at
libraries and bookstores.
Day-hiking is unrestricted in the Smokies:
however, you will need a free backcountry use
pcnnit (available from rangers and at several
self-service Backcountry Reservation Stations)
for any over-night stays in the backcountry.
Several of the backcountry camp~ites arc
extensively used and require advanced phone
reservations.
My favorite places 10 eicperience the
communities of forest beings have occurred
along the following hiking trails in the
Smokies:
(I} The Gabe Mountain Trail follows the
lower slopes of the main ridge crest between
Cosby and Greenbrier, Tennessee. East of
HenwaJJow f-nlls, the trail travels through
se_veral miles of undiscurbed original forest,
with _an exceptional diversity of plant and fungi
species of enormous age and siz~. There is a
Sunmier, 1991
beautiful backcountry campsite (#34- Sugar
Cove) located in 1he middle of this forest. This
trail offers easy access 10 some of the best
woodlands in the Smokies.
Joye~ Ki/~r M~morial Forest
(2) A few miles awny by trail is the
preserved Albrigh1 Grove, a small section of
prehi~toric forest, named after a former director
of the National Park Service. The trailhead is
locared on a short side-road behind the
Jellystone Park Campground on US 321
between Gatlinburg and Cosby. fn the grove
one may experience the immense presence of
several HUGE tulip poplars ("the Behemoths")
and record-sized understory trees and ferns.
These trees are friendly 10 u-ce-huggcn..
(3) A few stream drainages west of
Albright Grove is the Ramsey Cascades Trail,
an eight mile round trip day-hike. This tmil
leads through mature forests, but with a more
limited number of the exceplionally HUGE
trees. This is a m<X.lerately difficult hike due to
the distance and steady climb (a 1600 foot
elevation gain in four miles).
(4) One of my favorite trails is the
Boogerman Trail in Cataloochec Valley, located
off rnterstate 40 at the nonheastem end of the
Park. This relatively easy. seven mile round
trip trail leads the hiker through magnificent
trees of record-sized hemlock, oak, hickory,
and poplar trces ...rcalJy fine trees to hug!
CataJoochec Valley contains several additional
pockets of relatively undisturbed forest,
including (along the Big Poplar Trail) the
largest tulip poplars in the Park, each with a
trunk diameter of six to eight feet.
(5) A few trail miles west ofCataloochcc
Valley is the high elevation "perched valley" of
the headwater:. of Raven Fork. This is the
valley of the Cherokee Indian legend of
''Yona-unatawasiti'yi'' ("where the bears
wash"), a mythical purple pool where wounded
bears are healed .
Loc:ued adjacent to the Cherokee Indian
Reservation at Cherokee, NC, the headwaters
of Raven Fork nrc considered the most isolated
and rugged valley in the Park. No maintained
tmils lead through this area, bu1 the ridge above
it can be reached by hiking the Beech Gap Trail
from Roundbouom parking area, nonh of the
Cherokee Trout Hatchery. At the head of this
trail is the McGee Springs Campsite (#44),
from which a very primitive man-way leads
along Breakneck Ridge and then descends
through thick rh<X.lodendron and laurel to the
rushing creek. The forest around the campsite
is composed of huge spruce and oak trees. A
second and more frcquemly used campsite,
Enloe Creek Campsite (#47), is located
alongside an especially beautiful section of
Raven Fork
(6) Small, relatively undisturbed
"pockets" of the original forest, remain along
the eictreme headwaters of the many southern
streams which drain down from the ridgecrest
along the Tennessee and Nonh Carolina border
in the Smokies. Most of these watersheds were
heavily logged in the 1920-30's, but the
uppermost re.1ches of these valleys contain
magnificent forests. One of the more easily
accessible headwaters is that of Deep Creek.
This trail-head is located a1 a small parking :irea
on RL 441 about a mile south of Newfound
Gap in the center of the Park, TI,e trail drop:.
steeply into the impressive forest with its many
streams and beautiful trees. The tr.iii should be
followed for at least 1wo miles. Better yet is 10
walk the four miles to the campsite at Poke
Patch (#53).
(7) Another exceptional woodland in the
Smokies is found at the beginning of the lower
section of the Gregory Bald Trail. This
trailhead begins 01 1he start of the one-way
Parson Branch Road, leading out of Cades
Cove, TN. The two mile hike to 1he Forge
Creek Campsite (#12) leads beneath an
exceptional tree canopy. Continuing up to the
crest of the ridge (about a 2600 foot rise in
elevation), the hiker will reach the grassy
Gregory Bald, another Cherokee mythical siie.
"Tsisrn'yi'' ("the Rabbit place"}. Herc the '
rabbics had their townhouse, ruled by their
chief Rabbit. who was as large as a deer. This
open and grassy mounca.in bald is exceptionally
beautiful in mid-June when the native name
azaleas bloom in blinding red-to-orange colors.
1hls listing of exceptional forests in the
Smokies (and 1'm not telling all my secrets!) is
intended as a guide for personal pilgrimages
into some of the last old growth forest
remnants remaining in K.atuah Province. Go to
these places. and scclc the counsel and wisdom
of plant spirits there • you will gain greater
respect for even the simplest Green Spirits.
•
/
by Lee Barnes
Xatuaf1 Journal pngc I 9
�-
OFF THE GRID
When we 1alk about hydropower we are
really talking about mpping into the primary
power of the eanh... gravity. Water itself has
no power, it has mass. The power is due to the
force'of gravity acting upon the mass of water
and creating an energy flow,
The energy flow represented by flowing
water is naturally regenerative (as are all natural
cycles}. due to the sun's input. Star energy
evaporates water, allowing the wind to carry it ,
back to the top of the hill.
Organisms have been using flowing
water to help them do the things they need to
do, ever since water first flowed; whether it be
the micro-organism that needs it to bring food
within its reach, or the person floating
downstream in n hollowed-out log.
Up here in my neck-of-the-woods, the
Blowing Rock, people have been using the
many swift and swollen streams to U11nsport
themselves for, I imagine, IOOO's of years
(though now we just call it spon).
More recently, the people of this area
took to pu11ing large wheels in the path of a
stream's flow in order to change i1i. linear
energy in\Q circular mQtion.
At first, this 100k the shape of giant water
wheels running grist and lumber mills at places
like Cove Creek, Valley Crucis, and near
Beech Mountain on Beech Creek Road. In
fact, the Winebarger mill in Meat Camp is still
operational and the giant wheel (over three
stories high) that once powered the lumber mill
on Beech Creek Road is sull turning, though in
a different stream...
The first thing you notice when you enter
Edith and Ray Estes' small piece of land tucked
into a holler along Howard's Creek, is that
giant wheel turning slowly and inexorably like
some giant fenis wheel from a perpetual fair.
Along its circumference, every foot or so.
is a metal slat which caplllrCs a stream of water
directed to the top of the wheel from
somewhere higher up the holler, making the
wheel fall with ics weight over and over again.
Ray, who has been active for 83 years.
once used the wheel's spinning motion 10 spin
a 12 kilowa11 (kw) generator. Since then he
ha.~ scaled down his operation and uses a
smaller wheel nexr 10 his house 10 generate
electricity, but rhc big wheel still turns 10
generate memories of the pasL
Ray's use of the big ol' lumber mill
wheel to gcnerarc electricity, illustrates a very
recent use for hydropower which mos, people
associate with the term, electricity generation.
By virtue of its elevation a stream
contains potential energy. hs rate of flow is a
measure of this potcnrial being realized. We
can use these two simple truths to calcul:ue 1he
potential power of any stream:
P=HxQ
Xnti1<1h Jou rno t pngc 20
Which says that the power (P) of a stream
of water is equal to the height (Hor head) from
which it is falling multiplied by the speed (Q) at
which it falls.
The electricians among us may recognize
the similarity between this equation and the
basic power relation of electricity:
P= EX I
where P is power in waus, E is
electromotive force in volts, and I is current
flow in amps. According to More Orher
Homes and Garbage, the power of a stream can
be expressed in waus by dividing the product
of the flow in cubic feet per second and the
head in feet by 0.0118. This gives the potential
maximum power. How close one can get 10
that figure is a function of how efficiently one's
electrical power generating system translates
the linear motion of the stream to the circular
motion of the generator.
Before 1930, Boone got a lot of its
clccuical power from a hydroplant off the
Blowing Rock Ro:id on the South Fork or the
New River. The dam for thtlt system still
smnds.
Another large hydrosys1em in the area
still operates. The dam for this system which
crosses the breadth of the Watauga river
(ma.king it unnavigable at that point, which
would not be allowed today), was originally
built in 1890 out of hemlock logs, and the
stored power was used to grind com and
wheat. In 1905, Ben 0. Ward built a sawmill
which still stands, though in a state of long
disuse. In 1934 a larger dam was built and
Ward began to generate electricity. He received
a power franchise from the state und supplied
12 to 15 homes with electricity through a 35
kw synchronous generator.
The famous flood of 1940 wiped out the
plant (and just about everything else up here),
and before it could be rebuilt the Rural
Electrical Association (REA) moved in and
divided the countryside into regions within
which only one company could have a
franchise. fn this area that was BREMCO
(Blue Ridge Electric Membership Co-op).
Now, anyone generating power for more than
personal use must sell it 10 BREMCO, they
cannot sell it dircclly to their neighbors.
Currently, the si1e begun by Ben Ward is
maintained by his son Rick. It consists of two
3-phasc induction motors, one 100 hp and the
other 125. It is a 69 kw plant with a head of 16
feet forcing a flow which often exceeds 20,000
gallons per minute through the two giant
vertical turbines. Mr. Ward produces 50,000
kwh per month which he sells to BREMCO at
$0.03/kwh, so he makes about $1500 per
month from his hydropower.
Ward's system is an example of a
low-head, high-flow system. This area,
however, also contains a good working
example of a high-head, low-flow system. It
dams a small creek high arop the hill ii falls
down. Water is channeled from this dam down
1680 feet of eight inch diameter drainage pipe
(obtained 31 $2.08/ft from leftovers 31 the oon
to the generator 168 feet below the head of the
dam. A flow of 1200 gallons per minute spins
a vertical pelton wheel at 300 rpm, which is
geared down to spin a 18 kw 3-phasc induction
motor.
Like Ward's, this generator is induced by
the power company, which means BREMCO
supplies the power to the electromagnet within
the generator. Thi~ makes 11 unnecessary for
the person who is generating the power to have
a lot of expensive synchronizing and voltage
protection equipment. But it also means when
BREMCO goes down. so do they. Not exactly
off the grid. but they could be.
This micro-hydro system could generate
almost 13,000 kwh per month, enough to
provide up to 15 normal homes (energy hogs)
with electricity. The resuiction on selling
power to others could possibly be
circumvented by buying land cooperatively, or
having all the service homes on a single piece
of propeny owned by the power generator.
This is the situation which exists on Ray
and Edith Estes' estate. Resembling more a
riverboat than a house, the Estes' home is
tucked away high up in the holler alongside the
stream. From there it overlooks a little
community of homes and cabins which they
rent at very reasonable prices.
Ray built a dam across the little stream
which runs by his house, and created a small
pond above his house, teeming wi1h fish and a
family of ducks. He channels some of the
water from the pond to a srt13ll tmditional
wooden waterwheel which sits right next to his
house. adding even more 10 the illusion of a
riverboat as it slowly spins in the stream. Its
speed of six rpm's turns a giant flywheel which
is attached 10 the shaft of a generator by a
•
leather strap. The 5 kw, l lO V generator is
bolled to a workbench in the small wheelhouse
Ray built next 10 the waterwheel. Currently he
uses the power 10 nm his outside ligh1s, twenty
to thirty I00 wan light bulbs. During the day
when no lights are needed but a load is needed
to prevent the DC generator from burning up,
Ray uses the power to heat his hot water.
Ray's got a lot of hot water.
Ray's system is the best example of a
low-tech system which most anyone with a
little spunk could build. No exorbitantly
expensive turbine, pelton wheel, or piping is
required, and il's graceful.
Though I think Ray's dam and resulting
pond are beautiful, some people (not beavers)
object to micro-hydro systems because the
·dams destroy the stream's ecology. At the
developing Center for Ecological Living
(CEL). which would be Katuah's newest site
for investigation into self-sufficient community
lifestyles, Rob Messick. curator and local
genius, has devised a water delivery system
which is unobtrusive to the stream. I le placed
a preformed concrete culven, in which he had
driven a two inch hole and a couple of small
feed holes, i 010 the center of the small but
powerful ~tream which flows through the CEL.
A two inch nexible black plastic pipe runs out
of the two inch hole 250 feet to the pond which
sits beside the stream. The flow from the pipe
is about 45 gallons/minute, which could be
quadrupled by doubling the size of the pipe.
Besides using this hydropower to fill the
pond, it might be possible to generate electricity
as the water enters the pond. Hopefully, we
will repon more on this in future OFF Tl IE
GRTD columns.
Anyone interested at an in-depth look at
one person's small 7 kw hydrosystem should
refer to Katuah #4, the WATER issue. on page
11. If you don't have it, order a back copy.
There are still a few left.
If anyone out there i,; running a small
h)•drosystem, send in a description and w/''ll
print it in this space.
'
Big wheel keep on turning ...
Jim IJouser
S111mm.·r, 1Q91
�"I'M YOUR PUPPET"
NIIUn.l World News Service
ECOTAGE
The Cullasaja controve~ continues (see
Na1ural World News Ser-ice
Ka11wh Journal #30). At issue are plans for a
A series of inc1den1s in Katuah's national
forests is leading some fores1 officials and law
cnforcemem agencies to suspect 1ha1 there are
local activis1s commi1ting acts of "ecotage,"
damage to equipment that is damaging natural
environments.
On March 27, Leonard Cook of Cook
Bro1hcrs Lumber Company in Franklin
reported that spikes embedded in logs from the
Paroidge Ridge timber sale near the Namahala
Community in Macon County had caused over
$1000 worth of damage to his sawmiU.
Less than one month later T & S
Hardwoods of Sylva, Nonh Carolina reported
damage to logging equipment in the Avery
Creek area of the Pisgah National Forest.
Thomas Stanley, mill manager for the
company, reported on April 5 that dirt had been
added to the fuel tanks of the machines.
Stanley, whose company was also the target of
a spiking incident last March, does no1 believe
that April's incident was nn act of ecotage: "To
me, it looks more like vandalism than someone
trying to make a statement."
Pisgah District Ranger Art Rowe
disagrees. He considers the act "environmental
terrorism." The area where the equipment
damage occurred is located three miles behind n
locked gate, and Rowe said, "That's a long
way for somebody to go back into an area just
to commit casual vandalism," he said.
Rowe wonders if the possible ecotage is
in any way connected to an incident two weeks
earlier in the North MUls River area of
Henderson County, in which an un-named
group of people blocked a Jogging truck for
nearly three hours as it was attempting to leave
a logging site.
SAVING WATERSHEDS
Natural Wotld News Service
Two special places may possibly be
slated for federal acquisition this year. Work
continues to protect the Chattooga River, and
two tracts arc currently available for purchase.
$2.2 million is also being sought to buy 1,860
acres on the Horsepasture River. The
Horsepasture is designated a Wild and Scenic
River and efforts continue to guarantee
permanent protection of that status.
The Congressional Land and Water
Conservation Fund directs a portion of
government receipts from offshore oil drilling
and other resource depleting activities imo land
preservation. Write your Congressional
representatives about malcing these important
watershed acquisitions through the Land and
Water Conservation Fund.
Senators
US Senate
Washingion, DC 20S10
SAY NO TO PLUTONIUM
Nawn! World News Sctvice
The US government's Rocky Aats
plutonium processing operations near Denver,
Colorado are being shut down because of
plutonium contamination to the surrounding
area. Rocky Aats is looking for a home, and
the government would like to move the facility
either to the Pantex nuclear weapons assembly
plant near Amarillo, Texas or 10 Oak Ridge,
Tennessee.
Presently the Rocky Flats plant
reprocesses plutonium so that it can be re-used
in nuclear warheads and builds plutonium
•pits" which are used as a triggering method
inside the warhead. Plutonium has been
released into the soil, wr, and water of the
plant's surrounding environment. Studies by
Dr. Carl Johnson, health officer of Jefferson
County, Colorado, showed that people living
near the Rocky Flats plant had increased risks
of childhood leukemia, brain tumors, skin
cancer, and lung cancer.
Moving the operation to Karuah's
western slope would mean severn.l billions of
dollars in construction work on new
processing facilities and thousands of jobs,
Summer-, 1991
Rcprcsenlntive
US House of Reprcscntat.ives
WashinglOl'I, DC 205 IS
considerations that have the Oak Ridge city
government drooling. The town has already
signed an agreement - before even looking at
the operation plans! - that offers the Dcpanment
of Energy (DOE) 5,000 acres of free land and a
guarantee of five million gallons of water per
day if the agency would locate their supcrplant
in Tennessee.
The Rocky Flats faciliry would also bring
large amounts of plutonium, one of the
deadliest substances unleashed on the planet •
an clement so volatile that it instantly bursts
into flame on comipg into contact with oxygen;
a substance so concentrated that it requires only
ten pounds to make an atomic warhead.
Handling plutonium results in plutonium
waste that has a half-life of24,000 years and
which, as it decays, creates americium. that
gives off bone-penetrating radioactive gamma
rays. his impossible to safely handle or
pennanently contain plutonium waste, and
when it seeps or vaporizes into the environment
it collects in living tissue. causing degenerative
disease and genetic mutation.
The announcement about the Rocky Flats
move was contained in a DOE repon titled 'i'hc
Reconfiguration of the Nuclear Weapons
Complex," which outlines plans to carry
$5 million sewage treatment plant proposed by
the town of Highlands in Macon County,
North Carolina that would dump one-half
million gallons of treated effiucm per day into
tl1c Cullasaja River.
The NC Department of Environmental
Management (DEM), although ii was aware of
the controversy and has been presented wi1h
pmple evidence of the potential impacis of the
proposed treatment plant, signed a permit for
the facility in April, 1991 without even
requiring an environmental assessment for the
project.
The action set off a storm of protest. Save
Our Rivers, Inc., the Macon County Citizens'
group organized on behalf of the Cullasaja,
filed a lawsuit in civil court to require that the
state prepare an environmental assessment of
the treanncnt plant proposal. The US Fish and
Wildlife Service. the NC Wildlife Resources
Commission, and the Clean Water Fund of
North Carolina all immediately made public
objections to the plant. Senator Terry Sanford
sent a letter to the DEM asking for an
environmental assessment. Even North
Carolina Attorney General Lacey Thornburg,
who used to fish in the Cullasaja, sent a letter
of protest stating that an environmental
document should have been prepared before the
pennit was issued.
The DEM has turned a deaf car to the
uproar. Green LiM newspaper quoted DEM
Public Information Officer Debbie Crane as
saying, "We haven't heard any real
concems...Jt's just mass hysteria." Another
DEM spokesperson, Don Fullmer, said, ~we
applaud what the town of Highlands is doing."
Highlands is an upscale retreat for the
rich and powcnul - people who are used to
getting what they want. Apparently the
tentacles of their influence reach a long way all the way to Raleigh.
nuclear weapons production into the
1wcnry-first century. The report offers three
alternatives for future plutonium p.rocessing:
move Rocky FlatS to the Pan1ex site, to Oak
Ridge, or 10 close all the existing operations
and move them to a different (as yet
unspecified) location. The logical alternative,
to shut down plutonium production entirely, is
not offered as an option by the DOE. It is up to
the public to bring that alternative to the the
attention of the agency.
There will be public hearings on the DOE
report and the plans to move the Rocky Flats
opera.lion this summer. Hearings for this region
will be held in the Pollan! Auditorium on the
campus of the Oak Ridge Associated
Universities in the town of Oak Ridge on
August 28 starting at 9:00 am. The Oak Ridge
Environmental and Peace Alliance (OREPA) is
calling on all concerned people to participate in
the hearings, OREPA organizer Ralph
Hutchison emphasizes the importance of the
hearings for the whole region, saying, "If you
can only come to Oak Ridge once in your life.
come on August 28!"
For more ii,formaJion on the DOE:J plans and
the Rocl:y Flats move, call OREPA 01 (615) 524-4771.
Xoti1oft Journal P"'JG 21
�CHEOAH SET'l LED?
~OT QUITE!
BIG TOM'S LEGACY
Naruru World New. Scn-i«
NillW'lll World Ne,., Sena
The US Forest Service (USFS) and
several influential environmenml groups
reached agreement March 4, 1991 on 1enns to
senle an appeal of two disputed timber sales in
the Cheoah Bald area, the largest unpro1ec1ed
roadless area in rhe Pisgah and Nnntahala
National Forests. Under the terms of the
se1tlemcn1, the USFS will forego a one-half
mile pennanenr road into the Cheoah area and
will scale back the Wesser timber sale by
dropping one cutting unit which would have
required the road for access. In return, Lark
Hayes of lhe Southern Environmenml Law
Center agreed on behalf of The Wilderness
Society, the Sierra Club, the NC Wildlife
Federation, and ~e Elisha Mitchell Chapter of
the Audobon Society 10 drop the coalition's
appeal of the USFS timber sales.
Two other appeals of the controversial
timber sales had already been turned down by
the U~FS. One was by timber industry
lobbying groups demanding a higher timber
vol~, and ~e other was filed by SoulhPAW,
a regional environmental group advocaring 1ha1
the _Southern Appalachian national foresLS be
designated a roadless "evolutionary preserve"
for the benefit of habitat. The SouthPAW
appeal was refiled again at the regional and
national levels and wa.~ rejected at every stage.
Apparently the USFS did not lake kindly 10 the
group's suggestion that the Cheoah Bald area
be returned 10 pre-RARE n conditions.
This dates back to early 1983, when the
Chcoah area was a 21,000 acre roadless area,
under study as pan of the Roadlcss Area
Review a!1d Evaluation (RARE IT) program.
But later m 1ha1 year Chcoah was removed
from RARE It consideration, and the Forest
Service began a road-building orgy that within
only a few yC3I'S reduced 1he roadless
component to 7.000 acres, one-third of its
previous size. SouthPAW would have the
Cheoah roadless area returned 10 ils original
condition.
Peter Kirby of the sourheasrem regional
office of The Wilderness Society hailed the
apP?I senlement as a victory. "As well as
halung roadbuilding into this crucial roadless
area, by recognizing the importance of
protecting the roadlcss resource. the agreement
SCI a precedent that will be most useful in the
course of the upcoming land use and
management plan revisions," he said.
"
SouthP~W activist Rodney Webb said.
For s~ch an 1m~rtan1 ~abi_tat area._the only
eco_log1cally fea.~1ble pohcy LS very simple:
obhterare, revegcuuc - obliterate the roads and
allow them 10 be recovered by the natural
vegeuuion."
'This area is just across Fontana Lake
from the Great Smoky Mountains National
Parle. fl is 3:11 important stepping s1one by
which species can migrate from the parlc into
the southern reaches of the Nnn1ahala National
ForesL If we lei them, the Forest Service will
chop Oicoah up and carry it away in liule
pieces. We can't let that happen. We won't
forsake Chcoah. Whatever it takes - a lawsuit
in civil court, direct action whatever - we will
defend it as long as we~ able."
To cc111ac1So1111t n,w, writt to: Box J/4/; Askvillt.
NC288(}2.
Xatuah
Journot
~ 22
Big Tom Wilson was a legendary hunter
who roamed the Black Mountains during the
laie 1800's. He knew those mountains and ir
is said 1h01 he loved them well
'
In April, 1991, Wilson family
descendants gathered nnd donated a
conservation easement on 1800 acres or family
land that had been passed down intact since Big
Tom's day. The easement does not transfer
owne~hip of the property, but ensures that the
propeny will never be developed. The area will
hereafter be protected as the Big Tom Wilson
Preserve.
The event marked an important step in
maintaining unbroken hnbirar in the Black
Mountains, because the Wilson property makes
a strategic linkage between Mount Mitchell
Srate Parle 10 the east and 1he Big Butt area of
the Pisgah National Forest 10 the wesr. To the
south lies the Blue Ridge Parkway and the
Asheville Watershed area.
The easement was done under the
auspices of the American Farmland Trust. a
non-profit organization dedicated to protecling
farmlan~ from encroaching developmen1. It
was earned out at the request of the Cane River
Club, which is presently administering the land
for the Wilson family members.
team from Atlanta that invcsug;ired the incident.
"It's an ~xpcnsive joke, if that's what ii is. It's
pretty s1ck..,1oi.illy uresponsible." According
to 11u1hontie:,, fin11I costs of rhe hoax ran into
rhe thousands of dollars.
On May 8 an anonymous leuer received
by the Asltevil/e Cimen-Times signed only
"The Black f-1:ig'' rook responsibility for rhe
hoax, saying it was "executed in hopes of
illiciting (sic) p_u~l!c attention 10 the deadly
1hrea1 and poss1b1hty of nn actual toxic was1e
spill," FBI Agent E.K. Miller said he would
refer the lcuer 10 the FBl's agent in Charloue
that specializes in environmental mauers.
.
The n1:tion may have been expensive, bur
~1 was not fnvolous. According to the May
issue of Green Une. an independent
green-oriented paper in Asheville. a survey
conducted by the NC Division of Motor
Vchicles from December 1990 10 February
19~ I foun~ char 22% of rhe trucks stopping at
weigh srauons along 1-26 and 1-40 were
carrying radioactive waste. In addition, there is
a _re_ar th~t President Bush's five-year, $105
bilhon highway plan, inrended to facilitnte the
shipment of defense goods, will result in a
markedincrcasein1heamoun1ofhazardous
and radioactive waste being transported.
LET'S NOT LOSE LOST COVE
Narunal World Ne"'-. Service
. . . . -RADIOACTIVITY ALERT!
N.tunal World New, Service
Ar 5:00 nm on April 22. authorities
discovered what appeared to be the af1erma1h of
a hit-and-run accident near the junction of 1-26
and 1 near Asheville, NC.
-40
But this was no ordinary accident. At the
scene were four metnl bam:ls labelled
"radioactive" and a shanered wooden pallet. it
appeared ';h:11 the_ ~Is had spilled from a
ITUCk hauling rad1oact1ve materials. and the
Stnre Highway patrol immediately closed one
lane o_f traffic and ~gan 10 call in experu from
five d1ffcren1 agencies 10 look into the incident.
Investigators using Geiger counters
de1ennined thar the barreb did not, in fact
contain any radioactive substnnces and the
a~lhorities began 10 suspect thar th~ whole
thing was an Eanh Day hoax 10 call ancnrion 10
the dangers of mdioactivc waste transpon. "h
looks 10 be a set up." said Dora Ann Danner
coordinator of a US EPA emergency rcspo~
[)(.-ep in the nonhern Pisgah National
Porest lie the lands known as Lost Cove and
Harper Creek. Accessible only by graveled
Forest SCJVice roads, this area just south of
Grandmother and Grandfather Mountains
provides vital habitnt for a great number of
plant and animal species. The area is also
blessed with many scenic waterfalls and troll!
su-eams, along with an extensive network of
trails.
Curcntly the land is ser aside as a
Wilderness Study Area, and the US Forest
Service has recommended both areas for
wilderness d~ignntion. The proposed Western
Nonh Carolina Wilderness Prorecrion Act of
1991 (IIR 35) would protect 13.000 acres of
this land from industrial pressures.
The bill passed the House or
Rcpresenracives last year, but no action was
taken by the Senate before adjournment, and
the bill died. Cass Bnllengcr. a Republican
representing the 10th Congres.~ional District,
brought the bill back 10 life this January, and
the proposal has broad suppon in his home
disrricL
In the l Ith Con.,.... · . 11
r
west anothl'r 1-··:HE pRESSES, f{ep. faylo d
R,-.-- SfOP 1
press, .. propose
\\\ went 10. ding tus . 111a1idS
t<,.atu\\\'I 1011m was resc1'.1 ,, i11 ihe J·h& •n rhe
As ' ti 11ta1 he "h)'~tena , Jogging 1
aw\01ince . bill d11e ro ·s1bililY o,
i(derrieS)
the? pos
~· would
w_ trict ob0141
~-crtlow Creek
dis rf!oW area,
.• .,u'CI areas from srudy as
ove
•v wilderness areas.
Wr,u you.r rt'prtst'ntomve cto US I/oust of
Rtprtuntotil't!S, ll'o.shington, DC 20$/j.
(oontinuecl on J>ll:C 2S)
Summer, 1991
�Natural World News
I,
SPECIAL REPORT
..
by Emmett Greendigger
Once again, Bjorn Dahl, Lhe US Forest
Service's national forests supervisor for Nonh
Carolina is the focus of public outcry. This
time, Lhough, it's not jus1 a passle of forest
1eformers presenting a petition, or a couple of
renegade "Rescue Rangers" chaining
themselves to his office door, or a group of
activistS protesting ever-increasing
roadbuilding and timber harvesting levels on
the national fores1s. This time, Dahl is at the
center of "a scandal of the first magnitude."
The issue is the protection of threatened and
endangered species, and this spring Dahl has
attracted nationwide attention to the willful
neglec1 of his agency's threatened and
endangered species programs and to his
disregard for good science and professional
ethics.
This time, Dahl has enraged
environmentalistS, scientists, and 1he general
public by firing bo1anist Karin Heiman and by
causing the dismissal of Chuck Roe, director of
Lhe Nonh Carolina Natural Heritage Program, a
"(This) brings into serious question
the ability of the Forest Service to assess
the effects of timber management
programs on federally and state-listed
threatened and endangered plant
species." - Chuck Roe
state agency that works with other agencies and
the general public to identify and protect rare
plants. Heiman, the firs1 full-time botanist
hired to work in Lhe Nantahala-Pisgah National
Forests, was fired on March 1, af1er onJy nine
months on the job and only four months after
receiving a "superior" performance rating from
the agency.
When Roe learned of Ileiman's firing, he
tried for two weeks to express his concern to
Heiman's immedia1e supervisor, national forest
biologist Lauren Hillman. When these effortS
failed. Roe, who was very familiar with
Heiman's stellar work as a field botanist
surveying for threatened and endangered plant
species. wrote a letter on March 14 to Bjorn
Dahl expressing fear that "the dismissaJ of your
staff botanist at the stnn of the 1991 field
season brings into serious question the ability
of the Forest Service to assess the effectS of
timber management programs on federally and
state-liSted threatened and endangered plant
species."
On March 22, Dahl wrote to Roe's boss,
Dr. Philip McKnelly, Director of the NC
Division of Parks and Recreation, stating that
he was "di'imayed to receive the letter from
(Roe) expressing so much interes1 in and thinly
veiled threats over the dismissal of Karin
Heiman." Even a cursory reading of Roe's
leneneveals not "threats" but professkmaJ
Summer-, 1991
"Just Doing Their Job"
concern about the future of threatened and
endangered plant species in the national forests.
Despite that, Roe, who had 14 years of
experience with the Natural Heritage Program,
was immediately fired for "violating agency
procedures" and the "chain of command."
Directly, red flags went up in the
environmental and scientific communities in the
Southeast. At an April 2 press conference in
Asheville to publicize the firings, Bill Thomas
of the Sierra Club said, 'The credibility of the
Forest Service has slid right down around its
ankles." Mary Kelly, Coordinator of the WNC
Alliance (WNCA), said that the firings had
caused a "rapid, unfortunate, unnecessary, and
drastic deterioration in trust and relationships"
between the Forest Service and 01her agencies
and groups working on forest issues.
Scientis1s and aclivists had been
especially pleased when, after much pressure,
the Forest Service announced in June,1990 that
Karin Heiman would be the agency's first
full-time botanist. With the hiring of Heiman,
a graduate of Warren Wilson College with
several years of experience surveying the
state's plant communities, the Forest Service
seemed at last 10 be displaying a commitment to
the state's rich botanicaJ diversity.
Heiman did her work wilh diligence and
competence. While surveying the
Tellico-Robbinsville Federal Highway Project,
she discovered two rare lichen species,
Gym11oderma /ineare, an unusual Southern
Appalachian endemic and candidate for federal
listing, and Hydrotheria venosa, an extremely
rare and unique aquatic lichen found only at a
few locations in the Southern Appalachians and
the Cascade Mountains of Oregon. Heiman
helped 10 design a management program for
rare plants on Roan Mountain, and served as a
liaison with other federal and state agencies that
work with Lhe Forest Service to protect
threatened and endangered plant species. She
also perfonned surveys for rare plants on over
20 proposed timber sale projects in nine ranger
districts in the mountains and on the coast Her
effons did no1 stop or even seriously in1erfere
with a single timber sale, and she was praised
by Forest Service district personnel for her
competence and cooperation.
Roe, for his pan, was widely recognized
for directing one of the best s1a1e-run rare plant
protection programs in lhe nation. He had
organized Nonh Carolina's Natural Heritage
Program, which has protec1ed unique species
and natural areas on 630,000 acres in the stnte
and which has entered into over 300
"protection agreements" with public agencies
and private and corporate landowners. Roe
had acc-0mplished all this with a staff of 4 1/2
persons and a miniscule $164,000 annuaJ
budget
Why were Lhese two respected and
committed scientists fired? The official
justifications given were petty and largely
undocumented. In Heiman's case, neither Dahl
nor Lauren Hillman, her immediate superior,
were able to substantiate any change in
Heiman's performance that would account for
her performance rating falling from the "fully
successful" rating she received in October 1990
10 1he "negative" raring she received in
February that led 10 her dismissal.
11 seems apparent that Heiman and Roe's
only transgression was to carry out the jobs
assigned 10 them to the best of their abilities.
Unfortunately, competence in their work set
them athwnn of political interests that value
devastating timbering and roadbuilding
operations more than the rich biologicaJ and
botanical diversity of the native Appalachian
habitnl. And, aJso unfonunately. these interestS
control the strings that motiva1e Bjorn Dahl.
The supervisor remarked once to a group
of timber industry officials that during his
tenure in lhe nationaJ forests of the Pacific
Northwest, "we used 10 do 400 acre cleazcuts
before the spoued owl," and that "it could
happen here," implying that the discovery of
rare and threatened species in Nonh Carolina's
national forests could seriously hnmper timber
operations in the state.
Most observers believe that Dahl was
"I am in contact with several
Congressional offices who have said chat
they are already aware that this is just the
latest incident in what is clearly a national
pattern of intimidation of Forest Service
scientists. We hope and fully expect my
firing to get broader attention soon."
- Karin Heiman
!f'll~1{~Al~~~!,~~~k't~~~~':
Most observers believe that Dahl was
concerned that Heiman's trained and observant
eyes might discover a "spotted owl" that
would slow regional timber harvesting in the
Appalachians. Even the Asheville
Citizen-Times, normally a mouthpiece for the
region's timber industry, seemed to find the
firings suspicious. "The evidence offered thus
far by the Forest Service" for Heiman's firing
"falls embarrassingly shon," read the
newspaper's editoriaJ page on ApriJ 15, and
went on to say that "there is absolutely no way
Stale bureaucrats can come up with a credible
excuse for firing Chuck Roe."
Sad 10 say. it appears unlikely that these
ttnvestie.~ of administrative justice will be
righted by the agencies who committed them.
Both scientists have appeaJed their dismissals
within their own agencies. Forest Service
Regional Forester John Alcock has requested
that Heiman submit her appe& and all
supporting materiaJs to him in writing. In the
course of investigating Heiman's appeal,
regionaJ personnel officer Rudy Caruthers
traveled from Atlanta to Asheville to speak with
Dahl and Hillman about the firing but did not
infonn Heiman of his visit or give her any
opportunity to meet with him personally. Roe,
after what he felt was a "one-sided" hearing,
>C.Qtuaf,. Journat J)Q(JC 23
�has decided on a second-level appeal of his
case.
Since the firings, outraged citizens have
written hundreds of letters to legislators,
agencies, and newspapers in support of
Heiman and Roe. Several environmental
"watchdog" groups have responded to the
incident, including the Association of Forest
Employees for Environmental Ethics and the
Government Accountability Project, who arc
working with Heiman to get a Congressional
review of her tem1ination. Heiman has also
spoken with several concerned federal
legislators: "[ am in contact with several
Congressional offices who have said that they
are already aware that this is just the latest
incident in what is clearly a national pauem of
intimidation of Forest Service scientists,"
Heiman has stated. "We hope and fully expect
my firing to get broader attention soon."
Ultimately. however, the rrue victims of
these firings are the once diverse and
flourishing forest ecosystems. Without
advocates like Heim:i.n and Roe, they seem
doomed to be trampled into extinction. Before
Heiman was hired, it was routine for the
Forest Service to harvest constantly increasing
amounts of timber and to build thousands of
miles of roads in some of the finest forest
communities on the planet without ever
sUJVeying the sale areas for threatened and
"We might not be doing everything
we could to protect species, but we're
not willfully malicious." - Bjorn Dahl
endangered species.
All evidence indicates that this is how
Bjorn Dahl prefers it. The proposed Bee Tree
timber sale is a case in point. This area, near
Devil's Counhouse in nonhern Transylvania
County, was proposed as a timber sale project
in early 1990 by District Ranger An Rowe. In
June of thnt year, the WNC Alliance and the
Sierra Club appealed th.: sale. In their appeals
they pointed out that the Forest Service had nm
done adequate surveys for threatened and
endangered plant species on the Bee Tree site,
in spite of the fact thnt botanists consider the
area a "high probability site" for rare species.
Instead, the district had merely done a cursory
search of re.cords indicating the presence or
threatened and endangered :,pccics. Finding no
previous listings of threatened and endangered
species in the area. Rowe felt the "'ay w:l\ clear
to proceed with the sale. Dahl concurred, and
in October 1990 rejected the environmental
groups' appeab.
Unhappy with Dahl's decision, Wt-.CA
and the Sierra Club c:irried their appeal to
Regional Forester Alcock, who in J:inuary.
1991 decided in their favor. specifically citing
the lack of a thorough survey for threatened
and endangered species, 111c regional oflice
ordered Dahl to conduct a site-specific survey
of the area.
Even after Alcock's decision, Dahl
continued to maintain that he felt the records
survey had been "adequate," and that there was
no need for a site-specific survey. When
J{{\tunf~ JounlO! pn9c U
Heiman had offered to survey the Bee Tree area
in June, 1990, she had been stopped by
Hillman and Rowe. Then, after Alcock's
decision compelled the national forests
administration to make the survey, Heiman was
told 10 make the survey during the month of
February, 1991 - in the middle of winter when
many rare plant species are impossible to
locate.
Heiman did anempt the survey and
concluded that rare plants were likely to be
found in the Bee Tree sale area. It was only
days later when she received the "negative"
performance evaluation that led 10 her
dismissal. The survey was completed by a
substitute botanist, and last month, in its
Environmental Impact Statement for the Bee
Tree sale, the Forest Service reported its
conclusion that logging in Bee Tree would have
"no significant impact" on plant and wildlife
species in the area.
Unfomrnatcly the Bee Tree sale is not an
isolated example of Forest Service
manipulations and misdeeds in the name of
roads and timber. Heiman has outlined 15
other instances in which she says she was
stopped from identifying and protecting rare
plant species. When she reponed her findings
on the Tellico-Robbinsville Federal Highway
Project - which might have halted construction
of that infamous "road to nowhere" - her staff
officer supponed her findings, but she lost his
backing when he retired shortly thereafter.
While surveying a site near a proposed parking
lot expansion at the Oadle of Forestry, Heiman
expressed concern to District Ranger An Rowe
that the construction might threaten the rare
swamp pink plant. Rowe responded by saying
that he felt the parking lot, not the plant, might
be a better value for the American public.
In defense of the Forest Service, Julie
Tneciak, the agency's public relations officer,
maintains the agency is "str0ngly committed 10
protecting plants and animals." She said that
the agency has increased its Endangered
Species program tenfold since 1985, and that
there a.re 50 areas managed specifically for
threatened plants and animals. She also stated
the Forest Service buys land to provide habitat
for threatened species, and has entered into
agreements with the Plant Conservation
Program and the NC Natural Heritage Program
to protect rare species on the federal lands.
Chuck Roe was the lia.\on between the
Natural Heritage Program and the Forest
Sc1vicc on the agreements th.11 Trzt.-ciak ci1cs.
In the same leucr 10 Dahl i:xprcssing concern
about Heiman's firing, Roe pointed out the
problems his agency was having with the
Forest Service:
- the Forest Service had not drawn up
contracts to conduct surveys of rare plants on
national forest lands, although the funds had
been approved since December, 1990. The
delay was preventing the Natural Heritage
Program from hiring botanists in time to do the
surveys this growing season.
- the Forest Service had not responded to
nominations made two years ago for nearly a
doun sites in the Pisgah and Nantahala
National Forests 10 be designated "special
mterest management sites."
- The Foresc Service had shown no
interest in a one-day infonnational rare plants
seminar offered to agency personnel by the
Natural Heritage Program.
- the Forest Service had told Roe in the
fall of 1990 that a revised list of protected,
endangered, and threatened species on Forest
lands "would soon be put into use by Forest
Service personnel." This has yet 10 happen.
When asked about these delays, Dahl
replied that he was "perplexed" about them,
stating that the threatened and endangered
species programs are handled by Lauren
Hillman's office. Hillman has refused all
requests for direct interviews concerning the
firings and attendant issues, but said through
Tl7.Cciak that she believes "the programs are
right on track."
'The credibility of the Forest
Service has slid right down around its
ankles." - Bill 171omas, Sierra Club
Strangely, Bjorn Dahl seems 10 blame a
"lack of public input" for the firings and for his
agency's blatant unwillingness to establish a
vigorous program of protection for rare
species. "From these setbacks," he said after
the firings made the news, "I hope people will
join me in laying out their expectation~." And,
as if the flurry of letters, phone calls, and
editorials protesung the firings are not vocal
evidence enough, Dahl added, "They (the
public) should Jay out what they Wdnt more
vocally than before. We'll gauge our actions
based upon public expectations."
Th:11 sounds familiar. Throughout his
reign as supervisor of the Nonh Carolina
national fore~ts. Dahl has promised to alter
agency policies to meet "public expectations."
How then b he to explain items like these?
Although the puhlic has continued to ask
for less timbering on national forest lands,
1991 "timber target" levels are 20% above
those of the pre\·ious year.
Although the public ha,; conunued to ask
for less clearcutting on national fori:st lands,
and while the agency states that they have
reduced clearcuuing. they have merely
increased the number of "selective harvest"
units, which silvicultur:1lly are merely smalli:r
clearcuts.
Although the public. through the WNC
Alliance, the Sierra Club and other activist
groups, has expressed grave concern for the
fotc of threatened and endangered species on
(contmuod on page 30)
Craphic by Ibby Kenna
S11 lllt1IC1', 1991
�TIME TO TAKE THE TIME TO TAKE THE TIME
There's a new world 1ryi11g 10 emerge
from 1he hearts and hands ofmany...a world
of economy where was1c is sold as a resource
for new products - with a modern
understanding thar so-calli.:d "wasres" an: not
wastes unless they are wastcd...a world where
efficiency is in keeping wi1h nature and
heal1h ... new kind of fann...a more
purposeful kind of worlc ... a different feel for
our world ... a new day.
People are hungry for it. industry is
busy with it. But how docs it all really
happen? How, when the seeming immensity
of it all can so quickly boggle our minds to the
point where we throw up our hands and wait
for someone else to figure ou1 what to do, or
hope the solutions will come packaged for
sale?
Business in the past looked at money
profits as its main goal and let nothing stand in
the way of its claim, "If we don't profit, we
won't be In business." It had litrle vision of
the many more useful long-1erm profi1s such
as people, their lives, the food they eat, the
water they drink, and the secure alternatives in
learning about true wealth. And then with a
small sliver of that narrow-minded cash profit,
they proceeded to pa1ch up the damages that
occur with this sort of obsolescent
irresponsibili1y; or beat it in court. This was
a
the 1rcnd, bur now we are seeing businesses
wirh money-making as their chief nlOrh~
Jting
fon:e going out of business as thcv rhemsdves
predicted.
·
lt all really happens as we, in our
homes. and in our curs, and in our dailv
business, ask ourselves, "What docs \\'Ork?''
From inside our:.elvcs this goes out and out
and out 10 create the new, more real.
marketplace. Environmental problems arc big,
but we needn't be boggled, for as big as they
:ire, they are equally as small fractioned down
10 the responsibility of each of us. The
situation is then i11 our hands and no longer
"out of hand."
When we realize our own powerful pan
by beginning. our go the fears of what wasn't
working anyway. The answers then srart to
come with all the questions. When we're
acrually doing what we can do. the very
feeling empowers us and will soon replace an
old world built on false economy, and the
aging, tired concept of wealth thnt we know,
and bring newness • new forms of "profit."
From here we can begin to get on with more
of the real things.
bylvo
/
(NWN - continued from p. 22)
BUSINESSES AGAINST
CLEARCUTS
N4ruraJ Wo.-ld News Sttvicc
On May 15, 1991 the Westem North
Carolina Alliance (WNCA) presented the
results of its second anti-clearcutting campaign
to US Forest Service Supervisor Bjorn Dahl.
This new campaign gathered suppon from area
businesses and resulted in the collection of 930
names - a fnr greater response than was
expected - on a petition that called for an end to
clearcutting in the national forests.
WNCA targeted the tourism and
recreation industry, but a much broader
cross-section of businesses, including banks,
pharmacies, florists, and grocery stores, from
21 counties in western North Carolina chose 10
get involved.
The Southern Appalachian Multiple Use
Council, a timber industry lobby group,
attempted to manipulate the public by soliciting
signatures on a pro-logging petition that was
almost identical to the WNCA petition in its
fonnat. After complaints about this deceptive
tactic, the WNCA staff publicly accused the
Multiple Use Council of trying to "muddy the
issue and confuse people."
Upon receiving the petitions, Mr. Dahl
stated that he was "impressed" by the number
of signatories, and assured WNCA members
and participating businesspeople 1ha1 1he Forest
Service would be responsive 10 the public will.
Dahl said that, "[n response 10 public wishes,
we last year amended the Forest Plan to
Summa-, 1991
climina1c clearcutting as the preferred
aJ1cmative. The issue of clean::utting is
essentially behind us."
WNCA staff person Mary Kelly strongly
disagreed with this statement. as did others
present. She said that the supposed reductions
in clearcutting (from 87% to 48% of the harvest
over the past two years, according to Dahl)
merely reflected use of smaller, less obvious
clearcuts, not true selective culling.
Kelly stated that some forest expens
believe that the allowable sale quantity in our
National Forests is twice as high as it should
be, and noted that "the Forest Service has
historically treated the timber industry as the
only industry to consider We're asking them
to look at the big picture."
Drawings b)' Rob Mcuick
ROAD HOGS FIT TO BE TIED
Na11aral World News Service
There arc three departments of the North
Carolina state government that are prcsen1ly not
required to announce and hold public hearings
before setting poJicy: the Depanment of
Correction, the Department of Revenue, and
the Department of Transportation (0011. Of
these three, the Dcpanments of Correction and
Revenue hold fairly specialized responsibilities.
The Department ofTransponation every
months makes decisions rhat involve millions
of dollars of public funds and have imponant
implications for the future of every town and
county in the state.
It is a testament to the great political
power of the DOT that the agency still operates
only under the advisement of the Board of
Transportation, a wcalrhy and influential elite
who receive their appointments - a true
patronage plum - directly from the hand of the
governor in exchange for "seivices rendered."
Yet now when Senator Joe Johnson
(D-Wake) introduces a bill to require the DOT
to conform to public heanng guidelines
followed by all the other State agencies, rhc
howling and crying is tremendous. ''It's going
to cost too much." ··1t·s going 10 be too much
trouble." complain the road hogs. The "sacred
pigs" will no1 easily or gracefully give up their
places at the public trough.
Your state legislators need 10 hear your
opinions on the bill requiring the DOT to hold
public hearings.
Xatuafl Journnt JXUJC 25
�DRUMMING
LETTERS TO KATUAH
To the Editors of the Kattiah Journal,
In the otherwise fine article by Thomas
Power, "Avoiding the Passive/Helpless
Approach to Economic Development" in the
Spring, 1991 issue, he mnkes a very erroneous
assumption when he suggests, "Jf we are
interested in attracting more people, ..." That
assumption is the same one that the
powers-that-be ascribe to so wholeheanedly:
that we have to grow in order to have a healthy
regional economy. If Tcaught the gist of the
Summer, 1990 "Canying Capncity" issue of the
Kau«Jh Journal correctly, then we already are
burdened by too many people in the southern
mountnins. We do not need to expand, we need
to shrink the number of people living here.
Beyond a certnin point, numbers or people
and the "forested mountains and the
environmental quality" Power speaks of are
antithetical to each other. We preserve wild
habitat for the sake of wild habitat and the wild
animals that live in it, not 10 attract more people.
These points were minor revelations to me when
I read them in the Kamalt Journal. Don't back
out on them now!
Sincerely,
Hoyt Wilhelm
N. Wilkesboro, NC
Dear Kalllali Journal Friends,
l am just writing to tell you how much l
have enjoyed reading several issues or your
journal that a friend lent me to read. I appreciate
your deeply considered opinions and the
viewpoint they come from.
I consider myself to be somewhat
perceptive, and in most Statements that are called
"environmental" these days, I can see that the
spokespeople are representing some interests
besides the environment, whether it be their
own career, their own profit, or some
philosophical or political ideology. Most of
what I read in the Katualr Journal seems to
come suaight from the hean, and that makes a
difference. There are not many publications that
would have the courage to speak out about t.he
''carrying capacity" for human beings or
propose that aU the national forest lands in the
Southern Appnlachians should be an
"evolutionary preserve."
1 have to admit that these ideas were a little
shocking 10 me at first, but on reflection r could
see that that they are just what is needed in this
"bioregion." Now it seems so obvious. I see to
what a great extent we are conditioned by the
business assumptions that motivate this country.
when what is just common sense can seem so
unsettling.
I wonder what is going 10 happen to this
country, and I wonder what is going to happen
Xntuaft Journot p119c 26
to Kat1wl, Journal Please continue to say what
needs 10 be said (even if it is a little shocking
sometimes!) and maybe we will see some1hing
change. I am always hoping for the best.
Yours truly,
Katherine Albright
Knoxville, TN
TLANUWA
Ho. Tlanuwa,
Spirit-falcon,
Your mighty wings
Blot out the sun.
Pear strikes all who
See you flying Fawn and bear cub,
Man-child, too.
Carried struggling
To your nest si1e,
On the cliffs they
Feed your ne~tlings.
Came a shaman
Then to thwan you;
Cast your nestlings
To the water.
There Uktenn,
Great homed serpent,
Swallowed down your
Precious offspring.
Great your sorrow,
Great your anger.
Vengeance wrought you
On Uktena.
Chunks you pulled our
or the serpent,
Let them fall down
From the heavens.
There upon the
Eanh his body,
Tom and broken
Soon did lie.
From your empty
Nest you fled then;
Leaving an
Unshadowed sky.
Your depanurc
Saved our young, but
Awe and wonder
Left us, 100.
Perhaps too high a
Price was paid, and
Wonder's presence
Worth some risk.
Ho. Tlanuwa,
Spirit-falcon,
My heart yearns
For your return.
- Douglas A. Rossman
To the Editor,
Back in April some political pranksters
threw barrels marked "radioactive waste" by the
side of 1-26 where it joins I-40 near Asheville,
NC. This caused a big sensation among the
officials who flocked to the scene. r read in the
Asheville Citizen that one woman from the EPA
called it "totally irre!iponsible" and "a sick joke."
The S Bl had fun telling the paper all lhe terrible
things they would do to the.tricksters if they
could catch them.
I thought that it was totally responsible to
do this. Trucks carrying radioactive waste ~
drive through that intersection. A lot of people
don't even know this; a lot of other people do
know this, but they choose to ignore it People
need to be woken up to what is really happening
around here, and somebody found a good way
todoit.
What is totally irresponsible is for the EPA
to grant permits for trucks to cany barrels of
real radioactive waste along the highways. lf
some barrels of real waste fell off one of these
trucks, there would be trouble and danger for
Asheville.
When I saw how indignant the EPA lady
got about somebody's trick, I laughed and
laughed at how backward it all was. But it was a
sick joke.
Sincerely,
Etta Bennett
Cullowhee, NC
(P.S. • I wroie a leuet lO the Ashevil/t Citizen about
this. bu1 r don't think they ever printed iL ~l's why I
wrote IQ you.)
Dear Katuah,
Recently, while visiting my sister in
Knoxville, I was handed a copy ofKatuah
Journal, summer 1989. I must say it was highly
inspirational reading. I applaud your work for
peace, justice, and ecological harmony in the
Katuah Bioregion.
Sincerely,
Michael Sosadeeter
Dear Katua/1,
Your Journal is so valuable - and
important. I'll be sending more suppon later.
Thanks for leading the way. May the Crow
Moon bring you growth, green, and peace in
these dark times.
Sincerely,
John King
Drawing by Rob Mfflic-.
Su mtt1CT , 1991
�Dear Katuah,
You are a real friend! Thank you very
much for sending me lha1 back issue (on the
Chestnut) lha1 I wanted, but even more for the
current issue, wilh itS wonderful article on my
old friend Mr. Bailey of Clarksville. When I
was assigned 10 the 12th Armored Division in
1942, a newly married first lieu1enant in field
artillery, I opened an account in Mr. Bailey's
bank and immediately became his friend, as
ev<:ryone_did: Your story 1ell~ i1 very truly; he
believed m his own surroundings and did all he
~ould 10 improve the lot of his people. His
influence was very grea4 and I think Mr. Bailey
was wrong in thinking that industry never
accepted his ideas. l also think Griscom Morgan
is wholly wrong in his disparagement of
savings, but that is another story.
I enclose a Case Statement for the
American Chestnut Foundation (P. 0. Box
6057, West Virginia University, Morgantown,
WV 26506). I think you will find it interesting
and encouraging. I am doing all I can 10 raise
the additionaJ funding they desperately need,
first from private foundations, because 1hat is
1he bes1 chance for early resulis. Later I want 10
identify and approach large landowners in 1he
Appalachian region, and especially people with
o family history of giving and the means to
make those gifts in substantial amounts...
When I was growing up the chestnut was
still the dominant iree in our forests. I remember
it vividly, and recall the distress which everyone
felt so keenly as the onslaught of the blight iook
those great trees from us. l am fully convinced
we will restore the ll'Ce, and after you read our
case statement you will understand why. Young
men plant flowers; old men, trees.
Sincerely yours,
WilHam G. Raoul
Lookout Mountain, TN
Greetings Kaiuah Journal Folk,
Thank you for your continued 1ime and
effons in pulling together Kaul ah Journal. l just
~anled 10 let you know how much reading the
Journal means to me, and the suppon ii offers in
living in a "mixed community" with its incessant
bombardment of media propaganda extolling the
industrial growth society. Even when the
in~i?i~us e~fe_cts ofT.V. are personally
m1nirruz.ed II is too oflen necessary to live and
work with friends, family and associates whose
mind and (sadly} values are shaped by 1.O.S.
media. Sometimes 1his "reality" seems
overwhelming. It is al such a time that a friend
like Karuah Journal (and perhaps some
wilderness) helps to restore my connection to a
"d~per renlity" and community of Jjving
bemgs. The real work you are doing is very
much appreciated.
For All Things Wild,
Ed Lytwak
I
I
Sumincr, 1991
Dear Brother & Sister Editors,
I have written a prayer that I hope is
wonhy to be printed in your paper. I have been
disabled for almost six years as rhe result of a
back injury. I have been diagnosed as clinically
depressed. Many people think I am crazy. Some
think I am a lunatic. This could be true but
since I became homeless a dear old fri;nd,
Danny Jesse, moved me into his old farm house
because I had nowhere to go, and I was
penniless. The old house has no electricity, and
the water is from a spigo1 in the yard.
Another dear friend, Charlie Dunaway
inuoduced me to Karuah Journal (summer 1990
issue) and 1realized there are s1ill some "real"
people left who really care about our Creator,
our Mother Earth, and each other.
Since l have been here (approximately 6
months) I have developed a close relationship
with my Creator. Had it not been for my Creator
sending my friend to rescue me I would surely
have committed suicide. However, here I am
very much alive and would like to share my
prayer with you.
0 Great Spirit open my eyes
that I will see you in each of your creations
0 Great Spirit open my ears
tha1 I will hear your voice in the words of
my brothers and the sounds of the Eanh
0 Great Spirit open my heart
that your good will flow through me
0 Great Spirit give me knowledge
that I will be one with you
0 Great Spirit give me wisdom
that I may teach my sons of your love
and to love our Mother Eanh
0 Great Spirit be merciful to my brothers
who in their greed have scarred my Mother's
flesh
who have poisoned her flesh and her blood
who have polluted her skies
who have hate in their heans
0 Great Spirit give me the coumge
when death comes so I will welcome ii
with the realization
that life comes with death
as death comes with life.
Sincerely,
RogcrOark
I
rhoio by Rob Mcoid<
Sometimes Tears Are Not Enough
We sang for peace.
Woke up this morning to find
they are still making bombs.
We acted for peace.
How, I said, and why?
What about our planet?
Whal aboul the children?
We wor1<ed for peace,
even as those surrounding us
filled lheir yards and minds
with patriotic slogans,
waved their flags,
called war "just"
·successful"
"deserved"
Woke up this evening 10 find
!hough we sing,act,cry,
or even protest they are making bombs now.
Singing peace
woke 10 lind
our songs aren1 enough
acting peace
how?where?
why do we live In such madness?
shouting peace
as hundreds of thousands or
innocent human beings
die at Hie hands
of our ·smart· precision bombs,
hands of boys trained and
distanced by video games
crying peace
woke in the dawn
wilh tears on our cheeks
from war filled nightmares
tears on our cheeks
knowing there are those
lor whom this war
is more lhan a media event
or a palriotlc slogan
dreaming of
singing peace acling peace
dancingshou1lngtovingbelieving
11\Jstingtrying peace...
concrete dreams cl\Jni>ling
to TNT, plutonium,
machine guns...
they are making bombs now.
A
child is crying for what she can·t be giving
I say, child, stop your c,ying.
Gather up your strength for living
because somewhere children are dying.
Our tears are not enough to chase away the pa,n
we cannot understand why war seems to never
cease.
Yet even as the sun shines bnlhant through the ram
we know that through the dar1<ness we must st,U
wor1< for peace.
(continued on nclll page)
�(Cfflllnutd {rQln pogo 27)
Dear Ka1uah,
I miss you in my life! Please re-subscribe
me. I've moved 10 the city and am surviving
well on one of the few din roads left in
Tallahassee. Bard owls (a couple) are mating
now. I wake at night to hear lhcm and it's like
manna from heaven. I know the trout lilies are
blooming back in Sycamore, and just knowing
they're there is not enough. Every day I
consider returning 10 lhe country, but life is so
much easier here with electricity, running water,
and acceptable child care. Still I grieve the
losses.
Thnnks,
Janeice Ray
Dear Karual,.
I've been thinking lately about what is
imponant to me. A few things come out
strongly: people I love, doing something I can
put my soul into, and encouraging a more ideal
world by supporting things I believe in like;
• the local baker
• organic fanning
• and publications that
communicate what is
important 10 me.
I don't live in Ka11111h, but I like feeling
pan of the soul 1ha1 is in this journal.
I want you 10 know that ideas from the
Kaniah Journal have helped me shape my life
philosophy and will influence the way I live and
impact the world. Thank you for your
dedication and work. May you be blessed with
strength and pel!Ce.
Dan Shoug
Bean Goose Farm
Dear Kania Ii Staff,
I was exin:mcly excited to read issue #30
of the Kan!ah Journal. This was my first contact
ru,d I om impressed with the anicles and the
overall JayouL The "economy" anicle was
eitcellem.
I hnve included a check for 3 back issues,
plus T wish 10 be a ~ponsor.
Thanks,
Todd Rohlsson
From lhc Floyd ERC Ncw,lcuer
(continued Imm page 4)
practices in their families.
The dowsers' "golden opponunity" came
during the eastern gold rush of 1828-29 that
centered on Dahlonega, Georgia. It offered
great reward for those who could sense the
presence of underground veins, but it also
brought on the inevitable swindling and
che:iting that accompanies the lure of sudden
riches.
Sharon Johnson of the Gold Museum in
Dahlonega said, ''There are people who believe
today that they can find gold dowsing with
certain rypes of stainless steel rods, and I'm
sure that there were people like that back during
the gold rush years.
'&hey also had what they called
'gold-finders.' These were instruments sold 10
people who were prospecting. I've seen at least
two of these, one that dated back to about 1890
and another came from the 1920's. One was no
more than a wooden rod which was filled with
gold, iron pyrite, and black -;and. It had a
compass-like instrument in 1he center. The
metal gold-finder was a long tube, prob:ibly
made 0111 of aluminum. and I think that came
also with a liulc vial of gold."
Dowsers do 001 think that theirs is an
eicclusive gift. They generally agree that, like
intelligence or any statistical curve, there arc
tho.SC: eicceptionally sensitive to the psychic
energies, many people mildly sensitive, and
those who do not perceive that level of
existence at all. Walter Dale says, "To learn
how to do it, you can get some ideas from a
book, but the very best thing to do is 10 have a
dowser who is really familiar with the method
to show you. Anybody can do it, but you have
10 really want 10 do iL"
But he does offer this idea as a way for
beginners 10 familiariz.e themselves with the
process: "Get yourself a five inch piece of
Xcatuaf1 )oun \Q( POlJC 28
saing and tie on a metal nut (used to screw
onto a bolt) that is about the size of a nickel.
This will make a simple pendulum.
"Practice with it by looking at it and
saying, 'Give men yes.' ft may lllke several
a11emp1s, but you should be able 10 get the
pendulum to move consistently in a cenain
way. Then ask the pendulum for a no, and after
awhile you should be able 10 establish a definite
motion for that answer.
"Once you get the communication paucm
going, relax and know that you can do it. It all
comes with practice.~
For additional mfonnauon on dowsing nnd help
for those who wi~h IO gci stancd:
American Society of DowSCl'I - A~luc;hi.111
Ch;iplCf Bob Barnwell Rd.
137
Fletcher, NC
(704) 628-2456
/ -;_·
The mountains are
slow moving waves
of rock and gravel
trees and microbes
on which we all festively ride,
meeting old friends
from other eras that stir anew
notions of supplanting the
demise of our kind ...
RM
Summer, 1991
�Whole Science
One need not tum only co metaphysical
explanations in working toward an
undeTStanding of how some perplexing
phenomena occur in Lhe Universe. There is
emerging a sound Ecology of Lhe Cosmos
which is based on repeamble experience.
recorded measurements, and an
acknowledgment of the role of human
consciousness in interpreting the work of
science. The scientists who are now working
through more comprehensive means of
collecting information, and creating theories
that reflect Lhis new infonnation, are finding
that the physical Universe is far more complex
and inter-related than previously Lhought.
Some of these new ideas in science go by
the names of Quantum Theory, Dynamic
Whole Systems approaches, Chaos, and Gaia
Theory. These ideas have in common a break
with classical scientific principles which
regarded the Universe, and all its constituent
pans, as a pre-determined machine which is
running down in a clear sequence of events.
When Lhe Universe is recognized as being more
dynamic and self-organizing, through its many
diverse scopes of whole systems and
environments, a different picture can be drawn
of the regenerative patterns of energy and form
that surround us.
In Lhe discipline of physics, Quantum
Theory has shown that what we as human
beings experience as "normal'' is not the same
as what other whole systems at other scales of
being would consider to be "nonnal." For
instance, at Lhe scale of an atom the instruments
used to detect an electron's speed or position as
it moves around the atom's nucleus interfere
drastically with the electrons motions and
potenuals. LI becomes impossible to separate
the experimenter from the experiment at this
scale, since the two are so intimately involved
with each other. In addition to this an electron's
position can be determined, and its momentum
can be determined, but the 1wo can no1 be
de1ennined together. Electrons fliner like
clouds around atomic nuclei, and Lhe best we
can do is find the potemial of either what phase
they are in or where they will be in this
entangled environment.
In the Life Sciences it has been found that
all life, in its amazing diversity, is composed of
the same types of chemical elements: Carbon,
Hydrogen, Nirrogen, Oxygen, Phosphorus,
and Sulfur. These and the other kinds of atoms
found on the Eanh came together when the
planet began m accme in the interstellar
medium. It is very likely 1ha1 the atoms we are
composed of were strewn from an exploding
star, more massive than the sun, which
influenced the formation of the Solar System.
There are only 20 different fonns of amino
acids, which are the basis of all the different
strands of protein essential to all life on Eanh.
Every living organism came from previous life,
which in turn has a common ancestry 1h01
reaches back at least 3 l(l billion years. For
much of this history microbes were the major
fonn of life. lndependant microbes formed
alliances and antagonisms which evenrually
became the composite cells found in plants and
animals today.
Building on past successes, through this
kind of mutual advantaging, a strong
relationship also developed between living
systems and the magma, rock. soils, waters,
atmosphere, and magnetosphere of the Earth.
These dense-to-gaseous fluid mediums arc
cycling physical energy, much as other
plnnatary systems do; only for this planet there
existed the po1ential for active participation in
these cycles by Life. This is a dramatic
difference, because the range of circumstances
necessary for life 10 emerge on a planet of
sufficient endowment and proximity is limited
and very unique.
0..wmg by Rob Messick
II IIll II III II IIIIIIII II II II II IIIII II1111111111111111111111111111111111111 11 III IIIIIIII llllllllllll11111111111 II IIIIIIII IIIIIIINllllll111111111'I, IlII1111111111111111111 II IIIII III IIIlIIIIII IIIIII IIIIRlllllllll Ill III II Ill IIIII II llllllllllllllll 111111111111 I111111111 llllltllllll
TUNING IN
There are a number of practices that one
can do to increase the intuitive ability as it
pertains to the Earth. The exercises which have
worked best for me arc adaptations of yoga and
techniques from psychic healing. Nearly all
meditation techniques translate very well into
learning Earth attuncment My inner guidance
has been to remain flexible by borrowing from
many disciplines and then adapting the
techniques wbicb fit into my life in a natural
manner.
The big revelation for me came in a yoga
class when T learned that there are minor chakrns
on the feet. 1 suspect that the yogis can stand
transfixed in a difficult position, such as on one
leg, for hours at a time because they have
learned how 10 ground themselves so
thoroughly that they are temporarily auached to
the Banh through the chakms in the feet. The
importance of Lhe feet is somelhing that has been
ignored in western civilization. In the Mideast,
where lhe feet are ritually wai.hed and perfumed
with oils, they are considered sacred. and
recognized as one's most vital connection to the
planet. One can learn to dispel tired energy
through the soles of the feet, and ask the Earth
to replenish that energy. Yoga is excellent
practice for this. So is T'ai Chi or any of the
martial arts, so long as the emphasis is on
grounding and balance.
Walking meditation, as in Zen Buddhist
practice, in which one is very aware of body
rhythms, is an excellent way 10 walk through
S\1mmcr, 1901
the woods in a state of heightened awareness. I
have found that if I can match my stride in a
conscious way to the panicular terrain, I usually
break through 10 a quietness in which I am
aware of my rhythms blending in with the
larger, greater rhythms of life around me. This
is also a good way 10 become aware of the
variations in the lay of the land.
Since I live in town these days, I have
limited access to wild areas. Still, it is possible
to grow in sensitivity if one is willing to make
daily connections to the Eanh from a conscious,
aware state.
l recommend bringing home small
momentoes from places Lhat have special
meaning. This keeps the memory alive and
helps make emotional connections to one's
personal sacred places. I routinely bring home
pieces of gnarled wood, shells, or small rocks.
Do not take large rocks without pennission or
rocks that are part of a fairy ring. Usually there
is something · a feather, a rock - that stands out,
and that is what I take as a gif1. And J always
give thanks. ln my house, the kitchen window
sill is a great place for an altar, because I can •
automatically look at my nature gifts every day
when l wash dishes.
But the most important practice of all is to
get outdoors every day in a conscious way.
Usually the only time I can do this and know I
wilJ not be interrupted is when the supper
dishes arc done or when l am ready to close up
the house for the night. l step outside in my
backyard, and I let down my guard and open
up as totally as possible to whatever is
happening at that moment.
The Earth is always ready to respond 10
us. However, nothing "happens," to me at
least. until I have quieted my mind. When my
mind stops its chatter, then my senses literally
become more acute. I can hear birds, insects,
and 1he rustle of leaves more intensely and with
greater detail than I was able to do only a few
minutes before. When I do reach that point of
the quietness within, there is always something
amazingly beautiful and striking Lhat leaps out
at me. It may be Lhe full moom peeking out
from behind silver clouds, or the sudden
wafting of the fragrance of whatever flower is
in bloom. Sometimes my holly tree becomes
suddenly vibrant and animated. It is a
championship holly, and I am sure that a
powerful nature spirit lives there.
Along with this sudden insight into the
beauty of nature, there is always a caressing
breeze. I call it caressing, not only because of
iLS gentleness, but because it does not appear to
come from a specific direction, and it never
seems to be thcre until I reach a certain open
state of consciousness. I always wait for this
moment, because I t:lke it as a re.o;pon~e. a
confirmation from the Earth he~lf.
How much time does it take out of a busy
day to perform this simple ritual? Maybe five
minutes. The payoff in tenns of lifted spirits is
tremendous.
- Charlotte Homsher
X.Ot.wlh Journal pogc 29
�(FUUNGS-cool.inucd from pegc 24)
REVIEW
national forest lands, Dahl responded that the
records search on the Bee Tree site was an
'adequate' survey for threatened and
endangered plant species and then ordered a
survey when the ground was covered with
snow.
The clear and unfortunate conclusion one
must draw from all of this is that the "public''
Dahl listens to moSt closely is the timber
industry.
LIGHT IN THE WIND
chanrs and circle son-gs by Bob Avery-Grubel
(available from Bob Avery-Grubel;
RL l ,Box 73S: Floyd, VA 24091)
Bob Avery-Grubel is a founder and
mainstay of The Celebration Singers of a
closely-knit community of families inhabiting
Floyd County, Virginia. The group sings
up-beat, positive, spiritual music, all of which
is original, much of it contributed by Bob
Avery-Grubel.
The songs on l,iglu in the Wind arc
typical of I.he Celebration Singers: rhythmic and
unifying numbers meant for group singing at
evening circle, in the sweat lodge, or at holiday
gatherings. The credit sheet says that the music
is "dedicated to those moments when we let go
into uplifting song and come closer to the truth
of who we are," and surely this is so. The
songs are simple, as chants and community
songs should be, yet they are filling and
satisfying. However, the songs leave the
listener with a persistent feeling that they are
more fun to sing than 10 listen to - and they are!
(proven fact) The words are easily learned, but
for those in doubt a lyric sheet is available for
$1.00.
Bob Avery-Grubel's productions are
home-made craft pieces. Ught in the Wind was
recorded at Bohemian Studios, which are
housed in an angular building on a wind-swept
farm seven miles from the closest town. The
tape was engineered and mixed by
Avery-Grubel and A'Coun Bason (who also
plays penny whistle and catchy percussion on
several differem hand drums).
Light in the Wind: a valuable community
resource.
For tho.-.e who want more. Avery-Orubcl also
offers the benefit of his musical and community
experiem:e in "Breakthrough Singing" workshops: "a
lime and space IO experience healing through song and
voice." For information, write h1m at the address above.
-MT
THE TOE VALLEY CENTER
The Toe Valley Ccmer is being
established as a non-profit community resource
organization to promote and encourage ideas
for better living in the three-county area of the
Toe River Valley.
The Center will:
• act as an education and infonnation
source for the valley
• develop educational programs
• initiate meetings and seminars on issues
of importance
• distribute pamphlets, fact sheecs, and
other information
• promote I.he vision of a positive future
in the Toe River Valley.
For information, write or call:
Richard Kennedy:
849 JlalUlah Branch Road;
Burnsville, NC 28714
(704) 675-52S6.
ACUPUNCTURE~ AFFORDABLE !
We otter a sliding scale to get you
through hard times In good health!
Shortly after she was hired by the Forest
Service, Karin Heiman made a statement that.
in retrospect, turned out to be eerily prophetic.
"What makes my job so challenging," she said,
"is the fact that I must strive to find a balance
between I.he environmentalists and the timber
industry, who both have huge stakes in the
decision to harvest or not 10 harvest. And my
reports influence that decision."
By all accounts, Heiman - and Chuck
Roe as well - met that challenge and found that
balance. Unfortunately, in the eyes of her
employers an honest and thorough naturalist
without a political 8.l<e 10 grind is viewed as an
obstacle to timber sales rather than as a
concerned and commiued scientist dedicated to
doing what is best for the forest community.
How "vocal" must the public be for I.he
the Forest Service to recognize I.hat most people
believe that the incredible biological richness
they contain is the most valuable "resource" of
Southern Appalachia's national foresis? Dahl
has recently said, "I'd be the lirst one, if we
had an endangered species, to do somclhing
about it. I'm not om 10 violate the Endangered
Species AcL We might not be doing
everylhing we could to protect species, but
we're not willfully malicious."
Two fired scientists, an enraged public,
and we may never know how many rare
species would beg to differ.
Also Chi Kung (like Tai Chi)
every Wednesday 6-7 p.m.
at JewtSh Commumly Center.
Call to regisler.
Ellen Hines, M.Ac., Dipl.Ac. (NCCA)
Tradilional C hineSt Acupuncture & Htrbology
c:.i.rom... l&.w,.s......... s . - -
~
(704) 2S2-7491
rl :Thu
~ Sanr!J Mush
HerbNurse7
WHOLE FOODS
VITAMINS
ORGANIC PRODUCE
WREATHS • POTPOURRI
• HERBS • TOPIARY
Complete Herb Catalog - $4
Describes more than 800 plants from
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
Aloe to Yarrow
A.I.A. , Resource Information Analysis
Neil Thomas and Andy Feinstein
305 Westover, Asheville, NC
(704) 252-6816
Rt 2, Surrett Cove Road
Leicester, North Carolina 28748
Phone for appointment to visit
(704) 683-2014
~umnlci,
199 1
�CHESlNlIT GRAFTING PROJECT
by David McGrew
SilviculturalisL, French Broad Ranger Districl. USFS
Sarurday, April 27, one small step was
1aken toward nmoration of the American
chestnut tree to the Southern Appalachian
forest. A chestnut grafting workshop was held
on lands m.1naged by the French Broad Ranger
District of the US Forest Service (USFS) for
the purpose of grafting blight-resistant twigs
derived from native chestnut trees omo wild
chestnut rootstock. The workshop was joir..:y
sponsored by the USFS and the American
Chestnut Cooperators' Foundation, and served
as a uaining session for private cooperators 10
team the grafting technique.
The workshop group went 10 a grafting
site on a nine acre clearcut in the French Broad
District Lhat hod been prepared by the forestry
class at Haywood Community College. John
Elkins of the American Ches1nu1 Cooperators'
Foundation gave the group a brief overview of
the breeding and grafting work being done by
the foundation and then demonstrated the
grafting technique. Each member of the group
had a chance 10 perform the grafting operation.
and 20 twigs of the blight-resistant American
chestnut stock were grafled by the end of the
day. At the end of the workshop, all of the
private cooperators received 1wig material for
grafting in their home areas.
Elkins stressed that the twig material was
not from trees that were immume to chestnut
blight infection but from trees that were better
able to resist the infection. He said that a
20-50% survival rate for the grafted twigs is
expected, but that a 10% survival rate would be
acceptable.
A virus disease of the blight fungus,
called hypovirulcnce, will be imponant 10 the
survival of the gr.tfted trees. "Hypovirulence
weakens the blight, just as the nu or a cold will
weaken people." said foundation president
Gary Griffin. "Chesrnut blight nonnally
damages the growing tissues just under the
bark, so that Lhe tree can't pass water or
nutrients up or down the stem. If enough of the
living tissue is damaged, the tree is girdled and
it dies. Blight weakened by hypovirulence,
however, cannot damage the living tissue under
the bark, so the chestnut tree isn't killed, even
when heavily infected by blighL"
Union Acres
An Alternative
-
i
- Acreage for Salt - Smoky Mountain Living
with a focus on spirit1111l and
ecological values
For more information:
Contact C. Grant at
Route 1. Box 61/
Whittier, NC 28789
(704) 497-4964
Programs to &ncolXoge
self and Earth oworEIOeliS.
celebration. kinship and nope.
• Youlh Camps• School Programs
• Farruly Camps• Teacher TniinlOQ
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• Outdoot Progrem Consult.ig
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Gomnt>ug. Tennessee 3n38
615-436-6203
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According to Elk.ins, blight infection
cannot spread as fast on twigs that are
genetically resistant to the blight as it can on
non-resistant rree$. The hope is that the
resistant trees will hold off the blight long
enough that the fungus will become infected
with the virus disease. Griffin explored the
graft.ing site during the workshop, and he
found five chestnut trees that had blight
infection sites that had been modified by
hypovirulence, including one tree where all
infection sites were modified. 'These trees give
us real hope that this grafting site will be
successful in producing large chestnut trees,"
said Griffin.
The French Broad Ranger District will
monitor this sile over the next year 10 determine
1he success of the grafting project. The USPS
will manage an area of three to four acres
around the experiment solely for chestnut, first
by maintaining the best growth possible on the
surviving gr.tfts, and second, by cutting down
all the saplings in the area except
naturally-sprouting chestnut saplings.
It is a gamble to try these techniques, but
it is well wonh the attempt considering how
valuable the chestnuts were to these mountain
forestS.
For more information or lO volWttter l~/p to the
American Chtstnut CooptrtJlors· Foundation. write:
Lucille Griffin; American Chestmll Cooptra/Ors'
Foundaiion; 2667 ForesJ Suviu Road 708; Newport,
Va 24128.
265-2700
823 Siow,ng Rock Rd
Boone, NC 28607
Shhh. Listen ...
~
by Rob W..essiclt
NATIVE FLUTES
Two s1yles made of cedar or walnut
woods in the traditional manner
Hawk Littlejohn
Sourwood Farm
RI 1, Box 172-l
Prospect Hill, NC 27314
(919) 562·3073
Get a set of IO assorted
folding cards with
artwork you see in
Katuah Journal.
(Envelopes included.)
Send $11.25 postage paid
1 Summer-,
1991
to:
RM DESIGNS
P.O. BOX 2601
BOONE, NC 28607
Ill l l .
ec. 2.)C
11a•oo- NC211139
!7041 $30135
speaking fQr.Jhe earth.
�evenrs
JULY
JUNE
14-23
CIT ICO CREEK, TN
Katuah Rainbow Family
Galhering Summer Solstice Galhering." ...for
the purposes of Peace and Healing, in honor of
the Summer Solstice" on Citico Creek in the
Cherokee National Foresl, TN. Directions are
recorded on lhe Light-Line (404) 662-6112,
from NC (704) 563-9218. HO!, Newslet1er of
the Kauiah Rainbow Family; Box 5455;
Atlanta, GA 30307.
•
21-23
ROAN MOUNTArN
Summer Solstice and Ent111 energies
workshop with Joyce Holbrook. SIOO. Pre-register: Box
109S; Burnsville. NC 28714.
22
SUMMER SOL'-TICE
22-23
GREAT SMOKIES PARK
"Wild Mammal~ or the Smokies"
field =-ch with Dr. M1
ch.1el Pelton. Hlllld.W>n study
or black bear, deer, b3t, and woodchuck populill.ions in
the Pork. For information on this and olher field
course:.. coniact: Smoky Mounuain F'icld School; c/o
Dr. Gayle D. Cooper; Univc:sity ofTcnne=: 600
Henley St. (Suite IOS); Knoxville, TN 37902 (800)
284-8885.
BLACK MOUNTAIN, NC
"Why Old Women Don't Get the
Blucs" with Alice Girard 31 McDibbs. I I9 Cherry SL
For info on this gig and summer schedule, call (704)
1A
9-11
AS HEVILLE, NC
Broom-making workshop with
Carlson Tuulc. For info on this and olher workshops.
conlJlCl the Folk Art Center, Box 9545; Asheville, NC
2881.5 (704)298-m8.
11-12
WESSER, NC
669-2456.
1A-27
CREA T SMOKIES PARK
''Family Ounp" - activities for
fomilies with children ages 6-12. Nature exploration,
slOrytelling. Appalachirul music. hiking, and
swimmmg. For info on this and other prognuns,
conU1Cc Great Smoky Mountains lnsti1u1c at Tremont;
T0Wll5Clld, TN 37882 (615) 448-6700.
National Whilewater
Championships on the Namahala River,
including slalom and wildwater race:;.
Nantahala Outdoor Center; 41 US Hwy. 19
West; Bryson City, NC 287 13 (704)
488-2175.
LINVI LLE,NC
36111 Annual Grandfather MoUJ1tnin
Highland Games and Gathering of the Scouc.h Clan~.
Papmtry, pipe bandi:, sheep herding. Scoui,h athletic
cvcntS, ccUidh. For info: Highland Game.~; Box 356;
Brumer Elle, NC 28604 (704) 898-5286.
11-14
24-27
CULLOWll EE, NC
"Landscnping with Native
Plants" conference. Lectures, workshops, and
field trips led by a host of experts, including
Dan Pit1illo, Roben Zahner, George Ellison,
and others. $45 + room and board.
Pre-conference field trips, 7(21+, are optional
and cost extra. For information. call Dr. Jim
Horton, (704) 227-7244.
25..S/4
13
ASII FV ILLF~ NC
Annunl membership picnic of the
Amcric:ln Soc1c1y of Dowsers - Appalachian Chap1cr.
Call President Jill1CI Shisler for dctruls: (704) 628-1758.
FOLK \1O0T
Foll.moot USA brings folk dllncers
and musicians from Grcccc. USSR. Fmllllld, Atgcnlina,
Holland, Spam, Rom;inia, Puerto Rico, lsr.iel, Turkkey,
and Thailand lO perform :u various location.~ in Katu:lh.
For schedule and price mfonnauon, conUICt Folkmoot
MOUNTAIN LAKE, VA
"In Search Of .JI"· ~ploring
"iMcr sacred space.• Mt.dicme wheel. dowsing, music.
mctliwuon, yoga. drumming, hiking, nnd ritullls.
Pre-register: Indian Valley Retreat; Rt. 2. Box 58;
Willis, VA 24380 (703) 789-4295.
23-27
27
HOT SPRINGS, NC
"lndcpcndcooe Weck Ztn Holiday"
WAYNF..SVILLE, NC
"Buddhi.gn nnd Meditation• with
John Orr. Explora1ion of the Buddhist path 10 sptri1UJI
Jjbcra.uon will include meditations, periods ol 5ilcncc,
and discussion. For mfo on this and other prognims,
con!Xt; Sul-Light Retreat Center. Rt. I. Box 326:
Waynesville, NC 28786 (704) 452-4569.
F ULL MOON
29-7/6
19-21
19-21
wnh Genie, Sandy Stcwan.. Working. chanling. sttting,
dharma talks. and keeping SJlcncc, culminating with a
walk up the mountain. For info on this and Olhcr
rctrcais: Southern Dtwm11 Rctrea1 Center, RL I. Box
34,H; Hot Springs, NC 28743 (704) 622-7112
USA; Box 523; Waynesville, NC 28786 (800)
334-9036.
26
FULL MOON
BLACK MOUl\TAIN, NC
Robin and Linda Williams al
McDibbs. Sec 7(24.
28
HOT s r RJNGS, NC
r-w
"Hand~ Sur lhc SIMS.
Tum the
Ellrth" Tai Oli Ch'uan workshop w1lh Kathleen cu.~ick
and Jay Dunbar. Solo nnd two-person play orrcr ins1gh1
inio classical principles of unified movement.
Prc-rcgistu. Soulhcm Ollllrma Retreat CcnlCI (sec
6/29).
30-8/1
MARSIIALL, NC
"Green Woodworking with Kids"
fOl'childrcn ages 10.15 and adult portners. Build a
r001S1ool from an 03k log · also swimming, hilting,
\l.·1ld plant i<lentificauon, campfires, ond SIOC)'tclhng.
Country Workshops: 90 Mill Creek Rd.: Marshnll. NC
28753 (704) 656-2280.
S111111nn. 1991
�AUGUST
1-J
16.l!i
c;nr:A'f S\IOKll:S r,\RK
·~J!Jvc Amcr1c:111s and the Easth"
pr0t,'fiu11 nnhe Grc:u Amoky Moum:am, Instil:.:!~ 111
Tr.:mont, S.:c: 1/:lA-21.
111c;111 ..,:-. ns. NC'
"Pinhole V1s1on" - low,tcch
pmhok camcm constnu:1100 and c~plur.ulon or crcati\c
1m:1gc-makmg wnh Pinky Ba,;s. For info on thi.~ and
111ocr pho1ogr.iph)· workshops, conl.1(1' App.1lachian
finvironmcntal Arts Center: Box 580: I l1ghfands, :-:c
211741 (70-I) 526-4303.
J Ul.1..\100~
26-31
MARSllc\U., l\C
-~,:ick Ch:11I111.1kmg•
work~ilop wi1h Dan Mayner. Bcgmning wuh a red oak
log, parucipants assemble a cluur ic,mg morme and
1cno11 jomcry, dr.i,..knh-cs, and spokeshaves.
Prc-rc:g1s1cr. Country Work,hors (sec 7/30-8/1 ).
30-9/2
IIREVARD. NC
Soull1cm Life Community
Ga1hcrmg • ncl,..Nking on issues of peace, jusucc, and
planci;iry protection. Family gathering, orcn IO all
.Music hy Cnnd1c and Guy Car:iwan, Contact Rur.d
Soulhcm Voicc for Peace (sec 8/2-3).
2-3
CF.1.O, NC
Onlhcring of commu111ty orgam,.crs
and ga.woots leaders who wish to sh.ire experiences and
network at Rural Soulhcm Voice for Peace office in
Celo Community. If interested m ancnding, plca.,c
contact RSVP; 1898 Hannnh Bmnch Rd.: Burnsville,
1'C 28714 (7o.1) 675-S933.
ASHEVILLE, NC
11 lh Annual World Gee-Haw
Whimmy Diddle Competition will include whimmy
diddle feats, lrlldiuon:il music, and clogging. For info,
conlllCt: Folk Art Ctntcr (see 7/9-11).
2.'i
SEPTEMBER
2-3
WILLIS, VA
6th Annual "Women's
Wellness Week"· an opportunity 10 become
part of a supportive women's community for a
week of renewing power. honoring spirit,
nurturing heart, and encouraging creativity.
Activities will include dance, clay sculpting,
drumming, tie-dying, healing work, and sweat
lodge ceremony. Children's program will run
concurrently. Pre-register. Indian Valley
Retreat Center (Sf.C 6/23-27).
5-11
17-IR
CHEROKEE, NC
Freeman Owlc, Cherokee
pipcmakcr stone sculptor. and storyteller, will
demoru;t.nue nt the Cherokee Hcn!llge Museum and
Callery. For infonn:uion on lhis and olhcr eppcara11ccs
by nauve cr:if1$pCople, conUJCt: Cherokee Heri1.1ge
Museum and Gallery; Box 477: Cherokee, NC 28719
(704) 497-3211.
OCOEE RTVER
1991 World Cup and
Wild water National Chamnpionshtps will
attract over 100 of the top wild water racers in
the world. Contact Nantahala Outdoor Center
(see 7/11-12).
HARRISONBURG, VA
PAW (Preserve Appalachian
Wilderness) Conference to discuss ideas and
Str'Jtegies for "evolutionary preserves" and a
wild habitat range the length of the Appalachian
Mountains. Sponsored by Virginians for
Wilderness/Earth First! and PAW. At James
Madison University. For info, write Virginians
for Wilderness; Rt. 1, Box 250; Staunton. VA
2440 I or call (703) 885-6983.
14 • 16
19-23
Send $ubmission~ f0t the Event~ page to: Kauiah
Calendar Editor; 300 Webb Cove Rd.; Asheville, NC;
Katliah Provmcc 28804. Listings for next is.~ue due by
Augu.~t 15.
"The area's oldcsi
and lugc,t natural
food~ gtoet'ry •
811/k Herbs, Spices, & Grains
Vitamins & Supplements
VI/heat, Salt & Yeast-Fm~ Foods
Dairy Substitutes
Hair & Skin Care Products
Beer & Wine Maki11g Stlf'l'lics
200 W. King St, Boone, SC 28607
(704) 261·5220
-p,;,
~~\
Talking J.,,n,~ i~ a monthly
J('lutnlll of deep ecology, UISf'ired
pen,ooaJ RCIIVlbID rooted ID eMtben
'J'mlWlluy. Pa.,1 1!-!<ucs have
rurunxl ar11cles by Gary Soylkr.
Statba"J.. Jc>hn S~. Joanna
~facy, 81II ~val!, u•oe Wnlf
C1r¢1et;, Barham Mor, etc,
AH? NATBR Ml'l'fWl' BLICI'RlCITY
with a RAM pump! It works by
the action of flowing water
and can pump 120 ft. high.
Colllplele pump w/ guide -$125.
Call or send SASE for free
brochure.
NATERHAN MK PlJFS
355 Cedar Creek Road
-"'-...£.._....____ e1ack Mountain, N.c. 28711
(704) 669-6821
Summer, 19!J1
TnlJ.inl( J.,,111~ ~pew for the
n•tural world :and for lhe rd:.indlmg
!'I OW' OWII wtld ~JlU11,
Suhscnpt1ons arc S15.00 one
year/SI 8.00 outside U.S. S25.00
i...o )·ear'IIS36.00 outside U.S.
Send chock or M.O. 10:
Tn/J.i11x I.raw:,
1430 Willalllt'lle 11367
Eugrlle, OR 97401
5031342-2974
rFR~~,~~~'~:~~~P
COMMITTED TO C0'.'.1MUNTIY
AND ·cooo-FOR-YOU.FOOO"
255-7650
90 Biltmore AH•nu~ ,\,hevdlc ~C
2 Blocks South ol Downtown
Xatimh Journot PCUJC 33
�~BWoR/slt{g
• Webworking has changed! There is nowafee
of$ 2.50 (PRE-PAJD) per en1ryofjifry
words or less. Send b>•A11gust 30th 1991 I();
Rob Messick; P.O. Box 2601; Boone. NC
28607. (704) 754-6097.
GOOD STEWARDS WA/IITED for rcmotc land.
Approx. IS acres for sale w/ hou.,;e (2 bdrm .• I balh).
Organically rarmed for 2tJ )'Cffl, grnv11y recd spring
,,,:ner. High oo Tannsi Ridge. views. Raven ond ~fmnc
Walker, Box 23: Lal<c Toxaway. 1'C 28747 (704)
293-7013.
RAINFOREST BOTANICALS • from the ancient
hc31ing Ulldi11ons of the indigenous people. or SOUlh
America. The Life Force of Amawnui. now available
io you. Fn:e mformation ID Health Profes.,,onals. Call
Lei at l!OO-SJS-0503.
'!WO FAMIUES seeking neighborly follcs IO buy mlO
130 acres of beautiful moumainside land near
Wcavervillc.1'C. We arc involved in organic
gnro,:nmg, homc.~hooling. rwural healing. 1111d
spimuality. 20 acre sh3re for S2A,OOO. Call (7~)
658-2676 or 645-7954.
1990,91 DIRECTORY OF INTENTIONAL
COMMUNITIES · Just rclc:i~. over 2 years m the
nuking. Names, adrcssc.s, phone numbers, and
d=riptioos of 320 Nonh American communities. and
over 2SO resource ~ . phi., 40 articles. Mops,
cross-reference chan.s. fully indexed. $13.SO postpaid
from Sandhill Fann: Rt I, Box 155-R; Rulledge. MO
63563. 40% discount available on ordcn of 10 or
mate.
MUSIC BY BOB AVERY-ORUBELaVllilablcon three
casseu.cs. 1'reasuus in the Stream and Circles
Returnuig arc folk/rock·J3U. and a recent release of
origu1al chants and songs. light in the Wind. isa
coptMlla. Lyric sheets included. Send $10 for each tape
or $26 for ell throe to Bob Avuy-Grubcl; RL I, Box
735; Aoyd, VA 24091.
HIGHLANDER CENTER· IS a communuy-bascd
educaLional organ11.auon whol,C purpose IS lO provide
space for pcq,lo to learn from each other, and 10
dcvclopc $<llu1ions to cnvircnmcnllll r,roblcms based
on their values. experiences, 1111d a~iratlons. They also
put out a quanerly newslcua called Highlander
RcJ)OrlS. For more information conwcr Highlander
Ccnlel'; 1959 Highlander Wuy; New M.lrtkc1, 1N
37820 (615) 933.3443
A SMALL FMflLY COOPERATIVE. IS scckmg a
sw1Able ,;pace for homeschooling our children, ages
4,7. We are a responsible, conscious, ruid cxpcri<:nccd
a,oup. We 5"k a \l*iOUs house and yanl. away from
uafr.c. We prefer lO renr wil.h an Ofltlon lO buy. Call
(704) 628-3628 or (704) 252-8183.
RAW CHEMICAL-FREE HONEY. Tulip Poplar,
Sourwood, and Wildflower hooey from lhc forcstS or
Palrick County, VA. No chemicals, no while sugar.
no heat ever Slrllincd through ch=ccJoth and p;tekcd
in glass. Luni1cd quantities. ~11 or wntc for pnccs &
availalnlny. Wade Buckhohs • Bull Mountlin
Bcekecpcrs; Rd 2, Box 1S16. S1113r1. VA 2·H71 (703)
694-4571.
Xa1uwi JournoC p~ ~
NATIVE AMERICAN Fl.lTT'E MUSIC- Richard
Roberts. a well known west TN new age flutist (Ilk.a
Zero Ohms), is now availoblc tn lhe East TN/NC are.,.
For rcla:ting and uplifimg pcrfonnanccs nr tapes
contaet RIChard Robcns: Box 821; Norris, TN 37828
(615)494-8828-oc- RL I, Box 136RD; Lamar, MS
38642 (601) 252-4283.
THE DREAM CATCHER - C3tchcs bad dreams and
hold, I.hem, 10 be dcsttoyed by the morning sun. Good
dreams 0031 down the feather to I.he slcepu. Price: 11
dollars - spcc,fy color prefcrcnccs or nalWUI. Order
from Ch1ck:unaugan Fn:c C'hcrolcees: 1915 Buckky Sr
#8; Chawrnoogn. TN 37404.
I IA WKWlSO EARTII RENEWAL COOPERA11VE •
i.\ an 87 acre primitive rcl!C3t and working communily
fal!1l, l..oc:31Cd in I.he norlhcm Alabamo mountnin,111>1
11 S miles northwest oC Atlanta. Clas,;c,; on alrcmat1ve
lifestyles and Nill.Ive American philosophies arc
available on a rcgulor basis. For inform:ition or cnllllog
of Nauvc crofts & producL~. Cllll (20S) 635-63().1.
32-ACRE FARM for sale ,n Whittier, NC. Multiple
solor hom~ltS, pnvacy, creeks and springs, rwo large
orgamc fields. Includes rusuc farmhouse wil.h
gravil)'-fcd water and solar sys1em, born, 1111d small
solnr suucture. $90,000 for all. Wlll sell pan. Writc
Vicki Baker and Tom Graves: Rt 2, Box 108-A:
Whittier, NC 28789 or call ('704) 586-8221 or(704)
649-9266.
NATIVE AMERICAN CEREMONIAL HERBS • we
offer a latge variety of sages, swce1 grass, ruuural
resins, 11114 everything ncccssiuy for smudging. Nnrivc
smolc.ing m1~tures, flulc music, pow-wow Lape:!, und
ceremonial songs. Essential oils, and incenses
specifically mode fo, prayer. offcriJlg, and meditation.
Forcawlog call or write: Esscncinl Drc:uns; Rt 3. Bo~
285; Eagle Fork, Hllyc:svillc. NC 2890i (701)
389-9898.
whole earth
grocery
•
NATURAL
ALTERNATIVES
FOR HEALTHFUL
LMNG
4~6 e parkway craft «-nt<'r • <ultc 11
gatllnburg, tcnn~ 37738
615-436-6967
PIEDMONT BIOREGIONAL INSTITUTE - For those
who live in lhc Piedmon1 area, !here's a biorcgionnl
e!fon well underway. Jom Us! We would nJlPrec13lC
any donnuon or time or money IO help moot operating
expenses. For a gifl of S25.00 or more. we will send
you a copy of John Lawson's journal, A New Voyage
10 Coro/mo Also come find ou1 about the Lawson
ProjecL PB!; 412 W Rosemary Slt0CI: Chapel Hill,
NC 27516; Uwbruna Province. (919) 942-2581.
WICKER WORKER· Wicker furniture rcs'U>red. ainc.
rush, and recd sc31S woven, D:sskcrs al.,;o repaired.
Expericncc:d scat weaver. "If you can't we cane.· Andrea
Clarke; 27 Mu Strc<:t Asheville, NC 28801. ('704)
253-6241.
RECYCLED PAPER I - Oin:etory or product sources
for the Southca~ SuggC$1.Cd Donation of S 1.00 10
Wcstcm Nonh Carolina Alliance: P.O. Box 18087:
Asheville, NC 28814 (704) 258-8737
BODY RI/YT/IMS from PIIIIICtnry Mothers • a
beautiful and paroctical calendar for women ID chart
rhcir ·moonthly" cycles. Send $3.00 plus S 1.00
[lOSWge to: Planetary Mothers Collective (c/o Nancie
Yonker); 5231 Riverwood Avenue: Saraso111. FL
34231
FAMILIES LEARNING TOGETHER - is a new
sutew1dc ho=hool group welcoming :inyone wirh
on i n ~ in home education. Our pulflOSC 1s 10
focili111tc the exchange or infonnauon, Ullcnt. nnd
n:sowccs. For more infonnauon contact: Trish Severin
(704) 369-6491
QUEST FOR SUR VIVAL/ JOURNEYS TO
SPIRITUALITY· 1s .i new program being offered in
the Kimlah area. The purpose of the Que.st for Sutv1vll.l
progroms 1S to 1C3Ch the sxrcd order of swvivnl
(Shcl1.cr, W111er, F,rc, and Food). and explore I.he roles
of ~urvival phllnsophy and spin1ulll1ty in 11113lning
b:ll:lnccd hannony wil.h ourselves, cai;h other. Qnd the
Eonh.
Two rnll'Oductory weekends will 111kc plxc in
l.Jlurcl Sp<ings, NC on Scp1cmbcr 27-29 for Women,
and Oc1obcr 4-6 for Men. Also ii wccl:long program for
men is planned for October 6-13 al Turtle hl.1nd
Prosct\·c near Deep Gap. NC. For information on any
of thc.o;e programs conU1Ct Tom Barnes: P.O. Box 166;
S3vcry, WY 82332 or call (307) 383-2625.
LAND FOR SALE - wil.h small house in beautiful
Spring Creek. 1'C; IS miles west of Hot Spnngs.
Pctfcct for the scJJ-sufficicn1 tire. One hour wesr of
Asheville. Call Linda Deyo (704) 675-9575.
S11tt11ncr-, 1991
�Katuah Journal wams w comm1111icare your 1/,ouglus and
feelings 10 the 01her people i11 1he bioregional pmv111ce Send
1hem 10 us as /e11ers, poems, sinries, articles, drawings, or
photographs. e1c. Please seridyour contrib111io11s w 11s at: Katuah
Journal; P 0. Box 638; Leicester, NC, Ka11'tah Province
28748.
The tall issue of Ka111al1 .loumal will be a·i*,tpouni featurhg
a strong emphasis on humor and fun. The titles and contents of Lhe
major depanments will tn1nsform laughably, and Katiiah Journal
will let its hair down: hopefully gcuing its funny bone tickled!
Deadline for anicles is July 31, 1991.
Our Winter issue will be concerned with Fire in its many
manifestations; from forest fires to the warm hearths of home.
BACK ISSUES OF KATUAH JOURNAL AVAILABLE
ISSUE THREE • SPRINO 1984
Sw;r.ainablc Ag,, iculture • Sunflowers • Human lmp:icl on
I.he FOfest. Childrcru· Education· Veronica Nicholas:
Woman in Politics Lmlc People· Medicine Allies
ISSUE FOUR • SUMMER 1984
W11cr Drum • We11:1 Quality. Kudzu. Solar Eclipse .
Clcatcuuing • Trom. Going U> Wiler. R'IITI Pumps Microhydro. Poems: Bemie Lee Sinelair. Jim Wayne
Miller
ISSUE FOURTEEN • WINTER 1986.87
Lloyd Carl Owlc • Boogcrs and Mummers • All Spooics
Day • Cabin Fever University • Homeless m Katuah
llomcm~de 1101 Water • Stovcmwcer·s Narrative • Good
Medicine: Interspecies Communication
ISSUE TWENTY-THREE - SPRINO 1989
Pisgah Village • Planet Art • Oreen City • Poplar Appeal •
·CIC1t s1cy·· ·"A New Eanh". Black Swan • 11'/ld lt;vely
Days· Reviews: Sacred Land Sacred Sa, Ice Age • Poem:
··sudden Tendrils"
0
ISSUE FIVE • FALL 1984
Harvest • Old Ways in Cherokee· Oin.scng • NuclClll Waste
• Our Celtic Heritage· Biorcg1onalism: Past. Prcser1~ and
Future • John WUnoty • Healing Darkncs.s • Politics of
Participation
1SSUETW£NTY.FQUR • SUMMER "89
Deep Listening· Life in Atomic City • Direct Action! •
Tree of Peace· C.Ommuruty Building· Peacemakers.
Ethnic Survival. Pairing Projcc:t . ··Battlesong".
Growing Peace in Culturos • Review: Tiu: Chalice and lhe
8/ak
ISSUE SIX • WINTER 1984-85
Wintu Solstice Earth Ceremony • HorseJ>3Sturc:a River·
Coming or the Light • Log Cabin Root • Mountain
Agriculture: The Right Crop. William Taylor. The Future
of the Forest
ISSUE SEVEN -SPRINO 1985
SuslAlnablc Economies • Hot Springs Worker Ownership
- The Orea! Economy . Self Help Credit Union· Wild
Turkey - Responsible Investing - Working in the Web or
Life
ISSUE EIOIIT • SUMMER 1985
Cc:lcbration: A Way of Life. Katuah 18.000 Years Ago
Sacn:d Sites • Folk Alts in the Schools . Sun Cycle/Moon
Cycle . Poems: Hilcb Downer· Cherokee Heritage Cenll!r ·
Who Owns Appalachia?
ISSUE NINE • FALL 198S
Titc Waldcc Forest. The Trees Speak. Migtating Forcsu .
Horse Logging · Sllll'ling a Troe Crop· Urb:tn Tr«s •
Acom Bre3d • Mylh Tim,,
ISSUE TEN • WINTER 1985·86
Kate Rogers. Circles of Stone Internal Mylhmllking •
Hohsuc Healing on Trial • Poems: Steve Knauth • Mythic
Pieces • 11,c UJ(lena·s Talc • Crystal M•gic •
ISSUE FIFTEEN • SPRINO 1987
Coverlcu • Woman f-ores1er • Susie McMahon: Midwife ·
Alternative Contnception Biosexuality Biorcgion:llism
l1lld Women Good Mcdic111C: Matria,chal Culture. P~art
ISSUE SIXTEEN • SUMMER 1987
Helen Wlitc Poem: V1$ions in a Garden Visi<>n Quc5t •
First Aow - Initiation • Ltaming in the Wililcmei> •
Cherokee Challenge· "Valuing Trees"
ISSUE EIOHTEEN • WINTER 1987-88
Vem11CUlar Architecture Drums m Wood and Stone .
Mountrun Home • Earth Encrgi<:s Eanh.Sheltettd Llving
Membrane Houses • Brush Shelter . Pocmr. Octobu Dwk
Oood Medicine: "Shelter"
ISSUE NINETEEN • SPRING 1988
Pcrclandra G3tdcn Spring Tonics . Blueberries .
WddOower Gardens· Onumy Hcrl>1list ·Flower~ ·
""Inc Origin of the Animals:· Story · Good Medicine:
"Power• • Be A Trec
"Drt,:lnl$pMking"
ISSUE THIRTEEN • FALL 1986
Center For Awalccnmg Eli1.abclh Callan· A Ocntlc Death
Hospice Ernest Morgan • Dealing Crcotively with De.th
• Home Burial Box· The Woke The Raven MockcrWood.slorc and Wildwoods Wooom • Good Medk:inc: The
Sweat Locl&e
~UAtt JOURNAL
ISSUE TWENTY . SUMMER 1988
Prcsavc Appalachian Wildcmcss Highland$ of Roan •
Cclo Community • Land Trust • A.rthur M<><i;an School •
Zoning Issue • "The Ridge" • Farmers and thc Farm Bill
Oood Medicine: "Land" Acid Rain· Ouke·s Power Play •
Cherolcee Miaohydro Project
P.O. Box 638 Leicester, NC Katuah Province 28748
For more info: call Rob Messick a1 (704) 754- 6097
Name
Regular Membership......$ I0/yr.
Sponsor..........................$20/yr.
Contributor.....................$50/yr.
Address
Ciry
Area Code
Summer, 1991
State
Phone Number
Zip
ISSUE TWENTY.TWO. Wl'NTER ·ss~9
Olobal Warmu,g • Fire This Time • Thomas Beny on
"Bion:gions" • Eanh Exercise. Kore Loy McWhiner. An
Abundance of Emplmess • LETS • Chronicles or Aoyd •
D:u,y Wood. The Beat Cl11n
Enclosed is $ - ~ - - u, give
this effort 011 ex1ra boos1
I can be a local contact
person for my area
ISSUETW£NTY.S1X . WlNTER, 1~89.'90
Coming or Age in the Ecoroic Eni Kids Saving Rainforest
• Kids Treecycling Company • ConOict Resolution .
Developing the Creative Spirit - Buth Power · Birth
Bonding. The Magic or Puppcuy . Home Schooling.
Naming Ceremony MOlhcT Eulh·s CIISS!OOO\ • Oardcnmg
for Children
ISSUETW£N'fY.SEVEN SPRINO. 1990
Transform•tion - lfoaling Power Pence to Their Ashes.
llealing in Kanlah Poem: "When Loft u, Grow·· • Poemr.
Stephen Wing The Belly • Food from lhe Ancient Forest
ISSUE TWENTY EIOITT SUMMER 1990
Carryu,g Ca~uy . Seu1ng Limit$ to Growth • Whu is
Overpopulation? • The Road Oang • Tru: Highway 10
No-.here • The 1.26 Projocl "Cuing Capacity"· People
and l11bitll • Designing the Whole Life Community .
Steady Sllltc - Poems, WOI Ashe B=n . Tnnsportcm.lbvos
· Review· COMUSlfl8
ISSUE TWENTY.NINE . FALl,JWlNTER 1990
From the MounLlllU to the Sea • Promc of The Little
Temt$- R1ver • Hcadwatcn Ecology • "It All Comes
Down 10 Water Quality. Wata Power: Action for Aquatic
HabitalS · Dawn Watchers · Cood Medicine: The Long
Human Being The Nonh Shore Road Kllllah Sells Out ·
Wllcrlhcd M"f) of the Katuah Province
ISSUETIURTY SPRJNO 1991
Economy/Ecology Rcsencrativa Economy • "Money Is
the Lowest Form of Wealth"· Claruvillc Mira:Je • The
VillJ,ge • Food Movers Ll/'eworlt • Oood Medicine:
"Village Economy·. Shelton Laurel. LETS
Issue 31
Back Issues
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Complete Set (3· lO, 13-16, 18-20,
22-24. 26-30)
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X.Otu.nfi JourrwL page 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
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>.
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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
A name given to the resource
<em>Katúah Journal</em>, Issue 31, Summer 1991
Description
An account of the resource
The thirty-first issue of the <em>Katúah Journal</em> focuses on "earth energies" and humans' reconnection with the earth through dowsing; earth healing and Earth Energy workshops; and understanding the Earth grid. Authors and artists in this issue include: David Wheeler, Madeline H. Dean, Joyce Holbrook, Clyde Hollifield, Richard Nester, Charlotte Homsher, Page Bryant, Richard Lowenthal, James Proffitt, Lee Barnes, Jim Houser, Emmett Greendigger, Ivo Ballentine, Rob Messick, David McGrew, George Agricola (1556), Douglas A. Rossman, and Mara. <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.
Dowsing by David Wheeler.......3<br /><br />The Responsibilities of Dowsing: An Interview with Tom Hendricks by Madeline H. Dean.......5<br /><br />Ceremonies of the Moment: An Interview with Joyce Holbrook.......6<br /><br />"Jack-o-Lanterns," Acid Rain, and the Electrical Life of the Earth by Clyde Hollifield.......8<br /><br />Poem: "Old Houses" by Richard Nester.......10<br /><br />Katúah and the Earth Grid by Charlotte Homsher.......11<br /><br />The Call of the Ancient Ones by Page Bryant.......13<br /><br />"If the Earth Is to Heal, Our Hearts Must Be Broken" by Richard Lowenthal.......15<br /><br />Good Medicine: On Agression.......17<br /><br />Poems by James Proffitt.......18<br /><br />Green Spirits: Sacred Forests by Lee Barnes.......19<br /><br />Off the Grid by Jim Houser.......20<br /><br />Natural World News.......21<br /><br />"Just Doing Their Job" by Emmett Greendigger.......23<br /><br />Time to Take the Time to Take the Time by Ivo.......25<br /><br />Drumming.......26<br /><br />Whole Science by Rob Messick.......29<br /><br />Tuning In by Charlotte Homsher.......29<br /><br />Review: Light in the Wind.......30<br /><br />Chestnut Grafting Project by David McGrew.......31<br /><br />Events.......32<br /><br />Webworking.......34<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
New Age movement
Dowsing
Environmental education--North Carolina--Asheville
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>
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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)
Acid Deposition
Alternative Energy
Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Studies
Earth Energies
Economic Alternatives
Education
Folklore and Ceremony
Forest Issues
Good Medicine
Habitat
Health
Katúah
Plants and Herbs
Poems
Radioactive Waste
Reading Resources
Recycling
Sacred Sites
South PAW (Preserve Appalachian Wilderness)
Transportation Issues
Turtle Island
Water Quality
Western North Carolina Alliance
Wilderness
-
https://omeka.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
' '
r--"---,
RECREATIONAL FOREST IN
SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS
1
.. 111*
C
C
w
~
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~
,,. ----,\
1010
C
,r,
0
OIUIIRICANES
HITTING
CIRCULAR
ISLANDS
I
/
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EFHCTIVELY
NONEOUILtlRIUM
LANOSCAl'ES
E
. . -1"----
\
--
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I
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10•
}
AUSTRALIAN
~REST
FIRES FIIQM
1954 ,.,,
IIY YEAR
.
__ ...,
}
}
)
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
-$-ga t ho
'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
�..
,J.''',•
' ,
....
-
Mountair
t
.u
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 .
~ .... T..-.i. ,.,; .. ~ ... 'lb. 11- .-11... ... ... ~ . _
- p"'!!:'I,> !>..lo li-.,.._......1:Do.t..,__.,_-,..:,:-».t~
°" ~-----' r~ :.,_....,
.. """ ,._ .. ~...
... ~ c!-i<iDo1t..,.t11.i-'l....w
-.i-.J f-m
p,....z11oo.~.jt>.-..
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:u. ..... L\~ .... .....l ~J.l. a.;.~-..
.,.J:;,.. ....:;r..l,1>.i..o.....-.i..-...J.
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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 = $._ __
Issue# _ _@ $2.50 = $._ __
Issue# _ _@ $2.50 = $._ __
Issue# _ _@ $2.50 = $._ __
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
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 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>
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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>
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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>
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Journals (Periodicals)
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
-
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Text
ISSUE 33 WINTER 1991-92
$2.00
�Drawing by Rob Messick
~UAHjOURNAL
PO Box 638
Leicester, NC
Katuah Province 28748
ti}
C,
Q,-
Postage Paid
Bulk Mail
Permit #18
Leicester, NC
28748
~
...
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Printed on recycled paper
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED
�Fire's Power..................................
by David Wheeler
3
What Is Natural?..............................
5
by David Wheeler
Do Clean:uts Mimic Fire?....................
6
Smokey and the Red Wolves................
7
Fire in Jeffreys Hell..........................
8
by Vic Weals
Poems..........................................
by Barbara J. Sands
9
Fire and Forge................................
by Jan Davidson
and David Brewin
11
The First Fire..................................
A Cherokee Legend
12
Hearth and Fire in lhe Mountains........... 14
by Barbara Wickersham
Good Medicine................................
15
Midwinter Fires...............................
Poems by Jeffery Beam
18
Natural World News.........................
20
Who Will Have !he Power?.................
by Veronica Nic/10/a.t
22
Litmus Lichens................................
by Rob Messick
24
Reading the Inner Tree.......................
by Charlo1te Homsher
25
Review:
Where rite Ravens Roost.....................
25
Around the Fire...............................
by lee Barrres
26
Drumming.....................................
27
Poem: "Sky Mangler"........................
by Mike Wilber
29
Review:
The Sound of Light...........................
31
Events..........................................
33
\Vcbworking..................................
34
Wlntcr , 1991 -92
Fire is one of the four Great Beings, the
elements !hat move Creation.
Fire is the catalytic spark of the life
essence. Living, we are warm and moving;
non-living, we are like ashes, cold and dead.
No wonder ancient wisdom associated Fire
with the directed passion of the will. It is
fitting that through the ages the spirit of life
has been depicted as "the sacred fire."
Fire radiates all around us in the
life-giving energy of the Sun.
Fire is at the center; in the slick and
sweat of love a spark is ignited between a
male and a female and life is born anew.
Fire in its many forms powers the
movement and the production of our societies.
The hearth fire is the center of the home.
Fire cooks the food, warms the dwelling, and
from the fireplace the old stories spring alive
into the family room.
In the heart of every green plant cell the
sunfire drives the process of photosynthesis,
upon which life on Eanh depends.
But ftre is also the changer, lhe
destroyer - a demon of voracious appetite that
gobbles indiscriminately all it can ignite.
Fire unleashed destroys the house it
warmed.
Under the power of drought, forest
becomes desert.
Fire is the nuclear terror, shriveling all
life to ashes.
The most terrible punishment the
bishops could imagine was to bum a witch
alive at the stake.
Fire in the hands of the invaders torches
Lhe village huts and razes the crops in the
fields. Old cities are bombed and guued by
Fire.
Wildfire, the major force of change in
!he forest around us, is capable of overturning
in a matter of hours vegetative associations
that have stood for centuries.
The four elemenml beings circle in the
Great Round, the world we know.
Fire needs earthy fuel 10 eat, oxygen
from the air to breathe. Fire and water are
complementary - at firSt look they seem in
total opposition, but upon a second glance
they are seen to be in a careful and delicate
relationship. There is fire on these mountains
only because there is water to grow the wood
that bums. Born of the union of fire and
water, life is forever suspended in that
balance.
But what is the role of fire in our human
lives and in the life of the mountain forests
that surround us? Where is that balance?
Fire flickers and dances...too quick, too
changeable, 100 close to the essence of life
itself for us to ever expect definitive answers
to those essential questions. But it is
worthwhile for us to begin the process of
understanding.
We need to know Fire, one of the great
powers that shape our being in these
mountains, on this Earth.
The Editors
Drawing by Rob Messick
XAtuah
J~mat PQ9"- l
�EDITORlALSLASH:
Heather Blair
Emmeu Grcendigger
Charlone Homsher
Richard Lowenthal
Rob Messick
James Rhea
David Wheeler
EDITORIAL ASSISTANCE:
Acasia Berry
Christine Detweiler
John lngruss
Billy Jonas
Bill Melanson
Mamie Moller
Donna Stringer
Rodney Webb
Thanks again IO Mountain Gatdens for hospiUllily and inspiration.
Thanks to Larry Tucker for able computer assiSlBIICe.
As always, thanks to JH.
Thanks 10 Gene for the car, we couldn't ruive done ii without you!
COVER: by Rob Messick ©1991
PUBLISHED BY: Kattlah Journal
PRINTED BY: The Waynesville Mountaineer Press
EDITORIAL OFFICE THTS ISSUE: Billy Home and Gardens,
WRITE US AT: Katuah Journal
Asheville
Box 638; Leicester, NC; Kauiah Province 28748
TELEPHONE: (704) 754-6097
Diversity is an important element of bioregional ecology. both natural
and social. In acxord with this principle Katuah Journal tries IO serve as a
forum for the discussion of rcg.ional issues. Signed articles express only the
opinion of the authors and are not necessarily the opinions of the Katuah
Journal editors or staff.
The lnlCmal Revenoo Service has declared Katuah Journal a non-profit
~anization undu section 501(c)(3) oC the lnu:mal Revcnoo Code. All
contributions IO Katuah Journal are deductible from personal income tax.
Articles appearing in Katuah Journal may be rcprinltd in Olher
publications wilh permission from the Katuah Journal staff. ConLaCt the
journal in writing or call (704) 754-6097.
'LNVOCA'Tto'.N
When my skull lies with yours,
Will you sing for me?
The long sleep heals.
We will find new life in the spring.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
Here,
in the Ka1uah Province
of these ancient Appalachian mountains
where once the Cherokee Nation lived in freedom
berween the Tennessee River Valley and the Eastern Piedmont
between the Valley of the Roanoke and the Southern Plain
on this Tunic Island continent of Mother Ela, the Eanh
Here,
In this place we dedicate ourselves to remembering our deep
connection to the spirit of the land.
We bring this connection inro 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 limiis of the land
We preserve, defend, and restore the land
We give thanks for all that is good
Harmony 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 diminfahed as well.
Katuah Journal sends a voice...
with articles, stories, poems, and artwork
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 Editors
Doug Peacock - Criuly Years
Border by Ja.son TudlCf
KATUAH JOURNAL wants 10 communicate your thoughts and
feelings to the other people in the bioregional province. Send them 10 us
as leners, poems, sroriu, articles, drawings, or photographs, etc. Please
send yoiu contributions 10 us at: Katuah Journal; P. 0 . Box 638;
Leicester, NC; Kattlah Province 28748.
OUR NEXT ISSUE will be concerned with "Sustainable
Agriculture and Regional Diet". We need your input on topics including:
sustainable agriculture (alternative ag., low input, appropriate ag.,
permaculture, biodynamics, etc.); seed-saving techniques; wild-foods
and medicinals; regionaVcommunity food production and marketing;
Xatimf~ )ournot J>°'Je 2
seasonal diet and recipes; food preservation; green manures and
composting; agroforescry; and especially recommended resources,
guides, and contacts. Send all material by January 30th, 1992 to Lee
Barnes; Box 1303; Waynesville, NC 28786. (704) 452-5716.
THE SUMMER, 1992 ISSUE will be involved with the continually
controversial topic of Councils, and how to create more viable methods
of decision-making in the ful\Jre. Possible topics include: Native
American sovereignty, the State of Franklin, Town Meetings, Council of
All Beings, Regional Rainbow Gatherings, Grassroots Groups, Conflict
Resolution, and more? Submit all material by April 30th, 1992.
,.,lnur. 1991-92
�FIRE'S POWER
The Influence of Fire
on the Evolutionary History of the Southern Appalachians
by David Wheeler
Thunder rumbles over the old hms. Ir is
just after dusk, and the nwtmtains steam in rite
humid air ofsummer. 011 the somlrwestem
lrorizo11 great cloudbanks roil up i1110 tlte sky,
arching over tlte land like a pouncing beast,
blotting ow the stars.
High in those clouds, invisible to the eye,
thermal fron1s meet and clash. creating turmoil
in the skies. The collision of hot and cold air
creates violent gusts and downdrafts of wind.
The clouds become enonnous electrical
generators. Humid air condenses into raindrops
then into ice crystals within the whirling
confusion inside the cloudbank. The electrical
forces generated by the clouds become
polarized. In the space of only tens of
milliseconds, there is a branched discharge of
energy within the cloud called the
"stepped-leader" that moves first horiwntally
and then downward at one-third lhe speed of
light.
The Eanh is also electrically charged. As
the tip of the stepped-leader approaches the
Eanh's surface, an answering discharge rises
from the Eanh. The two join and cause a "return
stroke," a surge of intense ionization that moves
back up the leader channel toward the cloud in
the brilliance ,~e see as cloud-to-ground
lil?htning. The whole process has 001 yet taken a
whole second, but there has been an elecaical
discharge of, on the average, 40,000 amperes although discharges of 340,000 amperes have
been measured. The temperature within the
leader channel reaches 30,000 degrees Kelvin.
After 40 10 80 milliseconds a new leader is
l.>i.ntcr, 1991-92
D,awmg by Jomes Rhea
formed and again the process is repeated. Most
visible lightning consists of two to four return
strokes. The rapid expansion of the
super-heated air around the lightning channel
produces a shock wave, so that shonly after
seeing the glare of lightning arcing through the
sky, we hear the booming sound of thunder.
Lightning strikes with awesome power. 011
a l11gh ridge a sta11di11g dead snag is seared by
the blast and explodes imo flame. leaves 011 the
ground ig11ire from the hear ofthe blaze, and the
fire is 011 tlte move, traveling uphill.fanned by
the wind.
The experience of a thunderstonn with
lighrning is intense, but it is a common and
completely natural process. There are about 40
million cloud-to-ground lightning saikes in the
United States each year. It is esumated that
around the world there are 50 10 100 lightning
discharges every second, although half of these
remain in the clouds. Lightning is one of the
great powers of nature.
In the Southern Appalachians lightning
saikcs are frequent during the summer storm
season, which lasts from April through August.
There are usually between 40 and 60
thunderstorm days/year. A review of the records
of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park by
Lawrence S. Barden and Frank W. Woods
showed that between 1940 and 1969 lightning
caused 77 fircs wit.hin the park boundaries.
During the course of an eleven-year study they
recorded six lightning fires per year in their one
million acre study area.
In the conifer forests of the West. with their
dry summers, lightning strikes often start raging
holocaustS that climb into the high 1JCC1ops and
sometimes bum off thousands of acres. Our
image of lightning fires is based on that model.
But in the Southern Appalachians lighcning
saikes during the summer rainy season when
the deciduous leaves arc green and full of
moisture and the fuel on the ground is damp.
There are few dry lightning strikes in the
Southeast, and lightning fires usually are soon
extinguished by a drenching rain or subdued by
a steady rainfall. It has been estimated that the
average lightning fire burns five to 10 acres of
forest. Thus, the effects of ligh1ning fires seem
10 have been small, irregular dis1urbances,
localized on south-facing slopes and ridgetops at
higher elevations which would show the driest
conditions and be most prone to lightning
strikes. The deep coves and nonh-facing slopes
were so moist as to be vinually fireproof.
But if the effects of lightning fires were
limited, there was another source of ftre in the
southern mounm.ins that unquestionably had
more impac1: the human beings. The best
archaeological evidence we have uncovered says
that the first humans were present in this area
12,000 years ago. These were
hunting-gathering people. Fire was
unquestionably pan of their technological
toolkit.
Geographer Carl Sauer says in his essay.
"Man's Role in Changing the Face of the
Earth," "Speech, tools and fire are the tripod of
culture and have been so, we think, from 1he
beginning. About the hearth, the home and
workshop are centered. Space heating under
shelter, as a rock overhang, made possible
living in inclement climates; oooking made
palatable many plant product~; industrial
(oonunuod annul P'&")
X<ltuan Jouri!"f p ~ 3
�(c:onunued from page 3)
innovators experimemed with heat treatment of
wood, bone, and minerals. About the fireplace,
social life took form, and the exchange of ideas
was fostered. The availability of fuel has been
one of the main facton. determining the location
of clustered habitation."
Besides using fire in the village, the human
occupants of the Southern Appalachians during
the Paleolithic period also set fires in the
surrounding countryside 10 encourage the
growth of grasses and forbs and thus improve
the range for the grazing animals that were the
foundation of their diet The humans also used
fire as a hunting technique to drive animals
either wward waiting spear-throwers or over
steep cliffs.
Around 10,000 years ago the life of these
Paleo-Indians began to change as they moved
into what is called the Archaic cultural period.
As they became more familiar with the land and
itS inhabitants, they began to settle more into
sedentary villages. As we are told in the ''Good
Medicine" column (see page 17), they burned
the area around their villages to keep out pesrs
and for better defensibility, and burned up the
mountain slopes in the fall of the year for
hunting purposes, to encourage berries, and to
make nut gathering easier. Light burning every
year also kept down fuel loads, thereby
preventing the possibility of large, hot fires that
would harm the forest and destr0y their villages.
Keeping the understory clear greatly facilitated
travel, particularly on the ridges and along the
riversides, where the fires helped the beavers to
clear the bouomland meadows.
Between 800 and 1,000 AD the Cherokee
tribe adopted maize agriculture and became
firmly established in a mixed agricultu-m.1/
hunting lifestyle. They practiced a rotating
"slash and burn" agriculture, burning their fields
off annually and continuing lO fire the
mountainsides every year.
Unlike lightning, humans could start fires
in any season of the year, wet or dry. Autumn,
when a fresh layer of light, dry leaves covered
the ground, was the preferred season for
burning off the forest floor; spring was the time
to bum over the fields. Thus, human-caused
fires were of greater frequency, often of greater
intensity, and covered larger areas than lightning
fires. To be talking about the prehistorical
impacL of fire on the SouLhern Appalachians is
to be talking mostly about human impac1 on lhe
mountains - through their main tool for change:
fire.
Fire was the the most imponant disturbance
fa~tor i~ th~ Southern Appalachians; through the
rrullenma since the retreat of the last glacier it
has been a major shaper of the highland forest
communily. In general, the light bums caused
by lightning and the primitive people thinned out
young trees and opened up the forest floor.
When trees got to a certain age and girth they
became less susceptible 10 fire damage, so that
on fire.prone sites they loomed over an open
forest noor that struck the first white explorers
as "park-like," reminding them of Lhe carefully
tended parks of Europe. Generally, it was the
moist coves and north,facing slopes had the
shrubs, the herbs, and the ephemeral flowers
that we associate with the deep forest.
We will never know many of the ways 1ha1
fire ha.c; influencc.:d the forest around U5. It
changed the chemical and te,ctuml composition
of the soil; it altered lhe microbial populations of
Xat1&aW-Jou.rn«l ... p"4)v '-f ',
p~sJ genlo,...,--
the forest: it killed insect
and
infestations of parasites and disease where it
was present. Yet Lhere were visible signs of the
force of fire's impact.
Because of the abundant rainfall in 1he
southern mountains, the forest cover
recuperated quickly from burning, but openings
remained to testify to fire's passing. Professor
Kenneth L. Carvell of West Virginia University
wrote, "When the first trappers and traders
penetrated the Southern Appalachian
wilderness, they discovered scattered treeless
areas. These forest opemings were of several
kinds; some natural. some man-caused (sic). In
cenain localities these made up a considerable
acreage. Treeless areas could be grouped into
five categories: sphagnum bogs, resembling the
muskeg of the nonh country; grassy glades,
dominated by tall grasses; upland meadows, of
debatable origin, but perhaps the result of Indian
burning; "old fields," areas formerly cleared by
the Indians for agriculture and now starring to
grow up; and finally the high elevation balds,
dominated by shrubs and stunted tree cover, but
not a true tree line. Although obscured by the
dense forest. these openings were discovered
readily, since the first trappers and traders
followed animal trails, and these often led from
one glady area to the next. These openings,
particularly the grassy glades and old fields,
were sought out at an early date by the
homesteaders and settled first, since they were
spared the difficult task of clearing the dense
forest cover to provide crop and grazing land.
"ln spite of these scattered openings, more
than 90% of the land was forested, and in the
Southern Appalachians 90% of the forest was
hardwood."
The early European explorers spoke of
grazing animals like elk and a small woods
buffalo roaming the forest along with an
abundance of deer. Deer are leaf-browsers that
like forest edges; elk and buffalo eat grass,
which grows in the open, indicating that.
particularly in the bottomlands, there were
substantial areas that were open and clear.
The grassy balds were found at the top of
the highest ridges (see KattW, Journal #5).
They were thought 10 be created by extreme
climatic conditions during the last Ice Age, but
they were apparently maintained largely by fire
since the climate warmed. Since fire
suppression has caused natural succession to
overtake the open balds, they are returning to
forest cover. These bald areas con1ain species of
grasses more commonly found in grasslands
1hat fire ecologist E. V. Komarek says "did not
develop wilhout a history offire."
Fire has changed 1he species composition
of the tall tree canopy, exerting strong selection
pressure among tree species on dry si1es. There
are species of trees living in the forest today lhar
are completely dependent on fire for their
continued existence. There arc other tree species
that 1hrive on di:aurbance and are thus
pamcularly adapted to fire.
Dr. Roben Zahner, formerly professor of
forestry at Clemson University, tells us, "Most
of the oak and pine forest stands in eastern
North America were fire maintained. Oaks and
Pines are not climax type species. Without
d1s1urbance, they would have been displaced by
maples. basswoods, hemlocks, beeches. and
other cove hardwood species. In an area with
rainfall as plentiful as the southern mounuuns,
1~ese 'cove· species would do well on anr good
sne. However. they are not at all fire tolerant. so
they were restricted from the dry south slopes
.
•
I
I
~
ano ridgetops that wire liable 10 burning.
'The mature trees of fire tolerant species
can survive burning. White pines are the most
fire tolerant trees. White pines have a thick bark
and can withstand any kind of fire except a
crown fire. They can survive when every1hing
else is burned. Their seed requires an exposed
mineral soil to germinate. Burning creates a
good seedbed for them, so that when they drop
their seed the following season it regenerates
and produces a strong stand of natural white
pine.
"White pine does not have serorinous cones
that pop open in the presence of heat, but the
pitch pine and the Table Mountain pine do have
serotinous cones. These species, too, require
exposed mineral soil for seed germination. They
like a crown fire that climbs into the trees, kills
everything, and opens their cones with the heat
of the names. Within a week they send down a
rain of seed onto the newly cleared ground.
Pitch pine and Table Mountain pine are
completely fire-dependent for their germination,
and since fire suppression has become the
policy in the national forests, their populations
have been diminishing.
"Oak trees' reproductive strategy is to set a
lot of young seedlings and saplings in the
understory. The young trees are relatively shade
tolerant, so they just stand beneath the canopy
and wait for a disturbance to open up a hole for
them to grow into.
"Oak trees have tough roots, and are less
likely to root-kill than most other species. When
a fire comes through, it will kill the young and
medium-sized oak trees right back 10 the
ground, and then - with much of the competiuon
wiped out - they will resprout into vigorous oak
stands.
"Yellow poplar has a lot of weedy
characteristics and is another species that does
well in areas likely to be disturbed by rues.
Poplar has two major reproductive strategies.
First, the tree will sprout at almost any age.
Secondly, each mature cree will put out tens of
thousands of seeds every year. Leaves fall and
cover the seeds up. This process continues year
after year making layers of seed underneath the
leaf cover. Poplar seed can remain stored in the
litter for 8-10 years. When a fire - or a
disturbance of any kind - does occur, it strips
off 1he layers of leaves. Many seeds die. but the
seeds on the layer left exposed genninnte and
begin to grow.
"Black locust trees are not fire tolerant, but
they are dependent on disturbance for
regeneration. Locust seeds are generally not
viable. The tree has become so effective at
regenerating from root suckers that it has
virtually lost iri; ability to reproduce by seed.
But it doesn't need to seed itself. The extensive
root system of a locust cnn recover a
burned-over site almost immediately.
"Sassafras, too, is an early succession tree.
Like locust, it is a good sprouter, but it also
sends out lots of viable seed.
'The ericaceous plants, such as
rhododendron and mountain laurel, are also
fire-dependent. Like the pines. they actually
encourage tire by the fuel in their leaves.
Rhododendrons can survive for 3 long time in
the forest understory, but they can't bloom or
set seed in the shade, so they drop their leaves
each year and wait. When a fire does occur, it
bums fast and hot on the depo~ited fuel and kills
everything. including the rhododendron i1self •
but also opens up the canopy overhead.
(cor11111ood on pite 30)
,.,ultct,
1'!19 f.l-02'
�WHAT IS NATURAL?
The Fire History of the Mountain Forests
The
usual strategy for bioregionnl
reinhabimtion is to restore the narural life
processes and native species of a region while
simultaneously working ro change human
living patterns and limit the human presence to
lessen the impact of our species on the land.
We are largely unaware of the many
subtle relationships that maintain the life ofa
biorcgion, and we are usually ign_orant of_1he
nature and imponance of the mynads of uny
organisms that live around us and are so
necessary in keeping up !he vitality of the
community. In our ignorance, all we ca~ do to
heal a place is 10 restore the macro- species
and macro-processes of life support and allow
enough space and freedom from h:1nun
interruption that the land can find 11s own
natural equilibrium.
For rhe Kaufah Province this poses a
problem: what is "natural"?
It was hardly a "forest primeval" that the
first European explorers encountered on the\r
arrival in the New World. What they found JO
eastern Turtle lsland was actually - at least in
part - a managed landscape. Yet, particularly
during the ninereenth cemury, wrirers
continued to purvey the image of "a foresr so
thick that a squirrel could travel from the
Atlantic to the Mississippi without touching
the ground." Francis Parkman, writing in
1892, described a scene beneath an
impenetrable foresr canopy where "all is
shadow, through which spors of timid
sunshine steal down among legions of lank,
mossy trunks, ... maued bushes, and rotted
carcasses of fallen trees." While scenes like
!his did abound, today we tend to see rhe old
forest as a mosaic of different types, doued
with openings, due largely t0 the presence and
use of fire.
At anolherextreme was forester llu
Maxwell of the US Forest Service, who wrore
an article on the "Use and Abuse of the Forest
by the Virginia Indians" for the William and
Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine in
1910, when foresters were coming 10 see fire
as an unmirigated evil which had no place in
the forest
Maxwell had a decidedly
uncomplimentary view of the First People and
their fire habits. ''Though white men are rated
high as destroyers of forest, they arc not JO Lhe
same class with Indians," he stated. "...They
are wasreful and destructive, as savages
usually are, and the word economy had no
place in his vocabulary...The Indian \s by
nature an incendiary, and forest burning was
the Virginia Indian's besetting sin."
Maxwell described "open, park-like"
forests unencumbered by undergrowth. He
described lands cleared for agriculture along
the riverbanks, and also spoke of damage
done by unextinguished campfires. He quoted
William B>Td, who surveyed the
Virginia-Nonh Carolina line in 1728-29: "On
their way, the fires they make in their camps
are left burning, which catching the dry leaves
which lie near, soon pu1 the adjacent woods in
a flame."
i.>lnt«. 1991 -92
The 1n1th about the ecological impact of
burning by the First People lies somewhere
between the extremes of viewpoint contrasted
above. A multi-disciplinary research team
from the University of Tennessee, which
included archaeologists Jeff Chapman,
ethnoboranis~ Andrea Shea and Patricia
Cridlebaugh and paleoecologists Paul and
I foz.el Delcourt, investigated the environs of
old O,erokee village sites in the valley of the
Little Tennessee River, and found seeds and
pollen in stralified soil samples that enabled
them to deduce some of the narive people's
use patterns.
Samples taken around the village of
Tuskegee showed heavy use and burning of
the bottomland and the low- and mid-elevation
terraces by the Cherokee 1,500 years ago.
Samples from an upland site near the village
showed that the higher elevations surrounding
the Little Tennessee Valley were under
continuous forest cover for 3,000 years - fires
may have burned Lhere, but they did not .
pennanently thin out the forest canopy · unul
400 years ago, when weed seeds began to be
regularly deposited in the soil.
The team's research seems 10 support
rhe general conclusion made by retired
forestry professor Roben ?,aJtncr. "In valleys
like the Little Tennessee River Valley there
h.ad been conlinuous large se1tlemen1s by early
cuhures since Jong before the Cherokees.
When white settlers came into those valleys
they found the land already largely cleared of
forests by the lndian~. _The vall~ys and the
!ow!lr slopes surrounding the villages w~re
heavily and frequently burned. but the high
mountains were not, as a generJI rule. Some
balds \\Cre burned 10 maintain elk habitat, but
deer and turkey were largely found 31 lower
elevations, so that is where the bulk of the
burning occurred."
So what is the "natural" vegetative
,, .
pattern of growth in the South';_ffl
Appalachians? In !he sense of . natural _a.., ..
"growth unaffected by human mtcrvenuon,
Dr1w111g by J:«a1 Tuclla
we will never know. Twelve thousand years
of continuous habitation is a long time span.
There have been major climate changes during
the time the Fll'St People have been here.
Evolutionary adjustmenrs have been m~e in
that time, which must have included adJusnng
to the presence of the humans - and their fires.
Although their numbers were few, it
seems that the native inhabitants, primarily
through !heir use of fire, had a profound
impact on the natural history of the Southern
Appalachians. They did not dominare .
evolution in the mountains, but they did
influence the composition of the native flora in
certain areas by opening them to the sun and
encouraging fi~dependenr and fire-tolerant
associations. They influenced predator/prey
relationships by enhancing habi1a1 for deer,
elk, and other game animals, encouraging
their populations and thereby providing fo~
greater numbers of the other predator species
who also hunted them.
We will never be able 10 replicate the
conditions of 12,000 years ago, or the
changes that have happened since: But _we
know that, in spite of human modaficauon, .
this was still a magnificent land.i;cape when 11
was first encountered by the whites. The
human inhabitants were clearly a factor
influencing the process of change, but they
were only one factor among the many that
created the diverse mosaic of forest
associations scattered throughout the
mountains. While there were disturbed areas
that supponed the early-succcss1on, shade
rntolernnt trees, there were also nonh-facing
coves 1ha1 went without a major disturb3ncc
for hundreds of years at a time.
Fire was an influential force in this
region. Fire-dependent tree species have been
(cominocd 011 ,,. ., Jll&C)
Xat,101' Journm paga 5
�(canunued hom pqe S)
maintained in these mountains for many
generations. The grassy balds, that were
created during the last lee Age but were
apparently maintained by fire and grazing
pressure since, arc only now falling 10 forest
succession. The power of the element fire can
still be fell in the forest, even after 75 years of
fire suppression.
The Firs1 People, largely through their
use of fll'e, exened a strong influence on 1he
regional life community, but not a debilitanng
one. The First People found a balance, a
niche, within that community that 1he natural
life suppon systems could maintam. Unlike
the Europeans, the native inhabitants did no1
render their environment dysfunctional, but
only moved it 10 a different point of balance.
The region still had itS integrity; it still was
operating at full capacity.
Since it is impossible to recreate a virgin
mountain landscape, how then do we restore
an optimally adapted ecological community?
Clearly, fighting every fire is not necessary or
advisable. Lightning fires have been allowed
to bum for all but the last 75 years of human
habitation. They are a pan of the natural
landscape and should be allowed 10 return.
But do we have to bum off the
mountainsides every year 10 mimic the ruuive
influence? If so, how much should we bum?
How could we maintain the precious layer of
humus 1ha1 contributes so much to 1he growth
and health of 1he forest?
On the other hand, if we let narural
succession run its course, are we going to lose
DO C LEARCUTS MIMIC FIRE?
.
The current policy of the US Forest
Service is to clearcut lI"dCts of up to 43 acres
where all the vegetation over one inch in
diameter is removed and the cleared area i~
either replanted to ruws of monocullured
while pine (around which is sprayed ht.-rbicidc
to prevent competition from any intrnding
native hardwoods) or allowed 10 regenerate by
natural sprouting and seeding. This n:suhs in
large areas of ''even-aged" tree s1andli that are
easy and economical 10 cu1 when the loggers
retum to "harvest" the adolescent regrowth
60-80 ye:m; later.
~
This method "mimics natural processes
of disturbance, like fire." claims 1he Forest
Service.
But that is a hotly disputed claim.
"Simply put, clearcu1ting docs not emulate
nature in mixed hardwoods," declared retired
Forest Service silviculrural researcher Leon
Minckler in a recent anicle. "Oean:utting
advocates argue thal clearcurs replicate
wildfire bum parches. This statement is
questionable in the arid Wc:;t ond almost
irrelevant in the humid East where large.
high-intensity forest fires rarely occur.''
Minckler is reinforced by all the environmental
groups working in the Southern Appalachians
today.
"To begin with," says Haywood Greer.
a local activist, "fires don't bulldoze 15 foot
wide system roods that tear up slopes; cause
erosion and siltation in ~trcams: and open the
forest_ forever after 1 poachers, picnickers.
0
arsonists, campers, hunters, ORY'ers, and
whoever else has st.renglh and commitment
..
XotunI1 Joumot pCUJr. 6
..,
•
9
t
I
r t,
f
t.,fJ
valuable diversity and endangered species?
Can we afford that?
Two examples illusl!'llte the dilemma
posed by this uncenainty.
The first case centers around a concern
that communities of Table Mountain pine
might be eliminated from the moun111ins
because of changing conditions due 10 fire
suppression. Table Mountain pine occurs in
association with mountain laurel and galax.
All three species are fire adapted, and the
Table Mountain pine needs fire to survive.
The tree has serotinous cones. meaning that
intense heat causes them 10 open and spill their
seed. The species of the Table Mountain pine
association encourage fires hot enough 10
"crown," to bum into the tops of the trees.
Crown fires are hot enough 10 kill some large
trees, bum the cover off the forest floor down
10 bare mineral soil, and cause the serotinous
cones of the Table Mountain pine 10 open.
Those fires would regenerate the Table
Mountain pine association. which would then
work to perpe1ua1e itself by making ilS habi1a1
area more flammable.
Ftre suppression is clearly causing the
demise of the Table Mountain pine tree.
Existing stands are becoming old and decadent
and there is little regrowth of new stands.
Should we set intentional prescribed bums 10
preserve this fire-dependent species?
That depends on whether we consider
this species to be "natural." Lightning fires (as
we saw on page 3) tend 10 be small in area and
low in intensity. Lightning fires seldom
produced the crown ftres necessary 10
regenerate the Table Mountain pine.
enough 10 pul a vehicle in gear and gas
enough to make it up the hill.
"A fire doesn't come in with a chain saw
and a skidder cut all the tree~ and haul them
away out of the woods. Fires in the mounrnins
- depending on the time of ye:ir and the
dryness - arc usually cool and run lo,.., 10 1he
ground. burning off the leaf cover and 1he
underbrush. S11;all sarlings ;md understory
trees are someumcs killed. hut unless a lot of
fuel· like Jogging slash· h:i~ built up on the
forest floor, fires seldom get large enough 10
kill 1he biggest trees. If the big trees are ktl led,
they s1and n long time as dead snags, offoring
1he finest kind of den location for
over-wintering animals. 1l1e forest biomass
stays in the woods. Eventuallv the dead trunks
rot out and topple over. and their bodies
decompose 10 enrich the soil for the next
generations of trees.
"Also, fire~ around here don·t bum
everything in a 20 or 40 acre area. Most fires
hip-hop around and bum at random • maybe
heavily here, but maybe only slightly burned
over there. Fires tend m create mosaics of
disiurbance on these steep ridges."
Robert Zahner. formerly a forestry
professor at Clemson University. talks more
specifically about regeneration. ''The species
that rclllm after a fire arc somewhat different
than what comes back after a clearcut. l\aiural
eanh-healing species sprout up after a fire weedy planL~ mostly. 1ha1 gro"' from :;eed that
had tx.-en stored in the soil under the litter until
the liner was burned off and 1he seed was
exposctl. Most of the herbaceous seed that
germinates following a fire is quite different
from the seed th:il would grow follm, ing a
We do not know about the fires set by
the native inhabitanLS. There probably was
great variation in the intensity of the fires 1hey
sci, but generally, since they burned certain
areas often, it would seem that they would
keep the fuel loads down and have light, cool
fires every few years.
The great conflagrations occurred in the
mountains after the logging era. The loggers
left great piles of slash in the forest that, when
ignited, caused hot, destructive fires that
burned the whole landscape.
The Table Mountain pine could be only
minimally sustained by lightning fires. In the
moun1ains, the tree inhabits only the driest
sites or reclaims badly degraded areas. It
seems very likely that, while it has long been
present, the species came into its own through
1he over-burning of the white mountaineers,
and expanded its influence due 10 the logging
boom. h does not seem reasonable 10
perpetuate abuse in order 10 maintain a species
that to a great extent was a product of human
abuse. h seems that 1he ecological need for the
Table Mountain pine has largely passed away,
1ha1 it is not a naturally endangered species,
and that we do not have 10 talce special
measures to re1ain it, but could lei narure 1ake
its course.
A second case is the oak tree family,
widespread throughout the mountains and an
important source of mast upon which many
species of wildlife depend greatly. As we
were told by Dr. Robert Zahner (on page 4 of
this issue) frequent, light fires are influential
in the continued regeneration of oak stands in
(continued oo page 30)
clearcut
"I-ires also release nutrients in the
residual ash which change the soil situation.
Leaf liuer and sometimes foliage is burned in
the fire. Carbon and nitrogen arc given off,
but 1hc minerals stay on the site and oc·t as an
instant shot of fenilizer, which changes the
pH and the nutrient bal:lnce and generates a
different populallt)n of herb.,ceous plants.
''After clearcuuing, some sites are
prep:m:-d hy intentionally setting fires called
"prescribed hums." In tcm1s of the site, thai's
probably a better wuy of,.., orking than
clearcumng alone - unfortunately they bum a
site to prepare it for planting white pine tree~.
Thal negates nny advantage there might ha, e
been 10 1ha1 technique.
"Right now there arc plenty of open
areas con1aining early successional species.
We don't have to create them. By way of
immediate policy recommendations. I would
suggest we let present old-growth stands
continue to grow, keeping out uny fires except
lightning fires. Lightning fires we should let
bum. Because they bum during a rain,
lightning tires don't usually burn very much,
and they give a nke mosaic of disturbance.
''Why not just let lighming do it'! If we
are trying to maintain natur.tl systems and
narural biological diver.;i1y, then just letting
lightning fires bum would be the best and
easiest way to do it. Mo~t of this forest is so
disturbed. beat up. and cut over anyway. It\
a long. long way from being a natural syscem.
t would prefer 10 let lighming-ignited fires
burn wherever they are going 10 bum, and just
let them help the foreM 10 recover." , .
Winter, 199 1-92
- fr...
,__,, J
I
f
�SMOKEY AND THE RED WOLVES
For many years after white settlers
staned moving into the Southern
Appalachians, fire pauems changed linle from
the days of native habitation. The whites were
farmers, coming from Europe where the great
forests had long been leveled. They tended to
see the forest as an enemy 10 be overcome.
Wilderness equaled "wasteland" in their
minds, and they started out energetically 10
overcome the forest to make it produclive
fannland. But for their ally Fire, it would have
been a losing battle. The whites used fire in
clearing agricultural fields as the lndians had,
but the immigrants first girdled trees with their
steel axes, planted crops in the resulting
"deadenings," and then later felled and burned
the standing snags. Their numbers and their
steel tools made the newcomers more effective
at clearing land - and keeping it clear - than the
Indians had ever been. The forest began to
recede up the hillsides.
The white people also began to mimic
the Indians' practice of burning the forest
noor. At first they did it for identical reasons,
but as they became more settled and the
predator species were thinned out, the
Europeans began to free-range livestock in the
woods. At frrst there were only a few scrawny
cows and scattered bands of domestic pigs
roaming the forest, but as the numbers of
white inhabitants grew, they put more and
more animals out to forage on the mountain
slopes. And they staned more and more fires
to encourage grass and open grazing areas. As
old-timer Taylor Crockett of Macon County
has said, "fn those days people vinually
replaced the native wildlife with cattle, hogs,
and sheep." Firing the woods became an
annual ritual, supposedly economically
justifiable - but also exciting and fun.
The early white settlers found one
purpose to which the First People had never
employed fire: genocide. One example was
Colonel James Grant's raid of 176 I. In
retaliation for a Cherokee victory ai Fon
Loudoun, Tennessee, in which 50 white
people were kiUed, Grant was ordered on a
campaign through the Little Tennessee and
Tuckaseegee River Valleys. He rode with a
vengeance, destroying crops and every village
he found. In his journal Grant bragged that he
had torched fifteen towns (including the
principal town of Katuah): ravaged "l,400
acres of com. beans, pease, etc."; and driven
about 5,000 men, women, and children "into
the woods and mountains to srnrve."
As more and more Europeans flooded
into the mountains, the increased use of fire
became detrimental to the forest. Although fire
Winter, 1991 92
was still being used largely in the traditional
manner, its use was so frequent and so
universal that the forest was degraded in many
areas because it was not allowed time to
recuperate.
H.B. Ayers and W.W. Ashe, in their
repon on The Sowhern Appalachian Forest,
published in 1905 for the US Geological
Survey, wrote that, "More than 78,000 acres
of the region examined have recently been so
severely burned as 10 kill the greater ponion of
the timber. but the greater damage has been
done by light fires creeping through the
woods year after year. scorching the butts and
roots of timber trees, destroying seedlings and
forage plants, consuming forest litter and
humus, and reducing the thatch of leaves
which breaks the force of the rain. Evidence
of such fires is found over approximately
4,500,000 acres, or 80 percent of the entire
area."
At one study site in Cades Cove in the
Great Smoky Mountains National Park,
researcher Mark Hannon found that the mean
interval between fires on south-facing slopes
between 1855 and 1940 was 12.7 years.
Considering that observation, Peter White,
also of the Park research st.aff, said that in
Cades Cove, "During the period of
Euro-American settlement, fires were so
frequent that few treeS reached a size capable
of surviving even cool surface ftres."
The damage to the Appalachian forest
and waters began to be noticed by the late
1800's. People began to complain of the
erosion caused by the frequent burning and
the resulting decline in stream quality. A
history of the US Forest Service in the
southern mountains, Mountaineers and
Rangers, mentioned a survey of the Southern
Appalachian forestlands published in 1902 by
Secretary of Agriculture James Wilson and
Gifford PinchoL The survey said that "the
special hardwood forests of the beautiful
Appalachians were being destroyed by
lumbering, fires, and - perhaps worst - by
mountainside farming. These agents of
destruction were causing the soil 10 leach,
slopes to erode, and streams to flood their
banks with rain and melting snow."
It was not a coincidence that the tum of
the century also saw the beginnings of the
forestry profession. The Biltmore Forestry
School, the first forestry school m the United
States, was located in Pisgah Fore.\t, North
Quolina. It was begun by the German forester
Carl Schenck, who was brought over by the
Vanderbilts, and subsequently directed by
Gifford PinchoL Suddenly the mountain
forests were attracting professional imercs1.
There was a growing awareness that the
yearly burning was destroying a fonune in
timber, and, since the railroads had finally
penetrated into the mountains, there was at last
a way 10 get at it To the foresters a forest was
an investment, more than an ecosystem with
its own processes and priorities.
The newly-convened foresters saw
burning the woods as the utmost stupidity. 1n
1923, Nonh Carolina Forester J. S. Holmes
surveyed rural residents to determine the
answer to the "burning" question: why did
they ftre the woods? He fouod that some fires
were staned by ''carelessness" and others by
"negligence." "Locomolives," "hunters,"
"sawmills," and the blanket category
"matches. cigar stumps, boys, etc."
contributed their share. While the most
common reason stated for starting woodland
fires was "to improve the range," Holmes'
survey showed conclusively that by far the
greatest proportion of fires were sraned by
people "without much object, 10 see it bum,
etc."
The damage to the forest was
considerable, but the worst was to come. The
large timber companies followed the railroad
into the mountains. and the Appalachian
timber boom was on. The timber barons were
ruthlessly exploiting a resource. They lo;ged
widely and indiscriminately. Whole hillsides
were cleared. Yet the greatest descruction came
from fires that staned after the loggers had left
a site. ln their greed and carelessness, the
logging companies left behiod on the
desecrated slopes great piles of slash, the tops
of fallen m:es. This build-up of fuel caused
fierce, hot fires that destroyed the remaining
crces, burned up the organic layer of the soil,
caused massive erosion and siltation. and even
degraded the potential of the forest to recover.
1n the eyes of the foresters, and
increasingly among the general public, fl.l'C
began to be perceived as an unmitigated evil.
ln his book Fire in America, Stephen J. Pyne
quotes lines from a poem of the period.
'They are loosed from their hiding
And the red wolves are riding There is blood and blast and fury in their
eyes And their packs go a-crashing
There's a crackle and lashing
Breathing smoke and sparks and splinters to
the skies.
- Anthony Euwer, "Red Wolves"
(canunucd on next page)
x.atuar, Journat
pQCJe 7
�(continW'd from page 7)
The Southern Appalachians came to be
seen as a national disgrace, and a call grew for
the establishment of timber reserves in the
region. It seemed to be the only way to halt
the fires and the flooding.
The timber companies were agreeable.
They had already used the forested eastern
mountains. Now their sights were set on the
tall old-growth stands of the Pacific
Nonhwest. They were happy to sell out and
leave. Timber barons and politicians alike
found that it was sttategically wise to blame
the problems of the forests on fire. Fire
control enjoyed a political unanimity that
controversial initiatives to regulate logging
practices did not. "To save the forests, the
main thing is to make laws to stop the fires,"
intoned timber magnate F. E. Weyerhauser
before a congressional committee in 1908.
The Weeks Act of 1911 provided for federal
purchase of timberlands in the East, and the
US Forest Service was born to care for and
manage the lands.
The new Forest Service rangers in the
Appalachians saw their first task as stopping
fire. They consn-ucted a fire lookout system
and organized fire-fighting crews. They began
a large-scale enforcement and public education
program to convince local fanners to give up
the practice of firing the woods. Throughout
the l 930's and the I940's, as the forest
gradually grew back and began to repair the
scars of its mistreatment, firefighting and
prevention was a major focus of the rangers'
effons. In a stroke of advertising genius, they
recruited the aid of Smokey the Bear. The
national public relations campaign was
successful beyond all eitpectations, and as a
side-effect greatly enhanced the image of the
by Vic Weals
East Tennessee rivers were at their
lowest flow in anybody's memory, and the
15.38 inches of rain that fell in the first seven
months of 1925 were less than half the
normal.
The Knoxville weather station was in its
55th year, and 1925 was the honest a.nd driest
yet recorded, meteorologist J.I. Widmeyer
told the local newspapers.
The temperature for Monday, Sept. 7,
~ 925, is still the highest recorded on that date
in all the 109 years of the Knoxville weather
station. The official reading was 102 degrees.
Logging camps had their greatest exodus
of workers. Heat without letup and short
tempers had sent many a man packing.
Benha and Frank Coppenger were still
working for logging contractor Gold Millsaps
a1 the beginning of September in l 925.
Bertha remembers Saturday, Sept. 5,
1925, as a notably ominous, uncomfonable
day in Jeffreys Hell. There was smoke in the
air from the woods fire that had now burned
more than two weeks across the ridge on
South Fork.
Frank was working at scaling logs that
Saturday. He measured them as they were
brought to the rail landing, and kept a record
of 1he number and kind and size.
Frank brought Will Graves, the camp
foreman, home to the Coppenger quarters
after their work day ended in the afternoon.
~~lU\» J(!Uf~t pm.JC
8
Forest Service as the friends of Smokey and
all the forest crearures.
Smokey's massive propaganda
campaign did help greatly in the fire
prevention effon, but it also had some
negative results. Only in recent years has it
become once again acceptable 10 talk of the
positive and necessary effects of
' THEN JT HAPPENED! SOME CAREI.E55 PE.RSOIII
i'LIPPEO A LIGHTED MATCH •••
From 'TM Tr,u Story a/Smoky tM B~ar·
naturally-caused fire in some ecosystems. The
Tall Timbers Research Station in Florida, for
eitample, opened up new pathways in fire
research and for 20 years has sponsored an
annual scienrific conference on fi.re ecology.
ln 1963. the Leopold Report. presented 10 the
National Park Service, and th~ 1964
Wilderness Act both called on federal agencies
to recognize fire's role in wildlancrs. But
because of the degree of one-sided
conditioning, the general public is having
difficulty accepting the fact that fire is a
process that is natural and, in some ecological
communities. essential.
One guide to the future is the fire policy
in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park
which has the avowed goal of maintaining an
FIRE IN
JEFFREYS HELL
Frank filled his homemade poplar-board
bathtub with warm water and invited Will to
take his first bath.
Frank told him to take his time, and Will
did, soaking for maybe half an hour in the last
great enjoyment he would experience on eanh.
Benha says they had dinner early
Sunday, and right after that, about 12 noon,
the men were called out The fire was coming
across the mountain into Jeffreys Hell itself.
"Frank left with the other men to tty 10
smn a back-fire and maybe save the camp,"
Benha says.
''There was nothing fo.r me 10 do but
1alce the children and ge1 ou1 of 1hcre,"
Bertha explains at this point 1ha1 her two
oldest daughters, Sylvia and Beatrice, had left
camp only a week before for the Stan of the
school term in Tellico Plains. It was the two
youngest daughters, Bessie and Lula, who
were in Jeffreys Hell with their parents on that
fateful day.
"I got my husband's suit and draped it
over my ann," Benha continues. "I put the
Bible into his front pocket. The Bible had all
the family binh records in it"
"I had a new dress from Sears and
Roebuck. I had never worn that dress. It was
still in the box that it had been mailed in. I
ecosystem similar 10 that present before white
settlement for the purpose of human
recreational enjoyment. Flawed though the
guidelines may be from the point of view of
habitat preservation, the Park still represents
550,000 acres of (nearly) de /aero
wilderness.
Under current laws, the Park is not able
to use prescribed bums and must suppress
every fire ignited within the Park boundaries.
However, a draft policy recommendation is
being prepared which will suggest that
naturally-caused fires be monitored and, in
some cases, be allowed 10 bum.
Under the new policy, the Park might be
able 10 use fire in cenain situations - to
suppress eitotic species invading the Park, for
example, or to reestablish habitat for species
like the red cockaded woodpecker, which
once inhabited the Great Smoky Mountains.
This bird likes open woodlands, and when the
undergrowth in its nesting area grows up
more than 10-15 feet in height, it abandons its
nesting site and moves elsewhere. However,
due to complete fire suppression, there is no
"elsewhere'' in the Park and little in the
mountains as a region. The woodpecker has
been sighted in eastern Tennessee. but the las,
confirmed sighting in the Park was in 1982,
although in recent years there have been
several unverified sightings of birds that could
be red cockaded woodpeckers.
Like the red wolf, a policy that allows
narurally-caused fires to bum may be
reintroduced in the Southern Appalachians vio
the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Fire has a place in the forest, of that we are
sure. We are less sure of how 10 bring fire
back into its proper place in the scheme of
things.
~
took it out of the box and draped iL over my
arm with my husband's suit
ttWe started down the railroad toward
the town of Jeffrey. It was several miles, 1
forget exactly how far.
"We walked the crossties. I couldn't
make it very fast because I wasn't used to
walking on crossties.
"And my least linlc girl, I had to carry
her most of the way.
''And it looked like every few minutes
we were going to be cut off by the fire.
''The train came up the grade, but didn'1
stop for us. The engineer motioned us down
toward the town," she recalls.
She says the locomotive had been in
the repair shed and was taken our hastily that
Sunday to go on the emergency run. The
screen that should have been in place on the
smokestack to catch sparks from the fireboit
was not in place.
And as the engine scattered hot cinclerS
into Jeffreys Hell, it set new fires behind it.
Garfield A. Milsaps also worked for
logging conttactor Gold Millsaps, and lived
in the same camp with Frank and Bertha
Coppenger and Bill Graves, the camp
foreman.
He remembers Sunday morning.
September 6, 1925.
"Bill Graves told me to get the horses
out of there while I could. We had them fine
big logging horses • Nonnans and Percberons
(continued on page 10)
loJ\.I\WT, J99J-9'2 I
�Barbara J. Sands
In Less Than Ten Moons
A message for my Brothers at Lewisburg
In less than ten moons,
the moans of pleasure in a moment's quiet passion
flow steady as the river
into moans of labor.
The blending of two spirits in sacred dance,
in less than ten moons,
the creator weaves beneath my skin
into a new life.
Karuah
for Hawk
I listen to you deny your power to change,
to rise above the habits of self devastation
that have always held you back.
You tell me that you are too weak, that il is too hard ...
In quiet understanding, l smile...
Do you think you walk alone?
In these quiet hills
the swirling mist curls skyward,
Mother Earth offering her pipe to the Great Mystery.
It is easy to feel her in these ancient mountains.
My bare toes dig into the damp soil.
The breeze plays with my hair and shoulders.
I am invisible here, part of the whole.
My brother, when you can see the other road,
the birthing has already begun.
I grow roots, deep into the body of the Mother.
Her energy flows through me,
caressing me, warming me.
I join the timeless flow of all things.
Does it help you to know
that it is useless to tell me
what can not be done?
Three times, I have felt the swelling of life within my belly,
Three times, I have birthed between my legs a Jiving miracle,
Three times, I have watched the first breath of a warm, wet, newborn
And seen with my own eyes, and felt with my own flesh,
and known with my own heart,
the power of the Spirit That Flows in All Things
to change the world ...
In less than ten moons.
I dream.
I am a mountain lion. An eagle.
A rock in a swiftly flowing stream.
A leaf floating in the breeze.
A seed, waiting in the earth.
I am everything.
I am nothing.
The day breaks.
Father paints the sky with gold.
And I never want to leave this place.
k1lntcr, Hl91-92
Dnwin& by Rob Mmiclo.
�~
•
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--
...
..,. '
Drawing by Rob Levacn
(cantinuod &om page 8)
and ClydesdaJes and someoLhers. We had 18
head of horses.
"We tied them Logether single-file and
led them down the railroad track. Fred Allen,
George Robens, Oley Hooper and Jape
McClure (now deceased) helped me. There
might have been some others.
"We walked the horses between the rails
where the ballast between the crossties made a
smooth path. Sometimes there was a
smoother trail beside the railroad. We took to
the creeJc to get around trestles. Horses won't
hardly walk a trestle.
"We tied the horses below the store and
post office at Jeffrey. Then we all went back
up the creeJc to help fight the fire."
Walter J. Evans, wife Grace and their
first two sons, Leslie, about 4 years old, and
Bill, 15 months old, lived just up the track
from the Gold Millsaps' camp and within
sight of it.
"Me and Frank Coppenger and a bunch
of men went to the fire line along the top of
the mountain," Walter recalls. He says they
thought they had the fire controlled there.
"We got up there a linle ways and we
heard the train coming up the railroad.
"We ran back down and Frank was
ahead of me and got to the train, him and
several more of the boys did.
"'The fire cut me and a bunch of the other
boys off and we didn't get to the train.
"We had to go back 10 the top of the
mountain to where the fire had already burned
over and get out thataway," Walter recalls.
One of the people with Walter was a
young relative who was quite drunk. "He
was too drunk to be afraid of what was
happening to us," Walter says.
Walter himself was only 31 years old
but he said to the younger man, "Son, I ha~
to leave you here to get burned up. But I've
fooled with you till I don't know whether ru
get out or not. I'm going to have to leave
you."
Walter says he began to run, and left the
other man. "But in just a few minutes he
passed me running. He ran over trees and
rocks and turned somersets and outran me to
the top of the mountain.
"He wouldn't get scared until be seen
Xawan )oumat
I
4J t •:
1 )P'":
1t ,•
pQCJa
l
O JI
so
•
that I left him. He got scared then."
Garfield Millsaps, returned from leading
the horses down the valley, was caught
behind the fire in the group with Walter. The
men were running side by side when Walter
threw away his ax.
"What was that you throwed away?'"
Garfied asked him
"My ax," Walter said.
"Don't throw our cools away," Garfield
said.
"Where we're going in a few minutes
we won'c need none, and I ain't taking none
with me," Walter told Garfield.
"I was sure we were all going to die
right there and right then," Walter says. '
Everybody in that group survived,
though. And of !he dozens of men scauered
over the thousands of acres of Jeffreys Hell
that day, only Frank Coppenger and Bill
Graves died.
Fronk and Bill and the others !hat made
it to the train were able to load the household
furniture from Walter Evans' shanty car and
one other onto the train. Then they had to
leave, because the fire was moving in.
Cinders from the locomotive's stack had
set new fires down the creek and closed off
that escape. Engineer Dave Dockery started
the train on up the valley. There was no
alternative.
. Walter says there was a big, new log
landing beside the creek in a curve of the
railroad about 300 yards above the camp. The
landing was smned in March, and the teams
had been bringing logs in for six months now
and only one trainload of logs had been hauled
away from it.
Frank Coppenger and Bill Graves left
the train there. 'The men told me later that
they wet their handkerchiefs in the water of
the creek and started up over that landing "
Walter continues.
'
'They thoughc they could make it across
the mountain to Willis Tucker's camp to warn
him about the fire."
'They got up just a litde ways and had to
run out of the slddroad into a field of green
touch-me-nots. That's where they got burned
up," Walter says.
_The wind was up and updrafts were
carrying great masses of flame from ridge to
ridge by now. Frank and Bill were thought to
have died of suffocation before their bodies
bumed.
Big portions of both bodies were burned
a~ay; Frank's was identifiable by !he gold in
bis teeth. The buckles from Bill's overalls
were found under his corpse. Too, Bill had
on a hat and Frank didn't, and the hat
insulated Bill's head so that it was burned less
than Frank's was.
. All the people who stayed on the train
survived. They left the train on the first leg of
a double switchback at the head of the valley.
They were able to run to safety through a
hollow that had burned out two days
previously, Walter says.
Bertha sensed on Sunday afternoon that
Frank was dead. She waited beside camp
most of the night while searchers depaned and
returned. Her two oldest daughters came
across the mountain from Tellico Plains to be
with ~er. All four daughters, Sylvia,
Beatnce, Bessie, and Lula, were wi1h her
when word came that Frank's body had been
found early the next morning.
The watches of both victims, Frank and
Bill, had been welded by the heat and stopped
at 2 o'clock, two hours after their Sunday
dinner.
:;,
R~pri,1ud wi11t pumissi()nfrom /M Knoxville Journal
ofMarcJi 22, /979 and Marclt 29, /979.
At,: Fisherman/
(t:.~=
Fire Plevcntion Ad from 1923
Wlnur, 199 1-92
:r
IIJIH
i, ,•11 '•'
�'!Tif'"
.' •
•
t
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t
••
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~
•
crossroads. These men worked iron for a
trade, but it also was common for
homesteaders to have a small anvil and forge
on their farm. Just as homeowners today
usually have a power saw and know how to
drive a nail, so fanners in those times knew
how to do many of the small repairs that wcrc
always necessary.
So, although the blacksmith was
important and respected in the community by
right of his skill, he had no monopoly on the
trade. It was a common, egalitarian line of
work. In that period, labor was cheap and
materials were hard to come by. The smith
provided a service, and so took whatever the
community could provide in trade for his
work. Iron was a valuable commodity. new or
us~. ~d the ~~y was also a salvage shop.
Sm1~mg and nulling were the high points of
!he village technology; but the smithy
probably looked more like a scrap yard than a
prosperous local business.
FIRE AND FORGE
by Jan Davidson and David Brewin
Just as the fire on the hearth was the
cemer of the home, the bl:icksmith's fire was
the center of community production in the
mountain villages of the European settlers.
Before the Southern Appalachians and the
other rural areas of the country were tied into
the mass market and che nattonal
manufacturing system, a simple local
technology was shaped at the blacksmith's
forge. Upon it was based a self-sufficient
rural economy.
The guiding principle was, "Figure out
how to m~e it and hammer it out," according
to R. 0. Wilson, of Speedwell Community in
Jackson County, NC. Shelter was the first
thin~ a frontier family_ thought of on arriving
at a likely locanon. With a double-bitted axe, a
broadaxe, a foot adze, and a square, they
could put a log house together.
The next necessity was food. The
blacksmith made the tools for food
production. Unless a fanner wanted to work
with a wooden plow, he went to the
blacksmith. The smith also made equipment
for handling the draft animals, not only the
horse shoes, ox shoes, and mule shoes, but
also the bns and rings of the harness.
The t00ls to cook the food with were
also made in the smithy, as well as the
wagons that hauled the produce to market.
~ot every blacksmi~ could make a wagon of
iron and wood, but m those remote mountain
villages, where people had to be self-reliant, a
lot of them could do the job. Any good
blacksmith's shop could fix a wagon and pUl
"tires" (as the steel rims were called) on the
wheels. The whole transportation system
depended on the blacksmith.
The blacksmith made all the edged tools
lo>tntcr, 199 I -92
Iron Work by David Bttwin
· knives, axes, saws - that a farmer took into
the woods when going to hunt meat for food
or to cut wood for building or heating lhe
home. The gun he carried was often made in
the same village he lived in. Guns were critical
to the early mountain families for food and for
defense, and gun-making was a branch of
blacksmithing.
The blacksrruth could make a loom. The
blacksmith could make a grist mill.
"You had to have hoes, you had to have
plows and horses, cradle blades, mowing
blades, axes, mauocks and wedges,
go-devils, all of these things," says long-time
mountain resident Mary Jane Queen.
..•And single-tree hardware, hinge
pintles, staples. naiJs, cooper's adze.-;, ginseng
hoes, bear traps, bullet molds, cowbells,
augers, barking spuds, pothooks, sickles,
post-hole diggers, froes. spatulas, ladles - all
of these were products of the blacksmith's an.
For food, clothing. shelter, and
tronsponation. almost every aspect of the
community except its spiritual life, people
were dependent on the blacksmith.
The smithy was a focal point for the
village. It was a center for the village
economy, but it also was a men's social
center. ln those days a person did not drop
something off and say, "!'II be by to pick this
up after J do some shopping." When a man
brought a job in, he and the blacksmith
worked on it together.
"They would go there, the men folks
would, if they had tools to have fixed, and
they would help grandpaw run the forge, and
they'd sit and talk· then they'd get up and
work a while, and then they'd talk awhile."
remembers Mary Jane Queen.
There was at least one blacksmith in
each town and often there was a smithy at the
Blacksmithing was always associated
with magic. For a srni!h to lake what looked
like ~lain rocks from the ground, draw out
hard iron, and transform that iron into tools
and weapons that gave their social group an
immense technological advantage must have
seemed magical indeed.
In Christian Europe when the
technology of ironworlcing had become
common, the blacksmith was still held in
some awe, but it was not the elevated stature
the smith had held in the early days of
civilization. Particularly in PoJand and Russia
blacksn:tiths ~ere thought 10 be in league with'
the devil. h 1s easy to see why. The smith's
sweaty, blackened face and torso dinied by
working all day at the sooty forg;; the forge
fire. hot and bright; the incessant ringing of
metal on metal; the showering sparks in the
smith's gloomy shop. which had to be kept
darkened so the smith could ·:iccurately sec the
color of the metal he was working: all the
images associated with Hell were drawn from
the blacksmith's trade.
The mountain story of "Wicked John
and the Devil" carried the connection over into
the New World in the tale of a blacksmith who
was "meaner'n the devil himself.~
Well-known mountain storyteller Ray Hicks
tells a "Jack tale" that relates how Jack
magically trapped seven devils in his sack.
Jack took his sackload to the blacksmith, who
pounded them 10 cinders on his anvil.
In a different tradition, iron was
supposed to defeat the magic of the fairies or
the Little People. In the British Isles some
travelers would wear an iron pin to protect
tl\emscl,ves from ~sfortune along their way.
The smithy, where iron was the stock in trade
was obviously a safe place, free of magic.
'
Other folklore followed the blacksmiths'
trade across the ocean. One custom held that
the water in which the smith quenched the hot
iron was a cure for poison ivy. There were
many others. Even today some blacksmiths
tap the anviJ three times at the end of the
workday to ''chain the devil."
In Europe, the basic tools of the
blacksmith • the nnvil, hammer, forge. and
bello~s - had all taken their classic shape by
the Middle Ages. Their design has been little
changed to this day.
.
The other primary tool of the blacksmith
1s fire. People do not usually think of fire as a
(a,ntinued OIi DCJCI ~ )
Xatilall Journa£ paqc 11
�which earned it into the forge 10 aerate the
f1re.
In the forge, lhe ore was formed into a
"bloom," a roughly spherical blob of
semi-molten iron, air bubbles. and impurities.
The bloom was beaten under the uip hammer
to remove air and foreign materials. When it
was done, it had been beaten into a nauene.d
"ham." The Hanging Dog Bloomcry Forge
turned ou1 1wo or three hams a day, each
weighing about 20 pounds.
The hams were shaped into b~ with
curved ends like sled runner,; so thnt a bundle
of them could be dragged behind a t¢.'lm or
oxe~ to local blacksmiths' shops within a five
or six county area.
This level of production me1 1he needs of
the area until the railroad came and tied 1he
region in10 the national industrial system. It
quickly became more economical to dig iron
Photo councsy of Ille Mountain Heniagc Center
(continued Crom page II)
1001 because it is no1 a solid objec1 that is
picked up and manipula1ed wi1h 1he hands, bu1
fire is crucial 10 every stage of the
blacksmilh's work. Woodworkers shape 1heir
ma1erial by removing some of it. bUL, while it
is hot, iron is a plastic me.dium thal can be
reshaped with li11le or no material being losL
The forge is the specialized fireplace that
holds the blacksmith's superheated fire. In
early times, blacksmiths used charcoal as fuel,
but shonly after the Civil War coke came to be
the most common fuel used in the mountains.
Coke is soft coal burned slowly at low
temperatures to remove the impurities., as
charcoal is made from wood. The bJacksmjth
made his own coke, healing it slowly and with
almos1 no air around the sides of 1he forge.
The blacksmith's fire was kept very hot
by the continuous ac1ion of a bellows. (foday
a blacksmi1h is more likely to use
anelecuically-powen:d blower.) For each
process perfonned by the blacksmith, the
metal must be a1 precisely the right
temperature. For some processes the metal
must be heated to over 2000 degrees
FahrenheiL
As the temperature of the metal changes,
so docs i1s color. The color changes arc the
blacksmith's thermometer, and the smi1h must
learn to distinguish the various gradations of
color in the heated metal. The iron changes
from pale yellow to straw yellow, purple,
blue, gray, dull red, sun rise red, cherry red,
light red, almos1 orange, and then white as its
internal rempe.rruure rises. More time in the
heat of 1he flames turns white heat to
incandescent white and then to a liquid
yellow, which indicates that the surface has
become semi-molten.
•
When the metal is hca1ed 10 the right
degree, the smith can flntten it or taper it, in a
process known as "drawing out." Or the smith
can "upset" the metal by drawing it back on
itself. If a tool needs holes, the smith can
punch them out. Two pieces of hot iron can be
joined together by ''forge welding,"
hammering them together on the anvil.
Blacksmiths' hammers come in a variety
of sizes and shapes. Some are swung, while
others are sci on the piece and StrUClc with a
sledge wielded by an assistant, "the striker."
In a small shop 1herc is usually only one
anvil, but it is capable of doing many different
jobs. The flat face of the anvil is used 10
hammer the metal into the various shapes. The
Xatunfl JOU-ma! page 12
horn is used in bending circles or arcs of
various sizes and can also be used to speed up
1he drawing out process, since the roundness
of the hom acts as a lens to focus the energy
of the blow.
Af1er shaping, the tool or part being
worked is heat treate.d to give either the
hardened metal of a axe head or the springy,
shock-absorbing metal of a saw. As in
forging, the color of the polished metal tells
the smith what kind of hardness, brit1leness,
or springiness the finished tool will have.
Axe heads or chisels can be treated to
vary the hardness wi1hin the tool. A cold
chisel tempered by a smith can be hard and
tough at the cuuing edge and relatively soft at
the baner end so 1ha1 the force of the blows is
cushioned and the chisel is less likely to
break.
Today the hardening and tempering of
tools is done in computer-controlled factory
ovens. Treating tools in large batches may be
economically more efficient, bul an old
blacksmith would consider the tools that we
use today to be of inferior quality.
Contrary to a commonly-held
stereotype, mountain life was not completely
agricultural and not all a matter of handwork.
Blacksmithing was pan of a sclf-rontained,
localized industrial process. Even the iron
used in the blacksmith's shop was produced
within the region at "bloomery forges," like
the two located in Hanging Dog, North
Carolina. Wood for charcoal and limonite,
iron ore, were found near 1he site, and 1he
operation was powered by wa1er power.
The ore was washed under a scream of
water and crushed to powder beneath the
weight of a 750 pound water-driven hammer
suiking at the rate of 100 times per minute.
The powdered ore was mixed with chan:oal
and healed in the bloomery forge. The forge
fire was kepi hot by the "trompe," a simple,
ye1 very sophisticated mechanism that fed a
continuous stream of air to the forge. Running
creek water filled a tank at the top of the
trompe. The water fell through rwo tubes,
which were pierced with small holes. The
falling water drew air through the holes into
the tubes. At the bottom, the water and air
entered what was known as the "wind box."
The rising level of the water forced the air
upwards and out through the wind 1ubc,
out of big pit mines, smelt it in huge blast
furnaces, and ship ii great distances.
By 1920 the local blacksmiths were
being usurped by large hardware companies
who were sending out catalogs by mail tha1
offered almos1 everything in the tool line.
Small-town country scores would keep a
catalog and make orders for their customers.
People became accustomed to purchasing
standard tools from the catalog, but there were
special tools that were never included, and
there still were people who would go to the
local blacksmith, because they did not have
the cash to order through the mail. But they
became fewer and fewer, and gradually the
local blacksmiths disappeared. When the
automobile was introduced, it was a natural
step for blacksmiths 10 move into mechanics,
body work, or welding.
Tourism provided one outlet. In Yancey
and Mitchell Coumies, for instance, 1he Boone
family succc.c;sfully made a transition to
ornamental and decorative ironwork. The
company still makes andirons, chandeliers,
flre sets, and other ornamental pieces for
customers on four continents. Their
succes~iul business means that in Spruce
Pine, North Carolina there is still a blacksmith
shop where a tool can be made or
repaired.Other small smithies still operate in
the mountains.
In recent years, 1he John C. Campbell
Folk School has been a center for smithing
instruc1ion. Students have come from every
part of the country to study there under Oscar
Canircll or the internationally known master
smith, Francis Whit1aker.
Ah.hough it may have been displaced
from itS position as the keeper of the village
fire, _the tradition of blacksmithing still
conunues.
p/a,J'
Jan Davidson is curaror of the Mou111ain
Heritage Center on the campus of Westem
Carolina University in Cullowhee, NC.
Dtn•id Brewin also works QJ the Cenrer.
bur blacksmithing is his first Jove.
The exhibit "lron.f in the Fire· is currently 011
display OJ tht MoU11trun lfrritoge Centu. Tht
prtse1110twn brings to life tht hinory of
black.smithing, shows m llll(l(lrlance 10 tlU! Europt0/1
stllltrs in the IIIOUntuins, and illustrates contemporary
app/ica11ons of the art. Tht uhibit includes a
20-minuu mu/ti-image slidt show and is open
Monday- Friday from 8 am 10 5 pm. For mare
informtJtion, call (704) 227-7129.
1.,1,n~r. t99t-92
�THE FIRST FIRE
out again at the same hole, but his 'body had been scorched black,
and he has ever since had the habit of daning and doubling on his
track as if trying to escape from close quarters. He came back,
and the great blacksnake, Gule'gi, "the Climber," offered to go
for fire. He swam over to the island and climbed up the tree on
the outside, as the blacksnake always does, but when he put his
head down into the hole the smoke choked him so that he fell into
the burning stump, and before he could climb out again he was as
black as the Uksu'lu.
Now they held another council, for still there was no fire,
and the world was cold, but birds, snakes. and four-footed
animals, all had some excuse for not going. because they were all
afraid 10 venture near the burning sycamore, until at last
Kanane'ski Amai'yelii, the water spider, said she would go. This
is not t.he water spider that looks like a mosquito, but the other
one, with black downy hair and red stripes on her body. She can
run on top of the water or dive to the bottom, so there would be
no trouble to get over 10 the island. but the question was, How
could she bring back the fire?
''I'll manage that.." said the water spider, so she spun a
thread from her body and wove il into a rusti bowl, which she
fastened on her back. Then she crossed over to the island and
through the grass to where the fire was still burning. She put one
little coal of fire into her bowl, and came back with it, and ever
since we have had fire, and the water spider still keeps her msri
bo~.
~v
In the beginning there was no fire, and the world was
cold, until the Thunders, who lived up in Ga/un'/ari, sent their
lightning and put fire into the bottom of a hollow sycamore tree
which grew on an island. The animals knew it was there, because
they could see smoke coming out at the top, but they could not
get to it on account of the water, so they held a council 10 decide
what to do. This was a long time ago.
Every animal that could fly or swim was anxious to go
after the fire. The raven offered, and because he was so large and
strong they thought he could surely do the work, so he was sent
first. Ile flew high and far across the water and alighted on the
sycamore tree, but while he was wondering what to do next, the
beat had scorched all his feathers black, and he was frightened
and came back without the fire. \Vahultu, the liule screech-owl,
volunteered to go, and reached the place safely, but while he was
looking down into the hollow tree a blast of hot air came up and
nearly burned out his eyes. He managed 10 fly home as best he
could, but it was a long time before he could see well, and his
eyes are red to this day.
Then U'guk.11, the hooting owl, and Ts/dli, the homed
owl, went, but by the time they got to the hollow tree the fire was
burning so fiercely that the smoke nearly blinded them, and the
ashes carried up by the wind made white rings about their eyes.
They had to come home again without the fire, but with all their
rubbing they were never able to get rid of the white rings.
No more of the birds would venture, and so the liule
Uks11'Jii snake, the black racer, said he would go through the
water and bring back some fire. He swam across 10 the island
and crawled through the grass 10 the tree, and went in by a small
hole in at tne bottom. The heat and smoke were too much for
him, 100, and after dodging about blindly over the hot ashes until
he was almost on fire himself, he managed by good luck to get
::!II'
Version collected by James Mooney inl>tywo{llutC/iuol<LeandSa.:r~
FtxmMlaso/llut CMrouu, published in 1900.
A tusLi bowl wos o cloy vt.r~I. scribed w11h o urtain design \l'ht her
was the vusel itselfor was the name of the po11tr11 of markings is n •I
known, but the IIISU bowl was o .wcred ium.
IUSU
'
1.i~nt~r. 1991-92
A Cherokee Legend
Drawings by James Rhea
�HEARTH & FIRE IN THE MOUNTAINS
by Barbara Wickersham
The Highlands of Roan is a place of
spectaculru- beauty. Seven1.een miles of the
Appalachian Trail cross the massif and are
reputed 10 be some of the mos1 beautiful
stretches of the 2,000-mile 1rek. Settlers started
moving into this tumble of mountains in the
very late I 700's and discovered vast forests
filled with big timber and abundant game; plenty
of fresh, clean water, teeming wi1h trout: and
possibilities for subsistence farming, "sona hard
come by." They brought wilh them to this
wilderness a strong need for hearth and lire.
. The hearth, called "hath" by the
ol~-~crs, was the cc~ter of f!IUCh family
acnvny and took prominence m the building of a
home. Much care and time was spent in its
creation since ii was not only 1he center of
family life, bu1 essential for survival.
. While I was in Roan Mountain recently, a
fnend and I smpped by to see my friend Jim. a
mountain man of great presence who is a story
teller quintessential, a natural historian, and a
philosopher of sons. He has survived many a
harsh fire-demanding winter in the Roan
Mountain Community and seemed to be a
perfect source.
His blue eyes squinted thoughtfully as he
peered out from under a shock of grey hair, a
work-worn hand resting gently on Joe, his big
Gennnn shepherd lying protectively at his side.
He leaned back comfortably in his grea1 chair
and agreed 10 share with us some thoughts
about the use and importance of heanb and fire
during his growing up years.
"First," he explained, "You built the
chimley to a house, and you jest got big field
stones and clay mud, and you'd lay up a rock
and then you'd lay up a bunch of clay mud, then
ano'1!er round of rocks and more mud 'till you
get high as you wanted, and then you built your
hearth."
His voice trailed off as he seemed lost in
another time, another place for the moment, then
sighed, remembering, and continued.
"You hunted as big a flat rock as you
could find to make a heanh out of. Gen'ly had
to build up small rocks under it to make it level
with the floor. What it was for was to catch the
fire 'till it wouldn't get out and bum the house.
They'd be three to four fec1 long and a1 least
about that deep back. Then you got a big
backstick that was to go in the back of the
fircplace ... throwed the heat out Sometimes hit
would be 16 to 18 inches through, sometimes
bigger, and jest half it, and il'd take two to pu1 it
on.
"Sometimes you'd have 10 roll it in, but
it'd last all day behind there, and you'd pu1
smaller wood in front. Then you had a fire, and
you usually never let ii go out 'til along after
April when they'd have an old cookstove
a'goin', and hit went through the summer 'bout
all day."
Matches to start the fire were not easily
obtained. [f available at all, a box of matches
cost about a nickel and "it took sometimes an
hour to work ou1 that nickel back in the late '20s
and early '30s. l can remember well when
people would borrow fire, bring a little old
bucket, come to borrow a chunk of fire. I've
Xatuah J?14n~t J1Q9lt 14
PholO coune,y of lbe Mounwn Heriiaac Caller
even know'd 'em to take the shot out of a
shotgun shell and put a piece of co1ton where
the sho1 was - the powder would still be in the
shell - and they'd lire 1ha1 into some real dry
kindlin' or punk and it would set that co11on
a-fire. Then you jest blow'd on it and you'd
have a good fire in jest a minute."
Punk is very dry rotten, crumbly wood
found inside some hardwood trees.
"You could get it beuer out of a hard
maple and usually ever'body kepi a little around
where it would be dry. Hit wouldn't blaze bu1
made big coals, and once it was a'fire, it s;ayed
a'fire."
Sparks from soiking cwo pieces of flint
together were also used to fire punk.
All the fireplaces had an iron rod built into
the chimney, usually made of wagon wheel
ir<?n. Double pothooks (S shaped) were hung on
this rod and meals were cooked in hanging pots.
.
''When Mom cooked beans or anything
hke that, she pm 'em on early in 1he mornin'
and let them cook 'till noon or she'd cook boiled
cabbage, lots of soup beans, or when she
cooked pork or beef, she cooked ii in a
three-gallon iron pot. That's what it took to do
us for 1wo meals.
"You had to have a fire, and that saved a
lot of wood and more time. Stove wood had to
be gonen in the mountains where it was dead
and dry. Sometimes, owin' to how long you'd
been livin' in a place, you'd have to go a puny
good ways to get it. You'd drag it in 10 the
woodyard with a horse, either on a sled or drag
the whole tree, and 1hen chop it
"Usually mother wanted dead locust hardest stuff in the world. You'd be three
minutes before you'd get one stick off, and 1ha1
would get a stove or a fire really hot, burnt
slow, and had a big coal with it, left coals in
there. You'd get one good fire, and it'd cook a
meal."
The cook stove had a bread oven, but in
the winter they often used a ponable, lidded.
cast iron oven that could be put among the coals
on the hcanh rock. They raked back the coals,
se1 the oven down, and 1hen covered it with
coals. The bread inside the oven cooked to a
fine tum.
"Mom could tell by the smell when it wns
done. Now tha1 was good cornbread!
Sometimes she made pone wheat bread, and I
have eat some rye bread made that-a-way."
Family life centered around the heanh.
The room that housed it was called 1he ftrero0m
(our present living room), and the mantle was
called_the fireboard. It was generally the largest
room in the house and held at least two big
beds.
Sickness was a real problem. since there
was little medical help available. and it was not
uncommon for a woman to be "sittin' under the
(sick) baby" by the hearth all day. Toothache
was trealed by putting hot ashes in a rag on the
jaw to ease the pain. Smoke was blown in the
car to soothe an earache.
"Hit worked. Hit was jest something 10
git it warm, I guess. rve had it blow'd in mine
many of a time when l was little. They'd jes1
puff it in their mouth, put their mouth right up
close to your ear, and blow right slow. When
they'd quit, you could see that liule curl of
smoke comin' out"
Colds were a menace; treatn)ent was
simple. Water was boiled in a cast iron 1calceule
and poured in10 a pan. Vicks salve was added
and the person with the cold leaned over this
with a quilt covering both the person and the
pan. It worked magic! Babies and small children
often had what they called croup. Ir was treated
in much the same way.
"Kids'd completely choke up and that was
the only way they had to break it They'd jest
quit breathin."
A person with rheumatism clid wha1 they
called "bakin' it" by putting a quilt on the hearth
and scooting as close to the fire as the intense
heat would allow, thus lcilling the pain.
A baby animal, unfonunate enough to be
born on a cold winter night or just rejected by its
mother, was brought in by the hearth and hand
fed.
Wlnter, t 99 t -9Z
�"We'd bring liule pigs in a lot of times,
and lambs, and I have brought calves in by the
heanh. I remember having baby pigs in a
confined place close where they could keep
wann when they would come unexpec1edly in
the cold time. If they could ever get to suck a
pig or lamb, you couldn't freeze it 10 dea1h. But
a weakly pig, sometimes you'd have to bring it
in and boule-feed it, or a weakly lamb that
couldn't get up. Once you fed it a time or two,
you bad a pet, and hit was a pest - a sheep or a
pet pig is the biggest pest in the world. An old
pig would trot after you all day long and squeal,
and it not a bit hungry. You've heard the sayin'
'Aggravatin' as a pet pig' - that's whur that
come from."
Before the advent of kerosene lamps, the
room was lit at night by bundles of small pieces
of knots from black pitch pines.
"They'd go into the mountains whur 1he
old black pine had fell over and the wood rots
out and leaves them pines a-layin' there. They'd
take a 10w sack and gather a big sack full of
knots, and they'd be about 1hree inches
through."
They wouW talce pieces a bit smaller than
finger diameter, split them to length, and tie
them in bundles "aboul what you could hold in
your hand." Rawhide ties were placed at
intervals down che 12 to 18 inch long bundles.
When needed for light, a bundle was carefully
secured in a hole among the chimney rocks and
lit. As it burned down, a tie was removed and
the next one down held the bundle together.
Some people had what they called pitch holders
which were made at a black:.mith shop. It, 100,
was stuck back among the rocks in the chimney.
Kerosene ushered in a new era wilh lamps
and lanterns. In the beginning, many of the
lamps had no globe and were made 10 be used
with wool rags pushed down into the lamp, then
covered with kerosene. A bit of the wool rag
was pulled through the opening and lit, sucking
up the kerosene as it burned. Lanterns soon
replaced pitch torches for walking to church at
nigh1, going 10 parties, or seeking a missing or
sick animal on the mountain.
Fire wa.~ used 10 make life easier in lots of
ways. Down by the creek 1hey would have a
30-gallon iron keule hung from a rack a fool or
foot and one -half above a fire. This was filled
with water from the creek and clothes were
boiled using homemade lye soap. If clothes
were especially dirty, after boiling they would
be taken to the creek and beaten on the rocks
with a bauling stick. Dry wood was used for the
fire, beech, sugar tree (maple), oak, "old apple
tree made awful good fire," and the coveted
dead locust.
Ironing was made easier by starching
clothes with a cooked solution made of flour
and water. There were no ironing boards back
1hen, and ironing was done using a whi1c clo1h
on the dining lable as an ironing surface. Fial
irons were h1!.1tcd on the cooksiove, two at a
time in order to switch when one got too cool.
Most v.omen quilted, and ironing small pieced
scams flat with a heavy Oar iron thai wa, often
too hot or 100 cold was no easy task. Trying 10
follow a soap or chalk-marked quilting line in
the light of a pitch pine bundle or a kerosene
lantern was a challenge as well.
And lhen...mcn's work. On the mountain
farm, neither men's nor women's work was
ever done.
1.i11,rcr, 199 1-92
On the evening before hog killing, the men
dug a big hole and layered wood and big rocks
in it. Very dry kindling was placed on top.
About four o'clock the next morning, they
would "lire that up, and them rocks would get
hot, and we'd fill up a 60-gallon wooden barrel
with water, and we'd lay that on an angle, kinda
tilted, and we'd throw them big red hot rocks in
there, and when you got it whur it would burn
you, it was ready.
"They would have the hog up on a
scaffold and it would take three men to put it
down in there and then they'd keep feeling 'till
they could tell the hair was comin' off. Then
they would tum it and get that side. Usually you
scraped it afler you scalded it. They would tum
it around and do the other end. You kept your
fire agoin', and the water would be gitlin' some
cold but not much, and you hung them on the
scaffold then, and take the entrails out and hang
them to drip, and then they'd git the next 'un.
Kept your lire agoin' and kept the rocks hot all
the time. Take the rocks out when the water got
too cold and reheat them. Would have more
rocks all ready 10 put in while the first ones was
gettin' hot again."
A special smoke house was used to smoke
pork. A lire was built in either a hole dug in a
dirt floor or smouldered in an iron pot. The meat
was hung above this.
"Jest let it smoke... had a place in the roof
for the smoke to go out...smoked it auer it was
cured with salt. Smoked it with hickory or
mountain ash wood 'cause they wouldn't black
none."
Two survival-related uses for fire simply
have to be mentioned here. Moonshine was an
important source of cash for these mountain
people, and fire was essential both for heating
water and cooking mash. Another lucrative
business was the cutting and sawing of wood.
Sawmill boilers fired with wood made the steam
that generated power for the big pulley wheel
Belts ran from !here to the saw and made it
possible to cut giant logs into lumber.
M,010 lalcn 01 lhc home of C. E. Willwns 111
Rom Mount.tut. TN by Sort.a Wickcrr.hun
There were for 100 many other uses for
fire to recount them all, but one more important
use was for agriculture. ~New ground" had to
be cleared for a garden about every chrce ~ Everything was cut from as close 10 the ground
as possible on rhree 10 four acres of land. The
brush was put in a big pile, and the log~ were
left for a big "log rollin'.
"This was a git-together, jest one man
a'helpin' another, have 10 or 12 men. They'd
roll the logs and the women would cook.
You've heard that expression "Jest like cookin'
for a log rollin' ...that's what it was. Now they
really cat!"
The logs werc rolled into piles and set
ablaze, burning sometimes four or five days.
Once "Old Man" Wes Miller got impatient
and decided 10 bum his logs by himself. He
rolled the logs together and fired them. As they
burned away in the middle, he pushed them
closer together to encourage them to bum
completely. While so doing, one big log
suddenly rolled over and caught his left leg,
jamming it tightly between two burning logs.
No matter how hard he tried, he could not
disengage his leg.
His axe lay about a foot beyond his reach.
He began clawing at the dirt until ftnally the axe
slid toward him. Then he chopped off his leg,
tore his overall pants leg into srrings, made a
tourniquet, found a crooked stick which he used
for a crutch and managed to get back home.
"He hewed out a wooden leg for himself,
the straight kind, peg-leg they called it. He was
real young when this happened and he lived to
be a healthy old man. He was a rough customer,
he was. He could walk on the mountain even
and talce care of his animals....They was tough,
back then!''
Jim suddenly fell quiet, a gen1le giant of a
man, his hand once again trailing Joe. Truly,
they "was tough back then," and !hey still are.
/
�signify the arrival of the new year, the people
would strip, bum their clothes, and then put
on fresh garments to begin the new cycle. The
mam purpose of that ceremony was 10 make
the connection between all the people.
The Ancient Red
These are tire words ofa traditional
Cherokee medicine person:
Let me st.an at the beginning. This is
what my grandfather told me. The 0:eator
made the Eanh and all things, and then the
Oeator set up the Jaws of nature to govern
everything - so that the wolves wouldn't eat
all the deer in one day, and so on. And the
Creator set Grandmother Moon and
Grandfather Sun in their places.
The Sun was supposed to talce care of
the humans. The Sun, being a bit arrogant.,
thought that some lesser being could talce care
of such a petty species. So he sent the Fire to
the Eanh to represent himself on the planet.
The humans were to communicate to the Sun
through the fire.
The element ofFlfC is known as the
A_ncient Red. Ancient Red always refers to
Fsrc, although there arc several spiritual
beings who are called by that name. The First
Man on the planet, Kanati, became the
spiritual essence of lightning and thunder so
be is called Ancient Red because of that '
conn~tion. In the formulistic language there
are different words for Fire that sigrufy Fi.re as
Kanati, as lightning, as the wood fire, or as
the Sun.
The color red signified Fire and was also
the symbol of Heaven. Our concept of Heaven
is called the Sun La.nd, Beyond the Sun and it
is in the East. Red is the color of the ~ t and
it is also the symbol of success. When th~
warriors went to war, they painted red and
black on their faces; red for victory and black
for death.
1n all the medicine fonnulas, the Ancient
Red is the most powerful being a medicine
person can call. The translation of the word
for medicine people is "the sacred fire bums
inside of them."
Hel_lt _was a prime element in doctoring.
The med1cme people would rub their hands
together rapidly before going to work to
provoke that sacred fire that bums inside and
move it into their hands so that they could
transfer it to the patienL Some would heat
mud daubers' nests and put them on their
patients' bodies to cure them. Fire was
brought into the sweat lodge in the heat of the
stones for healing. Fire is for purification. A
sacred pipe is purified over a fire.
There arc several taboos about Fuc.
People arc not to piss on a fire. Even if they
arc up in the woods where there is no water
close by, and they have st0mped out their
campfire except for a few last coals, they
should not piss on it to put it ouL One does
not throw anything in the fire that is unclean.
Cedar, rhododendron, and mountain laurel
woods arc not lO be used as firewood; they are
Xatuan )o"maL
pQ(Je 16
thrown into a fire 10 change its personality. If
rhododendron or mountain laurel are put on a
fire when they are green, they scream when
you throw them imo I.he fire. The old variety
of sacred lObacco is also put into fires to
change them.
This used to be important to the native
people, but to a great extent we have lost that,
and it's sad. I have been to stomp dances in
Oklahomn, and I have seen people showing
remnants of that former attitude around the
fire. It is rare to see that any more. Today
there are people who piss in the fire or throw
irash in it witho~t giving it ~ second thought.
The most 1mponant thmg to remember is
tha! FlfC ~s a living _
being - a living being with
an ~ncredible appeme. You can be frightened
of 11, or you can be respectful of it and at one
with i~. It will_not harm you if you do not do
anything foolish. But people have to recognize
Fire as a living being.
My grandfather told me that at the
Kaniah village there was a sacred fire that was
the central fire for the whole Cherokee nation.
lt was kept alive with the sacred woods. The
sacred woods were sourwood, hickory,
cedar, locust, yellow pine, white oak and
sweet birch.
'
Cedar and sourwood trees, which are
considered very sacred to the people, are both
connected to the color red. Sourwood is the
first red-leafed tree to change. The wood of
the cedar has red in it The cedar does not
grow in these mountains, but it is really
av~able in Tennessee or southern Georgia,
so in the old days people would just run over
there to get it.
Once a year, at the time of the Green
Com Ceremony, all the fires in the whole
Cherokee territory were all put out. The sacred
fire at the mother village was then relit by a
person who was designated as the firekeeper,
and runners would take the fire 10 all the
villages in the Cherokee nation.
The old people used lO say that the flfC
was the bond that kept the tribe together. It did
not matter that the people were members of
different clans and spoke different dialects: it
did not mauer that we might have different
enemies and different friends; the fire was the
same. Wherever our village wll!>, we all
cooked at the same fire and heated our lodges
with the same fire. It was the fire that held us
together.
. The Green Com Ceremony marked the
begmnmg of the new year. It was the tribe's
most powerful ceremony. It was the bonding
ceremony. When the fires were put out, the
people forgave all the crimes of the past year
and made resolutions for the next My
grandfather said that, after the sacred fire was
li~ and the runners were ready t0 leave for their
villages, the people would do a special dance
around the sacred fire. That dance had its own
particular songs about the fire-lighting. To
The Green Com Ceremony was
celebrated when the first roasting ears of com
became ripe enough to eat, sometime after the
eighth or ninth of July. No one could eat the
new com until then. In the last days before the
ceremony, it was hard LO keep the kids out of
the field. The adults used 10 satisfy the young
ones by letting them eat the com worms, and
the com smut off the ears. Com smut is
delicious! They would take it before it got
black, cut it up a.nd fry it. I understand that
among the Mayan Indians only the emperors
and the wealthy were allowed t0 eat com
smut. The com worms are good too when
they are fried.
'
'
After the Green Com Ceremony, when
the runne~ brought the fire to the villages,
they took It to the council house at the center
of the town. The grandfather of my
~n~ather told him about the ceremony at the
hghung of the fire. One person did a spider
dance and carried some smoldering embers in
a clay pot to each of the four directions in the
village because Spider had carried the FtrSt
Fire in a clay pot which she made (see page
13). Then they returned to the town house,
and the elder who was designated the
firekeeper brought the fire to a blaze with the
sacred woods.
That fire was kept alive in the council
house all year. Just as the One Sacred Ftre
was the focal point for the nation and the fire
in the lodge was the focal point for the family,
so the fire in the council house was the focal
point for the village. If a family's lodge flfC
went out, they went lO the town house, and
the firekeeper would light their fire, honoring
all the taboos around it, because Fire was a
sacred being.
The fire in the council house stayed alive
all Y:8'"· :nie _firekeeper was responsible for
keepmg u gomg and then called it up with the
seve~ sacred woods when they had council
meeungs.
James Timberlake, when he visited
Attakullakulla's village. went to a meeting in
the t?wn_
house. Although it was daylight
outs1de, tt was dark inside the building, but he
could see that the firekeeper had laid out short
piece~ of dri~ river cane, one overlapping the
next, m a spiral that stanc:d from the fire pit
and moved out in a great circle. The elder who
was the firckeeper started 10 chant a fonnula.
and at the end of each verse he clapped his
hands four times and rubbed them together. At
that, I.he fire ignited, and the cane started
burning. It seemed as though it was
spontaneous. Timberlake was amazed.
As one piece of the cane spiral burned
up, the one overlapping it would catch fire,
and the flame went around until the whole
sprral was consumed. The people sat in a
CIJ'Cle around the burning slivers of cane and
used them for liiht during the meeting. Toe
fire was also a nmer, because when it went
out the council was over.
. There was another com ceremony, but
thlS one was done at planting time. 11 involved
�Waiting;
Under the Wing of a Dark Hill
We are waiting to break every vow
We have made.
Hunting the butt-ends,
Smoking them under the trees,
Dra·wing closer to the lantern
We read
The razors
In bloodKin eyes.
We goin idle
Search of him,
Of the silver one
Who is only a flash
That crosses our path
From time to time
(But familiar
like the amber
And the spittle
Or the shadow that falls
on our dreams
Eyes wide.)
lighrning-srruck wood, which, if it was taken
from a cree that survived the blast, had the
Ancient Red in iL Before planting the com, a
large group of women would dance around
the cornfield, leaving a small group of women
at each of 1he cardinal points. Each of these
smaller groups would include an elder
grandmother who had a big splinter of
lightning-struck wood. When there was a
group in each of the four comers, they sang a
special song and rushed 10 the center of the
field. Al the center of the field, they would
plunge their lightning-struck wood into the
earth, like lightning striking the ground.
This was a powerful symbolic act. The
lightning-struck wood represented Kanari, the
First Man and also the lightning, and the
women represented Selu, the First Woman
and also the Com Mother.
That was to make the com grow. 1 think
it probably did. Com just grows beuer if the
women plant it and do things like thaL
Fire was of great spiritual imponance,
but it was also the people's most powerful
tool. Besides using it for basic cooking and
heating, I told how ii was used for healing. It
was also much involved in weapons-making.
The people used fire in making blowguns and
in flintknapping. To make arrowheads, they
heated up the pieces of flint and then poured
drops of cold water on them. And in the
earliest days, before they knew flintknnpping,
they would bum the ends of sticks and rub
them to harden them.
Outside the village, the people used
controlled fires to bum away the leaves and
woody debris around their town 10 protect it
from wildfires. When clearing new fields they
used fire 10 bring down the trees. They would
girdle a tree, and after it was girdled and
dried, three or four people working as a team
would stan small fires at its base. They would
just sit around and chat while the fires burned,
from time 10 rime geuing up to chip away the
charred wood with their axes, until the tree
fell. Jn this way they would also bring down
large poplar treeS 10 make their canoes. Once
down, the log was also hollowed out with
fire.
After the riverbonom fields were
cleared, the people would continue 10 bum
them off every year co get rid of the cane. My
grandfather's grandfather told him that he
remembered the sounds of the cane crncking
and exploding when they burned the fields. 1t
sounded like an army - Boom! Boom!
BOOM!!
They would also bum the mountains 10
gel the chesrnu1s. They would set fires at the
bonom of the mountain, and bum the leaves
off all the way up 10 the top. h made it easier
to get the chestnuts, easier to move around,
and it enabled them 10 gather honey.
Burning made hunting easier because it
100k away the brushy places in which the
animals would hide. Burning the hillsides
encouraged grass and sun-loving blueberries
and huckleberries to grow up underneath,
making better forage for the game animals.
From my grandfather, I got the
impression lha1 they burned the mountains
every fall. I think 1ha1 to a bird flying over this
area in the autumn 300 years ago, ii would
look like the whole Cherokee territory was
smoking.
Fire was an imponant pan of the old#
way of life.
fr'
We foam in the bowels
We shit and quake at the light
Of killing him.
(If we could dare
Or ferret him out,
Tell him apart
Prom us
While we slept ... )
If we could find
What we'd need,
We'd cul his green throat,
Dance on his green blood,
And bury him beneath the sodden
leaves
(Bury him in the mud and lime
Like us)
We'd bury himOnly an inch or so
Below the surface.
Mile and miles
From the black coal,
And just as far
From the
Warm,
Translucent
SKY.
David Earl Williams
Orn ing by Rob Messick
lolu1tcr, 1991-92
By God,
We cast pale omens
Into camp fire
And breath them in.
JCnti'mh )ounW J)QIJC 17
�MIDWINT
POEMS BY JI
MIDWINTER FIRES
All branches bare
Apple persimmon acorn
chestnut hazel
The peach gone
December the dying month
The cold sunken
giving up of ghost
By the fires your
moon-heat wrestling
spent harvest winds
A knock
Admit them
Admit them
Three keen-faced bulls
hindquarters manly
shaggy crouching bearing
mistletoe and holly
berry
THE HOLLY
Beads
of blue
Grieve not!
The golden bough and holly sprig
greet you!
blood
the air transfigures
crimson
A crown
of thorny
green
YULE
The sun does not die
The earth tapers
then savors
Let's make a fire
to cure poison
its shine
In the wood's gloom
a blazing
evergreen
We'll smolder a log
shoulder sorrows away
in brass buckets
of ash
Luck will be ours
The singing flint within us
Embers glowing
glowing
�ER
EFFERY BEAM
EATING THE GOD
Having been Ox
and Shamrock
Having been Queen
and Peasant
Having been Tern
and Blow-fish
This strange land
takes me
Restores my strength
The land's fleshy
length
Such was our custom
With jug and grain
I by thanks am given
SATURNALIA
I left the place l was accustomed to
COW-BORN DIONYSUS
Here you are again
Friend of the winnowing heart
Back from your far journey
I will help you work the
lath and hoop
to set the stars on
an unbitter loop
so your sacred frame
will hang low and succulent
like the eyes
of new calves
Where the rooster
ignites and hails
the sun
You find me
Agoat
with a black
beard
Drawings By James Rhea
Borders By la.son Tueller
�..... LOGGER -VIOLENCE!
••
' • ' N"1Uril W«ld Newr ~ice
On the morning of November 25 1991
Bruce Hare was in the Long Creek Ho~
Restaurant, the local cafe in the little town of
Long Creek. Hare had grown up in Long
Cre~k and presently owns the Chanooga
Wh1tewater Shop that offers rafting trips down
the nearby Chattooga River. And because he
cares about his home and the river, Hare has
also been filing appeals on timber sales offered
by the US Forest Service (USFS) near Long
Creek in the Sumter National Forest
Hare is a former president of the South
Carolina Forest Watch environmental group.
Forest Watch has been very moderate in
pushing forest management reforms, but the
group had recently assisted the Georgia Forest
Watch in filing several appeals in pans of the
Chatrooga watershed that lay in the state of
Georgia. This angem:l logging contractor
J~s Smith, who also lived in Long Creek but
did a lot of work across the state line in the
Chattahoochee National Forest
Smith came into the cafe with an
employee, David Phillips, who has made no
secret of his dislike of Hare and his work.
Smith was believed to have participated in
vandalizing Hare's business several months
before. The two loggers came over 10 Hare's
table, threw hot coffee in his face, tackled him
and started to beat him mercilessly. They brok~
a wooden chair over Hare's back and one of
the men held him while the other
hit him
repeatedly in the face.
. "Keep this up, and we'll kill you," they
said, refemng 10 Hare's environmental work.
They also threatened by name Dr. Billy
Campl?c:11 of Wesaninster, SC, a local general
pracnnoner and Forest Watch member and
:nan
Roben Alexandei- of !labun County,
GA, a
member of the Georgia Forest Watch. They
then walked out of the restaurant leaving
several shocked witnesses and a battered Bruce
Hare, who suffered multiple body bruises a
face that was described as "a mass of brui~s "
a di~located finger, a chipped tooth, and a '
spramed neck.
The two assailants were later picked up
by the sheriff's pan-ol and taken to the county
detention center in Walhalla They appeared
before Magistrate Becky Gerard on charges of
aggravated assault and battery and were
released on their own recognizance in lieu of
$500 bail apiece.
~arc's i:esponse to his bearing is simply
10 conunue his work on behalf of the forest
_"l hate 10 see this," he says. "lt's a
neganve turn of events. It's like the irresistable
force meeting the immovable object. They1I
have to kill me to stop me, and I'm afraid that
some of the loggers feel the same way.
"We're not going to get any help from the
couns or the government. It's a real world.
~hether it's Nicaragua or Ireland or right here,
its a real world we live in."
The reaction of the commercial media to
the beating of Bruce Hare has been subdued
even though the a~sailants made sure thm H:i:re
knew lha1 this was an act of intimidation.
The men who damaged Bruce Hare arc
now loose on their own recognizance. The
court's verdict on the seriousness of their
actions will be a clear signal 10
environmentalislS and loggers alike as to how
Xatuar, )ou1 not
PClCJC 20
·1-T-ENNESSEE·FIRES
'
Narural World N._,, Sc,rvice
Afl.C( lwo monlhs of unusually hght rainfall, the
<bys 111 the end of lhe monlh of October, 1991 posed a
great fire hazard. Wilh lhe rising of a dry wind.
conditions became extreme. All it took was a match,
and on the western slope of the mount.ains in the
Cherokee National Forest. arsonists provided the
matches on October 23. For the next lWO weeks
approximately 40 wildfucs burned in lhc Cherokee
scorching approximately 3.SOO acres of woodlands.
The Roclcy Top area was severely burned by
several fires, the biggest or which alone burned 1,700
acres. In Greene County, a fire in Polly Hollow burned
over such precipitous terrain thnt firefightcrs had to Jet
it bum for a full day before iL reached an accessible
location where they could begin to fight iL That fire
burned over no acres before it was contained. There
was a 300 acre fire on Green Mowuain and 225 acres
burned on LiuJe Pond Mountain, also in Gn,ene
th~ po~ers-that-be view "greenie-bashing" in
this region.
Not all loggers are like Smith and
Phillips, but as the national economy continues
to come unglued, people become afraid.
Non-violent environmentalists could become
likely scapegoats for the social ills that are
making some men angry and fearful Desperate
men are dangerous.
How are violence and intimidation to be
de~? Are the couns up to the job? The
reacaon to the aggravated assault on Bruce
Hare bears careful watching.
DISAPPEARING WETLANDS
Narunl World News Scivloc
Wlul do you do if o wetland area ge1.5 in lhe way
of )'QUT bulldoze(! If you arc President George Bush~
~. US Anny Corps of Engineers, you simply say it
1sn t there and keep on pushin'.
The 1989 edition of the Wetlands Dt1l~ation
Manual. used by lhe ColJ)s and I.he Envuonmental
Protec~ ~g~y to~~ wcllands qualifying for
protccuon LS be.Ing reviScd. However, the revisions are
more political lhnn scientific.
The proposals arc coming from the highest
echelons of lhc Bush administration, and they speak
more or lhe success of lobbyists for oil, gas.
development, and agricultur31 interests than of any new
breaklhroogh~ in scientific research.
In practice, the change has already gone lhrough.
ln the summer of 1991 the US Army Corps of
EngillC.CIS was ordered to go back to using a four year
old manual lhnt has less stnngcnt definitions for
wellands lhan lhc current manual.
"The '89 manual was lhough1 to be leaning a
lillle too much toward lhe wetlands side." Roben
Johnson of the Ashe vii le Corps or Engineers office told
lhe Ashtvillt Ciliun -T~s.
The chllngc in lhc rules will result in I.he lo.~ of
10 to 3~ of the wetlands in the country, according to
the NauOlllll A ~ Society. ~ly, "it is already
mnkmg ,;ome d1ffcrtnce," said Johnson. The Corps is
a~vm_ mon: construcuon, filling, and dredging
g
proJCCts m rucas that previously V.'OUld ha,-e been
COllSJdcred wetlands.
Commcncs on the change in wcdands policy can
be direcltd to:
Grtgory Pt'dt.
En,iron~nta/ Pro1ec1ion Agtncy
County.
The fue on Rocky Top seemed LO be the worst,
wilh flames reaching six feet in heighL Some of the
fires crowned, or burned into the tops of the trees, in
stands of Virginia pine.
There were no homes damaged or dcstr0yed,
although there were seveml close calls. During the
Rocky Top fire. firefightcrs at one paint abandoned one
home to the fire, but because of a sudden drop in wind
speed. they were able to retwn and save lhe dwelling.
Where possible, bulldoi.crs coostructed fire lines
cleared areas in front of which backfucs were set 10
'
consume fuel in I.he palh of the oncoming blllUl.
However, 80 J)Cl'CClll of lhe lines were cleared by 20
person crews working 16 • and sometimes 24 • hour
shifts to clear brush in rough rerrain. They were
n:infon:ed by air tanker$ thnl flew overhead, dropping
water-based chemical fll'C relal'dant on the b ~
Helicopters slinging large warer bucketS also cooled
backfires lhal looked like they might jump their J;nc
and patrolled the edges o( the fires, guiding !hem away
rrom buildings and ~ lhat looked like potential hot
Spots.
Al10get11er, counting fu'Cligluers on lhe line and
suppon personnel, more than 1,000 people fought the
blazes.
401 MSt SIi'
\Vashmgron, DC 2046()
Ciuioon by Andrew l.A,hman
,.,inrcr, 1991 - 92
�-
.-, -.s
WASTES TO BURN
USPS IS ARROGANT
NUii World~
(TIDS IS f'liEWS?)
Nounl World New
An article in lhe Sunday, November 10
Kno:cvillt Ntws-Stntind reported lhat the US
Department or Energy (DOE) 1w requested the Si:u.c or
Tenncssc:c to accept ..tupments or mll!ed hat.ardous and
radJoocu, e waste (o, bu ming at 00 R1dgc·s 'TSCA
incinerator' (so called because 11 1,1as established under
the Toxic Substance:$ Control Act).
The TSCA 1nc1ncrator came up to full burn in
April, 1991. J~is presently burning liquid wiutes stored
in the mile-square K-25 building 81 the Oak Ridge
Reserv:iuon. It is esumatcd lh:lt the facility w,11 be able
10 burn two million pounds or waste per year 81 great
eitpcnsc ond great d:ingcr to the cnvironmcnL Within
two yClll'S the mcincrnt.Or wiU be burning the solid
wastes scored in K-25.
The DOE ha~ permission 10 import wastes from
their facilities at Fernald and Portsmouth, Ohio, and
Padooih, Ken111Cky But the agcncy is oho asking to
bring 111 7S truckloads or-te from the fac1h1y at
Weldon Springs, Missouri as well, pleading that it
should have been included in the original wa~te hauling
COllll'OCL
The Oak Ridge Enviroomcnlal and Peace
Alliance (OREPA) is calling on Tcnncsscc governor
Ned McWhcrter 10 lllkc a st,ong stance against
acccptanee or ony addiuonal wa...ics over the contraeted
amounL The DOE ha~ no comprehensive v,1aste
management pl.an, and governors in Idaho, Colorado,
New Mexico, and Nevada have cited this lack in firmly
forbidding was11: shipments into their Slates.
OR EPA staff member Ralph Hu1cl11son says,
"DOE's waste is Wee elccll'icity seek.mg 8 ground - 11
will 1alcc the palh of lc.ast resistance, and where it finds
a ground, people will get burned."
People all over the K.atuah Province would be
affeclCd ,! Tcnncssce allowed extra loading al the TSCA
lncincl'8tor. OREPA is calling on people throughout the
region to write to:
Go~r""' Ntd McWhtncr
Stott Capitol
Nashville, TN 37219
asking him to prohibit extta twardous and radioactive
waste burnings in TcnlleSlitJC.
It would also be an opponunity to ~11ggcs1
closing the TSCA mcincrator entlrely, to stop it Crom
o;pewing toxic polluUIIJIS into the lllmOsphere.
US 01,trict Judge G. Ross Andcrion, Jr. issued a
temporary n:$tr.Uning order to 5IOp won in the
long-dispui.:d Long Cn:cl umber 'wile m the Picuni.
Ranger Disuict or Soulh Carolina's Su nter National
Forest. In deciding on I SUit brought by South C.arolin3
Forest Wau:h. the judge berated the US Forest Scrvioc
for its "unparalleled arrogance" in its handling of the
su~tion. The agency cleru'ly hod been trying to avoid
tails with the environmental group and had logging
companies poised to begin cuumg. even though the
cnse was sull m ooun.
The sale gained w i ~ ottcntion when, m the
spring of 1991, 1 protc~tcr who identified hu,uclf only
&s "Forest B. Green" s!OJIPCd work on the logging
project for five days by siu.ing in • tnle. At that lime
the USFS was di.rcctcd to come up with a new
environmental a.ssessmct1t 3nd discus:s 11 with the Forest
Watch group. The USFS did come up with• new
environment.al assessment· one which was complcl.Cly
unaccepmble 10 Forest Watch - nnd then piclccd up the
umber S31e cx.aclly where it had been lc!t off, directing
the companies who had previously offered the low bm
to begin cutting, meanwhile Slalling on meetings wilh
the Forest Watch group.
Thi., did IIOl lcnd credibility 10 the agency's
environmcn ta! assessment in the eyes of either the
Forest Watch group or the judge. The Gruntvi/le
News qoOICd Judge Anderson as saying, "I get the
impression your arrogance is unp81211eled. You jUSl
don't care 10 "' down and talk. 10 anyone except
yourselves.•
"I'm noi imprc.<t'icd by a governmental
agency_lh:11 lends IO forget who's paying its sata,y;
the judge said later m the procccd1ngs.
!~uatij: ~ USF11lg,ced., ~ihAia.... the s:ilc
contraets 111d hold moctinil,' with FotcSI Walth
manbcrs. They also agreed to notify Forest W81Ch 30
days before taking any action on the oralc, to prevent any
olhct blitwitg Jogging raids and allow the group ample
time 10 go to coan should they deem II ncccs.ury.
CHEOAH SALE NAILED
Nwnl "'\\tor U News Service
More than 300 spikes wen: found embedded m
ltt.cS slated 10 be cut as part of the Gra.~y Gap and
W=a umber -.;iJcs 111 the Chooah Bald area the
Nantahala National ~ On Scplember 23, 1991
or
US
Forest Service employees checked the urea arier
receiving a leucr postmarked in Olarlotte announcing
the !piking.
Oieoah B.ald, formerly• 21,000 acre roadlcss
area, ""'11.1111ack.cd quickly after being dtlistcd as a
RARE n (Roadlcss Arca Rc.cnrch and Evaluation) ~ite
and reduced to 7.000 roadies~ acres. It still is the !ariest
unprolCClcd road~ are3 m the N:uuah:lla Nalional
forest and on important link between the Great Smoky
Mountains National Pan; and the surrounding fon:st
areas. The Wildtrncss Society and the Siena Club lhis
summer came to an agrccmcnt with the Forest Service
th.It allowed timber cutting but no roodbuilding m the
W=r and Gl"3liSy Gap s:ilcs.
Chcoah District Ranger Glenn McConnell w:is
qootcd in the A ,lttvil/t C11iun-Tunes &s saying. "I
don't consider this (spiking) a protesl. This is
terrorism." The cry was wen up by the newspaper
1L,;clf in its editorial column. The charge was mu
because spikes can be dangerous to saw mill opcra1ors if
they arc working without safety procecuon when a 5Pike
is h11. Neithcl McConnell nor the newspaper unplic.iled
umber mmagcrs or logging company owners ,,.ho order
workers to continue cutting timber "31cs rcgasdless of
the known risk or spikes.
ANOTHER GE SUPERMESS
N uni World N •.,,
The EPA ha.~ recommended three locations in
Henderson County, 1'C for a single federal Supetfund
cleanup site - ~ith General Eloctric Corporation bemg
identified as f'C.\'J)Oll'ible for the contaminauon. GE now
has at least 48 Supcrrund sates to 11.S "credit" - more
than any OU1Cr corporauon.
GE opposes huing the lhroe locauons as a
~mgle site because, although the EPA ha~ found similar
contamination by organic compounds, PCB, 1111d
pcn:loroethylcnc (a su~I.Cd aircmogcn) 11 the various
locations, GE m1111win, lh:ll the propcrues arc not
connccl.Od and are underbid by SCIXll'3te bodies of ground
water. The cost of the cleanup, which would be borne
primanly by GE, has yet 10 be dtltrmincd since the
extent of the contaminauon ,~ sun unclear. The EPA 1s
"concerned about the potential for tong-term exposure;
and recently asked GE 10 sign a consent agreement so
cleanup or the site ll\JIY begin 1mmcdialcly, but so Car
GE has n:fuscd to do so.
Arca tCSldcnts have expressed concern lh:ll
property values m the adJOining areas will plummet ii
the site is placed on lhc National Prioritit.$ list.
Wtntcr, l99l -92
!1RTlOt'1.R. L 'FO'.KFst.S
Xawah Journot pa.c:,e 21
�Natural World News
SPECIAL REPORT
WHO WILL HAVE THE POWER?
Winners and Losers in the War to Control the Utilities Industry
At fm;r glance it looks like a dull and
confusing ''battle of initials": the war over
energy and the who, what. and why of its
production that is being waged in Washington.
If one says them aloud, the tenns FERC,
PURPA, SEC, and IPP, (or how about
EWG?) sound like body functions gone amok.
Rather, they are the initials of agencies,
processes, or classifications of electric power
generating organi1.ations. We need to include
these important abbreviations in the lexicon of
our lives.
Congressional baules or bureaucratic
brouhahas in Washington sometimes seem 10
be far removed from Ka1uah, and yet they are
of vital concern to us, because lhey often have
dircot effects on our lives. This "battle of 1he
initials" is no exception. rt is, quite literally. a
mauer of power and light, Duke Power and
Carolina Power and Ligh1 (CP&L) specifically.
and how those two companies (among those
that SCIVe our urea) have wound up on
opposing sides in what appears 10 be a
regulation dispute. Their split is indicative of a
split in the power indusu:y.
The battle is over whether or nor 10
change the Public Utility Holding Company
Act (PU HCA) of 1935. CP&L feels threatened
by the proposed changes; Duke feels that the
new act will benefit them.
Two years ago, Senator J. Benneu
Johnston (D-LA), who chain; the Senate
Energy and NaturnJ Resources Commincc,
ed
draf1 the Competitive Wholesale Electric
Generation Act of 1989, which was designed,
he said, "1 remove the obstacles to competitive
0
wholesale generation in the Public Utility
Holding Company Act of 1935."
This year, his "National Energy Security
Act," and specifically its Title XV, "would
open the energy generation market to a new
form of independent power producer ([PP),
called an 'exempt whole!>ale generator' (EWG).
that would exclusively marker power io utilities
and that would be free from regulatory
constraints imposed by the 1935 act" according
10 Leonard S. Greenberger in the April 15,
1991, issue of the P11hfic Utilities Fnnnight/y.
At the moment, Bcnneu's bill has
suffered death by filibuster, done in by its ties
10 legislation which would have allowed
drilling for oil and gas in the Arctic's Coastal
Plains. But there is a similar bill in 1he I louse,
and the Senate's Banking, Housing and Urban
Affairs Commiucc, which normally has
jurisdiction over PUHCA, is thinking about
redesigning the bill. President Bush's National
Energy Strategy focuses on PUI !CA as well.
It is clear that in 1992. PUHCA will undergo
some changes. This bodes ill for citizens and
rntcpayers.
To under.;tand what is at stake in this
ongoing debate, a brief history lesson is in
order, The Wheeler-Rayburn Act of 1935.
later 10 be called the Public Utilities Holding
Company Act, was passed as pan of 1he New
Deal legislation designed to break up trusts that
exercised monopolies over many aspects of
.
Xntimh Joun!a ~ p n~c 22
'
'
0
American life. Chief among these was the
utilities industry.
PUHCA was successful in making the
utility companies more manageable by
dismantling the layers of ownen;hip beneath
which they hid their assets. The result, as
James Cook describes in his Forbes anicle
"Camel in the Tent," is thar although US
u11Jirics continue to operate as monopolies in
their distribution areas, they are no longer so
large or powerful as those that existed prior to
the Great Depression, and their prices are
controlled by the PUHCA regulations.
During the energy crisis of the I970's,
there was anxiety about the availability of
dependable energy supplies :ind our
dependence on foreign sources of energy. As a
result of these concerns, Congress passed th.:
Public Utility Regulatory Policies Ac1
(PURPA) in 1978.
The act encouraged anyone capable of
producing energy 10 do so - using windmills,
water power, solar power, or biomass. The
inducement 10 create these al1ema1e energy
sources was this: public utilities were obliged
10 purchase whatever energy was produced ac a
price equivalent to the amount it cost them to
produce it. If chese small energy producers or
"qualifying facilities" (QFs) could produce
power more cheaply than the utility's cost then
the difference between the two prices was the
size of their profit margin.
lt was a good deal for small operators,
particularly at a time when pettoleurn resources
were uncertain and nuclear plants were
receiving bad press and worse repon cards. fl
was unwise to build new generating facilities
when small QF's might appear on the scene 10
supply the increasing demands for power.
Besides, the competition was viewed as healthy
- so healthy that big business and even the
utilities decided to try for a piece of the action.
Enter the Independent Power Producer
(IPP), a larger scale version of the QF. Some
IPP's are owned by non-utility industries,
others are run by utilities themselves. These
IPP's generate power and sell it 10 utihues m
the same way that the smaller QF's do, but
with this difference: they are subject to
regulation by the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) under provisions of
PUIICA.
There are several reasons why this
arrangement 1s accep1able 10 the utilities. First,
il is attractive in the same way that the QF wns:
i.e .. it allows the energy supply 10 expand 10
meet the public need without obliging the
utilities 10 invest their own capillll. IPP's are
also allowed to operate on higher debt ratios
(80%, as opposed co 65% for utilities).
Second, the 3JT:IJ\gcment is effective.
IPP's now make up an estimated 12% of the
nauon'li energy supply.
Third, and most imponanlly, there is
money 10 be made. Cook describes the profit
motivation this way: "Because there is no
regulatory limit on their returns. the
independent power producers have plenty of
incentive 10 cut costs anywhere they can. For
an independent producer. a penny saved is a
penny earned. For a regulated utility, a penny
saved over the allowed rate of return risks
being returned to the consumers in lower
rates."
The present attempt at limiting PUHCA,
Senator Johnston's National Security Act of
199 I, proposes to create a new type of !PP
called an Exempt Wholesale Generator (EWG)
that would fall out.~ide PUHCA's scrutiny.
As Leonard Greenberger put it in an
anicle in Public Utilities Fortnightly in March,
1991: "Anyone could own an EWG. including
today's registered and non-registered holding
companies. Facilities now under construction
could only become EWG's with slllte
approval, while affilitatcs of registered holding
companies already in existence would need a
green ligh1 from the SEC."
n ,e new ruling would point the power
companies back toward the days before
PUI fCA regulation when the energy industry
was a maze of holding companies and
subsidiaries - a confusing tangle in which ii
was often easy to conceal hidden profits and
diffuse accountability.
Power purchased from EWG's would be
sold to consumers at a price regulated by the
state utilities commissions, or by the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission if the power
crossed state lines. But any profits realized
from the economical generation of power by
these EWG's would go back 10 the EWG or 10
the utility company that owned 1he EWG.
Savings would not have to be handed back to
the consumer.
While it was totally predictable that the
public consumers would be the last to enjoy
any benefit from this shift, there are also some
utilities that are skeprical about the impending
change - thus the squabble between CP&L and
Duke Power.
Spea.kjng for utilities like CP&L, Don D.
Jordan of Houston Lighting and Power states:
"Tampering with the highly evolved and
complicated s1ruc1urc of our nation's electric
industry is nothing shon of imperiling the
security nnd reliability of a vital part of the
nation's economy. The real test of reliability is
whether the power will be there when ii is
needed."
So they say. But the real issue for CP&L
is the balance of power within the industry.
Some of the uLilities. like Duke Power, have
been ambitious and aggressive, acting more
like Fortune 500 corporations than service
organizations. Other:;, like CP&L, do no1 share
Duke's appe1i1e for unmitigated competition.
They have relied more on the legal structure
that protected their 1erri10ry and their status as
regulated monopolies. They are afraid of being
carved up and eaten alive. They fear that bit by
bit their territory and functions will be taken
over by EWG's that are subsidiaries of
companies like Duke.
Another area of concern for this group of
utilities is the access 1ha1 EWG's will enjoy to
1he utilities' transmission lines. They fear that
the EWG's. should they be able 10 gain access
10 the public utility transmission lines and use
l,lmtc r
191Jl-92
�-··"'JI
energy that developed after the war. The
public, mindful of the burning oil fields in
Kuwait, will be willing 10 embrace Johnston's
new bill, the National Energy Security Act.
because it promises to create new supplies of
energy - a comforting notion 10 consumers v.ho
witnessed mass quantities of pett0leum energy
going irretrievably up in smoke. And it wa:;
definitely unsexy 10 join Jimmy Caner in
turning down the thermostat 11nd wearing a
wool sweater in the house.
The Gulf War may ultimately prove 10 be
our undoing - abroad and at home.
Veronica Nichnlas was formerly a cmuiry
commissioner in Jackson Counry, NC. For ten
years she lias dnne bartk with the Nantal,ola
Power and Ugh1 Company,fim 10 keep in 1he
moun1ai,is 1he henefils ofpower generated
from 11wU11111in lakes, and 1hen oi·er I~ siting
of a high-w,_lrage power line 1hro~1gh
~
Transyl\·0J11a and Jackson Counnes
r.'
NWN (con1111uedfro,n par, 21)
RATILERSENDANGERED
N:ll\lnl World New, Sc,..ice
In Scpccmbcr, 1991 I.he Biodiversity Legat
Foundauon or Bouldct, CO and IC$Cal'Cher Andrew
Wci.~burd fonnally pctilioocd the US F"ISh and Wildlife
Sernce 10 list the timber raulesn:ike (Crota!ILJ horr,diu}
3li .i tndangcrod ,;pccics unde1 the Endangered Species
Act .
them as they liked, would choose to do
business with only the most profitable
customers and leave the utilities with a base of
high-cost residential customers and small
business customers.
On the other side of the issue is Duke
Power, the leader of the coalition of utilities
advocating changes in the PUHCA and a
company anxious to gain a share of the EWG
business. In the withdrawal of PUHCA
oversight that the Johnston bill seeks, Duke can
expect a return to the good old days of
monopoly before the Great Depression when
the trusts were fTce to work their will. They
are looking for the day when once again "big
fish eat little fish."
Whatever the tum of events, we, the
rate-payers, will be the losers. Marie N.
Cooper, director of research for the Consumer
redcration of ArncriC3 put it this way: "Captive
consumers bear all the risks of deregulatory
schemes (like Senator Johnston's) that say 'let
the market work and see what happens'
because they (consumers) arc the weakest
actors in the market. If the market does not
work, it is the residential consumer who pays."
So, no matter what changes come to
PUHCA, the consumer stands to lose, because
utilities, no matter which side they choose in
the PUHCA debate, fail to understand that the
real key to their profitability lies not in
mcreascd production but in conservation.
For instance, in 1989 the 1ocassee
Wlnter, 1991-92
Watershed Coalition was organized to prevent
Duke from building a pumped storage .station in
the Coley Creek basin of South Carolina.
According to Bill Thomas. co-chair of the
group, "When we looked into the proposed
project, we rcali1.cd that energy efficiency was
an even bigger issue than Coley Creek itself."
The coalition hired the Energy Systems
Research Group of Boston to analyze
conservauon and mnnagc:ment programs that
could help reduce energy demands on Duke.
This investigation showed ulrimatcly that the
replacement of all the lightbulbs in the service
area with energy-efficient models could save as
much energy as the Coley Creek project would
produce - at about one-third the cost
If this is so. then the question is, "Why
arc the utilities persisting in their plans 10 create
more energy projects instead of pursuing
conservation tactics?"
The answer to this question is nor very
difficult when one remembers that it is the US
Department of Energy (the same people who
brought us Oak Ridge, TN and Rocky Flats,
Colorado), that is making the judgments about
our future energy needs. With this in mind, it
is easier 10 understand why utility companies
behave the way they do and why they fail to
realize that conservation can spell profitability.
We can understand even more clearly if
we put the expected PUHCA reforms in the
context of the Persian Gulf War. Energy
legislation has become sexy, in the wake of the
heightened national consciousness about
Orawina by Rob Mcssidi:
The timber raider once ranged from Minnesota to
Texas. from the Atlanlic C01$1 wes1 to the urpc1
reaches oC the MJssoun Riva. It occurred in brgc
number.; throughou1 the woodlands th:n once covcrod
the whole or eastern Turlle Island. Raum play an
imponant p.111 in the forest ecology, feeding prinwily
on ~mall rodcms. and young rauJcsnakes thcmsel,ea
being prey to hawks and owb.
The timber ratllcr was Utsa'nori in the liinguage
or the Cherokee Indian!!, who con~idctcd the aea!ul'c a
"grandfaihcr," or spintually powct(ul being. M.iny of
the naovc tnbcs coosiJcr the umber l'IIUla the guardian
or the Earth's sacred place$. The species was once so
common that the nauvc people s:ud that it ~ put oo
Earth to rem ind the humans 10 wau:h wbcsc they 51ep.
The lllllbcr rawer IS cxrn:mcly scns1bve to
human di sturbmcc and Cll'IDOt Ii vc rn I.be pro~un1ty of
human beings. The budding of roads and ORV traib
into previously isolaled snaJce h.lb1tat areas, incn:asing
resort and !ICCOlld home devclopmenr. commc:n:ial snake
hunung. I.he clearing ol bouomland forests for
agric:ulrure. and d11cet persecution ol timber nullen by
human beings in informal or govcrnmenl-sancboncd
raulcsn:lkc hunts and roWldups 1w caused the
near-dclnise or the species.
Tocby thcrc are on1 y a handful ol kx:atiom "'here
I.he bmbcr raulcsnake exists in numbers that arc
sufficient to aUow the species to SUtVivc. Most of these
critical sites have inadequate pro4«uon. Many other
popul3lions arc II a point where lddi6onal persecution
wall ~ult in ciu.irplllOO.~. In the SOlllhcm
Applllachllll\S, wnber raulets-,: n:stnctcd to the mos1
rugged and rcmoet locauons.
The F"I.Sb and Wildlife Service IS cxpccled 10
n:tum a finding on the Biodivasity Lep1 Found:u1011
pcbtion 'l0fflcumc in December.
For addition.al 1nformation, contact Jasper
Carlton or the BiodivcrsiLy Lcpl Foonda1ion: Box
18327; Bouldct, CO 80308 (303) 491).@9I.
(conllmll!d on paac 32)
�r
LITMUS LICHENS
The pages of Karuah Journal have
reponed eittensively on a well-known
indicator species known as the Black Bear.
The health and well-being of Ibis large
mammal has been shown to reflec1 that of the
mountain bioregion we inhabit. I recently
came across an article in the November 1991
issue of Discover magazine lhat brought to
light another form of life that directly reflects,
or indicates, the condition of a crucial clement
of any bioregion; namely the air. This form of
life is called Lichens, of which there arc over
20,000 species worldwide.
The article by Edwin Kies1er Jr. poimed
001 tha1 lichens have no roots. They collect all
their water and food from the air. Through
their life processes they also absorb wha1ever
contaminants are in the air. Unselective caters
that they arc, they can soak up carbon dioxide,
sulfur dioitide, heavy metals, radiation, and
dust Lichens can hold on to lhese chemical
and radioactive contaminan1s even if i1 kills
them. Yct every form of lichen is not
susceptible to 1he same pollu1an1s.
There is a spectrum of sensitivity lha1
can be drawn for each lichen species, and
among lichen species in an ccosys1em, wilh
regard to accumulations of different
contaminants. For instance, some varieties can
tolerate relatively high concentrations of
sulfur, while it may only sicken some and kill
others. By using this kind of grading system
of the known tolerances of different species of
lichen to various contaminants, scientists can
make a record of a region's air quality over
time. Pollution sources can be uaced by
plotting prevailing wind patterns for ao area
and noting whether the species of lichen that
arc sensitive to a given pollutant arc cl3maged
or not.
This sensirivity of lichen hos been used
in European countries to study the paths of
aunospheric contaminants. Lichenological
studies are just beginning in the United States
and Canada, yet there arc some telling
eumples emerging from work I.hat has been
done so far. In the Cuyahoga Valley in Ohio
greater than 80% of lichen species have
disappeared since they were tracked by
naturalists I00 years ago. In the valley called
the Delaware Water Gap between
Pennsylvania and nonhcrn New Jersey, 60%
of Lichen species that have been recorded there
in the last century have perished due 10 the
effluvia of nonhcrn industrial cities.
Lichens arc actually a composite of two
different organisms known as fungus and
algae. The united organisms fonn a mesh
called a thallus in which a fungus threads itself
around algal cells and enclose them. The algal
panicipam provides sugars through
photosynthesis which the fungus uses in
making its own nutrients. The fungal
participant in turn gathers moisture and
minerals from the air that arc used by the algal
cells. One way 10 describe this symbiotic
relationship would be to say that the alga and
fungus arc eating from each other, only they
do not cat each other fast enough or in such a
way I.hat the whole organism tenninatcs.
Lichens are found in nearly every
Xoti«lrl Joun~ j~~c 24'
continental ecosystem on the planet. from
underneath the cover of ice and snow in
An1aretiea, to tundra, temperate forest zones,
and dcsens. They cling to stone statues,
rocks, and trees in the apparent shapes of
shrubs, disks, hair, and even as dashes of
brightly colored ink. Some of them can live
more 1han 4,000 years - think about lha1 next
rime you start up one of those sulfur-spewing
devices!
Lichens can provide a way of
monitoring the potcnriaJ for ecological damage
due 10 air-borne pollutants I.hat is far cheaper
ch.an using electrical gauges. Electrical gauges
can be spread out in a given area and linked by
computer 10 indicate when cenain pollutants
pass a safe level. However, the costs in staff'
and equipment are prohibitive 10 their
widespread use. A scientist studying lichen
can collect samples from specific sites and do
tests to find ow what contaminants arc present
and in what concentrations. These
lichenologists can also transport specific
lichens, on logs for instance, from less
contaminated sites to more contaminated sites
to monitor air quality.
One method of testing lhc chemical
composition of lichen is 10 heat it in a furnace
until it convens into gaseous oxide forms.
From there this gas can be piped into a
detector to read its chemical signatures.
Another method involves plasma atomic
emission specttometry in which the lichens are
liquified with an acid and injected into a
plasma (or hot ionized gas). This process gets
the chemical elements to emit distinctive
waves of energy that can be identified on a
specttomcter. This method can record over a
dozen different chemical elements in lichens.
When lichen dies it means that it:.
chlorophyll has been destroyed, and ii usunlly
turns white. Yet it is now possible for rates of
photosynthesis in the algal cells of lichen 10 be
measured for damage long before the lichen
turns visibly white. This has been discovered
in work done by Thomas Nash from Arizona
State University. He has discovered that in
Drawing by Rob Messick
Los Angeles one major reason why a species
of lichen known as Rama/itl(J menziesii has
died out is that the lichen absorbs nitrates from
car exhaust which impairs its ability 10
perform photosynthesis.
Human beings have used lichens for
dyes, as in the tweeds of Scotland, and the
Chinese have used a fonn of "old man's
beard"' lichen as an antibiotic. One of the most
well-known uses of lichen can be found in a
species called "cudbear". This lichen produces
the chemical erythrolimum which is used to
make lianus paper turn blue or red in the
presence of alkalies or acids. Their "liunus"
use now appears to be eitpanding to include
bio-geogmphical air quality testing.
Some kinds of lichen arc even edible;
but they have a bitter taste (which may not
mauer 10 you if you were starving in the forest
but for most folks it isn't anything of a
delicacy). Some deer routinely cat cenain
species oflichen. This proved particularly
dangerous in Finland, Norway, and Sweden,
as cesium 137 from the Chernobyl nuclear
accident drifted into the food chain there entering via lichens and passing on through
the deer and on to people. The return of
heallhy lichen 10 an area, however, will be a
~
harbinger of clean airs to come.
Rob Messick
FLAMES
The: spuit, its passion.
desiring imcns,ty,
WM!ing to feel the heat,
longing to iouch, to caress
the creative spark
The same heat tha1 wanns the
garden soil, opens the rlIC pine to
birth. and runs down the largest hem lock
scarring its majesty. this now, is the: force
you wish to call your own
With cnch step
the d::inger intre3SCS,
with each movement towards
lllere 1., no lhought of turning back,
or deny mg the allunng pull.
Own the flames •
Ille only wny through
Plunging inio the inferno
The pyre now asscns dominion
Thal long ago lhough1 of harnessing
Her power now seems ridieulous,
The: flames rise. the flesh scrcams 0111. each
cell bums as on ember
Tum back, hurry
before all is destroyed.
No! D:lre 10 face Hu,
IOUCh Her, become Her,
A gasp, a sigh. a surrender,
you are Home
LyMFink
Wlnter, 1991-92
�READING THE INNER TREE
by Charloue Homsher
There are many ways to get visual clues
from the inner 1ree, 10 recognize which trees are
more powerful or have a special function in the
area. Age and beauty are detennining factors,
but not the only ones.
Last summer I hiked the Shanry Spring
Trail on Gmndfa1her Mountain with a group
that included two women who "read" trees in
very different ways. The Shanty Spring Trail is
a very old Indian trail. The treeS there seem
particularly lively and aware. as though they
have been observing humans for eons. When
we crune 10 a large red oak with long branches
hanging over the trail and roots growing into
the path, one of 1he tree readers exclaimed
excitedly that we had arrived at a gateway tree.
She described gateway trees as guardians of an
area and enirance gates to the mysteries of a
specific trail. The second woman hesitated,
remarking that it was indeed a powerful tree but
that she saw sad faces in the bark. We
examined 1he red oak and found symptoms of
disease under the bark. The tree was indeed in
severe distress, and it was probably dying.
Farther up the trail, the woman who had
recognized the gateway tree pointed out another
oak which she identified as being the elf
throne. The seat of the throne was a large, flat
rock which was auached to the tree and
supponed by the limbs. This tree reader's
primary way of seeing rrces is to recognize
their function in the devic kingdom. We found
the queen's throne nearby and also the large
auached rock garden which was supposedly the
fairy queen's nursery. This mammoth rock was
covered with dainty, miniature flowers and a
variety of well-tended mosses and fems.
Between two layers of the rock was a delicate
crystalline outcropping. The gardener in
question would be a nature spirit or one of the
Huie people. Interestingly, there was a side path
from the trail all around this rock, made by the
many hikers who have been intuitively drawn
to that special garden.
My methods of reading trees visually
have changed over the years. One of the most
profound changes in sight and attitude was
after a brief encounter I had with an old man
who had studied various esoteric traditions. He
had offered to teach me a new way 10 see. I did
not have the foggiest idea what he was talking
about at the time. I was a college student taking
art classes and I defined the visuaJ world with
aesthetic j~dgments. His idea was that any kind
of value judgment was a limited way of seeing,
and that the only way to see beyond the outer
form was to look at an object with no
preconceived notions about what it should or
should not be. We spent the afternoon in the
school cafeteria practicing the technique with
coffee cups.
By applying this technique to narure I
learned to see in a deeper way. but I was not
entirely successful. Like most people. if I
describe a tree poetically, it is in anthropomorphic terms, which. of itself i_s :1 value
judgment - actually species chauv1m~m.
Probably the tree reader who recogmzed ~es
as fairy thrones is closer 10 the truth of seerng
the inner tree, since she is able to see the tree as
having a function completely outside the
similarities 10 human existence. The best I have
done as a purely visual kind of intuition is to
l'1mtcr, 19!11 -92
Drawing by Rob Mcniel
recognize that trees do have individual
personalities which may have something 10 do
with the growth pattern. I can sometimes sense
a tree's power, calmness. or distress. But it is
still the visual judgments which give me the
quickest and sharpest clues. This way of seeing
or judging a tree is based on outward fonn.
almost like classifying body types.
The Tanaic yogis in India still worship at
holy shrines inside pipal trees which have
cavernous openings reminiscent of the womb.
These huge trees are supposed 10 contain more
of the Shakti energy or female creative energy.
The yogis also consid~r trees_ sacr~d whic~
have female-like crevices or in which the hmbs,
burls or bark have grown 10 look like the
female torso. These are called the female yoni
trees. Determining the sex of a tree this way is
purely visual and has nothing to do with the
botanical function. There are trees which are
divided in10 male and female. Among these are
1he ginkgo, Kentucky coffeetree, and holly.
I see a lot of yoni trees. l think that they
are the teacher trees of our time. The male
equivalent of the yoni tree in the mountains
would be the giant hemlock trees. The
hemlocks are the sentinels of the woods. They
are like the antennae of the Eanh. They take the
cosmic energy and shoot it into the Eanh. thus
energizing the whole area around which they
grow.
There are guardian trees, gateways,
teachers, grandparent trees, and trees in which
spiritS or fairy people live. Trees also have .
relationships to each other. The natlll1!1 world 1s
an organic whole, and the larger the p1ct11n: we
can encompass, the greater our understanding.
l don't think anthropomorphic clues cnn tell us
everything, yet using them is a valid way (O
observe the inner tree. If trees nre the scnucnt,
aware beings that I suspect they are. then they
are quite cognizant of the crutches that we
need. They communicate with us, via a crude
sign language. They give us clues by the shape
of the trunk, faces in the bark. by 1he
mushrooms or rocks that have become a pan of
the tree, the animals that live inside 1he trunk
or on the branches, or any other obvious signs
which we can learn by observation. ~
WHERE THE RA VE!\S ROOST:
Cherokee Traditional Songs of Walker Calhoun
Will West Long was a well-known
craftsperson and spiritual leader of the
Cherokee tribe in the first half of this century.
He knew the old tribal traditions were dying
and worked to keep them. He passed much
infomuuion on to c1hnologis1 Jnmes Mooney
and also taught his family and other tribal
members who garhered at his home in Big
Cove on the Cherokee Indian Reservation.
One of those he taught was his nephew
Walker Calhoun. Walker remembers tr.tiling
along after the dancers at the community
Ceremonial Ground 50 years ago. Walker,
too, saw that the dances and songs were in
danger of disappearing, and several years ago
he, as his uncle had done before, resolved 10
see that they were carried on.
Walk.er (as he told us in the las, issue of
the Katualr Journal) has revived the Green
Com Ceremony and the monthly stomp
dances at the Raven Rock Nighthawk
Ceremonial Ground. He is teaching the
traditional social dances to a group of young
people. among them several of his 23
grandchildren. who perform as the Raven
Rock Dancers.
At the first great convocation of the
Eastern and Western Bands of the Cherokee
nation at Red Clay, TN in 1988, Walker was
presented with the first Sequoyah A ward for
his service 10 his people. ln 1990 Walker was
a recipient of the North Carolina Folk Heritage
Award.
As part of his restoration effort, Walker
has recorded a tape of traditional songs (with
two Chrisrian spirituals as well) for the
.
Mountain Heritage Center of Western Carolina
University. The tape contains several of the
best-known Cherokee dance songs, as well as
short commentaries on the songs and the
stories and practices that surrounded them.
These are undeniably authentic - unbroken
traditions that extend many generations back
into the human history of this region. An
explanatory bookie~ with an introduction an~ a
complete transcripuon of the songs and stones
acoompanies the tape.
Jn Where the Ravens Roosr, Walker
Calhoun has given us an irreplaceable gift: a
glimpse at the native inhabitantS' a:ibal past
and an inspiration for 1he community of the
future.
Where the Ravens Roostfear11resflure
music composed and played by Eddie
Bushylread. Tire rape was rec~rded_ and edited
/Jy Michael Kli11e. Sou11d engmuring /Jy
Kevin FirzParrick
For a copy, send S/0.00 plus $/ .00
shipping and J,andlillg to the Mo_untain_
.
Herilage Center; Wesrem Caro/ma Unn·er.nry;
Cullowhee, NC 28723.
X.Otunh Jou.nm{.
p<l{)e 25
�; ........ w .,.,.. ., ,
~
,.11
I
x ··
AROUND THE FIRE
Wood Selection and Firemaking
by Lee Barnes
Green SpiritS gift humankind with the
captured warmth of sunshine, providing fuels
for warmth, cooking, and the luxury or
campfire stories. Campfires act as a center for
our human activity, a focus forlanguage
development. socialization, and srory-tclling
(oral histories).
Having spcn1 years backpacking and
building campfires, I offer the following
suggestions for reducing your impact on the
forest First, carry a one-burner camp-stove
for cooking - a stove will quickly provide hot
foods without depicting the local area of slowly
accumulated firewoods.
If you must make fire, keep it small and
efficient. Tfind most novice campers insist on a
campfire, even in summer, suggesting that
campfires wann our deeper selves. Large
campfires arc wasteful of Green Spirits,
releasing years of harvested sunshine in
seconds. Burning plant cells robs lhc local
canh of recycled nutrients and organic bulk
which would otherwise result in improved
topsoil tcxrurc and nuoient holding ability. In
respect to Green SpiritS, try to keep fires 10 a
minimum for your needs - build small
campfires which provide light and steady heat;
use them for as short a time as possible.
While backpacking during a hurricane,
and prior tO carrying a camp-stove, I learned
how to find dry woods for campfires.
Sufficient dry wood for small personal
campfires can be found after even a week of
hard rains. Wood collection begins with lhe
gathering of dry tinder, and sufficieni dead and
dry tree limbs. Gather "squaw-wood"
(historically named for woods easily collected
and broken by squaws) from young trees,
especially lower dead branches of hemlock,
laurel, birch-bark:. and "lighter wood" (the
"fat-wood" of resinous pine and many
evergreens). Laurel (Kalmia /01ifolia) produces
poisonous fumes and should not be used as a
primary fuel source for cooking.
The best tinder-woods are the resinous
conifers (pine, fir, spruce, hemlock) or the
easily-peeled birch barks. Collec1 only woods
which snap cleanly in two. Throw back any
woods which bend or twist.
I find that I can scout the camping area
and find sufficient dry wood for cooking and
campfires without carrying a saw or axe.
Select dry branches which can be easily broken
over your knee or by elevating one end on a log
or stone, then stomping oo the them to yield
firewood of uniform length. I generally look
for dead branches which arc supported off the
ground. Search the low branches overhead for
wind-fall branches and for small dead trees.
Ct's easiest to look for wood on the high
ground around the camp since i1 is easier to
drag an armful of branches down to camp
rather than up! Look for a variety of small to
IMget" sized dead bnmchcs, seeking a larger
supply of branches in the 1/2-to- 4" diameter
size.
In camp, sort your woods by breaking
the smallest twigs into uniform lengths. A
large handful of the smallest twigs (1/8-1/4 "
in diameter and 5-6" long) should be sufficient.
Xotiiah Journot p!UJ& 26
Break I.he remaining branches into longer, say,
12-20 inch lengths. I find it easiest to
progress with the smaller branches, breaking
up the same diameter branches into similar
lengths. Th.is process should result in several
piles of uniform sized twigs which will make
adding fuel to the fire easy and efficient.
Avoid collecting much "spit-fire" woods
which randomly "pop" and eject chunks of
burning coals. These woods are great as small
tinder, since they rapidly bum and ignite larger
diameter branches. "Spit-fire" woods to be
avoided include juniper (red cedar), hemlock,
fir, spruce, sassafras. soft pines, sugar maple,
beech, and hickory. Overall, the best fuel
woods for campfires arc hickory, chestnut oak,
black locust, dogwood, and ash. White ash is
considered one of the bes1 woods for campers,
since even the green wood catches fire easily.
Tulip poplar is abundant in Ka1uah Province,
but bums quickly without developing any
long-heating coals. Horace Kephan, a
well-published authority on camping and
woodcraft, suggests a rule of thumb: "Avoid
drift-wood accumulated along stream banks,
since most of the timber which grows along
streams are softwoods."
Small teepee-shaped piles of tinder arc
easily ignited. Once a small blaze is going, add
10 the it from the pre-sorted piles of dry
branches nearby. These near-vertical piles bum
quickly and provide maximum light. Build
your fires between 1wo rows of stones which
arc open on the windward and downwind sides
to allow better airflow. Staek additional wood
on the downwind side for better burning. Once
a good base of coo.ls have developed, lay larger
branches more horii.ontally over the coals,
allowing good air-spaces between branches.
Push the remaining unburnt ends of branches
into the fire so that all woods arc burnt and
only ashes remain. Before you leave your
campsite, remove lhe stones and spread (or
bury) the cold ashes so that there is no sign of
your passing. Leave nolhing but footprints !
Firewoods for modem stoves vary
greatly in their heat-values, both for absolute
stored energy and lasting heat. Air-dried
hardwoods average 5,800 British thermal unitS
(BTU's) per pound, whereby it is estimated
Drawings by Rob Mc.sick
that 10,000 BTIJ's are required to heat water
for an average sized load of laundry. The NC
Division of Forest Resources provides
estimates comparing energy equivalentS for a
standard cord of wood (a cord of wood is
defined as a stack of wood 4x4x8 feet or about
80 cubic feet of solid wood). Based oo
laboratory derived values for heating values of
wood, a cord of wood is roughly equivalent to
a ton of bituminous coal or 5900 kilowatts of
electricity or 143 gallons of#2 heating oil.
Preferred woods include hickory. oak, and
locust. Avoid softwoods such as pine. A
modem wood stove avernges 50% efficiency
whereas burning wood in an open fireplace is
only 10% efficient.
Home-grown fuel and fiber sources are
critical for the independence of au1onomous
bioregions. Homesteaders have estimated that
10 acres of Eastem Atlantic mixed deciduous
forest should be sufficient 10 provide for the
sustainable heating needs of an average
household. Sustainable fanns must promote the
production of renewable, locally produced fuel
resources, such as fast growing legumes and
other nitrogen-fixing trees planted as
windbreaks and hedges. The first step to
minimize your impact on the forest is to build
small, energy-efficient homes. It is imponant to
the survival of humans and our plant allies that
we no1 waste their wooden gifts.
12th Song of Venta the Naturalist
beneath the polished blue stone of sky
and suffering its ancient oppression
with ancestral stoicism
i slowly finger my rugged beard
and question the grass and ils idle greening
no major answers were given;
and no miracle of nanue
rolled forth on the lawn
10 bury my soul beneath mystical rebuttals
about unreachable conclusions.
beneath the polished blue stone of sky
and recognizing its ubiquitou.~ face
as a fellow freak of fate
macerated for lack of knowledge on a planet
where blue and intelligent things die.
bray
mcdona/d
t.,iotcr. 1991-92
�grabbing my old box guiiar and headmg mlO lhc forest
so nature and I could trade our songs with each ocher.
Nawre's songs arc far mo~ beautiful and comforting,
bul lhe Grea1 Gn1ndfalhcr spirit knows my healt. and
my small songs are acceptable. Often I leave the guitar
al home, so i1's one on one.
I lhough1 you mighl wan1 to consider this (which
is a form of worship lO me) os a possible iopic of
di51cussion. Keep up the faithful work, and Mr.
Messick. !hank you for the inspired and inspiring
DRUMMING
LETTE RS TO KATUAH
anwork.
Ught, Love, &. Life,
Jeff Zachary
Deru- Ko1uah Family,
This pan of Turtle Island cnlled home is the
ecoione of Kaulah and the Cumberland Green
Bioregions. The divide is here on lhe IOp of the
Cumberland Plaleau. We arc fanning a community
whose drainage goes inlO Kauiah Province. My wife
Joan and I have stayed in lOUCh with both regions for a
long lime. Ka1uah is home lO us. The people, plllces,
and energies arc alive and connected. I have passed on
many copies of your joumal over the yea.rs as I have
promoted the nelwork.ing of kindled spirilS. Keep up the
grtal work. Receiving lhe journal is always an exciting
evenL You do more than you n:aliu, and J wanted you
10 know thru your voice is heard far and wide. We feel
lhal we call Kau1nh home even though we rcsl on the
far weslem edge. I wanted you 10 know that we are with
you. Bravol
Namasie,
SanfOtd McGee
Tkfollowing is e.xu rpttdfrqm o longer ltllu.
Dear Fncnds •
Five years ago, K01uah Journol published an
anicle on the CenlCt for Awakening, described as a plllcc
where people can "consciously live and consciously
die." llS purpose was 10 provide termin!llly ill people
with the suppon they needed lO make the tranSition inlO
The Medilltion project has the mission or
"peaceful conflict resolution." HSE rccognius Ihm
mediation has a greater chance o( achieving hnnnony
than docs litigation.
There arc no J)(lid employees a1 HSA. There are
no fees for clicnl scrvtCCS. The Boord members each
votun10er more than 50 hours a month, and not a single
Board member has missed any or the Board meetings
since HSA came inlo being.
Volun!UtS are welcome regardless of their
experience level. HSA makes il easy for people with
children lO volun1ocr. Janice Ayers, a long-time
volumccr, says, "By volun1eering with your children,
you can teach them how 10 care about others." If a
volunteer shows an interest m a particular area, he or
she is lralned 10 be effective in lhal a,ca. Room and
boaro are provided, and the volunLCCrs come away with a
sense of being part of something grealer lhan
themselves, of having given sorn cthing back lO life.
The spark which embodies this service
organization has resulted in HSA's recognition by
Prcsidcnl Bush as one of the Thousand PoinlS or LighL
To see this sprutc continue lO grow, Board members
would be glad lo help others SUIJt their own facilities lO
serve humankind.
dcalh.
The spa,k behind the Ccnw for Awakening has
continued 10 grow inlO a sicady. burning rue. through
five years of tranSfonnation, lO wha1 is now called
Human Service Alliance (HSA). HSA is now localed
between Greensboro and Winsum-Salem, easily
accessible from lnterslate 40 and available lO an
expanded populruion of clients and voluniurs. II serves
clients in four diffcren1 programs: Respiie Care
Program. Center for the TC11T1inally Ill, Health and
Wellness Program, and the Mediation ProjccL
ln the Respi1e Carc Program, weekend crue in a
supportive environment is offered lO physically or
developmenlally disabled children, gavmg their parents a
break from lhe Slte.SSCS of dealing wilh special needs day
in and day OUL
A brand-new 8,000 square fool btulding houses
the Ccn1er for the Tenninally Ill (CTI). errs purpose
is lO give gucslS the personal a1ienllon and Jove lhat
they deselvc, IClting them know as they approach the
uansition from life IO death that they are wonhwhile
people. One volumccr observed once thru all Ullflie
Sl01>$ lO allow a funeral procession 10 pass, in essence
)Xlying tribule lO the deceased indJV1dual. CTI is here to
"stop lhc t.mflic" for a dying pen;on while he/she is still
alive.
The Health and WcUness program is alc;o housed
in lhe CTI facilily. Its goal is 10 help clients assume
responsibility for their own health. A !Cam of
votunlCCl's with a vocation or avocation an health-related
areas assists each cliem in gciting lO 1he underlying
cause of health problems, rather than jus1 ucaling the
sympioms.
lv~nt.er, 1991-92
t - t I 1. •
• ").'
Jo Ellen Ca,son
Human Service Alliance
3983 Old Greensboro Rd.
Winston-Salem, NC 27101
Dear Koruah,
I loved lhe Fall '91 issue from fron1 lO back.
"Songs in the Wildcmcss" by Charloue Homsher (p.
24) brought an idea 10 mind, one I'm familiar with.
Native music. be il nute, drums, voice,
whruevcr - and its impon on na1ure (Bild vise versa)
would be an excellent focu.\ for a future Ka1uah Journal.
All my life, pe1.1Ce of mind has been as close as
Orawin& by Mane Moms
I
"
"
Dear K01uah Friends,
I think it's lime to renew my subscription. l
really enjoy all your issues, good articles and flllC
artworks. Someday I'm going to order a few of them
from Rob Messick.
WeU I'd fjlce to let you know lha1 Ills! September
I was a1 lhe "Shasta Bioregional Gathc.ring." I had a
greru time • deep feeling. I meet many beautiful people
there; from Judy and Peier Berg. Freeman House, Jim
Dodge CIC ••• and especially Ga,y Snyder, a vuy special
person. I wished to come and visi1 you loo, bul works
at home piesscd me lO jcl back early.
O.K., my daily ecoccntric practice is improving.
The llalilln Wildemcss Association has rccenlly
instituted two Wilderness Areas in nonh and south
llaly. The llallan Bioregional Movement is going fine.
Last month we had lhe "Founh Bioregional Camp." I
was there speaking for the wilderness.
Hope this lcuer finds you well and an good spirit
For lhe Eanh,
Moretti Giuseppe
ManlOva llaly
nott: lfey. Mort/Ii, don't wait t<>C Ions It> order
ort -work. Arri.SIS don't live forevu you luww! RM
Dear Friends,
WE NEED HaP ! 11
Despiie ever-increasing protest, a dam in
Czorsnyn in the Plcniny Mount.ains in Poland has been
under COIISltUClion since 1968. Since 1989 young
ecologists and annrchists have crganaed blockndes of
the dam. A geological cawuophc lhrealCnS 10 desuoy
Pleniny National Park's hisiorical relics: castles from
1hc middle ages, manor houses, churches, lnldilional
buildings, exceptionally inieresung villages, and
valuable natural clements.
There is no rational reason ror buildulg the dam.
lnlellcclUals oppose lhe dam; among these professionals
are nwncrous well-known scicnllSlS. This year's
blockade suutcd on July 1. The police action was
exceptionally brulal. II was an exueme show of foroe
and power. The following damages occurred from this
suong-a,ming (as of July 4 injuries): a girl with
concussion. a boy with a damaged kidney. The couns
have thus fa,imposcd f"ines of 40,000 • 800,000?1 on
the young ecologists.
A hunger strike was sWled in fron1 of the
Environment Minasiry on July 6. We REQUEST
HELP through lhe picketing and bloclclde of Polish
Embassies!
Members or the bloc:k.ade in Czo~1>11
6July 1991
P.S Please make these f.lcts known; ,;pread thi.~
infonnation further.
Pragowrua KulUU')' Tcay
Siowawyokeme
35--016 Kraslcow, uL Polcaiego Sf].1
Td 53- 772
I
Xatucin 1oumQ{. ooa& Z7
I " I ,, IJll1 I
rn·;_.,,, •
-
�Dc.KatUllh,
To tbc cdit0r.
r have just moo articles on lhe repeated violiuions
charged agrunst lhe Champ,on Pulp and Pnper Co. and
its continued indifference toward lhe honible c:ondil.ion
or lhe Pigeon River.
We don't expect the Slate of Nonh Carolina lO
enforce laws intended 10 prevent Oulmpion's flagrant
indiffcrcncc to lhc wishes of the people, but it would
seem lh3111llhet than plea-bargain the pclUllties for
turning lhe once beautiful river inlO an industrial sewer.
lhe Environmental Pro<cction Agency would apply the
full foru or lhe lnw Gt iis disposal fot lhc.,c vioouions.
Al the S111T1e lime I.hat Champion has been lClling
slorics about the great fishing in Clyde and au.empting
to beliulc lhc warnings of lhe known danger of dioxin
Lo anyone foolish enough 10 eat any fish caught in lhc
river downstream from Champion's decrepit old mill.
more and more people are becoming awurc of lhc
damage Champion bas done, and continues 10 do, IO
what could be one of God's greatest gifts co lhe people
and wildlife of this region.
I am expccung 10 hear any day that lhe famous
fish fry Champion puts on foe lhe newly decied
politicians in Raleigh will now fcalll!C fish from the
Pigeon River, probably lhe most dangerously polluied
sewer in this otherwise bcaullful area.
Because of the state of Norlh Carol.ina's
indifference to lhe Pigeon River scandill, we should all
be thankful 10 our neighbors in Tennessee for lhe
in!clliguru and courageous Stand !hey have taken to
clean up the river, from lhcoutfall 111lhc mill all lhc
way into Tennessee.
Thnnks and sinccrc appieciatiOn for lhc growing
support we arc getting from environmental groups and
lhc people in general.
Dick Mullinix
Pigeon River Action Group
Dear Ko/Uah,
We arc a group of students at the Arthur Morgan
School, and we'd like IO shllrc our feelings about lhc
milillll')' maru:uvcrs Iha! will be going on ID Yancey
County on November 4lh - 9lh of 199I. As u:enagc,s
of !his coun1.1y we believe !hat our opiniOns should not
only be IJlken into account, but should be rcspec:ICd as
well.
It's so peaceful bese. We really don'1 likc 10 have
our home turned 1mo a praclice wn, rone. I1 feels like
you arc really going to bomb us. Do you rcali7.e wh:11
you arc practicing for? Why docs lhere have 10 be a ncx1
time?
You arc crossing the line of our beliefs, because
we don't suppon the use of violence 10 solve problems.
Even if the miliwy got permission from some people,
!hey did not gel permission from us. We don't believe
lhcse mow11ains or any other land should have anything
10 do wilh war.
How is !his helping the people of Yancey
County work for peace?
Thank you foe list.cning,
David Barrett
Monrovia Van Hoose
Byron Eastman
MoUy Levin
Cedar Johnson
Rose Testa
Alice Delcoun
(The three social studi~ classes ot the Arthur Morgon
School ore studying contemporary issues. Similar
le11us were receivedfrom the rwo other closszs al tilt
school.)
DcarKotuah,
I am saying lhllnlc you to Cbarloue Homsher for
·songs in lhe Wilderness.· Again she has jogged my
inherent nature memory, awakening a beauty of my
own 1h31 s.hps inlO slumbers more often than n0t.
Among.st the many hardened facts and 1rulhs of
our reality on Earth today, it is mosi welcome and
healing to be strengthened and rcvitali7.Cd by Lhis kmd of
ruticle.
I'm looking forward 10 l110fC.
Sinccrcly,
a sister in voice
in Asheville
Dear Katuah,
Hello rrom up north! A few weeks ago a friend of
mme returned from lhc Pcnnaculture Conference in
Tennessee and brought back wilh him a copy of Kaulah
Journal, which I was excited 10 sec and read again. us1
lime I read Kauiah was in Washington D.C. a year ago
and since lhcn I haven't seen 1his WONDERFUL
journal anywhere in this Non.hca.uern region or the
sl.:ltes. I don't even lhmk a journal like ~umh exislS
here ID New H:unpshitt/Vermon1 area.
I write this !cu.er 10 you with lhMks. and wish 10
give you money for a year's membership. Thanks again!
For lhc Ennh,
Michael S1onc
Painting by Susan Adlm
Well l WIOlC "2" first drafis of a teuu 10 you all
hoping Iha! 1 could come up wilh a way 10 keep my
leuer from sounding dumb, but no such luck. So I
figured the best way 10 Lell you my feelings about
Katuah is 10 write 10 you all lhe same way you write 10
us in lhe journal. like we're old friends.
I was lucky enough to find Karuah in a used
book s1ore while my family and I were antiquing in old
downlOwn Asheville- I've never come across anything
as neru and infonnalive!
Florida jUSI doesn't seem 10 be interested in
Native American culture. l'm not sure if they're
iniercsted m IOO much more lhan m:ikmg money,
sending up lhe shuUle, and ripping our environment
apart so lhey can build more moc.els for the tourists. I
know it's supposed 10 be the mainstay of our economy
but why can't lhey leave some trees and wildlife for lhe
ones of us who enjoy them.
I guess thal's why I love lhe mouniains so much.
ll's scary to lhink !hat lhcy might be cleared off in a rcw
years too. I lhink that's why I lmve always admired the
lndiMs, lhcy used wlmt lhcy needed, and lhru was iL
Over lhe past yenr or so I've become vc,y
inlClCSted in lcarmng more about the Native Americans,
their culture. and heritage. Issue #32, Fall, 1991 was
full of great slllm Your interview about "Bringing
Back lhc rll'C" was wonderful!! Reading about how lhe
Cherokee's got so swept up in their stomp dance lba1
they went au night and bad to stan singing Old
McDonald because !hey ran out of songs was so
exciting for me! (Corning from a "stiff" southern
Baptist background, the thought of being able 10 praise
God with everything you can mUStCr malces me wan1 10
get up and do the same!)
From lhc little l know and have learned, the
Native Americans stnke me as a ru;h and beautiful
people who learned to live by faith and the simple lnlth
that God provided lhem wilh everything lhey needed
because they respected lbe earth and trusted in Him! If
we could ever stop and look at how !hey build and try lO
incorporate their ways into our evc,ydlly lives - man,
wouldn't it be great? I guess the best way IO start is
wilh ourselves. One person =hing 2 and in tum
those leaching 2 more. Maybe m time we could heal
the eanh, as well as ourselves.
I've also wondered, are there any books
comnining instrucllon on Native American languages?
Thanks for talcing lhe time 10 read I lcucr from a
young dreamer.
Peact Always!
Rebecca Hogan
Dear K01uah Joutlllll.
Last year I bough1 iwo of your issues from a
small bookstore in Ellijay, Georgia. I still have !hem
with me and they continue 10 help me understand thing$
as I guess I'm mean1 to understand lhcm.
Even though we live oversc35, I'd like to
1rubscnbe. Enclosed is money to cover a year's
subscription and the extra pos1age.
Also. th3nks foe lhe energy you all are releasing.
In spiril,
Scou & Miriam R1eh:lldson
Baguio City, Philippines
l.llnUr., l00kt92
�Sky Mangler, from silver halite
Image of thy snow twisting
The template of thy helix
Formed thee when a snot-throutcd
White trash lay down your passage to
subordinate thee with bullets
No permanent dwelling did thou build
Possessing no deed - au was the soil of thine own kind
The white Earth-mover claims his machine
has a mind of lls own
On account of falling drunk on oil overland
Thou art so praiseworthy for Earth skill
Thy impressionless path was purposeful by its
appropriate scale
The fire-harnessing soldiers executed policy
And have soldierly descendants who
have yet to conceive and deliver a
successful way of coping with the cold and dark
Thy way did peris h until the rost Industrial Tribe
picked it up
The disease of O,ristian Europe, mutated
By stresses in the underpinning rock
And brains of soldiers - the rotted, broken virulence
The settlements laid to waste
But for him thou wouldst have slept on the soil
of thine own kind
But for the war for white convenience of manufacture
For lines on maps
Dottering trifOcs
At the very length of history when
We could have gone thy way .. .
Lain claim to thy sustainable homelessness
Mike Wilber
Drawing by Marte Mems
Shhh- . .Listen ...
~
FUTONS ETC. ~
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and l.1rgcst natural
foods grocery •
... the new alt.emative
to the sleeper sofa
with over 4,000 years of
customer satisfaction built in.
Bulk Herbs, Spices, & Grains
Vitamins & Supplements
Wheat, Salt & Yeast-Free Foods
Dairy S11bstit11tes
Hair & Skin Care Products
Beer & Wine Making Supplies
200 W. King St, Boone, NC 28607
414S.ROAN
DOWNTOWN
JOHNSONCtTY
(7~) 264-5220
929-8622
rl 'J"hu
W
WHOLE FOODS
Saru!J Mush
Htrb N urse. J
'
WREATHS • POTPOURRI
VITAMINS
ORGANIC PRODUCE
• HERBS • TOPIARY
160 Broadway
AshevilleJ North Carolina
Complete Herb Catalog - $4
Describes more than 800 plants from
Aloe lo Yarraw
Open 7 Days a Week
Monday - Friday 9 am - 8 pm
Saturday 9 am - 6:30 pm
Sunday 12 pm - 5 pm
Wi.nter, 1991-92
A.I.A., Resource Information Analysis
Neil Thomas and Andy Feinstein
305 Westover, Asheville, NC
(704) 252-6816
Rt 2, Surrett Cove Road
Leicester, North Carolina 28748
Phone for appointmerrt to visit
(704) 683-2014
�.,. ~r
(canunuod liom page 6)
the Southern Appalachians. A1 present, oak
species seem to be in uouble - they are
declining due to a root rot fungus and are no1
regenerating well in sites where they were
once strongly represented. Since oak lumber
is a valuable timber product, this situation has
been well-investigated.
Oak ll'CCS have always had a place on
drier. south-facing sites in the mountains, but
it is only since the demise of the American
chesmu1 that the oak IJ'Ce has become critical
as a food crop for so many species of wildlife.
Since the chestnut blight wiped om the
chestnut as a seed-bearing tree, oaks have
greatly expanded their niche, moving into sites.
formerly inhabited by chestnuts and filling at
least pan of that great tree's role as a
food-producer. Due to "unnatural"
intervention by human beings in the past, loss
of the oak species at this rime would be
devastating co the life of the forest.
What is to be done? If we were co
abruptly remove our influence without
ensuring the continuation of the oaks, we
might precipitate the loss of irreplaceable
components of the ecological community and
thus make the restoration of natural processes
impossible. This is a situation ~ degraded
that it appears human management may be
needed 10 neutralize past human mistakes.
This is a common <tilert'lma. Ecologist
Reed Noss says: "Conservation ecologists
unanimously rccogniu: the necessity of
scientific management in restoring and
perpetuating natural areas. Active habitat
restoration should apply the best srate-ofthe-an management techniques 10 mimic the
natural environmental regime, keeping human
intervention down 10 the minimum..."
The first step 10 reinstate a natural order
in the Katuah Province is 10 proceed with
effons to reintroduce the American chestnut
tree with all possible speed. Until those effons
literally bear fruit, steps will have to be taken
10 maintain the oak tree. Since light ground
fires seem to be instrumental in maintaining
oak stands, it may be the oak trees that give us
the ~swer, at least for the present; I.& t.he
quesuon of how much fuc is desirable. Doing
controlled bums to maintain habitat for the oak
family would also serve 10 restore the
macro-process of fire to the woods. The oak
irees could guide us to the proper balance for
fire use.
To restore natural relationships to a
community, the minimum amount of
!n~erference is the best, and only for as long as
11 ts necessary. In undertaking any restoration
policies, it mUSt be remembered that we are
"Irrespective of man's
viewpoint, change is necessary
to maintain a healthy
ecosystem."
crying 10 help the Earth heal Hen.elf. We
would be intervening to allow the recovery of
"natural" processes. Paradoxical as that may
seem, that may be our present situation.
The examples of the Table Mountain
pine and the oak family show us the level of
paradox we may encounter and the degree of
ecological understanding necessary 10 make
knowledgeable decisions. We know so little.
There is so much 10 be done.
While we can never return to a "natural"
condition as it was in a mythic past, it is still
valid as a guiding conc:epL The great old u-ees
of the ancient old-growth forest are still the
grandest testaments to the potential of this
region.
And, while ii would be fruitless to
mindlessly mimic the practices of the ancient
native inhabitants, they still can serve as a
guide for our present actions. The only
baseline we have for "original conditions" was
the landscape managed by the Cherokee
nation. lt was a beautiful landscape by all
ac~unts, and it was a stable equtlibrium, as
evidenced by the fact that the Cherokees were
able to maintain a consistent presence here for
~ore than 2.000 years. The experience of the
First People teaches us that humans in small
numbers, living respectfully and reverentially,
can integrate ourselves into a viable landscape.
Perhaps by pursuing these elusive
examples we may be able 10 anive at a new
and original equilibrium, one that will serve
the needs of the future. Perhaps by seeking 10
fulfill the unattainable mcxlel of a ··natural"
landscape free of human intervention, we may
be be able to reach an equilibrium that is
"natural" because ii proceeds from the forest's
own dynamic and follows the forest's own
needs. In aniving at that state of balance, we
would have to change ourselves so we could
live within those natural processes rather than
in conflict with them.
One way in which we could stan would
be 10 put our skills and our passion to the task
of serving the forest, deeming it an entity
greater than ourselves, that surrounds and
holds us, and recognizing that the quality of
the forest's life conuols directly the quality of
our own.
Our goal is the circle of life rejoined. We
can only sketch ou1 the elements of a
functioning natural communiry in broad
strokes, adjust our technologies and lifestyles
accordingly, and then fine-tune our
relationship 10 our environment as we gain a
deeper perception of human causes and natural
effects.
lf we are to continue to live in these
hills, we will have to strive 10 keep the life
community as close as possible to the
evolutionary optimum for this region. Our
work on behalf of the nawral life processes
and the native species as best we can know
them protects the integril)' - or ecological
wholeness - of the region. Our goal is a
community of life capable of sustaining itself
in the face of inevitable change.
~
David Wheele r
(continued from i-sc4)
Rhcx!cxlendron sproutS up quickly and in its
first year in full sun will set flower buds. The
followi.ng year the buds bloom and Lhen open,
producing an amazing amount of seed."
On rhe high ridgetcp, under new sun and
new rain, grass has grown over the charred
ground, hidfog it away from sight. It was
almosr as ifthefve never had been, except/or
the lushness of the new sprillg growth and rhe
blacuned suletons ofberry bushes and
rhod.Jdendrons reaching grotesquely imo the
air. Tiny, leafy shoots spring up from the roots.
In rlvee years, during the longest days, the
meadow will appear to blaze again in a
profusion ofpurple rlwdodendronf/owers.
later in that same s,unmer, the blueberry bushes
will bear fn1il, turning the fresl,/yfertilized soil
in10 a prodigious liarvest
Fire has brought change - and new life.
;,
--~Jo,.
-l'tr1 sorr'l Mr. J"ohnson. We found ~our
'llc.coJ'nt to be ·m arrears . "'"'
· ~1P'I
l.,intu, 1991 92
�REVIEW:
TRIDENT TO LIFE
SUPPORT CHUCK ROE!
"All nuclear stares are composed ofmaJ1y
11a1io11s, bw each is controlled by a single
nation that has the bomb. Britain's bomb is
English, not Irish; the Soviet bomb is Russian.
not Ukrainian; the French bomb is Parisian, not
Corsican; the Chinese bomb is Han, not
Tibetan; and the US bomb is White American,
not lakoran."
Each year during the Christian holiday of
The Feast of the Holy Innocents, people gather
in S1. Mary's, Georgia in opposition 10 the
Trident submarine base and in suppon of
peaceful alternatives to the militarized
economy.
This year the theme of the action is "From
Genocide to Peace: Celebrating the Conversion
of Our Economies." The marchers will
remember the native peoples who were
decimated during the 500 years of European
conquest and protest the presence of a modem
tool of genocide: the Trident submarine and its
nuclear weapons payload.
The event is scheduled from December
27-29 and will include a vigil, fellowship, a
Listening Project, and the march to the gates of
1he Trident base which will take place on
Saturday, December 28. St. Mary's is on the
South Georgia coast, so the scenery is
beautiful, and accommodations and camping
facilities are plentiful.
For more information, write:
Feast of the Holy /1111oce111s
Pla1mi11g Committee
clo Jody Howard
215 McDonough St.
Decatur, GA 30030
or call:
(404)377-7109
TURTLE ISLAND
BIOREGIONAL CONGRESS
V
May 17-24, 1992
A convocation of bioregional people from
across the continent and beyond
at Camp Stewan
in the hill country of the Great Prairie biome.
To register for this event, contact:
Gene Marshall
Realistic Living
Box 140826
Dallns, TX 75214
Upper Blackland Prairie Bioregion
hhntcr , 199 1 92
If. ' '
't
read by Thomas Rain Crowe
accompanied by Eugene Friesen, c:cllo, and Paul
Sullivan, piano
"Love is the perfect work"
Words on a page sometimes blossom into
meaning within the reader's mind. But poetry
read by the author is a three-dimensional
experience in space, time, and spirit. The
listener hears the words as they were intended
to be heard and touches the mind that binhed
them.
When the reading is accompanied by
musical instrumentation, it becomes another
experience. The woros are then the frame
supporting a work that is a collaboration of
influences altogether different than words
alone.
For those of us who were not al the
Jubilee Center on Valentine's Day evening,
1990, Thomas Rain Crowe has recorded
readings from that event and from another
evening at Furman University in Greenville,
SC on July 20 of that year. Accompaniment is
by Eugene Friesen, bassist for Lhe Paul Winter
Conson and a resident of Asheville, and Paul
Sullivan, pianist, who heads a musical
enterprise called River Music Records in the
Gulf of Maine region.
Since the recording was made live, the
quality of the tape is variable, but the meaning
and intem are clear throughout. Crowe,
formerly a Katuah Journal editorial siaff
member, lives in rural Jackson County, in the
Tuckasegee River watershed. He is a gardener
and a printer as well as a poet, but he is always
watching the interplay of opposites · sound and
silence, motion and stillness, the light and the
dark - in the seasons of time and of the human
hean. He writes of the changes he has seen honestly and deeply, yet always with hope.
The musical sounds interweave with the
verbal and offer their own meanings,
communicating with the listener on different
levels. The sensitive instrumentation adds
greatly 10 the depth of the presentation.
Together they present a pleasing work.
Nothing, of course, can match the subtle
exchange of energy that occurs at a live
performance, but the casseue Sound of light is
in itself a wonhwhile artistic statement, full of
sound and insight.
And knowing what love is, I
aw~. In this place in my body.
Full of dream 17WSic,
Full oflighJ!"
• reviewed by KO
near
Kerrville, Texas
• J
THE SOUND OF LIGHT
..
Selcctlons from lhe poem 'i1ie Pcrl'cc:1 Work" by Thomu
Rain Crowe
The Sound of Light was produced by John
lane and Tlwrnas Rain Crowe. The tape is
available for $7.95 plus $1 .00for shipping
and handling from Holocene Books; Box
10/; Wofford College. Spartanburg, SC
29303.
'- I
For years Chuck Roe worked 10
inventory and protect wild lands and native
species in the State of Nonh Carolina as the
director of the srate Natural Heritage Program.
On a shoestring budget, with linle suppon from
the state bureaucracy, Roe consolidated
resources and labor from a variety of sources
and not only kept the Natural Heritage Program
functioning, but made it into an effective force
for natur.11 preservation.
In the spring of 1991, Roe was fired
from his job by the Secretary of the NC
Department of Environment, Health, and
Natural Resources, William Cobey. The reason
given was that Roe had overstepped his
authority in writing a leuer to support Karin
Heiman, who had recently been fired as a
botanist for the US Foresr Service. The real
reason for both the firings is that lleiman and
Roe were being too effective in their jobs and
were becoming obstacles to the goals of the
powers that be.
Chuck Roe is appealing his firing. His
legal challenge is an important battle for free
speech, employees' rights, and environmental
protection.
"The costs so far for my legal fees have
been $5,000," Roe says, "which has not been
easy for my family to afford. Standing up for
principles is not only dangerous but expensive,
bm I did what was right, and I have no
regrets."
He is asking help from anyone who is
willing and able to contribute 10 his defense.
To help, send a check made our to the
"Chuck Roe Legal Defense Fund" to the
Western Nonh Carolina Alliance: Box 18087;
Asheville, NC 28814. Contributions are
tax-deductible.
FRENCH BROAD
FOOD CO-OP
• • • Consu= Ov.,wd Sinre 1975 • • •
We Sell Food that Nourishes
I Iumans and Sustains the Earth
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Monday-Friday 8:.30 AM to 8:00 PM
Saturday 9;00 AM lo 7,00 PM
Sunday 1:00 PM to 6:00 PM
(704) 255-7650
90 Biltmore Avenue Asheville, NC
2 Blocks South of Downtown
�NWN (co,uinllldfrom page 23)
HELP WANTED
amc:ndmcnl lh:il would allow logging in areas LO be
designated as recreation and stenic are.is.
CALDWELL COUNTY:
SAVED FROM THE SHAVE
Naturul World News Scivicc
A new chapt.cr of the WCSJcm Non.h Carolina
Alliance (WNCA) has fanned in ~'JIOn.se I O ~
limber sales in lhc Grandfalhcr Ranger DistricL The
Foothills Environmental Alli:ince (FEA) is lhc fll'Sl
organit.ed crron 10 appeal timber sales in CaWwcll
Counly. Hunt.crs, f1Shcf5, and ccologiSIS alike ruc
dis1wbed about loog range impaclS due IO excess
umbering.
Citing excessive cumulative cffcclS from
c lcarc:u1ting on both private lands and lhc Pisgah
National Forest, an nppc:il has been filed w1lh lhc
J"orest Service on proposed sales in the Wilson Creek
wau:rshcd. The habillll preservation group Sou1hPAW
also ~ubmiucd four appeals of sales on lhe Grandfather
District to prcvcnl foresl frogmcnuiuon. degradation of
sltC.'lm quruity, and ncg11tive imp:iclS on biodivcrs11y
from lhc logging. In November, 1991 siays were
granted on lhe proposed soles. and lhc WNCA is
prepared tO continue oppeals if R:inger Mike Anderson
decides to continue lhc logging.
In a meeting belwecn members of lhc WNCA
and lhc Forest Service, thc laucr admill.Cd !hat Caldwell
Coun1y has had more lluln its share of clC31CuUing. It is
lime to pf'Olcct Lhcsc valuable lands.
The Poo1hill$ Environmen1al Allianu mrtts al
the county library ,n unoir on ,~ ftr$t Thursday of
every monlh.
US REP. CHARLES TAYLOR:
FOE OF THE FOREST
One of the siJcs slated for release III Taylor's
so-called "wilde.mess" bill was thc Blue Valley area near
Hjghlands, NC. Taylor's acllon prompted a storm of
proccst from residents who loved lhc area and wnnicd 10
keep it as il is. In response he called an "cducaiional"
mecung in Highlands lhat con~ist.cd or a full program of
USFS personnel iclling why thcy want.cd IO delist Blue
Valley. The citu.cns who packed lhc hall were invit.cd 10
air their concerns by sending lctlet~ 10 Taylor after the
meeting. Residents howled. and Taylor bler wilhdrew
his bill from consideration.
His move agai1151 wildbnds in Georgia was
prompted by a bill proposed by Rep. Ed Jenkins
(D-OA) which would dcs1gn:ite lhe Blood Mountllln and
Mark Trail IIICa.~as wildctnc.-;.~ and add 1,100 acres to the
Bn&SSIOwn Wildemcss An:3. h would also create n 36
square mile recreation area oo Springer Mountain, lhe
head of lhe Appalachian Trail, and an 11 square mile
scenic area on Coosa Bald. Taylor's amendment would
have allowed logging in lhe laucr are.is. even lhough
Jc:okins took pains 10 mention lhat his bill would hnvc
liulc effect on timber quOlllS in the Chau:ihooc:hcc.
Jenkins' bill was =enlly passed lhrough
Congress SO/IS lhc Taylor amendmcnL
ll is 110{ surprising lhat Charles Taylor is so
ddigent in the service of lhe timber indusiry. Twcnl)'
pcn:cnt of his 1990 campaign contributions ($40,000)
c:amc from individuals nnd groups connected wilh the
wood producis indusuy. He himsel f is a dc\-clopc:r and
tree farmer in TnlllSYlvania and H:iywood Counties.
flfonnl Wadel News Service
for
BIODIVERSITY LEGAL
FOUNDATION
The Biodiversity Legal Foundation is a
non-profit organization dedicated to the
preservation of all native wild plants and
animals, communities of species, and naturally
functioning ecosystems.The group is involved
in li1igadon in the biocenaic defense of the
elements of natural diversity lhat other, more
mainstream groups are typically unwilling to
undenake.
The Foundation closely monitors the
programs of the US forest Service for
sensitive, threatened. and endangered species
and their ecosystems. It concentrates on
habitats across the country that are integrnl
parts of large, natural, diverse ecosystems. The
group's legal actions always stress a multiple
species/ ecosystem approach.
The Biodiversity Legal Foundation is
looking for help in the eastern foresis. They
need activists with a strong biological interest
to develop a comprehensive review of the
status and disaibution of the eastern wood.rat
(Neotomafloridiana) and the eastern
diamondback mnlesnake (Cota/us adamenters).
Both these species are believed to be in serious
trouble and require legal advocacy.
Those interested should contact:
Jasper Carlu,n
Biodiversity legal Fowidation
Box 18327
Boulder, CO 80308
The congressional reprcscnwivc from Nor1h
Carolina's 11 lh District has been busying himself wilh
aucmpts to destroy wild h:ibi1111 during lhe past tcnn of
Congress.
Rep. Charles Taylor this summer uuroduced lhc
Craggy Mounr.:tln Wilderness Act, a "w11demcss" bill
that released I l,700acrcs of wild lands lO commercial
cxploiiation while prot.ccling only 2,400 aacs that arc
alre:ldy heavily used as a scenic auraction.
He was one or lhc 24 sponsors in the House of
lhc "Family and Forest Protection AJ:1; a limber
indusuy bill designed 10 hinder ci1i1.cns who would stop
destructive n:iuonal forest timber sales.
Taylor also tried 10 weaken a forest
protection biU mitiau:d ror lhc
Chauahoochcc National Forest by Georgia
Rep. Ed Jenkins. Taylor proposed an
flti.
Programs to encolSOge
&elf aid Eorth OW01enes.1.
celebrotton. klrdhlp ond hope.
• You1h Camii- • School Programs
• Fa,my Cami,.· Teadler Training
• Commuroty Provam•
•~Sia~ Tra.,ing
• 0uldoor Program~
PO 8ox 130b
Go11r>tlL<g. reme- 3n3a
61~
1'otimfl JoumoC
J)n'}C 32
~\I',\
TaJJcin1 ua...a is a DlOlllhly
,JOUrUal of deep ecology, inspired
personal acuvmn rooted in earthen
sp,rirualny. Pasl i$SUC$ have
featured ar11cles by Gary Snyder,
Starllawk, John Seed, Joanna
M,cy, Bill Devall, l..onc Wolf
Circles. Bubara Mor, etc:.
Tn/Jnng
~ for the
natural wt'4'1d and for the rekindllOE
of our own wild 5Ptnt.
uo,-a
Suh:\cnpllOIIS an: S24.00 one
year/ $48.00 outside U.S.
Ta/J:JnglLm-a
1430 Willamette 1361
Eugeoc. OR 97401
5031342-2974
Dra'IVll!g by Rob Musick
REGIONAL RADIO
Featuring Crossroads music, ?\iPR news and music
programs, regional news and information
concerning health, education, government,
recreation, and the environment.
WNCW - FM
r 0. Box 804
Spand.ilc, NC 28160
(704) 287-8000
l.,L11tcr, 1991-,92 ,
�•·,I.I, I
FEBRUARY
€V€0t'S
DECEMBER
BLACK MOUNTAIN, NC
Bill Melanson, reggae rock. at
McDibbs. $4.00. I 19 Cherry S1.; 28711, (704)
669-2456.
20
21
BLACK MOUNTA[N, NC
Pini and Gaye Johnson at McDibbs.
$4.00. See 12/20.
SWANNANOA, NC
Full Moon and Winier Solstice Lodge
a1 the Earth Center. Begins a1 noon. ConlllCl lhe Earth
Center: 302 Old Fellowship Road; 28TT8. (704)
298-3935.
27-29
ST. MARYS, GA
9th annual Peace Witness at
Kings Bay Submarine Base. Program
includes Listening Project training, direct
action, candlelight vigil, and shnred meal.
Pre-regisrration encouraged; donation
accepted. Contact Kings Bay Witness; c/o Joy
Howard; 215 McDonough St.; Decatur, GA
30030.
(404) 377-7019.
ASHEVLLLE, NC
"Breaking Barrier.;, Building Bridges.•
Workshop 10 focw; on brcalcing down barriers of
racism, sexism and classism, and on cswblishing
cross-cul1ural connection:; for more effccti,e grassroolS
organizing. Al W.C. Reid Center. Prc-rcgiSlcr. SS.
ConlaCl uwra Deaton, Western Norlh Carolina
Alliance; 11 Clock Tower Square; Frankhn, NC
28734.(704)S2A-3899.
l
HOT SPRINGS, NC
"A New Years Rcln:aL" Meditation lO
welcome the new year, led by John Orr nod Man:in
Rose. Pre-register. S28S mcludes vegan meals and
lodgmg. Contact Southern Dhanna Rctreal Center; RL
I; 28743. (704) 622-7112.
27-4
VALLEYHEAD,AL
Winter Solstice Celebration. ConlllCl
Hawkwind Earth Renewal Cooperative: PO Box 11;
Valley Head, AL 35989. (205) 635-6304.
22
Winter Solstice
2
SWANNANOA, NC
Foll Moon Lodge al lhc Enrth Center.
See 12/21.
MARCH
JANUARY
ASHEVILLE, NC
Tim Abell, ·songs and s1ories for lhe
young of all ages. Bring lhe kids. SS. 8:30 pm a1
Stone Soup Cafe, comer of Broadway and Walnu1.
(704) 255-7687.
4
SWANNANOA, NC
Full Moon Lodge al lhc Eanh Center.
18
Feile Oridghe or Candlemas
(01 id"in1er)
21
?l-23
.
....
~8
GREAT SMOKIES PARK
"Environmental Education and lhe
Arts" annual workshop. Sessions on slOJylelling,
dramatics, mum, puppetry and other cmfl.s ~gned lO
inspire new ideas for ieaching aboUI lhe narural world.
Fcalured gucsl is Denny Olsen.
Prc-rcgisitr. S80 includes meals and lodging. Conuict
Great Smoley Mounl8ins lnstitute at Tremont: RLl,
Box 700: Townsend. TN 37882. (615) 448-6709.
See 12/21.
ASHEVILLE, NC
Christmas uce chippers in locntions
Lhroughou1 Buncombe County. For locations, call
Quality Forward 254-1776.
26
ASHEVILLE, NC
Tree planting in Afion Parle
co-sponsored by Quali1y Forward and lhc Ashevillc,Buncombe Youlh council. For info: Quality F«wnrd:
Box 22; 28802. (704) 254-1776.
7
ASHEVILLE, NC
Jim Magill, plays mountain music in
Lhe Celtic tradition on a varic1y of instruments,
original music, and stories. SS. 8:30 pm al S1onc
Soup Cafe. See 1/4.
18
21
SWANNANOA, NC
Full Moon and Spring Equinox Lodge
al Lhe Earth Cenl.Cf. Sec 12/21.
Get a set of 10 assorted
folding cards 1Nith
artwork you see in
Katuah Journal.
28
ASHEVILLE, NC
Girl Scoots' 80th birthday tree planting
along Broadway. Public p:lrtieipa1ion inviled. Pisgah
~~~-~-'!!!~t~G~ir,;Sco Council and Quality Forward. Sec 3/1.
; I ~ ;,:ut
(Envelopes included.)
by Rob l/.:esskk
Send $11.25 postage paid
to:
Rob Messick
P.O. BOX 2601
BOONE, NC 28607
Drawing b} Rodney Webb
whole earth
grocery
Hawk Littlejohn
Sourwood Farm
Rt 1, Box 172-l
Prospect Hill, NC 27314
(919) 562-3073
NATURAL
ALTERNATNES
FOR HEALTHFUL
LIVING
446 c.p,ukway rr~h center • suite 11
g.11hnburg. tcnnCSS<"C 3n38
615-436-6967
W1Htct', l9!11-92 ' '
An Alternative
i
NATIVE FLUTES
Two styles mode of cedar or walnut
woods in the traditional manner
Union Acres
- - lscrtage for Sale - Smoky Mountain Living
with a focus on spiritual and
«ologicol values
For more information:
Cont ad C. Grant al
Roule 1. Box 61]
Whillier, NC 28789
(704) 497-4964
NATURAL MARKET
WI IOLE FOODS • BULK
rooos. VJTA!liflNES . HERBS
• FAT FREE FOODS • TAKE
OUT FOODS • SNACKS • NO
SALT, NO CHOLESTEROL
265-2700
823 Slowing Roell. Rd
Boone, NC 28607
�SAVE OUR RIVERS • CllSSClte album by Baro= and
Jolm DunC311 and Ille Foxftrc Boys. Onginal tunes by
Barb.ira DunclUI; old umll go.,pel lnllllS by the Fodirc
Bo),. S10.00 includes poswge .llld handling. All
profit\ go to Save Our Rivm, Inc. PO Box 122:
Franklin, 1'C 28734: or call (71») 369-7877, For the
Cullasaj:i.
• Webworking has changed! There is now a
fee of $2.50 {pre-paid) per entry of50 words
or less. Submit entries/or Issue #33 by Feb.
15, 1992 to: Rob Messick; Box 2601; Boone,
NC 28607. (704) 754-6097
PEN PA.LS WANTED. I am 30, single, a traditional
religious leader and Greenpeace acuvist. I live far from
town on a rivcrf'rom hom<:SIC3d. Bear's.Over-Rainbow:
HCR 77. Box 382; Cosmopoli.~. WA 98537
I W\'E 'f llE E.ARTII. a ca.~uc: nxord,ng of
MUSIC BY BOB AVERY-GRUBEL awilablc on three
casscucs. Treasures in IM Stream and Circlt!T
Rerunung are folk/rOCl.·,i:lzz, and a rccenl release of
original chants and songs, l1g/11111 1/~ Wind. is a
ca~Ua Lyric sheets includ..ld Send SJO for each r.apc
or S26 for all Lhrce IO Bob Avery-Grubel; RI. I, Box
735: Floyd, VA 2409 I.
IIIGHLANDER CENTER· is a community-based
educational org;inl7.alion whose purpo<;e is IO provide
SJ130C for people IO learn from each other, and 10
developc solutions 10 environmenUJI problems based
on thcir values. cxpcnences. and aspirauons. They also
put ou1 a qurutcrly ncwslcw:rcallcd 1/igh/andu
Reports. For more Info conlaet Highlander Ccn1et;
19S9 Highlandct Way; New Mnrtkel, TN 37820 (61 S)
933.3443
BODY RI/YI/IMS from Plancwy Molhets • a beautiful
and pnlCticnl clllcndar for women io ch3rl Lheir
·moonthly" C)'l:les. Send S3.00 plus S 1.00 pOSUlge to:
Plnnc&ary Mothers Colloctive (c/o Nancie Yonker):
5231 Riverwood Avenue: Snrasoin. A.. 34231.
"BLOW YOUR MIND" • wilh 1hc celestial ~Ing
music of "Medicine Wind" by George Tortorelli. Also
exotic !ino-1uncd bamboo nuics in many keys aod
modes. For more informauon send 10: George
Tonorclli; 86 NW 55111 Stttet; Gnincsvillc. A.. 32601.
(904) 373-1837
WANTED: FUNDRAISER for the Grassroots LislC.nlng
311d Organizing Program or Ille Rural Soulhcm Voice
for Peace. We provide uaining end organiring
assislllllCC 10 grossroots groups 111 the South worlting
on justice, peace, and environmental issues. Localed 111
micnr.ional community m Blue Ridge Mountams.
Modest salary. 30 to 35 hrs/wit., good benefilS. Send
lcucr and rcsumt 10 RSVP/GLO: 1898 H31lll3h Branch
Rd.; Burnsville, NC 28714. (704) 675- 5933.
LAND FOR SALE • M:ignif1ce111 view wnh small ho1.1.~
111 beau1iful Spong Creek, NC. Ten males soulh of
Ho1 Springs, NC (off Route 209), and one hour west
or Asheville. $25,000 for bnd nnd house. Pcrfcc1 for
the self sullkiem life. Crul Lindn Deyo at (704)
675-9575.
SLASH YOUR HEATING COSTS· simple and
i001pcnsive method 10 locate and stop costly air leaks.
Send S3.00ond a SASE 10 M.J Olson: 816 Norlh
4Lh Avenue: Knoxville, TN 37917. Refund if
unsatisfied
JOIN US -111 lhe Olob:il CeJcbrauon oflhe um versa! day
of World Peace and Pl.lnctary Heahng Doo:mbcr 12th
1991. The universal silent rn>cr begins at 12:00
noon. For more infonnation conr.act PO Box 78813:
Tucson AZ, 85703 or call (()()2) 326-7522.
.
Xntu.afl Journot P<UJ'l- 34
.
'
cnvironmenial songs by lhc Oreal Smoky Mountains
lnsti1u1c at Trcmon1 in celebruuon of the 20th
annivcr.;ary of Earth Day. Includes ·scAT Rap," "The
0:lrbagc Blue.~." and more. $9.95 plus S2.50 shipping
for each ca=uc. Mail order plus check to Grcru
Smoky MounlOins Natural Hi);lory Association: 115
P-Jtl 1-!cadquancrs Rd.; G3tlmburg, TN 37738.
Alternatives ...
The Dirt:c1<>ry of fn1~n11onul Con1111w,111e.< 1s lhe prod·
uc1 or 1wo years or 1111en..1vc n:sc.m;h, .1nd tS lhe most
compn:hcnsive and 111:turate Jircclor) a,·ailablc. IL documents lhc: vi~1on and the dally hie or more lhan 3SO
commu11111c.~ 111 Norlh America, and more than 50 on
oilier conlinents. Each community's hsung includes
name, address, phone. and a dcsc11pwn of the group.
ExlClls1vc cro-s n·fercocmg nnd ,nJ..,1ng mak~ lhc 111formation easy tn act"C$~ for a wide vancay of user-1. Includes maps, over 2SO atld1uOOAI Resource listings, and
40 related aniclcs.
328 pages
K-lnxl I
Pcrfcc:1bounJ
Ocwocr 1990
1S81' Number.
0 96()27141-4
Sl6.00
Add S::!.00 poMagc
& handling for first
hook, s.:m rorcach
.i.Jd111onJI; 41l%
d1'>Coum on ordc~
of 111 c,r more.
Alpha Fann. Deadwood. OR
(503) 9'w-5102
LIV(NG OPPORTUNmES • Needed, Solar
Dcmonstrnlion CC111cr CoordinalOr by Spring, 1992.
Preferred retired and/or mdcpendcm mcome pcrson(s).
Hou,ing provided w11h op110n IO own within ien
years. Expertise in Ofi.llllic gaidcnmg and/or
appropriaie iechnology required. OJ,ponuni1y IO a.«-~t
low-mcome Ccnunl APJX1lach1ans. Wn1e; Appalachm
Science in Ille Public ln1ercs1: PO Box 298;
Livings1on, KY 4().145.
DOG • a chque of Pocuy, SJ)lril. God-is-Life not
God-runs-Li fc. Art. Journeys. IMer Powe11;, Munk
review~ and Zinc review~. Anlclcs, Dislribu110n of
Gypsy Music and more. Inspired 111 Asheville area of
NC and in Southern TX. Be positive and cnioy the
world arouod you. M:ul 10 Colouf!; or Monroe: PO
Box 18752: Corpus Christi, TX 78480. Cost S2.00.
VISIT MEXICO· in summer of 1992 wilh lhe
Exchange Program between WNC and S!ln Crist6bal
de las Casas, Chiapas. The purpose of lhe exchange is
10 build world peace lhrough personal conUICIS across
national boundaries. Spend 2~ weeks with a hos1
family, receive language ansuucuon and reciprocate by
offering hospiLllily in your home community
Minimum cosl IO permi1 wide panicipalion. For more
information write: Jenifer Morgan: 2050 Hannah
Bmnch Road; Burnsville, 1'C 28714 or call Becca
(70-I) 298-6794 or Jane (704) 625-5620.
NATIVE AMERICAN A..UTE MUSIC- Richard
Roberti, a well known west TN new age nutist (M:a
Zero Otims). is now av;ulablc an the Easl Tl'\/NC area.
For relaxing aod uplifling pcrfonnanccs or iopcs
con1JC1: Richan! Robcrtli: Box 821: Noms. TN 37828
(615) 494-8828 01' Rt I, Box 136 RD; Lamar, MS
38642 {601) 252-4283.
PEOPLE OF THE WEB· 224 page book (1990) shows
how lnwan mounds, anciem ritunls, magnetic
CJtJ)Crimentation on lhc: brain, neru-dcath c.~pcrience,
ll1!d UFO obduclions are rclaled. Wilh 94 piclurcs and
illustrnlioos. St9.95 sofl.back. S24.95 hardback- Eagle
Wang Books: Box 99n. Memphis, TN 38109.
NATNE AMERICAN CEREMONIAL HERBS· we
offer a large variety of sages. sweet grass, naiurlll
resins, and evcrylhing ncccs.,;ory for smudging. Native
smoking mixtures, 0uLO music, pow-wow 111pcs, and
ceremonial songs. Esscnr.ial oils. and incenses
specifu:ally made for prayer, offering, and meditation.
For caUllog call or write: Esscncia.l Dreams; Rt 3, Box
285: Eagle Fork. Hayesville, NC 28904 (704)
389-9898.
LOOKING FOR OTHERS • fOI' mutual suppon and
encou111gcmcn1 111 sc:udl of a bcucr life. Loolung for
~ l e formru.1011 of a rcsidenr.ial community. My
1ntcres1S and strengms are: feminism, pcrmllCUIIUrc,
commun11y supponcd agricul1urc, radionics, rot111111
he3ling, and much more. Write Peggy Price; 5807
Poplar Strcei: Doraville, OA 30340 or aill (404)
447-9829.
PIEDMONT BIOREGIONAL INSTITUTE· For !hose
who live 10 the Piedmont area, !here's a biorcgional
cffon v.-cll underway. Jom Us! We would 3pproc1ll1C
any donation of umc or money to help mce1 opern1ing
expenses. For a gift of S25.00 or more. we will !iol!nd
you a copy of John Lawson's JOumat, A New Voyage
10 Carolina. Also come find out about 1he Lawson
ProjccL PBI; 412 W Rosemary Su-cet: Chapel Hill,
NC 27516; Uwharria Province. (919) 942-2581.
MUSICIANS, MAGICIANS, ACROBATS, ACTORS,
jugglers, poets, roadies, cte. wanu:d to JOlll The
Bicycle B:ind, a iribal-foU. trnvcling musical
circus/medicine show. Must be 101ally self-propelled
(no gas-powered vehicles). Conlllct Billy Jonas; 31
Park A,·c.; Asheville, NC 28801
ROOM AV An.ABLE • in exchange for small odd jobs
and some cooking. To inquire please coniact Knrcn
W,ulcins at Rt 4, Box 389; Burnsville. NC 28714;
(704) 682-9263.
,.,lurer, 199 t-92
�BACK ISSUES OF KATUAH JOURNAL AVAILABLE
ISSUE THREE· SPRING 1984
Sustainable Agricullure - Sunnowers • Human
lmpac, on lhe Forest - Childrens· Educa1ion Veronica Nicholas: Woman in Politics - Lill.le
People - Medicine Allies
ISSUE FOUR - SUMMER 1984
War.er Drum • Water Quali1y - Kudzu. Solar Eclip.,;c
· Clcan:ulling • Trou1 • Going IO Waler - Ram
Pumps· Microhydro • Poems: Bennie Lee Sinclair,
Jim Wayne Miller
ISSUE FIVE - FALL 1984
Harvest • Old Ways in Cherokee - Ginseng - Nuclear
Waste • Our Celtic ReriLagc - Biorcgionalism: Past.
Present. and Future - John Wilno1y - Healing
Darlcness - Politics of Participation
ISSUE STX· WINTER 1984-85
Winlcr Solstice Eanh Ceremony - Horsepasture
Rjvcr • Coming of the Light - Log Cabin ROOI.
Mounuiin Agriculture: The Right Crop • William
Taylor - The Future of 1he Forest
ISSUE SEVEN - SPRING 1985
Sustainable Economics - Hol Springs - Worller
Ownership - The Great Economy - Self Help Credit
Union - Wild Turkey - Responsible Investing .
Working in Ille Web of Life
ISSUE EIGHT - SUMMER 1985
Celebration: A Way of Life - Katuah 18,000 Years
Ago· Sacred Sites - Folk Arts in the Schools. Sun
Cycle/Moon Cycle - Poems: Hilda Downer Cherokee Heritage Center - Who Owns Appalachia?
ISSUE NINE • FALL 1985
The Waldoe Forest - The Trees Speak • Migrating
Forests • Horse Logging - SLBrting a Troe Crop •
Urban Trees • Acom Bread • Mylh Time
ISSUE TEN· WINTER 1985·86
Kate Rogers • Ci:cles of Sione - Internal
Mythmalcing • Hol.islic Healing on Trial - Poems:
Steve Knaulh · Mylhic Places - The Uk1ena·s Tale.
Crystal Magic - "Drcamspeaking•
ISSUE THlRTEEN • FALL 1986
Center For Awakening - Elizabeth Callari - A
Gentle Death • Hospice. Ernest Morgan • Dealing
Creatively wilh Death • Home Burial Box - The
Wake - The Raven Mocker - Woodslore & Wildwoods Wisdom - Good Medicine; The Sweat Lodge
;'.
33
Ke°UA~9URNAL
PO Box 638 Leicester, NC Katuah Province 28748
For more info: call Rob Messick at (704) 754-6007
Name
Regular Membership........$10/yr.
Sponsor.........................$20/yr.
Contributor.....................$50/yr.
Address
City
Wl.ntef', 1991-92
ISSUE FOURTEEN· WINTER 1986-87
Lloyd Carl Owle - Boogcrs and Mummers. AJI
Species Day - Cabin Fever Univcrsily - Homeless
in KatWlh • Homemade Hot Water. Stovemakcr's
Narrative· Good Medicine: ln1Crsp0Cies
Communication
ISSUE FIFIBEN • SPRING 1987
Coverlets· Woman Forcsr.cr. Susie McMahan:
Midwi~e • ~tcrnative Contraception - Biosexuality B1oregionalism and Women • Good Medicine:
Matriarchal Culture - Pearl
ISSUE SIXTEEN· SUMMER 1987
Helen Wai1e - Poem: Visions in a Garden • Vision
Ques, • First Aow - Initiation • Leaming in the
Wilderness - Cherokee Challenge - "Valuing Trees"
ISSUE EIGHTEEN· WINTER 1987-88
Vernacular ArchitCCtW'C - Dreams in Wood and Stone
• Mountain Home • Eanh Energies • Eanh-Shcltercd
Living· Membrane Houses • Brush Shelter.
J?oems: October Dusk - Good Medicine: "Sheller"
ISSUE NlNETEEN · SPRING 1988
l?en:landra Garden - Spring Tonics - Blueberries.
Wilctnowcr Gardens· Granny Herbalist - Aower
Essences • "The Origin of lhe Animals:" Story Good Medicine: "Power" • Be A Tree
ISSUE nVENTY • SUMMER 1988
Preserve Appalochian Wilderness - Highlands of
Roan - Celo Community· Land Trust - Arthur
Morgan School - Zoning Issue. "The Ridge" •
Farmers and the Fann Bill - Good Medicine: "Land"
- Acid Rain • Duke·s Power Play • Cherokee
Microhydro Project
ISSUE TWENTY-TWO-WINTER 1988-89
Global Warming - F"1te This lime. ThOIIUIS Berry
on "Bioregions· · Earth Exercise. Kort Loy
McWhiner· An Abundance of Emptiness. LETS.
Chronicles of Aoyd • Darry Wood • The Bear Clan
ISSUE 1WBNTY-THREE- SPRING 1989
Pisgah Village • Planet An· Green Ci1y - Poplar
Appeal· "Clear Sky"· "A New Eanh". Black Swan
- Wild Lovely Days· Reviews: Sacred Land Sacred
Sex. Ice Age· Poem: "Sudden Tendrils"
State
Phone Number
Zip
Enclosed is $ , - - - - - to give
this effon an extra boost
ISSUE TWENTY-FOUR· SUMMER 1989
Deep Listening • Life in Atomic City - Direct
Action! • Tree of Peace - Community Building.
Peacemakers· Ethnic Survival • Pairing Project.
"Batl.lesong" • Growing Peace in Cuhurcs - Review:
The Chalice and the 8/Juk
ISSUE TWENTY-SIX· WINTER, 1989·90
The Ecoz.oic Ero • Kids Saving Rainforest • Kids
Treecycling Company - Connict Resolution •
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 to Their
Ashes • Healing in KatWlh - Poem: "When Len 10
Grow· • Poems: Sicphen Wing - The Belly - Food
from the Anciem Fores,
ISSUE TWENTY-NINE· FALI../WlNTER 1990
From the Mountains 10 lhe Sea • Profile of The
Lltl.le Tennessee River - Headwaters Ecology. "It
All Comes Down to Water Quality". Water Power.
Action ror Aquatic Rabimis . Dawn Walehers . Good
Medicine: The Long Human Belng - The Nonh
Shore Rood - Katuah Sells Ou, - Watetshed Map or
the Kalliah Province
ISSUE THIRTY· SPRING 1991
Economy/ECOiogy • Ways IO a Regenerative
Economy· "Money is the Lowest Form of Wealth"
• Clarlcsville Miracle - The Village - Food Movers.
Lirework • Good Medicine: "Village Economy• Shelton l.aW'CI • LETS
ISSUE THIRTY-ONE- SUMMER 1991
Dowsing - Responsibilities of Dowsing • Elearical
Life or the Earth • Kaulah and the Earth Grid • Call
of the Ancient Ones - Good Medicine: ·0o
Ag&JCSSion" - Time 10 Take the Time to Take the
Time· Whole Science - Tuning ln
ISSUE THIRTY-TWO. FALL 1991
Bringing back the F"1te · A Bit of Mountain Levity •
Climax Never Came - "Talking Leaves": Sequoyah •
Wal.king Distance· Good Medicine: "Serving lhe
Great Life" • The Granola Journal - Paintings:
"Mouniain Siories"- Songs of lhe Wilderness
Back Issues:
Issue# _ _@ $2.50 = $,_ __
Issue# _ _@ $2.50 = $,_ __
Issue# __@ $2.50 = $,_ __
Issue#_@ $2.50 = $
Issue# _ _@ $2.50 = $ - - postage paid $,_ __
Complete Set:
(3-10, 13-16, 18-20, 22-24, 26-32)
postage paid @ $50.00 = $. _ __
1
�
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
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1983-1993
Format
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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 33, Winter 1991-1992
Description
An account of the resource
The thirty-third issue of the <em>Katúah Journal</em> focuses on Fire: its power and uses. Authors and artists in this issue include: David Wheeler, Vic Weals, Barbara J. Sands, Jan Davidson, David Brewin, Barbara Wickersham, Jeffery Beam, Veronica Nicholas, Rob Messick, Charlotte Homsher, Lee Barnes, Mike Wilbur, Jason Tueller, Rob Leverett, James Rhea, David Earl Williams, Andrew Lehman, Vince Packard, Lynn Fink, Susan Adam, Bray McDonald, and Mark Morris. <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
1991-1992
Table Of Contents
A list of subunits of the resource.
Fire's Power by David Wheeler.......3<br /><br />What Is Natural? by David Wheeler.......5<br /><br />Do Clearcuts Mimic Fire?.......6<br /><br />Smokey and the Red Wolves.......7<br /><br />Fire in Jeffreys Hell by Vic Weals.......8<br /><br />Poems by Barbara J. Sands.......9<br /><br />Fire and Forge by Jan Davdison and David Brewin.......11<br /><br />The First Fire: A Cherokee Legend.......12<br /><br />Hearth and Fire in the Mountains by Barbara Wickersham.......14<br /><br />Good Medicine.......15<br /><br />Midwinter Fires: Poems by Jeffery Beam.......18<br /><br />Natural World News.......20<br /><br />Who Will Have the Power? by Veronica Nicholas.......22<br /><br />Litmus Lichens by Rob Messick.......24<br /><br />Reading the Inner Tree by Charlotte Homsher.......25<br /><br />Review: Where the Ravens Roost.......25<br /><br />Around the Fire by Lee Barnes.......26<br /><br />Drumming.......27<br /><br />Poem: "Sky Mangler" by Mike Wilber.......29<br /><br />Review: The Sound of Light.......31<br /><br />Events.......33<br /><br />Webworking........34<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</em> <em>Mountaineer</em> Press
Subject
The topic of the resource
Bioregionalism--Appalachian Region, Southern
Sustainable living--Appalachian Region, Southern
Forest fires--Environmental aspects
Blacksmithing--Appalachian Region, Southern--History
Hearths--Appalachian Region, Southern--History
Cherokee Indians--Social life and customs
Cherokee mythology
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)
Acid Deposition
Appalachian History
Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Studies
Bioregional Definitions
Book Reviews
Cherokees
Earth Energies
Electric Power Companies
Fire
Folklore and Ceremony
Forest Issues
Geography
Good Medicine
Habitat
Hazardous Chemicals
Katúah
Poems
Radioactive Waste
Reading Resources
South PAW (Preserve Appalachian Wilderness)
Stories
Turtle Island
Villages
-
https://omeka.library.appstate.edu/files/original/501565e7337d54952a1f1a4f817e1d07.pdf
e2930310495291405c931b80c288e056
PDF Text
Text
$ 2.00
ISSUE 35 SUMMER 1992
..:··.:·'.
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······· ...... ....... ·..·······
·-·-:.···········
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�Drawing by Rob Messick
~UAHJOURNAL
PO Box 638
Leicester, NC
Katuah Province 287 48
Postage Paid
Bulk Mall
Permit #18
Leicester, NC
28748
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ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED
�eoNrENTs0
Consensus........................
1
by Caroline Estes
Decision-Making Process....... 4
by Joyce Johnson
Problems with Consensus...... 5
by Rob Messick
Tribal Council....................
6
by Bear With Runs
Elda................................
9
by Lucinda Flodin
The State of Franklin............
11
by David Wheeler
Where the Trees Outnumber
the People....................
14
by Stephen Wing
In Council with All Beings..... 16
by Lee Barnes
Steve Moon:
Shell Engravings............
17
Good Medicine...................
18
Natural World News............
20
A Look Back.....................
23
by caroline Estes
by Will Ashe Bason
Are Bioregions Too Big? ....... 24
by Rob Messick
Practices for Full Self- Rule... 25
by Clear Marks
Drumming........................
26
Jury Nullification................
28
by Karen Fletcher
Review:
Beyond the limits...............
29
by Rob Messick
Events.............................
32
Webworking.....................
34
Summer, 1992
Consensus is based on the belief that
each person has some pan of the truth and no
one has all of it (no matter how mui::h we
would like to believe so) and on a respect for
all persons involved in the decision that is
being considered. ln our present-day society
the governing idea is that we can trust no
one, and therefore we must protect ourselves
if we are to have any security in our
decisions. The most we will be willing to do
is compromise. This means we are willing to
settle for less than the very best - and !hat we
will always have a sense of dissatisfaction
with any of our decisions unless we can
somehow maneuver others involved in the
process. This leads to a skewing of honesty
and fonhrighmess in our relationships.
In the consensus process, we start from
a different basis. The assumption is that we
are all truscwollhy (or at least can become
so). The process allows each person
complete power over the group. The central
idea for the Quakers was the complete
elimination of majorities and minorities. If
there were differences of view at a Quaker
meeting, as there were likely to be in such a
body, the consideration of the question at
issue would proceed, with long periods of
solemn hush and meditation, until slowly the
lines of thought drew together toward a point
of unity. Then the clerk would frame a
minute of conclusion, expressing the "sense
of the meeting."
Built into the consensual process is the
belief that all persons have some part of the
truth, or what in spiritual terms might be
called "some part of God," in them. and that
we will reach a better decision by putting all
of the pieces of the truth together before
proceeding. There are indeed limes when it
appears that two pieces of the truth arc in ·
contradiction to each other, but with clear
thinking and auention. the whole may be
perceived which includes both pieces, or
many pieces. The either/or type of argument
does not advance this process. Instead, the
process is a search for the very best solution
to whatever is the problem. That does not
mean that there is never room for error - but
on the whole, in my experience, it is rare.
This process also makes a direct
application of the idea that all persons are
equal. If we do indeed trust one another and
do believe that we a!J have pans of the truth,
then ac any time one person may know more
or have access to more information • but at
another time, others may know more or have
more access or bett.cr understanding. Even
when we have all the facts before us, it may
be the spirit that is lacking and comes forth
from another who secs the whole better than
any of the persons who have some of the
pans. All of these contributions are
impo11ant.
Decisions which all have helped shape
and in which all can feel united make the
canying out of the necessary action go
Oraw111g by Rob Messick
(contirwed on page 3)
Xatimh Journat page 1
�~UAHJOURNAL
EDITORIAL STAPH TIHS
ISSUE:
Maria Abbruzzi
Lee Barnes
Heather Blair
Chris Davis
Judith Hallock
Charlotte Homsher
Willow Johnson, lheQuwcctor
Thanks to Jim
Rob Messick
Nancy Odell
Michael Red Fox
James Rhea
Rodney Webb
David Wheeler
Houser for inspiring the "Councils" theme for this issue.
COVER: by Rob Messick ©1992
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 Tunle Island continent of Mother Ela, the Earth
PRTNTED BY: The Waynesville Moumaineer Press
EDITOR JAL OFFICE TI TTS ISSUE: Billy Home and Gardens,
Asheville, NC
WRITE US AT: Kattwh Journal
Box 638; Leicester, NC; Katuah Province 28748
Here,
In this place we dedicate ourselves to remembering our deep
connection to the spirit of the land.
We bring this connection into the being and the doing of
our daily lives
When the land spealcs, 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 lhe land
We give !hanks for all that is good
TELEPHONE: (704) 754-6097
Diversity is an important clement of bioreg,onnl ecology, both runuml
and social. In accord with this principle Karuah Journal irics to serve as a
forum for the discussion of regional isrucs. Signed articles express only the
opinion of the authors and arc not necessarily the opinions of the Katuah
Jounial ediun or staff.
The Internal Revenue Service has declared Katuah Journal a non-profit
organiuition under section 501 (c)(3) of the lntemnl Revenue Code. All
contributions to Katuah Journal arc deductible from personal income lllX.
Ham1ony 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.
Articles appearing in KaJuahJournal may be reprinted in other
publications with pcnnission from lhc Katuah Journal struT. Contact the
journal in writing or call (704) 754-6097.
Kattwh Joturwl sends a voice...
with anicles, stories, poems, and artwork
we speak to the spirit of all the living, breathing
inhabitants of these mountains
in hopes that we, lhe human beings,
may find our place in this Great Life.
'LN VOCA.TLON
-
Empowering the Cowu:il Feather
Great Spirit,
Divine Mother,
we know this feather
came to us from you,
we know it's first purpose
in lhe Oeation is to fly empower it
so !hat each of us
who talces it in tum
may look down as the great eagle
circling over our Council,
empower us
so that each may speak
as the wind speaks
from our own comer of lhe Creation,
looking down over the long shoulder
of the horizon
The Editors
KATUAH JOURNAL wants to communicate your thoughts
andfeelings to other people in the bioregional province. Send
them to us as letters, poems, stories, articles, drawings. or
plwtographs, etc. Please send your comriburions 10 us a1: Katuah
Journal; P.O. Box 638; Leicester, NC; Kan,ah Province 28748.
OUR NEXT ISSUE will be about the role of wood in lhe
life of the mountains. Please send anicles 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 trees. wood, and woodworkers. Deadline is
August 8th 1992.
- Stephen Wing/
'\'"'
.....
~
•1 \
•
•
t.,1 I
• I
••
J
'
..
...
THE WINTER ISSUE will be an assortment including
stories for good winter reading and possibly renewable energy
systems. Deadline is October, 30th 1992.
8
ti
b"• .\Jo/
I
~~~·/~~
�(continued from page I)
forward wiLh more efficiency, power, and
smoothness. This applies L persons,
o
communities, a.nd naLions. Given the
enonnous issues and problems before us, we
need LO use the ways thaL will best enable us
to move forward Logether.
The above is an ucerpt/rom an essay in
Home: A Bioregional Reader, tdittd by Van Andruss,
Christopher and Judith Plant, and Eleanor Wright
(New Society Publishers, 1990). (First printed in
The New Catalys1, 1tJ. Spring. 1986)
Speaking with
CAROLINE ESTES:
A Phone InLerview - May, 1992
Kanwh: When you are faciliLating, how
do you see yourself acting in the group?
CE: As a servant LO the group; to help
them come 10 the best decision they can make
wiLh those present.
Katlltlh: And 10 do that you have to be
assiduously neutral.
CE: That's right.
Katuah: But it also goes beyond that,
because when you are working at the
Bioregional Congress, I feel you are putting
out a lot of energy to...cemer yourself
spiritually, could you say that?
CE: Yes, you could say that. The way I
put it is that when I am doing consensusmaking facilitation r try to keep myself as a
clear stream. I am noL impeding; I have
nothing in me that is directing. and yet l am
there, in the spiritual sense, LO be as much
help as l can possibly be.
Ninety percent of facilitation is
knowing your group on that level. Only te n
percent of iL is knowing the subject matter
and understanding the words and all of Lhat.
MosL of what you are working wiLh is totally
subjective and understanding the "vibes." l
don't have all the new age tenninology
down, but it's definitely true that as a
facilitator of large groups. you have to be in
tune with the group. If you're not, don'L
facilitate.
Karuah: It's not a mechanistic thing at
all.
CE: Absolutely. That's the reason I get
slightly hysterical when people say anyone
can facilitate.
Katttal1: What is the most difficult job
you ever had LO facilitate?
CE: I can think of times when it didn't
work, bu1 the one thot strained the group the
most and we actually got the group Lhrough
it, was at the second Bioregional Congress at
Lake Leelanauw, Michigan when the group
tried LO pass a spirituality statement.
A resolution on spirituality was brought
before the group. Everyone was favorably
impressed and, I think, was preparing to
Sum mer, 1992
i\...)
.
adopt it, when two people who had been on
the fringe of the Congress all week moved
forward 10 say that they blocked it. That was
very hard 10 hear because they had not been
integral Lo the Congress, and yet they had
been there, and since the Congresses are
open groups they had the right 10 do this.
They were not articulate, so we could
not figure out easily what Lhey wanted or
why they were blocking it. I asked the .
patience of the group for two or three minutes
so I could dialogue with them directly, and in
doing so after a few minutes it started 10
emerge that the problem we were looking at
was the separation of church and state, which
no one up until that point had thought about.
Once that was articulated in a way that
people could understand it. a numbc!r of
people rose. including some who had been
on the commiuee, and said that they would
withdraw the statement. Others wanted 10
sign it in order to show support for it, but it
could not move forward in the group. It was
blocked.
That was one of the most di fficuh ones
in that we had a block from inarticulate
people who "'eren't integrally pan of the
group and were holding up a group decision
that until then looked like it had a "go."
l think that was the most lenmin& a
group has done on why we have blocking. h
also tested the paoence of the group the most.
It showed a lot of things. It showed that
sometimes Lhe facilitator needs 10 step in to
try to find ouL what is really going on. It also
tested the group in whether they re:illy
believed in the consensual process enough
that they allowed the time for it to happen
even when it was at the end of an incredibly
pushed day.
.
r,_
It got very emotional, but...the system
worked! We hadn't thought about that point.,
and we needed to think about it before
rushing into a decision that might have been
100 hasty.
Kattlah Whar do you think is the
imponnnce of the continental bioregional
congress doing its work by consensus?
CE: It's incredibly important. In a sense
we have been co-opted by the larger society.
Bioregionalism is now an accepted word. For
instance, California is now looking at
bioregionalism governmentally. They are
starting to look at how they could break
down the state into sub-regions, instead of
towns, cities, and counties. And part of it is,
1 think, the power that goes behind any
decision of any group that works
consensually. You just have a lot more power
behind what you say. Even if it doesn'L get
into the mass media, it intrinsically has more
power. when everybody in the group is
behind a decision.
Ka11tal1: That leads to the clincher
question: which is the most imponant., the
process or the result?
CE: (Pause) I'd say Lhe process...if
your process is flawed, your decision is
going to be flawed_
When people don't want to use
consensus it is usually because they are
attached to their position. And they are right:
if they are attached ro a position and unable to
see or allow a better position L be brought
o
Drawing by Rob Messick
(continued on next page)
Xat.uah )o"i-l'IQ[. P<J9C' ·3
�(ron11nuoo from p;,i;c 3)
resen·ations. Proposal is altered after
reservation:, are considered, or it is
accepted as is.
forth, then they can't work within a
consensus process. The resuhing position is
not going to have the ~ame power. bu! that\
what's going to happen. I understand It.
And I think that a second rea.~on that
people don't use consensus. and I really .
believe this, is that they don't understand n.
Every time I teach a course, I'm teaching it 10
people who have used consensus for years,
and they are just learning what it means.
So I think that lhose are two points that
people are blank about: they're attached 10 a
position and/or they don't know the process.
,1greement with reservation recorded -
Caroline Estes is a fo1utding member of
the i111entio11ai community Alpha Farm in the
Cascadia Bioregion of the Pacific Northwest.
She lwfacilitated al/jive Turtle Island
Bioregional Congresses held co date. People
watching her ac work are awed by her
strength and clarity. It has often been said
that the ability ofthe continental Bioregio11al
Congresses 10 operate on the basis of
consensus has been due to Caroline's ability
as a facilitator, a claim which Caroline
vigorously denies. This will soon be put 10
the test, however.for Caroline has said that
next year, when she 111rns 65 years old, she
plans to discontinue facilitating the
Bioregio,1111 Congresses and begin to actively ,,#
organize in her bioregion.
j7'
Disagreement or reservations arc
considered. Proposal is altered or is
accepted, and reservations arc recorded.
Unable 10 write - If one individual is unable to
unite with a proposal and is unwilling to
stand aside, then the chairperson must
decide whether to delay action on the
proposal or to ask the individual if he or
she would be willing to be recorded as
opposed. At the next meeting, very often.
agreement is possible after more time 10
reflect on the proposal.
Recorded by DW
CONSENSUS DECISION MAKING
PROCESS
by Joyce Johnson
Purpose: The group must have a unity of
purpose and must clarify the purpose 10 all
in the group. Everyone involved must have
a clear understanding of the group's
purpose.
Members of the Group: The group must
know and trust each other. That is essential
for trust-building.
Members must be willing to listen 10
each other with open minds.
Willingness to learn from each other;
participate in cooperative problem solving
and conflict resolution if necessary.
Members must believe in the consensus
process or be open 1 the process if
0
unfamiliar with it
Proposal: An individual or the chairperson
can phrase this for presentation co the .
group. Adequate time should be taken m
order to ensure thorough understanding of
the proposal. The proposal might not be
clear at the begiMing. It is the
responsibility of the chairperson to state the
proposal so that everyone understands it.
Responses to the proposal:
Agreement - Agreement without reservation;
consensus reached and proposal accepted.
Agreement with reservations - Proposal is
generally supported, but there are some
Xotuofl Journot page 4
\'· j
,I
f
1
I • 1
111/l,t
Possible Decisions on Proposal:
Accepted - Consensus with full agreement
reached.
Committee discussion - More information is
needed before a decision can be reached.
Those with strong opinions should attend
this discus:;ion. Sometimes a commi11ee can
be empowered 10 act. Usually it will then
bring the proposal back 10 the whole group.
Delay decision - Group not ready to make 1h1s
decision now. Discussion tabled to later
time.
Dropped - Not enough interest at this time by
the group 10 discuss this issue.
Chairpcr~on (or "facilitator" or
"clerk"): Good guidance is very
1mponan1 10 the consensus process. A good
chairperson is very often the difference
between a meeting working well or not
working at all. There are a lot of tools that a
chairperson can learn to use, but only
experience can tell a chairperson which tool
will work best in a given situation.
issue warr.ints, cspec1ally if making a major
policy change.
•
Discipline - Ask someone to cut shon 1hc1r
comments if they arc repeating themselves
or talking too long. Can also ask someone
who has spoken on an issue to wait until
others have had a chance 10 make
comments.
Diplomacy - Chairperson must be responsible
for dealing with a chronic objector. Deal
with this person considerately. This might
be the time to say that we are aware of your
disagreement, but it seems that the sense of
the meeting is 10 accept this proposal. Be
gracious but firm.
Dialogue - Members should speak 10 the clerk
and not dialogue with each other.
Silence - Allow time 10 pause after decision
before rushing on 10 the next agenda item.
Call for silence if there is need 10 pause
when there is conflict over an issue. This
gives members a chance to think of a way
to-.ephrase a statement or to cool off if
angry.
Clearness - It is sometimes important to ask
the recording clerk to read back the decision
to make sure it is clear to everyone what
has been decided.
Clearness Process - The clerk might
ask for individuals 10 meet outside the
meeting 10 resolve conflict or misunderstanding.
Judging What Is Important - Be careful not 10
be so goal-oriented that the decision
becomes more imponant than the process.
Some decisions might need more time.
After some discussion, the chairper~on
might say, "I feel that the group is ready 10
make a decision of this proposal." If some
feel that they arc not ready, this will give
them an opportunity to say so.
The Most lmporram Role of the Chairperson
or Clerk is 10 judge the sense of the
meeting. lt is the clerk's role 10 aniculatc
the unity that he or she discovers in the
community and to facilitate the formation of
that unity.
Consensus Does not Mean Unanimil):
Consensus means reaching unity or
concorda11ce. Tt has been described as a
pianist blending complemenrary notes into a
chord. It does not mean that everyone encl~
up on the same note, but 1ha1 complementary notes are blended into a chord.
Consensus is not reaching the "lowest
common denominator." It is instead the,_#
"highest collective consciousness." fr
Rt!.fources:
Judith Webb and John Olsson, A Consensus
Dccision-Makrng Model
Miduzel J. Sheeran. Beyond t\.1ajority Ruic: Vo1clcss
Decisions in the Religious Society of Friends
Responsibilities of Chairperson:
Agenda - Put issues in order; do not leave
imponant decisions until the end. Try lo set
time limits on each agenda item. Group can
aid this process.
Frame the question or proposal with
neurrality.
Elicit comments from silent members present.
Have show of hands so that those members
won't be intimidated by more vocal
members.
Poll participa111S - Go around the circle for
comments from each member present if the
Joyce Johnson is a ml!mbcr of the Ctlo
CommUJJity and the Ctlo Fritnds Mteting. She i.r
currtnily working a.rdevt!lopmtnt coordinator for tk
Arthw Morgan School. Slrt has/ocilitated many
meetings/or the Meeting and tilt! Arthur Morgan
School and help.r the students there practice the
consen.fu:r proce:rs 01 thtir sclu,o/ meetings.
Joyce conducts workslu,ps on the con.•tnsu.f
process/or inJtrt.fted groups She may be reached
through 1hr Arthur Morgan School: 1901 /JanMh
Branch Rd.; Burnsvillt, NC 28714 (7{},I) 675-4262.
Oraw.ng by Rob M~s,ck
Sum.mer, 1992
•
. • •. ' ,'J,
�Problems with Consensus
I have finally found the major beef I
have with the Consensus Process of group
decision making. Namely il revolves around
the fact that consensus can too easily boil
down to Minority Rule, and this has a
specific way of frustrating the proceedings
wilhin a group or council. When one person
or a minority can block consensus, or in
effect decide an issue for Lhe group, then that
is Minority Rule. How does this differ from
Realms, which in truth are not councils at all
but Monarchies? The struggle in human life
between inLegrity and the corruption of power
has raged for centuries, and we have yet 10
find means of reconciling the two into a
process 1hat is both just and livable for all
concerned.
Consensus is often touted as a solution
10 the many problems of Majority Rule voting
systems, such as Congresses or Parliaments,
yet it seems co me tha1 this emphasis merely
replaces one useless fonn of council with
another. It is clear 10 me now that both
Majority Rule and Minority Rule forms of
council usually result in splintered groups. Is
there any way to maintain unity among
people or various groups in the human
family? Perhaps noL
It makes sense lo me that an oppressed
individual or group would be attracted to a
consensus form of council. Such people have
surely been under-represented in the politics
of the United States of America and
elsewhere. Thus they seek compensatioR in
small groups where they can insist that their
position be adequately represented. or in
some cases OVERLY represented.
_l d<? not think that rigid Majority Rule
or Minonry Rule systems of council will
work in the long run in human group
dynamics. I say lhis because we as a species
have nasty hisLorical habiLS of not being able
to share the power of decision making when
people's opinions crystallize. There seems to
be a much_ stronger potential for many people
10 ge1 behmd a mob, and get lost in it, than
there is for individuals to think for
Lhemselves or act on their own conscience.
Majorities have a tendency to disregard the
righls of minorities, often feeling justified in
de~9!uing those who contradict the majority
opm1on.
How then can people participate in a
form of Council that can accommodate the
multiple concerns that modem human beings
have? Scale becomes important to the
accuracy of the decisions being made.
Geographical size is also an imponant factor.
A council 1hat is too small may nol have
enough influence, yet a council that is too
large may be irrelevant l0 local concerns. The
village, which is composed of a limited
number of households, is one of the best
examples of an appropriate or workable scale
of human council. When Lhese village groups
are slable then larger councils can evolve that
involve a limited cluster of villages, such as a
county or shire.
Consensus may have worked better in
eras where villages were primary to a given
cultural way of life. The consensus process
may also have worked beuer when times
were not as complicated, or when there were
fewer decisions to be made. The
Summer, 1992
consequences of decision making in the
dislant pasl also were no1 as far reaching as
they have become in the industrial era;
wilness the existence of plutonium and
television.
It seems lo me that many small or
medium sized groups of today could benefit
from having a formal Mediator lo help guide
the process of decision making; panicularly
when difficulties emerge or when a group
becomes deadlocked. This form of mediated
debate would differ greatly from an ingrown
strain of politics that has stagnated due to a
few dominant inclividuals. Instead of
bec_o~~g compl~tel~ i_mmersed in battling
maJonues and nunonues, a good mediator or
facilitator would remind participanLS of their
common interesLS and emphasize the an of
compromise where it is appropriate.
Compromise is a learned skill that individuals
in a small or medium sized group can develop
to auempl to work out solutions 10 problems
in a wa~ 1ha1 does noL leave out any
responsible adult who wants to participate in
the decision making process. In the case of
family disputes a facilitator could assist in
clarifying the rights of children as well as the
rights of parems.
Issues of fairness in a setting where no
weapons are allowed would naturally become
an ongoing concern. A valid council would
not allow weapons a1 their proceedings. It is
clear lo me now, Lhrough a beuer
understanding of human behavior, thal there
are some approaches 10 forming council that
work beuer than others. Finding ways that
panicipants can let go of the spirit of
conquest and still be a pan of the group is
primary to working toward a successful
approach. There are cenainly no guarantees
that this process would work over time, yet
adequate spans of time seem to be necessary
to forming councils that link people at least as
much as they divide them. Most of the
politics of today are 100 rushed and
inconsistent to even begin to consider
susLainability or future generations.
Good facilitators would have the skill
of being able to suspend their judgements
enough, or be sufficiently impartial, to
mediale lhe vested interests within a given
group. A good facilitator would also be
skilled in ways of building truSt among
members of a group or council. Once such an
atmosphere of trust has been created the
various secret and obvious agendas touted by
people within the group can be identified,
slowly brought out into the open, and
confronted.
Even though solutions or decisions may
not emerge spontaneously, at leasl a good
faci.litator can provide a forum in which all
posilions are aired. Members can go away
from a meeting and contemplate the meaning
of these positions. which become imponant
lo dialogues in future meetings. Those
individuals who are most auatched to their
own agendas would probably balk the
loudest at having a facilitator or "outSidcr"
come into their group process. But, as is
often the case in human psychology, it is
those who refuse good medicine or good _
,#
council the strongcsl who need it most!
J!7'
· Rob Mes.sick
Dnwing by Rob Messick
X.Otunft Jouniat PIUJe 5
�TRIBAL COUNCIL
•
I n the center of each of the larger
Cherokee villages were the square and the
town house. In the larger villages the 1own
house was buiJ1 in10 a large earthen mound.
Seating areas were dug into the mound, so
1hat if you looked at ii from the top, without
the roof on it, it looked Like a spiral coming
up out of the ground. AI the bottom and !he
center of the spiral was the sacred fire and !he
seven poles that supported the building.
The visible walls were only four feel
high, and !he whole building was covered by
an immense thatched roof. Some of the town
houses at the major villages were enormous.
The town house at Old Echota, for example,
had 900 poles. Many of !hem were 18"
through. A lot of them were locus1. They
used the seven-pole construction all the way
around and made 1he building very strong.
But not every village had a town house.
The smaller villages used the square for !heir
mee1ing place. There would be seven arbors,
traditionally called ''beds," arranged around
the square, one for each of the clans. Four of
!he beds were localed at the cardinal poinis,
and !he others were loca1ed around 1hem.
During meetings, all 1he members of the clan
sat in their clan bed.
In each village there were people who
spen1 a lot of lime at the town house, in the
square, or n1 1he chunky (a popular gambling
game - ed.) grounds, which were locaied just
to the side of 1he town house. The old men,
in particular, spent a good deal of 1heir time
there just talking. Thus, 1here was an
ongoing meeting around the town house that
was happening more or less all 1he 1ime.
Sometimes the meeting got mor..: intense
when everybody came to the 1own house to
talk about some mauer of importance to the
village, bu1 01her times ii was just the old
men continually discussing the village affairs.
When the whole council met, the
meetings became more fonnal. Twelve of the
elders sat around the sacred fire at the center
of the town house. (In the smaller villages
there was one representative from each clan.}
The rest of the people of the viJJ~ge sat in the
seats by clans.
One member of the council represented
"The Unborn Yet To Be," and spoke for their
poin1 of view. II was important 10 the council
tha1 in decision-making The Unborn Yet To
Be were always taken into account. They
don'1 do that any more. I wish 1hey would.
They would talk about problems the
village faced, like a bad com crop that year
or another village which was requesting theuhelp to make war on the Creeks.
Consensus was the way decisions were
made. The old people in the center spoke
first They did not give commands. They
would make suggestions based on their
wisdom. And oflen the people would follow
that wisdom Part of their wisdom was taking
into accoun1 the Unborn Yet To Be.
Anyone could speak in the council, but
it was done respectfully. The old people
spoke firsi, 1hen the 01her people could
speak. They had to wait until 1he conversation at the center was done, then they would
Xati1nh Jo;ucnnfriP'-90i•i111X
stand and wait to be recognized by one of the
elders in the middle. They didn't scream or
wave 1heir arms, they jus1 stood 10 be
recognized. Women could speak in the
council. Even a child could speak. Everyone
had a right to speak their heart.
Once I was privileged to sit at the
ceremonial grounds wilh a group of old
Cherokee men in Oklahoma while they talked
about a problem in their village. l saw an
example of how lhe old tribal councils made
decisions by consensus.
There were 12 or 15 old men in the
group. The younges1 one, besides myself,
was about 73. These were the people who
used the Council House. They 100k into
consideration The Unborn Yet To Be.
The problem ai 1he time was not really
clear to me, bu1 I remember tha1 everybody
spoke. They sinned off with the younges1
man and went around the circle, each man
speaking his piece and saying wha1 he had 10
say.
It wasn'1 a "meeting" the way whi1e
people run a meeting. They didn'1 hammer
out a decision. In fact, 1hey did not come to
any specific conclusion a1 all. If any white
people had been presen1, 1hey would not have
known tha1 a meeting was taking place at all.
To a white person ii would have appeared
1hat some old men were silting in a circle
talking casually about a mauer of common
concern.
They just talked aboul it. Each of them
spoke abou1 the problem from his own point
of view. The world tru1h among these people
was the same, so they already shared a broad
agreement By 1he time they went around the
circle the silua1ion was so clear from every
angle tha1 the answer was obvious. and the
old men just got up and lef1. There was a
consensus. It was all over. It was decided.
I fell very fonuna1e 10 ge1 a glimpse of
something that rarely happens anymore,
With 1he advice of the elders, the
council chose the chiefs, called uku's, for
the village. There were two chiefs: a peace
uku and a war uku. A person was chosen as
an uku because he had a lot of personal
integri1y and made good decisions. He was a
person the people chose to follow and also a
role model for the young people. A chief held
his position until he made l01s of mistakes,
and the people would choose 10 follow
someone else. But if he made wise decisions,
he could be chief for life.
The war chief was probably the mos1
popular person in 1he village, bu1 he was also
the mos1 vulnerable. ff he used bad
judgmen1, his mistakes could cost many
lives, and his career would be ended.
The chief was a leader, bu, he did not
tell people what to do. h was no1 like "OK,
we'll all go 10 war 1oday," or "Everybody go
pick com." Like the elders, a chief could
only make suggestions. White people do not
know anything about democracy and freedom
until they know 1he way tha1 the native
culture worked.
by Bear With Runs
Another important person chosen by the
council was 1he Beloved Woman. She was
chosen for the same reason as an uku: 1ha1
her character, as a woman, was highly
regarded by the men and women of the
village. Like an 11Jr.u, she would have to show
in1eg:ity and personal power. At one time
every village had a Beloved Woman, un1il
after a 101 of white influence there came 10 be
only one Beloved Woman for the whole
tribe.
The Beloved Woman could no1 start a
war, but she could stop one. She decided
what happened 10 captives. She spoke up
when !he village was lllinking about moving
i1s location, and she had a say on 1rea1ies.
Other women came to her frequently for
spiritual advice and help with everyday
mauers.
The Cherokee are called a nation, bu1
the word "nation," in the Western sense of
the word, does not explain how the people
saw rhemselves. They saw themselves as
"The Human Beings" or "The People." In the
early days of white contac1, the "nation" was
only a very loose federation of individual
villages. Each village was a power 10 i1self
and could follow i1s own hean to a great
extent.
The tnbe had red villages (war villages)
and while villages (peace villages}, and there
were also special sanctuary villages. A
person 'Yho committed a crime of passion in
his own village could find safety if he could
gel to a sanctuary village before being caught.
He could s1ay in the sanctuary village without
being molested by anybody until the
following Green Corn Ceremony, when
judgments were decided, and compensations
were paid. People would have to make
retribution for mistakes they had made. They
might pay in com, or sometimes a person
would indenture himself for a time of service
to make retribution.
The sanc1uary villages and the "cooling
off period" were probably good ideas,
because they allowed people's personal
passions to wane somewhat, and judgments
were made out of reason instead of hot anger.
The Katuah village was a sanctuary.
and also 1he Nikwasi village in Franklin,
North Carolina. I believe tha1 the seven
oldest, "mother" vilJages of the Cherokee
were sanc1uary villages, although I am not
sure of the status of Echota. There were a lot
of warriors based 1here in la1er times.
While the villages were self-determining political unilS, it was the shared
ceremonies, lifestyles, customs, and world
view that kept the tribe together. And there
was also the influence of 1he clans. There
were seven clans in the Cherokee tribe
(ahhough a long time ago there were 14).
PeOple were born in10 their mother's clan,
and tha1 was 1heir clan for life. The women
kepi crack of the lineages.
Each clan had its own rules and i1s own
taboos. The clans 100k care of 1heir own
(tonhnucd on P•&c 8)
Suni'ttttr, 11992 "" ,
�•
DnWllli by James Rhea
�(continued from p;,gc 6)
members. They specialized life within the
villages somewha1 and k:PI people ~rom
marrying too close 10 theLr own family. A
person could not marry within the same clan.
Incest of any sort, eilher biological incest or
clan incest, was lhe worst crime a person
could commit The clan system kept out
inbreeding. It also helped 10 govern lhings.
Besides lhe family cornfields and lhe
communal aibaJ cornfields, each clan would
also have large clan cornfields. Any excess
com from lhese fields would be given to the
old and the elderly of that clan, if their
families could nor provide for them.
The clans also had somewhat dlfferem
functions. The Wolf Clan was the warrior
clan - the military and the police if that
function was needed. The Wild Poiato Clan
was more into agriculture. The Paints were
interested in crafts. And the Bird Clan was
probably hunters - birds, deer. Each clan had
different rules and different taboos,
depending on their function in lhe
community.
While the clan system did serve to
sepanue things and provi_de some stru~rure
within the village, on a different level tt also
served 10 hold the tribe together as a whole.
Clan members were obligated to care
for each other. This was the basic rule of the
clans. A traveler could go 10 a small outpost
village up in Kcnrucky that he had never seen
before and could find clan relatives who
would take him in and care for him. lt held
the people together. Even though the dialect
they spoke might be different, they would
still be clan relatives. They would still be
Cherokee.
And 1hen there was clan justice. This is
often misunderstood. Any time the rights or
person of a clan member were viol~ted, then
everybody else in that clan was obligated to
make swe retribution was paid for the cnme.
For instance, if someone murdered a member
of another clan, all the other members of that
Xotimfl 1 ~ n l:1,.\ 'hll(Je 8 •
101m,nt ,f
\""l~'T'!m
1,t I ~·1~,1...,
(I i,1111 'lnn:mol 1lrilll \
clan helped 10 hunt that perso~ down and take
his life in return. If the offending person ran
to a sanctuary village. he could stay there, but
if lhe clan members caught him first, it was
au over.
This was not revenge. This was the
clan being responsible for its members based on our reality. The clans kept a balance
between each other. That kept a balance
wilhin the whole aibe.
group - but at the same time they were ~iven
tremendous freedom. There were areas m
which an indjviduttl could get glory and
personal recognition. Someone who was a
great hunter was revered. and a gOO?
provider was sought af1er by the lad1~s.
There was glory for the young males 1n
warfare.
However, if someone did not conduct
him- or herself properly, they did not receive
any approval. People would just ignore them.
In most cases, their behavior would be
modified in a very short time. Native people
wanted at all cost 10 avoid losing face and
being shamed. Depriving someone of
attention or ridiculing him or her was a
powerful way 10 get a deviant person back
into accord with the group.
The ultimate threat of force was
banishment from the village. An action that
serious was carried out by the whole village
council, because it required the support of the
whole community. In that situation,
somebody was put 0111 of the circle instead of
into a jail or prison. The idea of cagin_ up
g
somebody's spirit was a totally alien idea.
The purpose of this village justice was
not 10 punish people, but tO change them.
The Cherokee did believe in vengeance, but
only against other aibes. fn the whi~e.
people's system, people who caus<: mJury are
punished. They are made to suffer m an equal
amount to the harm they have caused - either
by years of imprisonment or by ouaight
execution.
The dominant culture of today is
actually a lot of confused culrural biases
which share very little consensus as to what
is true culture. Within our culture it was
clear. There wasn't anything else. It was
either this or nothing. If you didn't belong. it
was terrible. The urge to belong was so
str0ng, it governed the people's actions.
Our consensus was based on a world
view that was shared throughout the whole
aibe. Because of that the Cherokee needed no
couns, lawyers, judges, or prisons.
We had very few laws. They were
mostly just rational, reasonable rules.based
on observation. There was a law agamst
urinating in the river. There was a Jaw against
defecating around the village. There was a
law against talcing 100 many deer, because
everybody knew thar if they killed too many
deer, there would not be any left the next
year. There were clear and obvious reasons
for laws like that They were based on
common sense rules that nature laid down in
front of us.
One of the biggest barriers between us
and the white people was that we did not
have any concept of privare property.
•
Possession meant that "when you were there
it was yours." But the white people did a
good job of teaching us differently.
The word "fndian-giver" came from the
fact that a white man would give some
Indians a load or goods for their piece of
land and the next day the Indians would be
back. The Indians had not realized they ~ad
sold their land. They had never had any idea
of owning it! They took the presents because
it would be rude to refuse gifts of friendship.
It is hard for white people to understand
our ways and how they worked, because
they do not understand how the old
Cherokees related 10 the aibe. The old culture
was holistic. The tribe was the whole, and
the loyalty toward the whole was very
strong. The desire to contribute to the whole
and to move evenly with the rest of the group
was ingrained by many generations of
cultural reinforcement ll was so much a part
of the culture that it was quite abnonnal to ~
an individual. Cooperation was t~e governing
force within the community, and m the old
days, before we were too muc~ influenced by
the whites. our personal integnty meant a lot
more 10 us.
People were rewnrcted for their
cooperation by approval and love from the
In the Cherokee aibe, spiritual life was
not split a pan from the political l!fe of the
village. It was always there. but It was not
recognized as something separate. Because of
the emphasis on character and personal
integrity, the elders tended to be te~chers and
spiritual leaders as well as leaders m the
council.
At one time there was a religion and a
priest society in the Cherokee aibe. I ~ave
heard stories about this from several different
sources. My own thinking is that in !he
tribe's early history when we first migrated
south, we encountered the late stages of the
deteriorating Mississippian culture. The
Mississippian culture "."as ~ on M_ayan
and Aztec beliefs. Tht1r pracoces, beliefs,
.1l ,'J:n :, 1odcr_ 1..1~
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DrawinabvlamuRh~• r.r. ~
:),ill ra~, -..-UJ 1 U
w
•
(Continued on page 30)
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l )~UHI •
�O,.wing by Rob Messick
© 1992
by Lucinda Flodin
Maybe she's the reason I came to live
in the mountains. I know she's the reason I
swp when I'm near that panicular place.
Sometimes I stop nowhere near that place
because the feeling comes over me, and I
stop. After all this time I still fookfor Elda ...
In 1974 I spent the summer with
friends in Limestone, Tennessee, recovering
from a shattered romance. I would sit on the
porch watching the mountains, but more
often I would drive to the mountains and hike
through long afternoons. On one of these
hikes I became absorbed in following a liule
stream and lost track or time. When r stopped
to rest, I realized that it was getting late.
Night came quickly in the forest and I
found myself unable to negotiate the path, I
finally stopped in a small clearing only to
realize that r was now losr. Around me were
trees and darkness and ever-increasing fear.
A sound sent me into total panic. I had
visions of bears and mountain lions and
snakes and bugs! l tried 10 get a grip. I
smacked a mosquito who was definitely out
for blood. My hean started pounding wildly.
I'd probably have a heart auack before a bear
could even find me.
I was hungry ... so thirsty... but there
was no food anywhere... not a bite 10 be
found! I leaned over to drink from the
stream, but I had no idea where I was or
what the origin of the water was. I knew I
shouldn't drink any water in the wild unless I
was at a spring head. How thirsty I was and I
couldn't even drink the water!
1 sat and cried - no, yelled - at the trees
around me about the unfairness or it all.
Finally I ran out of energy and sat down. Just
then the.moon came shimmering through the
su-mmcr, 1992
ELDA
trees, and I rudn't feel so alone. As I looked
across the clearing, it seemed that if I just
walked around the big tree in front of me, I
could get a clear view of the moon's face. As
I pushed away the low branches to duck
around the tree, the Earth s11dde11/y fell away
beneath me.
There was nothing gradual about this
moment. One second I was on the ground,
the next I was in space - learning gravity as
I'd never learned it before - tumbling, falling,
rolling. It happened so quickly I had no time
10 fear as I bounced through bush and briar. I
tried 10 clutch the Earth, but I wasn't sure
where it was - sometimes above me,
sometimes below, pounding at me wherever
we met. Eternity was caught in a single
moment. Would it ever stop?
At last I became more of the eanh than
the sky, and I rolled into a resiing spot in a
patch or briars. Pain and eanh grJbbcd me
back from space. My last thought was
wondering if the spinning would ever
cease ...
Warm sunlight on my face, my bed felt
so good. The dream had been so real. I'd
never dreamt so vividly. I decided to grab the
journal at my bedstand and write it down .
before the memory faded. It was the reaching
for this journal that brought abrupt physical
pain.
I tried to open my eyes. How I hurt!
Oh, no! This wasn't my bed! This wasn't a
dream! Hope crashing, I opened my eyes to
the canopy of young tree growth above me. It
hun to look ouL lt hun to breathe. The
thought of moving hurt. Maybe I was dead.
lf not. I surely would be soon. A tear burned
down my face. I could feel my fingers. l
could feel my toes. Pain filled them all and
soon a strange sleep enveloped me.
A sense of not being alone brought me
back 10 consciousness. Was this the
mountain lion I'd feared? As l tried to move,
pain seared through my body. A voice like
music. or was it the wind through the trees,
said, "Don't move, young one, and don't be
afraid. I won't hurt you."
As I struggled tO tum toward the
sound, r felt movement around me until a
woman came into my sighL First I saw her
hands, veined like the gnarly roots of an oak,
yet wonderfuJJy supple. My eyes moved up
to a face which surprised me with itS
ancientness; somehow it didn't match those
capable hands. The face was an intricate mnzc
of lines and wrinkles - there were no flat
planes. Then our eyes met and I felt myself
falling int0 an ocean of blue clarity. Never
had I experienced eyes like those - clearer,
yet deeper, than a child's. Suddenly those
eyes and her whole incredible face broke into
a smile with more facets than a prism in
sunlighL And that music - no, it was her
voice. "You arc amazed, young one. Good,
that amazement will help you to heal
yourself."
"Are you an angel? Am I dead?"
Again that smile, followed by a laugh
that would have made me laugh, too, except
for how much it would have hun.
"No, young one. I walk an Eanh path.
Some call me Elda. I answered your
frightened call in the moonlighL"
I realiz.ed that I no longer was lying in
briars. Hadn't I landed in briars? My eye
caught a thiclcet of them a little way from
when: I lay.
(continued on ow page)
)(.Qtimh JoUf'tlat PQIJI'- 9
�(CQitinued f'rom pego 9)
"Briars don't make for sweet dreams;
soft pine needles and grass make for more
comfon. You'll rest easy in this baby forest,
and the Eanh will help your healing. You
have strong bones, none are broken. Your
muscles are strained. Only a few of your cuts
are deep. This gash is deep for it bleeds stil1,
but it has bled enough. Feel it closing and
healing in your thoughts, little one."
She reached into a pouch at her side and
took a pinch of some powder and blew it into
the CUI.
"What's that stuff?"
"A pinch of puffball to stop the blood.
It has bled enough now. You are curious?
That is good. I like curiosity. I will teJJ you
of the plants."
I grew anxious at all these answers to
unasked, sometimes uninfonned questions.
"And you are afraid. Are you always
afraid, little one? Breathe or hum a song. It
will help."
She took a bowl -1 think it was a bowl,
though it may have been a hollowed-out tree
gnarl - and with a feathery leaf began to wash
my cuts.
"This is yarrow, cooked in water in the
sunlight. It will numb your pain and let us
work on your injuries."
As she gently washed them. I could feel
the pain numbing, lessening.
"Th.is will allow us to bathe them
again."
With the numbness, I was able to move
to see myself. Everywhere I could see my
skin, it was covered like a roadmap with
scratches. The skin around the scratches was
deepening as bruises formed. I wanted to
throw up, but that would have required
movement.
"Skin mends, young one."
"I'm not that young, and my name is
Lucinda."
"To me you are very young, Lucinda."
As I looked at her ancientness, f felt
silly at having snapped at her.
Throughout the day as I moved in and
out of sleep. I felt her near me. Her words
wafted through my consciousness as she
washed my legs with chickweed, little star
woman, comfrey, burdock, more yarrow.
She helped me sip red clover from a bowl. It
all was like a confused dream. Sometimes r
would hear her talking. Actually, it seemed
that she was having two-way conversations
with the plants. / must be mad' And then I'd
doze again.
"Are you magic?" I asked in a moment
of lucidity.
"No, child... Lucinda. I am a child of
the Earth, like yourself. I've tended this
forest garden, and it has tended me, for
longer than 1 can even remember. We take
care of each other."
At dusk, a drink with a strong taste...
"Skullcap, 10 mke the pain for a deeper
sleep."
I did sleep - deeply - and without fear. I
could hear her voice as I drifted.
"You are safe under the trees, on the
Eanh, with the stars. Sleep sweetly. Dream
wellness."
I awoke to the twittering of birds. I stiU
hun, but I could move. Again I wondered a1
~~~ J?~~~. p~!Z ,10
~e.reality of Elda. then she stepped into my
v1s1on. Yes, she was really here. It was like
she was invisible one moment and there the
nexL Yet I knew she had really been there.
She was real. I was overcome by the wisdom
I sensed in her presence.
"Today you might feel hungry. I've
brought you food."
She opened a giant leaf which I later
learned was burdock filled with violets,
clover blossoms and sweet-tasting leaves and
berries. She would name them.
"It's so much. I'll never remember
them."
"You don't learn them all at once, dear
one. You learn one plant at a time. Each is
your teacher."
I contemed myself with the
nourishment I felt pervading my body. AU
that day Elda fed me and I told her of my
journey. She only laughed when 1 got to the
part of being so hungry and so far from food.
She found that delightfully funny, and I felt
foolish. But then r looked around, and I, too,
was struck with the humor of it. Somehow it
seemed that all the plants around us also
laughed, but I wouldn't swear to that.
Moving became easier as the day went
on and I was amazed at how much better all
my scratches were. Elda made a poultice (I
remember her using that word) of plantain
and elder for my bruises. I could feel the
soothing relief and the healing begin.
'Tomorrow you will be able 10 travel,"
she said as the sun was gold in the west. We
sat with a bowl of salve which tasted full and
thick as soup. "I will show you a shoner
route."
I didn't want 10 go, but suddenly I
thought of my friends, Dan and Ruby, and I
knew they must be panicking by now.
"I would like to know more about
plants, Elda."
"Well, talk to them, dear. They like to
be remembered."
I went to sleep imagining myself in
conversation with a fem and wondering
about my sani1y.
Walking down the mountain \l.ith Elda
in the morning was an adventure. It was a
completely different path, I think. I wasn't
really payiog much auention on the way. She
pointed out plants, talked to them as friends.
and treated them with re:;pect. Before I knew
it, we were at my car
She laughed, "Ah, just the friend you
need now." And she told me to pick the
sticky flowers growing around my car.
"Calendula. Make them into a tea to soothe
your wounds."
"How do I thank you, Elda?"
"You don't, dear one. You pick the
flowers and make yourself strong."
It seemed like just a moment later when
a state trOOper stanled me. I looked toward
Elda, but she was gone. My friends had
reported me missing. He had been looking
for me and had found my car.
"Did you see that woman?"
"No, miss. Just you here. No one Jives
up in these pans. I'll drive you."
I went home and healed up, though one
scar remained on my leg as a reminder of the
adventure. But 1 still thought about Elda and
wanted to see her again. Several times that
summer I returned to that area, but I could
never again find that exact spot where I had
met Elda. l asked campers and hikers, and I
stopped at every house in the area. No one
had heard of anyone sounding like Elda.
They sent me up 10 Granny Pierson
who was the oldest person around and who
reponedly became confused at rimes. We
talked. She drifted in and out of memory, a
sharp contrast to the clearity of Elda's mind.
She couldn't recollect much at first, but
finally she began, "There was this old
woman. What was here name? Something
like that, but, Lord, hooey, hit's bin since l
was a girl An old 'erb woman. She was old
when I was a child. Lord, she'd be in the
grave more'n seventy year now. J remember
her, though, but my mind's leavin' me."
My friends listened patiently, trying to
be supponive, but occasionally suggesting
that maybe I'd dreamed it. Maybe I'd made
her up to keep myself alive. I don't know.
Could I have made up the richness that
was Elda? Her wiseness? I couldn't have
made up her eyes!
Thar was sixteen years ago. I live in the
mountains now, in the same county tlwugh
miles from where I met Elda. I dan't ask
abolll her now, excepi when I meet old
people. But as I walk tliroughfields and
woods, gathering plants and learning abolll
them, Ida think of her. In fields where
flowers seem to be laughing, I sense her
presence. I feel tit.at if I could just turn more
qt~ickly, I'd see her there ware/ting me - her
wise face full oflife, giving nouris/unent. .
After all this time I still look for Elda.
#
P'
There are stories from cullurcs around the
world and from ns far back ns the Stone Ages about
lhc elderberry. UsWllly lhey involve o woman who
lives in the tree and ha~ powerful medicine 10 heal Iler
children. (I created the feminine fonn Elda for !hi.~
cho.roclCJ'.) But she con be dangerous at times when
she is not shown re,.c;pcct. Old supcn;lilions maimain
lhat cuumg elder without pennission or the plant
brings illnes,~ nnd/or death.
Lucinda Flodin lives with her family in Katuah
Province near Hampton, TN and is. among other
things, an herbalist and a Mory!Alllcr. The story "Elda"
is included oo a new audio tape cnlled Mountain
Spirits available for SI0.00 ppd. from: Lucincm
Flodin: Rt. I, Box 726; Hampton. TN 37658.
�THE STATE OF FRANKLIN
Land, Liberty... and Mastery
by David Wheeler
"A beautiful valley and the
almost boundless West lay before
them, beckoning all to adventure
themselves. The thing most worthy of
remark is the far reach and wide range
of the vision and the plans of the
people of Franklin, and the projective
power that gave them and their
descendants a very considerable
mastery of men and measures
througlwut the generations that /rave
followed."
- Samuel Cole Williams
in The Lost State of Franklin
they could hunt. They built their own log
homes, provided their own clothing, and
made their own whiskey. Work parties of
neighbors built and maintained what roads
!here were.
The presence of the tax collectors was
!he main evidence of the Norlh Carolina state
government. The settlers were poorly
represented in the state legislature. They had
to cross the mountains to find a court in
(1933)
In the years immediately following the
Revolutionary War the runnoil of the war
years continued almost unabated in the
former colonies. These were heady times the imperial power of England had been
defeated, new theories of government were
materializing, and a new continent lay open
for the taking. In !he new nation, talk of
politics was on everyone's lips, and "libeny"
was the watchword. But in the minds of
many people was the thought of land - land to
be the material basis for their hard-won right
to "the pursuit of happiness."
In spite of such lofty hopes and dreams
among the European settlers, however, the
new country was in a shambles. The
government of the State of North Carolina, in
particular, was pauperized. The war had
taken a heavy toll on !he personal resources
of the former colonists, and !here had been
much destruction and ill-feeling. The central
government was weak: and in debt for
promises made during the pressing struggle
for independence. By its original charter, the
jurisdiction of North Carolina extended west
10 the sea, but under the prevailing conditions
it was lit lie wonder that those closest to the
capital at Hillsborough received the most
attention.
The mountains of the Blue Ridge were
still a formidable barrier at that time. Settlers
following the Great Valley of !he Tennessee
River had established a bastion in what is
now the northeast comer of Tennessee.
During the war they had shown themselves to
be stalwan pattiotS, pro<ecting North
Carolina's rear from hostile attacks by the
Cherokee and Chiclcasaw tribes and turning
the tide of the war in the South by surging
over the mountains to play a decisive role in
the battle of Kings Mountain,
But now, not only were the wartime
claims of these soldiers being ignored, but
Nonh Carolina was levying heavy taxes on
au its citizens to rebuild itS shattered
infrastructure and restore its government. To
the settlers in the west, this was blatant
"taxation without representation" - just what
they had fought 10 end!
This feeling was justified. The lands
west of the mountains were self-supponing,
living off the crops they raised and the game
summer, 1092
which to setlle their differences. Although
constantly threatened by hostile natives, their
state government would send no ll'OOpS
across the mountains for their protection.
But the worst blow came in 1783. In
order to capitalize its recovery, the State of
North Carolina passed a law offering land
west of the mountains for sale to setllers and
speculators. The bill put up for sale the land
from 20 miles south of the town of
Jonesborough 10 the French Broad and the
Big Pigeon Rivers, conveniently ignoring the
fact that this land had been guaranteed to the
Cherokee in the Avery Treaty of 1777.
This made the natives understandably
restless, and in 1784, largely to avoid the
expense of sending a military force to defend
the western settlers from angry Cherokees,
North Carolina passed a bill giving up its
claim to the lands west of the mountains and
ceding !hem to the newly-formed national
Confederation Congress.
Congress was too weak and 100 far
away to protect the settlers over the
mountains. Nonh Carolina had reneged on
the task. The seulers were used to protecting
and providing for themselves. A decade
before, earlier settlers had even established
the Watauga Association, the first "free and
independent community on the continent," in
the words of Theodore Roosevelt On August
23, 1784 delegates from the counties west of
the Blue Ridge gathered and declared their
area a free and independent state.
Their declaration was immediately
challenged. Norlh Carolinians were surprised
and angered at this tum of events, and when
a new legislature convened that autumn,
North Carolina rescinded the C.ession Act and
restated itS cl.aim to the western lands.
It was a vain attempt. On December 14,
1784 a second convention at Jonesborough
decided to name the new state after Benjamin
Franklin and set about the work of drawing
up a constitution. The following March, that
work was continued, and John Sevier was
elected governor of the State of Franklin and
David Campbell was chosen as its chief
justice and given the task of setting up a court
system.
John Sevier (pronounced se-VEER)
had been at first reluctant 10 become involved
with the movement for independence, but
from 1784 he was a moving force in the
history of the State of Franklin. By all
accounts he was brave, charming, and
handsome · a charismatic leader. He was a
hero of the battle of Kings Mountain and was
a renowned "lndian fighter."
Instinctively, Sevier was a consummate
politician. He knew the value of diplomacy
and the power of force. In his dealings wilh
whites he could use a winning smile and
charming words to win his way; with the
native people he was rulhlessly violent
Although he was educated and
articulate, Sevier's strongest support was
always among the rough settlers on the
frontiers of the whites' territory. These were
his comrades in arms, the mythologized
pioneers. It was moslly from these people
that Sevier drew the militia for his campaigns
against the natives. The backwoods whites
loved and trusted Sevier. They counted on
him for their defense, and he never let them
down.
For three years Sevier led the State of
Franklin. In that turbulent era the exact
powers and role of a state was unclear.
Whether the states were to be
semi-autonomous republics or divisions of a
strong central government was as yet
undecided. One thing was certain: "Liberty,"
meaning self-government, was the overriding
ideal. During the three years that the State of
Franklin existed, it set up its own
govemrncntal scructure, electing delegates
and appointing commissioners. It established
a judiciary; minted coins; provided for
schools; and, of course, designed a "great
seal" and a flag. The frontiersmen were
already organized as a de/aero militia, but
that arrangement was officializcd. The State
also began collecting taxes - frontier Style.
"Be it enacted," decreed the state's first
General Assembly, "that it shall and may be
lawful for the aforesaid land tax, and all free
polls, to be paid in the following manner:
Good flax linen,... woolen and cotton
linsey,...good, clean beaver skins,...cased
otter sk.ins, ... rackoon (sic) and fox
skins, ... bacon, well curcd,...good, clean
tallow,...good, clean beeswax,... good
distilled rye whiskey,...good peach or apple
brandy,...good, country made (maple)
(eontinucd on nc:ll page)
Xati4af1 Journal: page 11
�(continued from page 11)
sugar,...deer skins, ...good, neat and well
managed tobacco, fit to be prized, that may
pass inspection,..."
In certain instances, Franklin also acted
like a national power. The state made treaties
wilh the native tribes, which in those times
with the central government so weak and ~
id~ of self-government so strong in the
mrnds of the people, was not unusual But in
1788, when the effort to maintain their
ind~~dcn~ was falling apart, Sevier began
a ~non wtth the government of Spain.
w~ch held the mouth of the Mississippi
River. To the Spanish representative
Oardoqui, Sevier hinted that the citiuns of
Frank.I.in might ally themselves with Spain in
exchange for protection, money, and
weapons. It was almost assuredly a bluff,
but. even in those times, it was a bold bluff
indeed.
•
The foundation of the "Liberty~ of the
white immigrants was the very material
~sidcration of land. From the beginning of
its history, the acquisition of land was the
other driving force in the remarkable story of
the State of Franklin. That the native
inhabitants had clear tide to their lands that
o~ten went back 1,000 years made no
~erence. The p~ure of the migration of
whit.e Europeans from over the mountains
was irresistible. Also, disagreements over the
authority of the different states, the
Confederation Congress, and the State of
Franklin to sign treaties and ma.kc agreements
added 10 the confusion (which was no doubt
exploited when convenient).
. Always ready 10 make agreements., the
whites did not prove so willing to keep them,
and the Cherokee in vain pointed to tteaty
)CQtuQn )oumQC PQ<Je 12
after broken treaty. On the Cherokee side the
Chickamauga villages, under the leadership
of the war chief Dragging Canoe, believed in
no treaties made with the whjtes and honored
none. Their disbelief was quite correct but
their actions gave the Europeans ample'
reasons for reprisals.
It was a war, 10 be sure, and each side
could point 10 outrages and depredations
committed by the other. But in this war the
treaties were meaningless; the real power was
in the superior numbers and weapons of the
European occupiers, and they would take
whatever their military strength could win.
A fine tract of land in the Great Bend of
the Tennessee (or "the Bent of the
Tennessee"), near the present-day city of
Muscle Shoals, Alabama was a lodestone to
white investors. In 1784, a company of
speculators, including John Sevier and
prominent men in Nonh Carolina, arranged a
"purchase" of the land from some of the
native residents, although the area was deep
in the territory guaranteed to the red people.
Fro~ then on Sevier's eyes were always
looking toward the south. It is felt that his
initial opposition 10 the establishment of the
State of Franklin stemmed from concern
about the future of his investment in the Great
Bend. When he came around 10 favor the
s~ssion, he began to think that the new
state could help his venture, and under his
leadership the policies of the State of Franklin
were always expansionist and pointed toward
the south.
Franklin encouraged immigration by
whites, even when the government knew that
the only available lands lay in Cherokee
country. ~igration meant profits, yes.
land speculanon was a booming industry in
the ne.wly-opened lands to the west. But,
more unportantly, immigration was crucial to
the very survival of the fledgling state across
the mountains. Cleared lands and dense
settlements were the best protections against
anacks by the natives.
The Nonh Carolina Act of 1783 had
violated the terms of the earlier Avery Treaty
by !f!OVing the boundary claimed by the
whnes down to the French Broad River.
However. the act strictly prohibited entry or
surveys by whites south of that line. But as
soon as the State of Franklin was formed,
settlers began 10 move south of the French
Broad. They were encouraged by the state
government. In fact, the State of Franklin had
a land office in Jonesborough that raised
revenue by taking purchase money for land
claims granted south of the French Broad.
Sevier felt that this siruation needed
formal recognition, so he called together a
meeting of Cherokee chiefs in May of 1785
and laid out the Treaty of Dumplin Creek,
~h~c~ moved .the ~undary south 10 the ridge
diVJd1ng the Little River and the Little
Tennessee River watersheds.
However, it was only six months later
that the United States' Confederation
Congress felt that the central government
should assert its authority and negotiated the
Treaty of Hopewell with the Cherokee. This
treaty moved the line back 10 the north . so
far nonh that the town of Greeneville, which
had just been named the capital of the State of
Franklin, was made pan of the native
territories! The treaty specifically repudiated
the Dumplin Creek agreement and the Great
Bend land purchase. It was intentionally
vague about the status of the settlers
occupying the lands north of the French
Broad River, but it clearly stated that all other
trespassers would have to leave in six months
or lose the protection of the central
government.
lt appears that the State of Franklin
simply ignored the Hopewell treaty. Certainly
their defense of the settlers south of the
French Broad was no less diligent. After
fruitless appeals to the national government,
the Cherokee took matters into their own
hands and in the spring of 1786 began attacks
on the settlements in ll)eir rightful territory.
The FrankJinites responded by burning the
Cherokee towns in the Hiwassee River
Valley. Later in July, Sevier and 250 men
revenged the killing of two other white men
by b.uming another town. They then camped
outs1de the central Cherokee village of P.chota
and called the peaceful chiefs Hanging Maw
and Tassel (Com Tassel) to make another
treaty.
Sevier minced no words. He told the
chiefs that the whole country nonh of the
Tennessee River as far west as the
Cumberland Mountains would be setded by
the whites who would take it "by the sword,
which is the best right to all countries."
Though the treaty contained ample references
to peace, love, and brotherly friendship, it
was obvious it was obtained under duress.
Wiuh such a large armed force outside their
gates, the chiefs had little choice but to sign.
The historian Williams says in his book: The
Los1 State of Franklin, "No act of the State of
Franklin is Jess creditable to her than this
Treaty ofCoyatee."
During this time, the Franklin
government was constantly pressing its case
Summu, 1992
�;
I I
for recognition as a s1a1e before the
Confederation Congress. Champion for the
cause was William Cocke, a backwoodsman,
marksman, and a fierce fighter, who had put
himself through law school and had found a
gift for inspired oratory. By all accountS he
gave brilliant. impassioned presentations on
behalf of 1he Sta1e of Franklin, bu1 it was no1
enough to shake the political support
mustered by North Carolina to block
Franklin's recognition.
By 1786 the strain of carrying on the
border wars single-handedly had begun to
tell, and the firm resolve of the Franklinites
began to waver. North Carolina cleverly
exploited this shif1 in sentimenL Under the
leadership of John Sevier's archrival, John
Tipton, North Carolina attempted to hold an
election 10 send representatives from "the
western counties" to the state legislature. The
Franklin government answered the move by
holding their own elections for the North
Carolina legislative seats. The Franklinites
won overwhelmingly, but this recognition of
North Carolina's authority proved 10 be the
first stroke of the wedge that split open the
Franklin government.
Tipton also sponsored North Carolina
couns, which operated parallel 10 Franklin
courts, often in the same county. Vigilantes
from both sides broke up court sessions and
took valuable papers. There were angry
public meetings, and some brawling took
place, involving Tipton and Sevier
themselves in one instance. The situation was
fast deteriorating into civil violence..
John Sevier made several valiant
attempts to save the faltering State of
Franklin. Knowing the unifying value of war
against the native people, he proposed one
idea that would hopefully save his
government, win the coveted Great Bend area
for the_whites (and his investment company),
and gain some respite for the settlers on the
southwest frontier.
At the time, the State of Georgia was
continually at war with the Creeks. Sevier
proposed 1ha1 in the spring of 1787 soldiers
from Georgia and Franklin join together in a
punitive campaign against th111 tribe, which
jus1 happened to control the Great Bend are-a.
Instead of cash payments, the soldiers who
undertook the expedition would be rewarded
with land grants in the Great Bend, which
they would afterward help 10 retain. The plan
never materialized, as Georgia made a
temporary peace with the natives.
Early in 1788 the sporadic hostilities
between the two factions in Franklin flared
up. John Tipton seized several of John
Sevier's slaves under a Stale of Nonh
Carolina court judgment and transported them
10 his home for safekeeping. Sevier was in
the las1 few days of his governorship and
was tired and discouraged, bu1 rhis was a
slap in 1he face that could not be ignored. The
separationists surrounded Tip1on's house in
force and, although Sevier urged restraint, a
melee erupted. Two men were killed and
Sevier's two sons were capiured. Tipton
wanted 10 hang the young men, but was
persuaded to release 1hem. Sevier
subsequently lef1 for the border wars on the
frontier, "where no writs ran and lhe rough
seulers were devoted to him," as John
summer, 1992
VIRGINIA
--------~.~~.r~ttf)lfWl~if1}r-------------..:::~-,.R-... 1-&KLiN·:·,::"' ..
NORTH
.-,::.\(}iY:.:\~f{/· CAROLINA
_, ~,-- - - - ·- -.,,
- - - - - - ------7,....
'
,
'------,...
'
',,
'
',
\
' ',
11SS Map
Preston Arthur commented. This is generally
marked as the end of the State of Franklin.
It was in 1790, with more wars with
the Cherokees looming, that North Carolina
finally gave up and ceded control of Franklin
to the United Srates Congress as part of the
"Southwest Territory." Franklin was finally
admitted to the Union as pan of the State of
Tennessee in 1796. The first elected governor
of the Staie of Tennessee was, no1
surprisingly, John Sevier, and he la1er served
as a congressman as well.
appeared as I.he stubborn independence so
admired in the Appalachian mountaineers. At
other times, however, it appeared as 1he will
for mastery, whether over the land, events,
or those who would oppose them. Even
today, we still see traces of this, the tangled
legacy left by the early while seulers of the
mountain region.
Special thanks to Barbara Wickersham
for the valuable research work she
contributed to this article.
Resources:
The wild Appalachian lands brought out
both the best and the worst in the firs1
Europeans to inhabit the Katuah Province.
They were fiercely devoted 10 ideals of
freedom and justice; they were at the same
1ime greedy and ruthless. A deep-seated
detennination drove them. Sometimes this
Gerson, Noel B.; Franklin: Atrurica·:r Lost
State: Crowell-Collier Press (New York, 1968)
Williams, Samuel Cole; Ilistory of the Lost
State of Franlclin; The Press of the PiollCCIS (New
York. 1933)
Cornstalk Dreams
Poverty is living in a shotgun house
with chimney bookends
Listening to rain tapping on a cheap tin roof
Huddling around the fireplace
like a dark medieval clan.
Poverty is running barefoot
through a maze of corn fields
Splitting open a watermelon just for its heart
Worrying until payday if we would be fed
at least with butter beans and cornbread
- Sandra McClinton
-
..
X.Otimh )ournnt page 13
�WHERE THE TREES OUTNUMBER THE PEOPLE:
I<atuah's Regional Rainbow Gatherings
In the Mtigical U1nd of the Rainbow, a neo-tribal culture is teacl1ing and learning the
arts of Cooperation and Commu,1ity
by Stephen Wing
"Welcome Home!"
The implications arc enormous.
Somewhere back in the mythical mists
of the Scvenries, a tribe of multicolored folJc
called the Rainbow Family began to hold a
"Gathering of the Tribes" every summer deep
in the wilderness, where the trees oumumber
the people. They were "Family" because they
considered all people brothers and sisters;
they were ''Rninbow" for the harmony of
their many colors; and they called out
"Welcome Home!" because wherever they
gathered on the Mother Earth they were home
again. Every Fourth of July lhey observed a
silence, praying for Peace and Healing, each
in their own way. They fasted and prayed
and danced and drummed, and many magical
stories have come down 10 us.
In the nco-Plcistocene Eighties, our
tribal ancestors founded the Katuah Rainbow
clan and began to bold a solstice gathering
every summer in the meadow below Sam's
Knob. Because pan of their inspiration was
lhe 1980 Rainbow Galhering in West
Virginia, it became one of the first of many
regional Rainbow gatherings. It carried on
the Family consensus to be free and
non-commen:ial, open to everyone, dedicated
to cooperative, ecological living, without
leaders or rules. It grew and flourished, and
Xatuah Journal Pac.Je 14
was known as one of the strongest and most
spiritual in the land of the Rainbow.
Now at age 21, the Rainbow Family
has grown into a large-scale, long-term,
worldwide experiment in living out the ideals
of the mythical Sixties: a full-fledged
al temative culture, woven of many different
spiritual, political, and philosophical strands.
Outwardly. perhaps it imitates the Nntive
American tribes; mwardly, it taps the
biological vestiges of one million years of
oi baJ ancestry.
Everyone involved in Rainbow has
their own vision of what it is and what it
could be. The vision that is crystallizing for
me lately is of a school.
Everyone has something 10 teach in the
magical land of Rainbow. And somcLhing to
learn. Many of us are teachers of something
already, perhaps, or know a special craft or
skill or even a livelihood worth passing on.
You learned your first rai chi step or
bcadworlcing stitch from someone. Why not
bring it 10 the gathering _and offer a free,.
informal workshop? Think of the gathenng
as a kindcrganen, not as a university. Even if
you feel you have nothing 10 learn there, each
of us has something 10 pass along to those
following in our footsteps.
But there's a deeper level of learning.
0..wUl&J by Rhea Ormond
Running away like a bunch of kids playing
hooky in the woods is like school turned
inside out - a space in which we can a.U enter
a kind of second childhood and re~ate
ourselves. We heal ourselves instinctively by
re-imagining society in a sane way, becoming
each other's long-lost extended family,
learning how to love and accept each other,
and feel loved and accepted in turn • some
for the first time our lives. It is incredibly
therapeutic just to be in a place where it is
okay to love.
But in order 10 maintain this magical
healing space, we have to work together 10
feed everyone, deal with sanitation, medical
needs, children, authorities, parking,
drinking water, and camp security. We have
10 make decisions that acknowledge
everyone's poinl of view, including the trees,
the streams, the wildlife, the genemtions 10
come. This is a yet deeper learning. We are
learning to come together as a community, a
circle, a tribe - rather than a collection of
self-centered individuals - and act for the best
interest of the whole instead of our little part.
Few of us had the benefit of a tribal
upbringing. Ninety percent or more of the
ordinary families out there arc dysfunctional,
studies now say, producing dysfunctional
people. Our tribe is made up of refugees from
that world; we cannot create World Peace
without some healing. Most of the problems
that plague the "national" Rainbow Gathering
are problems of scale. But a few stubbornly
show up al regionals, too. They are the
chronic dysfunctions of the dominant culture,
"Babylon": abuse of alcohol and drugs,
scamming, inflated egos, male-female
imbalance. These arc the things that we
cannot leave behind when we leave our cities
and cars.
l ust4 to worry about them. But then l
realized that it is okay. Rainbow is a school.
These are our assignmenrs. That is why we
leave all the civilized disu-actions behind: to
focus on what counts.
At the scale of a regional gathering we
can do that - but not without a conscious
commitmcnL I have seen miracles happen
when the wisdom and the will of the people
have been summoned to a serious council.
Through the magical ans of passing a feather
in a circle and listening, of communication
and compromise, I believe we can learn 10
resolve any conflicL But we have to practice.
And the presence nnd guidance of people
who have done some of the inner work
themselves is invaluable to those who might
otherwise stumble over the same mistakes.
Becoming a Tribe may not be an
idealistic fantasy from the mythical Sixties
forever. We are learning how to live without
money, lawyers, governments, police· even
gasoline - because it may soon be necessary.
We arc learning it, 1 believe, because the
future of our families down 10 the seventh
generation depends on our learning 10 live
together as a functional Family.
I hope we are learning it in time.
For dirtetioM to tM Ka11,ah Rainbows-,
Solstiu Ga1hviltg, JUM 12-22, son~p/ace where the
trees OUIIIUl1IMT IM people, coll the A1/a111a Rainbow
Ughllillc: (404) 662--6112 or write 10 /IOI. address
below.
To help out In adllOIICe, contact Katu.ah
Roillbow direc1/1 clo l.ulit Wagenheim: 996 Yellow
Breeches Rd.; Cosby, TN 3m2 (615) 428-4633.
Summu, l!IN
�warp ancl
"We Call It a Gathering..."
At first sight, it seems to be pure
magical anarchy in the woods. But there are
levels you learn to see.
Just under the swface is a layer of hard
wolk: people who are not immediately vi~ble
because they are in the kitchens, out hunnng
firewood, al the parking lot, on a supply run.
They carry lhe whole thing literally on their
shoulders, often to the point of straining. As
soon as we realize we are the tribe and
volunteer, the whole thing is easy.
Underlying everything we do is the
consensus of the council, a periodic circle to
pass a feather and listen 10 each person's
perspective in turn. Daily councils are a
chance to share what makes us different and
what we have in common. When something
comes up that requires a decision, we enter
that siate of unified undersianding called
consensus much more easily if we have been
practicing. (If ~ere is no co~~cil,just ~u.t up
a sign. "Main crrcle at noon 1s the tradit,ion.)
Invisible everywhere are the Shann
Sena - all of us who are conscious of health
and safety and alen for trouble, who have
learned to keep the peace in loving ways, deal
with emergencies, communicate with
authorities - and anyone willing to learn. You
can pretend the gathering is a free ride or a
carefree utopia; you can avoid the problems
and still have a wonderful time. But "sister"
and "brother" really begin to mean something
when you accept responsibility for the
well-being of the folks around you.
Then there are the people who are
praying. Our circles before meals, sweat
lodges and Sufi dances, ceremonies at
equinoxes and solstices, etc., carry the
natural sense of community one step higher.
Participating in the Divinity of each moment
helps focus the natural srate of awareness
called a tribe.
Underneath it all is the root-system of
our friendships. Slogans of peace and love
do not make us brothers and sisters; a Family
forms out of time spent together, real time.
Year after year we work, eat, council, and
celebrate together, between gatherings we live
and travel together. We gather in the parks
back home. Travelers come through. We
grow 10 know and to trust each other. The
Rainbow Family is a vast network of
relations. a fabric woven by the physical
s,unmcr , 1992
..
, 1 ,
~pfrhtlal ~efi-of our•~n& tOgethet.
.
ruo ~!1-nrr . .-.- {·n· ~ rr·,77-,v.z
We have over a generation of history
between us now. We are much more than just
a "counterculture.'' Traditions have
developed, a slow evolution of consensus
agreements, along with a tendency to keep
evolving. Naturally we have our elders of the
tribe - but in this tribe each one of us chooses
our elders. Listen for the voice of experience.
But don't take anybody's word for iL Look
under the swface, and watch who's doing the
work.
People will be noticing the same about
you. To some of us baby-boorners it's news,
but work is necessary to survive anywhere.
Babylon sacrifices the daily labor of millions
to feed a privileged few; a tribe shares the
work equally out of Jove for one another, so
no one has to do too much.
The people who created this magical
village in the woods are working hard,
making sure you will be safe, warm, and fed.
But many of us grew up in middle c~s
households where that much was a given we were the privileged few. Don't take it for
granted in the woods. Join the dinner circle,
pay attention to announcemenrs, spread the
word! Go to council; remember to listen
before you speak. Say your peace. And if
you want to join the tribe, just find a place 10
piteh in and help.
As for the panhandlers at our gate, the
ego-wrestling and ripoffs, the truckloads of
rrash, the bliss-ninnies and rainbozos - it's
helpful to remember that compared to most
tribes we're still in our awkward
adolescence. Most of us weren't born in the
Rainbow Family. We were,bom in Babylon.
A lot of us got pretty messed up out there
before we found our way Home. A lot of
Babylon's mess got tracked in on o~r heels.
Much of our effort to heal the Eanh 1s an
ongoing struggle to heal ourselves and our
relationships - to learn how to really be a
"Family" - and to raise truly.healthy ki~~Meanwhile for better or worse, Its our
Family. As Einst~in's mother put it,
"Everyone is a relative." Getting to know o n ~
another over twenty-one years of gatherings ,,:
has tended to substantiate the theory.
Council Fire
Pilgrimage to the old
power spot, our abandoned
council circle I meet all
the pilgrims packing out
their tents and trash-bags
I find
a giant fire-pit dug here
since we counciled
hard for three hours in the sun
to move the council closer
to the center of camp
Three pilgrims
rest here on a log:
they too casually join
the council of all vanished
tribes around the coals
of the original fire
- Stephen Wing
(E.xurp1ed. with "visions by the awhor.from
110!. a ~wsllove /mer to the Rainbow Tribes of the
Southeast, Spring 1992 iss~. Contact llO! at Box
5455; At/0/lla, GA 30307)
Sun, evening shadows, mist
that drifts to rain:
the food is ready and we join hands.
It's only the clear day's light
refracted through the wet nights
that makes this Rainbow on the
ground.
Our circle makes a hole in the
ground spirit rising like water in a well,
falling like the light on a po11d,
the round earth and the rolling sky
joined
in a circular kiss ...
The Circle makes us Whole.
Oraw,ng• b)I Ray Ramcs
Poems wriuen by Stephen Willg at tire
16th a111111ol Rainbow Garhering, Nanw/,a/a
National Forest, Kataoh Province, J11/y,
1987.
~ti1nfl )durnat pnqe IS
�In Council With All Beings
;,· , -,r,~ :: •. 3TE
by Lee Barnes
Human(un)kind's ability to council
with All Beings is limited by our human
egos, our historical fall from Oneness-WithAJJ. Several "en-Lighten-ments" have aided
my personal path towards council with All
Beings, including accumulated personal
experiences and insights from several books.
Council comes to me when I rest my
active brain and allow thoughts from All
Beings to enter my mind. (Term this as you
may - telepathy, insight, second-sight, etc.)
We humans have not evolved in limbo from
All Beings; rather, we have become
insensitive and unconnected from our
relations with the great Webs of Life which
sustain us.
From long experience, I realize that my
thoughts (and deeds) do not remain restricted
within my bony skull - we can and do touch
other Beings with our thoughts. managing to
interconnect, apparently without regard to
time or distance. Time, mauer, and space
appear to be complex illusions created by our
physical and spiritual perceptions, historical
and modem cultures, mammalian senses, and
personal experiences.
l totally accept the iraditional beliefs
that all things (All Beings) a.re alive and
interconnected. We can relate to the other
Beings of the world with either an expansive
or contractive "attitude." With an expansive
"attitude," we can expand our consciousness
and encompass All Beings within ourselves.
A series of physical and spiritual
experiences while hiking over 4000 miles in
Katuah forests (and in other regions) has
auuned my personal council with All Beings.
Usually after about three days in the forest,
away from modem "civilized" life, I find
myself more in tune with the "real" world. l
more closely follow changing day-lengths;
more carefully realize the moonlight's effect
on animals; better understand the words in
the wind; hear the many voices in falling
waters; feel the energy of metamorphic and
igneous boulders; and recognize the
individual tree within the con1ex1 of the
forest.
I am an unashamed tree-hugger, for
trees, especially the forest giants ("wooden
Grandfathers") do share energies, and focus
Earth energies (although l have felt
"indifference" from some trees... ).
I have (infrequently) attuned with
animal energies by watching hawks soar
above, and suddenly becoming "one" with
them, glicling over the valley. This was not
empathetic daydreaming, but rather I was
there in the sky, soaring on wings! I have
shared the scene of the land through the eyes
of another, equal Being!
A specific experience that occurred
within a guided group workshop influenced
my insight into council with All Beings.
During an early morning circle and council
based on guidelines from the book Thi11king
Like a Mountain: Towards a Cou,rcil of All
Befogs (by John Seed and Joanna Macy,
1988, New Society Publishers), I was
Xatuah Journnt pnge 16
greatly moved and led 10 a greater
appreciation and communication with All
Beings.
Tllillking Like a Mountain is an
inspiring collection of meditations, readings,
and most imponan1ly, a guide 10 interspecies
communications, which has led humans to
greater empathy and union with All Beings.
The workshop is usually led by a facili1a1or
who guides individual participants 10 "voice"
their (telepathic/etc.) thoughts from
whichever Beings enter their minds.
Typkally in these guided workshops,
specific Beings are allowed to voice their
cries and frusira1ions wilh human destrUction
of their environment and 1be lack of human
care about their council. In this particular
circle, a "Talking Stick" (brought by a
reacher and missionary from African cultures)
was passed and used 10 designate each
individual speaker. ln council, we heard from
several Beings · circling hawks, lowly slugs.
and even the voice of the Mountain bcnemh
us. 111ese Beings were in anguish, voicing
their ~uffcring at the hand of modem human
"civilizations" - spoiled waters, fouled air,
and their pained existence due 10
human(un)kind's actions.
This council would have aroused great
disgust towards our human selves, except for
the positive counsel offered as 10 how to
rcconnec1 with All Beings. While each
instance of this method is unique, depending
upon the specific seuing and the different
panicipants, it remains a powerful personal
experience.
We two-lcggcds muse seek better
council with the universe and with All
Beings. We must open our hearts to council,
reduce our wasteful over-consumption, and
halt the destruction of our fragile planet.
Live simply; use only what you need;
recycl~ and in all decisions think how the
next seven generations of All Beings will be
affected. Give thanks 10 the water spirit.~:
thanks to green spirits; thanks to the living
soil spirits! Give prayer and thanks to All!
And then you may learn through council witl1
AH Beings.
I encourage all of the two-leggeds,
especially the city-shocked brothers and
sisters, 10 go simply into the the depths of
your existence, leaving your egos (and every
restrictive training) behind. and 10 seek open
and unrestrictt.'<I council with All Beings. Be
open 10 new insights and experiences: be
rcspec1ful of all other Beings (whether,
stone, fire, water, air...); and offer thanks for
council with the rest of Creation.
Voice prayers, offer thanks, and
continue 10 seek council with All Beings.j - '
#
Drawing by Mich11CI Thompson
Ho.
Sum,ncr, J 992
�STEVE MOON
·1
,
"
SHELL ENGRAVINGS"
The Southeastern Ceremonial Complex, a distinctive
culture of the native First People, flourished from the east
coast to Texas between 500 and 1600 AD. The culture was
marked by mound building and elaborate rituals and
ornamentation. Among the primary items produced were
carved ceremonial drinking vessels and gorgets (chest
ornaments hung around the neck) made of shell. Designs
were often engraved on the concave or inner side of the
shell, which is naturally smooth and glossy. They were
sometimes rose tinted. These anifacts are now highly
prized by collectors and many of the old mounds have
been looted by avaricious grave robbers.
Steve Moon is an artist and a defender of the native
grave siteS. Descended from a Cherokee-Shawnee
great-grandmother, he is proud of the native branch of his
bloodline and works in the spirit of the ancient native
artisans. He creates museum-quality reproductions of the
old shell engravings and also creates original designs
based on traditional motifs.
"I just sit around and things come to me sometimes,"
says Steve. "I don't know why, but things pop into my
mind, and 1 draw them on the shell and carve them.
"It's like closing your eyes and letting the tool do the
work. There's really no way to explain it. I just go down
into the shell until the color looks right, and r don't go any
further. Sometimes rcan control the color all the way
around.
"I may pick up a shell and it will look like an
ordinary mussel shell; another time I will be able to
acruaJly feel with my mind down into the shell.
The shell gorgets and drinking bowls found in old
grave sites were ceremonial objects carefully placed by the
body during burial.
'They are sacred objects,'' says Steve, "and it's
wrong for people to dig into graves to go after them. The
old people were put in their graves to rest. They were not
put there to be excavated.
"On my father's side, 1 had some ancestors who
served in the Civil War. I would be real mad if someone
went to Flat Shoals Baptist Church and staned digging
them up 10 get the buttons off their coats or something.
"In Spiro, Oklahoma during the l 930's, grave
robbers dug up a burial site. They were taking stuff out by
the wheelbarrow-load to sell to the private collectors.
When they found out that the State of Oklahoma was going
to stop them, they packed the central burial chamber full of
powder and blew it up. The chamber was made of cedar
logs, and it had preserved cane mauing, textiles, even
textiles made from woven rabbit fur. All of it was blown 10
smithereens.
"I've talked 10 looters who went in with burlap bags,
and I've talked to looters with doctor's degrees. What's
the difference? They arc doing the same thing.
'The bowls and ornaments from the ancient mounds
were grave goods. They were not lying around in a
plowed field. TI1ey were taken off a skeleton. I think they
should be left alone."
For Steve, this is a hean-felt commitment. Ile offers
10 donate his work 10 collec1ors who will acc~pt
reproductions in return for replacing shell artifacts in their
original burial silcs.
Steve Moon's reproductions and original carvings
arc things ofhl!auty. They shine with a luster and a depth
that photographs cannot convey. Their varying textures
satisfy the hand that touches them. They truly are
representations in tangible form of the spirit that moves
Steve Moon 10 his creative work. the spirit that inspires his
sense of mission.
Stev,· Moo11 can /,c co11tacte,J at
Rt. 1, Box 256; Cm,011, CA 30520.
-DWA'
~
Original from Moundville,
Alabama.
Carved in the shell of a lightning
whelk.
Originals with this design were
found in Tennessee, Missouri
Arkansas, and Oklahoma. Carved
in the shell of lightning whelk.
Original from Carthage, TN.
Carved in the shell of a lightning
whelk
Orig111al from Spiro, OK. (The
design y, as also found at sites
across Tennessee, Alabama. and
north Georgia ) Carved in Mankillcr
pearl shell.
�visiting my grandparents occasionally.
"MEDICINE TRAINING"
(PARTII)
These are the words of a traditional
Cherokee medicine person.
My gr.mdfather would direcl my
training by saying, "You need 10 go spend
some rime with this guy. You need to go see
him."
I would go sec that person. and he
wouldn't even know I was going 10 show
up. would have no idea at all why I was
supposed to be there. I would show up, and I
would jusl stay 1here for awhile. I would
learn just by being there. It w~n·l at all
structured, like lhis guy had Course Three for
me or something, but after awhile l could tell
when they were aclually going out of their
way to teach me something. Some people
were more theatrical than others, and they'd
make me do crazy things.
The strangest one was lhe chicken
house. J had gotten 10 where I thought I was
real special. I felt that I was really imponant,
thal everyone ought to bow and scrape and
just be honored lhat I was near them. J was
making an ass oul of myself, and. ahhough I
never recognized il, everyone else did. And
my grandpa 1old me il was time 10 go stay
with a man named George. He said that l
would have to stay there for awhile.
When I got to George's, I asked him,
"Where am I going 10 stay?" and headed
toward the house.
He said, "Hey! C'mere."
And I looked and said, "What d'ya
want?"
He said," You can't stay in the house.
We've got lots of guests, and lots of people
come by, and we need room for them. We
should give 'em the best we have. You stay
there."
Xatuah Journat page
to
And he pointed toward a funky old
sway-backed chicken house that had a
patched-up roof and was about to fall down.
r just looked on past it. All f could see was
lhc rhododendron thickel behind it, but I
thought maybe he had ano1her cabin or a
building back there.
He said, "Righi there. Goddamn
chicken house. Yeah,"
"Chicken house?"
He said. "Yeah. Lislen. that's all I can
do."
We walked over there. ll was about l5
feet long and about 10 feel wide, with big
cracks between lhe boards, and chickens
running all about
He said, "These chickens are renl
1mponant lo us, we get eggs and meat from
them, so I want you 10 use that pile of old
lumber out in back, put up a partition, and fix
up a room for yourself in the chicken house."
I just couldn't believe it. A person of
my caliber, my standing, in these conditions!
Then I thoughl to myself, "They're trying 10
teach me something," but it was nol until a
couple of months Inter that I actually realized
what it was.
Nobody lold me I was egotistical. I
found out myself that I was egotistical. r
found out after r had dug tons of chicken shit
out of there, put up a wall, split shingles,
fixed the roof, got lice. I was absolutely
inundated by lice. Sol made lye and covered
the whole chicken house with it to kill all the
lice. I fixed that chicken house up beuer than
it had ever been before. Heck, I didn't have
anything else to do.
In lhe process of fixing up the chicken
house, I became the world's greatest expert
on chicken conversation and habits. No one
knows chickens any beuer than I do. I spent
more than a year in that chicken house,
I did chores and helped out, and rhat
was the way I paid for my keep. Then people
started asking me 10 doctor - small things like
wounds and scrapes. After awhile, though,
they would ask me questions like, "Johnny,
he's off someplace, do you think he's okay?''
And I'd say, "Well, I need to think
about this.'' And J staned to give them
advice.
I had seen the other men do it. 1 had
seen Owl do it. I had seen how lhey lalked lO
people and consoled them.
I soon learned to separate true
knowledge from knowledge that you pick up
just by hearing things. True knowledge is
something that you intuitively know from
inside. My grandfather would call it "true
knowledge magic."
Knowledge that you hear on lhe side like you might have heard some other people
lalking about how Johnny was al some
whorehouse or in the county jail - thal klnd of
knowledge I call "side knowledge." And I
knew how Owl took that information and
used it to make himself more powerful. He
said that he only used medicine in one percent
of his work. He said information is much
easier to come by. He said that the more
knowledge, lhe more magic, and the more
power you have, lhe less you use it.
When the elden; who had been training
me thought I was prepared, they sem me out
10 spend time alone in lhe woods. When I
relurned, they beld another nnming ceremony
and gave me my true name, my medicine
name, my spiritual name, that l never have
told anybody.
It was done at a campfire way out in the
mountains, at sunrise on the new moon, a
beginning time.
We rook the black drink, vomited, and
then we plunged in the creek. They collecled
the woods and set the fire, smoked
everybody who was 1here, then they sang
songs and did different things.
Then my true name was whispered in
my ear, and I walked to each corner and the
elder called the relatives. They would come 10
me, and I uttered my new name in my mind.
It was hard lo remember, and I had to get
used 10 it.
These were men who had hand-raised
me. They were all of lhe same generation.
They were all old. I think the youngest
Sumrm:r, 1992
�pi:rson of th:it group was .50, and he was ai
I think that in anybody's hfe there is a
the bouom in the pecking order t)f age. I le
~en!ie that things arc se1 out for you. The
\\ns a fc1d1er and .i carrier.
people who raise you have cenain
They were very spiritual in the sense
expec1a1ions of you, and if you have a
that they followed the t.rndition. They lived
loving, caring. nurturing, mutual son of
everything that they believed. They had their
relationship. you want 10 do everything in
own son of reality, like they would leave
your power 10 meet their expcc1a1ions.
food for the Little People here and there, and
You might have long fingers, so mama
they talked 10 the spirits regularly. They
thinks you ought co be a piano player, so she
would all be holy people compared 10 the
drives you to the piano. If she goes about it
Cherokees of today, but they weren't like our
in a good way, you might end up to be a
Hollywood concept of a medicine man at au.
concen pianist. But you may have been belier
They were not what the anthropologists
suited 10 be a plumber than to be a pianist.
called "priests." They were a different group.
You could go on until you are 50 years old
The "priests" and famous medicine men lived
and srill playing in honky-tonks before you
closer 10 town. But these old people were all
realize that the piano is not your calling.
members of the Katuah Medicine Society. I
received a lot of my understandings about
Katuah from them, things that l am not ever
at liberty to talk about.
Because they were in the society, they
considered themselves better than most
people. They were actually arrogant about
tha1. They considered themselves the true
Ka1uahs, and there's probably pans of me
that still feel a lirtle smug, because I grew up
,-: - with that cenainty.
They had signs. Back then, everybody
~
wore a little feather in their hat. But the
\ \
~ )
Karoah people would take the marrow out of
1'
::,J\..... '•
the feather, so that when they walked, the
(
.r,,.,
feather would make a fluttering motion. That
-\.
was a sign.
\.,
\\~.
Another sign was a linle silver snake.
Owl said his snake was made by Sequoyah.
It could have been. Several 01hers had little
\.
silver snakes. They frequently wore old suit
coaLS, welfare clothes donated by white
people, and would carry the snake under the
lapel. When Karuah Society people from
Olclahoma would come, I would see old Owl
lift his lapel for the briefest second and let ii
fall back. And the other people would make
an acknowledgment with their eyes without
winking or doing anything obvious. I can't
tell you how they did it, it just was
I
acknowledged.
'
Then, without any other invitation, we
would go back to the creek. and soon four or
five of these people from Oklahoma would
just show up I.here. They'd talk and smoke
pipe and do Katuah ceremonies together.
This would go on all night. I would
usually fall asleep, because I was young
then. But l am amazed about how much I
learned by just hanging out.
"Be invisible," grandpa would say. "Be
invisible."
When I look back at the good and the
bad in my life, I always feel incredibly
fonunate and content. Despite the pains and
sufferings that everybody goes through in
Life, I have aJways believed that I have
affected my own destiny more than most
people do. Sometimes l interfered in the
process, and other times I just let the process
happen to me. 1 give credit for that to the fact
of my growing up experiences, all the things
I learned from that strong circle of elders.
If the spiriLS had not had another
intention for me, I probably would srill be
living near my childhood home among the
offspring of those old people who raised me.
I would either have been an alcoholic or
struggling inside the system.
'-I ·)
i''\,-,
~mmcr, 1992
Drawing:, by Troy Sc,ILlc:r
Jn my case, my grandfather saw ~omc
physic.11 signs and m:1de an interpretation
based on the sign5 and his knowledge. But it
was still someone else's in1erprc1.1rion.
Back when r was 10 years old, my
grandfather taught me how 10 carve little
animals out of soft basswood. I can
remember that l was fascinated with that for a
year or so. Then I went on to other things.
That was the extent of my early carving
career. The figures I made were crude, but a
seed was set for something 10 come.
The seed lay donnant until a few years
ago when ! saw a carving on a shelf in a
house I was visiting. I picked it up and held
it. It didn't feel right. It seemed
disproponionate and out of shape.
The man said. "Can you carve
anything?"
I said, "I used to fool with it when I
was a kid."
After I left the house, I said to myself,
"I can make something better than that."
And so I made a bear. It was 001 very
good, but it still was a little bener than the
figure I had seen. I fooled around making
different kinds of animals for a year,
experimenting with different styles and
expressions. The animals I made then aren't
anything like the animals I carve now. They
were somewhat similar in design, but not in
quality.
I went through the whole process. A lot
of the techniques I learned were already
known by people all over the world. I
probably reinvented the wheel several times
over. But I also developed a couple of ideas
that, as far as I know, no one else has
thought of.
And when J finally made an animal that
looked like it was alive, it just blew my mind.
I said, "Look at this!"
The next one I made came alive in my
hands, 100. ! said, "Look at this! 1 did this!
Mc! No one else! No one set me down and
taught me 10 do this. No one told me."
Now I am staning 10 get thunder from
my carving. Thunder is when other people
acknowledge your ability, and it's absolutely
wonderful.
But what has made all the difference is
that r feel an inward drive and detcnninarion
10 do this that I have never felt about doing
anything else. I have been detennined 10
accomplish other goals before, but this is
purely an expression of myself. II is a force
coming from inside of me. This was not/
preordained by anyone; this is the real
-:
person.
Xatuah Journat JIOIJC 19
�BAD NEWS AND GOOD NEWS
The j9b of t ~ government o(ficials is to
protect the health or citiuns and or the environmenL
At best. they have displayed an attitude or unconcern
about their responsibilities. Al worst, they have
wilfully misled lhe public about a matter of grave
danger. Such disregard or Ille lives lhey arc supposed
10 protccl is unconscionable. This 1s a Sillllltion thnt
needs to be thoroughly investigated at both the state
and county level. Such flagrant irresponsibility must
not be allowed to conunue.
Nanni World New, Service
The Burlington Industries CIIIJlCI plant at the
hClldwaa.ers of lhe Little Tennessee River in Rabun
County, GA is closing iis doors. That is bad news
and good news.
The plant employs about 425 people in Rabun
and Macon Counties. The plant closing is bad news
for~ people who will be summarily dismissed
and left wi 1h no means of li vclihood in an
increasingly competitive job marlccL
However, &ho Burlington pbnl has long been a
major polluter of lhe Liu.le Tennessee River, and Ille
factory's demise will mean beuer heallh foc lhe river's
aquatic ecosystem.
'"The plant has been a severe, but not an acute,
polluter," said aquatic biologist Dr. William
Mcl.amey. '"There have been no fish kills, foe
111s1811CC, but cit tensive sampling of both fish and
insect populations have shown that the plant has
definitely had a negative effect on the river."
If another company buys lhc Burlington plant,
it will be regulated by stricter environmental laws
than lhosc in effect when Burlingion staned
diacharging into the river. Also, a newly-initiated
citiun's monitoring group will be traclcing lhe wat.er
quality al lhe planL
"We will continue to lake samples above and
below lhe Burlington plam until there is no
noticeable difference between them.· said Mcl.amey.
As long as our industrial system operates
environmentally destructive means of production, Ille
closing of worlcplaces will be at once bad news and
good news.
RAPE PREVENTION
Natural World Newi Scrv,cc
For the first time in the Southern
Appalacluans, a federal lawsuit has been filed on
behalf of biological diversity, challenging the Land
and Resou= Manngerncnt Plan proposed for the
Cherokee National forest by lhc US Forest Service.
Representing a blood coalition of conservation
groups. the lawsuit nled by the Southern
Environmenl3l Legal Center (SELC) contcstS the
Forest Service practice of below-cost timber sales.
The suit also contends that Ille Jogging progrnm
outlined in the pbn would do urepruablc domagc to
native habitat and result an a corresponding loss of
biolog,ical diversity in the Cherokee.
D:ivid Carr or the SELC rcporis that the
CWTCnt plan opens up 60% of lhe national forest to
logging and ro:ld construction • much of it on steep
slopes and mac=iblc terrain. By FOfCSI Service
estimates, there arc presently 80,000 acres of
potential wilderness in the forest; more than half of
this vital lnnd b:lsc is open to desccr.mon under the
plnn.
By promoting rood building and cle:ucuumg,
the Forest Service 1s practicing t.hc ecooom1cs or
extinction. Peter Kub)', regional director of the
Wildcrnc!..s Society, note~ lhat the Chcrolcc Plan
threatens the extraO(dinary natur.il diversity or the
foreM. Kirby points out that tl1e Cherokee Nauonal
forest 1s home to 1,000 ~pccie., or flowering plants,
400 species or vcnebr-.uc,, and appl'oxm1atdy 13.S
sp<lC IC$ of (hh,
"[Ilic fore:,1 plan) calls for the logging of over
one-hair of the cove h:lrdwood forcsis. an ccol<'lg1cal
treasure trove in the Southern Appalachrnn,; he said.
The new Fore.,t Plan wuuld also va.,tly
mcn:..1~ rood density (which already exceeds lc(:111
guidelines) providing OC.CC.'i.~ for o greatly mclC:l.<cd
amount of commcrci.il and recn:;itional :ict1vi1y - not
to mention illegal poaching.
Th~ Asheville Citizen-Tunes and Green Line
- ~ r s provitkd ,nfor""11ion for this ortk~
USFS TO STOP APPEALS
Nanni World News Service
BUNCOMBE LANDFILL SCANDAL
Nanni World News
Environmental sleuihs from lhe Blue Ridge
Environmental Defense League blew the cover olT
what was apparently a conspiracy of silence among
Sl8tc and local governmental officials about leaking
contamination from the Buncombe County landfill.
In October. 1991, investiga10rs from the
Environmental Protection Agency sent a rcpon io
Buncombe County saying th:11 u:st results showed
"elevated coneentmtions or numerous volntile organic
compounds and metals" in lhe groundwater around the
Buncombe 1.nndflll.
TheAshcvll/c Citiun-Timu reponed that
monitoring wells showed six to 3S times Ille legal
limit of live indUStrial solvenis - tnchlorcthylcne,
benzene, dichlorelhane. methylene chloride, and
dichloropropane. Water quality cxpen Richard Maas
of the University of North Carolina Asheville told the
newspaper lhat the contamination levels were "higher
than several Supcrfund sites in the area. In my
experience the.~ levels are surprisingly high."
An estimated l,125 people living within four
miles of the landfill site drink wnter from wells. Yet
neither the State nor the county government made any
public announcement about lhe landfull lenk or
possible hazards to residents' drinking water.
At an April 10, 1992 press conference,
BREDL activistS dlSJ)layed papers they had dug out or
state liles 1n Raleigh that proved that the l:mdlill wns
leaking. This W$ the first word given to the public
that anything wa~ amiss.
Why did government officials not inform
residents about the groundwater conUlmination1
County Manager Steve Metcalf blamed 11 on
M.uvin Waddey, who w:is Director of County
Engineering Service:. al the time. MclCOlf srud that he
ju.~t pas.scd on Waddcy's assurance that there were no
problems at the l:andlill. W:lddey has conveniently
moved out or ~cue.
Stale hydrologc.t Bob Lufty said that the ,utc
h.id not informed anybody of lhc trouble< because of
undcNtnffing. He wW Grun Line ncwspapcr that 1hc
st.1tc hrul a two-person hydrology \taff to monitor 150
landlills, Half or thc.sc on: leaking wor;c than
Buncombe's. he said, and the re.,idcnts of those
commumues do not know nbout the danger.;. either.
Now the ch~rn1cals arc moving toward the
Fn:nch Broad R111i;r. 'The C,11:en-lim,•., stated lh:n
l.ulty s:ud lh:11 lhe subl,unccs would reach the nvcr,
· 1,c diluted and evcntually dcSU'oycd."
llle solvents 111110l11cd are deailly and per:;islCIIL
It may be hundreds of yc;tr.; before they nre
·eventually de.woyed."
The US Forest Service has chosen to sell more
and more of the last remaining virgin and old-growth
fOl'CSIS to the timber industry. But concerned citizens
have bad the right to challenge lhese sales through an
adminis11'8ti..e appeals process.
Many people have fe:irs that to continue
ovctCUlting our forests will mean irreparable
ecological harm. The appeols process has helped to
bring some measure of accountability to the
management policies and practices of the Forest
Service.
However. on Morch 20. 1992, Agriculture
Secretary Edwnrd Madigan announced that the Forest
Service was proposing to eliminate the appeals
process. In ltne with the Bush administration's
announced plruls to eliminate "unnc.cded" federal
regulations, these appeals were deemed too time
-cor.swning and costly, and it was decided that lhey
would be replaced wilh a toothless •30 day
pre-decisional notice and comment period.·
The Forest Service is trying to ignore the fact
that most of the appeals filed have resulted in
improved dccisons, better management or the fOtcSts.
and often citposc inodequat.e environmcnllll analyses.
TI1e agency seems to think that any decisions it
makes should go unchallenged, and the public should
have little or no voice in how Ille Mlional foresis arc
managed.
ForesL~ arc more than vettical logs. It is insane
to continue to cut our last few old-growth stands of
timber and destroy native habitat communitlcs to feed
the ever-hungry saw mills. The Forc.,;t Service often
needs IO be remanded or this.
PROTECTING
AQUATIC HABITATS
Nmural World News Service
April 23. 1992, the Nonh Carolina Wildlife
Resources Commission (NC WRC) held a public
hearing in Boone, NC to consider a proposal
origill3ting within the agency to dc.~ignatc 33
wawrshcds m IO of Nonh Carohnn's miuor river
ba.~in.~ as critical habitat for species of mollusks and
fish endangered m the Slate.
The plan would offer protection a.s "High
Quality Waters" 10 portions or the New. Watauga.
Little Tenncs,;ce, Johns. and Linville nvcrs and the
Warrior Forl; 111 the mounlaln area of the si;uc.
Env1ronmcnt:1I acti'lsts present at the hc:iring
IO support the mca~urc, commented that 11 was a
pl~surc IO appear at a hC'..mng to compbmcnt the
m1ua11vc of a ,1a1c ngcncy tn\lC.'ld or nJ1P(Xing iL
llic comment J);nod on tl11! WIIJhfe
Comm1ss1on's proposal extends until July I. Lener.;
of suppon may be sent m:
North CtJro/1fld ll'i/dlife RcJo:,ru; Commimon
512 N Salisbury .St.
Raleigh. NC 2760-I
..
.
S11111111cr, lll!IZ
a
6 t
t
I
I
8
�.,. ..
• WOLF' FLUNKS PILOT TEST
Na.tural World News Service
One of the four led wolves (Canis rufus)
released in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park
in November, 1991 was recaptured and penned,
according to Park spokesperson Bob Miller.
Red wolf Male (#219) was recapwrcd in
JanWIJ')' because he showed undue tameness towards
humans, and because he caught and killed a chicken in
Cades Cove and several domestic turkeys just north of
the Park. The livestock owners were reimbursed for
their losses from an indemnity fund created
specifically for such contingencies.
Male #219 may have been a poor choic.e for
release s:inc.e he had spent seven years in zoos, where
he had become unnaturally tame. He was selected
because he was sterile 10 ensure that a bl'eeding
population was not established in the Park prior to
the completion of the iniual study. He w :J most
likely spend the rest of his life in captivi•y.
Two new adult wolf pairs arc cum:ntly being
acclimated to the area by being held in large pens for
the next six months, and may be released in the Park
in November.
Members of the IVesttr11 North Carolina Alfiance gagged by the US
Forest Service. The Alliance prot,:sted removal qJ the Forest Service's appeals
process at a press conference held outside the USFS Ashevitte offices on April
Phoio Laura Dcaton/WNCA
17.1992.
ONE H O NEST MAN
N.i1ural World Ncv,,s Sen ice
When Dr.William Reid signed on as
oncolog1st (cancer specialist) at tlic Mcthodi!il
Medical Center in Oak Ridge. 1N early in 1991, he
knew little about the production procc.-.scs al the
Department of Energy\ nuclear weapons plants and
less about the nuclear politics of Oak Ridge.
But he did know a sick p:iticm when he saw
one, and he saw four Cll'iC.'> of a rare kidney c:inccr, an
unusual concentration for such a small popul3tion
sampling. I le also saw a ~ignificant number of people
exhibiting auto-immune system disorders. Exh of the
p:mcnts wilh kidney disease h:id ~n exposed to
·major radiauon." Dr. Reid rcponcd. and the p:itients
with auto-immune deficiencies showed "n consistent
p.,ucm of blood irregularities."
In August, 1991 Reid approached Dr. Daniel
Conrad, the medical director for Martin-r-.1:uiCU3
Energy Systems, the priw1c conlJ'3clor for virtually
all the opcrauons at the Oak Ridge Rc.'iervauon,
1uking for access to c.lal.l about pos.~ible metal toxicity
al the Oak Ridge plants.
"Th<.,rc are no problems wuh Mattin-Marictl3
employee~." Reid was told 1111d 11,~1~ ahruptly shown
out of the olfice.
The young doctCII' wa~ surpnsed ut the
brush-ofr he n:cc1ved from Conrad, t>t11 he was more
surpnsc-d ,;everal months btcr m December, 1991
when he w1Ls called before a medical review board at
his 1nsu1uuon for "treuung pauent~ 100
aggressively," •spending too much money in the
treatment of cancer patients." and :illcgcd complaints
of incompetency.
A<; a rcsult of the review, Dr. Reid WIL~ served
ummcr, 1992
an ultimawm: either to pack up and leave Oak Ridge
or have his name entered on the national medical
black list known as the "National Pr'.icutioncr Data
Bank for Adverse Information of Physicians and Other
Health Pracutione11>."
Since the review hearing. the hospital has p:iid
to have another physician monuor all of Dr. Reid's
cancer ueatments.
Instead of caving in lO this blatant blackmail,
Dr. Reid filed a lawsuit challenging the allegations
agamst him and comc.~ting the consmutionaluy of
the National Pr'dctitioner Dalll Bank.
"Tilesc actions arc a ~ham," said Lewis Lcvm,
Reid's attorney, of the hospu.1J's measure.~. "The)'
were perpetrated again.,1 Dr. Reid only aft.er he refused
to be intimidated by threats."
And in the te.lt of I.he lawsuit, Levan st:ucd,
"He (Reid) opposes the prcvuilmg lct-them-d,e
attitude toward cancer puticnts. lie oppo5es dcni.31 of
treatment even when 11 1s nOt fully covered by
insurance payments. He oppose.~ those who refuse to
seek the c.auscs of bi7.arrc patterns in the quality and
quantity or cancer seen in Oak Ridge.•
The lawsull goc, on to say, "The physicians
and hospi111I who benefit from 1he generosity of tlJC
Martin-Marietw health c:irc pl.ln 11.ant him to lc:ivc.
1hs p31icnts want him to st:ly. •
Reid reports that he has nxc1ved many
fate-night pl1one tj1lh from anon>mous supporters.
Other caller.; have offered mfonn:iuon lo help llllCk
down people suffcnng from health problems clue to
radiation and heavy metals tox1C1l)·, His work· and
the late-night lips. have shown results. Dr. Reid has
found pockets of 1mmuno-supp,cs~ive disorders in the
Oak Ridge area and even downstream as far as
Kingston. TN.
A NOTHER ONE
FOR THE GOOD OL' BOYS
NawnJ World News Service
Yet another example of govcrnmenrav
bureaucratic arrogance and insensitivity: the North
Carolina Dcpanmem ofTranspocuuion (NC DOT)
decided in May to postpOne public hearings scbcdulcd
in May on the 1 Transponation Improvement
992
Program (TIP).
While this mecis the leuer of the law requiring
public hearings, it keeps citizens from having any
input on 1992 transponation priorities - in effect
canceling any value the hearings mighl have.
Without public hearings, citiuns arc
effectively blocked out of the decision-malcing
process. This becomes even more dist.urbing when
one realius that lhe Board ofTransponation iS
appointed by Governor Jim Martin on the basis of
political favors. It is the plum of state political
appointments. Noticeably missing from the Board of
Transpoltlltion arc tranSit advocateS, individuals with
rail background. environmentalists, and
reprc.senrativcs from communiLy groups,
neighborhood associauons, and minorities.
Perhaps the reason lhe DOT has decided to
dispense with public hearings is that the importanl
decisions have already been made. Journalist Barry
Yeoman has produced a thoroughly researched s1udy
publi.shed in the lndependem thal shows a close
relationship belween the sources of large political
contributions and where highway construction
projects are built in the Srate of North Carolina
Do you want the NC Department of
Transportation to hold public Juuuings? Write to:
Larry Goode: ChiefEngiuer (Programs); NC DOT;
Box 25201; Raleigh. NC 27611.
Reid ha.~ nlso received support from the 03k
Ridge Envll"Ollmcntal and Peace Alliance (OREPA),
which has accumulated experience in dealing with the
authorities and tmcl.ing tOxiC emissions nt the Oak 1
Ridge Rc...crvntion.
Stc,·e Smith ofOREPA and the Foundation
for Global Sustain1bili1y. said, "This is the first lime
a medical doctor within Oak Ridge ha.~ stepped
forward 311d begun to identify :idvcrsc h~th cffCC1S in
and around the Oak Ridge facilities.
"When Dr. Reid first saw these pntu:ms
emerging, he was acompletely di~inten:.stcd observer.
He had no axe to grind with the DOE. He had no
conccpuon of what he was getting mto when hc
~tarted work 111 Oak Ridge."
Under pressure from the St:ltc of Tennessee,
the DOE 113.S funded a panel of health e.\J)CttS to study
cxpo:;urc to radiation among people Ii ,·ing around the
Oak Ridge facilities. Dr. Reid has been appointed to
that P3ncl, and will reveal hi~ tull fi11ding.q in the
cour:.c of that invcsllgnti()n.
Hiscao;e i, also under scrutiny by Sen. John
Glenn's Government Affairs Commmcc and Rep.
John Dingle's lnvcsugauon Subcommlltcc m the US
I louse of Rcprc.'iCntJllvc.~. A rccC11t anicle in 1,me
magazme c•uvmg H11ppdy ~eat a NuclearTr.ish
Hc.ip," 5/l lfl2) ten1'ring on Dr. Reid nlso called
aucnt.ion to the situation al Oak Ridge.
Now thai the hd of secrecy 1s orr I.ht\ lode
history 01 the Oak Ridge Reservation, 11 seems likely
that dccJ)CI' probing will n:~ cal more c:uimplcs of
abu!iC of the health of hum:ins 11ml the envllQnmcnL II
L~ startling lO think that tl1is whole furor began
because one person v. 1th true compa..sion entered
unawwes mro the heart of the sordid nuclCJr we.1pons
industry. It shows the pov.er ol one honcsl man.
XGtuoh Jounmt pnqe 2 1
�REGION O'RAGIN' ,:
,. ..
•,
Nanni World News ServiClC
April 21st brought not only a healthy dose or
rain io 1.he region, but also a healthy dose of reality people in K:m1ah are outraged with the US Forest
Sc,vice! As p:in of a national Earth Firsll effort
honoring John Muir's birthday. protCStS organiz.cd by
the environmental grollP SoulhPAW and il.S cohorts
in Asheville, NC, Atlanlll. GA. and Oevel:md. TN
were among lhe more than 30 prou:sts held
ruitionwidc.
Activists at the Forest Service Regionnl
Hcadquaners m Allant.a mllied behind a 4S f00t banner
that read: "Environmenlol Assessment of the US
Forest Service- Finding of No Significant lnl.Cgrity."
Twenty-five dcmonstraoors gathered outside lhc
Cherokee National Forest HeadqumterS in Cleveland.
while in Asheville 50 people chanted and hollered
ouLSide the Pisgah/Nanlllhala National Forest offices.
In each city, the message rang ou1. loud and clear:
decision-making proc:essc$ which destroy thousands of
aaes of habitat come from little cubicles inside
concreie and Slecl office buildings.
//'you'd liu to wim your frusuaJions with IM
Fores, Service in a concerted effort, conJJJcl
SowhPAW: Box 3/4/; Asheville, NC 28802.
SENATOR WAFFLES
Nau,,al World News Scrvia
SenalOI' Terry Sanford is threatening lO give in
the mauer of
the Fontana road, the famous "Road IO Nowhere" in
the Great Smoky Mountains National Palk in Swain
County.NC.
Sanford bas ptOp0.5td legislation I.hat would
include aSl6 million payment to Swain County and
allow consuuction of the comrovcrslal road. The road
would destt0y the possibility of wilderness
design:11ion for the southern end of the Parle and open
the isolated area up IO possible (ulllrC developmenL
Sanford stalTer Alan Thornbwg said 1h31. the
Senat0r "just wanLS to pol lhis ITlllller behind us. He
is willing lO do w~ver lhe county commissioners
dcs1te in lh is local issue.•
Sanford apparently does llOl undel'Sland that it
is not jost a local issue any more. The s111tus of
several thousand acres of h3biw and an imp0Clllllt
wildlife migration routc are at stalce, and there are
many visilOrS co the Parle who each year apprcciatc
the qmet and rcl:ll.ive isolation of the north shore of
Lake Foruana.
Sanrord's move seems LO be an election year
ploy to brcalc Helms' enclave or powct in Swain
County. That he would scll out I.he future of a critical
habitat area for a palll}' handful of VOies shows a
skewed sense of values.
lO Senator Jesse Helms' inll'BllSigcnce in
To con1ac1 Stlllltor Ttrry SOft[ord abou, his
proposal, write him QI 716 llart Senate Office
Building: Washington. DC 20510.
WE PAY FOR CLEARCUTS!
Nlllnl World New• Serv~
Once again the U.S. Forest Servicc has issued
a report stating the amount trutpaycrs pay tO subsidize
timber sales on North Carolina na11onal foresLS. In
1991 U.S. citi7.ens paid $2.4 milhon ID order lO have
roads buih and plOIS of national forest land clcrucut to
the state. Even though less limber was harve.~ted in
1991 l.h:m m 1990 (there was a loss or S2 million in
1990), we paid even more to keep Congress nnd the
timber IDlcrestS happy.
Xnt(iari lournnt ,.,- r, l Z2
nmm lf ll
f •
If •r 6
t
=
• ~-WHEELERS ~AT POR&ST
Nanni World New, S<tvicc
All-terrain vehicles (ATV's) are a pcoblem in
lhe region's national forcsLS. In lhc view of the US
Forest Service. the desires of different human inteteSt
groups lake precedence over protcetion of the rorcs1
ecosysiem. Thus, ATV joyriding is seen as a
legitimate "mulitple use· of the forest, and the little
bull-bouncers are permitted whetc no mot0ri2cd
vehicles should be allowed co chum.
Case in point: lhe Wayehutta (locally
pronounced •worry-hut") Creek watershed or the
Nanlllhala National Forest in Jackson County, NC is
riddlcd witlt A TV irails. Sixtccn miles of old logging
roads have been given over t0 the mud-slingers for
their fun.
But that is not cnoogh for the wheel jockeys.
Now the Forest Service is considering a plan to add
20 more miles of ATV trails, pcneuating two more
water.iheds.
Internal combUSlion engines, especially
obno11iously loud ones over four knobby-treaded tires,
are incompatible witlt deep forest habiw needs. The
acres that woold be impacted by the noise, debris. and
massive erosion from ATV's are needed much IIIQle
desperalCly by wild animal and plant life as
homespace.
or
However, Uie ltanquillily lhis JX)rtion of
wild land is tltrca1encd. Adjnce.n1 lO the city uact is
the CliITs of Gla.\sie development, a 1,000 acre golf
rcson. The Cliffs wants to buy 134 acres of 1bcciLy's
propeny 10 expand their domain. The Greenville City
Council was agreeable to the sale. but when local
conservation groups he:lrd of the proposed transaction,
tltey unilCd in vehement opposition. The local
Bartram Group of the Sierra Club described the
property and revealed the details of the sale in a
televised press conference. The land had never been
inventoried, said the group, and lhey insisted 1h31. a
sludy of lhc area be done before any sale was
considerod to dcterminc if it was habilat for any rare
or endangered species.
The TV broadcast provoked a flood of letterS
from local citizens apposing the proposed sale. Under
I.hat pressure, the city council bacud off. TI1ey agreed
to inventory the 134 acres proposed for sale.
Moreover, they have decided to study the biology of
the whole watershed to consider a mnnagemcnt plan
for the entire traeL The city might still try to sell tho
area when the study is completed, but public pressure
has proved co be a powerful LOOI.
The Highlands Ranger District is scliciting
commurls on the proposed A7V trail expansion.
Write them 01: Rt. I, Box 247; Highlands. NC
28741.
BUYING BAD AIR
Namral World New. Scrvice
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is
baying 10,000 cons of coxic nitrate and sulfaie
compounds rrom the W l ~ Power and Li&hl
Company co release inlO lhe air over the Tennessee
Valley and the Soulhcrn Appalachians.
Docs that sound LOO bimrre to be true? Not at
all. Under a clause or the much-toulCd Clean Air Act
or 1990, companies that are in •over.compliance"
(companies that exceed the minimum smndnrds for air
cleanliness set forth in the act) can seU "pollution
credits" to polluting companies who don't want to
clean up their operations. This provision is a
safeguard bw11. into the law ID see that the air does
not get cleaned up beyond a minimal level apparently on the theory lhal if air geLS too clean iL is
bad for business.
Money can buy off the legal system, but it
cannot bring dead lJ'eeS back to life. nor can it make
polluted air any hcallhicr for those organisms who
have lO breathe u. "Pollution crcdiLS" may make TV A
think that it has license tO pollute, but 11 will only
worsen lite situation in the Great Smoky Mountains
National Park where 96 plant species ore already in
doclinc from niuogen•gcnerrucd owne and other
atmospheric pollutanl.S.
The grealeSl irony may be that rai.epaycrs
puchasing power from TV A will now know tltn.t,
instead of investing in air pollution controls, they ore
buying themselves an extra helping of air IO~ichy.
Comnu!nls may be stnt 10 the Ttnntssu
Valley Aulhoriry; Norris. TN 37818.
GOLF DESERT OR WILD WOODS?
Nanni World New. Service
The City of Greenville. SC own.~ 25,000 acre.\
of land in nonh Greenville County. The ll'3cl is a
rugged and beauuful alC.'.l at the foot or the Blue Ridge
CSClllplll(nL Bought bad ID lhe l 920·~. lhe land has
not~ a bulldo1,er or a chain saw in 60 years.
i4
D
ACTIVISTS RALLY FOR CLEAN
AIR
N11unl World News Service
A raucous crowd of about 50 people and one
coswmed bear demonstralCd beforc the Great Smoky
Mountains National Park's Suga.rlands VisilO( Center
in GatJjnburg, TN on May 18. 1992. This time the
activists or the group SolllhPA W were not protesting
government actions, but ~ galhcrcd IO support lhc
Dep:inmcnt of the Interior's policy of opposing any
new insl.allations within 120 miles of the Great
Smokies lluu would add lO air pollution -particularly
low-level ozone - in the Park.
Signs welcomed curious visitors lO the "Great
Smoggy Mouniains" and decl3rcd "We Support the
No-zone!• The dancing beat grophically demonslt3llld
what happens when wildlife take on overlo:ids of air
pollution. Atlanl.8 folksinger Robert Hoyt serenaded
the Monday morning crowd with copical songs about
the state of the environment and our society.
The Soul.hPAW ac11v1s1.S wcce JOined by 20
eighth grade s1udcn1.S in the KARE (Kids Agamst
'Recking lhe Environment) Club at Bridgepon School
m Newport, TN. The studcnl.S, who live in the
watcrShed of Ilic Pigeon River, knew lin;tband about
lite effects of waler pollution, but came 10 learn what
air pollution docs co C(()~i.tems. They m:ide tl1c
connections quickly and were soon parudpat mi;
cntltus1asucally in 1.hc dcmonst.111tion.
Su mm.er,
){192 uu
�The first building constructed at
Sycamore Branch was the community center.
It had a large kitchen and dining/meeting area
upstairs and ample bathing and laundry
facilities downstairs. The next project was a
complex that came to be called "the
apanments." These were twelve good-sized
rooms, each with a couple of sleeping lofts,
arranged in two tiers going up the hill above
the river. Many families lived for several
years in the apartmenrs while they worked on
their houses. Today the community rents
them out to young couples, the elderly, and
visitors.
The people decided that most of the
houses were to be built in a cluster near the
community center. These houses were built
by the homeowners who organized
themselves into a masonry crew and a
carpentry crew. Some homeowners hired
replacements for themselves because they had
jobs that would not allow for the necessary
rime off. These clustered homes were
connected by a common water, electrical, and
sewer system. They were arranged and
landscaped for maximum privacy, set into the
hillside, and turned a little this way or that so
that each home could have a small private
garden. There were many outdoor decks and
patios. Another eight homes were built in
various places around the property. These
homes were simple and designed to be
low-impact, most of them lacking in
conveniences.
There was widespread unemployment
as the old international economy collapsed.
Many families who lived at Sycamore Branch
lost their livelihood and the community
started businesses to help. Soon after
forming, the village started a cooperative that
owned and ran a sawmill, a woodworking
shop, and managed the community's garden
and kitchen. People could belong to the
cooperative that ran the garden and kitchen or
they could buy meal tickets. Many people
from outside the immediate community
bought tickets and some joined the
cooperative. Members of the cooperative are
currently required to work 14 hours each
week. In practice, about one fourth of the
people chose to work these hours
themselves, one fourth chose to pay, and half
chose a combination, doing farmwork during
the planting and harvest seasons. This
arrangement allowed some people to make a
liveli.hood almost entirely from farm or
kitchen work.
The Village Cooperative kept a small
herd of cows and ran a small dairy that also
A LOOK BACK
by Will Ashe Bason
processed milk from local farmers. A village
bakery supplied fresh bread that was sold
locally. Tofu and tempeh were made from
beans that were obtained in trade from a
community in a neighboring county that had a
better season because of lower elevation.
Twelve acres of blueberries were cultivated
and most of the berries were dried and sold.
There is a blueberry festival at harvest rime,
and the entire community helps with the
picking. One hundred fifty acres were planted
to a mixture Lhal included chestnuts, black
walnuts, black locust, and bramble fruits,
and this has proved to be a very valuable
asset over the years, with chestnut flour
becoming a major source of income. Many
local farmers and landowners planted blight
resistant chestnuts that were supplied by the
village and brought tons of dried chestnuts to
the sheller and mill.
Toe village woodworking shop
produces drums, harps, dulcimers, guitars,
and flutes. These products have gradually
gathered a fine reputation among musicians
far and wide, and the shop employs about
one third of the people in the village.
Sycamore Branch was of vital
imponance to Floyd County during the
economically unstable rimes of the late '90's
and the primary years of this century. It
helped formulate the plan for the
decentralization of the county's schools and
social services. The community has set up
four small band saw mills in various parts of
the county and organized a crafts collective
that markets area crafts on a mail order basis
through the satellite communication network.
The community has provided blueberry
plants, nut trees, shiitake mushroom spawn,
and vegetable StartS at low cost (and
sometimes free) to local farmers.
Sycamore Branch gave technical
assistance to many local communities that
were creating their own power systems after
the breakdowns of the late '90's. They
powered several other villages directly and
gave assistance 10 many more. There were
many economic refugees in the late '90's,
and Sycamore Branch offered a plan by
which these folks could mostly house and
feed themselves. They were influential in
Habitat for Humanity's decision to build
ecovillages with their own economics instead
of isolated homes. The community produced
a video series tilled "The Owner-Built
Village" which was used by thousands of
new cormnunities.
The goals of Sycamore Branch, as
stated in their by-laws, included not only
being of service to the larger community in
Floyd County but also reaching out on an
international scale. This was accomplished
through a sister community program that
linked the village to other small communities
around the world. Especially close tics were
made with the Mayan village of Yonin.
Young people from the communities were
exchanged every year and sometimes older
folk would go down for a year or so.
Sycamore Branch marketed xylophones,
weavings, and dried fruit from Yonin.
Sycamore Branch has cooperated from
the beginning with the UN's efforts lo set up
international community-to-community
trading and cultural contacts. The village has
for years sponsored a team ofteehnicians
who work to help upgrade poor communities
by providing better water sources, waste
treatment, and health care. Villagers from
these communities are trained to run the solar
satellite link and to access weather, health,
and technical information in their own
language. This gives them access to world
markets within the limitations of the
distribution system. There is an emphasis on
self-sufficiency and the development of a few
trade items that can be transponed to the
nearest world irading center for shipment to
irs ultimate destination through the UNPS
network of freight dirigibles, trains, vans,
and donkeys.
The village of Sycamore Branch was a
leader in the move by small communities to
take over the economic role of the
corporations. We now take it for granted thar
small communities work together
economically for their common betrermcnt.
and we forget that there was a rime when this
was an unusual pattern. The breakup of the
corporate economy in the '90's left a vacuum
that was naturally filled by small
communities. The pauems developed in
Sycamore Branch and similarcommuniti~#
were a vital part of this process.
fr
Reprinted/rem Tek:iah newsleuer,
which is available from the ln.sritwe for
Sustainable Living; Windswept Fann; Rt. 1,
Box 35; Check.VA 24072.
Will Ashe Bason is a farmer and
visionary who lives in the Floyd County,
Virginia community.
Mountain Counsel
Blackberry bushes, heavily leaved,
Bow as I approach;
Offer bounteous gifts
Deep black, soft and sweet.
Yet remind me of the need
To pick with gentle care
Or else be pricked by thorns
That spring from everywhere.
And so it is with friends.
- Taylor Reese
DnlWUl& by Rob Mcs11ck
Summa- , t 992
Xatoofl Journa!
JIQ9C 23
�BUlTERFLY
In a lazy larval state
I ate
Everything
Fresh and green
That lay before me
Until I could consume
No more
DRUMMING
Dear KaJuah,
This is the sound of Nonh Carolina. ll
is the voice of Kilmer Forest - it is the New
River Gorge - it is the Haw River - it is ML
Mitchell and the Black Range. Little
Santeetlah Creek and the French Broad River
also speak here.
I am Native Choctaw-Scot-Nonh
Carolinian and l dare speak in their names.
From the mountains to the coast, I see areas
rendered unrecognizable due to overdevelopment and misuse. It huns - the street
lightS that ruin night vision, the litter, the
washed out sides of previously pristine lakes
due LO motor-boating. This is not the state I
grew up in. What was attractive then is now
the money maker of the day.
Why do those who come here to "get
away from it all" need LO "bring it all" with
them?
Back LO Nature? My family raised me
that way - my grandfathers and greatgrandfathers fanned • a Choctaw greatgrandfather was a proud man in his
community here in the Piedmont I still have
the land he farmed.
At age 37, I still practice what my
ancestors left to me - a guardianship of
property and the knowledge or how to do it.
I love this state, but not what it is
becoming. It needs help, and l feel we are
losing.
Last year I was a volunteer for the
Kituwah Festival here in Asheville and will
be there agnin this year. I would also like to
work wherever possible for your staff on
representing Katuah Journal - it has a place!
Thank you,
Nancy Odell
Dear KaJuah,
While I have enjoyed the Journal more
than I can say, I have not sent in my
subscription renewal because J feel you could
help me a bit more than you have tried lO in
the past.
My Llfe's goal is to help re-establish
the American Chestnut in the mountains, and
to that end I've been trying to locate acreage
on which to do this. I wortc with devotion on
anything undertaken, but my problem is lack
of money for purehasing the size acreage or
farm needed to plant, nunurc, and monitor
these seedlings to maturity. I sincerely felt
there must be, among your readers, someone
intersted in seeing this tree again reclaim our
forests: some who may not have the time or
inclination to do the work needed, but who
may be financially more able and who would
be willing to help. I would gladly give full
accountability for any funding offered.
I looked at Land last Saturday near
Spruce Pine. Bui I would need some
$26,500 to acquire it. along with giving some
inherited fine jewelry 10 make up the
difference. I'm willing to give everything I
have, bu1 cash is something I don't have,
unfonunately, and tha1 is what sellers wanL
Truely. l felt your interest in this was as
deep as mine. l am not some scam artist,
simply a person with a limited amount of
assets that will gladly give for the finacial
help l need. Some of these assets are quite
exciting, for instance, r have an original
printing of the very first meeting of the
Continental Congress (authenticated by the
old books department of UNCC); an original
copy of Washington's Farwell Address and
many very old deeds, etc. l'm not wanting
something for nothing, you see. I have quite
endless energy and much determination. This
determination would go into the raising or the
chestnut If you do wish to help me get
started (I'm looking at land from the Spruce
Pine area west through Madison Counry),
you will be proud of what l'II accomplish.
Fat and sleepy
I slep1 deeply
Safe from a hungry world
Alone in my own
Silk cocoon bed
That trembled and twirled
Suspended by threads
From slender limbs
Overhead
Waiting
Until the warm suns
Of summer come
And I summon the courage
To emerge
Transformed and renewed
Wings brightly-hued
To carry me
Free
• Rebecca Wilson Hicks
Sincerely yours,
Dorothy Dickson
113 Autumn Lane
Harrisburg, NC 28075
!f\ "he. 5UMe Y-
-th e -fiowe.YS
b\,oOM f- he beo.Y"
w i 11 'rOMe
VJ ; f\
'f"'e 5qVi1TelS
1 e ()\ t WQ'f K
°'WO\ifi "~
Wi "t e r
Cold
+or
C\
T\d
We+her
l'llolobyR.-lyBall
tre r 5
P\ in re~ Of
Jee cl ".f'or
the bi ue
TS v\ nJ
--fo'( -r~e
crow
-t~erf
Cor Y\ Pl , n teu
0-f +1'.o.-1-·
J
(poem by Tiyo)
age 9
Dear Karuah,
I'd like to subscribe to your journal,
finally. We love it most abundantly cover to
cover. Couldn't bear to slash the graphics on
#34, so I send this sheel of paper wilh this
message.
Beyond the garden, consensus decision
making, and bioregionalism, my interest and
vocation arc renewable energy systems and
sheller. Our house is off the grid and soon
our income will be, tOO. Please conac1 me if
you ever do an issue on renewable energy in
Ka1uah.
Blessings 10 ya'II Star and Otter
Summer. 1992
�Dear Kanwli,
Thank you for the flood of pleasant
!Demories evoked by your Spring, 1992
issue. As I pored through your pages, I could
see my father pointing out things as we
walked through the woods. I learned of wild
onions, greens, mushrooms, persimmons,
and beechnutS. Berries grew abundantly
where I was raised - strawberries,
blackberries, raspberries, and gooseberries. I
was fortunate enough to live close to a small
wooded area, an ecosystem all its own. To
this day, I can tell an Oak from a Maple from
a Birch from a Willow, etc.
'
I'm still fascinated by the life forms in
even a small creek. The fish, crawdads,
leeches - I even learned to make suckers into
a very fine substitue for salmon/mackerel
patties.
Thank you for bringing it back when
I'm ready to see the deeper meanings of the
Earth's give-and-take relationship with man.
Keep up the good works, Mr. Messick.
Stay on the Path,
Jeff R. Zachary
Dear KaullJh,
This is still the best bioregional rag I've
seen! Thanks for keeping me in touch with all
the real news from home.
Gene Dilwonh
Dear Friends,
I send to you all my thoughts of peace
and well being... I hope that this Jen.er finds
you all enjoying happiness and good health!
I appreciate all your hard work in
producing Ka1uali Journal and including
Stil-Llght in your calendar of events. ll helps
to keep us before the public eye. Thank you!!
I am writing to comment on your
recycle logo on the Spring, 1992 issue:
"Recycle or Die." Recycling in and of itself
and one hundred percent population will not
solve our problems and create a sustainable
economy. Recycling is at best a stop gap
measure, something easily understood and
do-able by the masses. Until we stop
consuming and u111il we stop having so 1111Jny
babies (especially in the more afj111e111
countries) we will continue 011 our collision
course with exrinc1io11 as a species as we use
up all our nomral resources.
I agree that we should continue to
reri:ind people to n;cycle because it helps, but
crying wolf and usmg scare tactics hns never
wo~ked. people only do that which is in
their own selfish best interest. .. a sad
commentary on human nature, but the truth.
Just a few thoughts ...
Your Friend and Brolher,
Leon Frankel
Summcr, 1992
Dear Ka11W1,
Well, they've done it to us again! Praise
be to the "Gcxl Squad" for overiding the
couns and sentencing more forests out west
10 lhe saw? The sponed owl may be
protected, but only by the edict of loggers
and the Almighty Gospel of the U.S.
Congress. r thought there was supposed to
be a balance of power between the three (to
name but a few) branches of our government.
Where is the justice in taking a case to coun
and then have the "Gcxl Squat" (sic) come
and say "Praise the Lord. we gonna Lord it
over every forest we can"?
Constance Birch
From the Groun d Up
"You gotta start from the ground up ... "
- That's what they've always said
- and lhat's it in a nutshell
- where civilization's gone wrong
"If you don't have yo~ feet on the
ground...
Then where are you?
How do you get sustenance without roots?
"We're all going so fast we're gonna crash"
- where?
- on the ground?
The Ground?
We've put that in the hands of
MEGA CONGLOMERATE
ii-?tJ~~Wo.MILLIONAIRE,
20TH FLOOR HEADQUARTERED farmers
- Who probably won't touch the
ground
even when they die
But are buried up to lheir necks
in their financial statementS
- the only thing they care about
And speaking of lhe ground...
From the Earlh's point of view
it must think we're made of rubber
for that's all that touches it when we move.
We're Gods of power...
We have bulldozers to move
mountains.
A river can't flow
without our permission
We've gOL landfill expens
- like our mission is to fill the land
"Landfill"
- like a free lunch for the Eanh!
(ns if it liked the encrees)
Many of the Earth's peoples
worship Jesus, a man's
creation of the universe
(or Gcxl, if you will...)
Who gave unceasingly
of beauty and healing...
even as he died slowly and painfully
in the hands of the Earlh's people.
If such as he were still alive
would we try 10 save him?
Or, would we treat him
as we do her, lhe Earth?
Dear Karuah,
I read awhile back the article on the
!-,ETS sy~tem and sent for the preliminary
mformanon. lam real interested in seeing one
get sra.rted in the Karuah region in rural
mountain areas. At this time I have not the
time, energy, and resources 10 start one by
!11YSClf - l wonder if you know of other
interested persons you could put me in touch
~th who have the whole study course who
might let me borrow it.
In the meantime I am starting a simple
bancr networking newsletter in this local area
(Bryso~ City, Sylva, Franklin). Perhaps you
would like a ,~·rue:-up for the summer journal.
The Spnng issue of Kauiuh Journal is
by far the most interesting one to me in a long
time - great articles intended for the already
some~hat informed. Erbin Crow's pissing
poem 1s a real gem.
Airin Green
P.O. Box 382
Whittier, NC 28789
Dear Karuah,
I have enjoyed recieviog your paper,
but there is one matter of deep concern l
have. I have noticed several times in recent
years the theories of Buckminster Fuller have
been mentioned in a positive light, as if he
were a worthy mentor for ecology-minded
people (see John Ingress in Spring 1992).
I recently went back and looked a1
Fuller's opus Critical Path (St Martins,
N.Y., 1981), and was alanned to find it was
even worse than I had remembered. In the
preface he introduces lhe notion that human
beings are so smart we can easily provide
an "unprecedented higher standard of living
for all Eanhians," and claims that "four
billion billionaires" would be a worthwhile
and admirable goal. Can you imagine how
shredded to ribbons the Earth's ecosystems
would with "billions of billionaires," a
concept Fuller warmly endorses throughout
his book?!
The rest of Fuller's thesis is well
known. High technology is the savior we
have been waiting for. lo the future, humans
will live packed in floating cities, space
platforms, nnd so on, in fully automaied,
controlled environments. On page 297 he
claims "lhe power of the Amaz.on warershed
will be harnessed and considered by
designers as an integrated moving assembly
line."
On page 251 he gets so carried away
he proclaims that man has now taken on "lhe
competence of Gcxl."
I could go on with such examples, but
perhaps the point is made. I disagreed with
the late Ed Abbey on some things, but in his
evaluation of Buckminster Fuller, l lhink he
was right on lhe money. ln the meantime
there are lOLs of other writ tings on technology
out lhere worth reading, such as Lewis
Mumford, Jacques Ellul, or Jerry Mandcr's
new book.
Best Wishes.
Bill McConnick
• Breeze Burns
Xorunfi Jottn«i( p09c 27
�Jury Nullification:
Democracy at Work
M ost of us have noticed that our rights
arc being whittled and chopped away as
surely and relentlessly as our foresis. But
there is a little known right which can be a
defense against an offensive government.
II is a right we have because we are
entilled to a jury trial. The Fourth Circuit
Coun of Appeals in U.S. v. Moylan (1969)
put it this way: '1f the jury feels the law is
unjust, we recognize the undisputed power of
the jury to acquit, even if its verdict is
contrary co the law as given by a judge, and
contrary 10 the evidence."
People on a jury have the right to free
people from laws they wouldn't want
imposed on themselves. The right and the
responsibility.
Jury nullification, as this almost-secret
right is known, goes way back. Back to
ordinary men. Some of the ordinary men
were the 12 who served on William Penn's
jury in 1670. The British king proved beyond
a doubt that Penn was "guilty." He had
broken the law against preaching a religion
other than that of the Anglican church in a
public place.
But the jury didn't wane to punish
William Penn. They thought it would be a
beuer idea to punish the law itself.
The king's agent was furious and tried
co convince them that the law was more
imponant than their conscience. The judge
did his convincing by imprisoning the jurors
in the Tower of London until they agreed to
convict Penn.
But pubUc opinion - possibly related to
the expense of imprisoning the jurors - forced
the judge to let them go, and to admit that a
jury had the right to decide not only whether
someone has broken a law, but whether the
law is just.
The right of jury nullification bas
consistently been upheld in British and
American courts. According to Alan Sheflin
and Jon Van Dyke in law and Concempory
Problems 43, No. 4 (1980), 'The repeal of
(prohibition] laws is traceable 10 the refusal
of the juries 10 convict those accused of
alcohol traffic."
And Hagbard Celine points out in
Trajecl()ries newsletter that "the anti-pot law,
the silliest of all our drug laws, could not
survive in a nation with at least 70 million
pot-heads, if juries knew that they had the
right of nullification."
So what's happened?
Back in the 1890's, the U.S. Supreme
Court was about as freedom-loving as our
current robes. They upheld Lhe right of jury
nullification - but simultaneously ruled that
Lhe judge not only doesn't have to tell the jury
Lhey have this right - but can prevent the
defense attorney from telling them that they
have ii!
power.
Only Maryland has a state constitution
which requires a judge to inform the jury that
they may acquit if the facts prove a defendant
technically guilty but the jury believes the law
is wrong. (Lots of states, though, have
elected judges.)
There is a movement in many states to
pass Fully Informed Jury (FU) Amendments
to state constitutions. For more information,
you can write to FUA; Box 59; Helmsville,
MT 58843.
Jury nullification is a secret that needs
to be told. I asked my son if he knew his
rights as a citizen. He looked at me and
exclaimed, "Mom, I'm in school."
Isn't the power of juries a fundamental
part of how democratic government - of the
people - works?
I wonder what would happen even
without an amendment if people knew that
juries have the right to judge not only people,
but laws? If the people knew the power of
juries, and the power we would have a
grassrootS movement - towards democracy?
I am indebted to Robert Anton Wilson
and Trajectories newsleuer (Vol. /, No. 8;
Awwnn /990)/or m11cli of the infonnation in
1/iis article. Trajectories covers many spheres
of interest. Write to them clo The Pennanenc
Press; Box 700305; San Jose, CA 95170.
- by Karen F/etc71er
All juries have the power 10 nullify any
law, but any government judge can do
everything in her or his power to prevent
them from knowing that they have this
I:
Reprintulfrom IM AuJumn, 1991 ,ssue of /.
green light, Mwsleuer of the Cumberland-Grel!II
Bioregional Counril; 2513 Essex Place; Nashville
TN 37212.
The Story of the Man Who Wanted to Become Moss
He tried very hard
he wore himself like French lace
and went to the core of cells
where the green lives
and pulled out chlorophyll
trying to reinvent his structure
to take in the sun
When he kissed his mother
that lay in the moss
When he washed his belly
that lay in the moss
When he sat outside himself
that lay in the moss
lay in the moss
lay in the moss
in the moss
in the moss
the moss
moss
moss
- Jenny Bitner
Sumtm:r, 1992
�BOOK REVIEW
BEYOND THE LIMITS:
Confronting Global Collapse
Envisioning a Sustainable Future
In I971 , a book was published called
The Limits 10 Growth by Donella and Dennis
Meadows and J(lrgen Randers. It was a
landmark in ecological thinking in many
ways, causing many people 10 debate and
question the whole idea of unlimited growth
in industrialized societies. The notion of
growth as a cure for economic problems is
deeply ingrained in many people, and this
book questioned the very basis of such an
assumption al its root.
By using the Systems Approach to
problem solving and taking a long look at
trends in escalating human numbers and the
subsequent pressures put on the Earth's
resources, these three scientists proclaimed
that if present trends continued within the
next one hundred years there would be a
steep decline in lhe ability of human societies
to sustain themselves. This catastrophe could
be changed, they argued, by creating a kind
of steady-state where human populations and
material needs would level off and a new
balance achieved between binh and mortality
and between extremes of wealth.
It's twenty years later, and these same
three folks have been working on the
Systems Approach regarding the choices we
have in creating a future that does not depend
on growth as a means of propping up our
economies. Their new book, Beyond the
Limits, states clearly that human societies
have already moved beyond the limits of
what ecosystems of the Eanh can handle. Il
does not make excuses in order to go lightly
on industrialized countries. It radiates respect
for the diversity of life in the world and
offers some much-needed perspective about
the human place in it. The authors are deeply
moved by the severity of the problems we
face, and yet in many ways they offer hope
by providing paths we can follow to ease
away from the trend toward collapse and
simmer down into a mode of human
economy that actS within the limits of Eanh's
sustainability.
I find that it is much clearer to use a
Systems Approach with thorough
explainations of feedback, exponential
growth, overshoot and collapse, and
planetary sources, throughputs, and sinks
than the ambiguous notions surrounding
human carrying capacity (as seen for instance
in Issue #28 of Kat(wh Journal). Human
beings are not exempt from limitS to material
growth or the perils of overpopulation by any
means, yet it is high time we recognized that
we have exceeded many of the regulatory
limits 1hat exist for other mammals and that
we clearly have the capacity to overshoot this
carrying capacity at any time.
Cultural knowledge may not be enough
to restrain our frenzied pace, but it can offer
us some of the wisdom necessary co pull
back and keep from overstressing life support
systems. Whether we will paractice this
wisdom remains to be seen. yet Beyond The
limits offers some hard-earned distilled
knowledge and should be read by those
interested in learning how we can panem
human societies within limits. We humans do
have the potential to be effective problem
solvers. Unfortunately we rarely choose the
right problems to solve.
Beyond The Limits is pub/is~ by Ch,!lsea
Green Publishing Company: R1. I 13, Box 130: Posl
Mill.f. Vf 05058. Please ccn1ae11km aboui ~
,P"
informtUion on the book.
Rob Messick
B~byJll!OIITucllct
"I
told
the
Prograns to encourage
self and Earth awareness.
celeblollon. kinship ond hope.
• Youlh Camps • &;hool Programs
• Family Campa· Tead!o, Training
• Community Programs
• Camp StaIf Tra111lng
• Ouldoof Program Conwtt,ng
Look. Y1111 Ill ill l ltld ISklnQ mt ti help kAI
• Oonch ot Pffllll down tlltlt I don I k"°"
Md I"m 11n ~ I did kMw u..m 1-lclnt
wt/I ti ~1111 ti their dNIJII forgd l l
TIii
an,_ 11 no
F«av11 no•··
-'Naly~lbon ..,_
Don ·t Pay Taxes for War
Fo ntnrm11.1on ,if'ld o, ,1 c.;i,
PO. Bo• 1300
Gotti'lburg. T
e<Y'lessee 3n38
615-436-6203
National War Tax R
esistance
C
oordinating Committee
PO Bo~ 774 Munroe, ME 04951
1
2071525-7774
Summer , 1992
la'O!\: •nrr 1 ,t -
REGIONAL RADIO
Featuring Crossroads music, NPR news and music
programs, regional news and information
concerning health, education, government,
recreation, and the environment.
WNCW • FM P 0. Bo" 804 Spind.ik•, NC 28160
(704) 287-8000
�(cootinuo,d from P"&C SJ
and decorations were very sunilar. They
carried out the same kind of sun worship. I
think they were priest-ruled.
The Louisiana nibes showed that
influence strongly, and there is much
evidence of that among the Creeks and
Cherokees, probably more among the
Cherokees. Because of that influence, we had
a priest society for awhile. We became more
sophisticated and more warlike and gathered
up more territory and more people.
But the priest society among the
Cherokees became so arrogant and so
barbaric that the people rose up against them.
I think it must have been about the time
when the clans dwindled from 14 to seven.
The revolt centered in the Katuah village. The
priest society was ovenhrown.
After that episode, the spiritual
functions of the nibe became more
decentralir.cd. There were ceremonial
medicine people, song keepers, and the
chiefs of the ceremonial grounds. There was
a medicine man who could give hunting
formulas, and that's all he could do. Another
one who could give fishing formulas. And
women who lcoew how ro deliver babies, and
soon.
The medicine people still had influence.
but they were not almighty. There were
,
definitely people who shone among those
groups, and they gathered some degree of
power, but that was because of ability, not
because of their office.
The people also gave more power 10 the
village councils and balanced the influence of
the clans within the villages. so that no one
clan became dominant. Thus, it came about
that when the white people came, they found
us to be a loose federation of villages, more
lroquoian in our government than most of the
tribes around us. But our power was
growing. I think that if the white people had
waited 100 or 200 years they would have
dealt with one or two governments in the
Southeast. We were definitely influenced by
the Iroquois.
As it was, we were eventually forced
by bitter expenence to adopt the white man's
system of choosing one civil leader who had
ultimate power. Then we got chiefs like John
Ross, who passed a law saying no Cherokee
could sell land. Until that time. each village
acted on its own, and we were overwhelmed.
/
In spite of his droll pen 11ame. Bear
Wirh Runs is a full-blooded member of the
Cherokee cribe. He Jives in quiet a,umymity
offthe Cherokee Indian ReservaJion.
FREE CHEROKEE
from Ahwi Brown
What is a Free Cherokee? That's an
honest question, and ru try ro give an honest
answer. Most often a Free Cherokee is a
person with a family legend about an
"Indian" grandmother or grandfather. While
these legends persist in famiUes throughout
the land, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
has made it virtually impossible to enroll
these Free Cherokees on federal rolls. The
Free Cherokees are seen by many of these
Xotuah JPurnat page ao
people as a way to go "home." We do not
seek BIA recognition or any other benefit not
available to other citizens. We do appeal to
our BIA "approved" cousins to join with us
in keeping our heritage strong and in
resurrecting Tsalagi as a spoken language.
It is the hope of this Free Cherokee that
the more affluent of the Free Cherokee people
talce advantage of the current recession and
low interest rates to acquire land parcels in
the Cherokee homeland, Katuah, with the
intention of establishing Tsalagi kibb1uzim
within the borders of the homeland.
To explain the meaning of the liebrew
word kibbwzim: the Jewish people used this
same method to reacquire their ancestral
homeland. It took them about 100 years to do
it. I hope we can beat that!
. . This idea may sound crazy, but so did
Z1on1Sm 100 years ago. J reel that this is an
idea whose time has come. I release it to the
Ancient Red.
Allw18rown
Chic.kamaugan Band of Fru C~ro/cus
19/SBudleySt
Clialtunoogo. TN 37404
Summer, l 992
�:BUN M-OU'.NTA.'L'.N
(b. 1979 • d. l 992)
It was over a dozen years ago that a
man named Jerry staned cooking small
batches of tofu in the back of a food co-op in
downtown Boone, NC and distributing it
around town. This effort was passed on to
others who tried to expand the tofu, tempeh,
and sprout market to the rest of the state. The
soy dairy was small, but it had a wide
distribution within North Carolina. A series
of owners found it difficult to manage, and it
was passed along until John Swan bought the
business in 1987. He sought to make Bean
Mountain into a viable business by moving it
from the slowly dilapidating building it had
been housed in for years to a new building in
Weaverville, NC.
The hope was that with bcner access to
distribution routes and better facilities, larger
contracts could be gained and the business
would nourish. We have recently learned,
however, that Bean Mountain could not
make enough money to survive in today's
market.
Bean Mountain tofu and tempeh have
been legendary not only in the southern
mountains but also in many towns in the
piedmont. h will be sorely missed by many
people.
Hats off 10 you, John Swan, for your
gal/am effons to revive this most useful of
services to the community. Thanks also to the
men and women who put in their sweat and
blood 10 keep it going. May the memory of
all that good food linger in our hearts forever.
- Rob Messick
SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN
BLACK BEAR
REHABILITATION AND
RELEASE CENTER
Or. Michael Pelton, a wildlife biologist
from the University of Tennessee who
specializes in black bear research, frequently
receives calls from people who have found
orphaned bear cubs. Panicularly in the spring
when cubs are young and inexperienced, they
are at risk if they are separated from their
mother by poachers, free-ranging dogs, a
flood in their den, or any of a number of
other causes.
Until now, there have not been
adequate solutions for this situation. But a
dream long held by Dr. Pelton seems about 10
mnterial ize.
Under the auspices of the Dragonette
Society for the Preservation of Endangered
Animals, work is proceeding on the Southern
Appalachian Black Bear Rehabilitation and
Release Center. a facility specifically
designed to renccustom and relocate
orphaned, injured, or starving black bears
into the wild. The Center is certified as a
non-profit organization and has established a
board of directors. Backers have donated a
site for the project in Townsend, TN near the
Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Architect Tom Caldwell volunteered his skills
to draw up a plan for the facility, and the
Oragoneue Society is now preparing for a
fund-raising effon toward a $350,000
construction budget.
The institution's primary focus would
be 10 temporarily house and r.reat bears in
order to re-establish 1hem in the wild as
quickly as possible. "We want to do what we
can in a confined situation to enhance the
possibility of survival in the wild," said Dr.
Pellon.
Bears would be held for their protection
only with as little contact with humans as
possible. When they become strong, healthy,
and acclimated enough to function in their
natural habitat (a maximum of six to eight
months), they would then be released 10
remote areas of the mountains or possibly in
black bear reintroduction projects, like the
one proposed for the Big South Fork area in
Kentucky.
The Dragonettt: Society
for the Preservation ofEndangered Animals
Box669606
Mariella, GA 30066
to"'°'ifka. IOO'U
~t\~S
\ I
,-o &c>~ , a04
by Rob M,
..
0$.icl;
v
( 7041 69~1
Q.8"118"
An Alternative
NATURAL MARKET
WHOLE rooos • OULK
FOODS • VITAMINF..S • Hf:R!lS
• FAT FREE FOODS • TAKE
OUT FOODS• SNACKS• NO
SALT, NO CHOLESTEROL
265-2700
823 Blowing Rock Ad
Boone NC 28607
~
»
speaking fpr fhe earfh.
--,
Union Acres
Rob Messick
Rt. 8, Box 323
Lenoir, NC 28645
't
lllll • &.234
t1<nc1enonw,..,..c;ie1)!1
C~t\b~~, M.C.
Get a set of 10 assorted
folding cards with
artwork as seen in
Katuah Journal.
Send $11.25 ppd to:
/•j
i
- - Acreage for Sale - Smol.y Mountain Living
with a focus on spiritual and
ecologie11I values
For more informalio11:
Contad C. Grant at
Route 1. Box 61/
Whittier, NC 28789
(704) 497-4964
whole earth
gro~ery
.
·.
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~
NATURAL
ALTERNATIVES
FOR HEALTHFUL
LIVING
146 !.'.parkway craft .:<'ntcr • suit<' 11
gatlinburg, tcnncss"<' 37'738
615-436-6967
�JUNE
12-22
AMONG THE TREES
Katuah Rainbow Tribe Solstice
Gathering. Somewhere in the national forest.
sisters and brothers will gather 10 create a
magical village of love and light. Location to
be announced. For information, write to HO!
Newsletter; Box 5455; Atlanta, GA 30307; or
call Atlanta Rainbow Light Linc at (404)
662-6112.
€V€0t'S
BLACKSBURG, VA
Soc1e1y for Conservation Biology Annual
Meeting. Symposia on biodiversity issues. Contact
DepL or Fisheries and Wildlife: VPI & SU;
Blacksburg, VA 2A061
27-7/1
HOT SPRII-.GS, NC
"Jndcpcndcncc Week 7.en Holiday." wilh
Genlci Snndy Stewart. Medi1ation rcU'C3t held in
s1lcnce, culminating ma walk up lhe moum.am.
Pre-register: S225 includes lodging and vegan meals.
For info on lhi.~ and other rctreais, contact Soulhcm
Dharma Retreat Center: RL I. Box 34-H; Hot
Springs, NC28743. (704) 622-7112.
27,7/4
IS
FULL MOON/
STRAWBERRY MOON
19
ASHEVILLE, NC
• AFSEEE's Vision for N:lllon:il Foresis in
the Southeast," a public meeting with Jeff DeBonis,
founder of the Associalion or Fo~, Service
Employees for EnvironmcnU!I Ethics.
7 pm at Humanities Lccwre Hall, Univers11y of
North Cnrolinll • Asheville. For info, C31I Dr. Gary
Miller, UNCA. (704) 221-6441.
28
BLACK MOUNTAIN, NC
"Sunday m the Park," a moveable reast of
emenninmcnl, will be at Lake Tomahawk today at 2
p.m. Performers will include Jerry Read Smith, Lisa
Smilh, and Bonnie Blue's puppcis. For info on this
and other Sunday evcnis, call Quali1y f-orward. (704)
254-1776.
JULY
(INTER)NATIONAL
Day of Action for the 07.one layer. Don a
"radiation suit" and demand a ban on CFC's and
HCFC's NOW! Picket your nearest EPA office.
Local eoniacc John Johnson (615) 26S-67t3
ContincnUII comacc Rhys Roth (206) 943-7259
l
3.9
19-21
WILLIS, VA
"The New Dance." an exploration of
changing sexual identities with Dan Chesbro. Friday •
workshop for men and women IO hcal old wounds,
restore Ille balance of power and shnre our spiritwll
oneness. SaL, Sun.• a l'CIICal for men wilh music,
bodywon:, ceremony. Indian Val~y Rctrcat: RL 2.
Box 58; Willis, VA 24380. (704) 789-4295.
ASHEVILLE, NC
·wise Woman Tradition: Apprentice
W~." will explore herbal knowledge and women's
wisdom. For info, contact WhHewolf; Box 576:
Asheville, NC 28802.
LINVILLE, NC
371h Annual Highland Games and
Galhering or the Sc«lish Clans 01 MacRae Field
beneath Ornndfalher Mo11ntain. Scottish games,
dancing, uilidh, bagpipes, more. For information.
call Orandfalher Mountain Highland Carnes 01 (704)
898-5286 or write to Box 356; Banner Elk, NC
WASHINGTON, DC
First National Carrying Capacity
Issues Conference. Discuss the basic issues
underlying the CWTCnt environmental crisis
with leading thinkers such as Gaylord
Nelson, Herman Daly, Anne Ehrlich, Garrett
Hardin, Hazel Henderson, and others. $100.
Carrying Capacity Network; 1325 G St. NW
(Suite 1003); Washington, DC 20005 (202)
879-3044.
20
SUMMER SOLSTICE
GREAT SMOKIES PARK
Naturali51. nnd Educa1or Week is for
anyone who wanis 10 team more abou1 lhc outdoors
nnd pass lhc knowledge along. Hiking, natural
h1~tory, music, swunming... and Free Tune! Spce111I
gucs1 will be Doug ElboU, storyu:ller/ naturalisL
Prc-rcgisu:r: S200 includes lodging and meals. For
more info about this and other programs, contact
On::11 Smoky Mounlllins lns111111e at Tremont; R1. t,
Box 700; Townsend, TN 37882. (615) 448-6709.
22,27
"'1tt'1afi JournnC. pa9(" 32
18-19
GREAT SMOKIES PARK
"Great Pandas in Chma and Wildlife in the
Smokies" wilt use field lrips in lhc Park lllld group
discussions to mnlcc ecological, cultural and
conservation comparisons be1wccn Chinn and lhc
Smokies. For info about lh1s nnd olher courses,
con13e1 Smoky Mounlllin Field School: 600 Henley
Su-eel, Suite 105; Knoxville, Tn 37902.
1-800.284-8885.
18-19
SWANNANOA, 1'C
Anciem Sw Walke.rs" class led by Page
BryanL Included will be 1hc m:iking or a stnr bundle,
a Stnr Dance, 111lditional Native American siories nnd
sky watching. Pre-register. $85. For info about lhis
and other programs, eon1.1c1 The Earth Center. See
7/11.
19-25
SWANNANOA, NC
"Old-Time Music nnd Dance Week" of the
Swannnnoa Onlhcring 01 Wnrrcn Wilson College.
Weck-tong instructional workshops on old-time liddle
and guitnr, clogging and conu:i dancing, siorytelling,
and more. Ralph BliZ7..ard and lhc New Solllhem
Ramblers, David Holt, Don Pedi, and others. S220 +
Sl40 meals 311d lodging. Sec 7/12-18.
20
ASHEVILLE, NC
"Planetary Acupuncture: Power
Points and Sacred Sites and the Healing of
the Earth." Breath-taking sUdes and spirirual
insights by anthropologist/photographer
Martin Gray. 7 pm at Laurel Auditorium,
Asheville-Buncombe Technical College. $10.
9-12
28604.
19-21
W-ESSER, 11.C
ACA Open Canoe Nolionnl
Championsb.ips will feature racers from nll over the
U.S. in slnlom and wildwau:r courses on the
Nanlllh3!3 River. For info on these and other
whitewater evcnis. eoniact Nam.ahala Ou1door Cenu:r;
41 Hwy 19 West; Bryson City, NC 28713. (704)
488-2175.
15-17
10
BLACK MOUNTAJN, NC
Robert Hoyt, a radical voice for a New
Soulh, and The Billies, rhythmic harbingers or
post-mdusuial living, play 31 McDibbs; I 19 ChClT)'.
For more info, call (704) 669-2456.
MARSUALL, NC
"Toolmaking for Woodwoiters" is a class
for lhosc intuesled in u-aditional woodwor1cing
lechniques requiring IOOls no longer commercially
available. SIUdcnts will team IO mnke and modify
IOOls, including forge work, uiught by blacksmith
Frank Turley. Pre-register. S390 includes meals and
camping. with donn aceomodalion available. For info
on lhis and olhcr woodworking workshops, conU1c1
Counuy Workshops; 90 Mlll Cree.le Road: Marshall,
NC 28753. (704) 656-2280.
20-24
SWANNANOA, NC
Full Moon Lodge is a monlhly eveni;
begins 111 noon. Fo, info abou1 panic1pa1ing m
the sweat. conU1C1 The Earth Cenier. 302 Old
Fellowship Rood: Swannanoa, NC 2377g_
(704) 298-3935.
11
12-18
SWANNANOA,NC
"Scouish/Bluegrass Week" oflhc
Swannanoa Orubcring 01 Warren Wilson College.
Week-long instructional workshop on Scottish and
bluegrass music styles with Brian McNcill, Z;in
McLocd, the Lynn Moms Band, olhcrs. $220 + $140
meals and lodging. Wnu: The Swannano:i Gntbcring;
WWC: Box 5299: Swannanoa, NC 28778.
14
PULL MOON/UUCK MOON
Summer, t!l92
�.:!0-:!6 WILLIS, VA
Seventh Annual Women's Wellness
Weck. Sacred spat:c and mual, movement.
sound, storytelling. more with Jane
20
Avery-Grubel, Katherine Chantal, Louise
Kessel, Ise Williams. and mhcrs. Conmct
Indian Valley Retreat; Rt. 2, Box 58; Willis,
VA 24380_ (703) 789-4295.
-pericarp
--seedcoal
UUNCO\IBE COU:O,.TY. NC
Organic SmaU Farm Tour w1fl provulc an
orponunity to soc orgnnic producuon technique,,
green m.murcs and pc$! control~ on working farm, m
the al'l!a. Sponsored by Carolina Farm S1t:w:udship
Ass«ia11on. For info, call Allison Arnold :it (704)
255-5522.
FRANKLIN, NC
Cnmping. canoeing. rafting. hiking. first
aid instruction with a small group of bomcscboolcrs
in the Nnntaha13 Mountains wilh the Hcadwntcrs
Homcschoolcrs Outdoor Camp. S275. For more info.
contact He.id waters at (704)369-6491 or write lO 68
Lakey Creek Rd.; Franklin. NC 28734.
23-29
ASU1'; \'ILLE, NC
Broom Making Workshop. Go tic one
on with instructor Cnrt~n Tuule. For info on this
and other craft workshops, contact Folk An Center:
Box' 9545; Asheville, NC 28815. (704) 298-7928.
21-23
CULLOWII EE, NC
•1..nndscaping with Nauve Plants"
conference will offer lcc1urcs Md worbhops by
landscapers and horticulturists. Pre-register: S50
+ meals and lodging; rcgislCt separately for optional
field trips on 7(22. For info, call Sue DcBord at
West.em Carolina University. (704) 227-7397.
23-2S
23-8/2
SEPTEMBER
Fmuru: 2. -Cn•lot1rn dc11tato, Amoricnn ch•olnul: lonld·
ludinol ~ectlnn throu~h " nut, I.H x.
WF,STERN NC
Folkmoo1 USA brings folk dancers and
mus,cinns from Hungary, Jamaica, Belgium. MCllico.
Moldova, Panama. Sardinia. Ponugnl, Taiwan and
Uzbcldst:111 to perform m various locauons in Kauiah.
For schedule and price information, contact Folkmoot
USA; Box 523: Waynesville, NC 28786. (704)
457-2997.
CELO COMMUNITY, NC
RSVP Summer Celebration. Picnics,
tubing, hiking, dancing with Katuah's homegrown
pc:icc networking journal. For trove! directions or
more info, call Joseph Heflin a1 Rural Southern
Voice for Peace. (704) 675-5933.
7-8
ELIZABETHTON, TN
Appalachian Folk Medicine Symposium
will include lcc1urcs held al Sycamore Shoals Staie
Historic Sile in Elizabethton, lllld demonsr.rations and
hikes at Roan Mounlllin Siate Parle. For info. contact
Jeff Wardeska. Roan Mountain Society;
4 Bingham Court; Johnson City. TN 37604.
(615) 929-4453.
FULL MOON/HARVFSf MOON
12-20
AUGUST
12
WESTERN NC
River Week celebrates the French
Broad River in four WNC counties.
Community events will include a canoe trip,
raft race, hotdog kayaking, river safety
course, and riverside concert. To avoid- being
left high and dry, get a schedule from the
French Broad River Foundation. (704)
252-1097.
25-26
13
FULL MOON/
GREEN CORN MOON
The nrc.1'5 oldest
and targc..t natural
foods grocery "
Kalmia Center, Inc.
FRENCH BROAD Fooo Co,op
Sylva, NC
(704) 293-3015
Custom tilling, organic fertilizers, kelp meal,
colloidal phosphate & many more products
and services for abundant gardening and
healthful living.
(JOI)
.........
..
255-7650
your comnru1'1ly
groury,1ou
._.,., ...,.,., ......... .... .. ,,,...
,... ,...,
"'-
811/k Herl>s, Spices, & Grains
Vitamins & Supphwents
W11eat, Salt & Yeast-Fn•e Foods
Dairy S11bstit11ti:s
Hair & Skin Care Products
Beer (.-f Wine Making S11J1plies
200 W. King St, Boone, NC 28607
(7(») 26-1-5220
r;f diu
W
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
Summer, 1992
t
·,.
~
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
Sam!JMush
Herb Nurse.~
WREATHS •POTPOURRJ
• HERBS • TOPIARY
Complete Herb Catalog - $4
Describes more than 800 plm1ts from
Aloe to Yarraw
Rt 2, Surrett Cove Road
Leicester, North Carolina 28748
Phone for appointment to visit
(704) 683-2014
�HJGHLANDER CENTER is a communily-bascd
educational orgnnization whose purpose is 10
provide space for people 10 learn from each olher,
and lO develop solutions 10 environmenllll
problems based on lhcir values, experiences, and
aspirations. They also pul oul a quarterly newsletter
called Highlantkr RtportS. For more info contacl
Highlander Center. 1959 Highlnnder Way; New
Mankct, TN 37820 (615) 933-3443.
FAMll.IES LEARNING TOGETHER exisls in
North Carolina as a ne1work or homeschooling
families who offer infonn:n.ion, experience, and
encouragemcnl 10 each olher. &nelilS of FLT
membership include a quarterly newslcllCI, fumily
di.roclory, fnmily galhcrings twice a year, media
resource file, and much more. If you would like 10
learn more about Ibis o~n group please contacl
Tnsh Sc11Cnn or Doug Woodward :ll (704)
369-6491 or write 10 68 Wey Creek Rd.;
Frank Im, NC 28734.
PIEDMONT BIOREGIONAL INSTITUTE· For
those who live m lhe Piedmonl area, there's a
b10reg1onal cffOfl well underway. Join Us! We
would appreciate any donation or time or money 10
help mee1 opera1ing expenses. For a gift or S25.00
or more, we will send )'OU a copy or John Lawson's
journal, A New \foyage to Carolina. Also come
fmd out about the Lnwson ProjccL PBl; 412 W
Rosemary S=t: Chapel Hill, NC 27516;
Uwha.nia Province. (919) 942-2581
THE ALTERNATIVE READING ROOM is an
unconventional library; free and open 10 lhc public.
Our coltecuon intereslS include the environment,
social :ind political issues, the media ond peace. We
have.over 200 mag3.1.ine substripiioos. The book
and video collccuo~ also emphasii.e the
cnvlltlllment and political concems. Books and
videos can be checked OUL A video player i~
available for watching films in the ~ng room.
Localed UJ 2 Wall SL (#114): Asheville, NC
28801 (704) 252-2501. MoQ/Wed/Fri 6-Spm.
Tuesffhur I-Rpm · Sal/Sun 1-6pm
A VIDEO ABOUT LAND TRUSTS has been
produced by lhe umd Trus1 Alliance 10 explain in
lay 1erms whal a land lfUSI is. 2.7 million acres of
land have been saved by non-profit land 1rus1
organi7.ntions in America This video docurnenlS
lb.is movemcm's successes. Cost is 521.00 for
individual and Sl4.50 for LTA members (include
S4.50 for posmgc). Con!3CI: The Land Trust
Alliance: 900 171h SL NW (Suite410);
Washing10n, DC 20006 (202) 785-1410.
~Jli,~ J~~'[.'IOL P0:9.': ~
HAWKWlND EARTH Rl:.NEW AL COOPERATIVE
is a 77 acre wilderness retreat located on Loolcou1
Mounmin Parkway in northern Alabama. Easy
access. safe family camping, year round weclc:end
programs featuring Native American cldc:G and
Eanh teachers from around lhe world. S1r0ng
spiritual foundation wilh Earth Renewal emphasis,
membership discount co-op. There is no chnrge for
Native American ceremonies; reservations required
for all vis11S, please. Childcnre o(lell avnilllble.
Write: P.O. Box 11: Valley Head, AL 35989 (205)
635-6304. For qU3flerly newsleuer and program
updates send S 10.00.
NATIVE AMERICAN CEREMONlALS - including
handcrafted Native American ceremonial supplies.
Drums, cuslOm pipes, medicine bags, swee1grass,
sage, fcalhcrs. rawhide raules, IObnccos. pipe ~ .
native flutes, and more! For free calalog send 10:
Box 1062-K; Cherokee, NC 28719.
GOOD EARTH ORGANICS in Asheville has a
network-mruketing plan which can provide a
substantial prut·time income. (Full time in 18-24
months). This is needed in any area, no !raining
required. We provide !raining and all assistance
needed to get you slllrted in your own business.
Contact Good Earth at (704) 252-7169.
UFETIMES .re AGES· a new release from Bob
Avery-Grubel, full of new age vocal music
exploring I.he mystery of life . lyrics included. On
casseue only: send SI0.00 plus Sl.00 for shipping
and handling 10: Bob Avery Grubel; RI. I, Box
735; Floyd. VA 24091.
BEGINNING CHEROKEE LANGUAGE BOOK·
supplemcnuxl wilh 1wo casscues. Sll'CSSCS alphabet
& proper pronunciation. The first textbook written
for use in teaching and learning 1he Cherokee
language. (346 pages). S39.95 plus $5.00
shipping. analog also available wilh mpes, books,
pipes, dance slicks. drums. feathers. furs, buffalo
products and more. Crafl supplies also available
(please specify). Send S2.00 10 the Muskrat Trader,
Box 20033; Roanoke, VA 24018.
COHOUSING COMMUNlTY being formed in lhe
Asheville area. ResideoJS organu.e, plan, and design
a coopc:rntive community where individual homes
cluster around n common house wilh shnred
facilities-· laundry, workshops. children's room,
dining room, etc. Opportunities ror energy
efficient, ecologically sound land use. Inquiries
inviled. Coouict: John Senechal: P.O. Box 1176:
Weaverville, NC 28787 (704) 658-3740.
LAND SURVEYOR seeks land conscrvW1Cy,
community land trust. and other alternative
community and green proJccts. Licensed in LA,
ME, NC, NH, TN. Contact Rantbll Orr. RI . 3,
Boit 345; Sneedville, TN 37869 (615) 2n-0416.
HEADWATERS helps both individu:ils ond families
dcvcl0p their outdoor ~kills wilh an awurcness of
lhc value or our nmural world. We offer a diver.ily
of experiences, rncluding family advcnwrcs,
Homc!ilChoolcrs Outdoor Camp, mstruclion m
kayaking, canoeing, backpacking. bicycle touring,
nmwc ph01ogrophy, and wilderness rafung. For
program mformalion, COlllllCt Trish Severin and
Doug Woodward nt (704) 369~91 or wntc 10 68
Lakey Creek Rd.; Franklin, NC 28734.
ETHER IC ANALYSIS • most complete rcpon on
chak.ras and emouons as Ibey an:: effecung your
being. Include.~ pcrsooalii:cd Gem Elixer 10 balance
Auric Body. Mail five hai~ (plucked from your
head), name, address, and S55.00 10: Dawn: Rt. 3.
Box 9; Llncsvillc, PA 16424.
MAGICAL HERBS • planlS, books, and fTCC
newsletter. Send 10 Wi7.ard's Way; 75 Broadway;
Asheville, NC 28801.
Alternatives ...
The Dir«1 of ln1enrional Communities is lhc prodory
uct or two years of intenS"ive research, and is lhe most
comJ]fdlensive and accura1e dircc10ry available. fl documenlS lhc vision and lhc daily life of more lhan 350
communities in Nonh America, and more lhan 50 on
olher continents. Each community's listing includes
name, address, phone, ond a description of the group.
Extensive cross-rercrencmg and indexing male.es themfonnation easy 10 access for a wide variety or users. Includes maps. over 250 additional Resource listings. and
40 related aruclcs.
328 pages
8-1/2xl I
Perfcclbound
October 1990
ISBN Number:
0-9602714- 1-4
$16.00
Add $2.00 postage
& hnndling for first
book, $.50 for each
additionnl; 40%
discount on orders
of 10 or more.
Alpha Fann. Deadwood. OR
(503) 964-6102
RSVP SUMMER CELEBRATION - July 25-26th at
I.he home of Rum! Southern Voice for Peace in lhe
Cclo Comrnuruty. Picnics, 1ubmg, fishing, hilang,
dancing, fine food and music! Fnmily Cun for
childn:n or all ages. Mark lhe date on your calendar
now! Call Joseph Heflin at RSVP ror information
and schedule or weekend even is (704) 675-5933.
• Webworking costs: There is a
charge of $2.50 (pre-paid) for each
Webworking entry of 50 words or
less. Submit entries for Issue #36 by
August, 15th 1992 to: Rob Messick;
Rt. 8, Box 323; Lenoir, NC 28645.
(704) 754-6097.
.
Summer, 1992
�BACK ISSUES OF KATUAH JOURNAL AVAILABLE
t
ISSUE FOUR-SUMMER 1984
Water Orum • Water Quality· Kudzu - Solar Eclipse
- Clearcu1ting - Trout - Going 10 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 - Bioregion:ilism: Past,
Present. and Future - John Wilnoty - Healing
Darkness - Politics or Parucipa1ion
ISSUE SIX· WINTER 1984·85
Winter Solstice Earth Ceremony - Horsepasture
River - Coming or lhe Light - Log Cabin Roots·
Mountain Agriculture: The Right Crop - Willirun
Taylor - The Future or lhe Forest
ISSUE SEVEN - SPRlNG 1985
Susia.inable Economics - Hot Springs - Worker
Ownership - The Great Economy - Self Help Credit
Union • Wild Turkey - Responsible Investing Working m Ille Web of Life
ISSUE EIGHT· SUMMER 1985
Celebration: A Way of Life- Ko1uah 18.000 Years
Ago - Sacred Sites - f'olk Arts m lhc Schools· Sun
Cycle/Moon Cycle - Poems: Hilda Downer •
Cherokee Heritage Center - Who Owns Appalochia?
lSSUE NINE· PALL 1985
The Waldcc Forest - The Trees Speak • Migrating
Forests - Horse Logging - Starting a Tree Crop Urban Trees - Acom Bread • Mylll Time
ISSUE TEN - WlNTER 1985·86
Ka1e Rogers· Circles of S10ne • Internal
Mylhmaking - Holistic Healing on Trial • Poems:
Steve Knauth - Mythic Places · 111e Ukterui's Talc Crystal Magic - "Dreamspcuking"
ISSUE THIRTEEN· FALL 1986
Center For Awakening· Elizabeth Callari - A
Gentle Death - Hospice - Ernest Morgan· Ocaling
Creatively with Death· Home Burial Box - The
Wake. The Raven Mocker - Woodslore & Wild·
woods Wisdom· Good Medicine: The Sweat Lodge
ISSUE FOURTEEN· WlNTER 1986-87
Lloyd Carl Owle • Boogers and Mummers - All
Species Day - Cabin Fever UniVCISi1y • Homeless
in Katuah - Homemade Hot Waw • S1
ovemaker's
Narmtive - Good Medicine: Jnu:rspecies Communication
The Chalice and the Blade
ISSUE TWENTY-SIX· WINTER, 1989-90
The Ecozoic Era - Kids S:iving Rainforest - Kids
Treccycling Company· Connict Resolution -
,
~UA~OURNAL
35
PO Box 638 Leicester, NC Katuah Province 28748
For more info: call Rob Messick at (704) 754-6097
Name
Regular Membership........$] 0/yr.
Sponsor.........................$20/yr.
Contnbutor .....................$50/yr.
Address
State
City
Summer, 1992
If
ISSUE FIFTEEN· SPRING 1987
Coverlets· Woman Forester - Susie McMahan:
Midwife - Alternative Contraception - Biosexuality •
Biorcgionalism and Women • Good Medicine:
Malrinrchal Cul111re - Ptarl
ISSUE SIXTEEN· SUMMER 1987
Helen Waite - Poem: Visions in a Garden - Vision
Qucsl - First Flow - lni1iaLion - Leaming in the
Wilderness - Cherokee Challenge - "Valuing Trees"
ISSUE EIGHTEEN· WINTER 1987-88
Vemncular Architccture - Dreams in Wood and S10ne
- Mountain Hoene • Earth Energies • Earlll-Shehcred
Livmg • Membrane Houses - Brush Shcltcr.
Poems: October Dusi,; • Good Medicine: "Shell.Cr"
ISSUE NINETEEN - SPRING 1988
Pcrelandra Garden· Spring Tonics· Blueberries·
Wildflower Gardens - Granny I lcrbalist . Flower
Essences - "The Origin of lhe Animals:• Story •
Good Medicine: "Poww-" - Be A Tree
ISSUE TWENTY· SUMMER 1988
Prc.c;crvc AppamchiAII Wilderness. Highlands of
Roan - Celo Community - L'llld Trust • Arthur
Morgan School - ZOning Issue - "The Ridge· •
Farmers and lhe Farm Bill - Good Medicine: "Land"
• Acid Rain - Duke's Power Play - Cherokee
Microhydro Project
ISSUE TWENTY-TWO· WINTER 1988·89
Global Warming - Fire This Time. Thomas Berry
on "Bioregions" - Earlll Exercise - Kor~ Loy
McWhirtcr. An Abundance or Empuness - LETS·
Chronicles or Floyd. Darry Wood - The Bear Clan
ISSUE TWENTY-THREE· SPRING 1989
Pisgah Village. Planet An. Green City. Poplar
Appeal· "Clear Sky"·" A New Earlll" - Black Swnn
- Wild lovely Days· Reviews: Sacred lond Sacred
Sex. Ice Age - Poem: "Sudden Tendrils"
ISSUE TWENTY-FOUR· SUMMER 1989
Deep Listening - Life in A10mic City - Direct
Action! - Tree of Peace - Community Building Peacemakers - Ethnic Survival· Pairing Project·
"Baulesong" - Growing Pc:icc in Cultures - Review:
I
Phone Number
Zip
Enclosed is$._ _ _ _ 10 give
this effort an extra boost
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 to Their
Ashes - Healing in Kauiah - Poem: "When Left to
Grow" - Poems: Stephen Wing • The Belly • Food
from the Ancient Forest
ISSUE TWENTY-NINE - FALl./WlNTER 1990
From !he Mountains 10 the Sea - Profile of The
L1ule Tennessee River - Headwaters Ecology· "II
All Comes Down Lo Water Quality" • Water Power.
Action for Aquatic Habitats· Dawn Watche:s • Good
Medicine: The Long Humnn Being - The North
Shore Road - Katu:lh Sells Ou1 • WatcrShcd Mop or
Ille KlllWlh Province
ISSUE THIRTY - SPRING 1991
Economy/Ecology - Ways 10 a Rcgencrauve
Economy - "Money is the Lowest Form of Weallll"
• Clarksville Miracle - TI1c Village • Food Movers Lifework - Good Medicine: "Village Economy"·
Shellon Laurel • LETS
ISSUE THIRTY-ONE - SUMMER 1991
Dowsing - Responsibilities of Dowsing· Electrical
Life or the Earth • Kaluah and the Earlll Grid - Call
of 1he Ancient Ones - Good Medicine: "On
Aggression" - Time 10 Take the Time to Take the
Time. Whole Science. Tuning Tn
ISSUE THIRTY-TWO - FALL 1991
Bringing back the Fire - A Bi1 or Mountain Levity Climax Never Came - "Talking Leaves": Sequoyah·
Walking Disianec - Good Mc.dicinc: "Serving lhe
Great Life" · The Granola Journal • Paintings:
"Mountain Stories" - Songs of the Wilderness
ISSUE THIRTY-TiiREE- WINTER 1991-92
Fire's Power - What Is Natural • Fire and Forge The First Fire • Hearth and Fire in Ille Mountains ·
Good Medicine: "The Ancient Red" - Midwinter
Fires: poems by Jeffery Beam - Litmus Lichens
ISSUE TI-URTY-FOUR • SPRlNG 1992
Pnradisc Gardening - CommuniLy Sponsoccd
Agricut111rc • Eluting Close to Home· Native Foods
• Cover Crops· Kou1ah Cultivars • The Web of
Life: A Kaniah Almanx - Good Medicine "Med_icinc
Training" • Poems by Allison Sutherland
Back Issues:
Issue# _ _@ $2.50 = $._ __
Issue# _ _@ $2.50 = $._ __
Issue# _ _@ $2.50 = $,_ __
Issue # _ _@ $2.50 = $,_ __
Issue # _ _@ $2.50 = $._ __
postage paid $_ __
,
Complete Set:
(3- 10, 13-16, 18-20, 22-24, 26-27, 29-34)
postage paid @ $50.00 = $._ __
Xntuoh )otimitt
page'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
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 35, Summer 1992
Description
An account of the resource
The thirty-fifth issue of the <em>Katúah Journal</em> focuses on councils and consensus in governance and making decisions for the future. Authors and artists in this issue include: Caroline Estes, Joyce Johnson, Rob Messick, Bear With Runs, Lucinda Flodin, David Wheeler, Stephen Wing, Lee Barnes, Will Ashe Bason, Clear Marks, Karen Fletcher, James Rhea, Rhea Ormond, Ray Barnes, Michael Thompson, Troy Setzler, Taylor Reese, Rebecca Wilson Hicks, Jenny Bitner, and Ahwi Brown. <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.
Consensus by Caroline Estes.......1<br /><br />Decision-Making Process by Joyce Johnson.......4<br /><br />Problems with Consensus by Rob Messick.......5<br /><br />Tribal Council by Bear With Runs........6<br /><br />Elda by Lucinda Flodin.......9<br /><br />The State of Franklin by David Wheeler.......11<br /><br />Where the Trees Outnumber the People by Stephen Wing.......14<br /><br />In Council with All Beings by Lee Barnes.......16<br /><br />Steve Moon: Shell Engravings.......17<br /><br />Good Medicine.......18<br /><br />Natural World News.......20<br /><br />A Look Back by Will Ashe Bason.......23<br /><br />Are Bioregions Too Big? by Rob Messick.......24<br /><br />Practices for Full Self-Rule by Clear Marks.......25<br /><br />Drumming.......26<br /><br />Jury Nullification by Karen Fletcher.......28<br /><br />Review: Beyond the Limits by Rob Messick.......29<br /><br />Events........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--Social life and customs--History
Consensus (Social Sciences)
Tennessee, East--History
Folklore--Appalachian Region, Southern
Cooperation--Virginia--Floyd County--History
Human ecology--Religious aspects
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)
Acid Deposition
Appalachian History
Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Studies
Bioregional Definitions
Black Bears
Book Reviews
Cherokees
Community
Earth Energies
Economic Alternatives
Folklore and Ceremony
Forest Issues
Geography
Good Medicine
Habitat
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Poems
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Radioactive Waste
South PAW (Preserve Appalachian Wilderness)
Stories
Transportation Issues
Turtle Island
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Western North Carolina Alliance
Wilderness
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ISSUE 36 FALL 1992
$2.00
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WORKING WITH WOOD
�PO Box 638
Leicester, NC
Katuah Province 28748
New Address Inside!
Postage Paid
Bulk Mail
Permit #18
Leicester, NC
28748
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Printed on recycled paper
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED
�Using Wood...............................
Appalachian Logging.....................
4
by Lee Barnes
Old Logging Days.........................
7
by Frank Hodgin
Working the Woodlands.................
9
by David Wheeler
Wood Products and
Western Nonh Carolina..................
10
by Dr. John Wade
13
USING WOOD
Logging with Horses.......·-···········
15
'Thi! ecoMmic base ofthe area is rapidly changing from agriculture
and primary industry 10 service-related indJAS1ry. especially tourism."
Natural World News.....................
16
Invasion of the Giants....................
19
Depletion for Dollars......................
by Harley Wessman
by Nancy McIntyre
• The Dra!I Land and Rcsouroe Management Pl.an
for lhe Nanlahala-Pisgah National Forests
by Buzz Williams
From Industry to Endeavor..............
20
by David Wheele.r
Pioneering A New
Human/Nature Relationship.............. 21
by Robcn T. Pershcel
Forest S1ewardship Programs...........
22
by Jesse Jones
Ecological Foresay for
Renewable Forest Values.................
23
by Leon S. Minckler
Drumming..................................
25
The Chair in the Tree......................
27
by Tucker Windover
Reading the Grove........................
29
by Charloue Homsher
Events.......................................
32
Webworking...............................
33
Drawing by Hope Walker
f'a(L, 1992
Fanning and logging were the
traditional mainstays of the mountain
economy. Working with the land was for a
long time the only way to live in the remote
mountains. Isolated from the national
economy more by poor transportation
routes than by distance, the white
mountaineers lived independently, each
family deriving their own living from the
fields and forests of their inherited cove
lands. The fields grew food; the forests
provided additional food sources, as well
as a source of wood. The white mountain
folk almost literally built their lives out of
wood. As well as fuel, it was also used in
the making of shelter, tools and utensils,
storage containers, and wagon bodies. 11
was even necessary in the manufacruring of
the leather that harnessed the horses.
The arrival of the railroads changed
all that. A flood of ou1side capital rode into
the mountains on the rails and the primary
objec1 of the corporate desire was the wood
growing on 1he mountainsides. Many
mountain people drew their first paychecks
at the logging camps that sprung up in the
hills at lhe tum of the century. The logging
boom was in lhe voracious style of
capilalism that characteriz.ed that era - it was
short and intense, and lhen it was over. The
great trees were gone and so were lhe
timber barons with their paychecks.
But the lives of the mountain people
were irrevocably changed. They were
integrated into the cash economy and could
not go back. Many people left the
mountains to follow the logging companies
to the Pacific Nonhwest; others migrated to
the Piedmont to work at the textile mills.
Logging continued, but it was once again
small operations cutting primarily for local
use. The fanning lifestyle persisted into the
1940's, but once the region was opened to
the flow of cash and goods, people
increasingly preferred to buy food with
wages than to scratch the ever more
crowded hillsides for their living.
Another transportation breakthrough
brought another influx of oucside money
and culture and tightened the bonds that
held the region into the dominant national
economy. The construction of the interstate
highways opened the mountains to throngs
of people attracted by the region's natural
beauty. People came 10 visit, as tourisls and
second-home owners, or they came to live,
like the many retirees and professional
people who found it was much more
pleasan1 to live in the mountains than in the
crowded cities.
Service jobs, taking care of the needs
of the visitors and the well-to-do new
arrivals, rose sharply and are stiJI climbing.
Employment in service occupations is th.
e
dominant factor in the region's economic
picture. Farm employment has dwindled.
Most of those who call themselves farmers
now work the land only part-time and make
the bulk of their living at wage jobs. About
the same number of people are employed in
the wood products industries as were 30
Drawing by Rob Messick
(continued on page 3)
"4tuah JournaC page 1
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MAST HEADS THIS ISSUE:
Sherman Bamford
Becky Barwick
Charlotte Homsher
Steve Lee
Pegi
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COVER: by Rob Messick ©1992
PUBLISHED BY: Kat1mh Journal
PRINTED BY: The Waynesville Mowitaineer Press
EDITORIAL OFFICE THIS ISSUE: Billy Home and Gardens,
Asheville, NC (love that basil!)
WRITE us AT: Kanmh Journal
Rt. 8, Box 323; Lenoir, NC Katuah Province 28645
TELEPHONE: (704) 754-(IJ97
Diversity is an imponant element of biorcgional ecology, both natural
and social. In accord with this principle Ka1uah Journal tries 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 the Katuah
Journal edil.OlS or staff.
The Internal Revenue Service has declared Katuah Journal a non-prolil
organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. All
contributioos to Katuah Journal are deductible from personal income mx.
Articles appearing in Ka1uah Journal may be reprinted in other
publications with permission from the Katuah Journal siaff. Contact the
journal in writing or call (704) 754-6097.
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Lee Barnes
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Heather Blair
Jesse Jones
Rob Messick
David Wheeler
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STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
Here,
in the Katuah Province
of these ancient Appalachian mountains
where once 1he Cherokee Nation lived in freedom
between the Tennessee River Valley and the Eastern Piedmont
between the Valley of the Roanoke and the Soulhem Plain
on this Tunle Island continent of Mother Ela. the Eanh
Here,
In this place we dedicate ourselves to remembering our deep
connection to the spirit of lhe land.
We bring this connection into lhe 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 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.
'LNVOCA.'JWN
Oh, trees,
Dear sisters and brothers,
We stand here
To honor you.
We acknowledge our kinship to you.
We are because you are.
You are a part of us,
And we are a part of you.
We revere your life-giving gifts,
Your beauty and your chemistry,
Your stability and flexibility.
We cherish your life
And feel blessed to live with you.
Karuah Journal sends a voice...
with articles, stories, poems, and artwork
we speak to the spirit of all the living, breathing
inhabitants of these mountains
in hopes that we, lhe human beings,
may find our place in this Great Life.
The Editors
KATUAH JOURNAL wants ro comm1111icare yo11r tltoughts
and feelings 10 the other people in the bioregional province. Send
them to LIS as leuers, poems, stories, arricles, drawings, or photographs, ere. Please send your contribwions 10 11s at: Kafliah
Journal; Rt. 8, Box 323: Lenoir, NC Karuah Province 286-15.
OUR NEXT ISSUE will be on "Bio-visions" or graphic art
representations of what the bioregion is and what it could be.
Images will be the language of this issue. Your contribution is
requested. Deadline is November 15th, 1992. Send to Rob
Messick; Rt. 8, Box 323; Lenoir, NC 28645.
THE SPRING ISSUE will be dedicated to sustainable
tourism and transport, including green alternatives to uavel. The
deadline is February 1st, 1993.
OUR LAST ISSUE will be an index to the 38 issues of
Katuah Journal, and a listing of bioregional organizations.
'.Katimh Journa! pti9e 2
f'aU:, 1992
�(c:ontinUc4 flOltl pqa I)
years ago (and to a great extent they arc
members of the same families), but the
relative percentage of those working with
forest products has shrunk as the region's
population and employment in other sectors
has increased. Today the land-based
occupations have faded from their former
prominence in the regional economy.
The rapacious timber barons arc
gone, but the logging companies still arc
often seen as the villains in local national
forest land use controversies, as logging is
the primary on-the-ground activity
destroying the old growth forest and
degrading native habitats. Logging
frequently causes environmental damage on
private lands as well. At best a logging site
is messy and ugly for some years after the
wodc is completed, but poor silviculture
and careless cutting practices can leave a
poor mix of unhealthy ~ . compacted and
eroded soil, herbicide poisoning, and silted
creeks.
However, we cannot simply wish away
wood use, one of our primary land-based
occupations.
Mountains, forests, rocks, and clear
running water are what exist naturally in this
place. If we arc going to grow a society that
is bioregional, tied closely to the land and
based on natural cycles, it will be nourished
on food grown in our own fields and
orchards. If we arc going to build a regional
economy here, it will be built - like that of the
early white mountain people - largely of
wood. We must restore these "primary
industries."
Our central challenge in finding our
place in any region is: can we live in a good
relation with the land? In the Katuah
bioregional province, this increasingly comes
back to us as the question: working in a right
way, can we use wood?
In this issue of the Katuah Journal we
look at how we arc using the mountain
hardwoods. We will examine the wood
products industry working in the upland
forests today, partly to gain a better
understanding of a powerful force in the
region's economic and political landscape,
but also to sec what changes we must make
to create a beneficial and harmonious forestry
that could be of benefit to all.
The first school of forestry was
founded here in the Southern Appalachian
Mountains. It would only be right for the
Southern Appalachians to be the place where
we start over and create another school of
forestry practice, this one based on the
region's native vegetation and natural patterns
of growth. Such a field - or forest - of
endeavor, done rightly, could be of positive
ecological benefit to the bioregion. It could
also be a paradigm for a healthy society.
"Putting down roots" is the first
prerequisite of biorcgional consciousness.
When we arc really here, truly aware, we live
with future generations in mind. The trees
grow from 150 to 500 years in age, or five to
16 human generations. Thinking in those
terms would cenainly transfonn our
relationship with the land.
To people measuring their lives in this
time frame, it would be absurd 10 degrade or
destroy their - and their descendants' - natural
TaCL, 1992
Phoro by Rob Messiclc
life suppon processes for the sake of
shon-term gain. They would be as unlikely to
"high-grade" the forest (cut the best trees and
leave the inferior stock) as to pave it over for
another shopping mall. To these people, it
would also be patently obvious that they
should defend the life web from all hann,
whether it be the insidious intrusion of
atmospheric pollution or disruptive activities
. by their fellow humans.
When we arc really here, truly aware,
we also see the breadth and depth of
relationships that keep this land alive.
Biodiversity, this is called. The trees arc not
the forest, but they arc the greatest plants that
grow there. It takes a balancing of myriads of
lives, many of them great, many more of
them infinitesimally small, to create each
living tree.
An ecologically realistic viewpoint
would see each tree as a culmination of these
dynamic relationships. Tall buckeyes and
stout beeches are not isolated phenomena that
can be divorced from their surroundings.
They are integral partS of their life
community, and true forestry nunures the
health and balance of the whole community to
promote the health and growth of its trees.
We can learn from true foresters what
they learn from the trees: stand tall, grow
slowly, develop strong roots, be open to both
rain and sun, be green, be of service.
Gregory Bateson, who combined
careers in biology, anthropology, and
psychiatry and is thought by many to be one
of the great thinkers of the 20th century, was
fond of retelling this story from England:
"New College, Oxford, is of rather late
foundation, hence the name. It was probably
founded around the late 16th century. It has,
like other colleges, a great dining hall with
big oak beams across the top. These might be
eighteen inches square, twenty feet long.
"Some five to ten years ago, so I am
told, some busy entomologist went up into·
the roof of the dining hall with a penknife and
poked at the beams and found that they were
full of beetles. This was reponed to the
College Council, who met in some dismay,
because where would they get beams of that
caliber nowadays?
"One of the Junior Fellows stuck his
neck out and suggested that there might be on
College lands some oak. These colleges arc
endowed with pieces of land scattered across
the country. So they called in the College
Forester, who of course had not been near
the college itself for some years. and asked
him about oaks.
"And he pulled his forelock and said,
'Well sirs, we was wondrin' when you'd be
askin'.'
"Upon funher inquiry it was discovered
that when the College was founded, a grove
of oaks had been planted to replace the beams
in the dining hall when they became bcetly,
because oak beams always become bcetly in
the end. This plan had been passed down
from one Forester to the next for four
hundred years: 'You don't cut them oaks.
Them's for the College Hall.'"
"A nice story. That's the way to run a
culture," Gregory Bateson would comment
. ne F.Alitrrs
New Colugutory q/lQlff wllli pm,tissionfr- /
~Nes1 Whole Eanh Catalog (1980).
x.at.i&ah Journal pMJe 3
�APPAL?\CHr~N
,
by Lee Barnes
The original forests of the Southern
Appalachian Mountains contained the greatest
diversity of hardwood trees on the con?nent.
The majority of the Southern Appalachian
trees are hardwood species, with interspersed
stands of softwoods, primarily hemlock and
pine.
These forests occur in natural
associations: Upland Hardwood Forest
(oaks, hickories, and other species), Cove
Hardwood Forest (yellow poplar, ash, red
maple, basswood, and other species),
Oak-Pine Forest mixtures, Boreal Hardwood
Forest (Birch, beech, sugar maple and
associated species), and high-altitude
Spruce-Fir Forests, which occur in almost
pure stands at elevations above 6000 feet.
The Spruce-Fir forests are currently under
rapid decline due to insect attack and
atmospheric pollution.
Prior to the twentieth century, the
American chestnut was a dominant species in
the mid-elevation forests. In 1909, American
chestnuts were estimated to compose an
average 27% of the trees in the entire
Appalachian forest. As late as 1925, 43% of
the trees in Buncombe County, NC were
chesmuts. Following the introduction of the
chestnut blight in the early 1900's, chestn~t
trees were eliminated during a 30 year penod
as a dominant forest canopy, timber, and
important mast tree (one producing wild nuts
of acorns). While chestnut root sprouts and
seedlings are still occasionally seen in the
forest understory, lhese only grow for 10-20
years and then die.
Historically, Native Americans used
wildfires to modify the forest by clearing
shrub tinderstories 10 increase habitat and
browse for game animals, especially deer and
bear. Fire was used to clear harvested com
fields of weeds and insect pests, and to return
nutrients to the stream-bottom fields.
Forest trees provided the native
inhabitants with edible fruits and nuts,
medicinals and ceremonial and construction
woods. Th~ natural properties of individual
woods were well known and utilized by the
Indians. For the Indians, each tree, each plant
had its parpose - its blessing. Several types
of wood were sacred to the Indians, and were
not cut or damaged except for ceremonial
uses. Ceremonial prayers, gifts, and thanks
always accompanied the "taking" of plants
and animals. The noted
anthropologist James Moody recorded many
of the uses and rituals associated with plants
native to the southern Appalachians, noting
that eastern red cedar was the most.sacred
tree to the Cherokees.
European settlers entered Western
North Carolina forests in large numbers
between 1790 and the 1820's. The dense
forests were considered as a hindrance by the
Xatt'.uin Jou.rnaf; page 4
early settlers who needed sunlight for their
domestic crops. Small fields were prepared
for planting by killi~g the trees by_ "~rdling,"
cutting through the mner layer of livmg cells
all around the trunk. First season crops were
often planted between the leafless girdled
trees, which were later cut for household
fires or burned in field-side piles.
The first settlers had only hand tools
such as falling saws and falling axes, and
perhaps, a broad axe for trimming and
making rough boards. Early homes were
built of logs or rough timber, with sawn
lumber used primarily for coffins. The
surrounding forestS provided.the settlers with
wood for fuel. timber, utensils, bowls, and
baskets. The settlers quickly learned from the
Indians which woods were best for particular
purposes. Metal tools were rare and .
expensive, so many of the parts for sunple
tools and machinery were made from wood.
The original forests provided abundant"mast
for free-ranging hogs and game animals. Hog
and bear meat was best in the fall after the
animals browsed on the nutS and acorns,
particularly chestnuts, scattered on the forest
floor.
After clearing lands for homestead and
agricultural parposes, the early settlers
"high-graded" (cut the best of) the more
valuable hardwoods for their own use and the
local market. Woods such as black walnut,
butternut, white oak and cherry were cut and
dragged out of the forest by oxen_ and ho~es.
The most desirable trees, those with supenor
characteristics (size, straightness of trunk,
freedom from excessive lower branches etc.)
were cut first from the forestS, with no
thought to the loss of gen~tically s~peryor
seed-parents. This early ~1gh-grading 1
_s
believed to have resulted in a decrease 10
genetically superior or "select" trees, while
inferior trees were often left to release their
seeds to create the next generation forest.
Logging and lumber production in the
Southern Mountains was accomplished using
only hand tools until the late 1700's, when
small-scale water driven "sash" or "gate"
saws were introduced. These, too, gradually
became obsolete after the introduction of
steam-powered circular saws during the latter
pan of the nineteenth century.
Wood was dragged from the forest by
horses, sometimes along constructed "pole
roads" made of small diameter poles laid
across the path. Logs were also "b~ooted,"
rolled and tumbled down the mountains,
which was very damaging to the understory
plants. Later, the horse dragging technique
was modified to include specially constructed
V-shaped troughs or water-driven flumes.
Horses were used to start the downward
momentum of the logs, but were hitched so
that when sufficient momentum was gained,
they could step aside onto "side-out" paths,
and the logs would continue sliding down the
mountain.
Many logs were floated out o~ the .
mountains along streams above wh.tch special
"splash-dams" were constructed. The dams
were built to entrap sufficient water to be
quickly released through special flood-gates
to flash-flood cut logs down streams where
they were collected behind floating booms
and then fed into sawmills. The splash dam
technique was inefficient and very destructive
to plant and animal life in the stream bed.
But a shadow was looming over the
mountains. Industrial progress was at hand.
By the 1860's, the great forests of the
northern and middle Atlantic states had been
felled to build and fuel the rapidly developing
Yan:, 1992
�t;OGGING
COUl'IU)' Joraboro Museum. Washington Co1tt1ty TN
East Coast cities, and large commercial
steam-driven sawmills were slicing up the
virgin forests of nonhern Pennsylvania. They
were expanding into West Virginia by the
1870's. By the turn of the twentieth century,
the original forests in Maine and the Great
Lakes states had also fallen before the saw.
In 1855, the North Carolina Legislature
granted a chaner to the Greenville and French
Broad Railroad Co. (GFB RR) to consm.ict a
rail line into Western Nonh Carolina. Actual
track laying from Greenville, SC to points
nonh and west began in 1873. The line
reached Asheville Junction (then named
"Best") in 1880, 10 years after the
completion of the Transcontinental Railroad.
The imponant timber and pulp town of
Canton, NC was established in 1883
following the extension of the railroad from
Asheville. A new age of technology had
arrived.
Timber interests had spent the last
decade buying up lands in the mountains.
Now they lost no time in connecting their
properties to the main railroad lines.
In I 873 Ephraim Shay of Ohio had
invented the Shay engine. This railroad
engine had horizontally mounted, gear-driven
wheels which allowed greater traction to pull
heavy loads and climb slopes of nearly 60°.
The Shay engine was reported to be able to
pull itself back onto the tracts following
minor derailments. This unique gear-driven
engine was soon nicknamed "Sidewinder."
With the introduction of the Shay engine,
railroads could now access huge are3S of the
mountain forests which had previously been
closed to logging. The narrow-gauge logging
railroad lines were never safe. Train wreaks
were common, and were widely reponed and
photographed. Many lives were lost due to
:fa[L, 1992
run-away engines and major derailments. But
they enabled timber barons to make fortunes
in the mountain coves and hollers.
To cut the logs coming off the little
trains, the well-financed timber companies
also installed large steam-driven band saws,
which were capable of producing over 100
thousand board feet of lumber per day. Once,
long ago, two men had typically sawn 100
sawn board feet in one day and
water-powered mills had produced 1,000
board feet per day.
The late 1880's saw the beginnings of
the US Forest Service. The US Division of
Forestry was created in 1881, at the urgings
of forest specialists Charles Sargent and
Gifford Pinchot, by President Grover
Cleveland. The first "forest reserve"
(predecessor to our current national forests)
was established in 1891. The Organic
Administration Act of 1897 defined the
purposes of the forest reserves as "securing
favorable conditions for water flow, and to
furnish a continuous supply of timber for the
use and necessities of the citizens of the
United States." In 1911, the Weeks Acl
authorized federal funding to acquire
"forested, cut-over, or denuded lands within
the watersheds of navigable streams..." The
first national forestland in the east was the
Pisgah National Forest which was
established in 1916 from the land holdings of
George Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt's widow sold
the denuded land for $5 per acre, after
previously selling the timber rights for $12
per acre.
Several associated railroads and logging
companies co-developed in the Appalachian
forests in the early 1900's. Numerous
northern and foreign-financed logging
companies quickly established themselves in
the Southern Appalachians including
Suncresl, Crestmont, Bemis Lumber Co.,
Ritter Lumber Co., Little River Lumber Co.,
Scottish Carolina Timber and Land Co.,
Champion Fiber Co., and dozens of smaller
companies. Their output was tremendous.
An estimated 1 billion board feet of lumber
were cut by the Little River Lumber Co. at its
Townsend, TN mill; 200 million board feet
by a Ritter Co. mill at Proctor, NC;
Champion produced 5 million board feet a
month at Sunburst in Haywood County, NC;
and The Perley and Crockeu Lumber Mill
near Black Mountain, NC cut 250 million
board feet. Wood too small for lumber was
generally used for pulpwood - especially the
softwoods, spruce and white pine.
Champion Fiber Company's Sunburst
community boasted the largest double-band
sawmill in the region. Buih along the west
fork of the Pigeon River above Canton, NC,
the company town consisted of the sawmill,
houses, pose office, schools, churches, and
had rail passenger service lo and from
Canton. Interviews with retired workers from
that mill repon thal between 140,000 and
160,000 board feet of sawn lumber were
produced daily during typical work days,
with a one-day record of 250,000 board feet.
The mill burned once in the early i 920's and
then was completely destroyed by a massive
fire in 1925, along with most of the railroad
bridges, logging camps, and the surrounding
mountainsides.
Not only were the forests and
mountainsides forever changed by the
industrial logging, but so were the
mountaineers, who in the three or four
decades of the logging boom grew
accustomed 10 steady employment and living
a more contemporary lifestyle in the newly
consm.icted milltowns. The mountaineers
were introduced to electricity, phones,
regular health services, community theaters,
motion picture theaters, barber shops, and
even soda fountains.
During this period, a unique private
School of Forestry developed. The Biltmore
School of Forestry, founded by Dr. Carl
Schenck, was the first organized school of
modem forestry in the United States
(informally founded in 1898 prior to the
nation's first Forestry School at Yale
University). Dr. Schenck based his lectures
on forest management upon his experiences
as a student in European forestry and his
hands-on experience as the Chief Forester of
the Vanderbilts' Pisgah Forest. Schenck was
brought to America by George Vanderbilt to
manage his newly acquired 125,000 acre
forest. Schenck was a student of Sir Dietrich
Brandis, one of the first modem European
foresters, and succeeded Gifford Pinchot as
Chief Forester at the Biltmore estate when
Pinchot left to guide the political changes
(continued on next page)
:K.ati«m Jou.mat page S
�were cut, the industrial timber interests set
out for the west coast to continue their
rampage. For decades after the boom was
over, timbering in the Southern Appalachians
was canied oo by small, local logging
operations who picked over the scraps of
forest the big companies had inadvertently
missed. Through natural growth and the
stewardship of the public lands by the US
Forest Service, the forest is returning. Now it
faces another crisis as it nears economic
maturity once again.
ln summary, our region's current
publjc and private forests have been greatly
modified by humankind, resulting in
woodlands greatly changed in composition
and character. Our philosophies on forest and
wood-use must be expanded to encompass all
the values of the forest - sustainability,
lum1?Cr, habitat, species diversity, water
quality, recreational and spiritual values.
Historical destruction and modification of the
original forests have resulted in our present
forests which continue 10 be damaged by our
over-consumption and lack of empathy with
the forest's inhabitants.
Photo US National Archive
(continued from page 5)
needed to establish the United States Division
of Forestry.
Through trial and error, Dr. Schenck
discovered that modem forest management
D?USt be unique to each specific forest and
cucumstance. He continually not.ed that
forestry techniques were lightly linked to the
availability of inexpensive transportation.
Schenck was the first teacher to link
classr~m ~eo!Y with hands-on, practical
expenence tn different forest settings, and
took great care to establish and monitor
e~erimental management techniques on
different forest plots. He realized that forestry
manage!Dent must include not only timber
producnon but also mineral, wildlife (hunting
and fi_shing) and recreational (hiking,
c~pmg) management. Early studentS of The
B_
ll~ore Forest School were soon widely
clistnbu1ed among the Forest Service and held
leadership roles in developing forestry
programs for the state universities.
About 1914 the steam-driven, "Clyde
Overhead Skidder" was developed. This
machine consisted of a reinforced. stationary
tower-boom with huge cable reels connected
to a movable double cable trolley system.
Mile-long, 2 inch thick cables could be
positioned to "skid" four or five logs up to
40 feet long nearly one mile through the
woods to a loading area where they could
then be loaded onto railroad cars for
transpon to nearby sawmills. The
steam-powered McGiffert Log Loader was
capable of loading huge logs onto train cars.
and even had the ability to "lift iLSelf by the
bootstraps." Huge areas of forest were cut
using these machines, which carelessly
wreaked havoc upon small crees and other
vegetation in the drag-lanes. It was reported
that one skidder remained working at the
same site on Sam's Knob above Sunburst
for two years.
While huge quantities of timber were
>Cat.uah )ournm page 6
removed using overhead skidders, these
foreslS were often later scarred by huge forest
fires, _often started _by SJ?arks from the heavy
machinery, or by lightmng, or deliberately set
fires (caused by displaced bootleggers, it was
sometimes said) which raced through the
slash left behind the logging operations. The
massive grassy balds in Shining Rock
Wilderness Area, along the Blue Ridge
Parkway above Canton, are the result of
skidder logging followed by a great frre in
1925. There are reports of fires burning
continuously for three weeks. One logger
stated that "they burned up more timber than
they ever cut." The great fires of the
industrial logging period influenced to this
day the plant and animal associations found
in the Southern Appalachians.
When the last stands of the great trees
We must see our southern forests as
more than a timber base in order 10 realize
th~ir full value. Our remaining public and
pnvate forests are not just timber and mineral
resources. These forests are the biological
reservoirs of the land. Woodlands are the
lungs and kidneys of the planet, producing
oxygen, and cleansing the air we breath and
the waters we drink. The forests are our
region's greatest biological asset. They need
to be managed for the benefit of all species.
The living forests shelter us all. They must
provide for our need for wood, but they must
also proteet the biological diversity which can
never be replaced. The sustainability of o ~
forests is everyone's responsibility. ~
Lee Barnes is a botanist and an avid
backpacker who has hiked over a thousand
miles in the Smokies, including over a
hundred miles along trails which were once
railroad grades (although he prefers trails
through old growrhforests ).
�OLD LOGGING DAYS
by Frank Hodgin
When I was young we lived on
Canoogcchayc Creek in Macon County, NC,
My daddy was gone, and my mother took
care of us children. She never took a job. She
just took care of the house and helped us in
the fields. We all worked. There's no mistake
about it. We all had a job.
After school, we'd go to the corn field
and work there until dark. If we got behind in
the hoeing, I would stay home from school
for a day or two and get caught up. That's the
way it went.
When I was about 14 years old, I
swapped our mule for a horse, swapped that
horse for a yoke of cattle, and went to work
in the woods. I got a wagon, and I hauled
telephone poles, "acid wood" (wood like
chestnut or red oak from which tannic acid
was extracted to use in tanning leather - ed.),
and pulp wood. I had to haul it eiiht miles.
The other kids and I would go up into
the mountains, cue a load in one day, get it on
the wagon, and bring it home. The next day I
would drive it into town. I'd get back late in
the evening and the next day we would cut
another load, unless we had quit a few days
to work a crop. That was how we bought our
coffee, sugar, and the other linle things we
needed.
When I turned 15 years old, I went to
work for a man who had bought a boundary
of telephone poles on the government
property up in the mountains above our
house. l was making $1.25 for 10 hours of
work a day. Lord, I thought I was making
money. The owner had three yoke of cattle,
and not long after I started working for him,
the man who was driving cattle for him quit.
He let me try driving 'cm, and those cattle
and I got along real well together. I got in
some tight places, but I never let one of his
animals get hun, and I got his telephone
poles out. He had a man doing the cutting,
and that man would help me rig 'cm. I drove
them out to the main road, where they were
loaded onto a wagon and hauled to the station
where they would put 'cm on railroad cars. I
could make two trips a day, carrying five or
six poles in each load.
When I was 17 years old and of pretty
good size, the Blackwood Lumber Company
started cutting timber here. My brother and I
went to work for Blackwood. We worked for
them for years. I worked for the company
longer than he did, off and on. I worked
through to the back end of "Canady" (Little
Canada - the headwaters of the north fork of
the Tuckasegee River - ed.), and all over
Rough Butt and Piney Mountain.
We stayed in their logging camp back
up in the woods. It was a big camp with 75
or80 men.
Most of the time I drove a team for 'em,
skidding logs. We'd get up at 5:30, feed the
horses, put the harness on 'em, and at 6:00 a
gong rnng for breakfast. At 7:00 the camp
foremen turned us out into the woods.
We worked all the time. If you didn't
work, you didn't stay. We worked
differently than the way they do now. There
weren't any coffee breaks. We worked from
7:00until 12:00. We had until 1:00offfor
'FPCL, 1992
lunch, and then we worked until 6:00 that
evening.
It usually took about an hour to get
back to camp. We would cat supper, and then
the teamsters had to water their horses, curry
'em down, and put in plenty of hay. We
Counuy of lhc Atchives of Appaltchia. ETSU
didn't have time to relax or do anything after
supper, we just went to bed, because at 5:30
the next morning they rang a gong to get the
teamsters out of bed and back to the barn
again.
They always turned us loose at 4:00 on
Saturday. They gave us two hours off on
Saturday, and we didn't work on Sunday.
It took a whole day to travel to Macon
County, so we would usually stay at camp
for a month or six weeks at a rime before we
would go back home. Lacer on, I got
married, and we moved to Caney Fork. Then
I would walk home through the mountains
every weekend. There were trails all through
these mounuuns then.
In the camp, we lived in long wooden
shacks. They had double bunks on each side
for the men to sleep in. The kitchen was built
off one of the shacks. It was a long building
with two long tables running the length of it.
Most of the time the tables was just as full of
men as they could be.
They had good cooks, and whatever
you wanted to eat, they had it on the table.
For breakfast, they had ham and eggs, and
biscuits. They'd have flapjacks, and they
made gravy every morning. They'd make
fried 'taters, and that gravy would go over
'cm, and there was applesauce on the side.
They had peaches, they had jelly, and all
kinds of meats on the table. It was good
food, but it cost $1.00 a day. Of the $3.00 I
made every day, I bad to pay $ LOO for
board. That left me $2.00 in wages. Of
course, if we stayed in camp on Sunday, we
still had to pay for board, so when I stayed
over, I made only$ 1.00 for my work on
Monday.
At lunchtime, if we were close enough
to the camp we would go back for lunch. But
up on Caney Fork, when we were away from
camp, they would load the lunch on a railroad
car and a "cookie" from the kitchen brought it
out and set it all out in the woods - just like
we were having a picnic. After everybody
had eaten, he would gather up the dishes, and
1918
after they had loaded the car, he would set all
his equipment on the back and ride out. Or
perhaps he would walk out, because they ran
those trains fast, and sometimes they would
jump the track. It was dangerous driving one
of those narrow-gauge trains. If one went off
the track, it would tear up creation.
Sometimes I drove oxen. Sometimes I
drove horses. I'd drive six of them - three
yokes. The biggest log I ever skidded was a
14 foot log that had 2700 board feet of
lumber in it. It was bigger around lhan I was
tall. There used to be some big timber in
these mountains.
I usually hauled a seven-log rig. I'd set
the logs up in a line behind the teams. The
front log had two J-grabs on it, so that if the
logs started to run, you could turn your
horses out of the road, the spread hooks
would slip off, and the logs would go on by.
Sometimes they'd leave the road, and it
would be a time getting 'em back on if the
ground was slick and icy. They'd get all
tangled up, break loose, spread all over the
mountain. That was some "rough doin'."
I have seen it foul up - logs. horses,
and all - and go over the bank. That didn't
feel good when I saw what happened. It hun
the horses. Some of 'cm got skinned up
pretty badly. Some of 'em would get
crippled, and they would have to kill 'em. Of
course the company didn't care, they had
insurance on 'em.
I've been in lots of close places. A lot
of times the logs would crowd me against a
(continued on next page)
X.Otuc:an Journot pOCJ", 7
�(continued from page 7)
tree or a rock cliff. I had just one chance
then. We wore cork boots (with sruds on the
bottom - ed.), and I'd jump up on a log and
jump off on the other side. Then when I got
past the bad spot, I could cross back.
It never got too rough to slow down. It
didn't matter how deep the snow was or how
thlck the ice was, we went out just the same.
The foreman would turn us out on a rainy
day just like on a good one. We could come
back in if we wanted to, and he
Most camps weren't as big as ours.
Camps usually bunked 30-60 men. There
weren't just timber cutters and teamsters.
There were a lot of other jobs to do. Back
then, they didn't have a bulldozer to make the
roads, they made 'em with manpower. They
took picks and shovels and dug 'em out The
men who worked on the roads were called
"road monkeys." They all had manocks and
shovels. Where there was rock, they had to
blow it out with dynamite. They had one
crew that did the drilling and the shooting.
Cowtcsy of the Arcluves ol Appal&ehia; ETSU
wouldn't say anything about it; it was his job
to turn us out, but if we wanted to work, that
was up to us.
It never got too muddy or too slick to
haul the wood out. The railroad would run in
any kind of weather. I skinned logs many a
time when the road wasn't anything but a
sheet of blue ice. It was dangerous. Back
then, 1 was young, and didn't pay any
attention to it, but looking back on it now, I
can see those dangerous places, and it makes
me tremble sometimes to think of some of the
places I got into.
I drove cattle and horses nearly all my
life. I've been in some of the roughest places
a man can put a team, but I never did get one
hurt l guess 1 had enough practice at it. I
followed 'em for years. I've worked some
real good horses, and I've worked some that
were as mean as they could be. Of course, if
I got of one of those bad teams, I wouldn't
stay long. I'd just move out. I'd go
somewhere else, or I'd stay out a day or two
and come back and get a different team.
I'd haul the logs out of the forest to the
narrow-gauge railroad where they would pick
'em up. The narrow-gauge train pulled about
five cars, and it would bring the logs down to
the top of Indian Camp Branch, where there
was a big skidder. They called it the "drop
out machine." It would book to one car at a
time, and lower it down over a waterfall to
the main line. They would unload the wood,
give a signal, and the skidder would pull the
empty car back and book onto another load.
The wood went down the main line to
East LaPone, at the bonom of Caney Fork
where it joins the Tuckasegee River.
Blackwood had two band mills down there.
Each of them would cut 30,000 feet per day.
That took a lot of logs.
Xotiuih Journat p~ B
Back at camp there was a saw filer who
stayed at the saw-filing shack. In the
evening, the cuners took their saws to the
shack, and the next morning he gave them
sharp saws to take out. There were cooks,
and one feller caUed the "lobby hog" who
would make up the beds in the morning and
would get the wood in and keep the fires
burning in the winter. He would get up early
in the morning and build a fire to get
everything warm before the men got up.
They would generally run about five or
six sawing crews. They would cut those big
trees with that old cross-cut saw, the "misery
whip." That's some rough work.
Back then they just took the best
timber. It had to be number one material.
They would get two logs off some trees, but
most of the time they would just cut one good
log off and leave the rest to rot That's just
the way they logged back then. They wasted
more timber than they cut.
They liked yellow poplar and what they
called mountain oak. Of course, they would
cut everything big enough to make a log white oak, black oak, basswood, maple,
whatever it was. There were a few white pine
trees and a linle hemlock up that way, but the
yellow poplar and the mountain oaks would
bring more money than any other kinds.
Working in that big timber was
dangerous, no mistake about it Sometimes a
man would get bun, and every once in a
while, a man would be killed, but not often.
It was usually somebody who didn't
understand how a tree was going to bust We
had a few killed.
Someone cutting that oak timber had to
know just how to put a lead in it and how to
saw it. Otherwise, it would " slab up," break
off way up high, and part of that tree would
head straight for the ground. If a man wasn't
out of the way, it was just too bad.
Three men worked on each cutting
crew. One man did the "chipping" and the
"measuring off." The other two didn't do
anything but saw.
Almost every tree leans just a little. The
chipper had an axe, and he kept it sharp as a
razor. He would cut a big notch in the tree
right under that lean, 10 or 14 inches deep in
a big tree, and then he would stand back and
keep watch while the others began sawing
behind the notch and cut the tree down from
behind.
When the tree hit the ground, the
chipper measured off the logs they could get
off it, and the cutters would saw them off
while the chipper started chopping a lead in
another tree.
People were killed by falling limbs,
too. Sometimes while they were cutting a
tree, a dead limb would come off and would
catch somewhere high in the branches. If
they were lucky, they could go cut another
tree, and it would come loose and fall. But
they couldn't walk off and leave a tree.
Eventually they had to go back and get it. The
chipper would watch out for the cutters while
they sawed the tree and got out. Sometimes,
though, it wouldn't be five minutes before
the dead limb would fall, and the cutters
would have to dive out of the way. People
got killed that way, not getting out from
under a limb.
They had a timber foreman, a road
foreman, and a foreman in charge of the
whole camp. The big bosses stayed down in
the company offices at East LaPone, where
the mill was. There's very little down there
now, but East LaPorte was a mill town back
then. There were more than 100 houses for
the people who lived and worked there. The
houses went up to the top of the ridge.
They had a store down there, but they
also had commissaries all up Caney Porlc for
the working people. We would buy goods
with scrip notes that the company issued.
They would give us as much scrip as we
wanted and then take it out of our checks
down at the the main office.
The commissaries had groceries, tools,
shoes, boots, clothes - anything a person
wanted. It was like a general store. They
weren't more expensive than the Sylva
Supply store in town. They were just about
like any of the stores.
Logging has changed a lot since my
time. They don't do it now like we were
doing it. It used to be an old cross-cut and
"get 'em the hard way," but now it's all done
with bulldozers, skidders, and chain saws.
Chain saws started coming in during
the forties. I bought my first chain saw in
1951 or 1952. Early on, some of 'em
worked, and some of 'em were mighty sorry.
Most of the early ones were two-man saws.
They were big ones. They worked pretty
well, but they were hard to carry through the
woods. We used that kind until the
companies put out the one-man chain saw.
They were heavy when they first came out,
but the loggers still thought they were bener
than pulling on the cross-cut all day. They
have improved on them a lot since they first
staned making them.
Things have gotten a little easier,
anyway. Those old loggers, they sure had a
time.
~
1'aU, 1992
�WORKING THE
WOODLANDS
by David Wheeler
Western North Carolilltl is abour 76%
forest. What we do, how we manage these
f oresrs - or how we mismanage them determines our destiny. We can't drill for oil;
we can't catch sabrwn; we can't grow wheat.
Forests are what we've got.
- Charles Woodard,foresrer
Looking out from over a high cliff in
Katuah Province, one's vision moves across
sweeps of green-mantled mountains flowing
out to the horizon. Trees in such number and
such variety are seen in few other places in
the world. It is clear that lhe natural growth in
this bioregion is forest. If left to grow, the
old hills would be covered almost completely
with a bewildering variety of tall trees and the
wide diversity of other plant and animal
species associated with them. Great and
small, each species contributes to the health
of lhe forest and makes it what it is.
We are positioned between the warm
Gulf air currents to the south, and the cold
Canadian air currents to the north. The land
climbs more than 5,000 feet in elevation
change. In some parts of the region rainfall is
40 inches per year, while in others it is more
than 90. The wide variety of influences
causes a wide diversity of species. More than
140 species of trees are known here. There
are, of course, all grades of sites, but on
good sites many species of trees find their
highest expression in the Blue Ridge.
In 1901, H.B. Ayres and W.W. Ashe
were sent by the federal government to
inventory the Southern Appalachian forest.
Of the area around the Great Smoky
Mountains, they wrote:
"The forests are chiefly of hardwoods,
with a large amount of coniferous growth
around lhe higher summits and in the deep,
cool hollows. On the drier slopes, and
especially on the south sides, oak and
chestnut form the greater part of the timber,
with some black and yellow pine on the
ridges. The timber in the hollows is more
varied and the stand is heavier, poplar, birch,
Jinn, and buckeye being associated with the
oak and chestnut. The finest and largest
bodies of spruce in the southern
Appalachians occur here, along the crest of
the ridge and the north slope... "
Just as the trees are a central feature of
the ecology of the area, they have also
historically been a central feature in the lives
of the people who lived close to the land.
And if we are to re-establish a balanced
habitation of this area once again, our
relationship with the trees will again be a
primary fact of our ex.istence here.
Seventy percent of the Southern
Appalachian lands are still in forest. Some
people hazard the guess that more land is in
forest now than 100 years ago when each
family had to clear off the acres they needed
to grow all their own food. Many of the trees
growing in the mountains are hardwoods.
f"aU, 1992
Photo US National Archive
Since the loss of the American chestnut from
the forest canopy, yellow poplar is the most
common species, though it does not dominate
the region as the mighty chestnut once did.
Sixty-four percent of the region is
considered "timberland," which is technically
defined as sites that would suppon timber
utilization. By US Forest Service estimates,
there are 16.7 billion cubic feet of "growing
stock" (trees that are of a size to produce
sawtimber) in the region. There is an
estimated 54.6 billion board feet of
sawtimber growing in the region according to
the latest Forest Service surveys. With the
mild climate, abundant rainfall, and dark
forest soils, this bioregion is well situated to
produce quality sawtimber. For the region,
that is a blessing and a curse.
For as long as they have been here,
people have used wood from the forest trees sometimes carefully, sometimes in a manner
that was wantonly destructive. The forest is
only now recovering from the onslaught of
industrial capital which ravaged the area in
search of precious big timber at the turn of
the century. The timber barons looted the
region both economically and ecologically,
and when their plundering was done they fled
with their wealth to pillage elsewhere.
The timber industry of today is making
a positive economic contribution to the
region, but often at the expense of
environmental integrity - an expensive price.
Logging and roadbuilding in the national
forests penetrates into the last old growth
stands left in the mountains and cuts t0 the
bean of the last great habitat area left in the
southeastern forest zone. Papennaking pays
some of the highest wages in the region, but
the Champion mi11 in the town of Canton is
killing the Pigeon River with a toxic effluent
that contains the deadly chemical compound
dioxin.
According to latest Forest Service
surveys of the region, the industry is
annually cutting 747,520,000 board feet (bf)
of sawtimber, 1,851,000 cords of pulpwood,
and wood for manufacturing 24,332,000
board feet of composite board. Wood is also
cut for poles, fence postS, and a resurgent
firewood trade. According to North Carolina
State University's College of Forest
Resources, the value of the timber cut in
western North Carolina alone equals
$129,231,000.
This timber, according to Bureau of the
Census figures for 1988, supported 51,354
employees in lumber and wood productS,
furniture, and paper-making occupation's in
the region. This was 7% of the employment
in the whole region.
High-grade hardwood sawtimber from
the Southern Appalachian forests goes mostly
to making furniture, lumber, facing veneers,
and ornamental moundings. Some is
exported overseas, largely to foreign
furniture plantS. Lower-grade hardwoods go
into the inside layers of plywood, flooring,
pallets, railroad ties, and mine supports.
Chips from small or poor quality trees are
used in making oriented strand board and
pulped for paper, paperboard, and coated
stock.
(continued on page 11)
:K.cituan Journat PCMJe 9
�,,,l:1 'PhtIT
..:rmi1 1:,3wl '{d Juo lllguod
~-J,f 1''tti ~, T"
~;J•, :,~iif·...
&
n.-
bid ru;:i 1ol1C1J11o:J lli:.m?. 11 '{t.UOJ n~•,, bna
'-· ., ..
,.. .,,, ;. ,.. ,
with employment and earnings in the lumber fon:ed
to zero. Lumber was chosen since it provides the raw
material for fumilUIC and paper. Furniture and paper
were not forced to zero values in the Model
This is a well established Slalistical teehnique
for answering "what ii" types of questions as the one
posed here, but it should be in no way taken to mean
that the author advocates the elimination or the
lumber industry in any way.
•
On average, lOl3I earnings in the region would
decline by over one percent if the lumber industry
were losL Disposable per capita income would decline
by almost as much. The most affected industry would
be paper with losses in earnings and employment in
lumbt:r on other industries as captured by the Model,
Lotal employment in manufacturing in Western North
Carolina would decline approximately two pcrcenL
While these losses may not seem great, they
are the stuff of strong recessions if comparable losses
were to occur at the national level.
br" ,f:,n,i,'\ qv Ilg, ri->ti! bl"JI ?Ir,:>.,.,,.,..,.,,,
Wood Products and Western North Carolina
by Dr. John Wade
(about 200) over this time period. (In other words. the
increase in fumilUrC (300 jobs) and lumber (400.jobs)
arc more than offset by the losses in paper industry
jobs.)
A beuer picture of job trends in these throe
wood products industries can be had by looking at the
relative position of these industries to the toial
picture in Western Nonh Carolina, as seen in
Figure 2.
Figure 2 shows the disparity in job growth
in the wood producis industry (lumber, furniture and
paper combined) and agricultural occupations with the
rest of Wesiem North Carolina.
The numbers used in the graph do not represent
actual numbers of jobs. Rather. the sectors have been
indexed, so they all sharc a common starting point in
1969 that is set equal to one. This is done so that
change in the different sectors can be pictured on the
same graph.
·
Total employment in Western Nonh Carolina
and employment in the service industry is much
greater than in agriculture and wood producis. For
example, in 1988 there was a total of slightly over
400,000 jobs in the region of which 16,240 jobs (or
4%) were in the wood products industries.
The values on the vertical axis show the
percentage change in employment over time.
Employment in the service sector has grown by
almost 70 percent between 1969 and 1988. Toial
employmenl has increased by about 55 percent.
In comparison, wood products jobs have been
quiie stagnant, evidencing no growth during this time
Depanmenr of Economics and F'JNl'IU,
School ofBu.rincn, Wcsran Carolina University
The trend of the~ few decades towards
growing environmenial awareness in the United
SUIICS has engulfed Western Nonh Carolina and made
some of iis lnldilional industties controversial. An
excellent example is in the wood producis area whose
lumbering practices have come wider increasing
scrutiny from environmentalists. Here we take a
two-fold look at the wood producis industries (which
are comprised of the lumber, fumitwe and paper
industries). F'USl, historical data for employment &om
the WNC Ecooometric Model at Western Carolina
University and which is fwided by Tennessee Valley
Authority is presented to place these industries' role
in Western North Carolina economy in perspective.
Second, simulations from the Model arc used 10
answer some what if type of questions such as what
impact does lumber have on the Western North
Carolina economy?
EMPLOYMENT TRENDS
Figure ] depicts employment in the three
wood products industries in Weslern North Carolina
Io all three, employment is quite cyclical or sensitive
to downturns in economic activity, although paper is
somewhat mOR stable than its wood products
couoterpans. Although paper employment is stable,
it shows a Sleady decline in jobs from over 5700 in
1969 to slightly more than 4700 jobs in 1988, a loss
of approximately 1000 jobs. The loss of jobs in
paper is economically significant since jobs in the
paper indusuy are some of the highest paying
manufacturing jobs in the area
In fact, none of the wood i-ooucts industries in
Weste.m Nonh Carolina could be characterized as a
growth iodusuy as far as number of jobs is concerned.
The entire group experienced a slight loss in jobs
CONCLUSJONS
Wood products are a significant pan of the
Wesiern North Carolina economy, although their
importance is slowly diminishing as fastu growing
sectors of the regional economy continue to expand.
The regional economy bas already been hun by the
loss of jobs in the paper industry which arc among
the highest paying in manufacturing.
The source of dala for lhis article is lhe Western
North Carolina Economclric Model maintained by
Professor Wilk al We5tem Carolina Univemty under
conlJ'aet &om lhe T"'11\C$SCC Valley Aulhority. The
Model cons.isl$ of over 80 equations designed lo show
lhc interrelationships among seciors in Western North
Carolina Ind between seciors in Wutem Nonh Carolina
and lhc TVA md nalion.aJ economics.
The UNWlCC of Edward Su=u is grarefully
period.
"WHAT IF?" CONSIDERATIONS
aclcnowledgcd.
The views md conclusions in !his article do not
nccasarily rellect lhosc of lhe TVA.
The Western North Carolina Econometric
Model can also be used to answer "what ii" typeS of
questions. To further ascertain the value of the wood
products industries to Western North Carolina, the
Model was used to simulate the regional economy
WNC EMPLOYMENT
For lhe pwposcs of lhis article Western Nonh
Carolina is defined u the fiftu:n counties of Nonh ..,~
Carolina in lhc Tcnnasee Valley watershed.
fr
INDEXED WNC EMPLOYMENT
FURNITURE, LUMBER & PAPER: :1969-1988
BASE YEAR 1969
1.1·~-----------------------,
1.o+-- - - - - -- - - - - - -- - - - -7"--i
1.5•-+--- - - - - - -- - - - -- - - - - --:7':~--1
1.4.l----- -- - -- - - - ---------,,....,11:-----1
1.3+-- - -- -- - -";p;'e:.i!i::::~~~=--- ----l
1.2+ - - -- --
---1iil~~~~-
=----=:::::::ra,;:----I
+--- -~~~--1--~ __.,l!l:::ll!~~ ~---=-'""=-..llb.--Di
1.1
0.9·+ -
..?:::.;,j:.......::..__
_ _ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
--1
0 .81.J......-.--,---,--,--,----,---,,--,-,---r--.--..-----.---,--,.--,---r---.--.-'
1969
1972
1975
1978 1981
YEARS
Figure I.
Xat-1'.iah Jou.mat pQCJe 10
1984
1987
1--
1972
SERVICES
1975
1978
YEARS
1981
1984
1987
- - TOTAL EMP. ---- WOOD PRO. -e- AG~I.
Figure 2.
1-"0U., 1992
�(continued mxn page 9)
Nearly 50% of the furniture
manufacturers in the United States and the
same percentage of the hardwood plywood
and veneer manufacturing operations are
located within the five states that include the
Katuah bioregion. Much of the
furniture-making activity is concentrated on
the North Carolina piedmont. That location
was chosen because it was close to the
mountains, which supply 65% of the
industry's raw materials, but still on flat land
and accessible to major trade routes.
Columbia-Carolina Corporation located
a plant in Marion. NC specifically to gain
access to Appalachian yellow poplar for
plywood manufacturing and now uses 28
million board feet wood per year. AFG
Industries in Knoxville employs a large
workforce making wooden containers.
The Champion International plant in
Haywood County is a major purchaser of
pulpwood in itS area, and there is a Bowater
Southern paper plant in McMinn County, TN
and a Mead Company paper plant in
Kingspon, TN. Federal Paperboard and a
large Westvaco plant in Covington, VA
utilize pulp to manufacture paperboard.
Abitibi-Price Corporation makes hardboard
siding at its Roaring River plant in Wilkes
County, NC and Weyerhauser Company
turns out more than 50,000 board feet of
oriented strand board per day at its factory in
Elkins, NC. Most of these companies are on
the periphery of the Southern Appalachians
and draw only part of their raw materials
from the mountains.
The smaller sawmills like the large
operations for the added markets that they
create for lower-grade material. Sawtimber
companies, for example, do not like to cut
puJpwood; but if they have to cut it, they
want to be able to sell it. Charles Woodard,
director of the industry group the MuJtiple
Use Council, said, ''When we heard that
Columbia Carolina was building a facility,
everybody said, 'Hallelujah!' because they
came for exactly what we were having a hard
rime getting rid of - the low-grade poplar
lumber."
It is obvious that the pulp and chip
sectors of the forest productS industry are
dominated by the industrial giants. Reducing
wood to biomass and processing it into
productS is a question of moving huge
volumes of material efficiently. This is a job
best suited for large-scale, automated,
energy-intensive machinery. The investment
is substantial, and a high degree of regularity
is required. This is the scale of economy at
which the giant, centralized corporations like
to keep their operations.
Most of the smaller, independent
companies cut and process sawrimber. This
is less complicated and does not require large
investments in sophisticated technologies.
Sawtimbcr is still an important component of
the mountain wood economy, and the wood
products industry still retains much of its
traditional autonomy and independence in the
region. Of the 521 lumber and wood
products companies listed for the Southern
Appalachian region in the Department of
Commerce's Counry Business Pa11erns, 66%
employ less than 10 people, 92% employ less
than 50. A small logging operation requires
less capital than most business operations,
J'tlft, 1992
and even today a small contractor can bid a
timber sale and then ca1J up friends and
family members to help cut it There still are
part-time sawmills back in the hills that start
up operation when the price of lumber is
good, sell a bit, and then cease operation
bought out by larger fums.
"It's just like anything else. Those who
do a good job, keep up with the technology,
and keep track of market trends are going to
do alright.
"There probably some people who can
Counesy Jone.sboro Museum, Washington County TN
when the price goes down.
The mountain forest produc1s industry
seems to be generally in good health. There is
stiff competition among furniture company
buyers for Appalachian hardwood, and no
company seems to have an undue advantage
in setting prices. The timber industry in the
mountains is itself quite decentralized. Most
sawmills, for instance, are small to
medium-sized by national standards. Many of
them are family-owned. A sawmill that
supports l 00 workers is viewed as a large
operation in the Appalachians. For instance,
among the biggest buyers of timber stumpage
east of the Great Smoky Mountains are the
Parton Lumber Company, T & S
Hardwoods, and WNC Pallet. Parton
employs 75 workers at the mill and works 80
loggers in the forest. T & S has 54
millworkers and 50 loggers working on
contract WNC Pallet employs 120 people at
their mill at Candler. AJthough they are
independent and fiercely competitive among
themselves, the Appalachian loggers and mill
owners arc cJannish and as a group wield
considerable economic and political power in
the region.
But changes arc happening within the
forest products industry. Dr. Larry Jahn,
associate professor in the Department of
Wood and Paper Science at Nonh Carolina
State University, says:
"There are still many small,
independently-owned mills operating in
Nonh Carolina. However, th.e trend over the
last 10-15 years is that operations which are
inefficient or which don't adapt to new
technologies either go out of business or are
cut just for the local market and be successful
at it, but the business has become more
sophisticated. Operators have to keep tabs on
what is happening, always be looking for
market niches, and must keep a constant
awareness that they are dealing in an
inrernational market and must be producing
the best product that they can. Because it's
much more competitive than it was years ago.
h's a tough business. It's very competitive."
Loggers, too, arc feeling the same
pressures.
"It talces so much invesunent in this
modem, mechanized equipment, the little
feller can't afford to get into it. They are
pressed to move a certain volume of wood,
because insurance and mechanization costs
are putting them in a real bind," says Frank
Norris, publisher of the market bulletin
Timber Mart South and a veteran forester of
50 years experience.
"It's becoming more sophisticated all
the time. It's surprising how many
loggers...the wife runs a computer and does
the bookkeeping for 'em. They don't do it off
a paper sack anymore.
"They have to go further for wood, and
to run the highways now they have to have
better trucks. So their costs have gone up
quite a bit.
"They're being squeezed between their
costs and what they can get for their product,
so they're going to have to be more efficient
or more of 'em will go out. Both of those
things are happening. That's the reason you
see fewer of 'em in it There's quite a few
less than there were 20 years ago."
(continued on next page)
X.cu:uah ) O\U'nCIC
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(continued (mm page 11)
Other changes are going on outside the
industry that also affect its future. One of the
most influential of these changes is in the
growth of the population in the region and the
shift in its composition. Currently, most of
the growth in population is the result of
in-migration from outside the bioregion. The
newcomers bring with them new attitudes
and different ideas - including different
occupations and different approaches to land
use.
One of the strengths of the independent
operators has been that, since the depanurc of
the early timber interests in the 1930's, forest
products work has been locally controlled.
The people working in the industry today arc
not the offspring of the timber barons, but arc
much more likely to be descendants of the
people who worked for them. In fact, the
timber industry has become a bastion of
economic support for the local people of the
region. If the industry were to die, a lot of the
local culture would die with it.
Today, the strength in this stabiliiy
may turn out to be a handicap. The regional
economy is changing. As the graph on this
page shows, regional employment is rising.
The rise in employment in the service
occupations is on the same curve, which
suggests that it is this sector which is driving
the upswing. But while total employment and
employment in service jobs arc rising, the
number of people working in the wood
products jobs is holding steady. And while
workers are more likely to be operating a
band saw than pulling a crosscut saw in the
woods, they arc likely to be members of the
same families who have traditionally worked
with wood. Thus, while employment in
wood products jobs is staying even, their
percent of influence in the changing economy
of the mountain region is declining.
"This change is oocwring panJy
:l(otuah JournaL p<M)e 12
because of the changing mix of
population ...Fewer people are working in
agricultural jobs; more are employed in the
government, service, and retail trade sectors.
The number in manufacturing has increased
slightly in the last decade, but it is a much
smaller percentage of the total number
holding jobs. There is now less employment
in jobs dependent on forest products, such as
wood, than in the past. Tourism, however, is
an increasingly irnponam pan of the
economy," wrote the authors of the Draft
land and Resource Management Plan/or the
Nantahala-Pisgah National Forests in 1985.
Another aspect of the change in the
region's population profile is the change in
land ownership. The newcomers arc buying
ll_P the land. Unlike the timber and pulp
• 'c3rporations on the coastal plain who own
their industrial forests, the mountain sawmills
cut mostly on other people's land. In the past
the landowners were fanners who depended
on their woodlots to provide extra cash and
so were glad to have them cut as soon as they
were of sawlog size. Now people arc moving
in who wish to escape from the industrial
madness to a forest retreat. They arc
well-to-do and want trees, not stumpage
payments. This is sure to tighten the supply
of timber in the region.
What about the future? The agreement
is unanimous that over the long term the
demand for hardwoods, and thus their price,
will only increase. High-grade sawtimber is
especially desired.
In the broad outlook. conditions are
quite advantageous for the forest products
trade. Locally, however, forecasts are that the
amount of forest products operations that the
region can suppon will shrink somewhat.
And the shrinkage will take place in the
number of the smaller companies that do not
have strong financial backing.
The corporate style of operation is not
suited 10 the mountains - or anywhere in the
natural world, for that matter. The smaller,
more flexible timber companies have the
potential for working in a way that is much
more appropriate. The only question is
whether the people in forest products
occupations arc willing to adapt to the
changes that are currently taking place.
Replacing local people with newcomers
who embody the new corporate attitudes is
no solution. Working with wood offers a
cultural reference point and a way local
people can keep their place on the land. But
exploitative attitudes toward the land,
particularly when tranSlated into exploitative
ways of working in the forest, will no longer
suffice. It is not sustainable to support our
species' life at the expense of the life of the
land. Let us hope we can learn the lessons of
ecology and put them to work. We want
people to develop, not tum their backs o~'#
their ties to this place.
fr
J'Alt, 1992
�Jj'
! 'J,1
DEPLETION FOR DOLLARS:
THE ECONOMICS OF CHIP MILLS
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The chip mill issue can be framed as a
question of how to utilize the Tennessee
River Valley region's forest resources to the
best advantage of its residents.
One option is to maintain the health of
the established hardwood industry by
keeping out the remote chip mills. This
existing option can be characterized as an
environmentally acceptable and sustainable
system whose market demand is based
predominantly on regional economics.
A second option, that of bringing in
remote, high capacity chip mills, can be
characterized as a mechanized, unacceptable,
and regionally non-sustainable system whose
marlcet demand is based essentially on global
economics.
Backlf'OUDd
To understand the chip mill issue it is
essential to understand the forest products
industry structure and the resource base upon
which it depends. There are basically two
divisions of the industry: the solid wood
segment - which requires a continuous
supply of mature trees to supply lumber for
manufactured goods; and the paper segment •
which requires a maximum volume of wood
fiber to manufacrure paper products.
In order to insure a continuous supply
of mature trees, the solid wood segment uses
the environmentally sound practice of
selective harvesting in which only the older
trees are harvested from a site, and many
middle-aged and young trccS are left for the
next harvest in 15 to 20 years. The selective
harvest method can be abused by "high
grading," a practice in which only the best
trees are taken and no cull cuts are made to
insure that commercially valuable species will
be available for the next cuL
On the other hand, chip mills, in order
to obtain maximum fiber volume at minimum
cost for the paper industry, generally use the
environmentally degrading clearcutting
method, clearing all protective cover from the
land. If reforestation is planned, it is done
with bulldozers and herbicides to insure that
f'aU, 1992
the new crop of commercial trees are
"released."
All chip mills are not the same. There
are chip mills associated with sawmills and
manufacturers which process mill and facrory
"residues" so that they can be utilized as
"residue chips" in the manufacture of paper.
There are "whole tree chippers" which can be
carried from site to site and process whole
trees. And then there are high capacity chip
mills, sometimes called "remote" or "satellite"
chip mills, which are set up to supply a
primary facility (pulp or paper mill) that is in
another region or country. These "high
capacity chip mills" are the chip mills that
have applied to the Tennessee Valley
Authority (IV A) for permits to locate along
the Tennessee River at South Pinsburg, TN.
Any further mention of chip mills will refer to
these remote, high capacity mills.
High capacity chip mills cost
approximately $3 million to $5 million,
excluding site preparation. They have a
mechanical life expectaney of three to ten
years, depending on how heavily they are
used They generally employ eight people or
less. Advocates of chip mills usually try to
claim that new jobs are created by log
harvesting employmenL However, it is
documented in both North Carolina and
Alabama that much of the harvesting
employment already exists and is occupied
supplying established regional industries.
Because of the high volume contracts, the
lower handling costs, and the high value for
the commodity on the world market, loggers
and haulers often abandon existing industries
and go to work for the chip mills.
Harvestin& Impacts
Comprehending the purpose, the
nature, and the amount of tree consumption
by the chip mills is essential to decision
making because the region already has a very
large manufacturing economy based upon the
hardwood resource.
The fundamental purpose of the chip
mills is to supply fiber for pulp and paper
mills ourside our region. TVA estimates that
landowners will be paid a $1 to $4 per ton
"stumpage" price by the chip mills for their
timber as it stands. Following estimates by
Charles McGee in the article "Low Quality
Hardwood Stands," this is not enough to pay
for reforestation. High grade hardwood
timber is noc likely to regenerate without
management costs. ff the owner is not willing
to reinvest funds the resulting stand will
likely be suitable only for use as pulpwood.
Trees are harvested and delivered to the
chip mill (for $18 per ton in my Alabama
study area), and then chipped and sold for
around $23 or $24 per ton. At that point the
resource will be gone from our region with
little value added. A ton of hardwood chips
brings approximately $122, delivered to
Japan.
Contrast this "regional chip mill
resource return" with our established,
value-adding hardwood industries. The
landowner is first paid a stumpage price for
the timber, the logs are delivered to a mill
which saws them into rough lumber; the
rough lumber is made into finished lumber,
marketed, and transported to a manufacturing
facility where it is made into a wood product;
this is then marketed and transported to a
wholesaler or retailer, who markets it one
more time. Value is added at each stage of the
process.
It should be obvious that when
compared to the established hardwood
industry "multiplier" for employment, the
chip mill employment "multiplier" becomes a
tremendous employment "reducer." It is also
obvious that there is no value added in the
region.
Another point is that the chip mills are
going to utiliz.e a much greater amount of
wood than has been previously estimated.
TVA stated that each mill would consume
300,000 tons of chips per year per mill.
However, Steve Loveland of Georgia-Pacific
Corporation in an article entitled "South
Atlantic Chip Supply," said, "Any chip mill
(continued on nCJ1l page)
xawah Journat poc,e 13
�(continued
fro;;. ·page 13)
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can double or ttiple irs chipping ourput by
adding shifts and can be virtually run around
the clock, seven days a week if necessary."
This Statement shows that the figure on
which TV A is basing its calculations is a
minimum figure. Acrual production for one
chip mill could easily be three times that
much if economic conditions warranted. In
other words, if TV A chose to permit only one
chip mill, it alone could consume as much as
TV A's predicted level for three chip mills.
Another factor that skews predictions of
ecological and economic impacts is that the
chip mills are committed to providing a
steady volume of chips regardless of local
prices. There is a large capital investment
involved in each of the mills, and many of
them are owned by paper mills or are under
binding "take-or-pay" supply contracts,
meaning that they have to pay cash if they do
not meet agreed-upon supply quotas. This
artificially-maintained production depresses
the price of residue chips produced by
sawmills in the region, and is also
inconsistent with wise resource and
environmental management.
Chip mills can also serve in a secondary
economic capacity: that of liquidating the
regional resource into readily available capital
for transnational corporations that are
sttuggling to keep their heads above water in
troubled economic times. In simpler terms,
the chip mills are to provide ready cash to
their troubled corporate parents by trying, as
rapidly as possible, to tum trees into money.
This is particularly devastating to the
established regional industries and the local
environment. The chip mills do not care if
"the regional resource"is liquidated because
their mechanical life will essentially be over
by the time the trees are gone.
The Boise Cascade Corporation is one
~xample. Like most of the paper and pulp
mdustry, before the recession hit Boise
Csacade made large capital invesnnents to
increase their capacity. Now the corporation
is saddled with high interest payments in the
face of a decreased market demand.
Furthermore, due to the tremendous amounts
of chip exports from the Nonhwest 10 the
Japanese, they are being squeezed by chip
prices in their operations in the Pacific
Nonhwesr. (Condensed from The Value
Line). In fact, according to the December,
1991 PaperandPu/p, Boise Cascade
suffered a "$32.6 million loss in the second
quarter" of 1991, and third quanereamings
sank "to a $49.4 million deficit."
As a solution to their predicament,
Boise Cascade plans to sacrifice the region's
hardwood forests, upon which many local
people have depended for decades.
Many foreign nations have a labor
advantage over the United States on the open
international market. The United States
maintains its competirve position because of a
superior supply of resources. It is clearly a
good economic strategy for foreign
companies to cur as much pulpwood as
possible. If they can use much of the United
States' resource, the United States will be
that much more vulnerable on the open
market By chipping our trees, foreign
competitors are improving their long term
X-citiuih JouTna£ page 14
I
exporting market position. American
business and government should be thinking
ahead. Our competitors are.
tnnuence of Market Conditions
Developments in the regional and world
markets helped 10 create this confrontation in
the Tennessee River Valley between
established regional wood producrs industries
and transnational corporations.
The first was a rise in the domestic
demand for hardwoods. Because of a
slowdown in the growth of softwood trees,
overharvesring, an obvious supply of cheap
hardwoods, and the development of new
technology for using hardwoods in the
making of pulp, the paper companies staned
using a significant amount of hardwood chips
in the mid-eighties. (The current mix is
approximately 31% hardwoods and 69%
softwood.)
The overseas demand for hardwoods
has also boomed. Several deepwater ports,
like the Pon of Mobile in Alabama, invested
heavily in chip exporting facilities during the
1980's. The federal government also invested
$2 billion of the taxpayer's money 10 build
the Tenn-Tom Waterway to create a direct
route between the Tennessee River and the
Gulf. It is ironic that the foreign corporations
would be much less competitive with our
regional industries if the government had oot
subsidized their transportation system.
Also during this time many
well-meaning foresc industry people decided
that they needed to "create" additional
markets for our low-grade hardwoods by
developing expon markets. They should have
known better than to think that they could
tamper with the market without creating
serious repercussions in the existing
hardwood economy of the region.
This confluence of trends adds up to a
radical market change which today could
devastate the resource base upon which the
sustainable, labor intensive, value-adding,
regional hardwood industries of the
Tennessee River Valley depend.
Nature of the Chip Mil! Harvest
The nature of the chip mill harvest is
symptomatic of the market demand that
drives it. The original intent behind the chip
mills was to create a market for low-grade
hardwoods. However, clearcutting for the
chip mills takes all the hardwoods - poor
ones, deformed ones, plus the well-formed
young trees that would have grown up to
make high-grade sawtimber.
If extensive areas in the Tennessee
Valley are clearcut, as they have been _in
Alabama, it will be at least 70 to 80 years
before any hardwood sawtimber matures. No
one seems concerned about what will happen
to the small local operators in the meantime.
On a more immediate note, the low-grade
sawmills and pallet makers find themselves
shutting down or operating at a loss because
the world chip market demand has driven low
grade timber prices out of their reach.
A sawmill owner in a nonhwestem
Alabama county, where chip mill resource
depletion has occurred and the sawmills have
been shut down, said ruefully that any
sawmill owner would be committing
economic suicide to allow a hardwood chip
-
mill within theit ~ .
A visit to the areas of Alabama already
clearcut is probably the most convincing
economic or environmental argument that can
be made against the permitting of the chip
mills.
Competition for the Forest Resource
Does our region have plenty of
hardwoods to spare? AU the numbers
presented by TV A say that we are growing
twice as much as we are harvesting. But there
is also the question of availabiliry: all the
growing trees are not available for industrial
consumption.
How much of that volume is actually
available for harvesr after figuring in
operability factors such as steep slopes and
year round water problems, and landowners
who do not want to sell their limber? Thomas
R. Reed of Champion International
Corporation in his article "Industrial
Perspective on Hardwood Use," said that
roughly 50% of the hardwoods are available.
This estimate is considered high by some
observers. But TV A neglected to do any kind
of availability discounting. They assumed in
their calculations that all the hardwood trees
in the region were available.
The regional hardwood industries
already depend on those growing trees. The
bottom line is that although we may be
growing a lot of hardwoods, we are not
growing enough to supply the existing
hardwood sawmills, the existing regional
paper mills, which are increasing their use of
low-grade hardwoods, AND the remote chip
mills who are here to harvest the hardwoods
of the region for the rest of the world.
The domestic paper companies are large
and well-financed and will probably survive
the crisis, but the small milling operations,
which employ roughly 85% of the Valley's
forest products workers, will inevitably be
sacrificed for the chip mills that will siphon
off the region's wealth for huge transnational
corporations.
In terms of the eovironmeotal impact,
or the economic impact oo tourism, the
region will be trading the incredible scenery
and diverse ecological community that
accompanies a selectively harvested, mature
hardwood forest for a pulpwood lot
checkered with constant clearcuts. If one
considers aesthetics as imponant, the impact
ori southeastern Tennessee is going to be
devastating. The scenery will be a politician's
nighnnare: graphic evidence of a bad decision
that gets worse, and becomes more visible to
the public, with every passing year. ~
- Harley Wessman
lnforma1ion for this article was provided by
Robert Mitchell. coordinator of the Tennessee Valley
liardwood Alliance. a coalition of small hardwood
lumber manufacturers whose livelihoods are
threatened by the chip mill operations that are seeking
permits to operate in the Tennessee River Valley.
Contact the TeMessee Valley Hardwood
Alliance; clo R.C. Mitchell; 2850 McCa//ie Ave.;
Cha11anooga, TN 37404.
For more information on how to stop the chip
mill invasion, c<>ntact T.A.G.E.R.; Box 764; Souih
Pi11sburg, TN 37380.
1"aU, 1992
�LOGGING
WITH HORSES
by Nancy McIntyre
"It's a win/win solution," says Jason
Rutledge. He is talking about horse logging,
a low-impact and sustainable timber
harvesting method. Environmentalists call for
timber harvesting to stop on public lands.
The timber industry pushes ro cut marketable
trees and to harvest them in the cheapest way,
preferably clearcurting. Logging with draft
horses offers another choice that addresses
concerns of both groups.
Conventional timbering requires
building logging roads, often at public
expense - roads that are large enough to
accommodate tractor-trailer rigs and which
damage the environment. Horse logging
needs no road building and leaves minimal
disturbance, even in steep or remote areas.
Rutledge describes horse logging as a
superior technology, "an evolved approach
that marries science to culture."
He goes on to say that "cUITCnt horse
logging is a modem effort that employs
specifically-bred heavy draft horses that are
harnessed with nylon components and work
in multiple hitches with several teams in
tandem like the Budweiser Clydesdales,
except that I use horses of the Suffolk Punch
breed. The teams pull a steel log arch, which
has high flotation pneumatic tires that provide
front end suspension of long tree stems. This
log extraction technique, along with
directional felling, creates extremely low
environmental and visual impact."
Environmentally Sensitive Logging
Company, started by Rutledge and based in
southwestern Virginia, has harvested over
200,000 board feet of timber from national
forests in Virginia. Using "real horsepower,"
Rutledge and his parmer John Thornton have
removed trees from the Jefferson National
Forest by the single tree selection method.
Defined as balanced, uneven-aged
management, this least-damaging,
sustained-yield harvesting technique cuts a
few peak trees per acre.
Tree age, species, site, soil type, grade
exposure, remaining growth, and wildlife
habitat are among the aspects considered in
tree selection. Rutledge explains that "this
method of harvesting closely imitates nature's
own selection process. Each tree is
recognized as part of the interconnected
whole. Top wood from cut trees and some
trees of undesired species are left lying on the
forest floor, while desired species remain
standing in varying ages and become
dominant in population and size." He adds
that the Forest Service and agricultural
colleges have many expens who can mark
timber for this type of harvesting.
"Modern conventional logging
equipment does too much damage to the
environment to go into the forest on a 10 to
20 year harvest rotation to remove a few peak
trees per acre. With horses you can do this,
and everyone wins something," Rutledge
emphasizes. "Tunber is harvested without
clearcutting, and there is never removaJ of
den treeS or the total destruction of the forest
canopy. Therefore, wildlife habitat is
preserved while the forest is still contributing
to immediate human needs of building
1-"aU, 1992
materials, furniture, paper, etc.
"A healthy forest is maintained and
helps to protect water and air. yet jobs in the
logging business continue, and forest
products still enter the manufacturing
channels, though coming in smaller loads
from smaller tracts and smaller operators.
With horse logging, there is less ground for
resistance and appeals from environmentalists
and a bener opportunity to avoid below-cost
timber sales. Governments in other parts of
the world have already recognized the
extensive knowledge and teach others,"
Chaffee says.
Rutledge offers formal instruction and
apprenticeships, but cautions, "Logging is
one of the most dangerous occupations in the
country."
To learn chain saw use, he strongly
recommends the Soran Erickson Game of
Logging School, sponsored by the Stihl
Company. (Inquire with local forestry
deparunents for this nationwide instruction.)
"Such instruction can save lives, countless
Counesy of lhc Archives of Appalachia, ETSU
benefits of animal-powered skidding
techniques and have chosen this timber
harvesting method for a portion of their
timber removal."
"Draft horses have other uses in the
forest," Rutledge adds. "My first Suffolk,
Forest Spring Red Samson, and his brother
Forest Spring Bill, under the steady hands of
Mr. Thornton, recently pulled materials deep
into the national forest for the consauction of
a rest area and overnight shelter on the
Appalachian Trail."
David Chaffee of Pittsboro, North
Carolina, a commercial airline pilot and
farmer who also breeds Suffolk Punch
horses, says, "All you have to do is take four
photographs. Take one of an area just logged
by horses and another six months later.
Compare them with photographs of an area
timbered with large equipment, now and six
months later. You're going to see erosion
with the conventional timbering using large
machinery.
"In regard to jobs,"Chaffee continues,
"horse logging involves more people, noc
only the Joggers themselves, but also those
raising draft horses and raising feed. These
are internally-generated jo~s. whereas with
conventional timbering, the heavy equipment
is made outside of the United States and the
energy is imponed. Jobs in the timber
industry can be sustained by logging in a
different way."
Chaffee has twice stayed at Jason
Rutledge's farm in Floyd County, Virginia to
work with him and learn horse-logging skills
for use on his own land.
"Jason seems very willing to share his
hours, and many bills," Rutledge says.
Jason Rutledge is writing a book on
Beginner's Use of Draft Horses for the
Twenty-first Century. In articles recently
printed in The Small Farmer's Journal and
The Draft Horse Journal, he tells that he
was raised by his illiterate grandfather "who
was a hoss trader and, without an outline or
agenda, taught the dignity of what a
welJ-tended pair of work animals could do
for a man who would work too."
Jason adds that he is "determined to
maintain the dignity of work animals and
working man."
Rutledge describes himself as an
environmental actualist who has spent most
of his life working toward the restoration of a
cultural ethic or stewardship.
"This ethic of planetary stewardship has
to translate into everyday life and, for most
folks, into the economic reaJity of making a
living. Faith is the bridge between belief and
action, and I'm going 10 cross that bridge/#
with a horse!"
fr
For further infonnation:
Environmentally Sensitive Logging Company
Jason Rutledge and John Thornton
2050 Blue Ridge Turnpike
Fincastle. VA 24090
Nancy Mclntyre lives on a beauliful ridge-top
farm in Floyd County, VA. She is an energetic clean
air and water activist and recently spent time
educating people to the harmful effects of chemical
biocides as part of the Agricultural Resources Center/
Pesticide Education Project.
�ROADTHREAT
AN APPEALING ISSUE·· ··
N--1 World Ne... $erYice
N--1 World Ne... S.-,ice
The Forest Service decision on the abolition
of limber sale appcalJ bas noc been released 11 press
Lime. In the inlerim, Congress has gouen involved
with the appeals question.
On July I, Sena10r Wyche Fowler (D.QA)
introduced a bill co-sponsored by Pat Leahy, Al Gore,
and Olhm that guaranu,cd the right to appeal Forest
Service decisions. This bill passed in the Senate by a
margin of 57-38. The strength of the Fowler bill
indicaics that the,e is support for the appeals process
as a chcclc against poor decision making.
Laier in the summer, however, Larry Craig
(R-ID} inuoduccd a v.akencd substitute for the
Fowler bill The Craig measure was passed
successfully early in August Under Craig's bill, the
lime limit for filing appeals and for the Forest
Servtce ~iuon of appeals would be shoncncd to
30 days apiece. It would force appellants to travel to
the vicinity of the forest to make their case. The
Craig bill would also require appellants to make
comments in order to have s&anding. These appear to
be minor changes, but the biU is in1e11lionally vague
on many points. For example, the,e is some question
as to whether or nOI the person who reviews the
appeal can be the person who made the initial
decision, thus creating a conflict of inrcrcst
The changes proposed by the Forest Service
are far-reaching and go beyond appeals. Acconting to
the Sierra Club Legal Deteme Fund, the new appeals
regulalions would eliminale the right to know about
and comment on sates of lllllds affCCICd by insects
and diseases. The lwldling of insect• and
discae-relatcd sales has been subject to abuse in the
past. In addition, the proposed changes would make it
impossible even IO team about limber sales if one
does noc sub!lcribe IO a variety of small newspapers.
These and other consttaincs would make it much
harder to conuibule meaningful comments or even
stay informed about activities in nearby lllllional
On May 21, the Virginia Transpor1alioo Board
announced the prefen-cd IOULC for U.S. RL 58, a new
fow--tane that would spai the southwcaem edge of
Virginia between Maninsville and Cumberland Gap.
The route would bisect the ML Rogers
National Rccl'Cllion Area along Corners Crcett. a
cascade-filled IIOUl Slmllll Pond Mountain and
Hurricane Mountain. The Mount Rogers area is
home to a number of rare animal species, including
endangered mussels, rare salamanders, bog turtles,
gray bats, and northern flying squirrels.
Funher east, the Virginia Department of
Transportation (VD01) would have Rt 58 cross the
Blue Ridge Mountains berwcen Meadows of Dan and
Stuart, Virginia, an area that Includes two waterways
that are eligible for scenic river status.
Highway consuucuon will destroy ll\3lly
homes and farms along the way. Some cilizens
con1e11d that the project will be the death knell for
downtowns in small communities along the way.
In order to respond to the threat to the ML
Rogers area (and perhaps 10 ocher threatened areas),
the Mountain Heritage Alliance has been formed.
Members have begun a national letier wriling and
petition drive. The group wishes 10 arrange a
meeting with VOOT since VDOT has recently met
with backers of a popular but desuuctive altcmalive
passing through the highlands around Straight
Branch, Whiietop l...aurel, and Grems Cove Creek.
The group will iqe VDOT 10 IOUIC the highway
along existing highways 1-77 and 1-81. They cite a
Virginia Depanmenl of COllltlValion and Recreation
recommendation against the highway and the findings
of a Virginia Tech cconomiSl who predic1ed thal few
CCUICllJlic baldiU would be derived from the road.
forests.
At the same time the Depanrnent of
Agriculture is lobbying Congress to end judicial
review of Forest Service decisions. Secretary of
Agriculture Madigan told Congress. "We could
manage bencr if we were free from the inletference of
the caur1S [and] we urge Congress IO do that
expeditiously." A few such bills have appeared before
Congress but they have been unsuccessful so far.
BAN CHIP MILLS
Narura1 Wotld News Service
Residents of the Tennessee Valley spoke
overwhelmingly against pcnn1ts for chip mill
facllities along the Tennessee River during two
summer public hearings. SpcaJc.crs asked that TV A
, stop Donghac, Channel Ch1p/P:lrker Towing, and
Boise Cascade from construcung loading clocks and
facilities along the upper Tenn-Tom Waterway, which
TVA comrols.
They told TV A th:11 the ini.cnsive clcarculting
associated with chip manufacturing would result m a
decline in the biodiversity and hardwood
manufacturing economic base of the region.
TV A omcials repon th:11 they are "swamped
with tcuus· responding 10 the permit issue. The
baule may have just begun, however. Boise Cascade
Company announced shonly after the hearings I.hat
they would open a chip mill without a pcnnit and
ltUclc the chips overland to port.
For more information, contaet TAGER; Box
764; South Pittsburg, 1N 37380.
Xatuah )ouma£ PQIJ"- l 6
CLOSING IN ON CHEOAH
NIil.ira! World News Service
In a decision notice released lasl month,
District Ranger Glen McConnell announced plans to
log the Checab Mountains again. Over the past live
years, the lofty mountain range that surrounds
Checab Bald has seen more than its share or
roadbuilding, road-indllccd landslides. and clearcutling.
Exrensive logging bas tatm its toll on the forests
around Oicoah's Shell Stand Creek, Stecoah Gap,
Simp Oap, Grassy Gap, Wesc, and lower sections
of Ben Creek. McConnell now plans to penetrate
further into the wa&cnhcds of Bert and Franks Creeks
to the southwest of Cheoab Bald.
According 10 the environmental assessment for
the Ben Creek Timber Sale, the Forest Service would
build 1.2 miles of roads and harvest limber on more
than 300 aaes. Even-aged logging is the silviculrural
method of choice for most of the sale unit
Activists an: concerned that the limber sale
will cause further fragmenlalion of habiw in an area
· thal is prime black bear babirat Over one thin! of the
stands robe cul are over 100 years old.
Fragmentation is also a pocential threat to the
cerulean warbler and the goshawk. IWO Endangered
Species Act candidates likely 10 be found ll the Bert
Creek site. SIUdies have shown Iha the cerulean
warbler needs at least 1600 acres of contiguous forest
Other rare species at risk include the Indiana bat,
East.cm wood rat, and hellbender. An additional issue
of concern is the possible occurance of pyrue, a
substance that produces a dangerous acid when leached
out or a roadcut or log landing by rainwater.
Oak decline, a phenomenon that causes a
die-off o{ malllre oaks due to drought, infcsta.tJOn, and
other su-esscs, is the pretext for the sale. but acuv1stS
say the Stands are quite healthy. They claim that few
loggers would bid on the umber if they had to share
the full costs of F.S. 208 and other access roods built
at LUpayer expense a few years ago.
During the late 1970s, the RARE D Study
recommended the Chcoah Bald area as one of the
prem ier road.less areas in the Southern Appalachians.
lt has since been opened to developmenL The arc3
still has tremendous beauty and tremendous wildland
potential One has only to loolt out from the high
ridges above Ben Creek to the Great Smokies in the
distance to see what the future could hold.
To procest the Ben Crnek Tunber Sale, write
Glen McConnell, District Ranger; RL '· Box 16-A,
Robbinsville, NC 28771.
In order to become part of the national petition
drive 10 save ML Rogers, write: Gary Stemp:
Mountain Heritage Alliance; Rt 3, Box 589;
Marion, VA 24354.
TRANSREGIONAL POWER
Nwral World News Service
Attempts to build a high-voltage powerline
through West Virginia and Virginia have hit a snag.
Appalachian Power Company (APCO), a subsidiary
ofthecoal-fued giant, American Electric Power
(AEP), asked for a pcnnit to build a 765 kilowatt
powcrline Crom southern West Virginia to a
substation outside of Roonokc, Virginia, but it hns
been forced to withdraw its applicauon with the We~l
Virginia Public Service Commission until an
acceptable environmental impact statement is
p!'Cllll'Cd.
Elsewhere, in a hearing before the Vi.rgini3
Utility Commission, expcn witneSSCS for Citi.zcns
for the Preservation of Craig County (Virginia) said
that APCO should not be given the right of eminent
domain for a transmission line built solely for the
purpose of ~ling off unusable excess power at a
profiL The powerline would transfer power from the
Midwest to the urban crescent of CllSLCm Virginia.
Opponents say that the powerhne would cul
across the Jefferson N31J01131 Forest between
\.1ounuun Lake Wildcmcss and two wilderness areas
several miles to the east They claun that the
powerline will pass through hundreds of ocres of
forest and farm land, lowcnng real CSlllle vallleS and
conl8lllJll8lJllg springs with herbicides along the v.;3y
They worry about the health effects of
elecu-omagnetic fields, citing recent medical research
on the subject
J"aCL, 1992
�APdH &a'iler'f.~'•-tiftini envuonmenl3l
siewardship reicon1. Many residenlS or the Southern
Appalachians remember APCO's effort to dam the
New River in Nonh Carolina. A few years ago,
Appalachian Trail club members discovered dw
APCO had built an unapproved access road lhrough
the Appalachian Trail corridor. The club concluded
that APCO was unable IO - g e their own utility
corridor, so it reached an agn:anent with thc utility to
manage pan or the power corridor themselves. In lhe
meantime, APCO has begun a million dollar program
promoting thc use or elecll'ic heal pumps.
The figbl against the powertine has reached lhe
national level U.S. Represeniatives Nick Rahall
(WV) and Frederick Boucbcr (VA) have sponsored a
bill that would pro!CCI federally-owned land along lhe
New River, blocking access to one of the only
f~ible rou1CS. The bill ha1 had sll'Ollg suppon in
the House or Reprcsenwives. Hearings on the issue
will begin SOOD in thc SenalC.
Wrice Cilil.cns to Preserve Craig County; Box
291; New Casile, VA 2A I 27 and lhe National
Commilltle for thc New River, Bluestone Project
CommiUtJe; Box 103S; Athens, WV 24712.
Also wrice your legislalorS.
DECISION ON BIG IVY
Nlhlnl Wodd News Savice
In I.ale July, Ranger Paul Bradley ol the
Toecane DiSlricl or thc Pisgah Nllional Forcsi. issued
a decision oo the controversial Sugarhouse Cove
Timber Sale, proposed for thc Big Ivy arca in
BU1100111be County, nordleul of Asbeville..
Big Ivy is III an:a oC unusual circumneutral
soils, rare planl communities, and excellent examples
of old growth foreaa (see Ka,/Jalt JollnlOl 134), and
lbe proposcd sale was bigbly CClllll'O¥a1ial. Bradley
was leaning IOWll'd a decision 1h11 would have
deVll.1Ulled a unique roadies., area conraining in:es
measuring four feet in dialnder and examples of many
rare plant species. ScienlislS and IIClivislS r.niliar
with the sea rushed to ils defense, informing the
Forest Service that die proposcd logging and road
building would resull in unaccq,18blc damage. The
eovironmeulal group SoudlPAW initialed a teuer
writing campaip that brougb1 hundreds of lcuers and
petition signaiurcs opposing the sale. Womansong, a
choral group from Asbeville, 1111g for the forest
outside die Forest Service otricea. garnering media
coverage for Big Ivy.
In response, Bradley scaled back his logging
plans for the waaenhed. He eliminal.ed four of thc five
areas scheduled IO be cut and reduced the timber sale
volume by 80%. The remaining sale unils are in an
abandoned homcSICad, an area that is already relatively
degraded. Surprisingly. the Forest Service
~ the Sugarhouse Cove portion, after
which the limber sale was named, as a Rcsean::h
Natur81 Area. The analysis process resulted in
designations of large pans or Big Ivy as either old
growth habitat or as "unsuitable for umber
producoon."
Bradley dampened a poccntially explosive
si1ua1ton. Many cnvirorunenl31istS feel lhal the Bag
Ivy wau:rsbcd should be scqucsu:rod as a biological
rc.o;crve. ActivistS are divided as to whclher to nppcal
the timber sale or to turn !heir aucntion to other
assaults on Kaluah's biodiversity.
JUSI lhree weeks lalcr, Bradley allayed coocems
that his districl might llOI meet its timber wgel by
issuing a decision to log another scelion of lhe
Toccanc. The sice is near Seven Mile Ridge along lhe
Blue Ridge Partway.
1'cdl, 1992
1-26 HEARING HEATS UP
Namnl World News Service
Oo Joly 21, more than a hundred area citizens
packed Mars HiU Elcmenwy School to give the NC
Deparuneot ol Transportation (001) officials their
views oo the proposed Inu:rswe 26 segment between
Mars Hill, N.C. and die Tennessee border. Although
opponents of the project were in thc minority, they
represented about half of those speaking. One of lhe
most moving prcserualions was a slide show by
Bruce Oarlt showing whole moumainsides
deliberalcly logged. deooded. and gouged away on the
Tennessee section of the project, which has been
underway for more than a year.
To dace neither of the SlalC DOTs have fully
considered the impaa or the projecl beyond swe
borders or oulSide the immediate project area despi lC
the fact that the projecl would increase tralfx:, cause
displJlcemcnt, and destroy CICCS)'Slel!IS lhroughou1 the
• region.
Area citizens warned lhe DOT of the pol.Clltial
for erosion, runoff, and wucc disposal problems
associaled with large-scale "cul and fill" operations.
They said lhal the project would disturb wedands and
black bear migration corridors along the way.
They suggested thal DOT explofe alremative
uansponation sys1CRIS like freight uains and mass
transiL networts before it embarks on a COSIiy projecl
that the swe and federal governments, both in debt.
canno( affonl.
One speaker ciled a tcuu lhal the DOT sent to
Monce Cunningham ol thc WNC Alliance. The
1cucr said lhal U.S. 23 is 1101 dangerous enough to
justify mating expendilurea for Ind sand trapS and
other safety improvements that Cunningham
suggested.. In spice or this the DOT proposes
spending nearly a q11111er of a billion dollars on a
four-laae projec1 tbll will have no al«y benefilS
until it is completed n1111y years bc:nce. The,e and
other glaring inconsislmcies ha"VC 1od many citizens
to believe that the DOT is • agency that plays by no
rules except ilS own.
WORKING FOR ALARKA
Nanni World News Service
Efforts are Slill underway to pr0ICCI the Big
Laurel ttact in Swain County, a piece of land also
known as AJaita Laurel. The Trust for Public
Lands, a foundalion dial buys land and uansfers ii to
government agencies. is hoping that ii can facilitate
the purchase or the trac1. Officials II the 1JUS1 say
!hey want people from Nonh Carolina to decide how
bes1 to use the Big Laurel lJ1ICI. The llUSI has
negotiated an option to buy the land.
Local rcsidenlS have used the Alarka Crcelc
watcnhed for horseback riding, camping, picnicking,
SCOUl outings. and hunting for generations.
According to resident Carl Queen, most or the people
in the area "would like 1 see it kept in the pristine
0
Sl3ce that II is in.•
The 2,080 acre traet contains a spruce bog. a
wetland along Alarka Crnck, and a hctbacoous bog.
The red spruce forest in Big Laurel is arguably lhc
soulhcmmost on lhe continenL It is unusual because
11 has no1 shown any decline, as m Olher locales. and
ii appears to be expanding in10 an area lhal was
previously logged.
Bag Laurel is also known for populations of
brook uou1, pigmy salamander, and other rare ~ies.
The Natural Hen1age Program has yet 10 do a survey
of lhe area. According to Dr. William McL.amey,
lhe area is I crucial mign11ory corridor. It is ~ible
to descend from Big L.aurel at 4,600 feet to the LiUle
Tennessee Gorge, then proceed to Wesser Bald on the
olhcr side, and remain under foresled cover throughout
lhejoumey.
Shape Notes
This little curl of smoke shows where some wood was.
From thick tree trunk right down to tiny twig
all
gave up this cycle's shape
to keep those beings in the cabin warm.
Now this gray smoke stains the blue sky.
It floats
up
up.
Maybe someday
in a different cycle
those beings in the cabin
will do some singing, some shape changing
for the wood.
Julia Vansclow
Mutat Aliquid Ergo Sum
(For Dylan-September, 1989)
More often, now, the fog at dawn
seeps deep into the hollow;
creeps up the rodcy Eastern slope
with a silent hint of Fall.
It settles over everything,
so near and distant hills are out
of focus, dreamy, and hushed.
1ne first few leaves are spinning down;
the Walnut's dropped its fruit.
I hardly remember Spring at all
when Summer's so dose to Fall,
but Winter's hazy memory
sits chill on the still night air
that drips and drops a sparkling sheen
in the haloed morning sun.
1ne last of Summer's fullness fills
cicadas, crickets, tree frogs,
until late morning melts the shade,
dissolves the rainbow dew
The Goldfinch canary yellow is dimmed.
The last of the Hummingbirds
are migrants navigating South.
It's a lime we know there are no words
that thought can fonn in mouth
to really sing the song that sings
the music of change, the IIWQTtneSS of things
Frank Vogel
Drawing by Michael Thompson
x.atilah Jownat
JJQ9"- 17
�Natural World News
THE FOREST PLAN IS OUT!
SPECIAL REPORT
The US Forest Service bas just released
its proposed Draft Suppleme111 (() the Final
Environmental Impact Statement (DS-FEIS)
for the Nantahala and Pisgah National
Forests Land and Resource Management
Plan.
When the original plan was released in
1987 there were four appeals of its
provisions, and the Chief of the US Forest
Service remanded the plan back to the region
for changes, specifically those concerning
questions about old-growth forest areas,
clearcutting vs. uneven-aged managemen1.,
protection of unroaded areas, below-cost
timber sales, and protection of biodiversity.
The proposed amendment is
controversiaJ, arousing opposition from both
environmentalists and the wood products
industry. Public comment will be received
through December 16, after which a new plan
will be developed.
The draft supplement describes the
amendments to the Forest Management Plan
and how the various alternatives were
developed, giving more details concerning
the affected environment and environmental
consequences. The lengthy document is the
result of much work, but it falls short of
addressing public concerns about the
mismanagement of the public forests.
In the short "Highlights" of the Plan,
rhe Forest Service statements appear to offer
positive solutions to environmental concerns,
but further investigation of the "fine print"
does not support this initial impression.
Much of the discussion focuses on the
allowable sale quantity (ASQ) of timber to be
cut each year. The ASQ has always been a
ceiling for timber cutting, with the actual
timber targets falling well below that level.
For instance, the present ASQ is 75 million
board feet per year, but the agency actua!Jy
cut onJy 55 million board feet in the past
year.
In the draft, the annual ASQ in the
Forest Service's alternative is reduced by an
impressive margin, from 75 million board
feet to 45 million board feet However,
subsequent statements by Forest Supervisor
Bjorn Dahl assure industry representatives
that the amount of timber actually cut wouJd
not fall very much, because "45 million board
feet is not that much below 55 million board
feet," intimating that the ASQ is no longer
going to be the ceiling, but the target for each
year's annual cut
(CHAGRIN IS IN)
trees are left standing on the site only to be
removed in a second cut 15-20 years later.
The Western North Carolina Alliance, a
citizens' group which has vigorously
opposed clearcutting in the national forests, is
bitterly disappointed by this move. Members
point out that they have consistently
campaigned for uneven-aged management of
the forests for years. Shelterwood cuts, like
clearcuts, are a form of even-aged
management. which yields a stock of trees
that are all of the same age. To Alliance
members, the agency's change is simply a
change in rhetoric. "Shelterwood is simply a
rwo-stage clearcut,'' observes one member.
Only a very small pan (about 12%) of the
total acreage 10 be cut would be logged by
single tree or group selection to produce true
uneven-aged management.
To lessen the problem of below-cost
timber sales that has plagued the agency in
past years, the Forest Service promises
timber interests that they will offer more
lucrative sales containing large sawtimber
trees and fewer sales containing pulpwood
(undesirable trees that bring a low price).
These custom-tailored sales still would not
turn a profit for the government; at best the
Forest Service could promise only that they
might break even.
Figures elsewhere in the draft show
that the Forest Service plans to increase the
profitability of their sales by increasing
environmental costs. Despite earlier
assurances, only 3.3% of the national forest
lands would receive additional protection
from road construction and logging. Some
44,000 acres of unprotected roadless areas
(called "semi-primitive, nonmotorized areas")
and nearJy 45,000 acres of land inventoried
as possible old-growth would be opened to
logging under the preferred alternative.
Instead of treating below-cost sales as a
signal to improve forest management by
saving old-growth and potential old-growth
habitats, the Forest Service is using
below-cost sales as an excuse to sell those
areas off!
The Wilderness Society also noted that
the Forest Service showed that their interest
is not in stopping below-cost timber sales by
putting into the timber base over 100,000
acres of land which would not tum a profit,
according to agency analyses.
Much effort was made to identify and
inventory old-growth stands, but the criteria
for determining old-growth presence were
vastly oversimplified. In the draft
supplement, the mere presence of trees older
than 100 years indicated old growth. And the
old-growth inventory was an empty gesture;
while 133,456 acres were identified as old
growth, only 5% of the total forest acreage
wouJd be reserved for "future old growth
values."
Wood products industry representatives
are expressing great concern about job
losses, lower profits, and potential changes
in logging techniques. However, the draft
supplement estimates that the preferred
alternative would offer only 100 less "jobs''
(actually hourly equivalents) than the number
offered in the original plan.
The new draft supplement shows that
the Forest Service has indeed changed and
become more skillful and sopb.isticated in its
management techniques - it has changed its
techniques of managing numbers and
manipulating language to more skillfully
cover the fact that out in the forest, it's
business a.s usual!
• by Lee Barnes and David Wheeler
Copies of the Draft Supplement to the Final
Environmental Impact Suuement of the
Nanlahala-Pisgah Land and Resource Managt!mellt
Plan can ~ st1e11 al most public libraries ill westt1r11
Nor1h CarolillO or may~ reqllt!sted by phoning (704)
257-4200.
Send comments ~fore December 16. 1992 to
Nantalrala!Pisgah Planning Team; Na1io110I Forests ill
North Carolina; Box 2750; Asheville, NC 2 ~
.....-::::::==:::::-.___
The draft supplement proudly
announces a significant reduction in the acres
of national forest to be clearcut annually:
from the 4,500 acres called for in the original
plan to 1,500 acres, one-third of the original
amount
Substituted for clearcutting was the
shelterwood method, which in the preferred
alternative would be practiced on 2,320 acres
of the forest. Under this method, part of the
Xatuah Joumat p09e 18
Drawing by Timbcrly Ashe
:fa{!, 19112
�INVASION OF THE CORPORATE GIANTS
by Buzz Williams
Like many others who have chosen to
make my home in the province of Katuah, I
am keenly appreciative of the incredible
beauty and diversity of the native
Appalachian hardwood forest. But after
living here for some time, one soon becomes
aware that these forests, which are the
cornerstone of our ecosystem, have been
severely impacted by the human presence.
For me, the fulfillment of finding my "sense
of place" has been tempered with a kind of
sadness when I think of what we have lost.
But to lament over the past is certainly
not productive; nor is the popular notion that
further degradation of our environment is
necessary for the well-being of our species.
On the contrary, recent scientific studies tell
us that the maintenance of healthy ecosystems
is more than simply leaving a bener place for
future generations - it is the key to our future
survival. We are learning that a healthy
economy is dependent upon a self-sustaining
environment.
Aldo Leopold stated it this way: "...a
system of conservation based solely on
economic self-interest is hopelessly lopsided.
It tends 10 ignore, and thus evenrually to
eliminate, many elements in the land
commurury that lack commercial value, but
that are (as far as we know) essential to its
healthy functioning." Leopold's extension of
our concept of ethics to include the protection
of all plants and animals, what be called the
"third element," must now be embraced if we
arc to prevent the further degradation of our
forests.
After devastating the Southern
Appalachian forests, the big timber
companies moved to the Pacific Northwest.
They acquired huge tracts of territory, and the
timber supply from that area was instrumental
in meeting the increased lumber demands
during World War II and the decades of
prosperity immediately following.
During those years, the US Forest
Service became increasingly timber oriented.
From 1950 to 1968 timber harvest volumes
from our national forests increased from 5.6
to 12.8 billion board feet. Several theories
have developed as to why the Forest Service
has so willingly become an ally of the timber
industry, but the most plausible seems to
center on a process called "logrolling."
The timber industry financed and
helped to seat CongressionaJ legislators who
won positions on strategic subcommittees
which govern Forest Service activities.
including budget appropriations. These
lawmakers have been in office for long
periods of time and have built up strong
concentrations of power in the halls of
Congress. Their close connections to the
timber industry are not hidden. Sen. James
McClure (R-ID) went straight to a seat on the
board of the Boise Cascade Company upon
his retirement from the Senate. The press
statements of Sen. Mark Hatfield (D-OR)
read almost exactly like industry statements
from the corporations in his state. This year
Senate Majority Leader Tom Foley (D-WA)
effectively stopped consideration ofH.R.
1-"all, 1992
1969, a bill which would have outlawed
clearcutting in the national forests.
Power such as this has brought the l!S
Forest Service into line with the policies of
the timber industry.
Pacific Nonhwest. Io addition, the
Appalachian hardwood forests were
recovering from previous over-cutting. With
recently-developed technology that allowed
the use of hardwood fiber for making paper
products, the Southeast was once again ripe
for pluckin~. Cheap land and non-union
labor costs m an area closer to their markets
were further inc.entives to the timber giants to
move south.
As early as the 1950's, Georgia Pacific
Company was already buying up land in the
South. In 1982 it moved its headquarters
from Portland, Oregon to Atlanta, Georgia.
Others followed. The Forest Trust recently
reponed that since 1978, seven of the largest
timber comparues in the Pacific Northwest
had increased their mill capacity in the South
by 121%.
They are coming from other directions
as well. Bowater Corporation, the largest
newsprint producer in the country,
announced in Marcb,1992 that it would move
its corporate headquarters from Connecticut
to Greenville, South Carolina. In
Chattanooga, Tennessee, local conservation
groups arc currently fighting applications for
barge permits by three chip mill companies
which would produce over 1.7 million tons
of green chips per year. One of the
companies, Donghae, is based in Korea, and
all the companies plan to expon their chips
directly to the Far East (see page 13).
The addition of these powerful
competitors for timber in the Southeast is
In 1990 the fate of the threatened
spotted owl became the focal point of the
battle to save the remaining 10% of the
ancient forests of the Pacific Northwest The
timber industry screamed that protection of
the owl would cost thousands of jobs, but
investigative studies found that they were
using the spotted owl issue as a smokescreen
to cover their own activities. One study found
that, even before the owl was listed, 26,000
timber-related jobs had been lost to
automation in Washington and Oregon, and,
further, that between 1980 and 1989 the
practic.e of log exporting had cost 19,200
timber workers their jobs.
Closer scrutiny of the timber industries
revealed that they were making huge profits
at the expense of their employees and the
loggers who supplied the mills. Their
long-term strategy was obvious: they had
overcut their private lands, just as they had
done in the Southern Appalachians, and were
now liquidating their timber "assets" to
produce the capital to relocate to the
Southeast, which had begun to recover from
earlier exploitation and was out-producing the
Pacific Northwest.
Acre per acre, the southeastern coastal
plains were producing about 1.7 times as
many board feet in a 65 year period as the
Dnwing by Michael ThompsQn
(continued on p,tgc 26)'
Xatuah Joumat page 19
�FROM INDUSTRY TO ENDEAVOR
.:Forestry is the one area where the
inappropriateness ofboth large-scale
technology and the slum tenn prof11 motive is
most apparent. For this reason, it may be an
ideal place to begin to tlUn the tide."
- Robert Brothers
Timber extraction as it is presently
accomplished is a primary cause of ecological
degradation in the Karua.h bioregional
province. Given that a land-based economy
in the forested mountains will depend heavily
on the use of wood products, how much
wood can we use and how can we use it in a
beuerway?
Changing the way we think about the
land and our conceptions of our role in the
bioregion would change our relationship to
the land and the way we use the products of
the land. New definitions and new values
would lead to new institutions and new ways
of working.
The first and most basic recognition is
that we are pan of the natural oommunity and
that the needs of the natural community must
come first Aldo Leopold, a forester who
truly cared for the natural world. stated it
thus: "We abuse the land because we regard it
as a commodity belonging to us. When we
see land as a community to which we belong,
we may begin to use it with love and
respect."
In the Katuah Province, this means first
and foremost that the public lands are held as
a bioregional reserve, inviolate from logging
or other intensive commercial use. It must be
understood that all the forestry proposals that
follow are for the lands surrounding and
buffering the bioregional reserve, and that the
reserve proper is to be left as habitat for the
native plants and animals, wild and free
forever. In its proper place, a buffer zone
which includes large areas of sensitively
managed timberlands would be a positive
ecological benefit, extending the forest cover
and protecting the core habitat area from
disturbance.
Even outside the core reserve area we
must constantly remember that "the land is a
community to which we belong," and that
forests are complex and heterogeneous life
communities. In the upland hardwood forests
in particular, industrial forestry is not an
appropriate practice. We must change the
model of forestry 10 one that follows a
biological panern rather than a panern of
mechanical_production.
Forestry is not farming. It is, as the
local wisdom puts it, "living off the increase"
of the natural forest community. Recognizing
this, !t is clear that sustainable forestry does
not Sllllply refer to the number of growing
trees, but concerns the integrity of lhe forest
community as a whole. Continued
sustainability of the forest requires that
biomass be returned to the soil to maintain
soil fertility and site quality.
The Institute for Sustainable Forestry in
Redway, CA bas defined sustainable forestry
as "forestry that can safely be practiced while
X.ntuQft. Jou.mat p1i9e 20
by David Wheeler
ensuring that the forest's needs are met
before any biomass is removed in the form of
harvested trees." Silviculture would then
mean, as it is supposed to, the art of caring
for aforest; not "growing trees" as it is
currently defined.
A Southem Appalachian Sustainable
Forestry Association, designed on the
California model, could promote this
awareness. Like its western counterpart, it
could draw on a wide variety of experience to
devise standards for ecologically produced
lumber and other forest products. Trained
and accredited logging ooottactors and
foresters could be given eoological
cenification for timbering practices that are
both ecologically and eoonomically sound.
The group would also do public education,
research and development of sustainable
forestry practices, restoration forestry, and
research on marketing, value-adding
processing, and wood product ideas.
At present, the greatest hindrance to a
sensitive forestry in the Karuah Province is
the notion that the land is a oommodity for
speculation. Rising land prices and increasing
fragmentation of landholdings are
discouraging private landowners from
becoming involved in forestry.
If the land market will not support
forestry, the only solution is to remove large
areas of land from the market. Non-profit
farmland and forest mists allow habitation
and use for land-based activities, but free the
land from oppressive tax burdens and protect
it from the threat of development This
arrangement would offer a strong economic
incentive to those who wanted land for use
and enjoyment rather than for speculation.
~nother neces~ conceptual change is
to revise our ooncepnon of a demand-driven
market to one that is based on the ability of
the forest to provide. Measures to moderate
the use of wood products (not including the
substitution of plastics or other synthetics for
natural materials) could help to lessen the
demand. Companies could also utilize the
wood that is available more efficiently and
more C(:Onomically by ensuring the highest
value uses and creating new ways to use
pieces that might otherwise be wasted. At the
other end of the process, consumers could
help to lower demand through the re-use and
recycling of wood.
"Adding value" is another key concept
that could change the face of the timber
business. Supplying the furniture industry
seems appropriate for the bulk of the timber
cut in the mountains, but the growing export
market threatens to draw timber- away from
the region. It would be of the greatest benefit
to the regional economy to emphasize wood
products rather than wood as a raw material
for a faceless global market
Specialty products - hand-crafted wood
furniture, wood carvings, boat lumber,
musical insttuments, wooden toys and gifts,
etc. - offer opportunities for creative
entrepreneurs and support small shops that
employ only a ~w people each. individually,
they seem to be inoonsequential, but studies
in the Pacific Northwest are showing that the
cumulative economic impact of specialty
shops is substantial.
Another key word that oould SJ)C1ll great
changes in the region's timber trade is
"cooperation." Small loggers could oombine
to sell their products. They oould thus reach
bener markets and sell their wood for highest
value. By pooling their capital, they could be
more competitive and stay better informed
about market conditions. They could also
cushion expensive bonding guarantees and
equipment repairs. By lightening the money
pressure, they could afford to do a bener job
in the forest.
If the cooperative owned a sawmill,
they oould eliminate cheating at the scales,
could pocket the increased value of their
product, and could provide work hours
during periods when they could not go into
the woods. Such ventures would be prime
targets for community eooaomic development
efforts.
Another approach would be to organize
landowners into cooperative groups, as forest
management is organiz.ed in Switzerland.
Lislott Harbens, a forester of Swiss
extraction, said, "I know of two or three
cases where larger landowners are
considering pooling their resources and
employing somebody to do their work for
them"
The changes listed above foreshadow a
wood products market that is oomprised of
smaller businesses that are more decentralized
and more individualiz.ed. In light of present
Ta(t, 1992
�~
•
L
by Robert T. Perscher
~
~
I'
• •
.._
r.. ,1
f
I
~~
•
..._ Pioneering a New Human/Nahµ'e- Relationship
~-
- ~
(Thefolwwing is uzlunjrom a report
commissioned in 19')() by the New England Section
of1he &>ciety ofAmerican Foresters as part of ti~
process ofdrafting anew tnis.sion stare~ntfor the
group.)
The ex.isling forestry doctrine focused
on wood production no longer serves our
profession, society, or the Earth. The
profession, therefore, needs to develop a new
doctrine/philosophy embracing a land ethic
and philosophy of ecosystem managemen1.
This approach necessitates a reassessment of
the adequacy of our ex.isting scienllfic
foundations.
Our mission must be expanded to the
widest possible cooteitt: the preservation of
life on Earrh.
As foresters we are charged with this
mission because we have accepted the role as
stewards of what is perhaps the most critical
30% of the Earth's (land) surface. Our
srewardshlp responsibility includes some of
the most exuberant eitpressions of nature: the
trends, this seems to be the direction in which
the industry needs to move in the Southern
Appalachians to be mon: sustainable over the
long term and more regionally responsive.
These changes would be only part of a
necessary ongoing social and economic shift
in the n:gion. Any economy, particularly in a
forested area, that is growing faster than the
trees can grow is moving too fast. An
economy that kills its biological suppon
system with toxic chemical pollutants needs
to find new methods of production. Any area
in which the local species cannot find
secluded habitat is overpopulated and
overdeveloped. These ills are obvious when
our society is compared to the forest, the
self-supporting, biological model for growth
in our region.
A sustainable forest products trade will
not be attained immediately. The transition
stage is critical. We can take immediate steps
toward a more sustainable forestry:
1) Invest in the growth of high-grade
hardwoods. This move appears risky in
terms of the present economic climate. But
the present economic climate is notoriously
short-sighted, and long-term trends appear to
justify this investment
Landowners, however, do need to be
educated about the value of improving timber
sites and stands, as welJ as more careful
logging in order to attain a sustained yield.
2) Provide tax relief for timberlands.
Land that is currently being used for
agriculture or forestry should be assessed at
lower rates than development propenies.
"Highest use assessment," in which land is
assessed according to the most expensive use
to which it could be put (usually
subdivisions), virtually assures that the land
will be put to that use.
At present rates of interest., the only
method that pays in the short term is to
climax ecosystems of a green and .flowering
world. They tend to suppor!_greater stocks
of bi?mass and harbor a grea~er number of
species than any other ~logic!'1 zone.
~orests play a ~Jor role ir· planetary
recycbng of Carix?n, mtrogen anc.l o~g~n.
They help detenrune temperature and nuofall.
They constitute the major gene reservoirs of
our planet, and they are-the main sites of
emergence of new species.
Life on_ Earth as we know it, human or
non-human, IS dependent on our forests. And
we, who call ourselves foresters_. are the .
protectors of the ecosystems which make this
incredi~le l~gacy of ?iversit)'. (>?SSibte. Ir [that
protccnon] 1s our ulumate llllSs1on and, as
such, must define and embrace all that we do
as professionals.
To fulfill this expanded mission we
must rise to the challenge of recreating our
relationship with the forest. We must now
establish, as nearly as possible, a direct
contact with our place within nature and
begin to make our forest management
decisions from that place. To accept this
quickly clearcut all the young trees in a stand
before they have had a chance to make their
full growth. In the long run, careful and
ecological logging that produces a sustained
yield will pay off, but the initial returns are
lower as the landowner improves the site and
conditions the growing stock. Long-term,
low-interest government loans or a capital
gains tax differential for income on timber
produced by ecological methods would help
to make those methods competitive with
industrial forestry practices and would make
timber investments more competitive with
other long-term investments for private
owners.
3) States need to train and certify
loggers. Two states in the bioregion are
taking hesitant first steps in this direction.
~~
- ,..
challenge means that each of us must refuse
t.o iux:ept.the least common dcno,;ninaror the
loweit level of awareness of the forest that all
membc;rs of our society can agree to, for this
stifles change and persona) expansion. We
must be willing to move beyond th.e
comfortable and generally accepted doctrine
the profession still clings to and forge a new
_relationship that will permeate all levels of the
profession.
-.
To accomplish this change wemust
draw on the elemental energy within each of
us _th~t originally drew us to this profession.
Wuhin the SOlll"Ce of this energy some of us
will find a fierce compassion and a true
affection for the entire forest ecosystem.
These are the fundamental fotees that will
now drive our profession. The old doctrines
of profit, fiber production, and primary
loyalty ro employers will not disappear, but
will be subsumed and integrated in their
rightful place within the far more expansive
vision of preserving life...
•
Excerptedfrom the April, 1991 issue of1"4
Journal of Foresuy. th4 publicauan of the Society of
American Foresters.
~
Tennessee is one of several states that
has received funding through the federal
eittension service to start pilot logger
education programs. Two one-week
instruction courses run by the University of
Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service in
cooperation with other groups and
government agencies will provide training in
ecological principles, best management
practices, forest management, and safety
practices.
The North Carolina Forestry
Association is also considering
co-sp0nsoring training workshops for
loggmg contractors with the state Division of
Forest Resolll"CCs. Attendees would receive
certificates of training and their names would
be made available to landowners inquiring
about responsible loggers.
4) Forest workers must defend the
forests.
Said Dr. George Weaver, head of the
Department of Forestry, Wildlife, and
Fisheries at the University of Tennessee,
"The forest products industry, like anyone
else who has a stake in a resource, has to be
responsible for maintaining and perpetuating
that resource." Although he was speaking in
a different context, his words ring true.
Foresters should be some of our strongest
environmentalists. Trees are pan of the forest
community (or ecosystem); it is only logical
that to protect the trees, one protects the
forest that produces them.
In the mountains, foresters and loggers
should be vigorously "protecting the
resource," in particular from the dangers of
atmospheric deposition and the pressures of
continuing land development.
Forest scientists in the piedmont areas
are already concerned that atm0spheric
pollution might be affecting the growth·of
softwoods there, and several studies have
tested that connection. Other studies have
(continued on page 22)
:Fa£!, 1992
:Katuah )ournat p09e 21
�{continued from page 21)
documented a connection between
atmospheric pollution and spruce decline in
the high-elevation coniferous forests. A clear
cause-and-effect connection has not been
conclusively proven between atmospheric
deposition and Fraser fir die-offs, oak
decline, dogwood blight, butternut blight,
and hemlock decline. However, there is a
common suspicion that pollution is implicated
in the widespread and severe forest die-back.
Other ecological macro-events, such as the
gypsy moth invasion, global climate change,
and the orone hole, are going to affect the
condition of the forest, and foresters need to
feel responsibility for these issues as well.
. Aldo Leop<>ld spoke of our relationship
with th 7forest m terms of "love and respect."
Todar It would seem incongruous for a
prominent ~orester to use such tenninology.
What pracncal value could notions like "love"
and "respect" have in forestry? Upon
reflection, however, it can be seen that these
are of the utmost value. They are, in fact, the
very f~undation of a forestry that is truly
sansfying and truly sustainable.
The First People had been living in
these mountains for 2,000 years of unbroken
OC<:upation when they were discovered by the
w~te settlers. Eve_n though it had supponed
the1r culture for millennia, the forest still
stood with a grandeur that awed the whites
who centuries ago had sacrificed the
'
European forests as "resources."
There were - intentionally - less of the
native people inhabiting the mountains, but
that was not the sole reason for their
longevity as a people. Their culture was
based on love and respect for their bioregion
and the other "nations" or species that shared
the land with them.
They directly addressed the spirits of
the other beings tllTough song. Before
hunting they addressed their prey in song,
and after making a kill, they performed a
brief ritual and offered a song of thanks.
Recently the environmental group
SouthPAW caused great amusement in the
timber industry because they suggested in a
Forest Service timber sale appeal that singing
to the trees be used as a forest management
technique. The group protested that the
puiyose of their proposal was, of course,
sanncal. They wanted to show that, whatever
loggers thought of singing to the trees, it was
preferable 10 the destructiveness of
clearcutting.
However, the South PAW proposal, so
gleefully ridiculed in timber trade
publications, hits directly home. Unless we
have that sense of love and respect for the
forest and the trees, well communicated by
singing to them as the hunters of old sang to
their prey, we wiJI not be able to develop a
truly sustainable way of using wood in the
Southern Appalachians.
The day yet may come when loggers
stand before a tree and, either silently or
aloud, offer thanks for its life. We will know
then that we are in balance with the forest and
that we are well on the way toward a
long-lived human culture here in the southern
mountains.
~
Rick Parrish of the Southern
Environmental Law Center is
investigating the possibilities for
initiating a Southeastern Institute
for Sustainable Forestry. All those
interested in supporting this effort
may contact him at 201 W. Main
St. (Suite 14); Charlottesville, VA
22901 (804) 977-4090.
Forest Stewardship Programs
#
Two new programs offi:J help 10 landowners
who wish lO mana11c their Corests wisely. The Forest
S1ewardship Program helps landowners to devel~
s1ewardS.hip management plans for their folCSiS. The
Siewardship Incentive Program offors financial help
10 enable Jandowntrs to carry out stewardship plans.
Bolh programs wc,e created by the federal Fann Bill
of 1990. and are supervised by SJ.ate forcsuy ai:encics,
so they vary slightly from state to siate.
Federal and sta1e forestry assisl311ce 10 pi:iva1e
landowners is not new. What is new abont the Foresl
Stewanlship/lncentive programs is the increased
emphasis on non-timber val~. the degree 10 which
these programs seek IO enable private landowners to
~cvc:lop and implement c0111prehensive plans to
conservu wide range of land values, and the dcgteC of
commitmel)L requ~ o! landowner.: participating in
I.he programs.
The new programs ~led in past from the
growing controversies over public Jan4 managemt111
in the US. The public lands cannot meet all of our
needs for wnber, wildlife (including non-game and
endangered spocics) habitat, ~igh quality water nows,
recreation. and beauty. Much or~ mosl potcnliaUy
productive forestJs he.Id by priv.io landowners. This
land could be bcuec managed. ~stewarclsbip
-progrnms arc predicated on the bcijef lhat ll\ally
privalC landoW!MJ.S will take good ¥ ol their f01C$1S
it'they are given educatiollll, ,echnlcal, a,'ld financial
help,~ some.recognition.
.Landowners owning forested l!ICtS of Oan 10
to 1,000 a~ m a y ~ in ~stcwar~
programs;tQ ~ allllldo"1'tf mukt.naati:
some senous comm~:
•
eqdgrsing tJfc
).)'Sign the •sie~ip aieecr
s t ~ i p ~ti;! pledge tO Collow lbeir
.slO'l¥8[~ip plan.
~L Z) Commit co improving at lc:&9l dne ol rou
I"' ,d vp categ()qi:s ( wildlife_. soi.1/wAJet: timli<:r,
'.&
a,e
f ~ ) and ~ n Ql'Pf1'{cct (l«ber
values,
~) ~ i t ;t~d land w)Lfiin the tract~
Sl~ship.1118118~t.
'
41 Actively patficipate in sLe'IYirdsblp jlr.n
develQl)llleru.
5) Abide by S1ale and (edc,:al JaW$ affcttin1
for~ activities.
,
In exe1iangc, for IIJ¢ sicw~blp comrnitmellt,
Jhe atate will~ ~wnci, il'I clcveloping a
st~dship plan lbat reflCClS thcu- desires fur thcit
land. The plan would bedc-vel()pCd either by
g(lvemment l1)SOIJroC' mQMgers or by private
consuhanis, tunded through the: Stewardsllip l1*:nlive
Program.
°Tht" foreSUtef,'lltdship program.,; lll'O in &licit
in(ancy, and it is diJTieulr tojudge wha{ the loilg-torm
lmpaet,w1II be. &tate foresters in TCMe$SCC, North
Carolina, South Carol:i'na, and G ~ reportlhat 110
10 l!ID sm-warw:liip plans ha~ been ~l&ed in each
of lhesc sillies, and more are bcing-prcparc(1.
-Je~JontS
For /'/l(Jre informacio11 on 1/te;Fote,-1
Stewardship Pro_grams1n your arta. contacr-yowr stare
Jor.estry dBenq,
f"n(t, 1992
�,-- -.~
·----··
ECOLOGICAL FORESTRY FOR RENEWABLE FOREST VALUES
by Leon S. Minckler
First, what is forest management?
Traditionally, it has meant an array of
practices designed to produce the most and
cheapest timber products. The Society of
American Foresters describes silviculmre as
the science of "growing" forests.
Unfonunately, this concept is widely
prevalent.
However, true forest management must
encompass the whole forest ecosystem,
including all its biological and physical
factors. Forest management also needs 10 be
sensitive to the preservation of the natural
rhythms of the earth and the environmental
and spiritual values desired and needed by
mankind. The key word for forestry should
be ecology: an awareness of the
interconnections of species, site, climate, soil
and soil organisms, water, topography,
stress factors, and biological diversity.
The real "products" of the forest include
commodities and non-timber environmental
values. The first objective of forest
management must be the sustainability of the
forest ecosystem itSelf. This is known as
"land ethics." It's not a new concept, but it
appears to be one many in forestry profession
have drifted away from.
Toe land ethic means that we do not
"own" the land and waters. Instead, in a very
real sense they own us by making life itself
possible. The adulteration of natural
processes and the overuse of natural
resources impinges on our basic needs and
desires and gradually renders the earth
unlivable. Thus, forest managers can no
longer afford to separate environmental and
long term economic concerns.
ON THE VARIABILITY OF FORESTS
Ecological forestry is composed. of the
following treatmentS: weeding, thinning,
improvement cutting (fSI) and final harvest
or regeneration cutting. When used
sensitively, these practices are compatible
with land ethics and can be implemented to
attain biological diversity, aesthetics, water
recreation, wild.life habitat, and spiritual
benefits.
Most foresters make timber production
the prime objective of their forest
management operations. Often, these
foresters are only concerned with maximizing
immediate economic returns. Unfortunately,
many industry and public foresters confuse
short-term profits with long-term sustainable
economic returns and therefore ignore
environmental valoes.
How much is six inches of topsoil
worth? How much is two weeks of forest
recreation worth? Can aspects of Jove and
enjoyment in a natural landscape even be
tranSlated into dollars?
We have reached the point in our
industrialized society where these so-called
amenity valoes must be thought about by the
people who manage our forests to achieve
these multiple values? Well, there is no one
way to manage all fo~ts. This should be
f"af.t, 1992
obvious, but contemporary production
forestry has taken a different path:
clear-cutting or single-dimension, one-shot
forestry.
The relationship between a patient and a
doctor is a good metaphor to illuminate the
way a forester should approach the
management of a forest ecosystem. We must
study and evaluate the forest's vital signs - its
hydrology, productivity, and climate. We
must think long and hard about the forest's
internal structure and how we want the forest
to appear now and many years into the
future. We must decide what we want the
forest to provide. And, most importantly, we
must carefully consider how to preserve its
longevity and natural health.
Forests are heterogeneous, not
homogeneous. Forests are vibrant and
diverse, not streamlined plantations. Forest
type, climate, elevation, aspect, past history
(natural and human), soil-site, age class, and
ecological interconnections are just some of
the variables that distinguish each forest from
another.
CLEARCUTTING
VERSUS GROUP SELECTION
"Good silviculture emulates nature, but
on a different scale." The ecological truth of
this statement is borne out by long experience
in the woods. By the practice of managing a
forest for multiple objectives. By the careful
cultivation of the environmental and
commodity values of the ecosystem.
My experience is mainly with the
management of central, southern, and
Appalachian mixed hardwood forests and I
will focos on them; however, these same
principles apply everywhere. Western and
southern conifers, and pioneer species like
aspen, poplar, and mid-west northern pines,
have different ecological characteristics. They
each have different ecological requirements
and different responses to disturbance.
Therefore, our silvicultural treatments must
be individually tailored. Simply put,
clearcutting does not emulate nature in the
mixed hardwoods. These forests are naturally
uneven-aged and highly diversified. They
contain a wide range of species, age and size
classes. They grow in a variety of site
conditions.
Group selection, however, imitates
natural mortality and windthrow. Oearcutting
advocates argue that clearcuts replicate
wildfire bum patches. This statement is
questionable in the arid West and almost
irrelevant in the humid East where large,
high-intensity forest fires rarely occur.
More problematic is the fact that the
nature and species composition of completely
clearcut stands cannot be accurately
predicted. On some sites pioneer species may
regenerate. On other sites regeneration may
be dominated by coppice sprouting from the
root systems of the harvested trees. Still other
sites may be entirely covered by maple or
tulip poplar seedlings spread by the wind
from a single source tree.
In the end, however, clearcutting means
conversion. It means that the species
composition of the regenerated stand will be
greatly altered by the end of the next rotation.
It means the stand's native diversity and
internal structure will be simplified and
streamlined.
While clearcutting may seem to be the
cheap way to go, its long-term costs are
excessively high. In order to control
composition and growth, clearcut stands
most be entered several times. Investments
must be made for intensive forestry, fire
protection, and intermediate cuttings.
Moreover, the end product of clearcutting is a
homogeneous forest with few large,
high-quality trees.
In the East, the Forest Service, and
some other land managers, seem to be
moving away from large clearcuts toward
smaller patch cuts where two to five acres are
harvested. Some may call this "group
Drawing by Pegi
(continued on next page)
Xatuah Journat
~ 23
�(continued from page 23)
selection," but in reality patch cutting is just a
variation of clearcutting. Control is by area
and the sites are cut without regard to tree
size, species, or stand condition. This is an
entirely artificial technique with no basis in
ecological concepts. Wide-spread application
of patch cutting will result in very peculiar
forests.
THE PRACTICE OF GROUP SELECTION
Group selection is based on the same
general concepts as single-tree selection.
However, group selection is always
combined with stand improvement cuts and
efforts are consciously made to make small
openings for new regeneration. The key
word for the practice of group selection is
flexibility.
In preparation for group selection
management. an inventory of the stand is
made and trees are classified as growing
stock, financially mature, low quality,
undesirable species, high risk,
unmerchantable culls, and wildlife trees. The
growing stock (rotation potential) trees, from
saplings to immature sawtimber and special
wildlife trees, are left behind to grow. The
others are cut or killed. Foresters base the
size and spacing of the harvest opening on
the condition of the forest. not mechanical,
pre-determined patches of area.
In general, shade tolerance, the ability
to reproduce in the limited sunlight of the
understory, is greater for northern
hardwoods: American beech; birch; maple;
and hemlock. Appalachian and central
hardwood species (oaks, hickory,
yellow-poplar, ash, and cherry) exhibit an
intermediate level of shade tolerance. Often
they require more sunlight for successful
regeneration than the northern species, but
they will regenerate and grow vigorously in
openings that are at least as wide as the height
of the swrounding residual trees. Larger
openings, one and a half to two times the size
of the surrounding trees, produces better
early growth.
It is better to make detenninations of the
opening widths based on the heights of
swrounding trees, rather than arbitrary
acreages, because it provides a more accurate
means of measuring how much light is
received and how large an opening will be
required for adequate regeneration.
The novel structure and ecological
character of eastern mixed hardwoods makes
it easy to create openings in one or two
cutting cycles that favor the regeneration of
native, site-adapted species. After harvest the
whole forest, including the regenerated areas,
is then subject to intermediate treatments,
such as weeding, release, thinning and stand
improvement, for example, scarification of
openings on good sites by tractors can result
in abundant yellow-poplar regeneration if
seed sources are or have been present
THE KASKASKIA EXAMPLE
In my experience as a research forester
on the Kaskaskia Experiment Forest, in
southern Illinois' Shawnee National Forest,
the worst of the forest's thirty-eight
compartment's was a twenty-one acre tract of
"poor farm woodland." It was a central
hardwood forest with a history of two or
three partial cuttings-- mostly what we now
call "high grading" with no stand
improvement
If this stand had been clearcut in 1952 it
would have yielded 3048 board feet of
sawtimber per acre. However, instead of
clearcutting this tract, as many contemporary
production foresters no doubt would
recommend, we chose to apply a series of
ecological group selection and improvement
cuttings.
Drawing by Michael Thompson
In 1952 and 1959, group selection
volume cutting on the tract yielded a total of
1762 board feet per acre and killed
sixty-seven cull trees (five inches in diameter
breast height and larger) per acre.
By I967, the forest- now a diverse
mix of oaks, hickory and yellow-poplar-was a fully stocked stand of good growing
poles and small sawtimber. Fifteen yea.rs
after the first intensive group selection and
stand improvement treatments, this poor farm
woodland tract contained 3167 board feet of
sawtimber and fifty-nine good growing stock
pole trees five to ten inches in diameter per
acre. Obviously, the role of in-growth was
very imponant
I returned to this stand in 1988 to find a
beautiful forest of mixed hardwoods.
Diversity was high and quality was unusually
good because the poor trees had been
eliminated.
The differences between a silvacultural
clearcut and the intensive group selection
from the original stand are easy to calculate.
Clearcutting would have yielded a total of
3048 board feet per acre and would have had
no market for the many five inch to ten inch
diameter poles trees cut
Intensive group selection, on the other
hand, yielded 1762 board feet ofsawtimber
per acre harvested in 1952 and 1959 and left
behind by 1967 a volume of3167 board feet
of sawtimber per acre. The total volume for
the fifteen year group selection was 4929
board feet per acre (1881 board feet more
than the cleaicut would have produced), plus
many healthy saplings, and living and dead
wildlife trees.
After forty years, the differences
between the two alternative treatments in
terms of non-timber environmental values
would be astonishing. The group selection
cut stand will provide a tall canopied, diverse
forest, while the clearcut will be covered by
twenty-five to thirty foot tall saplings and
poles. The group selection stand will be
managed as an uneven-aged forest with
volume and diameter distribution controls,
while the clearcut will be managed as
even-aged stand with area controls.
In the long run, clearcutting mixed
hardwood forest ecosystems seldom can be
justified for amenity, environmental, or
timber values. Let me emphasize again that
different forest ecosystems should not be
treated in exactly the same manner. But
foresters must make a choice. They can
follow ecological laws and care for the
creation or they can disrupt the ecological
trends of the forest ecosystem for quick
profits and ease of operation.
The best regional example of this type
ofcareful forestry is Walton and Dee Smith's
Waldee Forest in Macon County, NC (see
report in Katuah Journal #9).
Leon S. Minc/cler is a consultant in
tnvironmental fortstry from Blaclc.sburg, Virginia.
Dr. Minckler spent 33 years with the Forest Service
at four eastern Forest Expuimtm Stations doing
research in the silvicuiture and ecology of hardwoods.
ExcerptedfromForest Watch magazine.
Nov.-Dec., 1990. Forest Watch is published by
Cascade Holistic Economic Consultants (CHEC):
3758 SE Milwaukie; f'ortland, OR 97202.
I
1
1'"a££, 1992
�DearKatuah,
I was musing the other day on the fact
that billions of people refuse to see that we're
all one big group, and the verse ~mposed
itself which, in tum brought to Ol.l.Od the
inte~ined lines which should represent our
goal of coming together, of a common mind,
to begin to heal Ela, Mother Earth.
I'm an incurable optimist- it will happen,
sooner or later, when enough caring people
wakeup.
Keep on the path,
Jeffery R. Zachary
DRUMMI NG
What the Big Trees Say
Come. Don't be afraid. We were
once small and skittish too. Now we
have lived so long, stretched our arms
so high, loved intensely our own piece
of land, loved it so much that we stay
fiercely, intimately attached to it,
never leaving. Fidelity is an important
value in our community. Stay true to
your lovers, the sky, the sun, the
Earth. We watch over the young
things, bearing our leaves, giving
them time to grow before we sprout
our spring. We don't let young things
grow too fast - we shade them from
the sun after a while. We know that
growth, the best kind of growth
happens slowly.
We grow just the way you do our hearts expand year after year as
our trunks get wider. That's the real
growth, you know. Our roots mix
more with the Earth while our tops
stretch more toward the sun. We span
and measure the distance between the
sun and the Earth, between the
darkness and the light.
The gift we bring you is the gift of
growing beyond youth, the gift of
being in one place so long that your
heart spreads wisdom wide, each_ year
encircling more and more. We bnng
maturity, a sense of deep belonging to
an environment. We bring the
courage to stand strong and alone as
individuals, yet work together with
the other plants, animals, rocks, soils
and trees in our community. We can
teach you how not to become stunted
jn your growth, how to seek out the
light places where the sun lets you
grow. When you cut us down you
remove that wisdom we hold for you:
Maturity, Depth, Growth, a Widening
Heart.
Susan Klimczak
Dear Katuah,
Only just recently have I ~me aware
of your flourishing ex_istence - picked you up
on a table at the Tunle Island Bioregional
Congress V near Hunt, Tens - didn't meet
the folks who brought you there. Then a few
days lacer I met one Billy of the Billys (of
"Billy Home and Gardens, Ashevi~e") - but
just briefly. Issue #34 was a hum~ger sustainable agriculture is a hot topic on my
personal agenda. Articles by Bane, Hollis,
Barnes, et al really cut to the core of the
matter. I'm excited to imagine how much
more material you have coverd with a similar
depth of understanding and presentation.
I want to take you up on your offer of back
issues - find check enclosed. I'd like to bob
with the ripples you're sending across the
pond.
Truly,
Hal Strickland
Johnson City, TX
Drawing by Jeff Zachary
ran:.
1992
Dear Katitalt,
Is prescribed burning really best for our
forests? I question this. What is the real
answer?
Sam Booher
• Is prescribed burning best for our
forests? That is still very much an open
question. A careful reading of Karuah Jour_
nal
#33 will reveal that it appears that the species
composition of today's forest has been
influenced by excessive human-caused ~s.
particularly in the wake of the greatloggmg
boom.
For species such as Table Mountain
pine, that is not such an i?'1pon~t
.
consideration. One of their specific ecological
functions is to recolonize areas burned by
fire. But how about oak trees? There is .
accwnulating evidence that their presence 1s
somehow linked 10, or at least encouraged
by, fire. If fire were removed completely, ii
might inhibit the presence of oaks
considerably. Since the loss of the chestnut,
oaks are a critical mast producer; many
(continued on next pagcl
�}ccrlllnl*I fmm pea• 1S)
wildlife species, including black bears,
depend heavily on acorns for their livelihood.
Until the chestnut returns. we need to
mainmin the oak trccS, and it might require
fire to do it This is just one prominent
example among many.
So, while we all lOYC the feel of deep
humus developed under a long-standiJ?g
grove of old-growth trccS, we cannot issue a
blanket condemnation of fire and its role in
the forest. Naturally derived or not, the forest
may have come to depend somewhat on fire.
We may have to utili2.c fire 1 make a .
0
ttansition to a more narural system. It 1 also
s
possible that we will have to maintain it
indefinitely.
.
What is narural? A provocanve
question. There probably is no final answer.
READING RESOURCES
LOGGING
Books
raw stumps jut up
through layers of autumn,
!
Bwuon, Barry, and Malinda Cruu:htidd, eds.; The
Great Fou st: An AppalachiDII Story (The
Appalachian Consortium Press; Boone; 1985)
whole~han$
in potential falling
throufl' live limbs
sttairung to break,
board-length ttunks
cut clean of appendages
lie in parallel murder
wounds Japing
from chain teeth
Clary, David; Timber and the Forest Service
(Univeisity Press or KllrlsM, Lawrence, 1986)
de Steigucr, J.E.; L.W. Hayden; D.L. Holley, Jr.;
W.G. Luppold; W.G. Manin; D.H. Newman;
and R.M. Shelfield; Southern AppalacNOII
Tunbtr Sru.dy, (US Forest Service,
Soulheasicm Forcs1Expcrimcn1 Station,
General Technical Report SE-56)
Susan Parker Weatherford
-OW
Eller, Ronald. D.; Miners, Mil/hands, and
I THINK OF THOSE
Mountai~ers: /ndu.srriallzation of the
Appalachian Souih, 1880-1930 (University or
Dear Karuah,
Hello and Thanks! Please keep me on
I think of those who have lost the luck
your mailing list. I read both issues from
They will never sec again,
cover to cover. I am in the process of
How the hours dwindle down to so much dust
simplifying my life. I wan_t to.live i!' hru:mony
And the evenings arc stow and labored
with nature and your pubhcanon will bring
Like a dying man's breathing,
me much needed information along with a
How the morning comes tacking promise
sense of connectedness with others of like
With sunshine hidden behind clouds.
mind.
l lhink of those who have tried to break
The life-long spell of neglect;
Thank you,
I think of the conquered,
Blessing and Light
The ones who sought the prize and were lert,
.
MacClarlc
Solitary performers, reciting thei r lines to an audience of air.
..
Tennessee Press; Knoxville: 1982)
Fri12, Edwo,d C.; Clearcutting . A Crime Against
Nature (Eakin Press, Austtn, 1989)
I
Hllrris, Larry 0.: Tht Fragmented Forest: ls/Md
Biogeography and the Preserwmon of Biotic
Diversiry (Universi1y or Chicago Press:
Chicago: 1984)
Jackson. Laura E.; Mo11111au1 Treasures at Risk. The
Fuiure ef the Southern Appalachian National
Forests (The Wilderness Society, Washington,
DC, 1989)
'
Leopold, Aldo; A Sand CounJy Almanac (Od ord
University Press; Cambridge: 1949)
(continued &om peg• 19)
causing political and economic friction . ~ nee
again, as in the Pacific Northwest, the big
companies are victimizing the small
operations which are more dependent on the
national forests and are caught in the squeeze
between greater competition for timber and a
growing concern for sustainable forest
management
As they did bef~ the large~
companies are employmg scare tactJcs by
lhrearening massive job reductions and
making accusations that conservation groups
are advocating socialist control of privllC
lands. Their aim is to use these claims to
detraet from the true issue: that new scientific
evidence is showing that current forest
management of both public and priva1e lands
is not sustainable and lb.at swiu:hing to a
more natural form of management. such as
selection silvicuhure, would create new jobs
for smaller companies while at the same time
protecting our native ccosysaems.
Fonwwely, we in the Southeast have
an advantage against cuporatc effons to
divide our people. For ~ l e , in T ~
an alliance rl 40 hardwood timber comparues
has organized to fight the
chip
mills. Indications are that the
communities are realizing that if we are to
ldcqualely proccct our forests we must
accomplish tw0 things: we must embrace a
new land ethic, and we must support our
neighbors in the timber business who along
with the environment have been the real
p=
~JoumaL
palJB28
victims of bad management policy. We must
push f~r posi~ve incentive~ for our local
industnes until they can adJust to a form of
forest management more compatible with our
environment
I
Minckler, Leon S.: WoodlaNI Ecology:
Envirorrmtlll4I Forestry for the Small
l.aNwwnu. (Syracuse University Press;
Syracuse; 1975)
Perlin, John; A Foru t Jouniq: TM Role ef Wood in
In conclusion, we must listen to the
words of Leopold, who once said, "~n
ethical obligation on the pan of the pnvate
land owner is the only visible remedy for
these situations."
Stated another way, the key to good
forest management, w ~ it be~ ~blic
or private land, will ulbmalCly be individual
involvement The evidence of past abuse and
the conclusions drawn from recent scientific
research combine to support the case for a
revision of policy based on a shift in values.
We must change our priorities from a focus
on short term commodity output to an
emphasis on sustainable commun~ : The
remedies we use to correct these policies
must include choosing the wisest I ~.
treating our land with respect, and abstaining
from oven:onsumpcion. The choioe is a
matter of ethics.
Buzz Williams was formerly employed
as afortst technician/or the US Forut
Service but lost his job wlten lte protested
excessive timber salu. He is now working as
rite Southeastern Program Director efthe
Association of Forest Service Employees f or
Eff'llironmelllDl Ethics (AFSEEE).
,
tht Dtvtlopment ofCivilizalion (Nonon:
1989)
Robinson, Gonion: T/te Forest a1ld tht Trtts: .4
Gllidt to Excellent Forestry (lsland Press;
1988)
Schenck. Cart A.: TIie Birtli ef Forutry ilt "1Mrica ·
TIie Biltmore Forut School 1898-1913 (The
;
Appalachian Consortium Press; Boone; 1974)
Sloane, Eric; .4 Rtvtmice f or Wood (Henry Hoh &
Co., l990edilion)
Te,cll, Hugh and Bedlel Jr. High School Eighth
GradeClals. SoNJ1110:ValleyofthtMoon: •
Sut&btust (historical interviews with former
woatas • the Sunburst Lumber Co., 1978)
Articles
Brothers. Robert; "Respectful Forestty," in In
Con/Ul, Winter, 1984
·ean Foresras Romance a Land Elbie?". theme of
April, 1991 issueoClheJollTMl efForestry.
L...-------------Falt, 1992
�THE CHAIR IN THE TREE
There is a special advantage to working
with green wood in doing joinery, the
assembling of the chair. I use mortise and
tenon joints. The mortise is simply a hole
partway through the vertical post and the
tenon is a tongue on the horizontal rung that
fits into the hole. I put the rungs into a small
1ciln for a couple of days to get them bone dry
befOl'C I make the tenons. To form the
tenons, I have a cutter that works on my
brace. The ten0n cutter is matched to my drill
size to give an extremely close tolerance. It
forms a tenon that is oversiud by about
1/U)() of an inch.
I make the mortises while the post is
still green. Green wood shrinks as it dries, so
after the pieces are joined the mortises dry
around the tenons and lock them into place.
That makes a tighter joint than anything that
can be done with kiln dried lumber.
Assembling the chair can be tense, but
it is satisfying. I use a rawhide mallet ro .
1moclc the pieces into place. It's a fine feeling
to watch all those pans that I made
laboriously one by one come together to
become a whole chair.
I protect the finished chair frame with a
few coats of tung oil. I like the natural colors
of the different woods, so I don't use any
stains. The chairs darlcen slowly and evenly
as they age.
by Tucker Windover
I live now in Madison County and I
have been working wood for nearly two
years. For me, interest and somc~s
inspiration come from the wc:><x! 1~lf - from
walking in the woods, from sphnmg
firewood. or from seeing a fine table or
cabineL Different woods have their own
smells and textures. When you become
curious about wood, and begin
woodworking with a ttcc, you can never be
sure exactly what you are getting into. Any
piece of wood could contain hidden knots, a
twisted grain, or a beautiful curly figure.
There is wide variety, even within the same
species, so you can't know what to ex~.
The cha.irmaking process stanS with
finding wood in the fo_rcsL ~u~ting wood
reminds me of fly-fishing - n gives me an
excuse to be out in the woods. I find myself
wandering around looking for tn:CS, or
sometimes just wandering around. I
remember those moments as I go through the
process of buil~g ~ chair. -ro ~p that
connection in mind 1 very sansfying.
s
Like any logger, I am usually looking
for trees more than 14 inches in diameter. I
search for oak and hick<X')'. Occasionally I
have found ash in this area, but I have never
used iL Black walnut is always a nice
possibility, if you can luck into iL
I don't saw the logs into boards.
Instead, I split the log into four even sections
or qlWterS with wedges and a sledge
hammer.
Every time I open up a log, I feel
anticipation as I drive in one wedge after
another until it spliu apart. Ideally tl';C log.
splits into two perfect halves. Sometimes n
snaps open with a sharp "crack!," and.the
two halves roll apan as ncally as opemng a
book. Sometimes I fight and tear and cuss
and finally have to haul out the axe to get the
stubborn log to spliL So~ are hopes and
disaPt>Ointments. I never know what
experiences lie inside a given ~. and I n~
know bow many chairs a log will make until
all the pans are shaved down to their final
sizes. Finding good chair legs and rungs in a
log is tricky business.
To get my "rough stock" (wood which
is roughly the siz.e of my finished chair
pans), I split the quarters by a process called
"riving," which is carefully CO!'trolled
splitting. Trees such as oak, hickory, and ash
arc called "ring porous woods" aDC;1 are the
easiest to split this way, due to their pattern
of annual growth. Their spring and early .
summer growth consists of large-por:ed. airy
cells. while their late season growth 1s dense.
The ttcc thus becomes a wrapping of
well-defined strong and weak layers.
Splitting along these layers is controllable and
reasonably predictable.
I ming this rough stoelc to the shaving
horse - a low bench with a jaw that grasps the
wood just below the c~ lev_l of someone
c
sining on the horse. The Jaw is opened and
closed with a foot treadle. With the stoelc held
Falt, 1992
steady in the jaw, I carefully shape out the
chair pans with a drawlcnife and a
spokeshave. A spokeshave is a small to0l
that has a mounted blade with a handle on
either side. It is designed especially for
working rounded surfaces. lt was first used
to make wagon wheels - hence its name.
I work the wood while it is still greeg.
Wood is much softer when it is green and
thus men suitable for working with hand
tools. I measure and mule my pieces. but I
also have to rely on my hands and my eyes.
To get a really fine finish on my chairs. I use
a finely tuned spokeshave. Sandpaper
abrades wood. To get a clean finished surf~
on wood most chainnakas use a lcecn-cutbng
hand plane or spokeshave. A good
spokeshave can cut a shaving that is thinner
than tissue paper. It is simple in design. but it
is a remmbblc IDOL
Wood shaved by hand has a texture
which 1alhcd wood lacks. It sometimes
rcuins curves or pccutiarim that are
reminiscent of the ttcc's original growth.
There might be a tiulc knot, a little bit of
twist, or a wormhole.
Different woods feel different in your
hands when you arc working th~ They
give differently under the drawknife. Some
are troublesome and can be a challenge ro
shave down to a clean surface. Red oak can
be very coarse, while hickory shavings tend
to be more even and smooth.
You can 1eam to recognize green woods
by their smell as well as by their feel. Walnut
is a favorite wood of mine. It has a
wonderful smell It's greaa to have a ~e of
walnut shavings in the shop. Red oak lS
sometimes called "piss-oak" because of its
smell. But it never bodlcn me. I like bow
wood smells.
Hickory bark is my favorite ma1eria1 for
making chair seats. The bark must be
harvested in the spring or early summer. At
that time of year, when ~ is rapid growth
and lots of moisture in the tree, the bark is
tender and easy to wark. I choose a sapling
(CClllliaad cm Mlll pap)
�~continued rrom page 27)
make any sense.
I recently saw a videotape of an old
man from Switzerland, a cooper. He was
obviously a master craftsperson. Although he
had great dexterity and technical expenise,
what impressed me the most was how
completely this man was absorbed in his
work. While he was working in his shop, he
was in his place. This clement of
crafunanship - this combination of
composure and concentration - is what work
is about. If that element of lhe craft is
lacking, lhen our labor is incomplete. Fine
craftsmanship requires complete attention.
But to achieve lhis level of attention, a
woodworker needs to understand - to see and
to experience - the whole process of lhe
object he has wrought, from the forest to the
finished piece.
There are times when I feel at home
with my work. Of course, some days it just
feels like hard work. But there are other days
when it is sweet, so sweet, to listen to
and shave off the outer bark, exposing the
inner bark, which is quite pretty. I score lines
one inch apan the length of the tree with a
jackknife, and peel off the inner bark one
strip at a time. I use this inner bark to weave
the chair seat.
Any woodworker learns quickly that in
order to make a living, the hand tool must be
dropped at some point and the electric
powered tool needs to be used. The process
of building a single chair is simply too labor
intensive. For myself, however, I am not
sure how to define the line where handwork
drops off and machine work begins.
Machines make production many times
easier and faster; but what good is there in
having so many cheap mass-produced
objects? The real concern is: to what extent
have machine tools improved crafrsmo.nship?
Here, we need to understand what
craftsmanship really is, which is hard to do
because there are so few craftspeople around
any more. To find someone who can take
clay or glass or wool and turn it into
something that is beautiful and functional as
well, that is a truly wonderful thing.
Machines have not made better craftspeople;
they have eliminated them, which does not
sh,viog, ,,.., off <he
woode/
~
Drawing by Hope Walker
Plwto by Elmu Holl
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Xotilah Jou.mat page 28
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LIVlNG
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gatlinburg, tennessee 37738
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~ 14,\
othen with drum and rattk.
WHERE THE RAVENS ROOS1
.:.:
f'ril
(704) 264-5220
Cherokee traditional
tongs of Walker Calhoun
Sn£Cnsx> AS
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R£coaDrNQ 8Y THE UIIMltT 0/F•
Talking Leaves is a moothly
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�Reading the Grove
by Charlotte Homsher
These are some of my observations on
how to study trees in a grove with an eye to
recognizing che invisible forces at work. In
order co find a grove, the first thing you have
to do is gee off the main trail. Hiking trails are
almost always arbitrary cues that slice across
the forest. Exceptions to this are the Indian
trails which were the original animal runs or
bison trails. Trees do eventually
accommodate the presence of the artificial
trails, but this is a process that can take
several generations of human lifetimes.
To get to a grove, I recommend
walking barefoot to minimii.e the impact on
the forest floor and also to stimulate one's
sensual awareness by immediate, direct
contact with the earth. Finding a magic grove
is something like searching for morel
mushrooms. It requires quiet observation,
stealth, and perseverance. The object is to
find a grove where the trees have no
particular relationship with humans but are
primarily connected in a group with each
other. A grove is defined by specific physical
boundaries which may be water, rock
formations, or an abrupt change in
vegetati9n. The shape of a grove is usually
circular.
I can most easily recognize a grove if I
am looking for a nature spirit home or
settlement. To some there may be a question
of whether the nature spirits created a grove
in a particular way to accommodate
themselves or whether a certain panem of tree
growth attracted the nature spirits. I think it is
co-creation of both the trees and the spirits or
of the visible and the invisible. I do recognize
a grove as having specific character which
changes even a few feet away. A grove
supports more variety of life than the trees
immediately outside the grove.
lfl want to understand the relationships
of trees to each other in a grove, I need to
stay very quiet and observe as a detached
outsider. The tree itself is an interface of
superimposed spatial realities. There is
energy at every level of the tree, from the
deepest taproot all the way up the trunk into
the canopy and above the crown. These
energies can be felt, or seen as color and/or
shape. Those who can see nature spirits
describe this creative energy as a variety of
spirits which live on one tree. (I am thirucing
particularly of Geoffrey Hodson who
watched nature spirits change shape and size
as they fluidly dissolved in and out of the
solid mass of the tree.)
Auras of trees blend with each other.
Mature trees have expansive auras which
bathe nearby younger trees in their light. l
believe this is a generational nourishing and
teaching process in which the older trees
influence the younger trees.
Like people, trees can take on a
predominate level of energy which can be
defined as chakra level or specific role
playing. Native Americans referred to trees as
the Standing Men because, like us, trees
ThC£, 1992
stand upright between heaven and earth. A
grove is a family group of separate beings
that at the same time creates the one Standing
Man represented by all the trees playing
different pans to make the whole.
What I call the grounded tree is
analogous to the grandmother or grandfather
and may be the oldest, largest tree. Much like
the function of the feet of humiµ1s, this tree is
particularly adept at bringing earth energy up
through the roots and trunk and making this
earth nourishment available to the plant life in
the immediate vicinity. It helps in the
nourishing process as does the binhing tree,
the mother tree. The seeds from the mother
tree are particularly potent. There may be
more nature spirit activity around these trees,
especially of the kind of nature spirit
interested in seed saving and propagation.
The mother tree supports an abundance of life
of every kind. Birds and forest animals are
attracted to the mother tree. Moss and growth
of all kinds will be abundant on the trunk.
The boughs of the tree may extend to
neighboring trees in a nesting kind of way.
Unusually lush patches of wildflowers or
many sapling trees will grow close to the
mother tree.
The beauty tree is particularly graceful
in form and is a joy and inspiration to all the
other trees. The speaker rree is the
communicator and the mediator. It
understands the language of many life forms
and relays information. Of all the trees in the
grove the speaker tree is the one most likely
to speak to humans. If one spends a long
enough time under a speaker tree, the tree
will begin to influence one's thoughts. It has
listened to the stories of woodland animals
and migrating birds. It knows about the
health of its species and about trees in other
parts of the world.
The spire tree is the tree in the grove
most resp~>nsible for bringu'!g in the cosmic
energies. It is usually the talfest tree. It has
the most far-reaching view. It helps open up
the species or the grove itself into
inter-dimensional reality.
The reaching bough trees are the good
neighbors, the loving trees. They intertwine
their limbs with nearby trees and twist their
trunks toward their neighbors. They extend
the wannth and comfon of their being to the
other trees.
Not every grove will contain all these
types of trees. This is only an indication of
the outward form of what I think is an
awareness of trees for each other. Young
trees do not have enough character to have
assumed importance in the relationships of
the grove. But if a mature tree is destroyed,
then a younger tree, even an understory tree,
can be groomed by the nature spirits to
replace the old tree. If this happens, the
characteristic traits of the mature tree will
begin to manifest in the smaller, chosen tree,
which may be of a different species. I·know
of one grove in which several prominent
"trees" are actually old-growth
,,#
rhododendron.
p
Drawing by Pegi
�The North Carolina
American Chestnut
Foundation
If the American Chestnut tree is to once
again compliment the mountains of the
Katuah bioregion, your help will be needed.
This is not a hybrid tree. Planted here on a
half-acre of land are some forty-seven true
American chestnut seedlings. But they
cannot grow on such a limited piece of land.
They need many acres on which to spread
their magnificence; where both human and
animal can enjoy their fruits.
This is a hypovirulent strain, and
therefore blight-resistant. Such trees usually
survive attack by the fungus Endotlua
parasirica. These seedlings have come from
old trees that have resisted the virus. By
constant checking and proper nunuring, we
may re-establish this tree in our moutains.
Will you help? These seedlings must be
transplanted into their permanent home no
later than February or March of 1993. They
are three year old seedlings. and doing just
fine now, but they will need land to mature
on. Money (for more trees and help in
bringing them to maturity) is needed and so is
a great deal of acreage. The more land
available, the more of these special trees can
be grown, and the more the land and wildlife
will gain.
Are there old farms no longer being
fanned for whatever reason? ls their acreage
unused? Are there landowners who have no
children to leave their land to, who would
rather see it go to something beneficial to the
Earth and the many animals for whom the
chestnut was a staple food? Would you be
interested in supporting the chestnut rather
than have your land go to the State where,
too often, wealth or political power, permit
clear-cutting and destruction instead of
caring?
This work is not for profit. Do you
remember as a child the beauty of the tree,
and the unmatchable flavor of chestnuts
cooked in an iron skillet over an open fire?
That beauty and the joy of chestnuts can be
shared with today's young people, and
tomorrow's. We must have a deep and
abiding faith that God will touch the hearts of
those who can help this effort to allow these
trees their full potential. If you want to help
and be a part of this worthwhile goal,
generations to come will be forever grateful.
Dorothy Diclcson
The North Carolina Amtrican Chestnut Foundation
l l ] Awumn lane
llarri.sonburg, NC 28075
(The North Carolina Amtrican ChestnUJ Foundation
is not offiliattd in any woy wirh the American
Chestnut FoundallOn.)
RARE SPEOES NEED HELP!
The Biodiversity Legal Foundation
(BLF) is calling on grassroots environmenral
activists with a strong biological interest and
legal orientation to develop comprehensive
reviews of the biological status and
distribution of inadequately protected rare and
endangered species in the East. Information
cpllected in these status reviews will be used
to develop and implement effective
administrative, legal, and public education
programs on behalf of the species or
subspecies.
These are all species that the
Biodiversity Legal Foundation considers to
be biologically threatened or endangered. but
that have not been added to the official list of
federally protected species under the
Endangered Species Act
Species of special concern requiring
priority status reviews in the Appalachian
states include:
Brachymenium andersonii
Cy/indrocolea andersoni
Psoralea macroplcylla (scurf-pea)
Solidago plumosa
lesquerella perf
orata
(Spring Creek bladder pod)
Lesquerella sronensis
(Stones River bladder pod)
The Biodiversity Legal Foundation
conducts biological research to identify
species that are in need of protection under
the Endangered Species Act and provide the
necessary documentation to press petitions
before the US Fish and Wildlife Service for
endangered species status. BLF staff will
cooperate in the development of conservation
and recovery plans for petitioned and listed
specie:s or will develop legal actions to
compel federal and state agencies to comply
with the laws intended to protect natural
diversity, as is appropriate.
Contact:
The Biodivusiry ugal Foundation
Boz 18327
Boulder, CO 80308
~vl-~,~-,~
w -~
V'
Alternatives ...
The Dirt1ctnry of lntt-ntional ConfJ,wnlllt!. is lhe prod·
<
uct of two years of intensive research. and is lhe most
comprehensive and accurate di.rectory available. It documcnis lhe vision and lhc daily ltfc of more lhan 350
communities in North America, aud more lhan 50 on
olher continents. Each community's listing includes
name, address. phone. and a dcsc,ip•Jon of lhc group.
Extensive cross-rcfcrcnr,ni; and mil'-• ing makes lhe infonnation easy to access for., wide vancty of users. Includes maps, over 250 atldit.ional kesourcc listings, and
40 rclared articles.
Programs to encourage
self ond Earth oworeness.
celeblolion. kinship ond hope.
Covi~ffiN'i·1·11·~~
Perfcctbouud
• Youth Camps • School Programs
• Famlly Camps· Te&cher Tra,n,ng
• Community Program•
• Camp Slaff Training
• Outdoot Program Consulting
Octobu I990
ISBN Number:
0 9602714-1-4
.~°P
P.O. Box 1306
Gon.,burg. Temessee 3n33
6 15--436-6203
328 pages
11-1/hll
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t
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Add $2.00 postage
& handling ror first
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aJdt1ionJl; 4u%
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of 111 w more.
Alpha Fann. Deadwood. OR
(509)~5102
REGIONAL RADIO
Featuring Crossroads music, NPR news and music
programs, regional news and information
concerning health, education, government,
recreation, and the environment.
WNO/II· FM P.O. Box 804 Spindolc, NC 28160
(704) 287-8000
,=-on, l 992
�TRANSFORM
Transportation in NC
The Four Directions:
Native Literary Magazine
The Snowbird Publishing Company of
TelJico Plains, TN is owned by Native
American Indians and publishes works by
native people.
Now !he company is offering The Four
Directions American Indian literary
Quarterly. The magazine will make available
the poetry, short stories, anicles, historic
narratives, and artwork of the native peoples.
Tt will also fearure commentary on issues
facing the native tribes today: education,
health, women's issues, thefts of native
artifacts ("professional" as well as "amateur),
and environmental issues. The first two
issues of The Four Directions Literary
Quarterly are now on sale.
Snowbird Publishing Company is
owned by Joanna and William Meyer of
Tellico Plains. Joanna is Cherokee/Navajo;
William is Cherokee/Creek. Between them,
the two have much experience in writing,
editing, and publishing, as well as working
in native communities on issues of concern to
the native people.
William has been assistant editor and
reporter for the American Indian Historical
Society and its newspaper Wassaja. He was
also editor of publications for fndigena, Inc.,
an international organi7.ation of native peoples
based in Berkeley, CA. With Burke
Armstrong, he co-founded American Indian
News Team, the first national Indian news
agency.
TM Four Directions A=rican Indian literary
Quarterly is available for $21.00 for four issues from
Snowbird Publishing company; Box 729; Tellico
plains, TN 37385. CaU (615) 546-7001.
POWER TO THE PESSIMISTS!
"What's happ'nin'?"
Here's how to find out - what's cool
and what's not, what's drab and what's hot.
lt's Power 10 the Pessimists, a rare glimpse
into the mind of (some ot) today's young
people, freely offered by the students
themselves.
The mystery publisher of P llJ the P is
identified only as Monrovia, thought to be a
student at the Mountain Heritage High School
in Burnsville, NC. The stapled newsletter is
all '90's - xerographies, paper gra.fitti,
poems, personal (very!) statements, random
decorative art pieces (doodles), and lots of
tenth grade wit and wisdom This paper even
has "sensitive boy poets!" - and you thought
they were dead!
Young people will want to check out
Power to the Pessimists as valuable
communication. Older people will relish,the
perspective it offers on the world as the
coming generation sees it. (So, obviously,
it's a publication for everyone.)
Entertaining and insightful, P co the P
is.. .is.. Js... fresh! And definitely worth
picking up on.
Contacl Power 10 IM Pessimists al:
1890 Hannah Branch Rd.
Burnsville, NC 28714
(IL's only $5.00 for one year - bu1 !hey deserve
better lhan lhaL)
Spurred by a recent series of articles
published in the North Carolina Independent,
a group of North Carolina citizens gathered
on the lawn of the state capitol in Raleigh
September 10 10 announce the formation of
the NC Alliance for Transportation Reform.
The group consists of individuals from
many different backgrounds. Some members
are veteran road-fighters who want to protect
their yards or neighborhoods from intrusive
projects. Some are people who see our
automotive lifestyle as one that the natural
world cannot afford. Others believe they
should not be paying the high tax rates that
come with unneeded highway projects.
The statewide group proposes that the
the current system of political favoritism be
replaced with <?ne that gives o~ary ci~ens,
environmental1sts, planners, pubhc transit
advocates, and the scientific community more
authority. Transponation Reform would
abolish the Highway Trust Fund
(transponation funding would be subject to
the same rules and budget procedures as all
other state projects), and it would require the
DOT to use environmental standards that
meet or exceed federal regulations.
The group will target gubernatorial and
legislative candidates during the 1992 election
and it will ask the two candidates for state
auditor to commit to an in-depth performance
audit of the DOT. For more information,
write: N.C. Alliance for Transportation
Reform; Box 1002; Chapel Hill, N.C.
27514, or call western North Carolina contact
Rusty Sivils at (704) 258-8737.
Drawing by Hope Walker
1492-1992:
NEW VISIONS
NEW ALLIANCFS
Wbile many ,cc the issues ofColwnbus'
invasioa u SOO )UIS in lhc past. llw:rc
by ~ob Messick
Get a set of 10 assorted
folding cards with
artwork as seen in
I<atuah Journal.
Send $11.25 ppd to:
Rob Messick
Rt.8, Box323
Lenoir, NC 28645
Tact, 1992
arc about 1.4 million original North
~ among us loday. They Olce •
wide range or life and death issues lo
which newer Americans ue o'14I blind.
1491,1991.- NEW VJSJONS, NEW ALLJ.
AJ.K:ES provides insights Ullo lhe Europe
from ~b Columbus Jmmcbed bis Y(Tj·
ages, a mon: realistic portrayal of North
American histoiy followmg lhe European
mvasioa. and ccamplcs of lhc battles Native AmcritaDS musl still f'3hl lod3y. 30
pp. S4 each. Sl.SO for IS or more.
ENERGY rooLS ·l·lfMJ~G, WAWDS· MtD ICIN€ BAGS
C.RYSTALS•TI\Ll<INC:i STICl(S • DRU~.S •
MEDI C.INE STAFFS•SiONES ANO MO~
ASHEVILLE. NC
704-158- tt'l~I
Return to:
Mobilization for SUrvival
328 Flatbush Ave., Suite 155
Brooklyn, NY 11238
Drawing by Michael Thompson
'.K.atuah Jou.mat page 31
�events
'l
WAYNESVILLE, NC
Meditation Retreat gives you the
chance IO spend the weekend with your reflective
self. Leon Frankel, resident managet of Stil-Light
Theosophical Retrea1 Center, will offer instruction
in basic breath-awareness meditation toclmiques.
Pre-register: $40 plus meals and lodging. For
more info on this and other programs, contaet
Stil-Lighl, Route I, Box 326, Waynesville, NC
28786. (704) 452-4569.
ASHEVILLE, NC
Reading the Inner Tree is a short
course on tuning into tree energy. Learn to
recognize special trees and magic groves with
facilitator Oiarlotte Homsher. Pre-register. S35
for beginners' two-session class on Ociober 3 and
IO. Advanced class will be Octobu 24, and cost
$25. For more info, call (704) 253-5917.
BLACK MOUNTAIN, NC
Southeast Light Linlc '92 is a regional
network gathering for those involved in planetary
uansformation. The agenda includes large and
small cucles to share ideas, resources, visions ...
no workshops! Pre-register.$115 includes meals
and lodging. For info, contact Anne Gillis, 4311
Harvest Hill Road, Memphis, TN 38141. (901)
761-3435 or (901) 362-8431.
27-29
CHEROKEE, NC
Cherokee Fall Festival at the
Ceremonial Grounds. Traditional dancing and
costumes, dance competitions. For info, call (800)
438-1601.
6-10
30-11/1
WESSER, NC
10th Guest Appreciation Festival and
Used Equipment Sale will include music,
mini-courses and general family fun. For info on
this and other events, CODll!Cl the Nantahala
OuldoorCcntcr, 41 Hwy 19 West., Bryson City,
NC 28713. (704) 488-2175.
NORRIS, TN
Tennessee Fall Homecoming is a
celebration of traditional mountain culture at the
}fuscum of Appalachia. Music, crafts and
demonstrations of rural life skills, in addition IO
the Museum's regular exhibits. For info, call the
Museum at (615) 494-7680.
7-11
SEPTEMBER
18-30 WASHBURN, TN
Intensive Pennaculture for the
Southeast is an intensive course offering
practical training in the design of
agricultural ecosystems with the diversity
and long-term sustainability of the natural
world.Course will be held at Narrow
Ridge Farm and will focus on strategies
and techniques for the Katuah bioregion.
Contact: Chuck Marsh; Box 1488;
Highlands, NC 28741 (704) 526-3535.
ASHEVJLLE, NC
"Kituwah" - the second annual
iniertribal Native American culrural celebration.
Drumming and dance competition, traditional crafts
sale, juried fine ans show and an educational
program for kids will all happen at the Asheville
Civic Center. Admission: $5-10. For mo.re info, call
(704) 252-3881.
SWANNANOA,NC
Drum andRanle Making Wodcshop
with Hawk Hurst. For more info about this and
other programs, contaet the Earth Center. See
10/10.
23-25
3
ASHEVILLE, NC
WNC Alliance Annual Membership Meeting is
open IO the public as the Alliance marts its lCllth
anniversary. Agenda includes workshops and
legislative update. Pre-register. SIS includes
lunch. For info, contact the AlJjance, 70 Woodfin
Place, Asheville, NC 28801. (704) 258-8737.
3
1 7-JS
NOVEMBER
6-8
10
SWANNANOA, NC
Dance for the Ancestors will
follow the monthly Full Moon Lodge at
the Earth Center. All-night dancing,
singing and drumming to honor the Native
People, five hundred years after
Columbus. Families are encouraged to
come. For more info, contact the Eanh
Center, 302 Old Fellowship Road,
Swannanoa, NC 28778. (704) 298-3935.
~
GREAT SMOKIES PARK
Appalachian Crafl Jubilee will
provide an oppornmity IO learn traditional
mountain craft techniques in basketry, pottery,
weaving and other crafts. Pre-register: $100
includes meals and lodging. For info on this and
other programs, contac1 Great Smoky Mountains
Institute at Tremont, Rt I, Box 700, Townsend,
TN 37882. (615) 448-67()()
7
SWANNANOA, NC
Full Moon Lodge begins at noon each
month, followed by a shared meal. cau the Earth
Center for more info. See 10/10.
24-27
CULLOWHEE, NC
Mountain Heritage Day is a
celebcation of the music, dance, crafts and folklifc of
Katuah. Shape-note singers, gunsmiths, storytellers.
quilters and others will be on hand, in addition to the
Mountain Heritage Center's exhibits. For more info,
contact the Center at Western Carolina University,
Cullowhee, NC 28723. (704) 227-7234.
26
11
FULL MOON/
HUNTERS MOON
10
FULL MOON/
BEAVER MOON
DECEMBER
HELEN, GA
Falling Leaves Rendezvous will
offer serious instruction in the ans and
lifeways of indigenous people. Skills
include making fire by friction, stallcing
and tracking, tool making, plant
identification. lnstuctors will be Darry
Wood, Snowbear, and others. For info,
contact Bob Slack, Jr., Unicoi Stare Part,
Helen, GA 30545. (404) 878-2201.
15-18
2-6
HOT SPRINGS, NC
From Confusion IO Enlightenment is
the title of a meditative retreat led by Thubten
Chodron. an American Tibetan Buddhist nun.
Pre-register: S 150 includes vegan meals and
lodging. For info on this and other programs,
contact Southern Dharma Rcireat Center, RL I,
Box 34H, Rot Springs, NC 28743.
(704) 622-7112.
S-6
OCTOBER
JONESBORO, TN
20th Annual National Storytelling
Festival will feawre the best yam-spinners and
tall-tale-tellers from all ovet. For info, call the
National Association for the Preservation and
PerpctuAtion of Storytelling at (615) 753-2171.
2-4
Drawing by Rob Messick
16-18
NEW MARKET, TN
STP School is a periodic weekend
gathering designed to "benefit members of
grassroots groups currenlly working on concrete
environmental issues." This session will focus on
environmental litigation. Pre-register: cost is low
and negotiable. For info about this and other
programs, coniac1 the Highlander Center, 1959
Highlander Way, New Market TN 37820.
(615) 933-3443.
GREAT SMOKIES PARK
Winter Highcountry Camping in a
backcountry shelter. For info on this and other
field COl11'SCS, contact Smoky Mountam Field
School, 600 Henley Street., Suite 105, University
of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37902.
(800) 284-8885 or (615) 974-0150.
9
FULL MOON
ralC., 1992
�GOOD EAR1H .ORGANJ~ - in Asheville has a
nctWOrk-~eting p~-wh)ch can provide a
substantial part-time income. (Full time in 18-24
months). This is needed in any area, no training
required. We provide !raining and all assistance
needed to get you started in yoor own business.
Contact Good Earth at (704) 252-7169.
RAW. CHEMICAL-FREE HONEY • with comb or
withoUL Tulip poplar and Sourwood honey from
the foresis of Patrick County, VA. No chemical.
no white sugar, no heal - ever. Strained through
cheesecloth and packed in glass. Limited quantities.
Call or write for prices and availability. Wade
Buckholts - Bull Mountain Beelreepers; Rt 2, Box
1516: Stuart. VA 24171. (703) 694-4571.
WISE WOMAN TRADmON • herbal healing
workshops with Wh.itewolf. • Sept 12-13:
Campout and weed walks, Waynesville, NC.
• Sept 29 • Oct 4: Apprentice Week near Atlanta,
GA. • Nov. 6-8: Fall Rootwork Weekend in NC
mountains. Root digging, medicine-making, inner
journeying. Sliding scale, work-exchange. Wolf,
P.O. Box 576; Asheville, NC 28802.
TI-IE ALTERNATIVE READING ROOM. is an
unconventional library; free and open 10 the public.
Our collection interests include the environment,
social and political issues, the media and peace. We
have over 200 magazine subscriptions. The book
and video collections also emphasize the
environment and political concerns. Books and
VCR's can be checked out A video player is
available for watch.ing films in the reading room.
Located at 2 Wall St. #114; Asheville, NC 28801
(704) 252-2501. Mon/Wed/Fri 6-8 pm - Tues/Sol
I0-6pm - Sat/Sun l-6pm
BEGINN1NG CHEROKEE LANGUAGE BOOKNATIVE AMERICAN CEREMONIALS • include
handcrafted Native American ceremonial supplies.
Drums, Custom Pipes, Medlcine Bags, SweetgraSs,
Sage, Feathers, Rawhide Raules, Tobaccos, Pipe
Bags, Native Autes, and more! For lice catalog
send to: P.O. Box 1062-K; Cherokee, NC 28719.
TREE PLANTERS NEEDED - Men, Women,
families. Hare! work (much done for paper & timber
co's.) for great pay. December through March in the
Southeast Mobile camper rt.quired (pick-up with
camper, trailer, van, bus, etc.) Send resume to:
Eclcerman Forestry Service; RLI, Box 290-D:
Wam:nsville, NC 28693. (919) 385-6838.
BACK TO THE SOURCE - is an advenwre in the
spectacular beauty of our remaining wilderness and
is the highest quality baclcpaclcing guide service
available. We specialize in small group, minimal
impact journeys into the most remote wildlands in
America. For a brochure write: Back to the Source,
Lee Mercer; 361 I White Ave; Baltimore, MD
21206. (410) 426-6016.
- - life's n=essitiesfor less - -
FRENCH BROAD Fooo
supplemented with two cassettes. Stresses alphabet
& proper pronunciation. The first textbook written
for use in ieaching and learning the Cherolcee
language. (346 pages) $39.95 plus $5.00 shipping.
Calalog also available with tapes., books, pipes,
dance sticks, drums, feathers, furs, buffalo products,
and more. Craft supplies also available. (please
specify). Send $200 to the Muskrat Trader, P.O.
Box 20033; Roanoke, VA 24018.
HAWKWIND EAR1H RENEWAL COOPERATIVE
• is a 77 acre wilderness retreat located on Loolcout
Mountain Parkway in northern Alabama Easy
~ . safe family camping, year round weekend
programs featuring Native American elders and
Eanh teachers from around the world. Strong
spiritual foundation with Earth Renewal emphasis,
membership discount co-op. There is no charge for
Native American ceremonies; reservations required
for all visits, please. Childcare often available.
Write: P.O. Box 11; Valley Head. AL 35989 (205)
635-6304. For quarterly newsleuer and program
updates send $10.00.
• There is a charge of $2.50 (pre-paid) per
entry of 50 words or less in Webworking.
Submit entries for Issue #37 by November
15, 1992 to: Rob Messick; Rt. 8, Box 323·
Lenoir, NC 28645. (704) 754-6097.
•
Co,op
Kalmia Center, Inc.
90 8u.TMOR£ A ~
00WIJTOVIN AsHEv!ui
Sylva, NC
(704) 293-3015
('104)
yr,,,r ammumity
Custom tilling, organic fertilizers, kelp meal,
colloidal phosphate & many more products
and services for abundant gardening and
healthful living.
255-7650
.....,.,,.,,.,_,,...
groary stare
..... ~F--,•t .... •lpm. ......,.laa D f llffi.
rl :Thu
W
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
fnll, 1992
NATIVE FLUTES
Two styles made 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
Sa"'!)' Mush
Herb Nursto/
WREATHS•POTPOURRI
• HERBS • TOPIARY
Complete Herb Catalog - $4
Describes more than 800 plants from
Aloe to Yarraw
Rt 2, Surrett Cove Road
Leicester, North Carolina 2874S
Phone for appointment to visit
(704) 683-2014
�D ear Members of Katuah Journal,
After nearly 10 years of service to the Karuah
Bioregional Province, the Katuah 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
"Karuah" alive in order to have the.option of
carrying out future bioregional projects.
The Board of Directors for the Karuah
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:
Karuah Futures; Rt. 8, Box 323; Lenoir, NC 28645
or call (704) 754-6097.
The winter issue of Katuah Journal #37 will
be on "Bio-visions" or graphic art representations
of what the bioregion is and what it could be. In
the spring we will publish an issue devoted to
alternative transportation in the Karuah
bioregion. The final summer issue will contain an
index to the Katuah Journal, a listing of other
bioregionally-oriented organizations in the
province, and tie up loose ends.
Thank you for your generous support of
Katuah Journal over the years. Without your help
the paper would not have been as vibrant or as
vital as it has been . We d ecided to end the
tradition of publishing the journal with some
measure of strength, rather than watch it slowly
fizzle out. If you have comments or suggestions
for the future, we w ould like to hear from you.
Sincerely,
Katuah Journal Staff
/1 I would like to order issues: #37 (Winter 1992-93) "Bio-visions"
#38 (Spring 1993) Alternative Transportation
#39 (Summer 1993) Index & Resources
Name _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
Address _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
For a total value of $7.50
Katuah Journal Rt. 8 Box 323 Lenoir, NC Katuah Province 28645
Issue #39 of the Ka Mah Journal will 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 TranspoTtation
Councils &: Decision Making
Peace Issues &: Conflict Resolution
Xatuaf, Jour naC page 34
Shelter
Education
Agriculture
Spiritual Life
Natural Ecology
Drawing by Rob Messick
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, NC 28645.
rau.,
1992
�··:KAT UAH
KON FU S\ON :..
b-:,
Rob MessicK
BACK ISSUES OF KATUAH JOURNAL AVAILABLE
ISSUE THREE-SPRING 1984
Sustainable Agriculture. Sunflowers· Human
Impact on the Forest - Childrens' Education·
Veronica Nicholas: Woman in Politics· Little
People • Medicine Allies
ISSUE FOUR· SUMMER 1984
Water Drum· Walef Quality. Kudzu · Solar Eclipse
• Clearculling • Trout • Going IO Water • Ram
Pumps· MicrohydJO. 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
Dnnmess - Politics of Participation
ISSUE SlX • WINTER 1984-8S
Winter Solstice Eanh Ceremony - Horsepasture
River - Coming of the Light - Log Cabin
Mountain Agriculture: 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 Turkey • Responsible Investing Working in the Web of Life
lSSUE EIGI-IT • SUMMER 198S
Celebration: A Way of Life- Katuah 18,000 Years
Ago· Sacred Sites - Follc Arts in the Schools - Sun
Cycle/Moon Cycle - Poems: Hilda Downer Cherokee Heritage Center. Who Owns Appalachia?
ISSUE NINE - FALL 198S
The Waldee Forest - The Trees Speak • Migrating
Forests - Horse Logging - Slllrting a Tree Crop •
Urban Trees • Acom Bread - Myth Time
ISSUE TEN- WINTER 198S-86
Kate Rogers. Circles of Stone . lntcmal
Mythmaking - Holistic Healing on Trial - Poems:
Steve Knauth - Mythic Places - The Uklena's Talc •
Crystal Magic - "Dreamspealcing•
ISSUE THIRTEEN - FALL 1986
Center For Awakening • Elizabeth Callari • A
Gentle Death • Hospice. Ernest Morgan • Dcnling
Creatively with Death· Home Burial Box - The
Wake· The Raven Mocker - Woodslore & Wildwoods Wisdom • Good Medicine: The Sweat Lodge
ISSUE FOURTEEN· WINTER 1986-87
Lloyd Dr! Owlc • Boogers and Mummers· All
Species Day - Cabin Fever University· Homeless
m Kmiiah • Homemade H01 Wa!Cf • Stovcmakcr's
N:ur.:ilivc • Good Medicine: lntcrspCCics
Communication
We have limited 11umbers of
particular back issues. Order back
issues soo11 lo insure availability.
There are no more entire sets of
KatuahJournal available. The near
complete set of back issues will be
diminishi11g as limited copies sell
out.
rtiCL, 1992
ISSUE FlFTEE.N • SPRING 1
987
Coverlets· Woman Forester - Susie McMahan:
Midwife • Alternative Contraception • Biosexuality •
Bioregionalism and Women • Good Medicine:
Malriarchal Culture • Pearl
ISSUE SIXTEEN • SUMMER 1987
Helen Waite • Poem: Visions in a Garden • Vision
Quest • Fll'St Flow - Initiation • Learning in the
Wilderness - Cherokee Challenge • "Valuing Trees"
ISSUE EIGHTEEN· WINTER 1987-88
Vernacular Architcclure. Dreams in Wood and Stone
• Mountain Home · Earth Energies • Earth-Sheltered
Living • Membrane Houses • Brush Shelter Poems: Octo~r Du.sic· Good Medicine: "Shelter"
ISSUE NINETEEN· SPRING 1988
Perelandra Garden • Spring Tonics • Blueberries •
WildO.ower Gardens • Granny Herbalist • Flower
Essences - "The Origin of the Animals:• Story.
Good Medicine: "Power• • Be AT~
ISSUE TWENTY· SUMMER 1988
Preserve Appalachian Wildcmess - Highlands of
Roan • Celo Communily - Land Trust - Arthur
Morgan School • Zoning lssue. "The Ridge" •
Farmers and the Farm Bill • Good Medicine: "Land"
• Acid Rain • Dulce's Power Play • Cherokee
Microhydro Project
ISSUE TWENTY-TWO· WINTER 1988--89
Global Wanning • Ftre This Time. Thomas Berry
on "Bioregions" • Earth Exercise . Kore Loy
McWhirter • An Abundance of Emptiness· LETS •
Chronicles of Floyd • Darry Wood - The Bear Clan
ISSUE 1WENTY-THREE • SPRING 1989
Pisgah Village - Planet Art· Green City. Poplar
Appeal • "Clear Sky" · •A New Earth" • Black Swan
• Wild lovely Days • Reviews: Sacred !And Sacred
Su, Ice Age - Poem: "S udden Tendrils"
ISSUE TWENTY-FOUR - SUMMER 1989
Deep Listening - Life in Alomic City • Direct
Action! • Tree of Peace • Community Building •
Peacemakers· Ellm1c Survival • Pairing Pro.,ec1.
"Baulesong• • Growing Peace in Cultures • Review:
The Chalice and the Blade
ISSUE 1WENTY-SIX • WINTER, 1989-90
The B:oroic Era· Kids Saving Rainforest • Kids
Treecycling Company· Conmc1 Resolution Developing Creati vc 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 LO Their
Ashes • Healing in Katuah • Poem: "When Left LO
Grow• • Poems: Stephen Wing • The Belly • Food
from the Ancient Foresl
ISSUE TWENTY-NINE· FAU/WINTER 1990
From the Mountains to the Sea · Profile of The
LlUle Tennessee River • Headwaters Ecology • "It
All Comes Down to Water Quality" • Water Power.
Action for Aquatic HabitaLS - Dawn Watchers • Good
Medicine: The Long Human Being • The North
Shore Road· Kaulah Sells Out. Watershed Map of
the Kaliiah Province
ISSUE THIRTY· SPRING 1991
Economy/Ecology • Ways to a Regenerative
Economy· "Money is the Lowest Form of Wealth"
• Clarksville Miracle • The Village • Food Movers Lifework - Good Medicine: "Village Economy" •
Shelton Laurel· LETS
ISSUE THIRTY-ONE· SUMMER 1991
Dowsing • Responsibilities of Dowsing • Electrical
Life of the Earth • Katuah and the Earth Grid - Call
of the Ancient Ones • Good Medicine: "On
Aggression" · Time to Take the Time to Take the
Time - Whole Science • Tuning In
ISSUE THIRTY-TWO · FALL 1991
Bringing bac.k the Fue • A Bit of 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-THREE· WINTER 1991-92
Fire's Power - Whal Is Natural • Fire and Forge •
The First Fire - Hearth and Fire in the Mountains •
Good Medicine: "The Ancient Red" • Midwinlef
Fires: poems by Jeffery Beam • Litmus Lichens
ISSUE THIRTY-FOUR· SPRING 1992
Paradise Gardening· Community Sponsored
Agriculture - Ealing Close 10 Home· Native Foods
• Cover Crops. Katuah Cultivars • The Web of
Life: A Katuah Almanac - Good Medicine "Medicine
Training• • Poems by Allison Sutherland
ISSUE THIRTY-FIVE· SUMMER 1992
Consensus • Problems with Consensus. Tribal
Council - Elda • The State of Franklin - Regional
Rainbow • Steve Moon: Shell Engravings • Good
Medicme "Medicine Training rr·. A Look Back
Back Issues:
Issue# _ _ @ $3.00 = $._ __
Issue# __@ $3.00 = $._ __
Issue# __@ $3.00 = $,_ __
Issue#_@ $3.00 = $._ _ _
postage paid $._ __
Name
Address
City
State
Zip
Near Complete Set:
(3-10, 13-16, 18-20, 22-24, 26-27, 29-35)
postage paid @ $50.00 =$,_ __
Katuah Journal Rt. 8, Box 323 Lenoir, NC Karuah Province 28645 • (704) 754-6097
'.Kati.ulfl Jourrn:1( pnge 3S
�
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 36, Fall 1992
Description
An account of the resource
The thirty-sixth issue of the <em>Katúah Journal</em> focuses on wood and its role in mountain life: logging, wood products, and forest stewardship. There is also an announcement that publication of the journal will cease in 1993. Authors and artists in this issue include: Lee Barnes, Frank Hodgin, David Wheeler, Dr. John Wade, Harley Wessman, Nancy McIntyre, Buzz Williams, Robert T. Pershcel, Jesse Jones, Leon S. Minckler, Tucker Windover, Charlotte Homsher, Rob Messick, Julia Vanselow, Frank Vogel, Michael Thompson, Susan Klimczak, Jeff Zachary, Susan Parker Weatherford, Mark Anderson, Hope Walker, and "Pegi." <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.
Using Wood.......1<br /><br />Appalachian Logging by Lee Barnes.......4<br /><br />Old Logging Days by Frank Hodgin.......7<br /><br />Working the Woodlands by David Wheeler.......9<br /><br />Wood Products and Western North Carolina by Dr. John Wade.......13<br /><br />Depletion for Dollars by Harley Wessman.......13<br /><br />Logging with Horses by Nancy McIntyre.......15<br /><br />Natural World News.......16<br /><br />Invasion of the Giants by Buzz Williams........19<br /><br />From Industry to Endeavor by David Wheeler.......20<br /><br />Pioneering A New Human/Nature Relationship by Robert T. Perschel.......21<br /><br />Forest Stewardship Programs by Jesse Jones.......22<br /><br />Ecological Forestry for Renewable Forest Values by Leon S. Minckler.......23<br /><br />Drumming........25<br /><br />The Chair in the Tree by Tucker Windover.......27<br /><br />Reading the Grove by Charlotte Homsher........29<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
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
Forest products industry--Appalachian Region, Southern
Forest management--Appalachian Region, Southern
Logging--Appalachian Region, Southern
Animals in logging--Appalachian Region
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)
Appalachian History
Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Studies
Book Reviews
Earth Energies
Economic Alternatives
Electric Power Companies
Folklore and Ceremony
Forest History
Forest Issues
Forest Practice
Habitat
Katúah
Katúah Organization
Poems
Reading Resources
South PAW (Preserve Appalachian Wilderness)
Stories
Transportation Issues
Turtle Island
Western North Carolina Alliance
-
https://omeka.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
c,
~
New Address Inside!
Postage Paid
Bulk Mail
Permit #18
Leicester, NC
28748
.ac.\C 0,,l
*
()
~
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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l<eLJAH JOURNAL
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ARTITORT
ALSTAFFTIIIS ISSUE:
Rob Messick (Coordinaror)
David Wheeler
Sherman Bamford
Charlotte Homsher
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Heather Blair
RheaOnnond
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COVER: byRobMessick ©1992
'!•.b•-,•.t.
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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Orawmga by Rob Musick
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Wlntcr. 1992-!13
�t.nter , 1992-93
"'1titmi. Journot PCUJC S
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:K.nt(~h Journal pa9e 6
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
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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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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
,,
.,__
/
/
/
\
,,'.~
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
,./r.t_,,.,._
.........
·~·...·
~
CLEARCUTS
in Crandfoth<:r Ranger Obtnct
Pi~g;th N•lt0Ml Fol'\'!\t 1967-1992 •
•
~IS
_ ... Wa1t-r,htrd-,.
- - -Watrrway,
--r,,g.i.o.w.s....,
-
, 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~
CA.\'\.~ S
?066~ 1804
~~bl.!:.~,tt.c .
2.8"7 l.5"'
"The arc.1'$ oldest
and large,;t natural
foods grocery •
Programs lo encourage
self and Earth awareness,
Bulk Herbs, Spices, & Grains
Vitamins & Supplements
WJ1eat, Salt & Yeast-Free Foods
Dairy Substitutes
Hair & Skill Care Products
Beer & Wine Making Supplies
celebfotlon. ldnshp and hope.
• Youlll Camps • School Programs
• Family Camps· Teacher Training
• Communery P,ograms
• Camp 518/t Traln.,g
• Ouldoor Program Consulting
PO Box 1306
615-436-6203
whole earth
grocery
.,,..ka
dda of Big Co..,
of
iradltloru and •Ing, 1bc Boow<-r
Dana, Crttn Corn Dance and
other, with drum and rank•
WHERE THE RAVENS ROOS1
NATURAL MARKET
WHOLE FOODS • BULK
FOODS • VITAMINES • HERDS
• FAT FREE FOODS • TAKE
our FOODS . SNACKS . NO
SALT, NO CHOLESTEROL
265-2700
823 Blowing Rock Rd
Boone, NC 28607
Xatuan Journ<it page 30
•
NATURAL
ALTERNATIVES
FOR HEALTHFUL
LIVING
446 e.parkway craft center • suit~ 11
g;itlinburg. tcnncsscc 37738
615-436-6967
-r,; ~ ~
, "'~
200 W. ~.ing St, Boone, NC 28607
GOHlnbt.rg, Temossoo 3n311
~
Cherokee 1raJi1ional
,oni:, of Wallie, Calhoun
Snrero, AS AN wrffM1>1NQ
R)U(
Rtco,u)jNI) ff T1U: UUAU o,
co,:qun
CAS<tTn
""°
MoulJTAll<
IIOOl!UT $ ll
Clmu
UNIVllUn'Y
1-IDITAG1c
WEJ11XH CAAOUNA
Cuuowm:r, NC 28723
(7~} 264-S220
TaDing ua,-es is I monlbly
jow'na1 of deep ecology, 111SPiml
persooaJ ac:11v1sm rooted in eanhea
spnitualil)'. PU! iSSUC$ have
feanwd art1clts by Gary Soyder,
Statbawk, John Seed, Joaona
Macy, Bill Devall, Looe Wolf
Circles. Bartiara Mor, eic.
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
Eu,aie, OR 97401
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
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
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
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
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
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" 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
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
PDF
Journals (Periodicals)
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
-
https://omeka.library.appstate.edu/files/original/8b28bad70c563af988d313aa9367f9f6.pdf
8097a88c117a588a76a65bf9c99a6059
PDF Text
Text
URNAL
ISSUE 38 SPRING 1993
SUSTAINABLE TOURING
$2.00
�������TOURISM DEVELOPMENT:
Mountain Culture, Mountain Lives
by Michal Smith
I am Michal Smith, a writer, editor and
researcher. I presently live and work in the
state of Kentucky. Since the mid- 1980's I
have specialized in workplace studies,
including case studi~ of employee
involvement processes in the manufacturing
sector for the U.S. Department of Labor and
the United Nations, a study of the safety
implications of the petrochemical industry's
growing reliance upon contract workers for
the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration, a regional economic
development study for the state of Texas, and
a study of the impact of tourism
development. which I am here today t0
discuss.
Specifically, my testimony is based
upon a study, conducted from 1988 to 1989,
of the impact of t0urism development on local
people, particularly rural women, who
routinely form the backbone of this industry.
The study focused on rural counties in 12
southeastern StalCS, including North
Carolina. h concluded that the presumed
"opportunities" associated with tourism
development are marginal and minimal.
In fact, people who live and work in
JCot.uah ~naL JX!9e 6
1\1 1 u nuoc ,, w,:,Ju
1
tourism economies suffer the ultimate irony,
contributing tax dollars to help promote and
support an industry that has done litde,
possibly nothing to improve their quality of
life. They have watched hotels, restaurants,
highways, shops and amusement parks
consume their communities while "human
infrastructure" -- meaningful jobs, training,
health care and child care - has suffered the
consequences of government neglect and
indifference.
Funded by the Ford Foundation, its
Aspen Institute Rural Economic Policy
Program and the Economic Development
Administration of the U.S. Department of
Commerce, my study included a selected
county-level comparative analysis of Census
data from 1970 and 1980 and a case study of
Sevier County, Tennessee, home of
Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, perhaps the
most successful rural tourism development in
the southeastern United States.
The 84 rural counties examined in the
study were selected based upon 1970 and
1984 employment data reponcd in Colllll)'
Business Patterns as compiled by the U.S.
Bureau of Census. These counties were
identified as having experienced high
employment growth in the hotel indusay,
which is clearly associated with the
expansion of a tourism or travel industry.
Twenty-three of the "high-growth" counties
identified experienced hotel industry
employment growth in excess of 500 perccnL
Broadly, I found that beyond the small
pool of management and short-term,
male-dominated construction industry jobs,
tourism economics are sustained by food
servers, maids and retail clerks. Traditionally
held by women, these jobs almost invariably
offer minimum wages, no benefits and
virtually no opportunity for advancemenL
Among the study's findings about these
84 booming rural tourism developments
were:
• Uncmploymentcontinued to rise
steadily from 1970 to 1984 in virtually every
county identified by the study.
- Women continued to experience
higher unemployment rates than men in rural
tourism counties in spite of the indusay's
heavy reliance upon a female labor force.
- While overall poverty rates declined
for families in general in the counties studied.
poor families headed by women increased
������������������������������
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
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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 38, Spring 1993
Description
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The thirty-eighth, and final, issue of the <em>Katúah Journal</em> focuses on sustainable tourism and transportation that is environmentally and culturally responsible. Authors and artists in this issue include: Marcus L. Endicott, Michal Smith, Lee Barnes, Patrick Clark, Mark Schimmoeller, Billy Jonas, Renee Binder, Charlotte Homsher, Douglas A. Rossman, Robert H. Rufa, David Cohen, Brownie Newman, Jasper Carlton, Danielle Droitsch, Stephen Wing, Jan Adkins, Elizabeth Howard, Denise K. Simon, EarthStar, Wade Buckholts, and Rob Messick. <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
1993
Table Of Contents
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Toward Sustainable Tourism in Southern Appalachia by Marcus L. Endicott.......1<br /><br />A History of Tourism to Southern Appalachia by Marcus L. Endicott.......4<br /><br />Tourism Development: Mountain Culture, Mountain Lives by Michal Smith.......6<br /><br />Camping & Touring Through Katúah Forests by Lee Barnes.......8<br /><br />Bicycle Touring in Katúah by Patrick Clark.......10<br /><br />Unicycle Revolutions by Mark Schimmoeller.......12<br /><br />The Bicycle Band: Appropriate Road Mode by Billy Jonas.......12<br /><br />Poems by Elizabeth Howard and Denise K. Simon.......13<br /><br />Sustainability of Whitewater Recreation by Renee Binder.......14<br /><br />Sacred Lands by Charlotte Homsher.......16<br /><br />Cherokee Mythic Sites by Douglas A. Rossman.......17<br /><br />Napping by Rob Messick.......18<br /><br />Why Travel? by Robert H. Rufa.......20<br /><br />Natural World News.......22<br /><br />Drumming.......24<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
Sustainable tourism--Appalachian Region, Southern
Outdoor recreation industry--Appalachian Region, Southern
Bicycle touring--Appalachian Region, Southern
Sacred space--Appalachian Region, Southern
Tourism--North Carolina, Western--History
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)
Appalachian History
Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Studies
Bioregional Definitions
Book Reviews
Cherokees
Community
Economic Alternatives
Folklore and Ceremony
Forest Issues
Geography
Habitat
Katúah
Katúah Organization
Pigeon River
Poems
Politics
Reading Resources
Sacred Sites
South PAW (Preserve Appalachian Wilderness)
Stories
Transportation Issues
Turtle Island
Water Quality
Western North Carolina Alliance