Tribes and Church team up to protect water and Swamp Cedars

I thought this new article offered an interesting angle on the Tribes fight to protect the Swamp Cedars Sacred Site from being destroyed by Las Vegas water developer SNWA. (See

https://3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily/2021/06/under-an-inland-sea.html ). The LDS Church wanted to protect their water rights at Cleveland Ranch, a ranch that produces food for poor and struggling families. The Tribes wanted to protect the Swamp Cedars, a sacred grove of trees that rely on groundwater, a religious gathering area, and the largest known Indian massacre site in the United States where repeated massacres occurred at times of religious gatherings.

The juxtaposition of this couldn't be more clear: SNWA wanted water for Las Vegas, Sin City and the City of Excess; the Tribes and the Church wanted to protect something sacred and help the poor.

Ely Shoshone Tribal Elder, Delaine Spilsbury, a protector of Swamp Cedars. Photo credit: Great Basin Water Network.