Niishachii! (Siuslaw)

I hope you all are doing well despite interesting times that will surely only get more interesting.

For his single-handed participation in August Odyssey, u/InevitableForm2452 is the winner with this post of a wonderful Patayan clay figure! Enjoy your first Olmec head and jump in the leaderboard! And I hope the return of the theme we've dedicated to October is something they'll find interesting too.

OCCIDENTAL OCTOBER

You've just been given a cup of something surprisingly similar to apple cider, as if it had hints of maple and floral spices despite having none of these. These were made, you were told, from the last manzanitas of the year. They're fermented into a low but detectable buzz, and soon the toyons will be ready to make an interesting cherry-like drink on their own. The people here make such good ciders that they can net themselves a fair amount of shell-money selling it -- which they can then use to buy up more land for harvesting. All in all, it pairs quite well with the seasoned steelhead, steamed abalone and the acorn porridge you have no idea how they got to taste so savory. Up north people are feasting on, among other things, salmon and camas - something like a sweet potato meeting caramelized onion. One of them has a cousin up there by marriage, both members of the same secret society they're about to initiate you into - the more people to help continue the world's cycle of renewal, the better.

These people tend the land without farming it, have lords without vassals, and call on the knowledge of their ancestors through the memory they have sung into the mountains and boulders. It's an unexpected place where nothing is ever as it seems, and that place is the west coast of North America. From Tlingit to Totorame (and a bit beyond, but alliteration is fun), this month's meme contest aims to brighten up the knowledge, histories, beliefs and stories of this diverse and often overlooked region.

Come gather up into the roundhouse, bring those game pieces, and let's see what Occidental October has in store!

Remember to flair your contest posts!

Hi, guys. Rough news.

BLM fast-tracks proposal to open Chaco Canyon to oil and gas drilling

The US Bureau of Land Management, following an agenda promoted by the Trump administration which has already affected other formally protected lands, has decided to open the area directly around Chaco Canyon (with various possible buffer zones in discussion, all rather scant) for oil and gas interests. Much of this land is filled with archaeological and sacred features and much of it has not even been properly surveyed, meaning more is probably there.

Chaco Culture National Historical Park - Wikipedia

For those unaware, Chaco Canyon is one of the largest Precolumbian archaeological settlement sites in what is now the United States, having peaked between around 900 and 1150 AD when the population may have reached 2,000 people. It is located in what is now New Mexico and attributed to the Ancestral Puebloan culture (sometimes called the Anasazi in older publications), for which it served as an important ritual center, having a large number of kivas (circular underground spaces used for ceremonial activities in cultures of the American Southwest) and petroglyphs. Today it remains a sacred site for many of the indigenous Puebloan peoples who live in the region, including notably the Hopi. An attack on this site is an attack both on the material history of the American Southwest and on the indigenous peoples of the region who continue to fight for their cultural rights.

The BLM allows a period where the public can respond to project proposals and reply to things. This project is listed on their website along with contacts you can use to give your opinion. This will be open to do through July 29, which isn't particularly far from now. Please message or call to let them know why protecting Chaco Canyon is important to you.

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Thank you. Have a good day.

--Sapa Inka Iacobus