KBC Tribes fight geothermal project 071304

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Tribes fight geothermal project

Herald and News July 9, 2004

Fall River Mills, CA (AP) Indian representatives from around the world are attending an international conference here this week focusing on the struggle to protect Medicine Lake.

Tribes and environmentalists say Calpine Corp.'s proposals to build two geothermal plants near the lake will destroy a pristine area considered sacred by Indians.

"We really hope this can bring international attention to the work to protect Medicine Lake," said Andrea Carmen, director of the San Francisco-based International Indian Treaty Council.

As many as 500 participants are expected to visit the lake as they attend the council's four-day conference beginning Thursday. The council was formed in South Dakota to represent indigenous people and protest human rights violations.

Participants from as far as Kenya, New Zealand and Guatemala will consider resolutions on Medicine Lake and other indigenous issues, said spokeswoman Faith Gemmill. This is the group's 30th anniversary, and the first time in 12 years that the annual conference has been in California.