The Culture and Ecology of Juristac, A Community Panel Discussion

South Bay Indigenous Solidarity and First Unitarian Church of San Jose are hosting a panel discussion on Juristac, the sacred land of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, threatened with a proposed gravel pit. Three Bay Area experts will discuss the culture and ecology of this sensitive area. Please join us for this free event.

Our panel consists of Valentin Lopez, Chair of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band; Alice Kaufman of Green Foothills, and conservation ecologist Dr. Stuart Weiss.The panel will cover Juristac’s cultural and spiritual significance, conservation and open space values, and the untouched ecology of this 6500 acre critical wildlife corridor and watershed.

Juristac is considered the most sacred ceremonial site of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band. In Amah Mutsun tradition, it is a site equivalent in importance to any of the great religious pilgrimage sites of the world. It is the land in which their spiritual leader, Kuksui, dwells. The area was also a place of refuge for the ancestors of Amah Mutsun during and after the Mission Period. Pre-contact cultural and burial sites exist in the vicinity.

Covering 6,500 acres of hills, wetlands, creeks and meadows, this area is home to numerous habitats and and native species. Juristac is ecologically unique and environmentally sensitive. It sits at the nexus of the only wildlife corridor to connect the Santa Cruz, Diablo, and Gavilan Mountain ranges. It is home to endangered and threatened species and unique habitats for some of them. Its creeks empty into the Pajaro River, deemed America’s Most Threatened River as recently as 2006.

We must protect this sacred area and stop an industrial complex from being built here.