Spiritual ties

Eron Ben-Yehuda

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- American Indians and activists reinforced their

spiritual bond with the land at the Bolsa Chica mesa on Sunday.

About 60 people made the pilgrimage to the sensitive habitat, lamenting

the push to develop the mesa as they performed a religious ceremony to

honor ancestors who once lived there -- and, who some believe, may be

buried at the site.

Hearthside Homes plans to build 1,235 residences on the 215-acre coastal

property overlooking the wetlands.

“There’s something wrong with a society that will allow that to happen,”

said Lillian Robles of Long Beach, who organized the third annual event.

“Bigger isn’t always better. We only have one Mother Earth.”

The small crowd reached the Bolsa Chica in the afternoon after an earlier

stop in Newport Beach near Harbor Cove. They ended the day at Gum Grove

Park in Seal Beach.

Robles had hoped hundreds of people would show up. She blamed the poor

attendance on the warm weather and the busy lives people lead.

“I’m like a voice crying in the wilderness,” she said.Despite the low

turnout, the protest made a difference by highlighting the need to

preserve the mesa, Huntington Beach resident Eileen Murphy said. “Thank

heavens we’re trying to do something.”

At the Bolsa Chica, the group performed an American Indian ceremony in

which they sang, prayed and sprinkled tobacco on the ground.

“We gave medicine to the earth,” said Robles, 83, whose great-grandmother

was a full-blooded Juaneno.

Robles begged her ancestors’ forgiveness for lacking the power to stop

Hearthside -- formerly the Koll Real Estate Group -- from disturbing

their “eternal rest,” she said. The developer unearthed what are believed

to be prehistoric human bones on the mesa in August.

In accordance with state law, the “most likely” descendants will rebury

the remains on site, said Lucy Dunn, executive vice president for

Hearthside.

By the end of the ceremony, those in attendance felt their souls had been

renewed, Robles said.

“Everyone left full of peace and love.”