We filmed the annual pilgrimage of the Winnemem Wintu to their healing spring on Mt. Shasta this past weekend. Everyone was overjoyed to see the spring bubbling and flowing into Panther Meadows, which is carpeted with wildflowers. As the glaciers in the rest of the world continue to melt, the glaciers on Mt. Shasta are actually growing, leading Winnemem leader Caleen Sisk-Franco to smile and say, “We must be doing something right.”

Caleen feels the spring dried up last fall due to water bottling plants at the base of Mt. Shasta which are sucking huge quantities of pure water from aquifers and are diminishing the artesian pressure that for countless generations has kept Panther Spring alive and well.

Good news this week on that front: After California Attorney General Jerry Brown threatened to sue Nestlé for an inadequate Environmental Impact Report analysis of their plans to bottle water in the town of McCloud, Nestlé cancelled their contract for the huge operation (extracting 200 million gallons per year). Local activists opposed Nestlé for years, but Jerry Brown wanted to know the climate change impacts of producing 3.1 billion plastic water bottles. Thanks, Jerry.

More good news: AJR 39 passed the State Senate on Tuesday by a vote of 24-10. The joint resolution from the California Legislature urges the U.S. Congress to correct mistaken U.S. policy and restore federal recognition to the Winnemem Wintu Tribe. The journey to justice is long and hard, but it continues — and if Panther Spring is our guide, more tears will flow before we turn things around.

Congratulations to the Winnemem, and thanks to Assemblyman Jared Huffman of Marin for sponsoring the resolution, and to Debbie Davis, Amy Vanderwarker and all the folks at the Environmental Justice Coalition for Water for your hard work getting the votes lined up to pass AJR 39. On to Washington!