[Homestead] Southern California fires

EarthNSky erthnsky at bellsouth.net
Thu Oct 25 22:27:28 EDT 2007


Questions and comments interspersed...

Don Bowen KI6DIU wrote:
> Someone mentioned about why people would want to move here.  What about 
> those that were here before, the native population? 

I think most native populations were nomadic or semi-nomadic. If the 
natural water sources aren't there, I would think it unlikely that 
natives would take up permanent residence.



  It has been estimated
> that 10% of the pre contact population of North America was in the area now 
> known as California. 

I was only talking about Southern California, basically LA and points south.


  San Diego County has more Indian reservations than
> any other country in the US.  The so called mission Indians were shoved 
> onto small plots of land in areas where no one else want the land.  These 
> mission Indians had their culture destroyed by the enslavement by the 
> Catholic church then shoved onto the poorest land available.

I understand.  But, were the mission Indians truly native to the area as 
permanent residents, or were they rounded up by the missionaries and 
then shoved aside?  Europeans move to a place and stay, and I can 
imagine that they wouldn't like natives moving in, even seasonally to 
hunt or fish.  Likewise, I doubt the natives liked having their culture 
eroded.

> 
> This land was mostly purchased rather than set aside from government 
> lands.  The natives were allowed to own plots and attempt to farm rocky 
> soil without water.  With the advent of the casinos some tribes have done 
> very well for themselves, $10 to $40K a month while other tribes get almost 
> nothing.  Tribes with the greatest income are stripping as many members as 
> possible from their roles in order to get more for those remaining.
> 
> The wealthy ones now rent out homes on the reservations.  There is no code 
> enforcement on the reservations for they put as many dilapidated mobile 
> homes as possible on a plot.  Other tribes with the casino gravy train are 
> forced to live in poverty in very remote locations.

Ah, the disease of greed has taken hold..


-- 
Bevanron of EarthNSky Farm   Sleep well tonight, for somewhere in the 
ocean's depths, MY son is protecting YOUR freedom.





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