Homestead mailing list

[Don Bowen KI6DIU <don.bowen AT earthlink.net>]

Someone mentioned about why people would want to move here.  What about 
those that were here before, the native population?  It has been estimated 
that 10% of the pre contact population of North America was in the area now 
known as California.  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.

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.

And today those areas are burning forcing many to lose everything they have.
http://www.sdcountyemergency.com/newsreleases/10242007_01030hrs_Evac_FirePerem.pdf
Look at the large burn area at the top of the country, that is where many 
of those reservations are located.  I worked a shelter last night for 
people forced to flee with only what they could shove in a trash bag.



Don Bowen              Awl Knotted Up                       KI6DIU
http://www.braingarage.com