An open letter to the citizens of California
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An Open Letter
Dear Citizens of California;
A few years ago a majority of you passed Proposition 5 and Initiative 1-A which supported economic development through gaming on California Indian Reservations. Many of you knew about the patterns of genocide committed by the Euro-American invasion of California including the illegal taking of Indian homes and lands, the enslavement of Indian men, women and children, and the call for the extermination of California Indians by the first two governors of California (Burnett and McDougall).
In addition, the California Legislature paid over 1 million dollars to special forces to kill California Indian people. These killing units included the Hydesville Dragoons, Marion Riffles of Chico and the Mariposa Volunteers to name only a few. Thousands of California Indian people died of foreign diseases and by 1900 only 15,000 remained of approximately 1 million. Also, many were living on small and scattered reservations throughout California. This 90 % or more reduction of the aboriginal peoples in California is the definition of genocide as declared by the United Nations in 1948.
Some of you also know that these reservations that make up less than 2% of aboriginal lands of California are carefully secured by the descendants of the original people. By a series of federal laws arising out of the United States Constitution, Legislative Statues and Supreme Court decisions, Indian reservations are recognized as sovereign nations. That is, state laws have no force and effect upon them. To wit:
Therefore, in 1928 California Indian people won an $18 million judgment for the loss of 8.5 million acres set aside by Treaties that were signed in good faith but were never ratified. However, the Bureau of Indian Affairs subtracted $12 million for all goods and services including shovels, needles, harnesses, etc. Thus, in 1954, California Indian people received a $150 check from the United States Government to compensate for the loss of their homelands. California Indian people have never been compensated for the loss of their loved ones.
In 1947, under the provisions of the 14th Amendment, California Indian People won a judgment for a loss of 61 million acres of their aboriginal lands but this time they were paid .47 per acre. For everyone else, all unsurveyed lands were set at $1.25 per acre. In the 1970s lumber mills in northern California lost their land to the Redwood Park expansion and they received as high as $7,000 per acre.
For some California Indian peoples today gaming revenues allow a means to a brighter future. Those Indian casinos near populated areas have already donated millions of dollars to nearby schools, universities and social services for the betterment of all California citizens and will continue to do so without impairment to their integrity and sovereignty.
My good friends, will you join me in educating a foreign born California governor who has raised the specter of ignorance and potential racism of 150 years ago?
Please vote yes on Proposition 70 and assure that justice in our democracy is served.
Sincerely,
Jack Norton (Hupa/Cherokee/EnrolledYurok)
California Indian Historian
Emeritus Professor
First California Indian holder, Rupert Costo Chair in American Indian History
For Further Information on California Indian History See:
Heizer, R. & Almquist, A. (1971). The Other Californians. University of California Press.
Heizer, R. (1974). The Destruction of California Indians. Peregrine Smith.
Carronco, L., & Beard, E. (1981). Genocide and Vendetta. University of Oklahoma Press.
Norton, J. (1979). Genocide in Northwestern California. Indian Historian Press.
Rawls, J. (1971). Indians of California; The Changing Image. University of Oklahoma Press.
Trafzer, C. and Hyer, J, R. (1999). (Eds.). Exterminate Them. Michigan State University Press.