Some commenters have lamented they wish Pala could go back to the good old days. They say the casino has brought nothing but trouble and caused all this fighting. There is probably some truth to that but I think we have to be honest with ourselves about just how good those good old days were.
I remember in the early 1990's people would fight over a $300/year or $500/year per capita check. Some would try to make it to where you had to live on the reservation in order to receive a per capita check.
I remember constantly hearing those that live off the reservation being put down as less Indian and asked why they wouldn't come back to live on the reservation. Then after the casino was build some did come back to live on the reservation only to be told they don't belong.
But we can go much farther back than that. Tensions existed between Old Pala and those removed from Warner's. There was a time when it was thought there were two reservations at Pala - One for the Kupa and one for Old Pala. This still exists to this day where you can read articles where it refers to Robert as Chairman of the Pala Band of Luiseno Indians and others where he is referred to as the Chairman of the Pala Band of Mission Indians.
The Federally Recognized name of Pala is Pala Band of Luiseno Mission Indians of the Pala Reservation.
We can see some of those tensions described in this letter from the BIA.
7 Feb 1951 Pala H.W Gilmore Letter BIA District Agent to Area Director Mr. James B .Ring
Even before the removal the Kupa were embattled in years of legal proceedings trying to keep their land.
How far do we need to go back before we get to the good old days? When the Spanish arrived and just declared they owned the land but let the Kupa live on it? When land ownership of Warner's was transferred and somehow the Kupa were allowed to remain but had to work as serfs?
Should we go all the way back to pre-European contact? Ok, let's go all the way back to the story of Kisily Pewish where all the Kupa except for him were massacred. Good old days?
Did the good old days ever exist? I am sure there were moments of time - stretches of a few years here and there - where things were pleasant. For the rest of the time Warners's and Pala have been in turmoil for hundreds of years. If it wasn't being conquered by the Spanish then it was being turned over to U.S. authorities after the Mexican American War. It was having land taken and traditional culture squelched.
It was being made against the law to speak your language and forcing their children to speak English. It was being forced to give up their traditional religious practices in exchange for Catholicism. It was many things from the exploitation of cheap labor and the outright theft of land along with its natural resources.
Were there ever good times? I am sure there were times that had their moments of good.
As for the good old days which ones do we go back to?
Showing posts with label Two Reservations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Two Reservations. Show all posts
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Tale of Two Pala Reservations - Trouble In Paradise
As humans we have a habit of romanticizing the past. This is common in nearly all human cultures. The truth is life is not always good for humans. Since the dawn of our history we have been fighting each other and killing each other.
Often the life of indigenous peoples not just in American but all over the world is also romanticized. Indians are sometimes thought of as "ignorant savages" living in harmony with the land and nature. But we know indigenous people also fought each other, killed each other, and engaged in warfare albeit not on the scale of the Europeans.
We also know indigenous people suffered like everyone else from disease, climate changes, food shortages, and fatal injuries. Death is universal and all cultures have had to develop ways to deal with death.
For Pala there might be a tendency to think of the "Old Ways" and the old times as being better. Some may even think life at Kupa prior to the removal was wonderful and idyllic - some sort of paradise lost. It wasn't. There were hard times just like there are for all people. The Kupa were harassed and did some of their own harassing.
Ultimately the Kupa were forced onto Pala where Luiseno Indians were already inhabiting. There was already a reservation established before the Kupa arrived. Some may think that the modern strife Pala is experiencing is some new development due to the casino and in the past things were somehow better and everyone got along.
This isn't really the case. From the time of the removal going forward squabbles have broken out between various groups and families. Early on it typically had to do with allotments. The Kupa were entitled to allotments since they were to receive land in lieu of the land they lost at Kupa (Warner's Hot Springs). The Old Pala (Luiseno) also thought they should receive allotments.
This tension existed and persisted well into the 1950's.
This 1951 letter from BIA District Agent H.W. Gilmore to BIA Area Director James B. Ring describes some of this friction:
7 Feb 1951 Pala H.W Gilmore Letter BIA District Agent to Area Director Mr. James B .Ring
This 1957 letter from the BIA Sacramento Area Office addresses whether there are two Pala Indian Reservations or not:
1 Jul 1957 060 - Pala 1957 Letter from the Sacramento Area BIA Office Regarding Two Pala Reservations
One may think "well that was then and this is now" with regard to Two Reservations only even as recently as last year Pala is referred to as the Pala Band of Luiseno Indians.
The following are the minutes from the June 20th, 2011 Fallbrook Community Planning Group where Robert Smith is listed as the Chairman of the Pala Band of Luiseno Indians on page 2:
20 June 2011 Fallbrook Community Planning Group Minutes
Also, on an EPA webpage dated April 2012 Pala is referred to as the Pala Band of Luiseno Mission Indians of the Pala Reservation.
The following letter from BIA Area Director James B. Ring describes Mrs. Juliana Calac's opposition to BIA supervision of the tribe:
7 Mar 1952 Pala Letter from Area Director James B. Ring
This November 8th, 1957 letter from BIA Field Representative Orlando Garcia goes over some of the disagreements over land assignments:
8 Nov 1957 Pala Letter from BIA Field Representative Orlando Garcia
As one can see tensions and squabbles have been a part of Pala's history for well over 100 years. The mass disenrollments that recently occured at Pala are a new thing but tensions between those removed from Warner's and those that live at Old Pala have existed and persisted since 1903.
And the question as to whether there are two Pala Indian reservations or not? That question still seems to persist today. Are we the Pala Band of Mission Indians, The Pala Band of Luiseno Indians, the Pala Band of Luiseno Mission Indians of the Pala Reservation, or maybe all three?
I can remember before the casino days people would fight over a once per year $300 per capita payment from Pala's Sand and Gravel operations. That was big money in those days.
Often the life of indigenous peoples not just in American but all over the world is also romanticized. Indians are sometimes thought of as "ignorant savages" living in harmony with the land and nature. But we know indigenous people also fought each other, killed each other, and engaged in warfare albeit not on the scale of the Europeans.
We also know indigenous people suffered like everyone else from disease, climate changes, food shortages, and fatal injuries. Death is universal and all cultures have had to develop ways to deal with death.
For Pala there might be a tendency to think of the "Old Ways" and the old times as being better. Some may even think life at Kupa prior to the removal was wonderful and idyllic - some sort of paradise lost. It wasn't. There were hard times just like there are for all people. The Kupa were harassed and did some of their own harassing.
Ultimately the Kupa were forced onto Pala where Luiseno Indians were already inhabiting. There was already a reservation established before the Kupa arrived. Some may think that the modern strife Pala is experiencing is some new development due to the casino and in the past things were somehow better and everyone got along.
This isn't really the case. From the time of the removal going forward squabbles have broken out between various groups and families. Early on it typically had to do with allotments. The Kupa were entitled to allotments since they were to receive land in lieu of the land they lost at Kupa (Warner's Hot Springs). The Old Pala (Luiseno) also thought they should receive allotments.
This tension existed and persisted well into the 1950's.
This 1951 letter from BIA District Agent H.W. Gilmore to BIA Area Director James B. Ring describes some of this friction:
7 Feb 1951 Pala H.W Gilmore Letter BIA District Agent to Area Director Mr. James B .Ring
This 1957 letter from the BIA Sacramento Area Office addresses whether there are two Pala Indian Reservations or not:
1 Jul 1957 060 - Pala 1957 Letter from the Sacramento Area BIA Office Regarding Two Pala Reservations
One may think "well that was then and this is now" with regard to Two Reservations only even as recently as last year Pala is referred to as the Pala Band of Luiseno Indians.
The following are the minutes from the June 20th, 2011 Fallbrook Community Planning Group where Robert Smith is listed as the Chairman of the Pala Band of Luiseno Indians on page 2:
20 June 2011 Fallbrook Community Planning Group Minutes
Also, on an EPA webpage dated April 2012 Pala is referred to as the Pala Band of Luiseno Mission Indians of the Pala Reservation.
The following letter from BIA Area Director James B. Ring describes Mrs. Juliana Calac's opposition to BIA supervision of the tribe:
7 Mar 1952 Pala Letter from Area Director James B. Ring
This November 8th, 1957 letter from BIA Field Representative Orlando Garcia goes over some of the disagreements over land assignments:
8 Nov 1957 Pala Letter from BIA Field Representative Orlando Garcia
As one can see tensions and squabbles have been a part of Pala's history for well over 100 years. The mass disenrollments that recently occured at Pala are a new thing but tensions between those removed from Warner's and those that live at Old Pala have existed and persisted since 1903.
And the question as to whether there are two Pala Indian reservations or not? That question still seems to persist today. Are we the Pala Band of Mission Indians, The Pala Band of Luiseno Indians, the Pala Band of Luiseno Mission Indians of the Pala Reservation, or maybe all three?
I can remember before the casino days people would fight over a once per year $300 per capita payment from Pala's Sand and Gravel operations. That was big money in those days.
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