Some present themselves as American Indians, and insist that they cannot understand why the Kelseyville high school mascot name, the "Kelseyville Indians," was changed. You will notice if you read their letters that they never specify their tribal affiliations, perhaps because they do not know

them or do not care, which would explain why they took pride in a mascot representing a generic 1940s "Hollywood Indian," and felt honored by such things as the "tomahawk chop" that was done by the audience, or by such encouragements for the other team as "Kill the Indians!"

Some residents say that history cannot be rewritten, and so the past should be forgotten ... If the past is to be forgotten, why remember Kelsey at all with a town named after him? Is not the point of naming a town after an individual to honor him or her? How can a murderer, a child molester, someone who abused, starved, provoked the Pomos to the point of driving them to kill him, be so honored?

It seems these people wish to forget the part of history that makes them uncomfortable, that is to say the mistreatment of Native people by Indo-Europeans. They want to replace this true history with the kinds of fairy tales they call history, educational establishments call history, our government calls history: Columbus was a "gallant hero," this continent was mostly "empty" when "discovered," it was "settled" by courageous "pioneers" who wanted nothing more than to practice their religion freely, and the Native people just "vanished"... apparently all according to "God's plan," since it is also said, even to this day, by some prominent Americans, that "God gave us this country." The stamp of "God's approval" is always very convenient to attempt to validate or whitewash the worse possible crimes against humanity.

This resistance to the name change is wholly hypocritical and irrational, based on the desire by the most cowardly and morally bankrupt among us to keep denying and burying historical truths. I would understand a logical argument about costs, such as the cost to businesses, school, etc. ... but to say that there is an emotional "attachment" to the name of Kelseyville that cannot be overcome, particularly by a woman who left decades ago after graduating from high school to live in the Carolinas (one of the letters recently published by the main Lakeport newspaper, whose advertisers seem to pressure the editors to mostly print letters that oppose the change) is completely ludicrous.

Let me explain: Indo-Europeans came to this continent uninvited, as "conquerors," took it by brutal force or by constant deception, whichever was cheaper and more expedient, as they took other continents such as Australia. They would have taken Japan, India, China and kept Africa if these continents had not already been quite densely populated, because they appeared by their actions to be the most aggressive, arrogant, dangerous and driven people in the world, having waged devastating wars against each other for many centuries, having depleted their state coffers, and thirsting for new riches such as gold, diamonds, and land.

Because their cultures were unsustainable, based on endless growth, they grew like cancer cells and

overtook the planet. The world we know today, with for example China having forgotten its own 1,000-years-old sustainable culture and polluting its own land and water to the point of national suicide, is the outcome of this cultural disease known as western civilization, which worships "progress" at any cost, even at the cost of the eventual death of much of humanity.

Read any book on history, and you will quickly notice the difference in the way the conquests of Mexico and South America are portrayed, as opposed to the conquest of North America. Simply put, Spanish conquerors "bad," Anglo-Saxon conquerors "good." The Spanish came for land, gold and slaves, and the Anglo-Saxons came for ... let me see ... oh, yes, they received the divine call of Manifest Destiny to relieve the "savage heathens" of their lives and their property. The Anglo-Saxons were of the "superior race," destined by "God" to conquer and rule the world and establish a "superior" civilization, while the Spaniards were merely brutal and immoral adventurers. This is how history is written. No wonder there is resistance to the change of the name of the town of Kelseyville, because there is much resistance to the truth.

The point of telling the truth, however, is not to inflict guilt. The past, the present and the future are directly and tightly connected. The native people of this continent were decimated by European kingdoms and empires, and later by America itself, because our western (and now global) civilization never has enough, being as unsustainable today as it was 500 years ago. Indigenous people all over the world are still loosing their cultures, their resources, their lands to what is still called progress but is nothing more than a pathology to consume all that can be consumed to extinction, so that an egotistical civilization can become ever more inflated and arrogant, like the Roman Empire, while it is progressively choking on its own wastes and toxicity.

The past is not only a matter of history but of culture. Simply put, we, people of European decent, are here, and everywhere else that is not our original native land, because we created cultures that were not sustainable on our own continent. America kept breaking all the treaties it signed with native people, that is to say breaking the law, and expended west because it could not sustain itself in the east, and was desperate to find gold and other resources to overcome numerous economic depressions, such as the one that occurred before Custer's last stand.

When the past is forgotten, there is no direction to our current path and no visible pattern of behavior, and we come to believe that we just invented the world, and that all knowledge of history is useless. And then we cannot understand why we have problems, such as the ones that occur as a result of having waged a brutal war against nature for centuries, so that we could keep growing forever, a truly

utopian, unrealistic and absurd concept.

This western civilization committed global genocide against indigenous people all over the world because is was unnaturally hungry, and still is. We are in the Middle East because we do not have sustainable technologies and a sustainable economy. The Pomo people of this area were targeted by an

official state policy of extermination because they were living on a rich land that an unsustainable American culture sought to acquire by any means.

Kelsey acted according to the doctrine of Manifest Destiny, which conceptually and legally elevated Indo-Europeans above all other races and gave them license to commit the most abominable acts, with the blessing of land speculators, investors, bankers, politicians, other would-be settlers, slave traders or gold-seekers, and all in the federal government who wanted the so-called "Indian problem" to disappear. In the same manner, land in the Amazon basin of South America was sold, in the 1970s, to ranchers or investors as "clear" or "as is" ... "clear" meant that mercenaries, some of them Vietnam vets, had liquidated the Native Indian population, often with napalm.

An unsustainable civilization is a monster, like a cancer cell or a super virus, that destroys everything it touches. Failing to connect the dots between the past, the present and the future, there is no doubt that we will be doomed. To change the name of the town of Kelseyville might seem completely irrelevant to those who do not see a greater pattern in the crimes this civilization committed against the native people of this continent.

To change the name is, however and beside the many obvious reasons, also saying that these crimes were not unavoidable as is often postulated, that there is another way of life, of being, that we do not need to perpetuate the same patterns of conquest, of world domination, of the endless exploitation or destruction of the natural world and of those few who, not as demented as we are, continue to live traditionally in harmony with the earth.

Raphael Montoliu lives in Lakeport.

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Raphael - Correction Author | 09-30-2007 03:48:09 (Chinese civilization is at least 4000 years old, I meant to write that it was thousands of years old)

purplegirl - article Registered | 09-30-2007 08:45:39 Once again, a very good and very informative article.

yellowwing - Winner takes all. Registered | 09-30-2007 10:57:24 Winner gets to name to towns, states, country. Based on your commentary anything with Columbus in it should also be changed. Not going to happen.

Raphael - Winner takes all? Author | 09-30-2007 18:32:29 This comment, which I have heard before, suggests that we are still proud to have acted as barbarians, not much differently than the Roman Empire. How can we then pretend to be a civilized -or even a "Christian"-nation? It is the hypocrisy that is most bothersome...for America to assume to be the world's only moral leader, while having as shameful and dishonorable a past as any other "conqueror", its very existence founded on agression, deceptions (broken treaties) and more than one instance of genocidal attempts against Native people. And you are right, Columbus is responsible for the deaths of 3 millions Native people in the Carribeans, and should be remembered as a genocidal maniac, not a hero by any means. smurf, I understand your point, I have heard it before...but if the name Kelseyville is meant to trigger an interest in the true history of the area, why is it that this true history is not taught in schools, why is it that many of the residents of Kelseyville do not know it and could not care less, (Brown calls it a "can of worms" that should not be dug up, and he obviously has many followers), who has ever taught this history to anyone except Clayton, and who will do it when he is gone?... We both know the so called leaderships of many of the local tribes do not want to create any controversy and go along to get along, so if we are going to keep the name to teach actual history, then let's have the real history told on the Kelsey monument, and let's see how the local residents deal with the truth when it can no longer be denied! Donna, good question and I will try to research it...I would not be surprised to find out that Kelsey's brother, who lead the militia that commited the massacre on Bloody Island along with Lyons' dragoons, had something to do with naming this town Kelseville. The point many people miss is not a desire to change the past, but to come to term with the truth. Native people are tired of America's hypocrisy...they are tired of hearing and seeing past crimes against them being portrayed as acts of heroisms, past massacres being portrayed as battles, their own past defensive actions being portrayed as depredations, and all the rationalizations that attempt to portray the theft and invasion of Native lands as completly justified (by the "divine" call of Manifest Destiny, by the concept that a "superior" civilization had every right to own the planet and rule all who live on it, the idea that Chistianity had a mission to save the souls of "heathens" even at the cost of torturing and killing them, the argument that Native people fought against each other and took each other territories so they had nothing to complain about when Indo-Europeans did the same to them, and also and most absurd of all the idea that they came from Siberia, were "immigrants" themselves, and so had no valid claims to this continent!) The truth needs to be told so that the mistakes of the past not be repeated. If you will notice, the Anglo-American alliance and the "Project for a New American Century" are advancing the same 19th century arguments for a domination (called "leadership") of the world by the Anglo-American empires, talks of "western civilization" fighting the "barbarians" (moslems) have resurfaced, we have re-intered the same nightmare of "might makes right" with the same goals as the 19th century: to get our hands on the remaining resources of the world. There is no difference between this and the theft of California's Indian lands that were rich in gold and agricultural potentials. We are still doing the same thing BECAUSE WE DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THE TRUTH OF THE PAST, and fail to see the pattern, which is that of a PREDATORY civilization, predatory because unsustainable. (Besides, telling the truth about the past, or changing the name of a town, doesn't in any way prevent also addressing contemporary problems, such as homelessness, or the possibly up coming war against Iran). Elizabeth, it is true that many names of places commemorate criminals...and I know it would be impossible and crazy to change them all (starting with doing away with the Mount Rushmore monument, that oversized paper weight which has no artistic merit whatsoever and was only meant to humiliate and finally break the spirit of the Lakota nation, having being built on what they considered their most sacred lands?) But as long as the truth of these places and events are known, that is all that is really needed. Unfortunately, even today, HBO productions such as "Bury my heart at Wounded Knee" not only fail to tell the truth, but are ideologically distorted to validate, as always, the taking of this continent and the subjugation of the Native people. The lie never ends, only the packaging changes... Laughter might be the best response to the insanity of the world, and proof of ultimate wisdom...After all, if humanity wants to blow itself up in the name of one flag or ideology or another, who is to stop it, and who is to say it would not be as amusing to watch, in an absurd humor kind of way, as it would be sad? Imagine seeing all these humans, having all these trivial disputes and fighting over who owns what, from far above, from space? (It is also true that under this Bush administration, it has been unusually difficult to keep a sense of humor...)

elarson - I think you missed my point Super Administrator | 09-30-2007 20:50:08 I'm not saying these names should or shouldn't be changed, I'm merely pointing something out -- that if we think Stone and Kelsey are somehow special, we're wrong. This happens all over the place, and one could argue it's just as much about class as race. Look at the names of the wealthy tacked up on important institutions -- Carnegie libraries, Rockefeller Center -- and most of those folks didn't exactly come by their position and power in a nice way. It might be good to look at areas similar to ours and see if anyone has done anything substantial about name changes. We know it's happening with sports teams, but how are communities tackling this issue?

Raphael - Thanks for the clarification Author | 09-30-2007 23:14:05 Elizabeth, I had misunderstood...True about class, and it is ironic but revealing that the government did everything it could in the 19th and early 20th century to make Native people not only "American" but an underclass, teaching them manual skills exclusively in the boarding schools, while they were also denied the right to vote. It is a good idea to check if this thing (changing the name of a town) has been done elsewhere, and how it was done, and I will try to do this. I think some people are afraid that the great "Immaculate Deception" (American history as it is still taught) will begin unraveling if one single thread is pulled, that's why they keep saying "If we do this, what next and where will it ends"? Columbus, Carson, many early Presidents, and as you point out many of the wealthy's unethical deeds would come to the surface, and this nation might have a chance to heal with the truth as foundation...that's a scary thought for some, particularly for those who still base their power on deception and on legal robbery, and for those who are blind enough to support them... But beside these considerations, Clayton mostly concentrates on the pedophile activities of these two individuals, and given the fact that pedophilia and child abuse are still widespread, I think it is especially important to bring this to light and draw the line as to what we can tolerate (Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill) and what should not be tolerated, such as a town named after a pedophile...Of course, because it is difficult to prove these allegations (no legal records), this can easily be dismissed by those who are against the name change...although if we look at history, the sexual exploitation of Indian children in this area, who were taken after their families were murdered and sold as slaves, was widespread...

smurf - don't change the name? IP:66.81.72.xxx | 09-30-2007 11:06:04 This is why I think Raphael is wrong: the most dramatic chnages to Lake County began when Kelsey and Stone showed-up, no two people had a greater impact on this place-ever. Raphael is right in saying that to name a town after Kelsey can be seen as honoring him, but I say it doesn't have to be an honor, it can be a simple acknowledgement of his importance-as bad as it certainly was. I think every time you think of the name you think about that man and the terrible things he did, and that is part of the importance of history-to help not to repeat past mistakes, If the name stays 500 years from now people (whether tourists or local school children) will ask who this man was, and the story will be told again. With his name gone it will be a forgotten story lost in the pages of a history book, where the lesseons it teaches us will be unlikely to be learned by many. I was the first person to formally ask the Kelseyville school board to change the name of the mascots, so I don't think I'm being closed-minded about this, I even worked with Clayton in an early attempt to make this happen. It took far longer to happen than it should have, mostly because most of the local tribes didn't want to ask the board to do so because they thought it could have an adverse impact on casino revenues! Clayton wants us to remember what happened on Bloody Island, I beleive changing the name of the town is the fastest way to make people forget.

Donna Christopher - Question Author | 09-30-2007 11:23:26 Was Kelseyville intentionally named after Kelsey as an honor or was it just one of those situations where something takes on a name because of inhabitants or a specific landmark? All the comments I hear are "how do we right all the wrongs done in the past". We can't. We can't even deal with all the wrongs being done in the present. Shouldn't we all be more concerned about the homeless and hungry in Kville than its name?

elarson - Namesakes aren't always nice Super Administrator | 09-30-2007 13:42:01 When I was attending college in Montana, one of my history professors, Dr. Harry Fritz, liked to point out that people who had things named after them weren't always the best of people. They either were powerful enough to get their way or had the money to simply buy the rights. Fritz was a sitting member of the Montana State Legislature at the time, so he had some real world experience to go on. I took several classes from the guy but probably the most fun was on Montana state history, which is rife with folks not unlike Stone and Kelsey, as well as the Copper Kings, etc. One of the most memorable comments I remember coming from Fritz's mouth was that Bozeman, Montana "was named after a wife beater from Georgia."

jjensen - If the name is to be changed Super Administrator | 09-30-2007 13:44:53 I propose 'tim', after the dodgy wizard in Quest for the Holy Grail. That way when people want to come to town you could ask them questions three. What is your name? What is your quest? What is the unladen weight of a swallow? I think this sort of approach might help people to take themselves a little less seriously and possibly improve things with laughter.

thekattb4u - I'd love to see a name change Registered | 09-30-2007 20:28:01 Bravo Raphael... well stated. I believe the name should be changed to Habenapo after the Pomo community who controlled the area for the past 6,000 years (that is as long as the Egyptian pyramids have existed). Smurf. As a researcher who has studied Lake County prehistory for more then 20 years and worked with Henry Maulden on his county history files, I can assure you that the most dramatic change to the county was not brought on by Stone or Kelsey. The most dramatic changes to Lake County took place over the past 6,000 years as the Pomo filled the valleys around the Lake Basin with orchards of oak trees, conducted control burns, and tended the once wild plants and animals of the area until they were genetically domesticated. The invading Europeans didn't change Big Valley from its prehistoric use, they merely replaced the Pomo-tended oak orchards with walnut, then pear, and now grape orchards. Due to our current exploitation of the world's fossil fuel resources, we have been able to temprarilly bring new resources and people into the Basin. However, this Lake Basin has not changed for the past 6,000 years. Once the fossil fuels are gone, this basin will again become a self sustaining system, hopefully supporting a human population about the size of the original prehistoric population that was here long before Stone or Kelsey (that is if we don't destroy it first). Sincerely, Dr. John Parker

Raphael - Thank you John Author | 09-30-2007 23:51:29 for the comments, I think Habenapo is also Clayton's idea for the name of the town...On the East coast, many places have Indian names...why not here?

smurf - pay attention! Registered | 09-30-2007 21:27:57 I stand by my assertions that kelsey and Stone had a greater impact on this land than any other two people in all history-and that if you hide the name the truth will disappear along with it. The original settlers trickled in over thousands of years, the second wave (anglos) was on the oder of ten times the entire maximum Indian population and took place in a far shorter time frame-Kelsey and Stone started this second wave and that is their claim to fame, their behaviour once here is their claim to infamey. I'll grant you that the changes anglos have made may be temporary and seldom positive, but they are FAR more significant than those made by ten thousand years of Indian culture. The idea the indians did any ag that could be in any way compared to today's is absurd on the face of it, there are few crops that can be grown here without irrigation and the Indians didn't plant the oaks they depended on for food, they cultivated TINY amounts of land compared to the 20,000 acres under cultivation today-I'll bet the total acerage ever under cultivation by the indians at any one time was less than 100 acres county-wide. Here's one more reason not to change the name: it will never get past the voters, who will reject the idea in a landslide-why divide and piss-off people if there isn't any hope of it going anywhere?

Raphael - I respectfuly disagree Author | 09-30-2007 23:42:59 with you on this smurf, the name Kelseyville has existed for quite some time, but not until Clayton appeared on the scene did anyone had any clue as to the activities of Stone and Kelsey, and to this day many still do not know, and many still could not care less!...Before Clayton, the Bloody Island massacre was known as a "battle", just as Wounded Knee was known as a battle before changes were made in the 70's by Native militants, who were not welcome by the dominant culture either... Retaining the name Kelseyville simply states that Kelsey is worthy of the honor of having a town named after him, there is no getting around this (Germany would not think of having a Gestapoburg to remember the bad deeds of the gestapo)...It simply reinforce the "winner takes all" mentality of some people in this nation, and validates the whitewashing of history, as well as the notion that Native people should "get over it" and "get on with their lives"...Would anyone say the same thing to Jewish people about the hollocaust (anyone besides the government of Iran that is)? As far as dividing the people, pissing some people off, I would say that making the truth known far and wide is worth it, and that people who oppose this dissemination of the truth are on the wrong side of the fence...The events around Bloody Island, begining with Kelsey and Stone, are as revolting as those that lead to the massacre of Wounded Knee, and should be as well known, and would if the majority of the Native people of this area had not been intimidated for so long into silence and submission.

lcsage - Raphael Registered | 10-01-2007 10:35:41 Get a life, get over yourself and move on. These stupid name changing issues do nothing more than open old wounds. Let's go after Columbus, our founding fathers and the mission priests.

Raphael - An old wound Author | 10-02-2007 05:45:19 that can be opened is a wound that has not healed. It is an infected wound, that needs to be drained of its infection to heal properly. The same applies here. Nothing can heal on a foundation of lies and denials, which are the core of what is taught about US history and characterize much of our culture (this massive habit of living in denial has much to do with widespread addictions, by the way). It takes courage to heal, because it takes courage to face the truth, however uncomfortable. There is nothing stupid whatsoever about understanding that pedophiles should not be honored, no matter how many centuries ago they preyed on their victims, unless you feel like celebrating pedophilia or ignoring the problem.

thekattb4u - Read Tending the Wild Registered | 10-01-2007 12:42:02 Smurf, Read "Tending the Wild" by Kat Anderson, published in 2005 by University of California Press. Your view of agriculture as having to include irrigation and cultuvation is way outdated. ANY manipulation of the environment that serves to increase its ability to produce food resources for humans is considered agriculture.

lcsage - Your "old wound" Registered | 10-02-2007 11:48:11 Smacks very much like an old worn out race card issue. Give it a rest. The nation doesn't owe you a living.

Raphael - Icsage Author | 10-02-2007 17:43:46 Whoever you are, since you seem to have the courage of expressing your opinion bluntly only while hiding your true identity, understand this: the nation does not owe anything to anybody but to itself and its own conscience, if it has one. The "nation" is formed of people like you and me...I know I have a conscience, the question is, do you have one? Are you proud of a dishonorable past, are you proud of the Kelsey's of this world, are you proud of not having the guts to acknowledge the true history of this nation and coming to term with it, in other words are you a proud hypocrite?

lcsage - calling me out Registered | 10-02-2007 18:51:48 Kemo Sabe? I will not tell you what degree my CDIB says, but it is not very dilute. And yours? I do not believe in "honoring" any dishonorable person, but there are too many around to pick and choose. We could mention the carpetbagging Clintons, esp Bubba and Teddy Chappaquidik (sp?). People like those are the really disgusting ones and they have the money to buy themselves off. Methinks you and Clayton have a personal agenda to change all the public Anglo names to Indian ones. To accuse of pedophilia by word of mouth second hand (or more) passed down information is pretty rank. I think they smoke too much mota in the roundhouses. Meth and booze notwithstanding.

Raphael - You are on the Author | 10-02-2007 21:50:22 wrong track, I never pretended to have Native blood...I am glad that you do and feel somewhat proud of it (?), but then the people who assassinated Sitting Bull were full blood Lakota, so blood doesn't have much to do as to where anyone stands... I agree that there are a lot of people who are at least as bad as Kelsey, but before you dismiss the accusation of pedophilia all together, you should do some research on local history...this is not Clayton's "invention"...and also see what really drives you to dismiss the allegations of Pomo people who survived the state's intention and efforts to wipe them out. How about the history of your own people? If they were fairly and honorably treated by the US, then they are the only Native people who were on this continent! And if not, how can you forget the trials of your own ancestors? Do you think the Irish have forgotten what the British did to them? Do you think the Armenians have forgotten that the Turks slaughtered a million of them? Do you think the Sicilians forgot how they were treated by Italie (that's the origine of "Causa Nostra"-Our Cause, by the way, that infortunately became organized crime) Do you think African Americans should forget slavery? Do you think Jews should forget the hollocaust? Do you think Tibetans should kiss the feet of the Chinese, although the Chinese have duplicated the exact same methods to overtake Tibet, commit cultural genocide-better known as "assimilation", destroy Tibetan religion, and make the Tibetan an apoverished minority on their own land, as the US used against what you claim to be your own people! It is foolish to not only forget your own history but accept and support its whitewash by a "dominant culture"...when you do this, you dishonor your own ancestors. As far as America "owing"anything, as far as I can tell it has never honored its treaties with Native nations (read "A century of dishonor", and get a sense of real history...read "Exterminate them", about actual California history!) yet Indian casinos are giving away millions of dollars to the state, and if the New Indian Gaming Revenue Agreement passes, four California tribes will give away more than $9 billion to save the state from its own mismanagement...how ironic is that, the survivors of the state's 19th century attempt at total genocide coming to its rescue? Don't you think Native people can get a little respect in exchange, such as the telling of hitory as it really happened, not as America wishes to make it appear, which is a fairy tale?

jensenIII - Naming things and History Registered | 10-02-2007 22:12:54 It really is terrible that people are caught up in keeping names which have meanings and histories that are atrocious. There's a road in Oregon called Dead Indian Memorial Hwy. Used to be Dead Indian Rd, but somebody decided to change it. They went the wrong direction. I hope you do change Kelseyville, because Kelsey is as bad as Dead Indian Memorial. I say, I wish I lived there so I could sign the petition! Good Luck.

Raphael - When the petition Author | 10-02-2007 22:14:34 is up for signing, anyone in Lake County can sign it, it is not just for the residents of Kelseyville, so thank you for your support in advance!

lcsage - my people Registered | 10-02-2007 23:37:58 were enslaved and mistreated by the mission priests, but we got over it and got on with our lives. I would say your only mission in this issue is that of a scheit disturber with no life and too much time on your hands. Go volunteer at Hospice or the food bank. Your palaver is so much inane drivel and just plain meaningless. You are of the Sharpton/Jackson ilk. People think you are insane.

lcsage - plus my slip rent Registered | 10-02-2007 23:40:04 thanks to casinos, is more than your net worth.

Raphael - You are attempting Author | 10-03-2007 02:12:38 to get personal and it is a waste of my time...I am not the issue...Thank you by the way for comparing me to Sharpton or Jackson, although they talk a lot and do nothing...I am not idle. What you mean, apparently, by "getting on with your life", is becoming integrated into the dominant culture and being ashamed of yours and of your own ancestors (is there anything left of your culture anyway?). Many Mexicans have similar attitude, although they are much more Indian than Spanish, they have been brained-washed by the dominant Spanish culture and by the Catholic church to despise and hate Indians...You have every right to do so, and to think as you do...but you have unfortunately no capacity for debate, using generalizations, political cliches and false assumptions... Glad to know you are making money from the casinos...Native tribes who are not self-hating actually use these revenues to take control of their own education (teaching their children their own language, their own culture, Native religion and ceremonies, etc), to establish their own health care, to create businesses on the reservation, in other words they use casino revenues to STRENGTHEN REAL TRIBAL LIFE and truly get over what America has done to them, rather than cashing in the dough and acting as other Americans are supposed to do, looking out exclusively for "number one"... Your comment "people think you are insane" is another form of compliment, as far as I can tell, that is hurled when intellectually handicapped individuals meet ideas they are not equiped to grasp...and there are not too many ideas that can be grasped in this culture, apart from those that have to do with greed or fear...

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