Opinion
This pain began around 1848 in Lake County, just about the time despicable individuals like Kelsey and Stones came to get rich at the expense of local Native people, who through murder, forced starvation, enslavement, disease and massacres had lost at least 50,000 of their own by 1870 ... not to mention dispossession or the loss of land and cultural resources, as well as decades of forced assimilation or acculturation.
In the face of this very real pain, how does the majority of Kelseyville residents react 150 years later?
The Kelseyville residents, as a people and culture, have no pain of their own that can compare to what the Pomo people were made to endure. All they prove to have is a pettiness which reveals an underlying persistent current of ignorance and mean-spiritedness, doing all in their power to revert to the old mascot name.
Kelseyville beats South Dakota in racism. South Dakota, long one of the most racist states in the nation in its dealing with Native people, found the courage to replace Columbus Day with Native American Day.
Kelseyville has neither the courage nor the generosity of heart to allow a change that is meaningful to the Pomos of Lake County, and shames California and this nation.
Raphael Montoliu lives in Lakeport.
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Both parks protect precious lakeshore habitat; both contain significant cultural resources; both shelter many species of wildlife; both provide important recreational opportunities to county residents and visitors alike.
Each park hosts a vibrant outdoor festival and welcomes school groups for special functions throughout the year, and – to add an extra touch of irony – volunteer interpretative associations in each park are currently engaged in massive facilities expansion projects that will greatly augment the parks’ value to the community.
The meager projected savings from closing these parks wouldn't even result in a net gain to the state budget after deducting direct losses from diminished transient occupancy tax and sales tax revenues generated by park visitors. Potential costs to the people of California from deterioration of public property, increased legal liabilities, and diminished prosperity are incalculable.
Both Assemblymember Patty Berg and State Senator Patricia Wiggins have promised to work hard to keep Clear Lake State Park and Anderson Marsh State Historic Park open – but they need our help.
Please send a message to the governor: by mail to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, State Capitol Building, Sacramento, CA 95814 with the message “Keep Lake County parks OPEN!” Delivery by fax is particularly effective: 916-558-3160. Or if you’d rather make a phone call, the number is 916-445-2841.
As always, your own words will convey the strongest message, but there's a great deal of power in sheer numbers too, so don't hesitate to send a form letter if you don't have time to compose your own. A letter can be downloaded from the Sierra Club Lake Group Web site (http://redwood.sierraclub/lake) in both pdf and editable Word format.
Please act today to save our irreplaceable community treasures.
Victoria Brandon is chair of the Sierra Club Lake Group. She lives in Lower Lake.
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
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