San Diego Union-Tribune Letters to the Editor

I have been following with great interest the ongoing saga concerning the Jamul Indian Tribe and its efforts to open a casino.

First, I’d like to state that I’m ashamed as an American Indian for the way Walter Rosales and Karen Toggery have been treated by their own people. It saddens me to know that greed has caused our own people to turn on each other in this way.

For greed is what this is all about. Yes, casinos have helped Indians to climb out of the cycle of poverty, but at what cost? It truly pits brother against brother.

It’s too bad the Bureau of Indian Affairs cannot help the real people in need in this mess. They are Walter Rosales and Karen Toggery.

The everyday person in America thinks that the Bureau of Indian Affairs is here to help the Indians. Well, that’s not true. The bureau is nothing but a bunch of politicians preserving their way of life, not the Indians’.

As for this Indian tribe stating it is a sovereign nation, that is just an abuse of the definition. Chairman Leon Acebedo is using the term to hide behind.

It’s a shame that this casino is already starting off with such a corrupt and deceitful beginning, particularly with regards to Chairman Acebedo not keeping his word.

Where will it all end?

TAMARA M. DIAZ
El Cajon

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. If this is so, then a video must be worth a million. I videotaped the whole episode that happened on March 10 on the Jamul Indian Village.

Scott Spurgeon wrote March 29 (East County Letters) that tribal Chairman Leon Acebedo is a liar. Yet, Spurgeon lied throughout his letter to the editor.

First, I have on tape members of Jamulians Against the Casino attacking the Jamul Tribal Police. There is an old man in a vest who swings at a female officer and another man who attacks, from behind, an officer trying to arrest an unruly citizen.

People are evicted from their homes quite often. Off the reservation, what do you think would happen if someone tried to occupy a house of someone who had been evicted? They more than likely would be in jail.

Second, Spurgeon wrote that he was trying to help Walter Rosales secure his belongings from his house. The protesters were doing no such thing. They were trying to stop the packing of belongings and even threatened to stand in front of the U-Haul truck. It seems to me that they were trying an old-fashioned sit-in.

Chairman Acebedo is being portrayed as a liar. I thank him for his actions. As a tribal member who was present, our safety was at risk. His job as chairman of the Jamul Indian Village is to look out for the welfare of the tribe. There was no telling what the people present would do.

That day, the members of the protesting group kept saying they didn’t want to sink to our level, yet they were calling us names that do not bear repeating. Having been there and having watched the video at least a hundred times, it seems to me that Jamul has more to fear from these residents than it does from a casino.

Let me also clear up misunderstandings about the tribal police. At a recent tribal meeting, we formed our own police department, with Bill Mesa, a 20-year veteran of the El Cajon Police Department, as the chief of police. We hired personnel from Off Duty Officers to augment our force. While these are members of other law enforcement agencies, they are also sworn in as Jamul Tribal Police when they come to work for us. We formed our own police department for our own protection as well as the officers who were going to serve in the department. Now, and when the evictions took place, they wear coats that say Jamul Tribal Police on the back.

ROBERT MESA
Executive Councilman
Jamul Indian Village

The Jamul Indian Tribe has the right to build almost anything it wants on its six-acre reservation, including a casino. The tribe has been portrayed in the news as heavy-handed because it chose to move ahead with its plans.

It is my opinion that Native Americans in the United States, including those in Jamul, should finally have some rights, in view of endless broken treaties.

The tribal members have a federally sanctioned government, and Karen Toggery and Walter Rosales have chosen to isolate themselves from that entity. The enrolled members have legally voted a different path. Just because some in the surrounding community object to a casino in their area, Toggery and Rosales don’t have God-given rights to stay on land they don’t own.

A democratic governing entity, by definition, makes decisions by vote. The decision to move on with building a casino is the voted decision and intention of the Jamul tribe.

Toggery and Rosales were forcibly removed from their houses after eviction notices were served weeks before, and a process that has taken years.

The Sheriff’s Department, present on March 10 to keep the peace, apparently didn’t see sufficient problem to intervene. The actual evictions occurred early in the morning, peacefully. The confrontation occurred later. Can we say, “trespassing?”

One objection intended to stop casino construction regards desecration of the remains that might be scattered on the property. There is a tribal cemetery adjacent to the land intended for the casino that will remain. Why weren’t those remains placed honorably there? As stated, any remains found on the property will be moved to the cemetery. That is the procedure in any construction area, be it a casino, highway or building site.

Native Americans have finally found a way to participate in the capitalistic society they find themselves in, and the community has benefited greatly as well. Hooray! I look forward to visiting the new Jamul casino in a peaceful community.

VICTORIA LEA
San Diego

© Copyright 2007 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.

Posted on April 5th, 2007 by admin
Filed under: Gaming, Opinion