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Rumsey chairman battles 'poverty of the soul'
Monday, October 6, 2008
Filed Under: National

The Rumsey Band of Wintun Indians is one of the most successful in California but Chairman Marshall McKay says the tribe is still battling its demons.

McKay says tribal members don't want to work because they know they will receive a share of gaming profits -- about $1 million a year after taxes, The Sacramento Bee reported. Only three have finished high school since the tribe entered the gaming business.

"I call it wealth shock … the poverty of the soul," McKay, one of the few tribal members who has been to college, told the paper.

Former chairwoman Paula Lorenzo says "probably 90 percent of the tribe was addicted to drugs and alcohol" when the money started rolling in. Though she made a hefty salary on the council, she is one of the few on the reservation to start a business.

"I wanted them to go to college and there was no incentive, so they quit school," she told the paper. The tribe has 60 members.

Get the Story:
Wealth breeds 'poverty of soul' (The Sacramento Bee 10/5)
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