Santa Barbara County, California, Supervisor Gail Marshall has had a lot of opinions about the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.

Over the years, she has fought the tribe's casino plans and has been seeking a greater share of gaming revenues. Tribal leaders were used to these sentiments, but it was comments in a recently-published book that were the kicker.

Among other statements, Marshall said Chumash leaders "are not only uneducated to the actions and reactions to the actions, but they don't want to be educated. You know, they've all got brand new trucks and lots of money; they don't have to be. They're thumbing their nose at everybody."

Marshall endured criticism for her remarks and two local newspapers called for her to resign from the board. State Sen. Tom McClintock, a Republican ally to tribes, recently wrote her a letter calling the comments "insulting, condescending and disgraceful."

But after being so outspoken, Marshall will no longer comment. She resigned from a committee that distributes casino funds but refused to resign as supervisor. She is leaving her post at the end of the year because she is not running for re-election.

Get the Story:
Official's Comments on Chumash Revive Old Wounds in Santa Ynez (The Los Angeles Times 3/23)
pwlat

Relevant Links:
Gail Marshall - http://www.gailmarshall.org

Related Stories:
County official won't resign for calling tribe uneducated (03/10)
Elected official called Calif. tribe unsophisticated (3/5)