Opinion
Editorial: The never ending Indian wars in California


"The Indian wars in the Santa Ynez Valley just seem to go on and on, with no end in sight.

Another battle was engaged recently when the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted to add stronger language to a letter to federal officials objecting to yet another plan by the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians to improve their financial position.

At some point - and as it is now, it appears that point is somewhere in the far distant future - the tribe and its antagonists should make a greater effort to get along. It probably won't involve a melding of ideologies and philosophies, but it certainly could include a meeting of minds on technical and financial matters.

For their part, tribal leaders could do a better job of communicating their plans to the community. Those objecting to the tribe's legitimate expansion of their business operations might consider trying to better understand Chumash goals and aims."

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