Thursday, October 07, 2004
Indian Wrongs (er...Rights?) in Upstate New York
I grew up in upstate New York and will always have fond memories of that area. I college, I took an elective course detailing the culture and history of indians of New York State.
My respect for those people came from the simple fact that they not only lived, but prospered, in a place that received 200 inches of snow in a winter. The mechanics of their daily life and their deep spiritual beliefs of the natural world seemed powerful and inspirational to me.
In 1978 I had accepted a job in another state and put my New York home on the market. I soon learned that banks were reluctant to offer mortgage money to buyers in that area due to a lawsuit that indian tribes had, demanding return of a large tract of land to them. I was lucky enough to find a buyer who arranged for private financing. Sometime later, I heard that the indians had been granted some lovely federal land nearby.
A few years ago, this spectre emerged once again. I have several relatives who are property owners in that same area. The claims seem, to me, like those of a blackmailer, who, having been paid once, continues to lean on the "PAY ME" button, interminably.
There are many inconsistancies between the "rules" that these "indians" want to play by and those I have had to play by. Perhaps most irritating is the fact that the purported indians have little or no formal proof of their heritage.
I have made many bad deals in my time, but I always had to "eat" the bad choices. "Take backs" have not been available. These "indians" want to be given property and rights which the rest of us aren't, to attone for "injustices of the past." Regarding (supposed) injustices: That was THEN - another time, other people (on both sides); this is NOW!
The indians that I respected did not carve out a life by whining and getting preferential treatment. Their sense of dignity would not allow such a pitiful life.
My respect for those people came from the simple fact that they not only lived, but prospered, in a place that received 200 inches of snow in a winter. The mechanics of their daily life and their deep spiritual beliefs of the natural world seemed powerful and inspirational to me.
In 1978 I had accepted a job in another state and put my New York home on the market. I soon learned that banks were reluctant to offer mortgage money to buyers in that area due to a lawsuit that indian tribes had, demanding return of a large tract of land to them. I was lucky enough to find a buyer who arranged for private financing. Sometime later, I heard that the indians had been granted some lovely federal land nearby.
A few years ago, this spectre emerged once again. I have several relatives who are property owners in that same area. The claims seem, to me, like those of a blackmailer, who, having been paid once, continues to lean on the "PAY ME" button, interminably.
There are many inconsistancies between the "rules" that these "indians" want to play by and those I have had to play by. Perhaps most irritating is the fact that the purported indians have little or no formal proof of their heritage.
I have made many bad deals in my time, but I always had to "eat" the bad choices. "Take backs" have not been available. These "indians" want to be given property and rights which the rest of us aren't, to attone for "injustices of the past." Regarding (supposed) injustices: That was THEN - another time, other people (on both sides); this is NOW!
The indians that I respected did not carve out a life by whining and getting preferential treatment. Their sense of dignity would not allow such a pitiful life.
