Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Shame on Our Country
In today's article at Indian Country Today, Paiute historians clarify the history of Yosemite National Park--an area previously inhabited by Paiutes. In an all too familiar scenario, the National Park Service compounded earlier travesties against the Paiutes by gold-greedy settlers, by revising the history of the valley to suit US government interests. Part of that history -- the co-opting of other Indians hostile to the Paiutes, in order to subdue the inhabitants of Yosemite Valley -- is a shameful episode in a long string of atrocities perpetrated by government officials and vigilantes from Yosemite to the Golden Gate; the fact the Park Service is perpetuating this travesty is a shame on our country.
