By Miriam Raftery
 

September 12, 2010 (Sycuan) – Tina Santiago, a member of the Conshatta tribe from Louisiana, weaves a basket of willow reeds while onlookers browse her wares at the Sycuan Pow-Wow in El Cajon. “It takes about 25 hours to make this basket,” she said of a finely-crafted, finished basket priced at $250.

By Miriam Raftery

 

"Your comments about American Indians indicate that your knowledge about us, and about the historical relationship between Indian governments and the United States, is lacking to the point of being shameful." -- American Indian Movement of Colorado, in an open letter to President Ronald Reagan, 1988

May 13, 2010 (Alpine) – Alpine's Native American tribal members were not invited to serve on a committee to recommend a name for Alpine’s planned new high school. A Union-Tribune editorial published during  debate over whether to build a 12th high school observed, “The Viejas and Sycuan Indian tribes consider Alpine to be their community. The tribes fully understand how important education is…They are important allies to have when taking on a forgetful district bureaucracy.”