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Yumans: Official off base on attitude toward Indians ¿0d
BY JEFFREY GAUTREAUX, SUN STAFF WRITER
Published on: April 8, 2006

A federal civil rights official said American Indians who live in Yuma don’t have the same rights as other people, and local authorities are unhappy about it.

John Dulles, director of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights’ Rocky Mountain Regional Office, was quoted Thursday in The Missoulian, a newspaper in Missoula, Mont., saying American Indians who live in border towns, such as Yuma, suffer from "abused community syndrome."

"If you live in Yuma, Arizona, for instance, you don’t expect to have the same rights that people have elsewhere," Dulles was quoted as saying during a conference on border-town racism held by the Blackfeet Tribe in Missoula.

The story said Dulles went on to say that once the expectation of being a second-class citizen takes hold, it starts to become true. "You expect to be hassled, and you are," Dulles said.

Mike Jackson, Quechan Tribal president, said Quechans do not feel like second-class citizens here. He said the tribe is a proud people who do not allow themselves to be treated as less than equal.

"As Quechans, we demand the same rights," he said. "We expect to be treated the same, to be treated as we treat others. We’ll never quit fighting for our rights."

Messages left Friday for Dulles at his Denver office and at the hotel in Missoula where the conference was being held were not returned.

The article is available online at www.missoulian.com.

Jackson said some Quechans have faced racism in Yuma, although he had not personally experienced it. He said all races need to work to end prejudice.

The Cocopah Tribe released this statement in response to Dulles’ comments: "The Cocopah Indian Tribe has beneficial and positive relationships with the communities and government municipalities in Yuma County."

Yuma City Administrator Mark Watson said he was "flabbergasted" when he read the story. He said the relationships the city has with the tribes are strong, and the city is a good friend to both.

Watson said the comment was unfair, especially considering Arizona is not a state that is covered by Dulles’ regional office. "I was kind of surprised and disappointed in what he was saying," he said.

Watson said he did not know of any incidents that would lead to such a characterization. He said there was a long history of interaction between the city and the tribes and many good relationships. He pointed to mutual work by police and fire agencies, cooperative efforts to promote the city and its tribal casinos and work on restoring the Colorado River in the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area.

Watson said American Indians in Yuma are not second-class citizens. "To point us out, particularly considering the relationships we have here, is unfair. We have a situation where we interact quite well," he said.

Watson said he sent letters to the editor to The Missoulian and to The Billings Gazette in Billings, Mont., in response.

The USCCR is an independent, bipartisan agency established by Congress and charged with monitoring federal civil rights enforcement.

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Jeffrey Gautreaux can be reached at jgautreaux@yumasun.com or 539-6858.



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