Was Dick Ball Right?

March 8th, 2007 | by christine |

I see the Hualapai Indian Tribe in AZ has constructed a glass walkway that extends 75′ over the Grand Canyon. The Hualapai did this to attract tourists to the area … in other words, to generate revenue. Despite the fact that the Grand Canyon is considered sacred land.

Now it is their sacred land, not mine, so that’s up to them. But I can’t believe they would do this.

For those of you wondering how Dick Ball comes into this, I remind you of the debate in 2004, when Dick Ball was talking about casinos, and said “the Indians will get money any way they can.” I was totally offended by this statement because it is a lousy stereotype. (and I hold grudges … shocking, I know)

But now you have the Hualapai cutting into sacred ground so that they can make a few bucks. Just reaffirms the stereotype.    Oi

  1. 4 Responses to “Was Dick Ball Right?”

  2. By Kay Lauro on Mar 8, 2007 | Reply

    “Just reaffirms the stereotype.”

    Have you ever been to any of these desert tribe’s reservations or villages? Arizona, New Mexico mostly.

  3. By christine on Mar 8, 2007 | Reply

    Yes, though I’ve spent more time on our reservation in Wisconsin.

    Pretty poverty-stricken, I know.

    But the ’stereotype’ I was talking about was that Indians would do anything for $$. I don’t think that’s true … or at least, I don’t think it’s specific to Indians. You know, there are alot of poor people who would do ‘anything’ for money.

  4. By Kay Lauro on Mar 10, 2007 | Reply

    I believe those people are just trying to survive. I grew up out west where the Indians got regular BIG payments from the government. Most of us (white people) figured the Indians were doing pretty good. then I lived on an Indian reservation for a few years. I told my Indian neighbor, “Before I moved here I thought you Indians were doin’ good. Now, that I have lived here for a while I wonder how the hell you have managed to survive.” I wasn’t kidding, either. There was no work within commuting distance. The government got them to build a resort with low interest loans - that didn’t work……works good now, though, they converted it to a casino. Life on a res is not easy……..

  5. By Kay Lauro on Mar 10, 2007 | Reply

    Oh yeah….the “do anything for money” part

    There was a TV show about some Indians trying to get back some “sacred ground”, the chief said “Yeah.four floors of nickel slots.” So Ball isn’t the only one with that kind of an idea. The res where I lived, just about everything was money. the kids got paid for dancing in a powwow. That seemed a little strange, but then there had to be something that would keep them interested in keeping their culture going, I guess. Other than that - everybody has to be able to make a living.
    Since casinos came on the scene, seems like there are a lot more tribes than I knew about before.

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