City of L.A. compensates Playa Vista for destroying Gabrielino-Tongva
burial site
By Kathy Knight and Judith
Davies
The Los Angeles City Council, on
Jan. 16, unanimously approved the use of $11.4 million of Mello Roos Bonds to be
used to reimburse Playa Capital for destroying the largest Native American
burial site in California.
Playa Capital’s owners, wall street
corporations Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, had asked for the funds because
they originally had allocated $1.9 million for excavating the site, but because
of its significance and size (411 bodies exhumed), they asked for another $11.4
million in publicly subsidized Mello Roos Bond funds to cover their
cost-overrun.
Gabrielino Tongva Native
Americans spoke at the Council hearing. Anthony Morales, Tribal Chairman and
Chief of the Gabrielino/Tongva San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians, asked the
City Council to stop endorsing these atrocities. He stated “this request
from the developer for payment is a shame and an ongoing attack on our culture!
Instead of asking for compensation, they should be talking to us about a
reburial. Our ancestors have been out of the ground for several years and in
storage. This action is an injustice and genocidal. To pay for this atrocity
would be a misuse of bond monies. The City did nothing when one of our last
remaining intact cemeteries was destroyed and 411 of our ancestors were
desecrated which is a hate
crime.”
Linda Gonzales
(Gabrielino-Tongva/ Yaqui) also asked the City Council to deny the use of Mello
Roos bonds. She stated the developers of Playa Vista knew there was a burial
site, and they chose to go ahead. In fact, Howard Hughes had uncovered bodies
when he put his landing strip in.
The public should not have to
reimburse Playa Vista developers for the destruction of the cemetery. She
stated Mello Roos bonds are for community improvements such as street lights,
not for being reimbursed for grave digging.
Other speakers pointed out that the
new “riparian corridor,” which includes a ditch for street runoff,
could have been left in its original place, thereby avoiding the burial site.
It was moved to give Playa Vista developers more land to build
on.
Other points raised included
Grassroots Coalition statement that there is no approved EIR for the
development, since the Appellate Court overturned its approval in relation to
the gas mitigation system. Also that the bonds were not to be used for gas
mitigation systems.
Kathy Knight,
Board Member of the Ballona Ecosystem Education Project, stated that the
Gabrielino-Tongva, have been living in the Los Angeles area for 10,000 years and
took good care of the land, leaving a “paradise” for the rest of us
to inherit. She objected to “thanking” them by publicly subsidizing
the destruction of their burial
sites.
Judith Davies said “This
is a human rights issue.” She pointed out that Tongva Leader Anthony
Morales, working closely with other Native American representatives, succeeded
in recent months to have the California State Senate pass a new law which would
strengthen protections for Native American burials in California. This misuse
of Mello-Roos Bond monies, 11.4 million dollars, would set a very bad precedent
and work to undermine such protections, giving developers monies that were
designated for public projects such as lighting, street improvements, fire
stations, and schools.
Council Member
Bill Rosendahl, whose district includes Venice and Playa Vista, asked Mr.
Morales to work with Playa Vista representative George Mihlsten to rebury the
bodies at Playa Vista. However, Mr. Morales stated that that provision was
already something that Playa Capital was required to do, and that they should
talk to Robert Dorame, the designated Most Likely Descendant.
Kathy Knight and Judith
Davies are with the Ballona Ecosystem Education Project.
Posted: Thu - February 1, 2007 at 03:13 PM