To the editor:
Roger Boyd (Public Forum, Aug. 21) should use facts before telling others about "sticking to the facts" or "changing sides." Mr. Boyd doesn't seem to remember the actual history of Native American Indian people and land given away by the Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs.
The Haskell-Baker Wetlands ended up at the Department of Health, Education and Welfare because the land passed through several hands within the federal agencies. This was done to avoid federal laws designed to protect Indian lands. At the time of the Eisenhower termination era of the 1950s, more than half of Haskell's land was titled "government surplus land." Indian people have known the bureaucratic term since the Dawes Act of 1887, when Congress forced our ancestors to accept 160-acre "allotments" despite signed treaties to the contrary. To most of us, "government surplus" is a government term for legalized land theft and the land to Baker took the crime to a whole new level.
The Brockington report recommended "that the modern campus of Haskell together with the Baker Wetlands, should be considered an historic district eligible for the National Register. ... We believe that these issues do not detract from the strong sense of place conveyed by the campus and the adjacent wetlands and representing the historical significance of Haskell Institute. ... We believe that such a person would surely recognize today's Baker Wetlands as the Haskell Farm, and we thus conclude that the Baker Wetlands has integrity for district consideration."
Thomasine W. Ross,
Lawrence
Comments
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craigers (anonymous) says…
Owners of property should take care of it. Oh, wait that's right Baker has been taking care of it. Hence, Baker would be the owners. Seems pretty simple. If you want the wetlands to be kept and maintained, I hope you are ready to step up and maintain them. It is a lot of work.
lemma (anonymous) says…
You think you own land just because you take care of it? Not even the natives or the settlers got by with that.
craigers (anonymous) says…
I am just saying that they need to step up and take care of it, if they want he ownership of the land.