KELSEYVILLE >> In a call to a special meeting, the Kelseyville Unified School District welcomed a nearly capacity crowd at the Tom Aiken Student Center at Kelseyville High School Tuesday to adopt revised language to Resolution 23/24-19, a document which had already seen several modifications.
The goal is to achieve healing and reconciliation for years of horrific wrongs inflicted upon, not only on the Eastern Pomo and Clear Lake Wappo people in Northern California’s Lake County, but specifically address the various crimes committed by European descended pioneers Andrew Kelsey and Charles Stone, who themselves were murdered by Native Americans in December 1849, after many years Native Americans had endured not only physical and emotional abuse, but slavery, murder and rape perpetrated by Kelsey and Stone.
Katy Ray, is an enrolled member of the Round Valley Indian Tribe, and a victim services/program manager of the Coast Highway Pomo Indian Tribe. “Behind me here I have kids who go to school here,” she said. “Many of these youth painted the beautiful murals you’ve seen outside. They spent their time and education to bring us together.” She went on to say, school board member/clerk, Gilbert Rangel reached out to her to find out what Ray thought of the Resolution he authored. “I said if you’re going to do it, you’ve got to do it right and you only named the Pomo,” she said. “You have to put each individual tribe in there, to honor the original inhabitants.”
Ray is not from the area but is from Chico. Her family was forcibly removed from there. She then cited the date, May 15, 1850 the occasion of the Bloody Island Massacre. “When are we going to make change to bring healing for these youth in what we do?” she said. “I’m one of the coaches for Kelseyville High School. I’m an advisor for the Native American Indian Club. “When are we going to stop having segregated ceremonies for Native Americans?” she asked. Why can we not be included? We need to have healing, but to have healing, we need to be included.”
Local entrepreneur Mark Borghesani, an owner at Kelseyville Lumber, also aired his thoughts. He pointed out the resolution was intended to be a land use resolution but now has become politically charged because of the initiative to change the name of Kelseyville to Konocti. “We also agree the Kelseyville Unified School Board should not take sides,” he said. “But things are different now because of the proposed name change by C4H (Citizens for Healing).”
“We strongly feel, if the KVUSD Board does not want to be political this conversation should end now, he said. “This resolution should be tabled or postponed from consideration. Unfortunately, I feel there is no way to separate the resolution issue from the name change issue. It is important for the KVUSD Board not to take action one way or another. I understand the desire to pass a resolution now, but considering the climate, this is not the time.”
Nick Del Bosco, is a Kelseyville High School senior and president of the Associated Student Body. Del Bosco explained the resolution stated, the Kelseyville Unified School District will announce a Land Acknowledgement at every major event this quarter, including graduation. Land acknowledgement is a formal statement that recognizes Native peoples as traditional stewards of lands, a custom dating back centuries in many Native nations. Land acknowledgements remind and educate people about the relationships between specific lands in the U. S. and the history of inhabitation of that land by Native American people.
But Del Bosco rhetorically asked if it is appropriate to bring such an issue to a community event. “All this resolution has done is opened old wounds,” he said. This resolution will trample on the memories of the community. Kelseyville is too large and diverse to allow a certain group, a voice that leaves out a majority of people.”
Toward the end of the debate, KVUSD Board President Rick Winer noted the value of a land acknowledgement but numerous public commentors charged it was tinged with politics. A motion was made by Board Member Mary Beth Mosko to table the resolution, the board agreed, and the motion passed unanimously.
