One Last Thought: a Juane¤o point of view

I was highly offended by the cartoon published in the Capistrano Dispatch, December 4, 2003.

I was saddened by the demeaning caricature of the Indian bearing a placard. I was incensed by the message inscribed on the sign, "Save our graves! Don't worry, we'll move all the headstones before we build the casino. " The statement was blasphemous, irreverent and hateful. That was my knee-jerk response to the publication. A saving emotion slowly bubbled to the surface: I was embarrassed for becoming angry at a cartoon I did not understand. The following was what I didn't know about the drawing:

What was the purpose of the cartoon? Who was the intended audience? Was there some validity to the drawing? Was the statement a blatant lie? Who was the author of the cartoon? Was the artist representing himself or a group of people? What was the editor's position? Did the cartoon adhere to the policies of the Capistrano Dispatch?

All of us are sensitive to symbolic interpretations and reactions. Study the two cartoons. The origin of the Indian cartoon is known. The other caricature has been in the dustbin of history for sixty years. Compare the two drawings: do they generate the same emotions? Do the following feelings surface: anger, fear, anxiety and sadness?

I don't understand the purpose of the Indian cartoon; however, I have a clear understanding of the purpose of the other cartoon, which was published in a newspaper in Nazi Germany, during the Hitler era. The newspaper was Der Strmer, the editor was Julius Streicher, a vicious anti-Semitic.

I suggest the Capistrano Dispatch editor and the artist, define for the Juane¤o people and the residents of San Juan Capistrano, the purpose and content of the Indian cartoon.

The Dispatch maxim is: "It's our community. Our voice. Our newspaper." Was the Indian cartoon the voice of the community?