Golden Checkerboard facts for kids

Golden Checkerboard is a book written by Ed Ainsworth in 1965. It tells the story of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians in Palm Springs, California, during the middle of the 20th century. The book focuses on how the tribe worked to improve their economic situation.

A big part of the story is about a special law that allowed the tribe to lease their land for 99 years. This law helped them develop their land for businesses. The book also highlights Judge Hilton McCabe, who helped set up plans for the tribe to invest and become more financially independent. The title, Golden Checkerboard, refers to the unique way the tribe's land was laid out. It looked like a checkerboard because of old land grants given to the Southern Pacific Railroad to encourage building train lines.

Agua Caliente Land History

The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians owned important land, including warm springs in the middle of Palm Springs. The U.S. government held this land "in trust" for the tribe. This meant the government managed it for them. The tribe used to charge fees for people to bathe in the springs or picnic in the canyons.

In 1917, a law called the Allotment Act was passed. This law told the Secretary of the Interior to divide the tribal land among individual members. Harry E. Wadsworth was chosen to do this job. In 1927, a new plan for dividing the land was made for 24 tribe members. However, these plans were not fully carried out for a long time. Later, in 1944, the Secretary of the Interior, Oscar Chapman, decided not to approve the land division plan from 17 years earlier.

Helping Manage Tribal Lands

The Odlum Report

In 1953, Douglas McKay became the Secretary of the Interior. He asked a businessman named Floyd B. Odlum to look into the financial matters of the Agua Caliente Indians. Odlum's team finished their report in 1955.

The report found that the tribe had 83 members, and most of them were children. It also said that the tribe's land was worth a lot of money, possibly up to $12 million. The report suggested that the land's value could grow even more if it was developed properly. Odlum's report also pointed out some problems. These included issues with how land was divided, taxes on land that wasn't being used, and a rule that only allowed land to be leased for a maximum of five years.

The report suggested that the tribe's land should be managed by a private company or a special trust, instead of the government. However, these ideas were not put into action. A new Congressman, Dalip Singh Saund, stopped the proposed laws. But in 1955, a new law was passed that allowed land leases for up to 50 years.

1959 Land Management Law

In 1959, an important decision by the Secretary of the Interior made the tribal land allotments equal for everyone. This helped prepare the land for development within Palm Springs.

However, this new law also created a system to "protect" the tribal members and their land. It called for special people, called conservators and guardians, to be appointed. These people were supposed to keep tribal members from being tricked out of their valuable properties. The law treated some tribal members, both children and adults, as if they couldn't manage their own money. So, court-appointed conservators and guardians took control of many tribal members' properties.

One big problem with this system was that the very people chosen as conservators and guardians were often judges, lawyers, and business people. These were the same kinds of people the program was supposed to protect the Indians from. Judge Hilton McCabe, who is the main subject of Golden Checkerboard, managed this program. He also acted as a conservator for some tribal members himself.

After the Book Was Published

Book Reviews

Golden Checkerboard received good reviews from magazines like Desert Magazine and the American Bar Association Journal.

Book Taken Off Market

Later, the Agua Caliente Indians filed a lawsuit against the book. They said it was a "distorted, glorifying biography" and not accurate. Because of this lawsuit, the publisher decided to take the book off the market.

Problems with the Program Revealed

The conservatorship program, which gave people control over the tribal members' properties, led to some serious problems. A series of articles in Riverside Press-Enterprise newspaper exposed these issues. Written by journalist George Ringwald, these articles won a Pulitzer Prize in 1968. They showed instances of unfair fees, people splitting fees, and other questionable actions.

The conservatorship program officially ended in 1968. This happened after a special team from the Secretary of the Interior also found that the program had many problems and was not fair.