BEFORE POINT REYES: In 1997, the Park Service Sent a Blackhawk to Raid the Last Holdout Ranch on Santa Cruz Island
Was this militarized raid about Indian grave robbing? Or the 82 year-old patriarch who didn't want to give up his land?
Years before the betrayal of the Point Reyes ranchers, the National Park Service had its sights set on creating a national park on the Channel Islands. The story of how this park came to be is largely forgotten, but its history may prove instructive to current events.
“This is the Park Service: Come out with your hands up.”
According to a 1997 report in Outside Magazine, island residents were accused of robbing burial sites of Chumash Indians.