Vandalism of tribe's casino signs called hate crime

Friday, June 10, 2005  

The Stillaguamish Tribe of Washington and local leaders are denouncing the vandalism of signs for the tribe's casino.

Vandals wrote racist jokes and graffiti on the signs, took them down and altered them so that "casino" read "sin." One sign contained a stick figure of an Indian with a bow and arrow and a talking head speaking in "mock Indian gibberish," The Everett Herald reported.

"I definitely view it as a hate crime," tribal chairman Shawn Yanity told the paper.

The mayor of Arlington and the leader of an anti-casino group also denounced the vandalism, which came on the day a race relations forum was held. "We have to stand up and say no to this type of thing and get to the bottom of it, be it harassment, bullying, racial prejudice, whatever it is," Mayor Margaret Larson told the paper.

The tribe's police department is investigating. "I could blow off the anti-casino stuff," tribal police chief Felix Moran said. "But when the Indian joke hit, sorry, that turned it into malicious harassment. That turned it into a racial issue."

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Signs vandalized; tribe blames hate (The Everett Herald 6/10)