![]() The land housed the Pan Hot Springs Hotel in the 1920s and 1930s, said Doug Walton, president of the Big Bear Valley Historical Society. Ramos said his dream is to build a cultural center on land near the spring, to educate non-Indians as well as Native Americans. ![]() Tribes without casinos often are too poor to buy culturally significant land or launch extensive cultural-preservation programs, Trafzer said. In addition to land purchases, casino income gave the San Manuel and other tribes the resources to hire linguists and others to write down and teach languages that were in danger of dying, he said. “Gaming has contributed in a major way to the revitalization of tribal culture, and not just San Manuel culture,” Trafzer said. Ramos declined to reveal the price to buy the four acres that includes the hot spring.Ĭasino revenue is a key reason why San Manuel and other tribes have vibrant cultural-preservation programs, said Cliff Trafzer, a professor of history at UC Riverside and an expert on Southern California Indian culture. “This is part of spending money to purchase a part of our culture that, unlike gaming, will last forever,” Ramos said. ![]() Buying the land was unthinkable until gaming money flowed in. The old cars they drove couldn’t make it up mountain roads, Ramos said. Years ago tribal members couldn’t even get to Big Bear to look from behind the fence at the spring they heard about in the creation story.
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