Havasu Palms, A Hostile Takeover

The true story of one hard working pioneering family in the 20th century, and how their life’s work was stolen – a theft sanctioned by the United States Government and the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe. Includes over 70 photographs.

When Americans greeted 1968, the country was at a crossroads. An unpopular war raged in Vietnam. The hippie exodus from Haight-Ashbury had occurred a few months earlier; Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in April of that year, and Bobby Kennedy was killed a few months later. The country was preparing to send a man to the moon and while there were unverified reports of protesting women burning their bras, it was more a metaphor for the growing women’s liberation movement.

For one American family, 1968 was the beginning of a new adventure in a remote desert community in Southern California. They believed in the American dream, where hard work and honesty have just rewards. The family put their trust in government promises, in spite of the fact the common belief among the country’s youth was that the federal government could not be trusted. Perhaps, the family should have paid attention.

Cover design by Elizabeth Mackey