Photos: Dispute on Colorado River Indian Tribes reservation
Benjamin “Magic” Fraga, 56, is one of 30 non-Indians who have refused to pay rent to the Colorado River Indian Tribes. They argue that their land is not part of the reservation, which straddles the river. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Benjamin “Magic” Fraga and other non-Indians who refuse to pay rents to the Colorado River Indian Tribes are awaiting a ruling in a federal court case filed by Roger French, who was evicted in 2011. He argues that the land he occupied rent-free for 17 years was not on the reservation. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Rusty Flanagan, 53, calls former neighbor Roger French “our savior” for seeking to have his eviction overturned in federal court. “If I lose my place here,” Flanagan says, “I’ll be out on the street.” (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Herman “T.J.” Laffoon, a Colorado River Indian Tribes council member, wishes the non-Indians who don’t pay rent were more appreciative of the long and troubled history Native Americans are trying to overcome. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
A view of a residential area on the Colorado River Indian Tribes reservation near Blythe. California Gov. Jerry Brown is supporting Roger French’s efforts to win a court ruling that the land he was evicted from is not on the reservation. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Herman Laffoon, a tribal council member, steps over a boundary marker for the Colorado River Indian Tribe reservation. “It’s a violation to destroy these signs,” he said. “But they tear them down all the time around here.” (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Valerie Welsh Tahbo, treasurer of the Colorado River Indian Tribes, on a boating dock along Colorado river. Over the last five years, the reservation has managed to reduce the number of noncompliant renters from 175 to 30. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
A view of a residential area on the Colorado River Indian Tribes reservation. The 245,000-acre reservation is home to 4,000 members of four tribes: the Mohave, Chemehuevi, Hopi and Navajo. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Some non-Indians talk of a coming clash with tribal authorities aiming to remove them by force from land they have spent years and significant personal income improving. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
