Days after the takeover, my husband, Don Holmes, was admitted to the hospital with symptoms that mimicked a heart attack.  I returned to the lease site (without my husband, who was still under medical observation) with several employees to begin removing Havasu Palms’ personal property.  Our former tenant, who was now one of the new lessees, began harassing me.  When we attempted to load a forklift, which was owned by my husband, onto an equipment hauler, he chased away the driver of the equipment hauler, telling me I needed to show proof of ownership.  It was pretty ludicrous, he knew full well my family had been operating the site for over 30 years, and when I realized he might expect me to show him a bill of sell for every item we owned….hundreds of items…..I was overwhelmed, and extremely frustrated.  I called our attorney, and he advised me to leave the park, and let him handle the situation.
            When tribal representatives met with Havasu Palms' tenants to discuss the new lessee they assured the tenants that no one would be evicted. Technically speaking, Havasu Palms would become tenants, as we owned three mobile homes in the park.  About a year after the takeover, the shareholders of Havasu Palms Inc. still owned one lake front mobile home in the park, and they had paid timely monthly rent to the new landlords. In spite of the fact that the rent was current, they seized the mobile home, with the sanction of the tribe.
            When the new park management  first seized the mobile home (they broke into it and had the locks changed), I went to the park and called the local sheriff’s office.  The reporting officer ordered the mobile home keys be immediately returned to me. Later that week, the officer returned, and arrested the manager of the mobile home park removing him from the premises.  The District Attorney refused to press charges, as the incident occurred on the reservation.
            At first, the attorney for new lessees agreed his clients would not attempt a retake of the mobile home, until the matter was settled in the courts.  Yet, the matter never made it to the courts, as the California courts did not want to hear a case involving a business on the reservation. The mobile home was retaken by the park, and lost to Havasu Palms. Today similar mobile homes along the water might sell anywhere from $100,000 to $200,000.
            Havasu Palms’ lease with the Tribe held a clause for arbitration to settle lease disputes between Havasu Palms and the Tribe under the rules of the American Arbitration Association. We filed for an arbitration, and finally in 2002, an arbitration hearing was held in San Francisco, California. One of Havasu Palms' grievances against the tribe was the tribe's total disregard of the terms of their lease, when they illegally seized Havasu Palms' property, most of which, was never returned or reimbursed.  Another issue was the tribe’s failure to negotiate in good faith for a long term lease, as was repeatedly promised throughout the years. (next)

Photo: The Havasu Palms store Walt Johnson built, circa 1998