Sunday, March 25, 2012

How The Pechanga Tribal Council Violated Their Own Constitution; Their Actions Should Lead to A Halt in Their Recognition

This is a repost of a blog from last year:

Our cousin A’amokat was nice enough to put together a post of how the Pechanga Tribal Council, led by Mark Macarro has violated the Tribal Constitution.

Here are some examples of violations of the Pechanga tribe's constitution and bylaws as relating to the disenrollments and the moratorium.

1. The Temecula Band of Luiseno Mission Indians constitution and bylaws, sometimes referred to as the Pechanga Band of Mission Indians, states under Article II (membership):

"The membership enrollment will be opened the first month of each year by the Band's Enrollment Committee"

Violation: The moratorium on new adult tribal members because the constitution and bylaws does stipulate open enrollment is the first month of each year.

Under Article VIII (meetings):

"The simple majority of members present shall rule and decide in all matters of government and business of the Band, unless stipulated otherwise in these Bylaws."

Violation: The tribal council allowed the enrollment committee in 2006 to disenroll the Hunters after the petition to outlaw disenrollment was passed into law by the people in 2005. The people are the final authority in matters of who is enrolled and who is disenrolled, not the enrollment committee, because the Band's constitution and bylaws does not state the enrollment committee has this authority.

Under Article V:

"It shall be the duty of all elected officials of the Band to uphold and enforce the Constitution, Bylaws, and ordinances of the Temecula Band of Luiseno Mission Indians; and, also, uphold the individual rights of each member without malice or prejudice."

Violation 1: Allowing people who started the disenrollment challenges of disenrollees in both 2004 and 2006 to rule on the disenrollment cases of the disenrollees and who were close relatives of key witnesses against them shows malice and prejudice against tribal members.

Violation 2: The tribal council did not uphold and enforce the law that outlawed disenrollments that was passed in 2005 by allowing the Hunters to be disenrolled in 2006.

There is tribal legal precedent regarding enrollment issues that the enrollment committee is not the final authority in these matters.

In 1986, after the lineal descendants of Rose Murphy including sitting tribal councilman Russell “Butch” Murphy, were turned down for tribal membership, the people voted to overrule the committee to take them in as tribal members.

So the claim in the March 2006 letter from the tribal council to the general membership, just two days before the Hunters were disenrolled, that the people could not question or interrupt the enrollment committee regarding enrollment or disenrollment is flat out not true and Russell Butch Murphy is living proof this is the case!

Here are some examples of violations of the Pechanga tribe's constitution and bylaws as relating to the disenrollments and the moratorium.

1. The Temecula Band of Luiseno Mission Indians constitution and bylaws, sometimes referred to as the Pechanga Band of Mission Indians, states under Article II (membership):

"The membership enrollment will be opened the first month of each year by the Band's Enrollment Committee"

Violation: The moratorium on new adult tribal members because the constitution and bylaws does stipulate open enrollment is the first month of each year.

Under Article VIII (meetings):

"The simple majority of members present shall rule and decide in all matters of government and business of the Band, unless stipulated otherwise in these Bylaws."

Violation: The tribal council allowed the enrollment committee in 2006 to disenroll the Hunters after the petition to outlaw disenrollment was passed into law by the people in 2005. The people are the final authority in matters of who is enrolled and who is disenrolled, not the enrollment committee, because the Band's constitution and bylaws does not state the enrollment committee has this authority.

Under Article V:

"It shall be the duty of all elected officials of the Band to uphold and enforce the Constitution, Bylaws, and ordinances of the Temecula Band of Luiseno Mission Indians; and, also, uphold the individual rights of each member without malice or prejudice."
Violation 1: Allowing people who started the disenrollment challenges of disenrollees in both 2004 and 2006 to rule on the disenrollment cases of the disenrollees and who were close relatives of key witnesses against them shows malice and prejudice against tribal members.

Violation 2: The tribal council did not uphold and enforce the law that outlawed disenrollments that was passed in 2005 by allowing the Hunters to be disenrolled in 2006.

There is tribal legal precedent regarding enrollment issues that the enrollment committee is not the final authority in these matters.

In 1986, after the lineal descendants of Rose Murphy including sitting tribal councilman Russell Butch Murphy, were turned down for tribal membership, the people voted to overrule the committee to take them in as tribal members.

So the claim in the March 2006 letter from the tribal council to the general membership, just two days before the Hunters were disenrolled, that the people could not question or interrupt the enrollment committee regarding enrollment or disenrollment is flat out not true and Russell Butch Murphy is living proof this is the case!

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

There are over 400 disenrolled Pechanga members and you guys are still not getting press?....stage a sit-down right in the middle of the casino floor and alert the media...especially Colleen Williams on ch 4....bring some light to this terrible situation.....they can't arrest all of you...they don't have enough room.....

Anonymous said...

What are you talking about? People are afraid to show up at the pechanga protests?

And the next protest will not be a protest,it will be a blood bath to take over the government (who's down)?

Eagle Eyes said...

Well now, I still like the "Idea Of Occupy Pechanga?"..."YA THINK?"

Anonymous said...

tired of seeing this in the news - tribes are given the opportunity to run their governments without u.s. involvement, and the chukchansi's are screwing it up. don't ask for congress to intervene until you start paying taxes to the u.s.

'aamokat said...

"tired of seeing this in the news - tribes are given the opportunity to run their governments without u.s. involvement, and the chukchansi's are screwing it up. don't ask for congress to intervene until you start paying taxes to the u.s."

Who doesn't pay taxes to the U.S.? You obviously don't know that tribal members who get per capita payments pay federal taxes on this money, it is tribal members who live on reservations who don't pay state taxes on per capita but do pay federal taxes and obviously if we have been cut off of per capita, and if we work now, we pay federal taxes.

What you said makes no sense at all.

Anonymous said...

you are correct, my error... it was the state of california i was referring to... it pisses me off when tribes, who have the opportunity to run their own govt, can't come to agreement on things. would you rather join the ranks of the rest of us in the state? i know sheriff's deputies that don't want anything to do with going up to help the tribe work out their issues. all the pissing and moaning is over money coming from the casino, that is as crooked as they come anyway... do you think they really want any state of federal involvement? because if they're not paying the state taxes, only the people who are getting money under the table are going to give shit.

smokeybear said...

And by these "Corrupt Tribal Leaders" keeping a mail box on the rez so as not to pay State tax, while all the while "Living Off" the rez,..." That's Tax Evasion." And no one "Questions This?"...."Eagle Eyes."

Anonymous said...

Didn't OP put a picture of the mailboxes somewhere?

Anonymous said...

If you know of a tribal member that lives off the reservation and claims tax exempt because of a mail box on the reservation then report it to the I.R.S. That is tax evasion.

' said...

"If you know of a tribal member that lives off the reservation and claims tax exempt because of a mail box on the reservation then report it to the I.R.S. That is tax evasion"

Actually that would be the California state Franchise Tax Board, not the IRS.

smokeybear said...

Anonymous said...
If you know of a tribal member that lives off the reservation and claims tax exempt because of a mail box on the reservation then report it.

Yah, "Think?"...."Eagle Eyes."

Anonymous said...

Does anyone know if Edd Berbee has a mail box on the res

Anonymous said...

You can catch him picking his mail about 7pm every night.

' said...

A credible source tells me there is talk about banishing members of the CPP (Splinter Group)regarding some financial misdeeds, a good first step about writing wrongs perpetrated on law abiding legtimate tribal members such as the Hunters and M. Mirandas.

Let's hope tribal members have the courage to take a stand for what is right.