Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Stripping of Tribal Citizenship is Wrong. Genocide by Paper #stopdisenrollment

This is a re-post of an earlier blog post. 
I find it disconcerting that in all the years we have had mass terminations of tribal citizenships, no politician has stood up for those Indians who have been harmed by their tribe.  (See:  Like Being Raped and Going to your Rapist for Justice)

When you give it a cute moniker like “disenrollment”, it takes on the context of, say, losing you membership in the P. T. A. And that makes it simpler for a politician to take tribal money and with the phrase, “tribes can choose their own membership” they can avoid taking a closer look at what it really entails.

Take American citizenship, the U.S. Government can strip an American of citizenship for few reasons, here’s one from US CODE 1481:

7) committing any act of treason against, or attempting by force to overthrow, or bearing arms against, the United States, violating or conspiring to violate any of the provisions of section 2383 of title 18, or willfully performing any act in violation of section 2385 of title 18, or violating section 2384 of title 18 by engaging in a conspiracy to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, if and when he is convicted thereof by a court martial or by a court of competent jurisdiction.

We are talking about treason or overthrowing the government as a serious offense. No disenrollees have threatened overthrow of their tribal government. No bearing arms against tribal councils. In Indian Country, you can lose your citizenship for simply disagreeing with the tribal council. Putting a “wrong” member on the council or speaking your mind about their business entities can get one stripped of their citizenship.

How many American’s have been stripped of their citizenship, can you name ONE? Has Charles Manson lost his citizenship? No. How about American terrorists who advocate death to American and sharia law? Nope, uh-uh, but in Indian Country, the number is in the THOUSANDS. We have tribes like Snoqualmie in Washington, that have stripped citizenship simply for taking a position opposite of the tribal council.

On the Pechanga Reservation in Temecula, Original Pechanga allottee descendents have had their citizenship taken away, along with voting rights, the right to health care, the right to speak at meeting, even when the situation is directly relating to them, such as water rights. It's virtual apartheid. Pechanga, headed my Mark Macarro, the subject of a recall attempt, tried to usurp the water rights of allottees, lying to congressional staffers about how many allottees were still on the reservation. Redding Rancheria even terminated 25% of their tribe, including their FIRST Tribal chairman. We have tribes like Snoqualmie in Washington, that have stripped citizenship simply for taking a position opposite of the tribal council. And the Picayune Rancheria already terminated 50% of their tribe and are looking at more.

We have politicians who turn a blind eye, because stripping citizenship comes now with a cute moniker: disenrollment. The same politicians who rightfully found the apartheid policy of sovereign country of South Africa abhorrent, now side with tribes who are practicing the same apartheid in their own districts. Equally confusing, the NAACP in CA has taken money from tribes that violate their people's civil rights. We can't get the ACLU to be interested and the Native American Rights Fund won't help those Native Americans who have lost their RIGHTS.

Politicians in CA who were vehemently appalled over neighbor state Arizona’s stricter immigration enforcement laws, going so far as to shrilly calling for boycotting that state over ‘possible’ civil rights violation, are supporting tribes who have actually stripped voting rights, health care, per capita (now totaling $500 million), elder care, educational assistance. They recently passed the Dream Act providing educational assistance to non-citizens, yet won’t stand up for actual citizens.

They tell themselves “well it’s only 9 people, or it’s only 75 people”. Yet how many does it have to be to make it wrong? 75 Redding tribal members, stripped of their citizenship is akin to 80 million Americans losing theirs. The Picayune Rancheria took away citizenship to fully 50% of their tribal people. When is it wrong, or rather “wrong enough”. Would they stand up for union members who didn’t get to vote? Or what if say, the GOP got 25% of Democrats excluded? Would it be wrong? Of course it would.

It’s past time to take it seriously and to stand up for the rights of the individual Indian.

Our government needs to do its job and stand up for the weak and defenseless. Exercising its moral outrage includes:

1. Eliminate funding for tribes who violate the rights of their people.
2. No longer take land into trust for abusive tribes
3. Place enforcement actions into the Indian Civil Rights Act

Tribes have a right to do wrong, but they shouldn’t be supported by our politicians when they do.



See more on Enterprise Rancheria disenrollments  they were rewarded with a casino by Department of Interior.
Robinson Rancheria Disenrollments

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Remember when Jennie Miranda and the others were disenfranchised for RICO act violation and others were going to be brought before the tribe. I heard that Raymond Basquez and Ronald Rivera were on the next list of criminals to be brought before the tribe. Now Mark Macarro is not going though with his duties to the tribe to protect them from harm and possible closing the casino down for criminal acts. How long is he going to protect the Levis line till the reservation is liquidated?

Anonymous said...

I 100% agree..all the tribes that have disenrolled have corrupt councils.

Anonymous said...

Vote out "Crooks" Teresa Nieto & Robert Smith. Without teresa Nieto "tribal treasurer" Robert Smith couldn't get away with a lot. She needs to be voted out this Nov!
Investigate Pala council "Feds" the evidence is there.

Anonymous said...

There is a need for new age treaties again, against these atrocities! There is just to many pirates in our homeland tribes.
Finds means & ways to rid them. Write our own beefed-up imported languages to drive and advance new treaties to push them out or push them back!
Treaties have more seniorty, power, attention in the main stream and worth a look at.

Anonymous said...

Your never gonna be re-enrolled, I'm not trying be funny, i'ts like they just don't care, I have relatives that laugh at everything you write! sorry.

Anonymous said...


(I have relatives that laugh at everything you write! sorry.)

Do you think its funny? or can you read "apple"?


Anonymous said...

Isaid in my first comment, I wasn't trying to be funny,I have relatives in the tribe, They think it's halarious you guys are wasting your time, how long has it been? it's never going to change!No i dont think it's funny OKAY!

Anonymous said...

It is sad that they think this is so funny, I would not laugh at their destruction, because this has destroyed many people. We have lost everything that was on payments, our health care, our homes, our vehicles, even if we were working it is hard when part of your income is completely stopped with no unemployment and no help because we made too much last year. We have been stripped of our heritage and mocked at by people who are supposed to be our people and most are related somehow, blood is not thicker than water. Some of us are much older too, try restarting your life at 60, your credit score has totally disappeared, no one will rent to you, the housing market sucks so our houses are not selling for what we paid, this is total annihilation and it is sad that people think it is funny. What comes around goes around and there will come a day that they will suffer, but we will not laugh because we stood in their shoes. These people laughing are not true Indian nor relatives because the Indian stands for peace, caring of all things of this earth, respect, love of family and tradition. That's okay though because the devil has a very nice place for them to rest their beautiful souls.

'aamokat said...

To anyone who is laughing at us, consider that the tribe passed a law in 2005 outlawing disenrollment but we, the Hunters, were kicked out in 2006 anyway.

So, especially if someone is related to the people who have committed crimes against the tribe, what are the people laughing now going to do if their whole family gets disenrolled?

After all, if they could disenroll us after the new law was in effect, and we committed no offenses against the tribe, what is to stop someone from getting disenrolled if family members have committed offenses against the tribe?

Wouldn't be so funny if it happened to you.

Anonymous said...

OP...u should repost the blog with the letter from the genealogist and how the enrollment committee disregarded his professional findings. I just read it and could not believe his findings and how the council just ignored them and still disenrolled. That shows they just wanted to disenroll no matter what the evidence or truth was. I am not from pechanga and from an outsider or any person with a mind of their own can see something is wrong here. I no longer go to that casino because they are corrupt and I am not giving them my money.i know people that used to go to PALA a lot that no longer do because of what they have done.

Anonymous said...

Then they (Smith, Macarro) hide behind their shield and say "we sovereign." They don't show proof, documentation, nor give any reason, just "We're sovereign." Pueblo v Martinez was about custom and tradition, and that is the ONLY piece of support they have to justify what they have done. Disenrollments are about greed and power, the exact opposite of custom and tradition. All it takes is one Judge, ONE leader of the BIA, ONE leader of the DOI, or ONE member of Congress to stick their neck out against these dictatorships in the United States and take this on, and this travesty will end. Anonymous 9-11, your friends in the tribe who think this is "hilarious" SHOULD be fighting against mark and smith and their crime family instead of snickering and poking fun behind their relatives backs like a bunch of cowards. I dont understand how you can be friends with such cowards, anonymous 9-11???... anonymous 9-11, I'm not impressed by weak people like you at all--your friends are backstabbing family members and you seem to be a quitter as you encourage the DR to stop wasting their time, which means giving up, or saying I quit. I hope as a US citizen, a parent, or a person with any self-dignity at all that you show a little respect to people standing up for what is right on American Soil.

Anonymous said...

People talk nonsense because they don't know the truth about what's really going on. They think we are just complaining because we lost tribal benefits. Just ecause that's all they think about when they think tribal does t mean we all do. Most of us were enrolled way before the casino's and would still fight just as hard if we were wrongfully disenrolled by hatefull, greedy liars. FYI..I am not from Pechanga but one of the "thousands" of disenrolled native's in California. Also if this is about the integrity of the tribe as the chairman's say then WHY ARE ONLY "CASINO TRIBES" DISENROLLING??

Anonymous said...

If these tribes were in the right they would let these disenrolled families go before the B.I.A under the Commissioner of Indian Affairs Delegation of Authority Regarding Tribal Enactments section 18. This would show congress the B.I.A. and the press that this was done with integrity on the tribe’s behalf but to hide behind sovereignty like the mafia pleads the 5th shows the true reason of these crimes. Section 18 does not change anything in a tribe’s constitution or bylaws and customs. What it does is you go before the B.I.A. and the dept of interior and the disenrollment is based on the tribe’s constitution and bylaws. If the disenrollment is true to the tribes’ constitution and bylaws then the B.I.A. Will condone the disenrollment. If the tribal government has illegally disenrolled by their own constitution and bylaws then the B.I.A. and congress void that disenrollment.

Luiseno said...

"If these tribes were in the right they would let these disenrolled families go before the B.I.A under the Commissioner of Indian Affairs Delegation of Authority Regarding Tribal Enactments section 18"

This would be a very easy way to shut us up (if we are wrong). Come on, what the heck are you afraid of, the truth?!

Anonymous said...

If I was disenrolled because I didn't belong or for some legit reason I would be sad but get over it I still have family on the Rez and am part of it but because they stole it from me and disenrolled me illegally I'm pissed and will not stop untill it's resolved so the councils are gonna be putting up with this for their whole lives!

Anonymous said...

That's true the councils of Pala & Pechanga could end this all by letting the BIA review each disenrollment and decide to aprove it or deny it and reinstate. WHAT ARE THE TRIBES AFRAID OF??? If they disenrolled rightfully then we will all go away. Problem solved. If not then the EC's should do the right thing and reinstate.. Although I know that's asking a lot for an EC to do the right thing especially if it doesnt benefit their self serving agenda!! We're all willing to have a third party judge this. ARE YOU!! Robert & Mark!

Anonymous said...

It's only a matter of time before all these disenrollments bring the attention of some government agencies or people. So beware crooked councils. To all the tribal members that didn't step up when they could to defend their fellow tribal members lets hope and prey this doesn't effect the CASINOS!! Let's hope what these lying, theiving, crooked executive councils have done just effects them and the tribe finances and not the CASINO business aspect. If it does you can only blame yourself!! PALA HAS A CHANCE TO STOP THIS IN NOVEMBER BY VOTING OUT ROBERT SMITH & TERESA NIETO BEFORE IT GOES ANY FARTHER, and outside sources get involved. This is our chance PALA let's save the tribe...the people are the tribe! VOTE NO ROBERT SMITH & TERESA NIETO THIS NOVEMBER!!! The Margarita Britten clan won't be the last it could be your family or mine. I know how I'm voting!

Anonymous said...

It's only a matter of time before all these disenrollments bring the attention of some government agencies or people. Well Mary Bono Mack, Darrell Isa, Ken Calvert or is the stolen money worth more than civil rights. Is being a congress person all bought money or is to protect the rights of the people and up holed the law.

Anonymous said...

If you type Temculapatch in your search box they have a story on disenrollment. Mark Macarro is the poster boy for corrupt Indian government.

Anonymous said...

What is the role of the BIA?

I thought it was their job to oversee each tribe and make sure that every Federally recognized tribe have a constitution and bylaws that they follow.

If the tribes' own rules are not followed, ie...disenrolling in 2006when 2005 was the cut off, the BIA could step in and change that.

When does the BIA step in?

URBAN NATIVE said...

Mark Macarro is an Idiot and his days are numbered. Karma is about to get him real good. ... Do not laugh at someone's destruction, lest you will be the one who falls....And Yes, Pechanga blog is right! Our government needs to do its job and stand up for the weak and defenseless!~ And these are straight up Moral Codes that do need too be upheld.!
correct!!
1. Eliminate funding for tribes who violate the rights of their people.
2. No longer take land into trust for abusive tribes
3. Place enforcement actions into the Indian Civil Rights Act

What Indian Country Needs a is Native Mafia. And The "Uprising" is about to come...:D! And all you Naysayers". Can go suck your chairman's Balls. We are the next Generation and we Will not Stop and Won't stop fighting Corruption. ..wow! I sound like superhero!...Long live Pechanga and its followers and long live Native Justice. A new day is coming! ...Do not Die on your knees, sucking your tribals chairman balls fight brothers!!