Chairman Bob Foreman, Disenrolled Redding Rancheria Chairman, Remembered,by Grandson

Grandfather/Grandson  Bob & Cam Foreman

My usual June habit is to put up a post honoring the first Tribal Chairman of the Redding Rancheria (after restoration) Bob Foreman who passed Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008. I was on vacation the 1st two weeks of June, during his birthday, but his grandson posted on Facebook.

From Cam Foreman, a Marine Corps Veteran and Grandson of Bob Foreman Sr.

A lot of my friends have asked why I won't go inside Win-River Casino, why I refuse to "Support the Tribe", or affiliate with organizations or groups with Redding Rancheria.

This Man is the reason. He is my Grandfather, Edward Robert Foreman Sr. Affectionately known by his grandchildren as "Papa Bob", an Achumawi Pit River Indian, a United States Navy Veteran and FIRST Tribal Chairman of Redding Rancheria.

Was one of the founders of the California Rural Indian Health Board (CRIHB) which provides health care services to Indians throughout Northern California and opened the first Native American Health Care Clinic in Shasta County. Through his efforts, several Indian health clinics and facilities were opened to serve the Indian community.

He was instrumental in the re-recognition and re-organization of his tribe, Redding Rancheria and was elected its first Tribal Chairman and faithfully served on the tribe’s governing council for 20 years. And with my father, played a major role in opening Win-River Casino.

In 2004 he was disenrolled, kicked out of the Tribe he founded, by the same people he dedicated his life to, for reasons that were based on and proven to be a lie.
The real reason was Greed but those with no Honor will ever admit that. If those that wronged him asked for his forgiveness he wouldn't have hesitated to forgive them either, that's the kind of man he was.

My Grandfather passed in 2008 when I was in Boot Camp, he never saw justice or his name reinstated. He now rests in the Veterans Cemetery in Igo.

REDDING RANCHERIA could END their shame by restoring the family to their rightful place in the tribe.  DNA tests?  Oh, yeah, they ignored the evidence.

AIM So Cal's Statement On "Departure" From AIM NATIONAL

OFFICIAL STATEMENT from AIM So CAL on expulsion from AIM National

Trademark AIM GGC
Please JOIN

AIM SoCal would like to confirm our departure from AIM (American Indian Movement) National, per actions taken by the Grand Governing Council.

We will continue to move forward as an autonomous chapter and are committed to upholding the core values of AIM, which are to foster the spiritual and cultural revival of native peoples in an effort to attain native sovereignty.

We will continue to advocate for indigenous self-determination, collect and deliver supplies for the Dinée and Zuni nations, demand the release of indigenous relatives from unlawful detention, and support stolen Black siblings on stolen land. We will continue to bring awareness to MMIWG2S.

We will continue our work supporting survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. We will continue to work on the removal of racist statues, symbols and logos.

We will continue to dismantle systems of oppression through unity and cooperation, and AIM SoCal will not waiver from this goal.

San Manuel Casino GOES SMOKELESS, and Bar Less.

Good news for those who hate SMOKE FILLED CASINOS
San Manuel Casino will have NO SMOKING on the Casino Floors and
Bars will not be open Drinks will be served at SLOTS and TableGames

ARE Disenrolling Tribes FUDGING the CARES Act Funds Allocation Numbers?

Woke up this morning to a twitter response from a University of Washington Associate Professor answering my query if tribes had to publicly state their populations to get their CARES disbursement. Well, yes and no. But we are finding some interesting facts.  And the traction in Congress on disenrollment may improve

The report from Harvard  HARVARD Dissecting The US Treasury...
 But first here was her quick rundown for us:

In brief, half of CARES $ is based on population; half is based on tribal govt FTE & budgets.  For population, feds aren't using tribal enrollment.  They're using Census data on # of AIAN on a rez or TSA. 

CENSUS DATA?   You mean from people actually LIVING on the reservations? Like say, MY cousins who are disenrolled?  I'm getting a quick head count, but we know not a lot still live on the rez, but MY family does, I think close to 40.  Was there count used?  Isn't that a good question to ask?

Attorney Gabriel Galanda on twitter:  Treasury didn’t like or trust the tribal enrollment numbers they originally requested, so they audibled to service area population data. Made it up as they went.

OP :NO WAY in Hell does Picayune Rancheria have MORE population than Pechanga after disenrolling HALF their tribe: Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians CA $7,991,043 $2,807,598 $5,183,446

Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians CA Treasury HUD enrolled Difference $910,833 $2,863,067 ‐ $1,952,234 We are all working our way through the numbers (don't laugh, I've got experts in the family) and will have more. But the next letter to Steve Mnuchin will be good.

A final thought from Attorney Galanda:  Interesting. If the base enrollment numbers are falsified—say, to include disenrolled members—there’s a federal False Claims Act play to be made against whatever tribal official signed the HUD data submission.

Should be no protection via sovereignty...

Mark Macarro Beclowns Self/Tribe in Interview on CARES ACT

AYFKM?  Read this quote from Mark Macarro in LAW360's article on CARES act disbursements

That strict adherence to population never works well for Indian Country, particularly for California tribes," said Macarro, who said that "one of the ironies" of the pandemic is that his tribe's population has historically been "absolutely decimated by disease."

PECHANGA has been DECIMATED by DISENROLLMENT at the hands of MACARRO and his tribal Council!  25% of Macarro's tribe was wiped out by, NOT DISEASE, but disenrollment this century.
 

Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians tribal chairman Mark Macarro said he and his tribe were "astounded" by the amount of funding specific to tribes in the law but added, "This is probably one of the least clear deliveries of federal dollars that there really ever has been."

Los Angeles Angels Baseball Asked to DROP Pechanga Resort & Casino Sponsorship

Los Angeles Angels Sponsor Pechanga Chairman

Dear Angels Baseball
We ask that you publicly sever your ties to the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians Tribe and investigate the issues detailed below to determine whether sponsorship from tribal gaming is in the best interests of Major League Baseball and the Los Angeles Angels

The recent protests over police violence against African Americans have made many organizations put Black Lives Matter on the front burner. As a sports organization that values diversity, OP asks: Would the Los Angeles Angels support BLM against the ravages of APARTHEID. We think you would, and rightly so. Discrimination in all its forms are abhorrent.

It follows then that Angels Baseball would give the same regard to Native Americans who live under apartheid systems and would not hesitate to support Native Americans suffering from discrimination. Now OP provides the Angels organization the opportunity to make a difference, and help right the wrongs on the reservation of your sponsor, the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians in Temecula.
Throughout Indian Country, thousands of native Americans have had their cultural heritage stripped from them, primarily by gaming tribes. Angels Baseball sponsor, the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians, of Temecula CA, is one of the most egregious civil rights violators in Indian Country.

The Los Angeles Times, LA Weekly and KNBC News have done numerous stories detailing the activities of the tribe, including “Tribal Flush: Pechanga People Disenrolled En Masse.” and “Without a Tribe” reported by Colleen Williams of KNBC. 

- The Pechanga Band has eliminated 25% of its citizenship and denied them due process as well as equal protection under tribal and federal laws, in direct violation of the Indian Civil Rights Act.
- The Tribe stripped elders of their health care benefits and access to the tribal medical clinic.
- The Tribe forcibly removed the children of members from the tribal school.
- The recent disenrollment of 100+ adults and children was especially heinous as the Tribe's governing body had passed a law to repeal disenrollment procedures and make it illegal for the Enrollment Committee to remove members without consensus. Tribal leaders acted in disregard of this law and proceeded to strip members of their citizenship without just cause.

These leaders knowingly violated their own Constitution and the ICRA. Pechanga tribal officials breached their oaths of office, then claimed these illegal actions were protected by sovereign immunity. Sovereignty gives tribes the right of self-determination, but cannot be allowed to justify discrimination or the disregard of inalienable civil rights.

Sports betting is big business, but professional teams must be free of the taint of gambling corruption. Who can trust the results of games when a team accepts sponsorship from a gaming Tribe that deliberately cheated members out of their rightful heritage? We ask that you publicly sever your ties to the Pechanga Tribe and investigate the issues detailed above to determine whether sponsorship from tribal gaming is in the best interests of Major League Baseball. 

 

Pala Casino CRIMEWATCH: Katelyn Schwindt MISSING While At Pala Casino

UPDATE:    LOCATED SAFE.   On Friday, Katelyn Schwindt was located in Escondido in good health and told Escondido police that her being reported missing was a misunderstanding, SDSO said. 

Authorities were seeking the public's help Friday to find a woman who went missing from Pala Casino Spa & Resort in northern San Diego County.

Deputies from the Sheriff's San Marcos station received a call around 10:35 p.m. Thursday regarding a missing person, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. The caller told deputies that Katelyn Schwindt, 27, posted a message on her Facebook page indicating she was at Pala Casino on Wednesday night and she thought she was possibly drugged and assaulted, sheriff's officials said.

Deputies and detectives from the San Marcos station investigated her whereabouts, but were unable to locate her.

Schwindt was described as a 5-foot-5, 135-pound white woman, with brown hair and brown eyes.

:30 Video Sums up Tribal Disenrollment #NativeRightsMatter

From our protest in Sacramento, CA Four years ago.  What's changed? More of our young people are reaching out to help and to grasp at their heritage stolen by the abusers.

Disenrollment has HARMED the HEALTH of Native Americans

All disenrolled elders, who were enrolled in excellent health care provided by their tribes, have lost that and in many cases, they have been put on state taxpayers backs.

CASE IN POINT:

The Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians in California studied its heath care needs for two years, and then enacted a mandatory group coverage policy for tribal members. “This has led to measurable improvement in the physical health of our tribe. Earlier this year, we opened a new exercise facility that contributes to and facilitates the health and wellness of our tribal citizens,” testified Mark Macarro, the band’s chairman, before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Sept. 18.

However, the IRS asked the tribe to demonstrate how the program was “need” based – or it would consider these taxable benefits. OP: Hunters were involved in the development of health insurance for Pechanga members AND were responsible for a health clinic being built on the reservation, NOW they don't qualify for either. There was a need for coverage for the 230 tribal members and another 250 dependents that were terminated! Factors in the tribe felt that others shouldn’t receive their rightful benefits.

“It appears to us that the IRS is interpreting ‘need’ as meaning only ‘financial’ need,” Macarro said. “From our perspective, this makes absolutely no sense. The Pechanga government has stepped in where the federal government has fallen short for our people. … Pechanga has decided not to wait on the federal government to fulfill its trust obligation to our people.” The basic issue is how the IRS interprets its “general welfare” exclusion. Sarah Ingram, the IRS commissioner for Tax Exempt and Government Entities, said there is a difference in the law between those who work for tribes as employers and tribal members. “Where there is no employer involved, the (tax) Code contains no provision that would allow a tribal member who is not a tribal employee to exclude the value of tribally-provided health care coverage.”

OP: There is NO financial need for the tribe to pay for members health care. Not with the $360,000 they are making now that the have cut blood members and relatives from the tribe.

Trahant: There are two ways to fix this mess. Congress could clarify the law (the route the IRS would prefer). Or a “revenue ruling” could easily fix this problem administratively, testified Scott Taylor, a professor of law at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis. He cited other examples of such a governmental exclusion, including the Veterans Administration and Medicare. Taylor is an expert and was a professor-in-residence with the IRS.
Those who decry the under-funding of Indian health could come up with real appropriations and make the system whole.

OP: Exactly. Gaming tribes should be able to pay for health care for tribal members, said members can pay taxes on that health care to their dependents. Tribes who follow their tribal law should be held up as good examples, tribes like Pechanga which don’t should be handled separately, like a true sovereign nation. Don't lump the rich tribes in with the poor. And remember, Pechanga, via their unlawful moratorium and disenrollments, have foisted the health coverage of many onto the states, and they've created MORE poor people.