Indigenous Belonging & Tribal Citizenship Resolution Circulating Through NCAI

 Indigenous Attorney Gabriel Galanda of the prestigious Galanda Broadman law firm had this message on his twitter feed.   Let's hope for some good discussion, and resolution the recognizes the abuse of over 11,000 living Native Americans.

Remember, SOVEREIGN RIGHT does not make the action right.

@NCAI Indigenous Belonging & Tribal Citizenship Resolution now in circulation. Supporters thus far:

Former NCAI President Ron Allen
Robinson Rancheria
National Urban Indian Family Coalition @janeencomenote
UC Boulder's First Peoples Worldwide
Arizona Law's @iplp@ProfEagleWoman

— Gabe Galanda, Indigenous Rights Lawyer (@NDNlawyer) October 19, 2020

PAMUNKEY Tribe of VA: SOVEREIGNTY GIVES US THE RIGHT TO BE RACIST

 

Should we ignore the racism of the Pamunkey Tribe of Virginia because of tribal sovereignty?  Should we accept it because of "tribal sovereignty"  This is a story not told and I'm sorry I'm just learning more of it.  The Richmond Free Press did the deep dive. My own tribe, Pechanga took my black cousins out of the tribal school, but I don't believe it was racism, just greed.

The exposure of the tribe’s racist past is largely the work of 30-year-old Essex County resident Jasmine N. Anderson, who has spent more than five years quietly working to gain recognition for herself and her relatives. They are members of the Dungee family that was banished from the tribe between 1865 and 1871 after a member opened a free school for newly freed slaves near the reservation.

“I have undisputed, direct ancestral ties to four Pamunkey Indian lines,” Ms. Anderson said.

That includes her six-times great-grandfather, Joseph Dungee Jr., and his brother, Jesse Dungee (also spelled Dungey and Dungy), a farmer and minister who represented King William County in the General Assembly from 1871 to 1873, and gained recognition as both a Pamunkey and as an African-American legislator.

President Trump SUPPORTS Federal Recognition of the LUMBEE TRIBE of North Carolina

 President Donald Trump released a statement indicating his support for full federal recognition of the Lumbee Tribe in southeastern North Carolina.

“As President, I am committed to looking out for the needs of every American, including those of Native American heritage.  For more than a century, the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina has sought federal recognition, but has been met with indifference and red tape,” Trump’s statement reads. 

 

The president said he supported S.1368, the Lumbee Recognition Act, a bill sponsored by Sen. Richard Burr and Sen. Thom Tillis to extend services and benefits provided to members of the recognized tribes.

“After consultation with Sen. Thom Tillis, Rep. Dan Bishop, and other members of the North Carolina congressional delegation, I am announcing my full support for S.1368, the Lumbee Recognition Act, which would make qualifying members of the Lumbee Tribe eligible for the services and benefits provided to members of federally recognized tribes,” Trump’s statement continued. “Lumbee Nation is forgotten no more!”

Members of the tribe residing in Robeson, Cumberland, Hoke, and Scotland counties would be deemed eligible within the delivery area for the federal services.

Covid 19: Tribal Sovereignty Allows Casino Tribes to Withhold Information on Covid 19 Contact Tracing Leaving Patrons without

When CA tribal Casinos opened up against the wishes of Gov. Gavin Newsom. Tribes put their concerns for cash, over the health and safety concerns of CA's health experts.  

Since the casinos reopened, San Diego county public health officials say 112 employees and 196 patrons with confirmed COVID-19 diagnoses visited a local casino within 14 days of their illness. The 308 cases are as of Oct. 5 and include three people who died.

From a report by KFMB news San Diego  but here is a video on how Coronavirus (COVID 19) attacks our bodies

Joe Biden, Kamala Harris Both Accept APARTHEID Tribal Nation Leader's Endorsement PECHANGA

 Mr. Biden, DO YOU DENOUNCE the APARTHEID system that your endorser, Mark Macarro of the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians oversees in Temecula CA?

                     Agencies photo

ANSWERL  NO

We've posted many times on Kamala Harris NOT being good for Indian Country  

It's funny that since 2016 Presidential campaign, our current President has denounced whit supremacy, yet not one media outlet will ask the simple question to Biden or Harris.  "WHY do you think APARTHEID is okay in America?"

Sovereign right doesn't MAKE it RIGHT.  Otherwise, the Untied State would never have interfered in the sovereign nation of South Africa's right to have an apartheid system.

If you don't think it's APARTHEID and Segregation in CA... what would you call it?

Saginaw Chippewa Disenrolled Say DOI VIOLATED FEDERAL LAW..

 

Thank you to Law 360 for providing the details  and all should subscribe and follow..

Law360 (October 15, 2020, 8:13 PM EDT) -- Disenrolled members of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan have asked a D.C. federal court to restore their status in the tribe, alleging U.S. Department of the Interior officials violated federal law by refusing to step in to protect their rights.

Julia Cavazos and dozens of other disenrolled members of the Saginaw Chippewa tribe in their complaint Wednesday challenged a Jan. 30 decision by Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Tara Katuk Sweeney, in which Sweeney said the DOI didn't have the authority to help resolve the membership dispute.

The ex-members claim they were all disenrolled from the tribe between 2016 and 2017 and cut off from receiving tribal services and cash payments owed under the 1986 Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan Distribution of Judgment Funds Act, which established an investment fund for tribal members to settle land claims against the federal government.

The Judgment Funds Act, or JFA, has a provision that bars the tribe from discriminating against members like the plaintiffs who are descendants of the Swan Creek, Black River and Saginaw Bands of Chippewa Indians and whose families had previously been denied membership in the tribe, according to the complaint.

Win River Casino Tribe, the Redding Rancheria Looking for New General Manager to Replace GARY HAYWARD

Now former GM Gary Hayward of the Redding Rancheria's Win River Casino has be relived of duty because of a "domestic violence" issue.  Sadly, his arraignment and charges will be out on local news soon.

Sources say other information has been found during Hayward's absence. We expect that will be detailed to tribal members soon.

Gary Hayward is grand nephew of Barbara Mruphy,  one of the architects of the Foreman family disenrollment circa 2004.

President Trump SIGNS SAVANNA's ACT! And the Not Invisible Act IT IS NOW LAW

Statement from the Press Secretary Regarding the Signing of Savanna’s Act and the Not Invisible Act

President Donald J. Trump was the first president to formally recognize the tragedy of Missing and Murdered Native Americans, when he issued a Proclamation in May of 2019 drawing attention to this issue. Today, he proudly signed into law S. 227, Savanna’s Act, which directs the Department of Justice to develop law enforcement protocols to address the issue, and S. 982, the Not Invisible Act of 2019, which directs the Department of the Interior and the Department of Justice to establish a joint commission on violent crime within and against the Native American community. These two bills reinforce many actions the President has already undertaken to fulfill his promise that Missing and Murdered Native Americans are no longer forgotten.

 One study found that Native American women in certain tribal communities are ten times more likely to be murdered than the average American.

Choctaw and Chickasaw Freedmen Still Suffering Racism from Tribal Hands. Confederacy Lives On..

 

All my blog life, I have supported the Cherokee Freedmen in their quest for justice, both tribal and racial.  I have marched together with Creek Freedmen. This weekend, the Choctaw and Chickasaw Freedmen have come with an outstanding response the the Choctaw Nation's "Guide to McGirt v, Oklahoma" which omits their racist history.

I remind my readers, that when you read stories on the "Trail of Tears", you rarely if EVER hear about the black slaves the Cherokee dragged on that trail..as PROPERTY  Former Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chad Smith once claimed their "slaves were well treated" 

The Choctaw and Chickasaw Freedmen HAVE their response:

First of all, in the official guide, the authors state that “If people who were not Choctaw tribal members respected Choctaw laws, they could visit the Choctaw Nation, work there, or even become Choctaw citizens,” in post-Removal Indian Territory.

This statement holds true if the individual in question was white or non-Black from another Indigenous tribe. However, Black people (both of Choctaw heritage and devoid of Choctaw heritage) were specifically barred from living in the Choctaw Nation boundaries if they were free.

REDLINING 1847 style:
The 1847 Choctaw Constitution specifically stated that “no free negro, or any part negro, unconnected with Choctaw and Chickasaw blood, shall be permitted to come and settle in the Choctaw Nation.”

So, could “people who were not Choctaw tribal members respected Choctaw laws” “visit the Choctaw Nation, work there, or even become Choctaw citizens?” Well, they definitely COULD NOT if they were Black. In fact, in doing so, they risked arrest and re-enslavement.

Think Lincoln FREED THE SLAVES?   THINK AGAIN...  but the Choctaw and Chickasaw were CONFEDERATES.... their Freedmen fought on AMERICA's side.

Continue owning slaves of African descent. The Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations continued to practice slavery within their territories up until 1866–even after they LOST in the Civil War along with others in THE CONFEDERACY. 

Please go to this link to read the full article  which was put together from a Twitter thread...

Disenrollment Leads to Desperation, Violence and Murder in Indian Country

 Ray has a new book out on the 2014 disenrollment murders by Cherie Rhodes of the Cedarville Rancheria in Alturas.   Our friends at Indianz .com have some details and the book is available on Amazon  

In his article Tribal Disenrollment and Political Violence: Kenneth Hansen PhD was a Witness for the Defense of The Cedarville Rancheria Murderer details how the disgraceful actions of disenrollment led to the killings.

The term used at Ms. Rhodes’ murder trial was banishment. However, to me banishment denotes a temporary condition, even if someone is banished for a lengthy period of time. Ms. Rhodes and her son were by definition disenrolled, as they lost all privileges of tribal citizenship, including personal and real property rights, political rights, association, as well as due process, permanently. For all intents and purposes they were terminated and dismembered from the tribe and the tribal community. This followed on the heels of a recall effort mounted against Ms. Rhodes and her son, who had served as tribal chair and vice chair, respectively, amid embezzlement allegations put forth by her brother, Rurik Davis. Davis would be her first victim, and was killed instantly by a bullet between the eyes...

Cherie Rhodes was found GUILTY on all counts in December 2016.

NOOKSACK: Briefs are out in the Doucette vs Dept. of Interior

 



Doucette claims the BIA acted improperly (THEM? who would believe that? oh yea, THOUSANDS of us)   BIA says, what's a little quid pro quo amongst friends

The estimable Turtle Talk Blog has the briefs of the case we wrote about in 2017

US says:  Even if the Tribe’s attorney was encouraging the Department to

act more quickly in order to benefit third parties in another lawsuit that

fact does not make his communications with the Department improper

or otherwise undermine the propriety of the Department’s decision to

recognize the Council

Doucette says:   THE DISTRICT COURT ERRED BY NOT REQUIRING INTERIOR TO PRODUCE THE WHOLE ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD. “The whole administrative record,” as per 5 U.S.C. § 706, “is not necessarily those documents that the agency has compiled and submitted as the administrative record. The whole administrative record . . . consists of all documents and materials directly or indirectly considered by agency decision-makers and includes evidence contrary to the agency’s position.” Thompson v. United States Dep’t of Labor, 885 F.2d 551, 555 (9th Cir. 1989) (emphasis in original; citations omitted); see also Bar MK Ranches v. Yuetter, 994 F.2d 735, 739 (10th Cir.1993) (“The complete administrative record consists of all documents and materials directly or indirectly considered by the agency.”). The critical inquiry is what was before the decisionmaker “at the time of the decision.”9 Thompson, 885 F.2d at 555. Lobbyist Porter’s dogged requests that Interior aid his clients in Rabang I by March 9, 2018, were directly or indirectly before PDAS Tahsuda at the time of his decision on that very same day. ER 0096-0108, 0159.