Friday, November 2, 2012

San Pasqual Desendents Seek Recognition.

Shonta Chaloux, 38, grew up on the San Pasqual Indian Reservation. He has served in tribal administrative positions and is a descendant of San Pasqual people — but he is not a formal member of the tribe. Chaloux is one of about 150 people, often called “lineals,” who were born to tribal members but don’t have sufficient “blood of the band” to belong in the tribe. San Pasqual laws say that only people with one-eighth San Pasqual Indian blood can be enrolled.

 The 200-member San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians owns the Valley View Casino and Hotel in Valley Center. Membership in the tribe means people are eligible to vote in tribal elections, run for tribal office and receive tribal benefits, including casino stipends of about $8,000 a month.

 Chaloux, who prefers to be called a “direct descendant” rather than lineal (a term he considers derogatory), said what matters to him is having a voice in his tribe’s affairs. “Imagine being a part of a city and a community for so many years and walking into a city hall meeting because something is going to affect your neighborhood and they tell you, ‘you can’t come in,’” Chaloux said. “Your vote, your voice don’t matter. You’re an illegal. That’s essentially what they are telling us.” With the help and financial assistance of some enrolled tribal members, Chaloux and others like him have hired a lawyer to help them gather documents and enroll in the tribe. They say that errors in the records have caused their blood status to be calculated incorrectly.

 If those errors are corrected, many of the group will be eligible to be admitted into the tribe, Chaloux said. Disputes about who belongs in American Indian tribes have gained much attention recently, but many of the disputes have been going on for years, even decades. They often trace their roots to incomplete and inconsistent records kept by tribes and the federal government. In San Pasqual, the group that wants into the tribe says that records have been manipulated to enroll some individuals and exclude others.

 Huumaay Quiquis, an enrolled San Pasqual tribal member, is helping the group in their efforts. He and others say that the tribe’s chairman, Allen Lawson, does not belong in San Pasqual but has helped other families enroll. Last year, Quisquis filed an enrollment challenge with the tribe’s enrollment committee, saying the chairman and his family are the descendants of people who were not from San Pasqual and should be removed from the tribe.

 The enrollment challenge, signed by Quisquis and nine other tribal members, alleges that Lawson is the descendant of Frank Trask, a white man who was hired to be caretaker of the San Pasqual reservation in 1910, and his wife, Leonora LaChappa, an Indian woman from the Mesa Grande tribe. Lawson declined a request for an interview. “That’s their opinion, and they have a right to speak,” Lawson said regarding the enrollment challenge. “I have nothing to say about it.” Quisquis said the enrollment committee told him it could do nothing about the challenge because the tribe has a moratorium on all enrollment and disenrollment matters.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Another Chairman who thinks he is God. A moratorium is bull if the blood is there. This will all end soon one way or another. The ECs are going to be facing troubled times no matter what. If the fighting does not stop the Fed Govt will step in and run the Casinos or close them. State govts might elect to legalize gambling. It just cannot continue this way, with all of the greed, the illegal activity, the drunken episodes, the fighting amongst the people even relatives, if it does continue it will ruin the tribes. Maybe all reservations will become non-existent and the people will have to live with the rest of America and like the rest of Americans, after all the Fed Govt owns the land, it is just allotted to the tribes. Makes one wonder who is really behind all of the problems with all of the Gaming tribes. Eventually someone will be caught and they will all begin to fall like dominoes, then we will see who really cares about tradition and culture and the people.

Anonymous said...

In this economy...does anyone know how much the per cap is at Pechanga....I know they used to get upwards of $25,000 a month each, but I hear it has been cut way down....anybody know?...I want to write various congressmen and Senators and want my facts right...is it a secret?...I know San Manuel got over $100,000 a month each before the bad economy...I think it should be public knowledge so players can understand why it is in the best interest of the tribes that players lose.....at least Vegas has a commission that isn't made up of casino owners.

Anonymous said...

ITS A JOKE UP ON THE SAN PASQUAL REZ THOSE LEADERS ON THE COUNCIL ARE ALL CORRUPT. THEY STILL HAVE THE ALTO CASE PENDING.WHICH LOOKS LIKE THERE STILL IN AS TRIBEL MEMBERS.

Anonymous said...

You are all, everything but native american indians, let the indian people a lone, get a life in your own world.

Anonymous said...

Yes...let the corrupt tribes alone,..it's alright that they rip everyone including the State off...they are sovereign...what a joke!...

NativeKarma said...

Excuse me To Interrupt,But, The Natives of Valley Center are REALLY~> MESA GRANDE NATIVES~ Not SAN PASQUAL, The MESA GRANDE INDIANS Who have many problems for the fact, That there in LUISENO TERRITORY Claiming There SAN PASQUAL...There Tribal Chairman from La mesa Grande is a CRAZY White Man named ALLEN Ernest Lawson,Whos not San Pasqual Native, But Miwok and pit river Indian... you all Anonymies, are NO BALL Having and so are your Comments, and there are not Important, Why? for the fact, Many of you "Anonymous",are Scared and Dont post up your REAL NAMES, or your Heads Scalped and exhibited at our local native bead stores. lol,...Finally KARMA! EAT IT.!...thank u have a nice day.

Anonymous said...

Pechanga Blog: The true San Pasqual need your help. We are reaching out to each and every tribe in Southern California to join us in our march and protest against the actions, or inaction, of the Bureau and to try and get Congress to act. Please join us on Sunday, July 13, 2014 at 9:30 a.m. to March from Canal Road to the Tribal Hall. Please see Reztalk on Facebook for more information.