Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Disenrollment MATTERS, Why YOU Should Care About the Theft of Tribal Heritage and the Crimes Against Indian People

Why YOU Should Care About Disenrollment...


Disenrollment is the purposeful stripping of citizenship and heritage of Native Americans BY Native Americans to steal money, benefits and power.   

Why should we care about disenrollment?

  • If one persons rights are violated, any persons rights are violated.  How many does it take to be wrong?   In this case it's 10,000 who have been harmed.
  • Tribes promised to take care of their people if voters approved gaming. Disenrollments, Banishments, Moratoriums and levels of membership fly in the face of that promise to make the lives of all Indians better.
  • Those tribes also threaten tribal self-governance, giving Indian sovereignty skeptics good reason to believe that tribal governments cannot properly handle membership without outside involvement.
·        It's simply wrong. Sovereignty has become a smokescreen for illegitimate, sometimes unlawful behavior  
·        Shouldn't a Tribal Casino customer think: If Tribes will cheat their own people, won't they cheat me?


Disenrollment untethers a tribal member from his or her ancestral connections. Members are cut off from their cultural identities, religious ceremonies, activities, politics, burials, education and customs. He or she no longer belong to the tribe they were born into. This is the most basic form of isolation and separation  imaginable. It is a life time sentence of imprisonment.

It's been said if good people do nothing, evil people will keep doing it until stopped.  We expect nation leaders to be virtuous, with moral and ethical principles.  These actions of disenrollment, including banishment and moratoriums go against those expectations.

Disenrollment is not the Indian way. It was rarely used by our ancestors, and ONLY in extreme cases. It is being called the new genocide. The destruction of families which is being perpetrated by tribal officials who are elected to protect the rights of their tribal citizens.  Moral & ethical integrity in regards to human rights & the law MATTERS.

American citizens are losing constitutional rights without due process. The fact that they're also Indian shouldn't matter.
Losing constitutional rights inside their tribes or outside of their tribes is wrong.

ICRA was formulated for a reason and should be followed and amended. because what your bringing in is crystal clear. Constitutional rights are being squashed everywhere and that is giving the corrupt band members the feeling no one will say anything to them for breaking internal laws

When we quit fighting for the rights of others, turn the other cheek, refuse to get involved we allow these atrocities to continue. Native Americans have fought hard to obtain and keep what little rights they were given.  Fear is a major contributing factor to why people don't get involved, but what most fail to recognize is that once it has started, it will continue to destroy little by little.

Disenrollment matters,  Council leaders lied to the BIA, lied to the Justice Department.   We have the right and the obligation to hold them accountable for their harmful actions.

People ask what can be done.  As we've written in other posts,  Stop patronizing offending tribe's casinos, hotels, restaurants and their powwows and clubs. Let them know that we do not agree with their system of denying civil rights to their people and until they follow their own tribal law, citizens of our country will NOT support their nation, but will patronize their competitor nations.  Disenrollment matters.

Disenrollment matters, because tribes should NOT benefit from harming their people.  If tribes disenroll en masse, tribes should lose the Federal funding and benefits, including land trusts. The American people are essentially paying tribes who violate the civil and human rights of their people.   Our representatives should shun these tribes.  No attending functions, meetings or concerts.  Use their bully pulpit to fight for the rights of the people that have been beaten by the club of sovereignty.

The Dept. of Interior and the Congress have an obligation and responsibility to uphold and amend the protection our civil rights and to protect tribal members from rogue government's that break tribal laws and constitution's only to fill their pockets with money and political power.


Congress trust responsibility does not end with Chiefs and Chairman, it extends to all native people   Have you ever wondered why Congress only provided ten civil rights and those were based on criminality, yet they made American Indians citizens of the United States, limiting their protection? 

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

There is the truth, and the dysfunction that is being broadcast inside and outside the band is not tolerable by our Ancestors and will not be tolerated by "ALL" band members today. Either the greedy, lying, Bad Actors can keep shredding the Sovereignty shield, or they could look and see how they would feel if they were the ones being forced to accept greed and lies over truth and prosperity.

Anonymous said...

Well said!

Anonymous said...

The truth also is the Bad Actors liars club may get the exact treatment broadcast back at them from the outside. Once someone sees the truth over lies it's hard to get a crystal clear picture when you broadcast yourself as the story maker. The story was created before your liars club wanted to broadcast the lies and try to justify them. the truth is the truth and lies are lies always and forever.

Anonymous said...

CA Tribe OPPOSES Pechanga's Water Rights Bill As Written



The Chairman of Enterprise No.1, Robert Edwards has written a letter opposing Pechanga's Water Rights bill H.R. 5413. As individual citizens, you can do the same and send them to: camillecalimlim@mail.house.gov


Indians of Enterprise No.1
Robert Edwards, Chairman
P.O. 11
Paradise, CA 95967
Phone (530) 228-4910

September 29, 2010

To the attention of the Subcommittee on Water and Power
Testimony in Opposition to HR5413 - The Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians Water Rights Settlement Act of 2010

Dear Committee Members:

It is the desire of my tribe to strongly oppose HR5413 on the grounds that as currently drafted it fails to protect the rights of all Temecula Indians.

We request that the Subcommittee on Water and Power oppose this act until such a time as the appropriate amendments are made in order to assure the rights of all allottees.

Further, it is not appropriate that Pechanga tribal officials negotiate or represent allottees without their knowledge or consent. All allottees with water rights in this matter must be protected by representation that will look out for their best interests. That representation is misplaced in the hands of Pechanga tribal officials who have repeatedly stripped their tribal members and former tribal members of their most basic rights.

We respectfully request that the Subcommittee on Water and Power defeat HR5413 until it is amended to include reference to the Temecula Band and/or Indians in order to protect the rights of all Temecula Indians.

Sincerely,

Robert Edwards, Chairman
Indians of Enterprise No.1

Thank you Chairman Edwards for your support in opposition to HR5413

Anonymous said...

The Indian civil rights was written to protect "Indians" .

The U.S should enforce a law that they wrote..(plain and simple) to protect victims?

Anonymous said...

The truth is more enforceable than the lies. The Bad Actors want to be State and Federally recognized, and allowed to run internally. The sad part is the Bad Actors need to recognize "ALL" Just like they want to be recognized. If they can't recognize within, why should they be recognized by the outside? Why should the Bad Actors have more rights inside and outside the Band? The questions are there for "ALL" to see. No One is more deserving than anyone else, but the Bad Actors wanted to broadcast their lies to everyone inside and out. Must be your learning experience and are you ready for the truth to correct the mistakes, or should the Bad Actors correct it so the outside can see everyone is protected inside and outside? Your Ancestors created the Band, don't try and change that for greedy, corrupt behavior. Your children and ours deserve better.

Luiseno said...

I wish to thank you Chairman Edwards for your wonderfully articulated letter. I will have to admit that it brought tears of joy when I read it.

Kenneth Hansen said...

Civil rights are rights that government must provide and protect. The BIA, the Justice Dept, tribal governments under the Indian Civil Rights Act (including those that have it in their constitutions) are all negligent and derelict in their duties to protect people from these crimes.

Anonymous said...

If Pechanga failed to follow their Constitution, shouldn't the BIA or NIGA respond?

Anonymous said...

The Bad Actors should protect "ALL" rights and become free from the Bad Actors club. Lies will only get uncertain avenues of justice. What's even worse is the Bad actors can't stop those Avenues from being built in "ALL" nations once the roads start. Correct from within, or allow the rights to be protected from outside, just like you want your rights protected, right Mark.

Anonymous said...

To the Bad Actors if you cant honor "ALL" rights why should yours be honored or protected? Our Ancestors had to go through uncertain times from the outside, why allow the same actions inside the Band and the outside a chance to chip the sovereignty shield for "ALL" nations. If the Actions you do to others come back to you, you brought them yourself.

Anonymous said...

Can you please explain why Congress chose to give American Indians only 10 civil rights 42 years after making them American Citizens.
I see those 10 basic rights are for basic criminality protections. There is nothing there that makes the tribal government officials even slightly responsible for failure to protect the rights of their members.

Very nice article.. It does make one think about what it means to lose my identity and that is what this cultural stripping is ... Identity Theft.

Anonymous said...

As it's been explained to me by a tribal elder those rights where to protect American Indians from outside acts as and the creator never thought their civil rights would be violated from within a nation, band. Today however they Bad Actors are changing the thinking and the measures being discussed would effect "ALL" tribal sovereignty. The real truth is, no one in any nation would want a corrupt group of liars stripping others thinking it's ok. Our Ancestors where recognized, that's what made the Bands recognized. No one is more than anyone else, that's what the Bad Actors are lying about. The Bands don't always agree with the Bad Actors so they think stripping them of there rights and pushing them around is OK. What they forget is that's what created the reserves, our Ancestors faced that by others thinking they didn't have rights. Sad the Bad Actors think its ok to do it again from inside.

Anonymous said...

Now over 200 Band members kicked out of the band and recognition stripped so the others can say we don't recognize you. Would you really be here and have what you have if our Ancestors acted they way you do? Would the reserve be here if our Ancestors who gave recorded depositions lied or practiced apartheid acts with each other? The current band had a time to stop the greed behavior and allow "ALL" to follow custom and tradition and move forward. Instead the Bad Actors are trying to ignore historical facts and recreate to justify their Indian recognition justification. Apple farming at it's best.

Anonymous said...

On July 22, 2014, Luiseno responded to a letter written Sept 10, 2010. What??? He thanked Chairman (NOT !) Edwards for a wonderfully articulated letter. Luiseno what do you put in your Kool-Aid? Fact #1, this person is not a chairman of anything. Fact #2, this was written by Kandi Edwards. Fact#3,There is no Enterprise 1. Fact #4, I was one of the members that was disenrolled because I believed what I was being told.Fact#5,He was trying to over throw the Tribal Council at that time. Fact#6 His Greed to be the CHAIRMAN got a lot of trusting members disenrolled. Fact#7, To this day he is using the term "my tribe", there is no tribe in which he is a CHAIRMAN !! Fact#8, All he did was take sixty some members OVER A STEEP CLIFF.

Anonymous said...

I am one of many who now finds themselves removed from their tribe. I believed what I was being told by people I trusted. Their lies and trying to change our tribal council with false statements got us kicked out. Many of us were new to the tribe and just trusted blindly. What really bothers me is that those who lied to us now say they (We) are a new tribe. How can that be? This is not how you become a tribe and to make yourself Chairman. Smells in Paradise !