Wednesday, January 6, 2016

NOOKSACK Tribal Council SUSPENDS Election, Disenfranchising Voters In Tyrannical Move To Control Power

Word is coming from the Nooksack people that the Bob Kelly led tribal council is acting outside the tribal constitution and postponing their upcoming elections. Do they need to have Jimmy Carter as an observer to make sure elections are on the up and up?

The Nooksack tribal council passed an election ordinance that would change voting to absentee only.  This would allow them to control who receives ballots.  Apparently, not all council members are being included in council meetings.  Sources say that tribal council members Nadene Rapada and Carmen Tageant have been excluded from meetings.

This smacks of fascism in its truest sense. Not allowing all elected representatives of the tribe to have their say.  So, then, what is the Kelly faction of the council looking to accomplish? Complete exclusion of a voting bloc, and control of the council via exclusion of opposition?

Does Senator Maria Cantwell, ( @SenatorCantwell ) who is on the Senate Indian Affairs Committee have any idea what's going on in her state?

The tribe has recently filed suit to keep those whose disenrollment is pending, from voting.  This is essentially forcing a sentence on those who have not been adjudicated.  The rights of tribal citizens STRIPPED before a final decision is determined.

A GOOD tribal council would ensure that ALL tribal members have all their rights.  This corrupt council seems to working on just the opposite.  Is it any wonder that one of the tribal casinos closed?  Incompetence and spending an inordinate amount  of time working to abuse the rights of many of their people is not what self reliance means.

And acting outside their constitution should allow the federal government to come into the fray. Tribal sovereignty wielded as a club to beat the weak and powerless is abhorrent.  It also looks like any recall petitions can be STOPPED by the very council members who would be subject to that recall.

The BIA should READ it's OWN manual:    

When enrollees lose their membership they also lose their right to share in the distribution of tribal assets. Since the Secretary is responsible for distribution of trust assets to tribal members, disenrollment actions are subject to approval by the Secretary or his authorized representatives. Any person whose disenrollment has been approved by the Area Director acting under delegated authority may appeal the adverse decision as provided in 25 C.F.R. § 2.”

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds like the same thing that Robert Smith did in the Pala issue.
Did someone publish a handbook on how to get away with disenrolling True Native Americans from their Tribes and getting away with it?
Its time to revert back to the old school days and get these so called leaders one at a time and beat the living shit out of them.
To many people getting hurt and to many people not caring enough to take a stance and stand up to them, and thats the reason that they are getting away with this kind of bullshit.

Anonymous said...

That BOB Kelly dude looks like an old used up pussy who's only purpose is to be used as a pee hole for some old lady. And the Tribal Members are scared of this used up lip flapper.

Anonymous said...

Don't tribes still need permits to build at their casinos? I hear Robert Smith is building the RV park with no permits or environmental reports...how does he get away with that in San Dirgo?

Anonymous said...

Robert gets away with it because he has Bonnie Dumamis in his back pocket and then of course Shasta is his EPA person and who knows what she hands in paper wise, there are no checks and balances. The whole mess started with Howard Dickstein, who was a young lawyer that pitched a tent at Wounded Knee and said he was there to help natives. Lots of things have happened since then. He was the main lawyer to help get Casinos for tribes where his wife (current president of AARP) was a lobbyist then, many other secretive things were going on and he got powerful very fast. There are many unsettling connections. He was or still is the silent lawyer for many tribes and every single one of them has disenrolled legitimate members.

Anonymous said...

Bob Kelly is the worst kind of person. Karma comes around.

Anonymous said...

Just a friendly note.
Word has it that Robert Smith is trying to find a way to explain why he didn't obtain the permits nessesary to build the RV park.
He is shifting the blame around and even blames the contractor that won the bid.
However the contractor is saying that the Tribe is supposed to obtain all permits as stated in the contract by the Tribe.
Cal Trans is looking into the issue.

Anonymous said...

Isn't there a recent ruling where non-Indian businesses cannot sue Tribal entities because of sovereignty? If so, no one is going to want to do business with Indian tribes that are known to be shifty. I would not do business with Robert Smith, he is the shiftiest. Look at him blaming someone else that he just started doing business with. He either claims sovereignty or points a finger towards anyone else but himself. He blamed the other EC members for the disenrollment, claiming that he did not vote against us, but he had no control over Theresa, Dion, and Leroy.

Reinstatement_Restitution said...

The Nooksack Casino has been closed by NIGC. They are trying to disenroll 306 people. The tribe's elected officers are guilty of mismanagement. They should be fired, meaning not re-elected. That is why they have suspended elections. They want to change the process so that they don't lose their positions. Until the Casino reopens they will have to rely on government aid. The elected officers will get paid, but the members won't. I hope they understand the implications of allowing the tribal officers to change the election process. It is basically a dismantling of the democratic process.

Pala Elder said...

Whatever happened to the Customs and Traditions of these Tribes. The Customs and Traditions are the reason that we still exist today.
So many problems could be solved if these were still a part of the Indian ways. However it seems more important to Tribal Leaders to become corrupt and steal every dollar that they can from the Tribal Members, and nothing is being done to stop them.
The Federal Government is just sitting back and laughing at us for being so stupid and allowing this to take place.
The Government is not going to help any of us because its not there problem.
The real problem is the Tribal Members themselves are the ones responsible for this this corruption of today.
The Tribal Members are the ones that can end this here and now.
BUT we are afraid to defend the Customs and Traditions of our people
because of the money that the EC's hold out there and wave it in our faces every month.
It seems that every teaching and belief that was taught to us by our Ancestors is over come by a per capita check.
So the Tribal Members are just as guilty as anyone else for allowing this to happen to our own family's and friends.
Yes the money is very nice, but what happens when it's all gone and there is nothing left but an old boarded up building that used to be a billion dollar Casino, and the so called Tribal Leaders are living like Kings and Queens in a different country spending all of your money. This could become a reality people, is that OK with you?
Or are you ready to defend the Customs and Traditions of our Ancestors
and stand up to the corrupt Tribal Leaders and stop this before it's all gone.