Monday, October 31, 2016

Andrew Masiel, Pechanga's Civil Rights Abuser & Disenroller Democrat Candidate FOR State Assembly

Are Democrats scraping the bottom of the barrel for candidates with Andrew Masiel?

I noticed that readers were coming to my blog looking at a post about former Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians Tribal Council Member Andrew Masiel Sr.  It was an unusually high number, so it set my curiosity meter off.   Masiel Sr. is the Democratic candidate for State Assembly.  Count me as #NEVERMASIEL

STATE ASSEMBLY MEMBER DISTRICT 75

ANDREW MASIEL SR. Democratic
43152 CALLE VENTURA
TEMECULA, CA 92592
(951) 676-5310 (Business)
E-MAIL: laisewoconsulting@gmail.com
Business Consultant
Andrew Masiel Sr.
Democrat
Has he and the Democrats NO SHAME?  

The man who led the fight to disenroll HUNDREDS of Native Americans from his own tribe, leaving them outcasts on their own reservation, now under APARTHEID.

He didn't have the decency to look out for his own people,  recuse himself from sitting in judgement of his mother and aunt's decisions,  or even show up on time to our appeals hearings, now wants OUR support and votes for CA state assembly against Marie Waldron?  NOTE:  THIS IS NOT A PRO-WALDRON post, it is ANTI-Masiel.

Here are some of his disqualifications:

Saturday, October 29, 2016

Saginaw Chippewa Tribe: We DON'T NEED NO STINKIN' Tribal Judge Patrick Shannon TELLING US.....GET OUT YOU SICK and OLD people Says Tribe

Sovereignty, being wielded like a CLUB to beat the weak and infirm at Saginaw Chippewa.   The Morning Sun News reports on the INJUSTICE from :

CHAIRMAN CLOUTIER is
SCUM

Gloria Narvais is terrified of what the future holds, and she isn’t alone.

Narvais, Kim Fisher, Sara Starkey, Angela Gomez and other descendants of the Fisher-Ortiz family were disenrolled by the Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Council at a meeting Tuesday - prior to when a Tribal judge was to rule on motions in a lawsuit filed by Ortiz descendants about disenrollment.  Add the SOARING EAGLE CASINO to one of the tribal casinos to avoid.

THANK GOODNESS for OBAMACARE:

Narvais, Fisher and Starkey all have serious health issues but no longer have access to the Nimkee Wellness Center, the physicians who treated them and the medical insurance provided by the Tribe.
Sitting in a Mt. Pleasant restaurant Friday, Narvais, who carries an oxygen tank to treat her interstitial lung disease, struggled to explain her feelings.

MONEY QUOTE:  But Tribal members who might sympathise with the group won’t criticize Tribal Council because “they’re afraid they’ll be next,” Fisher said.
Starkey, who is afraid she’ll have to give up her home, is at times stoic about her plight.

“I came into this world with nothing and I will leave with nothing,” she said. “I will make it through.”

RISE UP against this injustice

RAY HALBRITTER, Indian Country Today Owner, WHO BULLDOZED his FAMILY's HOMES...STAND with .....STANDING ROCK? PLEASE

We've posted some articles on some tribes that STAND With Standing Rock in their fight against oil companies tearing up sacred sites, while actually HARMING their OWN people, via disenrollment, evictions.  Redding Rancheria even FORCED a family to DIG up their relative....NOW...RAY HALBRITTER, owner of Indian Country Today, and, who decimated his own family.....using BULLDOZERS similar to those at Standing Rock...
HEY! Let's BULLDOZE my FAMILY!

Oneida Indian Nation Representative Ray Halbritter arrived at the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in North Dakota this morning, demonstrating the Nation's support for those who have been bravely standing on the front lines of the Dakota Access Pipeline conflict. Halbritter, on behalf of the Oneida Nation, will also deliver recording devices to protestors, empowering them to protect their freedoms through documentation of their treatment and to broadcast the dispute’s often shocking daily events for the world to see.
The Standing Rock Indian Reservation has been at the center of the battle over the 1,172-mile Dakota Access Pipeline, since it would endanger the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s water supplies and sacred sites as the tribe was not properly consulted on the route.  
RAY's FAMILY wasn't properly consulted on the destruction of THEIR HOMES...



SHAMEFUL, RAY

Friday, October 28, 2016

Nooksack REFUSES to Allow Tribal Member Deborah Alexander to Run for Council: Time to PULL Federal Monies?

BIA ruling doesn't mean NOTHING to NOOKSACK.  Why should it if they didn't accept the court rulings?   The BIA already ruled that ALL actions taken by unconstitutional council after March 24 are INVALID.  That would include disenrollments.


See the VIDEO HERE  showing KATRICE ROMERO refusing to give paperwork to Deborah Alexander, which would allow her to run for Nooksack council.

We reported on Lawrence Roberts decision excerpted here.  And you can read more about Disenrollment at the links below:

Read the ICT article on NOOKSACK here
CA Tribal Cleansing
TRIBAL TERRORISM includes Banishment
Nooksack Disenrollment




Thursday, October 27, 2016

Rep. RAUL GRIJALVA SUPPORTS Pechanga THEFT of Water Rights for Swimming Pools

In a recent report to congress on Native American Water Rights, Rep. Raul Grijalva discussed the Republicans in the House Resources committee not passing water settlement bills.  He compares the Blackfeet water bill, needed for irrigation and drinking, to the Pechanga bill, which is needed for new casino swimming pools.

Apparently Rep. Grijalva isn't paying attention to what Pechanga is doing, or is complicit.

Read these articles to learn MORE
Pechanga Water Bill Cheat Allottees of Reservation
BIA and DOI NEGLIGENT in Water Rights Bill
Letter to House Nat Resources on Pechanga Water Bill
Temecula Indians in DC to OPPOSE Pechanga Water Bill
BIA Director Dutschke RECOGNIZES Trust Responsibility

PAY ATTENTION RAUL:
The Department of the Interior recognizes that allottees have water rights on allotted lands and that the United States has a trust responsibility, independent of any responsibility to the Pechanga Band, to protect those interests.
The Department is currently reviewing the proposed settlement legislation and its effect on allottees within the Reservation.

Please remember that the Hunter family is one of the few original allottees to maintain their land on the reservation.  We have homes on the original 20 acres we were allotted in 1895.  We were part of the Temecula Band of Luiseno Indians, which somehow disappeared and became the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians, which has FEW allottees in the tribe. 

Stop comparing Pechanga to much needed water bills elsewhere..you're embarrassing yourself.  We have concerns, having had our tribal citizenship terminated by the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians.  Many of our family reside on an original Pechanga allotment of land granted to us by President McKinley.

We believe that no entity that participates in, supports, or otherwise partakes in human and/or civil rights violations should benefit from the public trust.  And this bill, as written certainly gives Pechanga benefits that we seem to be excluded from. 

Please help us clarify WHY the tribe wants definitions of allottees changed?  Here is the draft of the first water rights bill of 2010 (which could be taken to mean purchaser of reservation land, whether Indian or not:

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO: VISITING TRIBAL CASINOS Restricts YOUR RIGHTS


Sacramento Bee writer Steve Maganini wrote this article in 2003, as Tribal Casinos proliferate, it's a good time for a reminder:  KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

Most Californians don’t realize that when they enter California Indian territory, they leave many of their rights as U.S. citizens at the border.
If you get into a car accident with a tribal employee on tribal business, are injured at an Indian resort or casino, or are fired without just cause, as Benedict Cosentino found out at Pechanga, you can’t sue the tribe in California court. If you’re owed money in a business dispute or are sexually harassed, you can’t sue, either
“As much as this looks like Bellagio (a Las Vegas hotel), this is an Indian nation,” said Mark Macarro, chairman of the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians, which runs a $262 million casino-resort on its reservation in Riverside County. “All governments have immunity to suit unless they agree to a waiver.”  A former customer, Richard Swan was nearly beaten to DEATH, by Pechanga's security, in 2008 and Pechanga didn't waiver.
Macarro says those who want to limit Indian sovereignty have a shortsighted view of history: “There’s an indignant self-righteousness: ‘How dare these tribes come in and impact our quality of life?’ ” he said. “A few generations ago when we were being kicked out of our villages at gunpoint, we were saying the same thing, but we were powerless to stop it. NOW, Macarro kicks out his own people from his "village" in Pechanga's Trail of Tears.

CA District Court Rules That Central Valley Miwok faction's Request for Injunction is DENIED

This long term case we wrote about in 2010 here 

The CVM accuses the Bureau, and Bureau officials, of violating federal law and the civil rights of the tribal members in denying federal funding and services to the Tribe.

However, the pleas for help only tell half the story. The recent history of the CVM is one of competing factions struggling to control the Tribe which eventually led to the disenrollment of a long-time Tribal leader.

Based on this disenrollment and the current CVM leadership’s failure to include eligible Tribal members, including the disenrolled, in the development and passage of the Tribe’s Constitution, the Bureau has declined to recognize the constitutional election and the current CVM Chairperson. As a result, there is no recognized Tribal government (according to the Bureau).

To thousands of California Indians who, over the last decade, were subjected to disenrollment and disenfranchisement from their Tribes or denied participation in tribal elections, what has occurred at CVM is nothing new.


The Courts ruled that

Preventing the implementation of the December 2015 Decision would also impair the interests of the United States and Tribe members in establishing legitimate
government-to-government relations, and preventing the Regional Director from determining the validity of other potential tribal governments would prevent Tribe members from receiving the benefits of a duly-recognized government. 


See the entire decision here

IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that plaintiffs’ motion to stay
the Assistant Secretary’s December 2015 Decision pending final resolution of this case, considered as a motion for a preliminary injunction, be, and the same hereby is, DENIED.
Dated: October 24, 2016

Energy Transfer Partners WILL PROSECUTE #NoDAPL Protesters to "fullest extent of the law"

The AP is reporting:

The developer of the Dakota Access oil pipeline said Tuesday that the dozens of protesters who have camped on company-owned land since the weekend are trespassing and that "lawless behavior will not be tolerated."
Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners said in a statement that it wants all protesters to vacate its land in North Dakota immediately.
"Alternatively and in coordination with local law enforcement and county/state officials, all trespassers will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and removed from the land," the statement said.
American Indians and others who oppose the construction of the four-state oil pipeline set up the new camp of tents and teepees Sunday, moving their long-running protest directly in the project's path for the first time.  Still no comments from Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

RESPECT EXISTENCE, Disenrolling Tribes, or EXPECT RESISTANCE:

I am SO proud of all of our Native brothers and sisters who stand up against the Dakota pipeline, which is going through treaty lands and through the ancestor's resting places.

Does anyone besides me wish that we would see the same efforts to stand up for those who have been harmed by their own tribes?  
This motto above, should inspire all who have been harmed, to find their backbones and stand up for ALL of us who have been harmed.



So few are still working to defend the honor of their ancestors against the tyranny of corrupt tribal leaders and against the apathy of the BIA and the almost hysterical ignorance of our elected officials to their trust responsibility.  Is it any wonder that tribes continue to disenroll, when they know they can get away with it for say a DECADE or two?

HOW to fight?

  • Write comments on news articles, if they are Facebook linked, TAG your family.  
  • Join Twitter so you can pass on articles to BIA, Senate, House, news
  • Get your family's back in the fight
  • Write a story for the media, including this fight
  • TALK about your issue, remarkably, most people still DO NOT KNOW.
Why not give up?

Can you really do that?   While so many are fighting for YOU, your kids, your ancestors?

As we learned from Enterprise Rancheria bringing people home, it's NEVER TOO LATE.  Unless your relative dies while disenrolled as attorney Gabe Galanda writes today.  Can YOU live with that?  Your relatives dying, while YOU wait for someone to DO SOMETHING?  Which usually means...why won't someone ELSE do something...

Please...share.

Monday, October 24, 2016

UPDATES Tribal Casino Tour Bus Crash Kills At Least 13, 31 injured

photo from Chris Tarpening

Sad news about another Indian Casino tour bus crash, early this morning at 5:17...13 reported fatalities so far.  There are approximately 31 passengers on the bus that were transported with minor to serious injuries.

The tour bus was identified as a USA Holiday bus and was transporting passengers from the RED EARTH CASINO.  More news to follow...

The tour bus had smashed into the rear of the big rig, KILLING the DRIVER and the front of the bus was enveloped by the big rig's trailer. Dozens of firefighters swarmed the scene, struggling to reach victims. They used chainsaws to break open the vehicle and make their way into its front, even though it was clear there was barely any room to fit inside.

In 2013 there were TWO tribal casino bus crashes on the SAME DAY  which at the time drove the number of tour bus crashed to SIX in four months.  
In 2015 there was another Pala Casino tour bus crash that hospitalized 13.

UPDATE:

The speed was reported as SIGNIFICANT, due to the length of the entry in the trailer.  The truck driver received minor injuries..
The 1996 bus had been inspected each year for the last 3 years. 


UPDATE:
Investigators will look at whether the driver fell asleep, had a heart attack or was under the influence of alcohol or drugs, Abele said. They will also investigate the possibility of a mechanical failure. 


Authorities hope to recover a data recorder that would reveal how fast the bus was traveling and whether the driver braked before impact. The bus, manufactured in 1996, may not have one on board, officials said

UPDATE:

DRIVE DID NOT HIT HIS BRAKES, say authorities


Sunday, October 23, 2016

How Tribal Disenrollment Affects Members from PALA and Pechanga. Cristy Fajardo Reporting

Re-POSTED to let our new readers have an idea how two local tribal casino tribes from Temecula and Valley Center, both Luiseno, have affected their membership by revoking tribal citizenship: KCBS Channel 2 reporter CRISTY FAJARDO reports on disenrollment for greed and power tonight. Pay special attention as to how WEAK the responses are from the two tribal chairmen, Mark Macarro and Robert Smith! They can lie and obfuscate with ease.

Here is the video, PLEASE watch and share..

Friday, October 21, 2016

#NativeRightsMatter: Video That Sums Up the Disenrollment Situation in :30 Seconds

There were many of us who represented over 10,000 Native Americans who have been harmed by their corrupt tribes.   REPRESENT, by SHARING this post and :30 video  #NativeRightsMatter  #StopDisenrollment



Thank you to Emilio Reyes for putting this together, and for his partners Kristin Debler and Michelle Hammock for coordinating the event.

VISIT THIS LINK for COMPREHENSIVE DISENROLLMENT STORIES

Thursday, October 20, 2016

SAY NO to DONALD TRUMP and Say NO to HILLARY, No Criminal in OUR White House

I sidestep into politics and updating this post from March,  now after 3 debates, the first won by Hillary, the 2nd Trump by a nose and the 3rd a tie, I'm:   #NEVERHILLARY, #NEVERTRUMP

Comments are OPEN, feel free to add your voice, either way. If WE can't discuss politics...what good are politicians?


I  say "in the White House" facetiously, because there's NO WAY a man like Donald Trump will win. (pass the crow fork, please..I misunderestimated the anti establishment fervor )

#NOTRUMP
DONALD TRUMP image

I can't believe that America can believe that this horrible person, Donald Trump is the person for them. He is a threat to all that's decent and he's NOT a conservative.

Just yesterday, at a rally, he asked a young woman, "ARE YOU FROM MEXICO?"  Like it's a bad thing.  I'm not from Mexico, but my great grandfather was, and he was here 50 year before Trump's MOTHER.

His plan to build a wall is fine, but WHY isn't he talking about arresting and perp walking employers who hire illegals? It's ILLEGAL to hire Illegals and going after one side is like arresting the JOHNS, but NOT the hookers.

Even a despicable person like Hillary Clinton, who has Holly Macarro as her Native American advisor can beat him, according to polls.  JUST BECAUSE I may use #crookedHillary doesn't make me PRO-Trump, Hillary still hates gays, failed in Libya, lied to us about her email server, and will profit from the presidency, her team has low opinions of blacks, Latinos.  
Hillary Clinton images
cartoon by BRANCO

JUST SAY NO to Trump who simply is not up to the task in my opinion. I have worked with CEO's of BILLION DOLLAR companies, and the comparision between Trump and them is....staggering.   

JUST SAY NO  to Hillary Clinton who is a criminal and a pathological liar, QUALIFIED, but UNFIT for our highest office. She takes donation from corrupt tribes, and really, you CANNOT believe she gives a crap about anyone whose last name isn't CLINTON ... She is two faced as they come and completely untrustworthy.... 

WHAT ARE THE OPTIONS?
I will use MY vote for President on the LIBERTARIAN candidate, so my disgust for both Democrat and Republican is registered.  The (L) candidate won't win, the most votes ever received is about 1.3 million.  So let's TOP that number, so BOTH parties will know what we think of them.

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Disenrollment:10 Days to File Resolution To Disenrollment for Dollars

They don't need no STINKIN' DUE PROCESS...Tribal Disenrollment

An attorney for several of the more than 130 members facing ouster from the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe has 10 days to file a proposed order with the community court to notify a judge of how she thinks the case should be resolved.
The Tribal members represented by Paula Fisher, more than 65 of whom have been recently disenrolled, said their ouster is tied to declining revenue in an effort to maintain per capita member payments.
Fisher, who is representing four families in the Tribal Community Court appeal that have either been disenrolled or face disenrollment, and Tribal attorney Sara Van Norman both have until Oct. 28 to file new proposed orders in Tribal Court; after those documents are filed, Judge Patrick Shannon will decide what to do with the cases.
Tuesday’s hearing in Tribal Court comes in the latest round of disenrollment efforts and was held on the heels of notice from the Tribal chief that funds are being shifted from another account to maintain per-capita payments to some 3,500 members.   OP:  I thought it wasn't about...THE MONEY?

READ THE FULL STORY at the MORNING SUN NEWS

And read HOW MUCH MONEY is involved in Tribal Disenrollment:  IT's NOT ABOUT THE MONEY?

Monday, October 17, 2016

BIA Will NOT Recognize Nooksack Council Actions After March 2016, which is NOT Constitutional

BOOM!  OUTSTANDING news from ...the BIA

BIA finds a backbone.  In this communique to the Nooksack Council and attorneys, apparently, operating without a QUORUM is a no-no to the BIA, especially when it VIOLATES the Tribe's constitution.  Which needs FIVE members for a quorum.  FOLLOW the Nooksack 306 FB page for updates.


Nooksack Clown Council seems to have reached the end of the BIA's rope. Unconstitutional actions (tribal constitution) WILL NOT BE honored, in a government to government relationship.  Sovereignty is one thing, aiding and abetting unlawful behavior is another.

HEH:  Pechanga .net has the story...2 days later...

Saturday, October 15, 2016

REPORT: RINCON Disenrolls over 30 members

We are getting word that the Rincon Band of Luiseno Indians has disenrolled members this week.   It seems to be a trait of the Luiseno nations.  And not one that shines well on their leadership.


We've posted before on Rincon membership issues, where some didn't meet "blood quantum" which was designed to eliminate Native Americans.  And former chairman's family that were never enrolled..

Here's a story on the Calac family of Rincon:

n question is the lineage of Jose Maria Calac, and whether he was full-blooded or three-quarters Indian.
Currier is among the great-grandchildren of Calac and would be less than the required one-eighth Indian, critics say, if Calac wasn't full-blooded Indian.
The plaintiffs cite a 1989 decision by the Rincon enrollment committee, which ruled that fourth-generation descendants of Jose Maria Calac were ineligible.
The decision was appealed to the BIA, who upheld the decision, but, according to the suit, did not try to enforce the findings and was then instructed by the Interior Department to not get involved.
"We want (the BIA) to do what they're obligated to do under federal and tribal law," Marston said. "The tribe knows that we're right."
A settlement in the case was reached, an agreement that would ultimately reinstate the enrollment committee's 1989 decision.
But the district court ruled that the settlement would affect the Rincon tribe's right to determine its own citizenship.

STAY TUNED...

Friday, October 14, 2016

NOOKSACK 306 Attorneys To "SUPREME COURT of Nooksack Tribe" WE DO NOT RECOGNIZE YOUR AUTHORITY

BOOM!
Attorneys from Galanda Broadman respond to Nooksack Tribes New Supreme Court "justices"

In general, the Nooksack Supreme Court is fake. So are the “Justices” who comprise it. So are the laws
that supposedly established it. So is every single decision that the purported Nooksack Tribal Council has made since March 19, 2016, around when four Tribal Council seats expired under the Nooksack
Constitution. No legitimate government will recognize any decision by you or yours as lawful. Nor will any real government recognize any ruling of the pretend Nooksack Supreme Court.


So our specific response is this: We do not recognize your authority.

NOW, will the BIA and other Federal Agencies follow suit?

And....BOOM ..BOOM:[T]he ripple effect of [your] lawlessness will reach far beyond the boundaries of Nooksack. [Your] actions risk confirming the views of non-Indian judges of tribal courts as “rat’s nest[s].” . . . The suspicions and denigration of tribal courts as second-class forums will gain credence among those who are hostile to tribal sovereignty. But that loss of credibility is not simply shameful and embarrassing for tribal sovereigns and we attorneys and judges who serve them. It wounds every tribal court

They are the PAKLEDS of tribal councils

It's ONLY WATER for INDIANS: EPA Employees Responsible for Mine Disaster Will Not Face Criminal Charges

NOBODY in the OBAMA ADMINISTRATION is EVER RESPONSIBLE...

Federal prosecutors have decided not to bring criminal charges to Environmental Protection Agency employees involved with the 2015 leak of wastewater at an abandoned mine, the agency’s inspector general announced this week.
The EPA’s inspector general previously launched a criminal probe in conjunction with the Justice Department after the work of EPA employees led to a blowout at the Gold King Mine in Colorado, which resulted in 3 million gallons of toxic water spilling into multiple rivers in the region. The IG said an EPA employee may have violated the Clean Water Act and False Statements laws. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, however, has declined to prosecute the employee.
“In lieu of criminal prosecution, the OIG will prepare a Report of Investigation for submission to EPA’s senior management for review,” said Jeffrey Lagda, a spokesman for the IG’s office. He added the agency is required to report any administrative action it takes in response.
The report acknowledged employees missed some warning signs and failed to take certain precautions to prevent the spill, but ultimately found the blowout was “likely inevitable” due to built up pressurization.

Thursday, October 13, 2016

OMG: NOOKSACK COUNCIL Becomes LAUGHINGSTOCK of INDIAN COUNTRY Bob Kelly Head Clown Car Driver

The Bellingham Herald has this story this morning...  After getting their ASSES KICKED by their OWN courts, they create a super-duper Supreme Court.

The Nooksack Tribal Council originators for the 1-800-GET DISENROLLED phone line created a Nooksack Tribal Supreme Court on Thursday, Oct. 6, according to court filings, and it appears Chairman and Clown Car Driver Bob Kelly is the chief justice of the court.

Head Clown Bob Kelly


When asked twice whether he was the chief justice, Kelly said he could not comment. Messages to the Nooksack Court office seeking the names of the justices were not immediately returned Wednesday, Oct. 12. The justices’ signatures, including what appears to be Kelly’s, appear on an order dated Oct. 7.

The creation of the tribe’s Supreme Court comes after a series of apparent disagreements this year between the tribe’s leadership and court system in connection with cases involving roughly 300 people who have been facing disenrollment from the tribe since 2012.

Those facing disenrollment call themselves the Nooksack 306. Tribe gets restraining order against appeals court On Sept. 30, the tribe asked for a preliminary injunction against the Northwest Intertribal Court System in Nooksack Tribal Court. The NICS has provided a three-judge panel to make up the Nooksack Tribal Court of Appeals in recent years.

Read the rest of the story.....

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Original Pechanga Blog TOPS Pechanga.Net in Native News Rankings from Alexa

THANK YOU for reading, thank you for sharing, THANK you for allowing aggrieved Native Americans this outlet. THANK you for continuing to help shine the spotlight on tribal corruption, tribal disenrollment, moratorium and exposing the civil and human rights abuses in Indian Country
PAULINA Hunter
Circa 1890 - Original Pechanga Person

I began this blog in 2007 to draw attention to the abuses of disenrollment, moratoriums and banishment by casino gaming tribes in CA.   It was primarily focused on the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians from Temecula CA.  But, along the way, I've met hundreds of new friends, from many tribes who have had the same thing happen to them.   We got little attention, at the time, in fact:

In 2008, we got into a spat with Pechanga.net owner (And Pechanga member who voted to terminate HUNDREDS of Pechanga people) Victor Rocha's assistant Rob Schmidt about our blog not being a news site.
He posted a ranking from Alexa.com THE internet site ranker, which I'll put up after this comment he wrote:  
I hope you're happy with these results, because I sure am. The only thing that would make me happier would be to see BlueCornComics.com and PECHANGA.net ranked higher than Indian Country Today and Indianz.com. But we all need goals to strive for. Any questions about where most Indians go for information?
LOOK HOW THE RANKINGS HAVE CHANGED AS of 10/12/2016
                                                               2008                            2016
Indian Country Today:                         221,841                            49,191
Indianz.com:                                       259,464                           231,265
NativeNewsOnline.org:                    3,083,555                           205,913
OriginalPechanga.com:                 9,239,654                           696,796
Pechanga.net:                                   395,325                           820,702 
BlueCornComics.com:                       324,108                         1,385,665
IndianCountryNews.com:                4,307,680                         2,037,907

WE OUTRANK ROCHA's site in worldwide and US RANKINGS! In this case, a LOWER number is better:

As of Wednesday 10/12, the rankings in the US/World for my blog are:  113,233/ 696,796
Current ranking for 7/31 in the US/World for  Pechanga.net are:  153,581/ 820,702

Of course, Pechanga.net has sponsors, gaming and others, so he's making money and has prestige. Ours is the little blog that COULD.  We get the word out on abuses that Rocha's cousin Mark Macarro has inflicted on hundreds.   And we share what's happening to, sadly, THOUSANDS of Native Americans by their OWN TRIBES. 

Ours gets read by Congress, media and TRIBES!   OUR BLOG, is where people go for information on tribal disenrollment, on tribal civil rights abuses and to see how are government has allowed harm to come to our elders.

Yes, the Pechanga tribe may be our best source and the BIA our best customer.  Things always change, but FOR NOW, we are pleased with our support.   THANK YOU...

VIEJAS Band, After CHEATING UNION MEMBERS, LOSES in Court.

HOW difficult is it to JUST do the right thing and PAY honest bonuses?

The Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians violated federal labor law by giving lower bonuses to union members, an administrative law judge ruled on Tuesday in the latest in a string of decisions that tribes say threatens their sovereignty. OP: Tribe never take responsibility for THEIR roles is threatening sovereignty.

The Viejas Casino and Resort in southern California is a "commercial enterprise" whose operation does not impact the tribe's ability to govern itself, Judge Mara-Louise Anzalone asserted in the 17-page decision. The majority of its employees and customers are non-Indian and no treaty rights are implicated, she added.
"Finally," she wrote, "there is no evidence in the language or legislative history of the [National Labor Relations] Act to suggest that Congress intended to exclude Native Americans or their commercial enterprises from the Act’s jurisdiction."

The decision affirms a complaint a labor union filed against the casino. Employees who belong to United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, Local 135, received only one-half of the bonus given to non-members, which the judge said violates the National Labor Relations Act.

The law, which was first enacted in 1935, a year after the Indian Reorganization Act, does not mention tribes at all. But it does exempt states and local governments and tribes say they should be treated the same as a matter of parity.

To address the situation, tribes are lobbying Congress to pass H.R.511, the Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act. The bill does exactly what the judge wrote in the decision: it would "exclude Native Americans or their commercial enterprises from the [National Labor Relations] Act’s jurisdiction."

HOPLAND 74 DISENROLLMENT: Sandra Sigala's Story From Sacramento Native Lives Matter Protest

There were numerous stories shared in Sacramento on the steps of our capitol.
Here's the next one, from a former council member and chair of the Hopland Band of Pomo Indians.  Their disenrollment was reported HERE and Here  Sandra Sigala is a former chairwoman for the tribe.

My name is Sandra Sigala, I come here today to share me and my family’s story about disenrollment that came to pass in March of this year 2016.
I am a Disenrolled tribal member from the Hopland Band of Pomo Indians.  My family and I were wrongfully disenrolled by the Hopland Tribal Council on January 15th this year, later it was finalized by a special General Council meeting on March 19 this year.

Sandra Sigala being escorted by armed tribal security
Chris Pugh-Ukiah Daily Journal photo. 

I have been a recognized tribal member since 1989 with the tribe.  Later on I was recruited in and voted to hold a seat on the tribal council governing board that led to holding several years of tribal council positions from member at large, to treasurer and finally tribal chairperson from 1992 thru 2004.  This was before the start up of Gaming with our tribe.  I worked with the Tribal Council at that time to bring Gaming to our tribe.  In 1997 as Tribal Chairperson, I gave testimony at the Senate and Congressional levels in Washington DC and Sacramento to get their support for economic development – gaming for tribes on the California Ballot.  I worked endless hours to get the California voters to vote Yes for Indian Gaming.

I held position as Tribal Chair with the Hopland Band of Pomo Indians, 1997 thru 2004 and I take great pride in building the tribe’s economic development and building structures on our tribal land during my leadership.

Selling Fake Memberships to Yamassee Tribe Gets You THREE years. BEING FAKE INDIAN, gets you POWER, MONEY and ALL RIGHTS

The sad part of stories like this is that TRIBE'S could ACTUALLY do this, sell memberships, say to get more Federal dollars.  The BIA would NOT stop them.  IF they don't protect REAL INDIANS from extermination, why would they stop UNREAL Indians from being members? The BIA allows disenrollment of Native Americans, but do NOT question ADOPTED Indians rights as Natives.  
A former Brownsville man now living in Waco will spend almost three years in prison after his conviction for selling fake memberships to an Indian tribe that isn't recognized by the federal government.
On Tuesday, a U.S. federal judge in Brownsville sentenced Humberto Reveles, 61, for defrauding more than 140 people out of thousands of dollars by offering them membership to the Yamassee tribe. He claimed the membership came with tribal documents that would allow them to remain in the U.S. despite their immigration status, officials with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Houston said.
Reveles pleaded guilty in March 2015.
He opened an office in Brownsville, where he would meet with prospective tribal members and provide them naturalization certificates, tribal identity cards and tribal driver's licenses. The documents were to be presented in support of their immigration claims, officials said.
While handing down the prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen said selling the fake tribal memberships was "just as bad as coyotes smuggling people past the checkpoint," according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

QUANAH BRIGHTMAN Speaks out at Native Lives Matter Protest in Sacramento: Videos of United Native Americans Leader

Supporter of those who have been disenrolled for many years, Quanah Brightman, head of the United Native Americans activist group, joined protesters at the Sacramento Bureau of Indian Affairs office.

Here's some video of him speaking to us, energizing us for the continued battle.

Here, he is introducing himself to those who had yet to meet him:


Here, he discusses the corruption of the "APPLES" in charge of some tribes:


And of course, ONLY Quanah Brightman can CALL FOR THE dismantling of the BIA....in FRONT of the BIA....!

View that HERE  THANK YOU, my friend for being there is support of all of us, and for the work you and your team do...

Two White Racists Attack Indigenous People's Day Marchers in RENO. At least 4 injured

Our friend Quanah Brightman who stood with us in Sacramento BIA protest tells the story of this HATE CRIME:

The group had stopped under the arch for a photo. According to Quanah Brightman, the driver had been "stalking" the group.

“This is a hate crime,” Brightman said. “It’s still brutal to see this kind of racism in America. That man deserves life (in prison) for what he did.”


Details from Facebook post

Two white men in a white Nissan pickup plates Nevada 218-PWS drove into marchers after first being seen at the rally start point, driving by once shouting slurs, and then doubling back around to get in front of the protesters before driving into them.

Jamul Indian Casino ALREADY Causing Traffic Problems, Collisions..Outlook Bleak for Improvements

The JAMUL INDIAN VILLAGE casino and entertainment complex that drew the ire of neighbors in the East County opened to the public Monday and, combined with road construction, led to major traffic congestion on state Route 94.  Many accidents have occurred, with only the very slow speeds preventing fatalities. Is it Karma for the beatings and evictions it took to get the project underway?

CHP reported several crashes along SR-94 during the casino's opening day. A tow truck driver responding to a crash became stuck in the traffic along SR-94.
Traffic Jams delay
school pickups

Despite the casino creating a thousand job, critics said opening day's traffic troubles proves why they will continue to fight to close it down.

The $400 million Hollywood Casino Jamul-San Diego, around 20 miles east of downtown San Diego, on the property of the Jamul Indian Village, also includes a nightclub.  The tribe allowed the desecration of Native ancestor's graves for the project.

Area residents, led by county Supervisor Dianne Jacob, bitterly fought the development because they were concerned about traffic impacts on the semi- rural roadway in the area. She has criticized Caltrans for allowing the project to proceed.

"Caltrans is failing the public by allowing the casino to open without all the badly needed road improvements in place, which was a part of the agreement Caltrans reached with Jamul Indian Village in 2009," Jacob said.

Monday, October 10, 2016

Feds Want #DAPL PAUSED While Route is Reconsidered.

The US government reiterated its request Monday that construction of an oil pipeline in North Dakota be paused, while authorities consider the impacts of its route on a Native American tribe.

The Dakota Access Pipeline has been the subject of a months-long protest, in which Native Americans and their supporters have camped out in the state's prairie lands to block the pipeline's route underneath the Missouri River and the adjoining man-made Lake Oahe.

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe says the project threatens its drinking water source, and could destroy ancient sacred sites near the tribe's reservation, which is less than a mile from the pipeline.

A month ago, the federal government had asked the pipeline's operator, Energy Transfer Partners, to pause construction within 20 miles (32 kilometers) of the disputed area, while authorities evaluate the tribe's claims.

But a federal appeals court Sunday denied the tribe's request to order a temporary stop to construction, prompting the Departments of Justice, Army and Interior to once again issue a statement of support. The Army controls the permitting process for US navigable waterways.

"We also look forward to a serious discussion during a series of consultations... on whether there should be nationwide reform on the tribal consultation process for these types of infrastructure projects," the statement said.

The standoff between the Sioux tribe and the pipeline's builder has grown into a protest movement in the United States, emboldening Indian tribes, environmentalists and advocates for Native Americans.

Sunday, October 9, 2016

Tribal Disenrollment is an IMMORAL Use of Tribal Sovereignty. IT IS GENOCIDE: Michelle Hammock, Hopland Pomo

At the Capitol portion of the Native Lives Matter Protest, Hopland Pomo Native Michelle Hammock one of 74 who were disenrolled from the Hopland Tribe. gave a masterful speech on tribal disenrollment and sovereignty.  I'll excerpt some here and you can find the entire speech here.


Michelle Hammock
HOPLAND 74 Disenrollment happened with very short notice:

Hammock: Our tribe’s constitution does have a membership clause that spells out instances of potential loss of membership. The council however, disregarded every word of the constitution and did things their own way. Because… Sovereignty.  
OP:  SOVEREIGNTY, wielded as a club to beat tribal citizens will lead to, the end of sovereignty.  That's what must be impressed upon tribal leaders and the people that follow them.

Hammock: Our tribes are given sovereign rights to determine who is a tribal member. So once we are members, why do we have to continue a song and dance in order to keep our memberships? What is going on here, breeds corruption. IF a member has a fundamental disagreement of policy or a person, that should not be grounds for disenrollment. 

Unfortunately, it is. Any opposition to the tribal council is now grounds for disenrollment. Because.. Sovereignty.

OP:  1st Amendment rights should always apply.  Alternate viewpoints should NOT be an OFFENSE, it should be welcomed.  Let the tribe decide, not corrupt leaders.

Hammock: Since our disenrollment, there hasn’t been a day that we haven’t put our foot forward to stop fighting for our rights. There is a group of great  people from our tribe who also realize they, too,  were cheated out of their rights as tribal members. By a fair count of their own votes. To be heard in tribal council meetings that have since taken place. By asking tribal authorities questions, to only be barred from meetings and blacked out of communications. Now with the pot farms being installed without consulting the members, are now being threatened with trespassing on tribal lands. ON TRIBAL LANDS, Natives are now being threatened with trespassing on their own lands! Why? Because the tribal council’s Sovereignty.

OP:  The Indian Civil Rights Act needs to be strengthened.  I urge all of you to contact YOUR representatives and demand changes.

Disenrolled Native Children UNPROTECTED by ICWA

Hammock: One of our prepaid right and benefit that is stripped is ICWA; a federal law that attempts to protect our Native children from forced adoptions and foster care to non native homes. It is meant for our native children to maintain a relationship with their culture, their tribe, their people. If any of our children are in the ICWA system prior to disenrollment, now, this puts every disenrolled child at imminent risk for foster care outside of native homes, adoptions to non native families, breaking every tie they have with their tribe and its people

READ the Full Speech HERE  and please SHARE on social media.  

Friday, October 7, 2016

Day One of Sacramento STOP TRIBAL GENOCIDE Protest a Success

Despite a heavy police presence at the Capitol closing some access routes to the event, the Stop Tribal Genocide protest had a great gruop of speakers etail the issues of Indians vs. Indians.

Columnist and author Jaqueline Keeler soke on tribal sovereignty and being an Indian in 21st century America.

Sandy Sigala and Michelle Hammock spoke eloquently on the Hopland unlawful disenrollments. We hope to have the text of Michelle's presentation shortly.

Dayna Barrios taled on her Masters thesis on Disenrollment.

The organizers of the event Emilio Reyes, Yulu Elwes, kept things moving.  The event was covered by television station KRCA.

Indianz.com mentioned the protest in an article published today.   Pechanga.net owner Victor Rocha reportedly told an emailer of the protest to Take him off his list....jerk.

Tomorrow's protest march at the BIA begins at 7:30 am we will have pictures.... stay tunes

Thursday, October 6, 2016

Clown Alert: Nooksack Council Suing Nooksack Court for TOO much Justice

You can't make this stuff up. Tribal court being sued for...overdoing it?

https://turtletalk.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/5-emergency-mot-for-ex-parte-inj.pdf

read it, then point at the Nooksack Council...and laugh

Kamkoff s and NICS's acceptance of the Galanda v. Bernard and In re Galanda
matters has resulted in significant burdens on the Tribal Court staff and the Tribe, and significant costs for dealing with unauthorized, excessive, and frivolous filings, as well as void contempt findings against Tribal employees acting within the scope of their authority.

DAMN iT!  THey have a RIGHT NOT to follow the LAW?!   Really Nooksack??



Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Stop Tribal Genocide March to Protect Civil Rights






P O BOX 1670
NATIONAL CITY, CA 91951


Stop Tribal Genocide Coordinates a March to Protect Civil Rights.

A Native Civil Rights March that deals with Issues that are plaguing Indian Country Today.


The two day event will take place at the State Capitol on October 6, 2016 and The Bureau of Indian Affairs Regional Office on October 7, 2016. Members of Stop Tribal Genocide and fellow protesters will meet up at the State Capitol and speak about topics pertaining to: Tribal Disenrollment, Pipelines, Fracking, Federal Recognition and Honoring of Treaties, Police Brutality, Abolishing Columbus Day, Annexing Native American Mascots and the Identity Theft of Native American Children. The first day will culminate with a March around the Capitol building. Stop Tribal Genocide will end the protest on Friday, October 7, at the Regional Office of The Bureau of Indian Affairs, where they will protest their grievances to the Bureau and hopefully place a list of grievances in the hands of the head of the Regional Office herself. 

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

BIA and Department of Interior NEGLIGENT in Calvert/Ruiz Pechanga Water Rights Bill, Trust Responsibility

In February 2011 I wrote this post below.  In the subsequent 68 MONTHS, NO BIA, Department of the Interior, Water District, or Pechanga Tribal officials have contacted Reservations ALLOTTEES about the Pechanga Water Rights bill being sought through Congress.   Water rights are FOR reservation allotments, NOT for Casino Water Features.  Ken Calvert, Raul Ruiz



Many members of Paulina Hunter descendents are receiving letters from Amy Dutschke, Regional Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, in response to our concerns over not  being consulted on the Water Rights Bill that Pechanga was trying to get pushed through the last Congress.
From the BIA letters, here is where the DOI admits to our water rights:

The Department of the Interior recognizes that allottees have water rights on allotted lands and that the United States has a trust responsibility, independent of any responsibility to the Pechanga Band, to protect those interests.
The Department is currently reviewing the proposed settlement legislation and its effect on allottees within the Reservation.

Please remember that the Hunter family is one of the few original allottees to maintain their land on the reservation.  We have homes on the original 20 acres we were allotted in 1895.  We were part of the Temecula Band of Luiseno Indians, which somehow disappeared and became the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians, which has FEW allottees in the tribe.

Next passage:

Second, while a settlement may contain a provision to the effect that a tribe shall have the right, subject to applicable federal law, to manage, regulate and control the on-reservation use of all of the water rights granted or confirmed by the settlement, it must also require that, within a set period of time following execution of the settlement, the tribe enact a comprehensive water code governing all water rights granted or confirmed by the settlement.

OP:  A tribe that came into existence 100 years AFTER we got our land would set up a code for water that is OURS and then put us at their mercy?  Do you think the tribal council cares about water for allottees, or water for the casino?   HINT:  Tribal Chair Macarro does not live on the reservation, and rarely VISITS the reservation.

To be effective, the code should contain (a) a process by which any allottee may request and receive an equitable distribution of irrigation water for use on his or her allotted lands; (b) a decision making process that gives the allottee due process of law in deciding on such requests, including a process for appeal and hearing before an impartial judge or tribunal; and (c) a provision that the code does not take effect until the Secretary of the Interior has approved those parts of it, or any subsequent amendments thereto, that address irrigation water use by allottees.  OP:  Uh, yeah, Amy, we TRIED that with our disenrollment or rather extermination from the tribe.   There IS no impartiality when someone who does NOT own land tells you what to do with your land.

Next:

We are aware that the Pechanga Tribal Government presented and discussed with the Tribal membership the Settlement Agreement, allottee rights and a section by section review of the legislation on Septmber 12, 2010.

OP:  But were you AWARE that we, the allottees were NOT party to the settlement agreement?   WE receive NO notice of the meeting, the presentation.  WE were NOT party to the construction of the agreement.     Pamela Williams was at a meeting with the tribe, interesting that we were not made aware of it.    We have requested meetings with her and haven't heard back.   We REQUESTED to be involved!

I. The Department of the Interior and Pechanga Band Failed to Notify Allottees of the Negotiations to Settle Water Rights

2. After several requests, the Department has not allowed us to participate in Negotiations

3. Pechanga Tribal Officials do not Represent the Interests of all Temecula Indians or Temecula Indian Allottees

4. Temecula Indian and Temecula Indian Allottees should be Parties to the Settlement Negotiations and consulted regarding pending Acts of Congress

5. Prior to any action, HR 5413, and other Acts, should be Amended to Reflect the Ownership Interests and Water Rights Due Temecula Indians and Temecula Indian Allottees not represented by Pechanga Tribal Officials

6. The term ‘Tribal Water Right’ should be Amended to Reflect Benefit for Temecula Band and Temecula Indian Allottees

7. Entitlement to Water Shall be Satisfied by the Department of the Interior, the Temecula Band, or the Pechanga Band; and Temecula Indians and/or Temecula Indian Allottees shall not be Subject to the Pechanga Water Code or other Pechanga Band laws

PROTECT OUR TRUST RIGHTS, Director Dutschke.