Senate Committee on Indian Affairs APPROVES Alaska Native TARA SWEENEYS Nomination to ASIA

TARA SWEENEY
AS-IA Nominee

Senate Committee on Indian Affairs today approved Tara Sweeney's nomination as Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs  (AS-IA), now headed to FLOOR VOTE.  VIRTUALLY NO OPPOSITION, says Sen. Murkowski from Alaska. She also says there should be UNANIMOUS CONSENT for approval.

BIA Takes "Good Enough for Government Work" as GUIDELINE on FOIA Requests

Is THIS what we expect from our government:  Probably not the best, but what the hell, at least we got the job done to minimally acceptable standards, some of the time.

More follow up of the BUREAU of Indian Affairs and the Emilio Reyes FOIA REQUESTS.  I have three emails from BIA Southern California agency, Javin Moore is currently the superintendent, and from Director Amy Dutschke.

Let's see if I can break these down for our readers.

EMAIL #1:  Director Dutschke is asking FOIA officer Doug Garcia, WHY FOIA requests aren't cleared from the backlog, when they are completed.  Looks like 3 weeks LAG TIME?  Interesting that it took an hour and a half to get back to the BOSS LADY.

EMAIL #2:  It appears  Sandra Hansen was trying to avoid completing the FOIA requests, including initiated a "phone tag" to delay or to avoid providing responses to SPECIFIC requests

EMAIL #3: The last one could charitably be termed a "error" stuffing envelopes. But more likely carelessness because the agency claims to mail Emilio correspondence but mails correspondence that is supposed to go to another requester.

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FOIA (Freedom on Information Act) documents from Bureau of Indian Affairs. by Original Pechanga on Scribd

It certainly seems like we spend a lot of time of BIA failures, issues and more, doesn't it

Bureau of Indian Affairs SUED for $89 Million for ViOLATIONS of ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES ACT and BREACH of Fiduciary Duty

A long simmering complaint of the real San Pasqual Descendants is reaching it's boiling point.  And we have the complaint linked below. 

The Bureau of Indian affairs has wrongfully enrolled non-San Pasqual Indians to the San Pasqual tribe, which is destroying and eroding the culture and tradition of this great tribe.  Director Amy Dutschke seems to have put the BIA in an awkward position with failure to notify the true San Pasqual descendants. 55  pages of responsive documents received via FOIA show once again they never gave notice to the true San Pasqual descendants enrolled by the SAN PASQUAL TRIBE in 2005.   So WHAT were they trying to do?

The 90 or so plaintiffs contend that the BIA have statutory rights to be federally recognized as members of the tribe. They are filing the suit to protect those rights.

Chukchansi Corruption Leads to Canceling Payments to Charities

Madera County officials and 30 local agencies that include many nonprofit groups have been pulled into the battle between Chukchansi Indian factions over annual tribal donations.

Under a contract with the county, the tribe is obligated to donate $1 million annually to local groups. This year's recipients include schools, animal welfare agencies, tribal organizations, churches and veterans groups.

But the money has been held back because of the ongoing legal wrangling between the two leadership factions.

In November, the tribal council led by Nancy Ayala submitted a list of recipients to Madera County and held a banquet for the agencies that earned the grants.

Ayala's group, whose leader is now Tex McDonald, operates the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians business complex and oversees operations at Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino. Leadership of the tribe is still in flux.

The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs announced last week that it intends to recognize the seven members of the 2010 tribal council. That council includes Ayala and the other group's leader, Reggie Lewis. McDonald's group is appealing the BIA decision.

In December, the Lewis group legally challenged the tribal donations, alleging the other faction improperly designated a casino account to pay them.

A New York state court, which has been serving as a mediator in the conflict, said that casino revenues are supposed to pay off the tribe's debts of more than $250 million after financing bonds for the casino complex were restructured last year.

The court upheld the Lewis group's challenge, and so the money has not been distributed.

The withheld funds include a $50,000 grant for the Eastern Madera County Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for a spay and neuter program. Last year, the all-volunteer organization raised $40,000 for the work -- but none from the Chukchansi program, said Sharon Fitzgerald, the animal group's board chairwoman.

She said the tribal donation is expected to allow her organization to concentrate its fundraising on money to build a no-kill shelter.

The group has received money twice previously from the tribe, Fitzgerald said.

Madera County officials said they are considering legal action.

The best move?  DO NOT GO to Chukchansi GOLD Casino.  Don't support CORRUPTION, Don't support Civil Rights Violators

Read the REST OF THE STORY

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/02/21/3784754/chukchansi-dispute-halts-1-million.html#storylink=cpy

Cedarville Tribal Disenrollment Shooting a FAMILY AFFAIR -UPDATED

A woman who opened fire at the headquarters of a Northern California Indian tribe killed her brother, nephew and niece, police said Friday.   THAT is how serious disenrollment is.   At Pechanga, Frances Miranda oversaw the disenrollment of her own family.

The alleged killer, Cherie Rhoades

Cherie Lash Rhoades, former chairwoman of the Cedarville Rancheria tribe, killed a total of four people and critically wounded two others on Thursday during a meeting at tribal headquarters about evicting her and her son from tribal land, authorities said.

Those killed included the suspect's brother, 50-year-old Rurik Davis, her niece, 19-year-old Angel Penn and her nephew, 30-year-old Glenn Calonicco, Modoc County Sheriff Mike Poindexter said.

The other person killed was identified as Sheila Ross, 47, who was not related to the suspect.

WILL CONGRESS now have hearings into disenrollment of Native Americans?  Senator BOXER, Senator Feinstein, STOP all disenrollment.

UPDATES:  SacBee is reporting: A woman suspected of killing four people at the headquarters of an Indian tribe that was evicting her and her son from its land had been under federal investigation over at least $50,000 in missing funds, a person familiar with the tribe's situation.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/#storylink=cpy

ERIC HOLDER to Resign This Year, Without Addressing CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATIONS in Indian Country

We have been asking AG Holder to look into violations of civil and human rights for years now.  Looks like he will leave without addressing the issue.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder will step down this year, he said in an interview with the New Yorker’s Jeffrey Toobin in the magazine’s Feb. 17 edition.

In a feature article, Mr. Holder said he plans on staying in his position “well into” the year.

---

 Last November, Mr. Holder, the first black attorney general, told CBS News he didn’t have “any plans” to step down.

Mr. Holder has made voting rights the test case of his tenure, the New Yorker reported. He has been a vocal critic of the Supreme Court case that invalidated key parts of the Voting Rights Act and has supported Congressional action to renew and revise the law.

During his five years as the nation’s top law enforcement officer, Mr. Holder has also weighed in on other controversial Supreme Court decisions. Mr. Holder said he wouldn’t defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court and over the weekend announced the Department of Justice’s plans to give same-sex couples the same rights in the federal legal system as married heterosexual couples, regardless of whether a state recognizes same sex marriage.

Here is one of the letters sent to the Attorney General:

Dear Attorney General Holder:

I respectfully submit this letter urging the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division to commence a full-scale investigation into the gross civil and human rights violations which have infected Indian Country.

Throughout Indian Country, tribal officials have taken actions which have denied and/or stripped thousands of individual Indians of their rights and privileges as tribal members and denied them access to federal benefits and programs in the areas of housing, education, health, voting and public works assistance.  Pechanga, Pala, Redding, Snoqualmie, Nooksack, Chukchansi, Enterprise, San Pascual are just a few who have terminated the rights of their people.

In some instances, the illegal actions occurred decades ago, however, there has been a marked increase since Indian Gaming has evolved into a multi-billion dollar business. Tribal leaders justify their right to systematically deny and/or strip basic rights and privilegesfrom their citizens under the guise of tribal sovereignty.   The time is right for your department to use it's full force on the corruption that has spread throughout Indian Country.

Tribal leaders have routinely committed acts to deny Indian individuals due process; equal protection of tribal, state, and federal laws; property interest rights; and voting rights. Theses actions have been carried out in gross violation of tribal and federal laws, such as the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968, which were specifically enacted to guarantee and protect the rights of the individual Indian.

Using sovereignty as a club to beat the weak and render them helpless is abhorrent.The federal government can no longer allow the offending tribes and tribal officials to claim that this is a sovereignty issue that rests solely within the domain of tribal courts and tribal law. Few Tribes actually have tribal courts.And, in most cases, the tribal government officials responsiblefor the violations of law are the very same people who pass judgment as to whether or not lawshave been violated - they are the judge, jury and alleged criminal all rolled into one
.
The United States has a trust responsibility to the thousands of individual Indians whose basic rights have been infringed upon. Unfortunately, the Bureau of Indian Affairs has determined that their trust responsibility extends only to the tribal government and government officials and not to the thousands of individual Indian victims. Therefore, I believe that the DOJ has the legal and moral responsibility
to investigate and prosecute such violations of basic rights.

I urge you to direct the DOJ Civil Rights Division to initiate an investigation into the growing number of human and civil rights violations described above. In addition, I hope that any investigation would not be short-circuited by those who would claim tribal sovereignty as a justification for inaction.

Nor should justice be denied as a result of political wrangling by politicians fighting to protect their tribal “clients” who funnel millions of dollars into their campaign coffers.

 

Nooksack Tribal Judge DENIES Contempt Motion; Miffed It Was Brought UP.

From the NOOKSACK 306 FB Page.

Friday, the Tribal Court Judge (The Chief Judge is Raquel Montoya-Lewis) denied our motion to hold the Kelly Faction in contempt of her order to allow 306 families $250 in Christmas support.  

She also refused to hold them in contempt of another order she issued last March, for automatically disenrolling at least 4 of our relatives.  She did not overturn the Kelly Faction's removal of Rudy and Michelle on MLK Weekend, saying that was a "political question." 

She expressed her annoyance at us having filed five lawsuits (because the Kelly Faction changed the court's procedures last summer). She never minds the Kelly Faction's violation of almost every provision of our Constitution. She accused our lawyers of "harassment" by seeking to uphold the Constitution on our behalf. 

She is clearly afraid of losing her job if she rules against the Kelly Faction. Still, we forge ahead, to the Court of Appeals and in the Nooksack Council Election. Stay strong, everyone. Because there's one thing the Judge cannot change: That is that, We Belong.

Read more on Tribal Disenrollment, Banishment and the NOOKSACK TRIBE CA Tribal Cleansing
Tribal terrorism
TRIBAL TERRORISM includes Banishment
Nooksack Disenrollment

NOOKSACK 306 are at American Indian LOBBY DAY in Washington State.

Indian American lobby day brought about 50 to the capitol Friday morning to voice their opinions about tribal issues.

A group from the Nooksack tribe, based in Deming in Whatcom County, gathered mainly to express their anger with the disenrollment conflict that would cut the tribe by about about 15 percent.

According to the Nooksack Tribal Council, 306 members do not meet membership requirements because their common ancestor Annie George is missing from a 1942 census that is used as to verify lineage.

Since the council cannot find proof that supports their membership, the group is losing medical, housing, fishing and hunting rights. But the excluded members said that they are upset for reasons that go much deeper than these surface issues.

“I feel like they’re dragging my ancestors through the mud,” said Michelle Roberts, a member who would be excluded. “We have unity and belong just as much as they do.”

Rudy St. Germaine, who was removed from his council position of executive tribal secretary because of the issue, agreed. He said this is a fight for his and his family’s identity.

Tribal police have started to serve disenrollment notices. Now, the impacted Nooksacks are raising awareness about the issue and calling on fellow members to get informed about issues discussed at the capitol.

Elizabeth Satiacum, a tribe member, challenged the crowd to look up a bill that affects them, whether it’s related to hunting, gathering, health or education. For example, she mentioned House Bill 1290 that would require county auditors to place ballot drop boxes at various locations, which would allow tribe members to vote without making a trip to the city.

She added it is important to be aware of the issues in order to impact them.

“It all starts with one thought because thoughts can and do become things,” said Satiacum.

Disenrolled Saginaw Chippewa Seek Federal Recognition

A group of Mt. Pleasant-based Native Americans, including 66 removed from the rolls of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe in November, are seeking federal recognition of the original three bands of American Indians that first settled in Isabella County in the mid-1800s.

No one has disputed that most of those behind the effort are Native American descendants of the historical three tribes, but they claim to have been disenrolled from the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe for historical quirks linked to inappropriate rulings and poor record keeping by the federal government.

Among those leading the effort is Ben Hinmon, a former Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Council member whose grandmother, born on the Mt. Pleasant reservation and placed in the Mt. Pleasant Indian School in 1906 at the age of 8, was posthumously stripped of membership in November.

Removal of the late Malinda (Pontiac) Hinmon from Tribal rolls also stripped membership from Hinmon and 44 of his relatives, who are among 66 removed from Tribal membership rolls late last year.

At least 700 to 900 and up to 1,000 Native Americans who trace to those historic tribes, but are not members of the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe, could gain federal recognition under the latest effort, Hinmon said.

To illustrate the record-keeping and federal administrative quirks, Hinmon points to a photograph of his grandmother and her sisters. While his grandmother is no longer a Tribal member, one of her sisters is the grandmother of newly-elected Tribal Chief Steve Pego.

“What I’m doing is defending my family and their inherent right to be a member of the Swan Creek, Black River and Saginaw Chippewa,” Hinmon said. “It’s a matter of blood.”

Those original three bands, who settled on federal land set aside for them in Isabella County beginning in the 1850s, were later formed into the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934.

But because older federal records could not be located, and because the Bureau of Indian Affairs was allocated only $2 million to reform all tribes in the nation, federal authorities instead formed the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe as a group of “Indians living on a reservation” and relied on later residency rolls for membership purposes.

“We were not disenrolled because of blood quantum,” Hinmon said. “We were disenrolled because we didn’t fit the model of Indians living on a reservation.”

Hinmon and Chad Avery, a Mt. Pleasant resident with close relatives who are members of the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe but who has never been on the rolls himself, met with federal officials in November to begin the effort of seeking federal recognition of the historic bands.

At issue, they claim, are hundreds of Native Americans whose ancestors lived on the Isabella Reservation after 1855 but who had moved in the ensuing years. In the 1930s, federal administrators picked records from 1883, 1885 and 1891 as key to determine official membership in the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe because earlier records could not be located.

Grand Ronde Tribe Spares 16 from Disenrollment; 5 Council Members Vote NO

From their FACEBOOK PAGE: 

We are so happy for our friends and their families who were spared disenrollment from Grand Ronde at last night's Tribal Council meeting. While our own family continues to fight this heart wrenching battle we are comforted to know that, in this case, 5 members of Tribal Council made the right decision and voted NO to disenroll. Keep hope alive! 

Pechanga and Pala Disenrollment News Video From KCBS 2 in Los Angeles

Re-POST: 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:

$18 MILLION DOLLARS Stolen from ALTO family at San Pasqual. (so far)

But, I'm sure the tribe will say, "it's not about the money.

A family fighting the San Pasqual Band of Mission’s efforts to eject them from the tribe got a victory in court this week.

The Valley Center tribe is trying to remove about 60 members of the Alto family from its rolls saying they don’t qualify for membership.

San Pasqual, which owns Valley View Casino, has cut off the Altos’ share of casino profits, denied them access to tribal elections and removed them from casino and tribal government jobs.

In 2011, the Altos sued the U.S. Department of Interior, which includes the Bureau of Indian Affairs, for going along with the tribe’s plans to expel them. The tribe has tried to intervene in the lawsuit saying it has the sole authority to decide who belongs and who doesn’t.

The U.S. Ninth District Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that the family’s case against the federal agency could go forward without the tribe’s involvement.

“This is a big victory for them and it gives them hope,” said Tracy Emblem, an Escondido attorney representing the family.

Attorneys for the tribe and the tribe’s chairman could not be reached for comment Friday. In documents, they argued that the court has no jurisdiction over the tribe because it is a sovereign nation and since enrollment decisions are internal tribal matters, the court cannot intervene.

However, in her ruling, Judge Marsha S. Berzon wrote that “the Band is not a required party” in the case because the family is only asking the court whether the BIA acted appropriately in its decisions, not the tribe.

The dispute began in 2008, when the tribe’s enrollment committee decided the Altos descended from a person who was not a member of the tribe.

The family traces its tribal heritage to Marcus Alto Sr., who died in 1988 and whose lineage was questioned by another tribal member. According to the tribe, Marcus Alto Sr. was adopted by a San Pasqual family and was not their biological son.

San Pasqual rules require a biological connection to the tribe.

Under many tribal government constitutions, tribes make final decisions about who belongs. But the San Pasqual tribe’s constitution gives that authority to the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

In 2011, BIA Assistant Secretary Larry Echo Hawk sided with the tribe, overturning an earlier decision by agency’s regional director, who said the evidence submitted by the tribe did not warrant the Altos’ ouster.

In its ruling, the appellate court also upheld a lower court’s decision to temporarily stop the removal of the Altos until the case is decided.

In the meantime, the Altos remain in legal limbo, Emblem said.

Though they are officially enrolled members of the tribe, the Altos don’t get their share of the casino profits — which for each adult family member was nearly $100,000 in 2011, according to court documents. Under a court order, the tribe is supposed to be collecting the payments in a trust fund to be distributed if the family wins its case.

Emblem said some of the family members are working but others have no jobs or can’t work.

“They are getting by,” Emblem said. “They are keeping the faith.”

San Pascual Disenrollment of Alto Family GOES BACK TO BIA which FAILED to PROTECT THEM

IN an earlier post, we linked to the 9th Circuit Decision on the ALTO CASE.

We have the sections below that are breaking new ground in disenrollment case law:

(1)  P. 2, fn. 2. The Ninth Circuit understands that membership disputes "have been proliferating in recent years, largely driven by the advent of Indian gaming."    The tide may be changing.

(2) The Ninth Circuit for the first time clearly states that the federal courts have jurisdiction to review BIA actions under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA). On P. 25, the Ninth Circuit wrote "That the substantive law to be applied in this case is tribal law does not affect our jurisdiction over an APA challenge to the BIA's decision."    This is a very important statement from the appellate court because Tribes have used the "tribal law" arguing an intra tribal dispute as a defense to get cases dismissed around the country when a disenrollment action occurs, even though it also involves BIA action or inaction.

(3)  P. 17, The Ninth Circuit discusses the BIA's fiduciary duty to protect the Alto's access to tribal rights and benefits and recognizes the importance of preserving the status quo by analogizing removal off the federal rolls as similar to immigration proceedings (See P. 35).       This is important because being  removed from the federal roll is similar to losing citizenship and all rights.

(4) P. 26-36, the Ninth Circuit clearly sets out the reasons the Tribe is not entitled to "sovereign immunity" in the Alto case.              Disenrollment cases around the country have been dismissed based on sovereign immunity grounds, so this is a big step in the right direction. 

READ MORE ABOUT SAN PASCUAL AT THESE LINKS

San Pascual Evictions
San Pascual II
Larry Echo Hawk Screws Alto Family

What the Bureau of Indian Affairs IGNORES in failing to Protect Native Americans From their OWN TRIBE

I culled this from the Nooksack 306 Facebook page. It's a rundown on what the Nooksack Tribe is stealing/denying/taking from those they are working to disenroll. It denotes lack of DUE PROCESS, Penalties without judgement, Termination of Employment and impending loss of homes. The BIA should be protecting Native Americans from all this.  Sally Jewell and Kevin Washburn are abdicating their responsibility.   Sen. Maria Cantwell should be holding hearings in the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.

Tomorrow, December 19, 2013, marks the one-year anniversary of the date the Kelly Faction started this hate-filled disenrollment effort against us. Over the last year:

• At least four members of us have been automatically disenrolled, without any hearing at all, despite the Kelly Faction’s prior promise in open court, and a Tribal Court Order, that “no person will be disenrolled prior to the completion of the meetings before the Tribal Council” – those meetings have not even commenced as a result of a Tribal Appellate Court litigation stay.

• At least thirteen members of us have been fired from our jobs with the Tribe by the Kelly Faction, without cause, or recourse.

• 64 Nooksack of our children were humiliated when the Kelly Faction denied them a $275 school supply stipend, merely because they are “proposed for disenrollment.”

• All of us were denied $250 in Christmas support, for the same shameful reason.

• Some of us have been denied Tribal public housing, for that very same reason, and 28 expect to have the homes we own taken by the Kelly Faction if we are terminated.

• 37 of our Tribal Elders face termination and a loss of health care and housing.

• The Kelly Faction has refused to hold a single public meeting of our Tribe, despite clear Tribal Constitutional requirements for (1) regular meetings of the entire Tribe on the first Tuesday of each month and (2) multiple special meetings of the Tribal Council requested by Tribal Councilpersons and various Tribal members.

• The Tribal Court Judge has dismissed two lawsuits brought by our family, believing that the Kelly Faction cannot be sued for any constitutional or civil rights violations as a mater of the Tribe’s sovereign immunity; the Judge has otherwise refused to stop any illegal behavior on the part of the Kelly Faction.

• U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and Assistant Secretary Kevin Washburn, as federal trustees to us and all enrolled Native Americans, have not even acknowledged receipt of a petition signed by 900 Indians in Washington State, requesting federal intercession on our behalf.
We wish these circumstances of hate and genocide on nobody.

BIA's Larry Echohawk, After Destroying Lives at San Pascual, RESIGNS.

Screw the Alito Family, then resign. Good to see you GO, Mr. Echo Hawk. You have left a legacy of destruction of Indians, congratulations.

The top official for the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs is resigning to accept a full-time leadership position with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ending three years with the department that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says "opened a new chapter" in U.S. relationships with American Indian tribes.

Larry Echo Hawk, the assistant secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs, is being appointed to the Quorum of the Seventy, which is the Mormon Church's third-highest governing body. The announcement from the church came Saturday during its semi-annual general conference in Salt Lake City.

President Barack Obama appointed Echo Hawk, 63, to oversee the BIA in 2009.

"With Larry Echo Hawk's leadership, we have opened a new chapter in our nation to nation relationships with American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments, accelerated the restoration of tribal homelands, improved safety in tribal communities, resolved century-old water disputes, invested in education, and reached many more milestones that are helping Indian nations pursue the future of their choosing," Salazar said in a statement.

During Echo Hawk's tenure, the Interior Department settled a $3.4 billion class-action lawsuit with Native American landowners over mismanaged royalties. The settlement reached in late 2009 is under appeal.

Salazar said he would work with Echo Hawk to ensure a smooth transition within the BIA. It was not clear who would be appointed to oversee the BIA after Echo Hawk's departure.

Echo Hawk, a member of the Pawnee Nation, was elected Idaho attorney general in 1990, the first Native American to be elected to the position in any state. He ran unsuccessfully in 1994 for Idaho governor as a Democrat.

Related Links:

http://www.originalpechanga.com/2011/01/dept-of-interiors-larry-echo-hawk-rules.html

http://www.originalpechanga.com/2010/03/larry-echo-hawk-to-decide-san-pascual.html

http://www.originalpechanga.com/2009/04/mormon-to-head-bureau-of-indian-affairs.html

Bureau of Indian Affairs Expands Termination Era Against Native Americans.

Robert Edwards, of Enterprise Rancheria, expresses disappointment in the news that the BIA is helping to expand the Termination Era against Native Americans. This decision is absolutely no surprise when you realize that the Bureau has continued to shuffle around the same Bureau officials who have been condoning these disenrollments from day one. Here's the line-up of the top three from the Pacific Regional Office of the BIA in Sacramento: Pacific Regional Director, Dale Morris - He's the guy who provided Enterprise Rancheria with a letter recognizing them (Glenda, Frank, etc) as the tribal government of ER immediately after we conducted the recall election. He told Congressman Herger's office that he would meet with our side on this issue and then refused to do so. This is called interfering in an inter-tribal dispute which the BIA is not allowed to do. Was he dismissed? Nope. Deputy Regional Director, Trust Services - Amy Dutschke - Amy made headlines in the Sacramento Bee because she was caught swelling a tribe with her relatives and of course that tribe had a casino project pending. OP: READ HERE Deputy Regional Director, Indian Services - Dale Risling - Remember Dale? He was the Superintendent of the Central California Agency when we first appealed our disenrollment. He and Raymond Fry conveniently lost our appeal and we had to resubmit it to them. Then they started the run around, but in the meantime, Dale and Ray made the Sacramento Bee after being caught meeting with casino backer's for one of the tribes. That's off limits for the BIA. But, were they dismissed? Nope, just transfer them and promote them. Is it any wonder that people are having trust issues these days? There is absolutely no accountability.

Worthless BIA Upholds Tribal Disenrollments at Robinson Rancheria.

The worthless Pacific Regional Bureau of Indian Affairs Continues to disappoint:


Robinson Rancheria announced Thursday that the Pacific Regional Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs has upheld the disenrollment of 45 people who were improperly enrolled as members of the tribe.

"The federal government has long recognized that a tribe's right to define its own membership is central to its existence and must be dealt with internally," Tribal Chair Tracey Avila said. "The regional director was right to leave this matter to the tribe. In upholding the Tribal Council's decision to disenroll the 45 people, the regional director also recognized that the disenrollment process was done fairly and in accordance with the requirements of both tribal and federal law. The tribe provided those who were disenrolled with due process by giving them notice of the disenrollment and an opportunity to challenge the decision."

The disenrollment of the former tribal members resulted from the discovery by the Tribal Council in 2008 that a provision added to the tribe's enrollment ordinance in 1982 expanded the criteria for tribal membership beyond that permitted by the tribe's constitution. The Tribal Council struck down that provision and notified people who were enrolled under the unconstitutional provision that they had to demonstrate that they were eligible to be members of the tribe under the criteria set forth in the tribe's constitution. The Tribal Council held hearings on the disenrollment at which the people subject to disenrollment

were permitted to demonstrate that they were eligible for enrollment under the tribe's constitution. Most of the people subject to disenrollment did not attend the hearings. A number of people who presented evidence that they were eligible for enrollment were successful and remain members of the tribe. Forty-five of the people who were disenrolled appealed the Tribal Council's action to the regional director. On April 9 the regional director denied the appeals.

Support the Central Valley Miwok In Bureau Of Indian Affairs Violations of Federal Law

Yesterday, we gave you a quick synopsis of a protest in Sacramento today and tomorrow. We have more now from AIRRO (American Indian Rights and Resources Organization)

Today and tomorrow, the California Valley Miwok

(CVM) and their supporters will hold “an open protest against the Bureau of Indian Affairs” at the Bureau’s Central Valley Agency Central California Agency in Sacramento, California.

The protest is meant to draw attention to the Bureau’s actions to withhold P.L. 638 contract money and deny recognition of the current CVM leadership. As a result, the CVM contends that it cannot pay its bills and faces eviction from Tribal property that has already been foreclosed on.

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.

At places such as Pechanga, Redding Rancheria, Chukchansi, Enterprise Rancheria, Jamul Indian Village, Robinson Rancheria and numerous other California Tribal Nations, men, women, children and elders have been subjected to countless basic rights violations at the hands of tribal leaders. Most have lost jobs, elder care, education assistance, medical care, and some have even had their homes foreclosed on them.

What is new is the Bureau’s action to protect the rights of those subjected to disenrollment and/or denied the rights and privileges afforded other tribal members.

To date, the Bureau has been reluctant to act on numerous requests made by California Indians who have been harmed through disenrollment, disenfranchisement, or denial of participation in tribal matters.

These Indians, these thousands of California Indians, must now look at what is happening at CVM and wonder why the Bureau is applying one standard to that situation and another standard of review and action to cases concerning their own tribes.

The Bureau’s inconsistent handling of the current and ever-growing problem of human and civil rights violations in California Indian Country is almost negligent. In denying assistance to thousands of California Indians, the Bureau has failed to carry out the trust responsibility owed to California’s original inhabitants and created an environment for future violations to occur.

Where the CVM asks that you join them in protesting the Bureau’s actions, you should ask why the Bureau has not done this sooner and with more frequency. There is no shortage of California Tribes where the circumstances mirror those of the CVM – disenrollment, disenfranchisement, and suspect actions by tribal leaders-, so there is ample opportunity for Bureau intervention.

If you are against the tribes violating civil rights and the BIA not applying equal pressure, then join in the protest in Sacramento. Take a friend.

San Pasqual Tribe Could LOSE Casino if Agreement NOT Reached

Indians at war with their brothers. Sending their families into the streets. This is NOT what Californians expected when we voted for gaming. Tribes told us we would be helping ALL Indians. They LIED, we are now helping FEWER Indians than we were 5 years ago. Picayune eliminated 500 of their tribe, Pechanga 300 (plus keeping 400 OUT that belong), Redding eliminated a large family, NOW, San Pascual is trying to remove another 50.

HOW MANY DOES IT HAVE TO BE BEFORE IT'S WRONG?


Talks between warring factions of the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians are at a stalemate, which has led to a crucial meeting this weekend between tribal leaders and federal officials at the North County reservation.

A dispute on whether 80 people belong in the tribe has split the tribe's governing council, putting the tribe's Valley View Casino at risk of closing its doors, a Bureau of Indian Affairs official said Thursday."The elected council needs to come together, not two on that side and three on that side, but as five members," said Jim Fletcher, the bureau's Southern California superintendent.

Fletcher is scheduled to meet with San Pasqual tribal leaders Sunday to discuss the ongoing dispute.It is the latest in a bitter feud among factions of the 300-member tribe that calls into question what it means to be American Indian and who gets to benefit from the spoils of casino wealth. San Pasqual Chairman Allen Lawson has declined to discuss the matter and did not return a call for comment Thursday.

In July, members of the tribe conducted two separate meetings on the disenrollment matter, each side claiming leadership of the tribe. One was at the reservation and the other in Escondido.The group that met at San Pasqual voted to accept a consultant's report that concluded the 80 people whose tribal affiliations are in question do not belong and should not be listed as members of San Pasqual.

Last year, Ron Mast, a member of the San Pasqual tribe, filed a challenge saying that the group does not belong in the tribe. He says the group is made up of descendants of Marcus R. Alto Sr., whom he contends was adopted by his aunt and uncle, Maria Duro Alto and Jose Alto, as a child, but was not their biological son."This is the meeting where it all gets decided," Mast said about Sunday's gathering.

About 50 tribal members lost their jobs at the casino and their share of casino revenues earlier this year after some members of the tribe voted to accept the report's findings. Tribal leaders said the casino payments are being held in special accounts until the membership dispute is resolved. Fletcher said that the tribe could not legally take away tribal member's benefits before the bureau has made a final ruling on the question of whether the group belongs in the tribe.

North County Times does a good job on the story as usual.

In July, Fletcher sent a letter to tribal officials saying his agency no longer recognizes a functioning tribal government because of the split and the tribe's apparent inability to convene a quorum of tribal leaders. So then, aren't ALL per capita payments ILLEGAL without a revenue sharing plan?

The letter stressed that federal law forbids tribes from operating businesses or programs in the absence of a functioning government. In August, Lawson asked Fletcher to arrange a meeting with a Justice Department mediator.

Those talks hit an impasse, Fletcher said Thursday. He declined to discuss the matter in detail, but he confirmed that the tribe could lose its right to operate the casino if an agreement is not reached."It's a possible outcome, yes," Fletcher said.