Should Rich Casino Tribes Help Cover Shortfalls Coming Due to The Obama Sequestration?

No, please, stop laughing.  WE KNOW, that tribes in CA have stolen well over a half BILLION dollars from their members that they have disenrolled.  We have a link to that issue on our sidebar.  Here's a story about what President Barack Obama's sequestration will mean to Native Americans that depend on the government, and some local governments that supply services to reservations including schools.   Can Pechanga, Pala, Chukchansi kick in a few hundred million?

When it comes to the automatic spending cuts that began taking effect this month, federal lawmakers spared programs that serve the nation's most vulnerable -- such as food stamps, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' assistance -- from hard hits.

That wasn't the case with programs for American Indian reservations, where unemployment is far above the national average, women suffer disproportionately from sexual assaults, and school districts largely lack a tax base to make up for the cuts.

The federal Indian Health Service, which serves 2.1 million tribal members, says it would be forced to slash its number of patient visits by more than 800,000 per year. Tribal programs under the U.S. Department of Interior and the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs that fund human services, law enforcement, schools, economic development and natural resources stand to lose almost $130 million under the cuts, according to the National Congress of American Indians.

"We will see significant impacts almost immediately," Interior Secretary Ken Salazar told The Associated Press, referring to the BIA. "We will have to furlough some employees. It will mean that there's going to be a slowing down of the processing of applications and so there will be an impact on the work that the BIA does on behalf of Indian Country."

The timing and magnitude of most of the cuts are uncertain as Congress looks for a way to keep the government operating beyond March 27 with no budget in place. In the meantime, tribes across the country are preparing for the worst.

Some are better-positioned than others.

In northwestern New Mexico's McKinley County, where about a third of the population lives below the federal poverty level, the Gallup-McKinley County School District is facing a $2 million hit. The cuts could result in job losses and more crowded classrooms. The district that draws mostly Navajo students from reservation land not subject to state property taxes relies heavily on federal funding to pay its teachers and provide textbooks to students.

"To me, it seems very unfair that one of the poorest counties with one of highest Native enrollment in the country has to be impacted the most by sequestration," said district superintendent Ray Arsenault. "We are very poor, we're very rural, and it's going to hurt us much more."

The district faced enormous public pressure when it wanted to close schools on the Navajo Nation due to budget shortfalls, so it won't go that route under looming cuts, Arsenault said. Instead, he would look to reduce his 1,800 employees by 200 -- mostly teachers -- and add a handful of students to each classroom.
The Red Lake Band Of Chippewa Indians in northern Minnesota (OP: Isn't this Pechanga chairman Macarro's wife's tribe?)expects 22 jobs, mostly in law enforcement, will be lost immediately. Tribal Chairman Floyd Jourdain Jr. said police already operate at a level considered unsafe by the BIA. Deeper cuts forecast for later this year will increase job losses to 39, and "public safety operations at Red Lake will collapse," he said.



Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/16/tribes-plan-for-worst-with-looming-budget-cuts/#ixzz2NlgmEde0

AIRRO Sponsored Listening Session On Indigenous Rights Violations in The United States

We are attending the listening session in Temecula, sponsored by AIRRO and the Temecula Indians.

The gathering includes participants from at least ten tribes, including Jamul Indian Village, San Luis Rey, Pechanga Temecula Indians, Los Coyotes. Additionally testimony was read from Cherokee Freedmen and Creek Freedmen.

Ruth Cassell, of Los Coyotes discussed how she is standing her ground on the reservation. They called her a troublemaker, but she says that She has been on the resevation over 50 years. The termination era at Los Coyotes came with new tribal leaders and one who dictates to the people versus leading them. It's an example of voting rights abuse eliminating those that disagree.

It is akin to Democrats eliminating a branch of their legislators, say the Blue Dogs, because they don't always march in lockstep. Freedom of opinion, of thought is taken away. Is that America?

We'll follow up with more stories. Please come back and look

UPDATE: Members of the PECHANGA BAND OF LUISENO INDIANS spoke out on how they were denied due process, how the Tribal Council, led by Mark Macarro, failed to follow the Pechanga Constitution and Bylaws. Pechanga overruled the will of the people and by terminating voters, were able to control power and keep from suffering consequences. Remember how votes weren't counted in Florida? See the consequences? We got BUSH. That's what happens, fewer votes opposing you and you can win.

UPDATE: San Luis Rey tribesmen asked WHY they have to prove they ARE INDIAN people, when the government should prove they are NOT. The San Luis Rey tribe was terminated by the US Government in the 40's when their men were out fighting in WWII. They couldn't respond to any government inquiries because they were fighting the troops of Hirohito, Hitler and Mussolini. And they came back to TERMINATION. They are still looking for "recognition"

UPDATE: More Los Coyotes Band members, discussing the facts that they knew the old ways to practice burial cermonies on the elders of those that disenrolled them. One fired from her job was asked to help the new replacement, because nobody knew the job. How is that, again? You are out, but we need your help. Another member said disenrollment is akin to castration.
Kicked out of the tribe for being an "undesireable". Wow, that could empty out the Pechanga tribe, just with the Masiel Crime family alone.

Echo Hawk To Look Into Snoqualmie Banishment Too?

I heard from our friends from Snoqualmie, Here's part of the communication

I think this is really good news. I also got an email today from Larry Echo Hawk that they are going to look into our illegal banishment from our tribe. As you know, the Federal court over-turned our banishment but the tribal council will still not allow us back into the tribe even though the general membership voted overwhelmingly to reinstate us.

This is excellent time to push for all of the disenrolled and banished American Indians because of the United States Department of State discussion about the United States human rights record with the American Indians is happening in two weeks in New Mexico and Arizona. This is the first time that the United States is coming under this review and it only happens once every four years. I will be attending and speaking at the session in Alburquerque on March 16.

One of the goals of the Human Rights effort is to "hold governments accountable to their obligations under universal human rights"

“ All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Article 9. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

In the Western Legal History (Volume 17, Number 2, Summer/Fall 2004 by Professor David E. Wilkins looks into the history of this subject in "Exiling One's Kin: Banishment and Disenrollment in Indian Country". Professor Wilkins describes these as actions "which violate not only indigenous values and traditions, but the basic civil and human rights".

I am praying that these illegal exiles from our tribes can be stopped. That we have available to us every opportunity to be heard and the tribal governments cannot disenroll and banish their citizens from their base rolls without a Federal hearing. I will never stop until it is a federal crime to violate the civil rights of American Indians.

I am thanking the ancestors today for getting you (US)a step closer!

Thank you my friend and we hope that Larry Echo Hawk does the right thing. Snoqualmie, Pechanga, Redding, Enterprise, San Pascual, Jamul Indian Village ALL have had their basic civl and human rights VIOLATED.

The Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians, which hijacked the Temecula Band of Luiseno Indian's federal recognition, is well known for terminating Indians from their rightful place in the tribe. Since the advent of casino gaming Pechanga's disenrollment of 230 adults from the tribe is second only to the Picayune Rancheria in the termination of Native Americans in CA.

CA ASSEMBLY Speaker Karen Bass Announces Candidacy to Replace Rep. Diane Watson

From Speaker Bass's Facebook Page:

I am very excited to announce that I will be launching a campaign to fill the congressional seat being vacated by my dear friend and mentor, Congresswoman Diane Watson. Earlier today, the Congresswoman, City Controller Wendy Greuel, Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and grassroots leaders joined me at a press conference announcing my campaign, and I hope you can support me as well.

Well Speaker Bass, are you going to take up Rep. Watson's championing of the Cherokee Freedmen? How about those disenfranchised Native Americans in CA? Will you refuse campaign donations from tribes that violate the civil rights of their people? Pechanga, Redding, Enterprise, San Pascual, Picayune all should be avoided.

What say you.

Robinson Rancheria to JOIN Pechanga, San Pascual, Picayune in Termination of Indians from Tribes.Will President Obama look into these outrages?

Rather than looking at the good a tribe can do for its people, the Robinson Rancheria is now looking at termination of over 20% of it's adult membership. Denying them the right to vote, homes, health care. And ALL during Native American Heritage Month

UPPER LAKE – The Robinson Rancheria Band of Pomos Citizens Business Council this week is holding hearings that could have serious implications for the future of dozens of people whose lives are shaped by their unique identity as native Pomo.
Of the tribe's 347 voting members, 60 have been notified that they are being considered for disenrollment, according to Tribal Chair Tracey Avilia.
Other sources within the tribe estimate the number of potential disenrollments to be as high as 74.
Whichever number is correct, both sides agree that this is the largest disenrollment action the tribe has ever attempted in its history.
The action's results could be devastating for those who find their names removed from the tribe's rolls.
Entire families face the loss of their homes, jobs, health care, education and a sense of their own identity. Homebound elders may no longer receive much-needed meals or monthly retirement checks. A daughter of the tribe's last chief also is reported to be up for dismissal.
Those up for disenrollment may have a slim hope of recourse, as the tribe's constitution contains an appeals process involving the Bureau of Indian Affairs which, in many tribal disenrollment cases, can't get involved, said Bureau of Indian Affairs Deputy Regional Director Dale Risling.
Potential disenrollees said the move is based on politics and greed, and that it's arisen out of a disputed June election that was decertified. They say they're being removed from the tribal rolls before a January election is planned so they can't vote to replace key council members trying to hold onto power.
John Gomez, president of the American Indian Rights and Resources Organization (AIRRO), agrees with those assessments of the Robinson Rancheria situation.
In California to date, an estimated 2,000 Indians have been disenrolled by 15 California tribes – not including those currently proposed at Robinson, said Gomez, noting that disenrollments often evolve around political issues and elections.
Avilia, the tribe's current chair, denies those allegations, saying that the disenrollments are a matter of tribal housekeeping, and merely an attempt to deal with longstanding questions about the validity of some members' claims.
The tribal members proposed for disenrollment received certified letters dated Nov. 20 – ironically, during the midst of Native American Heritage Month – notifying them that they were proposed for removal from the tribe's rolls, according to a copy of such a letter obtained by Lake County News.
Further, they were told they could request an appeal hearing with the Robinson Rancheria Citizens Business Council, during which they would have a half-hour to make their case for keeping their membership in the tribe. However, they had five business days to respond to the letter, and many tribal members live out of state.
Those appeal hearings began on Monday and have run throughout the week, according to tribal members.

SYCUAN Bails on Gambling Compact; California will SUFFER after promises of Wealth for Slots

Simply put, tribes like Sycuan and Pechanga LIED to California voters when they implied that expanded gaming for them, would benefit California. Well, WE TOLD YOU SO, many times. Now, Sycuan will NOT expand their gaming, (remember, they had NOT ratified their compact in the tribe, so it was a bogus proposition any

Sycuan walks away from gambling compact
By James P. Sweeney

SACRAMENTO – Blaming a punishing economy, the Sycuan band of El Cajon on Thursday walked away from a multibillion-dollar gambling agreement that it had pursued for years and spent $6 million to defend.
The deal authorized an expansion from 2,000 slots the tribe now operates to as many as 5,000 machines plus an option for a second, off-reservation casino on newly acquired lands that include the former Singing Hills Country Club.
The agreement, or compact, was signed more than two years ago by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sycuan Chairman Daniel Tucker. But it was never ratified by the tribe's 78 adult members, as required by a little-noticed clause.
The decision ultimately could cost both the tribe and the state billions of dollars.
“It is with sincere regret that Sycuan is unable to take advantage of the August, 2006 amended compact between our tribe and the state,” Tucker said in a letter delivered Thursday morning to the governor.
The current economic climate makes “proceeding under the amended compact financially imprudent at this time and for the forseeable future,” Tucker wrote.
“We are doing everything we can to avoid having to lay off our valued employees and are continuing to restructure operations to mitigate the impacts of an extremely challenging economic environment,” he added. “In these circumstances, even a modest expansion would be impossible.”

In February, voters approved Sycuan's compact and three others that had been challenged with statewide ballot measures. The four tribes, which included Pechanga of Temecula, spent more than $100 million on the campaign. Sycuan contributed $6 million to the effort.
A few months later, Schwarzenegger's administration surprised lawmakers when it disclosed that the state would not be receiving $30 million anticipated from Sycuan because the tribe had not ratified its compact. WE TOLD YOU SO!

A deadline to execute the deal had passed, but Schwarzenegger agreed to give the tribe an extension that was set to run out on Jan. 1.
“We're disappointed but understand the tribe's situation,” said Camille Anderson, a spokeswoman for the governor.

Sycuan had agreed to pay much more on its existing slots, roughly 10 percent of net winnings or $20 million a year. It also agreed to pay up to 15 percent on the additional 3,000 slots.
Over the life of the deal, which would have run through 2030, the state would collect an estimated $1.6 billion, Schwarzenegger's administration said. The tribe would have received at least several times that. NOPE..... we TOLD you so.

In addition, the compact authorized an off-reservation casino on some 1,600 acres Sycuan has acquired in recent years, lands that adjoin its reservation and include the former Singing Hills resort and golf course. Buh-BYE

Off-reservation gaming proposals have become increasingly controversial and the Department of Interior declared three years ago that it would no longer even consider compacts that authorized gaming on “lands that are not now, and may never be Indian lands.”
George Skibine, acting assistant secretary for Indian Affairs, had warned the provision permitting an off-reservation casino could pose a problem for Sycuan's compact when it reached the Interior Department.
But the agreement was submitted with three other compacts from California, all of which reportedly got lost at Interior and were not rediscovered until after a 45-day review period had lapsed. That left federal officials no alternative but to “deem” them approved, as required by federal law.

Opponents of Sycuan's compact notified Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne in July that his agency had granted final approval to a gaming agreement that had not yet been ratified by the tribe.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs referred the matter to its attorneys but to date has taken no action. A spokeswoman for that office declined to return repeated telephone calls Thursday. TYPICAL INACTIONS by the BIA.

READ THE REST OF THE STORY HERE

Riverside County District Attorney ROD PACHECO has made NO DECISION on Pechanga Beating UPDATE

UPDATE: The DA's office has STILL made No Decision on charges against the Pechanga security guard. The Swan's have been told that it could take THREE YEARS to file charges. Swift, sure justice apparently doesn't happen in Riverside. There are NO trespassing charges agains the Swans.

After ONE MONTH Riverside County's D.A. Rod Pacheco has made no decision on charges in the case of brutality against Pechanga Casino customer Richard Swan. The October 20th incident, which we reported here and KNBC also reported, seems a pretty simple case. The security guard has ALREADY BEEN fired by Pechanga, Mr. Swan's injuries amply displayed and Pechanga is going to settle the case.

What is Mr. Pacheco waiting for? Is he plea bargaining? Is he waiting for Pechanga to file charges against the Swan's? (There is NO record of charges at the sheriff's department)

How will the Swan's receive JUSTICE against the brutality of Pechanga's guards? Just as importantly, the Riverside Press Enterprise is now passing 31 days of silence on this news, yet is quick to put bad news of SOBOBA in print. Just what is news in the PE's opinion?

Pauma Casino to Layoff workers

First Pechanga lays off 400 workers and now Pauma has announce they will also layoff employees. One good thing, Pauma is offering a buyout package of ONE week for every year of employment, PLUS continued medical benefits throught the package. This would be a reason to support Pauma.

Pechanga beats its customers, which you WON'T find in the NCTIMES, guess that's not a good enough story.

Noted Actor Danny Glover Touts Cherokee Freedmen Rights

Descended from Choctaw, Glover says black people and American Indians have a pivotal past.

Actor Danny Glover on Friday called on the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma to allow freedmen descendants into the tribe with full citizenship rights. Speaking at a forum hosted by members of the Congressional Black Caucus, Glover said other tribes will take similar action if the Cherokee Nation succeeds in blocking freedmen descendants' tribal citizenship.

The issue is in court after a March 2007 vote by the Cherokee Nation to remove freedmen descendants from tribal rolls. Glover described the relationship linking American Indians and black people as one of the most pivotal in the nation's evolution. "I've always embraced that relationship," he said. "My own grandmother was part Choctaw." He cited the history of black people who escaped their captors and found refuge among the Indian tribes, as well as the strategic help black people offered the Seminoles in their war against the tyranny of the colonies.

Both groups, Glover said, have seen genocide and exploitation. "But I am disturbed by what I see," he said, calling on black people to serve as the moral compass on such issues as the freedmen descendants' quest to have full citizenship rights in the Cherokee Nation. "These are very important decisions that we have to make. They are moral decisions."

Glover later said he has been interested in issues involving black people and American Indians for some time and tries to express that both in his work as an actor and as a private person. "It is a relationship that we don't have a great deal of discussion about," he said, adding that his own culture encouraged him to deny it. Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chad Smith also gave a hallway interview as the forum took place. Smith said he had asked to be included in the forum's panel but was turned down. "That may be the heart of the problem," he said, calling for all parties to have an open dialogue about the lengthy and complicated history. Smith welcomed Glover's participation. "My response to him is, 'Give me 15 minutes of your time. Let me show you our side of the story,' " he said. "And, I think he will agree with us that it is a complicated issue and the courts should decide."

Despite the criticism that some still heap on the tribe, it won a legislative victory this week when a provision designed to deny housing benefits to Cherokees until the tribe recognizes freedmen descendants as citizens was altered. The latest version of the bill allows the tribe to receive those benefits as long as a tribal court order on the matter remains in place as the case continues. "The language in the bill is a sign that Congress recognizes the sovereignty and authority of tribal courts to settle internal disputes, which should be considered a victory for not only the Cherokee Nation but all tribes," Smith said.

Cherokee FREEDMEN Demonstrate Outside BIA

Descendants of Freedmen and Supporters Demonstrate outside Bureau of Indian Affairs Office in Muskogee Oklahoma for Treaty Rights on September 19 2008

On September 19 2008, Black Descendants of Freedmen and their supporters demonstrated outside the Muskogee Oklahoma BIA office. The freedmen are persons of African descent whose ancestors were enslaved by Indians of the “Five Civilized Tribes” prior to 1866. The tribes (Cherokee, Creek Seminole, etc) declared war on the United States in order to keep persons of African descent enslaved. The former slaves and their descendants were guaranteed tribal citizenship and rights to tribal programs, per capita payments, rights to vote and to hold office by both the US Government and the tribes through the 1866 treaties. Currently the freedmen have been disenrolled or face disenrollment proceedings in the tribes and also face discrimination in accessing tribal benefits such as health services or educational benefits provided to members of federally recognized Indian tribes by the US government.

The black freedmen and supporters carried signs demanding that the BIA enforce treaty rights of the black freedmen. Other signs reminded the BIA that only Congress can change treaties.
The majority of persons demonstrating were Cherokee freedmen tribal members whose tribal memberships are currently deemed by the tribe to be “temporary” after a freedmen disenrollment movement led by Principal Chief Smith resulted in a vote to expel the freedmen in which less than 9,000 persons voted out of a tribal membership of 280,000 people. Almost none of the freedmen people were permitted to vote. The tribe, which receives 80% of its budget (more than 300 million dollars) from the US government (ie the US taxpayers) has spent millions of dollars in lobbying and legal actions to discourage Congressional intervention, build public support for its freedmen removal campaign and shut down a lawsuit regarding the rights of Cherokee freedmen filed in the Federal courts in 2003 (Vann versus Kempthorne).

The tribe has refused to register as recognized tribal members more than 23,000 descendants of Dawes enrolled Cherokee freedmen tribal members – persons who are currently barred from participating in educational and health service programs, etc.

Angela Molette, President of the Enid NAACP branch and a disenrolled Choctaw freedmen descendant reminded attendants of continuing support of the NAACP for freedmen treaty rights. Marilyn Vann, a “temporary Cherokee freedmen citizen”, and Ron Graham (a disenrolled Creek Freedmen descendant), as Descendants of freedmen Association officers, exhorted attendants to continue to fight for treaty rights through lobbying, economic action, etc. They encouraged attendants to come to Washington DC to attend the September 26th panel on Freedmen issues sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. Panel participants include Marilyn Vann, attorney Jon Velie and Mr Hilary Shelton, NAACP Washington Bureau Chief.

Cherokee Nation: Having the Right..Doesn't Make it Right

J.M Brannum at JMzine.com has a message to the Cherokee Nation.

The CNO (Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma) is putting a definite spin on this case. The Court of Appeals ruled that the tribe has sovereign immunity, but NOT the tribal officials, meaning that the Freedmen’s case will still proceed against Chief Chad Smith and other officials. And, the decision opens the door for the Freedmen to take the case to the US Supreme Court.
But this is only one side of this case. The tribe might have the right to break its treaty obligations to the Freedmen (and in the end the individual officials might share those rights), but it doesn’t make it right to do so.

Read more at the link above

The Effect of Slavery on the Cherokee Freedmen/Women

The blog BEAUTIFUL, ALSO, ARE THE SOULS OF MY BLACK SISTERS has quite a bit of information as to how the Cherokee benefitted from slavery and the effects on those they are trying to disenroll. It's good reading and well sourced.

Their voice is clear as to who should be citizens of the Cherokee Nation,” Smith said. “No one else has the right to make that determination. It was a right of self-government, affirmed in 23 treaties with Great Britain and the United States and paid dearly with 4,000 lives on the Trail of Tears.”

He also conveniently forgot all the black slaves who were drug, with chains around their necks, walking behind the horses of the slave-holding Cherokees, many of whom also died along the infamous Trail of Tears with the Cherokees.

AIRRO is fighting for the rights of disenfranchised Indians. Have you joined in to add your voice?

Cherokee Freedmen Meeting Set

The Freedmen Band of Cherokee nation of Oklahoma will hold its next meeting Saturday July 19 2008 at the West Side Community Center, 501 S Bucy in Bartlesville Oklahoma.

The meeting will begain at 12:15pm. The organization educates freedmen tribal members and the general public on their rights and responsibilities as tribal members. Band officers Marilyn Vann and Vera Jones will update meeting attendants on their recent trip to Washington DC to visit members of Congress to request support for legislation supprting the freedmens rights.

The special speaker for the meeting will be John Gomez, a former Pechanga Nation tribal official who is currently President of the American Indian Rights and Resources Organization (AIRRO), an organization which fights for the rights of California Indians who have been disenrolled as citizens of California Indian tribes in violation of federal, state, and or Indian nation tribal law. The meeting is free and open to the general public. Meeting attendants are asked to bring a "covered dish" to share with the other meeting attendants.

Cherokee Freedmen: Historical Facts Clarify Citizenship Issue

Study of historical facts clarifies Freedmen citizenship issue
By Dr. Dan Littlefield
Director of Sequoyah Research Center

The controversy over Freedmen citizenship in the Cherokee Nation has led to misunderstanding & misstatement of historical facts. These misrepresentations come from various sources: citizens who are simply unlearned in Cherokee history, politicians who tend to rewrite Cherokee history to serve their own purposes and out-and-out racists.

No matter who causes the misunderstanding or makes misstatements, all promote a distortion of the historical facts, which must be clarified ifCherokee citizens are to make informed decisions. It is time for them not only to face the facts, but honestly to re-evaluate their positions in light of them. Because so much attention focuses on the work of the Dawes Commission and the Dawes rolls, they should consider the background for making Cherokee rolls and what the Dawes Commission did.

The argument that the Freedmen never had full citizenship rights in theCN prior to the Dawes period is spurious. In 1866, for the first time, theFreedmen gained the first citizenship they had ever held. It was the only citizenship they would have until 1901, when the United States made all of the citizens of the CN citizens of the United States as well. The Freedmen's rights in the Cherokee Nation were guaranteed by the Treaty of 1866, which the CN signed and carried out. It did so admirably, considering the racial climate in the adjoining states at the time.

Read more HERE

Our Ancestor, Paulina Hunter, an Original Pechanga Temecula person is also featured with a picture in Rose's newsletter.