Tribal Disenrollment: Airing A Tribe's DIRTY LAUNDRY in PUBLIC is a GOOD THING: SPOTLIGHTS are a GOOD Disinfectant

Pechanga Elder Lawrence Madariaga Died without JUSTICE

I'm reprising a post from 2007 where Pechanga remaining members (remainers?) were upset that we were speaking out in public about the horrid actions of the CPP haters. We culled the story from the old Paulina Hunters blog on My Space, which is seldom seen. In essence, the remainers are upset about being called out, but NOT upset about violations of civil rights, human rights, Pechanga Constitution, Child Molesters....... 

Pechanga Chairman Mark Macarro Standing AGAINST North Fork Rancheria Sharing the Gaming Wealth

Pechanga Chairman Mark Macarro is LAUGHABLY dishonest when talking about honoring the trust. This is the same Macarro that did not follow the will of the people in tribal disenrollment matters within the tribe.  He dishonored his own position.  It seems here that the Macarro motto would be: A LIE is as GOOD as the TRUTH...if I can make you believe it.

While we agree that tribes should NOT get gaming off their reservations, let's not kid ourselves.  Mark Macarro DOES NOT CARE about the citizens of California, remember, he tried to keep citizens from VOTING on the expanded gaming propositions.

Remind yourself that Macarro  ALSO promised to have a finite number of slot machines, yet he oversaw the placement of class II machines that surpassed the 2,000 limit at the time. That's NOT honoring the Trust.

Nooksack Chairman Bob Kelly LAWBREAKER - Shows CONTEMPT for Tribal Court's Ruling

Our friends from the NOOKSACK 306 have passed this on to us, which show that "tribal courts" don't mean a thing when you are corrupt.

Our lawyers have filed a MOTION FOR CONTEMPT OF COURT against the Kelly Faction for violating the Tribal Court's order on Christmas support payments. 
They continued to cut checks to non-306 members after the ruling on December 18, but Bob Kelly, Abby Smith and Katherine Canete told staff to not cut Christmas support checks to the 306 too. 

That is a breach of the Court's Order! And three non-306 members were fired from accounting in the process. Our hands go up to Leah Zapata for submitting a sworn declaration to the Judge, explaining how the Kelly Faction has once again broke Nooksack and federal law.

AUDIO LINK ADDED: Native America Calling with Tara Gatewood: Is Disenrollment Cultural Genocide? YES, IT IS

I will be on Native America Calling discussing tribal disenrolment tomorrow with Tara Gatewood.  The latest embarrassment to tribal history is coming from the Nooksack Tribe.

The Nooksack Tribe of Washington is currently involved in a bitter battle over the disenrollment of 306 tribal members. The lawyers for the potential disenrollees claim it is an act of “cultural genocide.” 

Disenrollment from a tribe is not just about identity. It can mean the loss of healthcare, jobs, and family land. But determining tribal membership is the sovereign right of each tribe. Is disenrollment a question of cultural genocide or correcting mistakes of past enrollment?

Here is the website for that show which is on at 1 EASTERN 10 Pacific airing locally on:

http://www.nativeamericacalling.com/ram/2013/sep/090913.m3u

Please listen and tell your friends

Pechanga FORGETS their Military History on Memorial Day. Thank You Veterans, For Defending Our Country

The Hunter Family, disenrolled from the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians after over 200 years of living in the Temecula area have many veterans who served in our military.  Once the Pechanga Resort & Casino opened, corruption lead to exterminating these veterans from their membership rolls and history.

Pechanga Veterans of the Hunter Family

We salute our Pechanga Veterans for your courage, honor and commitment.

· Cuevas, Felipe - Army
· Cuevas, David - Army
Cuevas, Thomas - Army
Vasquez, Robert - Navy
· Harris, William A - Air Force
· Miller, Dario - Army
· Miller, John D - Navy
· Miller, Louie - Army
· Poole, Mary Ann - Navy  - Husband Paul A. Poole served in the US Navy.
. Poole, Gregory - Navy
· Smith, Maltilda - Army    - Husband Frank Smith served in the Air Force.
. Smith, Frank - Air Force
. Smith, Ernest - Navy
· Tavison, Ernest - Army
* Madariaga, Lawrence - Army

I'm sure I've missed a few. Thank you to all Pechanga people who have served. And shame on the Pechanga Tribal Council for staining the memory of these fine people above. We should honor their memory (and,for those still living) with our courage to maintain this fight to regain what is rightfully ours.

FEEL FREE TO Add your veteran's name in the comments.  THANK YOU TO ALL who served.

OPEN LETTER TO TRIBAL LEADERS: Tribes Fighting Hurts All Indians. She IGNORES Disenrollments.

Here is an open letter from the Chairperson of the NORTH FORK RANCHERIA, which has successfully reservation shopped to get an approval for a casino away from their reservation. She completely ignores the ravages that disenrollment and banishment takes on Indians.

The North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians of California recently became only the sixth tribe in the past 25 years to successfully navigate the Secretarial “two-part” process for acquiring new land for tribal-government gaming.

Our Tribe, with over 1,950 tribal citizens, engaged in this rigorous and lengthy federal process because, like other Indian people nation-wide, we had been denied a land base or “functional” reservation from which to conduct economic development for the betterment of our people due to numerous historical injustices.

For over a decade we worked in a collaborative and transparent manner with local, state and federal officials to reclaim a small fraction of our historical land base.  Our project was assessed and approved by two gubernatorial administrations, two federal administra­tions, four Interior Secretaries, nine Assistant Secretaries, and multiple local jurisdictions.

We now have 305 acres of tribal land in Madera County in trust and our goal with this land is similar to the goals of other California tribes with trust land eligible for gaming. We seek to build a tribal-government gaming facility on sovereign land to provide economic self-sufficiency for our Tribe and citizens and generate business opportunities and investment in Madera County.

Our project, which is overwhelmingly supported by our local community, carries the added, and perhaps most important, benefit of being able to immediately generate thousands of local jobs in one of the most economically depressed regions of the state and nation.

The final remaining administrative step in this process is the State Legislature’s ratification of our State-Tribal Gaming Compact, which we negotiated with Governor Jerry Brown.  Similar to other recently ratified gaming compacts, our compact provides substantial payments to mitigate local impacts and funding for non-gaming tribes across the state while lessening local and state fiscal obligations. Paired with the Wiyot Tribe’s compact, our compact also avoids large-scale economic development in ecologically sensitive regions near the Sierra National Forest/Yosemite (North Fork) and Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge (Wiyot).

Native American tribes – especially those, like us, without a functional land base -- face many obstacles in overcoming decades of poverty, political disenfranchisement, and loss of historical lands. Perhaps the most surprising barrier we face comes from tribes with established gaming facilities using their financial and political power to crush the social and economic aspirations of newcomer tribes like ours in order to protect their own self-interests.

Some of these tribes say they don’t want competition—or even the potential for as yet unforeseen competition. Others appear to be seeking political advantage for future negotiations with the state or other parties. Whatever the motivation, some tribes today seek to interfere with or derail other legitimate tribal gaming projects.  OP:  We wrote about that in Indian vs. Indian and Thuggish Chukchansi Tribe…

Claims by some tribal leaders that seek to restrict other tribes to the tiny, arbitrary, contemporary “reservation” lands that do not accurately reflect actual historical lands are especially disheartening and disappoining. The final determination to approve or reject a tribal gaming enterprise should be based on the facts and merits of each case and not on the fear of future potential competition or misrepresentations of a tribe’s process in pursuing opportunity for its people.

The North Fork Rancheria supports all tribes in their endeavors to restore and rebuild tribal legitimacy, cultures, resources, and lands. Through the years we have supported many tribes acquiring new land for gaming -- including some who now oppose us.
OP: Madame Chairperson, you have been STUNNINGLY quiet over the corruption happening to your closest neighbors by the tribal council at the Picayune Rancheria and we've never heard from you about what's going on in the south at Pechanga, Santa Ysable and Pala..
The destructive pattern of Tribe vs. Tribe, Indians fighting Indians must stop before it undermines all tribes, tribal citizens, tribal gaming, and tribal-sovereignty.

By fighting one another, we risk losing our Native ways and dignity -- our understanding and practice of true indigenous values, cultures, and principles. If we are not careful, we risk losing the one opportunity that has promised and delivered so much to Indian Country.

Native American tribal leaders today stand at an important crossroads: They can choose the path of tribal infighting and “divide and conquer” tactics that have historically devastated Indian Country. Or they can call upon the traditional values of Native people – respect, caring, and sharing – to ensure that the newfound gains from tribal gaming are enhanced and protected for generations of Native peoples.

Tribal leaders cannot trumpet “tribal sovereignty” publicly while betraying it in private conduct towards fellow tribes. OP, OR actions that HARM THEIR OWN PEOPLE.  We must resolve differences by engaging in respectful, professional tribal government-to-government consultation prior to taking public positions that undermine other sovereign nations.

It’s time for tribes to unite behind tribal sovereignty and solidarity. The proceeds from tribal gaming can do great good for all tribes if we stop fighting and start sharing.   NOT IF THEY STEAL PER CAPITA from rightful members via moratoriums and disenrollment

North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians Elaine Bethel-Fink is Chairperson of the 1,950-tribal-citizen North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians of California. She has served in that position for most of the past decade.

Victor Rocha to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award

Victor Rocha, owner and editor of Pechanga.net, will be presented with the prestigious Casino Marketing Lifetime Achievement Award at the eighth annual Casino Marketing Conference, July 18-20 at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas.

Rocha site has been the subject of a few blogs posts, being as he's first cousin to civil rights violator and chairman of the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indans Mark Macarro.   It's pretty well known that his site censors bad news from the Pechanga Reservation.   Victor was accused of slander by David Miranda, or rather, sending a "slanderous e-mail" who was forced out of his position at Pechanga Development Corp.  Here is the excerpt:

"My questions I may email to [the Tribal Attorney John Macarro], but I hesitate to do so now, and prefer to wait for the bombshell effect. Then, no doubt a degree of confusion will descend and political moves will commence." It was expected that the timing of the emal would cause donfusion among our elected leaders on the Tribal Council and cause them to make political moves to save their own jobs.


We've also taken Victor to task for comments made to women:

Author and Editor Rocha's eloquent response, apparently speaking for Pechanga, as he responded without authorization. Will he be censured?


From: Victor Rocha
Date: 5/25/2008 11:44:25 PM
To: Marcie

Subject: RE: Disenrollment

Blah, blah, blah, blah!

STFU & GFY    (Internet slang for Shut the Fuck Up and Go Fuck Yourself)

Congratulations to the Casino Marketing Conference on their fine choice.

Victor Rocha

http://www.pechanga.net

Pechanga Tribe and Chairman Macarro Want Californians to Pay MORE taxes. Many Pechanga People are EXEMPT from State income taxes

Steven Greenhut from Cal Watchdog reports that the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians SUPPORT more taxes for Californians. Well, that's because many of THEM do not pay income taxes, because they live on the reservation. Here's what Steven wrote:

Governor Jerry Brown today announced that he has received supportive letters from the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians and the California Grocers Association for his budget plan and letting California voters decide whether or not to temporarily extend existing taxes.

In a letter to the California State Legislature, Mark Macarro, tribal chairman of Pechanga Tribe wrote, “Given the deep and seemingly unbridgeable philosophical divide that exists in our State Capitol today, we believe the voice of the voters must be heard to determine the size, scope, and efficacy of services provided by state government.”  “California is clearly at a crossroads. The voters and taxpayers should have the right to decide on whether or not to continue paying higher taxes or further reduce funding for public safety, schools, universities, and support for California’s most vulnerable citizens.”



THIS IS THE SAME Mark Macarro that DID NOT want you, the citizens of California to VOTE on expanded gaming, REMEMBER?  THEY SUED us...!  This is rich, and would be funny if not for the tragic events that Pechanga and Mr. Macarro perpetrated on their own citizens.    They have stolen $1.3 million of TAXABLE monies EACH from over 230 people.

How about changing tribal law to have withholding of Pechanga's per capita payments to it's remaining people?   They were up to $360,000 EACH after disenrolling 25% of their tribe.    Come on Macarro, put your OWN money on the line.

Chronology for Pechanga Terminations of Tribal Citizen: Liars and Thieves Run Amok

Chronology of Events of Pechanga's Disenrollments.

 1. In December 2001, Yolanda McCarter (niece of Irene Scearce and Ruth Masiel OP: and she is the one on the Pechanga infomercial saying she could die happy if she didn't have the casino money.) submitted a letter to Enrollment Committee demanding the Committee research several families including ours. The request stated that "this (be) straightened up before the next election in July." (So that there would be less votes, a clear sign that they wanted to disenfranchise "several families")

2. In June 2002, Enrollment Committee Chairperson Mary Magee is removed from the Committee for divulging confidential information. (She was caught talking about other families. Her sister is Gloria Wright, who is CPP) A petition is justified to amend the Disenrollment Procedures. A vote to approve or deny the petition is set for July 2002. (Petition is not brought forth until February 2003.) The newly built Pechanga Resort and Casino is opened. This is a permanent structure which replaced the original Casino structures which were in modular and sprung structure. In October 2002, 2 new members are elected to Enrollment Committee to bring membership up to required 10 members. (A member retired from Committee in September 2002).  Olivia Walls is elected Committee Chair, and we request an audit of Enrollment Committee activities for the previous years and advice from our legal counsel at California Indian Legal Services on how to address wrong-doings by Committee and Committee members.   Our legal counsel is told by John Macarro not to take any action to assist the Committee or answer our questions regarding the wrong-doings. (Wrong doings include enrollment of adult family members of 'certain' enrollment committee members.)

3. November 12, 2002, members of the Enrollment Committee, acting without a quorum and outside the Committee's procedures, serve several other Committee members with disenrollment summonses. The Committee members who took the action were- Irene Scearce, Ruth Masiel, Frances Miranda, Margaret Duncan, and Bobbi Lamere. Those served include John Gomez, Theresa Spears, Olivia Walls, and Sandra Garbani. (Lamere later gets her family members enrolled in the tribe, during the "moratorium", while others have languished for years.

4. On December 10, 2002, Concerned Pechanga People (These were part of the splinter group, many who were not on the original 1979 membership roll, nor allottees, as the Hunters were) submit documents to the Enrollment Committee questioning the lineal descent of several families including the Manuela Miranda descendents, Paulina Hunter descendents, and Garbani descendents. This action was taken a month after the above action. The Concerned Pechanga people are immediate family and friends of Committee members who initiated the November 12, 2002 action.
5. Between December 10, 2002 and February 23, 2003, Concerned Pechanga people make visits to Enrollment Committee and send out flyers to Tribal members urging disenrollment actions be taken against the 3 families they have targeted. The Enrollment Committee does not move forward due to a split as to how to proceed and what constitutes "factual" information related to enrollment.

6. The Concerned Pechanga people move to have Pechanga Development Corporation Elections post-poned until disenrollment occurs. After the PDC elections have been put off for over a month, elections are finally held and Jennie Miranda is voted out of office. She is replaced by a member of the Hunter family. She and members of her family make statements about getting revenge on the Hunters and Manuela people.

7. February 18, 2003, members of the Enrollment Committee, acting without a quorum and outside the Committee's procedures serve several other Committee members with disenrollment summonses. The Committee members who took the action were- Irene Scearce, Ruth Masiel, Frances Miranda, Margaret Duncan, and Bobbi Lamere. Those served include John Gomez, Theresa Spears, Olivia Walls, and Sandra Garbani.

8. From February 24, 2003 to March 18, 2003 Committee is locked out while the Tribal Council reviews actions and concerns of Enrollment Committee Chair.

9. March 7, 2003 letter from Tribal Council nullifying the February 18, 2003 action taken by Committee members to initiate the disenrollment process against several other Enrollment Committee members. Enrollment Committee members removed from committee and Enrollment Committee reconstituted.

10. March 18, 2003, Enrollment Committee now consisting of Bobbi Lamere, Margaret Duncan, and Lori Vasquez reconvene. Committee drafts letters of rescission and send to Committee members who were targeted by February 18, 2003 action.

11. Between March 18, 2003 and June 1, 2003, Concerned Pechanga people meet with the Enrollment Committee to provide additional information against the 3 families targeted and to push the Leyva/Basquez review before the review of any other family. The information questioning the Leyva/Basquez family (which includes Jennie Miranda, Irene Scearce, and Ruth Masiel) was received well after the information questioning the Manuela descendents and the other families. Procedurally, the Manuela descendents and other families should have been reviewed prior to the Leyva/Basquez family and/or the Candelaria Flores review. However, the Enrollment Committee consisted of members- Bobbi Lamere and Margaret Duncan- who acted with and for the Concerned Pechanga people. Even though the Manuela descendents provided information to the Enrollment Committee as early as December 17, 2003 refuting the allegations made by the Concerned Pechanga people, those working with, for, or were/are a part of the Concerned Pechanga people were pushed ahead of us in the review process. This was done to stack the Committee and guarantee our disenrollment.

12. On or about June 1, 2003, the Garbani and Leyva/Basquez families were cleared. Ruth Masiel, Irene Scearce, and Sandra Garbani returned to the Enrollment Committee.


13. Between June 1, 2003 and September 23, 2003, the Manuela descendents provided the Enrollment Committee with additional documents proving lineal descent and refuting the allegations made by the Concerned Pechanga.

14. On September 23, 2003, the Enrollment Committee clears the Candelaria Flores family. Frances Miranda returns to the Committee as a result of this decision. We were once again passed over for review so that a member working with, for, or is/was a part of the Concerned Pechanga people could be put back on the Committee. Frances Miranda's father, Richard Miranda, was a member of our family. The years before he passed away, she was receiving his per capita check as she was "taking care of him". Once he passed away and she was no longer receiving 2 per capita checks, the Splinter Group initiated their disenrollment action against the targeted families.

15. On October 21, 2003, Jennie Miranda provides the Enrollment Committee with a letter regarding the lineage of Pablo Apish. Demands that the Manuela descendents be disenrolled. On October 23, 2003, the Enrollment Committee sends summonses to all adult members who are lineally descended from Manuela Miranda.

Original Pechanga's Blog in TOP 50 of Native American Blogs

Thank you to our readers for helping us spread the word on corruption and disenrollment issues in Indian Country.  According to the site Master's In Counseling, Original Pechanga's Blog is ranked 31 of the top 50 Native American Blogs.

Over the past three years, we have tried to shine a light on the corruption in Indian Country.   We still need help in spreading the word and helping Washington DC understand what some tribal councils like those of  Pechanga, Redding, Picayune are doing to their bretheren.

Temecula Council votes 5-0 to Sue Pechanga Tribe for Monies Owed

The Temecula City Council finds their "cojones".

Temecula and the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians appear headed for the courtroom after the City Council on Tuesday authorized legal action to force the tribe to pay for its casino's effect on city services.

Council members voted 5-0 to seek a legal remedy to a matter they thought was settled with the council's approval in March of a long-term agreement with the tribe.

"Needless to say, it's not something we want to do," Mayor Jeff Comerchero said after the meeting. "It would be my hope that this matter would be settled amicably."

Can the people of Temecula stand behind their city council? Simply do not go to Pechanga Resort and Casino until this matter is settled. There are plenty of good restaurants in the area and do your gaming at Pala or San Manuel.

Corrupt Tribal Leader Mark Macarro of Pechanga Throws Down Gauntlet to City of Temecula

A statement from known liar, Pechanga Chairman Mark Macarro, which throws the gauntlet down to the city of Temecula. The city will quiver and not stand up to Pechanga. Temecula, EXERCISE your MORAL OUTRAGE at what Pechanga has done. BOYCOTT Pechanga.

Tuesday night, the Temecula City Council can decide to continue down a litigious path of conflict and dissipate what remains of any good will between Pechanga and the city. Or, it can honor both the letter and spirit of the Intergovernmental Agreement we reached earlier in the year so we can conclude negotiations with the county of Riverside to complete the agreement.

At the heart of the dispute is a central provision of the deal that calls for the intergovernmental agreements between Pechanga, the city and the county to be interdependent. A primary reason for this interdependence is that the county of Riverside ---- not the city of Temecula ---- provides law enforcement services to the reservation, yet under the proposed agreement Temecula would receive all of the funding for law enforcement and cover the county's law enforcement costs.

Thus, a possibility exists for the county to reject the notion of reimbursement by the city and instead choose to receive the payment directly. In this time of economic recession and chronic government deficits, it would be negligent for the Tribal Council to transfer money before the county signs off on its portion and the agreement is effective.

From Day 1 of the negotiations with the city, we made clear that the intergovernmental agreements were to be interdependent, a fundamental principle that city representatives recognized; otherwise, they would not have approved a clause explicitly requiring the county component also be completed before the agreement were to take effect.

For more than a decade, the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians and the city of Temecula have enjoyed a respectful and beneficial government-to-government relationship. In recent years, the city has received more than $24 million for road improvements and added costs for police and fire services stemming from the Pechanga Resort & Casino.

Thousands of taxpaying jobs have been created for residents of the city, and our tribe has provided millions for youth programs and schools. In addition, we have partnered on initiatives to preserve the heritage and natural landscape of the community. OP: Yes, millions that were taken from rightful Tribal members that were terminated from the tribe in violation of tribal law. That means that Macarro and his family have benefitted from well over $240 MILLION dollars stolen from the Manuela Mirand and Hunter Families, in just the last six years. How much has Temecula gotten, vs Macarro's own family?

Throughout our history with the city of Temecula, not once has Pechanga failed to honor a commitment to the city. So it came as a great shock to learn that the city will be considering filing a lawsuit against us over terms of an agreement that even its own attorney admits is not yet effective.

Regardless of the council decision, Temecula taxpayers will not be paying for off-reservation impacts because the city remains eligible for funding from the Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund. In fact, earlier this year the city submitted a grant application totaling $1 million ---- half of what the city would receive under the agreement it has now jeopardized. That's right; our agreement this year would provide double what the city would receive from the Special Distribution Fund.

Mark Macarro is tribal chairman of the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians.

Temecula Could Sue Pechanga Over Casino Costs; Should City BOYCOTT Pechanga Casino?

Temecula officials are recommending legal action against the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians to cover the costs the tribe's casino incurs on the city.

An item on Tuesday's City Council agenda would direct the city attorney to go to court to get the tribe to pay for the effect Pechanga Resort & Casino has on traffic and city services.

"Given the failure of the Tribe and the County to reach agreement and the consequent failure of the (agreement) to become effective, the City has no alternative but to file litigation to protect its rights ...," a city staff report read.


A lawsuit is a good idea. This will show the city of Temecula how difficult it is to sue for what is right. But, on the good side, it will force Pechanga to defend in court it right to violate agreements with impugnity.

If the agreements with the county, the city and the tribe are interdependent, why didn't Pechanga WAIT until the agreement was in place before they placed the additional slot machines?

Shouldn't the city of Temecula now cancel any planned meetings and events at Pechanga? Shouldn't they advise all city employees to stay away from the casino? Remember, Pechanga has violated the civil rights of many of its members, and made them "former" members via termination, banishment and disenrollment. If you thing AZ's law is a potential civil rights violation waiting to happen, well Temecula citizens, it HAS happened in your OWN BACKYARD. BOYCOTT Pechanga for ACTUAL civil rights violations.

Pechanga Indian Removal Acts

I'll be on vacation for a week, and I'd like to offer up some previous posts that our new readers can catch up on. Time constraints wouldn't allow be to organize these better. Please tell your friends about this blog and come back often! Here's one from January 2008.
The explosion of Indian Gaming in California has lead to some acts that tribes such as Pechanga Band of Temecula would like to keep as “family secrets.” Removing Indians from tribes, pronouncing them non-Indians, had the same effect as Andrew Jackson’s Indian Removal Acts had in 1830’s America. Get the Indians we don’t want or like out of the way.

In 2004 and 2005, as part of the Concerned Pechanga People’s Indian Removal Policy, members of the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians were forced to give up their membership in the tribe whose reservation is in Temecula, CA. Life-long members, who have had land on the reservation for centuries were forcibly expelled from the tribe. This act of paper genocide has had devastating effects on 25% of the Pechanga people.

Elders no longer qualify for the health care that they lobbied the tribe to provide for all its members. The young are not allowed to attend the reservation’s school, being forcibly blocked and told to leave, much in the manner of the white racists who blocked black children from integrating schools in Little Rock in the 1950’s.

Those who were removed, face an unsecured financial future. Many worked for the tribe, were part of all events, meetings, have their dead buried in the Pechanga Cemetery. Now, that has ended. In order to increase the per capita ($15,000 per month at the time of the first removal) some of the descendents of Pablo Apis, the family of Manuela Miranda were terminated from the tribe. Per capita grew to $20,000 per month (plus bonuses) for those remaining, members of the Concerned Pechanga People initiated a misinformation campaign, one that has successfully terminated over 300 Native Americans of Pechanga descent at the time of the second removal (the descendents of Paulina Hunter.) The per capita is now reportedly $40,000 per month.

Blood relatives are banished from the reservations, families who are no longer in the tribe, but live on the reservation property that they’ve owned since the late 1800’s live in fear that the tribe will take away their water, which has been threatened by some of the remaining tribal members. Will Pechanga really turn off their lifeblood, as easily as they took away their civil rights? It’s not difficult to think so, after the atrocities that the CPP have already committed.

The Concerned Pechanga People

This is the group of people that let the blackness of greed take over their hearts and minds.

The Splinter Group

This group is an offshoot of the 1980’s Splinter Group, led by Russell Murphy and assisted by Frances Miranda and Ihrene Scearse (later on the enrollment committee and committed to removing tribal members). Non-enrolled members of Pechanga, they started attending meetings and disrupted the regular goings on of the business. They announced that they were separating from the band and forming their own Tribe. They petitioned the BIA to recognize them, but the BIA refused.

With few exceptions, no member of the splinter group applied for membership because they knew they could not meet the constitutional requirements established by the Pechanga Band.

The actions of the splinter group raise legitimate questions: Are they really Pechanga? Are they able to document their lineal descent from an Original Pechanga Temecula Person as the Pechanga Bands Constitution and Bylaws require? Did they figure that disruption of tribal matters was the way to go?

This is not the portrait of a tribe in need, asking the people of California to allow tribes to have Las Vegas type gaming such as portrayed in the Prop. 1A and Prop. 5 television commercials of the 1990’s. This is about power, greed and violations of civil rights, voting rights, and elder abuse. It’s about tribal governments wielding sovereignty like a club and it’s about individual Indians that have nowhere to turn for justice.

I’ll explore this more in future posts, with thoughts on expanded gaming in California and what it feels like to be told you aren’t who you know you are.