Pechanga Tribe Insults Judicial Process, Apis Descendent Granted More Time to Serve Mark Macarro and the Tribal Council

We have videos coming from Mr. Joe Liska, who is fighting for his rights in a San Diego court.


The Pechanga Tribe's attorney did not show up in court, leading the judge to extend time to serve Pechanga's tribal council.





Continue the good work, Mr. Liska.

CA BIA Runs Roughshod Over Small Tribe, Cowers from Gaming Tribes

The Bureau of Indian Affairs is strongarming the small California Valley Miwok Tribe over it's handling of a disenrollment issue. Meanwhile the BIA quakes from it's responsibility when it comes to protecting the civil rights of THOUSANDS of California Indians

There will be a protest tomorrow in Sacramento, here is the press release:

The California Valley Miwok Tribe invites you to join us in our open protest against the local Bureau of Indian Affairs, Dept. of the Interior, Central California Agency

Our Tribe is a federally recognized Tribe that is listed in the Federal Register as an Indian Entity Recognized and Eligible to receive services from the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs.

The Central California Agency - BIA is illegally trying to re-organize a federally recognized Tribe that has never been terminated, that has a Custom and Tradition Tribal Constitution ratified by the Tribe in March 2000. The local BIA has been illegally withholding our Mature Status 638
Contract since 2008 and by refusing to confirm to the California Gambling Control Commission who our duly elected Chairperson is, BIA has caused the CGCC to illegally withhold the Tribe's Revenue Sharing Trust Fund Monies (RSTF) since 2005.

Our civil rights have been violated. The local BIA is also violating federal law

MORE LATER

California Indian Gaming Associations OUSTS Miranda of Pechanga as Chairman

The California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA), the largest tribal gaming association in the state, announced today the election of Daniel J. Tucker to the position of chairman and Steve Stallings to the position of the organization's treasurer.

Leon Benner, from the Redding Rancheria, a tribe that denies civil rights to many members of its tribe, was reelected Eastern Representative and Cody Martinez, Treasurer of the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, was elected as Southern Representative.


Chairman Tucker, who is also the chairman of the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, of which Governor Schwarzenegger lied to the state about their compact for expanded gaming, previously served as chairman of CNIGA between 1995 and 2001. He was at the helm during the organization's formative years and led it through many of tribal gaming's most significant milestones in California including the Proposition 5 and 1A campaigns and the original round of compacting with the state in 1999 in which 61 tribes signed agreements. These propositions led to many tribes such as Pechanga, Picayune, Redding and Enterprise among others to ELIMINATE many of their tribal members to engorge their wallets with extra per capita monies.

"I would also like to acknowledge the good work done by Anthony Miranda (brother of Pechanga Development Corporations David Miranda)during his six-year term as Chairman of the organization. Miranda's hard work and dedication steered the organization through a significant developmental phase and helped create prosperity throughout Indian Country."

Stallings, a tribal council member of the Rincon Band of Luiseno Indians, brings a wealth of experience to the CNIGA treasurer's position. He is currently the senior vice-president and Director of the Native American Banking Services group for Wells Fargo.

Both Chairman Tucker and Treasurer Stallings were elected to two-year terms.

Founded in 1988, the California Nations Indian Gaming Association is a non-profit association comprised of federally recognized tribal governments dedicated to the protection of tribal sovereignty and the right of tribes to conduct gaming on their lands. Tribal government gaming operations currently employ more than 58,000 Californians. Tribes like Pechanga have had to eliminate workers with the poor economy. Many tribes have dropped out of CNIGA: Dropping long-held memberships in recent years include: Pechanga; Cabazon Band of Mission Indians; Torres Martinez Band of Desert Cahuilla Indians; Twentynine Palms Band of Mission Indians; Soboba Band of Mission Indians; and Augustine Band of Cahuilla Indians.

Does Tribal Sovereignty Protect Tribal Officials from Racketeering or Embezzlement?

Frequent commenter to Original Pechanga's Blog Allen L. Lee says NO:

If the person implicated for criminal acts while serving as tribal officials are actually found guilty of racketeering or embezzlement while they were tribal officials, their is no tribal sovereign immunity for those crimes.

If the dis-enrollments and moratorium can be directly tied to racketeering by criminals who have a strangle-hold on the tribal government, then federal intervention may be warranted for both the dis-enrollments and the moratorium? Don't know for sure, but it looks like racketeering, embezzlement, and fraud should be investigated.

It would mean that every official act made by suspect government oficials was also suspect, including state gambling compacts, dis-enrollments and the moratorium, land into trust, BIA contracts, etc.

OP: It would seem like the Justice Department would take an interest in a tribal council that manipulates an enrollment committee to secure the outcome they desire: Getting families disenrolled to increase their own per capita payments. This is theft of government funds.

Also:

1. Refusing to follow the Tribal Constitution so that open enrollment doesn't allow in rightful members.

2. Refusing to follow the will of the people by stopping all disenrollments which was voted on after a petition was declared valid.

3. Allowing the enrollment committee to admit the family members of Bobbi LeMere to secure her vote against the Hunter family. This would be "against" the "valid" moratorium. Why were LeMere's family allowed in?

What's YOUR opinion?

Morongo Lays of 95, after Pechanga Laid of 400

The Morongo Resort Casino & Spa has laid off 95 people, making it the latest Indian casino in the region to scale back in the face of the growing economic downturn, the tribe announced Tuesday.
All of the employees are dealers or table-game operators and represent 5 percent of the casino's work force.

The casino, which sits along Interstate 10 near Cabazon, closed 28 table games months ago. Management also began reducing the casino's work force through attrition more than a year ago and froze managers' salaries

The Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians laid off about 400 employees at its Temecula-area resort over the summer, citing the economic hard times. That was AFTER shedding 400 jobs previously.
LOOKS LIKE THE STATE WILL NOT GET the $9 BILLION the tribes promised us with Props. 94-97. I believe we at OP's Blog told you so.

Tribal Disenrollments: "Like Being Raped, and Then Going to the Person that RAPED YOU for Justice"

A news story on tribal disenrollments and moratoriums had the perfect quote as a post title, from Carla Maslin, from the Redding Rancheria of Northern California. 300 Pechanga People know exactly what she means, having been "raped" of their citizenship, benefits and security by Pechanga Chairman Mark Macarro, the enrollment committee led by Bobbi LeMere and certain members of the Tribal Council, Russell "Butch" Murphy and Andrew Masiel among them.

From that article:

Tribal membership disputes are also a problem across the country, with as many as 4,000 tribe members fighting for enrollment, said Carla Maslin, a disenrolled member of the Redding Rancheria in Northern California and an advocate for disenfranchised tribe members.
Maslin's case has gone nowhere in tribal court, she said. "It's like being raped and going to the person who raped you for justice," Maslin said.

These enrollment issues don't just strip away income from a potential casino, they limit access to education, health care and the cultural benefits of belonging to a tribe, she said."Someone is trying to steal away something that doesn't belong to them," Maslin said. "They're trying to steal their identity and heritage."

Here was how "those who raped us" administered J U S T I C E

• The Pechanga Tribe said they'd give us a fair hearing, but consoldidated our cases so that we couldn't individually bring our case forward. (to keep the rapists from having to listen to 95 of my family)
• We had a limit of to any written statement.
• We were not allowed to send attachments or records (such as Dr. Johnson's report that determined our family was indeed Pechanga)
• We must treat our rapists with respect, disrepectful conduct was "not to be tolerated" (lie back and enjoy it)
• You MAY NOT ask questions, or call witnesses or present additional evidence or documents (we rape, therefore we will hear no evil)
• You will be subject to a PAT DOWN SEARCH, even if you are elderly.
• NO note taking instruments of any kind permitted. (and we won't wear a condom)
• Grouping will be 15 people and you have 30 minutes (2 minutes per person and we aren't listening anyway, so who cares?)
• We, the Tribal Council don't have to be on time for your appeal. (Masiel was late, but no matter, his mind was made up)
• The enrollment committee commands you to use certified documents, however, the EC will accept hearsay from child molester in prison (Megan's Law website: Ibanez, Vincent)
• Rapist PROHIBIT the presence of legal representatives. (ACLU anyone?)

As you can see, the "rapist" in our case, had their own brand of justice. NO CIVIL RIGHTS for us. And this is who Congressman Darrell Issa and Sen. Jim Battin stand with.

20 Yrs of Indian Fortunes & Feuds From Pechanga Dishonor to Struggling Tribes.

An article in today Union Tribune has some stories about what has happened to some tribes since the IGRA became law. Some tribes have become rich, some are on their way. Some like Pechanga, Redding, Picayune, Enterprise have cut the hearts out of some of their tribes elders, and children.

When Pechanga Chairman Mark Macarro went on television to implore the citizens of California to help make tribes SELF RELIANT, we thought that they would work together for the betterment of everyone. Instead, tribal members got swallowed up in greed and infighting and bullying became the rule of the day.

Tribes complained about treaties being broken by the white man, yet, the Cherokee have hurt the Freedmen with a treaty of over 140 years that was broken.

Picayune (Chukchansi) eliminated 500 people from their tribe, dulling the glitter.
Pechanga has kept 500 people OUT of the tribe that rightfully should be in via an illegal moratorium and have also terminated 300, while FORCIBLY removing children and escorting them from the reservation school, noted in this KNBC VIDEO. Now, they have eliminated 700 jobs due to economic slowdowns and the public avoiding them for casinos of tribes that have not treated their people so badly.

The links have more of the story and here's that UTrib story:


Much has changed in the 20 years since Congress enacted the landmark Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which set the ground rules for Indian casinos and changed life forever at Viejas and many other reservations.

Before gaming, Viejas was a dying tribe, mired in poverty that fostered drug and alcohol abuse, discouraged education and contributed to an infant mortality rate approaching 20 percent.
“What a difference,” Pico said. “Gaming gave us the opportunity to be able to think and plan. Before, we just had a high interest in surviving.”

Yet other local tribes – Ewiiaapaayp, Jamul, Los Coyotes, Manzanita, Mesa Grande – have yet to cash in their casino dreams.

Across California and the nation, Indian gaming has brought uneven results, from unimaginable wealth for a relative few to years of frustration for others and worse, such as members being banished as political power came to mean control of serious money.
“We don't have to worry about the federal government terminating us anymore,” said Clyde Bellecourt, national director of the American Indian Movement. “We're terminating ourselves.”

While big tribes with large reservations had dominated Indian affairs nationally, casino wealth has flowed largely to smaller tribes, such as most of those in San Diego County and California.
“The economic benefit that it brought was kind of inverse to some of the needs that existed in Indian Country,” said Philip Hogen, an Oglala Sioux and chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission.
Rather than the large, rural reservations, “it was tribes that by accident of history and geography found themselves next to a metropolitan market who made the most of it,” Hogen said. “Nothing wrong with that. Nobody said it wasn't going to work that way.”
The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was a compromise, six years in the making, driven in the end by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in California v. Cabazon.
The court ruled that Cabazon, a 25-member band in Riverside County, and other tribes could continue to conduct high-stakes bingo on their reservations without state regulation or interference.

“After the Cabazon decision, there was a lot of concern that the floodgates were open,” said Bill Eadington, a gambling expert at the University of Nevada Reno. The gaming act “was really an attempt to plug the dike . . . to create a level playing field between tribes and other interests.”
Instead, Indian gambling quickly exceeded expectations, Eadington said.
From $200 million in 1988, it mushroomed into a $26 billion industry nationwide by 2007, with nearly $8 billion in California, the dominant Indian gaming state with 58 casinos.

But just 69 of the country's 420 Indian casinos generated $18.8 billion, or 72 percent, of the $26 billion. Many of the most successful tribes – such as Barona, Pala, Sycuan and Viejas of San Diego County – also are in California.
Twenty years ago, few knew or cared that San Diego County was home to more tribes – 17 – than any other county in the nation. Today, only Riverside County has as many tribal casinos – 10.

Some California Indians have become multimillionaires, but only about 32,000 people – less than 10 percent of the state's American Indian population – belong to a gaming tribe, according to the latest state and federal data.
In a program unique to California, gaming tribes pay into funds that have distributed nearly $525 million over the past seven years to more than 70 less-fortunate tribes.

But gaming appears to have done little to bring down alarming unemployment rates. California reservations reported a 49 percent jobless rate, matching the national level, according to the 2005 American Indian Population and Labor Force Report, which contains the latest data available.

Flush gaming tribes have become political powers, contributing hundreds of millions of dollars to candidates and campaigns across the nation.

Read more HERE

Little Change in Poverty, Unemployment in CA Tribes; Pechanga ADDS to both

Tribal Gaming is good for a few, but did not help most Native Americans in California. Pechanga has massacred more Indians in the Temecula area in the last five years than the white man had the previous 150 years! Pechanga hired an expert to PROVE that some were not members and he proved they WERE, yet the tribe still accomplished its goal to remove them, evidence be damned.

There are many links in this article, please take the time to look at them.


Malcolm Maclachlan at Capitol Weekly reports that poverty and unemployment among California Indian tribes remains unchanged years after the people of California authorized Indian Gaming based on the promises of people like Pechanga Tribal Chairman Mark Macarro told us that gaming would lift all out of poverty.

The BIA released the new data with an interesting caveat: They’re looking for help in improving their own numbers. The BIA says reporting from some tribes across the country has been spotty — an opinion echoed by some who work with tribes — and they are creating a training program to help make sure that tribes report accurate data.

Their 2005 numbers, the latest available, came out on Sept. 16. They appear to show a California Indian population whose circumstances haven’t changed much in recent years. For 2005, the BIA lists 106 federally recognized tribes in California. The figures show about 38,000 adults “available” to work, but an unemployment rate of 47 percent. Of those people who are working, 29 percent were still under the federal poverty line.

For instance, the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians is now teaching children the native Luiseno language. OP: Those children that are left in the school, after the tribe physically removed the children of those that they terminated.
But she also noted major differences between gaming and non-gaming tribes.

“In a government budget, $1.1 million is nothing if you need to provide roads and infrastructure,” Jensen said. “$1.1 million barely buys you a quarter mile of road.”
Harvey also noted that the BIA survey list is confined to enrolled members of federally recognized tribes probably encompasses less than half of the people in California who consider themselves Indians.

Viejas showed 68 percent unemployment, which the Pala Band came in at 62 percent. Pechanga reported a 91 percent unemployment rate. OP: Here's WHY.

MONEY QUOTE: Some of the reported membership figures are also likely to change in coming reports due to the trend of tribal disenrollments. The Picayune Rancheria Chukchansi Indians reported having 1,234 members in 2003 but only 1,173 two years later. At a June tribal meeting last year, the tribe reported having only 691 members. Many others have been disenrolled—told they are not eligible to be members of the tribe. The Pechanga Band reported having 1,372 members in every report in both 1999 to 2005, yet has disenrolled dozens of members OP: Uh, Malcolm, make that HUNDREDS!since then.

Many tribes say they have disenrolled members who did not have legitimate claims to be members, but many of the disenrolled proved they were kicked out so the casino profits would be cut into fewer slices.

OP: And yet, local governments and the ACLU and NAACP continue to avoid dealing with the violations of civil and human rights that the tribes have perpetrated on their own people. Democratic Chairman HOWARD DEAN even glorifies some of those that have abused their own. Kicking elders to the curb must be a requirement for Democrats?

I urge all readers to continue to learn about this at:

www.airro.org
www.tribalcorruption.org
www.pechanga.info

And PLEASE, pass my blog onto your email lists, my archives are FULL of information.

The Most Shared Video on KNBC is Pechanga: Without A Tribe

After two years, it's STILL the most shared video on KNBC.

Without a Tribe details the story of what the Pechanga Tribe did to the Hunter family and the Manuela Miranda family. Pechanga Chairman Macarro gets caught in a lie his first 15 seconds into his infomercial.

There is a place to rate the video. If you like it, please rate it high. If you think it's unfair, rate it lower, if you think it's so-so, then rate it in the middle.

Pechanga Tribal Elections: Aftermath

It looks like the hold that the Masiel-Basquez-Salazar line of people have lost their 'aura' of invincibility.

Andy Masiel could manage just 129 votes, which means that few, other than his extended family voted for him. Contrast that to the 2004 when 83% of the Pechanga electorate voted, and Masiel, (whose Uncle is a Soboba member) received 324 votes.

Voting was in the low 60% range this election.

Donna Barron and Mark Luker, who were not supported by the CPP in the 2006 election, were again elected to the tribal council.

Could the impending criminal indictments have cast a shadow over these elections? Certainly, they carried some weight.

CONGRATULATIONS to Gabriel Pico for gaining a seat on the Tribal Council. We also congratulate Ken Perez.

Pechanga Elections: A FIRST in Many Years: No Terminations

There are 18 days left until the elections. No, not those elections. The elections for the Pechanga Tribal Council will be held on July 19th.

Since the passage of the Tribe’s Constitution and Bylaws, Tribal Council have been held on the 3rd Saturday of July in every even year. That being said, what makes the upcoming elections special is the fact that these elections are the first in several elections cycles in which over 100 Pechanga tribal members have not been disenrolled just prior to casting their ballot.

Just in case you forgot, in 2004, over 200 tribal members were disenrolled prior to the Constitutionally mandated elections. As a result, there was almost a complete over-haul of the Tribal Council and Chairman Macarro retained his seat.

In 2006, just prior to the elections, nearly 100 eligible voters were stripped of their tribal membership, and as a result, their right to participate in tribal elections was denied. The disenrollment of these members was especially egregious as the tribe had passed a law in 2005 barring future disenrollments.

Chairman Macarro and the Tribal Council saw the enactment of the law by the General Membership as a threat to their continued membership on the Council and unilaterally decided to direct the Enrollment Committee to proceed with disenrollment action.

Unlike previous elections, it appears that the 2008 Tribal Council elections will not be held under a cloud of suspicion. It also appears so far that the results of the elections may not be impacted by gross human and civil rights which deny 100’s of eligible voters from participating.

But, then again, there are still 18 days to go, and anything can happen.

UPDATE II: Dissension at Pechanga Concerning Upcoming Indictments?

UPDATE II: Interesting back and forth in the comment section. Some questions from Amo'kat:
Munoaboy, please answer these questions.
Article 11 of the Pechanga constitution says, " the enrollment shall opened the first month of every year by the band's enrollment committee."Even so, even if the constitution did allow a moratorium, which it doesn't, it was only supposed to be for one year, for as you say, to catch up on the paperwork,which to a lot of people made sense as a lot of people were coming to join the tribe at that time. But was it needed for over ten years with an eight year extension now on top of that to catch up on paperwork?What kind of idiots need 18+ years to catch up on paperwork or is that just an excuse for those who pushed for the moratorium and they lied just like they lied about a lot of other things?

Munoaboy, do you realize that when a member of the Hunters and two members of the Manuela Mirandas were on the enrollment committee they found out that the committee had been burying applications that were in on time before the moratorium started and since these applications weren't processed on time, a lot of people were stuck in the moratorium that shouldn't have been?
The Hunter and M Mirandas then went to one of the tribal attorneys who told them he couldn't advise them on what to do per instructions from John Macarro.

IT IS WHEN THEY FOUND OUT THERE WAS WRONG DOING ON THE ENROLLMENT COMMITTEE WHEN THE ENROLLMENT COMMITTEE MEMBERS WHO WERE DOING WRONG STARTED THE DISENROLLMENT NONSENSE!IN THE LONG RUN LAWLESSNESS WILL NOT PREVAIL AND THE RULE OF LAW WILL WIN OUT AND WE WILL BE BACK.AGAIN, I JUST HOPE YOU ARE NOT SHOCKED TO FIND OUT THAT YOU WILL BE JOINING US ON THE SIDELINES, DISENROLLED, IN THE MEANTIME! DON'T YOU WANT TO BE PART OF A TRIBE THAT FOLLOWS ITS OWN LAWS LIKE IT IS SUPPOSED TO? YOU CAN BE PART OF THE SOLUTION BY INSISTING THAT PECHANGA FOLLOWS ITS OWN LAWS!


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It looks like there is the foment of dissension at the Pechanga Reservation, home of the Splinter Group.

The indictments of Pechanga employees and members will be coming soon. Reports are that as many as 40 indictments will be handed down, including those for the son of former Pechanga spokesperson Jennie Miranda.

The adopted families are concerned that Larry won't be rehired at Pechanga casino, (ya think?). Uh, why hire criminals who steal from the casino and the Pechanga people? In fact, why isn't he disenrolled?

Stay tuned for more, but, it sounds like more people are standing up to the thugs in the back of the room. Of course, RB Jr. is good at threatening gestures, though not in backing them up.

Temecula, will you quit going to Pechanga while they are under indictment? I heard they are laying off people since they put in the new machines?

UPDATE: QUESTIONS:

Is PECHANGA letting some of their employees GO?
Are credit checks the excuse they are using to eliminate people?
Has the union tried to organize yet?
Has Pechanga finally paid it's bill to the state?
IS Pechanga a bad neighbor that does some good things?

Pechanga's Splinter Group: Breaking Away from the Band

The Splinter Group - Part 3

The Pechanga Band had a stable government for many years. Over a period of 10 years or so, the Band developed and adopted a Constitution and an Enrollment procedure in response to the growing population on the reservation and the need of the Band for a more formal governing structure.
After the Constitution was adopted and the enrollment criteria decided upon, the Band proceeded to enroll approximately 450 members in full compliance with its enrollment procedures.
A small group of dissidents, led by BM, refused to acknowledge the Band’s Constitution and the tribal enrollment process. In fact, they refused to apply for enrollment. This small group announced to the Pechanga Band at a tribal meeting that they were breaking away from the Band and forming their own tribal government.

Prior to breaking away from the Band, the Splinter Group took steps to disrupt the workings of the government. Below are some quotes regarding the Splinter Group’s actions: “…we never did get past the first item which was a petition circulated by JM to abolish the bylaws and new roll. They wanted to go by recognition only…If they don’t like you, you never get recognized though you would be a legitimate member by lineal descent.” “…I felt we needed police protection. They were that violent.” “…the violence of the opposition would not allow the continuance of agenda. Now they are starting their own band. This stems from agitators who probably do not have a Pechanga or Temecula back ground.” “We may have to take legal action before something drastic happens here.”
These actions, along with their need to abolish the adopted Constitution and enrollment criteria and their failure to apply for enrollment, are signs that the Splinter Group “probably do not have a Pechanga or Temecula back ground.”

If they did have lineal descent and could meet the enrollment criteria developed and approved by the tribe, why was it necessary to cause such disruption of tribal government and eventually break away to form its own government with separate enrollment criteria?

Was their breaking away from the Band to form their own government a concession that they in fact could not meet the enrollment criteria and they were not tribal members as defined in the Band’s governing documents?

Welcome to Visitors From John Cornsilk's Place

Thank you for stopping by. We share some information on the Cherokee here, but we are mainly Pechanga-centric, spreading the word of how Pechanga has terminated 25% of the tribe with their Indian Removal Act.

Stay and check some articles and, PLEASE, come back.

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