Syrian & South African Sovereignty and Tribal Sovereignty, Birds of a Feather?

 Our President, Barack Obama is preparing to attack a sovereign country, Syria for attacks on their own people.  The Congress of the United States imposed sanctions on the sovereign nation of South Africa for the oppression of their majority population.

Why then, does our congress refuse to act against sovereign tribal nations, such as The Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians, which is currently running as apartheid system on their reservation?  Why does the Democratic Party, supposedly the party of civil rights, stand by when civil rights are obviously violated, in Pechanga’s case by members of their own Native American Caucus?

Currently, the Pechanga Tribal Council, led by Mark Macarro, has eliminated 25% of his tribe.  He has threatened landowners with expulsion from the reservation for the egregious acts of:  Using playground equipment and being in the park area unaccompanied by a tribal member.  He had his Tribal Rangers, trespass on private property to threaten allottee against trespassing on tribal land.

Yes, he has stripped the equivalent of 8 MILLION CA voters of their right to vote in tribal elections, thereby ensuring he maintains his power base and can spend tribal money with no oversight, and cover for his brother’s spending of tribal money on personal family trips.  All the while keeping politicians in check with campaign contributions and keeping local politicians in line with a few thousand dollars to local schools, this after he segregated the tribal school, forcibly removing children with the power of his Tribal Rangers.

It is past time for our politicians to do the right thing for the people who have been abused by tribes that wield sovereignty like a club against the weak.   

This is not an issue that affects only Pechanga, it includes tribes like the Pala Band of Luiseno Indians, and others in the north, including the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians, the Redding Rancheria and one tribe angling Gov. Jerry Brown for a casino, the Enterprise Rancheria.    

The news media is strangely quiet. You won’t read much of this in the Press Enterprise, who blithely looks the other way and some local police incident reports look like press releases.   At one protest, the sheriff’s department lined up to protect the TRIBE against a concerned group of elderly women, men and young children.   Hiding behind the walls of the Pechanga Casino, they missed the threats from tribal members to protesters.

Readers, it’s time to stand up against tribal abuses.  HOW?   Do not patronize their businesses and let them KNOW why you aren’t coming back. In Temecula, there are plenty of places to spend your entertainment dollar. If you want to gamble, there is the San Manuel Casino in San Bernardino, Casino Pauma is nearby.  AVOID Pala!  If YOU respond economically, the tribe will react.   Don’t attend functions there and ask your local politicians to no longer use their casino for meetings and dinners.  All the while informing these corrupt tribes WHY you are no longer coming.   It worked in South Africa, it can work here.   Reform is needed and you can help.

Before we look to our President to launch Tomahawk cruise missiles at a sovereign nation, We should look to he and Congress to stand up to sovereign tribal nations that abuse American citizens.  Sovereign status comes with sovereign responsibility to their people and Pechanga has shamed their ancestors with their abuses.

Steve Haze, Friend to California's Native American's Opens Congression Run.

Steven Haze has supported the rights of disenfranchised Indians in California.

Steve spent endless hours authoring and sponsoring the Resolution entitled the "California Native American Justice and Equal Economic Opportunity Legislative Initiative" and he successfully brought that Resolution up for a vote in front of the Democratic Party's Native American Caucus in Sacramento where it passed with a vote of support by so many of us in attendance at the Radisson Hotel. The outcome of that vote was a shock to those tribes in attendance who are so well known for their repeated abuse and violations of the civil rights of their members. It was a tremendous victory for us that day and Steve could not have been happier for us. The victory led to another vote AGAINST civil rights BY the Democratic Native American Caucus!

SUPPORT STEVE HAZE FOR CONGRESS in District 20

Steve Haze, Candidate's Appeal for Support - 2009-12-14[1]

CNIGA Opposes Indian Civil Rights Reform

CNIGA Opposes Indian Civil Rights Reform

I was informed earlier today that CNIGA, the Indian Gaming Lobby in California, moved and passed to oppose/object to the California Native American Civil Rights and Equal Economic Opportunity Legislative Initiative Resolution which was passed by the Native American Caucus of the California Democratic Party in July.

CNIGA members were urged to attend the up-coming Native American Caucus meeting on Friday, November 16 at 8:00 pm. CNIGA also sent out a memo to its member tribes that the Native American Caucus would be re-considering the California Native American Civil Rights and Equal Economic Opportunity Legislative Initiative resolution at the November 16 meeting.

The CNIGA memo, dated October 1, 2007, not only lists the time and date of the Native American Caucus meeting and states the caucus is expected to reconsider the Resolution, it provides this information at a time when the members of the Native American Caucus have not even been noticed of the time. place, or agenda of the Caucus meeting. We should not be surprised with this though.

Members of the Executive Board of the Caucus are also members of CNIGA and have held key positions in CNIGA. In addition, CNIGA member tribes such as Pechanga, Redding, Jamul and others are leading the way in denying basic rights to their people.

Here is a link to the CNIGA memo: http://www.electhaze.com/documents/CNIGA%20Memorandum%20Regarding%20the%20CDP%20Native%20American%20Caucus%20meeting%20Nov%20%2016th%20at%208PM%20-%202007-10-01.pdf

The link above also takes you to Elect haze, the official website of Steve Haze for Congress. Steve is the author of the Resolution and is responsible for bringing it to the California Democratic Party and Native American Caucus.

Here is the Resolution as passed by the Native American Caucus: California Native American Justice and Equal Economic Opportunity Legislative Initiative

Whereas, the Indian Civil Rights Act (ICRA) of 1968 guarantees in moral, ethical and legal spirit - if not in fact - equality, fairness and justice through due process to all Native Americans in the United States and the State of California;
And whereas, California State Proposition 5 and Proposition 1A as enacted by the voters of California provided for federally recognized tribes to legally engage in gaming with the premise of equal economic opportunity for all California Native Americans;
And whereas, many members of federally recognized Indian tribes within the State of California are being de-enrolled, have been terminated under the Termination Act of 1953, are experiencing illegal enrollment moratoriums, and/or are under the threat of such procedures with their human dignity and constitutional rights denied through the absence of equitable due process and lack of meaningful recourse;
Therefore, be it resolved that the California Democratic Party recognizes that the aforementioned inequities and injustices which are being carried out against Native Americans are contrary to the longstanding values, principles, and ideals of the Democratic Party;

And be it further resolved that the Democratic Party of California supports legislative initiatives at the State and Federal level to reform the provisions of the Indian Civil Rights Act (ICRA) of 1968 to redress the human and civil right abuses of California Native Americans - and, reform California State Proposition 1A with the intent of providing equal economic opportunity for all California Native Americans.