Tribal Disenrollments: Dry Creek POMO Indians Fight for Control

 The struggle for control of the Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians played out Monday in Santa Rosa as two candidates for tribal office challenged their pending disenrollment.

The candidates, daughters of previous tribal leaders who themselves were disenrolled four years ago, appealed to the five-member Dry Creek board of directors to reverse the decision to kick them out of the tribe.

“It’s a political thing. There’s no reason I should not be qualified to run,” said Laila Elgin DeRouen, who was informed in October she no longer qualified for tribal membership after declaring her candidacy for secretary-treasurer of the board.

“What I presented was the truth,” she said after emerging from her appeal hearing at the Dry Creek administrative offices off Airport Boulevard. “They should never have questioned my membership to begin with.”

Disputes over membership in tribes have increased since Las Vegas-style gambling was legalized on Indian lands in California a dozen years ago.

They have flared up periodically among the about 1,100 members of Dry Creek Rancheria, who opened their River Rock Casino near Geyserville in 2002.

At stake is an about $650-a-month payment each adult tribal member receives, along with eligibility for medical, educational and housing benefits.

For those who have been booted out despite tracing their lineage back for generations, they say they also face a painful loss of their cultural identity and heritage.

Read the Rest of the story here

Dry Creek Pomo Indians Stops Reporting Quarterly Revenues to Feds, Claims Sarbanes-Oxley Costs

River Rock Casino has stopped reporting its quarterly revenues and other business data to federal securities regulators, after restructuring $200 million in debt late last year.

Executives at the tribal casino said the move will have no impact on investors or the public.

“Nothing really changes in terms of what we do,” said David Fendrick, River Rock’s CEO. OP: Except that we won't KNOW, and they can keep that information from their investors.

But the change could make it harder for River Rock to raise money for expansion, according to investment experts. OP: Hey, please invest with us, don't worry, trust us, even though we defaulted, we'll let you know how we're doing

The Press Democrat has the FULL STORY HERE
The Alexander Valley casino is owned by the Dry Creek tribe of Pomo Indians. It reported $124 million in sales in 2010, the last full year that results were publicly available.

The tribal casino’s decision to stop disclosure is a concern for Sonoma County government, which gets $3.5 million a year in mitigation payments from River Rock.

“This is going to mean that the tribe and the county are going to need to work more closely together to make sure commitments are met going forward,” said county Supervisor Mike McGuire, who represents Alexander Valley.

River Rock is no longer reporting financial data under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, a 2002 federal law that requires public companies to provide detailed disclosure of their finances to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The casino isn’t covered by the law, but it voluntarily complied after selling $200 million in casino bonds to investors in 2003, said Joe Callahan, River Rock’s chief financial officer. River Rock’s tribal owners felt public reporting would help create a stronger market for its bonds, Callahan said.

Dry Creek Rancheria Votes to OUST Harvey Hopkins Due to Disenrollment of True Members. IS Pechanga's Macarro NEXT?

Members of the Dry Creek Rancheria voted Saturday to recall Council Chairman Harvey Hopkins, a move that would strip him of his leadership role in the tribal government as well as its profitable River Rock Casino.

We discussed the disenrollment issues that Dry Creek had in 2009 and look what's happened. The tribe was able to muster enough votes to oust Harvey. A difference with Pechanga, is that the tribal council, led my Mark "El Corrupto" Macarro, is that they were able to eliminate enough votes to remain safely ensconsed in power. Imagine that, you'd think it was by design, wouldn't you.


But she said the major reason was Hopkins’ repeated challenges to individuals and their tribal membership despite an audit of tribal rolls completed last year. The issue was particularly important when it came to those nominated to serve on various government committees, Nojima said.

“People are scared to run for office or scared to speak up in a meeting, because who knows if their membership is going to be questioned? That was one of the reasons why we did the recall,” Nojima said.

“The numbers kind of speak for themselves,” Pina said. “However, there’s also a number of people who have voted three different times to elect him chairman.”