In this update of a story we wrote about a couple of years ago..It’s been a decade since
Pechanga Chairman
Mark Macarro asked the People of California to help Native Americans in their quest for self-reliance. I believe that most people took self-reliance to mean that Native Americans would help take care of their own people with the proceeds of Indian Gambling. This is the messaging of every public relations campaign during every California referendum on Indian Gaming, Each time the leaders of Pechanga were the face of the California Native community. Behind the scenes, however plans were already being made to strip families of their inherent rights as Temecula people and long-standing members to share in the fruits of gaming.
Unfortunately, then, self-reliance to
Pechanga means keeping rightful people from
joining the band and removing people via a process benignly called "
disenrollment" who don’t think the way the leadership wants them to think, so there will be no dissent among the membership. The Council’s policy is cash your check and shut the hell up.
Democrats, think what would happen if the Republicans could keep
25% of you from voting for your choice of leadership. Do you think your choice would win? Republicans, what would you think if the Democrats or even a civil rights group like the
NAACP accepted readily this
type of behavior?
Pechanga’s Constitution and Bylaws provides for
OPEN ENROLLMENT each January, yet in 1997 the band approved a petition, which called for a
moratorium on member enrollment so that the tribe can get caught up with the applications. There are 10 members on that committee, how long could it take to catch up? The will of the people was the rule of law in an enrollment matter, upheld by the tribal council. There has been no "catching up", in fact people who have a right to be in their tribe, just as their cousins are have been kept out for two decades, a paper shuffle that people like Frances Miranda kept going so they couldn't be on their land as members.
When the people passed a valid petition to halt all disenrollments in 2005, the tribal council maintained that the petition couldn’t be enforced, because the general council had no authority in enrollment matters. When in fact, Pechanga Chairman Mark Macarro knew full well that the general membership of the tribe has the final word. Let’s get this right, the general council says the people could keep people OUT, but they can’t keep people IN?
So, we have the Pechanga Tribal Council acting in a shameful manner by eliminating 25% of their citizenry. They stripped this group of their status as Native Americans, and grabbed their share of per capita payments to grow their own. Many people don't understand per capita, but they do/should understand that if we get rid of 135 people, making $17,000 per month, it adds up to $2.3 Million per month, they can split between the remaining people. They keep rightful members from their place at Pechanga via disenrollment and moratorium and abused the elders and children of two families, terminating their cultural heritage. With the subsequent disenrollment of the Hunter family, there is an additional $2.1 million to divvy up. This is in per capita only, it doesn't include the college scholarship which could easily be worth $25,000 per year.
In direct contradiction to these reprehensible actions, Pechanga donates to groups like the Boys and Girls Clubs, The Temecula Valley School District, and other organizations, which gladly take generous donations from the tribal government. Of course, remember now that Pechanga had an additional $5.3 million to share PER MONTH. A yearly donation of $25k here and there wouldn't make a dent in that.
