OPEN ENROLLMENT AT PECHANGA: But Why is there STILL a MORATORIUM

We've posted about this month being the constitutionally mandated month for Open Enrollment for the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians.     Yet, today, the government parking lot is quite empty.  shouldn't the enrollment committee be working diligently to enroll new members?   

The question that comes up quite often is:   Why is there still a Moratorium?   Pechanga said when it instituted their moratorium a decade ago, that is was to allow the enrollment committee to "catch up" on all the enrollment applications.  Well, should a dozen years be enough time to catch up?    Especially so since they have stripped 25% of the population of their citizenship, which had the effect of eliminating the heritage of so many children.

Recall that the disenrollment of two families started when members of those families that were serving the tribe on their enrollment committee raised concerned that one ENTIRE family had the right to be in the tribe but their application was not processed.  Stepping away from the terminations of two families for "not having lineal ties"  A lie that's was exposed by Pechanga's own expert, the question remains:  Why cannot every TRUE descendent be enrolled?
 The members of today are greedy and prevent those from joining their rightful place and receive the benefits of tribal citizenship.

As a commenter put it: If it's not about the almighty dollar, there would be no moratorium and the tribe as it stands would have no fear or greed about letting new people in.

So then, it HAS to be about GREED, keeping rightful people from the tribe.    We've written about the Tosobol descendents, but we are quite sure there are still others who belong and are kept out.

More at these   TOSOBOL FAMILY   RIOS FAMILY

Pechanga Leader Macarro Praises Bill to resolve 50 year old struggle. Disenrolled to Keep Their Struggle for Justice Alive

The Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians today praised a bill that would ratify the resolution of a dispute among the tribe and local water agencies that has gone on since the 1950s.

The band and the Rancho California and Eastern Municipal water districts have been fighting for years over the water allotted to the reservation.

Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Palm Springs, introduced HR 4285 Friday to ratify an agreement among the agencies.

“Generations of Pechanga leaders have struggled to secure access to this most important resource,” said Tribal Chairman Mark Macarro. “This settlement provides a large measure of certainty to Pechanga’s future in terms of water supply.”

The bill would ratify an agreement reached last December among the agencies. The agreement will provide Pechanga with rights to water that were originally set out in a federal law, the Fallbrook Decree, according to tribal information officer Jacob Mejia.

Pechanga is a tribe now well known for terminating tribal members in a quest to increase per capita payments to remaining members. Pechanga has kept rightful descendents from the tribe in an unconstitutional moratorium. But we are fighters. The struggle to regain what was stolen will continue.


Read more: http://www.swrnn.com/southwest-riverside/2009-12-14/politics-city-county-government/pechanga-tribe-near-temecula-praises-bill-that-may-resolve-water-dispute/comment-page-1#comment-21282#ixzz0ZmLioYSn