Tribal Disenrollment Retrospective: Moratoriums As Bad As Disenrollments, When You Rightfully Belong. Petra Tosobol Descendants 11th in a Series

 

Pechanga has a moratorium on membership.  There is also a right to belong.  The Tosobol descendants fit this criteria.  They have cousins in the tribe, the Munoa clan, who has stood in their way.

The moratorium has been in place for nearly 25 years now and it was created to "give the enrollment committee" time to catch up. We again ask: How is that "catch up" going? Can the enrollment committee be so INEPT that they can't look at the applications and see who rightfully belongs?

Below is a story we posted in December of 2008 describing one family. We will post it again in its entirety and would LOVE to read comments from those in the moratorium. Tell us YOUR story, what family you belong to, how many are in your family that SHOULD be in the Pechanga tribe. Let's HEAR FROM YOU.

Tribal Disenrollment Retrospective: Pechanga Disenrolls EN MASSE, The Manuela Miranda Descendants TENTH is A SERIES

 MARCH 2004 the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indian's Enrollment Committee authorized the first mass disenrollment of a Pechanga Family, the descendants of Manuela Miranda.  This was purely a POLITICAL action, as a cousin to Miranda, Frances Miranda was one who voted to disenroll, her OWN FAMILY.

Manuela Miranda

You can read the chronology of the Pechanga Disenrollment actions at this post:  Pechanga Indian Removal Acts it's a sordid list.

As I mentioned above, some family were removed others weren't touched.  Read how Law & Rules Apply to SOME in Disenrollments, not all

John Gomez Jr found the Pechanga Enrollment Committee was shuffling papers from the Tosobol family applictions.  The EC didn't want 80 or so rightful candidates to belong to the tribe, even though their Munoa cousins were in.   An excerpt from a Vince Beiser piece on the disenrollment is here   Pechanga's Paper Trail of Tears

The disenrollment of Manuela Miranda descendants happened just before tribal elections, the timing was NOT coincidental.  The same will happened two years after this disenrollment, with the expulsion of the Paulina Hunter descendants, which we will document in a subsequent post.

My cousin Kent Appel, whose song Paper Genocide, laments the disenrollment,  lays out the tribe's constitution on this:

Article V of the Temecula Band of Luiseno Mission Indians’ constitution and bylaws, sometimes referred to as the Pechanga Band of Mission Indians (title from the Band’s constitution and bylaws preamble), states the following

“IT SHALL BE THE DUTY OF ALL ELECTED OFFICERS OF THE BAND TO UPHOLD AND ENFORCE THE CONSTITUTION, BYLAWS, AND ORDINANCES OF THE TEMECULA BAND OF LUISENO MISSION INDIANS; AND, ALSO TO UPHOLD THE INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS OF EACH MEMBER WITHOUT MALICE OR PREJUDICE.”

So how was allowing biased enrollment committee members with a clear conflict of interest who were very close relatives of key witnesses against the disenrolled and who made statements prior to the disenrollments such as, “it doesn’t matter what you turn in you are being disenrolled anyway,” not a violation of the Band’s equal protection clause under Article V and how did the families get due process?

GOOD QUESTION

Pechanga Pu’éska Mountain Day celebraed by City of Temecula . Pablo Apis and Paulina Hunter Descendants Lament the Loss of their Heritage

 Temecula Valley residents are invited to join city leaders and members of the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians for a sunset ceremony honoring the tribe’s presence and culture.  Historic tribal relations, whose ties to the tribe were severed by current chairman Mark Macarro via a process called disenrollment will be absent.

After ADMISSIONS Scandal USC Tries to Restore Integrity by Partnering With APARTHEID TRIBE, PECHANGA

 After the Aunt Becky  admissions scandal that sent many to jail, USC now partners with a tribe that violated the civil and human rights of it's own people, THIS CENTURY, not a historical trauma issue.  

In what is being called a "first-of-its-kind agreement in California," Pechanga and the University of Southern California announced a new sponsorship agreement that includes money set aside for students.

Under the agreement, the Pechanga Resort Casino was designated as the official resort and casino of the USC Trojans and an official partner of USC Athletics. But the partnership stands apart from other Pac-12 schools and California casinos and tribes with the establishment of an "education alliance" and annual scholarship fund, according to Pechanga officials. As part of the deal, Pechanga has committed $200,000 per year to further students' higher education goals.   (OP: That's for what, FOUR students?)

"We are very excited about the scholarship fund and the opportunity to establish and deepen a formal relationship between the Tribe and the University," said Mark Macarro, tribal chairman of the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians. "This partnership will result in new and meaningful enrichment opportunities for Native youth."  (OP: This from a guy that eliminated scholarships for over 100 Native youth via the unconstitutional disenrollment. Which was against the Pechanga constitution.)   

OH YEAH,  GO IRISH

Pechanga's Pablo Apis Descendant Elizabeth Sartuche is FIRST RUNNER Up in MISS CALIFORNIA Pageant

Elizabeth Sartuche

Two time Miss Orange County, Elizabeth Sartuche of Clovis, CA daughter of Fred and Lorna Sartuche is tonights first runner up in the Miss California Pageant in Fresno, CA.

We wrote about her last year. Pechanga Descendant Elizabeth Sartuche is MISS ORANGE COUNTY and the year  

Pechanga Descendant Elizabeth Sartuche Reaches Finals of Miss California Pageant.

Elizabeth is descended from Pechanga's Manuela Miranda Lucy Moreno, and Fred Sartuche, SR. We've posted on the Manuela Miranda's descendants here and here and she is proof positive that her Native American ancestors have instilled a pride in effort.     WELL DONE ELIZABETH, you do your ancestors and parents PROUD

Pechanga Tribal Disenrollment FACTS Laid Out: WIKIPEDIA

 

Wikipedia has the facts on Pechanga's Membership Shrinkage via Disenrollment, which is a cute nickname for STRIPPING THE RTIGHT OF BELONGING to your own tribe.

Membership

Further information: Tribal disenrollment and Impact of Native American gaming

The tribe's constitution in 1978 said that members must prove "descent from original Pechanga Temecula people."[7] In 1996 the tribal council tightened the rules, declaring for the first time that "members had to have an ancestor from the subset of Temecula who relocated to the Pechanga valley" where the reservation was established.[7] In cases of disenrollment of large families in 2004 and 2006, Pechanga officials have said they were enforcing rules of membership that required historical residence as well as descent from known Temecula.[7]

Pechanga members moved away in some cases because of economic reasons, but maintained ties to the reservation; including being involved in the nation's activities and development. As with other tribes that have conducted disenrollments, which have increased since the late 20th century, controversy has arisen over application of the 1996 requirements to people of established membership and participation in the nation.[7] Reducing the number of members has increased financial returns paid within the nation from the lucrative casino operations.[7] Pechanga Chairman Mark Macarro has noted that courts have "consistently upheld tribes' sole responsibility for determining their citizenship" and that the disenrollments were not related to money or politics.[2]

In several cases, the Pechanga have disenrolled families who were descended from historic ancestral Temecula, long identified as Pechanga, participated in the nation, and had several members working in a variety of roles for the nation and the casino. An example is John Gomez Jr. and his extended family, who total 135 adult members (plus their children); in 2004 they were officially disenrolled.[7] Another family of 90 adults was disenrolled in early 2006.[2]

In 2002 Gomez and a cousin were elected to the enrollment committee which was struggling to process applications. He said that after he had criticized the committee a group known as Concerned Pechanga People for the first time questioned his qualifications as a tribal member. Several of the group were related to enrollment officials he had criticized.[7] In 2005, Gomez helped found the American Indian Rights and Resources Organization to deal with such civil rights issues.[2] Gomez in 2006 said that the other Pechanga family disenrolled had also opposed tribal leadership.[2]

Michael Madariaga's family was disenrolled in 2006, including his aged grandparents, who lived on the reservation. He said his grandfather had helped upgrade the reservation's water system, provide telephones and electricity, and built the health clinic. He said his grandparents needed their tribal health insurance and felt the loss of financial benefits, but that, his family was most hurt by the loss of their culture and community.[2] He said, "What matters is taking away our heritage" and further, "It's like taking your family and wiping them out of history."[2]

Pechanga Descendant Cassie Whitten Speaks On FIGHTING for Her Heritage, DENIED by Pechanga's Mark Macarro

 So proud of our cousin Cassie Whitten, who has lived on the Pechanga Rez most of her life.  My family, the descendants of Paulina Hunter, and Original Pechanga Temecula person still live on the allotment granted by the 25th President of the United States William McKinley.

WATCH please and if you are on TIKTOK please follow her.

@cassie.payomkawichum

Reply to @tristt9 and including us in the tribe! ##tribaldisenrollment ##nativetiktok ##pechanga ##payómkawichum ##hunterclan

♬ original sound - Cassie Whitten

We get lots of questions incldding   WHY do you/How can you still live on the rez if you are disenrolled?   We'll address that soon.  

Reconnecting After The Trauma Of Pechanga Disenrollment by Pechanga Descendant Cassie Whitten

My young cousin, Cassie Whitten, who still resides on our family’s allotment on the Pechanga reservation in Temecula CA, gives her perspective on reconnecting with her heritage and her native spirit. So many of us who are older like me, feel the sting and injustice differently.  

Cassie suffered trauma after our disenrollment, after Pechanga chairman Mark Macarro sent his jackbooted tribal rangers to physically remove Cassie and her other young cousins from the tribal school.  PLEASE READ HER EXPERIENCE detailed here.

Dear LeBron James, Stand up Against Civil Rights Violations By YOUR SPONSOR The Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians

 

Dear LeBron James, 

We know you have been outspoken about civil rights issues in the Black Lives Matter v. Police issue as well as voting issues in Georgia .  We ask that you stand up for over 11,000 LIVING Native Americans who have had their civil and human rights violated by tribal disenrollment.  

Pechanga Development Commission Member Patrick Murphy Jr. Dies Former TASIN Board Member

 Sad news from the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians reservation near Temecula, CA.   

Patrick Murphy Jr.

It is with profound sadness that we inform you that Patrick Murphy, Jr., PDC Board Member and former Vice Chairman and Secretary of TASIN, passed away yesterday afternoon.  Patrick has served as an elected official since 1992, and served on the TASIN Executive Board from 2002 to 2010. Patrick was instrumental in the development and construction of Pechanga Resort Casino and related economic developments.

 

Patrick’s contribution to protecting tribal sovereignty and the advancement of tribal gaming extends beyond Pechanga.  As a tribal leader, he helped to pass laws that authorized tribal gaming in California and built relationships with local communities that have resulted in improved infrastructure, additional public safety, and funding for local schools. Patrick's generous heart extended beyond Pechanga; he cared deeply about the wellbeing of our community and lifting up those in need through support for several nonprofits in our region. 

  

Patrick is survived by his wife, Irene Murphy, his daughter Natasha Mendoza, his sons Michael Murphy and Patrick “PJ” Murphy, along with his two grandchildren Nikiilish and Eric Mendoza.

May his family find peace.

Tribal Disenrollment As 21st Century Historical Trauma Explained by Young Pechanga Descendant

 My young cousin, Cassie Whitten, who we highlighted when she posted her TikTok video on tribal disenrollment, further explains how she was affected on her Facebook Page. She resides on the Hunter Family allotment #62 given to our mutual ancestor Paulina Hunter in the 19th century

The one thing that has been really hard for me is continuing the work I want to do in my communities since tribal disenrollment. Lately I’ve been pretty sad about it.  (OP: Cassie worked for Indian Health)

It continually feels like you don’t matter or your voice by your own people. Lateral oppression can be real amongst native people too. 

I’m still on my healing journey. I’m only 22 years old and it’s saddening how my own tribe could kick a 7 year old out of their tribe to this day. (Watch this video that details the day Mark Macarro sent his jackbooted thugs to remove CHILDREN FROM SCHOOL)

Matilda Smith, Pechanga Tribal Elder and Great Granddaughter of Original Allottee Paulina Hunter has Walked on

Matilda Smith, the eldest surviving great granddaughter of original Pechanga allottee, Paulina Hunter, has walked on at 91. She was my late father Felipe Cuevas' last surviving sibling.  Matilda attended school throughout the Great Depression & graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1947. She enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1950 where she trained for and became a cryptographer for Central Intelligence. While stationed in Murfreesboro, TN, she met and married the love if her life, Frank Smith on March 3, 1952 .

She is survived by 5 of her 6 children and over 20 grandchildren and great grandchildren..  Rest in Peace Auntie. 

I wrote this tribute in September 2020

HAPPY Birthday to my aunt

Christmas 16 WITHOUT A TRIBE for Pechanga Descendants of the Manuela Miranda Clan, 14 for Hunter Clan Descendants

Christmas 2020 marks the 16th Christmas without a tribe for many Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians descendants, including young children, now, not so young, and the newly born will only be able to hear about their heritage in oral history, since the Pechanga tribe erased their history, via disenrollment, which is the stripping of tribal citizenship.

Pechanga Flag Flown at Standing Rock,
 Upside Down Showing Tribe Under Distress

Mark Macarro, Andrew Masiel, Frances Miranda, Bobbi LeMere and the tribal council CAUSED our children and our elders to suffer for their greed and to hide their subterfuge.  

It's NEVER too late to open your hearts and for the  council to DO THE RIGHT thing for the Holidays.  

Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians Destroyed Their TRUE ANCESTORS

Repost from 2010, for those who don't know the story:
Hunter cousin A'amokat has put together some historical facts on the Disenrollment of Paulina Hunter to answer a frequent "drive-by" commenter that smoothly says we couldn't prove our ancestry.  Yet, we have more evidence than ANY other family currently enrolled in Pechanga.  And people want to boycott Arizona for civil rights violations?  Try Pechanga.

Paulina Hunter
Recognized as Pechanga by those living at her time

Our critic from the tribe says we never answer what he considers tough questions but we have done so many times but since he just pops in and runs, I will tackle those issues once again for all to see.

1. “Dear Reader, that the mouthpieces for the Hunter clan never address the fact that their declared ancestor, Paulina Walla Hunter, had no available birth record.”

While it is true we couldn’t find a birth record for our ancestor Paulina Hunter, she is not alone in this regard as Dr. John Johnson from the Museum of Natural History in Santa Barbara, Ca, commissioned by the enrollment committee to research the ancestry of Paulina Hunter, said in his report to the committee, “The original books of baptisms, marriages, and burials for Mission San Luis Rey have been lost for more than 150 years which hinders many Luiseno families in their search for documentary evidence pertaining to their ancestors.”

So a lot of today’s Pechanga tribal members also don‘t have birth records for their ancestors who were born during the period after the surviving San Luis Rey padrones (census records), which were recorded between 1811 to 1835. So the only thing this proves is that Paulina Hunter was in the same boat as a lot of other tribal members from the historical period.

2. “Or the fact that while the historical record lists the parents of PWH, nobody knows their ancestry.”
While Paulina Hunter’s maiden name is listed as Walla in some records Dr. Johnson in his report on her ancestry indentifies her family name as being Quasicac and that the man who was almost certainly her father, Mateo, was the only Indian listed in the pardrones as being born at the place known as Pechanga over 75 years before the Pechanga reservation was even created! Also the records indicate that her maternal grandmother, Restituta Quenix, was from the from the original Temecula Indian village.
So how can we explain the discrepancy of last names from one generation to another generation?
Again Dr. Johnson elaborates in his report to the enrollment committee on the ancestry of Paulina Hunter:
“Many Indian families of this period (the 1800’s) were adopting the use of surnames, as was the Euro-American custom. The church records show that there was considerable experimentation with surname use by all former Mission Indians. A variety of surnames would be used, even within the same family, before one version was finally chosen that continued to be used as an inherited family name.”

So again the Hunters are in the same boat as a lot of other Pechanga families in proving with 100 percent certainty by today’s modern standards that their ancestors from previous generations, who often also had different last names from one generation to the next, are indeed their ancestors.

3. “Or the uncomfortable fact that the Bureau of Indian Affairs has no Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood on file for PWH, meaning the BIA never tracked PWH as an Indian.”

If the BIA never recognized Paulina Hunter as a Pechanga Indian or even an Indian at all, then why do Hunter family members have CDIB cards that say Pechanga and why didn’t the enrollment committee make it an issue during the Hunter’s disenrollments?
One would think that if, as our esteemed critic from the tribe tries to imply, that if we the Hunters weren’t even Native Americans that the committee would have stated this was the case. After all, a slim majority of the committee, as we have shown here on this blog many times, was biased against us and I am sure they would have jumped at the chance to try to even further discredit us.

In fact the enrollment committee in its Record of Decision against the Hunters of March 16, 2006 stated:
“Nothing in the Committee’s findings shall be construed or interpreted that the Committee is making a determination of the Indian or Native American status of Paulina Hunter or her descendants.”
Also, in addition to the fact that the Hunters do have CDIBs, Hunter family members who have gone through probate for their share of the Hunter family allotment have official probate documents from the United States Department of the Interior that name their loved ones as “deceased Luiseno Mission (Pechanga Band) Indians” including those who have gone through probate after the Hunter family disenrollment.
So clearly the United States government still considers us Pechanga Indians even if the tribe officially at this time does not.

4. “Hunter clan tried to bring politics to bear on the disenrollment process, to stop its proper function of removing non-members from the membership roll. This effort failed. The process went forward. Doing its duty, the enrollment committee disenrolled the Hunter clan, returning it to its true status as non-members.”

The Hunters played politics with the process? Nothing could be further from the truth as it was our opponents who played politics with the process by perverting the process by going against the wishes of the people.
Because on July 17, 2005 the general membership of the tribe, the final authority in all matters of tribal government and business of the Band under Article VIII of the Band’s constitution and bylaws, voted to outlaw disenrollment and to strike from the books the disenrollment procedures. This law stated that as of the justification date of the petition of the new law, June 19, 2005, that all tribal members in the Band would remain tribal members and could not be disenrolled. So the disenrollment of the Hunters on March 16, 2006 was clearly illegal. By the way, the Hunter family were not the ones who presented the petition to outlaw disenrollment to the people so no, we were not playing politics with the process.

And I haven’t even scratched the surface by showing here once again how the evidence was very much in our favor but instead of what our opponent would have you believe, the list goes on and on in our favor not the other way around.

City of Temecula Proudly Joins Apartheid and Civil Rights Abusing Tribe in Celebrating Uh, Heritage and History

The City of Temecula is perfectly fine with their tribal neighbor, The Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians, a tribe that has violated the rights of their tribal citizens, their ancestors and re-wrote the tribal history to fit a narrative, while practices apartheid and segregation on their reservation.  Hey, if those values are okay with the Rams and the Lakers....?

As we celebrate Native American Heritage Month in November, join us for Pechanga Pu'??ska Mountain Day, Friday, Nov. 15, 2019, at 11:30 a.m. at City Hall, in the Conference Center, as we honor the history and heritage of the Pechanga Tribe. 

Should we have an annual Pechanga disenrollment parade on this day..that's part of Pechanga's history and heritage.

Disenrollment for GREED and POWER, At Pechanga The Theft of Per Capita is nearing ONE BILLION DOLLARS

STILL THINK That TRIBAL DISENROLLMENT IS NOT ABOUT THE MONEY?

Anthony Broadman of the prestigious Galanda Broadman law firm just wrote about tribal disenrollment for greed and power  so let's explore a little Pechanga greed and power.

Since 2006, the year of our disenrollment, the Hunter family has lost $3,484,000 per person, in per capita payments alone. We arrived at that figure by taking the last full year of per capita $268,000/12 months ($22,333) and multiplying that loss times 156 months of disenrollment (13 years). 95 adults at the time of disenrollment equals:  $330,975,000

The Apis/Manuela Miranda family was disenrolled two years prior in 2004. The per capita at that time was slightly less, about $17,000 per month times 180 months of termination: $3,060,000 multiply by 135 adults equals:  $413,100,000

Add some NOW, for the 100 or so children who would have reached the age of majority and you are looking at another $100 million in per capita and benefits.

Moratorium People NEVER shared in what was rightfully theirs. In fact, Pechanga's Enrollment Committee worked hard to KEEP them from their rightful place, so as not to reduce the per capita.  Think of this, HAD the Tosobol descendants alone been  included, 80 who may have reduced the first six years of per capita to say $140,000 total. That's an additional $200+ MILLION..
ADD those numbers up and it's nearly ONE BILLION at Pechanga alone

The per capita at Pechanga went up to $360,000 per year for those remaining after elimination of 25% of Pechanga’s tribal citizens, and varies now with children maturing into adulthood.

With Mark Macarro not being opposed at tribal chairman, he's consolidated his power and can spend unchecked.. so it's not JUST about the money.....

I have old data on other tribes disenrolled's losses here  so, for you to bellieve it's not about the money, you have to be blind.  To think it's just about correcting tribal rolls, is laughable as long as there are PROVABLE tribal members still enrolled in tribes.

Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians' ANTONIO ASHMAN: Custom and Oral tradition

Antonio Ashman
Pechanga's "vaunted" Elder

I was looking through my cousin's old blog T'EETILAWUNCHA BLOG  here he discusses some oral history in 2009. 

Most recently before his death, Antonio Ashman in a sworn affidavit said he knew Paulina Hunter as a member of the Band. He also swore that Paulina stayed at the home of Michelle and Salvador Quiliq and heard they were related. He also stated Paulina was called Aunt by Martin Berdugo, another recognized member of Pechanga. This is recorded oral recognition that the CPP faction says Paulina Hunter did not have.

The enrollment committee also finds that Paulina was given a land allotment on the Pechanga reservation as a Temecula Indian. This confirms Paulina’s status as a Temecula Indian.  (OP: WE STILL LIVE ON THAT Allotment)

The record of decision regarding the descendants of Paulina Hunter says that because John Miller under the Act of May 18, 1928 (45 Stat. L 602), a direct descendant of Paulina Hunter states that his Grandmother “was allotted as a Pechanga Mission Indian, but his Grandmother and Great Grandparents were of the San Luis Rey Mission Indians.”

This statement somehow outweighs hundreds of other documents the enrollment committee has possession of detailing the Hunters as recognized members of the Pechanga band by tribal elders who were alive at the time the reservation was established.

MORATORIUM: 100 Tosobol Descendants Left Out In Pechanga Tribe's Moratorium

Word from Facebook that Michael Rios is feeling poorly and will be undergoing surgery this week.  We hope and pray for a successful outcome.  Sadly the patriarch of the Petra Tosobol descendants Manuel Rios, Sr, passed away before getting JUSTICE.  How many of the MUNOA relatives must die, before they do the right thing at Pechanga.

Here is a repost, of an article written years ago, but it's a REMINDER, that it's not JUST about tribal disenrollment, but many Natives are caught in membership moratoriums.  Can anyone believe that the Pechanga Enrollment committee members are too stupid to process the paperwork they've had for DECADES?

It's well known in California that the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians has terminated over 25% of their tribal members in two massive eliminations. Coincidentally, each family was removed just prior to tribal elections. (story reprised from earlier post)

What many people still are unclear about, is Pechanga's so-called moratorium on membership. 

This was put into place under the premise that the enrollment committee had to "catch-up" on all the membership claims. Of course, that was a ruse to simply keep rightful members from joining the Band as per the Tribal Constitution. Pechanga's Chairman Mark Macarro has claimed it's "not about the money". Pechanga's per capita payments were $10,000 per month when the first family, descendents of Pablo Apis were erased from the tribe. When the Hunter Family was disenrolled, (a term created to make it sound like Indians were kicked out of the PTA or country club) the per capita was $20,000 per month. Now, the tribe is giving $30,000 per month to those remaining. Raise your hand if you think it "wasn't about the money".

Here is the story of one family, that we've profiled before. We've been asking them to contribute to this blog with more information and they've finally opened up.

San Manuel Tribe's Dr. Deron Marquez on TRIBAL DISENROLLMENT: Injustice of Ex Post Facto Disenrollment at Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians

Former Chairman and scholar of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians has a scholarship paper on disenrollment.
This excerpt discusses the INJUSTICE of Ex-Post facto stripping of citizenship, hidden behind the cute nickname:

Disenrollment 

Approximately 80 federally recognized tribes are practicing disenrollment. The Supreme Court’s Santa Clara ruling has sanctioned these actions, but why these acts are unfolding is still not truly understood. Gabriel Galanda speculates that gaming per capita could be a reason.

Dr. Deron Marquez

In a forthcoming publication, "Dismembered: Banishment, Disenrollment & Statelessness in Indian Country," Dr. Wilkins produces categorical findings on disenrollment, banishment, gaming and per capita payments. In California, according to the research, 23 tribes are engaged in disenrollment and 2 in banishment.

Of the 25 California tribes, 20 operate gaming facilities of which 17 disburse per capita checks. Given the high occurrences in California, there are two cases that exemplify disenrollment. Both include tribal governments that engage in gaming operations and both engage in per capita programs. Also, both are located in Southern California.

Jeffredo v. Macarro 

Reps. Ken Calvert, Jared Huffman and Duncan Hunter Letter on Pechanga STEALING Reservation Allottees Water Rights

Well, they've done it again.  Congressman Ken Calvert has literally carried Pechanga's Water Bill, which we've opposed for 6 years, now designated HR 5982, which will eliminate water rights to reservation allottees that live on the reservation, yet have been stripped from their tribal citizenship, and all rights included.

Apparently, Calvert doesn't care about civil and human rights abuses, the apartheid system on the reservation, not the segregation and elder abuses. Even the BIA's AMY DUTSCHKE admitted that we have RIGHTS. WE ARE STILL waiting to be informed, Mark Macarro intimated in a letter to the House Natural Resources committee that we were kept informed.  He LIED again...

I've published a letter just sent Reps. Calvert, Hunter, Ruiz and Huffman...Please consider sending a fax too.

Letter to Congressman Ken Calvert and Duncan Hunter OPPOSING HR 5982 Pechanga Water Rights Bill