The same tribe that says courts have NO SAY in tribal matters want court to solve tribal matter:
The court says differently:
Plaintiffs argue that CIHA is a separate entity from the tribal government, and
that HUD and the Court must continue to recognize the last formally recognized tribal government – and the CIHA board that it appointed – until the BIA and the Tribe resolve
the intra-tribal dispute. Doc. 28 at 4. But CIHA is not an entity separate from the factions vying for control of the Tribe. The Ayala faction claims to control CIHA, while the Lewis faction has appointed an entirely different set of board members to govern
CIHA. Control of CIHA is therefore embroiled in the intra-tribal dispute this Court
cannot resolve.
The same is true of the tribal court judgment upon which Plaintiffs ask the Court
to rely. Plaintiffs acknowledge that the various tribal factions have established their own
tribal courts and have obtained rulings in their favor from those courts. Doc. 28 at 8-9.
Even if a ruling of a tribal court would be entitled to deference (an issue the Court need
not decide), identifying the valid tribal court would require a prohibited inquiry into the
claims of the competing tribal factions.
III. Conclusion.
Plaintiffs cannot meet their burden of showing that they have been injured by
Defendants’ actions or that their injuries will be redressed by this Court’s order without
asking the Court to resolve matters of intra-tribal governance. Plaintiffs therefore cannot
show that they have standing to pursue this action. The Court finds Plaintiffs’ arguments
and authorities unpersuasive, and elects to follow cases that have dismissed similar
claims
Showing posts with label Reggie Lewis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reggie Lewis. Show all posts
Friday, January 10, 2014
Friday, December 13, 2013
Three Chukchansi Leaders Act Like THREE STOOGES. WHICH ONE IS MOE?
The FRESNO BEE continues to shine the spotlight on the corruption and infighting at Chukchansi. It's amazing that the three so-called "leaders" can't see how stupid they are. How does that dead golden goose taste? Like it has bedbugs in it? Nancy AYALA is accusing Lewis of TREASON against the tribe now. Really, you stupid idiot? And you were part of the faction that destroyed your own tribe? Nancy is not smart enough to be LARRY.... so can we call her Curly?
The three leaders vying for control of the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians — and its $9 million-a-month haul from its Madera County casino — have undeniably different styles.
Reggie Lewis, 62, conducts business from a high-rent, north Fresno office that has a sweeping view of the San Joaquin River. He has control of the tribe's multimillion-dollar bank accounts.
Nancy Ayala, 46, holds meetings in a windowless portable building near the tribe's Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino, which opened in 2003 along Highway 41 near Coarsegold. Ayala controls the daily casino profits, which she no longer deposits in the tribe's bank accounts for Lewis to use.
Morris Reid, 72, keeps tabs on the tribe from his Fresno home near Saint Agnes Medical Center. He has neither access to the bank accounts nor the casino profits.
While all three agree that in-fighting is bad for business, none of them are willing to step aside.
The power struggle has led to charges — and counter charges — of embezzlement that, in Ayala's estimation, will put the casino in bankruptcy within a year if the leadership issue isn't resolved.
Now, Lewis has upped the ante, said Ayala, who described the dispute as "a chess match."
For years, Lewis opposed the North Fork Rancheria Band of Mono Indians' plan to put a swanky casino resort along Highway 99 north of Madera because it would cut into the Chukchansi tribe's profits.
As recently as May, Lewis sent out a newsletter to tribal members voicing his opposition. But now, Ayala said, he is trying to cut a deal with the North Fork tribe "for his own personal gain."
"He's a traitor. He's not only selling out his mother, he is selling out the entire tribe," she said.
Read the REST OF THE STORY HERE
 |
| Lewis, Ayala and Reid, Which one is MOE? |
The three leaders vying for control of the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians — and its $9 million-a-month haul from its Madera County casino — have undeniably different styles.
Reggie Lewis, 62, conducts business from a high-rent, north Fresno office that has a sweeping view of the San Joaquin River. He has control of the tribe's multimillion-dollar bank accounts.
Nancy Ayala, 46, holds meetings in a windowless portable building near the tribe's Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino, which opened in 2003 along Highway 41 near Coarsegold. Ayala controls the daily casino profits, which she no longer deposits in the tribe's bank accounts for Lewis to use.
Morris Reid, 72, keeps tabs on the tribe from his Fresno home near Saint Agnes Medical Center. He has neither access to the bank accounts nor the casino profits.
While all three agree that in-fighting is bad for business, none of them are willing to step aside.
The power struggle has led to charges — and counter charges — of embezzlement that, in Ayala's estimation, will put the casino in bankruptcy within a year if the leadership issue isn't resolved.
Now, Lewis has upped the ante, said Ayala, who described the dispute as "a chess match."
For years, Lewis opposed the North Fork Rancheria Band of Mono Indians' plan to put a swanky casino resort along Highway 99 north of Madera because it would cut into the Chukchansi tribe's profits.
As recently as May, Lewis sent out a newsletter to tribal members voicing his opposition. But now, Ayala said, he is trying to cut a deal with the North Fork tribe "for his own personal gain."
"He's a traitor. He's not only selling out his mother, he is selling out the entire tribe," she said.
Read the REST OF THE STORY HERE
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Chukchansi Tribe's "Leaders" Have Earned Scorn & Mockery. Should the BIA withdraw Recognition?
We’ve read so much about the issues at Chukchansi. Does anyone really believe that the three groups led by Morris Reid, Nancy Ayala and REGGIE LEWIS have the best interest of the tribe as their priority, or the best interest of themselves?
All three of these so-called leaders were proponents of the first disenrollments in the tribe in 1999 and 2006. They cut 800 tribal members from their heritage and rights as Native Americans. Is that what someone who purports to care about the tribe does? I think not.
These actions against their own people and those subsequent disenrollments documented by the Sierra Star News, have led to violence ( Chukchansi Tribe at War With Each Other ) and huge police presence to protect Chukchansi’s shrinking number of citizens from their own leaders. Is THIS what was meant by tribal self reliance?
Nancy Ayala wants to limit the Chukchansi membership to 46 people. Is she serious? Taking a once prominent tribe to such a small number is unconscionable. A real leader would be making it tribe STRONGER, by restoring their membership to 1998 levels and enrolling any who rightfully belong.
All three “leaders” are culpable in the destruction of the Chukchansi tribe. Yet blinded by their own ambitions, they can’t see the damage they are doing with their depopulation efforts..
Help these leaders see the light. How, you ask? Ask your congressperson to set up field hearings on the issue. Ask for enforcement in the Indian Civil Rights Act. And most importantly: DO NOT FEED THE GREED.
Simply quit going to Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino. Dry up the income stream and let them KNOW WHY you are no longer coming. Let them know you refuse to support their corruption and greed.
But what about sovereignty, you may ask? Yes, they are a sovereign nation, but then, so was South Africa, and we used moral persuasion to get them to eliminate apartheid. You can do the same at Chukchansi. Let them know you expect them to act humanely towards their people or they won’t get your entertainment dollars. Help them to see that being corrupt is not a long term solution.
Bring ALL the Chukchansi people home.
Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians
Read about Chukchansi Language Speaker RUBY CORDERO
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Chukchansi Tribal Council Issues Open Letter to Tribal Members, Want END to Sabotage Campaign
A four-member quorum of the Chukchansi Tribal Council, headed by Tribal Council Chairwoman Nancy Ayala, has mailed an open letter to the central California Tribe’s membership decrying what the quorum believes to be the bad faith negotiation tactics of three “rogue” Council members whom the majority believe to be conducting a “sabotage campaign” against the Chukchansi tribe’s best interests.
In the letter, the Council Quorum details its daily efforts to manage “critical Tribal business, including overseeing the Chukchansi Gold Casino & Resort and handling the everyday responsibilities of Tribal government.” The Council Quorum explains in the letter that negotiations with the minority faction, headquartered in Fresno, broke down “when word reached the Council Quorum that the (accused ''rogue'') group had cancelled the health insurance of dozens of Chukchansi Tribal members.”
“We continue to do the work of the Chukchansi people from our office on the Rancheria, fighting against the sabotage and wasteful spending of the minority group led by Reggie Lewis and Chance Alberta,” said Tribal Council Nancy Ayala. “The Tribe’s forensic audit also continues its work, every day uncovering more evidence of serious issues with how the Lewis-Alberta group has done business in their own self-interest.”
The text of the Council Quorum letter is as follows:
A Letter From The Tribal Council Quorum
Nancy Ayala, Chairwoman; Tracey Brechbuehl, Secretary; Dr. Karen Wynn, Treasurer; Charles Sargosa, Member at Large
As the majority group of the Chukchansi Tribal Council, duly sworn to uphold the laws of our Tribe’s Constitution, we write to you today to be as informative as possible about the ongoing political conflict that has made life so difficult for our Chukchansi people. As you know by now, three members of our Council left the Rancheria in February 2013. Shortly thereafter, Council Members Reggie Lewis, Chance Alberta and Carl Bushman set up an unconstitutional rogue Council headquartered in a $20,000-a-month office tower in Fresno.
Since then, the Lewis-Alberta Council minority has embarked on a relentless, distortion-filled campaign of sabotage meant to harm our Tribe, the economic engine that is our casino and the quality of life enjoyed by each and every Chukchansi citizen. In an effort to return stability to our people, your Council Quorum continues to work every day on the Rancheria, attending to critical Tribal business, including overseeing the Chukchansi Gold Casino & Resort and handling the everyday responsibilities of Tribal government.
We will continue to fulfill these responsibilities day in and day out in a professional manner. We will not be intimidated, nor will we be coerced into abandoning the Chukchansi people.
Recently, in an effort aimed at negotiating an end to this sabotage campaign, members of the Council quorum traveled to San Francisco and to Phoenix to meet with the Lewis-Alberta faction and its lawyers. While it was difficult to sit at the negotiating table with a rogue group that constantly puts its self-interest ahead of our Chukchansi brothers and sisters, we believed the stability and well-being of our people must be more important than personal sleights and past wrongdoings.
Sadly, the Lewis-Alberta faction did not negotiate in good faith, nor did they make a serious attempt to end a dispute that has placed our Tribe’s economy in serious jeopardy. Therefore, when word reached the Council Quorum that the Lewis group had cancelled the health insurance of dozens of Chukchansi Tribal members, and when we received forwarded copies of their lie-filled May 2013 newsletter, we felt there was no point in continuing talks that were premised on falsehoods and destined to fail.
What does this mean for you?
Unfortunately, it means that the business interests of our Tribe – the economic engine you rely on for per-capita payments and the security of your family – remains at risk. Because of the actions of the Lewis-Alberta group, relationships with casino vendors have been badly damaged, bills have gone unpaid or been paid late, and the bond indenture used to finance the casino stands in peril of default.
Your Council quorum, along with the lawfully empaneled Chukchansi Economic Development Authority and the lawful Tribal Gaming Commission, will continue to work to preserve our Tribe’s economy and our day-to-day business interests.
It’s likely, however, that the Lewis-Alberta faction will continue to follow their present self-serving course of action, using Tribal resources to harm rather than improve the lives of the families, elders and young people of our Tribe.
One such expenditure, estimated at more than $300,000 by the Tribe’s forensic audit team, is the illegal referenda put forward by the rogue group. This vote in no way followed the Chukchansi Constitution or the processes of our Election Committee. As Chairwoman Ayala explained in a recent opinion column in the Sierra Star newspaper (see attached), this latest Lewis-Alberta faction deception hired a ballot-processing operation (the so-called Indian Dispute Resolution Services) that employs a Lewis relative who worked on the referenda. More importantly, by offering a one-time per capita payments in return for votes, the referenda appears to have been nothing more than a bribe – one that apparently worked on only a bare majority of voters.
Again, your rightfully empanelled Council Quorum remains in place, undeterred by this sham effort. The four members of the Council Majority will continue to do the business of the Chukchansi people. What’s next on our agenda?
Per capita payments – By the time you read this letter, you will have received your most recent per capita payment. The Council Quorum will continue to fight to preserve this lifeline for our people.
Health insurance issue – As you read this, we are working to determine the extent of the health insurance cancellations caused by the Lewis-Alberta group. We will report back to you immediately with answers and potential resolutions.
Forensic audit – A team of experienced forensic auditors is at work probing the financial expenses made by Chukchansi, Inc. and other subsidiary entities that have long been controlled by Reggie Lewis and Chance Alberta. Because these expenditures involve millions of dollars and documentary evidence of Lewis-Alberta expenses, which are flimsy at best, this has not been an easy task. However, the audit teams has uncovered evidence of serious tax issues already being pursued by the State of California. When the investigators’ preliminary report has been prepared, we will get back to you with additional information.
Finally, the Council Quorum and our other lawful government entities remain in regular communication with the National Indian Gaming Commission and the California Department of Justice. We will do everything in our power, including taking legal action, to protect the interests and financial security of the Chukchansi Tribe.
On our watch, no individuals will be allowed to divert Tribal revenue and resources for their own personal gratification. That has never been the Chukchansi way and it cannot and will not be tolerated.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at the Rancheria offices at (559) 683-6633. Thank you.
In the letter, the Council Quorum details its daily efforts to manage “critical Tribal business, including overseeing the Chukchansi Gold Casino & Resort and handling the everyday responsibilities of Tribal government.” The Council Quorum explains in the letter that negotiations with the minority faction, headquartered in Fresno, broke down “when word reached the Council Quorum that the (accused ''rogue'') group had cancelled the health insurance of dozens of Chukchansi Tribal members.”
“We continue to do the work of the Chukchansi people from our office on the Rancheria, fighting against the sabotage and wasteful spending of the minority group led by Reggie Lewis and Chance Alberta,” said Tribal Council Nancy Ayala. “The Tribe’s forensic audit also continues its work, every day uncovering more evidence of serious issues with how the Lewis-Alberta group has done business in their own self-interest.”
The text of the Council Quorum letter is as follows:
A Letter From The Tribal Council Quorum
Nancy Ayala, Chairwoman; Tracey Brechbuehl, Secretary; Dr. Karen Wynn, Treasurer; Charles Sargosa, Member at Large
As the majority group of the Chukchansi Tribal Council, duly sworn to uphold the laws of our Tribe’s Constitution, we write to you today to be as informative as possible about the ongoing political conflict that has made life so difficult for our Chukchansi people. As you know by now, three members of our Council left the Rancheria in February 2013. Shortly thereafter, Council Members Reggie Lewis, Chance Alberta and Carl Bushman set up an unconstitutional rogue Council headquartered in a $20,000-a-month office tower in Fresno.
Since then, the Lewis-Alberta Council minority has embarked on a relentless, distortion-filled campaign of sabotage meant to harm our Tribe, the economic engine that is our casino and the quality of life enjoyed by each and every Chukchansi citizen. In an effort to return stability to our people, your Council Quorum continues to work every day on the Rancheria, attending to critical Tribal business, including overseeing the Chukchansi Gold Casino & Resort and handling the everyday responsibilities of Tribal government.
We will continue to fulfill these responsibilities day in and day out in a professional manner. We will not be intimidated, nor will we be coerced into abandoning the Chukchansi people.
Recently, in an effort aimed at negotiating an end to this sabotage campaign, members of the Council quorum traveled to San Francisco and to Phoenix to meet with the Lewis-Alberta faction and its lawyers. While it was difficult to sit at the negotiating table with a rogue group that constantly puts its self-interest ahead of our Chukchansi brothers and sisters, we believed the stability and well-being of our people must be more important than personal sleights and past wrongdoings.
Sadly, the Lewis-Alberta faction did not negotiate in good faith, nor did they make a serious attempt to end a dispute that has placed our Tribe’s economy in serious jeopardy. Therefore, when word reached the Council Quorum that the Lewis group had cancelled the health insurance of dozens of Chukchansi Tribal members, and when we received forwarded copies of their lie-filled May 2013 newsletter, we felt there was no point in continuing talks that were premised on falsehoods and destined to fail.
What does this mean for you?
Unfortunately, it means that the business interests of our Tribe – the economic engine you rely on for per-capita payments and the security of your family – remains at risk. Because of the actions of the Lewis-Alberta group, relationships with casino vendors have been badly damaged, bills have gone unpaid or been paid late, and the bond indenture used to finance the casino stands in peril of default.
Your Council quorum, along with the lawfully empaneled Chukchansi Economic Development Authority and the lawful Tribal Gaming Commission, will continue to work to preserve our Tribe’s economy and our day-to-day business interests.
It’s likely, however, that the Lewis-Alberta faction will continue to follow their present self-serving course of action, using Tribal resources to harm rather than improve the lives of the families, elders and young people of our Tribe.
One such expenditure, estimated at more than $300,000 by the Tribe’s forensic audit team, is the illegal referenda put forward by the rogue group. This vote in no way followed the Chukchansi Constitution or the processes of our Election Committee. As Chairwoman Ayala explained in a recent opinion column in the Sierra Star newspaper (see attached), this latest Lewis-Alberta faction deception hired a ballot-processing operation (the so-called Indian Dispute Resolution Services) that employs a Lewis relative who worked on the referenda. More importantly, by offering a one-time per capita payments in return for votes, the referenda appears to have been nothing more than a bribe – one that apparently worked on only a bare majority of voters.
Again, your rightfully empanelled Council Quorum remains in place, undeterred by this sham effort. The four members of the Council Majority will continue to do the business of the Chukchansi people. What’s next on our agenda?
Per capita payments – By the time you read this letter, you will have received your most recent per capita payment. The Council Quorum will continue to fight to preserve this lifeline for our people.
Health insurance issue – As you read this, we are working to determine the extent of the health insurance cancellations caused by the Lewis-Alberta group. We will report back to you immediately with answers and potential resolutions.
Forensic audit – A team of experienced forensic auditors is at work probing the financial expenses made by Chukchansi, Inc. and other subsidiary entities that have long been controlled by Reggie Lewis and Chance Alberta. Because these expenditures involve millions of dollars and documentary evidence of Lewis-Alberta expenses, which are flimsy at best, this has not been an easy task. However, the audit teams has uncovered evidence of serious tax issues already being pursued by the State of California. When the investigators’ preliminary report has been prepared, we will get back to you with additional information.
Finally, the Council Quorum and our other lawful government entities remain in regular communication with the National Indian Gaming Commission and the California Department of Justice. We will do everything in our power, including taking legal action, to protect the interests and financial security of the Chukchansi Tribe.
On our watch, no individuals will be allowed to divert Tribal revenue and resources for their own personal gratification. That has never been the Chukchansi way and it cannot and will not be tolerated.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at the Rancheria offices at (559) 683-6633. Thank you.
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