Reconciling Moral OUTRAGE at Pechanga with Self Determination

I posted this way back in June 2007 and it still does apply. I hope from what you read here, you do NOT get the impression that we are against tribal gaming. That is not true. The links tell the story of what's happening at Pechanga and other reservations. Feel free to comment, they are open.

Tribal gaming has helped many tribes in CA, come out of poverty, Pechanga included. Many of the Pechanga people are uneducated and I remember they were so excited when they qualified for a Target credit card. Unfortunately, with success, greed soon follows. They looked at who they could get rid of to increase their per capita. And, unfortunately, the money hasn't made everyone happy.

But the facts are clear, most tribes have not treated their people as abominably as Pechanga, Redding, Picayune Rancheria Snoqualmie and others have treated their people. I have expressed earlier that I am FOR expanded gaming, for those tribes that haven't gotten to the table yet.


This gives Paulina Hunters views after the authors.

This is Paulina's post from June

Reconciling MORAL OUTRAGE at Pechanga Tribe with Self Determination


Here is an excellent article by Sheryl Lightfoot about how to support sovereignty issues, while not supporting the actions when they are morally repugnant, such as Pechanga's disenrollment of 25% of their tribe in order to enrich the remaining members.


http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096414629

In order to be sovereign nations, we must act like sovereign nations. But that does not mean that in order to support self-determination in principle, we need to agree with every decision of other sovereign nations. Nation-states in the international system do not always agree with the internal actions of other nation-states, yet they nearly always accept the principle of the equal sovereignty of all nation-states within the international system (with certain notable exceptions like the Iraq invasion or humanitarian interventions). When a nation-state, a group of nation-states, or private citizens of other nation-states disagree with the internal actions of another nation-state, there are a number of possible avenues of action.

First, sovereign nation-states can register a diplomatic complaint with the government of the offending nation-state. This is done all the time in the international system. The U.S. Department of State often drafts and delivers letters of protest to the diplomats and officials of other governments over areas of disagreement. Likewise, the executives of our indigenous nations have the right, if not the moral responsibility, to send letters and make phone calls of complaint directly to the executives of the Cherokee Nation, expressing their concern over the disenrollment decision. This can be done while supporting the inherent right of an indigenous nation to determine its own membership.

Another tactic which can be employed by other indigenous nations or the private citizens of other nations is the art of moral persuasion, or ''moral suasion,'' as it has also been termed. This involves a campaign of exposure and embarrassment. This tactic has most often been employed in international human rights campaigns, with the purpose being to expose the immoral government action in the media and open up international discussion in order to embarrass the target government into changing its policy to better conform to international norms. This was done in the early days of the campaign against apartheid in South Africa and has been used often by groups like Amnesty International to urge governments to stop human rights abuses.


My (PAULINA'S) view is this:

As mentioned on other sites, tribal sovereignty is something that should be nurtured and cherished. Many now believe that the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians from Temecula, CA will be responsible for the quick erosion of sovereignty, that tribes have fought for for centuries. The question was asked, "what could be done?".

Frankly, economic sanctions of another nation, plus public embarrassment may be the only course of action that is effective. For instance, in South Africa, it was their SOVEREIGN RIGHT as a free nation to impose apartheid on their country.
What recourse did civilized countries use to bring down this hateful policy? Economic sanctions and world ridicule of the policy. No trade, no travel, no money. Final result, end of apartheid and a welcome back to South Africa into the world community.
Similarly, citizens of the United States (OP: AND California especially) can impose their own economic sanctions on the Tribal Nation of Pechanga by boycotting their nation.

Stop patronizing their casino, hotel, restaurants and their powwows. Let them know that we do not agree with their system of denying civil rights to their people and until they follow their own tribal law, citizens of our country will NOT support their nation, but will patronize (OP: In other words, support tribal gaming elsewhere) their competitor nations.

Also, letting state and federal representatives know that we expect them not to support a nation that would treat its citizens this way, especially NOT to allow them increased monetary benefits by expanding their casino slot machines.
Readers, there are 250 members of the band that were disenrolled and 500 people who are caught in Pechanga's illegal moratorium (illegal in that SOVEREIGN nation, against the sovereign nation of Pechanga's own constitution) Pechanga and its chairman, Mark Macarro deserves no benefit from violations of their laws and against citizens of the United States. Please ask your friends to read my blog and friends, please let me know your opinion.

Will Democrats Help ERODE Tribal Sovereignty via UNION CARD CHECKS?

Republican congressman Tom Cole of Oklahoma, the only Native American tribal member in the US Congress, says that UNION CARD CHECKS are the biggest threat to tribal sovereignty.

COLE: There is no question in my mind what the answer is, and I respond by saying, “In this Congress and the next, tribes face the greatest threat to their sovereign governments that the U.S. Congress has attempted in decades: the so-called Employee Free Choice Act.”

As Americans, we cherish our right to vote in private when it comes to elections. So, too, it seems to me with the individual right to vote in a union election in private – without some goon looking over our shoulder to make sure we vote “the right way.” This is a part of our democracy and ingrained in our collective sense of being Americans. It is also a fundamental component of our basic labor laws for more than 60 years, a personal freedom exercised by millions of American workers.

Yet that personal freedom is exactly what the Democratic Party leaders and their union boss cohorts want to take from American workers. This ill-conceived proposal represents payback for years of unquestioning loyalty by large union bosses – a proposal that strips union members of their right to have secret-ballot elections to choose their leaders.

For Indian tribal governments, there is no “free choice” at all. Instead, it carries with it a very real threat that goes to the core of their sovereignty. For the first time, this legislation will trample the inherent sovereign rights of tribal governments to govern their internal affairs.

OP: The unions have been trying to get card check for some time now. How long do you think it will take with: A Democratic President, A Democratic House and A Democratic Senate? Isn't ironic that the same party that puts a leader of a tribe that's a KNOWN civil rights violator on their platform committee, will be the party that destroys the rights of tribes?

And here is Cole's conclusion:

This threat to tribal sovereignty makes this election of vital importance to Indian tribes across the United States. To me the question is simple: Will the next president eagerly sign a law that strikes at the very heart of tribal sovereignty and ignores tribal aspirations to govern themselves?
Or will the next president honor the solemn commitments made by the United States to tribal nations – commitments enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and 200 years of treaties and laws?Only one candidate has shown the mettle to reject this legislation as part of the successful Senate blockade of that law last year. That same candidate has defended and successfully worked to strengthen tribal sovereignty for more than 26 years.At the end of the day, I know that this tribal member is voting for that candidate – Sen. John McCain.

So is a vote for Obama, a vote for card check? He's said as much:

Sen.Barack Obama has declared, “We will pass the Employee Free Choice Act. It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when, we may have to wait for the next president to sign it, but we will get this thing done.” (Chicago Tribune, March 4, 2007). Sen. Joseph Biden, his running mate, stated that the Employee Free Choice Act is a new “social compact.”

So the unions will no longer have to work to earn the trust of the potential rank and file. Is this what finally erodes tribal sovereignty? Erosion that has been quickened by the violations of civil rights, human rights, elder abuse that tribes like Pechanga, Picayune Rancheria and Enterprise have perpetrated on their people?

Is Obama THE ONE for tribes?

Our Leaders have FAILED to LEAD. Pelosi Failed to get the Democrat Party in Line

Much like Pechanga Chairman Mark Macarro's failure to lead and direct the tribal to follow the Pechanga Constitution and Bylaws in the termination of 25% of the Pechanga tribe, Nancy Pelosi has failed to lead the Democrats in voting for today's bailout bill.

Fully 40% of the Democrats were not on board with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Democrats had enough votes to pass this alone, yet the Republicans spotted them 65 votes and she STILL couldn't get it together. First, she tried to ace out the Republican House members, and then started blaming them after her failure. FIVE of the Democratic Committee leaders DID NOT vote for the bill.

We need ALL our leadership to work together to bail the system they let get away with (or more likely were directed to) bad loans. While we got here on different ships, we are ALL in the same boat NOW. Loan money wild dry up. The markets are losing their value and we need to get the ship righted.

Email your congressperson and tell them to DO THEIR JOBS.

Noted Actor Danny Glover Touts Cherokee Freedmen Rights

Descended from Choctaw, Glover says black people and American Indians have a pivotal past.

Actor Danny Glover on Friday called on the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma to allow freedmen descendants into the tribe with full citizenship rights. Speaking at a forum hosted by members of the Congressional Black Caucus, Glover said other tribes will take similar action if the Cherokee Nation succeeds in blocking freedmen descendants' tribal citizenship.

The issue is in court after a March 2007 vote by the Cherokee Nation to remove freedmen descendants from tribal rolls. Glover described the relationship linking American Indians and black people as one of the most pivotal in the nation's evolution. "I've always embraced that relationship," he said. "My own grandmother was part Choctaw." He cited the history of black people who escaped their captors and found refuge among the Indian tribes, as well as the strategic help black people offered the Seminoles in their war against the tyranny of the colonies.

Both groups, Glover said, have seen genocide and exploitation. "But I am disturbed by what I see," he said, calling on black people to serve as the moral compass on such issues as the freedmen descendants' quest to have full citizenship rights in the Cherokee Nation. "These are very important decisions that we have to make. They are moral decisions."

Glover later said he has been interested in issues involving black people and American Indians for some time and tries to express that both in his work as an actor and as a private person. "It is a relationship that we don't have a great deal of discussion about," he said, adding that his own culture encouraged him to deny it. Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chad Smith also gave a hallway interview as the forum took place. Smith said he had asked to be included in the forum's panel but was turned down. "That may be the heart of the problem," he said, calling for all parties to have an open dialogue about the lengthy and complicated history. Smith welcomed Glover's participation. "My response to him is, 'Give me 15 minutes of your time. Let me show you our side of the story,' " he said. "And, I think he will agree with us that it is a complicated issue and the courts should decide."

Despite the criticism that some still heap on the tribe, it won a legislative victory this week when a provision designed to deny housing benefits to Cherokees until the tribe recognizes freedmen descendants as citizens was altered. The latest version of the bill allows the tribe to receive those benefits as long as a tribal court order on the matter remains in place as the case continues. "The language in the bill is a sign that Congress recognizes the sovereignty and authority of tribal courts to settle internal disputes, which should be considered a victory for not only the Cherokee Nation but all tribes," Smith said.

The DEBATE: McCain vs. Obama

A good effort by both of our Presidential Candidates.


Feel free to comment on your view of who won the debate.

Paul Newman - Dead at 83 R.I.P

He gave us all many memorable films and decades of entertainment. He was one of the all-time greats.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) - A spokeswoman for screen legend Paul Newman says the actor has died at age 83.
Spokeswoman Marni Tomljanovic says Newman died Friday of cancer. No other details were immediately available.
Newman was nominated for Academy Awards 10 times, winning a regular Oscar in 1987 for "The Color of Money" and two honorary ones. He was equally at home in comedies such as "The Sting" and dramas such as "Hud."
He sometimes teamed with his wife, Joanne Woodward, also an Oscar winner for the 1957 film "Three Faces of Eve."

...Why Disenrolling Tribes Like The Pechanga Tribal Council are UNETHICAL

People have asked me why I use the term unethical in my blog’s banner. Here’s the reasons why.

Recall the five fundamental principles of ethics:

1. Do No Harm - Pechanga has failed miserably in this area. Not only have they caused financial harm to many of their tribal members, stripping them of their per capita, they have left them unprotected in the area of health care. They also have violated the Tribal Constitution and illegally have kept many rightful members out, via a moratorium.

2. Make Things Better - Well, Pechanga started well, with a plan to lift all it’s people from poverty. Many of us weren’t in poverty, but did benefit from the casino. After all, our families’ ancestors were original Pechanga Temecula people. But then, came the moratorium, which kept rightful members OUT and followed that with disenrollments, which made things worse.

3. Respect Others – Pechanga touted elders like Lawrence Madariaga, Paulina Hunter’s great-grandson with rewards like plaques for their service, but then left them out in the cold by kicking them from the tribal rolls and then saying, “go get a job” to 80 year olds. They disregarded their most vaunted elder, Antonio Ashman’s sworn testimony that he knew Paulina Hunter when he was a young man in the 1880’s

4. Be Fair – We will be detailing the unfairness of the tribal council, the disenrollment committee and the CPP, but there was no fairness. The Tribal Enrollment committee did not allow us to question our accusers, did not tell us what was missing in our paperwork, forced us to have red ribbon certified paperwork of over 400 pages and yet accepted a letter of hearsay from an imprisoned child molester as more factual, that the results of their own study.

5. Be Loving – How loving is it to eliminate old people, children, infirm from the tribe? To take away their voting rights, elder care, and educational assistance. The tribal council should have taken their task of looking after the individual tribal members welfare. They did not.

Also, recall that ethical responsibilities apply not just to how we treat others but to how we treat ourselves, too. Although ethics is fundamentally a guard against self-obsession, it is right and good to treat ourselves with respect, fairness, and compassion and to avoid causing ourselves harm. Now, the actions of the CPP are causing harm to the tribe and the tribe is paying the public relations price for what they have done, and that price is already $60 million or more.

Exercise your moral outrage and avoid Pechanga.

Cherokee FREEDMEN Demonstrate Outside BIA

Descendants of Freedmen and Supporters Demonstrate outside Bureau of Indian Affairs Office in Muskogee Oklahoma for Treaty Rights on September 19 2008

On September 19 2008, Black Descendants of Freedmen and their supporters demonstrated outside the Muskogee Oklahoma BIA office. The freedmen are persons of African descent whose ancestors were enslaved by Indians of the “Five Civilized Tribes” prior to 1866. The tribes (Cherokee, Creek Seminole, etc) declared war on the United States in order to keep persons of African descent enslaved. The former slaves and their descendants were guaranteed tribal citizenship and rights to tribal programs, per capita payments, rights to vote and to hold office by both the US Government and the tribes through the 1866 treaties. Currently the freedmen have been disenrolled or face disenrollment proceedings in the tribes and also face discrimination in accessing tribal benefits such as health services or educational benefits provided to members of federally recognized Indian tribes by the US government.

The black freedmen and supporters carried signs demanding that the BIA enforce treaty rights of the black freedmen. Other signs reminded the BIA that only Congress can change treaties.
The majority of persons demonstrating were Cherokee freedmen tribal members whose tribal memberships are currently deemed by the tribe to be “temporary” after a freedmen disenrollment movement led by Principal Chief Smith resulted in a vote to expel the freedmen in which less than 9,000 persons voted out of a tribal membership of 280,000 people. Almost none of the freedmen people were permitted to vote. The tribe, which receives 80% of its budget (more than 300 million dollars) from the US government (ie the US taxpayers) has spent millions of dollars in lobbying and legal actions to discourage Congressional intervention, build public support for its freedmen removal campaign and shut down a lawsuit regarding the rights of Cherokee freedmen filed in the Federal courts in 2003 (Vann versus Kempthorne).

The tribe has refused to register as recognized tribal members more than 23,000 descendants of Dawes enrolled Cherokee freedmen tribal members – persons who are currently barred from participating in educational and health service programs, etc.

Angela Molette, President of the Enid NAACP branch and a disenrolled Choctaw freedmen descendant reminded attendants of continuing support of the NAACP for freedmen treaty rights. Marilyn Vann, a “temporary Cherokee freedmen citizen”, and Ron Graham (a disenrolled Creek Freedmen descendant), as Descendants of freedmen Association officers, exhorted attendants to continue to fight for treaty rights through lobbying, economic action, etc. They encouraged attendants to come to Washington DC to attend the September 26th panel on Freedmen issues sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. Panel participants include Marilyn Vann, attorney Jon Velie and Mr Hilary Shelton, NAACP Washington Bureau Chief.

Are Soboba Tribe's Bad Apples Hurting The Tribe?

Now, schools aren't sending their kids to the Pow Wows.

The recent random shootings of criminals from the Soboba reservation, which forced the Riverside Sheriff's deputies to take them out, plus the news that even with Soboba per capita payments, they still have criminals that do home invasion robberies, have left a bad taste in the mouths of potential customers.

From a PE stories:

Security on the Soboba reservation has been in the spotlight in recent months after a series of shootings by Riverside County sheriff's deputies that left three tribal members dead. Another group, the Arizona-based National Sand Drag Association, pulled its races from the reservation, citing safety concerns.

AND

The assurances of safety came after officials from San Jacinto School District declined to send elementary school students to the powwow's traditional pre-opening visit hosted by the tribe.
The reasons for San Jacinto's absence from the event are unclear. Tribal officials say they received word from San Jacinto district officials that the students were not coming because of safety concerns. San Jacinto schools Superintendent Shari Fox and other district officials could not be reached for comment Friday.
Students from the Hemet Unified School District also did not attend. Soboba Vice Chairwoman Rosemary Morillo said the tribe did not receive a response to an invitation sent to the school district.

IS THIS WHAT THEY MEANT BY SELF RELIANCE?

Pechanga Council Member Gabriel Pico's Memorial Services

Services for Gabriel Pico, Pechanga Tribal Council, who was killed in Denver CO while attending the DNC will be on Friday and Saturday of this week. Please pray for him and his family. In Loving Memory of Gabriel Pico Rosary: Friday, Sept 19th @ 7:00PM Old School House, Pechanga Mass: Saturday, Sept 20th @ 10:00AM St. Michaels Burial: St. Michaels Cemetery, Pechanga CA

Court says NO to tuition breaks to illegals

In a move that is positive for all Californians AND citizens/students of the United States, the state of California's law providing tuition breaks for illegal aliens while charging outlandish fees to out of state Americans has been STRUCK DOWN.

(H/T to Michelle Malkin)


state appellate court has put a financial cloud over the future of tens of thousands of undocumented California college students, saying a state law that grants them the same heavily subsidized tuition rate that is given to resident students is in conflict with federal law.

In a ruling reached Monday, the state Court of Appeal reversed a lower court’s decision that there were no substantial legal issues and sent the case back to the Yolo County Superior Court for trial.

“It has a huge impact,” said Kris Kobach, an attorney for the plaintiffs and a law professor at the University Missouri at Kansas City. “This is going to bring a halt to the law that has been giving in-state tuition to illegal immigrants.”

He said it is a big win for California taxpayers who have been subsidizing education for undocumented immigrants.

Attorney General Jerry Brown Sides with Campaign Contributors versus the People of California

"SHOW ME THE MONEY!" say Jerry Maguire (oops, Jerry BROWN)

Why did Attorney General Jerry Brown side with Indian gaming tribes over his own regulatory partner, the California Gambling Control Commission?

Does he genuinely believe that the vote, for a set of desperately needed casino security standards, was just "advisory," and therefore, we suppose, unnecessary? OP: Aren't menu calorie info and surgeon generals warnings ADVISORY?

"I am committed to doing everything I can to ensure that the casinos are regulated," Brown said. "As a matter of timing, and a way to make it work, I want to bring it all together."

Uh-huh. Brown's actions don't make much sense - until you remember that he's a likely candidate for governor in 2010.

Here's the basic story: The National Indian Gaming Commission used to enforce basic standards for gambling tribes across the country. (These standards, known as minimum internal controls, cover important security measures like internal audits, surveillance, money transfer and slot machine calibration.) In 2006, a federal court decided that the commission lacked the authority to do so - meaning that state gambling regulators had to impose rules of their own.

It should have been easy enough for the state commission to impose an emergency regulation adopting national standards, but of course, it wasn't. Now more than 40 gaming tribes have gone nearly two years without minimum internal controls, and they continue to resist them - only now they're doing so with the attorney general's help.

Story at SFGATE