Tribal Councils NOT IMMUNE from lawsuits

Here is the money quote from the recent UNANIMOUS Appelate Court decision on Vann v Kempthorne:

"Faced with allegations of ongoing constitutional and treaty violations, and a prospective request for injunctive relief, officers of the Cherokee Nation cannot seek shelter in the tribe's sovereign immunity," wrote Judge Thomas Griffith.

OP: Pechanga's Tribal Council has acted unconstitutionally (against the Pechanga Constitution and bylaw by overturning the will of the people.) With NO sovereign immunity, expect the court cases to come rolling out. The 500 people held in the moratorium have a good opportunity here. NOW will the ACLU step in against the OFFICERS of the Pechanga Tribe? And of course, some other individuals will no longer have sovereignty attached. Will the tribe relish the idea of spending MILLIONS to defend Ruth Masiel and Ihrene Scearse and Frances Miranda?


John Velie, partner in Velie & Velie in Norman, Okla., counsel to Vann and the Freedmen, said, "The court crafted an opinion that protects both tribal sovereignty and individual Indian civil rights. The is a great day for Indian Country." The suit seeks an injunction prohibiting future elections without Freedmen participation, including the right to run for office.

Picayune Rancheria Opens NEW TOWER: AFTER 500 disenrolled

Fresno Beehive reports tha Picayune Rancheria has opened a new tower for their hotel. Here's my comment:

It's amazing what you can afford to build when you eliminate half your tribe and keep them from their rightful place in the sun.

HALF of the Chukchansi tribe are out, unable to enjoy the fruits they deserve. People of Fresno, go to another casino and let this new tower stay empty.
Elected officials, be PROUD to stand with a tribe that violates the civil and human rights of their people.

Soboba's Response: This isn't the 1800's!

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It's probably best to avoid Soboba while tempers are flaring. Three tribal members were shooting indiscriminately endangering San Jacinto and travelers.


The head of the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians on Wednesday decried claims that his security officers have been obstructing Riverside County's sheriff deputies.
“This isn't the 1800s when the Calvary came,” tribal Chairman Robert Salgado said.
Salgado spoke out the day after Sheriff Stanley Sniff Jr. told the county Board of Supervisors that he had written to the National Indian Gaming Commission, asking that it suspend the tribe's gaming license.
“My recommendation was for them to suspend the license unless — and until — the sheriff's department has free and unrestricted access” to the reservation, Sniff said.
He said the tribe had a “history of violence and a propensity to violence.”
When sheriff's deputies come on the reservation, tribal security guards merely want to know where they are going and why, Salgado said. He added that deputies have no right to patrol sovereign tribal land at will.
Salgado said he and the sheriff interpret the federal law that applies to local law enforcement differently.
He said he understood that deputies should be allowed unrestricted access to the reservation in the case of an emergency. But, in the case of routine business, sheriff's deputies should at least tell to tribal authorities where they are going and why.
The reservation covers about 6,000 acres.
A forum is scheduled for Aug. 11, during which a discussion is to take place about the issues surrounding Public Law 280, which turned over law enforcement duties to local governments in 1953.
Sniff said last week that he understood the law to give sheriff's deputies unrestricted access to the reservation. Permission from the tribe is not necessary to enter at any time, he said.

Peaceful Protest of the Removal of Native Remainsl

Our Friend Tamra from NDNnews has this action alert:

We Need Your Support.

Saturday August 2nd 2008 we'll be gathering at the corner of Bolsa Chica Street and Warner Ave. in the city of Huntington Beach,CA. We will be protesting the destruction of the cogged stone site CA-ORA 83.

Also the removal of 174 remains and over 4000 artifacts.We will be walking into the development for the first time this Saturday. We need a strong turnout to let the developer and the community know that we're not OK with what's gone on at ORA-83.Please bring a friend,tell a neighbor,make phone calls.The more relations the better.

We will meet at 10 am.
For more info.You can call 949-228-7262 or email bigrockcreek@msn.com

San Manuel Donates $100,000 to Second Harvest Food Bank

The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians announced Tuesday it will donate $100,000 to the Second Harvest Food Bank of San Bernardino and Riverside counties, which provides food to the region's needy.

Tribal officials will present a check to the nonprofit on Friday at its inaugural Summer Challenge Food Drive at Arrowhead Credit Union Park in San Bernardino. The event, hosted by the Inland Empire 66ers, will take place during the third inning of the baseball game between the 66ers and the High Desert Mavericks.
The San Manuels' donation comes at a time when escalating gas and food prices and the subprime mortgage crisis have left many struggling to make ends meet. "It really is hitting at a time when we are trying to provide as many resources as we can, and this is really going to facilitate that," said Daryl Brock, executive director of Second Harvest.
The San Bernardino-Riverside county chapter is the 24th largest in the country, distributing about 22 1/2 million pounds of food a year, Brock said. Second Harvest initially sought the tribe's assistance with one of its events, but the tribe, noting the rise in food prices and other essentials, decided to do more, tribal Chairman James Ramos said in a news release.

Pechanga Meets Its Payment Deadline

The Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians on Wednesday made its first payment to the state under terms of its amended gaming compact.

There was concern about Pechanga meeting its payment obligations since news of the HUGE number of people being laid off. Pechanga has lost business due to the economy and the thug behavior of it's youth had cause SILK nightclub to close down.
Additionally, news of a commercial bribery scheme broke recently where a Pechanga employee was charging $3,000 to falsify applications for job applicants to get consideration.

Pechanga had paid multiple millions more than 3 other gaming tribes in order for their Prop 94 to pass.

Another Crack in the Sovereignty Dam! VICTORY for Cherokee Freedmen

UPDATE to Include Press Release and a BIG Welcome to our Freedmen friends and the Cherokee People

Bad intentions by the Cherokee Nations Council including Chad Smith has now come back to bite them.

The descendants of former slaves owned by some Cherokees can sue Cherokee Nation officers for disenfranchising them from tribal elections, a federal appeals court here ruled today.

The ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit was a victory for the so-called "freedmen,'' who filed suit after being prevented from voting in two tribal elections in 2003.
The tribe argued that it had sovereign immunity and couldn't be sued. The appeals court ruled today that the Cherokee Nation does have sovereign immunity in the case but that the tribal leaders do not.

"Faced with allegations of ongoing constitutional and treaty violations, and a prospective request for injunctive relief, officers of the Cherokee Nation cannot seek shelter in the tribe’s sovereign immunity,'' the court's opinion says.
The case will now go back to U.S. district court here, where it was filed.
The Cherokee Nation voted last year to amend its constitution to remove all freedmen descendants from the tribal rolls who do not have Cherokee blood. The change is being challenged in a Cherokee court.

Angered by the Cherokee Nation's action, many members of Congress are trying to strip the tribe of some of its federal funding, and the tribe has been fighting a public relations and lobbying battle here to prevent it.

Stay tuned for updates and reaction. CONGRATULATIONS to the Freedmen

Press release July 29 2008 re Court of Appeals Decision letterhead doc - Upload a Document to Scribd

Read this document on Scribd: Press release July 29 2008 re Court of Appeals Decision letterhead doc

Here is a link to the decision: http://www.scribd.com/doc/4259590/VAnn-versus-Kempthorne-075024

Just a Moderate to Small Earthquake

Yes, it was a 5.4 quake, a small-moderate quake but enough to get the blood pumping a bit if you were close. I was on the interstate and didn't feel it at all. How did it affect you? I hope all my readers in the area had no damage. My grandbabies came through, no problem.

Our friend Ed Morrissey at Hot Air has some video and comment

Leave a comment and let us know

Shutter SOBOBA CASINO says RIVERSIDE SHERIFF

I guess the "agreement" wasn't all it was purported to be? This IS serious. A law enforcement agency requesting the shutdown of a sovereign nations casino. But the NIGC had alread put Soboba on notice that this was a possibility.
What will the reaction of tribal members be? The FBI is certainly spending a LOT of time around our local Indian tribes. Is this what we expected from self-reliance? UPDATED


When the Riverside County Sheriff's Department and the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians signed an agreement a few weeks ago, the sheriff and tribal chairman posed for photos side-by-side as they talked about their cooperative relationship.
But it was clear, as soon as the photo ops ended, that the two parties had different opinions on how much access deputies should have to the reservation. Tribal Chairman Robert Salgado said the deputies needed tribal permission to enter the reservation for anything other than 911 calls and hot pursuits; Sheriff Stanley Sniff said his deputies needed no such permission.

That difference of opinion has reached a breaking point, with Sniff announcing this morning that he is requesting the federal government shut down the casino. Sniff said he sent a letter Monday to the National Indian Gaming Commission, formally requesting the federal regulatory agency close Soboba Casino near San Jacinto.

Sniff announced the letter this morning at the Riverside County Board of Supervisors' meeting.
Sniff also has asked the FBI to review two officer-involved shootings that left three tribal members dead on the reservation in May.
County Supervisor Jeff Stone called for Soboba to replace Salgado as chairman and for residents to avoid the tribe's casino as unsafe.
"Unfortunately, tribal members at least from this tribe believe they are above the law," said Supervisor John Tavaglione. "I hope that Mr. Salgado will either show some leadership or step down." Press Enterprise

The Desert Sun reports: Smith said deputies were being stopped at a guard shack, obstructing them from getting onto the reservation to serve warrants or conduct routine patrols. OP: Didn't a former Pechanga tribal council member run onto the rez like a punk-assed-bitch to escape talking to RCSD in an assault issue?

New Agua Caliente Resort is THE place to Stay

The Agua Caliente tribe has done a great job with their new resort and casino.

They recently hosted an affair for the Native American Chamber and this new resort is wonderful.

Take a look at their website Richard has always been a good host at the Spa resort, but this new resort is the PLACE TO GO.

Casino customers, if you want to gamble and feel bad about going to a casino like Pechanga, that is laying off their people and where the service will suffer from those losses, I'd suggest going to an enterprise that takes care of their people. The suites are exceptional and the atmosphere is very welcoming. Bypass Temecula and head to the Springs.

San Pascual Steals Per Capita From 50 Members

A BOYCOTT of San Pascual may be needed, along with Pechanga. Your MORAL OUTRAGE can be displayed by NOT patronizing casinos and businesses that treat their people like this.

A San Diego County Indian tribe could face fines or other sanctions for withholding casino profits from about 50 people whom they claim are not legitimate members.

Southern California's Bureau of Indian Affairs chief James Fletcher said Friday's action by the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians could put it in violation of Indian gaming revenue sharing rules.

San Pasqual officials also fired several people from tribal jobs and leadership positions and said they would evict them from homes on tribal land. Fascists!

Officials said the people who face exclusion from the 300-member tribe are decedents of a man who was not a full-blooded Indian.
But some of the decedents say they are being targeted by tribe members who don't want to share profits from the tribe's Valley View casino.

Pechanga's Promises of Casino Revenue FAIL to Pan OUT

Just a few months ago, images of smiling children, police officers and firefighters filled TV screens and mailboxes across the state, urging voters to support major casino expansions for four Southern California tribes.
Gov. Schwarzenegger and other government officials promised that the tribes would help balance the state's troubled budget with an influx of gambling dollars. The casino riches would help protect state funding for schools, police and fire departments, health care and roads, the tribes and their supporters said.
Voters approved the deals, but recent signs suggest the promises may not pan out. Deals touted as a sure-fire way to help the state weather economic slumps are now struggling themselves. PECHANGA LAYOFFS

SCHWARZENEGGER says: "They have to make decisions, just like we do or like businesses do anywhere else, according to what is the demand," Schwarzenegger said of the tribes. "But I think that the compacts were really solid compacts, and there will be, really, billions and billions of dollars over the next 20 years of additional revenues for the state, which the state needs very badly." OP: ARNOLD, NOT with the spending plans that you have. YOU have to cut spending to balance our budget. YOU made it seem like this would be a bailout, when , if fact it was a bad bill

Press Enterprise article

The Effect of Slavery on the Cherokee Freedmen/Women

The blog BEAUTIFUL, ALSO, ARE THE SOULS OF MY BLACK SISTERS has quite a bit of information as to how the Cherokee benefitted from slavery and the effects on those they are trying to disenroll. It's good reading and well sourced.

Their voice is clear as to who should be citizens of the Cherokee Nation,” Smith said. “No one else has the right to make that determination. It was a right of self-government, affirmed in 23 treaties with Great Britain and the United States and paid dearly with 4,000 lives on the Trail of Tears.”

He also conveniently forgot all the black slaves who were drug, with chains around their necks, walking behind the horses of the slave-holding Cherokees, many of whom also died along the infamous Trail of Tears with the Cherokees.

AIRRO is fighting for the rights of disenfranchised Indians. Have you joined in to add your voice?

New Laws Apply on Rincon Reservation

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At the Rincon Indian Reservation, kids hang out all night getting into fights, people shoot guns in the streets and trespassers dump furniture, oil drums and puppies ---- all with relative impunity.

But that's changing. A new set of tribal codes that took effect July 1, along with a maturing tribal court system, may succeed in reining in the kind of behavior that most cities and counties have regulated with ordinances, tribal spokesperson Nikki Symington said."The reservations have gained a reputation for lawlessness, and it's been true," she said. "For the first time, we've got due process that protects individual rights while establishing community standards of behavior."The new laws mark the first time that the tribe has tried to legally enforce its own code of behavior, Symington said.

The Sheriff's Department provides law enforcement for Rincon, but deputies can enforce only the California criminal code.Those laws say little about such things as how late a loud party can run, refinements usually regulated by county and local ordinances.But now, with its own laws, police and court, the tribe can enforce a ban on undesirable acts, Symington said.A range of finesRincon's new laws, called the Peace and Security Ordinance, are a set of civil codes that establish fines for offenses such as vandalism, trespassing, curfew violations, drug use and loud parties.The codes apply to anyone on the 5,000-acre Valley Center reservation, including visitors, 300 tribal residents and 1,200 nontribal residents, she said.

The laws were developed to address problems involving residents and trespassers and won't affect most casino patrons, Symington said.Private security guards and sheriff's deputies will continue to enforce laws at Harrah's Rincon Casino, she said.

Sarah Gordon's Story