Glenn Marshall, the former leader of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, is being released from federal prison later this month, his wife said this morning. OP: Wow, has time flown by, probably not to this thief and corrupt leader though....
No date has been set for Marshall's release, but he's been told by prison officials that it will be this month, Paula Marshall said. “That's very good news,” she said.
Marshall has gone through the course work necessary to be released from Butner Federal Correction Complex in North Carolina, his wife said. She is just waiting to hear from probation officials the exact date.
In 2009 Marshall was sentenced to 3½ years in federal prison after pleading guilty to political corruption and embezzlement charges. Federal prosecutors said Marshall stole nearly $400,000 given to the tribe by a casino investor.
The online database for the federal Bureau of Prisons still has Marshall's release date as June 4, but a spokesman said it's possible Marshall would be released sooner. The spokesman said he wouldn't be able to comment until after Marshall is released.
Butner is a medical facility where Bernard Madoff, who bilked his clients out millions in investments, is also being held.
Paula Marshall declined to say publicly what ailments her husband has in prison, but said she's looking forward to him getting out.
Before he was charged criminally, Marshall resigned as the tribe's chairman after it was revealed he had previously been convicted of rape. Marshall also lied about his service in Vietnam in published reports and in testimony before U.S. Congress.
Despite the criminal charges and the scandal, Marshall still has some staunch supporters within the tribe who credit him with cutting through the bureaucracy to get the tribe federally recognized in 2007. That federal recognition is a key step in an Indian tribe's pursuit of casino gambling.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Monday, March 5, 2012
While Tribes Like Pechanga and Chukchansi STEAL from their people; San Manuel Helps Other Tribes
The San Manuel Band of Indians, of Highland, one of California's richest tribes, has given a grant to the Hopi of Arizona:
The Hopi Tribal Council approved an Emergency Declaration, directing the Hopi Emergency Response Team to assist the Solid Waste Program in correcting and properly disposing of solid waste. The Emergency Response Team was tasked to identify financial resources to acquire vehicles to assist in the collection of refuse.
The Hopi Solid Waste Program serves more than 1,000 Hopi households across the reservation, and some 50 households in three Navajo communities, with waste pick up that helps the tribe to meet public health responsibilities, including providing and maintaining a clean environment. The total service area includes 1,500 square miles.
"This task has been accomplished with a generous $330,273 grant provided by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians" said Hopi Chairman LeRoy Shingoitewa. "The Solid Waste program is now able to purchase a compactor, pickup truck, flatbed truck, flatbed trailer and an SUV. The compactor is a special order and will take some time to build".
San Manuel has given hundreds of thousands to tribes less fortunate, and some are very generous with their own money. It's refreshing to see in times where Pechanga has stolen $330 million from members and Chukchansi has left elders to freeze in the winter....
The Hopi Tribal Council approved an Emergency Declaration, directing the Hopi Emergency Response Team to assist the Solid Waste Program in correcting and properly disposing of solid waste. The Emergency Response Team was tasked to identify financial resources to acquire vehicles to assist in the collection of refuse.
The Hopi Solid Waste Program serves more than 1,000 Hopi households across the reservation, and some 50 households in three Navajo communities, with waste pick up that helps the tribe to meet public health responsibilities, including providing and maintaining a clean environment. The total service area includes 1,500 square miles.
"This task has been accomplished with a generous $330,273 grant provided by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians" said Hopi Chairman LeRoy Shingoitewa. "The Solid Waste program is now able to purchase a compactor, pickup truck, flatbed truck, flatbed trailer and an SUV. The compactor is a special order and will take some time to build".
San Manuel has given hundreds of thousands to tribes less fortunate, and some are very generous with their own money. It's refreshing to see in times where Pechanga has stolen $330 million from members and Chukchansi has left elders to freeze in the winter....
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Chukchansi Election Committee Speaks Out; Obfuscates
The Chukchansi Elections Committee explains the political problems that led to violence this week. Meanwhile, the 48 hour stand down expired but both sides remain peaceful and are working to extend the deadline by 24 - 48 more hours, because an agreement has not been reached.
Two factions of the tribe have been at odds for two months due to the last election results and questions over Harold Hammond Sr's elegibility to be on the tribal council. Even though he was one of the winners.
"There was some paperwork that came in, in the appeal process after the elction... and we had to investigate and then we had to go from there. And there is an appeal process after the election which is 10 days," said Dominique Carrillo, the Elections Committee Chairwoman.
The committee says Hammond already had a violation from when he served on the council in the past, for being on casino property in an area where only employees are allowed.
"I was never charged with anything, and I never have seen any evidence that they're proclaiming of the laws that I broke," said Hammond, in a phone interview with CBS47.
Still, Hammond was able to run for council again but then, came claims of more violations. Hammond admits he went into the Butler building. The Elections Committee says the building is owned by the casino which makes it a violation for Hammond to be there because of his previous problems. But Hammond says the building is subleased to the tribe and is where monthly Chukchansi tribal meetings are held.
"That building belongs to us, it doesn't belong to Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino," said Hammond.
The committee says the other three members that won in the December election will be on the council. As far as the two council members that lost, but did not step down, Chairman Reggie Lewis and Chance Alberta, the committee says they're following tribal law.
"They will stay seated until we finalize this election," said Carrillo.
The new election will be held on March 10th, all of the candidates that lost the race will be on the ballot for that seat, including Lewis and Alberta. Many tribal members have a problem with that, because they claim Lewis has been disenrolling members from the tribe who don't support him. Therefore, a new election with fewer voters would give him and others an unfair advantage.
But the Elections Committee says disenrollments have been happening for decades, because many current tribal members are not actual Chukchansi descendants.
We'd love to hear the Chukchansi disenrolled side of it.
Two factions of the tribe have been at odds for two months due to the last election results and questions over Harold Hammond Sr's elegibility to be on the tribal council. Even though he was one of the winners.
"There was some paperwork that came in, in the appeal process after the elction... and we had to investigate and then we had to go from there. And there is an appeal process after the election which is 10 days," said Dominique Carrillo, the Elections Committee Chairwoman.
The committee says Hammond already had a violation from when he served on the council in the past, for being on casino property in an area where only employees are allowed.
"I was never charged with anything, and I never have seen any evidence that they're proclaiming of the laws that I broke," said Hammond, in a phone interview with CBS47.
Still, Hammond was able to run for council again but then, came claims of more violations. Hammond admits he went into the Butler building. The Elections Committee says the building is owned by the casino which makes it a violation for Hammond to be there because of his previous problems. But Hammond says the building is subleased to the tribe and is where monthly Chukchansi tribal meetings are held.
"That building belongs to us, it doesn't belong to Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino," said Hammond.
The committee says the other three members that won in the December election will be on the council. As far as the two council members that lost, but did not step down, Chairman Reggie Lewis and Chance Alberta, the committee says they're following tribal law.
"They will stay seated until we finalize this election," said Carrillo.
The new election will be held on March 10th, all of the candidates that lost the race will be on the ballot for that seat, including Lewis and Alberta. Many tribal members have a problem with that, because they claim Lewis has been disenrolling members from the tribe who don't support him. Therefore, a new election with fewer voters would give him and others an unfair advantage.
But the Elections Committee says disenrollments have been happening for decades, because many current tribal members are not actual Chukchansi descendants.
We'd love to hear the Chukchansi disenrolled side of it.
OPINION II: Are Disenrollments a Violations of the Indian Civil Rights Act?
Civil Rights Attorney Donald Daines gives us a supplement and clarification to his prior post “Are Disenrollments a Violation of the Indian Civil Rights Act? But in the end, the solution does not lay in what the BIA or the US Courts decide, but within ourselves.” To save space, the post will has a break in it, PLEASE read the entire supplement and add your questions and comments. OP
Thank you for the opportunity to supplement my previous post to clarify some confusion of the readers and address a couple of questions and misunderstandings about the Indian Civil Rights Act. As previously stated, the only relief under ICRA is “habeas corpus” (free the prisoner from ‘custody’). If the prisoner is in a Nation’s jail, the habeas corpus petition is made under to the US Courts 25 U.S.C. §§ 1301-1303 ICRA. If the prisoner is in a US Federal prison pursuant to an order of a Nation Tribal Court, the petition is made under to the US Courts still under 25 U.S.C. §§ 1301-1303 ICRA because the incarceration is according to the Tribal Court decision, not the US Court.
Indian Nations have ‘government to government’ direct with the US Federal government. An Indian Nation can take an Indian prisoner to be incarcerated for the Indian Nation. The incarceration is according to the Indian Nation’s judgment and order, not that of the US Courts or US laws. The US is merely the custodian of the prisoner pursuant to the Indian Nation’s Tribal Court orders and the US has no authority to release an Indian prisoner but must abide by the Tribal Court’s decisions.
One of the many “Anonymous” comments, I believe 11:42AM, was correct about how Santa Clara could be argued to apply only to additions to the Roll of new people, but not control the removal of members by disenrollment. Poodry over ruled Santa Clara with regard to ‘banishment’. The comment was “Santa Clara does not fit in with termination of life long Indians from a band, restriction to or threats of restriction of Indians to there homes, or more important the termination of Indians rights under distress of a dictatorship.” Again, I have not yet found any decision addressing ‘disenrollments’, which are worse than banishment.
Even if an act is a clear violation of ICRA, you still must prove “restraint” that qualifies as “custody” before the US Court has any power to undue or release the person from “custody”. What restraint is sufficient to “custody will be a matter of debate for a very, very long time because there is no “bright line”. Poodry held that “banishment” was sufficient restraints upon liberty to constitute “custody”, therefore, the US Court not had power to step in, but under ICRA, it had an obligation to order the Indian Nation to release the banished people from the custody of banishment.
What I have not yet seen is a court decision that involves the question of whether “disenrollment” (mush worse than banishment) is sufficient “restraint” upon liberties to constitute “custody” for purposes of requiring the US Court to release the disenrolled from the custody of disenrollment.
If disenrollment can be found to be sufficient restraint to be custody, then the disenrolled have a powerful weapon to force the Nation to reinstate them. Everyone here knows that those who did the disenrollment will break their brains trying to figure out other ways to punish the reinstated members, so the dispute will never end until people realize how disenrollments are exactly what the US policies want, and they don’t even have to pay for the bullets. The new motto will become “the only good Indian is a disenrolled Indian.” What are you all thinking about? geesh
Well another potentially powerful weapon to use against those who use their intelligence to disenroll members rather than sharing the buffalo kill with the whole village is to argue that disenrollments are in fact “bills of attainder” and expressly prohibited by ICRA, therefore the US Courts must reinstate the members. You don’t have to argue that disenrollments are sufficient restraints upon liberties to rise to the level of being “custody” because ICRA specifically says “No Indian Tribe in exercising powers of self-government shall—(9) pass any bill of attainder or ex post facto law.” § 1302. ICRA acknowledges that bills of attainder are by definition “custody” and therefore, the US Court has the power under ICRA to grant habeas corpus relief and reverse the disenrollment.
So, the question becomes which the US Courts have not yet answered that I have found is do these disenrollments constitute a prohibited ‘bill of attainder’? Again, ICRA was only adopted in 1968, a little over 40 years ago – one life time. So of the more than 200 years of Indian Wars, Indians have only had ICRA for the last 40, and its meaning is being interpreted everyday, and will continue to be argued about.
Thank you for the opportunity to supplement my previous post to clarify some confusion of the readers and address a couple of questions and misunderstandings about the Indian Civil Rights Act. As previously stated, the only relief under ICRA is “habeas corpus” (free the prisoner from ‘custody’). If the prisoner is in a Nation’s jail, the habeas corpus petition is made under to the US Courts 25 U.S.C. §§ 1301-1303 ICRA. If the prisoner is in a US Federal prison pursuant to an order of a Nation Tribal Court, the petition is made under to the US Courts still under 25 U.S.C. §§ 1301-1303 ICRA because the incarceration is according to the Tribal Court decision, not the US Court.
Indian Nations have ‘government to government’ direct with the US Federal government. An Indian Nation can take an Indian prisoner to be incarcerated for the Indian Nation. The incarceration is according to the Indian Nation’s judgment and order, not that of the US Courts or US laws. The US is merely the custodian of the prisoner pursuant to the Indian Nation’s Tribal Court orders and the US has no authority to release an Indian prisoner but must abide by the Tribal Court’s decisions.
One of the many “Anonymous” comments, I believe 11:42AM, was correct about how Santa Clara could be argued to apply only to additions to the Roll of new people, but not control the removal of members by disenrollment. Poodry over ruled Santa Clara with regard to ‘banishment’. The comment was “Santa Clara does not fit in with termination of life long Indians from a band, restriction to or threats of restriction of Indians to there homes, or more important the termination of Indians rights under distress of a dictatorship.” Again, I have not yet found any decision addressing ‘disenrollments’, which are worse than banishment.
Even if an act is a clear violation of ICRA, you still must prove “restraint” that qualifies as “custody” before the US Court has any power to undue or release the person from “custody”. What restraint is sufficient to “custody will be a matter of debate for a very, very long time because there is no “bright line”. Poodry held that “banishment” was sufficient restraints upon liberty to constitute “custody”, therefore, the US Court not had power to step in, but under ICRA, it had an obligation to order the Indian Nation to release the banished people from the custody of banishment.
What I have not yet seen is a court decision that involves the question of whether “disenrollment” (mush worse than banishment) is sufficient “restraint” upon liberties to constitute “custody” for purposes of requiring the US Court to release the disenrolled from the custody of disenrollment.
If disenrollment can be found to be sufficient restraint to be custody, then the disenrolled have a powerful weapon to force the Nation to reinstate them. Everyone here knows that those who did the disenrollment will break their brains trying to figure out other ways to punish the reinstated members, so the dispute will never end until people realize how disenrollments are exactly what the US policies want, and they don’t even have to pay for the bullets. The new motto will become “the only good Indian is a disenrolled Indian.” What are you all thinking about? geesh
Well another potentially powerful weapon to use against those who use their intelligence to disenroll members rather than sharing the buffalo kill with the whole village is to argue that disenrollments are in fact “bills of attainder” and expressly prohibited by ICRA, therefore the US Courts must reinstate the members. You don’t have to argue that disenrollments are sufficient restraints upon liberties to rise to the level of being “custody” because ICRA specifically says “No Indian Tribe in exercising powers of self-government shall—(9) pass any bill of attainder or ex post facto law.” § 1302. ICRA acknowledges that bills of attainder are by definition “custody” and therefore, the US Court has the power under ICRA to grant habeas corpus relief and reverse the disenrollment.
So, the question becomes which the US Courts have not yet answered that I have found is do these disenrollments constitute a prohibited ‘bill of attainder’? Again, ICRA was only adopted in 1968, a little over 40 years ago – one life time. So of the more than 200 years of Indian Wars, Indians have only had ICRA for the last 40, and its meaning is being interpreted everyday, and will continue to be argued about.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Chukchansi legitimacy crisis is a predictable result of disenrollment - Kenneth Hansen
Professor Kenneth Hansen of Fresno State has an opinion on the legitimacy of the Chukchansi Tribe. Is this the SAME tribe as recognized by the government?
Certain people would have us believe that the political dispute at the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians is an internal matter. They couldn't be more wrong. Civil rights violations are a matter of public concern. Transparency and democracy are needed to address the issues of political legitimacy and disenrollment that are vital to all of Indian Country.
In a July 2009 conference call with Jerry Gidner, the deputy director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Laura Wass, the director of Central Valley AIM; civil rights attorney Tony Cohen; University of Minnesota political science professor David Wilkins; and I all attempted, to no avail, to get the BIA to force tribal governments to stop disenrolling their members.
We argued that this practice is a serious civil rights violation, tantamount to people being denied citizenship and being kicked out of their country. We argued that no good could come of this and it would only lead to greater problems.
Tony Cohen said that the BIA should enforce the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968, designed to protect Indians from tribal governments. Gidner said that the BIA would only get involved when either, 1) there was unfair distribution of resources, and 2) when there were voting irregularities.
My question now is, what are they waiting for?
When people are disenrolled from an indigenous community, they are denied benefits and voting rights. This is an inherently political act, not unlike a gerrymander, where the politicians pick their voters rather than the other way around.
This would be like the Democrats saying they were going to revoke the citizenship of Republicans (or vice versa) so as to fix the next election. Paraphrasing Joseph Stalin, it's not who votes, it's who counts the votes that matters. Nobody should want to be compared to Joseph Stalin!
As it pertains to the disputed Chukchansi election, the people who won the election and were not allowed to assume power have had their civil rights violated as well, especially Harold Hammond.
Harold is a Vietnam veteran, and a respected spiritual elder, not just for Chukchansis, but for the greater indigenous community in the Central Valley. He was chosen by the eligible Chukchansi voters and then disqualified after the fact. That became the pretext for Reggie Lewis to refuse to hand over power to the new council.
Now instead of one seven-member council, there are two four-member councils. This created the legitimacy crisis, but one could argue about the legality of the election in the first place, given that hundreds of disenrolled citizens were not allowed to participate to begin with.
The quick fix would be for the BIA to step in and choose one of the two councils to constitute a majority of the new board. While that might make for a temporary peace, it doesn't get to the root of the problem.
Certainly the BIA, or perhaps a federal judge, needs to step in to mediate, so as to prevent more violence from breaking out and to provide for the administration of tribal government services. However, this would not address the greater problem of re-enfranchising the 500 or so tribal members who have been disenrolled over the past decade.
From what I understand, at one time the population of the Chukchansi tribe was around 1,500 people, and is now down to fewer than 1,000. That would be the equivalent of California revoking the citizenship of some 12 million people!
The real solution to the Chukchansi legitimacy crisis would be for the federal court to restore tribal memberships to those from whom it was revoked, and then hold an election in which everyone is allowed to participate.
Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/03/01/2743214/kenneth-n-hansen-chukchansi-legitimacy.html#storylink=cpy
Certain people would have us believe that the political dispute at the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians is an internal matter. They couldn't be more wrong. Civil rights violations are a matter of public concern. Transparency and democracy are needed to address the issues of political legitimacy and disenrollment that are vital to all of Indian Country.
In a July 2009 conference call with Jerry Gidner, the deputy director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Laura Wass, the director of Central Valley AIM; civil rights attorney Tony Cohen; University of Minnesota political science professor David Wilkins; and I all attempted, to no avail, to get the BIA to force tribal governments to stop disenrolling their members.
We argued that this practice is a serious civil rights violation, tantamount to people being denied citizenship and being kicked out of their country. We argued that no good could come of this and it would only lead to greater problems.
Tony Cohen said that the BIA should enforce the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968, designed to protect Indians from tribal governments. Gidner said that the BIA would only get involved when either, 1) there was unfair distribution of resources, and 2) when there were voting irregularities.
My question now is, what are they waiting for?
When people are disenrolled from an indigenous community, they are denied benefits and voting rights. This is an inherently political act, not unlike a gerrymander, where the politicians pick their voters rather than the other way around.
This would be like the Democrats saying they were going to revoke the citizenship of Republicans (or vice versa) so as to fix the next election. Paraphrasing Joseph Stalin, it's not who votes, it's who counts the votes that matters. Nobody should want to be compared to Joseph Stalin!
As it pertains to the disputed Chukchansi election, the people who won the election and were not allowed to assume power have had their civil rights violated as well, especially Harold Hammond.
Harold is a Vietnam veteran, and a respected spiritual elder, not just for Chukchansis, but for the greater indigenous community in the Central Valley. He was chosen by the eligible Chukchansi voters and then disqualified after the fact. That became the pretext for Reggie Lewis to refuse to hand over power to the new council.
Now instead of one seven-member council, there are two four-member councils. This created the legitimacy crisis, but one could argue about the legality of the election in the first place, given that hundreds of disenrolled citizens were not allowed to participate to begin with.
The quick fix would be for the BIA to step in and choose one of the two councils to constitute a majority of the new board. While that might make for a temporary peace, it doesn't get to the root of the problem.
Certainly the BIA, or perhaps a federal judge, needs to step in to mediate, so as to prevent more violence from breaking out and to provide for the administration of tribal government services. However, this would not address the greater problem of re-enfranchising the 500 or so tribal members who have been disenrolled over the past decade.
From what I understand, at one time the population of the Chukchansi tribe was around 1,500 people, and is now down to fewer than 1,000. That would be the equivalent of California revoking the citizenship of some 12 million people!
The real solution to the Chukchansi legitimacy crisis would be for the federal court to restore tribal memberships to those from whom it was revoked, and then hold an election in which everyone is allowed to participate.
Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/03/01/2743214/kenneth-n-hansen-chukchansi-legitimacy.html#storylink=cpy
Should Feds Freeze Accounts of Tribes That Violate Their Constitutions? Pechanga, Chukchansi would apply
A letter to the editor of the Sierra Star News brings up an interesting point. Should the threat of freezing tribal accounts be realized? At Chukchansi, a lawful election was held and the outgoing council voided it illegally. At Pechanga, the tribe voted to halt all disenrollments and the tribal council ignored the will of the people. SHOULD THEIR ACCOUNTS be frozen until justice is served?
Freeze tribal accounts
Dear Editor,
The real problem behind all the Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians' politics is money. The saying "money corrupts" is clear as the tribe disenrolls members and fights over power.
So the simple solution is stop the flow of money. The tribe needs the Federal Banking System to operate. The tribal entity has become invalid due to the infighting so no bank should recognize any signature on any check. The authority to withdraw money should be frozen until the internal fighting has come to a conclusion.
The federal government should tell their bank to freeze tribal accounts. This is a win for the feds as they will not be meddling in tribal affairs ... just enforcing banking regulations that require "authorized" signatures for any entity.
This whole thing can be wrapped up with a 10-day notice from the federal banking regulators, not the Bureau of Indian Affairs. You watch how fast the tribe settles its bickering that has left the rest of us scoff at their greed.
Marc Sobel, Oakhurst
Freeze tribal accounts
Dear Editor,
The real problem behind all the Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians' politics is money. The saying "money corrupts" is clear as the tribe disenrolls members and fights over power.
So the simple solution is stop the flow of money. The tribe needs the Federal Banking System to operate. The tribal entity has become invalid due to the infighting so no bank should recognize any signature on any check. The authority to withdraw money should be frozen until the internal fighting has come to a conclusion.
The federal government should tell their bank to freeze tribal accounts. This is a win for the feds as they will not be meddling in tribal affairs ... just enforcing banking regulations that require "authorized" signatures for any entity.
This whole thing can be wrapped up with a 10-day notice from the federal banking regulators, not the Bureau of Indian Affairs. You watch how fast the tribe settles its bickering that has left the rest of us scoff at their greed.
Marc Sobel, Oakhurst
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Welcome to Our New Readers and Thank You.
Thank you for coming and we hope you come back. The unfortunate violence at the Chukchansi Casino and the impending disenrollments at San Pascual and Pala have brought the civil and human rights violations back into focus.
We include links in most of our articles and we have an extensive archive on our right sidebar. Additionally, the pictures on the sidebar are linked to stories we feel need exposure.
We appreciate you coming and hope that you can share our site with your friends, classmates and family. Our comments are open, please be polite.
We include links in most of our articles and we have an extensive archive on our right sidebar. Additionally, the pictures on the sidebar are linked to stories we feel need exposure.
We appreciate you coming and hope that you can share our site with your friends, classmates and family. Our comments are open, please be polite.
OP/ED: OCCUPY CHUKCHANSI Dr. Kenneth Hansen
I've asked our friends to submit their opinion on the Chukchansi matter. Dr. Kenneth Hansen, Ph.D and board member of the MANY LIGHTNINGS INDIAN LEGACY CENTER has one for us:
Occupy Chukchansi!
I am glad to see Fresno-area media now paying attention to an issue that has festered for far too long in California’s Indian Country--the blatant civil rights violations we call disenrollment. It is extremely unfortunate that people had to get hurt before they took note of it, however. Three people are reportedly injured, one with a serious head injury, with another, a 19-year-old security guard, stabbed in the abdomen. The melee that happened at the tribal government offices of the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians, located in the Madera foothills near Coarsegold, CA, was brought on by the Madera County Sheriff not allowing provisions to be brought to those Occupying the offices following the cut-off of electricity and water to the buildings, little more than portable trailers. A reasonable question might be why were they there in the first place?
In recent months we have seen moral clarity brought to bear on Wall Street abuses in the form of the Occupy Movement, which draws distinctions between the excesses of the super-rich versus the rest of us, who generally work hard and pay our taxes. Inherent in the movement’s complaint is the notion that wealth should not entitle certain people to more rights than the rest of us. That is also a problem in Indian Country, where the rich get richer with access to casino-generated benefits, while the vast majority of Indigenous people continue to do without.
Indian gaming was intended to provide self-determination and economic development to Indian Country. Instead, it caused certain people to “go wasichu,” that is, to become like the colonizers we despise from history. Whereas the US government once terminated their trust relationships, that function has now been devolved to the tribal governments themselves, who then disenroll their citizens. Ultimately disenrollment could lead to the same effect as was intended by termination—the assimilation and extinction of Indigenous people.
In tribal governments there are inequities in terms of rights—access to jobs, the ability to participate in community affairs, the right to vote, and equal protection under the law. These are known collectively as civil rights. Everyone has them. The distinction between civil liberties, i.e., speech rights, and the like, is that civil rights must be provided and protected by government. Tribal governments that disenroll their member-citizens have been negligent in protecting the civil rights of their people. The Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968 was passed by the Congress to protect people from their tribal governments, but it has not been enforced by the federal courts (the Cahto ruling being an exception), nor by the BIA.
This brings us back to Chukchansi. The tribal council-in-exile who had won the elections last December in part because they oppose further disenrollments, broke into the tribal government offices early Monday morning, February 27. These Occupiers and their families, a group of some 40 people, were tired of waiting for a BIA decision on the election outcome that never came. The pro-disenrollment faction that refuses to give up power set up shop in the economic development office on the other side of a parking lot, and proceeded to harass the council-in-exile by throwing burning logs, rocks, bricks, tear gas, and the like through the windows of the government offices. One Chukchansi student of mine who was on the scene that night said that Chance Alberta, one of the group that refuses to give up power, had bear spray and bright lights that were used to blind people and intimidate them. It is not surprising that the violence escalated Tuesday morning. Once the melee and stabbing happened, Madera and Fresno County sheriff’s deputies, along with CHP, declared that a peaceable assembly no longer existed and ordered both the Occupiers and the Disenrollers to vacate the area of the government offices. Both groups were subsequently escorted off the Rancheria Tuesday afternoon.
Patrick Hammond, who is the spokesman for the Occupiers (though they don’t call themselves that), and a graduate of the Political Science Department at Fresno State, said that they might be back if the situation is left unresolved. I say they have the right to do so. Radical tactics have become a staple of American Indian politics. They get results. They shine the light of good government to expose the darkness of political corruption. Ultimately, for the Chukchansi legitimacy crisis to be resolved, those 500 or so individuals who have been disenrolled over the past few years need to be readmitted to the tribe, probably by order of a federal court. Then there needs to be another election to decide who governs. It may take further Occupations and demonstrations (as well as litigation) to make that happen. In the event they do occur, the safety and provision of supplies for the Occupiers needs to be guaranteed by law enforcement.
Kenneth N. Hansen, Ph.D. is an associate professor of Political Science at California State University, Fresno, and former co-coordinator of the Africana and American Indian Studies program. He is a board member of the Many Lightnings Indian Legacy Center, a 501(c)3 nonprofit civil rights organization, and a co-editor of the book The New Politics of Indian Gaming (2011, University of Nevada Press).
Occupy Chukchansi!
I am glad to see Fresno-area media now paying attention to an issue that has festered for far too long in California’s Indian Country--the blatant civil rights violations we call disenrollment. It is extremely unfortunate that people had to get hurt before they took note of it, however. Three people are reportedly injured, one with a serious head injury, with another, a 19-year-old security guard, stabbed in the abdomen. The melee that happened at the tribal government offices of the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians, located in the Madera foothills near Coarsegold, CA, was brought on by the Madera County Sheriff not allowing provisions to be brought to those Occupying the offices following the cut-off of electricity and water to the buildings, little more than portable trailers. A reasonable question might be why were they there in the first place?
In recent months we have seen moral clarity brought to bear on Wall Street abuses in the form of the Occupy Movement, which draws distinctions between the excesses of the super-rich versus the rest of us, who generally work hard and pay our taxes. Inherent in the movement’s complaint is the notion that wealth should not entitle certain people to more rights than the rest of us. That is also a problem in Indian Country, where the rich get richer with access to casino-generated benefits, while the vast majority of Indigenous people continue to do without.
Indian gaming was intended to provide self-determination and economic development to Indian Country. Instead, it caused certain people to “go wasichu,” that is, to become like the colonizers we despise from history. Whereas the US government once terminated their trust relationships, that function has now been devolved to the tribal governments themselves, who then disenroll their citizens. Ultimately disenrollment could lead to the same effect as was intended by termination—the assimilation and extinction of Indigenous people.
In tribal governments there are inequities in terms of rights—access to jobs, the ability to participate in community affairs, the right to vote, and equal protection under the law. These are known collectively as civil rights. Everyone has them. The distinction between civil liberties, i.e., speech rights, and the like, is that civil rights must be provided and protected by government. Tribal governments that disenroll their member-citizens have been negligent in protecting the civil rights of their people. The Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968 was passed by the Congress to protect people from their tribal governments, but it has not been enforced by the federal courts (the Cahto ruling being an exception), nor by the BIA.
This brings us back to Chukchansi. The tribal council-in-exile who had won the elections last December in part because they oppose further disenrollments, broke into the tribal government offices early Monday morning, February 27. These Occupiers and their families, a group of some 40 people, were tired of waiting for a BIA decision on the election outcome that never came. The pro-disenrollment faction that refuses to give up power set up shop in the economic development office on the other side of a parking lot, and proceeded to harass the council-in-exile by throwing burning logs, rocks, bricks, tear gas, and the like through the windows of the government offices. One Chukchansi student of mine who was on the scene that night said that Chance Alberta, one of the group that refuses to give up power, had bear spray and bright lights that were used to blind people and intimidate them. It is not surprising that the violence escalated Tuesday morning. Once the melee and stabbing happened, Madera and Fresno County sheriff’s deputies, along with CHP, declared that a peaceable assembly no longer existed and ordered both the Occupiers and the Disenrollers to vacate the area of the government offices. Both groups were subsequently escorted off the Rancheria Tuesday afternoon.
Patrick Hammond, who is the spokesman for the Occupiers (though they don’t call themselves that), and a graduate of the Political Science Department at Fresno State, said that they might be back if the situation is left unresolved. I say they have the right to do so. Radical tactics have become a staple of American Indian politics. They get results. They shine the light of good government to expose the darkness of political corruption. Ultimately, for the Chukchansi legitimacy crisis to be resolved, those 500 or so individuals who have been disenrolled over the past few years need to be readmitted to the tribe, probably by order of a federal court. Then there needs to be another election to decide who governs. It may take further Occupations and demonstrations (as well as litigation) to make that happen. In the event they do occur, the safety and provision of supplies for the Occupiers needs to be guaranteed by law enforcement.
Kenneth N. Hansen, Ph.D. is an associate professor of Political Science at California State University, Fresno, and former co-coordinator of the Africana and American Indian Studies program. He is a board member of the Many Lightnings Indian Legacy Center, a 501(c)3 nonprofit civil rights organization, and a co-editor of the book The New Politics of Indian Gaming (2011, University of Nevada Press).
Editorial: BIA's Refusal To Act Led to Violence Plus Response From A Disenrolled Chukchansi
Here's an editorial in the Fresno Bee that gets a lot of things RIGHT. But following the piece is a rebuttal from disenrolled Chukchansi member Cathy Cory
It’s difficult to find anyone in the Chukchansi tribal controversy who shouldn’t share the blame for the dispute turning violent today. Both factions in the leadership battle took calculated steps that made violence likely. Government officials from the Bureau of Indian Affairs to the Madera County sheriff’s office refused to act, even when it became clear that illegal acts had been committed.
It is no excuse to say that tribal sovereignty prevented authorities from moving earlier. When it got to the riot stage, law enforcement finally got involved, rushing to the scene with officers from multiple jurisdictions. Tribal sovereignty was no longer an excuse to look the other way.
But the agency that is most to blame is the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which repeatedly refused to sort out the tribal dispute. The BIA, which is under the U.S. Department of Interior, should be very embarrassed over its unwillingness to do its job when its presence was needed most.
Had the BIA heeded the many early calls to recognize the duly elected tribal leadership, the dispute likely would not have gotten this far.
There are many victims, includal tribal members. It’s a sad time for the once-proud Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians. The tribe's leaders rioted instead of resolving their dispute honorably.
Official say up to 50 members of the rival Chukchansi Indian leadership factions were escorted from the tribal offices by law enforcement this afternoon. Two people were injured when a melee involving about 40 people broke out earlier at the grounds of the Picayune Rancheria.
This is a story of how gambling money ripped apart the Chukchansi tribe. It's about who controls the tribe's casino and who gets to benefit from the gambling money. An election in December, changed tribal council leadership, but the losing side refused to give up control. The BIA would not get involved and the sheriff called the dispute a “family matter.”
Both were outrageous responses to growing trouble with the tribal leadership. The election results were clear, but the BIA empowered the losing side by not acting.
While authorities ducked the difficult issues in this dispute, the refusal of the losing faction to leave in December started us on the course that ended in a riot. But that did not give the other side — which was the duly elected council — the right to break into the tribal offices on Monday.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs could have recognized the proper leadership. But the BIA shamefully refused to get involved.
This is a very sad saga that just might make California voters rethink their support of tribal gaming.
Cathy Cory's Response:
Although many of the articles in regard to the conflict at picayune seem to describe it as "recent," this is hardly the truth...these conflicts in regard to disenrollment and power within the tribe have been ......occurring for almost a twenty year period...the BIA and CONGRESS have long been aware of what is going on within several gaming tribes--this horrendous violation of thousands of indian people's tribal, civil, and human rights by their own corrupt tribal governments--BUT HAVE REFUSED PLEAS FOR HELP IN THIS VERY THEFT OF THEIR BIRTHRIGHT AS INDIAN PEOPLE...
Over 200 people were disenrolled from picayune in 1999, another 500-600 in 2006-2007, 57 in 2011, and around 70 thus far this year with another 200 pending...OVER ONE THOUSAND CHUKCHANSI PEOPLE--ELDERS AND FUTURE GENERATIONS--HAVE BEEN DISMEMBERED OR ARE PENDING DISENROLLMENT AS OF TODAY (significantly, in a tribe that had 1073 members in 1998 "pre-chukchansi gold"--NEARLY 2/3 OF THE TRIBE)
Picayune is only the tip of the iceberg...redding, dry creek, table mountain, pechanga, pala, san pasqual, enterprise--over 20 of the gaming tribes or those attempting to establish gaming here in california are engaging in this horrific genocide and theft of the very birthright of THOUSANDS of indian people WITHOUT SANCTION BENEATH THE GUISE OF "TRIBAL SOVEREIGNTY"...
Department of justice, the federal bureau of investigation, congress, and the bureau of indian affairs-- ALL should be involved at picayune...the tribal government there should be made to bring ALL the people home to picayune, and if unwilling to do so the casino should be closed and federal funds withdrawn until they do...
Honor the ancestors, the history, and the circle of our chukchansi people...bring the people--ALL the people--home to picayune...AND to every other tribe engaging in this blatant destruction of their people through dismemberment and nonrecognition...
It’s difficult to find anyone in the Chukchansi tribal controversy who shouldn’t share the blame for the dispute turning violent today. Both factions in the leadership battle took calculated steps that made violence likely. Government officials from the Bureau of Indian Affairs to the Madera County sheriff’s office refused to act, even when it became clear that illegal acts had been committed.
It is no excuse to say that tribal sovereignty prevented authorities from moving earlier. When it got to the riot stage, law enforcement finally got involved, rushing to the scene with officers from multiple jurisdictions. Tribal sovereignty was no longer an excuse to look the other way.
But the agency that is most to blame is the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which repeatedly refused to sort out the tribal dispute. The BIA, which is under the U.S. Department of Interior, should be very embarrassed over its unwillingness to do its job when its presence was needed most.
Had the BIA heeded the many early calls to recognize the duly elected tribal leadership, the dispute likely would not have gotten this far.
There are many victims, includal tribal members. It’s a sad time for the once-proud Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians. The tribe's leaders rioted instead of resolving their dispute honorably.
Official say up to 50 members of the rival Chukchansi Indian leadership factions were escorted from the tribal offices by law enforcement this afternoon. Two people were injured when a melee involving about 40 people broke out earlier at the grounds of the Picayune Rancheria.
This is a story of how gambling money ripped apart the Chukchansi tribe. It's about who controls the tribe's casino and who gets to benefit from the gambling money. An election in December, changed tribal council leadership, but the losing side refused to give up control. The BIA would not get involved and the sheriff called the dispute a “family matter.”
Both were outrageous responses to growing trouble with the tribal leadership. The election results were clear, but the BIA empowered the losing side by not acting.
While authorities ducked the difficult issues in this dispute, the refusal of the losing faction to leave in December started us on the course that ended in a riot. But that did not give the other side — which was the duly elected council — the right to break into the tribal offices on Monday.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs could have recognized the proper leadership. But the BIA shamefully refused to get involved.
This is a very sad saga that just might make California voters rethink their support of tribal gaming.
Cathy Cory's Response:
Although many of the articles in regard to the conflict at picayune seem to describe it as "recent," this is hardly the truth...these conflicts in regard to disenrollment and power within the tribe have been ......occurring for almost a twenty year period...the BIA and CONGRESS have long been aware of what is going on within several gaming tribes--this horrendous violation of thousands of indian people's tribal, civil, and human rights by their own corrupt tribal governments--BUT HAVE REFUSED PLEAS FOR HELP IN THIS VERY THEFT OF THEIR BIRTHRIGHT AS INDIAN PEOPLE...
Over 200 people were disenrolled from picayune in 1999, another 500-600 in 2006-2007, 57 in 2011, and around 70 thus far this year with another 200 pending...OVER ONE THOUSAND CHUKCHANSI PEOPLE--ELDERS AND FUTURE GENERATIONS--HAVE BEEN DISMEMBERED OR ARE PENDING DISENROLLMENT AS OF TODAY (significantly, in a tribe that had 1073 members in 1998 "pre-chukchansi gold"--NEARLY 2/3 OF THE TRIBE)
Picayune is only the tip of the iceberg...redding, dry creek, table mountain, pechanga, pala, san pasqual, enterprise--over 20 of the gaming tribes or those attempting to establish gaming here in california are engaging in this horrific genocide and theft of the very birthright of THOUSANDS of indian people WITHOUT SANCTION BENEATH THE GUISE OF "TRIBAL SOVEREIGNTY"...
Department of justice, the federal bureau of investigation, congress, and the bureau of indian affairs-- ALL should be involved at picayune...the tribal government there should be made to bring ALL the people home to picayune, and if unwilling to do so the casino should be closed and federal funds withdrawn until they do...
Honor the ancestors, the history, and the circle of our chukchansi people...bring the people--ALL the people--home to picayune...AND to every other tribe engaging in this blatant destruction of their people through dismemberment and nonrecognition...
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
CHUKCHANSI: Morris Reid Issues Request for BIA & Justice to Intervene in Dispute
Says Sheriff acted outside their authority.
From the Picayune Rancheria Morris Reid issued a statement this afternoon requesting that federal law enforcement intervene.
Here is the statement:
"We are issuing an emergency call to the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs (Larry Echo Hawk), the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services and the Attorney General of the United States to send federal Bureau of Indian Affairs law enforcement officers to the Picayune Rancheria, and to exercise the law enforcement authority granted to the United States over Tribal lands within California under section 221 of the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010.
This federal statute unquestionably authorizes the United States to assume and exercise concurrent law enforcement authority over the reservation until such time as the duly elected Tribal government is no longer being harassed and threatened. Failure by the Federal government to respond positively to this emergency call will be in violation of President Obama's commitment to Tribal sovereignty and the stated policies of his Administration.
"As the duly elected leaders of the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians, charged with protecting the inherent sovereignty of the Chukchansi people, we strongly oppose the action of the Madera County Sheriff and other local non-Indian law enforcement officials ordering the removal of elected Tribal officials from a Tribally-owned Tribal Government building on federal trust land.
This action by local non-Indian law enforcement is in excess of their authority under Federal law and is a flagrant violation of Tribal sovereignty and an affront to Tribal governments and Indian people across this country. To curtail this dangerous precedent, we are asking the Federal government to assume law enforcement authority over the Picayune Rancheria immediately."
Related Stories:
disenrollments
Amy Deutschke, BIA
United Auburn Indian Community
on tribal sovereignty
From the Picayune Rancheria Morris Reid issued a statement this afternoon requesting that federal law enforcement intervene.
Here is the statement:
"We are issuing an emergency call to the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs (Larry Echo Hawk), the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services and the Attorney General of the United States to send federal Bureau of Indian Affairs law enforcement officers to the Picayune Rancheria, and to exercise the law enforcement authority granted to the United States over Tribal lands within California under section 221 of the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010.
This federal statute unquestionably authorizes the United States to assume and exercise concurrent law enforcement authority over the reservation until such time as the duly elected Tribal government is no longer being harassed and threatened. Failure by the Federal government to respond positively to this emergency call will be in violation of President Obama's commitment to Tribal sovereignty and the stated policies of his Administration.
"As the duly elected leaders of the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians, charged with protecting the inherent sovereignty of the Chukchansi people, we strongly oppose the action of the Madera County Sheriff and other local non-Indian law enforcement officials ordering the removal of elected Tribal officials from a Tribally-owned Tribal Government building on federal trust land.
This action by local non-Indian law enforcement is in excess of their authority under Federal law and is a flagrant violation of Tribal sovereignty and an affront to Tribal governments and Indian people across this country. To curtail this dangerous precedent, we are asking the Federal government to assume law enforcement authority over the Picayune Rancheria immediately."
Related Stories:
disenrollments
Amy Deutschke, BIA
United Auburn Indian Community
on tribal sovereignty
UPDATE: FACTIONS ESCORTED OUT BY SHERIFFS: STABBING AT CHUKCHANSI: Scanner Reports Road Closures
The Fresno Bee reports: Up to 50 members of the rival Chukchansi Indian leadership factions, including those who broke into the tribal government building Monday, were escorted from the tribal offices by law enforcement this afternoon.
The group that occupied the tribal council building, led by Morris Reid, left the building about 2:15 p.m., escorted by Madera County sheriff's deputies and California Highway Patrol officers. The other group, led by Reggie Lewis, was escorted minutes earlier out of the tribe's economic development building.
Supporters of both sides yelled and jeered as the people walked though the office gates.
Looks like things are coming to a violent head. We received word that police scanners are saying:
Lucky lane and 41 both closed by law enforcement--stabbing reported at tribal office.
Some additional details are coming: Heard that a young man was trying to guard one of the doors to the offices, which were being occupied by newly-elected Morris Reid's group, and then the young man was stabbed by someone trying to get in. OP: That makes it REGGIE LEWIS's responsibility...VIOLENCE.
STAY AWAY FROM CHUKCHANSI!
UPDATE: Called Chukchansi and their operator said the casino is OPEN. She said what was going on was across the street. BUT, she said the hotel is not making reservations. Yikes.
The group that occupied the tribal council building, led by Morris Reid, left the building about 2:15 p.m., escorted by Madera County sheriff's deputies and California Highway Patrol officers. The other group, led by Reggie Lewis, was escorted minutes earlier out of the tribe's economic development building.
Supporters of both sides yelled and jeered as the people walked though the office gates.
Looks like things are coming to a violent head. We received word that police scanners are saying:
Lucky lane and 41 both closed by law enforcement--stabbing reported at tribal office.
Some additional details are coming: Heard that a young man was trying to guard one of the doors to the offices, which were being occupied by newly-elected Morris Reid's group, and then the young man was stabbed by someone trying to get in. OP: That makes it REGGIE LEWIS's responsibility...VIOLENCE.
STAY AWAY FROM CHUKCHANSI!
UPDATE: Called Chukchansi and their operator said the casino is OPEN. She said what was going on was across the street. BUT, she said the hotel is not making reservations. Yikes.
UPDATE: POWER SHUT OFF/Pepper SprayVIDEO ADDEDBREAKING NEWS: Morris Reid Led Group Cut Locks to Enter Tribal Offices.
UPDATE: The power was shut off to the occupiers and pepper spray way used on them. The occupiers broke windows to vent the offices. Two women were cut by broken glass. An incendiary was tossed into the building. Water and power have been restored. Sheriffs are "monitoring the situation".
A group that says it should be sitting as the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians tribal council cut locks and entered the tribal office building this morning.
The group, headed by Morris Reid, sought to be sworn in as the council at a meeting in December but was denied. The Reid group and the group now in power, led by Reggie Lewis, have been at odds since then with no clear resolution in sight.
Madera County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Erica Stuart confirmed the break-in at the office adjacent to Chukchansi Gold casino, south of Coarsegold, but said no arrests have been made.
Stuart said deputies arrived at the offices about 6:30 a.m. Sheriff John Anderson arrived about an hour later;
Stuart said the situation has been calm since then. Anderson has been talking to both sides trying to mediate, and attorneys for both groups have been called.
UPDATE: Here is some video. Morris Reid hates disenrollment NOW. He didn't mind it so much when he helped get rid of 500 members:
ABC has more coverage:
A group that says it should be sitting as the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians tribal council cut locks and entered the tribal office building this morning.
The group, headed by Morris Reid, sought to be sworn in as the council at a meeting in December but was denied. The Reid group and the group now in power, led by Reggie Lewis, have been at odds since then with no clear resolution in sight.
Madera County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Erica Stuart confirmed the break-in at the office adjacent to Chukchansi Gold casino, south of Coarsegold, but said no arrests have been made.
Stuart said deputies arrived at the offices about 6:30 a.m. Sheriff John Anderson arrived about an hour later;
Stuart said the situation has been calm since then. Anderson has been talking to both sides trying to mediate, and attorneys for both groups have been called.
UPDATE: Here is some video. Morris Reid hates disenrollment NOW. He didn't mind it so much when he helped get rid of 500 members:
ABC has more coverage:
Monday, February 27, 2012
IS it Time for: OCCUPY CHUKCHANSI?
As hundreds of us from Pechanga know, not being active in your own disenrollment defense will hurt you. We made the mistake of thinking that our tribal council, led by Mark Macarro, would "do the right thing" when confronted with the evidence. We should have occupied the government building...and that's our recommendation for the 800 Chukchansi people who have been disenrolled to take a stand for their rights, occupy the casino and force the tribe to draw attention to themselves and their heinous actions. Let them forcibly EVICT them on camera...
Our friend Marc Benjamin of the Fresno Bee is doing great work keeping the Chukchansi disenrollment story out front.
The Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians tribal council is trying to guarantee its hold on power by targeting tribal members who support a group that also claims to be the rightfully elected council.
The council is taking away financial benefits and banning tribal members if they supported the group headed by Morris Reid that sought to be sworn in as the council at a turbulent meeting in December.
Concerned that continuing disenrollments would disenfranchise supporters, Reid's group thwarted a Feb. 4 election that was supposed to choose a replacement for a disqualified candidate.
The dissident group hoped that federal authorities would decide which council represents the tribe. But Bureau of Indian Affairs officials in Sacramento and Washington, D.C., said last week that the dispute must be handled by the tribe, not the federal government.
That federal indifference came as no surprise to those following Chukchansi issues.
"Given the BIA's history and given the political clout wealthy gaming tribes have amassed, people in Congress and the bureau are reluctant to step in, but they shouldn't be because they have jobs to do," said David Wilkins, an American Indian studies professor at the University of Minnesota.
BIA Pulls a Sergeant Shultz move: I KNOW NOTHING!
Troy Burdick, the BIA's central California superintendent, said only Congress has authority to make laws requiring tribal courts or more BIA involvement.
Chukchansi's standing as a federally recognized tribe is at risk, and Congress must do something if BIA doesn't, said Laura Wass, a Fresno-based representative with the American Indian Movement.
"Congress set this up and Congress is not intervening when the situation is the most toxic ever," she said.
The tribal council now in power is led by Reggie Lewis. His group's lawyer, Arizona-based Robert Rosette, said members of the group led by Reid thwarted the Feb. 4 election for the disqualified candidate's seat by convincing the accounting firm that runs the election that it shouldn't be held
Read more here: Chukchansi Council Dispute
Related Stories:
Disenrollments are Paper Genocide
NYT on Picayune Rancheria; Discovers Disenrollments 10 years Late
Chukchansi Disenrollments
Unelected Council of Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians
OCCUPY CHUKCHANSI
Our friend Marc Benjamin of the Fresno Bee is doing great work keeping the Chukchansi disenrollment story out front.
The Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians tribal council is trying to guarantee its hold on power by targeting tribal members who support a group that also claims to be the rightfully elected council.
The council is taking away financial benefits and banning tribal members if they supported the group headed by Morris Reid that sought to be sworn in as the council at a turbulent meeting in December.
Concerned that continuing disenrollments would disenfranchise supporters, Reid's group thwarted a Feb. 4 election that was supposed to choose a replacement for a disqualified candidate.
The dissident group hoped that federal authorities would decide which council represents the tribe. But Bureau of Indian Affairs officials in Sacramento and Washington, D.C., said last week that the dispute must be handled by the tribe, not the federal government.
That federal indifference came as no surprise to those following Chukchansi issues.
"Given the BIA's history and given the political clout wealthy gaming tribes have amassed, people in Congress and the bureau are reluctant to step in, but they shouldn't be because they have jobs to do," said David Wilkins, an American Indian studies professor at the University of Minnesota.
BIA Pulls a Sergeant Shultz move: I KNOW NOTHING!
Troy Burdick, the BIA's central California superintendent, said only Congress has authority to make laws requiring tribal courts or more BIA involvement.
Chukchansi's standing as a federally recognized tribe is at risk, and Congress must do something if BIA doesn't, said Laura Wass, a Fresno-based representative with the American Indian Movement.
"Congress set this up and Congress is not intervening when the situation is the most toxic ever," she said.
The tribal council now in power is led by Reggie Lewis. His group's lawyer, Arizona-based Robert Rosette, said members of the group led by Reid thwarted the Feb. 4 election for the disqualified candidate's seat by convincing the accounting firm that runs the election that it shouldn't be held
Read more here: Chukchansi Council Dispute
Related Stories:
Disenrollments are Paper Genocide
NYT on Picayune Rancheria; Discovers Disenrollments 10 years Late
Chukchansi Disenrollments
Unelected Council of Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians
Tribal Disenrollments are SHAMEFUL ACTS: Forum in NCTIMES
The North County Times has our editorial up. It's important that our readers check out the link and COMMENT at the NCTimes. Keep it up front as one of their most commented articles. Interesting to note that the editorial has run in two newspapers, and Indianz.com yet no mention in the Pechanga run website owned by Pechanga Chairman Mark Macarro. And thank you to our friends at Temecula Patch for linking to the NC times article.
The North County Times and The Californian have done an excellent job in bringing the shameful acts of disenrollments of members of the San Pasqual and Pala reservations to the public.
A November editorial compared membership in tribes to belonging to a church. Nothing could be further from the truth. Membership is a birthright and shouldn't be subject to the whims and prejudices of people with personal agendas.
Tribal membership is about heritage. It's the corrupt tribal councils of the above-mentioned tribes, along with those from Pechanga of Temecula, Chukchansi and Redding that are tossing aside the history of their tribes with a dismissive attitude that should be alarming to the people of California. Pechanga ran ads for expanding gaming, claiming 10,000 years of history ---- yet quickly shed two families with more historical ties to the land, proven by the tribe's own expert, than one of their sitting council members.
Tribal governments are using sovereignty as a weapon to beat the weak and helpless. Our federal and state governments are happy to stay out of the issue by saying that membership is a tribal matter. Fair enough, but what about the government's trust responsibility to Indians, to see that tribal constitutions are followed?
Good governance requires fair legal frameworks that are enforced impartially. It also requires full protection of human rights. Impartial enforcement of laws requires an independent judiciary and an impartial and incorruptible police force. That simply is not what is happening on tribal reservations.
The North County Times and The Californian have done an excellent job in bringing the shameful acts of disenrollments of members of the San Pasqual and Pala reservations to the public.
A November editorial compared membership in tribes to belonging to a church. Nothing could be further from the truth. Membership is a birthright and shouldn't be subject to the whims and prejudices of people with personal agendas.
Tribal membership is about heritage. It's the corrupt tribal councils of the above-mentioned tribes, along with those from Pechanga of Temecula, Chukchansi and Redding that are tossing aside the history of their tribes with a dismissive attitude that should be alarming to the people of California. Pechanga ran ads for expanding gaming, claiming 10,000 years of history ---- yet quickly shed two families with more historical ties to the land, proven by the tribe's own expert, than one of their sitting council members.
Tribal governments are using sovereignty as a weapon to beat the weak and helpless. Our federal and state governments are happy to stay out of the issue by saying that membership is a tribal matter. Fair enough, but what about the government's trust responsibility to Indians, to see that tribal constitutions are followed?
Good governance requires fair legal frameworks that are enforced impartially. It also requires full protection of human rights. Impartial enforcement of laws requires an independent judiciary and an impartial and incorruptible police force. That simply is not what is happening on tribal reservations.
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