If you won, what would you do? Comments are open!
The lack of winner from Tuesday night's drawing means the estimated jackpot will grow to an estimated $476 million for a drawing Friday, according to the official Mega Millions website. Mega Millions drawings are held Tuesdays and Fridays at 11 p.m. ET and Tuesday night's drawing took place in Atlanta.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Isleta Tribal Council Conducts Kangaroo Court Hearing.
Our new friend, Diane Peigler has started her blog on some injustices at ISLETA. We welcome comments.
Yesterday, March 21, 2012, at 11:00 a.m., President Fred Lujan and the
Isleta Tribal Council conducted a “due process hearing” to remove me from my elected Tribal Council seat. Click this link to view March 19, 2012 Letter of Removal from Tribal Council from Fred R. Lujan, Tribal Council President.
Please note on page two of this letter that the Isleta Tribal Council also requested a Motion to Temporary Lift of Temporary Restraining Order. You will notice that I received the wrong request (Regina Joyce Zuni, Councilwoman, Respondent). Also, please refer to Chief Judge Ernest Jaramillo’s Temporary Suspension of Restraining Order and look at the time under #1 of the Order (10:55 a.m. to 11:40 a.m.) so that a hearing will take place for her removal. (I also enclosed the two copies served by Undersheriff Robert Chewiwi and the Process Server). READ MORE AT THE LINK ABOVE
Yesterday, March 21, 2012, at 11:00 a.m., President Fred Lujan and the
Isleta Tribal Council conducted a “due process hearing” to remove me from my elected Tribal Council seat. Click this link to view March 19, 2012 Letter of Removal from Tribal Council from Fred R. Lujan, Tribal Council President.
Please note on page two of this letter that the Isleta Tribal Council also requested a Motion to Temporary Lift of Temporary Restraining Order. You will notice that I received the wrong request (Regina Joyce Zuni, Councilwoman, Respondent). Also, please refer to Chief Judge Ernest Jaramillo’s Temporary Suspension of Restraining Order and look at the time under #1 of the Order (10:55 a.m. to 11:40 a.m.) so that a hearing will take place for her removal. (I also enclosed the two copies served by Undersheriff Robert Chewiwi and the Process Server). READ MORE AT THE LINK ABOVE
Chukchansi Tribal Council Seats Still Vacant; Congressman Jeff Denham Afraid To Stand Up
UPDATE: Congressman Jeff Denham has taken over $70,000 from Indian Casino interests this past election cycle: See Jeff Denham’s contributors HERE
As of Tuesday, the fate of three Chukchansi tribal council seats remained in question after a meeting to swear in council members was canceled Monday night.
Reggie Lewis, chairman of the group that has remained in charge of the tribe's operations at the rancheria, issued a statement Monday that, "based on credible information forwarded to public safety officials and the history of past actions of a small number of agitators, the council determined out of abundance of caution that safety should rule the day. Later this week, the meeting will be rescheduled for a new date and time."
Madera County Sheriff's Office Spokesperson Erica Stuart said the department was only told that the meeting would not take place.
The group headed by Morris Reid -- four top-vote getters in the Dec. 3 tribal council election who have not been recognized by Lewis' group as new council members -- were holding their regular meeting with tribal members in Oakhurst at the same time Monday night and said they had no plans to protest the meeting.
Tribal member Nicolette Griffith said she and some Chukchansi members had planned to peacefully protest the swearing-in from Picayune Road (417) by holding signs because they heard Reid, Dora Jones and Dixie Jackson were not going to be sworn in.
Reid's group said they don't expect to be sworn in by Lewis' group.
Their seats may be filled through another election or by appointments.
March 26 was the new date for swearing-in the tribal council, rescheduled from Dec. 26 by Lewis' group until a new election could be held for Harold Hammond's seat. Hammond, the top vote-getter of the Dec. 3 election, was found to be ineligible to serve on council due to allegedly wearing his expired council badge to get into sensitive casino areas.
Members of Reid's group recently received new letters signed by Lewis and Jennifer Stanley stating they were found to be guilty of violating the tribe's non-violence ordinance Dec. 26 and Dec. 27.
Amidst the heated Dec. 26 tribal council meeting, with protests raised by tribal members that the new council should be seated as scheduled, the four newly-elected were sworn in. The Lewis group did not recognize this action.
Madera County Sheriff's Office officials were present at that meeting at request to ensure the peace was kept. Sheriff John Anderson wrote a statement after the meeting that no record of assaultive, aggressive or violent behavior had been reported to the department about the three leaders who now await word about whether or not they will be seated with Lewis' group.
"We are going to keep up our fight," Jones said. "We are still holding meetings and meeting with the BIA and that type of thing. I met with Congressman Jeff Denham a couple weeks back and he is basically not interested in getting involved.
As of Tuesday, the fate of three Chukchansi tribal council seats remained in question after a meeting to swear in council members was canceled Monday night.
Reggie Lewis, chairman of the group that has remained in charge of the tribe's operations at the rancheria, issued a statement Monday that, "based on credible information forwarded to public safety officials and the history of past actions of a small number of agitators, the council determined out of abundance of caution that safety should rule the day. Later this week, the meeting will be rescheduled for a new date and time."
Madera County Sheriff's Office Spokesperson Erica Stuart said the department was only told that the meeting would not take place.
The group headed by Morris Reid -- four top-vote getters in the Dec. 3 tribal council election who have not been recognized by Lewis' group as new council members -- were holding their regular meeting with tribal members in Oakhurst at the same time Monday night and said they had no plans to protest the meeting.
Tribal member Nicolette Griffith said she and some Chukchansi members had planned to peacefully protest the swearing-in from Picayune Road (417) by holding signs because they heard Reid, Dora Jones and Dixie Jackson were not going to be sworn in.
Reid's group said they don't expect to be sworn in by Lewis' group.
Their seats may be filled through another election or by appointments.
March 26 was the new date for swearing-in the tribal council, rescheduled from Dec. 26 by Lewis' group until a new election could be held for Harold Hammond's seat. Hammond, the top vote-getter of the Dec. 3 election, was found to be ineligible to serve on council due to allegedly wearing his expired council badge to get into sensitive casino areas.
Members of Reid's group recently received new letters signed by Lewis and Jennifer Stanley stating they were found to be guilty of violating the tribe's non-violence ordinance Dec. 26 and Dec. 27.
Amidst the heated Dec. 26 tribal council meeting, with protests raised by tribal members that the new council should be seated as scheduled, the four newly-elected were sworn in. The Lewis group did not recognize this action.
Madera County Sheriff's Office officials were present at that meeting at request to ensure the peace was kept. Sheriff John Anderson wrote a statement after the meeting that no record of assaultive, aggressive or violent behavior had been reported to the department about the three leaders who now await word about whether or not they will be seated with Lewis' group.
"We are going to keep up our fight," Jones said. "We are still holding meetings and meeting with the BIA and that type of thing. I met with Congressman Jeff Denham a couple weeks back and he is basically not interested in getting involved.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Dry Creek Pomo Indians Stops Reporting Quarterly Revenues to Feds, Claims Sarbanes-Oxley Costs
River Rock Casino has stopped reporting its quarterly revenues and other business data to federal securities regulators, after restructuring $200 million in debt late last year.
Executives at the tribal casino said the move will have no impact on investors or the public.
“Nothing really changes in terms of what we do,” said David Fendrick, River Rock’s CEO. OP: Except that we won't KNOW, and they can keep that information from their investors.
But the change could make it harder for River Rock to raise money for expansion, according to investment experts. OP: Hey, please invest with us, don't worry, trust us, even though we defaulted, we'll let you know how we're doing
The Press Democrat has the FULL STORY HERE
The Alexander Valley casino is owned by the Dry Creek tribe of Pomo Indians. It reported $124 million in sales in 2010, the last full year that results were publicly available.
The tribal casino’s decision to stop disclosure is a concern for Sonoma County government, which gets $3.5 million a year in mitigation payments from River Rock.
“This is going to mean that the tribe and the county are going to need to work more closely together to make sure commitments are met going forward,” said county Supervisor Mike McGuire, who represents Alexander Valley.
River Rock is no longer reporting financial data under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, a 2002 federal law that requires public companies to provide detailed disclosure of their finances to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The casino isn’t covered by the law, but it voluntarily complied after selling $200 million in casino bonds to investors in 2003, said Joe Callahan, River Rock’s chief financial officer. River Rock’s tribal owners felt public reporting would help create a stronger market for its bonds, Callahan said.
Executives at the tribal casino said the move will have no impact on investors or the public.
“Nothing really changes in terms of what we do,” said David Fendrick, River Rock’s CEO. OP: Except that we won't KNOW, and they can keep that information from their investors.
But the change could make it harder for River Rock to raise money for expansion, according to investment experts. OP: Hey, please invest with us, don't worry, trust us, even though we defaulted, we'll let you know how we're doing
The Press Democrat has the FULL STORY HERE
The Alexander Valley casino is owned by the Dry Creek tribe of Pomo Indians. It reported $124 million in sales in 2010, the last full year that results were publicly available.
The tribal casino’s decision to stop disclosure is a concern for Sonoma County government, which gets $3.5 million a year in mitigation payments from River Rock.
“This is going to mean that the tribe and the county are going to need to work more closely together to make sure commitments are met going forward,” said county Supervisor Mike McGuire, who represents Alexander Valley.
River Rock is no longer reporting financial data under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, a 2002 federal law that requires public companies to provide detailed disclosure of their finances to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The casino isn’t covered by the law, but it voluntarily complied after selling $200 million in casino bonds to investors in 2003, said Joe Callahan, River Rock’s chief financial officer. River Rock’s tribal owners felt public reporting would help create a stronger market for its bonds, Callahan said.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
A Reversal of Fortune for Mashantucket Pequots: Does it Portend Ill Futures for Gaming Tribes
MASHANTUCKET, Conn. (AP) -- For two decades, the Mashantucket Pequots lived like Indian gambling royalty. Luxury cars abounded on their tiny, gated reservation of colonial and ranch-style homes in the woods of southeastern Connecticut.
The tribe's Foxwoods casino, the largest in the Western Hemisphere, allowed members to live without concern for money, generating shared revenue stipends that once exceeded $100,000 annually for each adult.
OP: Pechanga pays over $240,000 San Manuel over $500,000 United Auburn over $180,000
This month, with Foxwoods struggling with debt exceeding $2 billion, payments to members stopped. The tribe has opened a food pantry for needy families, counselors have provided guidance on how to pursue jobs and members have been left to ponder the end of what once seemed a sure bet.
"I was poor before. I can be poor again," tribal member Gina Brown-Congdon, 59, said. "I'm not happy, but you have to deal with what life gives you."
The money is not the only source of anxiety. FBI agents have been visiting the reservation and asking about tribal finances, according to two people with knowledge of tribal activity who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to protect their relationships with the tribe. It all contributes to one of the most tumultuous periods in the recent history of the Pequots, who own and operate the casino that made their reservation one of the wealthiest communities in America.
OP: FBI raided North Fork Rancheria and investigated Soboba and Pechanga.
The affluence vanished as quickly as it came for the tribe, which had only one person living on the reservation in the early 1970s. The Pequots won federal recognition and opened a bingo hall in the 1980s before hitting the jackpot with the start of casino gambling at Foxwoods in 1992. People who traced their bloodlines to Pequots counted in a 1900 census were allowed to join the tribe, which now has roughly 900 members.
A tribal elder, Loretta Libby, said many worry about what will come next.
"Our stress levels are very high up here," she said. "I just don't know what's going to happen."
The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council said it stands united and focused on success at the Foxwoods Resort Casino.
"The community is pulling together in these challenging economic times, and we are eagerly embracing our future with a strong determination to continue growing our business as a major economic force in southeastern Connecticut," the council said in a statement.
Tribal leaders have discouraged members from talking with outsiders. A reporter who made a recent visit was stopped by five tribal police officers, including the chief, and escorted off the reservation. The police handed out notices later that day instructing people not to speak with reporters.
Despite the financial difficulties, Brown-Congdon said, she feels only gratitude toward the tribe for providing so well for so long. A Rhode Island native, she worked in potato fields for a time before coming to the join the tribe. The gambling income allowed her to live comfortably while she tended to ailing family members and cared for some of her sister's 15 grandchildren.
She owned a house and cared for her sick brother until he died in 2010 and, without his tribal income, she could no longer afford it. She now fears the end of the payments could force her out of her rented house on the reservation. She wishes that she - and the tribe - had planned better for hard times, but she said the tribe's only fault was perhaps being overly generous in its spending.
"They gave us the best care and the most love," she said. "They made their decisions the best they could."
The new austerity is a result of financial troubles at Foxwoods, which has been in talks to refinance its debt. After years of unparalleled success drawing gamblers from across New England and New York, the casino began struggling with increased competition and slackening demand. Foxwoods completed a major, costly expansion with the 30-story MGM Grand hotel and casino at the height of the recession in 2008. The resort has four hotels, more than 6,300 slot machines and 360 tables with 15 different types of games in six casinos.
The regular member payments ended in 2010, but the tribe offered smaller, transitional aid to members until March.
The tribe has been providing financial counseling and placing more members with jobs, including some at the casino. One member, 60-year-old Roslyn Charles, said the tribe still makes other aid available, including help with utility bills. And while jobs are available, she said many do not want to work.
"This is a family. There's no friction. You've got to do what you've got to do," said Charles, who works at a library. "The economy is hitting everybody. It's not just us."
Of more than 500 American Indian tribes across the country, 124 have notified the U.S. Interior Department of intent to share gambling revenue with members, according to the Indian Gaming Office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. But government officials say they take a hands-off approach and do not know how many actually make payments or how much they share.
Valerie Red-Horse, a financial analyst familiar with Indian casinos, said some tribes have probably paid out too much, but the distributions often barely meet the needs of tribes who live on distant reservations with meager resources and limited access to government services.
The tribe that runs the Mohegan Sun casino, a nearby Connecticut rival of Foxwoods, has kept up payments despite financial strains, said Bruce "Two Dogs" Boszum, chairman of the Mohegan Tribal Council. He declined to say how large the payments are, but he said they began modestly to help members improve their lives and have grown slowly - an approach he said other tribes could learn from.
"It's not something you want to take back later," Boszum said. "We've done a lot of work to maintain all of our services here, and we've kept everything just the way it is."
As the Pequots have cut back their spending, their neighbors in Ledyard say they have not seen dramatic changes, although there are fewer exotic cars. The arrest of two tribal members in an October home invasion set off some concerns for crime, but police say they do not see a connection between a rash of burglaries and the tribe's financial situation.
A farmer on land bordering the reservation, Robert Burns, said he believes tribal members will benefit from the cutbacks.
"I've always felt that stipend stood between them having the joy of being realistic members of our society and that, it many cases, it served as a device to separate them from the community," Burns said. "It may seem like a hardship, but it will give them the gift of learning how to function as a member of the larger society."
Brown-Congdon said she worries about the tribe, particularly young people who know only affluence. But she is moving on and thinking of what she could do for work.
"A lot of things have come full circle for us," she said.
The tribe's Foxwoods casino, the largest in the Western Hemisphere, allowed members to live without concern for money, generating shared revenue stipends that once exceeded $100,000 annually for each adult.
OP: Pechanga pays over $240,000 San Manuel over $500,000 United Auburn over $180,000
This month, with Foxwoods struggling with debt exceeding $2 billion, payments to members stopped. The tribe has opened a food pantry for needy families, counselors have provided guidance on how to pursue jobs and members have been left to ponder the end of what once seemed a sure bet.
"I was poor before. I can be poor again," tribal member Gina Brown-Congdon, 59, said. "I'm not happy, but you have to deal with what life gives you."
The money is not the only source of anxiety. FBI agents have been visiting the reservation and asking about tribal finances, according to two people with knowledge of tribal activity who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to protect their relationships with the tribe. It all contributes to one of the most tumultuous periods in the recent history of the Pequots, who own and operate the casino that made their reservation one of the wealthiest communities in America.
OP: FBI raided North Fork Rancheria and investigated Soboba and Pechanga.
The affluence vanished as quickly as it came for the tribe, which had only one person living on the reservation in the early 1970s. The Pequots won federal recognition and opened a bingo hall in the 1980s before hitting the jackpot with the start of casino gambling at Foxwoods in 1992. People who traced their bloodlines to Pequots counted in a 1900 census were allowed to join the tribe, which now has roughly 900 members.
A tribal elder, Loretta Libby, said many worry about what will come next.
"Our stress levels are very high up here," she said. "I just don't know what's going to happen."
The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council said it stands united and focused on success at the Foxwoods Resort Casino.
"The community is pulling together in these challenging economic times, and we are eagerly embracing our future with a strong determination to continue growing our business as a major economic force in southeastern Connecticut," the council said in a statement.
Tribal leaders have discouraged members from talking with outsiders. A reporter who made a recent visit was stopped by five tribal police officers, including the chief, and escorted off the reservation. The police handed out notices later that day instructing people not to speak with reporters.
Despite the financial difficulties, Brown-Congdon said, she feels only gratitude toward the tribe for providing so well for so long. A Rhode Island native, she worked in potato fields for a time before coming to the join the tribe. The gambling income allowed her to live comfortably while she tended to ailing family members and cared for some of her sister's 15 grandchildren.
She owned a house and cared for her sick brother until he died in 2010 and, without his tribal income, she could no longer afford it. She now fears the end of the payments could force her out of her rented house on the reservation. She wishes that she - and the tribe - had planned better for hard times, but she said the tribe's only fault was perhaps being overly generous in its spending.
"They gave us the best care and the most love," she said. "They made their decisions the best they could."
The new austerity is a result of financial troubles at Foxwoods, which has been in talks to refinance its debt. After years of unparalleled success drawing gamblers from across New England and New York, the casino began struggling with increased competition and slackening demand. Foxwoods completed a major, costly expansion with the 30-story MGM Grand hotel and casino at the height of the recession in 2008. The resort has four hotels, more than 6,300 slot machines and 360 tables with 15 different types of games in six casinos.
The regular member payments ended in 2010, but the tribe offered smaller, transitional aid to members until March.
The tribe has been providing financial counseling and placing more members with jobs, including some at the casino. One member, 60-year-old Roslyn Charles, said the tribe still makes other aid available, including help with utility bills. And while jobs are available, she said many do not want to work.
"This is a family. There's no friction. You've got to do what you've got to do," said Charles, who works at a library. "The economy is hitting everybody. It's not just us."
Of more than 500 American Indian tribes across the country, 124 have notified the U.S. Interior Department of intent to share gambling revenue with members, according to the Indian Gaming Office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. But government officials say they take a hands-off approach and do not know how many actually make payments or how much they share.
Valerie Red-Horse, a financial analyst familiar with Indian casinos, said some tribes have probably paid out too much, but the distributions often barely meet the needs of tribes who live on distant reservations with meager resources and limited access to government services.
The tribe that runs the Mohegan Sun casino, a nearby Connecticut rival of Foxwoods, has kept up payments despite financial strains, said Bruce "Two Dogs" Boszum, chairman of the Mohegan Tribal Council. He declined to say how large the payments are, but he said they began modestly to help members improve their lives and have grown slowly - an approach he said other tribes could learn from.
"It's not something you want to take back later," Boszum said. "We've done a lot of work to maintain all of our services here, and we've kept everything just the way it is."
As the Pequots have cut back their spending, their neighbors in Ledyard say they have not seen dramatic changes, although there are fewer exotic cars. The arrest of two tribal members in an October home invasion set off some concerns for crime, but police say they do not see a connection between a rash of burglaries and the tribe's financial situation.
A farmer on land bordering the reservation, Robert Burns, said he believes tribal members will benefit from the cutbacks.
"I've always felt that stipend stood between them having the joy of being realistic members of our society and that, it many cases, it served as a device to separate them from the community," Burns said. "It may seem like a hardship, but it will give them the gift of learning how to function as a member of the larger society."
Brown-Congdon said she worries about the tribe, particularly young people who know only affluence. But she is moving on and thinking of what she could do for work.
"A lot of things have come full circle for us," she said.
Carla Rodriguez Elected New Leader of San Manuel Band of Mission Indians
Congratulations Carla, good luck in your new position.
The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians has elected a new tribal leader.
Carla Rodriguez, the aunt of current tribal Chairman James Ramos, has been elected to succeed him April16, Ramos said.
Ramos decided not to seek another term as the tribal leader to concentrate on his campaign for San Bernardino County supervisor.
“She’ll do a good job for the community,” Ramos said. “She’ll do a good job for the tribe. She shares many of the same values and commitments I have.”
Carla was the former Tribal secretary
The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians has elected a new tribal leader.
 |
| CARLA RODRIGUEZ |
Carla Rodriguez, the aunt of current tribal Chairman James Ramos, has been elected to succeed him April16, Ramos said.
Ramos decided not to seek another term as the tribal leader to concentrate on his campaign for San Bernardino County supervisor.
“She’ll do a good job for the community,” Ramos said. “She’ll do a good job for the tribe. She shares many of the same values and commitments I have.”
Carla was the former Tribal secretary
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Credible Threat Causes Cancellation of Chukchansi Tribal Coucil's Swearing In
A meeting to swear in Chukchansi tribal council members was canceled Monday night after leaders said there was a "credible threat" made against those attending the meeting.
The group headed by Reggie Lewis that's in charge of the tribe's operations said they called off the meeting because of concerns it could be interrupted by protests from supporters of an opposing group led by Morris Reid. OP: NO first amendment issues here! They don't care about no stinking 1st amendement
Had the meeting on the rancheria near Coarsegold taken place, however, only Lewis, out of four winning candidates, was expected to be sworn in. Three candidates who won council seats in a December election were told last week that they will likely not be joining the new council. Their seats could soon be taken by other tribe members, either through a special election or appointments.
"Based on credible information forwarded to public safety officials and the history of past actions of a small number of agitators, the council determined out of abundance of caution that safety should rule the day," Lewis said in a statement.
Reid said his group wasn't a threat to the Lewis group's meeting because they were meeting at the same time Monday night in Oakhurst and had no plans to protest.
There was no information about a "credible threat" made to the Madera County Sheriff's Office, spokeswoman Erica Stuart said Monday night.
Roger Salazar, the Lewis group's spokesman, said the tribal council meeting and swearing-in ceremony will be rescheduled.
Three seats will remain open. The Lewis council issued letters of removal on Friday to Reid and one of his supporters, Dora Jones. That put them on the sidelines along with another Reid supporter and winning candidate, Dixie Jackson, all barred from the building where the tribal council meets. All three were involved in disputes with the Lewis council that started with a contentious Dec. 26 meeting and continued with a Feb. 27-28 standoff at the rancheria.
A hearing on the removal of Reid and Jones is set for April 24, Salazar said. Since Jackson was never an incumbent, she's not eligible for a hearing, Salazar said.
Read more about the cancellation here
The group headed by Reggie Lewis that's in charge of the tribe's operations said they called off the meeting because of concerns it could be interrupted by protests from supporters of an opposing group led by Morris Reid. OP: NO first amendment issues here! They don't care about no stinking 1st amendement
Had the meeting on the rancheria near Coarsegold taken place, however, only Lewis, out of four winning candidates, was expected to be sworn in. Three candidates who won council seats in a December election were told last week that they will likely not be joining the new council. Their seats could soon be taken by other tribe members, either through a special election or appointments.
"Based on credible information forwarded to public safety officials and the history of past actions of a small number of agitators, the council determined out of abundance of caution that safety should rule the day," Lewis said in a statement.
Reid said his group wasn't a threat to the Lewis group's meeting because they were meeting at the same time Monday night in Oakhurst and had no plans to protest.
There was no information about a "credible threat" made to the Madera County Sheriff's Office, spokeswoman Erica Stuart said Monday night.
Roger Salazar, the Lewis group's spokesman, said the tribal council meeting and swearing-in ceremony will be rescheduled.
Three seats will remain open. The Lewis council issued letters of removal on Friday to Reid and one of his supporters, Dora Jones. That put them on the sidelines along with another Reid supporter and winning candidate, Dixie Jackson, all barred from the building where the tribal council meets. All three were involved in disputes with the Lewis council that started with a contentious Dec. 26 meeting and continued with a Feb. 27-28 standoff at the rancheria.
A hearing on the removal of Reid and Jones is set for April 24, Salazar said. Since Jackson was never an incumbent, she's not eligible for a hearing, Salazar said.
Read more about the cancellation here
Sunday, March 25, 2012
How The Pechanga Tribal Council Violated Their Own Constitution; Their Actions Should Lead to A Halt in Their Recognition
This is a repost of a blog from last year:
Our cousin A’amokat was nice enough to put together a post of how the Pechanga Tribal Council, led by Mark Macarro has violated the Tribal Constitution.
Here are some examples of violations of the Pechanga tribe's constitution and bylaws as relating to the disenrollments and the moratorium.
1. The Temecula Band of Luiseno Mission Indians constitution and bylaws, sometimes referred to as the Pechanga Band of Mission Indians, states under Article II (membership):
"The membership enrollment will be opened the first month of each year by the Band's Enrollment Committee"
Violation: The moratorium on new adult tribal members because the constitution and bylaws does stipulate open enrollment is the first month of each year.
Under Article VIII (meetings):
"The simple majority of members present shall rule and decide in all matters of government and business of the Band, unless stipulated otherwise in these Bylaws."
Violation: The tribal council allowed the enrollment committee in 2006 to disenroll the Hunters after the petition to outlaw disenrollment was passed into law by the people in 2005. The people are the final authority in matters of who is enrolled and who is disenrolled, not the enrollment committee, because the Band's constitution and bylaws does not state the enrollment committee has this authority.
Under Article V:
"It shall be the duty of all elected officials of the Band to uphold and enforce the Constitution, Bylaws, and ordinances of the Temecula Band of Luiseno Mission Indians; and, also, uphold the individual rights of each member without malice or prejudice."
Violation 1: Allowing people who started the disenrollment challenges of disenrollees in both 2004 and 2006 to rule on the disenrollment cases of the disenrollees and who were close relatives of key witnesses against them shows malice and prejudice against tribal members.
Violation 2: The tribal council did not uphold and enforce the law that outlawed disenrollments that was passed in 2005 by allowing the Hunters to be disenrolled in 2006.
There is tribal legal precedent regarding enrollment issues that the enrollment committee is not the final authority in these matters.
In 1986, after the lineal descendants of Rose Murphy including sitting tribal councilman Russell “Butch” Murphy, were turned down for tribal membership, the people voted to overrule the committee to take them in as tribal members.
So the claim in the March 2006 letter from the tribal council to the general membership, just two days before the Hunters were disenrolled, that the people could not question or interrupt the enrollment committee regarding enrollment or disenrollment is flat out not true and Russell Butch Murphy is living proof this is the case!
Here are some examples of violations of the Pechanga tribe's constitution and bylaws as relating to the disenrollments and the moratorium.
1. The Temecula Band of Luiseno Mission Indians constitution and bylaws, sometimes referred to as the Pechanga Band of Mission Indians, states under Article II (membership):
"The membership enrollment will be opened the first month of each year by the Band's Enrollment Committee"
Violation: The moratorium on new adult tribal members because the constitution and bylaws does stipulate open enrollment is the first month of each year.
Under Article VIII (meetings):
"The simple majority of members present shall rule and decide in all matters of government and business of the Band, unless stipulated otherwise in these Bylaws."
Violation: The tribal council allowed the enrollment committee in 2006 to disenroll the Hunters after the petition to outlaw disenrollment was passed into law by the people in 2005. The people are the final authority in matters of who is enrolled and who is disenrolled, not the enrollment committee, because the Band's constitution and bylaws does not state the enrollment committee has this authority.
Under Article V:
"It shall be the duty of all elected officials of the Band to uphold and enforce the Constitution, Bylaws, and ordinances of the Temecula Band of Luiseno Mission Indians; and, also, uphold the individual rights of each member without malice or prejudice."
Violation 1: Allowing people who started the disenrollment challenges of disenrollees in both 2004 and 2006 to rule on the disenrollment cases of the disenrollees and who were close relatives of key witnesses against them shows malice and prejudice against tribal members.
Violation 2: The tribal council did not uphold and enforce the law that outlawed disenrollments that was passed in 2005 by allowing the Hunters to be disenrolled in 2006.
There is tribal legal precedent regarding enrollment issues that the enrollment committee is not the final authority in these matters.
In 1986, after the lineal descendants of Rose Murphy including sitting tribal councilman Russell Butch Murphy, were turned down for tribal membership, the people voted to overrule the committee to take them in as tribal members.
So the claim in the March 2006 letter from the tribal council to the general membership, just two days before the Hunters were disenrolled, that the people could not question or interrupt the enrollment committee regarding enrollment or disenrollment is flat out not true and Russell Butch Murphy is living proof this is the case!
Our cousin A’amokat was nice enough to put together a post of how the Pechanga Tribal Council, led by Mark Macarro has violated the Tribal Constitution.
Here are some examples of violations of the Pechanga tribe's constitution and bylaws as relating to the disenrollments and the moratorium.
1. The Temecula Band of Luiseno Mission Indians constitution and bylaws, sometimes referred to as the Pechanga Band of Mission Indians, states under Article II (membership):
"The membership enrollment will be opened the first month of each year by the Band's Enrollment Committee"
Violation: The moratorium on new adult tribal members because the constitution and bylaws does stipulate open enrollment is the first month of each year.
Under Article VIII (meetings):
"The simple majority of members present shall rule and decide in all matters of government and business of the Band, unless stipulated otherwise in these Bylaws."
Violation: The tribal council allowed the enrollment committee in 2006 to disenroll the Hunters after the petition to outlaw disenrollment was passed into law by the people in 2005. The people are the final authority in matters of who is enrolled and who is disenrolled, not the enrollment committee, because the Band's constitution and bylaws does not state the enrollment committee has this authority.
Under Article V:
"It shall be the duty of all elected officials of the Band to uphold and enforce the Constitution, Bylaws, and ordinances of the Temecula Band of Luiseno Mission Indians; and, also, uphold the individual rights of each member without malice or prejudice."
Violation 1: Allowing people who started the disenrollment challenges of disenrollees in both 2004 and 2006 to rule on the disenrollment cases of the disenrollees and who were close relatives of key witnesses against them shows malice and prejudice against tribal members.
Violation 2: The tribal council did not uphold and enforce the law that outlawed disenrollments that was passed in 2005 by allowing the Hunters to be disenrolled in 2006.
There is tribal legal precedent regarding enrollment issues that the enrollment committee is not the final authority in these matters.
In 1986, after the lineal descendants of Rose Murphy including sitting tribal councilman Russell “Butch” Murphy, were turned down for tribal membership, the people voted to overrule the committee to take them in as tribal members.
So the claim in the March 2006 letter from the tribal council to the general membership, just two days before the Hunters were disenrolled, that the people could not question or interrupt the enrollment committee regarding enrollment or disenrollment is flat out not true and Russell Butch Murphy is living proof this is the case!
Here are some examples of violations of the Pechanga tribe's constitution and bylaws as relating to the disenrollments and the moratorium.
1. The Temecula Band of Luiseno Mission Indians constitution and bylaws, sometimes referred to as the Pechanga Band of Mission Indians, states under Article II (membership):
"The membership enrollment will be opened the first month of each year by the Band's Enrollment Committee"
Violation: The moratorium on new adult tribal members because the constitution and bylaws does stipulate open enrollment is the first month of each year.
Under Article VIII (meetings):
"The simple majority of members present shall rule and decide in all matters of government and business of the Band, unless stipulated otherwise in these Bylaws."
Violation: The tribal council allowed the enrollment committee in 2006 to disenroll the Hunters after the petition to outlaw disenrollment was passed into law by the people in 2005. The people are the final authority in matters of who is enrolled and who is disenrolled, not the enrollment committee, because the Band's constitution and bylaws does not state the enrollment committee has this authority.
Under Article V:
"It shall be the duty of all elected officials of the Band to uphold and enforce the Constitution, Bylaws, and ordinances of the Temecula Band of Luiseno Mission Indians; and, also, uphold the individual rights of each member without malice or prejudice."
Violation 1: Allowing people who started the disenrollment challenges of disenrollees in both 2004 and 2006 to rule on the disenrollment cases of the disenrollees and who were close relatives of key witnesses against them shows malice and prejudice against tribal members.
Violation 2: The tribal council did not uphold and enforce the law that outlawed disenrollments that was passed in 2005 by allowing the Hunters to be disenrolled in 2006.
There is tribal legal precedent regarding enrollment issues that the enrollment committee is not the final authority in these matters.
In 1986, after the lineal descendants of Rose Murphy including sitting tribal councilman Russell Butch Murphy, were turned down for tribal membership, the people voted to overrule the committee to take them in as tribal members.
So the claim in the March 2006 letter from the tribal council to the general membership, just two days before the Hunters were disenrolled, that the people could not question or interrupt the enrollment committee regarding enrollment or disenrollment is flat out not true and Russell Butch Murphy is living proof this is the case!
Prayer Request for the Schenendoah Family of Oneida Nation
I received this prayer request from friends of the Oneida Nation. See THIS VIDEO as to how code enforcement works at the Oneida Nation
Please add the Schenandoah family to your prayers..
On March 14, 2012 Diane Schenandoah received notice from the Oneida Nation of New York that her log cabin would be inspected by their Codes Enforcement Officer. In that order it states that she must cease and desist from repairing her cabin on Oneida Territory homeland. OP: Cease and desist? Should they want her to keep working on it? Diane Schenandoah, a Faith Keeper for the Oneida people has been working for the past several years towards restoring her mother "Wolf Clan Mother" Maisie's cabin.
This cabin was the first longhouse for ceremonies on the Oneida Territory. Maisie, Sonny, her family and numerous people have stayed, danced and gathered, prayed. learned and worked on Art over the years. Diane has worked on her Art there for the past 30 years and has been working toward restoring this historical piece of Oneida Territory which has been in need since the passing of Maisie.
Diane is praying for a peaceful and fair resolution and has agreed to allow an inspection. There is a great need for peace and healing after the previous forced police inspections which left many evicted and homeless. She is Praying for Fairness with Integrity in the name of peace and concessional resolve.
We ask for your prayers that;
That the "Oneida Nation" work with Diane for repairs to go forward and that our Creator God will provide the necessary resouces for completion.
Please add the Schenandoah family to your prayers..
On March 14, 2012 Diane Schenandoah received notice from the Oneida Nation of New York that her log cabin would be inspected by their Codes Enforcement Officer. In that order it states that she must cease and desist from repairing her cabin on Oneida Territory homeland. OP: Cease and desist? Should they want her to keep working on it? Diane Schenandoah, a Faith Keeper for the Oneida people has been working for the past several years towards restoring her mother "Wolf Clan Mother" Maisie's cabin.
This cabin was the first longhouse for ceremonies on the Oneida Territory. Maisie, Sonny, her family and numerous people have stayed, danced and gathered, prayed. learned and worked on Art over the years. Diane has worked on her Art there for the past 30 years and has been working toward restoring this historical piece of Oneida Territory which has been in need since the passing of Maisie.
Diane is praying for a peaceful and fair resolution and has agreed to allow an inspection. There is a great need for peace and healing after the previous forced police inspections which left many evicted and homeless. She is Praying for Fairness with Integrity in the name of peace and concessional resolve.
We ask for your prayers that;
That the "Oneida Nation" work with Diane for repairs to go forward and that our Creator God will provide the necessary resouces for completion.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Reconciling Moral Outrage at Tribes Like Snoqualmie, Pechanga, Pala, Redding and Chukchansi, with Self Determination
I posted this way back in June 2007 and it still does apply. We are on vacation and hope you remember this post
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, Snoqualmie in Washington State 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. Instead of helping all their people, including those they placed in a moratorium hold, who rightfully belonged to the tribe 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 Rancheria, Picayune Rancheria, Snoqualmie and others have treated their people. In fact it's more like Tribal Terrorism
I have expressed earlier that I am FOR expanded gaming, for those tribes that haven't gotten to the table yet.
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.
Sheryl Lightfoot Article
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. (OP: This is what we've been pursuring for 8 years now) 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. OP: Now, tribes like Pechanga practice APARTHEID on their reservations.
My 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 casinos, 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. OP: BIA? HELLO? ANYONE THERE? Larry Echohawk, your righteousness is calling, it misses you.
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. Chukchansi has exterminated 70% of it's tribe, Redding 25%. Elders and children abused by unconstitutional acts under the BIA's watchful eye.
Please ask your friends to read our blog and share it on social media and friends, please let me know your opinion by posting comments.
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, Snoqualmie in Washington State 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. Instead of helping all their people, including those they placed in a moratorium hold, who rightfully belonged to the tribe 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 Rancheria, Picayune Rancheria, Snoqualmie and others have treated their people. In fact it's more like Tribal Terrorism
I have expressed earlier that I am FOR expanded gaming, for those tribes that haven't gotten to the table yet.
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.
Sheryl Lightfoot Article
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. (OP: This is what we've been pursuring for 8 years now) 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. OP: Now, tribes like Pechanga practice APARTHEID on their reservations.
My 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 casinos, 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. OP: BIA? HELLO? ANYONE THERE? Larry Echohawk, your righteousness is calling, it misses you.
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. Chukchansi has exterminated 70% of it's tribe, Redding 25%. Elders and children abused by unconstitutional acts under the BIA's watchful eye.
Please ask your friends to read our blog and share it on social media and friends, please let me know your opinion by posting comments.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
The Cupeno's Trail of Tears; A horrible beginning and now Robert Smith wreaks more sorrow on Pala
Tony Perry of the LA Times has a story of the beginnings of the Pala Tribe, which their Chairman Robert Smith is shredding via disenrollment....
The history of the Pala Band of Mission Indians begins with an event so traumatic that it is known as the Cupeño Trail of Tears. It remains so central to tribal members, they memorialize it in the entryway of the building that has come to symbolize the tribe's modern prosperity: a casino off Interstate 15 in northern San Diego County.
In 1903, U.S. officials forced hundreds of Cupeño Indians, at gunpoint, to move their household possessions, wagons and livestock from their longtime home in what was then called San Jose del Valle, now Warner Springs. A court had ruled that the tribe did not own the land that it had occupied for generations; the new owner had dreams of a resort.
The tribe was herded around Mt. Palomar to a spot beside a Catholic mission in the San Luis Rey River Valley. During the 40-mile forced march, women and children were terrified.
When tribe members arrived at their new home, they found "nothing but tents and the rundown mission," according to the casino display. At the insistence of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Cupeño tribe melded with the Luiseño tribe that lived nearby — creating the modern Pala Band of Mission Indians.
Under the hand of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the two groups existed side by side despite occasional rivalries. To this day, descendants of the Luiseño pioneers prefer one cemetery, descendants of the early Cupeño largely prefer another.
One of the survivors of the forced march was Margarita Britten. She was an expert in basket weaving; she and her husband had seven children. At Pala, she became a tribal elder.
The disenrollment controversy involves a decision by the Pala governing board that Britten's father was not an Indian and thus she was not a full-blooded Cupeño. In all, 162 of her descendants have been cut off from sharing in the tribe's profits from its casino, hotel and other business ventures.
Britten's relatives note that the Bureau of Indian Affairs has repeatedly ruled that Britten was a full-blooded Cupeño. And they say it is unfair to expect her descendants to have documents such as birth certificates or marriage licenses that predate the relocation.
Tribal members who have been disenrolled have made plaintive appeals to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, although the agency does not have the authority to overrule the Pala board. Says one appeal:
"Indian ancestry is a priceless personal truth, central to identity, culture and community. It is rooted in individual biology and being, inalterable by the whims of others. Ancestry is not a political status to be erased with the stroke of a pen."
The history of the Pala Band of Mission Indians begins with an event so traumatic that it is known as the Cupeño Trail of Tears. It remains so central to tribal members, they memorialize it in the entryway of the building that has come to symbolize the tribe's modern prosperity: a casino off Interstate 15 in northern San Diego County.
In 1903, U.S. officials forced hundreds of Cupeño Indians, at gunpoint, to move their household possessions, wagons and livestock from their longtime home in what was then called San Jose del Valle, now Warner Springs. A court had ruled that the tribe did not own the land that it had occupied for generations; the new owner had dreams of a resort.
The tribe was herded around Mt. Palomar to a spot beside a Catholic mission in the San Luis Rey River Valley. During the 40-mile forced march, women and children were terrified.
When tribe members arrived at their new home, they found "nothing but tents and the rundown mission," according to the casino display. At the insistence of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Cupeño tribe melded with the Luiseño tribe that lived nearby — creating the modern Pala Band of Mission Indians.
Under the hand of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the two groups existed side by side despite occasional rivalries. To this day, descendants of the Luiseño pioneers prefer one cemetery, descendants of the early Cupeño largely prefer another.
One of the survivors of the forced march was Margarita Britten. She was an expert in basket weaving; she and her husband had seven children. At Pala, she became a tribal elder.
The disenrollment controversy involves a decision by the Pala governing board that Britten's father was not an Indian and thus she was not a full-blooded Cupeño. In all, 162 of her descendants have been cut off from sharing in the tribe's profits from its casino, hotel and other business ventures.
Britten's relatives note that the Bureau of Indian Affairs has repeatedly ruled that Britten was a full-blooded Cupeño. And they say it is unfair to expect her descendants to have documents such as birth certificates or marriage licenses that predate the relocation.
Tribal members who have been disenrolled have made plaintive appeals to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, although the agency does not have the authority to overrule the Pala board. Says one appeal:
"Indian ancestry is a priceless personal truth, central to identity, culture and community. It is rooted in individual biology and being, inalterable by the whims of others. Ancestry is not a political status to be erased with the stroke of a pen."
This Week in March 2006, Paulina Hunter Descendent Were Notified of Disenrollment By Corrupt Pechanga Tribal Council Led By Mark Macarro
That's six years that Hunter descendents have been stripped of their tribal citizenship, due to unconstitutional actions by the corrupt Pechanga Tribal Council and by collusion with enrollment committee members, including Bobbi LeMere (who, in a quid pro quo, got her sisters enrolled in the tribe, even though scores of others were in the moratorium READ Corruption Exposed… ) Ruth Masiel, matriarch of the crime family and mother of councilmember Andrew Masiel Sr. and Frances Miranda, who two years before, had seen to it that her OWN FAMILY members, the descendent of Manuela Miranda were also stripped of their citizenship.
Concerning Disgraceful Actions by the Pechanga Tribal Council
In a notice dated August 7, 2006, the descendants of Paulina Hunter, an original allottee of the Pechanga Indian Reservation, were informed that the Pechanga Tribal Council and the Pechanga Enrollment Committee had denied their appeal to over-turn the Enrollment Committee’s earlier decision to disenroll the family.
The Hunter Family members were disenrolled in March of this year when the Enrollment Committee concluded that their ancestor, Paulina Hunter, was not a Temecula Indian.
Along with disenrollment notices from the Enrollment Committee, a memo from the Tribal Council explained that it had decided that a law passed by the Tribe’s governing body in July 2005 to bar future disenrollments applied to all tribal members except the Hunter Family.
The disenrollment of the Hunter family was initiated when several statements were presented to the Enrollment Committee claiming Paulina Hunter was non-Indian or not a member. One such letter came from a convicted felon serving time in the California State Prison system for child molestation.
In response to the allegations, the descendants of Paulina Hunter provided numerous documents as proof that Paulina Hunter was indeed of Indian ancestry and was an original Pechanga/Temecula Indian. These documents were required to be certified, while the "so-called evidence" against the family was neither sworn, nor certified. They disregarded evidence, while accepting hearsay.
In fact, a report prepared by Dr. John Johnson, the curator of anthropology at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, at the request of the Enrollment Committee concluded that a "preponderance of the evidence" from surviving historical records and census documents shows that Paulina Hunter was a Pechanga member who lived in Temecula and was allotted reservation land. There is no greater authority on this issue than Dr. Johnson. The research was almost two thousand dollars, but the tribe was not charged for all the preparatory work that Dr. Johnson had done throughout his career, surely saving the tribe more than $10,000
"My feeling is it's a faulty interpretation of the record to reject this family. Paulina Hunter was definitely a core member of the Temecula Band of Luiseño Indians," Dr. Johnson said. "I don't understand the decision other than it is not based on fact. It is based on conjecture and politics."
The disenrollment of the Hunter family is the second such disenrollment of a large family from the Pechanga Band. Each has occurred just months before scheduled tribal elections for Chairman and Tribal Council.
The expulsions of the 2 families removed significant opposition to the current administration and others running for tribal office.
Each “disenrollment” was done in violation of both tribal and federal laws which are intended to protect the rights and privileges of tribal members.
Specifically, the members were denied the due process and equal rights protections provided in the Indian Civil Rights Act, as well as language in the Band’s Constitution and Bylaws which mandates that tribal officials uphold the individual rights of each member without malice or prejudice. The disenrollments reduced the Pechanga Band's enrollment by nearly 30%, and each enrolled member, including those responsible for the violations of human and civil rights, could reap additional profits in the tens of millions of dollars.
Here are some of the infractions the Bobbi LeMere led committee committed:
The Appeal Procedures state that the purpose of the appeal is in identifying any infraction to the disenrollment procedure or any unfair and/or partial handling of a disenrollment case pursuant to Procedures § 9, page 4. The Enrollment Committee committed numerous errors or infractions of fundamental Pechanga law and procedural Pechanga law as follows:
1. Knowingly violated the will and intent of the General Council by continuing disenrollment proceedings after General Council’s vote to suspend all disenrollment;
2. Erroneously made determinations in contradiction of Dr. John Johnson’s anthropological report prepared on behalf of the Enrollment Committee;
3. Erroneously based disenrollment on an issue allegedly found in the enrollment application which applies to persons applying for membership after 1996;
4. Erroneously relied on a personal statement of recognition from the Dept. of Interior 1928 application over numerous other more credible sources;
5. Erroneously relied on a personal statement from the Dept. of Interior 1928 application of a person who is not a direct ancestor of Appellants;
6. Erroneously interpreted the personal statement in the Dept. of Interior 1928 application that San Luis Rey Mission Indian is not synonymous with Pechanga or Temecula Indian;
7. Erroneously made a finding that the Pechanga Reservation contained distinct Tribes—Temecula and San Luis Rey;
8. Violated the Pechanga Band Constitution by imposing a more restrictive membership standard than contained in Article II: Membership;
9. Ignored the Official Enrollment Book of 1979 as the original source document for determining Membership as stated in the Constitution;
10. Violated the Pechanga Band Enrollment Committee Guidelines by conducting disenrollment procedures without a lawful quorum and by reviewing disenrollment cases out of order for the purpose of stacking the Committee;
11. Contradicted previous actions and decisions of the Enrollment Committee;
12. Failed to indicate any mistakes or irregularities in the Appellants enrollment and failed to conduct the review of the Appellants’ case in a fair and/or impartial manner;
13. Violated the Indian Civil Rights Act by retro-actively applying 1996 Enrollment Application to Appellants;
14. Violated Constitution and Disenrollment Procedures through application of more restrictive standards;
15. Acted negligently in the review of the Appellants case.
Council member Andrew Masiel should have recused himself, as he was judging an appeal on an issue in which he had guided his MOTHER and his aunt, Ihrene Scearce.
Corruption, Greed, Denial of Civil Rights, Theft, Dishonor, all in the month of March....
Concerning Disgraceful Actions by the Pechanga Tribal Council
In a notice dated August 7, 2006, the descendants of Paulina Hunter, an original allottee of the Pechanga Indian Reservation, were informed that the Pechanga Tribal Council and the Pechanga Enrollment Committee had denied their appeal to over-turn the Enrollment Committee’s earlier decision to disenroll the family.
The Hunter Family members were disenrolled in March of this year when the Enrollment Committee concluded that their ancestor, Paulina Hunter, was not a Temecula Indian.
Along with disenrollment notices from the Enrollment Committee, a memo from the Tribal Council explained that it had decided that a law passed by the Tribe’s governing body in July 2005 to bar future disenrollments applied to all tribal members except the Hunter Family.
The disenrollment of the Hunter family was initiated when several statements were presented to the Enrollment Committee claiming Paulina Hunter was non-Indian or not a member. One such letter came from a convicted felon serving time in the California State Prison system for child molestation.
In response to the allegations, the descendants of Paulina Hunter provided numerous documents as proof that Paulina Hunter was indeed of Indian ancestry and was an original Pechanga/Temecula Indian. These documents were required to be certified, while the "so-called evidence" against the family was neither sworn, nor certified. They disregarded evidence, while accepting hearsay.
In fact, a report prepared by Dr. John Johnson, the curator of anthropology at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, at the request of the Enrollment Committee concluded that a "preponderance of the evidence" from surviving historical records and census documents shows that Paulina Hunter was a Pechanga member who lived in Temecula and was allotted reservation land. There is no greater authority on this issue than Dr. Johnson. The research was almost two thousand dollars, but the tribe was not charged for all the preparatory work that Dr. Johnson had done throughout his career, surely saving the tribe more than $10,000
"My feeling is it's a faulty interpretation of the record to reject this family. Paulina Hunter was definitely a core member of the Temecula Band of Luiseño Indians," Dr. Johnson said. "I don't understand the decision other than it is not based on fact. It is based on conjecture and politics."
The disenrollment of the Hunter family is the second such disenrollment of a large family from the Pechanga Band. Each has occurred just months before scheduled tribal elections for Chairman and Tribal Council.
The expulsions of the 2 families removed significant opposition to the current administration and others running for tribal office.
Each “disenrollment” was done in violation of both tribal and federal laws which are intended to protect the rights and privileges of tribal members.
Specifically, the members were denied the due process and equal rights protections provided in the Indian Civil Rights Act, as well as language in the Band’s Constitution and Bylaws which mandates that tribal officials uphold the individual rights of each member without malice or prejudice. The disenrollments reduced the Pechanga Band's enrollment by nearly 30%, and each enrolled member, including those responsible for the violations of human and civil rights, could reap additional profits in the tens of millions of dollars.
Here are some of the infractions the Bobbi LeMere led committee committed:
The Appeal Procedures state that the purpose of the appeal is in identifying any infraction to the disenrollment procedure or any unfair and/or partial handling of a disenrollment case pursuant to Procedures § 9, page 4. The Enrollment Committee committed numerous errors or infractions of fundamental Pechanga law and procedural Pechanga law as follows:
1. Knowingly violated the will and intent of the General Council by continuing disenrollment proceedings after General Council’s vote to suspend all disenrollment;
2. Erroneously made determinations in contradiction of Dr. John Johnson’s anthropological report prepared on behalf of the Enrollment Committee;
3. Erroneously based disenrollment on an issue allegedly found in the enrollment application which applies to persons applying for membership after 1996;
4. Erroneously relied on a personal statement of recognition from the Dept. of Interior 1928 application over numerous other more credible sources;
5. Erroneously relied on a personal statement from the Dept. of Interior 1928 application of a person who is not a direct ancestor of Appellants;
6. Erroneously interpreted the personal statement in the Dept. of Interior 1928 application that San Luis Rey Mission Indian is not synonymous with Pechanga or Temecula Indian;
7. Erroneously made a finding that the Pechanga Reservation contained distinct Tribes—Temecula and San Luis Rey;
8. Violated the Pechanga Band Constitution by imposing a more restrictive membership standard than contained in Article II: Membership;
9. Ignored the Official Enrollment Book of 1979 as the original source document for determining Membership as stated in the Constitution;
10. Violated the Pechanga Band Enrollment Committee Guidelines by conducting disenrollment procedures without a lawful quorum and by reviewing disenrollment cases out of order for the purpose of stacking the Committee;
11. Contradicted previous actions and decisions of the Enrollment Committee;
12. Failed to indicate any mistakes or irregularities in the Appellants enrollment and failed to conduct the review of the Appellants’ case in a fair and/or impartial manner;
13. Violated the Indian Civil Rights Act by retro-actively applying 1996 Enrollment Application to Appellants;
14. Violated Constitution and Disenrollment Procedures through application of more restrictive standards;
15. Acted negligently in the review of the Appellants case.
Council member Andrew Masiel should have recused himself, as he was judging an appeal on an issue in which he had guided his MOTHER and his aunt, Ihrene Scearce.
Corruption, Greed, Denial of Civil Rights, Theft, Dishonor, all in the month of March....
Monday, March 19, 2012
Terminated Pala Members Sue Federal Government. Pala Acted OUTSIDE their Constitution. BIA Wrong to Accept New Constitution without Election
Edward Sifuentes from the North County Times has the details of what happens when a tribe strips the citizenship from their people
A woman with a blood disease lost her health insurance, a young woman starting college could lose her scholarship, a man could lose his job and a woman with a newborn baby could lose her home.
All these and many other hardships were the results of the Pala Band of Mission Indians' decision to remove more than 160 people from its tribe, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court earlier this month.
The lawsuit is asking the Bureau of Indian Affairs to step in and restore the former Pala members' benefits, including the estimated $150,000 a year in casino revenues that go to each member; health insurance coverage; and their ability to participate in tribal government.
Escondido attorneys Thor Emblem and Tracy Emblem filed the lawsuit March 5 on behalf of about 60 former members of the Pala tribe.
The attorneys declined to comment on the case.
The families "will suffer immediate and irreparable harm and request immediate action to restore their ... tribal benefits while their appeal of the (tribe's) actions are pending review by the Bureau of Indian Affairs," the lawsuit states.
Last year, the Pala tribe, which owns a large casino and resort near Fallbrook, removed from its membership rolls eight people who were descendants of a woman named Margarita Brittain, saying they did not have sufficient Pala heritage to belong in the tribe.
Earlier this year, the tribe expelled an additional 154 people who were also Brittain descendants.
After an appeal, the Bureau of Indian Affairs recommended that the first eight people be allowed back into the tribe. Pala has not said whether it plans to honor the BIA's recommendation.
In court documents, the 60 people say they were illegally kicked out. They argue that the tribe illegally changed its constitution in 1997 without holding an election allowing all tribal members an opportunity to vote on the new constitution.
One of the changes in the constitution was that the tribe's executive council, a five-member panel, could remove individuals from the tribe. People expelled from the tribe can appeal to the BIA, but the federal agency can only recommend whether to allow people back in.
Under the previous rules, the BIA was the final arbiter on membership disputes, according to court documents.
The attorneys argue in their lawsuit that the BIA was wrong to accept the new constitution without an election.
BIA officials could not be reached for comment. OP: Does BIA want fewer Indians?
A woman with a blood disease lost her health insurance, a young woman starting college could lose her scholarship, a man could lose his job and a woman with a newborn baby could lose her home.
All these and many other hardships were the results of the Pala Band of Mission Indians' decision to remove more than 160 people from its tribe, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court earlier this month.
The lawsuit is asking the Bureau of Indian Affairs to step in and restore the former Pala members' benefits, including the estimated $150,000 a year in casino revenues that go to each member; health insurance coverage; and their ability to participate in tribal government.
Escondido attorneys Thor Emblem and Tracy Emblem filed the lawsuit March 5 on behalf of about 60 former members of the Pala tribe.
The attorneys declined to comment on the case.
The families "will suffer immediate and irreparable harm and request immediate action to restore their ... tribal benefits while their appeal of the (tribe's) actions are pending review by the Bureau of Indian Affairs," the lawsuit states.
Last year, the Pala tribe, which owns a large casino and resort near Fallbrook, removed from its membership rolls eight people who were descendants of a woman named Margarita Brittain, saying they did not have sufficient Pala heritage to belong in the tribe.
Earlier this year, the tribe expelled an additional 154 people who were also Brittain descendants.
After an appeal, the Bureau of Indian Affairs recommended that the first eight people be allowed back into the tribe. Pala has not said whether it plans to honor the BIA's recommendation.
In court documents, the 60 people say they were illegally kicked out. They argue that the tribe illegally changed its constitution in 1997 without holding an election allowing all tribal members an opportunity to vote on the new constitution.
One of the changes in the constitution was that the tribe's executive council, a five-member panel, could remove individuals from the tribe. People expelled from the tribe can appeal to the BIA, but the federal agency can only recommend whether to allow people back in.
Under the previous rules, the BIA was the final arbiter on membership disputes, according to court documents.
The attorneys argue in their lawsuit that the BIA was wrong to accept the new constitution without an election.
BIA officials could not be reached for comment. OP: Does BIA want fewer Indians?
Sunday, March 18, 2012
This Week in March 2004, The Corrupt Pechanga Tribal Council Led By Mark Macarro Allowed the Disenrollment of The Manuel Miranda Descendents.
This week in 2004, Mark "No business of the White Man" Macarro, head of the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians, allowed the enrollment committee to disenroll the descendents of Manuela Miranda. These descendents were family to committee member, Frances Miranda, a hateful person. Here's one story of that family.
An article from Vince Beiser from 2006 is still worth the read for those who don't know what gaming has done. We will be bringing back older articles to help those new readers find out what is happening in Indian Country while Congress turns a blind eye.
For many Native American tribes, the success of their gambling operations ends a run of misfortune and dispossession that dates back to when white men first dubbed them Indians.
Since full-scale reservation gambling was sanctioned by Congress in 1988, its annual take has grown to some $20 billion, with more than one hundred tribes doling out profits directly to their members.
The Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians whose reservation is a patch of largely useless scrub-and-rock desert southeast of Los Angeles, rake in well over $200 million a year from a 522-room casino/resort with eight restaurants and 2,000 slot and video-poker machines. The cut for each Pechanga adult: $270,000. But if being an Indian has taken on the imprimatur of wealth, high stakes have also led tribes to deal some of their people out.
Bands from California to Connecticut have expelled thousands of long-standing members, often on flimsy grounds of inadequate Indian ancestry. By thinning their numbers, casino-operating tribes have figured out how to split the pot fewer ways.
This decision concerns the disenrollment of John Gomez Jr., whose entire extended family, consisting of 135 adults and all of their offspring, was declared in 2004 no longer to be Pechanga. Gomez and his relatives are descended from Manuela Miranda, who all sides agree was part of the Temecula tribe from which the Pechanga originate.
Decades after the federal government established the Pechanga reservation in 1882, Miranda's granddaughter - Gomez's grandmother - left the impoverished area. But Gomez's people never stopped identifying themselves as Pechanga. Gomez's father returned to the reservation every summer when he was a boy, and later he took his children there for family occasions.
In 1998, Gomez settled his own family a few miles from the reservation, in the town of Temecula, and he soon went to work for the tribe as its legal analyst. His brother has served as the executive chef of the casino's restaurant, his cousin was the casino's head of human resources, and other relatives helped draft the tribe's constitution. In 2002, Gomez and a cousin were elected to the Pechanga enrollment committee. Deluged with applications after the opening of its first gambling hall in 1995, the tribe imposed a moratorium the following year on accepting new adult members, although children of existing members were still permitted to apply. OP: The moratorium was pushed by the splinter group under the guise of allowing the enrollment committee to "catch up" on applications. It was really put there to keep rightful people from their "share" of per capita
Some of the new applicants were undoubtably opportunistic pretenders, but others had lived their entire family lives as unquestioned tribal members and simply never had reason to formally enroll. According to Gomez, he and his cousin found that the committee was not processing applications filed before the moratorium and was failing to enroll some members' children. Only after he called for an investigation, says Gomez, did questions about his own ancestry arise.
The Pechanga authorities (Tribal Chairman Mark Macarro) say they are just belatedly enforcing long-standing rules regarding descent and historical residence, the specifics of which are outlined here. Most tribes require that members show proof of a blood quantum: a minimum of one full-blooded grandparent or great-grandparent. But with so much at stake, how that Indian status is proven has become a matter of intense dispute. Macarro's ancestor called a subsequently disenrolled Indian, Paulina Hunter, aunt. Lineal descent allows Macarro to say, my "great-great grandmother was an Indian. Macarro grew up in Colton, not on the reservation.
When a former chairman of California's Redding Rancheria tribe and seventy-five members of his extended family were disenrolled in 2004, they dug up the remains of two ancestors for DNA testing. Three experts agreed that the genetic evidence confirmed that they were bona fide Redding Rancherias. Yet the tribal council stuck to its decision - meaning that the roughly $3 million in casino payouts that had been going to the ousted clan now gets divided up among the tribe's remaining 230 members.
This memo, from a group that calls itself the Concerned Pechanga People, contained the first claims that Gomez's family did not meet the criteria for membership. (Several of these "concerned" Pechanga just happened to be related to the enrollment committee members Gomez had accused of stonewalling applications.) When it was presented to the full committee in December 2002, the memo set off a series of accusations and counter-accusations about the illegitimacy of other members' Pechanga roots. At one point seven of ten members on the enrollment committee were forced to step down pending reviews of their own status.
In other tribes, too, disenrollment has been used as a club to settle scores and to protect political power. An entire family was expelled from one California band after its members pushed for a recall election of the tribal council. Part of the impetus for the Redding Rancheria disenrollments, according to the tribe's own lawyer, was "all kinds of interpersonal things. There were a lot of things family members did to others that were resented."
Forced to prove their Pechanga lineage, Gomez and his family searched through government archives and boxes tucked away in homes, eventually amassing hundreds of historical documents, many as old as the baptismal record from 1864 catalogued here. But using such documentation to "authenticate" Indian ancestry is dubious at best. I
n the late nineteenth century, census takers simply eyeballed those living on reservations to determine whether they were one-quarter, half, or full-blooded Indian. Indians themselves, fearing their land would otherwise be confiscated, often felt compelled to say they were white or Mexican. Indeed, California municipalities offered bounties on Indian scalps until the late nineteenth century, giving their owners an obvious incentive to hide their true identity.
John Gomez's case hinges not on his ancestor's blood, but as the ruling examines here, on where precisely Manuela Miranda lived at a specific time. In 1875, the Temecula were forced off their land by neighboring ranchers backed by San Diego County sheriffs. Many of them drifted away to towns; others resettled in the nearby Pechanga valley, which the government eventually designated as the Pechanga reservation.
Over the years most residents abandoned this inhospitable land, and the reservation began to be repopulated only after the community finally got electricity in 1970. The tribe's constitution, passed in 1978, says that members must prove "descent from original Pechanga Temecula people."
But in 1996 the tribal council tightened the rules, declaring for the first time that members had to have an ancestor from the subset of Temeculas who relocated to the Pechanga valley.
Gomez and his family point to minutes from the 1996 meeting indicating that the more stringent qualifications were not meant to be applied retroactively to established members such as themselves. Manuela Miranda was born in 1864 in the Temecula village. She never knew her father, and her mother died when she was five, at which point she went to live with an older half-sister. After the ranchers pushed them out of the village, the half-sister moved to the Pechanga valley and a teenage Miranda was soon married off to a non-Indian, with whom she settled and eventually had tn children in nearby San Jacinto.
As is indicated here, the enrollment committee acknowledges that Miranda identified herself as an "Indian of the Pechanga Reservation" in a 1916 probate record. But at the age of sixty-four, when applying to have her name added to a new federal listing of California Indians, she said otherwise. Miranda's complicated relationship to her tribe is far from exceptional. Large numbers of Indians have moved off their reservations, often with the encouragement of government programs. And marriage outside the tribe and race has been commonplace since the late nineteenth century.
In fact, today fewer than half of all Indians even claim full-blood status. Unfortunately for Gomez, the enrollment-committee members with ties to the Concerned Pechanga People were reinstated before his case was considered: in resuming their positions, they were able to rule against him. The committee states here that Miranda never relocated to the Pechanga valley, and therefore her progeny are not Pechangas. Yet Gomez's family insists that Miranda kept in close contact with her relatives on the reservation, and in affidavits elderly tribal members have sworn that they always viewed her as one of their own.
Even though Miranda's half-sister also lived off the reservation for many years, the committee decided that her living descendants are members in good standing. (One of these descendants, Frances Miranda, is among the enrollment-committee members who voted to remove Gomez.) For her people and for each of the remaining 850 adults in the tribe, the ouster of Gomez's clan raised their individual share of casino money by some 15 percent.
Gomez's disenrollment does not mean that he is not an Indian (as is made clear here) but it does put him outside the Pechanga tribe, costing him more than his monthly casino check, his job, and the health and life insurance that came with it. He is now barred from visiting ancestor's grave sites. His grandmother is no longer allowed to attend classes at the reservation's senior-citizen center. And his cousins' children have been expelled from the Pechanga elementary school, where they were learning the tribe's language. (Members of Gomez's family also made up the core of the tribe's softball team, and their expulsion forced the Pechanga to withdraw from intertribal play.) For others, disenrollment does mean that they are declared no longer to be Indians of any sort. Thus they lose government scholarships, job training, and other benefits reserved for Native Americans.
Most federal programs require that recipients be at least one-quarter Indian, but a tribe's judgment is frequently the only proof of that blood quantum. Members of Gomez's family can attest to this dilemma: since being disenrolled many of them have lost their federally funded Indian health care. There are now more than one thousand people fighting ejections from California tribes alone, and far more are embroiled in similar disputes nationwide. Yet for the disenrolled there is little recourse.
Gomez followed the protocol specified here and appealed this decision to the tribal council, which, predictably, also ruled against him. Next he turned to state and federal courts, hoping they would be able to settle conflicting interpretations of tribal law and historical record. But the same sovereignty that allows Indian tribes to run casinos and sell fireworks on their lanes also puts them largely outside the jurisdiction of the courts. A federal judge, ruling last September on another California case, wrote, "These doctrines of tribal sovereign immunity were developed decades ago, before the gaming boom created a new and economically valuable premium on tribal membership." Although the judge was unwilling to challenge the 1978 Supreme Court decision that made membership an internal tribal matter, she nevertheless found the case "deeply troubling on the level of fundamental substantive justice."
Gomez recently helped form the American Indian Rights and Resource Organization, which is calling on Congress to address the current spate of disenrollment abuse. The group has staged a series of protests, including one in January at the annual Western Indian Gaming Conference in Palm Springs. As Gomez and a few dozen others picketed outside, their former tribal compatriots were inside the city's capacious exhibition hall, cutting deals from prospective caterers. more protestors may join Gomez's side: in March the Pechanga started disenrollment proceedings against another ninety of its adult members. American Indians, it appears, are still being driven from their lands, their heritage stolen from them.
But today the ranchers are other Indians, and bounties can exceed $290,000 a head.
An article from Vince Beiser from 2006 is still worth the read for those who don't know what gaming has done. We will be bringing back older articles to help those new readers find out what is happening in Indian Country while Congress turns a blind eye.
For many Native American tribes, the success of their gambling operations ends a run of misfortune and dispossession that dates back to when white men first dubbed them Indians.
Since full-scale reservation gambling was sanctioned by Congress in 1988, its annual take has grown to some $20 billion, with more than one hundred tribes doling out profits directly to their members.
The Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians whose reservation is a patch of largely useless scrub-and-rock desert southeast of Los Angeles, rake in well over $200 million a year from a 522-room casino/resort with eight restaurants and 2,000 slot and video-poker machines. The cut for each Pechanga adult: $270,000. But if being an Indian has taken on the imprimatur of wealth, high stakes have also led tribes to deal some of their people out.
Bands from California to Connecticut have expelled thousands of long-standing members, often on flimsy grounds of inadequate Indian ancestry. By thinning their numbers, casino-operating tribes have figured out how to split the pot fewer ways.
This decision concerns the disenrollment of John Gomez Jr., whose entire extended family, consisting of 135 adults and all of their offspring, was declared in 2004 no longer to be Pechanga. Gomez and his relatives are descended from Manuela Miranda, who all sides agree was part of the Temecula tribe from which the Pechanga originate.
Decades after the federal government established the Pechanga reservation in 1882, Miranda's granddaughter - Gomez's grandmother - left the impoverished area. But Gomez's people never stopped identifying themselves as Pechanga. Gomez's father returned to the reservation every summer when he was a boy, and later he took his children there for family occasions.
In 1998, Gomez settled his own family a few miles from the reservation, in the town of Temecula, and he soon went to work for the tribe as its legal analyst. His brother has served as the executive chef of the casino's restaurant, his cousin was the casino's head of human resources, and other relatives helped draft the tribe's constitution. In 2002, Gomez and a cousin were elected to the Pechanga enrollment committee. Deluged with applications after the opening of its first gambling hall in 1995, the tribe imposed a moratorium the following year on accepting new adult members, although children of existing members were still permitted to apply. OP: The moratorium was pushed by the splinter group under the guise of allowing the enrollment committee to "catch up" on applications. It was really put there to keep rightful people from their "share" of per capita
Some of the new applicants were undoubtably opportunistic pretenders, but others had lived their entire family lives as unquestioned tribal members and simply never had reason to formally enroll. According to Gomez, he and his cousin found that the committee was not processing applications filed before the moratorium and was failing to enroll some members' children. Only after he called for an investigation, says Gomez, did questions about his own ancestry arise.
The Pechanga authorities (Tribal Chairman Mark Macarro) say they are just belatedly enforcing long-standing rules regarding descent and historical residence, the specifics of which are outlined here. Most tribes require that members show proof of a blood quantum: a minimum of one full-blooded grandparent or great-grandparent. But with so much at stake, how that Indian status is proven has become a matter of intense dispute. Macarro's ancestor called a subsequently disenrolled Indian, Paulina Hunter, aunt. Lineal descent allows Macarro to say, my "great-great grandmother was an Indian. Macarro grew up in Colton, not on the reservation.
When a former chairman of California's Redding Rancheria tribe and seventy-five members of his extended family were disenrolled in 2004, they dug up the remains of two ancestors for DNA testing. Three experts agreed that the genetic evidence confirmed that they were bona fide Redding Rancherias. Yet the tribal council stuck to its decision - meaning that the roughly $3 million in casino payouts that had been going to the ousted clan now gets divided up among the tribe's remaining 230 members.
This memo, from a group that calls itself the Concerned Pechanga People, contained the first claims that Gomez's family did not meet the criteria for membership. (Several of these "concerned" Pechanga just happened to be related to the enrollment committee members Gomez had accused of stonewalling applications.) When it was presented to the full committee in December 2002, the memo set off a series of accusations and counter-accusations about the illegitimacy of other members' Pechanga roots. At one point seven of ten members on the enrollment committee were forced to step down pending reviews of their own status.
In other tribes, too, disenrollment has been used as a club to settle scores and to protect political power. An entire family was expelled from one California band after its members pushed for a recall election of the tribal council. Part of the impetus for the Redding Rancheria disenrollments, according to the tribe's own lawyer, was "all kinds of interpersonal things. There were a lot of things family members did to others that were resented."
Forced to prove their Pechanga lineage, Gomez and his family searched through government archives and boxes tucked away in homes, eventually amassing hundreds of historical documents, many as old as the baptismal record from 1864 catalogued here. But using such documentation to "authenticate" Indian ancestry is dubious at best. I
n the late nineteenth century, census takers simply eyeballed those living on reservations to determine whether they were one-quarter, half, or full-blooded Indian. Indians themselves, fearing their land would otherwise be confiscated, often felt compelled to say they were white or Mexican. Indeed, California municipalities offered bounties on Indian scalps until the late nineteenth century, giving their owners an obvious incentive to hide their true identity.
John Gomez's case hinges not on his ancestor's blood, but as the ruling examines here, on where precisely Manuela Miranda lived at a specific time. In 1875, the Temecula were forced off their land by neighboring ranchers backed by San Diego County sheriffs. Many of them drifted away to towns; others resettled in the nearby Pechanga valley, which the government eventually designated as the Pechanga reservation.
Over the years most residents abandoned this inhospitable land, and the reservation began to be repopulated only after the community finally got electricity in 1970. The tribe's constitution, passed in 1978, says that members must prove "descent from original Pechanga Temecula people."
But in 1996 the tribal council tightened the rules, declaring for the first time that members had to have an ancestor from the subset of Temeculas who relocated to the Pechanga valley.
Gomez and his family point to minutes from the 1996 meeting indicating that the more stringent qualifications were not meant to be applied retroactively to established members such as themselves. Manuela Miranda was born in 1864 in the Temecula village. She never knew her father, and her mother died when she was five, at which point she went to live with an older half-sister. After the ranchers pushed them out of the village, the half-sister moved to the Pechanga valley and a teenage Miranda was soon married off to a non-Indian, with whom she settled and eventually had tn children in nearby San Jacinto.
As is indicated here, the enrollment committee acknowledges that Miranda identified herself as an "Indian of the Pechanga Reservation" in a 1916 probate record. But at the age of sixty-four, when applying to have her name added to a new federal listing of California Indians, she said otherwise. Miranda's complicated relationship to her tribe is far from exceptional. Large numbers of Indians have moved off their reservations, often with the encouragement of government programs. And marriage outside the tribe and race has been commonplace since the late nineteenth century.
In fact, today fewer than half of all Indians even claim full-blood status. Unfortunately for Gomez, the enrollment-committee members with ties to the Concerned Pechanga People were reinstated before his case was considered: in resuming their positions, they were able to rule against him. The committee states here that Miranda never relocated to the Pechanga valley, and therefore her progeny are not Pechangas. Yet Gomez's family insists that Miranda kept in close contact with her relatives on the reservation, and in affidavits elderly tribal members have sworn that they always viewed her as one of their own.
Even though Miranda's half-sister also lived off the reservation for many years, the committee decided that her living descendants are members in good standing. (One of these descendants, Frances Miranda, is among the enrollment-committee members who voted to remove Gomez.) For her people and for each of the remaining 850 adults in the tribe, the ouster of Gomez's clan raised their individual share of casino money by some 15 percent.
Gomez's disenrollment does not mean that he is not an Indian (as is made clear here) but it does put him outside the Pechanga tribe, costing him more than his monthly casino check, his job, and the health and life insurance that came with it. He is now barred from visiting ancestor's grave sites. His grandmother is no longer allowed to attend classes at the reservation's senior-citizen center. And his cousins' children have been expelled from the Pechanga elementary school, where they were learning the tribe's language. (Members of Gomez's family also made up the core of the tribe's softball team, and their expulsion forced the Pechanga to withdraw from intertribal play.) For others, disenrollment does mean that they are declared no longer to be Indians of any sort. Thus they lose government scholarships, job training, and other benefits reserved for Native Americans.
Most federal programs require that recipients be at least one-quarter Indian, but a tribe's judgment is frequently the only proof of that blood quantum. Members of Gomez's family can attest to this dilemma: since being disenrolled many of them have lost their federally funded Indian health care. There are now more than one thousand people fighting ejections from California tribes alone, and far more are embroiled in similar disputes nationwide. Yet for the disenrolled there is little recourse.
Gomez followed the protocol specified here and appealed this decision to the tribal council, which, predictably, also ruled against him. Next he turned to state and federal courts, hoping they would be able to settle conflicting interpretations of tribal law and historical record. But the same sovereignty that allows Indian tribes to run casinos and sell fireworks on their lanes also puts them largely outside the jurisdiction of the courts. A federal judge, ruling last September on another California case, wrote, "These doctrines of tribal sovereign immunity were developed decades ago, before the gaming boom created a new and economically valuable premium on tribal membership." Although the judge was unwilling to challenge the 1978 Supreme Court decision that made membership an internal tribal matter, she nevertheless found the case "deeply troubling on the level of fundamental substantive justice."
Gomez recently helped form the American Indian Rights and Resource Organization, which is calling on Congress to address the current spate of disenrollment abuse. The group has staged a series of protests, including one in January at the annual Western Indian Gaming Conference in Palm Springs. As Gomez and a few dozen others picketed outside, their former tribal compatriots were inside the city's capacious exhibition hall, cutting deals from prospective caterers. more protestors may join Gomez's side: in March the Pechanga started disenrollment proceedings against another ninety of its adult members. American Indians, it appears, are still being driven from their lands, their heritage stolen from them.
But today the ranchers are other Indians, and bounties can exceed $290,000 a head.
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