We are reprising a set of posts from 2008, from the Manuela Miranda Family of Pechanga, when fewer people understood what disenrollment was doing to Native people. People say, "why don't you ask the Native American Rights Fund for help? Well, we have, they told me the "didn't do Indian vs. Indian". Shamefully, NARF has the leader of a disenrolling tribe, Pechanga Chairman Mark Macarro on their board. Read on.....
When Hitler attacked the Jews I was not a Jew, therefore I was not concerned.
And when Hitler attacked the Catholics, I was not a Catholic, and therefore, I was not concerned.
And when Hitler attacked the unions and the industrialists, I was not a member of the unions and I was not concerned.
Then Hitler attacked me and the Protestant church -- and there was nobody left to be concerned.
Martin Niemoller, Congressional Record, 14 October 1968, page 31636
I am sure most of you are asking yourself why this installment regarding the Splinter Group starts with a quote about Hitler and the Nazis. Well, if you have not noticed, there is a new era of genocide rolling through Indian Country. This genocide is not at the hands of the Spanish government, nor is it a policy of the US government. No, this new genocide is being carried out by Indian people against Indian people.
Most people believe the word “genocide” means the actual physical killing off of a group or race of people. Genocide also refers to actions which attack the culture, soul, and mind of the people. Disenrollment is a pure example this.
The recent actions of the Splinter Group, and similar groups throughout Indian Country, are representative of those deeds of Hitler and the Nazis.
Sunday, July 5, 2015
Divide and CONQUER Part III: The Pechanga Tribe's Splinter Group: Don't Need No Stinkin' Paperwork
Part THREE in the story of how a group with no Pechanga blood gained control of the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians. Anyone wonder where the Bureau of Indian Affairs was in all this?
The Pechanga Band had a stable government for many years. Over a period of 10 years or so, the Band developed and adopted a Constitution and an Enrollment in response to the growing population on the reservation and the need of the Band for a more formal governing structure.
After the Constitution was adopted and the enrollment criteria decided upon, the Band proceeded to enroll approximately 450 members in full compliance with its enrollment procedures.
A small group of dissidents, led by Butch Murphy, refused to acknowledge the Band’s Constitution and the tribal enrollment process. In fact, they refused to apply for enrollment. This small group announced to the Pechanga Band at a tribal meeting that they were breaking away from the Band and forming their own tribal government.
Prior to breaking away from the Band, the Splinter Group took steps to disrupt the workings of the government.
Below are some quotes regarding the Splinter Group’s actions:
“…we never did get past the first item which was a petition circulated by JM to abolish the bylaws and new roll. They wanted to go by recognition only…If they don’t like you, you never get recognized though you would be a legitimate member by lineal descent.”
“…I felt we needed police protection. They were that violent.”
“…the violence of the opposition would not allow the continuance of agenda. Now they are starting their own band. This stems from agitators who probably do not have a Pechanga or Temecula back ground.”
“We may have to take legal action before something drastic happens here.”
These actions, along with their need to abolish the adopted Constitution and enrollment criteria and their failure to apply for enrollment, are signs that the Splinter Group “probably do not have a Pechanga or Temecula back ground.”
If they did have lineal descent and could meet the enrollment criteria developed and approved by the tribe, why was it necessary to cause such disruption of tribal government and eventually break away to form its own government with separate enrollment criteria?
Was their breaking away from the Band to form their own government a concession that they in fact could not meet the enrollment criteria and they were not tribal members as defined in the Band’s governing documents?
The Pechanga Band had a stable government for many years. Over a period of 10 years or so, the Band developed and adopted a Constitution and an Enrollment in response to the growing population on the reservation and the need of the Band for a more formal governing structure.
After the Constitution was adopted and the enrollment criteria decided upon, the Band proceeded to enroll approximately 450 members in full compliance with its enrollment procedures.
A small group of dissidents, led by Butch Murphy, refused to acknowledge the Band’s Constitution and the tribal enrollment process. In fact, they refused to apply for enrollment. This small group announced to the Pechanga Band at a tribal meeting that they were breaking away from the Band and forming their own tribal government.
Prior to breaking away from the Band, the Splinter Group took steps to disrupt the workings of the government.
Below are some quotes regarding the Splinter Group’s actions:
“…we never did get past the first item which was a petition circulated by JM to abolish the bylaws and new roll. They wanted to go by recognition only…If they don’t like you, you never get recognized though you would be a legitimate member by lineal descent.”
“…I felt we needed police protection. They were that violent.”
“…the violence of the opposition would not allow the continuance of agenda. Now they are starting their own band. This stems from agitators who probably do not have a Pechanga or Temecula back ground.”
“We may have to take legal action before something drastic happens here.”
These actions, along with their need to abolish the adopted Constitution and enrollment criteria and their failure to apply for enrollment, are signs that the Splinter Group “probably do not have a Pechanga or Temecula back ground.”
If they did have lineal descent and could meet the enrollment criteria developed and approved by the tribe, why was it necessary to cause such disruption of tribal government and eventually break away to form its own government with separate enrollment criteria?
Was their breaking away from the Band to form their own government a concession that they in fact could not meet the enrollment criteria and they were not tribal members as defined in the Band’s governing documents?
DIvide and CONQUER Part 2 : The Pechanga Tribe Splinter Group. Those That DO NOT Meet Membership Requirements Find Their Way into The Pechanga Band. PART TWO
A continuation of the story of the SPLINTER GROUP, the Concerned Pechanga People and the FAKES...
Some have asked who is BM (OP: Butch Murphy)? Are those the correct initials? Which families were those that could not meet the membership requirements? Which families formed the Splinter Group and the Concerned Pechanga People?
Well, BM are the correct initials. As for the families that could not meet the membership requirements and formed the Splinter Group, let’s just call them “M and M”. Sure, there are others that joined them, but the “M and M” families spearheaded the whole thing. But whatever you do, don’t expect to find the “M and M” families in any historical documents about the Temecula Indians.
More Splinter Group History
The Pechanga Band became concerned about the question of enrollment in the early 1970’s. Many years of debate and discussion led to the presentation of a proposed final enrollment application and proposed procedures.
Between 1979 and 1981, using the approved process, approximately 456 members were enrolled and given enrollment numbers. During the screening of applications, the Enrollment Committee returned approximately 45 that were incomplete and requested further information from the applicants. There were also about 20 enrollment applications that did not meet the standards set by the Band.
Those standards, found at Article II of the Band’s approved Constitution and Bylaws include the following:
Membership is an enrolled member documented in the Band's Official Enrollment Book of 1979.
Qualifications for membership of the Temecula Band of Luiseno Mission Indians are:
Some have asked who is BM (OP: Butch Murphy)? Are those the correct initials? Which families were those that could not meet the membership requirements? Which families formed the Splinter Group and the Concerned Pechanga People?
Well, BM are the correct initials. As for the families that could not meet the membership requirements and formed the Splinter Group, let’s just call them “M and M”. Sure, there are others that joined them, but the “M and M” families spearheaded the whole thing. But whatever you do, don’t expect to find the “M and M” families in any historical documents about the Temecula Indians.
More Splinter Group History
The Pechanga Band became concerned about the question of enrollment in the early 1970’s. Many years of debate and discussion led to the presentation of a proposed final enrollment application and proposed procedures.
Between 1979 and 1981, using the approved process, approximately 456 members were enrolled and given enrollment numbers. During the screening of applications, the Enrollment Committee returned approximately 45 that were incomplete and requested further information from the applicants. There were also about 20 enrollment applications that did not meet the standards set by the Band.
Those standards, found at Article II of the Band’s approved Constitution and Bylaws include the following:
Membership is an enrolled member documented in the Band's Official Enrollment Book of 1979.
Qualifications for membership of the Temecula Band of Luiseno Mission Indians are:
DIVIDE and CONQUER PART ONE : The Pechanga Tribe's SPLINTER Group. BIA Mistakes Lead to Corruption PART ONE
Our friends from the Manuel Miranda descendants published these stories 7 years ago. We think it's time to refresh some memories, and make sure new parties are informed.
What is the Splinter Group? Who are its members? What is its relationship to the so called Concerned Pechanga People? Why did they spearhead the Pechanga disenrollments?
Here is some information about the Splinter Group and the Concerned Pechanga People and their role in the disenrollments of legitimate Pechanga tribal members.
The information provided is available to the public and can be obtained from federal agencies through the Freedom of Information Act process. All quotes are taken directly from tribal and government documents obtained through the FOIA process.
Origins of the Splinter Group
In 1978 the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians adopted a Constitution and By Laws and an Enrollment procedure, all of which were to become effective on January 1, 1979. During 1979, the Band began operating under its Constitution and By Laws and began its first full year of accepting enrollment applications.
Everything went smoothly with these various processes until about mid-1980 when a small group of dissident individuals led by now councilmember BM (Butch Murphy) began attending meetings and opposing everything that the Band had been working for the past ten years. This group voiced its opposition in the name of “custom and tradition.” They so disrupted the regular Band meetings that nominations for the tribal council elections could not be held and had to be postponed until March of 1981 with the election to follow in April.
BIA MISTAKES
In the meantime, in October, 1980, BM and his followers announced that they were breaking away from the Band and forming their own tribe.
What is the Splinter Group? Who are its members? What is its relationship to the so called Concerned Pechanga People? Why did they spearhead the Pechanga disenrollments?
Here is some information about the Splinter Group and the Concerned Pechanga People and their role in the disenrollments of legitimate Pechanga tribal members.
The information provided is available to the public and can be obtained from federal agencies through the Freedom of Information Act process. All quotes are taken directly from tribal and government documents obtained through the FOIA process.
Origins of the Splinter Group
In 1978 the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians adopted a Constitution and By Laws and an Enrollment procedure, all of which were to become effective on January 1, 1979. During 1979, the Band began operating under its Constitution and By Laws and began its first full year of accepting enrollment applications.
Everything went smoothly with these various processes until about mid-1980 when a small group of dissident individuals led by now councilmember BM (Butch Murphy) began attending meetings and opposing everything that the Band had been working for the past ten years. This group voiced its opposition in the name of “custom and tradition.” They so disrupted the regular Band meetings that nominations for the tribal council elections could not be held and had to be postponed until March of 1981 with the election to follow in April.
BIA MISTAKES
In the meantime, in October, 1980, BM and his followers announced that they were breaking away from the Band and forming their own tribe.
6th Circuit Holds Indian Casino Bound by National Labor Relations Act (NRLA)
Sovereignty doesn't trump everything......
The National Labor Relations Board Decision
On April 1, 2011, the union filed a charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) alleging that the tribe’s no-solicitation policy violates sections 8(a)(1) and 8(a)(3) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). On March 26, 2012, the Administrative Judge (AJ) issued his decision and order finding that the NLRB had jurisdiction over the casino and tribe and that the tribe’s no-solicitation policy violated the NLRA.
The AJ determined that:
- Restricting operations at a casino on reservation land does not interfere with the tribe’s right of self-governance.
- The applicable treaties only provided for a general right of exclusion (of non-Indians) and did not bar application of an act of general applicability like the NLRA.
- Nothing in the language of the NLRA or its legislative history shows a congressional intent to exclude Indians from its coverage.
The Saginaw Chippewa tribe appealed the AJ’s decision to the NLRB, which adopted the AJ’s decision and order. The tribe then appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
The Sixth Circuit Decision
On July 1, 2015, the Sixth Circuit issued a lengthy opinion concluding that the NLRA applied to the casino and entered judgment enforcing the NLRB’s order and denying the tribe’s petition for review. The Court acknowledged that Indian tribes have inherent sovereignty and stated that a federal statute should have a clear congressional intent to encroach on that sovereignty to be applicable to the tribes. However, on June 9, 2015, a panel of the Sixth Circuit had issued an opinion that the NLRB had jurisdiction over the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians’ casino based on an analytical framework for generally applicable federal statutes established in a Ninth Circuit case. The Sixth Circuit panel reviewing the issues in the Soaring Eagle case disagreed with a portion of the Little River holding, stating, “If writing on a clean slate, we would conclude that the Tribe has an inherent sovereign right to control the terms of employment with nonmember employees at the Casino, a purely tribal enterprise located on trust land. The NLRA, a statute of general applicability containing no expression of congressional intent regarding tribes, should not apply to the Casino and should not render its no-solicitation policy void.” But this panel of the Sixth Circuit is bound by the holding in the Little River case, so it ultimately ruled that the NLRA applies to the Soaring Eagle Casino and the NLRB has jurisdiction over the dispute.
Saturday, July 4, 2015
Happy 4th of July to All Original Pechanga Blog Readers. Continue the FIGHT for Our Rights!
Two hundred and thirty nine years ago, some of our greatest patriots created a document that has stood the test of time.
Independence Day 2015 marks the 11th year of termination for the Pablo Apish descendents from the Manuela Miranda family and the 9th year for the family of Original Pechanga Allottee Paulina Hunter, who Pechanga's expert proved was indeed Pechanga Indian. It's been more than a DECADE and a half for Moratorium people.
We will continue to fight for our rights as Pechanga people and continue to work for the rights of all disenfranchised Native Americans. America's independence was not won overnight and this struggle of ours, can't be won overnight either.
We must continue to educate our politicians and our local citizenry at every opportunity. We've had some successes and success breeds success. We need more friends and family to get involved and help keep the volume of the injustices perpetrated on Indian people...BY Indian people, mainly the corrupt tribal councils that proceed in stripping civil and human rights from Indian people across our country.
Please HELP us. How? By passing this blog along to your friends, by visiting here often and by sharing the link http://originalpechanga.com/ on your Facebook and Twitter pages and GOOGLE + each post.
You can help us be more visible and increased visibility is one way for us to combat the excessive amounts of money that gaming tribes have. We have already forced Pechanga to spend more money than they ever dreamed of to defend their despicable actions and we've shown their lies to Congress, causing them to lose an important water rights issue, TWICE.
Independence Day 2015 marks the 11th year of termination for the Pablo Apish descendents from the Manuela Miranda family and the 9th year for the family of Original Pechanga Allottee Paulina Hunter, who Pechanga's expert proved was indeed Pechanga Indian. It's been more than a DECADE and a half for Moratorium people.
We will continue to fight for our rights as Pechanga people and continue to work for the rights of all disenfranchised Native Americans. America's independence was not won overnight and this struggle of ours, can't be won overnight either.
We must continue to educate our politicians and our local citizenry at every opportunity. We've had some successes and success breeds success. We need more friends and family to get involved and help keep the volume of the injustices perpetrated on Indian people...BY Indian people, mainly the corrupt tribal councils that proceed in stripping civil and human rights from Indian people across our country.
Please HELP us. How? By passing this blog along to your friends, by visiting here often and by sharing the link http://originalpechanga.com/ on your Facebook and Twitter pages and GOOGLE + each post.
You can help us be more visible and increased visibility is one way for us to combat the excessive amounts of money that gaming tribes have. We have already forced Pechanga to spend more money than they ever dreamed of to defend their despicable actions and we've shown their lies to Congress, causing them to lose an important water rights issue, TWICE.
We'd like to wish all readers across the country a .
Happy 4th of July!
Happy 4th of July!
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Former Chukchansi Chairman Tex McDonald Sentence is ARMED TAKEOVER of Chukchansi Gold Casino
Former Chukchansi tribal chairman Tex McDonald has been sentenced for an armed takeover of the Chukchansi Gold Casino and casino office. He appeared before a Madera County judge Friday morning.
McDonald was sentenced to 485 days in jail but will be released on Friday because the judge gave him credit for time already served.
The Chukchansi casino in Coarsegold was forced to close after the October takeover attempt. It has remained closed ever since.
McDonald was sentenced to 485 days in jail but will be released on Friday because the judge gave him credit for time already served.
The Chukchansi casino in Coarsegold was forced to close after the October takeover attempt. It has remained closed ever since.
WIll BIA Adhere to its OWN PRECEDENTS in the San Pasqual Applicant Descendants Fiasco?
We've written about the San Pasqual issue, including the BIA being wrong for over a century in their dealings with the tribe and it's rightful heirs to membership. They've done wrong by them, they've refused to deal with the issue in an honest manner. Currently, Amy Dutschke has been playing fast and loose with the truth, in her own dealings with San Pasqual applicant descendants.
It seems the BIA has precedent for handling due process and procedural violations.
"Any procedural due process violations that might have been committed by a BIA Area Director by not insuring that interested parties were notified of the pendency of an appeal, or by not allowing all interested parties an opportunity to respond, are cured in an appeal to the Board, in which all parties are allowed a full opportunity to present their positions. " Cherokee Nation v. Acting Muskogee Area Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 29 IBIA 17 (1995).
What will the BIA do? Will they handle the situation so that the right thing is done? Will they correct the issues, even though doing so will mean some serious changes? Will they be able to overcome the problems they initiated? Riverside has NOTHING. And, Sacramento knows it. So, rather than doing the right thing, they are trying to shovel the nonsense from one desk to another, and from one office to another.
Or will they simply say that ..maybe...the statute of limitations has passed or something stupid like that?
READ MORE on San Pasqual:
BIA ADMITS to having documents in San Pasqual Applicants Case
San Pasqual Lawsuit
San Pasqual Split
San Pasqual Must Lose Right to Run Valley View
San Pasqual Members DENIED their Civil Rights says BIA
It seems the BIA has precedent for handling due process and procedural violations.
"Any procedural due process violations that might have been committed by a BIA Area Director by not insuring that interested parties were notified of the pendency of an appeal, or by not allowing all interested parties an opportunity to respond, are cured in an appeal to the Board, in which all parties are allowed a full opportunity to present their positions. " Cherokee Nation v. Acting Muskogee Area Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 29 IBIA 17 (1995).
What will the BIA do? Will they handle the situation so that the right thing is done? Will they correct the issues, even though doing so will mean some serious changes? Will they be able to overcome the problems they initiated? Riverside has NOTHING. And, Sacramento knows it. So, rather than doing the right thing, they are trying to shovel the nonsense from one desk to another, and from one office to another.
Or will they simply say that ..maybe...the statute of limitations has passed or something stupid like that?
READ MORE on San Pasqual:
BIA ADMITS to having documents in San Pasqual Applicants Case
San Pasqual Lawsuit
San Pasqual Split
San Pasqual Must Lose Right to Run Valley View
San Pasqual Members DENIED their Civil Rights says BIA
Honoring Ancestors, Gabrieleno Kizh Send Letters of Understanding in Repatriation of Tribal Remains
Andrew Salas, Chairman of the Gabrieleno Kizh Nation, a tribe which is currently not federally recognized, has sent letters of understanding out to local tribal leaders from Chumash, San Manuel and Pechanga.
The Pechanga tribe, led by chairman Mark Macrro earlier this year usurped the rights of the Gabrieleno people in taking possession of their ancestral remains that we posted about hereand also Tongva Nation objects to Pechanga..
This is a good effort at leadership on this issue by the Kizh
The Pechanga tribe, led by chairman Mark Macrro earlier this year usurped the rights of the Gabrieleno people in taking possession of their ancestral remains that we posted about hereand also Tongva Nation objects to Pechanga..
This is a good effort at leadership on this issue by the Kizh
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Morongo Tribe Eyeballing Bid for Colt Gun Manufacturing
"Colt is an iconic business and we're sort of intensely interested in helping a business like that," Drew Ryce, attorney for the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, told Reuters on Tuesday. "Colt is the Gun that Won the West. We are the West."
The firearms manufacturer filed for bankruptcy on June 14 and is considering putting itself up for sale.
Ryce said the Banning, California-based tribe was looking to diversify its economy and an East Coast manufacturer would balance the tribe's focus on retail, gambling and hospitality in Southern California.
A Colt spokesman declined to comment.
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Chukchansi Tribe Votes To ReInstate Disenrolled; Positive Step in the Right Direction. Native America is WATCHING
We got word from our friends at Chukchansi that there was a vote to recognize all tribal people who were disenrolled beginning in 2010. That's a good step in the right direction. HOWEVER, that still leaves about 600 tribal people out in the cold.
Tonight the Chukchansi Tribal Council voted 4 yes 3 no to recognize all those who were disenrolled, beginning in 2010, as eligible members of the tribe and can vote in the October 3rd election. It was a heated meeting. The majority of general membership (at the meeting) expressed happiness about the decision. The general membership is ready for the war to end.
Those voting NO were: Nancy Ayala, Reggie Lewis, and Jennifer Stanley.some of those tribal "leaders" with the most to fear in the event of a forensic audit? Nah, that wouldn't enter in their thinking, right?
KEEP MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, Chukchansi, BRING ALL THE PEOPLE HOME. DO THE RIGHT THING.
That being said, the question will remain as to whether the BIA will recognize any election that includes the previously disenrolled members.
Tonight the Chukchansi Tribal Council voted 4 yes 3 no to recognize all those who were disenrolled, beginning in 2010, as eligible members of the tribe and can vote in the October 3rd election. It was a heated meeting. The majority of general membership (at the meeting) expressed happiness about the decision. The general membership is ready for the war to end.
Those voting NO were: Nancy Ayala, Reggie Lewis, and Jennifer Stanley.some of those tribal "leaders" with the most to fear in the event of a forensic audit? Nah, that wouldn't enter in their thinking, right?
KEEP MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, Chukchansi, BRING ALL THE PEOPLE HOME. DO THE RIGHT THING.
That being said, the question will remain as to whether the BIA will recognize any election that includes the previously disenrolled members.
Monday, June 29, 2015
Feds Say Missouri Man a FAKE Indian and Charge Him with Misrepresentation of Indian-produced goods...
The recent Rachel Dolezal flap, a white woman posing as black led to a lot of columns about FAKE Indians, something that has happened for over a century, Iron Eyes Cody, was an Italian actor. Our Senator from MA, used fake Cherokee heritage for personal gain at Harvard.
We are in the process of putting out some stories of FAKE Pechanga Indians who usurped power. Today another story comes out...
HERE we have the story of a man with no membership in any federally recognized Cherokee tribe, misrepresenting himself as Cherokee.
Disenrollment Causes Tribal Classism, Income Inequality - NOT the Indian Way Says Gabriel Galanda
Gabe Galanda of Galanda Broadman Law Firm has a piece up on how tribal disenrollment is
“One hundred fifty years ago, this was utopia — with no (social) classes, no rich, no poor, no starving people. Everyone lived together in 1,000-foot longhouses, and they knew the difference between right and wrong.” —NCAI President Brian Cladoosby, Seattle Times
Disenrollment is destroying the remaining vestiges of the American indigenous utopia. OP: At Pechanga, the very people who used to come begging for help, with milk or diapers to our family elder, since passed, Lawrence Madariaga, are the same people who worked to disenroll him.
Tribal commercialism, specifically gaming per capita craze, runs roughshod over communal ways. Fueled by Indian political power and financial greed, wrong too frequently prevails over what is right. And tribal communities are being stratified into socio-economic classes—classes of rich, poor and starving Indians. OP: Tribes will say 'it's NOT about the money", but that argument is wiped out by the total stolen, which is now over $800 MILLION. Greed? Yes, at Pechanga, a rightful family the Tosobol descendents we kept out because "there were too many of them"
In other words, disenrollment causes or exacerbates income inequality within tribal communities. As Peninsula College economics professor, Dr. Dan Underwood, recently remarked on the tribal disenrollment epidemic, applying tenets of behavioral economics:
[R]ecent studies indicate “selfishness” is a luxury, that becomes culturally acceptable and individually rewarded as income and wealth increase. Thus, historical notions of identity were established when sharing was necessary to reproduce culture. Now, with new sources of revenues, historical conceptions of culture are abandoned to benefit particular class interests. What we observe happening to tribes mirrors the more general movement towards ever great degrees of concentration of wealth and power.
(Such selfishness and classism flies in the face of grassroots Indian movements ranging from the American Indian Movement and National Indian Youth Council, to Idle No More and Last Real Indians, all of which focus(ed) on externalized Indian equality and unity, rather than difference and division.)
More specifically, disenrollment—especially when tribal-wealth or per-capita driven—creates or widens classes of:
Middle-to-upper class Indians, and lower-class Indians;
Employed Indians, and unemployed Indians;
Safe and sound Indians, and homeless Indians;
Solvent Indians, and bankrupt Indians;
Politically popular Indians, and outcast Indians;
“Rez” Indians (including subsets of “from-the-Rez” and “Johnny-come-lately” folks), and “off-Rez” Indians.
READ MORE: Galanda Broadman Law Firm
“One hundred fifty years ago, this was utopia — with no (social) classes, no rich, no poor, no starving people. Everyone lived together in 1,000-foot longhouses, and they knew the difference between right and wrong.” —NCAI President Brian Cladoosby, Seattle Times
Disenrollment is destroying the remaining vestiges of the American indigenous utopia. OP: At Pechanga, the very people who used to come begging for help, with milk or diapers to our family elder, since passed, Lawrence Madariaga, are the same people who worked to disenroll him.
Tribal commercialism, specifically gaming per capita craze, runs roughshod over communal ways. Fueled by Indian political power and financial greed, wrong too frequently prevails over what is right. And tribal communities are being stratified into socio-economic classes—classes of rich, poor and starving Indians. OP: Tribes will say 'it's NOT about the money", but that argument is wiped out by the total stolen, which is now over $800 MILLION. Greed? Yes, at Pechanga, a rightful family the Tosobol descendents we kept out because "there were too many of them"
In other words, disenrollment causes or exacerbates income inequality within tribal communities. As Peninsula College economics professor, Dr. Dan Underwood, recently remarked on the tribal disenrollment epidemic, applying tenets of behavioral economics:
[R]ecent studies indicate “selfishness” is a luxury, that becomes culturally acceptable and individually rewarded as income and wealth increase. Thus, historical notions of identity were established when sharing was necessary to reproduce culture. Now, with new sources of revenues, historical conceptions of culture are abandoned to benefit particular class interests. What we observe happening to tribes mirrors the more general movement towards ever great degrees of concentration of wealth and power.
(Such selfishness and classism flies in the face of grassroots Indian movements ranging from the American Indian Movement and National Indian Youth Council, to Idle No More and Last Real Indians, all of which focus(ed) on externalized Indian equality and unity, rather than difference and division.)
More specifically, disenrollment—especially when tribal-wealth or per-capita driven—creates or widens classes of:
Middle-to-upper class Indians, and lower-class Indians;
Employed Indians, and unemployed Indians;
Safe and sound Indians, and homeless Indians;
Solvent Indians, and bankrupt Indians;
Politically popular Indians, and outcast Indians;
“Rez” Indians (including subsets of “from-the-Rez” and “Johnny-come-lately” folks), and “off-Rez” Indians.
READ MORE: Galanda Broadman Law Firm
Friday, June 26, 2015
NNABA: Duties of Tribal Court Advocates to Ensure Due Process Afforded to All Individuals Targeted for Disenrollment
The stench of the injustice that disenrollment has brought to Indian Country, has gotten the attention of the National Native American Bar Association. They've come out with some ethical guidance and it strikes to the heart of the corruption that we've seen from disenrolling tribes.
Ethics is a strange word to many tribal councils. As we've seen in our own family, doing the right thing, such as working to enroll another family and exposing corruption, only to be disenrolled so the abuses won't be brought to light. Ours isn't the only story, we've had many here, including Nooksack, Redding, Pala, and the worst abuser, The Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi.
Here is what this statement of guidance looks to do:
This Formal Ethics Opinion No. 1 calls on lawyers and tribal advocates confronting disenrollment issues to respect and consider indigenous rights to culture, identity, and citizenship and to reject any path that deprives indigenous people of such rights without due process.
Tribal council of Pechanga ensured we had NO or rather very little due process. We didn't have attorney's, we couldn't confront our accusers, we couldn't even see the "evidence" against us. (There was none).
MONEY:
Ethics is a strange word to many tribal councils. As we've seen in our own family, doing the right thing, such as working to enroll another family and exposing corruption, only to be disenrolled so the abuses won't be brought to light. Ours isn't the only story, we've had many here, including Nooksack, Redding, Pala, and the worst abuser, The Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi.
Here is what this statement of guidance looks to do:
This Formal Ethics Opinion No. 1 calls on lawyers and tribal advocates confronting disenrollment issues to respect and consider indigenous rights to culture, identity, and citizenship and to reject any path that deprives indigenous people of such rights without due process.
Tribal council of Pechanga ensured we had NO or rather very little due process. We didn't have attorney's, we couldn't confront our accusers, we couldn't even see the "evidence" against us. (There was none).
MONEY:
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