Beneath the Glitter of Indian Gaming at Chukchansi

Issues with disenrollment didn't happen overnight in California, it happened as casinos came up.

Tribal Corruption

Chukchansi

Beneath the Glitter

As the $150 million Chukchansi resort readies for its casino opening June 25, 200 tribe members kicked out four years ago fight to become members again.

By Lisa Aleman-Padilla and George Hostetter
The Fresno Bee

(Updated Monday, June 16, 2003, 4:23 AM)

The biggest, most expensive and most controversial American Indian casino/entertainment complex in central San Joaquin Valley history is expected to make its debut in eastern Madera County in 10 days. With it comes a long-simmering and increasingly bitter tribal civil war over who will pocket the profits of a business that eventually could rake in $200 million or more a year.

Carved out of a once-forlorn swath of rocks and brush in the Sierra Nevada foothills near Coarsegold, the gamblers' half of the Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino is all but finished.
That's the casino, home to 1,800 slot machines and more than 40 card tables. June 25 is the planned opening date, according to the owners, the Chukchansi Indians of Picayune Rancheria.

The 192-room hotel is expected to open next door in August. The total project's estimated cost: $150 million.
Indian gaming has been a fixture in the six-county central San Joaquin Valley for two decades. Gamblers, though, have seen nothing locally like the Chukchansi digs -- nearly 300,000 square feet of casino, hotel and entertainment venues.

Nor has there been anything here quite like the Chukchansi membership fight that has brewed for four years. Its roots go back even further. Twenty years ago, the tribe had only 30 members, the result of federal policy dating back to the Eisenhower administration designed to terminate Indian lands such as rancherias. The thinking, at least among non-Indians, was that Indians should be assimilated into mainstream America.

It took several decades of court battles, but many tribes finally regained their legal recognition and the right to renew their lives on rancherias. In a word, they were "reconstituted."
By the late 1990s, with the Chukchansi tribe legally reborn, a liberal enrollment policy raised the membership total to more than 1,000.

Then, in 1999, as negotiations with a casino management company neared a critical juncture, nearly 200 people were suddenly kicked out of the tribe.

Former Picayune Enrollment Chair Responds to Goldbergs Comment on Disenrollments being OVERBLOWN

Check out this link from the former enrollment chairperson for the Picayune Rancheria (Chukchansi).

Response to UCLA's Goldberg

For the Record: Goldberg gets MILLIONS from Tribes, nothing from disenrolled/moratorium people. Guess which group she sides with?

More on Pechanga's Genocide of their own people

GAMBLERS: If these tribes will cheat their people, and treat them with so much disrespect, do you think they care about you? Won't they CHEAT YOU?

UPDATE: AIRRO Presidents comments on Goldberg:

I know many people who have read this article found the quote by Carole Goldberg as troublesome, so I think some context is in order. Carole Goldberg appeared in televeision commercials in favor of tribal gaming, and several gaming tribes donate/sponsor/etc. tribal/indian studies programs at colleges throughout California, including her own UCLA.

Considering every word she says on the subject could affect future funding to UCLA, could we really think she would have an objective opinion on this matter? She sounded more like a tribal leader trying to play down the serious human and civil rights violations involved than a college professor providing a thoughtful analysis of the issue. Comments like hers, coupled with the egregious actions of some tribal officials will eventually lead to a thorough review of this issue by the one entity that has the power to address the injustices- the US Congress. So maybe we should be thanking her instead of cursing her.


READ: Disenrollments: Todays Genocide at NDNnews.com

Pechanga/Picayune Defender Carole Goldberg

The article linked in a previous post here quotes UCLA Law Professor Carole Goldberg. Who is she and why is she always quoted defending the despicable actions of disenrollment? Is it because tribes are showing her the money?

it was Goldberg’s extracurricular involvement with Native American politics that netted UCLA a handsome donation of $4.05 million from the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians.

Goldberg in the article is quoted as saying: “Carole Goldberg, chair of the UCLA Native Nations Law & Policy Center, called COMPLAINTS OVER DISENROLLMENT OVERBLOWN. Some of the human drama is being amplified," she said. "The tribes concede their sovereign authority if they talk to the non-Indian world, so they don't say much, which just leaves opponents to do much of the talking,”

OP: So Carol Goldberg is in the tribe's pocket and thus, you know where her loyalty is: To $4 MILLION.

Here is what Bryan Galt, disenrolled Picayune member wrote in a letter to Ms. Goldberg:

Who are you to make such a claim that the enrollment issue is overblown? Can you imagine being told that your US Citizenship is being questioned and that you have only 90 days to provide proof that you belong here? Can you imagine going to a hearing with the same rules as Gitmo and providing evidence that is swept under the rug? Can you imagine being told that your Citizenship has been terminated and you must move out of your home and leave the country at once (especially since another ‘Citizen’ needs your house)?

Read this article about Pechanga's TRIBAL FLUSH.

Picayune Rancheria (Chukchansi) and Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians (Pechanga) toss out members .

Picayune Rancheria and Pechanga, two like-minded tribes, getting rid of long time members in an thus far successful effort to enrich the remaining members.

Article linked here

"It's what you do as an Indian. I am a Chukchansi Indian," she said.
She is - and she isn't.
The 77-year-old Martinez has been kicked out of the Picayune Chukchansi tribe in the tiny Madera County town of Coarsegold - the tribe where she was vice chairwoman just two years ago, the tribe that is full of her cousins.
The tribal council threw her out last year, just as it has tossed out almost half its membership that in 2000 was 1,500 strong. It's the biggest disenrollment of any tribe in California, observers say.

snip

They kicked me to the curb so they could keep more money for themselves," Martinez said, tearing up as she visited the historic grinding rock, used by local Indians for millennia, near the tribe's rancheria. "Our ancestors would roll over in their graves if they knew."

OP: This is exactly what Pechanga did to 25% of their tribe! And they will tell you it's not about money. Well, then they'd be lying.

But at least 14 tribes have caused enough protests by ejecting members that activists say they have been able to tally 5,000 people disenrolled in the past eight years.

Down near San Diego, the ax even fell on a cousin of Mark Macarro - the chairman of Southern California's Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians who famously, and successfully, pleaded in TV ads for passage of several Indian gambling ballot initiatives. The cousin was barred from rejoining the tribe after living off the reservation for several years. At least 200 others have been disenrolled. OP: Uh, Mark Macarro went to COLTON High School, his father to San Bernardino High. What a pantsload.

Read these for more information:

Paulina Hunter's Blog
WITHOUT A TRIBE
Pechanga's Bad Business
MYSPACE HUNTER BLOG
Pechanga Tribes Ouster of Members

Please, those of you with blogs, link to my blog and pass it on to your friends. I'm sending it to my friends in the State Assembly.

San Manuel Members-Mexican Mafia take plea bargains

And it looks like the tribal members get off light, the story says it's prison for La Eme members, a little jail for the people that had the big idea.

How could the San Manuel members have it so bad that they would want somebody killed?

Although tribal officials declined to comment on the matter Thursday, Chairman James Ramos said in a written statement: "The personal conduct of Stacy and Erik Barajas has no connection to the San Manuel Tribal Government or to the San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino, and therefore it would not be appropriate for us to comment on their cases."

OP: Uh, yes it does Mr. Chairman, it goes to who you are. And their personal conduct reflects on you, just as the Pechanga Enrollment committee taking the word of a child molestor, reflect on them.

Vote NO to Hillary: Video of What She's REALLY Like.

SOME COMPELLING EVIDENCE as to WHY you should NOT vote for Hillary:

UPDATE: Robert Reich, longtime friend of the Clintons and a member of former President Clinton's cabinet endorses BARACK OBAMA. I believe he knows Hillary better than all of us. Sam Nunn also endores Obama. And LONGTIME friend Bill Richardson.

...High Noon At Pechanga: Quiet Reigns Supreme

I visited the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula today at HIGH NOON. The first thing I saw was an electronic sign that said: 386 EMPTY parking spaces in the new parking structure.

The place was quiet, no crowds, but still very smokey. The HIGH LIMIT area had some action at the tables, but only 4 machines were in use. The bar was empty, save for one customer.

I quit counting empty machines at 600 and I didn't even go to the non smoking area and the new wing.

Now, how is California going to get all the tax money that was promised us, if the tribe can't keep it's machines humming 24/7? Now, you'll recall we exposed that lie in January and still the expanded gaming issues passed. HOW will California balance it's budget?

Good to see that you are taking our advice to heart and not going to Pechanga until the tribe does the right thing and brings it's people home where they belong.

Tribes Balk at Paying into Fund for Non-Gaming Tribes

Remember when the tribes told us that they were helping other tribes and would do more when they got more machines? Well, that certainly didn't take long to go away.

Article

Don't bank on it
SACRAMENTO - Legislation that would nearly double the annual subsidy that small and nongaming tribes receive from California's larger Indian casinos squeaked out of an Assembly committee Wednesday, although its future appears bleak.

The bill, AB 2353, would boost from $1.1 million to $2 million the annual payments that 71 tribes receive from a fund bankrolled by gaming tribes. That fund, however, has never collected enough to cover the annual payments.

OP: Do the tribes pay their bills on time?

But, with the state facing an $8 billion deficit, it's doubtful that lawmakers or the governor would approve of an increase in payments to the tribes, some of which operate small casinos and some of which have fewer than a dozen members

OP: WHY NOT? That's what the payments are for. The state lawmakers will support tribes that eliminate members, sending them back on the dole, but not keep their own promises? The states deficit has shrunk to $8 billion? Please, the tribes need to pay more, or we need to support other businesses.

Barack Obama gets Whupped in Debate Last Night; Are we stuck with Liar Hillary?

I had hopes that Barack Obama could be the Democrat candidate for President. After last night's debate, it doesn't look like he can handle it. Running for President is not a job for a rookie, and Barack showed that he is just that. Ed Morrissey has more.

I guess BO doesn't understand more about the economy than McCain.

It looks like the LIAR Hillary will jump ahead. No wonder Pechanga Chairman Macarro's wife campaigns for her. She's used to living with a liar.

Hugh Hewitt has more on Barack looking weak

California Tribe Hides behind Sovereignty to Avoid Suit for Shoddy Work.

The Supreme Court will decide next month whether to hear a case against Blue Lake Rancheria, which is operating a business off reservation. Appears the company they bought, did some shoddy work and now they won't stand behind it.
As you know, Pechanga and its chairman Mark Macarro hides behind sovereignty in denying its people basic civil rights and in not following the rule of law (Pechanga Law)

Article on Blue Lake HERE

Tribal sovereignty and alleged shoddy construction at an El Dorado Hills house make strange bedfellows in a legal case that could reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
When Rita Carns hired J & L Construction to build at 216 Knapp Ct., the firm was in no way connected to a Humboldt County American Indian band living on the Blue Lake Rancheria.
But it is now, and her attorneys argue the tribe is liable for damage from water intrusion to Carns’ house.
But tribal officials say nay, nay, not a penny will I pay. Blue Lake Rancheria is one of a growing number of Indian tribes going into business off-reservation, buying or starting ventures in territory not governed by tribal sovereignty.

Unlike Pechanga and Picayune, Hoopa Valley Tribe Does the Right Thing for the Children. Pechanga has eliminated 100 children from the Tribe

Pechanga and Picayune Rancheria, eliminate children and elders, destroying their livelihood and health and on the other side, Hoopa Valley Tribe does the right thing: Bringing more into the fold, adding 800 to the tribe.

Hoopa Valley Tribe changes enrollment requirements
Donna Tam/The Times-Standard
Article

Working in the tribal courts for more than seven years, first as chief tribal judge and then as a judge consultant, Byron Nelson Jr. saw many American Indian children who weren't getting the services they needed because of their race. Or, more specifically, what race they weren't.
”I could see a lot of children slipping through the cracks because they weren't protected by the Indian Child Welfare Act,” said Nelson, who was born and raised in Hoopa and is a member of the Hoopa Valley Tribe.
Nelson said it's the main reason why he campaigned to have the blood quantum for Hoopa Valley tribal membership changed. After months of heated and controversial discussion, the tribe held a special election early last month proposing to change the enrollment requirement from being one-quarter Hupa to one-eighth Hupa.

And THIS is the reason why Pechanga, Picayune, Redding and other tribes that have hurt THOUSANDS of their family, should be held with disdain. Do not patronize those who have hurt so many.

Rep. Diane Watson led CBC Attacks Sovereign Status of Cherokee Nation; Should be attacking Pechanga, Picayune and Redding

Update: Giago brings up this very VALID POINT:

When the CBC begins to use its power to go after some of the tribes of California for ejecting and denying citizenship to their members then, and only then, will their actions against the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma have the appearance of justice or otherwise their objectivity will always be in question to the sovereign people of the Indian nations.

OP: PLEASE, CBC, solve this discrepancy by going after TWO tribes of California FIRST: The Temecula Band of Luiseno Indians (aka Pechanga) and The Picayune Rancheria of Coarsegold. (Even Bill Cosby refused to perform their due ejections and denial of civil rights. Extend your correct actions against the Cherokee to the two tribes above.

Congressional Black Caucus Attacks Sovereign Status of Indian Nations

By Tim Giago (Nanwica Kciji)

The Congressional Black Caucus, in attacking the sovereign status of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, is placing in question and in jeopardy, the sovereign status of all Indian nations. At least that is the conclusion drawn by many tribal leaders across America.
OP: How else can the government of the U.S. express it's dissatisfaction with what the nation of the Cherokee has done to it's members? The Cherokee want to get rid of it's black members, or some of them, denying them their rights of well over 140 years in the making, then the US can show it displeasure and disagreement in few ways, one of them, denying them funds. After all, the Cherokee will already benefit in the funds it saves from giving the Freedmen benefits, won't they?
By staying with the expulsion of the Freedman, won't the responsibility of eroding tribal sovereignty be weighted on the Cherokee? Shouldn't the others tribes express their concerns to the Cherokee?

In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, the CBC, of which Presidential Candidate Barack Obama is member, demanded that he support their efforts to deny federal funding to the Cherokee Nation. The letter reads:

When H. R. 2786, the Native American Housing and Assistance and Self-Determination Reauthorization Act of 2007, was considered and passed the House Members of the Congressional Black Caucus and others insisted that the bill include a provision that would prevent the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma from receiving any benefits or funding under the bill until the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma is in full compliance with the Treaty of 1866 and recognizes all Cherokee Freedman and their descendants as tribal citizens.
We understand that the Senate may be considering a version of this bill that does not include these critically important requirements. We are writing to advise you that the members of the CBC will not support, and will actively oppose, passage of a NAHASDA bill that does not include this limitation. We must send the unequivocal message to the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma that failure to provide full citizenship rights to the Cherokee Freedmen will have severe consequences.

snip

The bill was introduced by Representative Diane Watson (D-CA). Tribal leaders across America feel that this bill could threaten Indian housing nationwide. They also believe that this action by the Congressional Black Caucus could set a precedent where any Indian legislation could be threatened by any special interest group. In a memo sent out by Indian activist Ron Andrade it was noted that Obama is also a member of the CBC. “Someone needs to ask him how he can reconcile his support of the Congressional Black Caucus and his rhetoric about supporting the sovereign status of tribal governments,” Andrade wrote.

OP: Someone needs to ask Andrade why he used county emails to shill for tribes like Pechanga, discussed HERE and HERE . His own corruption should discussed before Obama's membership in the CBC

Click here for the rest of the story. And tell your friends about Original Pechanga's blog. See related stories HERE and Here