Where have all the Indians Gone from Pechanga's Shrinking Tribe?

More from John Gomez, civil rights activist, member of AIRRO

The Pechanga Band has produced and is airing a new series of commercials that hark back to the Prop 5 and 1A campaigns. The commercials feature Pechanga Chairman Macarro standing in a field, surrounded by a group of people, asking you to vote for Indian self-reliance once again.

There are several interesting things about the new commercial. First of all, the commercial fails to identify Mr. Macarro as Chair of the Pechanga Band, one of the Big 4 tribes seeking a yes vote on their sweetheart deals.

The other interesting thing- which was pointed out to me by someone who saw the commercial before I did- is that there are a fewer number of people in this commercial than in the Prop 5 and 1A ads. Was this meant to show that fewer California Indians would actually benefit from Props 94-97 than the Big 4 would lead you to believe? Or was this merely an illustration that the number of tribes who support 94-97 is smaller than the number who supported Props 5 and 1A?
While I would answer “Yes” to both of those questions, there maybe something more involved.

For instance, since California voters passed Props 5 and 1A, thousands of California Indians have been kicked out of their tribes and/or denied membership. Included in this number is almost 300 Pechanga members who have been booted from the tribe since 2004. Some of those 300, myself included, appeared in the original Prop 5 and 1A commercials. Alas, we were not invited to appear in the new adds.

There were other California Indians from throughout the State who also appeared in the previous adds- including tribal officials from the Redding Rancheria- who have also been kicked out of their tribe and did not appear in the new ads.
So you see, the reason for the smaller number of people in the new adds has many possible meanings. But any way you look at it, fewer California Indians will actually benefit from the Big 4 deals- information Mr. Macarro and the Big 4 would like to keep from you.

OP: IT IS CRITICAL that Californians understand that these 4 compacts will help ONLY 1800 tribal members in CA. That's HALF of the number of member who the gaming tribes have eliminated since we voted on Prop. 5. 1800 would make most HS football stadiums look EMPTY. Heck, Colton High School, where Pechanga Chairman and Civil Rights violator Macarro graduated, holds 6,000 or so. The entire population of these tribes could fit into 32 school buses.

Recommendations for CA's Feb 5 Propositions

California’s Propositions: Just say NO

California’s propositions for this election on Feb. 5 present a some easy choices for California. Here are my recommendations.

Prop. 92 – Community College Funding - NO

We are facing a budget crisis because we have so many mandatory obligations. We simply cannot afford to take on another. We have other priorities and we can’t handcuff ourselves for this.

Prop. 93 - Term Limits - NO THE FACTS

When the politicians who are backing this proposition can’t be honest, we vote NO. Forty-five politicians, including under-FBI investigation Don Perata, and campaign-fund-spending-on-other-stuff Fabian Nunez will get grandfathered in with this propostion. Funny, Don and Fabian don’t mention that in the commercials. Now, a sudden change in direction for the Governor and all of a sudden he want to work with “experienced” legislators? Smells fishy. Looks fishy, must be fishy. Vote No.

Props. 94-97 Expanded Gaming - No

If there is uncertainty about HOW the state gets paid, we should vote NO.
If we don’t believe the tribes suddenly care about our state budget, vote NO.
If all of 108 tribes in California haven’t received their compact yet, vote NO.
If you believe that 83% is a good tax rate for the lottery, but 15% isn’t for a gaming monopoly, vote NO.
If you believe in civil rights and understand that Pechanga has violated their members civil rights, vote NO
If you know that Indian Gaming will not go away with these flawed compacts, vote NO.
If you think that the tribes don’t deserve $36 billion while we get $9 billion, vote NO.
If you think Pechanga should NOT be rewarded for cheating their people, vote NO.
The LAO says we WILL NOT get $9 Billion, therefore, the compact doesn’t live up to expectations and thus, will not deliver on the Big four tribes promise, so vote NO.
The aforementioned Perata and Nunez are for these compacts, leaving unions out, so that is reason enough to vote NO.
If you think something was "unusual" about how the BIA handled the compacts, VOTE NO.
If you think suing to keep us from voting as the tribes did is wrong, VOTE NO.
If you think we really need the money, but a tribe shouldn't benefit from hurting their people, then vote NO on 94.
If you don't think that 48,000 more car trips PER DAY, Per Casino is a good idea, vote NO
If you think that Pechanga destroying 25% of their tribe is a bad thing: Vote no on 94
If you are NOT clear as to how we will get the money the tribes say we'll get: VOTE NO on all



Please Vote on Feb. 5 and Just say NO to all the propositions.

Original Pechanga
http://originalpechanga.blogspot.com

Not ALL Tribes Support Expanded Gaming

When the tribes say 71 tribes support them, they don't say that there are 37 OTHER tribes that don't.



Vote NO on 94, 95, 96, 97

UPDATE: HERE IS A LIST OF CALIFORNIA INDIANS that OPPOSE Props 94-97

American Indian Rights and Resources Organization
California Valley Miwok Tribe
Inaja – Cosmit Band of Mission Indians
Indians of Enterprise #1
Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla & Cupeno Indians
Lytton Rancheria of California
Manchester-Point Arena Band of Pomo Indians
Pala Band of Mission Indians
Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians
Rincon Band of Luiseno Indians
United Auburn Indian Community of the Auburn Rancheria
Wintu Tribe of Northern California
Ya-Ka-Ama Indian Education and Development, Inc.
Jamul Indian Village Tribal Member Raymond Hunter
La Jolla Band of Luiseno Indians Vice Chairperson Viola Peck
La Jolla Band of Luiseno Indians Tribal Council Member Walter R. Powvall
Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians Vice Spokesperson Shane Chapparosa
Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians Tribal Member Candace Kupsch
Rincon Band of Luiseno Indians Tribal Council Member Stephanie Spencer

Super Bowl: GIANTS WIN Let's Celebrate by VOTING NO on PROP. 94

This turned out to be a great game. We had a wonderful time with family and checking today's stats, let me say that I appreciate all the new visitors looking in while I was have a margarita, okay, two margaritas.......OKAY dang it, a LOT of margaritas.

Congrats to the NY football Giants for their great defensive effort and for little bro Eli, for turning in his fourth great performance in a row. You know, I think it's wonderful for the Dolphins to keep the record for perfections and I don't feel sorry for the Pats at all. They had a great year, and Tom Brady STILL has a lot of rings.

As for the Prop 94-97 front, we are still getting a lot of positive vibes. Your NO vote will really send a message. We've had a lot of conversations around here. You can vote NO on 94 and if you feel the other tribes deserve more slots, vote yes. Pechanga will have to answer some questions from the news organizations as to WHY they lost, while the other tribes won. How do they answer? That the blogosphere got out more information than their fake commercials with $50 million spent? That would be just perfect.

Please vote NO on Proposition 94. Pechanga does NOT deserve to be rewarded for destroying Indians of their own tribe, their own family. Take a look down my front page. I have added some additional posts so you do not have to try to track them down in the archives.

PLEASE turn your friends and family on to this blog.

Pechanga Member Threatens Demonstrators at No on 94-97 Protest.

As discussed below we had a successful gathering in front of Pechanga Casino in Temecula. An interesting start to our demonstration.

Raymond Basquez Jr. son of Raymond Basquez Sr., one of those involved in eliminating 25% of the tribe, who can be seen in Pechanga's commercials, long hair, saying he just "wanted to give back" threatened us yesterday. He drove his shiny Escalade west on Pechanga Parkway, yelling at us, "Get a JOB!" and flipping us off. He sped west and made a quick left to make a u-turn. Aggressive driving in his huge vehicle, we knew he was coming back. A little disconcerting, because we knew he had been on parole. Ray Jr. stopped his Escalade about 7 car lenghts from the limit line, with a green light and GETS OUT of his vehicle. He circles to the back and my brother and I head back to meet him. When he sees my brother coming, he opens his back door (not a good sign in CA) but we advance anyway. He pulls out....... a Yes on 94-97 STICKER to put on his car! ROFL! He's taunting us: "you're out on the street, man!" Guess he was in women's prison. Raymond Jr. YOU ARE A PUSSY. Pechanga, great job as having Raymond Basquez Jr. as your defender.

Luckily for Pechanga, they had the Riverside County Sheriffs on Indian Land to protect them. OH yeah, thank RCS. We had a bottle thrown at us and you know what? We picked it up so you couldn't complain that we left trash in the area.

48,000 Car Trips PER DAY to Pechanga if Prop 94 passes.

Reject Props. 94-97

More cars, less prosperity: New compacts would hurt Riverside County

01:07 PM PST on Thursday, January 17, 2008
By ROGER BERG

48,000 Car Trips
These deals would mean an additional 48,000 car trips a day to the Pechanga Casino and no requirement to even review the potential consequences.

OP: This was a MAJOR concern to Temecula residents that we spoke to. They have so many problems getting of the freeway exits NOW that they are just starting to realize that the traffice will be 5-8 times worse if Pechanga is to be believed.

Gambling chips at Pechanga Resort promise big winnings, but how much can the state expect from casinos?

The money the Big 4 tribes are promising in their multimillion-dollar advertising campaign is way overblown, according to a report by two of California's most respected financial analysts. The report from a former California finance director and a former policy analyst in the legislative analyst's office said a loophole written into Props. 94-97 would actually allow tribes to legally reduce the promised payments by two-thirds.

Plus, the report points out that money spent on the new slot machines would be discretionary income that currently is spent on going to dinner or buying clothes or movie tickets. Those activities all provide sales and other taxes to local communities and the state, and their loss needs to be counted against any potential tribal payments. Businesses and their employees would also suffer, and that needs to count against any job growth the slot machines would bring.

OP: Vote NO and tell your friends!

NO RIGHTS = NO COMPACT! UPDATE from Pechanga

UPDATE II: The Riverside County Sheriff's Department, staged their units, about five of them, on the sovereign nation of Pechanga's property. We are a bit concerned. Who were they there for? Riverside citizens, or the Casino?
Were the sheriff's concerned that the protestors, median aged 55, would storm the casino in our walkers and wheelchairs? Where were they when we had bottles of water thrown at us? Good thing they had K-9 units to protect themselves from some Silver Feathers. OUR elders have respect for law, unlike many of those at Pechanga, but, they got the money.

UPDATE: Family and friends were well represented today at the rally outside the Pechanga Casino. At times over 60 people made there presence know with signs and chants. We received many "thumbs up" and indications are that many who voted early voted NO. We were handing out flyers and talking to people and it looks like we were able to swing some undecided votes our way. For three hours we were in front and really, it went well.

Wish us luck today at our demonstration at Pechanga. At one of our last demonstrations in front of the casino, we were threatened by some thug types that either Pechanga sent out, or, possibly, they took it on their own to back up Pechanga (yeah, right). No matter, we will stand up for civil rights and the history of our people.

No Rights, No Compacts!

Saturday, February 2nd at Pechanga

The event will start at 10 am in front of the Pechanga Resort and Casino at the corner of Pechanga Parkway and Wolf Valley Rd. You can park on any of the side streets along Pechanga Parkway near this intersection.

If you can't be there physically, be there in spirit!

The Place that Pechanga has Become

From the start page at www.pechanga.info :

"There are two basic methods by which man can feed his ego and make himself seem important. One is by genuine accomplishment. The other is by making a second party appear inferior... This is the root cause of bigotry and can occur in the most learned of men, when circumstances are sych that ethics can be conveniently shunted aside. Politics... can create these circumstances. "

"... the Indians were ruthlessly destroyed in California. This was accomplished, not only directly by the most brutal class..., but through the acquiescence of all the 'decent' people who did not care enough to be outraged about what was taking place..."

These passages are taken from the book, "When the Great Spirit Died: the destruction of the California Indians 1850-1860" by William B. Secrest.

These passages were meant to describe the conditions that existed in California during the 1850's. Conditions which led to the campaign to exterminate California Indians by settlers and others who had "adopted" California as their home.
These same passages could be applied today to the conditions that exist in many places in Indian Country. The lone exception being that the exterminators are no longer white settlers (or are they)...the exterminators are other Indians.

Mari Sandoz, a late historian, is quoted as saying: "Properly conditioned, any people will produce a good percent of men (including women) who look upon the extermination of those who differ from them (and have something they want) as the proper destruction of a predatory animal. It is not only the Nazis that do these things, or the wool hat boys of the South. We can all be led down this path if the approach is insidous enough."
Does this sound like a place you know of or heard of? Does it make you think of any number of gaming tribes who use methods such as disenrollment or moritoriums to exterminate their own and take what is not theirs?

I URGE all my readers, to look at http://www.pechanga.info/ PLEASE tell your friends.

John Gomez,SR. is an elder of the Manuela Miranda tribe, the first family to be disenrolled en masse in the history of the Temecula Band of Luiseno Indians.

There are over 3,000 California Tribal Members that have been disenrolled since we gave the tribes Las Vegas style gambling.

Let's see, the tribes will say, the Mr. Gomez is backed by horsetracks and Las Vegas, but they won't mention that he's backed by civil rights organizations (well, not the NAACP of CA, who got PAID to endorse Pechanga and the other three) has worked tirelessly in front of our state assembly and the Democratic party.

Pechanga has destroyed so many Indians in California, but it's okay, they donate to the politicians so they get what they want.

Does Arnold Schwarzenegger have a PERSONAL stake in Expanded Gaming?

Arnold Schwarzenegger has backed expanded gaming. Is there a personal advantage for him after he's out of office? Will we be seeing TERMINATOR slots in Pechanga's casino?

From LA CITY BEAT:

The other is that Schwarzenegger has still failed to disclose details of his reported holdings in IGT, the Reno, Nevada-headquartered slot manufacturer that supplies most of the state’s machines.

In 2004, CityBeat reported that Schwarzenegger received a settlement on his $20 million lawsuit against IGT, which manufactured Terminator slots without first obtaining Schwarzenegger’s permission. This was confirmed by Schwarzenegger spokesperson Vince Sollitto. “My understanding is that those holdings are in a blind trust,” Sollitto told CityBeat.

This time, Schwarzenegger’s office repeatedly refused to answer questions about IGT, stating that the governor’s finances are his “private affair.” In 2004, IGT spokesperson Rick Sorensen confirmed for CityBeat that there was a settlement, and that IGT was bound by “a confidentiality agreement,” with the court documents sealed. Therefore, it’s impossible to determine whether Schwarzenegger’s holdings in IGT are in company stock or Terminator machine royalties, or if he, as University of Las Vegas Professor William N. Thompson advised, “gave it all to charity.” OP: He didn't, otherwise he would say, I gave it all to charity, don't you think?

Also, according to an unnamed source, Schwarzenegger applied “nonstop pressure” on IGT attempting to get the company to contribute to the proposition campaign.
OP: Let's see, the GOVERNOR of the state of CALIFORNIA putting pressure on a NEVADA business to throw money into a venture that could possibly benefit Arnold Schwarzenegger? Smells slightly fishy don't you think?

What We Agreed to for Indian Gaming

We wanted to give tribes a boost, we wanted to keep tribal gambling limited. WE HAVE that right, to allow gambling. This is NOT a sovereinty issue. The tribes ceded their sovereignty in order to get gambling

In 1999, then-Gov. Gray Davis signed compacts with around 60 Indian tribes allowing each tribe to operate up to 2,000 slot machines. In 2000, Californians approved Proposition 1A also known as the Indian Self-Reliance Act, which ratified the compacts and amended the state Constitution so that the tribes could legally operate slot machines, lottery games and banked and percentage card games such as blackjack and baccarat on Indian land.

The act also created the Revenue Sharing Trust Fund, which required that all tribes with over 350 slot machines pay a percentage of their revenue to non-gaming tribes or tribes with fewer than 350 machines. The trust fund would still be in effect whether or not Propositions 94, 95, 96 and 97 pass.

And that is the crux of this. WHY are the big four trying to insinuate that the RSTF will go away? Or worse, get bigger? It won't if we pass the expanded gaming. THAT makes the big four: LIARS. And we KNOW that Pechanga has cheated its own people. Pechanga will cheat us just as easily.

Gov. Pete Wilson against Props. 94, 95 , 96, 97

Sosumi from Tribal Watch writes that former two term Governor of California Pete Wilson is against the expanded gaming.

Wilson, who was governor from 1991 to 1999, described the advertising campaign in favor of the initiatives as "misleading" and the promise of more money for the state as "hypothetical."

Vote NO!

TRIBAL SPENDING: $101 MILLION

Sounds good. Why are FOUR TRIBES spending SO much on a proposition they think should be a slam dunk? Could it be that this is NOT what Californians want? Mega Casinos and four tribes getting all the money? WE CAN DO BETTER, why shouldn't we have NO state income taxes like Nevada? If those of us that want to keep gamling money here, let's open it up to everyone. Let's not reward a tribe like Pechanga who have ruined a good many of their tribal members.

Who's REALLY behind the Ads Opposing the Casino Agreements

It's funny when you break down the text of the commercial featuring a picture of John Gomez, SR.

Who's really behind the Ads Opposing the Indian Gaming Agreements? Their paid for by a Vegas Casino owner and two racetracks.

OP: Let's see, this ad tries to get us to believe that Las Vegas casino owners are bad, but a tribe like Pechanga, that destroys some of its members heritage, income and tramples on their civil rights are good, but a Las Vegas casino, that pays over 29% of it's income to the state, which allows their citizens to pay NO STATE INCOME TAX is bad. WE need to get more money from these Indian Casino operators so that CALIFORNIANS can have their tax burdens reduced.

In fact only two tribes oppose the agreements and while tribes statewide support the measure

OP:
FACT: The new compacts DO NOT GIVE ANY MORE MONEY TO TRIBES WITHOUT CASINOS
FACT: There are also Indians STATEWIDE that do NO support the agreements. There are THOUSANDS of Indians that have been screwed by their tribes, in order to take their per capita benefits away and keep that money for themselves.
FACT: A NO VOTE will mean that the big four tribes will continue to PAY THE SAME AMOUNT to those tribes AND will in fact STILL allow the big four to make the HUNDREDS of MILLIONS a year.

NO RIGHTS, NO COMPACTS Demonstrations at Pechanga

No Rights, No Compacts!

More information on Saturday, February 2nd Event at Pechanga The event will start at 10 am in front of the Pechanga Resort and Casino at the corner of Pechanga Parkway and Wolf Valley Rd. You can park on any of the side streets along Pechanga Parkway near this intersection.

We will have some signs and a banner available, but please feel free to bring your own. If you would like to get together before the event and make signs or car pool to the event with someone, please email pechangajg@msn.com

Some of the signs suggested so far include: No on 94! Stop Pechanga! No Rights, No Compacts! Greed is BAD!

Please feel free to bring refreshments- water, juice, etc. Immediately following the event, those who would like to get together and break bread are invited to meet at a local home.

See you on Saturday.

PLEASE bring your cameras. Pechanga has a history of trying to intimidate those of us who have demonstrated there before. A few thug types doing some close drive-bys. Let's make sure we capture them on camera. We will not back down.