Pala Band of Mission Indians BLAMES BIG PHARMA For it's TROUBLES?

The Pala Band of Mission Indians, which exterminated Indians via tribal disenrollment, cheated and evicted their own people and whose chairman's daughter was arrested for illegal weapons,  announced the filing of a federal lawsuit Monday against companies who manufacture and distribute opioids.

ROBERT SMITH - TYRANT

In a press release, Pala Tribal Chairman Robert Smith, who oversaw the stripping of citizenship of many of his own tribe,  said, “The opioid epidemic has had devastating impacts on our tribe. Big Pharma’s aggressive promotion of OxyContin and other prescription opiates have caused increasing incidences of addiction, disability and family dysfunction.     YEAH, blame it on the drugs
Pala Band officials said they have “experienced direct effects from the opioid epidemic, including the health effects on its members and their families, increased instances of child welfare and foster care cases, homelessness, and crime. The tribe has undertaken various efforts to combat the epidemic, ranging from strategies to combat opioids falling into the hands of youth or those without prescriptions, and community education on opioid dangers and how to address them.”

Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians' ANTONIO ASHMAN: Custom and Oral tradition

Antonio Ashman
Pechanga's "vaunted" Elder

I was looking through my cousin's old blog T'EETILAWUNCHA BLOG  here he discusses some oral history in 2009. 

Most recently before his death, Antonio Ashman in a sworn affidavit said he knew Paulina Hunter as a member of the Band. He also swore that Paulina stayed at the home of Michelle and Salvador Quiliq and heard they were related. He also stated Paulina was called Aunt by Martin Berdugo, another recognized member of Pechanga. This is recorded oral recognition that the CPP faction says Paulina Hunter did not have.

The enrollment committee also finds that Paulina was given a land allotment on the Pechanga reservation as a Temecula Indian. This confirms Paulina’s status as a Temecula Indian.  (OP: WE STILL LIVE ON THAT Allotment)

The record of decision regarding the descendants of Paulina Hunter says that because John Miller under the Act of May 18, 1928 (45 Stat. L 602), a direct descendant of Paulina Hunter states that his Grandmother “was allotted as a Pechanga Mission Indian, but his Grandmother and Great Grandparents were of the San Luis Rey Mission Indians.”

This statement somehow outweighs hundreds of other documents the enrollment committee has possession of detailing the Hunters as recognized members of the Pechanga band by tribal elders who were alive at the time the reservation was established.

Cherokee Freedman Champion MARILYN VANN to Be HONORED by STATE OF OKLAHOMA

CONGRATULATIONS to Cherokee Warrior Marilyn Vann who is one of the honorees  recognized for making a significant contribution to human rights.  The event is held in conjunction with International Human Rights Day which is recognized on Dec. 10 each year.




Marilyn Vann is president and a director of the nonprofit Descendants of Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes Association, which educates the public on the history, culture, and political rights of the African Indian peoples of the 5 Nations (Five Civilized Tribes).

A citizen of the Cherokee nation of Oklahoma, Vann is president of the African Indians Foundation. She is a litigant in two Federal lawsuits that recently upheld enforcement of the 1866 treaty rights of the Cherokee Indian Freedmen Peoples tribal membership rights. 

Vann received a Statesman Award from the Cherokee Nation for her volunteerism as a Cherokee tribal member.

OSAGE DISENROLLMENT CASE: DNA Evidence to be Introduced

Interesting development in Osage Nation disenrollment case:

Citing a lack of cooperation from potential DNA test subjects, the Osage Nation is moving forward with plans for a jury trial in a disenrollment lawsuit.

At a status conference Nov. 28, Assistant Attorney General Clint Patterson and defense attorney Audra Drybread confirmed that neither had made any progress in efforts to obtain additional testing samples from descendants of original allottee Paschal Canville.

Hopland Tribe: Speak Out Against the Narrative, LOSE YOUR JOB

The Hopland Tribe, which disenrolled 74 of their members a few years back, is now wielding their power to silence dissent.  On her FB page, enrollment committee member Carla Antone stated that she was REMOVED from the committee without DUE PROCESS, for requesting an investigation into disenrollment.   That seems like a reasonable request for an enrollment committee member, yes?  

Is removal the right course of action?  Why didn't they just say NO?

Seems the Hopland Tribe's CONSTITUTION, doesn't allow verbal removal:

Do laws even matter at Hopland?  Or just the ones the chairman likes?  Does the entire council agree with the action to remove?  Is Hall of Shame member Iyesha Miller still pulling strings? 

From their public website, here are the tribal council's emails where you can ask them

Sonny J. Elliott Sr. – Chair –             sjelliott@hoplandtribe.com 
Diana Billy-Elliott – Vice Chair –       delliott@hoplandtribe.com 
Suzanne T. Romero – Secretary –   sromero@hoplandtribe.com 
Brian Yepez – Treasurer –                byepez@hoplandtribe.com 
David Steele – Member at Large –   dsteele@hoplandtribe.com
Joe San Diego – Member at Large  jsandiego@hoplandtribe.com
Steven Elliott – Member at Large –   selliott@hoplandtribe.com

The Hopland Tribe doesn't care much for laws, remember when their Marijuana Patch got raided just 2 years ago?

Michelle Hammock, one of the Hopland 74, wrote a piece on the immorality of Tribal disenrollment for our protest in Sacramento.  Destroying the lives of so many and disrespecting the ancestors is shameful.

Should Freedom of Speech be protected on Tribal reservations?  Do tribal councils like those of Hopland dishonor themselves or their people by infringing on civil rights?

CLINT EASTWOOD'S film, INDIAN HORSE on RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS Screened at Pechanga Tribe, which RIPPED Native Children from their OWN SCHOOL

Clint Eastwood
Executive Producer of Indian Horse

Sad bit of irony, yes? A film by Clint Eastwood on the trauma of Native American children screened on a reservation that ABUSED their own children.

At the Pechanga Casino Resort in Temecula, Calif. a mostly Native American audience filed into the resort’s theater to attend the California Indigenous and Native American Film Festival’s screening of “Indian Horse,” a film about an indigenous residential school in Canada.

Pechanga has an Apartheid system of segregation and descendants of the HUNTER family were escorted OFF Tribal school property after disenrolling their parents.  Here is my cousin Akeva McKeaver explaining how Pechanga Tribal Rangers forcefully removed her children from school.

Wow...just WOW....  Please share on social media

Pechanga Tribal Member Calls for Disenrollment of REMAINING APIS DESCENDANTS

The Pechanga Tribe is in Distress

Are more Tribal Disenrollments back on tap at the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians in Temecula?

I wrote an opinion piece for the Temecula Patch (Pechanga Ended Birthright ... )about tribes that disenroll their members, such a Pechanga and the Pala Band of Mission Indians a couple of weeks ago. The tribe's mouthpiece, who goes by the nom de plume of Another View responded, in a subsequent Temecula Patch piece .  Which proves he's either hilariously misinformed, or deliberately misleading

The opinion piece about "birthright citizenship" at Pechanga has no merit. The families removed from the Pechanga tribal roll simply lacked the proof needed to establish tribal membership. One family, the Mirandas, traces its ancestry to Pablo Apis.

Barbara Boxer’s Son and CA Powerbroker Found Bilking Graton Rancheria

No wonder we could never get support from former CA Senator Barbara Boxer in our quest for JUSTICE on our disenrollment.  Her son was too busy ENRICHING himself.

Senator Ma'am

For decades Darius Anderson has advised and raised campaign funds for prominent state Democrats, including Nancy Pelosi, leader of the Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives, and Jerry Brown, governor of California.

James Ramos, First Native American elected to the California Assembly says THANK YOU

127 years after the establishment of the San Manuel Reservation, we can say congratulations to former San Manuel tribal chairman JAMES RAMOS for being the FIRST Native American to be elected to CA Assembly

November is the time of the year when holidays draw near, and we take time to reflect on those things for which we are thankful.   This year my family and I have much more to be thankful for with the opportunities I have had and those, which I have recently been granted.

I would first thank the constituents of the Third District for allowing me to serve them over the past six years.  Your trust and faith in me to serve as your supervisor is appreciated and was never taken for granted.   It has truly been an honor to serve you.

Are YOU Active ENOUGH on Social Media? How to Get Involved on NATIVE ISSUES

We know that MORE politicians from both sided of the aisle are turning to TWITTER for information.  Feel free to FOLLOW me @opechanga , fair warning, you may not like all my tweets...

Here are Twitter addresses to which to share stories of injustice in Indian Country.  This blog, as well as Palawatch.com have buttons to tweet out each story.  GOOGLE + each story too, please.  Using this method as well as email to keep the issues out front.

@USIndianAffairs =   BIA
@Interior    = Dept. of the Interior
@IndianCommittee = Senate Indian Affairs Committee (SIAC)
@NatResources   = Natural Resources Committee

Remembrance: ROBERT FOREMAN 1st Chairman of Redding Rancheria; Disenrolled AFTER False Rumors Disproved

Edward Robert "Bob"  Foreman, the first Chairman of the Redding Rancheria, passed away TEN YEARS ago,  on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008.  Here is a remembrance of a post we wrote then  Please, read and share on social media.   And AVOID the WIN-RIVER Casino.

Here's how the first Chairman was treated by the Redding Tribal Council:

LUMBEE TRIBE's VOTER Disenfranchisment, FRAUD, or Deliberate?

Vote Fraud, disenfranchisement or disenrollment at Lumbee Tribe? Or All of the above?

The Tribal Council speaker questioned Thursday why some people found out they were no longer on the Lumbee Tribe’s membership rolls when they tried to vote Tuesday.

Anita Hammonds Blanks said that two tribe members, possessing tribal enrollment cards, tried to cast their votes only to be told their cards, and thus their membership, had expired. Blanks spoke of others who voted in 2012, 2015 and 2016.

“In 2018, on Tuesday, they were not on the rolls,” Blanks said.

Senate Indian Affairs Committee APPROVES SAVANNA'S ACT #MMIW Gains Support

Savanna LaFonataine-Greywind
Murdered at 22

A U.S. Senate committee has approved a bill aimed at addressing the high number of missing and murdered Native American women.

The U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs approved Savanna's Act on Wednesday, sending it to the full Senate for consideration.

The measure would expand tribal access to federal crime databases and establish protocols for handling cases of missing and murdered Native Americans.

It also would require annual reports on the number of missing and murdered Native American women amid concerns that inadequate data collection has stifled efforts to measure the full scope of the problem.

The bill is named for 22-year-old Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, who was slain in 2017 while eight months pregnant.

Its sponsor Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, a North Dakota Democrat, lost her bid for re-election last week.

A study released by a Native American nonprofit says numerous police departments in cities nationwide are not adequately identifying or reporting cases of missing and murdered indigenous women.

Grand Ronde Tribal Council REINSTATES 19 Chief Tumulth Descendants

DOING THE RIGHT THING, honors the Grand Ronde tribe and the ancestors.  What can be a better choice??

Yes, they DO

They voted 4-3 to reinstate the membership of 19 Chief Tumulth descendants during its Wednesday, Nov. 14, meeting, concluding a more than four-year process.

The descendants, including some who are now deceased, were identified for disenrollment in 2014 when the Tribe’s Enrollment Committee ruled that they and other Chief Tumulth descendants did not meet the Tribal Constitution’s lineal descent requirements at the time of their enrollment.