"The Unseen Effects of Disenrollment: A Young Native American's Firsthand Account of Oppression and Lateral Violence"

 My young cousin, Cassie Whitten, who we highlighted when she posted her TikTok video on tribal disenrollment, further explains the use of lateral violence, and the almost stochastic terror from tribal people. and how she was affected on her Facebook Page. She resides on the Hunter Family allotment #62 given to our mutual ancestor Paulina Hunter in the 19th century

The one thing that has been really hard for me is continuing the work I want to do in my communities since tribal disenrollment. Lately I’ve been pretty sad about it.  (OP: Cassie worked for Indian Health)

It continually feels like you don’t matter or your voice by your own people. Lateral oppression can be real amongst native people too. 

I’m still on my healing journey. I’m only 22 years old and it’s saddening how my own tribe could kick a 7 year old out of their tribe to this day. (Watch this video that details the day Mark Macarro sent his jackbooted thugs to remove CHILDREN FROM SCHOOL)

Saginaw Chippewa and Chukchansi Disenrollment Supporters Finding KARMA IS A BI**H

 

Disenrollment is the process of removing an individual or a group of individuals from a tribe or a Native American community. The practice of disenrollment is controversial and causes deep divisions within the tribal community. Those who supported disenrollment may do so for a variety of reasons, such as perceived questions about tribal membership or concerns about the distribution of tribal resources such as per capita casino profits.

However, those who supported disenrollment may find themselves and their families in a difficult position if they become the subject of disenrollment themselves. We are seeing this at the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians and NOW at the Saginaw Chippewa Band.      We've written quite a few times on the SagChip disenrollments and our late friend Aunt Dolly Holzhousen guided us to some information.  We ask, is the Saginaw Chippewa constitution FRAUDULENT?

Being subjected to disenrollment can have a devastating impact on individuals and their families. It can mean losing access to important resources and benefits, as well as losing a sense of connection to one's cultural heritage and community. It can also be emotionally and psychologically traumatic.  And now, the disenrollment supporters, suddenly think it's wrong for it to happen to THEM.  Especially if records are tampered with.   

For those who supported disenrollment, finding themselves and their families on the receiving end should be a humbling experience. They may come to understand the negative impact that disenrollment can have on individuals and communities, and may have to grapple with the realization that their previous support of disenrollment may have contributed to the harm caused.   

BRING ALL THE PEOPLE HOME to change the KARMA..

 

Protecting The Individual Indian From Corrupt Disenrollment Actions Requires Congress to ACT

Since over 10,000 Native Americans are affected by tribal disenrollment, protecting the Individual Indian with legislation is something to consider.

How might an anti disenrollment act against tribal nations that run apartheid reservations, like Pechanga of Temecula CA or Nooksack of WA look like? 

If Congress were to consider passing an anti-disenrollment act that specifically targeted tribal nations that were accused of engaging in discriminatory or unjust disenrollment practices, such legislation might include provisions such as: 

Setting minimum standards for tribal disenrollment procedures: The legislation could establish clear criteria and procedures for tribal membership and removal, and require tribes to provide notice and an opportunity to be heard before making any final decision to disenroll a tribal member. 

Providing due process protections: The legislation could require that tribal members facing disenrollment be provided with due process protections, such as the right to an attorney and the right to a fair and impartial hearing.  Those of us from Pechanga were prohibited from having attorneys at our hearing. We weren't even allowed to face our accusers

Protecting against retaliation: The legislation could prohibit tribes from retaliating against members who speak out against the disenrollment process or who participate in efforts to challenge the decision to remove them from tribal rolls. 

Establishing an independent review process: The legislation could require that tribes establish an independent review process for any decision to remove a member from tribal rolls, and that the review process be fair, transparent, and impartial. 

Providing oversight and enforcement: The legislation could establish a mechanism for oversight and enforcement of the new rules, potentially through the creation of a federal commission or other body charged with monitoring compliance with the law. 

It is worth noting, however, that any effort to pass federal legislation that specifically targeted tribal nations would need to be carefully crafted to respect the principles of tribal sovereignty and self-determination, and to ensure that the interests of both individuals and tribal communities are protected. 

As noted warrior for justice Marilyn Vann said  

 

Native Culture INCLUDES Fighting FOR OUR Tribal Identity and Against The Corruption That Eliminates our Ancestors

Emilio Reyes

Our friend Emilio Reyes, who had fought for years against the injustices of tribal disenrollment, lack of federal recognition and recently winning his legal battles against those who defamed him, had this thought recently on his Facebook page:

Everyone loves the Native who talks about tribal culture. But nobody loves the Native who talks about tribal identity, tribal disenrollment, tribal corruption, blood quantum, digging up the ancestors, Indian gaming, injustice or oppression.

Emilio's thought highlights a common phenomenon in which society tends to romanticize and exoticize certain aspects of Native American culture while ignoring or downplaying the very real and often difficult issues that Native Americans face today.

While it may be easier for some people to appreciate and enjoy aspects of Native American culture that seem distant and disconnected from contemporary issues, it is important to recognize that these issues continue to impact Native American communities in significant ways. Discussions about tribal identity, disenrollment, and corruption, for example, are often critical to understanding the complexities of Native American governance and the challenges that many tribes place themselves in navigating modern legal and political systems.

Issues related to blood quantum, ancestral remains, and Indian gaming are often deeply intertwined with questions of identity, sovereignty, and economic development, and can have far-reaching implications for the lives and wellbeing of Native American people. ALL NATIVE people.  

If we truly want to support and celebrate Native American culture, we must be willing to engage with the difficult and often uncomfortable realities that accompany it.  Those realities include the fact that some tribal leaders are corrupt, some tribes violate their own people's rights, and do it under the non caring eyes of the Federal Government.  This also means listening to and amplifying the voices of Native people who are fighting for their rights, advocating for change, and working to preserve their traditions and heritage in the face of ongoing oppression and injustice.

Stay in the fight!   We MUST persist: Change can be slow and difficult, and setbacks are common. Stay committed to the message and our goals, and continue to advocate for change even in the face of adversity. Remember that speaking truth to power is an ongoing process, and progress often requires sustained effort over time.  

ONE and DONE won't cut it.

 

Pechanga's Disrespect of their Silver Feathers. Elders have Died Without the Restorative Justice Of Regaining their Rightful Membership in The Tribe

Many of our Hunter Family have passed away without the justice for our disenrollment they deserve:  Their restoration of their tribal membership.  Chairman Mark Macarro has sentenced their memories to the wasteland of disrespect without the honor they deserve.

THEIR NAMES ARE

Lawrence Madariaga, Charlene Carpenter, Matilda Smith, Louise Jeffredo Appel, Bob Vasquez, Philip Mendoza, Daunte Mercado Bates, Russell Cuevas, Andy Smith, James Appel, Jeanette Jeffredo Nave, William Harris

It is a tragedy that we must mourn the loss of these elders without the closure and justice that they deserved. Their lives were filled with challenges and obstacles that they had to overcome simply because of who they were. They faced discrimination, prejudice, and injustice from their own brethren, their fellow tribal members, some who were adopted into the Pechanga Band. 

It is heartbreaking to know that they lived and died without experiencing the true equality and justice that they so rightfully deserved. But let us not forget that their lives were not in vain. 

As we mourn their passing, let us also celebrate their lives and the impact that they have had on our world. Let us honor their memory by continuing the work that they started, by advocating for justice and equality, and by standing up against discrimination and prejudice in all its forms.

To the elders who have passed away without justice, we say thank you for your courage, your strength, and your unwavering spirit. You will be missed, but your legacy will live on. Some of us will still fight for your rightful place.     Rest in peace.

Pechanga Disenrollment Discussed on HOT AIR National Website and And Ed Morrissey Podcast

Thank you to Ed Morrissey, a longtime friend, who is the managing editor of HOTAIR.com a leading news website,  He had a podcast that discussed PRETENDIANS and our Pechanga Disenrollment.  His guest Jennifer Kabbany wrote on Pechanga disenrollment of our ancestor Paulina Hunter, in 2006, when she was with the San Diego Union Tribune  We are at the 3:55 mark of the podcast.

Ed Morrissey
HOTAIR.COM

With over 4.5 million page views per month, this helps to expose the human and civil rights abuses to so many more people.   YOU can help by sharing the Hot Air link above, to YOUR social media.

Pretendians are bad for Indian Country, and SO are tribal Disenrollments.   YOU can help, not by a protest march or carrying picket signs, but by spreading the news as OFTEN as you can. And by having your friends and family do the same.  Supporting those sites, by page views and clicks, helps others LEARN, and it's so easy.

Ed called out the most FAMOUS Pretendian Elizabeth Warren  

Thank you for the support Ed.

Pechanga Resort Casino MURDERS: Trial Ends in CONVICTION For Two Women Who MURDERED

 Justice has been served in the MURDER of  Afaf Assad at the Pechanga Resort Casino 

Two Moreno Valley women were convicted on Wednesday, Feb. 8, of murdering an 84-year-old Long Beach woman while trying to take her gambling money in a Pechanga Resort Casino bathroom in 2019.

After a one-month trial in Riverside County Superior Court in French Valley, jurors deliberated for two hours before deciding that Kimesha Monae Williams, 38, and Candace Tai Townsel, 42, were guilty of first-degree murder, robbery and elder abuse at the casino, which is near Temecula.

Why YOU Should Care About the Theft of Tribal Heritage and the Crimes Against Indian People and the Results of Tribal Disenrollment

Here’s why you should care about Native American Tribal Disenrollment 

Disenrollment Chieftains, are the people who run (more properly RUIN) our culture and teach our kids tribal values. They shape the next generation’s attitudes.  They teach our native children that it's OKAY to get rid of their classmates, someone else's aunty, or grandmother.

If one persons rights are violated, any persons rights are violated. How many of our people does it does it have happen to be wrong?

Five? 50?  100?    Starting to sound bad, right?

In the case of tribal disenrollment, it's over 10,000 who have been harmed.  And that's JUST the LIVING.  Our ancestors, whom most every tribe has used in one way or another (early tribal population, land for casino, federal monies) were once proudly used to support the tribe's quest for advancement.

Tribal Disenrollment Explained. WHAT IS IT? Whom Does it Harm?

 After 15 years in the public fight against my family's disenrollment from Pechanga at the hands of the Macarro brothers, I'm constantly surprised at how many people STILL have never heard the term.  I explain it here for you.

Tribal disenrollment refers to the removal of individuals from the official membership rolls of a tribe, and it can have far-reaching and devastating consequences for both individuals and communities. It is quite simply, a DISASTER to Indian Country.

Disenrollment results in the loss of access to important resources, cultural identity, and political representation, and it is widely seen as a violation of both civil and human rights.  Disenrollment can have a negative impact on tribal unity and cohesion, and undermines the goals of tribal sovereignty and self-governance.

Dr. David Wilkins Shines Light on a Path Forward for Tribal Disenrollees and the Federal Government

 It's a new year, and I'm renewing my fight to bring tribal disenrollment which is the stripping of tribal citizenship, from native Americans BY Native Americans to the front burner.  To do that, I have to bring forward old posts.  Feel free to comment, to add to your social media.   

From 2013, Dr. David Wilkins author of DISMEMBERED ( still available on AMAZON)has a piece on disenrollment and some solutions.

Disenrollment, a seemingly innocuous term when used outside Indian country, has become a loaded word that rivals, if it does not surpass, “termination” as a concept that invokes fear and trembling in those natives who suffer its consequences. While the federal policy of termination in the 1950s was the formal repudiation of numerous Native nations’ recognition and benefits and constituted an abrupt cessation of the trust relationship; tribes that have instituted disenrollments effectively repudiate an individual tribal citizen’s recognition and benefits and crush the nation’s trust relationship with that person.

Pechanga Casino Crimewatch: Kimesha Williams, Candace Townsell Trial Underway in Pechanga Casino MURDER

 Do you REMEMBER the story of the Pechanga Casino Murder from 2019?

An elderly woman visiting Pechanga Resort and Casino, a tribal gaming venue know for cheating their own people via tribal disenrollment, located in Temecula, CA was assaulted soon after arriving on the premises on Sat, Aug. 31 2019, and later died from injuries suffered in the attack, prompting Riverside Co Sheriff’s Dept to arrest 2 female suspects on charges of murder and robbery

A jury was sworn in Wednesday and testimony got underway in the trial of two women accused of robbing and fatally beating a senior at the Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula.

Candace Tai Townsell, 42, and Kimesha Monae Williams, 38, both of Moreno Valley, allegedly killed 84-year-old Afaf Anis Assad of Long Beach in 2019.  Williams is the sister of L.A. Clippers star Kawhi Leonard.

Both defendants are charged with first-degree murder, robbery and elder abuse, as well as a special circumstance allegation of killing during the course of a robbery, with sentence-enhancing great bodily injury allegations.

A description of the attack at the Pechanga Casino Resort's restroom can be found in this Temecula Patch article.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH: Black Natives ALSO Eliminated By Disenrollment. MEET Redding Rancheria Disenrolled

 As we celebrate BLACK HISTORY MONTH, and recently celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King Day we wanted to highlight that many tribes have also eliminated their Black citizens.  

Remember that when you see press releases from tribal nations in support of Black History Month this month.   HERE, from Redding Rancheria

 

      

The 3 pictured above  are Earnest, Savion and Jodeah Wilson.

They are Bob Foreman's great grandchildren and Virginia Timmons great great great grandchildren. They are trust land shareholders on the Foreman's piece of land on the reservation.  They have NO voting rights.

Getting their rights back, would go a long way towards showing other tribes there is a path back to righteousness.   DO RIGHT, Chairman Potter and CEO Tracey Edwards

Greg Sarris Elected Chair of Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian.

 – Greg Sarris, Chairman, Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, who has stood against the scourge of tribal disenrollment, has been elected Chair of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of theAmerican Indian. 

Greg Sarris

Press Release: 

The museum’s goal is to foster a richer shared human experience through a more informed understanding of Native peoples. Museum programs include Native Knowledge 360° (NK360°), a set of teaching resources providing educators and students with new perspectives on Native American history and cultures. 

The museum’s Board of Trustees also added five new members to serve staggered three-year terms. Additional information about the museum is available here. “I’m honored to have been elected as chair of the board of Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian,” Sarris said. “I’m excited and look forward to working with the trustees.”

Native Advocates (NARF, NCAI, ACLU, NIGA) YOU DON'T CARE About Disenrolled Native Americans ABUSED and Disenrolled by Their Tribes

All advocates talk a good game on civil rights, actions to take, protesting mascotry, but the deafening silence on tribal disenrollment stand out to over 11,000 of us, who have been stripped of our tribal rights to belong.

You aren’t a bad person for not being consumed by the tribal disenrollment, but you kind of are if you pretend to be and do nothing about it beyond hoping we acknowledge you care
                                paraphrased from the article linked below

#StopDisenrollment

An article about the UYGURS of China, an oppressed group by every standard of human decency by Derek Hunter in Townhall got me thinking of the comparisons to the disenrolled of 90 Tribal Nations which have over 11,000 Natives stripped of citizenship. Alice Langton Sloan had kept a diary of the tribes, I don't have a current update, but here's the breakdown of disenrolling tribes from 2016

Inaction speaks louder than words.  The NCAI has studiously avoided the issue for decades, here at Original Pechanga Blog, we have called them out through at least 3 Presidents (of the U.S. and the NCAI) READ those   Here  or HERE  or here   That silence and inaction favors the oppressors.  Even worse, they bring in disenrollment chieftains as honored leaders.  Any abuses of Native people are okay, just don't use a Native mascot?

John Gomez Jr. former head of the American Indian Rights and Resources Organization published 10 Things You Can Do To Help Stop the Lawlessness in Indian Country   That got some movement from politicians like Rep. Mike Thompson from N. California. He wrote to Nick Rahall then head of the House Natural Resources committee asking for oversight hearings  but this was an exception.

We've written to Attorneys General Barr,  Sessions , Eric Holder, Lynch  Governors, Senators.  Mostly to crickets, although Barbara Boxer responded with a campaign letter.

Let's circle back to our Native advocates.  We have called for boycotts of offending tribes' enterprises, each of the TOP TEN INDIAN CASINOS To AVOID because THEY CHEAT Their OWN People have violated one or all of the rights on this list:

•Stripped tribal members of their citizenship
•Denied voting rights to members
•Taken away rightful healthcare to seniors
•Blocked access to land on the reservation
•Denied members due process of law, including legal representation, even writing tools.
•Prohibition of practicing religion, including the right to pray at their ancestor's graves.
•Threatened others if they speak out
•Subjected some to ex post facto laws.

Since President Biden's Voting Rights Act is the talk of the present, be reminded that all 11,000 of us have lost the right to vote in our tribes elections. Imagine if Republicans lost 25% of the vote, giving Democrats unlimited power...or vice versa.

What can YOU DO?  Without much effort, YOU can  Stop patronizing disenrolling tribe's 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, you, as a proud citizen will NOT support their nation, but will patronize their competitor nations.   If you don't tell them why you aren't coming, they could just think, business is bad.  Mabuhay Radio joined in a boycott of Pechanga when the tribal council started stripping citizenship from tribal members and stealing their per capita.

I understand we can't all STAND UP FOR ALL RIGHTS ALL THE TIME, but a couple of small actions, including sharing the stories we've put here for 15 year, is a step in the right direction.  It just takes a little effort, from a lot of us.   And there is GOOD NEWS on restoration of some to their tribes:
ENTERPRISE RANCHERIA   Robinson Rancheria  The Cherokee Freedmen won their treaty rights, and the Grand Ronde followed the tribal courts decision bringing back Chief Tumulth's descendants   JUST RECENTLY, the Cahto tribe of the Laytonville Rancheria brought a long disenrolled family back.

Read here on SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING  You will see THAT somebody is in the mirror LOOKING BACK.