Ex Pechanga Ranger Pleads NOT GUILTY to Possession of Child Pornography; Pechanga's Own Sex Offenders Okay to Work.

An ex-police officer allegedly caught with sexually explicit images of children on his home computer today pleaded not guilty to possession of child pornography.

Hector Jesus Zamora, 42, who worked for Pechanga, which has their own sex offenders on the rangers, could face a year in jail if convicted of the felony, for which he was arrested on Nov. 1.To read about the arrest, click here. (That's it?)

The defendant appeared with his attorney today before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Becky Dugan, who set a felony settlement conference in the case for Jan. 31. Zamora remains free on $5,000 bail.

According to the District Attorney's Office, members of the sheriff's Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement (SAFE) team allegedly located two-dozen explicit pictures, some of them depicting underage girls, on his desktop.

The Federal Government's Spineless Morality on Tribal Sovereignty.

The Obama Administration's Bureau of Indian Affairs seems to suffer from "spineless morality".   They turn a blind eye to civil rights violations by native American tribes at every opportunity.   

They are okay with tribes cutting 25% of their membership, but are going bullistic over perceived civil rights violations such as requiring ID to vote ( a 15th amendment right), while having no problems requiring ID to purchase weapons (a second amendment right).

The spinlessless call on "sovereignty rights" to allow tribes to violate 1st, 14th, 15th and ex post facto laws.

As Abraham Lincoln said:  "No one has the right to choose to do what is wrong!"    Yet our BIA, our representatives and our executive branch are allowing just that.    When is it WRONG?

Worthless BIA to Stay Out of Chukchansi Election Debacle. DO we Need Jimmy Carter, or Just Get Rid of the BIA's CA Division?

The Fresno Bee reports that the BIA will again stick their head in the sand or another oriface and stay out of the Chukchansi dispute.   Should we eliminate the BIA in CA?

The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs says it will stay out of the fight over leadership of the tribal council for the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians, despite a request for the agency to intervene.


The agency's Sacramento office received the request Tuesday from the new tribal council to recognize it as the tribe's official government, said Troy Burdick, superintendent of the Central California Agency, BIA.

However, Burdick said, the contested Dec. 3 election is an internal matter, and he does not anticipate the BIA intervening.

Members of the old and new tribal council could not be reached for comment on Wednesday. The new council's attorney also could not be reached for comment.

Tribal members voted earlier this month to replace the current tribal council headed by chairman Reggie Lewis with a new majority opposed to the tribe's disenrollment practices -- in which the tribe removes members based upon bloodlines.

Read more here:

Chukchansi Disgrace has Made Print Media, National Radio and Now, Television

Those tribal council members of Chukchansi have been having their disgraceful actions shared all over the media, the New York Times, National Review, Fresno Bee and now, ABC. Too bad they don't do anything good. The destruction of their tribe is painful to watch

THE VIDEO AT THE LINK IS SLOW TO LOAD, BUT IT WILL LOAD, BE PATIENT.  PECHANGA is MENTIONED.

Luwana Quitiquit, Activist On Indian Civil Rights, Has Died. Robinson Rancheria Disenrolled Her Family.

In the days before the Christmas holiday, Luwana Quitiquit was tired.
The 70-year-old Quitiquit, a respected local Pomo elder and basket weaver, artist and activist, had been the lead plaintiff in a case filed against Robinson Rancheria, whose council was trying to evict her and several others from their homes on the reservation.

It was the latest assault on Quitiquit and her family, who in 2008 were disenrolled by the tribe. Also disenrolled at that time was her mother, who was posthumously removed from the tribe’s rolls.

Quitiquit, who had formerly served on the Robinson Rancheria tribal council, told Lake County News at the time that the move to force her family out of the tribe was purely political and retaliatory.

“I'm ready to fight,” she said in a December 2008 interview. “They're not going to make me cry. I'm going to fight all the way.”
She had continued to fight, even as the tribe attempted to push her from her home, signing up to be the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit to fight the evictions. A judge recently had granted a delay in the proceedings until March, according to her sister, Wanda Quitiquit.

But, as sister Wanda pointed out, Luwana Quitiquit was both busy and tired from the battle, and she was struggling with her health.
“You would not believe the stress she was under,” Wanda Quitiquit told Lake County News.
In order to pay for the retainer fee for the attorney representing her and others targeted for eviction, Luwana Quitiquit had just sold one of her exquisitely beaded American Indian dresses, Wanda Quitiquit said.
With money to pay the attorney, Luwana Quitiquit believed things were going to be all right, said her sister.
On Thursday, Dec. 22, she went to bed exhausted. The next morning, her son went to check on her.

“She died in her sleep and we should all be so lucky,” said Wanda Quitiquit, who called her sister her best friend.

Wanda Quitiquit said the fight to battle the evictions at Robinson Rancheria needs to continue on behalf of her sister.
“They can't touch her now,” she said of the tribal council.

Luwana Quitiquit was born in Isleton, Calif., on Nov. 13, 1941, to father Claro Quitiquit, of Filipino ancestry, and mother, Marie Boggs Quitiquit, who came from Robinson Rancheria.

She was from a big family, with a total of 15 siblings.
She grew up on Union Island in the Bay-Delta area near Stockton, where she and her family were employed as farm workers.

Read more of Elizabeth Larson’s obituary for Luwana Quitiquit

Darrell Issa, Richest Representative in Congress, Ignores Civil Rights Issues by His Tribal Contributors.

The rich stand by the rich.  Darrell Issa ignores the  plight of native Americans in his district, because he's paid by tribal governments.   He turns a blind eye to the civil rights violations in his district.

Temecula's Congressman was the richest person in the House of Representatives in 2010, according to a report.

Darrell Issa (R-Vista) has an average net worth of $448,125,017, the Center for Responsive Politics reported.

Issa co-founded Directed Electronics, the country's largest manufacturer of vehicle anti-theft devices, according to the report.
The Center for Responsive Politics is a nonprofit organization dedicated to tracking money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy, according to its mission statement.
Issa's relative wealth has stirred controversy for him before.

The Temecula Patch has more on Darrell Issa's wealth

UPDATE: Chukchansi Squabble over Seating New Council

There seems no end to the situation at the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians. The new council members weren't seated. There was some commotion.

The story is developing. BOYCOTT Chukchansi Gold Casino... The Sierra Star News will have more.


UPDATE: Here is the story about what happened

got a call last night that their was lots of shouting, pushing, etc. at the PRCI tribal
meeting...apparently, the council was preventing Harrold Hammond from attending the meeting...his
daughter then called the council out on this and security let Harrold pass.

Reggie Lewis then attempted to read a statement in regard to the election, and was shouted down by
the general council majority, who were apparently ready to take on the Wyatt-Ramirez minority who
have pushed the disenrollment...he was shouted away, Morris-who also had been barred from the
meeting--was also allowed in by security then. the meeting culminated in the NEW council being
seated, and Morris being appointed as chair.
Reggie Lewis was removed from the meeting for illegally videotaping(a banning of video policy which he was responsible for writing, therefore violating his own policy) and council members Jennifer Standley and Chase

Alberta apparently retreated to a corner away from the council table for protection. plenty of yelling, and the
beginning of physicality prompted an election committee member placing another tribal member under
citizens arrest, the sheriff was called, and the member was removed by the sheriff who had arrived
on the scene.

it is my understanding that Nokomis Hernandez made quite an eloquent speech to the general council
in regard to our people...i was also told that the recent disenrollments and those awaiting results
from hearing the past weeks had been rescinded by the new council...the question is...will
the "new" council--which still consists of members now voting against the disenrollments and who
were responsible for the disenrollment of 500 Chukchansi people in 2006 and 200 in 2000--Dixie
Jackson, Morris Reid, Dora Jones, and harrold Hammond--bring ALL the people home to picayune where
they belong...

AND...the picayune tribal office has been shut down for a week...undoubtedly to cool things off and
prevent a takeover...

the Ramirez faction of the tribe is livid--they believe ONLY they (and not even the Wyatt's) are
picayune true tribal members...on the other hand, many of the general council are now calling for
Nancy Ayala's ouster next, as she was found responsible for and banished from the tribe several
years ago for the theft of the tribal records, property, bank accounts etc. along with another 10
members of the Wyatt Ramirez family years ago...the mystery is, WHY were the Wyatt Ramirez's ever
secretly returned to the tribe by a tribal council reversal years ago without input from Picayune
general council...

I say, bring the people--ALL THE PEOPLE--home to Picayune where we belong!!!

Tribes Use Sovereignty To Make High Interest Loans (Up to 360%)

An Indian reservation in the heart of Montana's farm country may seem an unlikely place to borrow a quick $600, but the Chippewa Cree tribe says it has already given out more than 121,000 loans this year at interest rates that can reach a whopping 360 percent.

As more states pass laws to rein in lenders who deal in high-interest, short-term loans, Indian tribes like the Chippewa Cree and their new online lending venture, Plain Green Loans, are stepping in to fill the void. The Internet lets them reach beyond the isolated Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation to borrowers across the nation, while tribal immunity has allowed them to avoid bans and interest-rate caps several states have set.

To Neal Rosette, Plain Green Loans CEO and the Chippewa Cree's former executive administrative officer, it's a win-win. The online lending venture is a resource for people who can't or won't borrow from banks, while it gives the tribe a steady revenue stream and jobs with unemployment on the reservation at nearly 40 percent.

Rosette said this model could be the successor to gambling for tribes looking for an economic boost. Some tribes have owned online lending businesses for several years, and Rosette said the Chippewa Cree and three other tribes have started the Native American Lenders Alliance to encourage more.

"I believe this is the new outlook for Indian Country, not just Rocky Boy," Rosette said. "We are sovereign nations and we have the ability to create our own laws that regulate our businesses such as this."

That's a problem for consumer groups and the states that have tried to bring such lending under control. The issue with these loans, consumer advocates say, is that their high interest rates make it too easy for a borrower to become trapped in a cycle of debt as they have to borrow more to repay their original loans.

Forty-two states and the District of Columbia have taken different regulatory approaches, from outright bans to interest-rate caps. Montana voters last year passed a ballot initiative that capped such loans at a 36 percent annualized interest rate, which has led to a nearly 83 percent drop in so-called deferred deposit lenders, according to Montana banking and financial institutions director Melanie Griggs.

Read the rest the story at this link

Merry Christmas To All

may all the readers of Original Pechanga's blog have a very Merry Christmas.

May the New Year bring positive results for those of us who are struggling to retain what is rightfully ours. May those who are harming their people see justice.

Sierra Star News OP/ED: The Loss of Chukchansi Citizenship is wrong

My Op/ed piece in the Sierra Star News:


I find it disturbing that in all the years we've had mass terminations of tribal citizenship, no politician has stood up for those Indians who have been harmed by their tribe.

When you give it a benign name like "disenrollment," it takes on the context of, say, losing membership in the PTA. That makes it simpler for a politician to take tribal money and say, "tribes can choose their own membership" than taking a closer look at what it really entails.

The U.S. Government can strip an American of citizenship for few reasons, here's one from US Code 1481:

7: Committing any act of treason against, or attempting by force to overthrow, or bearing arms against, the United States ... engaging in a conspiracy to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the government of the United States.

We are talking about treason or overthrowing the government. No disenrollees have threatened overthrow of their tribal government. No bearing arms against tribal councils. In Indian country, you can lose your citizenship for simply disagreeing with the tribal council.

Can you name one American stripped of their citizenship? How about American terrorists who advocate death to American and Sharia law?

On the Pechanga reservation in Temecula, Original Pechanga allottee descendents have had their citizenship taken away, along with voting rights, health care and the right to speak at meetings. Redding Rancheria terminated 25% of their tribe, including their first tribal chairman.

The same politicians who rightfully found the apartheid policy of sovereign country of South Africa abhorrent now side with tribes who are practicing the same apartheid in their own districts.

Politicians in California who were appalled over neighbor state Arizona's stricter immigration enforcement laws, going so far as to call for boycotting that state over 'possible' civil rights violations, are supporting tribes who have actually stripped voting rights, health care, per capita (now totaling $500 million), elder care and educational assistance.

They tell themselves, "well, it's only nine people," or "it's only 75 people." Yet how many does it have to be to make it wrong?

The Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians took away citizenship to 50% of their tribal people. When is it wrong, or rather "wrong enough?" What if, say, the GOP got 50% of Democrats excluded? Would it be wrong? Of course it would.

Read the rest of the column: The Loss of Chukchansi Citizenship is Wrong

Marc Benjamin of Fresno Bee: Chukchansi tribal council election nullified

Thanks to Marc Benjamin for keeping the issue of tribal disenrollment on the front burner.


A Chukchansi tribal council election this month that ousted two supporters of tribal disenrollment has been nullified, keeping the tribe's membership issues festering.

Four opponents of disenrollment -- a thinning of tribal ranks over bloodlines -- won election, but two were deemed ineligible by the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians election committee, said a tribal source speaking on condition of anonymity because he fears he'll be disenrolled.
The two ineligible candidates, Morris Reid, a former tribal chairman, and Harold Hammond, a spiritual leader in the tribe, will not be allowed to run in the new election, the source said. OP: You'd think the election committee would have checked eligibility BEFORE the election. Unless they want the disenrollments to go through.

Tribal officials last week also voted to audit ancestry records of tribal members, meaning hundreds more could be disenrolled in 2012. Already this year, 57 members of one family were disenrolled and a tribal committee started disenrolling another 200. The ancestry audit will examine the bloodlines of 350 more members. The tribe, which once had about 2,000 members, would dip to 600 to 700 if all the disenrollments are approved.
In the Dec. 3 election of four tribal council members, Reid got the most votes and Hammond came in third. Along with second-place finisher Dora Jones, an incumbent who opposes recent disenrollments, and Dixie Jackson, who also opposes recent disenrollments, the new council majority was composed of disenrollment opponents

Rick Cuevas, a disenrolled member of the Pechanga tribein Southern California who maintains a website devoted to tribal issues nationwide, has been watching Chukchansi. He said rejecting the election results is another in a line of "shameful acts" by the tribe.
He said Chukchansi is among the most abusive of California's tribes when it comes to violating the civil rights of its members.
On his website, Original Pechanga's Blog, he has written a form letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, seeking a civil rights investigation of California's tribes, and urging other Native Americans to send the letter to Holder. It was prompted in large part by Chukchansi's disenrollments, he said

Read more here: Fresno Bee Chukchansi Story

Pala Band, Paskenta Band and Lytton Band of Pomo Indians Give Gov. Jerry Brown $275,000 to Raise YOUR TAXES

Now isn't that special? These tribe want to raise YOUR taxes because most don't pay state taxes. Would they support a bill to tax all tribal members whether they live on the rez or not?

Brown's initiative would raise the sales tax by a half-cent and increase income taxes starting at $250,000 for individuals to raise an estimated $7 billion in the first fiscal year. Both would expire at the end of 2016. And tribal members who live on the reservation pay NO state income taxes.

"We wholeheartedly support this governor's vision for California," Quintana said. "We want to make sure the governor's vision can get before the voters so they can make a choice. We run the gamut of businesses, and if we don't have a healthy economy our businesses are going to suffer."

Remember when some tribes like Pechanga wanted to KEEP US FROM VOTING?

The PALA Band is the third member of this group, which is in the news for screwing it's people.

Let's save our money for these taxes by NOT going to the PALA Casino, or the San Pablo Casino or Rolling Hills Casino.

UPDATED: Disenrollment discussions on Native America Calling: Thursday 12/22

UPDATE: Here is a link to the Native America Calling Disenrollment Radio Show please listen


Disenrollment will be on America's airwavews tomorrow on NATIVE AMERICAN CALLING. 10 AM PACIFIC TIME: To participate call: 1-800-996-2848, that's 1-800-99-NATIV

AIRRO's John Gomez Jr is a guest

Thursday, December 22, 2011– Disenrollment Dividing Tribes:
The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees American citizens the right to freedom of speech. Recently, seven members of a California tribe were banned from tribal lands for up to 10 years, allegedly for speaking out against the current tribal administration. Should a tribe be able to use its status as a sovereign nation to remove unwanted members from their tribal rolls, with no recourse? Does simply speaking out against your tribal leaders give them the right to kick you out of the tribe? Guests include former chairwoman Jessica Tavares (United Auburn Indian Community).

Larry Echo Hawk Does Not Come Off Well In San Pascual Court Decision

It seems like Assistant Secretary of the Interior Larry Echo Hawk, was an unfair arbiter in his decision against the Alto family:

.. the Tribe submitted multiple documents including a 56-page interpretive report and a separate 19 page supplemental memorandum of points and authorities. In a letter to Defendent Hawk, Plaintiffs contended that the Tribes's submittal exceeded the scope of Hawk's request and asked for an opportunity to respond. According to the Plaintiffs, they never received a response to their letter

Isn't that terrific? The Alto family gets NO CHANCE to see the evidence or respond before Larry Echo Hawk makes his decision? What was driving Mr. Echo Hawk? A swift reduction in Native Americans?

And the San Pascual tribe worked for six month to get their tribal membership roll together so they could submit it to BIA..thus far, they haven't got it done.

MONEY QUOTE from the Decision: Hawk acknowledges that Marcus Alto Sr. is listed as living with Jose Alto and Maria Duro on the 1920 federal census, but attributes it to Marcus Alto Sr.'s adoption Early in his order, however, Hawk expressly determined that it was undisputed that Marcus Alto Sr. was raised by Jose Alto and Maria Duro "since infancy" Accordingly, Plaintiffs have demonstrated that there are at least serious questions as to the propriety of Hawk's reliance on the 1907-13 censuses.

We have a link to the decision in an earlier post. Larry Echo Hawk does not look good here. And the judge obviously thinks the Plaintiffs have a good chance at winning.