ACLU Might Bring Victory for REDSKINS in Trademark Protection - Galonda

While our pleas for help from the ACLU on the abuse of civil and human rights fall on deaf ears, they have no qualms supporting a racist trademark.

Attorney Gabe Galanda criticizes the American Civil Liberties Union for submitting a brief that defends trademark protections for the Washington NFL team's racist mascot:

The ACLU is the most valiant and effective defender of the First Amendment; we are grateful. They are so formidable that the mere filing of the ACLU’s amicus brief could foretell victory in U.S. District Court for Dan Snyder.

Beyond that fear, there are primarily two troubling things about the ACLU’s support of the R*****ns trademark.

First, the ACLU downplays the impact of the R word by merely describing it as “outdated, racist language.” But they fail to appreciate that the word is not just racist–it connotes genocide, defined as: "the deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular ethnic group or nation. synonyms: mass murder, mass homicide, massacre; annihilation, extermination, elimination, liquidation, eradication,decimation, butchery, bloodletting; pogrom, ethnic cleansing, holocaust"

Would the ACLU advocate for free speech protection for a trademarked term that casts light on the mass murder of Jews at Auschwitz? Or that includes the N word vis-a-vis the massacre of Africans during American slave trade? Or that plays on sexual mutilation of Rwandan women? I would hope not.

PALA Interactive Gaming: A Failure to Launch? And NJ A Failure in Vetting?

The Website FOURFLUSH.com has the story of Pala's failure to launch their new online poker site. A bit nervous that POKERSTARS is coming into the market?  

Despite being ready to launch, the online poker site to be launched in New Jersey by Pala Interactive has been postponed. The company decided to wait for the launch as PokerStars is expected to enter the New Jersey online poker market very soon.

Back in November, the company launched an online casino gaming product in partnership with the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa of Atlantic City.  Pala is delaying the launch as PokerStars is expected to enter the marketplace. Pala was not expecting to take the largest share of the online poker market but with PokerStars in the mix, the potential for liquidity could be quite low. Ryan spoke out about how they have seen liquidity as a challenge, especially considering one network for online poker has already left the market, Ultimate Poker.

The CEO feels as though their online casino gaming product will be fine but poker tends to be more of a challenge, especially if you consider the site would launch at the same time as PokerStars. PokerStars was expected to be launched by now but the approval to launch has not taken place by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement. New Jersey State Senator Ray Lesniak has stated in the past that Christie put a stop to PokerStars entering the online poker industry of the state, though Christie denies these allegations.

READ MORE ABOUT PALA:
Pala disenrolled 162 members
Pala Disenrolls families
Pala disenrollments led to hardship
PALA WATCH

UPDATE PECHANGA HAS NO CULTURAL Affiliation to San Nicolas: After Ripping the Hearts From LIVE Tribal Members, Pechanga Assuages Guilt with Remains of LONE WOMAN ancestors of San Nicolas Island

The Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians Indians, having stolen the heritage from living members, casually ripping at their hearts, have taken control of remains 100 miles away from their homeland.  Bones are more important than people in Macarro World.  There is NOT a single reference to Pechanga in the Wikipedia under Tongva.  There is a reference of Dr. Johnson..

On Thursday, the Navy affirmed that connection, agreeing to repatriate 469 human remains and 436 burial objects to the Pechanga. Those items are now contained in five collections on the mainland and one on the island. Through that agreement, the tribe will have greater authority over the handling of those items, which tribal officials view as sacred.

“What today’s decision means is that nearly 500 human remains, and hundreds of burial and sacred items will finally be afforded the respect and dignity they have long deserved under federal law,” (known liar) Mark Macarro said in the statement. “The staggering amount of remains and sacred items involved stands as a testament to the need for stronger laws that respect Native heritage throughout the United States.”

While the Pechanga are the only tribe to step forward to claim a connection to the Nicoleno, there may be other Southern California tribes that also share that affiliation, officials said.

If only Macarro and the Masiel Basquez Crime Family were concerned for the LIVING, but then, the DEAD don't require per capita payments.

UPDATE: PECHANGA has NO cultural affiliation say experts, so then WHAT is it about..claim to San Nicolas after the NAVY leaves?

Many archaeologists who are knowledgeable about the earliest inhabitants of the Channel Islands say a preponderance of skeletal and DNA data affiliates the island with Gabrielino Tongva Indians, who occupied the greater Los Angeles Basin and the southern three islands: Santa Catalina, San Clemente and San Nicolas.

Among them is John Johnson, curator of anthropology at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. "Granting cultural affiliation with Pechanga would be a big mistake," he said. "I don't believe it would survive a legal challenge. The four words do not indicate some sort of cultural connection."


Last week, however, the Navy announced it had determined that the Pechanga were culturally affiliated with the remains of 469 people and 436 objects that have been removed from San Nicolas Island and are now stored in museum and university collections throughout the state.

EPIC FAIL by Eric Holder's JUSTICE Dept. NO RIGHTS VIOLATIONS in Ferguson Shooting

It's a fail because there was NO evidence of any violations of rights by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in his obviously self defense shooting of robbery suspect Michael Brown.   Yet Eric Holder was adamant about pursing civil rights violations.

Holder refused to acknowledge ACTUAL rights violations by corrupt tribes in Indian Country, as did his predecessors.   Holder can't claim they didn't know, as the Justice Department is a frequent visitor to this blog, having come here two days before this post..TWICE.

Eric Holder is a DISGRACE, hopefully his successor will be better.


Learn More on Civil Rights Violations, Disenrollment, Ethnic Cleansing in Indian Gaming Country at these Links:

Gaming Revenue Blamed for Disenrollment

disenrollment is paper Genocide

CA Tribal Cleansing

Tribal terrorism

TRIBAL TERRORISM includes Banishment

Nooksack Disenrollment

Eric Holder is GONE, Obama Tears Up, The VIOLATED of INDIAN COUNTRY Weep Too, For Lack of Justice

Goodbye and GOOD RIDDANCE to departed Attorney General Eric Holder. President Obama had tears in his eyes as he said goodbye.  We WEEP too, as  He who  failed to find civil rights violations (well, there were none) in the George Zimmerman matter, also FAILED to even look INTO the civil rights violations in Indian Country.

We have been asking AG Holder to look into violations of civil and human rights for years now. He leaves without addressing the issue, or even acknowledging the issue,  leaving THOUSANDS of Native Americans without JUSTICE.

Let's hope we can get candidate Loretta Lynch's attention.
 

 

Indian Child Welfare Act Doesn't Protect Indian Children From Tribes That Terminate Them.

Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn released the Revised Guidelines to Ensure that Native Children and Families Receive the Full Protection of the Indian Child Welfare Act which is designed to "...provide better clarity so that the courts can carry out Congress’ intent to protect tribal families, preserve tribal communities, and promote tribal continuity now and into the future.” That's an important goal.  It does bring to mind another question:

WHO protects the welfare of Indian Children that have had their heritage ripped from them, by their own tribal government.   In the case of Pechanga, a rich casino tribe in California, over 200 children were summarily removed from the tribe.  Where was the Bureau of Indian Affairs or the National Congress of American Indians, or the Native American Rights funds, when Indian Children were being stripped of their citizenship?

In the case of Pechanga, whose enrollment committee included a relative of the family they disenrolled, sharing the same common ancestor, destroyed the welfare of a hundred Indian children.   Where were the protections for their welfare?   Why would the BIA refuse to get involved?   They may claim they were powerless, but they certainly could have issued guidance.    WHO protects the Native American child, when it's a Native American tribe that's harming them?

In the case of two large families from Pechanga , the Manuela Miranda and the Paulina Hunter descendants, the tribe voted to end all disenrollments, even though the tribal members knew it meant foregoing the resulting significant increase in their own per capita

The tribal enrollment committee consisting of less than a quorum and including members who had NO Indian heritage, voted to disenroll Paulina Hunter posthumously by a single vote.  That single vote, from a non-Indian has harmed the welfare of 200 Indian Children.  Non Indians taking the rights of Indians, while claiming those same rights for themselves.

In the recent ICWA revision press release, it states:

Several long-term studies have been conducted of Native American adult adoptees. Despite socioeconomic advantages that many of them received by virtue of their adoption, long term studies reflect that these adoptees experienced increased rates of depression, low self-esteem, and suicide. In addition, many adult adoptees continue to struggle with their identities and have reported feelings of loneliness and isolation. Today, the number of Native American children in foster care alone is still alarmingly high, and they are still more than twice as likely to be placed in foster care overall.

Is it time for a study on the experiences of depression, low esteem and suicide on children who have been discarded, sometimes by non-Indian leaders?  Think about this:

The news release continues: Protecting Indian children reflects the highest ideals of the trust responsibility to Indian tribes and the guidelines issued today are a part of this Administration’s broader approach to ensuring compliance with ICWA.     This statement begs the question: 

State Absorbs Costs After Chukchansi Casino Failure; Corruption As It's Done Due to Tribal Disernollments

Remember when TRIBES promised casino gaming would be a boon for all Native's in California?  The darker side is that the STATE is left holding the bag when the corruption shuts down the casino.  IS THAT the reason they turn a blind eye to the civil and human rights violations in Casino Indian Country?


Workers who lost their jobs when Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino was shut down last October due to an armed takeover will be beneficiaries of a $500,000 grant from the California Employment Development Department.    GREAT FOR THEM, not so good for the taxpayers of CA.

     The EDD is providing the Madera County Workforce Investment Board with the grant to assist workers who were laid off after the casino was forced to shut down due to violence by one of three feuding tribal factions.

     One of the factions executed a takeover of the casino in Coarsegold - 40 miles northeast of Fresno - using firearms and Tasers on Oct. 9, 2014. More than 15 people were arrested after the takeover and are awaiting trial.

     The casino was shut down by order of the California Attorney General Kamala Harris' Office and the National Indian Gaming Commission, causing enormous losses in profits.

     "The sudden closure of this important local business severely impacted more than 1,000 people who are suddenly without work, and many others whose jobs were dependent on the casino," said EDD Director Patrick W. Henning, Jr.
     Approximately 600 of the workers who lost their jobs are residents of Madera County.

     The $500,000 grant will "provide needed employment resources, such as retraining, resume-writing classes, interview preparation, and job search services that will help them secure new jobs as quickly as possible," Henning said.    THIS IS SOMETHING CHUKCHANSI should be paying for, or should REPAY the citizens of CALIFORNIA.

Chukchansi "Unification" Council Rebuffed By Indian Affairs

Things at the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians are still in disarray.

On January 24th, the Tribe's General Council voted to recognize that the six tribal leaders who make up the Unification Council – Chance Alberta, Nancy Ayala, Nokomis Hernandez, Tracey Hopkins, Reggie Lewis and Karen Wynn – have the Tribe's constitutional authority to act as the Tribe's interim governing body until an election for all seven Tribal Council seats is conducted, and to use the membership list as it existed at the time of the December 2012 Tribal Council elections.

There was a subsequent meeting this past Monday. Here's a result of that meeting

Karen Wynn and Tracy Hopkins refused to step down so the 2010 council can form. Nancy and Jennifer back Karen and Tracy. They are going to BIA tomorrow trying to get government to government started, using the unification council.  Morris took his seat but Dora refused to seat with unification. 
A vote by the 7 2010 council members to pass a resolution (to place the unification in power) was made. 4 no 3 yes. You should have seen Tracy's face when Chance Alberta voted no.  Chance tells Tracy that he knows that BIA will not accept using 2 council. Most of the time general council just verbally abuses the tribal council, which was the best part of the meeting."

On Wednesday Feb. 25th the unification council met with the BIA, with protesters gathered outside.  The determination is that tribal members DO NOT have to join with the unification council to have an election.  There will be a meeting today, Thursday 2/26.

Ruling on Federal Recognition of Mishewal Wappo Tribe Due by March 31

A federal judge appears close to ruling on a local Indian tribe’s efforts to seek federal recognition, with potential future implications for Napa Valley land use.

The Mishewal Wappo Tribe of Alexander Valley sued the U.S. Department of Interior to have its tribal recognition restored. Napa County officials fear such status might someday give the tribe the ability to build a casino locally, should it choose to pursue this course.

Both sides filed motions for summary judgment in their favor. U.S. District Court Judge Edward J. Davila took the Mishewal Wappo case under submission in July 2013, beginning the wait for a decision.

In a recently filed document, Davila said he will issue an order addressing the motions by roughly March 31.

Disenrolled SHOULD NEVER GIVE UP Their Fight For THEIR RIGHTS or They'll NEVER GET THEM BACK

I was sent an article entitled 22 Reasons to Never Give UP by my cousin Russ, at a point where I was feeling a bit low about working the blog and the fact that a number of our people, and MY OWN family have dropped out.   But, I’ve read it a few times and now I’m going to adapt some of it where it would pertain to those of us that have been harmed by their tribes.  Because if we don't work as hard for OUR RIGHTS, we won't regain them, as this picture illustrates:

Spread the word about Original Pechanga's Blog blog to others. Snoqualmie took back their tribe, Laytonville put some people back into the tribe. Grand Ronde reinstated 100 disenrolled, Enteprise Rancheria brought people home as has the Robinson Rancheria. We have done good, more people know, we've gotten TV interviews, radio, print, but YOUR help is needed.  YOUR letter could be the one that breaks the camel’s back!  These are simple tasks that can be done EVERY DAY.   Join twitter, join Native American FB groups, GOOGLE PLUS stories.   

Nooksack 306 Survive Battle Due to Kelly Faction Premature Ejac... Uh Incompetence In Rushing Disenrollment Hearings

 Plans to strip membership from roughly 300 members of the Nooksack Indian Tribe must wait until the disenrollment process has final federal approval, according to a tribal court judge.

In a hearing Monday afternoon, Feb. 23, Nooksack Tribal Court Judge pro tem Randy Doucet held with the court’s previous rulings: Until tribal council has final word from the Secretary of the Department of the Interior, they may not disenroll anyone, said lawyers for the affected members. A reporter was not allowed in the courtroom as only five people for each side were admitted.

The ruling came as a relief for members of three affected families, who call themselves the “Nooksack 306.”

Dozens of the 306 gathered outside the small tribal court building in Deming Monday afternoon, separated from the building by caution tape, cones, and a handful of tribal police officers. While waiting for news, they and their supporters prayed, sang songs and beat drums.

“I have faith that no matter what happens, Creator’s going to be watching over us,” said Arsenio Lopez III, who is facing disenrollment, while waiting outside of the court. “I never question my Nooksack blood. I have faith that justice will prevail.”

Within an hour, the Nooksack 306 had their answer as their lawyer Gabe Galanda walked out of the building, hand held high in the air with a big thumbs up and a smile on his face.

The hearing dealt in part with the group’s recent appeal of a decision by the Secretary of the Interior.

In mid-January, the tribe was notified the Secretary of the Interior had ruled a September 2014 tribal ordinance that details a disenrollment process is legal under the tribe’s constitution.

The ordinance in question was set up by Chairman Bob Kelly and his supporters on the tribal council. It spells out a process that requires each of the affected members to compile legal documentation of their lineage and schedule a time to have a 10-minute teleconference with the council.

The council attempted to start expelling members with a similar process in 2013, but the Nooksack Tribal Court issued an injunction as that process was not sent to the Interior Secretary for approval when it was first put in place.

Upon getting the Secretary’s approval of the process in January, the council started sending notices to affected elders informing them of “involuntary disenrollment meetings” starting March 4.

The 306 appealed the Secretary’s decision. Their lawyers Galanda and Ryan Dreveskracht argued that federal law dictates the Secretary’s decision is of no legal effect until the appeal has been decided through a federal administrative process.

Read more here: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2015/02/23/4148988/judge-nooksack-tribe-must-hold.html#storylink=cpy

DEVASTATING Video Of the NOOKSACK 306 Abuse by Bob Kelly Please WATCH and SHARE

This is so well produced, dealing with the anguish caused by the Nooksack Tribe, and it's chairman, adopted tribal member Robert Kelly and it's abuse of tribal citizens.   It's important that you WATCH and share with all your contacts.  SOVEREIGNTY was NOT meant to be wielded like a CLUB, to beat the weak and helpless

STAND AGAINST HATE, STAND with the NOOKSACK 306

Paskenta Band Sues Former F.B.I Agent For Stealing $838,000. Pechanga Disenrolled Say: Pikers, Pechanga has Stolen 3 times as Much from Each Of US

A northern California tribe that the State tried to shut their casino down for corruption claims in court that its former economic development director swiped $838,000 to buy himself a house.  Seems lie a lot, but it's about a third of what Pechanga has stolen from one of 230 tribal members they disenrolled.


     The Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians sued John Crosby, his wife, Cornerstone Community Bank and Quicken Loans, on Feb. 11 in Shasta County Court.

     The tribe, whose land is in Tehama and Glenn counties, sought venue in Shasta County because the property in dispute is there. The tribe of roughly 240 members operates the Rolling Hills Casino in Corning.
     It claims that while working as economic development director in January 2012, Crosby withdrew $838,434.14 in cash from a tribal account at Cornerstone Community Bank, bought a cashier's check for that amount, and used it to buy a house in his and his wife's names.
     The Crosbys then borrowed money against the house - $417,000 from Quicken Loans and a revolving loan of $190,650 from Cornerstone Community Bank, according to the complaint.
     "Plaintiff only became aware of Mr. Crosby's actions following his termination in April 2014 and after conducting a months-long investigation into the unlawful dealings of Mr. Crosby and others," the complaint states.

     The property is listed for sale with an asking price of $1.3 million, the tribe says. It claims it is the rightful owner of the property because Crosby bought it with tribal money.

     It seeks a judicial determination of the parties' rights and obligations, an injunction preventing sale, and quiet title against any claims by the Crosbys or the lenders.

     "Unless and until they are enjoined and restrained by this Court, the Crosby defendants' continued possession of the subject property and their efforts to sell it will cause great and irreparable injury to plaintiff in that the subject property could be sold without plaintiff's knowledge and permission, and the proceeds from any such sale, which rightfully belong to plaintiff, could be placed in accounts inaccessible to plaintiff," the complaint states.

     On June 3, 2014 the tribe said in a statement that an internal audit of its business accounts had revealed embezzlement by John Crosby and others. The statement said Crosby is a former FBI agent . The tribe alleged that Crosby and the tribe's former treasurer's husband set up an account with themselves as signatories and wrote hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of checks to each other.

     "Crosby wrote over $600,000 in checks for home improvement, including landscaping, a tennis court, pool construction and an outdoor kitchen," the tribe said.
      
     In June last year, during a tribal dispute, California sued the tribe to enjoin the factions from carrying firearms, deploying tribal police or trying to take over the casino 

UPDATE: NOOKSACK CORRUPTION: If it Looks Corrupt, Acts Corrupt, Sounds Corrupt, Probably CORRUPT?

Our friends in the struggle for human and civil rights, the NOOKSACK 306 are fighting the corrupt and racist Nooksack tribal leaders AND the Department of Interior:

Two members of the “Nooksack 306” – Nooksack Indian Tribe citizens who are fighting disenrollment – are awaiting an appeals court ruling on a case involving their alleged unconstitutional removal from the tribal council.

Council members Michelle Roberts and Rudy St. Germaine, along with more than 270 of the members targeted for disenrollment, filed a motion in Nooksack Tribal Court of Appeals February 18 seeking an emergency review of a February 7 order by Nooksack Tribal Court Chief Judge Raquel Montoya-Lewis, denying an injunction to stop Council Chairman Robert Kelly and other defendants from removing Roberts and St. Germaine from the council and reinstate them to their elected positions. Montoya-Lewis said the council had the power to remove them and that the court did not have the power to deal with the political aspects of the events.

According to the court documents, Kelly called three emergency meetings over the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, effectively blocked Roberts and St. Germaine from attending the meeting via teleconference and, at the last meeting, led the council in removing them from office for missing three meetings.

The motion to the Nooksack Tribal Court of Appeals asking for a review of Montoya-Lewis’s order is the latest action in a long series of legal moves that have taken place since February 2013, when the tribal council under Kelly’s direction passed Resolution 13-02: Initiating Involuntary Disenrollment for Certain Descendants of Annie James (George).

The common thread among the 306 members facing disenrollment is their mixed Filipino and American Indian heritage. Moreno Peralta, spokesman for the families, told Indian Country Today Media Network that the families believe they are being dispossessed of their Nooksack identity because of their mixed Nooksack and Filipino ancestry.

Read more at At Indian Country

UPDATE THERE HAS BEEN A STAY IN THE DECISION UNTIL THE INTERIOR SECRETARY DECISION CAN BE PUBLISHED