Susan Bradford: Chief Kequom Misled His Membership About Pursuing an Investigation

Susan Bradford on Saginaw Chippewa:

Like many Saginaw Chippewa Indians, Dennis Kequom is a liar and opportunist. While he campaigned on integrity, he has misled tribal members about his intention to pursue an investigation into the 1986 Constitution and membership fraud. He laughed and contradicted himself in the same conversation as he gloated about having gotten one over on everyone and then encouraged anyone who took issue with his deception to sue him in Tribal Court.

His alleged right hand woman, Council Woman Linda Hunt, who claimed to be speaking for him to initiate an investigation, was deeply tied into the dilution of the tribe’s billion dollar portfolio during the doomed Seminole deal in which the Seminole Tribe of Florida was trying to get the tribe’s Migizi development board to invest in gaming in violation of its charter, inside sources said.

The deal involved having the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan put up the investment for a Hard Rock casino (The Seminoles own the Hard Rock franchise) while both tribes were poised to share the profits. The billion dollar portfolio has since been looted – with money potentially having gone into mergers & acquisitions and other speculative ventures involving alternative energies.

Already a genealogist investigating fraud concerning throngs of fictitious Indians who have acquired membership in the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan has reported that her car brakes were cut in what appears to be an attempt against her life. She allegedly told investigators and the Council that the culprit was none other than Bernie Sprague, the Saginaw Chippewa SubChief who committed perjury against Republican super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff in Sen. John McCain’s Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearings. Most who have questioned the illegality of this tribe’s government have found themselves in jeopardy of one sort or another.

Increasing membership is intrinsically tied to federal funding. The more members, regardless of whether they are legitimate or not, the more money the tribe can acquire from the federal government for the care of those individuals. In a ravenous quest for income, the tribal government continues to add more fictitious Indians onto the rolls, in the process defrauding the U.S. government of tax revenue.

Kequom laughed about misleading his membership and said that anyone who disagrees with him can take him to Tribal Court, which everyone knows is fixed. Judges have been known to rewrite law during trial in order to secure convictions, and the Chief can fire any judge who rules against him. The Chief thinks he is above the law and acts accordingly. After campaigning on fighting corruption, he has resisted all efforts at reform and has bought himself an expensive new car and most likely has been bought off himself, tribal members said.

While Hunt told members that the Chief wanted to replace corrupt tribal attorney Sean Reed and lobbyist Larry Rosenthal, and bring on clean operators, Kequom said he was perfectly happy with the status quo. He seems to think tribal sovereignty is license to engage in illegal activities and operate above federal law and the U.S. Constitution. However, tribal sovereignty cannot serve as a buffer when federal laws have been broken.

The lawlessness surrounding the prosecution of Sen. Ted Stevens and Republican super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff are an ominous reflection of the lawlessness overtaking Indian Country, where anything goes, most are bought off, and the criminals are in charge.

It is an affront to hardworking taxpayers to have them subsidize this crime syndicate, especially at a time of looming deficits. The federal government needs to shut down this criminal enterprise and prosecute the criminals within it before any more innocent people are harmed.

Susan Bradford is author of Lynched! The Shocking Story of How the Political Establishment Manufactured a Scandal to Have Republican Super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff Removed from Power.

For more information, please visit: http://www.susanbradford.org/.