Little Change in Poverty, Unemployment in CA Tribes; Pechanga ADDS to both

Tribal Gaming is good for a few, but did not help most Native Americans in California. Pechanga has massacred more Indians in the Temecula area in the last five years than the white man had the previous 150 years! Pechanga hired an expert to PROVE that some were not members and he proved they WERE, yet the tribe still accomplished its goal to remove them, evidence be damned.

There are many links in this article, please take the time to look at them.


Malcolm Maclachlan at Capitol Weekly reports that poverty and unemployment among California Indian tribes remains unchanged years after the people of California authorized Indian Gaming based on the promises of people like Pechanga Tribal Chairman Mark Macarro told us that gaming would lift all out of poverty.

The BIA released the new data with an interesting caveat: They’re looking for help in improving their own numbers. The BIA says reporting from some tribes across the country has been spotty — an opinion echoed by some who work with tribes — and they are creating a training program to help make sure that tribes report accurate data.

Their 2005 numbers, the latest available, came out on Sept. 16. They appear to show a California Indian population whose circumstances haven’t changed much in recent years. For 2005, the BIA lists 106 federally recognized tribes in California. The figures show about 38,000 adults “available” to work, but an unemployment rate of 47 percent. Of those people who are working, 29 percent were still under the federal poverty line.

For instance, the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians is now teaching children the native Luiseno language. OP: Those children that are left in the school, after the tribe physically removed the children of those that they terminated.
But she also noted major differences between gaming and non-gaming tribes.

“In a government budget, $1.1 million is nothing if you need to provide roads and infrastructure,” Jensen said. “$1.1 million barely buys you a quarter mile of road.”
Harvey also noted that the BIA survey list is confined to enrolled members of federally recognized tribes probably encompasses less than half of the people in California who consider themselves Indians.

Viejas showed 68 percent unemployment, which the Pala Band came in at 62 percent. Pechanga reported a 91 percent unemployment rate. OP: Here's WHY.

MONEY QUOTE: Some of the reported membership figures are also likely to change in coming reports due to the trend of tribal disenrollments. The Picayune Rancheria Chukchansi Indians reported having 1,234 members in 2003 but only 1,173 two years later. At a June tribal meeting last year, the tribe reported having only 691 members. Many others have been disenrolled—told they are not eligible to be members of the tribe. The Pechanga Band reported having 1,372 members in every report in both 1999 to 2005, yet has disenrolled dozens of members OP: Uh, Malcolm, make that HUNDREDS!since then.

Many tribes say they have disenrolled members who did not have legitimate claims to be members, but many of the disenrolled proved they were kicked out so the casino profits would be cut into fewer slices.

OP: And yet, local governments and the ACLU and NAACP continue to avoid dealing with the violations of civil and human rights that the tribes have perpetrated on their own people. Democratic Chairman HOWARD DEAN even glorifies some of those that have abused their own. Kicking elders to the curb must be a requirement for Democrats?

I urge all readers to continue to learn about this at:

www.airro.org
www.tribalcorruption.org
www.pechanga.info

And PLEASE, pass my blog onto your email lists, my archives are FULL of information.