Will President Elect Obama's Transition Team Meet with Disenfranchised Indians Who have been victims of Bad Tribal Governance?

Here's a letter you can send in support of those who have been disenrolled, stuck in an illegal moratorium and otherwise the victims of bad tribal governance from tribes like the Cherokee, Pechanga, Redding Rancheria and Chukchansi

Send a letter to Keith Harper: Keith.Harper@ptt.gov

President-elect Barack Obama
Presidential Transition Team Members
Keith Harper
Wizi Garriott
John Echohawk

Request to meet regarding tribal governance issues

Dear Presidential Transition Team members:

I am excited to hear that an Advisor on Indian Issues to President-Elect Obama will be attending the Tribal Sovereignty and Self-governance Conference in Southern California on January 23rd and 24th. Unfortunately, I am unable to afford the steep conference admission cost, and I will not be able to hear you speak regarding the Administration's priorities for Indian Country

Nevertheless, I, and others like myself, hope that this will provide an opportunity to meet with the attending Advisor or Administration Representative to discuss issues related to tribal governance, sovereignty, and rights violations in Indian Country.

There is a growing concern regarding the bad governance practices of tribal officials which, to date, have victimized thousands of individuals. The bad governance practices I speak of include violations of laws committed in order to strip or deny individuals and targeted groups of the basic rights and privileges enumerated and guaranteed by tribal, state, and/or federal statutes. In most instances, the victims of these bad governance practices are denied recourse against the tribal official perpetrators due to the fact that the officials invoke tribal sovereignty to escape prosecution.

If these bad governance practices are allowed to continue unabated, there is little doubt that many more individuals will fall prey. Moreover, it is bad governance on the part of the United States Congress and the Administration to ignore this issue and to allow such practices to continue.

I dearly hope my inability to attend the conference will not stand in the way of this opportunity to meet and discuss such important issues.

Respectfully submitted:

Original Pechanga