Curry: Human and civil rights abuses not acceptable in Indian Country

Rebecca Curry of Lake County News has an excellent Op-Ed piece on Civil Rights and the many California Tribes abuses of the Indian Civil Rights Act.


In the summer of 2007, The Lake County Democratic Club and the Lake County Democratic Central Committee voted unanimously to endorse the California Native American Justice and Equal Economic Opportunity Legislative Initiative.


The resolution to support this Legislative Initiative was introduced to Lake County Democrats by Mr. Robert Edwards, a disenrolled member of the Enterprise Rancheria No. 1, of Maidu Indians. Mr. Edwards was Vice Chair of the Tribal Council. He and 70 other members of Enterprise Rancheria No. 1 were disenrolled in the winter of 2003.

We had hoped that our support, that a public endorsement and by notifying our legislators of the importance of this issue, that we would signal our belief that this action should result in enforcement of the legislation that allows American Indians the same civil rights, as well as the right to due process enjoyed by all Americans.

That legislation is the Native American Civil Rights Act that was enacted by Congress in 1968.

We support reform of the Indian Civil Rights Act in such a way that this would be possible. Our hope was to provide some of the 3000+ Indians in California who are being victimized by corrupt tribal governments the right to due process at the state and federal level.

The state of California must move to enact legislation that will insert the enforcement of the Indian Civil Rights Act into the gaming compacts.

The situation has now come to crisis in Lake County.

I am concerned about the possible violation of Indian civil rights happening at Robinson Rancheria.

When citizens voted for Indian gaming in California, they voted with the understanding that gaming revenues would improve the conditions of tribal people in the areas of jobs, health, education and general welfare on the Rancherias.

IN what appears to be a “form of genocide” that is being committed by the tribal government at Robinson Rancheria, tribal people have lost jobs and health benefits, loss of elders assistance including a senior meal program, loss of education benefits, and the loss of tribal cultural identity as a member of one’s tribe.


I have asked our state and federal legislators open an investigation on the growth of human and civil rights violations in Indian country, so that these civil rights issues can be addressed.

I am urging citizens in Lake County to contact our state and federal legislators to follow suit.

Read the rest at the link above. Thank you Rebecca for speaking out.