Press Release for Dry Creek Protest; Please Help by Joining the Protest

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 10, 2009

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CONTACT 1: Alexis Elgin, Dry Creek Tribal Member, (505) 450-5596

CONTACT 2: Ross Cunningham, Dry Creek Tribal Member, (415) 933-3411



DRY CREEK TRIBAL MEMBERS PROTEST DISENROLLMENT

WILL PUSH FOR BOYCOTT OF RIVER ROCK CASINO IF DEMANDS ARE NOT MET


HEALDSBURG, Saturday, March 14 – Dry Creek tribal members will continue their protest of the dysfunction and corruption of the Dry Creek Tribal Board led by Tribal Chairman Harvey Hopkins at Saturday’s town hall meeting at the Dry Creek Tribal Office.


Where: 190 FOSS CREEK CIRCLE, HEALDSBURG

When: 11AM – 2PM

Why: Tribal members are demanding that:


1. Two board members call a General Membership Meeting in the next two weeks;

2. A Dry Creek Board Election be held within the next two weeks;

3. A moratorium be enacted on disenrollment proceedings until after the elections;

4. The current Board’s salaries be suspended until Board Elections are held.



The Reasons Behind Our Demands:



-We believe that Tribal Chair Harvey Hopkins has hijacked the tribe’s democratic process by: Orchestrating a vote through the governing board to remove the names of 73 adults and 70 children from the rolls of the 565-member tribe; cancelling board elections in December (which risks the tribe losing Federal Recognition); stifling recall efforts and petitions submitted by tribal members; disenrolling his opposition and orchestrating the firing of opposition from the River Rock Casino without proper termination procedures.


-We have filed an official complaint with the SEC because we also believe that Tribal Chair Harvey Hopkins has committed an illegal act by: Making himself 10 percent owner of the Dry Creek Development Corporation (DCDC), despite never receiving approval to be a stakeholder by the tribal membership. This presents a conflict of interest. DCDC is responsible for constructing a $72 million “road to nowhere,” just below the casino.