California's politicians are the beneficiaries of money stolen from Pechanga tribal members. Over 230 adult members of the Pechanga tribe of Temecula have had well over $200,000,000 of per capita taken from them. It may as well be cash laden with smallpox, instead of blankets.
According to this article, Politicians are the beneficiaries, with over $44,000,000 last year. THANK YOU POLITICIANS for not standing up for those who are victims of gross civil rights violations. It's easy to ignore when you get the money that rightfully should go to tribal members.
A handful of wealthy California gaming tribes - which together gave nearly $130 million to political causes in 2008 - rank as the nation's largest special-interest donors to campaigns, according to a study released Monday.
Four of the state's Indian gaming interests made the top 10 list of donors, which also included public employee unions and business groups, according to the report by the Center for Responsive Politics and the National Institute on Money in State Politics, two of the nation's leading watchdog groups.
The study underscores the power of California's tribal gaming industry - particularly its successful campaign in February 2008 to approve ballot measures that allowed four tribes to install 17,000 new slot machines. OP: What is not said here is that tribes like PECHANGA tried to keep the citizens of California from voting on it.
Political experts said the tribes are likely to flex their political muscle in next year's statewide election, when voters will choose a governor and decide measures to reform state government. The Pechanga Band of Luiseño Mission Indians of Temecula donated $44 million to campaigns last year, most of them at the state level, putting it at No. 2 on the national list of largest political donors behind the National Education Association.
32 comments:
I like your blog, your rating is not a reflection of it's quality. I am a member of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi and have a $400 million dollar a year casino I get $106 per month for having such a casino. My blog is at Native American Issues. Casinos do not make stronger tribal membership they only make money.
Yes, casinos don't make stronger tribal membership they often tear apart the membership.
Some of us who were disenrolled from the Pechanga tribe had the same people who signed our enrollment cards years ago or who signed date stamped enrollment letters from the enrollment committee welcoming us to the tribe years later voted us out of the tribe or were some of the people who submitted statements saying our family has never been recognized as Pechanga.
So if we have never been recognized as Pechanga, then why sign our enrollment cards or letters in the first place?
They claimed by disenrolling us that they were correcting errors in the enrollment rolls.
Also, there is a moratorium on new adult members that has been in place almost since our casino first opened, it was voted in the following year.
But this year in 2009 the enrollment committee found membership applications that were date stamped before the deadline for the start of the moratorium but the tribe voted to not have the enrollment committee process those applications thus keeping those people out of the tribe.
So if disenrolling us was making corrections to the enrollment rolls, then why not correct the enrollment rolls the other way and let into the tribe people who beat the deadline for the moratorium?
The common theme is greed and and kicking out or keeping out legitimate tribal members.
It's disgusting. What the greedy don't seem to realize is by cutting their numbers they are setting themselves up for even more government control. I'll be laughing all the way when the fees fines and regulations destroy the FEW Casino interest holders left and the public no longer cares.
The greedy want to hang on as long as possible.
I think it's time for California to have gaming throughout the state.
Those tribes that have hurt their people should be in violation of their compacts.
One more thing, members of the disenrolled families, the Hunters and Manuela Mirandas, had gone to the tribal council and informed them that the enrollment committee did not process applications for people who had their enrollment applications in before the moratotium deadline but the council did nothing about it.
So the tribal council and the enrollment committee obviously knew about people who were stuck in the moratorium who should not have been for at least five years before the tribe voted not to process those applications this year in 2009.
And those people who the Hunters and M. Mirandas had made allegations against on the enrollment committee were then allowed to rule on the Hunters and M. Mirandas disenrollment cases.
Does this sound like payback and covering up corruption?
We asked certain committee members be made to be recused and be made to step aside from ruling on our disenrollment cases as we couldn't get a fair and impartial ruling, a violation of Article V of the Band's constitution forbidding malice or predjudice of tribal members (among other violations of the constitution), but predictively we were kicked out of the tribe because the tribal council allowed those questionable people to rule on our cases.
But even if the allegations against those enrollment committee members were not true, those committee members should not have been allowed to rule on our cases.
Fastforward to this year (2009) and we see that the tribal vote to not process applciations in before the moratotium deadline shows that the allegations of negligence of duty on the part of certain enrollment committee members in the 2003-2004 period (and probably before this even) apparently is true.
But as I have been saying for quite some time, if any outside officials are listening, if a tribe doesn't even follow their own rules, who can make them do so?
I agree that the money is in effect "stolen" goods and the thiefs should be put on notice that you will use every legal means at your disposal to recover what was "stolen" from you. That should include all non tribal persons that received the "stolen" goods.
"if a tribe doesn't even follow their own rules, who can make them do so?"
One of my favorite questions from a true and consistent fighter for justice in Indian country,
'aamokat.
No other sovereign has the authority to over-ride a tribal "civil" decision, no matter how wrong it may be, but they can refuse to condone, co-operate, or facilitate the wrong with diplomacy, sanctions, or a refusal to recognize the wrong-doing government. It has to be fruitless for Pechanga and the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma to do what they are doing, but the opposite sems to be true, especially for non-tribal recipients of Casino dollars.
You were illegally dis-enrolled and others were illegally kept in a moratoruim, the result was that non-tribal citizens and politicians of California pocketed money that lawfully belonged to you. It was a criminal act and they must make full restitution.
I see one possible solution in that no one else will act on your behalf, and that is to act on your own behalf, that is the true essence of self-determinated sovereignty, so I will ask again as January 2010 is drawing nigh;
What "lawful" tribal member(s) will accept and review an application from an enrollee in January?
In short, an uncomfortable solution. Those who were unlawfully removed must physically re-insert themselves back into the tribe.
The question is who will stand with them on the inside as well as the outside?
ha ha nobody there can fight there way out of a wet paper sack!
and they are afraid to protest!
they are scared sh@@less,lets protest !
and take it back!
one last big bang everybody!
The problem is john gomez tries to run the protests and nobody will follow him!
Just like there last crap died and several people wanted a secret moritorium meeting without the dis enrolled!
The way I see it if you are not capable of making the protest go sideways and get radical then get the hell out of the way and let someone who has the ability to do that run the show!
radical
I hate to tell you this but a check was seen coming out of the tribal office with john gomez jr,s name on it !
You want to explain that gomez?
Our moratorium brothers and sisters are free to meet among their family or families with or without us the disnerolled.
That doesn't change the fact that we were all wronged by our tribe.
And there is nothing you can do to change this and divide us including slandering John Gomez Jr.
He must be doing something right if someone will stoop to this level to try to discredit him.
I stand with both Gomez and the moratorium people.
Trying to slander John Gomez Jr.
is about as obsurd and stupid as it can get.
Every demonstration and every meeting the disenrolled and moratorium people had he was there, supporting in every way and fighting for everyones civil rights.
Those of you critizing John Jr. have no idea what transpired in the last 4 years, simply because
YOU WHERE NOT THERE WITH US,
Us, meanig the Moratorium and Disenrolled from Pechanga, Redding Rancheria, Robinson Rancheria,
and so many others, its to long of
a list to mention all.
It is not over 'till the FAT LADY SINGS, AND THAT TIME IS COMING SOON.
We are active in many ways
[there are so many ways to skin a racoon] and all of Us will not stop untill the wrong is set right.
It's not coming overnight- but it's coming.
nothing is coming because you have nothing and you are afraid to protest or someone was paid off to stop protesting (you dirty back stabbers)!
how much were you paid?
I also heard about a pay off ,but I did not want to say anything!
(watching very closely about these pay off postings in this site)
I was told to take it easy by someone high up in pechanga when we were protesting (no lie)
it does happen ,and they are very afraid when we protest!
shadow warrior,
Anonymus, Nov.29, 8:55
O.K. I'll play along...
yes I am deathly afraid and i was paid off with $1,000.000 from the tribe {that's on million in case you cant read the numbers}
Anonymus...
I was so happy to finally tell everyone about this big payoff that I TOTALLY MISSPELLED ONE MILLION.
Oh my god,I am so embarrassed.
Even if you did take the money LOL, I'm sure you would use it to cut the head off that big snake over your shoulder. Use the money to take down the evil in Temecula!
I can't...the check bounced...
HEY I COULD HAVE USED SOME OF THAT MONEY MY 1990 BRONCO NEEDS A PAINT JOB YOU GUYS HAVE SEEN IT,,BUT IT ONLY HAS 116,000 ORIGINAL MILES ON IT!
I DON,T NEED NO LEXASS (DID I SPELL THAT RIGHT)JUST A PAINT JOB!
COVER UP COVER UP (YOU SNAKES)
HOW LONG HAVE YOU KNOWN JAMES FLETCHER THAT RAN THE RIVERSIDE BIA (BASQUEZ FAMILY )WAS NOT PECHANGA INDIAN?
CRIMINAL CHARGEES FILED AGAINST HIM!
HIS FAMILY SOON TO BE DISENROLLED
FRAUD FRAUD FRAUD
wow ,under the color of authority,under the UNNITED STATES GOVERNMENT!
Preventing abuse of this authority, however, is equally necessary to the health of our nation’s democracy. That’s why it’s a federal crime for anyone acting under “color of law” willfully to deprive or conspire to deprive a person of a right protected by the Constitution or U.S. law. “Color of law” simply means that the person is using authority given to him or her by a local, state, or federal government agency.
sorry thought you might want to see this ........
law student
I think a criminal complaint might
fly better here !
just a thought,
law student
you suck ass is that why you would not step in?
no decree of indian blood or bia number you bastard!
Bull Frog
12 51 post are you a cop or lawyer?
what the hell is going on?
get a box of candy and get under your bed ,and watch the SHOW!
lighting crashes,
thunder god throwing bolts
Since when within our tribe did we have rights under the United States Constitution?
We are supposed to have them under the Indian Civil Rights Act, or so I thought, but there are very weak to non existent enforcement provisions in place.
That is what I don't understand, how can Pechanga, that gets federal funding, get away with so much lack of due process that has been afforded its citizens (in our case former citizens).
If they were a total sovereign, then they would not get any federal funding, right?
States have sovereignty but they have to abide by federal laws regarding rights within their jurisdiction so why don't tribes have to do the same thing?
Perhaps our resident Indian law buff Mr. Lee can explain it to me.
If mr lee is a buff he will see what i say is true!
I think I may have more in this area ,even more then carol goldberg,ucla law ,,,,,its not really that hard to study case law or indian law ,I find it a bit boring!
and if they new this they would have said this before me!
god of thunder!
I don,t mean to be mean ,but is your blood on that original legal court order to evict the original 300 members off the land onto the rez? in the late 1800,s?
give e a nameme a name I have the list in front of me.
no song and dance just give me a name!
DON,T respond unless you have a name!
THIS IS FOR ALL PEOPLE IN THIS SITE!
I WONDER IF THE HATE and bitterness is being passed on to all the Children. It seems as if instead of racial prejudice there is total family prejudice. Without unity all is lost! Louise, a disenrolled Elder
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