The North County Times has our editorial up. It's important that our readers check out the link and COMMENT at the NCTimes. Keep it up front as one of their most commented articles. Interesting to note that the editorial has run in two newspapers, and Indianz.com yet no mention in the Pechanga run website owned by Pechanga Chairman Mark Macarro. And thank you to our friends at Temecula Patch for linking to the NC times article.
The North County Times and The Californian have done an excellent job in bringing the shameful acts of disenrollments of members of the San Pasqual and Pala reservations to the public.
A November editorial compared membership in tribes to belonging to a church. Nothing could be further from the truth. Membership is a birthright and shouldn't be subject to the whims and prejudices of people with personal agendas.
Tribal membership is about heritage. It's the corrupt tribal councils of the above-mentioned tribes, along with those from Pechanga of Temecula, Chukchansi and Redding that are tossing aside the history of their tribes with a dismissive attitude that should be alarming to the people of California. Pechanga ran ads for expanding gaming, claiming 10,000 years of history ---- yet quickly shed two families with more historical ties to the land, proven by the tribe's own expert, than one of their sitting council members.
Tribal governments are using sovereignty as a weapon to beat the weak and helpless. Our federal and state governments are happy to stay out of the issue by saying that membership is a tribal matter. Fair enough, but what about the government's trust responsibility to Indians, to see that tribal constitutions are followed?
Good governance requires fair legal frameworks that are enforced impartially. It also requires full protection of human rights. Impartial enforcement of laws requires an independent judiciary and an impartial and incorruptible police force. That simply is not what is happening on tribal reservations.
7 comments:
Yes its sad that a few with greed and black spirts do this. Take the Sandia Pueblo council in NM, they are as corrupt as they come, using doctored DNA tests so they can keep thousands of the tribes dollars in thier homes, Donny boy is the worst. He states HE is responsible for the ribe, thats why the drug abuse and alcohalism is rampent. Bad karma and the spirts will take care of those that are NOT true to the tribe.
United States Department of the Interior
OFFICE OF THE SECRETRY
Washington. D C. 20240
The Honorable Mark Macarro
Spokesman, Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission,lndians of the Pechanga Reservation
P.O. Box 1477
Temecula,California 92593
Dear Spokesman Macarro:
On March 23, 2000, we received the Tribal-State Compact between the State of California(State) and Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission lndians of the Pechanga
Reservation(Tribe),dated September 10, 1999. We have completed our
reeview of this Compact and
conclude that it does not violate
the lndian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988( IGRA)...
So apparently the, 'Honorable' Mr. Shrimpenstein actually was involved in something that didn't result in a violation, like the Pechanga Constitution, Due Process, etc. etc. etc. Honorable? That's like calling Mahmoud Ahmadinejad an Advocate of the Jewish State. LOL!
Thank you OP for continuous reports for true natives. Thanks to articles like the one from Indian Country Today for exposing greed in disenrollments. Not the Indian way.
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2011/12/14/gaming-revenue-blamed-for-california-tribes-disenrolling-members-67718
I read the editorial Saturday. Good job.
(oh this is my old handle, I go by "TheCork" now)
There are a variety of issues that arise for a Native American who has been either disenrolled in his/her tribe, or has never been enrolled. This particular issue is a setback in the development of Native American rights and tribal preservation. There are particular issues where disenrollment (or never being enrolled) has an impact on social, political, economic, and cultural spheres. The issues that arise from this are:
1. Lack of Rights
A Native American who is not enrolled in his/her tribe, will not be represented under their tribal law. In some tribes, you have to be an enrolled member to be able to be protected under the federal law (I.E. Indian Child Welfare Act) as well.
2. College Seat Opportunities
Native Americans who are not enrolled in his/her tribe will have to prove their status when applying for colleges. Both main-stream and tribal colleges have requirements for the Native American applicant. This is another set back when a Native American is not enrolled in his/her tribe. At mainstream colleges, the Native American applicant (assuming he/she is not enrolled in a tribe) will not be competing in the minority seat through Affirmative Action at the college, but in a larger pool of applicants that are non-minorities.
3. College Scholarships
A Native American who is not enrolled in his/her tribe will run into obstacles when applying for a minority scholarship (I.E. Native American scholarship). He/she will run into problems under scholarship requirements which usually have a requirement of tribal enrollment in order to apply for the scholarship. This is a setback because there is a lack of funding for a disenrolled (or never enrolled) Native American who wants to attend college.
4. Jobs
Federal and tribal jobs have an “Indian Preference” section for Native American applicants. If a Native American is not enrolled, then he/she does not fall under that preference for the job. Unemployment is higher among the Native American population compared to the national average.
5. Tribal Recognition & Loss of Ancestry & Separation from Tribe
Clearly, the issue of disenrollment (or never being enrolled) lies in the issue of tribal recognition and the loss of ancestry. This issue creates disunity, and instability with the sustainability of a tribe.
These are issues that seem to arise from disenrollment. If there are more issues at hand with this topic, then it would beneficial to hear all perspectives to get a better understanding.
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