Pechanga Gets Support in Water Rights Issue. Are Allottee's Water Rights Protected?

Yesterday, the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians Water Rights Settlement Act was introduced in the United States Senate (S. 1219) and House of Representatives (H.R. 2508).    

Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) introduced the bill in the Senate and was joined by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), an original cosponsor. 

Cong. Ken Calvert (R-CA) introduced the bill in the House of Representatives and was joined by a bipartisan list of lawmakers who co-sponsored the legislation including Cong. Duncan Hunter (R-CA), Cong. Darrell Issa (R-CA), Cong. Jeff Denham (R-CA), Cong. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA), Cong. Paul Cook (R-CA), Cong. David Valadao (R-CA), Cong. Tom Cole (R-OK), Cong. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Cong. Betty McCollum (D-MN), Cong. Tony Cardenas (D-CA), Cong. Raul Ruiz (D-CA), and Cong. Dan Kildee (D-MI).

Pechanga Tribal Chairman Mark Macarro said, “Generations of Pechanga leaders have endeavored to secure our access to this important resource and there is nothing more important to the future of our tribe.  This Settlement will finally secure a permanent source of water for our tribal members for generations to come, while ending the costly and protracted litigation process.  We extend our thanks to Sen. Boxer and Sen. Feinstein for their support in the Senate.  We are also grateful for Cong. Calvert’s leadership on this bill in the House and we look forward to working with Congress and the Administration to bring this next and final chapter to a close.”

The Pechanga Band of Luiseño Mission Indians Water Rights Settlement Act quantifies the Band’s reserved water rights in the Santa Margarita River Watershed.  The legislation also authorizes necessary infrastructure to guarantee a permanent supply of water to the Band through cooperative agreements with the local water purveyors, including Rancho California Water District, Eastern Municipal Water District and Metropolitan Water District.  Importantly, the legislation will provide a coordinated effort by the parties to manage the water within the basin that will bring all residents of the Pechanga Reservation a safe and dependable water supply for the future. 

The authority for Congress to legislatively settle Pechanga’s water rights resides in Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 of the Constitution, which grants Congress with the power “to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes.”

We wrote about this issue in 2011 when the Tribe LIED to Congress that only a dozen or so allottees had interest in the land, when there were closer to 200.  Here's that link.

http://www.originalpechanga.com/2011/02/bias-amy-dutschke-recognizes-trust.html

From the BIA letters, here is where the DOI admits to our water rights:

The Department of the Interior recognizes that allottees have water rights on allotted lands and that the United States has a trust responsibility, independent of any responsibility to the Pechanga Band, to protect those interests.

The Department is currently reviewing the proposed settlement legislation and its effect on allottees within the Reservation.

Please remember that the Hunter family is one of the few original allottees to maintain their land on the reservation.  We have homes on the original 20 acres we were allotted in 1895.  We were part of the Temecula Band of Luiseno Indians, which somehow disappeared and became the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians, which has FEW allottees in the tribe. 

BREAKING: CA SENATE APPROVES NORTH FORK CASINO

Senate votes 22 - 11 to APPROVE North Fork Casino

Steinberg says we must be consistent in respecting Native American's history.  And their connections to the land.  Mentions Chukchansi issues working towards resolution.

Roderick Wright in closing statement says North Fork will be paying into problem gambling fund. Mentions Wiyot tribes benefits.

Obama Admin Broadens Exemption for Native Americans on Obamacare

The Obama administration on Wednesday broadened an exemption for American Indians from the new health care law's requirement that virtually every U.S. resident has health insurance starting next year.

New rules clarify that people who are eligible to receive medical care through the federal Indian Health Service will be exempt from the requirement to have health insurance or face fines from the Internal Revenue Service. The Indian Health Service, a division of U.S. Health and Human Services, oversees a network of clinics that are required through treaty obligations to serve all patients of Indian ancestry, even if they cannot document their federal tribal status.

"Today, we continue to fulfill our responsibility to consult and work with tribal communities," Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement.

Last month, The Associated Press reported that the Affordable Care Act exempted only American Indians and Alaska Natives who can document their membership in one of about 560 tribes recognized by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Yet more than 100 tribes nationwide are recognized only by states and not the federal government.

That meant thousands of people who consider themselves Native Americans would have to buy their own health insurance policies or pay a $695 fine to the Internal Revenue Service unless they could prove they were eligible to claim an exemption under the Affordable Care Act. The health care law mandates that all Americans carry insurance, with just a few exemptions.

Caitrin McCarron, manager of congressional relations at the National Indian Health Board, said tribal advocates are pleased that the administration added an exemption for Native Americans who are eligible for services through an Indian health care provider. But the board is still pushing for Congress to change that section of the federal law.

"We are really pleased that HHS decided to move forward with this exemption," McCarron said. "However, we still believe that this was a stop-gap measure. Because it's not a legislative fix and it's the secretary's exemption waiver, a future secretary could reverse the policy."

While the exemption provides Native Americans who aren't part of a federally recognized tribe with some financial relief, other discrepancies remain. Jay Stiener, an analyst with the National Council of Urban Indian Health in Washington, D.C., said some Native Americans could be on the hook for co-pays, deductibles and other cost-sharing requirements.

Also, he said members of federally recognized tribes are eligible to enroll throughout the year but not others.

The 2010 Census found that nearly one-third of the 6.2 million people who self-identify as American Indian or Alaska Native lack health insurance and that 28 percent live in poverty.

In California alone, about 21,000 people who currently receive free health care through Indian clinics are not recognized as Native American by the federal government and would have to pay the penalty, according to the nonprofit California Rural Indian Health Board.

Chukchansi Corruption Probe Alleges Millions Missing, Federal Gun Law Violations, Massive Financial Losses

Wall Street Journal has the story of "your cronies are criminal, but my cronies are great" fight between two corrupt factions at Chukchansi.

An exhaustive 100-day preliminary investigation into allegations of corruption and fraud against a pair of former Chukchansi Tribal Council members has produced hundreds of pages of evidence of wrongdoing, according to a preliminary report issued by a team of independent investigators hired by the Chukchansi Tribal Council and the Tribal Gaming Commission.

The 62-page preliminary report, authored by a team including former FBI agents and forensic accountants who have reviewed thousands of pages of financial documents and interviewed dozens of witnesses, details alleged "unethical and criminal activities" committed by since-expelled Tribal Council Members Reggie Lewis and Chance Alberta.

Among the allegations detailed in the preliminary report:

   -- The Lewis faction, according to investigators, drew on bank accounts in
      violation of the Tribe's laws and procedures and the federal Indian
      Gaming Regulatory Act. These alleged violations include 19 checks and two
      wire transfers worth more than $2.7 million.

   -- While claiming to have been wildly successful in developing subsidiary
      companies for Chukchansi, Inc., the Lewis faction, say investigators,
      have concealed massive financial losses by the subsidiaries and hidden
      their failure to pay tens of thousands of dollars in California state
      taxes.

   -- A $1,900 shotgun reportedly purchased by Chance Alberta and given as a
      gift to a tribal vendor potentially violates federal gun laws concerning
      "straw man" purchases, according to investigators. (NOTE:  very similar to what Gabby Giffords husband did.)

   -- Alberta, the investigators report, has used a tribal debit card to make
      tens of thousands of dollars in personal purchases, including "shoe
      stores, iTunes, $3,452 to a Motorcycle company in Tennessee, huge numbers
      of payments to 'Saddleback Leather' which makes high quality briefcases,
      bags and wallets, regular payments of $100 to $200 to a local flower
      company (owned by an Alberta relative) and many other questionable travel
      and meal expenditures."

CA Sentate Vote on North Fork Rancheria Scheduled TODAY

The state Senate is expected to vote Thursday on an agreement to allow the North Fork Rancheria Band of Mono Indians to build a casino in Madera County.

 The pact has drawn fire from critics who warn about giving tribes too much leeway in where they can build gambling centers. It passed the Assembly back in May.

Leader of APARTHEID Indian Nation, Mark Macarro OPPOSES North Fork Rancheria's Casino Plans.

Capitol Weekly has the story on the CA Senate soon to approve the NORTH FORK RANCHERIA's casino plans. CA's Indian Tribes don't want another tribe to benefit from their market share.  Even the leader of a tribe that practices apartheid on their reservation (Mark Macarro of Pechanga) opposes it.  How bad does it have to be for a civil rights abusing, apartheid practicing leader to oppose it?

Remember when Macarro tried to keep Californians from voting?

Despite objections of a dozen Indian tribes operating casinos across California, the Senate is expected to approve legislation this week allowing the North Fork Rancheria Band of Mono Indians to build a hotel casino complex near Madera – the first off-reservation tribal casino authorized in the state.

North Fork says its 2,000-slot casino and 200-room hotel will jumpstart the economic livelihood of its 1,900-member tribe and buoy the area’s depressed rural economy.

“Ratification of our compact is going to bring jobs to the area and build up the economy,” Elaine Bethel Fink, chairwoman of the North Fork tribe, told Capitol Weekly.

The project helps the tribe, of course, but it also helps people who want both construction jobs and permanent jobs with full benefits once the project is completed.”

North Fork would become the 63rd of California’s 109 federally recognized tribes to enter the casino business.

California Indian gaming generated an estimated $6.9 billion in 2011, according to the annual Casino City Indian Gaming Industry Report, released in March. Indian gaming revenues in California, the largest of any state, peaked at $7.3 billion in 2008.

Opponents, particularly tribes already operating casinos, say North Fork is “reservation-shopping” by being able to build its casino complex just off Highway 99, 36 miles from their secluded rancheria near Yosemite.

Another worry of tribal casino owners is that approval of North Fork’s 20-year compact will cut into their profit by making it easier for potential customers to instead gamble at casinos built closer to urban areas.

“The fact that every local tribe stands united in opposition to this project is evidence that the approval of the North Fork compact is not a sound solution,” Mark Macarro, tribal chair of the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians, told lawmakers before the compact reached the Senate floor.

     Read Capitol Weekly’s Article

Judge Orders Sheriff to Remove Money from Chukchansi Till. Tribe fails to PAY $725,000. They Not Only Cheat their Own, they Cheat Others TOO

 A Madera County judge has ordered Sheriff John Anderson to go to Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino and remove money from the casino till to recover money in a settlement for a former casino manager who sued the tribe.

The payout stems from a lawsuit by ex-casino and hotel manager Matt Olin, who is owed $725,000 after he was fired last year. He was in the middle of a five-year contract and the tribe waived its sovereign immunity to employ him.

That allowed Olin to file a lawsuit against the Chukchansi Economic Development Authority, an unincorporated arm of the tribe, if the tribe failed to live up to the contract.

Olin reached a $725,000 settlement but originally wanted far more, said Richard Verri, who represents a tribal faction led by Reggie Lewis.

But the other Chukchansi tribal council faction, led by Nancy Ayala, will fight the "till tap" ruling by Judge Michael Jurkovich.

His ruling, which must be carried out by the end of November, said that if the tribe fails to pay Olin from casino proceeds, he can go after other tribal assets to enforce the judgment

Read more here: http://www.mercedsunstar.com/2013/06/22/3080405/chukchansi-till-tap-ordered-by.html#storylink=cpy

Christine Luker, Of Pechanga's Pico Family Walks On.

CHRISTINE DOLORES LUKER Age 62, of Menifee, died June 15, 2013 after a lengthy illness. Born in Riverside on March 16, 1951, and into the Pico Family of Pechanga,

Visitation will be held on Monday, June 24, 2013 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. with Rosary recited at 6:00 p.m. at Evans-Brown Sun City Chapel, 27010 Encanto Drive, Sun City, CA. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Tuesday, June 25, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Martha's Roman Catholic Church, 37200 Whitewood Drive, Murrieta, CA. Interment will follow at Perris Valley Cemetery, 915 N. Perris Blvd., Perris, CA.

Christine's Uncle, Norman Pico   Stood up for the two families who were disenrolled, citing the injustice.  Chairman Mark Macarro sent emails to him that were deragatory in nature....

Corrupt and Vindictive Pala Chairman Robert Smith Responds to Article on Pala's Shameful Acts

Thanks to our friends at PALA WATCH      we have a letter from the DESPICABLE ROBERT SMITH seeking to correct the story in a recent article in the San Diego Reader. See the link for the REAL details of the Brittain family. Apparently, the rotund Smith isn't paying attention. br />
Attention to Detail

Determining who is and is not a member of an Indian tribe is a decision that requires meticulous attention to detail. That is why it is critical for me to correct several major inaccuracies in the June 6 cover article, “Can You Find the Big Secret in this Casino?”

Decisions regarding tribal membership are always difficult. The individuals who are disenrolled are relatives, friends, and neighbors who we have all grown up with.

As new facts are discovered about key events in the tribe’s history, there are consequences in today’s world. It is unfortunate that mistakes were made a long time ago. But those who blame other people for these mistakes are ignoring the facts. You would not perpetuate a mistake simply because everyone has become accustomed to it, and the Tribal Council has a duty to correct these mistakes.

The most important factual errors in the recent article concern Margarita Brittain, and the blood quantum to be a Pala member. Brittain was not six or seven years old in 1903; she was 46 or 47. Additionally, the blood requirement to receive a land allotment in 1913 for any Native American was 50 percent. This was determined by the federal government, not by the Pala tribe. The blood quantum to enroll as a Pala member was not even established until the 1960s.

The other critical mistake is the characterization of the relationship between disenrollments and per capita distribution. The article incorrectly asserts that because some tribal members were disenrolled that other tribal members will see increases in per capita distribution.

The Pala Tribe follows strict guidelines in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) that designate the way the tribal government uses funds. It is irresponsible to suggest that this was the motivation for the Tribal Council’s actions, and only perpetuates the misstatements of those who are ignoring the truth.

Additionally, the Pala General Store was not established in 1867. There was a Pala General Store established in 1897, but it was not owned or operated by the Freeman family. The Pala store that exists today was established much later.

Also, there are nearly 1,000 members of the Pala Tribe, not 800.

There are also several statements that mischaracterize the realities of the situation. The author’s characterization of the Pala casino as a “garish” contrast to the rest of the reservation is misleading. During the past twelve years, we have made many modern improvements. We have a tribal housing program that has constructed beautiful homes for members.

We take pride in caring for our reservation, which includes maintaining our ten-year-old — not brand-new — administration complex.

We have enhanced our tribal cemetery with ornamental fencing and a veterans memorial. The Pala Mission cemetery is equally well-cared for — not overrun with wildflowers. The white picket fence described in the article does not even exist, as the cemetery is surrounded by a stone and concrete wall.

While these corrections might seem like quibbles, how can the reader trust the accuracy of the reporting when such easily verifiable details are reported so inaccurately?

Finally, as it relates to revenge threats against members of the Tribal Council, the threats are real and could easily be found if the editor had thought to verify the information. Despite the threats, no one has hired armed security guards to follow anyone around.

I only correct these details because, as I mentioned, the determination of tribal membership requires great attention to detail, and complete accuracy. Things that seem like minor mistakes have significant consequences down the road. I urge the San Diego Reader and its readers to strive for this same standard.

Robert Smith
Chairman, Pala Band of Mission Indians


READ Pals’s Big Gamble

Press Release: Candidate for Cherokee Nation Council seeks injunction from US 10th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case number in 10th circuit is 13-5078

Just one day after a Tulsa federal Judge denied Cherokee Council candidate Robin Mayes' request for an emergency restraining order that asked that Saturday's Cherokee Election be held open until descendents of Cherokee Slaves are allowed to vote has filed for an injunction to do the same in United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

"I've exhausted all Tribal remedies on this violation of civil rights for federally-recognized Cherokee Citizens who have been wrongfully denied their right to vote," said Mayes.  " Now, I don't think it's right for me not to appeal to the higher Court."

The injunction seeks relief that includes the extension of the June 22 election and to remain open so that decedents of Freedmen can prove their citizenship and be permitted to cast ballots as they choose.  Additionally the injunction would provide for a continuing process of registration and voting rights pending the final resolution of this action.

"What we have here is a fraud perpetrated on ALL Cherokee Citizens as their Cherokee Constitution has been circumvented and corrupted in order to accomplish the removal of a class of Cherokee Citizen that would oppose the incumbent elite political machine," said Mayes.  "The federal government recognizes the 1975 Constitution that requires their approval of an amendment that violates the 1866 Treaty.  

The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma claims that under the new unapproved constitution of 1999 they do not need federal approval to expel Cherokee Citizens with slave ancestry.  All Cherokee Citizens will be the victim of this fraud if we lose our sovereign status by violating treaties.  We could lose the gaming operations,  federal funding for programs and services including housing and car tags," he continued.

If an injunction is not issued before the counting and certification of the election is complete it is possible that the election will be challenged and a new election held, similar to the circumstances of the 2011 Chief's election.

Contact: Robin Carter Mayes, Candidate for Cherokee Council At-Large    
Phone: (940) 206-0537
E-mail: UCNchiefMayes@clear.ne

Pala's BIG GAMBLE: LA Weekly Covers the Increasingly Sad Story Of Pala's Shame

"Will anyone come out here to the middle of nowhere?" many Pala members wondered when the casino was built in 2001, followed by a sprawling hotel, on loans of more than $200 million. It has since become one of Southern California's most profitable gaming palaces.

Tribe members have benefited: Today, each receives monthly payouts that add up to more than $150,000 per year, as well as free health care and free college. Members who reside on the reservation don't have to pay state income tax. Though some still live in run-down homes, parts of the reservation feel like a posh suburb, as luxury cars cruise past a gleaming sports complex and administration building. Minors receiving payments via a trust often are presented with huge checks when they come of age, so long as they graduate high school.

But with big money has come some big problems: Longtime members have been kicked out, resulting in bitter feuds about who should be considered a member of the tribe, who deserves the payouts and even what it means to be Native American.

While the Pala casino has finally allowed the tribe's members entree to the American dream, it also has turned neighbors against one another — with devastating consequences.

 Critics of the tribe's leadership say it's no coincidence that a huge swath of Pala's members have been dropped from the rolls in recent years. Less money coming in, they say, has caused the leadership to take desperate measures to maintain the status quo — a witch hunt resulting in the removal of about one-sixth of the tribe, for supposedly lacking sufficient Pala blood.

The leaders deny any connection between falling revenue and the disenrollments, but the tribe has been split into a two-tiered society: the haves and the have-nots. The two factions grew up together, went to school together and, in many cases, live practically side by side. The only difference is that some of them get $150,000 per year, and subsidized home loans, and free college.

The others get nothing.

READ THE REST of Pals’s Big Gamble

And read more on the sad state of affairs at the Pala Reservation:


Pala Disenrollments

Pala dispute

Pala disenrolled 162 members

WHERE is Chukchansi's MONEY Asks Wells Fargo. ANOTHER DEFAULT Looming?

 The ongoing leadership dispute at the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians has put the tribe at risk of defaulting on its bonds for Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in New York.

A $250.4 million agreement was reached last year when Chukchansi's economic development authority restructured its financing after the tribe struggled to pay its debts.

But the tribal dispute over who controls the Coarsegold casino's funds left the development authority unable to make its full May payment.

"The actions of the tribal parties and individual defendants endanger the collateral (casino revenue) and place the financial well-being of the casino in danger," the suit filed by Wells Fargo Bank said.

The suit is against the tribe, its casino-affiliated corporations and commissions, competing tribal council factions, as well as three financial institutions that hold proceeds from the casino.

Wells Fargo holds the note for casino investors. The Chukchansi Economic Development Authority agreed to a 9.75% interest rate to restructure its debt.

The tribe was supposed to pay off $310 million in loans last year, but couldn't make the payments. Instead, the tribe arranged an agreement with bondholders to restructure its debt to be due in 2020 and allow a longer-term payback for much of the remaining loan. The previous interest rate was 8%.

Wells Fargo declared itself "an innocent bystander" in the tribal dispute between two factions that contend they represent the tribe -- one led by Reggie Lewis and the other by Nancy Ayala.

The bank's lawyers said Wells Fargo has "done everything it can to resolve the issue consensually, but is left with no choice but to seek the court's intervention" by filing the suit.

The Ayala group took control of the tribal business complex and casino after a February referendum the Lewis faction contends was unconstitutional.

The Lewis group then took control of a Rabobank account used to pay off casino debt. Rabobank officials didn't recognize the Ayala group's leadership and the Ayala group refuses to deposit money into the Rabobank account.

Since the last week of February, "presumably because of the disputes," the tribe stopped depositing revenues and cash into the Rabobank accounts, which violates the agreement with Wells Fargo and the tribe's bondholders, the suit said.

The Rabobank account is designed to use proceeds from the casino and make twice yearly bond payments of $11.93 million.

A partial payment was made in May, which constitutes "an event of default," the lawsuit said.

Wells Fargo lawyers say money was available for the full payment if not for the ongoing factional dispute.

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/06/19/3351430/bank-tribal-dispute-puts-chukchansi.html#storylink=cpy

Chukchansi Tribe's "Leaders" Have Earned Scorn & Mockery. Should the BIA withdraw Recognition?

We’ve read so much about the issues at Chukchansi.  Does anyone really believe that the three groups led by Morris Reid, Nancy Ayala and REGGIE LEWIS have the best interest of the tribe as their priority, or the best interest of themselves?

All three of these so-called leaders were proponents of the first disenrollments in the tribe in 1999 and 2006.  They cut 800 tribal members from their heritage and rights as Native Americans.   Is that what someone who purports to care about the tribe does?  I think not.

These actions against their own people and those subsequent disenrollments documented by the Sierra Star News, have led to violence ( Chukchansi Tribe at War With Each Other ) and huge police presence to protect Chukchansi’s shrinking number of citizens from their own leaders.  Is THIS what was meant by tribal self reliance?

Nancy Ayala wants to limit the Chukchansi membership to 46 people.  Is she serious?  Taking a once prominent tribe to such a small number is unconscionable. A real leader would be making it tribe STRONGER, by restoring their membership to 1998 levels and enrolling any who rightfully belong.

All three “leaders” are culpable in the destruction of the Chukchansi tribe.  Yet blinded by their own ambitions, they can’t see the damage they are doing with their depopulation efforts..

Help these leaders see the light.  How, you ask?  Ask your congressperson to set up field hearings on the issue.  Ask for enforcement in the Indian Civil Rights Act.  And most importantly:  DO NOT FEED THE GREED.

Simply quit going to Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino.   Dry up the income stream and let them KNOW WHY you are no longer coming.  Let them know you refuse to support their corruption and greed.

But what about sovereignty, you may ask?  Yes, they are a sovereign nation, but then, so was South Africa, and we used moral persuasion to get them to eliminate apartheid.  You can do the same at Chukchansi. Let them know you expect them to act humanely towards their people or they won’t get your entertainment dollars.   Help them to see that being corrupt is not a long term solution.

Bring ALL the Chukchansi people home.

Read more about the Picayune Band of Chukchansi Indians: Bedbugs at Chukchansi

Chukchansi Violence

Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians

Read about Chukchansi Language Speaker RUBY CORDERO

COURT DENIES MAYES MOTION FOR EMERGENCY RESTRAINING ORDER Against Cherokee Nation

As expected, Cherokee council candidate Mayes' motion is denied.

Case 4:11-cv-00648-TCK-TLW Document 205 Filed in USDC ND/OK on 06/18/13 Page 4 of 4

Non-party Mr. Mayes’ “Motion for Emergency Restraining Order” (Doc. 203) is DENIED. 
The Court finds it unnecessary to order responsive briefing or to conduct an evidentiary hearing, and 
Mr. Mayes’ Motion for Hearing (Doc. 204) is DENIED. If the Motion to Intervene (Doc. 202) is
moot in light of this Order or the election held June 22, 2013, Mr. Mayes shall withdraw such 
motion no later than Wednesday, June 26, 2013. 

SO ORDERED this 18th day of June, 2013. 

TERENCE C. KERN 
United States District Judge


Read about that motion:   http://www.originalpechanga.com/2013/06/cherokee-nation-tribal-council.html

Justice Delayed AGAIN in Robinson Rancheria Chair Tracey Avila's Theft Trial

The theft case against the Robinson Rancheria Pomo Indians tribal chair faced another delay on the doorstep of trial.

Judge Andrew S. Blum granted an unopposed defense request to postpone the proceedings Friday -- five days before the jury selection process was set to start in the trial of Tracey I. Avila.

Avila, 51, of Nice has pleaded not guilty to a single felony count of grant theft. Authorities allege she stole tens of thousands of dollars from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Elem Indian Colony of Pomo Indians while working as that tribe's fiscal officer between February 2006 and September 2008.

Avila was arrested in September 2011 and held to answer for the lone charge after a preliminary hearing last October.

Her jury trial was scheduled to begin on Wednesday, but her defense counsel, R. Justin Petersen, filed a motion last week asking for a continuance, citing primarily that the defense recently received additional discovery documents and records in the case.

Petersen also stated the defense hasn't had ample time to prepare because he was previously involved in an unrelated trial and Avila's battle with kidney failure restricts her availability, according to court records. Those two issues led to a pair of trial postponements earlier this year.

Deputy district attorney Rachel Abelson, who is prosecuting the case, said she did not oppose the latest delay request, which the judge granted Friday at the Lake County Courthouse. The trial, estimated to last six to 10 days, is now scheduled to start Aug. 14

Pala Tribal Chairman Smith Online Gaming: NOT SO FAST Why Should We Respect The Opinion of a Man Who's Led a Jihad on His Own People?

Well known as the man who led the expulsion of 164 members of his tribe, Pala Chairman Robert Smith tries to tell Californians what to do.   See if he'd accept Californian's telling HIS TRIBE what to do.

Preserving sovereignty and maintaining our commitment to California’s voters should be the first priority when discussing online gaming — an issue that continues to raise its head in both the state Legislature and in Congress.

Remember, CA is a sovereign state too.  Tribes can preserve sovereignty too, but if they want a part of Internet Gaming, they should prepare to lose either sovereignty, or onling gaming rights.

Creating an opportunity for businesses to operate poker, slot machines and other Class 3 gaming online has been an issue for several years because corporations large and small smell the potential payday that could follow. But we cannot be shortsighted with regard to opening up this industry. We must methodically develop and implement public policy that is smart, thoughtful and well-researched.

In addition to the legal and logistical issues regarding player protections and integrity involved in online gaming, questions swirl around the mechanics and impacts of the online industry. Questions like who will be licensed to provide the games? Which games should be included? What will be the impacts on brick and mortar casinos? What impacts will California’s social service programs feel, given that state set-asides from casinos currently fund a number of state programs that serve poor children and the elderly?

Player protections?  Do we even KNOW what the payouts are at tribal casinos?  There are no player or employee protection from smoke filled casinos either.  Smith didn't consider the impact on social services when he eliminated tribal members did he?

For years, Indian Country has raised grave concerns about online gaming. On its face, it violates compacts tribes have with the state, it is contrary to voter-approved constitutional measures that limit gaming, and it creates a direct threat to tribal sovereignty by undermining the revenue source that funds tribal operations and social services.   OP:  The direct threat to tribal sovereignty does NOT depend on gaming.  If Smith was so concerned about sovereignty threat, he'd be pushing for EVERY tribe in CA to have gaming, but he isn't, he's worried about his own tribal business.

But in today’s environment, several states — most of which do not have a tribal presence — are desperately cobbling together laws that will open the doors to online gaming, thereby creating pressure on California to create reciprocal agreements with those licensees to provide an online presence.

And in response, a number of legislative proposals have been floated. But none of those proposals have sufficiently answered the basic questions regarding player protections and integrity, much less gaming mechanics and impacts on Native Americans.

As such, it has become abundantly clear that the only way California is going to see meaningful consensus on rational Internet gaming legislation that is respectful of tribal issues is to develop a proposal ourselves, as a collaborative of individual tribes with common interests.

To that end, eight California tribes, including the California Tribal Business Alliance’s member tribes — Pala Band of Luiseño Indians, Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians, Lytton Rancheria — recently circulated a draft copy of the Internet Poker Consumer Protection Act 2013 to tribal leaders throughout the state, requesting feedback on the language.

The language begins to spell out what provisions and protections California tribes are looking for, including strong controls, tight regulations, and provisions that protect our people.

For tribes, online gaming is a high-stakes discussion because of the huge impacts it could have on Indian Country. Native American casinos are uniquely responsible for providing the revenues that sustain many tribes — providing jobs, health care and housing in a manner that protects our sovereignty and promotes self-reliance.

By recklessly establishing an online gaming capacity in California that has not been measured against brick and mortar enterprises, tribal leaders are concerned livelihoods will be threatened. We believe a collaborative approach is the right way to go. But until a consensus is reached, it is imperative that legislators push for methodical, smart, well-researched gaming bills that will promote a prosperous California in the long-term.

Robert Smith is chairman of the California Tribal Business Alliance (THREE TRIBES!) and chair of the Pala Band of Luiseño Indians.  He deserves to be treated with scorn and derision, not respect.

Learn MORE about they type of tribe Robert Smith runs:

Pala Disenrollments
 Pala dispute
 Pala Disenrolls families

HAPPY FATHER's DAY

hope that you have a wonderful Fathers Day and that you have great memories of your father.

Cherokee Nation Tribal Council candidate seeks Emergency Restraining Order On CN's Handling of Freedmen applicants.

Is Mr. Mayes looking out for the Cherokee Freedmen, or is he looking for votes? It's good for the Freedmen if the court will do something, but does it make Mayes look good



A candidate competing for an at-large seat on the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council filed a motion Friday, seeking an emergency restraining order against the tribe.

Robin Mayes, one of six candidates for an at-large post up for grabs June 22, alleges that tribal officials have restricted the enrollment of freedmen descendants. He contends those efforts violate an existing federal court order and hinder his candidacy.

Mayes motion, filed this afternoon in the U.S. District Court of Northern Oklahoma, asks the judge to order the processing of pending citizenship applications filed by freedmen descendants. Mayes also is asking the court to “hold open” the June 22 election until those applications are processed and the applicants have time to register and vote

Chukchansi Shenanigans: Ayala v. Lewis, the Thrilla in Coarsegold: LEWIS COMMITTED TREASON against us!!

Any act outside the groupthink of Chukchansi is TREASON to Nancy "We got rid of a thousand tribespeople" Ayala.    Feel Free to point your fingers at her and LAUGH.

The following is a statement from Chukchansi Tribal Council Chairwoman Nancy Ayala and the Chukchansi Tribal Council Quorum on the Mono North Fork Casino.

In the past 24 hours, the Tribal Council has been contacted multiple times by Sacramento insiders, tribal officials and reporters who have related an infuriating, astonishing story. According to multiple sources, it appears that Reggie Lewis, a lawfully removed Tribal Council member who continues to illegally hold himself out as the Chairman of the Chukchansi Tribe, is allegedly in the process of negotiating a multi-million-dollar financial deal to throw his support and the Chukchansi Tribe's support behind the Mono North Fork Casino.

Such an agreement is illegal. Because Lewis is not a member of the Chukchansi Tribal Council Quorum, he cannot do business for our Tribe or sign a contract on our Tribe's behalf. Lewis' support for the North Fork Casino -- a gaming facility that would destroy the Chukchansi Tribe's casino business and flies in the face of Lewis' own May newsletter condemning the Mono Casino -- represents an act of treason against the Chukchansi Tribe.

Let us be abundantly clear. The Chukchansi Tribe is steadfast against the illegal, off-reservation casino proposed by the Mono Tribe. Each member of our Tribal Council Quorum -- recognized as the ruling body of the Chukchansi Tribe by the U.S. Department of Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs and multiple federal agencies -- is in agreement: The North Fork casino should not be built in Madera, off the Mono Rancheria. Our Tribe does not support this casino now, nor will we support it in the future. We will remain actively engaged, together with our sister tribes, in strong opposition to this casino.

20 Member Ramona Band Agrees to Casino Compact. The first ENVIRO-FRIENDLY Resort?

 An agreement between the Brown administration and the Ramona Band of Cahuilla allows the tribe to build a casino with as many as 750 slot machines on its remote Riverside County reservation. 

The compact, if ratified by the Legislature, would mark the first growth of Inland Southern California’s large tribal gaming industry since California voters supported casino-expansion deals between the state and four Inland tribes several years ago.

With fewer than 20 members, the Anza-area tribe’s 560-acre reservation is next to spectacular wilderness area in the San Bernardino National Forest. It has no electric utility service and relies on wind and solar systems.

The tribe operates a small eco-tourism resort. And in a first for any casino deal negotiated by the Brown administration, the compact announced Thursday, June 13, would reduce the tribe’s mitigation payments to the state if it makes good-faith efforts to build and operate its casino in an environmentally friendly way. The agreement would expire in 2033.

Riverside and San Bernardino counties already are home to several tribal casinos, including some of the most successful in the state.

Those include the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians near Temecula, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians in the Coachella Valley, the Morongo Band of Mission Indians near Banning and the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians near San Bernardino.

CA's Attorney General Kamala Harris: NO LAND for "THOSE" Indians. Mechoopda Tribe has Exhausted Funds in Fight.

Let's see, CA says it's OKAY for NORTH FORK RANCHERIA to have a casino outside it's area, but NOT for Mechoopda's to get land?  Wow, we don't need equal rights in CA.   Key words here:  NO LONGER HAS FUNDS.   Can't pay to play.

After 13 years of battling for a federal land trust, the Mechoopda tribe no longer has funds to fight the state Attorney General's request that the tribe's application be denied.

Even if the decision is made in favor of the tribe, the tribe does not have funding to develop the land or a partner to start a casino, said Sandra Knight, vice chairwoman of the Chico tribe.

The Mechoopda had a long-time plan of building a casino off Highway 149 near the intersection with Highway 99. On April 1, the Bureau of Indian Affairs sent the state a notice of the application for 645 acres to be put into a federal trust for the tribe.

The state responded May 17 by requesting the trust be denied at this time, based on elements lacking in the application.

This is the first time that the Attorney General's Office has responded to notices sent to the state in regard to the Mechoopda trust application, Knight said.

A decision will now be made on whether or not the state's denial will be approved, but while in the past the tribe has intervened to protect their interests, it no longer has the funds to do so, Knight said.

Despite lack of funding and not being able to develop the land if it was granted, the tribe still seeks the land for cohesion as a tribe.

"Our tribe is a landless tribe," Knight said. "With land, the tribe would be made whole."

The attorney general's reasons for seeking denial of the trust application were stated in a letter.

Read the rest of the story HERE

San Diego Reader Has Expansive Story on Pala Corruption and Disenrollment

(h/t PALA WATCH) The Reader gets in depth on the Pala corruption issue.


In the late ’90s, when the idea of a casino was first considered, members viewed it as a source of security for their financially struggling tribe. Back then, the reservation had few opportunities for employment, and many members moved off the reservation to make better lives for themselves. But a small minority wanted nothing to do with the casino, viewing it as an invitation to trouble. They wanted to keep things as they were and not let outsiders in.

“The casino was supposed to be a good thing for our people,” Paul Johnson, a former member of the Pala Band of Mission Indians, explains. “Unfortunately, a small group of people have turned it from something that was supposed to uplift our tribe and used it for their own personal gain.”

On June 1, 2011, eight tribal members were disenrolled by the band’s executive committee, a six-person elected governing body that rules the tribe. A year later, 154 more members were taken off the roll, losing their per capita, health benefits, and housing. In early 2013, two more were cut; these last members are children.


The 164 disenrolled members of the Pala tribe are all descendants of the late Margarita Brittain, whose blood purity was called into question.
The cited cause of tribal disenrollment is a blood-purity dispute. All 164 disenrolled members are relatives of the late Margarita Brittain, a woman whose lineage has long been questioned by tribal members. The Pala Band of Mission Indians’ tribal constitution states that in order to be a member, 1/16 Pala blood is necessary.

The disenrolled give various reasons for their removal; none have anything to do with blood quantum. Among the alleged motivations are greed, power struggles, and old family feuds. But there is one notion all 164 agree on: if the casino had never opened, they would still belong to their tribe. Find the link at Pala Watch

Happy Birthday Mr. Chairman. A Rememberance of Bob Foreman, Redding Rancheria Chairman, Shame on REDDING RANCHERIA

Happy BIRTHDAY to BOB FOREMAN, here's a post we did a couple of years ago in his honor.  Sad what the Redding Rancheria did to him and his family under the watchful eye of the BIA.

Robert Edward Foreman, the first Chairman of the Redding Rancheria, passed away Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008.  I wanted to make sure we got this up for him for the weekend

Here's how the first Chairman was treated by the Redding Tribal Council:

On January 27, 2004, all 76 members of my family the “Foremans” were removed from the Redding Rancheria tribal rolls based on nothing more than a conjured up rumor alleging my mother Lorena Foreman-Butler was not the daughter of her mother Virginia Timmons, one of Redding Rancheria’s 17 Original Distributees.

Tribal Officials never produced a single piece of evidence to dispute my mother's maternal lineage and my family provided reams of legal and contemporary documents proving her mother was Virginia Timmons. Tribal Council still required my family to provide genomic DNA from my deceased mother and grandmother to retain our tribal citizenship

Despite my family providing Tribal Council with DNA test results from two separate labs of 99.987% and 99.890%, proving by the legal standards established by the American Bar Association and the American Medical Associations that Lorena Butler and Virginia Timmons were mother and daughter, Tribal Council still stripped my family of our tribal citizenship.

Bob Foreman has been fighting to regain his family's civil rights and the rights of disenfranchised Native Americans since.

Here is Bob's Obituary:

Bob Foreman, Redding Rancheria's first tribal chairman and a pioneer in north state American Indian health clinics, died Wednesday after a long illness. He was 72.
An Achumawi Pit River Indian, Foreman was remembered Thursday by friends and family as a tireless advocate for Indian rights, skilled communicator and loyal patriarch.

He was born June 12, 1936, in Lake County. A veteran of the U.S. Navy, he worked in construction as did his father, said daughter Carla Maslin of Redding. In the late 1960s, he began his campaign to get Indians health care in the north state.
His efforts paid off in 1971, with the opening of the federally financed Shasta-Trinity-Siskiyou Rural Indian Health Center in Anderson.

"Bobby was a real devoted guy to his tribe," said Everett Freeman, tribal chairman of the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians near Corning. "He almost single-handedly got Indian health to where it is today."
Larry McClanahan, a Navajo Indian who moved to Cottonwood from Arizona in 1972, said Foreman was one of the first people he met in the north state. He and his family were glad to receive clinic services.

"He took me as I was," McClanahan recalled. "He was a man that was concerned for people."
Rod Lindsay, a Shasta Lake city councilman who works with the Office of Indian Education for the Anderson Union High School District, also met Foreman through the clinic. Lindsay said Foreman was a mentor for many, sharing his knowledge of culture and history with the young.
Foreman also was instrumental in organizing the Redding Rancheria Indian Health Clinic on Churn Creek Road and served as director, later retiring as self-governance coordinator for the rancheria, Maslin said.

In 1985, when the rancheria regained its tribal status, Foreman was elected as its first chairman and subsequently served on the tribal council.

But in 2004, he and all his family members were disenrolled after a bitter dispute over his mother's maternal lineage. The struggle took a toll on his health, Maslin said. Foreman suffered from heart and kidney problems, she said.

Leah Harper, a family friend of more than 20 years who does native medicine work in Redding, said she wanted to stand out in front of the Churn Creek clinic with a "thank you" banner in Foreman's honor.
"I believe that Bob had the heart of the native people and he wanted to make a difference for them," she said. "Bob was loving and the children are loving and they work very hard."
In addition to Maslin, Foreman is survived by three daughters and three sons, as well as 15 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. Funeral services are pending.
For her part, Maslin is grateful her father last year was able to do something he'd always wanted - to see the Grand Canyon.

"He actually got emotional just looking at it," she said. "He was in awe of its beauty and couldn't believe the world had such a beautiful place."

Congratulations to the Redding Rancheria for their dispicable acts of DISHONOR in what they did to this man and his family. Look who they have NOW

BIA Ruling Be Damned: US District Court Rules in Favor of One Corrupt Chukchansi Group (Lewis) Over the Other Corrupt Group (Ayala).

A Fresno judge ruled Tuesday that a Chukchansi leadership group led by Reggie Lewis has legal standing to intervene in a federal lawsuit involving the tribe's multi-million dollar bank accounts.

The U.S. District Court ruling sets the stage for the ultimate prize: a federal court ruling on who controls the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi’ Indians in Madera County and its casino's haul of $9 million a month from slot machines and table games.

Nancy Ayala, who contends she is the tribe's chair, filed the suit in April, seeking a court order to compel Rabobank to give her unrestricted access to the tribe's casino and other bank accounts.
Rabobank, however, has refused to do so. The bank recognizes Lewis' council as the tribe's legitimate governing body and has allowed it to withdraw funds, Magistrate Judge Michael J. Seng said in his ruling.

Court documents submitted by Lewis and Rabobank "raise substantial questions about the validity of the tactics used by the Ayala faction to assert control of the Tribe, justify its actions, and even initiate this litigation," Seng wrote Read more here:

Therefore, "the court finds that the Lewis faction does have a significant protectable interest in the subject matter of this suit," he ruled. The decision comes a day after Ayala's group circulated a month-old Bureau of Indian Affairs letter that apparently confirms her as the tribe's chair. 

Tuesday, Lewis and his supporters disputed Ayala's contention, saying the BIA letter was miscast as proof of her leadership. Lewis said more than 50% of the tribe's estimated 760 voting members have signed a referendum in support of his council as the tribe's governing body.

The case now heads to Judge Lawrence O'Neill's Fresno federal courtroom, but it's unclear when the legal arguments will take place; Seng has given Ayala 15 days to file an opposition to his ruling.

In addition, Reid, who has been involved in tribal leadership — and upheavals — since the 1990s when the Chukchansi casino was first planned, has filed court papers seeking legal standing in the federal case.

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/06/11/3338830/judge-rules-in-favor-of-lewis.html#storylink=cpy

Read the REST OF THE STORY in THE FRESNO BEE


Learn More on Disenrollment, Ethnic Cleansing in Indian Gaming Country at these Links:
Gaming Revenue Blamed for Disenrollment
disenrollment is paper Genocide
CA Tribal Cleansing

BIA Steps Into Chukchansi Disputed Election. Inconsistent Federal Interference Hurts Tribe, Disenrollees and Indian Country

The FRESNO BEE continues its fine reporting on the Chukchansi issue. The Chukchansi Council is well know for stripping their tribe of over 75% of their membership, leaving elders in the cold because of greed. Those greedy factions, like jackals and vultures are still fighting over the scraps.
The Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs has finally stepped into the feud over control of the Picayune
Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians — and its lucrative Highway 41 casino — by identifying Nancy Ayala as the tribe's leader.

No so fast, said an attorney for one of Ayala's two adversaries, Reggie Lewis, who also wants control of the Madera County tribe and its estimated haul of $9 million a month from slot machines and table games.Robert Rosette, who represents Lewis, said Monday that the BIA only ruled that the Dec. 1 tribal electionwas valid; it did not establish Ayala as the current tribal leader.

"The BIA puts us one step closer to resolution," Rosette said.

A Fresno federal judge will rule this week who is the rightful leader.
For years, factions led by Ayala, Lewis and Morris Reid have vied for power. Though the dispute has
exploded in several violent skirmishes, including a riot in February 2012, the BIA took a hands-off
approach.

In March, dispute over who are the rightfully elected tribal council members led Rabobank to freeze the
tribe's bank account. This put the tribe at risk of defaulting on roughly $310 million in bonds for Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino near Coarsegold.

Ayala's group blamed Lewis and his faction for the delay in bond payments. Under Ayala's leadership, the tribe figured out a plan to make bond payments, but members still fight over who's in charge.
In April, the Ayala faction filed a complaint in U.S. District Court in Fresno, asking the court to recognize it as the rightful leaders. Federal Judge Michael J. Seng is mulling over the issue.

That same month, the BIA got involved when Reid submitted grant proposals on behalf of the tribe. In a May 17 letter to Reid, the BIA informed him that his faction does not represent the tribe's governing council.

In the letter, the BIA ruled that the Dec. 1 election was valid and said the governing body "authorized to
conduct government to government with the BIA" comprises: Ayala, chair; Lewis, vice chair; Tracy
Brechbuehl, secretary; Karen Wynn, treasurer; and members-at-large Chance Alberta, Charles Sargosa
and Carl "Buzz" Bushman.

Because Ayala's supporters include Brechbuehl, Wynn and Sargosa, she has a four-vote majority to run
the tribe, she contends. Alberta and Bushman support Lewis.

Monday, Reid said he has filed an appeal to the BIA ruling. He also said he is seeking legal standing in the tribe's federal case.

"We are still key players," said Reid, who has been involved in tribal leadership — and upheavals — since the 1990s when the Chukchansi casino was first planned. It opened in June 2003.

Read more about Picayune Rancheria here

OP/ED: Saginaw Chippewa Council Cuts of Killers and Other Felons from Per Capita; Pechanga Tribe Gives them Credibility

The MORNING SUN has an editorial on Saginaw's decision to cut of per capita from their tribal felons.

We wrote about how Pechanga celebrates their child molesting felon:

http://www.originalpechanga.com/2010/03/pechanga-tribal-council-honors-man-who.html  and they have more than their share of felons on their per capita list.

Kudos to the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribal Council for its move to cut off killers, kidnappers, rapists and other felons from per-capita payments.

Most people off the reservation don’t understand the concept of per-cap, but it’s not hard. The Tribe is analogous to a huge, extended family. That family is in business.

The business enterprises – the casinos, the hotels, the restaurants, golf course, water park, real estate – could be considered family businesses. It’s obviously more complex than that, but that’s the basic principle. Per cap is a way for the Tribe to distribute the profits of Tribal business enterprises to the people who own them – the Tribal members.

Just like any other family, there are bad actors. A few Tribal members have committed horrible crimes. The federal court in Bay City and the Tribal court in Mt. Pleasant are far too busy.

No family has an obligation to support brothers, sisters or cousins who turn their backs on what’s right, who do evil things.

Likewise, the Tribe has no obligation to support evildoers.

Is a Casino at JAMUL INDIAN VILLAGE good for a neighborhood? Not Where the BEAT homeowners to EVICT THEM...

Well, maybe not at a reservation where they had to BEAT homeowners to EVICT THEM.

The Jamul Indians and a developer plan to build a casino on a four and a half acre plot of land in Jamul.

The Jamul Indians are one step closer to fulfilling their rags to slot-machine riches dreams.

When the tribe signed an agreement in April with an East Coast developer, Penn National Gaming, to build and run a $360 million vintage Hollywood-themed casino, it settled on a more modest plan than before — no skyrise hotel, for one — but still grand enough to assure their economic prosperity, the tribe’s members say.

Residents of Jamul, a village about 20 miles east of San Diego, said putting a casino in their quiet community makes about as much sense as plopping a farm into the middle of the Las Vegas Strip.

“Keep it rural,” implored Marcia Spurgeon, an anti-casino activist, real estate agent and longtime Jamul resident, during an interview at her office on Jamul’s main road.

“We met halfway. We downsized,” countered Robert Mesa, a tribal spokesman and council member.

At a community meeting Wednesday night at a Jamul school auditorium, residents asked Penn to reconsider and warned they would not give up without a battle.

“We’ve been fighting this thing for over 20 years and I guarantee you you’re not gonna have a chance. We’re gonna fight this thing like the Jamul Alamo,” said Gary Clasen, to applause.

Repost: Pechanga's Masiel Crime Family is Four Generations Long; Are they really Pechanga? Now, ONE LESS Plotter....

I've had numerous requests to run this post again, since the issue of the crime family has come up again, now that one of the elders of this family has succumbed to lung cancer.

There was also the question: Are Masiel-Basquez TRUE PECHANGA PEOPLE? Read the link to learn more

Update from Pechanga protest: Leiva family members, better known as the Masiel Basquez crime family were harassing protesters at Pechanga resort and Casinp. Felon Raymond Basquez Jr. One of the more stupid members of the family was one and Yolie "they are just herbs" McCarter was another. They had no effect

I've had requests to move this up again, so here it is.

The Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians has a crime family that spans GENERATIONS.

It's well known that the young, thuggish generation of the Masiel-Basquez crime family are violent offenders, which we reported on HERE and HERE the next older generation of criminals HERE and HERE and HERE and NOW WE KNOW where they get it from:

Francisca Leivas Basquez

As shown below there are two pieces of evidence that show the Matriach of the Basquez family, Francisca Leyva (Leivas) tried to defraud the government and gain of three per capita checks when only one was legal. Fraud, such as her family then perpetrated on the Pechanga Band.

Sins of the mother, passed on to her progeny.

How can the Pechanga Members continue to support them? How much theft has to happen?

OriginsofMasielcrimefamily by Original Pechanga on Scribd

Irehne Basquez Scearce, One of the Architects of Pechanga's Disenrollments is DEAD. May GOD FORGIVE HER For the Harm She has Caused.

Irehne Scearse, sister of Raymond Basquez Sr,  and one of the elders of the Masiel-Basquez Crime Family of the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians has died.  She will have a wake on the reservation June 7th, and funeral on June 8th.    May GOD forgive her

In the flyer for her passing, there was a note, possibly directed at her youthful family members:  NO DRUGS OR ALCHOHOL.    It's a shame that they would still have to point this out in writing, in order to maintain decorum.

To the detriment of HUNDREDS, Irehne, her sister Ruth Masiel conspired with the CPP and were two of the votes to terminate the Manuela Miranda descendents, claiming that as a FIVE YEAR OLD, Manuela Miranda cut her tribal ties by moving with a sister of the rez. Scearce avoided using her own hired expert's findings that Paulina Hunter was indeed Pechanga, instead using a letter from an imprisoned child molester and forced out the second family in 2006.

Light a candle at your Church that this woman who has abused elders and backstabbed friends may find peace.

Irehne Basquez Scearce

Disenrollment is TRIBAL TERRORISM. Does That make Corrupt Tribal Councils TERRORISTS?

I admit to overusing terrorism in the title because I figure the NSA will check in on it, since they are getting all our posts and emails.

 Here's a repost of the subject.

 Tribal membership is about heritage. It's the corrupt tribal council of Chukchansi, along with those from the Pechanga tribe of Temecula, 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 who has no Pechanga blood.

Tribal governments are using sovereignty as a weapon to beat the weak and helpless, and terrorize them into submission. 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. On reservations across our state tribes are using fear tactics and yes, terrorism, to keep members in line for fear of losing their land, homes, per capita shares and health benefits. More critical is that they also lose their rights to choose a representative government and to vote on issues that pertain to them. Imagine if the Republicans were able to eliminate 25% of the Democratic vote?

 Currently at Pechanga, the tribal council is threatening allottees with fines, banishment and restricted access to their property. One family is taking it upon themselves to try to force another family who was given an allotment with the creation of the reservation, off their land. They're using their family members on the council to issue the threatening letter that is published on Original Pechanga's Blog. This is not what we voted for when we approved gaming to tribes in our state. This was not what was meant by self-reliance. I urge the readers to stand up for civil and human rights.

Bill Cosby stood up and refused to perform at Chukchansi because of these issues. By telling tribes you won't go to their casinos, you can nudge them into acting justly. Don't let tribes get away with terrorizing their own people into silence.

I would advise people to consider not supporting casinos owned by tribes that abuse their people.

Pechanga Tribal Theft Reaches $450 MILLION. Led By Mark Macarro, Pechanga Tribal Council Failed to Uphold Tribal Constitution.

From the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians in Temecula CA here is the breakdown of the theft of per capita by the Mark Macarro led tribal council:

The Hunter family has lost $1,920,666 per person, in per capita payments alone. We arrived at that figure by taking the last full year of per capita $268,000/12 months and multiplying that loss times 86 months of disenrollment. 95 adults at the time of disenrollment equals:  $182,463,000

The Apis/Manuela Miranda family was disenrolled two years prior in 2004, our previous posts mistakenly put their disenrollment in 2005. The per capita was slightly less, about $17,000 per month times 94 months of termination: $1,870,000 times 135 adults equals:  $252,450,000

Moratorium People NEVER shared in what was rightfully theirs. The per capita went up to $360,000 per year for those remaining after elimination of tribal citizens.  Yet still, thug members were involved in drugs, shootings and carjacks.

Pechanga Theft of  $454 MILION Includes additional $19.4 Million in Health Insurance, which would qualify under Obamacare as a "caddillac plan".   Per capita losses are $200,000 PER DAY.

These totals do not include lost education assistance nor does it account for family members that attained the age of majority.

Learn More on Disenrollment, Ethnic Cleansing in Indian Gaming Country at these Links:
Gaming Revenue Blamed for Disenrollment
disenrollment is paper Genocide
CA Tribal Cleansing
Tribal terrorism
TRIBAL TERRORISM includes Banishment

North Fork Rancheria Plans Spurs Fight. Corrupt Tribes Like Picayune Rancheria and Pechanga OPPOSE Another Tribe Getting Casino

When California voters approved Las Vegas-style gambling in 1998, proponents said it would be limited to places already recognized as Indian lands.

But a rare ruling from the Obama administration and a deal approved by Gov. Jerry Brown would allow one tribe to build a casino on a 300-acre property once slated to be a NASCAR racetrack in the Central Valley town of Madera. The prospect has divided Indian tribes and touched off an intense fight in the Capitol.

Members of the tribe, the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians, have not lived on the Madera land for generations. But if the group is successful, it could help reshape the future of tribal gambling in California, opening the way for new casinos up and down the state — and closer to urban centers — according to critics of the gambling industry and other opponents of the deal.


LA TIMES on North Fork Casino Plans

Susan Bradford: Saginaw Chippewa Still Want Their Congressional Investigation

Where’s Our Congressional Investigation, Saginaw Chippewa Indians Ask

Within the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan, a former client of former Republican superlobbyist Jack Abramoff, tribal members are asking why Congress has not acted on their request for an investigation into the fraudulent takeover of their tribe by fictitious Indians from Flint, the birthplace of General Motors, which has extensive reach and financial stake among the tribes.

“The (fictitious Indians) put all their families on the rolls, when, of course, they we illegitimate members to begin with,” tribal sources said. “There are a lot of un-Chippewa people over here, walking in shame. Everyone knows this!!!”

After Chief Dennis Kequom assumed power of the tribe in 2010, he promised tribal members that he would appeal to Congress for an investigation into the usurpation in 1986 when their constitutional was fraudulently revised to shore up power for the illegitimate interlopers, allowing them to control the tribe’s wealth and growing businesses while adding ever new waves of fictitious Indians onto the tribal membership rolls.

According to inside sources, Kequom requested that the tribe’s attorney, Scott Reed, write the letter to Congressman Doc Hastings requesting an investigation. The tribe’s lobbyist, Larry Rosenthal of Ietan Consulting was overheard telling a Tribal Council Member that he would block the investigation. Rosenthal’s mentor, retired Congressman Dale Kildee from Flint, was a key player in the takeover of the tribe and constitutional revision,

“We don’t have sovereignty over here,” inside sources said.  “Larry Rosenthal keeps threatening Tribal Council with that they will destroy our sovereignty if they do the Congressional investigation.”
While Tribal Council Minutes report that the tribe’s duly elected leaders voted for the investigation, Hastings seemingly never responded. Tribal insiders report that Rosenthal succeeded at blocking the investigation by not delivering the letter to Congress. According to the House Ethics Office, if the allegations are true, Rosenthal did not breach formal congressional ethics statutes but may have flown afoul of his contractual and professional obligation to the tribe.

So far Hastings’ office has not commented on whether the Congressman received the letter or not, citing that the matter is under investigation.

Tribal members, who are keen to remove the fictitious Indians and restore legitimacy to their tribe, also took it upon themselves to compile a book of evidence along with a letter requesting a congressional investigation, but have yet to receive a response to their personal efforts.

Among the leaders contacted, they said, were: Hastings; Rep. Nick Rahall; Sen. Byron Dorgan, who has since entered private practice to work in government affairs ; Sen. John Barrasso; Jerry Gridner, the Director of Indian Affairs at the Department of Interior; Sen. Carl Levin; Sen. Debbie Stabenow; and Rep. David Camp.

“David Camp knows everything that took place over here on the Mt. Pleasant, Indian reservation back in the 70′s and early 80′s,” tribal sources said. “David Camp, Carl Levin, Don Albosta, Bill Schuttee, Don Riegle all from Michigan, knew what the Tribal Council was up to. They also knew that Tribal Council was counterfeit and illegitimate and crooked. These congressmen too were soooooo crooked they could not see straight.  (Tribal attorneys) Thomas Wilson and Karl Funke, were quite crooked too…     The Congressmen should help us out, they made this mess.”