Nooksack EXTERMINATION of HUNDREDS of Indians Delayed; BIA FIDDLES

 The Nooksack Tribal Court of Appeals has intervened again to halt a move to strip hundreds of people of their membership in the 2,000-strong tribe.

In a ruling issued Thursday, Aug. 27, the panel of appeals judges agreed to re-impose a stay that
suspends the disenrollment process for 275 of the 306 Nooksacks whose tribal ancestry is being
challenged by Chairman Bob Kelly and his supporters on the tribal council.

The appeals court first halted those procedures for all 306 affected people on Aug. 14. But on Aug. 21, the court reconsidered after hearing legal arguments from tribal attorneys, and said disenrollment could
proceed on all but the six people who were named as plaintiffs in a suit against Kelly and other council
members.

But Gabriel Galanda, a Seattle attorney representing the challenged Nooksacks, went back into court
submitting evidence that he represented 275 of the 306 facing disenrollment. He also argued that attorneys for the tribe had previously agreed not to move ahead with the disenrollment process until legal issues had been settled.

The appeals court accepted that argument and ordered a temporary halt to any moves to strip the 275 of tribal membership. But the judges had some tart words for both Galanda and tribal attorneys.
"The pleadings filed by counsel for both parties have obfuscated rather than shed light on the issues
before us," the judges said in a footnote to their latest ruling. "Although it should be unnecessary, given the pleadings filed to date we are compelled to remind counsel the outcome of this litigation is of the utmost importance to the parties and they deserve that their legal representatives conduct this litigation with professionalism."

California Tribal Business Alliance Down to TWO MEMBERS, One is PALA, Meaning There should be NO stature here...

The California Tribal Business Alliance, a group that has exerted significant political power in recent years, is down to just two members.
 The Lytton Band of Pomo Indians left the group, Dave Palermo reported for Pechanga.net. T

That leaves the Pala Band of Luiseno Indians and the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians as members. With Pala proving themselves untrustworthy in dealings with their own membership, can they be taken seriously?

The CTBA formed in 2004 and consisted of a handful of tribes that were mostly represented by the same attorney. The group has often differed on policy and legal issues from most other tribes in the state. The group slowly lost members over the years.

Feds Put Tribal Casinos on Notice: Anti Money Laundering laws Apply to EVERY Corporation.

“All companies, especially casinos, are now on notice that America’s anti-money laundering laws apply to all people and every corporation, even if that company risks losing its most profitable customer.”

The Bank Secrecy Act requires casinos with annual revenue of at least $1 million to file the reports, which are then analyzed by government agencies to investigate possible violations of the law, according to the USAO news release.

In Riverside County, there are several casino operators, including Indian-owned operations.

According to Thom Mrozek, spokesman for the US. Attorney’s Office, Central District of California, none of these operators is exempt from today’s warning.

“Anti-money laundering laws and the various reporting requirements like SARs are dictated by federal law,” he said via email.

In Southwest Riverside County, Temecula is home to Pechanga Resort & Casino, while Lake Elsinore is the venue for the Lake Elsinore Hotel & Casino. Both offer gambling. Neither has been linked to any wrongdoing whatsoever in the Sands case.

PALA TRIBE's VICE CHAIRMAN Leroy Miranda is OUT -

In checking the Pala Tribal website you find this:

Howard Maxcy — Vice Chairman

Howard Maxcy has lived on the Pala Reservation since he was five years old. Maxcy graduated Fallbrook Union High School in 1995 and has worked for the Fire Department in Temecula for the last 16 years, where he works as a Fire Apparatus Engineer. When he is not working or spending time with his wife and two children, Maxcy enjoys playing golf and playing softball for the Pala Braves. Maxcy has served as Vice Chair since July 2013.


That's funny, we all thought that Leroy Miranda was the Vice Chairman.   Word is that he was forced to resign.

We wrote about Leroy when he was DRUNK in Public in September 2011:  http://www.originalpechanga.com/2012/09/pala-vice-chairman-leroy-miranda.html

This seems like a good move.   Can Robert Smith be next?

Indian Affairs Committee MUST know of Pechanga's Attempt to STEAL WATER from ALLOTTEES.

We wrote three years ago about Pechanga losing it's opportunity to get their water bill passed because of their lies to Congress about how many allottees were affected.  There are over 175 Temecula Indians who have claim to allotted lands on the Pechanga Indian Reservation.   

We have rights to any water that comes to reservation land.  With this latest attempt, Pechanga is looking to redefine what an allottee is.  Here is a letter that can be sent to the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.


Send an email with this letter to comments@indian.senate.gov with the option to fax the majority fax (202) 228-2589 and the Minority (202) 224-5429

To the Indian Affairs Committee. Maria Cantwell, Tim Tester, Jon Tester, Tom Udall, Al Franken, Mark Begich, Brian Schatz, Heidi Heitkamp, John Barrasso, John McCain, Lisa Murkowski, John Hoeven, Michael Crapo, Deb Fischer. 


I’m writing to you as a concern citizen on the blatant disregard for civil rights that the senate and congress is to uphold.

The water bills S1219 and  HR 2508  that was killed last year because of the disenrolled native Americans that are still allottees and it violates their rights as allottees granted protection by the president and congress. These families are original allottees that have the original deeds signed by President McKinley these deeds were made to start the reservation not the other way around.

These bills were killed last year now rewritten bills S1219 and HR 2508 Under SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.(4) ALLOTTEE- The term ‘allottee’ means a member of a federally recognized Indian tribe who holds a beneficial real property interest in an Indian allotment that is--Permalink(A) located within the Reservation; and Permalink(B) held in trust by the United States.

 This section was written to purposely take their allottees status away condoning the illegal and civil violation that has taken place on the Pechanga Indian Reservation. Their disenrollment was done illegally by the tribe's own constitution and bylaws thereby illegally stripping them of their federal status. Their allotment is in the middle of the reservation this meets criteria A. their allotment is in trust and can be verified by the B.I.A. also meeting criteria B.

Under SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.(5) band.(A) In general.—the term ‘’Band’’ means the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians, a federally recognized sovereign Indian tribe that functions as a custom and tradition Indian tribe, acting on behalf of itself and its members. (B) Exclusion.—the term “Band” does not include an individual member of the band acting in the capacity of an allottee. (A) States members since the disenrolled are not because the Band went against their customs and traditions to disenroll them the band does not have the right to represent them. (B) If an individual member can’t act in capacity of an allottee then the band can’t act in behalf of a federal recognized allottee that has been illegally disenrolled.

This bill needs to be killed or amended to protect allottees federal rights stated per:

Tribal enactments disenrolling allottees not found to meet the established enrollment criteria. The commissioner’s approval of such action shall be subject to appeal to the Secretary or the Interior.

The commissioner shall forward to the secretary with a recommendation, ordinance, resolution or contract with a treaty or with Tribal Constitution and membership criteria set by the tribe or charter, under which the ordinance, resolution or contract was adopted, enacted or negotiated or should be disapproved or rescinded for any other reason. Notwithstanding the commissioner shall not redelegate the authority granted in this paragraph to any officer or employee who pursuant to a tribe constitution or charter passes upon ordinance, resolution or contracts.


Name
Address
Phone
Email

Nooksack Tribal Counsel DENIES Children Back to school resources for school supplies and clothes

Pechanga, Pala and Chukchansi are NOT alone when it comes to denying their children education assistance.

Blogger PINE MOUNTAIN WALKER writes about the NOOKSACK Tribe, located near Deming, Washington is currently working of exterminating many of their children.

Back to School Support for the 2013-2014 school year will be in the amount of $275.00 each. The $275 is to be used for school clothing and school supplies for the Nooksack Tribal Children.

Distribution will be 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday August 22 and Friday August 23 at the Nooksack Tribal Administration Office at 5016 Deming Rd, Deming, WA 98244. Photo Identification for the student’s parent/guardian must be presented at the time of pick up. No one will be allowed to pick up checks for others.

Students who are enrolled in the Nooksack Tribe, and not subject to Nooksack disenrollment proceedings, and are aged 3-4 years old with proof of head start enrollment will be eligible for a $275 check.  Daycare Centers and Early Learning Centers do NOT qualify.

Students who are enrolled in the Nooksack Tribe and not subject to Nooksack disenrollment proceedings, and are aged 5-14 years old will be eligible for a $275 check, these students are required by law to be enrolled in school.

Students who are enrolled in the Nooksack Tribe, and are not subject to Nooksack disenrollment proceedings, and are aged 15-19 years old with proof of high school enrollment will be eligible for a $275 check.

Read the rest of the article:  http://pinemountainwalker.wordpress.com/2013/08/21/nooksack-tribal-counsel-denies-children-school-supplies-and-clothes/

He says:  (This information is taken directly from the Nooksack Tribe of Indians website (http://nooksackindiantribe.org/). It is related to a dispute between the the counsel members, led by Chairman Bob Kelly, and 306 tribal members threatened with losing their membership. The Nooksack Tribe of Indians is located in the Deming, Washington area east of Bellingham. Links will be provided for more information.)

Shameful: Pechanga Tribes' Indian Child Welfare Act: Get Rid of Indian Children

We've read stories about Baby Veronica, the Cherokee child adopted out to white parents, whose birth father wanted his parental rights restored.  This was an Indian Child Welfare Act issue and parental rights.

Attorney J Eric Reed of Dallas:   “The constitutional questions surrounding every aspect of the Indian Child Welfare Act were vigorously debated by Congress, which enacted this legislation to protect the ultimate health and welfare of all indigenous children in the United States. Those hearings uncovered a very tragic reality in the systematic abusive child welfare practices toward Indians in state courts that resulted in the separation of great numbers of Indian children from their families and tribes..."

 

The Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians has done more harm than the adoptive parents of Veronica who loved her.

BREAKING: Bus En Route to San Manuel Casino in San Bernardino Overturns with Injuries

BREAKING:  A Da Zhen tour bus bus headed to the San Manuel Casino In San Bernardino has overturned on the eastbound 210 freeway.   

Multiple passengers were airlifted and many ambulances standing by.   Details of injuries have not been released

UPDATE:  50 passengers injured   SAFETY WARNINGS:  The tour bus company behind today's I-210 crash that injured dozens of riders was slapped with 3 prior "unsafe driving" violations and 25 maintenance violations, 

CHEROKEE FREEDMEN Case Sent Back to DC COURT.

The Judge has reconsidered in keeping the case in OK.  VANN v. NORTON now back in the hands of the D.C. Court.




Upon reconsideration of its March 15, 2013 Order, the Court now concludes that the D.C. Court should have discretion in deciding threshold legal issues, applying the first to file rule, and deciding where this action shall proceed.

Therefore, the Motion to Reconsider (Doc. 190) is GRANTED.

The Court’s Opinion and Order dated March 15, 2013 (Doc. 189) is WITHDRAWN and vacated by this Opinion and Order.
The Motion to Transfer (Doc. 178) is GRANTED for the purpose of permitting the D.C. Court to exercise its discretion in applying the first to file rule. The case is therefore transferred to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, as related to Vann v. Norton, 03-1711-TFH.

In n Out to Open on Morongo Tribal Lands

If you miss the  last one at Palm Springs, you get a second chance at Morongo, coming in 2014.

Earth was getting pushed around Wednesday for construction of the nation’s first In-N-Out Burger on tribal lands.

The scene unfolded to the west of Morongo Casino Resort & Spa on the Morongo Band of Mission Indians Reservation along Interstate-10 in Cabazon.

The popular 1950′s styled restaurant is set to open in 2014. It will be within walking distance from the casino resort and the tribe’s Travel Center, a fueling station that’s equipped with competitively priced gasoline, diesel fuel and slot machines.

In-N-Out will join two other fast-service eateries, Ruby’s Diner and the A&W Restaurant. Hadley’s Date Garden is also located nearby.

“We are delighted that In-N-Out Burger has chosen the Morongo Indian Reservation as the home for its first restaurant ever on tribal land,” chairman Robert Martin said in a statement. “Given the current economic environment, Morongo is happy to be developing a new project that will not only bring new business activity and jobs to our region, but will also generate future economic development opportunities.”

Chukchansi Corruption Causes EPA to WITHHOLD Funding, Suspend All Grant Applications: PRESS RELEASE

In a letter last week to REGGIE LEWIS, Chairman of the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stated it is withholding funding and suspending all grant applications after Nancy Ayala used a previous EPA letter to claim the agency recognized her as Chair of the Chukchansi Tribe. The EPA will not take any action until the U.S. Department of the Interior makes a decision regarding the leadership of the Chukchansi Tribe.

"Nancy Ayala's deceitful actions are starting to catch up with her," said Chairman Lewis. "As she has been doing for months, she was only thinking about herself and thought that she could dishonestly crop a letter from the EPA to make it look like she is the Tribal Chair. Now she has harmed all Tribal members by forcing the EPA to deny grant funding."

Chairman Lewis expects a similar backlash from the BIA after Ayala also cropped a portion of a letter from BIA Superintendent Troy Burdick in an attempt to persuade Tribal members and the public to believe the BIA had recognized her as Tribal Chair.

Chairman Lewis added, "It is important that we let this dispute be decided in the proper forum, which is with the BIA and the court system. It is unfortunate that Nancy Ayala repeatedly engages in this behavior in order to give the appearance to Tribal members and the public that she has any authority."

Wife of Tribal Leader Who Destroyed his Tribe, Holly Cook Macarro, Jockeying For Position With Hillary Clinton

Holly Cook Macarro, Red Lake Ojibwe, is another legal ace who is working hard to make sure the Hillary Clinton camp knows her name.  A former Democratic National Committee staffer and member of the Clinton administration’s White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, she’s now a tribal lobbyist with Ietan Consulting. Married to tribal chairman Mark Macarro, of the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians, she has many, many friends in Indian country, and her jobs haven’t called for her to get into many squabbles with tribal leaders, although her firm has made some enemies over its work on a Carcieri land-into-trust fix and other tribal lobbying issues.

 Cook Macarro joined IETAN CONSULTING from the Holland & Knight law firm, where lawyer Lynn Cutler serves as a senior advisor. Cutler joined the firm in 2001, after serving as senior staff to President Bill Clinton on Intergovernmental Affairs where she was in charge of overseeing advocacy for tribal governments.

 Cook Macarro has a strong relationship with Cutler from having worked under her during the Clinton administration. She knows how important her "in" with Cutler will be if Clinton does run, and she even includes a note in her official biography to affirm the relationship. "Lynn Cutler is a good friend and mentor whose advice and guidance over the years has been, and continues to be, invaluable," Cook Macarro told ICTMN.


 Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/08/14/native-american-affairs-gurus-make-overtures-hillary-clinton-camp-150864

Palermo: Tribes angry at California AG Kamala Harris' land/trust letters to Interior

American Indians are outraged at the California Attorney General’s stepped-up opposition to tribal efforts to place land in trust for casinos, fire stations, water treatment plants and other purposes, according to tribal lawyers and lobbyists.

Although the Attorney General’s office has long been critical of tribal efforts to place lands in federal trust, tribal leaders contend the pace of the opposition letters have accelerated, and they reject the agency’s claim it is acting on directions of Governor Jerry Brown.

While Brown has worked cooperatively with Indian tribes on tribal-state compacts and other matters, the AG’s office over the past year has sent about a dozen letters to the Pacific Region office of theDepartment of Interior protesting tribal land/trust applications.

Two of the letters oppose efforts by the Cloverdale Rancheria of Pomo Indians and Mechoopda Maidu Indians to place land in trust for casinos.

Another AG letter opposes efforts by the San Pascual Band of Diegueño Mission Indians to place land in trust for a fire station. And yet another opposes a land/trust application by the Tule River Indian Tribe for a waste water treatment plant.

“We are shocked and dismayed your administration would take such a hostile position against tribes who seek to become more self-sufficient through the acquisition of an adequate land base,” the Northern California Tribal Chairman’s Association said in a June 12 letter to Brown.

Robert Smith, chairman of both the Pala Band of Luiseno Indians and the California Fee-to-Trust Consortium, a partnership of tribes and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, requested in a June letter to Attorney General Kamala Harris that she withdraw the letters, issue a moratorium on further comments and review her office’s policy on land/trust matters.

The letters “attacked the very foundation of the federal statutes authorizing land in trust acquisitions, fostering discord and misunderstanding between tribal nations and the state of California,” Smith wrote.

Harris has not responded to the requests.

  OP: She should remind Smith to mind his own business. When he follows his own tribal constitution, he could advise CA what to do.

Eydie Gorme Passes at 84.

One of my parents favorite singers. Her recording of Sabor a Mi with the Trio Los Panchos is a classic. LOS ANGELES Eydie Gorme, a popular nightclub and television singer as a solo act and as a team with her husband, Steve Lawrence, has died. She was 84. Gorme, who also had a huge solo hit in 1963 with "Blame it on the Bossa Nova," died Saturday at Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas following a brief, undisclosed illness, said her publicist, Howard Bragman.

IT's ON!! Corrupt LEWIS Faction of Chukchansi SUES Madera County Supervisors. Sovereignty, SCHMOVEREIGNTY

All five members of the Madera County Board of Supervisors and Madera County Sheriff John Anderson were served with a lawsuit Tuesday filed in Chukchansi Tribal Court by the Reggie Lewis faction of All five members of the Madera County Board of Supervisors and Madera County Sheriff John Anderson were served with a lawsuit Tuesday filed in Chukchansi Tribal Court by the Reggie Lewis faction of Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians.

The lawsuit alleges, according to a prepared statement from the Lewis group, that Anderson was made aware of numerous illegal actions taken by Nancy Ayala and her faction of supporters but failed to take action.

Anderson, the suit said, allowed supporters of Ayala to illegally remove records from the Chukchansi Indian Housing Authority offices.

Anderson initially prohibited access to the building by Lewis and Ayala, but after Lewis complied with Anderson's order to vacate the premises, Anderson allowed Ayala's faction access to the building and refused to take any action as Ayala removed 25 boxes of records from the building, including financial records.

The suit also said Anderson and his deputies also took no action against the driver of one of the vehicles involved in removing the boxes and records when the vehicle he was driving struck one of the tribe's security officers who was guarding the premises even though they witnessed it.

Faction tribal leader NANCY AYALA , along with Ayala's council members Tracey Brechbuehl, Karen Wynn, and Charles Sargosa are also named as defendants in the lawsuit.

"The Chukchansi tribal council will not sit by idly while supposedly neutral law enforcement officials and elected leaders aid and abet Ayala and her illegal actions," said Lewis. "Anderson has not only refused to act to stop Ayala's illegal conduct, but has clearly taken sides in an internal tribal dispute. This lawsuit will force Anderson to stop involving himself in our internal tribal matters and let the federal process play out as it should."

Anderson has additionally failed to take any action against Ayala for hiring a security force of known gang members and writing hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal checks said the suit. When Ayala illegally kicked everyone off of the tribal council except for herself in February, Anderson assisted this illegal act by prohibiting access to the tribal offices by Lewis and other members of the tribal council and threatened to arrest the security officers who were legally engaged to protect the tribe's property.

Read more on this comical development at the SIERRA STAR NEWS

Chukchansi's Corrupt Leadership Factions Manage to Bring Bond Payments Current

Two July 25 wire transfers totaling $2.6 million have brought the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians current on repaying its casino bonds, and each of two tribal factions are taking credit for the payment.

In prepared statements released July 25, both Nancy Ayala and Reggie Lewis announced they were
responsible for the payment being made.

"Our Tribe took a giant step forward by making a payment of more than $2.6 million and bringing the
Chukchansi Tribe current on our bond indenture for the Chukchansi Gold Casino & Resort," Ayala's
statement read.

Chukchansi previously had made a bond payment of more than $10 million against the tribe's nearly $12 million bond payment in March.

"We are glad that this payment was able to be made to satisfy the tribe's debt obligation," Lewis' statement read. "Our tribal council is ecstatic that we were able to overcome the many obstacles put in our people's way by former council members determined to sabotage our tribe and our casino," said Ayala

Govt. Gives Grant To Corrupt Indian Tribe: Can you say WTF? Chukchansi gets $40K of our Money. Which FACTION gets it

If we needed proof that our government can't read, can't make a good decision, today we read that the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians, well know civil and human rights violators, gets OUR tax dollars, when they have MILLIONS coming in.

Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians $40,000

National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis today announced more than $645,000 in historic preservation grants to 17 American Indian tribes, Alaskan Natives and Native Hawaiian organizations.

“These grants will be used to help preserve the rich heritage of human experience from architectural and intellectual achievements to cultural identities,” said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. “Whether used to create oral history programs, operate museums and cultural centers, or develop training and education programs, the grants will help all Americans can gain a greater appreciation of our nation’s rich traditions and cultures.”

The competitive grants can be used to fund projects such as nominations to the National Register of Historic Places, preservation education, architectural planning, historic structure reports, community preservation plans, and bricks-and-mortar repair to buildings.

Congress provides these grant appropriations each year with revenue from Federal oil leases on the Outer Continental Shelf. The National Park Service administers the grants through the Historic Preservation Fund.  This year’s appropriation was decreased by about five percent as a result of sequestration.

MORE ON CHUKCHANSI AT THESE LINKS:

Cease Recognition ofPicayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians 

  Picayune Rancheria Ejects HUNDREDS
  Chukchansi thuggery
  Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians Corruption
Chukchansi disenrollment Chukchansi Council Dispute

When Democrats Attack: Democrat Party Operatives Macarro and Masiel Attacked Those Who Didn't Fall In Line

In this update of a story we wrote about a couple of years ago..It’s been a decade since Pechanga Chairman Mark Macarro asked the People of California to help Native Americans in their quest for self-reliance. I believe that most people took self-reliance to mean that Native Americans would help take care of their own people with the proceeds of Indian Gambling. This is the messaging of every public relations campaign during every California referendum on Indian Gaming, Each time the leaders of Pechanga were the face of the California Native community.  Behind the scenes, however plans were already being made to strip families of their inherent rights as Temecula people and long-standing members to share in the fruits of gaming.

Unfortunately, then, self-reliance to Pechanga means keeping rightful people from joining the band and removing people via a process benignly called "disenrollment"  who don’t think the way the leadership wants them to think, so there will be no dissent among the membership. The Council’s policy is cash your check and shut the hell up.   Democrats, think what would happen if the Republicans could keep 25% of you from voting for your choice of leadership.   Do you think your choice would win?  Republicans, what would you think if the Democrats or even a civil rights group like the NAACP accepted readily this type of behavior?

Pechanga’s Constitution and Bylaws provides for OPEN ENROLLMENT each January, yet in 1997 the band approved a petition, which called for a moratorium on member enrollment so that the tribe can get caught up with the applications. There are 10 members on that committee, how long could it take to catch up? The will of the people was the rule of law in an enrollment matter, upheld by the tribal council.   There has been no "catching up", in fact people who have a right to be in their tribe, just as their cousins are have been kept out for two decades, a paper shuffle that people like Frances Miranda kept going so they couldn't be on their land as members.

When the people passed a valid petition to halt all disenrollments in 2005, the tribal council maintained that the petition couldn’t be enforced, because the general council had no authority in enrollment matters.   When in fact, Pechanga Chairman Mark Macarro knew full well that the general membership of the tribe has the final word. Let’s get this right, the general council says the people could keep people OUT, but they can’t keep people IN?

So, we have the Pechanga Tribal Council acting in a shameful manner by eliminating 25% of their citizenry. They stripped this group of their status as Native Americans, and grabbed their share of per capita payments to grow their own.  Many people don't understand per capita, but they do/should understand that if we get rid of 135 people, making $17,000 per month, it adds up to $2.3 Million per month, they can split between the remaining people.  They keep rightful members from their place at Pechanga via disenrollment and moratorium and abused the elders and children of two families, terminating their cultural heritage.   With the subsequent disenrollment of the Hunter family, there is an additional $2.1 million to divvy up.   This is in per capita only, it doesn't include the college scholarship which could easily be worth $25,000 per year.

In direct contradiction to these reprehensible actions, Pechanga donates to groups like the Boys and Girls Clubs, The Temecula Valley School District, and other organizations, which gladly take generous donations from the tribal government.   Of course, remember now that Pechanga had an additional $5.3 million to share PER MONTH.   A yearly donation of $25k here and there wouldn't make a dent in that.

Enterprise Rancheria: First Amendment Retaliation Should Keep them from New Jerry Brown Casino.

Potential obstacles seem to keep popping up for the proposed Enterprise Rancheria> casino in Yuba County.

The latest came in a report that powerful Senate Democrat Kevin DeLeon of Los Angeles has sent a letter to Gov. Jerry Brown asking for delays in approving off-reservation casino agreements. It asks for the delay until a new overall state policy on such arrangements can be developed, the Los Angeles Times said.

The Times reported that among other issues, it asks Brown to delay submitting to the Legislature the deal he reached with Enterprise Rancheria for the Yuba County project.

Here's a letter on WHY the Enterprise Rancheria's plans should be summarily dismissed.  Violations of the FIRST AMENDMENT among others


Enterprise Rancheria may have had big dreams a decade ago,where their casino project was concerned, but I recall more vividly that at that same time they were disenrolling 72 of their own tribal members. Enterprise's dream turned into a nightmare for 72 members who signed a valid petition to recall the majority of their tribal council over difficulties with the handling of the tribe's Human Services Fund for the needy. I was the Vice Chairman of Enterprise Rancheria at that time.

I signed the recall petition and was subsequently disenrolled as well. The problems within the tribe are very real. Those of us disenrolled experienced a repeated violation of our civil rights during the disenrollment process. Unfortunately, you've got many of the same individuals involved in tribal government and still running the Enterprise Rancheria tribe today.

I'm a firm believer in you reap what you sow. So I took a census among the former tribal members, and I couldn't find one who felt sorry for Enterprise Rancheria.

Robert Edwards

Chairman, Indians of Enterprise No.1

Can Mark Macarro's Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians, Ever Regain Their Lost Honor?

We will address that issue in a series of posts.

Macarro's Pechanga is well known as an apartheid practicing tribe, where longtime residents/allottees are not allowed to drink out of tribal faucets, or use playground equipment.

Macarro's Pechanga is threatening members who speak out with disenrollment.

Macarro's Pechanga failed to follow their own constitution

Stay tuned, but please feel free to look at our archive history for more.

Chairman Greg Sarris of Graton Rancheria NOT an Indian says his Relative

For years, questions have swirled around whether the leader of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria had Native American heritage.

Now a relative has stepped forward to challenge the claims, saying there is no one in her family who is Native American and that the story Chairman Greg Sarris, a well-known writer and academic, is telling is pure fiction.

“I’m not Indian and neither is he,” said Velia Navarro, a 68-year-old Los Angeles County resident and Sarris’s second cousin. “He’s a manipulator, he’s self-centered and he does things for his own benefit.”

Navarro first met Sarris in the late 1980s when he contacted the family saying he was the illegitimate son of Navarro’s cousin. She describes her family’s ancestry as a mix of Filipino, Spanish and French and said that she grew concerned after hearing Sarris’s stories about the family, many of which she says are wrong.

“How does a person have the audacity to do something like that? He is a writer and what he is saying is pure fiction…If I thought I had Indian in me, I would like to be part of a tribe building a casino because I know I’m going to get a piece of the pie.”

The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria are in the process of building a 3,000-slot casino west of Rohnert Park, prompting concerns about overdrawing the region’s water, impacts on traffic and other quality of life issues, including gambling addiction and crime.

READ MORE At The Rohnert Park PATCH

SIGNATURES SOUGHT TO KEEP NORTH FORK RANCHERIA FROM GETTING A JERRY BROWN APPROVED CASINO

Keep Vegas-Style Casinos Out of Neighborhoods announced July 28 that it has established a campaign committee with California Secretary of State Kamala Harris and will immediately begin collecting signatures for a referendum to stop the the North Fork Mono Rancheria from building its proposed casino on Highway 99 near Madera, and similar future proposals.

According to a press release from Stand Up for California, an organization that serves as a casino watchdog in the state and has opposed the casino project, the referendum seeks to uphold the will of the California electorate by limiting Indian gaming to originally restored Indian land.

The campaign needs 504,760 signatures by Oct. 1 in order to qualify for the next state general election in November 2014, and construction of the casino would be delayed until after the election.

In June the California legislature dramatically expanded the scope of Las Vegas-style casinos in California by authorizing – for the first time ever – a tribe with existing land eligible for gaming in the Sierra Mountains to build a Vegas-style casino on more lucrative land in the Central Valley.

"This campaign is about upholding the will of California voters who approved Indian gaming to help support poverty-stricken Indian tribes on their restored reservations, not to line the pockets of Las Vegas casino operators," said Cheryl Schmit, director of Stand Up for California. "When Indian gaming was authorized by the voters, voters were assured that Vegas-style casinos would not be popping up in neighborhoods. This is the time to stop the proliferation of casino shopping backed by tribes with fringe connections to the land and big Las Vegas casino operators. Now, ignoring the promise to voters that these off-reservation projects would never happen, the North Fork tribe and Station Casinos are only concerned about getting rich and not the significant impacts this project will have on California."

Chukchansi's GOVERNANCE problems to delay housing for elders

A letter from Reggie Lewis, signed as chairman of the Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians, has been received by the Madera County Planning Department, asking for a 90-day continuance of a scheduled Aug. 6 planning commission public hearing concerning a proposed Oakhurst subdivision that would provide housing for tribal elders and families.

In the letter, Lewis said the tribe is in the midst of a governance controversy, and that a faction of the tribe headed by Nancy Ayala and Don Ctibor, "former" executive director of the Chukchansi Indian Housing authority, and others, "have no authority to act on behalf of the tirbe or the CIH."

MURDER in the 1st Degree is the Charge in Pechanga Reservation Zip Code Shooting

Nelson Virgil Allen, 63, was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder, with sentence-enhancing allegations of great bodily injury and gun use.

The shooting, in an area surrounded by the Pechanga Indian Reservation, that must be accessed by the Pechanga guarded gate, but not reservation property happened on July 27.   This was a family dispute that resulted in the death on longtime Pechanga reservation zip code residents.


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