Syrian & South African Sovereignty and Tribal Sovereignty, Birds of a Feather?

 Our President, Barack Obama is preparing to attack a sovereign country, Syria for attacks on their own people.  The Congress of the United States imposed sanctions on the sovereign nation of South Africa for the oppression of their majority population.

Why then, does our congress refuse to act against sovereign tribal nations, such as The Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians, which is currently running as apartheid system on their reservation?  Why does the Democratic Party, supposedly the party of civil rights, stand by when civil rights are obviously violated, in Pechanga’s case by members of their own Native American Caucus?

Currently, the Pechanga Tribal Council, led by Mark Macarro, has eliminated 25% of his tribe.  He has threatened landowners with expulsion from the reservation for the egregious acts of:  Using playground equipment and being in the park area unaccompanied by a tribal member.  He had his Tribal Rangers, trespass on private property to threaten allottee against trespassing on tribal land.

Yes, he has stripped the equivalent of 8 MILLION CA voters of their right to vote in tribal elections, thereby ensuring he maintains his power base and can spend tribal money with no oversight, and cover for his brother’s spending of tribal money on personal family trips.  All the while keeping politicians in check with campaign contributions and keeping local politicians in line with a few thousand dollars to local schools, this after he segregated the tribal school, forcibly removing children with the power of his Tribal Rangers.

It is past time for our politicians to do the right thing for the people who have been abused by tribes that wield sovereignty like a club against the weak.   

This is not an issue that affects only Pechanga, it includes tribes like the Pala Band of Luiseno Indians, and others in the north, including the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians, the Redding Rancheria and one tribe angling Gov. Jerry Brown for a casino, the Enterprise Rancheria.    

The news media is strangely quiet. You won’t read much of this in the Press Enterprise, who blithely looks the other way and some local police incident reports look like press releases.   At one protest, the sheriff’s department lined up to protect the TRIBE against a concerned group of elderly women, men and young children.   Hiding behind the walls of the Pechanga Casino, they missed the threats from tribal members to protesters.

Readers, it’s time to stand up against tribal abuses.  HOW?   Do not patronize their businesses and let them KNOW why you aren’t coming back. In Temecula, there are plenty of places to spend your entertainment dollar. If you want to gamble, there is the San Manuel Casino in San Bernardino, Casino Pauma is nearby.  AVOID Pala!  If YOU respond economically, the tribe will react.   Don’t attend functions there and ask your local politicians to no longer use their casino for meetings and dinners.  All the while informing these corrupt tribes WHY you are no longer coming.   It worked in South Africa, it can work here.   Reform is needed and you can help.

Before we look to our President to launch Tomahawk cruise missiles at a sovereign nation, We should look to he and Congress to stand up to sovereign tribal nations that abuse American citizens.  Sovereign status comes with sovereign responsibility to their people and Pechanga has shamed their ancestors with their abuses.