This battle is far, far from over!
UPDATE:
Three days after suffering a setback in tribal elections, the 306 people facing loss of membership in the Nooksack Indian Tribe won a legal victory that promises to slow down the tribal council's effort to remove them.
But the appeals court's action may not stop that removal.
In a ruling delivered to the tribal court office on Tuesday, March 18, a three-judge Nooksack Tribal Appeals Court panel ruled that the procedures for removing the 306 from tribal membership rolls must be approved by the U.S. Department of Interior, which oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The tribal council, headed by Chairman Bob Kelly, had approved a resolution in August 2013 declaring that each individual facing loss of tribal membership would get a telephone hearing before the tribal council of no more than 10 minutes.
Attorneys representing the council had argued that the resolution did not need federal approval. Seattle attorney Gabe Galanda and his firm, representing the 306, convinced the court that the resolution was, in fact, an ordinance, and the tribal constitution requires Interior Department approval of ordinances.
Otherwise, the appeals court ruled that the short telephonic hearing was adequate protection of the affected tribal members' legal right to due process before they are deprived of tribal membership, which members say has emotional as well as financial benefits. The judges' ruling states that a more lengthy, in-person hearing would serve no purpose, because a member's right to tribal status would hinge on documentary evidence of ancestry, not personal pleas.
The court ruled that the affected tribal members must have 21 days' notice before their hearing, and they have a right to be represented by someone of their choice.
In an email, Galanda said it was significant that the appeals court ruling forces the Department of Interior to get involved. Until now, the threatened Nooksacks have been rebuffed in efforts to get the agency to weigh in on the membership controversy.
Galanda said he wasn't sure whether the approval process would be handled in regional BIA offices, or whether it might be referred to Washington, D.C. He declined to guess how long the approval process might take, and whether there was any chance that the federal agency would deny the approval that the tribal council needs to get the membership ouster started.
4 comments:
WOW could this be the start of sovereignty eroding. Reservations like Pala , Pechanga and others that have disenrolled are you looking at what is happing or are you going to keep fighting till there is no sovereignty left. Hay Mark how that water bill going sovereignty and are you going to have to pay back that signing bonus money you got from the water district for selling the water right away.
Watch closely the lies and misinformation will not stop @ Pechanga with the liars still supported. To some it's ok to lie as long as it does not effect them. The sad part is, the liars are blinded by greed and the lies and misinformation will effect everyone now and in the future. Lies are like throwing rocks in the water, splashing and rippling effects. Some lie to eachother and then outside, no Buenos.
Let's not miss the implications of Gabe Galanda's comments. Tribal sovereignty has been used as a shield to protect tribal leaders from the consequences of illegal disenrollments. As the legal actions escalate, tribal sovereignty will be eroded by constant agency and court scrutiny. There have recently been two remanded AS-IA decisions, one in Calaveras and one in San Pasqual. It is quite possible that more findings in favor of disenrollees are coming. Tribal leaders who have been hiding behind tribal sovereignty will find their shield is not powerful enough to cover their corrupt and illegal actions.
If only they would realize that continued abuse of power will bring even greater scrutiny upon them. Indians will not sit still while their heritage, rights, and benefits are stolen from them. They will continue to fight. Those that have wronged them will be forced to justify their actions in court. They have nothing but greed to explain why they have decimated their own people. Then outside powers will have an excuse to intercede and tell the tribes what to do.
We know how that scenario enfolds. The stupidity of this cycle is obvious. The US Government wants no Indians. They always have. The US Government only puts up with Indians because it has pretended to be the protectors of the weak in international conflicts, and hates the finger pointing from other nations about the conflicts here in the US.
Wake up all you Indians! Stop the genocide! After the US Government destroyed our culture and our language, stole our lands, and corrupted our children, now they take our money, and laugh at us while our leaders do the dirty work of killing the people.
Are we really so stupid and lazy and to let it happen?
There is away to take sovereignty away from Robert Smith and Theresa Nieto.Just shoot the greedy bastards.
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