While Sen. Claire McCaskill fiddled with Dr. Oz today and Harry Reid railed against an NFL team, the Attorney General of CA, Kamala Harris filed suit against the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians. Harris says the tribe, under the compact must protect the physical safety of patrons and employees (while ignoring second hand smoke issues)
Hopefully, the federal court will step up to the plate and take action because the Paskenta Band tribal dispute has escalated while the federal government shirks its fiduciary obligation to ensure that the dispute is FAIRLY and QUICKLY resolved.
Violence occurs when there is no procedural due process, meaning a FAIR process -- and it is close to breaking out on several other reservations in California. We have ALREADY seen this at Chukchansi where one faction fired Bear Pepper Spray and burning logs at elders.
The BIA ignores illegal acts and racketeering against Indian citizens under the cloak of "sovereign immunity."
Indians who are members of a federally recognized tribe are citizens of a "sovereign" nation, but they are also United States citizens. The governments fiduciary duty is NOT just to chiefs and chairmen.
Indians who are members of a federally recognized tribe are citizens of a "sovereign" nation, but they are also United States citizens. The governments fiduciary duty is NOT just to chiefs and chairmen.
IF the same civil rights violations occurred in a foreign country, at least the U.S. citizen would have the U.S. embassy to help them. The BIA creates these hostile takeover situations by closing their eyes to their legal duty to enrolled tribal members and the Band as a whole to ensure a fair process is available.
If a restraining order is granted, perhaps Congress and the Senate Indian Affairs Committee might actually take notice about the blatant civil rights violations which the BIA has so often ignored during the past decade.
See the complaint HERE:
Congress needs to consider granting a remedy to enrolled tribal members and distinguishing Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez, the 1978 U.S. Supreme Court case which dealt with "applicants" not tribal members with federal roll numbers.
Don't FIDDLE while Indian Country BURNS!
Congress needs to consider granting a remedy to enrolled tribal members and distinguishing Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez, the 1978 U.S. Supreme Court case which dealt with "applicants" not tribal members with federal roll numbers.
Don't FIDDLE while Indian Country BURNS!
OMG they all have smoke in them? hahahaha ,.. second hand smoke will kill you.
ReplyDeleteWe don't anymore Cedarvilles. We also need to look at the actions of the lawyers who pre-plan and engineer these takeovers for their faction with armed forces where it takes only one misstep to get a full bore firefight where people will be killed. Let's get a Congressional investigation into this despicable explosive situation with lawyers fanning the situation by stupid antics and bad legal advice to their clients. She or he who has the check book rules the roost and the lawyers get paid handsomely by their faction. We must look directly into this "black hole" and start a "Root Cause Analysis" of why it is happening more and more and what we can do to prevent further situations where there maybe loss of life. First, the security firms who go on reservations to invade, intimidate and steal tribal property must be properly licensed under federal law/regulation or just consider them trespassers and sue them. This kind of action gives Indian gaming a bad name and I hope there is no backlash. Congress, Don't Fiddle while Indian Country Burns!
ReplyDeleteI am trying to understand this right but have seen a few different articles with different sides. Correct me if I am wrong, but It seems like the previous treasurer and the other EC members except for the Chairmen were robbing the tribe of funds and then were released of duty by Andy Freeman and a new treasurer and other new EC members were voted in, and had to have security to get rid of the bad ones. Then the bad ones are now complaining and trying to take back over their places on the council by getting the BIA to back them up and bringing in some outside armed gangster guys that were also at Chukchansi causing problems there with threats of violence to the new EC they tried bringing in. If this is true, then the whole tribe even though they want the new EC is suffering for the bad EC members still wanting power? If this is true, this is sad that the bad EC members can't just step down.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like Kamala Harris is worried about the safety issues first, not finance
ReplyDeleteAccording to the Sacramento Bee the Chairperson Freeman had requested funds to buy or build a third home and was turned down by Lohse the then Tribal Treasurer and another Tribal Council Member from the Crosby family who was a former FBI Agent. Both of those individuals were then the subject of a disenrollment vote along with their families at an April General Council Meeting. It doesn't get any more personal than that does it?
ReplyDeleteHows she gonna sue a tribe?
ReplyDeleteThe integrity of some these news sources is in doubt. Either that or they are taking reports from people without verifying the facts. There have been false reports about the actions at Paskenta and it is difficult to get to the truth.
ReplyDeleteAll the stories agree on one thing though, and that is that the Paskenta General Council voted twice now to suspend four members of their Executive Committee and elected new officers. Tribal members also turned out in force to support Chairman Andy Freeman when he went to discuss the matter with Troy Burdick BIA Superintendent Central California Agency.
The BIA has issued a cease and desist order against the newly elected Executive Committee in their effort to bar the ousted tribal officers from the Casino. The ousted tribal officers used cyber terrorism in an attempt to destroy computer records at the casino. The BIA has also stated that they only recognize the former Executive Committee because they were duly elected and has completely disregarded the General Council action to suspend four tribal officer while an investigation is conducted.
There are two groups of armed security forces vying for control of the casino. One is a so-called tribal police force which is loyal to the ousted tribal officers and has attempted to close down the casino, and has forced its way into the casino only to be confronted by a casino security force which was trying to prevent casino closure and to bar the ousted tribal officers from entering. Tribal members were also involved, and they helped casino security bar the entrance to the casino.
It is pretty obvious that the tribe wants the new Executive Committee to assume power. The BIA is trying to stop them, the California Attorney General is trying to keep the peace, and a restraining order has been issued against both sides to bar any armed forces from a perimeter of 100 yards of the Casino.
All I can say is that it is really strange to see the BIA working against self determination in a tribe. You would think it would require a majority vote from the tribe endorsing the ousted tribal officers for the BIA to continue to support them.
But what do I know? The BIA sure seem to be swayed by tribal officers with control of large amounts of resources, and willing to side with them against their own General Councils.
Change is good, but acts being allowed inside that our ancestors went through from outsiders is not our way I believe (apartheid, dis enrollment, lies, greed ect.). Criminal acts (unwanted sexual acts, drug use, stealing ect.) on others is different. Disagreements & unsettled questions is a different thing and should be handled together inside. Misusing customs and traditions to hold power, telling lies to outsiders to justify your actions is not our way either. These acts are running through because $$ is blinding, and people are forgetting these acts could be used against them. They would feel uncomfortable too, feeling their children watch the bad mistakes. No one is going anywhere.
ReplyDeleteThose sorts of disrespectful acts shouldn't be tolerated.
ReplyDelete