Congratulations to the Enterprise Rancheria for finding it in their hearts to DO THE RIGHT THING. It's not difficult.
Thirteen years after disenrolling 73 tribal members, in a move that was orchestrated and illegal in 2003, the Tribe sent letters of appeal for potential membership in the tribe. 25 disenrolled members applied for reinstatement.
Each member was individually interviewed by the General Council. A VOTE of the tribe was taken and ALL 25 were returned to the tribe.
Many of our disenrolled, chose not to appeal to return to the tribe. Mainly because the same tribal leaders who orchestrated theirr disenrollment are still in leadership positions.
Still to be determined: Elders that have passed since disenrollment could receive their memberships back posthumously. UPDATE: It has been reported that those who have passed HAVE been restored to the tribe.
Let's hope this HUGE step in both ATONEMENT and RECONCILIATIONS will inspire other tribes to do right by their people. Honor the ancestors and bring ALL THE PEOPLE HOME.
Congratulations to the Enterprise Rancheria, for restoring HONOR and Dignity to their people
Was Robert Edwards one of them? I know he was vocal against what his tribe had done. So hopefully they didn't hold that against him.
ReplyDeleteNo he was not.
ReplyDeleteNo he was not. He was given the opportunity to appeal and he chose not to......
ReplyDeleteThat is a good step forward. I see that Robert Edwards has integrity as he said he would not reunite until the corruption was removed from the tribe. I am not sure of the exact quote only because when we had our conversation it was over 10 years ago.
ReplyDeleteI am a member and I can verify that every single person that was disenrolled 13 years ago, except those beloved family members that have passed on, was notified of the appeal and every single person that responded and came to our meeting on Saturday or wrote a letter if they couldn't attend, were reinstated to full membership in our family. And they were reinstated by nearly unanimous consent by the general council. And we also voted unanimously to posthumously enroll those who have unfortunately moved on, mostly our elders. It was truly a wonderful thing to witness.
ReplyDeletePlease, to those tribes that have dis- enrolled its members........follow our example and put your houses in order. Many blessings to you if you do so.
And to my reunited family, welcome back and we love you!!
To my wonderful Tribe and its members, Thank You from the bottom of my heart!
This is the simple solution to disenrollment. Reinstate the disenrollees and reunite the tribe. How hard is that?
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately the corrupt leaders need disenrollment to perpetuate their evil agendas. It gives them a threat to extort support from members who fear losing their benefits. Most of these leaders would never agree to reinstatement.
Enterprise Rancheria gives Indian Country hope. This is a great example of how to begin the healing process. Whether or not the corruption has been defeated, reuniting the people will lead to better days ahead.
Those who will never be satisfied and still speak of corruption need to understand that reinstatement was brought to a vote for General Council. There was a vote and the process began. Enterprise Rancheria welcomed their family back. It was very emotional for all. Those who did not respond will never be satisfied and will speak of corruption! There will always be a few who speak ill of the Tribal Leaders but they have not seen all the good that Enterprise has done. Our people(families) have worked side by side with Tribal Council and have seen so much progress. As all can see, reinstatement will unite our Tribe and we can move forward.
ReplyDeleteThose who have passed on HAVE been honored posthumously by Enterprise Rancheria General Council.
ReplyDeleteI am glad that these members were re-instated, but at the same time, they should not have had to apply, it should have been done automatically unless the whole tribe is going through the same process of proof to belong. It seems like the leaders are not admitting guilt, but of course your situation could be different. Kudos to the General Council though for coming together and working on something that could help heal the tribe.
ReplyDeleteThe return of these members to the Enterprise Rancheria tribe was handled as an appeal of their disenrollment which required them to apply. At the hearing each applicant had to answer 3 questions for the General Council. One of those questions was "why did you sign the petition?" At the time of the disenrollments in 2003 there was a recall petition against five members of the Tribal Council for using funds set-aside for the needy for themselves. The same 72 members who signed the petition were subsequently disenrolled for dividing the tribe by signing that petition. Here we are 13 years later and tribal leaders still don't know that the Indian Civil Rights Act gives you the right to petition for redress. Hopefully, along with the positive move to return these members to their tribe will come a new understanding of the basic civil rights and human rights to which we're all entitled. Hopefully, all who have returned to the tribe will be pleased with their decision.
ReplyDeleteOMG preach to us "know-it-all"
ReplyDeleteSounds like sour grapes !!haha
Was John Hunter Miller reenstated? My Aunt was married to him. He was dis-enrolled after he died. Just wondering. Thanks for the update.
ReplyDeleteWas John Hunter Miller a lineal member of Enterprise Rancheria?
ReplyDelete