Playboy Told the Tribal Disenrollment Story 12 Years BEFORE NCAI released even a STATEMENT

Embarrassing to say the least.  Yes, ladies and gentlemen Playboy beats the National Council of American Indians to the important issue that now affects over 11,000 Native Americans by TWELVE YEARS.  

April 2008 Edition with
Story on DISENROLLMENT

While primarily known has a "men's magazine" Playboy also kept up with the issues of the day.  Playboy's April 2008 included a story on ousted Seminole Chief James Billie, with the article focusing on  Billies' fall from power as Chairman of the Seminole Nation and his eventual banishment by an opposing faction of the tribal council.

As a side bar, page 56 highlights the disenrollments at Pechanga:



"The Pechanga band of the Luiseno tribe operate California's most profitable casino: its resort in Temecula grosses as much as $1 billion a year.

But don't tell this to John Gomez, Jr. or the 135 members of his extended family who were kicked out of the Pechangas after tribal leaders ruled one of his deceased elders wasn't a true tribal member. The elder in [Manuela Miranda]question left the traditional village after her marriage; therefore, according to the tribal leadership, her descendants aren't really Pechanga.

The fact that Gomez is descended from Chief Pablo Apis doesn't seem to matter. When the Gomez expulsion was finalized in 2004, each of the 1,000 adult Pechanga members got about $15,000 a month from casino profits; after a more recent round of disenrollment booted another 10 percent from the tribe, the figure rose to $40,000 a month.

That's a big payout, but it's no wonder. As the Economist reports, gamblers will lose more money this year in Indian casinos than in Atlantic City, Las Vegas, Reno, and Macau combined.

It wasn't until  December 2011 that James Dao's article  California Indian Tribes Eject Thousands  on disenrollment came out.. and that was very incomplete....

R.I.P. Hugh Hefner..and THANK YOU