Kevin Washburn, this happened under YOUR WATCH with the leaders of the Pala Band of Luiseno Mission Indians. WHY did you turn a blind eye?
The Britten Descendants arbitrarily had their Degree of Indian Blood LOWERED by the Executive Committee of the Pala Band of Luiseno Mission Indians of the Pala Reservation, California. They were seeking their disenrollment, but the two issues can be separated.
THIS IS AN ISSUE OF WHO HAS THE AUTHORITY TO DETERMINE DEGREE OF INDIAN BLOOD.
The allowing of a Tribal authority to determine Degree of Indian Blood is not only a serious matter but one that will have serious consequences for the United States, State Governments, Indian Tribes and Individual Indians.
The United States is, as a matter of its sovereign power and under the Doctrine of Pre-Emption, the entity with the sole authority to determine the Degree of Indian Blood of an individual Indian.
THE PALA MATTER
On its face this seems to be matter of irrelevance but do realize that if Indian entities such as the Pala Executive Committee accrue the power and authority to determine and lower the Degree of Indian Blood for individuals such as myself then they will also have accrued the power to increase the Degree of Indian Blood of individuals as well. This unique and unregulated authority will lead to abuses of incalculable magnitude. This will also lead to severe fiscal impacts with respects to funding for Indian Tribes. The most significant affect being the authority to determine that a person with no history of Indian lineal descent can now be declared to be Indian by Tribal authorities without oversight of the United States.
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