Tribal Disenrollment As 21st Century Historical Trauma Explained by Young Pechanga Descendant

 My young cousin, Cassie Whitten, who we highlighted when she posted her TikTok video on tribal disenrollment, further explains how she was affected on her Facebook Page. She resides on the Hunter Family allotment #62 given to our mutual ancestor Paulina Hunter in the 19th century

The one thing that has been really hard for me is continuing the work I want to do in my communities since tribal disenrollment. Lately I’ve been pretty sad about it.  (OP: Cassie worked for Indian Health)

It continually feels like you don’t matter or your voice by your own people. Lateral oppression can be real amongst native people too. 

I’m still on my healing journey. I’m only 22 years old and it’s saddening how my own tribe could kick a 7 year old out of their tribe to this day. (Watch this video that details the day Mark Macarro sent his jackbooted thugs to remove CHILDREN FROM SCHOOL)

It makes the healing process even slower when there is no change/ reconciliation for those devastating actions on those families. There are not enough people speaking up on tribal disenrollment. (OP: OVER 11,000 Natives disenrolled from their own tribes)

I went gathering a few weekends ago with some of my cousins who live off the reservation and one of them asked me “how has it been like since the disenrollment living on the reservation?” 

And it’s saddening to even say but to tell you the truth it’s hard everyday. It’s hard because we experience oppression on and off our reservation by non native people and our own tribe. It’s hard because you can’t focus on bettering your own community when you have so many ideas but the tribal council won’t listen to you. It’s hard because your tribe puts in a chairman who doesn’t care about many of the lateral violence issues as well and supports them. But I have learned to find my own way as I’ve gotten older. I am continually blessed by our other Payómkawichum bands and relations around us who have taught me and treated me as their relative when most of our own tribal members decided to go ignore the truth and history and go with greed.

We as native and indigenous people have experienced trauma in history and still do till this day. I will not stop speaking up about my experiences on tribal disenrollment because they still affect me today. Until there is reconciliation and change we won’t be quite. I really do pray our native relations and tribal leaders start to make change and repair the damage in our communities.

THANK YOU COUSIN for speaking out about how the REAL effccts of tribal disenrollment is MORE than the loss of a per capita check, which some would have you believe.