Are Pretendians The Reason for Spike in Native Population?

 Interesting article at RedState on why the huge leap in the Native American population. The author seems to believe pretendians are the reason.  I think that’s too simplistic 

Read article 

Well, it’s not likely that more Native Americans are entering the U.S. right? So, there has to be another explanation.

But, according to Sturm, this increase is occurring because “individuals who previously identified as white are now claiming to be Native American.”

She also explains that “[t]his growing movement has been captured by terms like ‘pretendian’ and ‘wannabe.’”

The author refers to this phenomenon by what she calls “racial shifting.”

Insert Elizabeth Warren and Rachel Dolezal jokes here.

But what is interesting is that the author points out that those choosing to identify as Native American are trying to move further from “whiteness.” The author says that in her 14 years of researching this issue and interviewing “dozens of race-shifters” for her book, “Becoming Indian,” she “learned that while some of these people have strong evidence of Native American ancestry, others do not.”

Pechanga Christmas 17 Without A Tribe For Descendants of Original Pechanga Paulina Hunter

Christmas 2020 marks the 17th Christmas without a tribe for many Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians descendants, including young children, now, not so young, and the newly born will only be able to hear about their heritage in oral history, since the Pechanga tribe erased their history, via disenrollment, which is the stripping of tribal citizenship.

Pechanga Flag Flown at Standing Rock,
 Upside Down Showing Tribe Under Distress

Mark Macarro, Andrew Masiel, Frances Miranda, Bobbi LeMere and the tribal council CAUSED our children and our elders to suffer for their greed and to hide their subterfuge.   

It's NEVER too late to open your hearts and for the  council to DO THE RIGHT thing for the Holidays.  

Alegre v US CASE ENDS DUE TO Fatal Flaws Summary Judgement for US

   V 

The San Pasquale case we have documented, Alegre v is OVER.  SUMMARY JUDGMENT in favor of the United States  Attorney for the plaintiffs Alexandra McIntosh was determined, and spent years on the case, only to lose because there were time limitations and this case was a decade too late.  Sad for the Jose Juan Descendants, and a victory for white interlopers.

Alegre v US has details from last year.

Plaintiffs next contend that if the Court finds they filed their complaint beyond the six-year statute of limitations, that the Court should apply the doctrine of equitable tolling. (Doc. No. 186 at 14.) However, Plaintiffs did not diligently pursue their rights or show that extraordinary circumstances prevented them from doing so. Although Plaintiffs assert “the non-San Pasqual Trask descendants mandate all Tribal Government meetings be closed to all people, except Federally Recognized Tribal members” and “the BIA would not meet with the San Pasqual descendants who are not Federally Recognized Tribal members,” (id. at 15), Plaintiffs have failed to make any showing that attempts were made to pursue their rights. Equitable tolling is therefore not appropriate. See Kwai Fun Wong v. Beebe, 732 F.3d 1030, 1052 (9th Cir. 2013) (the party seeking equitable tolling must establish: “(1) that [it] has been pursuing [its] rights diligently, and (2) that some extraordinary circumstances stood in [its] way.” (internal quotation marks omitted)), aff’d sub nom, United States v. Kwai Fun Wong, 575 U.S. 402 (2015).

Lastly, Plaintiffs’ argument that there is a “continuing violation” fails because the “continuing violations” doctrine “is not applicable in the context of an APA claim for judicial review.” Gros Ventre Tribe v. United States, 344 F. Supp. 2d 1221, 1229 n.3 (D. Mont. 2004), aff’d, 469 F.3d 801 (9th Cir. 2006); see also Preminger v. Sec’y of Veterans Affairs, 517 F.3d 1299, 1307 (Fed. Cir. 2008).

Based on the foregoing, the Court finds Plaintiffs’ APA claims barred by the statute of limitations.

Nooksack Tribe of Washington DEPRAVED INDIFFERENCE To Their 306 Elders. Evictions For Christmas

I am still recovering from Covid 19, but seeing this on attorney Gabe Galanda’s twitter, got my blood boiling.  Years of elder abuse of the Nooksack 306 is coming to a head with evictions scheduled DESPITE the HUD protestation.  Sadly, deathly silence from Washington’s two Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell.

Galanda: Despite a 2nd @HUDgov request to Nooksack to halt evictions pending @USIndianAffairs investigation of ICRA violations, tribal politicians refuse. They sent cops to @nooksack206 homes twice since getting this letter. 12/28 is the first slated eviction. 3 days after Christmas

These are @HUDgov- & @WSHFC-backed Low Income Tax Credit homes, which our clients have leased to own for as many as 23 years. They enjoy home equity, if not own the units outright. But they are being evicted without due process or access to counsel, in violation of federal law.

The Nooksack 306 struggles have been documented here on this site since the beginning.At this late date, only a fliurry I’d your support could make a difference.  Spotlight is the best disinfectant.

Covid strikes Original Pechanga Will Be Back After Recovery

 Sorry to my loyal readers. After a cross country move, my wife and I have contracted COVID.

WE ARE recovering and hope to be acini action next week. We had been vaccinated, pretty good at following masking rules. The little virus found us.  Please help keep the blog out there, by rereading some posts and sharing them on social media so others can find us.

THANK YOU

Joanne Shenandoah, Grammy Award Winner Needs Prayers After Mayo Clinic Denies Her a Spot on Its Transplant List UPDATE

Oneida Songstress
Joanne Shenandoah

UPDATE:  Sad to report, that Joanne has walked on.  Please pray her journey to be with her ancestors, is a happy one.

Earlier this week, I asked for prayers and support of a GoFundMe page for Native American Treasure Joanne Shenandoah.  While that support increased both financial and spiritual, I'm sad to report that the Grammy winning songstress is nearing her end.  Please watch video below.

From daughter Leah's FB:

We met with the medical team earlier today and they said my Mom Joanne Shenandoah is on her way to the spirit world. The Dr said there is a small sliver of a chance she could pull through if her BP rises. 

This came after an earlier update on Joanne Shenandoah's health:
My Mom is in the ICU at the Mayo clinic in AZ, she had cardiac arrest early this morning. The Mayo clinic denied her being placed on the transplant list despite our family doing everything we can to meet their requirements. We are trying to get her tranferred to the NY Presbyterian Weill Cornell hospital, and hoping she stabilizes in order to be transferred. I do not know how much time she has left. I am waiting to hear from her doctors about her condition, she is currently having an IR to stop the bleeding.

Opposition to Sara Dutschke for Native American Heritage Commission Pour IN

I keep receiving opposition letters of people OPPOSED to Sara Dutschke for a position to Native American Heritage Commission in Calfornia.  I'm printing this with authorization, I removed the name, but the Governor's appointment secretary has this now.

Dear Ms. Rivera-Hernandez,

In addition to the information drafted in the group petition below, I would like to add information pertaining to my personal experience working with Sara Dutschke.

I worked with Mrs. Dutschke on a series of projects through a prominent Indian Law research group.

RED SHAWL DAY Honors #MMIW Who Are Disproportionately Affected and IGNORED

 

Photo by Marian Bitsui, BIE

Red Shawl Day  is a day of remembering and honoring all missing and murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives.

The color red is worn to draw attention to the horrible acts of violence that have disproportionately affected Indigenous communities, particularly women and children, and have been ignored for far too long. 

Led by Secretary Deb Haaland, we are leading a multi-agency effort to ensure that the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people is finally addressed. We are assisting Tribal communities with investigations and providing resources to prioritize these cases. #RedShawlDay

Merrick Garland Says U.S. has FAILED on #MMIW

From the Tribal Nations Summit

Attorney General Merrick Garland acknowledges that Department of Justice has "failed to meet the crisis of #MMIW."

“We acknowledge that our country has historically failed to meet the crisis of missing or murdered indigenous people with the urgency and resources it demands. We also recognize that solving this crisis requires that we work in partnership with one another.”

Well said General.  Let's keep the issue on the front burner.

Native American GRAMMY AWARD Winner Joanne Shenandoah NEEDS YOUR HELP. Seriously Ill Songstress

My friend Vicky Shenandoah posted this on her facebook page. A link to the Go Fund Me page is at the bottom.  PLEASE, if you can, HELP this Native American Treasure with your donation.

Joanne Shenandoah

Update on Joanne Shenandoah, November 16/2021: Joanne has been at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, AZ for a month. She is stable but has experienced swelling and her ammonia levels fluctuate. She was discharged to outpatient nursing care only to have a relapse and had to be treated in the Clinic's ER. She is growing weary of her illness caused by a liver infection and wants to go home but cannot until she has a transplant. Her doctors said they do not think that organ will survive beyond 60 days.

President Biden Gets Chaco Canyon Drilling Ban RIGHT. Such a Rare Occurrence for This Failure

 

President Joe Biden will propose a 20-year drilling ban for oil and gas in the areas in and surrounding Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, according to reports, despite soaring energy prices in the United States.

The president plans to announce his plan during the White House tribal nations summit on Monday.

The park is in the home state of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, a deeply personal issue for the former environmental activist.  OP: and where my mother was from, and where my brother currently lives

“Chaco Canyon is a sacred place that holds deep meaning for the Indigenous peoples whose ancestors lived, worked and thrived in that high desert community,” Haaland said to the New York Times.

WATCH the documentary on Amazon on Chaco Canyon. AMAZING

NCAI VP MARK MACARRO, WHO DENIED VOTING RIGHTS TO 20 PERCENT OF TRIBE ISSUES STATEMENT ON VOTING

 This is RICH, AND DISGRACEFUL coming from a guy like Mark Macarro.  I can't VOTE in MY tribal elections, neither can my children who are adults.   We lost, thanks to Macarro, our FUNDAMENTAL right to vote in Pechanga elections.

American Indians from HIS TRIBE HAVE BARRIERS TO VOTING  HE ALLOWED . SADDAM HUSSEIN WOULD BE PROUD.

Pechanga Pu’éska Mountain Day celebraed by City of Temecula . Pablo Apis and Paulina Hunter Descendants Lament the Loss of their Heritage

 Temecula Valley residents are invited to join city leaders and members of the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians for a sunset ceremony honoring the tribe’s presence and culture.  Historic tribal relations, whose ties to the tribe were severed by current chairman Mark Macarro via a process called disenrollment will be absent.

Native Hollywood Proudly Stands with Disenrollment Chief Ray Halbritter. Shameful

 On Twitter this week,  Dr. Joely Proudfit had this comment and picture:

Magical night ⁦@TheAcademy celebrating and honoring these iconic artists ⁦@BuffySteMarie @WesleyStudi @tantooC @r0bbier0berts0n

⁩Special thanks to Ray Halbritter, Oneida Indian Nation. A night to remember. 

RAY FREAKING HALBRITTER, who had his own RELATIVES home BULLDOZED and left them homeless.  Read about Maisie Shenandoah

PALA DISENROLLED OPPOSE NOMINATION of Sara Dutschke to Native American Heritage Commission

Our friends from Pala, who were disenrolled by Chairman Robert Smith nearly a decade ago, OBJECT to the nomination of current Tribal Chair of the IONE BAND of Miwok Sara Dutschke to the Native American Heritage Commission by CA Governor Gavin Newsom

To: Catheryn Rivera-Hernandez
      Appointments Secretary
       (916)445-4541

Governor's Office of Gavin Newsom

Dear Ms. Rivera-Hernandez,

Recently the Governors Office announced the appointment of Sara Dutschke to the California Native American Heritage Commission [CNAHC].

As a former tribal member of the Pala Band of Mission Indians [PBMI] who was directly harmed by Ms. Dutschke, I wish to voice my fervent opposition to this appointment.  

By Requesting FREEDMEN Stories and Information Cherokee Nation Embraces BELONGING for their Slave Descendants

 

Well Done Chief Hoskins.  THIS is the way a leader should act after wrongs are righted.  Inclusion of your tribe's slave descendants, the Cherokee Freedmen to their rightful place in the tribe, and adding THEIR stories, which are Cherokee stories is priceless

From the tribal website ANADISGOI

Cherokee Nation officials want to provide a better understanding of the history and perspectives of Cherokee Freedmen throughout tribal history. The tribe is seeking community input to share the stories of Cherokee Freedmen, their families and their communities.

The Cherokee Freedmen History Project is collecting stories, photographs and memorabilia to help elevate the voices of Cherokee Freedmen and their descendants.

Nooksack Tribe of Washington Serve 80 Year Old Elders EVICTION NOTICES.

For the second weekend in a row, this Nooksack goon (who was recently fired by Lummi for police misconduct) is arriving at the Nooksack 306's doorsteps to terrorize them with eviction notices that could much more easily be delivered by certified mail. It's NOT going to be a good Thanksgiving holiday.

Nooksack officer
Jeremy Hoyle

Here are the Elders who got a visit from this goon tonight. Olive Oshiro, age 85. Cisco Rabang, age 80. Mike Rabang, age 79. Norma Aldredge, age 74.  Here are several of them gathered not long ago (Mike in the middle, Cisco at right, Ollie seated).

Remember when Nooksack attacked the children?  I do
We've continuously reported on their progress, their trials and tribulation and the abuses by those in power.

Nooksack:  1800-Disenrollment
Abuse of Nooksack Children by Bob Kelly Council
KUOW on Nooksack Playing Roulette with Native Lives
NOOKSACK 306: BIG WIN from IBIA in Washington DC! Disenrollment order VACATED AND REMANDED

Gavin Newsom's Epic Fail in Choice for Native American Heritage Commission

 Governor Gavin Newsom does it again. 
Massive vetting failure in choice for California Native Heritage Commission

Sara Dutschke, 43, of Oakland, has been appointed to the California Native American Heritage Commission. Dutschke has been a Partner at Kaplan Kirsch & Rockwell since 2019 and is an enrolled member of and has been Chair for the Ione Band of Miwok Indians since 2018.   Dutschke is registered without party preference.   But GUESS which way she votes?  (Not that there's anything wrong with that)  

The disenrolled from Pala reportedly will be opposing her confirmation in California's Senate due to her work in their disenrollment.   The late, former Tribal chairman of Pala, King Freeman, said that Sara Dutschke could have cause him harm.

Not a good choice Governor Newsom, but then, that's what you a good at, making bad choices for California

After ADMISSIONS Scandal USC Tries to Restore Integrity by Partnering With APARTHEID TRIBE, PECHANGA

 After the Aunt Becky  admissions scandal that sent many to jail, USC now partners with a tribe that violated the civil and human rights of it's own people, THIS CENTURY, not a historical trauma issue.  

In what is being called a "first-of-its-kind agreement in California," Pechanga and the University of Southern California announced a new sponsorship agreement that includes money set aside for students.

Under the agreement, the Pechanga Resort Casino was designated as the official resort and casino of the USC Trojans and an official partner of USC Athletics. But the partnership stands apart from other Pac-12 schools and California casinos and tribes with the establishment of an "education alliance" and annual scholarship fund, according to Pechanga officials. As part of the deal, Pechanga has committed $200,000 per year to further students' higher education goals.   (OP: That's for what, FOUR students?)

"We are very excited about the scholarship fund and the opportunity to establish and deepen a formal relationship between the Tribe and the University," said Mark Macarro, tribal chairman of the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians. "This partnership will result in new and meaningful enrichment opportunities for Native youth."  (OP: This from a guy that eliminated scholarships for over 100 Native youth via the unconstitutional disenrollment. Which was against the Pechanga constitution.)   

OH YEAH,  GO IRISH

Manzanita Tribal Corruption: Selling Badges to the RICH

The former chief of a tribal police department in southern California has pleaded guilty to selling $300,000 worth of badges to wealthy Los Angeles residents so they could get concealed weapons permits.

Anthony Reyes Vazquez, 49, admitted he and other officers of the Manzanita Tribal Police Department recruited dozens of affluent Agelenos to join a “VIP Group,” issuing them badges that gave them certain law enforcement privileges but didn’t require them to perform any police work.

VIP for a fee

To join the force, the VIP members were required to pay fees ranging from $5,000 to $100,000, prosecutors said.  Many of the members had no or little law enforcement background and many never visited the reservation at all, prosecutors In exchange for paying the fee, the members would be given a badge which purportedly granted them the right to carry a concealed weapon, prosecutors said. Investigators declined to identify the members of the VIP group.

“This defendant sold law enforcement badges and jeopardized public safety,” said Randy Grossman, acting U.S. attorney for the southern district of California. “His manipulative and self-serving ploy also significantly undermined state laws governing the issuance of credentials to carry concealed weapons.” 

HUD SECRETARY MARCIA FUDGE ISSUES STATEMENT ON FREEDMAN DESCENDANTS

Equal Access for ALL FREEDMAN DESCENDANTS

Statement from Secretary Marcia L. Fudge on the Descendants of Freedmen

Secretary Marcia L. Fudge today released the following statement regarding Tribal citizenship for the descendants of Freedmen:

The legacy of slavery represents a stain upon the fabric of our great nation, and the inequities it created still exist today. Though there is much work to be done, America continues to take significant steps in the march towards healing old wounds and creating a more just, inclusive, and equitable society.

In May of this year, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland approved a new Constitution for the Cherokee Nation. The Nation amended its Constitution to explicitly recognize descendants of the Freedmen – persons previously enslaved by some members of the Tribe – as eligible citizens of the Cherokee Nation. Secretary Haaland acknowledged that “The Nation’s actions have brought this longstanding issue to a close and have importantly fulfilled their obligations to the Cherokee Freedmen.”

I strongly echo Secretary Haaland’s statement, and I am pleased that the Cherokee Nation has enrolled over 8,500 Freedmen as citizens. With this decision, the Cherokee Nation recognizes the Freedmen as Cherokee citizens. Importantly, 155 years after the Treaty of 1866, a unanimous Cherokee Nation Supreme Court affirmed the rights of Freedmen and their descendants, specifically stating that, through these actions, “the Cherokee Nation, as a whole, lifts itself into the 21st century and sheds the heavy weight of antebellum and the pervasiveness of racism and racial injustice in favor of equality and justice for all.”

Unequivocally, this latest action opens the door to access a wide range of services, including assistance under HUD programs, and brings descendants of the Freedman into the fold of the Cherokee Nation family.

As we continue to forge a fairer and more equitable America, it is steps like these taken by the Cherokee Nation that set an example of what we can achieve. Tribes as sovereign nations have the inherent right to determine Tribal citizenship and membership. This is an example of a Tribe exercising its sovereignty to create a more inclusive future for all its members.

I encourage the four remaining Tribal Nations in Oklahoma to follow the lead of the Cherokee Nation and afford the descendants of the Freedmen the equal access to assistance and services under HUD programs as their other Tribal citizens

Rep. Ruben Gallego: Tribal Disenrollment is Frustrating He Tells Cam Foreman, Disenrolled from Redding Rancheria

 

Rep. Ruben Gallego

Cam Foreman, disenrolled from the Redding Rancheria in Northern California has been doing the heavy lifting in getting politicians to go on record on tribal disenrollment. After getting now Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and NCAI President Fawn Sharp on record the same week, this week, Rep. Ruben Gallego answere Cam’s queries.  (Edited to correct spell check )

Cam tells me “Basically I asked him as a Member of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee of Indigenous Peoples if he was familiar with Tribal Disenrollment?”  He said yes and talked about what he's heard In California etc being an tribal internal issue. I replied I agree with A tribe’s right to determine membership but should Tribes have a right to violate their Constitutions & Trust responsibility and their obligation to protect their citizen’s  rights. Who enforces that protection? I spoke about what happened to my Grandfather. 

Basically they want rights enforced but wouldn't want to infringe on Sovereignty. And how it's frustrating.

OP:  there are a lot of frustrations in this issue of course there is the frustration of the disenrolled and not getting any help from our politicians on the protection of our civil and human rights. 

And for those who purport to care about our issue there’s the frustration about them not being willing to stand up against the rich and powerful corrupt casino tribes.

For those like me who have been fighting to get this issue out onto the front burner for over 14 years there’s the frustration of not having everybody who’s affected by this abuse to continue to fight for their own rights.  It is good to have young warriors fight for their ancestors and their elders like Cam Foreman if I had to say one thing I would say BE LIKE CAM FOREMAN and keep bringing the issue up.

NCAI Elects Abusive Tribal Chairman Mark Macarro To Leadership

For decades, the National Congress of American Indians has purported to advocate for Native Americans. Decades of good  works can be injured by missteps.  I feel that time has come with the selection of Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians chairman Mark Macarro to their board.

Tribal disenrollment has been a stain on the morality of Indian Country, or to be more precise, casino Indian country. I have been detailing the issues of that disgraceful action, stripping the tribal citizenship from those who rightly belong for 14 years on this blog.  I have never been more ashamed and disgusted with this election.

What makes an organization elect someone without vetting them? Mark Macarro has lied to Congress, abused our ancestors, destroyed the heritage of our children denied civil nd human rights, runs an apartheid system, segregates reservation residents including alottees who have lived there for their entire lives.  He speaks with the tone of a cheater, but is he looks good in a bolo tie and donates to his lobbyist wife with tribal money he is a good choice

You have made a poor choice NCAI, unless your goal is to continue your decades long policy of nor protecting and supporting the over 11,000 Native American Indians harmed via Disenrollment.

The Paulina Hunter Disenrollment at Pechanga Was Started With a LIE Please Read About the INJUSTICE

 As many young people are discovering the bad acts of their elders and other relations, I'm bringing forward information for them to learn about what happened at Pechanga in the disenrollment of Paulina Hunter and her descendants.   The records, oral and written are CLEAR, Paulina Hunter was an Original Pechanga Temecula person.

Payomkawichum

My late cousin, who used the nom de plume of Luiseno laid out how a "witch hunt" was started by a lie, perpetrated by Yolie McCarter and Basquez Crime Family Members.   The lies were easily disproved which should have halted all disenrollment activity.   Please read.

There were several statements that were stated as "fact" in the letter provided to the enrollment committee. This "information" was said to be enough to start the disenrollment process going.

1). They stated as a "fact" that a search of the public record revealed that Paulina Hunter never lived on the reservation, and that she was not on any of the reservation census records.

This statement is so silly and foolish I don't understand why the enrollment committee even gave it any weight at all. As a search of the public record revealed to the committee that she not only lived on the reservation, but that she was on all the census records until her death, recorded as a Temecula/Pechanga Indian.

NCAI Nomination of Mark Macarro For VP IS A DISGRACE

 Mark Macarro is. KNOWN ABUSER OF elders, children and the ancestors.  

This is the typ of person the NCAI would consider?  From their announcement today.

Unbelievable.

Forget Columbus, Learn Some Indigenous History Today

I AM FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLE'S DAY replacing Columbus Day.  If you want to celebrate Italians, celebrate Chef Boyardee, who did MORE for America. 

In 2017, the city of Los Angeles voted to drop Columbus Day. It drew a lot of comment during that meeting. Some commenters claimed Italians did a lot for this country, uh,  including bringing spaghetti. Let me say, I love Italians, and spaghetti.  

But this issue is much different than it being anti-Italian.   

Arguments against Columbus:

SEMINOLE FREEDMEN Gaining Some Rights With Indian Health Services

 

NO BLOOD degree for many

Indian Health Service announced earlier this week that Freedmen citizens of the Seminole Nation are now eligible for health care services.

“It says 0/0 Indian blood, but it says Freedman,” LeEtta Osborne told News 4 back in March, talking about her tribal card. “They told me that they do not recognize their citizens there.”

That’s what happened in March when Osborne-Sampson tried to get a COVID-19 vaccine at the Indian Health Service clinic in Wewoka.

Indigenous People's Day is NOW A THING Thanks to President Joe Biden. Still Honoring Columbus, However.

 

After continues failures for his administration, a glimmer of brightness as President Joe Biden on Friday issued the first-ever presidential proclamation of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, lending the most significant boost yet to efforts to refocus the federal holiday celebrating Christopher Columbus toward an appreciation of Native peoples.   Los Angeles had joined other cities in renaming the holiday years before.

Tribal Sovereignty = Tribal Justice Is NOT ALWAYS FAIR or Just

Pechanga had families on the disenrollment committee that were part of a group that tried to split up the tribe rule on families they publicly admitted they wanted out of the tribe.   Fair, or not fair?  Why give a tribe that mistreats their people the reward of Billions of dollars?

Read this old article from the San Diego Union Tribune
Tribal justice not always fair, critics contend Reservation's courts include members as lawyers, judges By Onell R. Soto

 

While Pechanga and Pala HAVE STOLEN MILLIONS ViA DiSENROLLMENT, SAN MANUEL Continues to Be Charitable

The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians continues its charitable ways as they just donated $100,000 to Three Square Food Bank in Las Vegas.   

In comparison, Pechanga and Pala have STOLEN over $700 MILLION in per capita from tribal members they disenrolled.

The donation helps boost the BackPack for Kids program, which gives food to children on weekends and breaks from school who would otherwise go hungry.

In a statement, the tribe said it has given over $9.3 million to educational institutions and charities in Las Vegas since January 2020. It said Wednesday’s donation “will provide over 300,000 meals to individuals and families who are being impacted by food insecurity in the Southern Nevada community.”

President Biden, After A String of FAILURES, Gets On the Right Track Restoring the Tribal Nations Summit

President Biden is a huge failure, but on this, he gets it right.   Acee Agoyo has the full story at Indianz.com 

As promised by the Biden administration, the White House Tribal Nations Summit is returning after a four-year absence.

UPDATE: Media Rushes to Air WHITE WOMAN IN JEOPARDY STORY in Gabby Petito Case. MMIWG GET NOTHING IN COMPARISON .

FIRST, Let me say, I pray that Gabby Petito's body is found soon and the perpetrator is brought to justice (yeah, we know who did it)

Gabby Petito

My next wish is that our INDIGENOUS Mothers, Sisters, Daughters, Aunties abductions and murders would get the same news coverage.  

Please read articles on the differences in press  coverage linked in this story.

No missing Native women get this type of coverage. The recent DATELINE piece on one missing Native woman was from a years old murder.   Mollie Tibbet's murder coverage was IMMEDIATELY a National story.

Why are white women valued so much by our media over others?  Is it deliberate racism? Or simply ingrained that women of color are worth less?

The comments are open
UPDATE:  FBI announces they have found a body in WY consistent with what they know of Gabby.  PRESSURE works.  Again, I wish they would put this kind of pressure for all our #MMIW who deserve justice, and to be found.  FBI STATEMENT

STOP DISENROLLMENT VIDEO: "ELDERS are SACRED" Unless Your Tribal Council is CORRUPT

POWERFUL video from the ancestors of Virginia Timmons and Lorena Butler of the Redding Rancheria and her children, including Leon, Lorena, Leland and Bob and two additional generations.

Please Watch   "SACRED"  and Share

"Sacred" #StopDisenrollment #NativeTwitter @opechanga @NDNlawyer @NNCMagazine @ProjNativeHope @CAGovTribal @indianz 
Edited by @NativeLove530 pic.twitter.com/PIMaQtxv8c

— Cam Foreman (@CForeman31) August 29, 2021

COMMENTS ARE OPEN 

PETITION: WITHHOLD FEDERAL FUNDS TO NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBES WHO DISENROLL & BANISH ELDERS & FAMILIES

Sovereign Immunity is NOT Immunity from Condemnation or Sanctions.  

Disenrolled Redding Rancheria Native American activist Cam Foreman, who has been instrumental in getting Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland on record with disenrollment has this petition on CHANGE.ORG (link fixed) that is building steam.  YOU can help with that by signing the petition and asking your friends and family to sign as well.

Disenrolled Elders, some disenrolled
posthumously

For nearly 20 Years, over 90 Native American Tribal Nations, most exclusively Tribes with Casinos, have abused & hid behind Sovereign Immunity to violate the Indian Civil Rights Act.

Also Article 9 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, violate heir own Tribal Constitutions, Treaties. including their Responsibility & Obligation to Protect the Rights of Their Citizens by orchestrating conspiracies to Disenroll & Banish over 10,000 of their Tribal Citizens.   

PLEASE SIGN the petition at the Change.org link above.

Maxine Waters Committee Authorizing NAHASDA with Markup Correcting THE FREEDMEN INJUSTICE

Rep. Maxine Waters just affirmed, Sovereign Immunity is NOT Immunity to Condemnation or Sanctions.  Moral outrage works

We wrote about Maxine Water's efforts last month and it's coming closer to fruition.   

"This is a fight that's about fairness and equality," Rep. Maxine Waters, chairwoman of the House Committee on Financial Services, said at the hearing. "For one minority group to discriminate against another minority group cannot stand. And as chair of this committee, I don't intend for it to stand."

FIRST LOOK FROM TWITTER!
Under the leadership of Chairwoman @RepMaxineWaters

, 

@FSCDems are marking up the reauthorization of #NAHASDA and correcting the historic disenfranchisement of descendants of Black Native American Freedmen. This applies to all FIVE civilized tribes.

THANK YOU Madame Chairwoman

Marilyn Vann Cherokee Citizen of FREEDMEN Descent Elected to Serve In The CNO Government A FIRST for Freedmen Descendants

 My friend Marilyn Vann, who fought for JUSTICE for disenrolled descendants of Cherokee slaves (FREEDMEN) is honored by a nomination to serve her tribe.

Cherokee Nation Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. announces on his Facebook page:

A special shout out to my friend Marilyn Vann who made history tonight as, I believe, the first Cherokee citizen of Freedmen descent to serve in a Cherokee Nation government post in our modern history, perhaps ever. An engineer by profession with an impressive professional resume of government service, she is highly qualified to join the Cherokee Nation Environmental Protection Commission. It was a great honor to nominate her and to watch her confirmation at tonight’s council meeting.

Marilyn Vann
Cherokee Warrior

She is a perfect choice for the Cherokee Nation, a TRUE WARRIOR

Morongo Band of Mission Indians Petitions Supreme Court to Uphold Indian Child Welfare Act

While other tribes like Pala and Pechanga deny their children their heritage through disenrollment,  the Morongo Band of Mission Indians and four other tribes from across the nation have joined the federal government in petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a law that gives adoption preference for American Indian children in state foster care to American Indian families.

In a petition filed Sept. 3, the tribes are essentially requesting that the high court leave intact the Indian Child Welfare Act, a law enacted in 1978 amid a trend that saw an “alarmingly high percentage” of American Indian children separated from their families by nontribal public and private agencies.

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, who is of American Indian descent, also has petitioned the Supreme Court to uphold the law, while the state of Texas, on behalf of Chad and Jennifer Brackeen, have petitioned the high court to repeal the law, claiming it is unconstitutional.

READ more HERE

ICWA has withstood legal challenges for more than 40 years, but in the past four years federal judges have been divided on its constitutionality.

Dateline NBC DISCOVERS MISSING and Murdered Indigenous Women. WATCH Carla Yellow Bird's Story

 

Native Americans from all over should set their DVR's and plan to watch tonight's episode of DATELINE NBC (See trailer at link). Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland will be featured for a bit.
CARLA YELLOW BIRD's abduction will be told.   #MMIW has gone mostly unnoticed, mostly unreported in the national media. 

The Secrets of Spirit Lake' will follow Lissa Yellow Bird, whose amateur sleuthing exposed cracks in law enforcement's investigation into her niece's disappearance in 2016

PLEASE watch the trailer at the link above and share.  IF WE DRIVE RATINGS, they will do MORE STORIES.

We've had stories on #MMIW and #MMIWG here
SAVANNAH's ACT
Biden Don't Erase Trump's #MMIW Legacy  and MO)RE

Kozee Decorah's MURDER by Boyfriend
Savanna's Act addresses the issue
MISSING/MURDERED
White Women in Jep  Gets all the media. No room for stories about Native women?
Nooksack Stalking of Native Woman  is how it starts
FOX NEWS leads with MISSING WHITE WOMAN
And take a look at this website:  Justice For Native Women

OPEN LETTER TO MAXINE WATERS From Redding Rancheria Disenrolled Asking to Withhold FUNDING from Disenrolling Tribes

Asking Chairwoman Waters of the House Financial Services Committee NOT to Ignore the damage done by disenrolling tribes.    

Adapt it to your situation and tribe then USE THIS WHISTLEBLOWER FORM  which gets sent to staff.

Good Afternoon Chairwoman Waters & Committee Members

AG MERRICK GARLAND, WHAT is your POLICY on Tribe's DENIAL of Basic Civil and Human Rights?

 

Thank you to our friend and guest blogger Reinstatement Resolution for composing this for former AG Loretta Lynch

HERE is a letter YOU can and SHOULD send to Attorney General  Merrick Garland  It's a request for a policy statement,  which could be as simple as "we won't defend the civil and human rights of Native American people harmed by their own Tribes." And may be far too likely.

To: US Department of Justice

    Attorney General Merrick Garland

    950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

    Washington , D.C. 20530-0001

    Email: askdoj@usdoj.gov

    Fax Number: 202-307-6777

From:  

         

Re: Request for Policy Statement

Dear Attorney General,
 

I am writing this request on behalf of thousands of American Indians who have been removed from the Membership Rolls of Federally Recognized Tribes without due process and in violation of their right to equal protection under the law.

Human Rights Abusing Redding Rancheria Works To Change Redding City Councils Minds on BIGGER CASINO

Looks like the Redding Rancheria, the tribe well known for abusing the civil and human rights its then members of the Foreman family, want Redding City Council to change it's opposition to a BIGGER CASINO.

Should a tribe that cheated  over 10 percent of their tribe, be trusted? If they cheat their own, won't they cheat the people of Redding?

Cecily Hilleary in Voice of America: Blood Quantum is Formula for 'Paper Genocide'

 The estimable Cecily Hilleary has an excellent article up in Voice of America.  You can read the full article here ...Paper Genocide.. We have used the term paper genocide to describe disenrollment.  It also applies here.

Excerpt

Colonial construct   

For thousands of years, Native tribes understood “belonging” in terms of social kinship. Settler colonialism, however, introduced notions of race to determine social status, eligibility to marry, hold office or own land. 

By the 19th century, terms such as “mixed-blood” and “half-breed” crept into treaties such as that with the Osage in 1825, by which the United States set aside a separate reservation for “half-breeds.”

Gradually, BQ became the standard test for deciding who was eligible for land and treaty benefits.

PLEASE read the full article at the link above

San Pasqual Tribe: Alegre v U.S. Decision Renders Victory for U.S.

 

The five year struggle to bring a case against the BIA by San Pasqual descendants in the ALEGRE v US case has some decisions today.  The Alegre case seems to suffer here.  Read backstory in JOSE JUAN Descendants  

(1) DENYING PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION TO COMPLETE THE ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD, (Doc. No. 136) 

Plaintiffs have not carried their burden in establishing merit to their claim. In sum, in the face of Defendants’ designation of the administrative record, Plaintiffs fall short in providing “clear evidence” that the record is incomplete. Accordingly, the motion to complete the administrative record is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE.

(2) GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION TO STRIKE THE ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD, (Doc. No. 139) 

Muscogee Creek Indian Freedmen, Rep. Danny Davis Re-introduce H.R. 4637 to SEVER RELATIONS With Creek Nation

 Excellent news from our friend Rhonda Grayson of the Muscogee Creek Indian Freedmen.

The Muscogee Creek Indian Freedmen Band Inc. is Thrilled to announce that H.R. 4637 was introduced by Congressman Danny Davis on July 22, 2021.  We have worked tirelessly with Congressman Danny Davis staff to ensure that HR 1514, introduced in the 116th Congress, was reintroduced in the 117th congress, now H.R.4637. 

The intro to that bill reads:
H.R.1514 - To sever United States Government relations with the Creek Nation of Oklahoma until such time as the Creek Nation of Oklahoma restores full Tribal citizenship to the Creek Freedmen disenfranchised in the October 6, 1979, Creek Nation vote and fulfills all its treaty obligations with the Government of the United States, and for other purposes.

The express purpose of H.R. 4637 introduced on behalf of Creek Freedmen is To sever United States Government relations with the Creek Nation of Oklahoma until such time as the Creek Nation of Oklahoma restores full Tribal citizenship to the Creek Freedmen disenfranchised in the October 6, 1979, Creek Nation vote and fulfills all its treaty obligations with the Government of the United States, and for other purposes.

WHAT can YOU DO?  ASK your representative to SUPPORT this action.