Leonard Peltier Contracts COVID in Federal Prison in Florida

 Indigenous activists and allies gathered today to demand the release of Leonard Peltier who has contracted COVID 19 

Peltier is an Indigenous activist wrongfully imprisoned and incarcerated in Coleman Correctional Institution about an hour north of Tampa. His trial and conviction for killing three FBI agents is one of the most unjust in American history, and a former FBI prosecutor on his case even called for his clemency in 2017. Justice groups from around the world and public figures from Nelson Mandela to Robert Redford have called for his release.

After decades of demands for his release and already existing health problems, the 77-year-old caught COVID-19 last week. Around 20 people gathered on Monday to demand Peltier be released from prison and be transported to a hospital to receive proper care.

Cam Foreman: HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN INDIAN COUNTRY by...INDIANS

My friend Cam Foreman, a Lorena Butler descendant from the Redding Rancheria has a terrific op/ed published by the estimable Indianz.com which has consistently gotten the issue of tribal disenrollment out front.  I'm happy to say I've been quoted an published there as well.

 
The following is the text of a letter sent to Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland, National Congress of American Indians President Fawn Sharp, and members of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and the House Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States.

We are at a crossroads in United States and Indigenous history.

Historic Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland Has Had Nearly A YEAR to UNDERSTAND Tribal Disenrollment Abuse

Deb Haaland
Secretary of the Interior

         

It has been nearly ONE year, since that HISTORIC DAY when Deb Haaland from New Mexico was approved as Interior Secretary.  I wrote the open letter linked here, but I was advised in February 2021 to "give her time.  Well is NOW a good time?  Click here for the letter:   

WE'VE QUESTIONS on DISENROLLMENT IN THIS OPEN LETTER 

PLEASE .. make more history by calling out the Tribal abusers of over 11,000 Native Americans.  The knee-jerk response is always  sovereignty, but sovereign right doesn't make their actions right.

The huge bully pulpit the Secretary has, should be used to call out tribal chieftains and expose the dirty family secret of tribal disenrollment.

If We Don't PUSH ADVOCACY Groups Like NCAI and NARF to Help Wrongfully Disenrolled WHO WILL?

 

Stop Disenrollment
by SPEAKING OUT

I write this blog on behalf of all disenrolled Native Americans.  Fawn Sharp of the National Congress of American Indians WON'T.  Neither did her predecessor Brian Cladoosby.  They are okay with letting 11,000 Native Americans roam the wilderness, without a tribe.

We can't even get our first Native American Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland to do more than give lip service.  She may care, or sympathize with our ancestors abuse, but she hasn't been strong, vocally.  The disenrolled are sacrificed at the altar of sovereignty.

I'm POSITIVE that I am doing the right thing, as I'm speaking for the thousands of Native Americans that have been harmed by negative speech, including baseless claims against their ancestors. their elders and historical documents.

As I asked Congress staffers of my own two Senator's, when I lived in California, if YOU won't look out for us, who will?

I am shining a spotlight on the corruption of some tribes and organizations who are using sovereignty as a club, to beat the weak and helpless, including elders and children.  I allow others to guest blog to get both their issues and those topics that will benefit all of us to more people.  

NCAI and Fawn Sharp won't help, even in the smallest amount, which would include speaking out against the tribal leaders who are harming ..ACTUALLY harming Native Americans, rather than using a nickname they don't like (that is a racist one) and mascotry. 

Native American Rights Fund won't do "Indian vs. Indian" and have had on their board, a tribal chairman that runs an apartheid reservation, one who overturned the will of the people by refusing to follow the law and customs.

I do this blog, so that it may NOT BE SAID, "I didn't know".  If all who read this share my posts on their social media, there can be a learning, an enlightening.   

DIRTY LAUNDRY needs to be aired.  We can't be silent and HOPE the issue fades.  We must be active, as that is the only way to combat the deep pockets and political friendships that tribal money creates. 

The elected leaders, both tribal and federal, respect money more than rights.  The only way to change that, is to add YOUR voice, to expose the corruption    

Yulu Ewis Brings ORAL HISTORY TO YOU. OPE Is Available for Order on Amazon NOW

Proud and happy to promote my friend Yulu Ewis' book which is available on AMAZON    Bring ORAL TRADITION that springs from her Miwok and Pomo ancestry.  Here are some excellent reviews.  Help my friend bring oral history to YOU

"Yulu Ewis powerfully recreates tribal myth from the ashes of colonial history; myth that simultaneously remakes the poet and colonial history itself." Dr. Greg Sarris, Graton Rancheria Endowed Chair in Creative Writing, Sonoma State University; author of Grand Avenue and Watermelon Nights

"Poems that should be read and reread---and very likely will be---of ever-vital Native presences of the Northern California mountain." Dr. Geary Hobson, Professor Emeritus, University of Oklahoma; executive Director, Native Writers Circle of the Americas

"In 'Ope (More), Yulu Ewis opens the world of oral tradition-the same, timeless, pre-Columbian world of our Indigenous ancestors that is still present, but unseen by most-to all of her readers. Grounded in the language and world views of her Miwok and Pomo ancestors, Ewis definitely gives us 'more' as it grapples with cultural perseverance, along with the 'sovereignty' and 'civil rights' the US has 'given' to her people in the aftermath of its genocidal and assimilative tactics that attempted to destroy them." Dr. Kimberly G. Wieser, Associate Professor, University of Oklahoma, author of Texas...to Get Horses and Back to the Blanket

What Abuses Are Tribal Nations OKAY WITH, To Protect Sovereignty. Sovereignty Is Wielded as a Weapon

 

Quote by Rick Cuevas
Original Pechanga

I follow Pumunkey descendant @KirosAuld on Twitter, so should you.   This morning he asked a great question. 

“What level of federal intervention do you feel comfortable leaving things at?”   And really, what are we willing to overlook in the name of SOVEREIGNTY?   Our advocacy groups, like NARF, NCAI, Interior/BIA are all overlooking civil and human rights abuses, elder abuse, unethical disenrollments, lack of due process, disbarment of defendant's attorneys.  The Nooksack Tribe got rid of a JUDGE for ruling against them

Sovereignty as a WEAPON

Saginaw Chippewa Disenrolled Have Letter for President Biden Urging ACTION on HIS PART

 Our relations from the Saginaw Chippewa disenrolled have put together a letter for President Biden.  You should be able to increase the size.  Here is how to contact the WH by email:

Saginaw Chippewa Disenrollment Case Sent BACK to Interior Dept.

 

The Saginaw Chippewa disenrolled having difficulty getting justice from our justice system.

DOI Must Rethink Staying Out Of Tribal Disenrollment Fight

"A D.C. federal judge said the U.S. Department of the Interior "determined the right outcome –– for mostly the right reasons" in deciding not to intervene in the disenrolling of Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe members, but the judge still sent claims by former members back to the agency for reconsideration." IS It Poor Record Keeping? The plaintiffs say they are direct descendants of the Saginaw Chippewa, which encompasses the Saginaw, Swan Creek and Black River bands, and were properly enrolled in the tribe before being kicked out in 2016 and 2017. The tribe came into legal existence in 1937 after it enacted a new constitution that incorporated all descendants of the bands, the 24-page complaint says. But that was undermined, the disenfranchised tribal members say, when the commissioner of Indian Affairs unlawfully forced revisions to the constitution, including a residency requirement that restricted membership to those with specific ancestry tied to a particular reservation. (OP: The disenrolling leader's are okay with this intrusion?) That excluded 85 percent of the bands’ descendants from membership, the complaint says, which led to vast under enrollment prior to enactment of the Judgment Funds Act.

Can FAWN SHARP, NCAI President Speak Out on Disenrollment When She Has Disenrolling Chieftain Mark Macarro As Vice President?

Secure our traditional laws, cultures, and ways of life for our descendants.  

       MISSION STATEMENT of the NCAI

 
We thought we had a coup, when Redding Rancheria disenrolled Cam Foreman got National Congress of American Indians President Fawn Sharp to release a statement on disenrollment, after Cam got Secretary Deb Haaland to mention that in a public forum.

I was pushing hard to get more, so hard, that President Fawn Sharp BLOCKED me on Twitter (@opechanga).

Stifling discussion by blocking
those who expect Fawn to LEAD?

Kawhi Leonard's Sister Kimesha Williams STILL in Jail for 2019 Pechanga Murder. Why So long for JUSTICE?

 Bringing this story forward from September 2019.  WHY is this case taking so long?  Afaf Anis Assad deserves JUSTICE.

ANOTHER MURDER   at Pechanga Resort & Casino.   UPDATE, according to Riverside Sheriff's records, Kimesha Williams has a court date today:  

LA Clippers star Kawhi Leonard is the brother of one of the women accused of the BRUTAL MURDER of a Long Beach woman at Pechanga Resort Casino, his aunt confirmed Saturday, the PE has reported.

Kimesha Monae Williams, Leonard's sister, is being held without bail at Indio Correction Facility.

An elderly woman visiting Pechanga Resort and Casino, a tribal gaming venue know for cheating their own people via tribal disenrollment, located in Temecula, CA

BOYCOTT SOVEREIGN TRIBAL ENTITIES LIKE NOOKSACK THAT ABUSE THEIR PEOPLE VIA DISENROLLMENT

The Nooksack 306 are beginning to put together a boycott of Nooksack businesses.  Actually, it's in response to the Nooksack's treatment of their elders, whom the tribe has stripped of their free meals. Recently the tribe has refused service to some N306 people, even placing then on a do not serve list.

I wrote this piece quite a while back, and I think it's time to resurrect the idea of a BOYCOTT for all tribal entities that have violated the civil and human rights of their people.  The State of CA was working to boycott neighboring state AZ businesses a decade ago, because of the tough immigration laws that hadn't even take affect. Yet, these same entities won't stand up for tribal people that have actually been HARMED by their tribes.

WHAT DO YOU THINK, shouldn't WE take a stand against the abuses of civil and human rights by these tribes?  Please share on social media

Sen Dianne Feinstein OPPOSES Win River Casino Move by Redding Rancheria

The Redding Rancheria has renewed its federal application to build a 69,000 square-foot casino, a 250 room hotel, and a retail center in South Redding.

Opponents of the proposed Win-River Casino and Event Center move say they are pleased with Sen. Dianne Feinstein's doubling down on her opposition to the move.

In a letter dated Tuesday, citing opposition to the move by the City of Redding, Shasta County, and the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians, Senator Feinstein urges Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Bryan Newland to use a two-part process to review the proposal. That includes broad public input.

Feinstein says that a "restored lands" exception is not applicable and would set a precedent.   The tribe was restored and later disenrolled their first tribal chairman Bob Foreman and the entire Lorena Butler descendants, including LELAND, LEON, LORENA and their children, the family which provided the land for the current casino. This was after they forced exhumation of their beloved ancestor for DNA which proved their belonging.

Redding Rancheria Tribal Council Chairman Jack Potter told KRCR's Mike Mangas that he's not surprised by the letter.

"The tribe isn't shocked that we received opposition from Dianne Feinstein, Dianne Feinstein opposes all casino relocation projects," said Potter. "She has personal issues against casinos that affected her personally in her life so we know that she opposes them."

In MY VIEW, the Redding Rancheria can't be trusted, based on their actions in harming their own people.  If they will cheat their own, won't they cheat the people of California?

FOLLOW NEW Website Indigenous Wire, Focused on Indigenous policy, Politics, Economics and Sovereignty.

 Former Indian Country Today DC Bureau Chief Rob Capriccioso has launched his new site INDIGENOUS WIRE  Consider signing up, to keep informed on Native issues.  If you are on Twitter, @indigenouswire 

Rob Capriccioso by Marty Two Bulls Sr.

An award-winning D.C.-based journalist and writer with over two decades of reporting and editing experience, Rob was previously the longtime D.C. Bureau Chief at Indian Country Today, the Senior Editor at Tribal Business News, a Contributing Writer at American Indian Report and News from Indian Country, and he’s reported for numerous other Native-focused publications. His mainstream media contributions include reporting, analysis and special projects for PBS, NPR, Smithsonian Magazine, The New York Times, The New York Post, The Guardian, TMZ, Campaigns & Elections, Forbes, Politico, Inside Higher Ed and more.

Rob is an enrolled citizen of the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians who grew up in the Bahweting region of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. His mother worked for the tribe in various health-related positions, and his father was an economic and legal advisor for the tribe. He interned at the tribe’s court while pursuing dual political science and psychology undergraduate degrees at the University of Michigan, and he previously worked at the American Indian Higher Education Consortium in federal relations and has served on the board of the Native American Journalists Association.

The New York Times, Which was a DECADE Late on Disenrollment Reports on Nooksack 306 Evictions

 The NEW YORK TIMES gets deeper into the issues of the NOOKSACK 306 disenrollment and the upcoming evictions that will throw their elderly cast offs into the harsh winter.

In recent days, the tribe has mobilized its police force to begin removing Mr. Javier, who lives with his three children, and others from their tribal homes, after having already cut off educational aid, health services, financial stipends — and whatever remained of what was once an expansive sense of community.

SOVEREIGN RIGHT Doesn't Make Actions Right

Nooksack members are so outraged that they are petitioning the federal government to intervene. The Biden administration, which made a commitment to honoring tribal self-determination, now faces thorny questions over whether it should take the extraordinary step of challenging tribal sovereignty on an issue so fundamental as how the tribe chooses who gets to live on tribal lands.

“On the face of it, for sure we want sovereignty,” said Michelle Roberts, another expelled Nooksack member who faces eviction. “But when that sovereignty is used as a tool to bully people and take advantage of the system, to kick them out of their tribe or to take any kind of services or anything away from them, then that’s when it needs to be controlled somehow.”

Read: Genocide, A year in the life of Nooksack 306  and
Learn More on Disenrollment, Ethnic Cleansing in Indian Gaming Country at these Links:
Gaming Revenue Blamed for Disenrollment
Disenrollment is paper Genocide
CA Tribal Cleansing
TRIBAL TERRORISM includes Banishment
Nooksack Disenrollment
READ THE FULL ARTICLE at the link above.  Please share on social media using the hashtags #stopdisenrollment and #nooksack306

Tribal Disenrollment is a HATE CRIME

This is an apt description in many instances of tribal disenrollment:

A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime or bias crime)^[1] is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership (or perceived membership) of a certain social group or racial demographic.

While stripping the tribal citizenship from perceived enemies and those not following those in power in lockstep is NOT a crime, though the violations of civil and human rights should be,  the results can be the same.   So, would they just be bias incidents that affect 11,000 living?

Elders lose their heritage, their kinship, their health benefits.  Children grow up with no sense of tribal belonging and without the benefits they should have.

Nooksack 306 Evictions DELAYED Due to Bad Weather. Chairman Ross Cline Vows the Elderly WILL BE EVICTED

 Not because it was to protect the elderly residents from the planned eviction, but because the jack booted tribal police couldn't brave the snow and ice, according to the N306's tribal attorney Gabe Galanda

Tribal Chairman Ross Cline confirmed in an email to Indian Country Today on Wednesday that the recent poor weather appeared to have delayed the eviction process but didn’t say how long he expected the pause to last.|

Nooksack Tribal Chairman
ROSS CLINE

He said the evictions will proceed nonetheless. The tribe has said the 63 people must vacate because a 2019 policy change prohibited non-tribal members from living in tribal housing. The tribe has said those homes are needed for Nooksack citizens.

Read about the evictions here   The concerns prompted the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development to first ask the tribe to delay the evictions in September. That same month, HUD recommended the Department of Interior launch an investigation.

Since then, other federal agencies, including the Bureau of Indian Affairs, have pressed the tribe to delay any eviction proceedings until the Department of the Interior completes its investigation and determines whether the tribe is violating civil rights or other federal laws in moving forward.

Read the FULL Indian Country Today article