Documentary To Be Produced On Enrollment Issue

The time has finally arrived to bring the issue of "genocide on paper" to the forefront of the national political organizations, the media and the general public.  In the past few years, the gaming Tribes around California have acted with impunity to destroy their once proud people by disenrolling them from their ancestral homes, unceremoniously discharging them from their heritage and from their federal status as Native Americans, all in the name of the almighty dollar.

This story, like so many in a world as corrupted as ours, goes much deeper than just the poor souls caught in the crossfire.  The gaming Tribes in California have a secret and an unlikely guardian angel looking out for them: the federal government.  As I have researched the reasoning behind disenrollments of Tribal people, I have discovered that the federal government has given their "silent approval" of what is going on through inaction, inaction that coincidently comes with hefty donations to their political parties and personal campaign bank accounts.

Let me tell you the vicious cycle that many Native Americans are now caught up in. The first step towards disenrollments occurred decades ago when the Supreme Court ruled that a Tribal government has absolute and unequivocal authority to determine the qualifications for its membership.  In the time since that ruling, this authority has been expanded upon to give the Tribal government the right to violate the Indian Civil Rights Act, the Tribe's Constitution and the Constitution of the United States when the Tribal government is acting on the matter of enrollment.

The next item in the circle was the determination to allow gaming on Indian lands.  As the money rushed out to the reservations, Tribe's suddenly realized that they were going to get rich.  In some cases that didn't happen, while in others, their locations made it possible for the Tribe to bring in millions of dollars every month.  When it was determined to allow Tribes to distribute earnings from their casino operations, the other shoe began to drop with a thud heard around Indian Country.

With their lawyers and their Supreme Court decisions at the ready, Tribal governments began giving their memberships the once over, checking and rechecking every detail, every dot on the 'i', every slash on the 't' in an effort to disqualify members of their Tribes.  When that didn't produce the results they wanted, the Tribal governments simply sent out a letter to the member telling them that it was determined that they are ineligible for membership, citing an obscure or even falsified fact concerning their ancestry.

Once the member is disenrolled, they are no longer federally recognized as Native Americans.  They have lost their membership with their ancestral people and their protection under federal laws.  Their "termination" cannot be challenged in any court.  They are legally no longer an Indian.

Now, you may say to yourself "Doesn't the government realize what's going on?"  Or, "How could the government let this happen after so much that has happened to the poor Indians already?"  This is one of the heavyweight players in the circle who can decide the fate of so many if they choose to exercise their legal and moral authority in the matter.  Of course, the answer is as complicated as it is simple: its all about the money.  While Tribes are being given unprecedented immunity from federal and state laws, the lawmakers are doing their part to keep the status quo alive by failing to take any actions to stop these "terminations" from occurring.  In exchange for this favorable treatment, gaming Tribes donate heavily to both political parties and their candidates.  In 2006 it totaled into the millions of dollars just in California.

The next heavyweight player in this game is the media, the champions of the weak and saviours of the down-trodden.  The media has the power to bring down Presidents, expose corruption in even the most obscure locations and to shine the light of truth into the dark corners where human cockroaches dwell, feeding off the misery of their fellow man. The question that begs to be asked is "Where are they and why aren't they ringing the alarm bells at the appalling treatment being delivered by gaming Tribes to their own people?"  Wait, could it be that dastardly "for the love of money" once again?  Yes, the fact of the matter is gaming Tribes give out tens of millions of dollars in advertising revenue to their local TV, radio and newsprint organizations which buys alto of hush, hush.

If a story about disenrollment appears on TV, its usually quickly reported, and in many cases its not even shown during the prime time newscasts.   The newspapers aren't in any hurry to bite the hand that feeds them either.  The newspapers are in the best position to report the story in-depth, but they are also in the most compromised position financially which has led to severe under reporting on all fronts.  In a recent campaign for a political office, a source who must remain unnamed until the film is released was told that the news media would not cover his/her campaign if they continued to pursue the issue of disenrollment as part of their platform.  That must have been the 800 pound gorilla talking because the message got through loud and clear.

The last major player in this whirlwind of corruption, deception, and money grabbing is...let the drums roll maestro...YOU, the person who spends their rent money, their last $20 of their check, their first $200 of their check, or their grandma's social security check in the Indian casinos every week.  The billions of dollars that are being spent are the catalyst for the disenrollments, they are the grease that keeps the political wheels and the media giants from looking the victims in the eye and telling them "You don't matter. If you did, I wouldn't take the money from the Tribes knowing that it has devastated you, your family and your way of life."

"If you mattered, I would put an end to the way people have been treated and get you back home.  But, the fact is the Tribe pays better than you. Therefore, you...don't...matter."  Coindidently, the general public is also listed in the "you don't matter" category.  Doesn't anyone realize the reason why those very same gaming Tribes that donate millions of dollars are immune from virtually every civil law on the books.  Yes, the Tribal members, the gaming public and the employees that work for the Tribes are in a very similar situation: none of us have any civil rights protections while on the job or in the seat at a slot machine.

Employees at Tribal casinos can be and will be victimized with sexual harassment, racial discrimination, age discrimination and much more when they work for a Native casino.  Its a shameful fact, but the Tribes don't care about those little inconveniences to their workers.  They only care about the Almighty ones coming in through the magic of slots.  According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Tribal casinos generate the highest number of complaints of any other industry from their workers, however the agency is unable to take any actions on behalf of the victims, you know who they are, they are American citizens just like you.  They could be your mom or dad, your brother or sister or your best friend.  And, they could be getting victimized right now just like the Native American's who were kicked out, ran off and told to never come back for as long as the money keeps flowing!

If it weren't for the Labor Unions taking on the Tribes, the estimated 53,000 casino workers here wouldn't have anyone looking out for them.  Unite Here! represent Hotel employees and Restaurant Employees along with several other service related job descriptions.  If the Tribe agreed to allow the Union to organize on their compacts with the State, then they are prevented from interfering with organizational efforts on the part of the Unions.

When a casino is unionized, the Union stands up for the worker when the casino tries to treat him or her improperly.  While the union drive was underway at Chukchansi Gold, the senior executive team made it sound like Satan was at the door with a Union card in hand, waiting to take $40 and the soul of our team members.  At first, none of knew what to expect so there was a lot of trepidation about the matter.  Eventually the Union won by a small margin, but the primary catalyst behind their victory wasn't the offer of a better deal from the Union, it was the continuing atmosphere of harassment and discrimination being fostered inside the Casino that drove the vote over the top.

And, the team members are damn lucky that they made that choice too.  As it stands right now, the Union is the only prayer they have against the behaviors of the Tribe or the Casino's management teams in Tribal Casino's around the state.  Naturally,one prominent Tribe in California is in litigation against the Unions with the claim that the Tribe is immune from the National Labor Relations Act.  The Tribe wants the federal government to make them immune from federal labor laws now, which of course will make this greedy little ride even greedier, even harder to stop and even more destructive to the Native people caught in the feeding frenzy.  Also, the California Legislature is holding up five new compacts that would give the five richest California Tribe the right to expand their casino slot floors from 2,000 machines to 10,000 machines because of a major missing component: the lack of labor representation in the compacts.  The Tribes are outraged of course.

I realize that you may be thinking to yourself "Well, he has spilled the whole plot to his documentary, why do I need to see it now?"  The simple fact of the matter is, there is so much information to be shared with you that I would need to write a novel sized article to explain it all today.  Rest assured, you will be saddened, shocked, embarrassed and angered at the players in the film, and you will see with newly opened eyes just what exactly has been going on.

But, as with many epic stories waiting to be told, I have stumbled upon a funding issue that requires the help of the many of you out there that want the truth to be told, that demand that justice be served and that truly feel that it is unacceptable to allow Tribal governments to trump the US Constitution by ignoring your rights as American citizens, and by treating their own Native American people like animals with no recourse for them to fight back.  If you believe the way I do, then help me out so that I can hire a film crew, pay some salaries, and create a film that will be the Fahrenheit 911 of the Indian Gaming Industry.

Your help can be given through pay pal on the Chukchansi Country website.  Your help will be credited here and on the film.  If you like surprises, I can tell you this: I have several in store that will create an uproar that will be heard from Coast to Coast.  You see, my goal is to bring the Tribal People back to their homes to set things right.  It's not about the money for me, or the fame or the sacrifice.  It's about the difference between right and wrong, just and unjust, and how these concepts have mysteriously vanished at the hog's trough behind the casino cages at Indian facilities around the country.

You can make a difference for thousands of Native Americans.  You can make a difference for yourself.  Help me to win this fight.

Comments

[Temecula Man]

One of the biggest offenders of disenrollment is the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians in Temecula, California.

In the past three years they have kicked out 25 percent of the tribe and in both cases with only purely circumstantial, hearsay so called evidense.

Both large family lines were not allowed to have legal representation at their disenrollment hearings and they also were not allowed copies of the transcripts of these hearings.

The whole tribe got a raise in their per capita payments when these people were kicked out, including the enrollment committee members who voted to disenroll them as well as the tribal council members who voted to turn down the appeal of the decision.

Yet the Pechanga tribe and others like them hide behind the cloak of tribal sovereignty in the belief that the Federal or state governments can't do anything about it.

Pechanga is on the verge of getting a new compact with the state that would allow them to triple the number of slot machines they have and do insure that this happens they have been giving huge donations to politicians, politicans who turn a dear ear to the plight of those unfairly kicked out of their tribes.

Also, tribes such as Agua Caliente near Palm Springs, California are pushing to make it legal that tribes don't have to follow the campaign contribution laws of the state.

Again hiding behind tribal sovereignty. But if the rich gaming tribes vote in the elections of the state, shouldn't they also have to obey the laws regarding those elections?

[PaulinaHunter]

After months of preparation, KNBC 4 the local affiliate in Los Angeles will be doing a story on those Native Americans who have been disenfranchised by their tribes.

As you know, Temecula Band of Luiseno Indians, AKA Pechanga has disenrolled 25% of their tribe in the last two years, in order to increase their gambling per capita checks. This includes my family, which Pechanga's own hired expert proved we were Pechanga, but they chose to put their belief in an imprisoned child molester. Both families have been waging court battles and having various levels of success.

On Tuesday, February 20th, the 11 p.m. edition will have a segment, tentatively titled, "A tribe without a tribe". I believe that the report will include other tribes in California.

Can you please help those who were disenrolled from California gaming tribes by spreading the word via your website and email list?

Thank you for your support.

Paulina Hunter of Pechanga