One Little Indian Reports

Land Exclusions Looming

In Sacramento, State Senator Gloria Romero has authored a bill that will allow Tribe's to fine anyone who comes into areas deemed "Indian Lands" which includes other Indians.

Please read this article from the LA Weekly.

If you find that this is an outrage like I do, then you should get on the phone to your California State Legislative Senators and Assemblymen before it's too late to stop it from becoming yet another law that gives Tribes too much authority over their former relatives and the rest of us.

History Revisited

In yet another blow to the Bush Administration, the federal courts have made a decision that favors civil rights over Presidential authority.

The three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the government should charge Ali al-Marri, a legal U.S. resident and the only suspected enemy combatant on American soil, or release him from military custody.

The federal Military Commissions Act doesn't strip al-Marri of his constitutional right to challenge his accusers in court, the judges found in Monday's 2-1 decision.

"Put simply, the Constitution does not allow the President to order the military to seize civilians residing within the United States and then detain them indefinitely without criminal process, and this is so even if he calls them 'enemy combatants,'" the court said.

Such detention "would have disastrous consequences for the Constitution _ and the country," Judge Diana G. Motz wrote in the majority opinion.

This situation has a familiar ring to it since it wasn't that long ago that Native Americans were also subjected to being rounded up and held without charge or legal representation.

Do we ever learn from our past mistakes in America?  I sometimes wonder.  It would seem to me that we should be more leery of the government having absolute authority over us than spend our time considering whether our neighbor is a terrorist waiting to pounce at any moment!

This type of mentality is exactly how the government was able to treat the Native American's so severely.  We shouldn't allow it to happen again to another group of people. 

Why The Secrecy?

Our failure President and his puppeteer Vice President have once again proven to be just what they are: men who don't believe that the American people have what it takes to make a decision about their decisions.

The latest news from the White House concerns the President and VP making every effort to block the public from finding out who they are meeting with, even at the VP's residence.  Why do we need to know you may wonder?  The answer is that the highest offices in American should not feel comfortable meeting with anyone they want and then hiding that information from us.  This is how we start that slippery slide from a democracy to a facist state.

The Bush administration has made every effort to make its every move a secret from the public, which is understandable when you consider that most of their actions have been illegal, lies or cover-ups for their illegal lies.  What is more disturbing is the fact that no one in this country seems to be upset enough to demand accountability from these two men.  It sickens me to think about how many people have died under their spread of "Democracy," using the same tactics as the former USSR and the NAZI regimes of the past.

The USSR and the NAZI's you ask? Yes, look at their record.  The Bush administration has actively used the "rendition" program to snatch people up off the street for torture.  They have invaded two countries, one of which was under false pretenses and has led to the deaths of tens of thousands of people.  They have been spying on Americans without warrants, wiretapping phones, reading emails, harassing dissident points of view and who knows what else, all to protect their illegal activities.

I am asking anyone that reads this blog to call on their Congressman to impeach Bush and Cheney.  We need to set a precedent that says we won't tolerate this kind of behavior any longer.  We, as Americans must stand up for what's right here at home too.  Our future will depend upon our actions today.

Why The Media Ducks Our Issues

Last week, I was reading the editorial section of the Fresno Bee when I noticed one of their editors had something to say about Tribal gaming.  I was shocked to notice that he was complimenting how well the Tribes were taking care of their own with housing and other assistance.

I immediately telephoned this editor to ask him if he was aware of the fact that Tribes around the state were behaving in anything but an admirable manner and then I checked off a couple of the points that backed this up:

1. Enrollment Terminations: The Tribes have been kicking out their own people for years now with very little fanfare from the media.
2. Civil Rights Violations: The Tribes have been violating the civil rights of their own people by denying them "due process" during the termination process.
3. Denial of the Bill of Rights: The Tribes have taken extraordinary measures to silence any opposition to their activities by banishing anyone who would speak out against them in the media, a violation of the 1st Amendment guarantee of free speech.
4. Economic Terrorism: The Tribes have actively used economic bullying against their own people and against politicians, the media and the public to get their way, while they hide behind "soveriegn immunity" like chicken-****'s.

The editor had this to say: "The editorial section isn't the right location for the type of information you're talking about. This is more of a "news" issue."  Then he recommended who I should talk to at the news desk and transferred me to her voicemail.

Naturally, the news desk wasn't very happy to have me on the phone once I got a call back.  The news editor wasn't too concerned about our ongoing issues and she claimed that if they are going to report it, it has to be something new or no one will read the story.

What is really happening is that the media is afraid of the Tribes and their enormous advertising budgets.  The Tribes are without a doubt amongst their largest advertising customers and in todays competitive market, no one wants to rock the money boat with an issue that only affects a couple thousand people!

Of course, this IS JUST AN OPINION from someone looking at their practices from the outside.  I am lacking any smoking gun emails that confirm this to be the facts and just the facts.  So, in the end, the media will be able to make up whatever reason they want to explain their lack of interesting and in-depth coverage of our plights as terminated Native Americans.

This is something that is not exclusive to the Native issues either.  The American media has lost its edge in the past decade and so has the American public.  It's a terrible shame that this country's press has lost its nerve in favor of the bottom line.  Now who will be the champions of lost and little known causes?  If I can raise enough money, I know I will...

Can You Hear Me Now?

Tonight on "Real Time with Bill Maher" the host made a very important statement that I wanted to share with anyone reading this blog. He made mention of a quote from Albert Einstein, a figure widely considered to be one of the most intelligent humans who ever lived. Apparently, Einstein made mention of our world's dependence on bees, stating that if the bee were to disappear, then humans would be only four years behind them, at the max!

In case you haven't kept up on the news lately, there appears to be a worldwide crises occuring in the bee's world, its the equivalent of the Black Plague with a 75% mortality rate. While scientist are struggling to determine what the cause of the sudden collapse of the bee is, they do have some theories already:

1. Global Warming
2. Overuse of pesticides
3. nursing bees on refined corn syrups that don't occur in nature
4. pollution from human activities
5. cell phone radio waves-yep, it appears that the bee is deathly allergic to the frequencies used by cell phones. When they get near a phone or a tower, it causes their internal circuitry to go haywire, they lose track of where they are and plummet from the sky.

Item number five was a hard blow because I know so many people who would rather eat dirt than give up their instant communications and save the bees. Also, the cell phone signals as a culprit makes alot of sense considering the cell towers are all over the countrysides of America. In countries around the world, cell phones are the primary communications device, not landlines. The cell towers proved to be cheaper to set up for developing countries and their proliferation was rapid and unprecedented.

In Congress last week, I briefly saw a gentlemen speaking to some appropriations committee about the bee colony collapse in the US. He told the Congressmen straight out that money was needed THAT DAY, that there was literally no time to waste and that further collapse of the bees would be disasterous to everyone and every thing. Then, our business as usual behavior kicked in and no one raised an eyebrow. I laughed when the reporter stated that the bee crisis could lead to more expensive fruits and other products!

HELLO!! The bee crisis could lead to NO FRUITS, VEGETABLES AND MANY OTHER LUXURIES we've grown accustomed to. I'm convinced that the American public's five second attention span simply is so "in control" of our critical thinking that the majority of the public is oblivious to the fact that the bee collapse is the tipping point of an overall ecosystem crash. Yes, we're talking about that chain reaction as the food chain collapses around us. Yes, it can happen to American's too. Yes, it will take a crash like that to occur, causing American's to eat their dogs then their neighbors before they will entertain the idea that perhaps they should have done more earlier on.

Perhaps humans aren't the end all of evolutionary design as so many think of our race as. If we are so ignorant to the world we live in that we will sit back and watch it die around us without event wondering why its happening, perhaps we are overdue to join the dinosaurs and the myriad of other dominant species who have gone before us.

Nature is asking, "Can you hear me now?" Well...can you?

Beware Those Bearing Gifts

The Native American Caucus in California has now openly come out in support of the bills in the California Assembly that will grant certain Indian Tribes the right to expand the number of gaming machines they possess and grant them immunity from environmental laws as a bonus for their efforts (see previous article).

What is disturbing is the transparency of the Native American Caucus who should have a mission to defend all Native American's and not just the richest ones.  It is painfully clear to anyone that the NAC has gone Republican.

The real issue that isn't being addressed here is that enrollment terminations are still happening around the state, that the civil right of US citizens are still suspended each and every time they step foot onto an Indian Casino's property and the political-media systems are apparently so drunk on the money they are getting out of the deal that they, like street-corner heroin addicts, simply deny that there is a problem that needs to be dealt with.

I don't know if the Caucus does its homework, but there are thousands of Native American's in California that need them to represent their interests too.  Its a horrifying fact that the terminated Native's aren't rich and they certainly don't enjoy access to the political structure in the same way that the richer, gaming Indians do.

I find it to be appalling that the NAC's web site makes no mention of the fact that this problem even exists.  Instead, they are throwing their lot in with the largest Tribe's in the state (financially speaking) to help them sell a pipe dream to the Governor and some of the gullibal public.  Their promise of $500 million a year in payments to the state is just laughable.  If there is one universal constant, its self-serving greedy people, and the Indians controlling the Casinos in California are the kings of the game. After all, the first rule of being human is "think only about yourself" with these folks.

If these compacts are passed by the Legislature, I hope that the public backlash will bring their jobs to a conclusion by the next election.  I encourage everyone reading this to examine the Secretary of State's web site to see the campaign contributions made by the Tribe's to our Assemblymen and Senators after the votes are counted.  Then you will see who's their daddy.  You and I don't mean squat when it comes to the grease the Tribes are putting out.  Our only weapon is the vote...so if they choose the Tribes over you, let them know what the cost will be to them.

In the meantime, stop supporting Tribal Casino's until they are forced to follow the same rules as everyone else in AMERICA!

CA Compact Amendment Bills Introduced for Selected Tribe only

I am posting the following text from a bill now introduced into the California Legislative body by Assemblyman Charles Calderon, 58th District (LA County cities).  How has the Morongo Band of Mission Indians proven that they are worthy of the type of specialized treatment they are getting from this bill?

I am presuming that this treatment is developing from the clause in this bill that states Morongo must pay a type of tax to the state general fund (which is calculated based upon the reported earnings of the Tribe-which they control the counting, validation and reporting of).  It will be a frosty day in the Netherworld before any Tribe who signs this deal pays in what the Governor or this misguided Assemblyman has calculated.

But even if I am wrong and a Tribe doesn't take lessons from the American Corporations who are masters at shuffling of the expenses to lower reported profitability, I challenge the validity of any legislation that gives such broad authority to any group to violate environmental laws of California while expressly commanding California agencies that they are forbidden from breaking the law.

As Global Warming and environmental damages now are beginning to threaten the very survival of our species on this planet, isn't it just wrong to allow any group to cheat on the weak environmental rules we have in place when reality dictates that NO group should be given carte blanche to cheat?  Frankly, the dream tax revenue could never be high enough to cover the moral damage inflected onto the state for allowing something like this to become law.

The Morongo Tribe is not poor.  They have a large casino complex that generates lots of income.  Why should they be entitled to these breaks anyway?  Would the state of California tell Wal-Mart that they could ignore environmental laws as compensation for expanding their business venture?  Would California give this kind of free ride to ANY OTHER COMPANIES?  The Tribe does not need this kind of break and the state's environmental laws shouldn't be for sale to the slickest bidder.

Also, another of the Tribes who have bills pending for these same sweetheart deal is the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Copena Indians-introduced by Senators Wiggins and Ashburn; and a Tribe that has been denied a gaming compact up to now due to political pressure from Southern CA Tribes: the Yoruk Tribe in Northern CA.

I am scanning only the bills introduced during this session, which means other bills like this could be lurking in the system that haven't turned up yet.

I encourage anyone reading this to email your California Senator or Assemblyman at once. This kind of backdoor sweet-heart legislation must come to an immediate halt.

BILL NUMBER: AB 266 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Charles Calderon

                        FEBRUARY 5, 2007

   An act to add Section 12012.48 to the Government Code, relating to
tribal gaming.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 266, as introduced, Charles Calderon. Tribal gaming: compact
ratification.
   The federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act provides for the
negotiation and execution of tribal-state gaming compacts for the
purpose of authorizing certain types of gaming on Indian lands within
a state. The California Constitution authorizes the Governor to
negotiate and conclude compacts, subject to ratification by the
Legislature. Existing law expressly ratifies a number of tribal-state
gaming compacts, and amendments of tribal-state gaming compacts,
between the State of California and specified Indian tribes.
   This bill would ratify an amendment to a tribal-state gaming
compact entered into between the State of California and the Morongo
Band of Mission Indians, executed on August 29, 2006. The bill would
require that related revenue contributions be deposited into the
General Fund and would also specify that, in deference to tribal
sovereignty, certain actions may not be deemed projects for purposes
of the California Environmental Quality Act.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 12012.48 is added to the Government Code, to
read:
   12012.48.  (a) The amendment to the tribal-state gaming compact
entered into in accordance with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of
1988 (18 U.S.C. Sec. 1166 to 1168, incl., and 25 U.S.C. Sec. 2701 et
seq.) between the State of California and the Morongo Band of Mission
Indians, executed on August 29, 2006, is hereby ratified.
   (b) (1) In deference to tribal sovereignty, none of the following
shall be deemed a project for purposes of the California
Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section
21000) of the Public Resources Code):
   (A) The execution of an amendment of a tribal-state gaming compact
ratified by this section.
   (B) The execution of a tribal-state gaming compact ratified by
this section.
   (C) The execution of an intergovernmental agreement between a
tribe and a county or city government negotiated pursuant to the
express authority of, or as expressly referenced in, a tribal-state
gaming compact or an amended tribal-state gaming compact ratified by
this section.
   (D) The execution of an intergovernmental agreement between a
tribe and the California Department of Transportation negotiated
pursuant to the express authority of, or as expressly referenced in,
a tribal-state gaming compact or an amended tribal-state gaming
compact ratified by this section.
   (E) The on-reservation impacts of compliance with the terms of a
tribal-state gaming compact or an amended tribal-state gaming compact
ratified by this section.
   (F) The sale of compact assets, as defined in subdivision (a) of
Section 63048.6, or the creation of the special purpose trust
established pursuant to Section 63048.65.
  (2) Except as expressly provided herein, nothing in this
subdivision shall be construed to exempt a city, county, a city and
county, or the California Department of Transportation from the
requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act.
  (c) Revenue contributions made to the state by the tribe pursuant
to the amended tribal-state gaming compact ratified by this section
shall be deposited in the General Fund.

Footnote: The original legislation that would have authorized an increase in the number of machines included four of Morongo's neighbors. However, they objected to any language in the bill that appeared to force them to follow state or federal labor laws and to language that specifically forced the Tribes to stop the practice of termination of their Tribal members.  The latter was removed, but the Legislature refused to pass a bill that cuts Union Labor out of the casino's.

What are "Indian Country" Issues?

In the past few hours, I have been presented with a question concerning the validity of what constitutes participation in "Indian Country" issues, what issues are more important or more valid than other issues and how these issues should be addressed or presented to others.  After thinking it over for a while, one common thread began to emerge from my analysis: communication.

Today in Indian Country, we have many different and pressing issues that need the attention of the state and federal governments and the participation of our Indian brothers and sisters.  These issues include:

1. Enrollment moritoriums-Tribes not allowing any eligible members in even though their Constitution does not allow for enrollment freezes;
2. Enrollment terminations-Tribes terminating the memberships of large portions of their people for capital gains from their gaming operations;
3. Continuing poverty of Natives-Tribal memberships living in poverty in stark contrast to the gaming Indians who are living in excessive luxury;
4. Civil Rights Issues-violations of the civil rights of Native Americans by their own Tribes,
5. State level organization-a general lack of organization that can lead to a statewide movement on behalf of the Native American issues,
6. Health Care-Native Americans are still listed as having the worst access to adequate care;
7. Hear/See/Speak No Justice-the completely deaf ear being given these issues by the government and the media;
8. The Roar of the Crowds-the constant background roar of native vs native as petty squabbles and small issues continue to break apart alliances that are desperately needed to unify the greater population for the good of everyone.

Each of these issues has merit for immediate action by any number of federal, state and Native groups.  Each of these issues can generate volumes of information about what is going on with that particular issue and anyone who is working on them can quickly become overwhelmed or discouraged by the seemingly endless beauracratic maze associated with them, which is compounded by the perception that their efforts to bring these issues forward are not appreciated or desired.

So, how does someone place a numerical value on the issues in Indian Country?  Well, as you may have surmised, it all depends on who you ask.  I have given alot of my attention to the enrollment terminations because I view the corrective legislation for these activities to be the answer to other issues such as moritoriums, health care access improvements, unification of the splintered Tribes and so on.  Others believe that all issues need to be equally represented.  In the end, its up to the person who is putting in the time to record what is happening to decide what is the most important issue and what method of notifying which player in this vast game makes the most sense to them.

I have witnessed many misunderstandings occur on all of these issues when the political views of one person makes someone else upset.  I was scolded and threatened several times by the Tribal Council of the Picayune Rancheria for speaking out on the side of the Native American's who have been terminated or who are stuck in limbo because of a moritorium.  I have also been scolded by friends and associates who say I haven't done enough and that I am unreliable because of an incident that started off as a misunderstanding and then expanded into a full blown breakdown of communications with harsh and confused feelings emerging on both sides of the story.

Here's what I think that the real bottom line is. If we are going to be able to become a political force that can counter-balance the megabucks of gaming Tribes, we are going to have to decide that sticking together is more important than keeping up appearances of such.  We have to understand that there are going to be times when we will piss each other off with such severity that we want to quit the struggle or banish others from it.  If this is what we allow to happen, our cause is already lost.  Aren't we fighting for the very person we just kicked to the curb?  If that's the case, what the heck is he doing over on the curb?

With each of the various issues facing Indian Country today being as large and complex as they are, it isn't all that easy for many people to be experts in every one of them.  It's difficult just to find someone who knows alot about any single one of them for that matter.  When these folks are discovered, their knowledge and their volunteer efforts need to be cultivated so they keep up the good work.

A state level committee needs to be set up that has the clout to unify all the splintered groups and families throughout the state.  Here in Fresno County a group of talented individuals meets regularly to discuss all of the items presented here today:

Laura Wass-a long time American Indian Activist and now the Director of the Many Lightning Cultural Center. Laura has spent over a decade fighting for the rights of Native Americans in largely thankless roles and has paid for this fight with her own money, her time and her emotional investment.  Her efforts have helped pave the way for future dialogues that will help down the road.

Mary Chapman-a former Enrollment Committee member from PRCI that I had the honor of serving with as the PRCI geared up to being their terminations. She courageously took the road against the terminations, which resulted in many personal attacks on her.

Kathy Lewis-Kathy is qualified for membership at Table Mountain Casino, but thanks in large part to my cousin Leann Walker Grant, no one is being admitted to Table Mountain.  Kathy has led many lonely protests outside of the Table Mountain Casino to bring attention to the plight of her people, and she continues to make that fight even today.

Other participants include Cathy Corey of the Chukchansi and other low key participants.  Why do they fight this fight for people that seemingly don't appreciate their efforts?  What about the other pockets of resistance fighters around the state that go unrecognized for similar efforts?  Its their belief in the fact that Indians need to be with their people that keeps them going.  Has their fight been easy?  In many cases, they have been victims of the people they were helping, they have found themselves being opposed by the very people they are trying to help and all of their efforts are largely unreported by anyone in the media.

It would seem that Indian Country is big enough and complex enough that we need alot more players in the field to help bring these issues forward.  It would seem that everyone in Indian Country should be extended an invitation to join the table and bring their talents into the fray, even if its only for a short period of time.  Every piece of information we can gather is one more we know about and one more we can use to create the accurate picture of what's happening here.  Does it matter if the volunteer is always available? If it does, we won't get many volunteers!

If you are reading this today and you frequent an Indian Casino, think about what your money is going to support:

1. Huge cash payoffs to local, state and federal politicians and to both political parties that keep them from standing up against the civil rights violations and other issues in Indian Country;

2. Huge marketing machines of the gaming Tribes that use their fortunes to downplay the human tragedy created by these fortunes, and their use of them as public donations to somehow make them look like wealthy, peaceful benefactors rather than malevolent, evil peole who cut out their own blood for more personal wealth.

Please boycott your local Casino's, especially TABLE MOUNTAIN RANCHERIA, CHUKCHANSI GOLD CASINO AND THE PALACE IN LEMOORE.  They don't deserve your business.  Your business supports their terrorism campaign against their own people.  HELP US TO BRING JUSTICE TO INDIAN COUNTRY!

If you have time to volunteer to help organize and participate in protests, letter campaigns or other activities, its time to step up.  Your people need you now worse than ever!  Contact one of the folks listed above if you are in the Central Valley and tell them what you can offer.  They will appreciate your contact.

And, if you do volunteer, stay focused on the goal.  Its very easy to lose sight of the prize if you let yourself get caught up in meaningless political posturing and infighting.  If that did happen, don't let it keep you on the sidelines.  You are just as important as anyone else in these instances, and the fate of our people may ultimately depend on your abilty to stick it out when things seem impossible from your seat.  I wish you luck!

Story on Pechanga Airs Tomorrow

News coverage concerning the Pechanga Tribe and their enrollment policies will be airing tomorrow on KNBC in Los Angeles (click here to go to their web page). 

The Pechanga Tribe is once again being focused upon for their enrollment policies. As usual, they did not have any comment on the matter and where well aware of the fact that a  producer and reporter had been working on this story for nearly 4 months.  During that time, they had made several attempts to get an interview with somebody at Pechanga  but they were always denied.  That all changed after the promos for the story started to hit the airwaves. Pechanga notified KNBC on Friday that someone would meet with and interview with the reporter prior to the story being aired.

The interview took place today at Pechanga.  The interview ended several hours ago, and I was told it was a “nothing” interview.  Pechanga claimed it was an internal matter, they would not answer questions regarding the John Johnson report, and eventually asked the reporter and producer to leave when they began to ask questions that Pechanga did not want to answer.

If you are unable to watch the program directly, go to the KNBC web site.  You should be able to view the story from their.

Appeals Court Rules in Favor of Workers

In a ruling that is certainly going to upset Tribal officials, the Federal Appeals Court has ruled that Tribe's are not entitled to special treatment when it comes to labor laws.  Judge Janice Brown wrote that, "tribal sovereignty is not absolute autonomy, permitting a tribe to operate in a commercial capacity without legal constraint."

This ruling was given in the case between the Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees International Union (HERE) and the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians.  HERE was being denied access to organizing the employees of the casino operated by the Tribe, which they did not deny.  The Tribe simply maintained that they were not subject to National Labor Relations Board laws concerning the rules of unionization.

The NLRB became involved after HERE filed a complaint with them to force the Tribe into compliance.  The Tribe also claimed immunity from the legal jurisdiction of the NLRB, which they contested.

In ruling that the NLRB has jurisdiction over working conditions at Indian casinos, Brown stated "Operation of a casino is not a traditional attribute of self-government. Rather, the casino at issue here is virtually identical to scores of purely commercial casinos across the country. ... The vast majority of the Casino's employees and customers are not members of the tribe and they live off the reservation. For these reasons, the Tribe is not simply engaged in internal governance of its territory and members, and its sovereignty over such matters is not called into question."

This ruling may lead to others that will eventually allow Casino workers to sue when they are discriminated against or harassed, which is also a violation of federal and civil labor laws.