A long-simmering dispute within a California Indian band boiled over this weekend when the tribe withheld casino profit checks from about 50 people, claiming that one of their ancestors was adopted and that as a result, they're not really Indians.
The San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians, which operates the recently expanded Valley View Casino, also fired several people from tribal jobs and leadership positions after questioning their membership and said it would evict them from homes on tribal land. Read more about it here.
Regarding the article about San Pasqual:
ReplyDeleteAs natives, we need to protect the few sovereiegn rights that Tribes have left; and that means respecting each Tribe's decisions regarding enrollment. That being said, I believe in many cases disenrollment is a waste of valuable time and resources. We should be focusing on making our culture and communities stronger; We do this today by adopting laws and policies if our culture and communites are threatened; while rewarding people and entities that effectively achieve the goal of cultural preservation.
To clarify the comments of Angela Martinez in the article, Yes it has been about greed- the family that the Tribe is trying to disenroll has only begun to participate in the Tribe since the Casino doors opened. Most if not all, of the Alto Family that is being disenrolled- has only been enrolled less than five years -so that tells me that the Non-Indian Alto family is the one that is motivated by greed -prior to the Casino opening they never even claimed to be Indian. It is a shame that San Pasqual Tribal Leaders have wasted so much time on this issue -because that family should never have been enrolled in the first place. Just like every other Rez in Indian County -everyone knows everyone else's business- and we all know Marcus Alto was an adopted sibling of the Alto Family. There are other adopted Tribal Members that are known of and accepted in our Tribe; the difference is that those members have been San Pasqual members even when we were poor and certainly before the Casino door opened. The Casino era will end for us Natives one day, and the real question will be -What did each Tribe do during this era to improve our culture and communities.
If this tribe is so concerned about Indian bloodlines, why don't they use their casino earnings to provide DNA services for tribal members to elminiate this sad dilemma.
ReplyDeletenativewayz,before passing judgment on an entire family you should do some research.there is no reason to have to prove anything to you about my familys heritage,considering your hate on what you call fake altos.unless you were alive in the early 1900s, what makes you think that your opinion is 100 percent true.not to mention your view on the alto family,only beign enrolled for 5years since the casino opened.that too is false,as a matter of fact marcus alto sr.and fam. had been trying to get enrolled decades before getting enrolled in the mid 90s long before valley view opened its doors.come to think of it when we were first enrolled the meetings were held at the small tribal hall with only about 50 members per meeting,now we average about 230 per time and get paid for going?i hope you were one of the 50,with such a strong opinion about the altos beign so greedy.as far as the second persons comment,it is a sad dilemma,just like nativewayz said they do not accept us,based on the fact that most of us do not live on the reservation.we have numourus documents,including a dna test,and documentation from the department of the interior,stating we are who we say we are.not to mention,nativewayz in your comment you stated there were other tribal members which were adopted,and accepted?that sounds like a contradiction!and if you were all about the tribe,the land,and the native pride then those you say are accepted,should be put to a challenge,along with the trask family i.e allen lawson,the caretakers of an indian family.
ReplyDeleteSan Pasqual’s constitution is primarily the biggest debacle of this whole problem! Secondly are the indiscretions of past chairmen. Next, there are breaches in the constitution where cousins who are not removed enough from each other and have conceived children and those children have gone on to be enrolled. Only those involved and a small minority know about this. Additionally, the guilty parties in this case wish to remain anonymous while they battle for leadership and ultimate control of the band. So, who has actually read the entire constitution and all its amendments? Wouldn’t that be something for the BIA to get their hands on? Then, they could misinterpret that too and the guilty parties could continue to masquerade! This whole thing is a black eye and proves to the public that these people are puppets to the BIA.
ReplyDeleteanonymos i am from the trask family and i can tell you that my family has resided upon he san pasqual reservation for 100 years, how about you? Elders and their family members from other adjoining reservations know of my family and relations why is it that they don’t know yours? You claim a family that has relatives in La Jolla, Rincon and Mesa Grande why is it that when they are asked about you they say who are those people they are not related to me. I think that is all I have to say about you.
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