Post by blackcrowheart on Jun 5, 2006 11:19:01 GMT -5
American Indians channel their ordeals into nonprofit agency
By: DEIRDRE NEWMAN - Staff Writer
www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/06/04/news/californian/temecula/22_\
10_536_3_06.txt
TEMECULA ---- The collective discontent of American Indians who have
been kicked out of their tribes and suffered other perceived civil
rights violations has inspired the formation of a nonprofit
organization.
One of the creators of this organization lives in Temecula and knows
full well how devastating it can be to be evicted from a tribe. John
Gomez, who was disenrolled from the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians
along with 130 family members, is protesting the tribe's action through
two lawsuits. The first was appealed all the way to the U.S. Supreme
Court, which recently decided not to hear it, leaving the disenrollment
in effect.
The idea for the American Indian Rights and Resources Organization came
out of a conference in Temecula last year that Gomez organized to bring
disenrolled Indians from around the country together. From the
conference, it was obvious that there were a lot of American Indians who
had experienced the same loss, he said.
"It seems that, throughout Indian country, there are numerous issues
that revolve around the denial or stripping of a person's individual
rights," said Gomez, who is the president of the nonprofit group.
The organization was officially formed in December and had its first
membership meeting May 20 in Sacramento. About 70 people attended, said
Carla Foreman-Maslin, who was kicked out of the Redding Rancheria tribe
in Northern California, along with 75 of her relatives. The Maslins are
helping get the resource organization off the ground, with Carla's
husband, Mark Maslin, acting as communications director.
One of the most inspirational parts of the conference, according to
Foreman-Maslin, was the keynote speech by Billy Mills, an American
Indian who was raised on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South
Dakota and won a gold medal in the 10,000-meter race in the 1964 Olympic
Games.
"It was very empowering and Billy Mills gave a very inspirational speech
about his story ... about the struggles he went through of
discrimination, and racial problems that he had suffered and how he used
some of the things within him to give us hope," she said.
While the new organization would definitely help those who have been
disenrolled from their tribe, it would address American Indian rights on
a general scale, including those who have been barred from voting on
tribal matters and who have been denied access to health care, Gomez
said.
Those who have been disenrolled can share information and experience
they have gleaned from the ordeal with Americans Indians who are just
starting to go through the process, Maslin said.
"The first thing that usually happens in these cases is they go to the
Bureau of Indian Affairs and spend a lot of time and effort and, a lot
of times, money hiring an attorney," he said. "They hear the same thing
---- that the BIA can't get involved because it's an internal tribal
matter."
The organization can also provide moral support to disenrolled American
Indians, who are not just coping with the loss of their identity but
with the loss of hefty monthly payments from the tribes that have
casinos, Maslin said. The Gomez family members, for instance, have
incurred a loss of more than $50 million as of March.
"In a lot of ways, we're kind of therapists, too," Maslin said. "We know
a lot of the situations people have gone through and their reactions.
(We) help them overcome and get back on their feet so they're able to
fight."
The organization already has a successful track record, Maslin said. In
a few cases, some families who have contacted the nonprofit group have
been able to fend off disenrollment attempts, he said.
As communications director, Maslin lets members know about upcoming
rallies and demonstrations in support of American Indian rights and will
encourage members to write letters to their congressman to encourage
them to change the Indian Civil Rights Act to give it more teeth, he
said.
"These tribal officials have learned that, yes, they have laws, but
(they) don't have to follow them," he said. "We beg to differ. That's
one of our objectives ---- to let them know these laws are there for a
reason and we're going to find a way to make sure they're enforceable."
Communication will be easier once the organization has a Web site, which
is in the works, Gomez said.
By: DEIRDRE NEWMAN - Staff Writer
www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/06/04/news/californian/temecula/22_\
10_536_3_06.txt
TEMECULA ---- The collective discontent of American Indians who have
been kicked out of their tribes and suffered other perceived civil
rights violations has inspired the formation of a nonprofit
organization.
One of the creators of this organization lives in Temecula and knows
full well how devastating it can be to be evicted from a tribe. John
Gomez, who was disenrolled from the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians
along with 130 family members, is protesting the tribe's action through
two lawsuits. The first was appealed all the way to the U.S. Supreme
Court, which recently decided not to hear it, leaving the disenrollment
in effect.
The idea for the American Indian Rights and Resources Organization came
out of a conference in Temecula last year that Gomez organized to bring
disenrolled Indians from around the country together. From the
conference, it was obvious that there were a lot of American Indians who
had experienced the same loss, he said.
"It seems that, throughout Indian country, there are numerous issues
that revolve around the denial or stripping of a person's individual
rights," said Gomez, who is the president of the nonprofit group.
The organization was officially formed in December and had its first
membership meeting May 20 in Sacramento. About 70 people attended, said
Carla Foreman-Maslin, who was kicked out of the Redding Rancheria tribe
in Northern California, along with 75 of her relatives. The Maslins are
helping get the resource organization off the ground, with Carla's
husband, Mark Maslin, acting as communications director.
One of the most inspirational parts of the conference, according to
Foreman-Maslin, was the keynote speech by Billy Mills, an American
Indian who was raised on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South
Dakota and won a gold medal in the 10,000-meter race in the 1964 Olympic
Games.
"It was very empowering and Billy Mills gave a very inspirational speech
about his story ... about the struggles he went through of
discrimination, and racial problems that he had suffered and how he used
some of the things within him to give us hope," she said.
While the new organization would definitely help those who have been
disenrolled from their tribe, it would address American Indian rights on
a general scale, including those who have been barred from voting on
tribal matters and who have been denied access to health care, Gomez
said.
Those who have been disenrolled can share information and experience
they have gleaned from the ordeal with Americans Indians who are just
starting to go through the process, Maslin said.
"The first thing that usually happens in these cases is they go to the
Bureau of Indian Affairs and spend a lot of time and effort and, a lot
of times, money hiring an attorney," he said. "They hear the same thing
---- that the BIA can't get involved because it's an internal tribal
matter."
The organization can also provide moral support to disenrolled American
Indians, who are not just coping with the loss of their identity but
with the loss of hefty monthly payments from the tribes that have
casinos, Maslin said. The Gomez family members, for instance, have
incurred a loss of more than $50 million as of March.
"In a lot of ways, we're kind of therapists, too," Maslin said. "We know
a lot of the situations people have gone through and their reactions.
(We) help them overcome and get back on their feet so they're able to
fight."
The organization already has a successful track record, Maslin said. In
a few cases, some families who have contacted the nonprofit group have
been able to fend off disenrollment attempts, he said.
As communications director, Maslin lets members know about upcoming
rallies and demonstrations in support of American Indian rights and will
encourage members to write letters to their congressman to encourage
them to change the Indian Civil Rights Act to give it more teeth, he
said.
"These tribal officials have learned that, yes, they have laws, but
(they) don't have to follow them," he said. "We beg to differ. That's
one of our objectives ---- to let them know these laws are there for a
reason and we're going to find a way to make sure they're enforceable."
Communication will be easier once the organization has a Web site, which
is in the works, Gomez said.