California Tribal Chairmen Meet to Unite

The July 1, 2018 American Indian Tribal News * Ernie C. Salgado Jr., Publisher/Editor California Tribal Chairmen Meet To Unite By Ernie C. Salgado Jr. HISTORICAL moments are have contribut- indefinable manner to represent State. rectification. seldom recognized in the making. ed to making the interest of all the California However, with the passage of The BIA still exists and has in- However, on June 19, 2018 this reality.” Tribal Governments. Which is Public Law 93-638 in 1975 and herent congressional authority eighty of the one hundred and he added. “The commendable yet, they lacked implemented in 1976 which al- over the tribes which it is unable one California American Indian SCTCA with the political force of a truly col- low the Tribal Governments for to preform simple because it Tribal Chairmen held an histori- Denis Turner lective powers of the Tribal Gov- the first time in the history of the lacks the funding and the authori- Denis Turner cal one-day reunion in Sacramen- stepping up to ernments. American Indians to contract and ty to hire qualified people to get to for the single purpose of pledg- the plate to make the first meeting The California American Indian manage service provided by the the job done. ing their commitment to the for- a reality.” “And Northern Cali- Tribes have historically been sep- Bureau of Indian Affairs and In- The disastrous management situ- mation of the California Tribal fornia Trinidad Rancheria, arated into three regional groups dian Health Services. ation within the BIA gives new Chairmen’s Association. Chairman, Garth Sandburg and , by the Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs meaning to the “Peter Principal.” Kevin Day Tuolumne Rancheria The Southern California Tribal (BIA) as Southern, Central and strongly opposed the legislation However, as perilous as it seems Chairman in Chairmen’s Association, Inc. Northern. The separation of the because it threatened its very it is fixable. (SCTCA) helped sponsored the Central Cali- Tribal Government runs even existence. The June 19, 2018 meeting of the summit. Denis Turner, Executive fornia have deeper as the BIA effectively The BIA and the tribes both California Tribal Chairmen re- Director said. “It’s time for the worked tire- pitted one tribe against the other failed to understand the need for sulted in a unanimous referendum California Tribes to unite and lessly to make by favoring those tribes that sup- co-existence and instead of be- to move forward in forming the exercise their sovereign authori- this happen.” ported the BIA policies. “BIA coming allies they became adver- Tribal Chairmen’s Association ty.” It has been Indians” or “Hang around the Kevin Day saries. with the establishment of a nine- Bo Mazzetti, over 40-years Fort Indians” as we refer to The BIA within two years using member organizing council to Chairman of since the California Tribal Chair- them. ruthless tactics that would make develop the organizational docu- the Rincon men have come together in a Historical Background: During Saul Alinsky proud, was able to ments. Band of Lui- united front. the formidable years in the late bring about the demise of the The California Association of seno Indians Even with the establishment of 60’s and turbulent 70’s the Cali- California Tribal Chairmen’s Tribal Governments a non-profit has been the Indian Gaming have the States’ fornia Tribal Chairmen’s Associ- Association. And in kind the As- Tribal Organization has commit- driving force Tribal Chairmen come together ation, Inc., consisting of the ma- sociation was able to bring about ted to dissolve and transfer their Bo Mazzetti behind the as a collective political bargain- jority of the California Tribes and the failure of the BIA. assets to the California Tribal unification of the California Trib- ing power. became one of the strongest While neither the BIA nor the Chairmen’s Association as soon al Governments. Granted the Gaming Tribes American Indian organizations in tribes have totally recovered from as it obtains its non-profit status. “This is not a one-man show” joined forces to protect their in- the Country and dominated the this impasse the time is here for Mazzetti told AIR “A lot of people terest and in all fairness in an tribal political policies in the Tribal Sovereignty Tribal Sovereignty is the U.S. The Supreme Court has repeatedly recog- Governments recognition of the power of nized tribal sovereignty in court decisions the Tribal governments to govern itself. for more than 160 years. In what is known as the "Marshall Trilogy," the Supreme Treaties between United States Government Court established the doctrinal basis for in- and the American Indian Tribes that granted terpreting federal Indian law and defining peace, alliances, trade, and land rights be- tribal sovereignty. Be Safe Don’t Drink tween the two Governments is the founda- tion for Tribal Sovereignty. Three bedrock principles resulted from the 19th Century court decisions that continue & Drive Tribal governments used treaties to confirm today to guide the Supreme Court in its in- and retain such rights as the sovereign right terpretation of the respective rights of the Better Yet Don’t Drink! of self-government, fishing and hunting federal government, the states, and the rights and jurisdictional rights over their tribes: lands. Treaties did not, as is commonly as- sumed, grant rights to Indians from the Unit- (1) by virtue of aboriginal political and terri- ed States. Tribes ceded certain rights to the torial status, Indian tribes possessed certain United States and reserved rights they never incidents of preexisting sovereignty; forfeited. (2) such sovereignty was subject to diminu- Tribal sovereignty preceded the develop- tion or elimination by the United States, by ment of the United States Constitution. “The not by the individual states; and framers of the Constitution specifically (3) the tribes’ limited inherent sovereignty recognized the sovereignty of Indian tribes and their corresponding dependency on the in Article I, section 8, clause 3 which iden- United States for protection imposed on the tified Congress as the governmental branch latter trust responsibility. authorized to regulate commerce with "foreign nations, among the several states, and with the American Indian tribes." By Ernie C, Salgado Jr. DISCLAIMER: By Ernie C. Salgado Jr.: The American Indian Reporter is based strictly on my humble opinion of the numerous tribal matters and issues. It is not intended to represent the views or positions of any American Indian Tribe, American Indian organization, community organization or private sector sponsor of the American Indian Reporter. he primary purpose of this newspaper is to provide information to the American Indian population and general public on American Indian affairs at the local, state and national levels. Currently we have applied for a non-profit status. Any reproduction or posting of any data herein in any form is strictly pro- hibited unless authorized and any violation will be subject to legal action. The July 1, 2018 PAGE 2 of 16 Dorothy Ramon Learning Center San Manuel Gathering Hall 127 N. San Gorgonio Ave * Banning CA Its a Dragonfly Lecture! Monday, July 16, 6:00 pm Please join us for a lecture from Falconer and author Rebecca O'Connor! James Ramos candidate for the 40th District State Assembly visits with Voter. She will talk about how hawks, eagles and fal- When elected he will be the first American Indian to serve in the State Congress. cons teach us to connect with our natural world. Ernie C. Salgado Jr., Publisher/Editor Tribal Member, Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians She has worked for 25 years as a licensed fal- Email: [email protected] coner! She may even bring a bird with her. Contributors You don't want to miss it. Shayne Del Cohen, Publisher of “Shayne’s Journal” A Nevada based daily Internet blogger publication. Email: [email protected] Keith Vasquez, Photojournalist “Tribal Sports Reporter” Tribal Member, San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians SDSU Honors American Indian Email: [email protected] Tribal Leader And Retiring Professor Andrea Marquez, Contributor and “My View-Your View” Editorial Ad- visor. By Karin Giron, Education Coordinator, SCTCA TANF Escondido Tribal Member, Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians Gary Ballard, Photographer and Web Master, This year, the graduation ceremony also rec- American Indian Reporter and CAIIE.ORG. ognized H. Paul Cuero Jr., Vice Chairman of Ashley Salgado, Social Media Distribution the Campo Kumeyaay Nation, who received the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Tribal Member, Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians Letters from SDSU at the College of Arts William E. Pommering, Proofreader, and Letters Commencement ceremony on Friday, May 11th. Cuero spoke of the im- Gus Galvan, Proofreader portant role education has on tribal sovereign- Email Address for the American Indian Reporter: ty, leadership, culture and pride. With regards [email protected] to tribal youth, he said, “I try to give them pride in who they are, in their belief Websites: system and culture.” “If you really understand who you American Indian Reporter & CAIIE.ORG. are, you can fit in anywhere.” He encouraged the gradu- ates to go back home to see how what you have learned U.S. Mailing Address: fits into your peoples philosophy. “When you bridge American Indian Reporter western knowledge with traditional knowledge you will P.O. Box 366 be able to unlock many things.” San Jacinto. CA. 92581 The graduation ceremony also recognized Professor Linda Rose Locklear, of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, who is retiring from SDSU at the end of the Spring 2018 Semester. Locklear, Professor Emeritus from Palomar Col- lege, has been a lecturer at SDSU since 1988. For the past 30 years she has taught a variety of courses in the American Indian Studies Department.

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