T'eetilawuncha blog: Concerned Pechanga People

Friday, August 1, 2008

Concerned Pechanga People

To the CPP ( Concerned Pechanga People),

The recent steps you have used to attack the Original Pechanga People is about to be exposed for all to see. I'm sure you thought you could use the sovereign shield of our village to escape prosecution. Unfortunately you and the small group you represent will be the bitter end to our freedom as native people. The use of elected positions, to commit a crime is not going to keep you immune from the law. Since there is no government body willing to stop the abuse of power within our community we have no where to turn, and we will use any means possible to bring you to justice. You made a mockery out of our constitution and bylaws. You used key government positions to spread lies and misinformation. You used the same positions to illegally terminate extended Original Pechanga families and keep them from voting in two tribal elections.

1 comment:

OPechanga said...: Well said. The abuse of the Pechanga Constitution and Bylaws is unethical if not criminal.; August 1, 2008 at 12:41 PM

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THAT IS A FACT

The Fact IS :

Tribes are not the harmonious band of people that non Indians think they are. There are always schisms and factions that do not get along with one another.What happens when one small group gains complete control of the Tribe with the added incentive of millions of dollars in their pockets (people have been killed for much less)? What happens when your accusers become your judge and jury (this is what happened to us)?

Before the Tribe had anything they were happy to have us as members, it wasn't until it looked like the tribe was going to get something that memberships were questioned. Our family has been recognized as members of the tribe for over 100 years according to the records on file with the BIA.

It is historical fact supported by certified documentation that our ancestor Paulina Hunter was an Indian that lived in the original Temecula Indian village. She was also recognized by members of that tribe as a member via witnessed and certified documents of that period.It is recorded that she was evicted along with the rest of the tribe from the Temecula village and moved to the area known as Pechanga to live with them.

One of the most revered and respected members of the Tribe, Antonio Ashman wrote before his death in a signed and witnessed document stating that he knew Paulina Hunter personally as a member of the tribe.

In 1915 tribal elders who needed translation from Luiseno who were alive at the time (1882) the reservation was created, said they knew her personally as a member of the Tribe, and gave signed witnessed depositions stating that they knew her as a member of the tribe and detailed her family. Tribal elders also gave signed and witnessed statements during our hearing that they have always recognized the Hunters as members of the tribe.Now more than a hundred years after her death, in a record of decision from the Pechanga Enrollment Committee, they state that she was some other kind of Indian, who just happened to live with the tribe in the original village, and the people from that tribe mistakenly believed she was a member. They say that she just happened to be kicked out of the original village to move to Pechanga with the rest of the Tribe to live.They say that the government mistakenly gave her an allotment on the reservation as a Pechanga Indian. That she is listed on the original Pechanga Reservation records as a Temecula Pechanga Indian by mistake (that I might add happened year after year, every year until her death).They say that tribal elders from the 1800's were mistaken when they gave signed witnessed depositions stating that they knew her as a member of the tribe.

FACT: The disenrollment committee hired Dr. John Johnson, curator of Anthropology at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History for an anthropology report on our ancestor Paulina Hunter. To their dismay he answered the questions in his report saying that he was 90% sure (he now says he is 100% sure) that she was a Pechanga Indian. Why the change in percentage you ask? There was a fire at the San Luis Rey Mission that destroyed documents from the time period that is relevant.Then a small group known as the CPP tell us that THEY know who "real" members are, and that documentation means NOTHING. We were even told by one member of the enrollment committee that we were going to be disenrolled no matter WHAT documents we provided. One member even slept throughout our hearing. We were told we could NOT take in writing tools or paper, and could NOT have legal representation, nor given a transcript of the hearings.Just to let those who are unaware of the history, Pechanga was the name of a place not a tribe, our tribe moved to the area known as Pechanga and later established the reservation on that land known as The Pechanga Reservation.

According to Dr Johnson's report:Mateo Quasicac Paulina Hunter's father was born in Pechanga (this was before there was a reservation). In fact he is the only Indian listed in the mission records as being born at Pechanga.

It would seem that her father being born an Indian at Pechanga makes him a Pechanga Indian even before there was a reservation named Pechanga.Paulina Hunter lived in the original Temecula Indian village (fact supported by signed and witnessed documents from the period). She moved with her tribe when they were evicted to the area known as Pechanga, an area well known to her and her family, as her father was born there. She is listed on each and every census record for the Pechanga reservation from its creation until her death. She was granted a land allotment (listing her as a Pechanga Indian) from the president of the United States in the 1800's. And now over 100 years after her death, some are claming she was some other kind of Indian? You might ponder "if it is a small group, why hasn't the rest of the Tribe tried to put a stop it?" Well we DID in 2005. As a matter of fact in the largest gathering of our Tribe in recorded history, we voted to STOP "ALL" disenrollment which removed the Disenrollment Procedure from Pechanga Tribal Law. This was the largest voter turnout since the inception of the Reservation. The margin was more than 2:1 in favor of removing the procedure.This so shocked the CPP(Corrupt Pechanga People) that has gained control that they stopped ALL tribal meetings for the next few months, and in secret behind closed doors, guarded by armed guards decided to disregard the vote and the will of the people and disenrolled the Hunters regardless of the law. This act resulted in removing 100+ adults from the upcoming political elections, quarterly bonus, and percapita distributions. Those who are left on the Rez live in fear that if they now speak up the same lawless actions will happen to them.

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Friday, August 1, 2008

Concerned Pechanga People

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