Nancy Ayala is on the current Chukchansi tribal council. At one point there were seven tribal factions and multiple tribal councils. At the same time tribal government has broken down. But since the casino is shuttered, those checks have stopped. Fewer members mean larger monthly checks in the mailbox. “It’s all about the money and the power, nothing about the people and the fact that each one of us is a gift even to be here existing,” she added.Valley Public Radio The Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino sits shuttered in Madera County.Īfter tribal bills are paid, earnings from the casino are divided between members. “To have your birthright stolen by your own tribe is hurtful, ridiculous and unnecessary. “It’s generational trauma for the Indian people of California,” she told The Bee. While tribal leadership officially put the latest round of disenrollments at 60, Cathy Cory, a former tribal member whose family was disenrolled in 2006, said she believed closer to 125 were impacted. The leader of the coup, Tex McDonald, turned himself in weeks later and was sentenced to 485 days for false imprisonment after accepting a plea bargain. The casino was ordered closed by a federal judge and remained so for over a year, costing the tribe millions. Incredibly, the group claimed it had stormed the premises to gather casino documents and audit information that was overdue for submission to the National Indian Gaming Commission in order to avoid receiving a penalty charge for late filing of accounts. The men ordered security guards at gunpoint into a secure area of the building, where they were handcuffed and reportedly assaulted. In October 2014, this power struggle spilled over into violence when about 20 armed men from a rival faction stormed the casino following a disputed election, sending customers running for cover. In many cases, the Chukchansi disenrollments have occurred between rival factions jostling for control of the tribal council and casino wealth.
Since the casino opened in 2003, the tribe has disenrolled more than half its members, including those with documented ancestry, families descended from founding members, and some of the last native speakers of the tribal language. The power of disenrollment is ostensibly used to correct tribal rolls and preserve the integrity of the tribe, but it is also too often wielded as a political or economic weapon.Īround 80 of America’s 567 federally recognized tribes are known to have used the practice, but the Chukchansi are among the worst offenders. Disenrollment strips members and their descendants of their tribal identity and their citizenship of a tribal nation, along with the benefits associated with that citizenship, such as housing, healthcare, and their share of casino revenue.
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