Snoqualmie Tribe TERMINATES 43: Shameful Act of Degradation

Snoqualmie Tribe banishes nine members, disenrolls 43

Posted: May 26, 2008
by: Babette Herrmann / Today correspondent
SNOQUALMIE, Wash. - In November, the Snoqualmie Tribe will open the doors to a brand-new casino about 30 minutes southeast of Seattle. But instead of the media spotlighting pre-opening news on the $330 million project, the focus has shifted to the banishment of nine tribal members and the disenrollment of about 43. The decision to banish former Chairman Bill T. Sweet and several of his family members, among other supporters, was made final during a closed-door general membership meeting at the Issaquah Hilton April 28. In addition to voting on the banishments, the tribal council announced that the 43 individuals purged from the rolls failed to meet the blood quantum requirement for membership. According to a tribal press release, some members have already appealed the decision, while others have accepted it.
Councilmember and Chief Nathan Patrick Barker said that Sweet and some of his supporters recently attempted to seize control of bank accounts, shut down health and social programs, fire the entire staff and reach out to the BIA in an effort to receive backup on the effort. They are accused of running a ''shadow government.'' ''They tried to undermine the tribal government in every shape and form, and that was what they were judged on,'' he said. Sweet, who was suspended as chairman in August 2007, has his own take on the events that led to his fate. And Barker was elected to the council during a general membership and emergency election meeting in September. For those facing banishment, the punishment is harsh. They are purged from the rolls and no longer eligible to receive benefits or dividends from future casino revenues. And those banished are no longer allowed to participate in tribal government and events, or even claim Indian identity.
Sweet's problems began during elections last May. He recalled that the election went according to protocol, and those that were nominated and elected are the true tribal council to this day. Barker, who served as the sergeant-at-arms during that election, said that a nomination to move the election process to the beginning of the meeting after the agenda was the first inconsistency to take place that day. He claimed the real eyebrow-raiser occurred when Sweet closed nominations while four tribal members stood waiting to nominate their person of choice for the council.
He also said that a former councilmember was forbidden to vote because she forgot to bring her tribal identification. The rule requiring members to present their IDs during elections was approved at the last meeting in 2006. Those minutes were not ratified by the council prior to the election, which Barker said makes that rule unenforceable. ''I think he let the room get away from him as far as the election process went,'' he said. ''It's unfortunate and, in hindsight, I think he would have run things differently.'' Over the course of the next three months, Sweet said that tribal business proceeded as usual and he felt no inclination that something big was going to happen. He said that he felt blindsided when, during open forum at an August council meeting, a tribal member stood up and read a letter written by Honorary Chief Jerry Enick. The letter stated that he was suspended and that the May elections were null and void. ''It was very emotional and I am still torn up inside,'' he said.
Sweet added that Enick and his supporters have spearheaded the process that ultimately caused his banishment and the disenrollment of numerous members of his family. A tribal press release stated, ''Many of [Sweet's] relatives were revealed to not meet the 1/8th blood quantum requirement for membership.'' Barker said that a tribal attorney, who was present at the August meeting, sent out a certified letter stating that Sweet had 30 days to file for an open meeting to discuss the charges. Yet Sweet claims never to have received the certified letter. And he further claims that his attempts to meet with Enick and other tribal council members fell upon deaf ears.

Save the Cogged Stone Site

Some additional info:

The Cogged Stone site (CA-ORA-83) is an extremely important archaeological site that once covered over 17 acres on the Bolsa Chica Mesa. The site dates to 8500 years ago and is the last remaining prehistoric coastal village and cemetery dating to the Early Holocene in the region. Sites of this time period are rare and the life ways of the earliest settlers of California are largely unknown. The name for this site is derived from the recovery of over 1000 of the stone sculptures known as “cogged stones”. It is the only known location for the production of these unique circular artifacts that to our modern eyes, resemble cogged wheels. The site served as the center of a complex ritual interaction sphere in which the cogged stones were manufactured at the site and distributed among prehistoric Native Americans in southern California . Interestingly, a few cogged stones have been found at a 9,000 year old site on the northern coast of Chile .

Hearthside Homes owns the property now and plans to build 349 houses on it.
In a memo from the developer’s archeologist dated 11/5/07 it reads
There are 87 human remains that need to be reburied
There are 83 prehistoric features that were uncovered with the burials
There are 4217 artifacts that were found during grading monitoring on ORA 83
There are 1622 artifacts that were found during the grading monitoring on ORA 85
There are approximately 2,000 boxes of materials
There are over 100,000 artifacts that have been collected.

All of this hidden from the Coastal Commission and the Native people

In peace & solidarity,Tamra BrennanFounder/DirectorProtect Sacred Sites Indigenous People, One Nationwww.protectsacredsites.orgwww.protectbearbutte.com

Open Letter on Pechanga to David Stern and Jerry Buss

Original Pechanga has an open letter to NBA Commissioner David Stern and Laker Owner Jerry Buss:

http://originalpechanga.blogspot.com/2008/05/open-letter-to-nba-commissioner-david.html

Go Original Pechanga.