Robert Smith Seeks to Amend Pala's Constitution

    In a draft proposed amendment circulated on 9/14/22 Robert Smith is seeking to alter Pala's Constitution with respect to Pala's membership.  Particularly alarming is the language that reads "Membership in another tribe shall include actual membership in the tribe (such as inclusion on that tribe’s membership rolls) as well as an affirmative claim by the individual that he/she is a member of that tribe."

    This language should ring the alarm bells of the people at Pala.  First of all it is no longer clear who or what the "Pala Band" is.  Prior to 1903 the Luiseno living at Pala had their own reservation.  They are often referred to as "Old Pala" and are federally recognized as the Pala Band of Luiseno Mission Indians of the Pala Reservation.  In 1903 several tribes were forcibly relocated to Pala on land bought that is adjacent to the Old Pala Reservation.  These tribes include the Cupeno, Ipay (Digueno), and other various Indians such as Cahuilla and Yacqui. 

    In the 1960's an association was formed between all the tribes and Indians living at Pala so that economic development could be pursued.  All of these tribes and groups together became known as the Pala Band of Mission Indians.  However by 1978 the only tribe that was Federally Recognized was the Pala Band of Luiseno Mission Indians.  This is evident by the fact that all the initial paperwork filed for the development of the casino at Pala was done under the name Pala Band of Luiseno Mission Indians of the Pala Reservation.

    In 2015 the Pala Band of Luiseno Mission Indians changed their name to the Pala Band of Mission Indians.  If this amendment passes what happens to everyone else with respect to membership?  It is not uncommon to see people at Pala wearing Cupeno T-Shirts.  Is this enough to get them disenrolled?  People at Pala are of mixed ancestry.  It is not uncommon for someone to say "my Grandfather was Yaqui and my Grandmother Cupeno".  If Robert Smith overhears this can he then seek to disenroll people who make an "affirmative claim" about their ancestry?  Are people no longer going to be able to say "I am Luiseno and Cupeno" or "I am Cahuilla and Iipay"?  If this amendment passes will you then only be able to say "I am a Pala Band Member"?  What happens to our heritage?  What is a "Pala Band Member"?

    It should also be mentioned that tribal rolls are strictly confidential.  How Robert Smith intends to obtain the membership rolls of other tribes so he can cross-check them against the "Pala Band's" membership is not understood.

    Another issue with respect to Constitutional Amendments is that an Election has to be held for the specific purpose of amending the Constitution.  In an election to amend the Constitution at least 1/2 of the eligible members need to vote and 2/3 of that vote needs to be cast in favor of amending the Constitution.  Pala has not had a legitimate election in over 20 years.  It is doubtful this time around they will follow their own election rules spelled out in the Constitution with respect to Constitutional Amendments.

Robert Smith's Proposed Pala Constitutional Amendment

Draft 09/14/22 

ARTICLE Il- MEMBERSHIP

Section 1.    MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS

A             The membership of the Pala Band shall consist of Those persons whose names appear on the Pala Allotment Roll as approved by the Secretary of the Interior on April 12, 1895, and November 38, 19135, who were living on the date of approval of the Pala Band’s original Articles of Association by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs (the “Allotment Rolls”); the Enrollment Rolls of November 3, 1913, November 26, 1961, and January 15, 1978, and the current Enrollment Roll of the Pala Band.

B             All living descendants of persons on the Allotment Rolls covered in Section (1A)

above regardless of whether the original allottees are ancestor is living or deceased, shall be eligible for membership in the Pala Band, provided that they are direct lineal descendants and have one-sixteenth (1/16) or more degree of Indian blood of the Pala Band.

C             Those persons who have been adopted by the Pala Band shall be members of the Pala Band, provided that and such adoption has been approved by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Section 2.             MEMBERSHIP ROLL

The Executive Committee shall keep the membership roll current annually by striking

therefrom the names of persons who have relinquished in writing their membership in the Pala Band

and of deceased mMembers upon receipt of a death certificate or other evidence of death, arid by

adding the names of children born to members who meet the membership requirements.

Section 3.             MEMBERSHIP IN OTHER TRIBES OR BANDS

No person may be a member of the Pala Band Member who is a member of any other Indian tribe that: is federally recognized, claims to be federally recognized, or is seeking federal recognition; or is state recognized. Indian tribe or band.  Membership in another tribe shall include actual membership in the tribe (such as inclusion on that tribe’s membership rolls) as well as an affirmative claim by the individual that he/she is a member of that tribe.  Should a member of the Pala Band Member in any other tTribe or Band, he/she shall immediately notify the Pala Band ofsuch other enrollment.  Enrollment in another Indian tribe shall result in immediate and his/her membership in the Pala Band will be deemed to have been relinquishmented of membership in the Pala Band effective on as of the date of enrollment in the other Tribe or Band regardless of whether or not the required notice is given.

If a member of another tribe or Band is eligible for enrollment in the Pala Band and applies for membership in the Pala Band, that person individual must relinquish his/her membership in the other tTribe or Band prior to being added to the membership rolls of the Pala Band and must present the Pala Band with evidence satisfactory to the Pala Band of having done so. Should a member of the Pala Band enroll in any other Tribe or Band, he shall immediately notify the Pala Band of such other enrollment and his/her membership in the Pala Band will be deemed to have been relinquished effective on the date of enrollment in the other Tribe or Band whether or not the required notice is given.

 

ARTICLE IX - AMENDMENTS AND EFFECTIVE DATE

 Section. 1      EFFECTIVE DATE

     This Constitution shall become effective immediately after its approval by a majority vote of

the voters voting in a duly-called elections at which this Constitution is approved by the Bureau

of Indian Affairs.

Section 2. FUTURE AMENDMENTS

  This Constitution may be amended by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the voting members of the

Pala Band at an election duly-called for this purpose in which not less than half of the eligible

members of the Pala Band cast their ballots.

 

Election Results

Village News - Pala Tribe announces election results

Excerpts:

PALA – The Pala Band of Mission Indians announced last week that all of the incumbent candidates for the Tribal Council were overwhelmingly re-elected, including Chairman Robert Smith.

And:

“I am extremely proud to continue to serve the Tribe as chairman,” said Robert Smith, re-elected Tribal Chairman of the Pala Band of Mission Indians. “We had a great election turnout and the strong support for all members of the Tribal Council shows confidence in the progress we have made culturally, socially and economically. The Tribal Council and I look forward to continuing this progress and achieving even more in the years to come.”

Also, Pala sent out a Press Release:

Release: PBMI Announces Tribal Election Results

Excerpt:

The Pala Band of Mission Indians is a federally recognized tribe whose reservation is located along the Palomar Mountain range approximately 30 miles northeast of San Diego. The majority of the over 900 tribal members live on the 12,000-acre reservation, established for Cupeño and Luiseño Indians, who consider themselves to be one proud people – Pala.

*****

Click the links above if you want to read the full press releases.

It needs to be noted that there are (2) reservations at Pala, not one.  The PBMI wss formerly known as the Pala Band of Luiseno Mission Indians.  Land adjacent to Old Pala was bought for the Warner Ranch Evictees.

Old Pala

There's an Old Pala that has existed probably long before there was even a Pala but that's another story.  There were and still are indigenous people living around Old Pala.  They are called Luiseno. They were Mission Indians under the jurisdiction of the San Luis Rey Mission.  They are a band of Luiseno.  There are many Luiseno bands around Southern California.  Many people at Pala have a mix of Luiseno blood.  The Luiseno reservations are Soboba, Pechanga, Pala, Pauma, and Rincon.

In 1852 the Pala Luiseno singed a treaty with the U.S. Government.  They were granted a reservation in 1875.  In 1895 some Pala Luiseno were allotted land.  This land was and continues to be recorded separately as part of the Old Pala Reservation.

There is another Tribe of indians called the Agua Caliente Cupeno.  These were not Mission Indians.  By all accounts they were hard working self sufficient people.  The traditional homeland of the Cupeno is the village at Kupa also known as Warner's Hot Springs and before that Agua Caliente.

The Agua Caliente Cupeno continued to reside on their ancestral homeland until 1903 when due to a Supreme Court ruling the Cupeno were forced off their land.  The U.S. Government in all its wisdom decided purchasing land right next to the Old Pala Luiseno Reservation was a good idea.  There were other tracts of lands considered such as Monserate but in the end the old Salmons Ranch was purchased for the Cupeno.

There was a provision in the law that said something like the land was purchased for the Agua Caliente Cupeno (Warner Ranch Evictees) and other landless indians that had no home.  This created sort of a land grab as people just showed up at Pala.

In May of 1903 several villages around Kupa were moved to Pala.  In October of 1903 another tribe was forced to move to Pala.  These were the San Felipe Indians, Iipay or Digueno.  This was a separate lawsuit and separate removal.

One Cupeno legend is of Kisily Pewish.  His mother was Luiseno from Soboba and Father was Cupeno.  One day the "Southerners" or Digueno massacred everyone at the Village of Kupa except for Kisily Pewish and his Mother.  They went back to Soboba where, just to short hand the story, Kisily grew up and retook Kupa from the Southerners by killing them all with the help of his magical bear and his mother.

So, the BIA in its infinite wisdom decided putting the Agua Caliente Cupeno next to the Pala Luiseno and then mixing in Iipay was a good idea.

Initially the BIA tried accounting for all the Indians separately.  There are Luiseno, San Felipe, Cupeno, Cahuilla, and Yaqui all at Pala as well as some others.  But as time went on to make administration easier on themselves the BIA just tried to say everyone was Pala.  But tensions always arose and continue to this day among the different tribes and bands at Pala.

The Agua Caliente Cupeno historically have governed themselves through Custom and Tradition through Family Relationships.  This continues to this day.  However, in the 1960's the BIA forced the indians at Pala to abandon any official relationship with their blood lines and tried to merge all the blood into one calling it "Pala Blood" or blood of the band.  This was an association of bands and tribes and not one tribe.

The problem with this, and the BIA knows it, is that it is against the law for one tribe to determine the membership of another (see Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez).  This is precisely what is going on at Pala to this day.  We have non-Cupenos deciding who are members.  They are even changing blood degrees against the recommendations of the U.S. Government.  What gives them a right to change anyone's blood degree?

Further, in the 1960's, the Cupeno at Pala knew there were several tribes at Pala.  Thus they pushed to be included in Enrollment Ordinance No. 1 a provision not allowing tribal members to belong to more than one tribe.  See below Section 1c.

Click to Enlarge

The Agua Caliente Cupeno have always pushed for Kupa blood to be counted and the BIA has always denied it.  Now, the BIA has changed the name of the Old Pala Luiseno to the Pala Band of Mission Indians illegally.  That means technically Pala is now a 132 acre reservation with 800 acres of grazing rights all the rest belonging to the Agua Caliente Cupeno as well as other Warner Ranch Evictees.  But for whatever reason the BIA does not see it that way.  Go figure.

From Where to From There

How many generations need to pass before someone can claim to be instead of from where but to from there?

I wonder about the 3rd generation Englishman living in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1690 making the claim that he is "from there" while standing next to a member of the Wampanoag Nation.  Was he really from there or was he from England?

Picture the Pala Valley prior to European Contact.  Who livered there?  There were indigenous people living all along what is now called the San Luis Rey River.  These people are now referred to as the Luiseño.  But that's not what they called themselves until the Spanish came.

The Spanish put all the Indians living along what they called the San Luis Rey River and into the Temecula Valley under the jurisdiction of the San Luis Rey Mission.  They called them Luiseño.  But that's not what they called themselves.

Today the Luiseño Nation is spread among several bands throughout Southern California.  There are 6 Federally Recognized Bands:  The La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians, The Pala Band of Luiseño Indians, The Pauma Band of Luiseño Indians, The Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians, The Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians, and The Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians.

The territories we refer to today as California, Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico were under Spanish control until Mexican Independence in 1820.  After which the territories came under Mexican Rule.  The United States fought a war against Mexico and acquired the territories under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo signed in 1848.

The United States all of a sudden found themselves having to administer to all the various tribes in California.  In Northern California this was not so bad for the U.S. Government as many of the tribes were simply slaughtered.  The people living there at the time did not need pesky Indians standing between them and their gold.  Southern California was a bit more complicated.

In Southern California many of the various tribes played an integral part of the economy.  They often worked as farm hands and helped raise cattle.  The owners of the large Ranchos around California often employed the Natives in one fashion or another and relied heavily on their labor.  No doubt they were overworked and underpaid which lead to them being integral to the economy.

In 1851 the U.S. Government signed treaties with the various tribes in Southern California.  In 1875 a reservation was established at Pala for the Luiseño living there.  About 40 miles east of Pala the Cupeno were living at their village of Kupa also known as Warner's Hot Springs aka Agua Caliente in Rancho Valle de San Jose (Warner's Ranch).  The Cupeno should have obtained title to their land under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo but the U.S. Government never informed them they only had one year to make this claim.

Instead The Cupeno had to fight for their inherent right to live on their ancestral homeland.  Juan Jose Warner was given title to the land in 1844.  After the Mexican American War Juan Jose had to refile his claim to the land as all land owners had to do at the time.  Eventually former California Governor Downey ended up with title to the land and started eviction procedures against the Cupeno in 1892.  Downey died and the new owners continued on with the eviction procedures.

The case went all the way to the Supreme Court where it was ordered that the Cupeno be removed from Warner's Hot Springs.  Suitable land was to be bought for the Cupeno to live on.  But the Cupeno at the time felt no land could compare to their home.  The original plan was to force the Cupeno on to land purchased at Monserrate Ranch near Fallbrook.  The Sequoya League told Congress there was no water at Monserrate.  So the search began for more suitable land.

Eventually the U.S. Government settled on land adjacent to the existing Pala Luiseño Reservation.  In 1903 the forced removal of the indigenous populations living at and around Warner's Hot Springs began.  There were several Indian villages in the Rancho Valle de San Jose besides the Cupeno.  These other villages were Luiseño at Puerta la Cruz and Puerta Chiquita, and the Iipai (Digueno) villages of Mataguay, San José, and San Felipe.  The Cupeno resided at their main village at Kupa.

In May of 1903 the Cupeno were forced off their ancestral land and on to land at Pala along with the other villages except San Felipe.  In September of 1903 the San Felipe who had their own separate court case to retain title to their land, lost their battle, and were also forced on to Pala.  At the same time other Mission Indians showed up, namely Cahuilla, as the land at Pala was also purchased for landless or homeless Indians.

So who lives at Pala?  A mix of various tribes including the Cupeno, Luiseño, Iipai, Cahuilla, and Yaqui.  Who is from there?  Old Pala Luiseño are from there.  Everyone else was forced there.  How many generations need to pass before everyone else becomes from there?  Some people apparently think they are more from there than others even though none of them are really from there to begin with.  How do we get to from where to from there?