Thrown out of the tribe

The little-discussed problem of Native Americans being thrown out of their tribes - allegedly so rival members can get a bigger piece of the ever-growing gambling pie - could end up a minor dispute at the California Democratic Party convention in San Diego this weekend.

Robert Edwards, who was the vice chairman of the Enterprise Rancheria in Oroville before he was "disenrolled" in 2003, is pushing a resolution sponsored by the Fresno County Democratic committee to demand that ejected tribal members be granted their due "civil rights." Edwards and 70 others were removed from the tribe, he claims, after questioning the tribal government's handling of a fund for low-income members.

"We're all accountable to someone in this country and tribal officials hiding behind a veil of sovereignty cannot escape accountability, nor should they be rewarded in any way for victimizing their members," Edwards told the Oroville Mercury-Register.

But with tremendous wealth at stake, some tribes say people are suddenly showing up and finding their "roots" - demanding to be members of wealthy tribes despite tenuous links. The stakes are high. This week, the Morongo Band of Mission Indians launched a PR campaign with mail, TV ads and automated phone calls to 22 members of the Assembly, which is considering lucrative new contracts for five tribes. The Bee reported the media campaign could top $20 million.

One tribe that would be allowed to operate 7,500 slot machines, Pechanga, has disenrolled more than 100 of its tribal members. State Sen. Sheila Kuehl of Santa Monica, took a veiled swipe at Pechanga last week when she voted against the compacts in the Senate. Kuehl said she also could not support compacts "for tribes that aren't even sharing with all of their own members."

Given that wealthy gambling tribes are expected to bankroll events at this weekend's Democratic convention, and with all the major presidential candidates speaking, don't expect Roberts' resolution to get much attention.