Evictions from tribes cost Indian families tens of thousands in income

EXCLUSIVE: Evictions from tribes cost Indian families tens of thousands in income
By EDWARD SIFUENTES

Members of the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians, which owns Valley View Casino in Valley Center, each earn nearly $100,000 a year in gambling revenues, but not all members of the tribe are receiving their share, according to court records.

The 280-member tribe is locked in a bitter dispute with about 60 people in the Alto family, who the tribe says do not belong in the tribe. The tribe is trying to remove them from its rolls.

The Altos filed a lawsuit last year against the U.S. Department of Interior for going along with the tribe's plans to expel them, effectively cutting them out of their share of gambling earnings, health benefits and participation in the tribe's government.

In November, lawyers for the family asked the court for a preliminary injunction that would block their removal and force the tribe to return some of the benefits while the lawsuit is resolved. U.S. District Court Judge Irma E. Gonzalez granted the family's request in December.

Last month, Larry Echo Hawk, the assistant secretary of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, issued a letter implementing the judge's order and restoring the Alto family members' rights as San Pasqual Indians. It restores their ability to participate in tribal elections, receive Indian health services and get their "per capita" payments, as the casino money paid to tribal members is called.

Alto family members, however, say Echo Hawk's letter does not go far enough, because it places their share of the gambling money into a trust fund, which they can't access unless they win the lawsuit.

"If the Alto descendants ultimately prevail in this litigation, the band must distribute the funds in the escrow account to the Alto descendants," Echo Hawk wrote.

Moreover, the tribe already has distributed millions of dollars owed to the Alto family to other tribal members, said Thor Emblem, a lawyer for the family.

San Pasqual leaders have declined to discuss the case, saying it is an internal tribal matter.

Court documents filed in the lawsuit give a rare glimpse into per capita distributions, one of the more closely guarded aspects of tribal casino finances. None of the local tribes that own casinos officially release the amount of money they give to members.

Those numbers are usually found in court files or are released by tribal members involved in legal disputes.

According to documents filed in the San Pasqual lawsuit, the tribe increased its budget for per capita payments to members from $29.2 million in 2010 to $32.2 million in 2011. Payments to individuals increased from $85,024 a year to $97,830 a year, according to the documents.

Ray Alto, one of the Alto family members, said the loss of the revenue during their dispute with the tribe has hurt his family.

"Many of the Alto plaintiffs have suffered tremendous financial hardships while the tribe has denied us our monthly per capita payments," Alto wrote in a declaration filed with the court this week. "Some of the hardships include losing homes, automobiles and basic quality of life due to the loss of income."

The tribe reportedly told members that it had saved millions of dollars by refinancing its casino debt to a lower interest rate, according to a declaration filed by the family in its lawsuit.

Some Alto family members are elderly people who need medical care, and others held tribal government jobs and elected positions, said Emblem.

After they were disenrolled by the tribe, family members were denied access to Indian health care facilities. They were not allowed to hold office, attend tribal meetings or vote in tribal elections. Since the judge's order, their access to health care has been restored, but other parts of the order have been ignored, Emblem said.

Alto family members who held casino or tribal government jobs were fired, he said. Three families which lived on the San Pasqual reservation were evicted from their homes, Emblem said.

Tribal leaders have said that removing people from their tribes has nothing to do with money. They say the removals are part of their efforts to determine who actually belongs in their tribes. They also point out that some of these membership disputes are decades old, before gambling was allowed on their reservations.

Rick Cuevas, an American Indian rights activist who was expelled from the Pechanga Band of Mission Indians in Temecula, agreed the membership disputes go beyond financial considerations.

"It's not just about the money, it's also about power," Cuevas said. "But unfortunately, the money gets the news."

At Pechanga, the tribe has expelled 235 adults and about 100 children, Cuevas said. Last year, the tribe gave $268,000 a year in per capita payments, including bonuses, to each of its members, Cuevas said.

On Wednesday, the Pala Band of Mission Indians expelled 154 people, according to Pala officials. Its members reportedly receive about $150,000 a year.



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