United In The Struggle: Crow Creek Gains Support of California Valley Miwok Tribe
source: http://said.ht
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Crow Creek Sioux Tribal Chairman Brandon Sazue has received lots of support from other tribes for his protest of the IRS auctioning off 7,100 acres of his tribe's land, including from a small tribe in California trying desperately to hold on to a tiny parcel of land that is its only real estate.
The California Valley Miwok Tribe sent a letter to Sazue voicing their support for him and his tribe as its leaders prepare to barricade themselves for the second time on the tribe's only real estate, one-and-a-half acres housing the tribal office in Stockton, Calif., that is in a bank foreclosure.
"Please don't allow what is happening to us today to happen to you. Stay strong and fight for your land, your people and your future," the letter said.
Tribal Chairman Silvia Burley and consultant Tiger Paulk say the tribe of about 10 families is facing the equivalent of identity theft from a group trying to use the Miwoks status as a federally recognized tribe as the vehicle to build a casino.
The group is challenging the legitimacy of current tribal members and Burley's government.
As the battle over who really are Miwoks proceeds, the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs is withholding the tribe's revenue sources and the only money coming in to the tribe now is from members' unemployment checks, Paulk said.
It's not enough to pay the mortgage on the headquarters, which went into foreclosure 18 months ago.
From June through mid-August, tribal members barricaded themselves in the headquarters to fight eviction. They appeared to gain a reprieve when the BIA offered to mediate the case. But the discussion broke down, and Wednesday the tribe received a letter from the bank saying it would proceed with eviction Jan. 15, according to Paulk.
"We will go back into lockdown, and we will defend the property against the bank and anybody else the feds want to throw against us," Paulk said.http://www.argusleader.com/article/20091218/NEWS/912180316/1003/BUSINESS
The California Valley Miwok Tribe sent a letter to Sazue voicing their support for him and his tribe as its leaders prepare to barricade themselves for the second time on the tribe's only real estate, one-and-a-half acres housing the tribal office in Stockton, Calif., that is in a bank foreclosure.
"Please don't allow what is happening to us today to happen to you. Stay strong and fight for your land, your people and your future," the letter said.
Tribal Chairman Silvia Burley and consultant Tiger Paulk say the tribe of about 10 families is facing the equivalent of identity theft from a group trying to use the Miwoks status as a federally recognized tribe as the vehicle to build a casino.
The group is challenging the legitimacy of current tribal members and Burley's government.
As the battle over who really are Miwoks proceeds, the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs is withholding the tribe's revenue sources and the only money coming in to the tribe now is from members' unemployment checks, Paulk said.
It's not enough to pay the mortgage on the headquarters, which went into foreclosure 18 months ago.
From June through mid-August, tribal members barricaded themselves in the headquarters to fight eviction. They appeared to gain a reprieve when the BIA offered to mediate the case. But the discussion broke down, and Wednesday the tribe received a letter from the bank saying it would proceed with eviction Jan. 15, according to Paulk.
"We will go back into lockdown, and we will defend the property against the bank and anybody else the feds want to throw against us," Paulk said.http://www.argusleader.com/article/20091218/NEWS/912180316/1003/BUSINESS
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