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Column: Pechanga family and Pluto demoted
Friday, August 25, 2006

"Poor Pluto. Once a planet, now a dwarf. They should have renamed it Dopey.

If it's any consolation to Pluto (how could it be?), this isn't the first time something like this has happened.

Just last week, we ran a story about Lawrence Madariaga, a lifelong resident of the Pechanga Indian reservation. Eight months ago, fellow tribe members couldn't heap enough praise on Madariaga for his decades of volunteer work. v But this story had an update: Madariaga had received final notice that he and 90 adult members of his extended family had been kicked out of this rich gaming tribe.

As long as Pechanga wasn't rolling in the chips, it was nice to have the Madariagas and other families around. But now, with big bucks at stake, century-old lineages are being challenged, and long-time tribe members (at 89, the ailing Madariaga was "discovered" well before Pluto) are getting the boot.

Pluto was demoted, Madariaga was "disenrolled." And the once-mighty Orange County has been disappeared."

Get the Story:
Dan Bernstein: Pluto on the Rocks (The Riverside Press-Enterprise 8/25)
Username: indianz@indianz.com, Password: indianz

Relevant Links:
Pechanga Tribal Disenrollment - http://www.pechanga.info
Bureau-of-Indian-Affairs.com, Disenrollment site - http://www.bureau-of-indian-affairs.com

Related Stories:
Column: Pechanga Band decimating Indians (8/22)
Pechanga Band removes another family from roll (8/21)
Disenrolled Indians seek accountability (08/07)
Disenrollment an issue in Pechanga Band election (07/13)
Greed, politics behind tribal enrollment spats (07/06)
Ex-Table Mountain members protest at powwow (06/12)
Editorial: Supreme Court passes on sovereignty (05/29)
Pechanga Band calls refusal of membership case a win (5/24)
Tribal membership case rejected by U.S. Supreme Court (5/23)
California Indians protest removal from tribes (05/01)
Campbell amendment put to test in court case (4/21)
Another Pechanga family faces removal from tribe (03/21)
Ousted Pechangas take case to U.S. Supreme Court (3/17)
Identity Theft: California Indians lose tribal rights (01/26)
BIA asked to rule on rancheria membership dispute (1/20)
Disenrolled Indians to hold rally in Palm Springs (1/10)
Disenrolled Pechangas to take case to Supreme Court (12/15)
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Pechanga Band says money not behind enrollment (08/10)
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Opinion: Gaming has turned tribes on other tribes (5/20)
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Editorial: Disenrollment becoming too common (04/01)
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Opinion: Greed, spite, history behind disenrollment (4/5)
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