According to the American Indian Movement, 2,000 California Indians are being threatened with disenrollment.

About 130 of those are from the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians whose heritage is being questioned because on of their ancestors allegedly cut her tribal ties 80 years ago. The group has filed a suit in state court, charging that members of the tribe's enrollment committee have broken the law.

"It's just like saying - I don't have to serve a black man because it's my restaurant," their attorney, Jon Velie, told The Christian Science Monitor. Velie is representing Black Seminoles in Oklahoma who are fighting for their rights.

The battle is a high-stakes one. With reduced enrollment, casino per capita payments for the remaining tribal members would increase. Each Pechanga reportedly receives $120,000 a year.

Get the Story:
Gambling on tribal ancestry (The Christian Science Monitor 4/14)

Relevant Links:
Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians - http://www.pechanga.com

Related Stories:
Pechanga descendants protest against enrollment policy (04/06)
Opinion: Greed, spite, history behind disenrollment (4/5)
Opinion: Calif. tribes disenrolling more people (4/1)
Pechanga tribal committee disenrolls 130 people (03/22)
Calif. judge waits on Pechanga enrollment dispute (02/18)
Calif. judge delays Pechanga Tribe's disenrollment (02/05)
Judge won't protect 130 from disenrollment (2/3)
Case tests Pechanga Tribe's right to disenroll 130 (02/02)
Adopted man protests exclusion Pechanga Tribe (01/15)
Pechanga tribe threatens to cut off newspaper (03/14)
Pechanga disenrollment campaign to continue (02/25)
Pechanga chairman surprised by his 'racist' statement (2/24)