Copyright © 2001 NLThomas
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Anza, California, March 10, 2001 - What started out as a positive effort of tribal community members and a newly elected tribal council of the Cahuilla Band of Indians to address mismanagement of its reservation lands and business ventures of the tribe has now resulted into negative results with the Bureau of Indian Affairs dissolving the elected tribal council of its authority. "Is this a signal of the new Bush administration and its federal agency to trample over tribal sovereignty," said Nushune M. Heredia, tribal council member of the Cahuilla Band of Indians, a federally recognized tribe in southern California. "The Bureau of Indian Affairs has contradicted their own advice and made a detrimental decision to interfere with tribal internal affairs, even to the fact advising in a letter to the Riverside county sheriff's department not to respond to calls on the Cahuilla Indian reservation," stated Angela M. Bogner, Cahuilla tribal member and tribal council member.

Since last October, the new elected tribal council took action to address issues ranging from mismanagement of the tribal casino and other governmental matters such as the illegal operation of a petroleum contaminated soils dump on tribal lands. The new council was appointed after Michelle Salgado, the previous tribal chairperson resigned her position and at which time an interim tribal council was voted in. Salgado and the previous tribal council attempted to regain their position through appeal to the BIA. The BIA first recognized the appeal of the Salgado leadership, however, on January 14, 2001, the BIA reversed its decision in full recognition of the leadership of the new tribal council. In a letter dated January 24, 2001, the BIA reaffirmed its recognition of the present tribal council of the Cahuilla band.

On February 13, 2001, the present elected tribal council and tribal members of the Cahuilla Band of Indians were shocked to receive a letter from Virgil Townsend, Superintendent of Southern California BIA Agency notifying the tribal council of yet another reversal that the BIA will not recognize neither the present tribal council nor the Salgado self-appointed leadership. "I am not recognizing the BIA action. The elected tribal council is carrying on with the responsibilities entrusted by the entire voting tribal membership. Who oversees the BIA? If Bush supports tribal sovereignty he should look into the failed policies of the BIA out here in the real world of Indian country. This is an attack against our sovereignty," states Gilbert Skip Costo, Cahuilla tribal elder.

Nushune M. Heredia can be contacted by phone, 909-763-0856. Contact the Cahuilla Band of Indians Tribal Offices by phone, 909-763-5549.