Law
Meskwaki members fear disenrollment from tribe


More than a dozen members of the Meskwaki Tribe of Iowa fear they will be disenrolled for being political opponents of the tribal council.

Donald Wanatee Sr. and others have been denied their monthly per capita payments. "The next steps will be disenrollment from the tribe and banishment because of our beliefs," he told The Cedar Rapids Gazette.

Wanatee and the others were associated with a faction of the tribe led by Alex Walker Jr. The tribe is now led by Homer Bear Jr., who hired Jack Abramoff's former lobbying firm to make his case in Washington, D.C.

The Bear faction spent $1.2 million on Greenberg Traurig before winning recognition as the legitimate tribal council.

Get the Story:
Dissenting members of tribe lose out on casino profits (AP 1/27)

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