Opinion
Column: Pechanga family and Pluto demoted


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

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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)
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Campbell amendment put to test in court case (4/21)
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