"Plenty of people wish Herminia Frias would just fade away into Pascua Yaqui history.

But the former tribal chairwoman says she has no intention of being quiet or embracing what some tribe members tell her is the true Yaqui way--forgetting about wrongs done to her and moving on.

The Yaqui were first recognized as a tribe in 1978, and their first Constitution was put in place in 1988; it's an organization with about 15,000 members. Locally, the Yaqui reservation includes 1,395 acres off Valencia Road and Camino de Oeste. The tribe also operates two casinos, Casino del Sol on Valencia Road west of Interstate 19, and Casino of the Sun, off Camino de Oeste and Los Reales Road. The casinos have about 1,300 employees.

Frias, then 31, made Yaqui history in June 2004 when the council (which, except for her, was all-male) made her the tribe's first female leader. In 2007, that same board kicked her out, based on a series of ethics charges made by then-assistant chair Peter Yucupicio (who is now the tribe's leader). Frias was removed from office during a 12-hour closed session; at center stage was a 22-count complaint filed by Yucupicio. None of those complaints were ever made public, though the council did reveal that the charges did not involve financial improprieties.

Frias says the charges were never substantiated, and that she got the boot because of pure politics. "

Get the Story:
Seeking Transparency (The Tuscon Weekly 9/18)

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