The Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians’ power struggles between its chairman and vice chairman and other council members over the disenrollment of some members and trying to bar others from participating in tribal government has gone public and to a courtroom. Accompanying it are accusations of the misappropriation of over million in casino money.
Last week a Tehama County Superior Court denied a request for a temporary restraining order by the security manager of Rolling Hills Casino. The request sought to bar some tribal members from tribal properties, including the casino and the reservation itself. The judge didn’t buy the assertion that certain families posed a threat.
Last week the chairman, and vice chairman, who the chairman claims gave up his seat on the tribal council, engaged in dueling press releases.
The tribe has about 325 members—or did have. The genealogical roots of 76 of them are being questioned. Some are being accused of stealing funds.
Of the attempt to get a restraining order, Vice Chairman David Swearinger declared, “This was a legal maneuver, pure and simple. They wanted the court to validate the unlawful actions taken against some of our tribal members, trying to exclude some of our families from all aspects of tribal activities.”
For his part the chairman, Andy Freeman, accused some members of theft and misappropriation of more than $1 million. He said those members, who held positions of trust in the tribe, were suspended last month during the annual meeting of the tribal membership, called a general council. The charges are “ridiculous,” according to Swearinger.
It appears from the conflicting reports that four of the five-member council, assert that Freeman has tried to bar them from tribal properties with armed guards. Besides the vice chairman they include Leslie Lohse, Geraldine Freeman and Allen Swearinger. They are not being allowed in the casino, the golf course, or any of the tribe’s clinics. The attempt at a restraining order was the culmination of those activities.
According to Swearinger, “Frankly, this is simply more evidence that the duly elected Tribal Council needs to be allowed to take our rightful position on the tribal grounds so that we can move tribal business forward.” The four ousted council members have been arguing their position in a newsletter.
A spokesman for the tribe, i.e. the chairman, issued a statement that said, in part, “When the general council voted to dismiss Leslie Lohse, two other members of the Tribal Council, Geraldine Freeman, secretary, and David Swearinger, vice-chairman, got up and left with her. Our Tribal Council Chairman Andy Freeman explained twice to Geraldine and David that if they left they were vacating their position on the Tribal Council, and they left anyway.”
According to the statement the dispute over bloodlines has been ongoing for half a dozen years. Freeman hired a genealogical expert and determined that members of one family, the Henthorne/Pata family, had no blood line to tribe. “It was after that finding that we discovered the missing funds and started an investigating,” said the spokesman.
The ousted council members shot back, blaming non-tribal casino staff for the rift and for providing false information to Freeman. They also claim that Freeman did not have the authority to dis-enroll the Henthorne/Pata members.
“We are looking to our chairman to come back to the fold and put this issue to rest,” said Swearinger in the most recent press release. “Once resolved, our day-to-day operations will be back on track.”
The power struggle has drawn the attention of the National Indian Gaming Commission, whose director of compliance, Douglas Hatfield wrote a letter last month expressing concern that the casino governance is not being conducted by the council members named under its federal license.
The tribe’s spokesman responded last week by stating, “We are still in compliance with all required federal and state regulations.” ‘The loss of the money is being investigated by the Tehama County Sheriff’s Department.
