In an act of healing a decades long rift between two factions of the California tribe of Pomo Indians, the Elem Indian Colony executive committee last month took the unusual step of withdrawing an act that would have “disenrolled” 61 members from the 200-member tribe that lives on the 52-acre Rancheria. It withdrew the action that had been taken in March 2016.
The statement said: “The Executive Committee looks forward to working with all Elem members to heal the tragic wounds of decades of internal disputes by affirming and nurturing Elem’s traditional values of tribal unity and collaboration for the benefit of all members.”
The committee last week issued a short press release announcing the action. If the previous action had not been rescinded it could have led to all 130 persons currently living on the reservation to be removed.
Half of those who had been named in the March disenrollment challenged the action in federal court on the grounds that it violated the Civil Rights Act and that the tribe had not produced an ordinance showing that it had the authority to disenroll anyone when asked to by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
The tribe’s attorney Tony Cohen bailed on the committee around the same time, announcing: “Although I believe my work to restore the environment of the Rancheria would benefit all members of the tribe, I am not willing to suffer personal consequences for the misguided behavior of others, either the disenrollers, or the disenrollees.”
The factional strife among tribal members led to a feud where, in 1995, nine people were shot within the space of a week. This caused the Lake County Sheriff’s Department to evacuate half of the reservation for a time. For decades members have fought over elections, how to spend gaming revenue if they ever develop a casino—and other issues.
The elected tribal leadership has said that it plans to amend the Elem’s constitution so that no one will ever be disenrolled again.
