Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Andrew W. Twietmeyer
Your September 1, 2015 letter refers to the Agua Caliente Band. Kindly note that my Client is not a band, it is
a tribe.
10780 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 401, Los Angeles CA 90025
310.909.7138
awt@twietmeyerlaw.com
The appearance of impropriety in this instance (whether or not impropriety, in fact, exists) starkly illustrates
why my Client believes it is unlikely that the Bureau has approved you to represent the PBMI. Accordingly, I
re-iterate my demand that you provide evidence of your authorization and approval as requested above.
/s/
Andrew W. Twietmeyer
Attorney for the Agua Caliente Tribe of
Cupeo Indians of the Pala Reservation
cc:
Kevin Washburn, Assistant Secretary
Department of the Interior
Bureau of Indian Affairs
MS-3642-MIB
1849 C. Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20240
Kevin.washburn@bia.gov
Lee Fleming
Director, Office of Federal Acknowledgment
Assistant SecretaryIndian Affairs
1951 Constitution Ave. NW
MS-34B SIB
Washington, DC 20240
lee.fleming@bia.gov
Tab A
DENTONS
sara.setshwaelo@dentons.com
D +141588201 20
Dentons US LLP
525 Market Street
26th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105-2708 USA
T +1 415 882 5000
F +1 415 882 0300
September 1, 2015
Andrew W. Twietmeyer
Law Office of Andrew W. Twietmeyer
10780 Santa Monica Blvd.
Suite 401
Los Angeles, CA 90025
Re:
That the Pala Band is presently listed in the Federal Register as the "Pala Band of Luiseno Mission
Indians of the Pala Reservation , California" is of no consequence. The Pala Band has used the "Pala
Band of Mission Indians" name for decades, including , without limitation , in its government-to-government
relations with the United States.
DENTONS
Andrew W . Twietmeyer
September 1, 2015
Page 2
Based on these falsehoods, your client claims a right to compensation from the United States for
supposedly failing to recognize them as a distinct tribal entity, but it has offered to hold the United States
harmless for this supposed failure upon distribution of "the assets of the Pala Reservation." (Proposed
Settlement, at 6.) It would appear that both you and your client have communicated this position to the
United States through various letters, emails and meeting requests which , not surprisingly, exclude the
Tribe. This claim is patently spurious because there exists no factual foundation to support your case .
Moreover, your client may not purport to (1) challenge the Pala Band's legitimacy as a federally
recognized tribal entity; and at the same time (2) purport to claim thG Pala Band's assGts may bG dividGd
as assets rightfully possessed by three tribal entities. Your legal theory is not only contradictory and
nonsensical , but rests on political questions beyond the reach of any federal Indian case law you
apparently hope to enforce.
In the end, it is clear that this amounts to nothing more than the efforts of a disaffected splinter
group - consisting primarily, of disgruntled persons who are no longer members of the Tribe based on
their failure to satisfy the Band's membership criteria, and a few of their misguided relatives who remain
enrolled in the Pala Band. Their collective effort to form a new tribal entity on the back of the Pala Band ,
by claiming the Tribe's assets and federal recognition as their own violates both Tribal and federal law.
To be sure, your client admits that the effort to formally organize comes "after four very long years" of
attempting to "associate with the Pala Band of Mission Indians." (Letter to Pacific Regional Office from
Agua Caliente Tribe of Cupeno Indians of the Pala Reservation (Jan . 7, 2015) , at 2.) Not coincidentally ,
this timing coincides with the Tribe's determination that Margarita Brittain - the person through whom
certain of your clients claimed membersh ip in the Pala Band - had insufficient blood quantum to satisfy
the Pala Band's membership criteria, and the Tribe's subsequent and consequent action to disenroll some
of her descendants. As you also must know, several of your client's' members have spent the past fours
years fighting the Tribe's sovereign decision regarding their entitlement to membership, through suits
against the Tribe, its elected leadership, and the United States. Of course, their litigation efforts failed .
Your client's position with regard to the status and assets of the Tribe is similarly curious, given
the fact that many of your client's members reaped the benefits of Tribal membership for many years, with
certain of you client's members even serving in Tribal government and various other roles within the Tribe.
Indeed , some of your client's members still receive substantial benefits from the Tribe (including, among
other things , monetary distributions, healthcare, and education) as a result of their membership in the
federally recognized Pala Band. These are the same people who are claiming the Pala Band is not tru!y
or properly federally recognized. That, of course , would necessarily mean that the benefits they have
received , and that some continue to receive, are ill gotten and unlawful.
While we expect your client will try to hide behind the First Amendment, fraudulent statements, or
purporting to take positions for another (which could amount to passing off), are not protected First
Amendment speech. The Tribe has never authorized your client to communicate with the United States
on its behalf, or purport to take positions on its behalf, including, but not limited to , the manner by which
its assets may be held or divided. Nevertheless, your client has submitted the Proposed Settlement to
the United States, where it purports to represent that certain actions have been agreed upon by the Band,
to wit
the Tribe shall be governed by a federally-approved constitution and that the Tribe's
membership "shall be comprised of members of the San Felipe Village, Landless
Indians, Old Pala Allottees and Allotted Adoptees , Allotted Mexican Citizens, and
DENTONS
Andrew W . Twietmeyer
September 1, 2015
Page 3
persons whose application for enrollment in your client's group are rejected "shall
remain a member of the Pala Band of Mission Indians" (id., at 7) ;
allotments received by members of the Tribe "shall be governed by the Pala Band of
Mission Indians (id.);
the Tribe agrees "to partition the lands" at Warner Ranch by way of cancellation of
current patents and the issuance of new patents "to both" the Tribe and your client (id.):
the Tribe "recognizes" that it will share equally with your client the responsibility to
maintain and upgrade the Tribe's own infrastructure, and that the Tribe will expend it's
own resources to that end (id.);
the Tribe agrees to "share equal representation" on the Tribe's Gaming Commission
with your client, for purposes of operating and regulating the Pala Casino Resort and
Spa (an enterprise wholly owned and operated by the Tribe, and to which your client
has no rightful claim to ownership) (id., at 8);
members of the Tribe and your client shall be "entitled to equitable distribution of
gaming revenues" from the Tribe's Pala Casino Resort and Spa (notably, in violation of
the Tribe's federally-approved revenue allocation plan) (id.) ;
the Tribe agrees to develop a "good neighbor" policy with your client with regard to
various issues includ ing , without limitation, "tribal jurisdiction" (id.);
the Tribe agrees to the establishment of a "dispute resolution board ," and submission of
disputes between the Tribe and your client to a federal arbitrator for resolution (id.);
the Tribe agrees to the designation of Tribal lands for purposes of the development of a
cemetery for your client, and that your client's members may be buried in the Tribe's
cemetery (id.); and
that the Tribe shall submit the "agreement" between it and your client for approval by
the Tribe's General Council (id.).
Your client's members are fully aware that the Tribe has not agreed to these provisions or
allowing your client to commandeer the Tribe's government, citizenry, lands, assets and relationship with
the United States. Accordingly, the Tribe demands that you and your client immediately cease and
desist all communications with the United States, and any other federal, state or local
governmental or non-governmental entity, wherein your client purports to be, represent, or act on
behalf of the Tribe.
The Pala Band will consider taking appropriate action against members of your cl ient who have
comm itted , and continue to commit, violations of Tribal law. The repercussions of continuing these
actions are very serious. First, through their actions to usurp the Tribe's government and assets for their
own benefit, several of your client's members - including Kenneth Johnson and Gina Howard, who
purport to serve as the Vice-Chairman and Secretary/Treasurer of your client - are engaging in actions
that subject them to permanent exclusion from the Pala Indian Reservation . To be sure, the Pala Band
can , and almost certainly will , immediately and permanently exclude any non-members who engage in
DENTONS
Andrew W. Twietmeyer
September 1, 2015
Page 4
any activity that: interferes with the Tribe's government, by threatening persons and/or property on the
reservation; breaches the peace, causes public LJnrest; or, creates a nuisance or endangers the welfare
of the Tribe and Reservation residents. Mr. Johnson, Ms. Howard, and any other of your client's
members who reside on or visit the Pala Indian Reservation are guests of the Tribe and have no
entitlement to enter or reside upon the Tribe's land?. Accordingly, the Tribe may initiate eviction and
exclusion proceedings against them should their -unlawful actions continue.
The Tribe also notes that there are strict prohibitions against dual enrollment in the Tribe and any
other tribal entity. 2 Specifically, the Tribe's laws provide that any individual who is a member of another
Indian tribe shall be ineligible for membership in the Tribe. Individuals who enroll in another tribe after
enrolling in the Tribe must immediately notify the Tribe of such enrollment, and shall be deemed to have
relinquished membership in the Tribe on the effective date of enrollment in another tribe. Individuals who
fail to notify the Tribe of their dual enrollment status may be subject to disenrollment proceedings, at least
in the unlikely event your client at any point manages to gain federal recognition.
The unlawful efforts of a handful of people (including Tribal members) to divide the Tribe's
government and assets presents a grave risk to the welfare of the Tribe and its members. Should these
unlawful, and indeed treasonous actions on the part of Pala Band members continue, the Tribe's
government will have no choice but to take appropriate action through the authority of the Pala Band's
General Council.
Sincerely,
~
Senior Managing Associate
The Tribe is aware that at least two members of the Tribe claim membership in your client's tribe William J. Pink and Reyes "King" J. Freeman.