Last Thursday, The Mercury News, published an article where they repeatedly allowed Lofgren to propagate blatantly untrue falsehoods – which could have been easily debunked with a quick Google search. But the publication was clearly uninterested in fact checking her, while at the same time crafting language and syntax that attempts to undermine the evidenced facts that I offered.
For instance, Lofgren is allowed to twice assert that, “Congress had never before overturned a determination by the Bureau of Indian Affairs on tribal recognition.”
That’s simply not true. The Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians was federally recognized as part of the National Defense Reauthorization Act in December of 2019. That Tribe also went through the deeply flawed federal recognition process at the Bureau of Indian Affairs and was denied based on the same criteria as Muwekma.
Lofgren goes on to state that, “even if for the first time in history Congress were to overturn a Bureau of Indian Affairs final decision on recognition…” [which, again, is false and ignores the 2019 legislative recognition of Little Shell], “… any possible legislation would likely also incorporate such gaming prohibitions.”
The publication allowed the Congresswoman to make this sweeping assertion without questioning her about the Little Shell Bill, which did not restrict any of their gaming rights. The publication did not even questioning Lofgren about the recent bill submitted just a few weeks ago by Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Los Angeles) that would recognize the Gabrielino/Tongva Nation and would also allow the tribe to entertain economic opportunities, including building a casino.
The fact that Rep. Lofgren is demanding that my tribe sign away the rights and freedoms of our children in exchange for legislation that would simply correct the federal government’s mistake, was nothing short of adding insult to injury. Especially considering that no federally recognized tribe in California (with more than 101 tribes) has given up any of their sovereign rights, including their gaming rights.
How could a news publication ignore the most critical and substantial components of a story? Am I to assume that the article was never intended to inform, only to mislead? At the very least, it’s egregiously bad and lazy journalism.
The article also allows Lofgren to mischaracterize the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe – a Federal District Court Judge in the Northern District of California asserts that we retain our sovereignty despite not being on the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ list of federally recognized Tribes – by likening us to the Association of Ramaytush Ohlone, which is not a Tribe. It’s an organization.
It is deeply offensive that Lofgren would liken our sovereign Nation with an association of one person who founded his organization in 2009, to make territorial claims to San Francisco. Jonathan Cordero and the Association of Ramayatush is not a tribe in the way that tribal members have kinship, shared lineages, and continuity as a political unit pre-dating California’s statehood.
There is no territorial dispute and there is no question about Muwekma’s aboriginal territory, but Lofgren ignores the science, facts and documentation and prefers to use the statements of charlatans to discredit legitimate tribal nations.
The Muwekma people refuse to give up any more than what has already been taken from us. Our Children will not be second class citizens in Indian Country if I have anything to say about it.
Charlene Concepción Nijmeh
Chairwoman
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