Dear Editor,
In recent articles and editorials about the Amah Mutsun of
Mission San Juan Bautista, and our quest for federal recognition,
the Dispatch has shown stubborn ignorance of the facts and the
law.
Dear Editor,
In recent articles and editorials about the Amah Mutsun of Mission San Juan Bautista, and our quest for federal recognition, the Dispatch has shown stubborn ignorance of the facts and the law.
A brief historical note first. Many in our tribe came from Sargent Ranch and were forcibly removed to the San Juan Bautista Mission in the 1790s. Our religion and our language were taken from us, and we were given new ones. For better or worse, our experiences at Mission San Juan Bautista shaped our culture – that is who we are. When we were expelled from the Mission in the 1830s, many of us went back to live in villages on Sargent Ranch.
In our quest for federal recognition, we were told by the United States Interior Department to focus on what indisputably unites us: our ancestral lineage as documented in records of the Mission San Juan Bautista. In fact, for more than 15 years, Irenne Zwierlein, Chairwoman of the Amah Mutsun of Mission San Juan Bautista, has worked hard to expedite the federal recognition that’s been denied to generations of our tribal elders.
Events of the past year give us renewed hope. First, Congressman Richard Pombo (R-CA), chairman of the House Resources Committee, introduced legislation to clear the backlog of the oldest pending recognition petitions. Recently, Congressman Mike Honda (D-CA) demonstrated his decades-old commitment to our tribe by introducing legislation to expedite consideration of the Amah Mutsun petition.
These bipartisan bills from our local congressmen would allow the tribe to get a yes or no answer from the federal government without having to wait another 10 years or more. Many local leaders agree, including the majority of the Gilroy City Council and Supervisor Don Gage.
However, in an editorial on Congressman Pombo’s recognition bill, the Dispatch alleged that “obtaining sovereignty” is nothing more than a “key first step” in opening a casino. This is insulting to tribes like ours that have no interest in gaming (and have adopted constitutional provisions to prevent future gaming), and to all tribes that have worked to restore their government-to-government relationships with the
United States.
The newspaper’s recent stories and editorials show it has thrown objectivity out the window and embraced as its own the mindless, sensationalist ramblings of Valentin Lopez, who is not of San Juan Bautista lineage. Lopez and his group have no historical connection or legal right to Sargent Ranch. Not once does the Dispatch challenge Lopez’ wildly contradictory assertions. Lopez says he supports recognition but opposes the only pending recognition petition. He says he opposes land development but refuses to rule out building a casino.
These are the facts.
First, there are not dueling recognition efforts. There is only one petition pending before the Interior Department that would allow the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to obtain federal recognition. All of the supporting materials, including hundreds of years of historical records and genealogies, were prepared at my direction.
Second, the petition pending at the Interior Department contemplates tribal membership for anyone who can establish direct descent to an Amah Mutsun Indian who lived at the San Juan Bautista Mission compound between 1797 and 1840. This approach was not adopted as a means to exclude anyone from the tribe. Rather, it was responsive to recommendations by the Interior Department to provide the best prospects for recognition. Yet erstwhile, self-identified tribal members, whose word has been treated as gospel by the Dispatch, cannot establish the required genealogical ties to the tribe.
Third, no one connected to the current, lawful Amah Mutsun of Mission San Juan Bautista Tribal Council had anything to do with any reportedly altered documents sent to the Interior Department. There is no “concrete evidence” whatsoever (as admitted by the Dispatch), because I had nothing to do with any such matters.
Fourth, while the allegedly altered documents may involve unethical and possibly illegal activity by some individuals or splinter group, they are absolutely irrelevant to anything at issue in our pending acknowledgment process. This comes directly from the Interior Department, which determined five years ago that despite the conflicting documents it would allow all interested parties to participate in the recognition process, even those not deemed the rightful governing council.
No matter for the Dispatch, however. More in the vein of tabloid journalism than objective reporting, this newspaper splashed these unsubstantiated allegations and meaningless documents all across its front pages.
We are proud of our federal recognition effort. The process is open and fair to all parties. We’ve gone out of our way to share information with the Dispatch. But we urge readers to consider the facts before believing what they read on these pages.
Irenne Zwierlein, Tribal Chairwoman
Joseph M. Mondragon, Tribal Administrator
Melvin M. Ketchum III, Tribal Vice Chair
Kathryn Hicks, Tribal Secretary
Scott Ketchum, Tribal Sargent at Arms
Alexander Franco, Tribal Council Member
Steven Bojorques, Tribal Council Member
Joseph E. Mondragon, Tribal Council Member
Editor’s Note: The above letter came to the Dispatch from
Steve Rice the Director of Client Services for McNally Temple
Associates, Inc. who is a consultant to the Amah Mutsun San Juan Bautista Tribe.
