FRESNO, Calif. — Members of the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians who were targeted for disenrollment earlier this year were kickedout of the tribe in March — and now a new group of more than 60 members is facing the same fate, according to an attorney representing the majority of the impacted tribal members.
Attorney David Dehnert told The Fresno Bee the disenrollments and the new pending disenrollments are in violation of the tribe’s constitution and several other tribal laws. Dehnert represents about 39 of the 49 who received notices in mid-March saying their names would be removed from the tribe’s membership roll. Dehnert is from Southern California, and he typically represents tribes, but said he believed the tribe’s actions were so egregious that he decided to change spots in this case to litigate the tribe.
The tribe, he said, has now selected another group of around 62 members who will be part of another wave of disenrollments. He represents about 36 of them. According to a copy of one of the notices, the affected members’ disenrollment hearing is April 22.
