Elem Indian Colony Band of Pomos near Clearlake Oaks, California do hereby
declare a state of emergency, due to the recent violence of shootings,
vandalism and houses being burned on the Elem Indian Colony tribal land.
Since October of 1995, no health services, fire department services, food
assistance services, transportation for education of our school children and
no law enforcement protection.
Elem Indian Colony residents are requesting your emergency assistance to
restore human rights and needs to the parents and children residing at Elem
Indian Colony.
Volunteers of all skills and abilities are needed and welcome to join
together with our residents and rebuild our destroyed community to enhance
the betterment of our children.
The Elem Indian Colony residents are forced to take whatever precautions and
steps to create a safe environment to the Elem community, until professional
services can be restored.
Your assistance is needed with food, clothing, medical supplies, legal
assistance, counseling, large trucks, tools, maintenance supplies or any
cash donations.
We welcome all agencies to provide any surplus or materials to re-build Elem
Indian Colony.
If you have any questions, please contact Jim Brown, Delbert Thomas, Jr.,
Bonnie Moranda, or Cecil Brown at 707-998-3536, 707-998-1570, or
707-998-1976.
LEGAL DEFENSE FUND JOHN LEONARD SANCHEZ
On behalf of the Traditional leaders and Tribal Community members of the
Elem Indian Colony near the town of Clearlake Oaks, in the county of Lake in
Northern California. We are in dire need of your support and financial
assistance to help defend John Leonard Sanchez, a Native American brother
who has been unjustly and falsely accused, arrested and denied proper
medical attention by the Lake County Sheriff's Department. Most appalling
was that John's civil rights have been violated and the Sovergnity of the
tribe denied. The Sheriff's Department SWAT team illegally detained the
entire Indian community to arrest one man. They also denied personal
liberty of each Indian parent from leaving the reservation to pick up their
children from the Konocti School bus a mile outside of the reservation.
Mr. Sanchez is in immediate need of funds to assist with his legal defense
and provide him adequate medical care, as he is suffering from injuries that
occurred when an unmarked vehicle rammed into his car, who were later
identified as an undercover Law Enforcement vehicle driven by a Drug
Enforcement Agent, his partner, who are from San Francisco with only one
Lake County Sheriff officer, who were reported to be checking on
barricades on the Elem Indian Colony Pomo Reservation. Mr. Sanchez's bail
was first set at one million dollars, then reduced to two hundred fifty
thousand dollars or 10% which equals to $25,000. On January 26, 1996 his
attorney Mr. Dan Lipmenson (707-644-4004) who has agreed to take the case
pro-bono, will ask for a further reduction in the bail. However we are in
need of funds to pay for John's bail, court expenses, investigators, and
medical services. We have seven witnesses that will attest that John did
not have a gun or any weapon.
Mr. Sanchez is charged with four counts under the California Penal Code, in
layman's terms, basically state that he was:
1. Brandishing a firearm. 2. Threatening the life of officers.
3. Committing an assault on the officers, 4. Willfully and unlawfully
threatening to commit a crime which would result in death and great bodily
injury.
ARREST BACKGROUND
Mr. Sanchez has seven witnesses from two households that will attest to the
fact and truth that he did not have any gun or weapon. In fact the third
vehicle whose occupants displayed weapons only after the three unidentified
persons displayed their weapons, were never positively identified or
arrested by the Sheriff's department. The officers have resorted to
outright lies to protect their officers unlawful actions and display of
aggression toward the Elem residents as they have fabricated a story that
placed a gun in John's hands and threatened to arrest any witnesses that
would come forward to verify John's innocence, they want to make an example
of John. The truth is that they over reacted and harassed the tribe with
aggressive behavior and placed themselves above the law as they ran the
tribal stop sign, and would not stop for community members, committed a hit
and run on John's car and left the scene of an accident with an injured
person.
Sheriff Mitchell seems to be orchestrating a campaign to discredit the
remaining people of Elem reservation in order to create and project a one
sided view that every man, woman, and child are armed and dangerous
renegades, and that it is such a volatile and lawless atmosphere on the
reservation, that all citizens and public agencies should stay away. He
has spearheaded a County social and economic embargo that has segregated and
denied the tribe basic civil rights and public services because of their
race. Until Sheriff Mitchell feels it is 100% safe on the Elem reservation,
no services will be reinstated.
Services currently denied to the tribe:
A. After 25 years of service the Konocti Unified School District will not
provide school bus services to our children on the reservation. B. 911
Ambulance will only meet us one mile away on the highway; we must drive our
injured people to them. C. Local Fire Protection will no longer provide
services without police protection. D. Sheriff's Department will not
provide services without a SWAT team for backup. E. The sheriff does not
recognize the tribe as a Sovereign Nation.
The sheriff's department officers have endangered the departments oath and
integrity by fabrication of the story to protect their unlawful actions on
the reservation and the continued racial remarks to non-Indians like, RIt is
little BosniaS, and statements like, "The state of California, the County of
Lake, and the Sheriff's Department does not recognize the tribe's
sovereignty" It appears that the department has placed themselves above the
powers of the United States Congress.
Historical Background Elem Conflict
The Elem Tribe/Southeastern Pomo of Clearlake, a Sovereign Nation, in
October, 1995, erupted into civil war, and was propelled into the national
media limelight that projected only a narrow view of the conflict to be
blamed on greed over control of Indian gaming proceeds that played directly
into the hands of the State of California campaign to control Indian gaming
or destroy it completely by using Elem as the worst example.
The Elem Tribe was the first to establish a Casino in Lake County and the
smallest of the Casinos in the state, and was the only 100% operated and
controlled by the tribe. There were many accusations and rumors within a
few minority members of the tribe about the distribution of revenues the
minority who lost support by its members due to their greed, envy, and out
of control, dysfunctional behaviors, resulting from generations of
acculturation's, assimilation state of hopelessness brought on by alcohol
and drug abuse.
These non-traditional adults have controlled their immediate family members
through generations of co-dependency, allowing dysfunctional relationships
and violent, abusive behaviors within their immediate families, unwilling to
take responsibilities and in complete denial. This unhealthy behavior was
escalated to attack their Traditional extended family members, and posed a
direct threat to the health and safety of the tribal elders, children, and
families of the tribe. The BIA has been a major problem due to its lack of
support and recognition of Indian self-determination and Sovereignty of the
tribe. The BIA has only continued to provide excuses and has not allowed
the tribe to conduct business affairs and elections as prescribed and
mandated by the Elem tribal constitution.
For more information and assistance, please call (707) 998-3536
or (707) 998-1976 or write to
Jim Brown
P.O. Box 610,
Clearlake Oaks, Ca., 95423