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Shoshone-Bannock History in Idaho
PART I OF II: 2008's historic Idaho Democratic Convention, held in Boise, ID, June 12-14, invited Idaho Native American Tribal members from the Shoshone-Bannock/Fort Hall, Shoshone-Paiute/Duck Valley, Nez Perce, and Coeur D'Alene tribal communities to take an active part in the convention activities. On June 12th, the Idaho AFL-CIO hosted a Democratic picnic for convention goers. Mr. Ted Howard, Cultural Resource Director, Duck Valley, spoke to picnic participants about the Shoshone-Paiute-Bannock history in the Boise Valley area. 9:49 minutes.

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Law->Court Cases: Unrecognized indian tribe found guilty of defrauding immigrants

Posted on Wednesday, August 20 @ 09:19:33 CDT

AUTHOR: Roxana Hegeman

The self-proclaimed leader of a group that claims to be an American Indian tribe was found guilty Wednesday of defrauding immigrants by falsely telling them tribal membership would make them U.S. citizens.

Stumble It!

"Chief" Malcolm Webber, 70, was found guilty Wednesday of six charges arising from the unrecognized tribe's efforts to sell tribal memberships.

After seven hours of deliberations, a jury in U.S. District Court in Wichita found Webber not guilty on one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States by submitting false passport applications.

Webber was convicted on two counts of harboring illegal immigrants, two counts of possession of false documents with intent to defraud the United States, one count of conspiracy with intent to defraud the United States and one count of mail fraud.

After the verdict's were read, U.S. District Judge Wesley Brown told jurors the attorneys had agreed to have the court, rather than jurors, decide on the forfeiture of the proceeds from the criminal acts. Prosecutors estimate the fraud at about $1.2 million.

Sentencing was set for Nov. 3

Webber remained free on bond.

Webber showed no emotion as the verdicts were read.

"No comment will be made because we have to file an appeal," defense attorney Kurt Kerns said after the proceedings.

Immigration laws must be enforced.

Outside the courthouse, U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren told reporters that one of the things important about the case was the enforcement of U.S. immigration laws.

"This has always been a country that welcomes immigrants, and most of us are descendants of immigrants or immigrants ourselves," Melgren said. "But we have a procedure and a process by which that is done and it is in the government's interest to enforce that process."

Melgren also said it was important to prosecute cases to protect immigrants.

"These people were defrauded of money on a faulty promise that it would improve their immigration status," he said. "They were also victims and I think part of the justice in this case was protecting people."

Immigrants were told tribal documents could help them get other official US IDs

Prosecutors argued that Webber, of Bel Aire, marketed the memberships in the Kaweah Indian Nation by telling immigrants in Kansas, Nebraska and elsewhere in country the tribal identification documents could be used to get Social Security cards, U.S. passports, health care benefits and driver's licenses.

Kerns argued at trial that his client had no criminal intent and only sought to help undocumented immigrants become legal residents. He blamed others for overcharging people for tribal memberships.

The defense called no witnesses during the trial and Webber did not take the witness stand in his own defense.

Kawea Indian Nation is an unrecognized indian tribe

During the trial, Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson told jurors the Kaweah Indian Nation, which is not a federally recognized tribe, is Webber's invention. But even if it were a legitimate tribe, immigrants cannot obtain legal immigration status by joining a tribe.

Anderson told reporters after the verdict that reports of the sale of tribal memberships for fraudulent immigration purposes first surfaced in 2003, but it was not until 2006 that its scope became known. The memberships were sold across the United States.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs ruled in 1984 that the Kaweah group had no historical link to American Indian tribes.

The bureau also ruled that Webber, who calls himself Grand Chief Thunderbird IV, is not an Indian.

Last year, federal prosecutors charged the tribe and 11 people in a 17-count indictment. Charges have been dismissed against the tribe and two defendants, one remains a fugitive and seven others have pleaded guilty to reduced charges.

Robert Visnaw, a special agent with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, testified that agents seized tribal enrollment rolls with the names of 13,142 people, plus an additional 2,000 to 3,000 applications that had not yet been processed.

Visnaw, the lead investigator, told jurors that he has not gone through the entire membership roll. But of the 1,000 tribal memberships that he compared with ICE databases, it appeared only 4 percent to 5 percent were lawful residents or citizens.

SOURCE:

This article first appeared in the Fremont Tribune