Tribal court ruling gives hope to 14 ousted Paiutes

Jace Radke and Ed Koch

Monday, Jan. 8, 2001 | 10:36 a.m.

A decision by a tribal court judge may give a group of 14 Las Vegas Paiute Indians the chance to return to their tribe and share in its financial success that includes annual disbursements of almost $100,000 per person.

Las Vegas attorney Terry Coffing, who serves as a tribal court judge for the Paiutes, ruled last week that 14 people who were kicked out of the tribe in July 1999 have the right to a tribal referendum to determine their status with the tribe.

However, the attorney for the tribe says the order is "fairly unclear," and no date has been set for a referendum vote.

"It doesn't specifically speak to the 14 people who were disenrolled," tribal attorney David Colvin said, noting that the order is unclear whether the ousted members would be allowed to vote in such a referendum because they are not presently members of the tribe. "The order needs to be clarified."

Attorney Mike Stuhff, representing the 14 ousted members, called Coffing's decision a "major victory," because the tribal judge is recognizing the rights of his clients under the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968, which is what Stuhff sought for his clients.

"The act was necessary to prevent tribes, especially small tribes, from doing anything they wanted to members, who up until 1968 had no way of opposing their tribal councils regarding civil rights abuses," Stuhff said. "This (order) gives us some hope."

Stuhff said his clients should be allowed to vote because he feels the judge's order is clear that his clients were illegally ousted 18 months ago.

Coffing ordered Stuhff to write the findings of fact and conclusions of law for his approval. Stuhff said he plans to get that done this week and hopes the matter can be resolved within 60 days.

Stuhff says the decision to kick out his clients is the work of a small number of individuals, not the majority of the tribe, who he feels would vote his clients back into the fold.

The seven-member tribal council voted to kick out the 14 tribal members, saying they did not have the one-quarter blood heritage necessary for enrollment in the Las Vegas Paiute tribe. The action cut the tribal membership rolls from 54 adults to 40.

The disenrolled members say the ouster is the result of a power grab by tribal leaders based on a history of family feuds.

"That is absolutely untrue," Colvin said. "The decision was based on preserving the integrity of the tribe -- the blood requirement being one of the factors.

"I also want to make it clear that no one is saying that they (the 14 ex-members) do not qualify as Native Americans or Paiutes -- their heritage is not being questioned. The question is whether they are members of the Las Vegas Paiute tribe."

Colvin said little has changed because of Coffing's decision because a referendum has always been an option, but procedures have to be followed in filing a petition for such a vote.

The tribe was once destitute, but its fortunes changed in 1978 when it opened a tax-free smoke shop on the tribe's 10-acre reservation near downtown Las Vegas. The shop has brought millions of dollars to the tribe.

Also, a new tribe-owned hotel-casino is being built on part of a 3,800-acre parcel north of Las Vegas that was deeded to the tribe by the federal government.