Members of the Champlain family accuse tribal leaders of trying to keep them quiet about financial accountibility as well as hoarding any future profits from a casino by questioning their lineage.

01:00 AM EST on Saturday, March 25, 2006

BY KATIE MULVANEY
Journal Staff Writer

SOUTH KINGSTOWN -- A bitter membership dispute has erupted within the Narragansett Indian Tribe, and one family claims the dispute was prompted by questions raised about the tribe's spending.

Yvette Champlain, who was elected to the tribal council two years ago, says she was suspended from her leadership role in late November, just two weeks after she asked for more information about how the tribe had spent a $1-million payment from its casino partner, Harrah's Entertainment.

Less than a month later, more than 100 tribal members from her family received notice that their lineage was in question and that their access to tribal services had been cut off -- a move that, she says, denied elderly people food and medicine.

"They don't want real accountability," Champlain said.

Other family members accuse tribal leaders of trying to hoard any future profits from the casino Harrah's plans to build with the tribe in West Warwick. "The casino's coming, and they're greedy. If too many people are on the roll, it's less for them," said Danielle Johnson King, a cousin from South Kingstown.

But Narragansett Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas dismissed the Champlain family's claims as angry words from a group that cannot prove its ancestry.

"You've got to be of Narragansett blood. You have to prove it by the tribe's standards," he said.

Tribal membership, he said, "is an internal matter. We don't have much we can claim as ours. We're going to keep it that way."

He refused to detail how the tribe spent the money, but said "everything the tribe does is for the tribe." The tribal assembly was "satisfied" with the explanation given for the spending, he said.

"Everybody is always worried about money. You think it would be about heritage and culture," he said.

Harrah's senior vice president, Jan Jones, confirmed that Harrah's had given the tribe $1 million in the past six months to a year as part of a business agreement. She said it was the tribe's discretion on how to spend it.

She declined to comment on tribal membership issues, saying they were internal matters to be handled by Thomas. "Our focus is on the politics of Rhode Island, not the politics of the tribe," Jones said.

Yvette Champlain was 18 when the Narragansetts won federal recognition in 1983. She was number 229 on the list of 1,188 names on the tribal roll submitted to the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

"I sit on this roll," she said one recent afternoon at Chen's restaurant, in Wakefield, pointing to her name on a thick, dog-eared printout of what is considered the tribe's base roll. Now 41 and living in Norwich, Conn., she is part of a vast family whose members are spread from Pawtucket to eastern Connecticut.

The Champlains, at that time, traced their lineage to the 1880 de-tribalization roll using land deeds, baptismal records, and any other evidence they could find, says Yvette's sister Leslie Champlain. The tribe based membership on blood ties to the 324 Narragansetts who gave up all land claims in exchange for citizenship and $15.43 each.

"As far as I'm concerned, the tribe proved I'm a Narragansett," said Leslie, who was 7 when the tribe gained federal recognition, opening it up to millions of dollars in federal assistance for health care, housing and education. The acknowledgement also gave the tribe sovereignty, including the right to govern its membership.

In 1995, the tribe asked all members to again prove they were linked to the 1880 roll, according to documents the family provided. The next year, Champlain family members received notice from the tribe that a genealogical review had concluded that their lineage traced back to the roll and that their files were complete.

More than 100 people were removed from the tribal roll in a controversial purge in the 1990s.

Members of the Champlain family were informed in a Dec. 2 letter signed by Thomas that their file was missing "proper documentation," namely birth, death or marriage certificates linking them to the 1880 roll. Their involvement in tribal affairs and access to services was temporarily suspended, and they were given 30 days to provide the documents or be removed from the roll. The time frame has since been expanded to 120 days, Yvette said.

Yvette and Leslie say they were told that original documents they provided for previous reviews were "missing." In the past, they and many tribal members proved their lineage through wills, baptismal and land records and even names scrawled in Bibles. They claim that providing the certificates from that time period is near impossible, because Narragansett mothers gave birth at home and didn't keep standard records.

"How many times do I have to prove who I am?" asked Leslie, also of Norwich. "If they can do this the way they're doing it now, they could do it to anyone."

They insist their family has been singled out.

But Thomas explains that the tribe is following through on its own initiative to revisit the roll. "It's a directive from the tribe. The tribe determined the criterion: birth, death or marriage," he said. The enrollment of 119 people is in question, he said.

The Champlains rebut that the tribe signed off on any criteria. They say members wanted the roll reviewed, so children could be enrolled.

Tribal membership has been closed since 1993, except for babies under 18 months, Yvette said. Some people who were unaware of the policy did not register on time, she said.

Eligibility, according to the tribe's constitution, is simply Narragansett blood.

As for lost records, Thomas wondered why those being questioned did not seek vital records from the state. The state archives have birth, death and marriage certificates dating to 1853.

"When the tribe makes a decision, there's nothing anyone can do about it. This is very difficult for us," Thomas said.

But disenfranchised tribal members insist there are dark forces at work. The Champlains say the membership issues came to the fore as Yvette pushed for greater accountability, and they question the timing, right before a tribal election. The Champlains represent a sizable voting bloc among the tribe's approximately 2,800 members. An election slated for late January was postponed indefinitely.

Randy Noka, John and Hiawatha Brown, Kim Hazard, Diana Bisson and Ella Myles are up for reelection to the nine-member tribal council, according to the Champlains. Yvette has two years remaining on her term.

While the Champlains' access to some tribal services has been temporarily restored, their voting privileges have not, they say. Dozens protested last month outside the Four Winds Community Center, off Route 2, in Charlestown, after being barred from a tribal meeting.

"I have a right to vote," Leslie said.

The Champlains suggest that the purge is intended to keep federal tax dollars and potential casino profits in the hands of a select group. The Narragansetts, who are based in Charlestown, are partnered with Harrah's to build a casino in West Warwick. The family accuses the tribe of continuing to collect federal money for people who have been ousted and has pushed to expand the service area beyond South County.

The tribe receives about $6 million a year from the federal government, Thomas said. After bills and salaries are paid, about $1.2 million remains to provide the 1,100 members living in South County with heating, food and housing assistance, he said. The tribe has received federal money for 1,100 members for 20 years, despite increasing enrollment, he said.

In response to claims that the money goes to a select few, Thomas said, "every year we look into it to make sure it's a fair and just process." The money is far less than the tribe truly needs, he says.

"I have no intention of sitting next to Buddy," Thomas said, referring to former Providence Mayor Vincent A. Cianci Jr., who is in federal prison for racketeering conspiracy. The tribe has to abide by federal guidelines, or risk losing the aid, he said.

The Champlains also blasted the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs for not protecting the interests of people whose names are on the base roll approved by the federal government in 1983.

"My concern is that the tribe thinks they are above the law," Yvette says. The family has forwarded letters expressing their concerns to the BIA and claim their appeals are not being heard by the tribe or the federal agency.

"We don't have any recourse," Yvette said.

W. Patrick Ragsdale, director of the bureau, said the enrollment is a matter left to tribes unless there is a "preponderance of evidence" that "grievous" breaches have occurred.

The bureau's role is to ensure that Indians receive due process and that tribes follow their constitutions and bylaws, he said. Leaving membership to tribes is a long-standing principle of tribal-federal relations, he said.

"As I understand it, everyone is afforded some due process," he said.

Still, the Champlains say they are not fighting for just themselves, but for the greater tribal body.

"By the time they're finished, whose going to be on the roll?" Yvette said.

kmulvane@projo.com / (401) 277-7417