Pinoleville Rancheria

Pomo Indians, Ukiah CA.

The Lost Tribe

In 1906, Congress appointed special agent C.E. Kelsey to assess the living conditions of California Indians. Kelsey, a San Jose attorney, reported that a majority of Indians were landless, had a high rate of infant mortality and were starving to death.

Mr. Kelsey made a recommendation that Congress purchase lands with wood to construct homes, a good source of water and an abundance of fish and game. Between 1906 and 1910, Congress allocated money for the California “rancherias.” This included Pinoleville, a rancheria designated for the homeless Pomo Indians of Mendocino County.

During the 1950’s, the United States Government shifted its Indian policy and Congress passed the California Rancheria Act of 1958. The Act authorized the Secretary of the Interior to negotiate agreements with California’s Indian communities. It eventually led to the Indians of Pinoleville and 39 other rancherias having their rights as Indians “terminated.”

In exchange for Indians in these communities giving up those rights, the federal government promised residents clear legal titles to individual properties, upgrading of houses, provide a good road, water and sewer system and education for "terminated” Indians.  Not surprising, The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) did not deliver those services and as a result many ill-equipped Indians ended up losing their lands.

After the BIA failed to honor those promises, Pinoleville resident Tillie Hardwick, along with Indians from 17 terminated rancherias would file a suit: Tillie Hardwick v. the United States Government.  In 1983, a compromise settlement was reached that re-established the rights of California’s terminated Indians and the reorganization of their Indian communities as tribal governments. 

Two years later in 1985, the Pinoleville Rancheria re-established itself as a tribe and defined its base membership as the terminated Indians of the Pinoleville Rancheria (aka the Tillie Hardwick Indians), the Indians listed on the 1934 and 1937 Pinoleville tribal rolls and the lineal descendants of all the above.

At the time of termination in 1966, the Pinoleville Rancheria had 18 parcels of land, which were occupied by a number of different Indian families. As is the case for communities of all races, relationships between families in these communities are sometimes strained.  Unfortunately for the Pinoleville Indian Rancheria, strained relationships would reach a horrific level when the "Tillie Hardwick" families would once again have their rights as Indians exterminated and the history of the rancheria erased. 

Because Chairwoman Leona Williams deemed some of these families a threat to her leadership, Ms. Williams would rewrite a tribe’s constitution to no longer recognize the "Tillie Hardwick" families as the base criteria for tribal membership.  Instead, the Chairwoman would use her great-grandfather and six other men who were trustees of a parcel of private property as the base criteria. Those trustees would administer that private trust for only a few years before they would relegate those duties to the State of California. This fee trust property was never under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). 

Nevertheless, on August 12, 2005, BIA Superintendent Troy Burdict would approve the Chairwoman’s constitution. He would do so after BIA Officials would receive numerous letters and phone calls complaining that Chairwoman Leona Williams was denying tribal members their right to participate and redress their tribal government, tribal officials were manipulating elections and membership rolls and most importantly, the Chairwoman was making an effort to rewrite the constitution in order to disenroll many of the “Tillie Hardwick” families. 

In his letter approving the Tribe’s constitution, Mr. Burdict acknowledged the tribe had “successfully completed a formal organization process.”  He cited a 2004 amendment to the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) as basis for him to approve the Chairwoman’s constitution. That amendment did not relieve Mr. Burdict of his duty to ensure that the interests of all tribal members are protected during an organization of a tribe. Nor does the amendment relieve Mr. Burdict of his responsibility to ensure the governing documents of a tribe reflect the will of a majority of its tribal members. Only 128 of the tribe’s 305 tribal members voted on that constitution.

BIA Superintendent Troy Burdict failed to protect the rights of the terminated “Tillie Hardwick” Indians.  In doing so, he took away their voices and sent a message to other tribal leaders that it is acceptable to violate the civil rights of your tribal members. For many tribes, the voice of the minority is the only checks and balances that keeps tribal governments from abusing their power.  Erase the voices of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. or Ceasar Chavez and you erase the dreams black and hispanic children have yet to dream. Deny the voice of an Indian and you erase his past.

Recently, BIA Superintendent Troy Burdict was asked by a disenrolled “Tillie Hardwick” family member if their name was on the Pinoleville Rancheria tribal roll.  Mr. Burdict replied, “the Tillie Hardwick tribe has no members.”

 Ironically, one of those Indians who had a piece of land on the Pinoleville Rancheria when it was terminated, and today is no longer a member of the “Tillie Hardwick tribe” is Joe Meyers, the son of Tillie Hardwick. 

Pinoleville Rancheria is the lost tribe

Unfortunately, Indians will continue to have their rights taken away from them. One day, in the not so distant future, a landmark case will impact all Indians.  Only time will tell what this shift in federal Indian policy will bring to Indian communities. One thing is for certain, it's not to late to take a stand against tribal and federal officials who abuse Indian people.

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