DRY CREEK TRIBAL MEMBERS TO PROTEST CORRUPTION, LACK OF DEMOCRACY & DISENROLLMENT

EMBARGOED UNTIL SUNDAY, MARCH 8, 2009 AT NOON. Please do not leak out any information about this event until the day/time that it occurs to ensure that it can take place. On Sunday, March 8 at noon, Dry Creek Tribal Members will gather at the River Rock Casino at 3250 Highway 128, Alexander Valley CA 95441 to peacefully protest the dysfunction and corruption of the current Dry Creek Tribal Board, led by Tribal Chairman Harvey Hopkins.

Dry Creek Tribal Membership Demands:
1. That two board members call a General Membership Meeting in the next two weeks;
2. That a Dry Creek Board Election be held within the next two weeks;
3. That a moratorium be enacted on disenrollment proceedings until after the elections;
4. That the current Board’s salaries be suspended until Board Elections are held.

The Reasons Behind Our Demands:

Tribal Chair Harvey Hopkins and the current Dry Creek Board have not listened to their members’ requests for the last two and a half years. Instead, the following events, decisions and incidents have taken place without the consent of the Tribal Council:

-Harvey Hopkins made himself 10 percent owner of the Dry Creek Development Corporation (DCDC), although he was never given approval to be a stakeholder by the membership. This is not only a conflict of interest, it is illegal and against SEC regulations. See the proof here: http://www2.cslb.ca.gov/General-Information/interactive-tools/check-a-license/License+Detail.asp?LicNum=878518

-DCDC is responsible for constructing a $72 million “road to nowhere,” just below the casino.

-Harvey Hopkins has exploited his position as Tribal Chairman to access tribal funds in order to pay for his personal sexual harassment lawsuit in the amount of $900,000.

-Dry Creek Tribal Membership presented a recall to Hopkins at the 01/10/09 tribal meeting. In response, Hopkins demanded the member presenting the recall be forcibly removed by private security. (The member, Alexis Elgin, was later terminated from her job at the River Rock Casino). This was the same day that Hopkins entertained a motion to disenroll 73 members from the tribe. Hopkins gave direct order to his private security to prevent tribal members from entering or exiting the building while voting. Therefore, not all members were allowed to vote.

-The River Rock Entertainment Authority, which is also the current Tribal Board of Directors, have discriminately terminated several employees from River Rock Casino (as in the case above) and the Tribal Office without following the proper termination procedures. Those terminated were members who were also in opposition to Hopkins and the Tribal Board.

-The Tribal Board is using disenrollment as a tool of intimidation not only to divide the tribe, but also to postpone our elections by hiring an outside consultant to determine tribal members’ eligibility for membership. So far, 73 voting tribal members (above the age of 18) and 70 children and youth have been threatened with disenrollment and are currently seeking appeal.
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