Monthly Archives: March 2025

You’re kidding right Winnie?

The epitome of self-absorption. The clenched fist is a permanent stance.

So Winnie is on one of her rampages.  This time she’s trying to get a restraining order against David Pocknett. Now you know how she is.  But this time is exceptional. Here’s why. You may have heard that after June’s service there was the situation over the drum. It’s David’s drum…he founded the group, that’s to be respected. Sitting around that drum is sacred. Well, David and another tribal man had words about that…back and forth.  It got a little heated but as the two calmed down and came to terms…. here she comes injecting herself where she is not allowed. The drum and anything pertaining to it is the domain of male tribal members in any Tribe. So she was told to ” mind her %^#!!# business.”   Only Winnie would violate tradition so brazenly and have the nerve to try to get a restraining order. He needs a restraining order against her! Winnie has quite a record.  She beat a woman up who was six months pregnant and did time for it. She’s attacked other women in the Tribe and now she’s violating traditional norms. And she wants a restraining order. Let’s see what the judge says Monday in Falmouth .

Is that what a Vice Chair does? Is that why we’re paying her $85K (that we don’t have)?  To Keep mess going? At Robert Tobey Jr’s Celebration of Life, she ran on for so long a family member had to go to the podium and tell her to stop talking and sit down. Just a lot.

More about Canal Street’s new assistant (wink, wink)…Is the homeless shelter reboot on the way? The money shell game and more, stay tuned!

To the Reel Wamp haters….don’t read this article

We say that because you clearly don’t want to know what’s happening so ….we won’t force you out of your “ignorance zone.”

Anyway, more bad news, and we have no defense.  We do have a so called leadership team that never comes to work, sketchy on duties but diligent on getting that weekly check. Didn’t take long did it? And cash flow? Countdown to meltdown.

Winnie’s in charge and the government center resembles a funeral parlor.

 

Tribal Business News

March 17, 2025

Trump order targets CDFI Fund, threatening Native American access to capital

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday to drastically scale back the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, potentially eliminating a critical source of capital for Native-owned businesses and economic development in tribal communities.

Read more.

The Environmental Protection Agency announced it terminated $20 billion in clean energy funding agreements, including $1.5 billion earmarked for Indian Country, amid lawsuits from grant recipients and escalating political tension.

Read more.

____________________________

 

Ok, what’s the plan Brian? Fenton? Fryebal Council? Weeden fans?

President Joe Biden signs executive order at the White House Tribal Nations Summit on December 7, 2023. (Photo/Levi Rickert for Native News Online)

President Joe Biden signs executive order at the White House Tribal Nations Summit on December 7, 2023. (Photo/Levi Rickert for Native News Online)

The White House on Friday revoked 18 executive actions from the Biden administration, including an order designed to strengthen tribal sovereignty and expand self-determination for the nation’s 574 federally recognized tribes.

The sweeping revocation included Executive Order 14112 of Dec. 6, 2023 — “Reforming Federal Funding and Support for Tribal Nations to Better Embrace Our Trust Responsibilities and Promote the Next Era of Tribal Self-Determination.” This executive order was signed in a room full of tribal leaders at the 2023 White House Tribal Nations Summit.

Biden’s executive order directed federal agencies to “promote compacting, contracting, co-management, co-stewardship, and other agreements with Tribal Nations that allow them to partner with the Federal Government to administer Federal programs and services.”

Biden’s order was meant to expand tribal self-determination across the 574 federally recognized tribes by making it easier for Native Americans to access federal funding and have greater autonomy over how to use the federal funds.

“Today, Tribal Nations still face many barriers to fully exercise their inherent sovereignty, especially in federal funding programs. Far too many of the federal funding and support programs that Tribes rely on are difficult to access, have overly burdensome federal reporting requirements, have unnecessary limitations, or impose requirements on Tribes that drain Tribal resources and undermine their ability to make their own decisions about where and how to meet the needs of their communities,” the executive order stated.

Former Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland (Bay Mills Indian Community) weighed in on Trump’s revoking of Biden’s executive order to Native News Online on Saturday morning:

“This Executive Order was intended to reduce government interference with how Tribes spend their money, and to ensure that federal agencies are actually meeting their legal obligations for Tribes. It made the government more efficient for Indian people. Rolling back this Executive Order increases federal interference with local actions.”

Trump’s action Friday was among 18 Biden administration orders rescinded by Trump in his “Additional Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders And Actions.” The rescission follows a previous Jan. 20 executive order in which Trump revoked 78 other presidential orders and memoranda from the Biden administration.

This is a developing story. 

OBVIOUSLY, THERE IS NO PLAN. Wasting money on trips to DC, no reports or updates on status of funding. The Trump administration has reversed appropriations on our projects including the Parsonage. Thank Ellen Frye and Magpie whose incompetence stalled the project for years.  That funding ($1.2 m), now gone, was secured by Cassie Jackson and Carlton Hendricks, Jr. Other vital project funding has also been stopped. 

When were they going to tell you about any of it?  We’re leaving the door open for them to tell the truth about the rest.

WE WARNED ABOUT THIS.

Sorry this is a long one, but ridiculous stuff keeps coming

You didn’t have to be a genius to see what was happening in the General Body Meeting Sunday. The Treasurer was the designated target.  He was the focus of all the incoming shrapnel and rightfully so.  Well, on the surface it looked like he had some sense of the problem by repeatedly talking about the Tribe’s “dire” financial situation. He said there was only $307K available. That was the same amount reported a week before the election (February 3) even less according to some sources and it certainly is not accurate now.

Apparently, meeting attendees did not know that Canal Street’s finance hand outs were the preliminary findings reported on February 3. That

Canal Street is aging before our very eyes. Soon, very soon, he’ll be walking with a cane and barking at the moon.

report made by the TA, the Interim Comptroller and the Tribal consultant was a bombshell that revealed that “fraudulent entries were made for those large expenditures.” The final phase of the investigation, (initiated by Carlton Hendricks Jr) was supposed to reveal what “fraudulent entries” were made in that tranche of $4.3M. That never happened.

We just don’t know do we?  The women investigating the wrongdoing were fired soon after CK’s crew took over.

It brings to mind the contentious discussion at the General Body

Maddas holds a sign on a pitch folk asking  “Where’s the Pow Wow money?” Ask TAT, he’s an expert on missing Pow Wow money. Brian made him Exec Director of the Gaming Authority. The height of absurdity.

Meeting about the missing $113K Pow Wow money raised and deposited into the general fund. It disappeared. The committee had receipts, and the Tribal members voted to force the Council to return the money. That is a rare action taken in this kind of meeting.  It may need to happen more often because CK’s Council sycophants are either department heads or holed up in finance.  They are loyal only to the chairman. And when you have a Council like this one, dominated by Cliff Walkers, bad stuff happens. As it stands, it’s unclear if the Council voted to restore the money to the committee at last nights Council meeting.

You have a Treasurer who depends on a consulting firm (without a contract) and Mark Harding to direct him. Another rarity was Harding’s presence at the General Boby Meeting. He was there to make sure the treasurer followed the script. And he did. When asked about finance, he explained that the Tribe pays one of the consulting firms $120K a year vs the comptroller’s $140K. So, since they fired the comptroller, he saves $140K because he relies on the firm (that charged us hundreds of thousands for audits 1 year out of 3. He forgot to calculate the 4 (out of 5) women in finance who make a total of $360k a year. They have no degrees, or accounting expertise, just related to the chairman or the Fryes. As a matter of fact, 90% of the professionals hired to clean things up gets harassed and fired. Check the record. We could CONTRACT with an accounting firm for about $100K a year (to do the job of the 4), pay the Comptroller $140K and save $120K. We could also reduce the salary of the Treasurer by $30K.. SAVING $150KTake the money and expand the (sorely lacking) college and vocational school scholarships and hire a credentialed professional to run the homeless shelter.  You know, do something that helps our kids and members in “dire” need.

CS’s plan to get tough on slackers sounded good.  Department heads would have to pay their salaries out of their own grants, if not they are fired in 30-days. But then you realize he’s saying what you want to hear and what we have endlessly pounded on REEL WAMPS. He will never follow through.  Here’s why. Magpie hasn’t upped his grant in many years.  Natana has not either. Both are controversial figures who struggle to adhere to the most basic job responsibilities.  Weeden has never received certification as a Tribal Historic Preservation Officer because he has no Bachelors or Masters degrees. But he still gets paid from other grants Indirect Costs. Natana relies on the same source, CK and the general fund to keeps her controversial school open. Moreover, you’re not going to fire the chairman’s uncle and cousin. That’s not in the Paula/Markie script.

Understand that years of paying these two out of grant Indirect Costs is one of the reasons that fund is in the red $700k. That kind of misappropriation gets the attention of you know who. Thus no budget. No budget for the Gaming Authority. No TA, HR Director, Housing Director or Comptroller. No reports on meetings or events on travel. The management structure in non-existent. 

WINNIE’S REVENGE TOUR

It was a busy week for the old girl. Her penchant for getting in everyone’s business was on blast. Ladylike she is not and for that she was summarily cussed out.

Poor Winnie.  She’s so busy reminding us that she’s the vice chairman, she actually confirms her ineptitude. While Fenton was making his presentation at the meeting, she was running up and down the gym risers hugging people like she had just been released from an institution. Instead of reporting on what she’s doing to improve government services, she rattled on about her fabricated list

of volunteer work. But when she spied Carlton Hendricks Jr’s, youth event flyer to be held in the gym…. she lost her mind. She decided she wanted to jack up rent to $75 an hour and $80 an hour on the weekend. That’s what the council did. So, her obsession with undermining Hendricks is all consuming. Over the top. Worse….she thinks this is the way to raise money for the Tribe.  No one will pay that when it should be free, She’s exhausting.

THE TRUTH IS NON-NEGOTIABLE

A master of setting bonfires under shady regimes, Pocknett watches for the white flags.

When David Pocknett shows up to a meeting, Council members brace

for impact. Pocknett’s candor is unbridled, as he is guaranteed to ask the questions Tribal members are afraid to ask. After hearing a lot of excuses, Winnie’s nonsense, Fenton’s dog and pony script he asked the obvious. Why are the officer’s taking a salary when we don’t have money. No answer…To Roxane Mills he said, “I’m ashamed of you. Sitting up there agreeing with them on all these things.” Roxanne’s adoration of the chairman and his team is baffling to most. It’s a huge turnaround from her distain for the youngster after the Plymouth Plantation robbery.  To the chairman he said, “Say something Brian. Why don’t you say something?” Course Brian told Pocknett to “call me.” To that he said, ” Why should I call you when you’re right here?”

TOTAL RECALL

If you close your eyes and someone reads you the following paragraph, you will swear Cedric Cromwell is still chairman.

Thursday March 13: After crying broke, the treasurer, the chairman and the executive director of the gaming authority headed to the Logan airport by limousine to catch a flight to New York. They ghosted Genting a few weeks ago when they came to town.  Now they are desperate to meet with the gaming moguls to beg for money to pay their salaries. Maybe they will do the right thing.

We doubt it. Because we don’t know what they did with the $13 million last year.  Why would they course correct now?

You can open your eyes.  We’re reliving the nightmare.

Time to catch up !

THE CHRIST IS RIGHT.

A phony traditionalist, CK said it’s not about the casino but getting our land back. Ludicrous. That’s doesn’t feed a family or build economic sustainability. Just like robing Plymouth Plantation. That’s the level of his mandate.

Ok so everyone knows The Child King avoids the Elders but with all the furor after the election and his plan to put Winnie in the post, he talked to one Elder in particular and promised to go to church.  Well, that spread like wildfire all over town and the uproarious laughter was billowing out from house to house.  Well, he showed up in Mashpee Baptist, but it wasn’t because he had an epiphany.  It was babysitting duty for a little cousin.  That probably saved him from bursting into flames as he walked through those double doors.

So, Goodness and light did not last long because the following Saturday during the Elders meeting, CK fell into dictator mode. He had his jester Dizzy Robin reporting to him live while they were trying to decide who to choose as liaison. They did not want Winnie. While the meeting was going on Dizzy was on the phone giving CK every detail and finally barking orders that they are to wait until after the election.  The disrespect is just over the top.  But look at his liaison.

CK’s political patronage continued despite severe money shortfalls. He rewarded Bobby Foster with the dubious title of Executive Chief Financial Officer of the Gaming Authority. And he’s getting paid God only knows how much. This is a guy who forged his GED and covered up finance misappropriations for 3 years. As soon as they thought the coast was clear, they did the payola for Ole TAT. No one in this Tribe is less deserving.

Meanwhile Canal Street pulled out his trick bag.  He couldn’t understand what Annie the Interim Comptroller was trying to explain to him.  And as the information became so overwhelming Canal Street got rid of the last expert who happened to be a CPA.  Meanwhile, he turned to the consulting firms we paid over $500K to do his job (just like The Alleged Treasurer Bobby) and got rid of Annie. Remember, she could have saved us $460K. We are still two years behind with audits. That’s killing us.

Here’s where we are:

  • We have no Budget
  • We have no finance report (fired everyone) and will not get one
  •  We have no reports on grant status/expenditures
  • We have no report on the expenditures or balances in the Gaming Authority or an update on the mission
  • We have no Comptroller, Tribal Administrator, Housing Director, or Human Relations Director
  • We have a CDC being politicized by CK, blocking economic development

You may want to ask about the full report given to Canal Street about any of these issues and more. Believe us there is so much more.

This is how it feels to be TRUMPIFIED. Don’t blame it on the White man.

Bring your popcorn today.  Hot and poppin’

 

Indian Country targeted by Trump’s DOGE….Who will protect us now?

We warned about this.  Do you really think that

Sometimes winners are actually losers. In this case, Brian could care less as long as he keeps getting paid. The thought of going back to his old job makes him break out in hives.

 CK, Winnie, Fenton and Talia can launch a proper strategy to defend our nation? Even if we hire professionals, they would take advantage of the inexperienced officers who are unable to understand the most rudimentary elements of the crisis. Proof of this is what happened in finance with consultants who punked us, charging $500k for the 2022 audit that the Interim Comptroller could have done for $40k. All under CK’s watch.  He’s too busy partying and overrunning tribal police to even pretend to do his job. Keep going down this rabbit hole folks.

 As DOGE lease terminations hit Indian Country, concerns mount about vital services

A USDA Farm Service Agency office. These mostly rural facilities face potential closure under the DOGE initiative, threatening access to essential services for Native American and rural communities.(Photo: USDA)

A USDA Farm Service Agency office. These mostly rural facilities face potential closure under the DOGE initiative, threatening access to essential services for Native American and rural communities.(Photo: USDA)

facebook sharing button A sweeping plan to cancel more than 7,500 leases under the General Services Administration (GSA) has begun to claim Native-serving government offices in six states. The lease directive comes as part of major changes to federal operations under President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by tech mogul Elon Musk. The organization’s website points to cancelled leases for six Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) offices across Oklahoma, Utah, and Arizona, as well as four Indian Health Services offices in New Mexico, Minnesota, California and Oklahoma.

The same website lists closures for Farm Service Agency offices in North and South Dakota — where the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) serves numerous Native American producers.

In Oklahoma alone, five Native-serving offices are affected by the lease terminations, though the impact varies.  A spokesperson for the Kiowa Tribe told CBS affiliate KWTV that the BIA office in Carnegie had been empty for multiple years, making the lease cancellation largely a formality.  In Seminole, however, seven employees reportedly lost their jobs when that office was shuttered earlier this month, with phone lines now disconnected.

The lease cancellations appear to be part of a systematic effort outlined in a Feb. 26 Office of Management and Budget memorandum. The document, which provides guidance on agency workforce reduction and reorganization plans, calls for “a reduced real property footprint” as agencies implement the DOGE initiative. The memo instructs federal departments to “close and/or consolidate regional field offices to the extent consistent with efficient service delivery” while working to achieve “reduced budget topline targets.”

Former USDA and BIA staff who served during the Biden administration expressed concern that regional offices from both agencies would be shuttered as part of the DOGE effort, a move that would have significant impact on Native communities that rely on localized, in-person support for essential services related to economic development and Native agriculture.

When contacted by Tribal Business News today, the BIA provided this statement: “The Department of the Interior is committed to upholding federal responsibilities to tribal communities. Indian Affairs offices remain open and continue to provide services. The Department of the Interior is working with GSA to ensure facilities will be available for the continued delivery of BIA services.”

‘A lot of confusion’

What this means for offices serving tribes — especially BIA and USDA outposts on reservations — remains unclear. Among the GSA’s portfolio of more than 8,300 buildings nationwide are 55 federally run Bureau of Indian Education schools and 83 on-reservation Bureau of Indian Affairs offices, as well as hundreds of USDA locations that provide essential services to Native farmers, ranchers and producers.

Wizipan Garriott, former principal deputy assistant secretary of Indian Affairs, told Tribal Business News the situation has created “a lot of confusion on multiple levels” as tribes grapple with whether or not trust obligations will continue being honored.

“People are asking a lot of questions,” Garriott said. “One, what are employees working remotely supposed to do? There’s been a push to get them to return to the office, but they could be shuttering those offices. And then we have to wonder about those who are receiving essential governmental services, especially those receiving services under treaty and trust responsibilities – that’s more concerning.”

The GSA has not responded to multiple requests for comment from Tribal Business News.

Garriott said federal offices on reservations provide localized and in-person support that couldn’t be replicated through remote work, assuming the services weren’t shut down entirely by a lease termination. Functions such as leasing, land titles, and range management are central to many tribes’ economic development and agricultural operations.

“A lot of that happens in those offices, and I think if you would ask the people doing that work, I think they would tell you it’s virtually impossible to not do the work in those offices,” Garriott said.

It’s not just Indian Country at risk, according to Janie Simms Hipp, CEO and President of ag credit nonprofit Native Agriculture Financial Services. Rural communities across the country could be “royally screwed” if GSA begins shuttering crucial local support, Hipp said.

“If you’re just willy-nilly terminating leases, where is the conversation about disruption of services? It’s not just tribes … everyone around us isn’t going to have a prayer, either,” Hipp told Tribal Business News. “It’s about anybody who lives rural and remote — they will literally be cut off from the possibility of walking into an office and getting a question answered.”

‘A pretty good cause of action’

James Meggesto, partner at law firm Holland and Knight, told Tribal Business News that at least some of the leases tied to tribal services would be difficult or illegal to terminate outright. If a federally-recognized tribe owns a building, or the facility is used for services related to self-governance, the lease falls outside of standard procedure. Instead, the contract has its own statutes and rules under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975.

“If they were to breach that contract, that would not be legal, and tribes would have a pretty good case to seek reinstatement of the lease or damages or both,” Meggesto said. “I think it would be disruptive obviously, and I think tribes would have a pretty good cause of action.”

In addition to agency offices, GSA-managed buildings include federal courthouses, post offices, and data processing centers. All told, the organization manages 8,397 buildings across 2,200 communities in the United States. That includes USDA buildings in every county in the country – a crucial resource for especially remote or disconnected agriculture producers, Hipp said.

Eliminating USDA offices would severely impact rural communities across America, Hipp said.  She noted that USDA has conducted numerous studies on office usage and visitor traffic, showing these locations provide essential services to people with limited internet access.

“There are places where you can make it more efficient, but without these offices, (a farmer) out there on his tractor with no internet is going to be cut off from USDA programs,” she said.

None of the Trump administration orders change the federal government’s trust and treaty obligations to tribes, Meggesto said. However, the rapid pace of the directives could lead to unintended disruptions.

“When they do things that are rushed … you create a situation where people on the ground trying to execute these orders tend to apply them overly broadly,” Meggesto said. “I don’t think it should affect tribes, but I certainly can’t say that it won’t, in one way or other, have a very disruptive effect.”

Brian Edwards provided reporting.

Trashy behavior —lawsuits and malfeasance rule Weeden regime

The Interim Comptroller felt threatened by Treasurer Fenton Soliz so she called 911 after being fired by the Tribal Chairman.  The Comptroller saw too much, and she knew too much. Soliz is incapable of composing an email properly let alone decipher a spread sheet. He is unable to do his job, clearly. She found gross errors amounting to nearly $2m dollars in over payments (that she recovered) and the most horrific is $500 k in payments to Collective Strategies for the 2022 audits (2023 still incomplete). The IC could have gotten it done for $40 k. We can’t reveal all the horrors here.  You would be overwhelmed.

So the Wall Street Wizard, angry with the Interim Comptroller, blamed her for all the problems she revealed in finance. The man is just stupid. Angry with her discoveries and recommendations, he went to the Child King and demanded he fire the IC.  CK did it. But the Tribal Counci didn’t vote on it.  So apparently, we have devolved into a monarchy or autocracy….take your pick. But the treasurer and the chairman are engaged in malfeasance because they have acted without the authority of the Council. Unfortunately, this is becoming common practice with this crew.  That drags the Council right into the illegality.

We have no Tribal Administrator, no Comptroller, no Human Relations Director, and no Housing Director. No professional management. When the Tribal Administrator was fired she was subjected to a horrific diatribe by newly elected Vice Chairwoman Winnie who went off screeching and spiting all over the poor woman. That’s your Vice Chair.  And the others sat there and watched and later joined in berating the poor woman. Word is the chairman wants Winnie to be the liaison to the Elders. That’s a reach for sure.

Talia is supposed to be the liaison to the Youth Council again. That’s not exactly what the kids want. You know why….

Despite the so-called travel ban implemented recently by CK, he sent his tight girl Winnie to DC to represent us at some conference.  Hopefully she wasn’t spitting on people there…but who knows…Oh Talia was with her.  Ahem. This was a junket.  It was not a mission to bring money into tribal coffers.

We just keep paying people that cannot come up with a single plan to generate projects that will bring in money or create jobs. They just keep paying themselves. None of the people elected can help you do a damned thing.

And it looks like they are getting us back into big debt via the same sleazy people. More soon.