Kaweah Indian Nation

The Kaweah Indian Nation, Inc., was a civic group interested in cultivating a Native American identity. The group is named after the Kaweah people and has applied for status as a federally recognized tribe in the USA in the 1980s, a petition which was denied.[5][6]

Kaweah Indian Nation, Inc.
Named afterYokuts word
Formation1980[1]
Founded atPorterville, California[1][2]
TypeNonprofit,[3] unrecognized tribe
Registration no.EIN 94-2737435 (CA)[2]
Location
Chief
Malcolm Webber,[4] "Chief Thunderbird IV" Webber[3]

Scam artists have sold purported citizenships in the non-recognized tribe, particularly to Mexican nationals who have entered the US without documents.[4][7] Malcolm Webber, who called himself "Grand Chief Thunderbird IV," was convicted on six felony charges and sentenced to prison time in 2008.[8]

Petition for federal recognition

The Kaweah Indian Nation, based in California at the time, petitioned the US federal government for federal recognition.[9] In 1985, their petition was denied.[10] The proposed finding stated: "The Kaweah Indian, Inc. is a recently formed group that did not exist prior to 1980. ... The KIN is primarily an urban Indian group in Porterville, California, which has no relation to the aboriginal Kaweah Indians and did not evolve from a tribal entity...."[1]

Nonprofit

The group formed a nonprofit organization in Porterville, California, but their nonprofit status was revoked in 2011 not failing to file taxes for three consecutive years.[2]

The group also formed a nonprofit in Wichita, Kansas, in 2005 but dissolved in 2008.[3]

References
  1. Krenzke, Theodore C. (14 June 1984). "Recommendation and Summary of Evidence for the Proposed Finding Against Pederal Acknowledgment of the Kaweah Indian Nation, Inc., Pursuant to 25 CFR 83" (PDF). Office of Federal Acknowledgment. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  2. "Kaweah Indian Nation in Porterville, California". EIN Tax ID. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  3. "Kaweah Indian Nation, Inc". OpenCorporates. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  4. Hilleary, Cecily (4 May 2017). "Native Americans Decry Appropriation of Their History, Culture". Voice of America. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  5. Recommendation and Summary of Evidence for Proposed Finding Against Federal Acknowledgment of the Kaweah Indian Nation, Inc., Pursuant to 25 CFR 83.
  6. Sierra, Jorge Luis. "La tribu de los papeles sin valor legal" (in Spanish). Rumbo. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2009-01-27.
  7. Garcia, Oskar (2007-08-17). "Tribes Offer Membership to Immigrants". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 2007-08-25. Retrieved 2009-01-27.
  8. "Kan. man who sold tribal memberships gets 5 years". Tucson. Arizona Daily Star. 13 December 2008. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  9. "Petitioner #070A: Kaweah Indian Nation, CA". US Depart of the Interior. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  10. Fritz, John W. (April 11, 1985). "Final Determination That the Kaweah Indian Nation, Inc., Does Not Exist as an Indian Tribes" (PDF). Federal Register. 50 (70): 14302. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
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