James "Flaming Eagle" Mooney

[JJimmy]

part I
http://www.courthousenews.com/2016/04/15/ruling-doesnt-settle-future-of-native-american-church.htm

part 2
http://www.courthousenews.com/2016/04/18/native-american-church-uneasy-with-new-influences.htm

part 3
http://www.courthousenews.com/CNSNEWS/Story/Index/89059

part 1

(CN) — In a 10,000-year-old tradition where it's taboo to step forward as a public figure, one has emerged. And it's a voice pushing for changes that nobody else wants.
     James "Flaming Eagle" Mooney, founder of the Oklevueha Native American Church, says marijuana, ayahuasca and "sacred sexuality" are as important to his church as peyote.
     "Cannabis has always been sacred, used since time immemorial," Mooney said in an interview, reached on the phone at a golf course in Utah. "Anything produced by Mother Earth is a sacrament. Outlawing a plant is a sign of a sick society."
     Mooney's attempt to extend sacred status to nontraditional plants and practices has enraged the leaders of the oldest branches of the Native American Church, who say his churches represent an attempt to capitalize on federal protections designed to protect a persecuted heritage by appropriating their name.
     Mooney has repeatedly been accused of having no native ancestry, despite his claim that he is a member of a Seminole tribe that is not federally recognized. He also says he is descended from the warrior chief Osceola and the anthropologist James Warren Mooney, who wrote the bylaws for the first Native American Church.
     Mooney estimated that 300 churches operate under the umbrella of the Oklevhua Native American Church. Most of them use marijuana as a sacrament. Some use peyote or ayahuasca. And a handful offer "sexual healing."
     Sandor Iron Rope, president of the National Council of Native American Churches and the Native American Church of North America, said in an interview that claiming anything other than peyote as a sacrament is an offensive perversion of the traditions his ancestors died to protect.
     "None of the indigenous Native American Church organizations or their chapters that I represent as president of the National Council have this belief that marijuana is a sacrament," Iron Rope said. "I've traveled extensively amongst tribes and I've never sat in a Native American Church marijuana ceremony or even heard about one. I'm full-blood Lakota and I've never experienced it. I've never even heard of it."
     At the Native American Church in Hawaii run by Mooney's son, Michael Rex "Raging Bear" Mooney, marijuana is the main sacrament.
     Iron Rope said both Mooneys are free to practice their beliefs, just not under the umbrella of the Native American Church.
     "Michael and James Mooney can pray to whatever they want to," Iron Rope said. "But trying to blend it all together is not our heritage. And it's not the Native American Church."
     Steven Moore, an attorney with the Native American Rights Fund familiar with the Mooneys, said they are combining completely separate practices without respect for where they came from.
     "It's like they're throwing all native religious traditions and ways into a pot and saying they are all one," Moore said. "Then you are free to just bring anything you want into the teepee, into the sweat lodge. Pray to anything you want. Use all these objects, and then you think you've got all this power. And that is prototypical, New Age spirituality. It's this big stewpot. Let's bring crystals in. Let's bring crow feathers in. There's a pretty red rock in the alleyway behind my office. Let's pray to that."
     Such changes as particularly painful, Moore said, in the Native American tradition.
     "For Native Americans who for 500 years watched everything be taken away from them to then watch the appropriation of their traditional ways, that's kind of the final insult," he added. "You've taken my children. You've taken my land, my water, my trees. What else can you take? Call it New Age spirituality, but don't call it the Native American Church and then seek the hard-earned protection of federal law indigenous people have achieved."
     
Pushing for an Expanded List of Sacraments
     "He's not related to us," said Amanda Bouby, with the Seminole tribal enrollment office.
     James Mooney claims to belong to the Oklevueha band of Seminole, but Bouby said there is no Oklevueha band of Seminole, and that there are no Seminole subtribes.
     Ruth Hopkins, chief judge of the Spirit Lake Tribe in Fargo, North Dakota, who has written for Indian Country Today about Mooney and the Oklevueha Native American Church, said Mooney's ancestry is questionable, and that he has tried to create a maze of information typical of someone "desperately trying to prove he's native."
     Iron Rope is one of five major players in the Native American Church who signed a statement condemning "the proliferation of organizations appropriating the 'Native American Church' name with no ties to the indigenous worship of the holy sacrament peyote."
     "Some of these illegitimate organizations, comprised of non-Native people, are now claiming that marijuana, ayahuasca and other substances are part of Native American Church theology and practice," their statement says. "Nothing could be further from the truth. We, the National Council of Native American Churches, are now stepping forward to advise the public that we do not condone the activities of these illegitimate organizations."
     In addition to Iron Rope, the statement is joined by Steven Benally, president of the Azzee' Bee Nahaga of Dine Nation; Charles Haag, president of the Native American Church of the State of Oklahoma; Albert Red Bear Jr., president of the Native American Church of the State of South Dakota; and Santos De La Cruz Carillo, with Consejo Regional Wixarika Mexico.
     The threat by nontraditional Native American churches is not merely an existential one. Mooney and his son have spearheaded several lawsuits around the country in an attempt to extend legal protections to other plants like cannabis and ayahuasca.
     Last month, James Mooney even testified on behalf of the Sedona Goddess Temple, an Arizona organization he helped found, that claims its religious sacraments consist of "sexual healing." Despite his efforts, the temple's so-called high priestess was convicted of running a brothel.
     Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit declined to extend federal protection to marijuana in a case brought by Michael Mooney.
     Ruling from Honolulu, the court found that marijuana was merely a substitute for peyote and not the main sacrament of Michael Mooney's Hawaii church.
     James Mooney called that a win, saying the ruling would not apply to his own pending federal cases in Oregon and California because in those churches marijuana is the central sacrament.
     James and Michael Mooney may be making similar legal arguments, but disputes over how to run their churches have driven a wedge between father and son.

part 2

With its traditions steeped in modesty, the Native American Church faces an existential dilemma from the aggressive movement in its name to treat marijuana as a church sacrament.
The Ninth Circuit just rejected one such challenge, but the issue's fate is far from certain.
Continue reading for a closer look the church's delicate history, and the legal protections some say are attracting outsiders. To return to Part I of this series, click here.

Old Traditions, New Structure
     The future of a cultural institution founded to protect participants of an ancient tradition from genocide is making its way through half a dozen courts. Resolution will require unified rules to follow and define a religion that spans hundreds of independent sovereign nations.
      The first Native American Church was founded in 1918, but this institution served to safeguard the religions its members have observed for thousands of years.
     Archeological evidence places peyote use in the Americas as far back as 8,000 B.C., but the Bureau of Indian Affairs historically seized and destroyed peyote, and denied food to Indians on reservations for participating in peyote ceremonies.
     At one particularly heinous confrontation in 1890, the Seventh Calvary killed more than 200 Lakota Sioux as they prayed while participating in the Ghost Dance ceremony.
     With more than 300,000 members today, the name "Native American Church" matters, said Sandor Iron Rope, the president of the National Council of Native American Churches and the Native American Church of North America.
     This name represents the sacrifices of past generations and their foresight to protect specific religious practices, Iron Rope said. For new generations or outsiders to bring new practices under this umbrella, he added, is an affront to native elders.
     "Calling ourselves a Native American Church in the beginning — we chose that name for a reason, and it was for protection," Iron Rope said. "Back then, we had no rights. Our grandma and grandpa had no rights. In order to preserve our rights at that time we had to call it a church."
     This generational gap is evident in voting, a practice not guaranteed for Indians in all the states until 1948. This came 24 years after Congress extended citizenship to all Native Americans with the Indian Citizenship Act.
     Iron Rope said the elders understood that "one of the things the white government recognizes is a church."
     "So that's why we chose the name 'church' and that was supposed to protect our people," Iron Rope said. "And now you have outsiders calling themselves a Native American Church. Anybody could just say they're a Native American Church, but that doesn't mean there's an indigenous tradition, a teaching or foundation behind it."
     
Authenticity or Exclusivity?
     One of the so-called outsiders drawing the ire of Iron Rope's council is James Mooney, who founded a Native American Church that includes marijuana as a central sacrament.
     Mooney's attorney, Matt Pappas, called it racist to restrict church membership to only Native Americans.
     "You don't have to be Italian to be part of the Roman Catholic Church," Pappas said. "You don't have to be Chinese to be Buddhist. Religion is an idea. It's a belief. It's not based on blood type. That blood-oriented idea is brought to us from the federal government, the same government that brought us the Trail of Tears. And the Bureau of Indian Affairs? For years and years, their job was to kill Native Americans."
     Pappas said it shouldn't matter to the courts whether the Mooneys have native ancestry or whether the Native American Church has a history of using marijuana as a sacrament.
     "It's not up to the court to determine whether their beliefs are valid," he said. "Only whether they are sincere about it. I could go out tomorrow and I could form a church just as long as I sincerely believe in it. Just like the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. I could wear a strainer on my head and say that's a central tenant, as long as I truly believe that. There doesn't have to be 700 years of history or a certain blood type or anything else, as long as the beliefs are sincerely held."
     A U.S. graduate student founded the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster as a satiric exercise against creationists in 2005, but courts have resisted efforts to grant it protected status. Just last week, a federal judge shot down claims from a so-called Pastafarian inmate who said Nebraska prison officials violated his rights.
     Mooney's fight to obtain federal protections for his church parallels that of his son, Michael Rex "Raging Bear" Mooney, who split off with his own faith, the Native American Church of Hawaii.
     Discussing the family fallout over the phone, Michael Mooney said his father's church has "cheapened itself" by letting go of traditional customs and by charging people to participate in ceremonies.
     Anyone can join James Mooney's Oklevueha Native American Church online by paying $200 and filling out a form, regardless of their membership status with a native tribe.
     Michael Mooney called it "taboo" to charge for participation in church ceremonies.
     "My father is a good man but I believe that, in order to be a member, you need to actually be involved in ceremonies and not just get on the computer and become a member of the church," Michael Mooney said in an interview. "I believe there's a lack of sincerity and authenticity in that."
     And James Mooney had harsh words for his son.
     "He's a thug," the elder Mooney said. "I love my son, but the facts are the facts."
     
Ninth Circuit Steps In
     Michael Mooney and his church filed a federal complaint in 2009 against the U.S. attorney general, the head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. attorney for Hawaii.
     They claimed one of their church members was unfairly targeted for federal prosecution after police seized his sacred marijuana, but Chief U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway threw out the case.
     Finding that that Mooney espoused nothing more than "a strongly held belief in the importance or benefits of marijuana," Mollway said Mooney failed to show that a prohibition on the use of marijuana would create a "substantial burden" on his religion.
     The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed that decision earlier this month.
     Though Mooney said he uses marijuana daily and in twice-monthly moon ceremonies, the court emphasized his other testimony that marijuana was only a substitute for peyote, rather than an irreplaceable sacrament.
     "We fail to see how prohibiting a substance that Mooney freely admits is a substitute would force them to act at odds with their religious beliefs at least when they have made no showing that their primary sacramental substances are otherwise unavailable," Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain for a three-judge panel in Honolulu.
     Discussing his intent to appeal, Michael Mooney said the court "had it wrong."
     "Our chief sacrament is cannabis," Mooney said in an interview. "It's not peyote or ayahuasca."
     Mooney, who calls peyote the "grandfather spirit" of his church, and cannabis "chief mother medicine," said he agrees with native elders who say various psychoactive-plant medicines should not be mixed together during ceremony.
     That distinction may have been where the court got the idea that peyote could take the place of marijuana, Mooney said.
     "I have a relationship with Mescalito, the spirit of peyote, so much so that I don't even believe you should mix tobacco in a peyote ceremony," Mooney said. "The only offering I like to make in a peyote ceremony is putting cedar on the fire."
     Mooney said he doesn't even drink water "when sitting with grandfather."
     "I believe when Mescalito has his time, he likes it to be just his time," Mooney said. "But each medicine has its time. Before you enter teepee, cannabis is like a kind of warning for grandfather. And when you exit in the morning when the sun is coming up, cannabis can be a beautiful experience. But during ceremony I don't believe they should be mixed."
     Mooney's attorney, Michael Glenn of Honolulu, called the Ninth Circuit ruling "a terrible decision, unsupported by fact."
     "They didn't seem to understand that the Native American Church has no books and it has no tenants," Glenn said. "The Native American Church doesn't even have a building. It's just a way of life that has existed for thousands of years."
     Glenn said the ruling came as a surprise, given the decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, where the U.S. Supreme Court found that a for-profit corporation could use religion as a reason to refuse to pay for contraception for employees.
     "But a church that has been using peyote and cannabis for thousands of years being prevented from religious ceremony is not substantially burdened?" Glenn said. "I guess if we mentioned abortion or said we wanted to discriminate against gays that would have been protected."
     Five major players in the Native American Church had wanted the Ninth Circuit to address broader themes, but the panel did not reach those arguments.
     
Courthouse News takes a look at these questions in the final part of this series, which also explores the controversy's timing amid nationwide momentum to decriminalize marijuana. Check back Tuesday for Part III.

part 3

Native American Church traditions just survived a Ninth Circuit battle, but a war within the church wages on.In this article, the final chapter of a three-part series, Courthouse News looks at the church's place in the nationwide movement to decriminalize marijuana.Continue reading below, or return to Part I or Part II of this series. Larger Questions Remain Unanswered Though happy that the Ninth Circuit ruled against a nontraditional church using its name earlier this month, five major players in the Native American Church had hoped the federal appeals would touch on broader issues. In an amicus brief, the National Council of Native American Churches and other groups asked the court to designate peyote as the only sacrament in Native American Church doctrine. Council president Sandor Iron Rope said establishing the true underpinnings of the Native American Church are a critical part of protecting its traditions. "What we're going off of is tribal lineage, tribal teachings that come down from our grandma and grandpa," Iron Rope said. "We're not in a New Age paradigm where we create our own religion and grab anything and put it on our altar and say it's sacred. You can call anything sacred, but we have a tribal lineage and teaching that tells us what actually is and isn't." The Ninth Circuit did not reach these questions in its April 6 ruling against one of the nontraditional Native American churches that Iron Rope's council condemns. Peyote in the Native American tradition dates back thousands of years, but Michael Mooney's Native American Church of Hawaii had asked the court to extend federal protections for its use of marijuana, which it calls a central sacrament. The court shot them down, but Mooney said there is no single religious doctrine uniting the many nations of Native America. "Prior to colonization, we had thousands of tribes," Mooney said. "Some smoked cannabis as prayer smoke — any smoke gives prayers to creator and ancestors." Not all native nations have a tradition of using peyote. And the Sun Dance was mostly practiced by plains tribes.      Some native groups don't use peyote, but practice religious pipe ceremonies where they smoke a blend of herbs and tobacco called kinnikinnick. And all have their own varying religious songs and stories. "For any Native American nation to put aside all the other songs and tradition and say that peyote is the only sacrament is absolutely ridiculous," Mooney said. "They're trying to claim ownership of the Native American Church. It's absurd." Mooney called marijuana a "very appropriate" medicine for the ailments of modern times. "When you get going too much in modern society, it allows you to slow down and feel things and actually think about things in a conscious manner," he added. "We can see and notice and obviousness of creator around us." Native American Rights Fund attorney Steven Moore condemned this thinking, which Mooney and his father each espouse with different churches they bill as Native American. "The Mooneys think they have license to do whatever they want to do under federal law, and they don't think their actions have any adverse effect on the people of Native America," Moore said. The whims of a religion that was "made up in the last 20 years and changes all the time" should not bring court scrutiny on laws meant to protect Native Americans, the attorney added. "They're creating a new set of religious doctrine here under a belief system where anything that can produce some kind of mind-altering state is protected," Moore said. "And they're saying it's protected under their status as a Native American Church." What makes this situation particularly dangerous, Moore said, is that it could allow non-native people to decide the future of the Native American Church. "The Mooneys should not be conjuring up self-proclaimed religions for their own profit and ego-gratification, under the guise of the 'Native American Church,' when that name carries real weight and legitimacy under federal law," Moore said. "Their motives are transparent and illegitimate." A Radical Departure From Tradition      The Mooney family's connection to a Native American tribe is disputed. While patriarch James Mooney claims to belong to the Oklevueha band of Seminole, an enrollment specialist for the Seminole Tribe of Florida said there is no Oklevueha band of Seminole, and that there are no Seminole subtribes. Like his son's church in Hawaii, James Mooney's Oklevueha Native American Church considers marijuana a sacrament. Protections for a broader class of psychoactive drugs, however, are not the elder Mooney's only break from native traditions. He told Courthouse News that he helped found four goddess temples under the Oklevhua umbrella whose mission is to practice "sexual healing." The self-described "high priestess" of one such church, the Phoenix Goddess Temple, is embroiled in her own legal saga. After a month-long trial, a jury for the Maricopa County Superior Court found Tracy Elise guilty of prostitution, running a house of prostitution, pandering, money laundering and running an illegal enterprise. Elise, who represented herself, tried to convince the court that sexual healing is the foundation of her religion. "I'm doing this for spiritual purposes," Elise told supporters just before the jury read her guilty verdict. "What I think is going to affect the light of my soul and where I go later. If I get sent to prison, I will continue my ministry with the women around me. But it would make me sad because I have beautiful teachings for couples and for men that I wouldn't be able to share." She is scheduled for sentencing on May 6.      James Mooney testified for a day and a half on Elise's behalf, at one point kneeling on a rug to demonstrate a pipe ceremony for the court. Mooney explained that the demonstration would show "the tantric combination of male, represented by the pipe, and female, represented by the pipe's bowl." Mooney told Courthouse News that he vetted Elise and the high priestesses of the other goddess temples before offering the protection of being an independent branch of his Native American Church. "I interviewed them over a period of years and was convinced that they were working on and mastering the anointing oil ceremony that native people have been doing forever," Mooney said. Mooney said operations at the other Oklevueha goddess temples were running smoothly. "They have no problems," Mooney said. "The only problem is the bogus, idiot prosecuting attorneys." James and Michael Mooney's faiths have parted ways, but both consider cannabis sacred. "The government tried to say that peyote is the only plant that can be utilized by our church," James Mooney said. "That's bullshit. Any plant can be used." With legal use of the drug spreading across the country, Michael Mooney said his church aims to help mitigate excessive use of a drug whose use is quickly becoming normalized. Medical marijuana is legal in 23 states and the District of Columbia, while recreational use is allowed in Oregon, Washington and Colorado. "Whether it takes two years or 13, once we receive this exemption we can drop in a little consciousness to use it in a sacred manner," Michael Mooney said. "We believe we are having an effect with our prayers here to help people respect this medicine and appreciate the gift of living God and reconnect with nature." Iron Rope said that's not the role of the Native American Church. "We've never been in a marijuana ceremony nor have our grandmothers or grandfathers," he said. "It really gets people angry when you try to say that marijuana is part of the Native American Church. It's really a slap in your grandma and grandpa's face. One thing about indigenous cultures is respect, and we really try to maintain that ceremonial respect for what has been handed down to use. Marijuana is not even from our homelands. It may have its medicinal uses, but don't confuse it with our holy peyote."

[Piff]

 Death at an Oklevueha church http://www.kentucky.com/news/local/counties/madison-county/article98671762.html

[Piff]

Suit: Woman’s collapse, death due to negligence at Berea church

By Greg Kocher

June 14, 2017

The estate of a woman who died last year after collapsing at a Native American church seeks damages from the Berea church, its owners and its affiliated nonprofit organization in Utah.

A lawsuit filed last month by Katherine Lowry Logan, a court-appointed representative of the family, alleges in the suit that Lindsay Marie Poole, 33, of Anderson, S.C., died of “negligence.”

Poole was pronounced dead Aug. 27 at St. Joseph Berea Hospital after collapsing at Oklevueha Native American Church of the Peaceful Mountain Way in Berea. The incident was investigated by Berea police, but no criminal charges have been filed.

The suit names as defendants the Oklevueha Earthwalks Native American Church of Utah Inc. and its “owner” and spiritual leader, James W. “Flaming Eagle” Mooney, as well as the Oklevueha Native American Church of the Peaceful Mountain Way in Berea and its “owners,” Demian and Tina Gover of Richmond.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/news/local/counties/madison-county/article156151889.html#storylink=cpy

[Piff]

This is a fictional story based on actual people and events involved in ONAC. I regularly follow ONAC member conversations on their public Facebook pages and websites.

Mary wants to use drugs. She wants to enjoy drugs without feeling guilt, she would prefer to feel righteous and spiritual. Mary calls drugs "medicine", she talks a lot about nature and her rights and mother earth. Mary finds many people who agree with her.

Mary comes across James Mooney, either online or at an event. He seems to answer all her questions and fulfill all her desires. He says she too can be NDN! and take drugs! In fact he says she already is, since she was born in the USA, she is Native! Mooney seems charismatic and acts as her guide into the world she has always wanted to join.

Mary pays him $ for an ONAC  membership card. She believes this card will ward off law enforcement, with a wave of the card all doors will open before her, and she will be acknowledged as the "medicine woman" she thinks she is.

Mooney's website reassures her, with its excessive verbiage that falsely claims Oklevueha activity is protected by law. Mary attends various events, and enjoys, but eventually decides she wants to invest further, she wants to lead an Oklevueha branch.

Mary pays much more money to Mooney and is given a branch membership. Now she can do her own drug performances and gather her own followers. She has to gather money from everyone who attends her branch and send that to Mooney.

Eventually Mary gets tired of sending money to Mooney and decides she can go off on her own. Why can't she teach others how to set up churches, and earn her mortgage payments that way? So Mary tweaks the name of her group a bit so as to rebrand it. She announces that she can be paid to help set up churches.

Word filters back to grand poohbah Mooney. He lays the smack down. He issues a decree that Mary is no longer part of Oklevueha, that she is *gasp* selling churches!, and that Oklevueha will not help her if she gets into legal trouble.

Meanwhile, Medicine Woman Mary is having fun. Money, power, attention, drugs. Grateful people give her money to tell them how to set up their own fake drug church.

Mooney's minions spread the word that Mary is to be stopped. Mary finds herself harassed online and off. She is stalked, her workplace is called, and the Oklevueha community is abuzz.

Someone dies at her drug ceremony.  Mooney states that this is not his fault, Mary had broken the Oklevueha code of ethics, so he is not responsible for her. Up until recently, Mary had been told that Oklevueha would help her out legally if need be. But none of this was ever legal. And Oklevueha never steps up to help their dupes.

Mary is being sued. She is under investigation for her drug involvement. Someone has died. Meanwhile Mooney hires more attorneys for himself, requires more tithing from members, and continues his drug racket money making machine. He endangers more people, makes more money, and laughs all the way to the bank.

[Piff]

James Mooney charges individuals fees for membership in his fake church OKLEVUEHA EARTHWALKS NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF UTAH, INC.

(previously known as OKLEVUEHA EARTHWALKS, INC, also doing business as OKLEVUEHA N.A.C. OF HEARTSONG LIVING CENTER, OKLEVUEHA NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF WHISPERING WOLVES, OKLEVUEHA NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF TAYLORVILLE. )

After paying membership fees, individual members are also asked to tithe and donate more money.

James Mooney also sells independent branch memberships. These memberships are said to cost several thousand dollars. Each branch then must collect individual membership fees for every participant at their events, and send that also to Mooney.

I ran a search through every state government business site for the word "Oklevueha". Here is a list of the current active groups I found. This list represents about 35 additional active income streams for the Mooneys.

This list does not include groups like that of his son's in Hawaii, people who have had disagreements with the patriarch Mooney and who no longer use the name Oklevueha. It does not include any of the many inactive groups. I also did not include Ayahuasca Healings (formerly of Washington state), because I don't know what their current status with Mooney is.

Arizona
OKLEVUEHA NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF INTERNATIONAL CENTER OF SPIRITUAL AND ANCESTRAL WISDOM (trademark for INTERNATIONAL CENTER OF SPIRITUAL AND ANCESTRAL WISDOM, LLC)

Arkansas
COPPERHEAD HILL OKLEVUEHA NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF ARKANSAS INC. (C.H.O.N.A.C.A.I.)

California
OKLEVUEHA NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH HEARTWOOD
OKLEVUEHA NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF CENTRAL VALLEY
 OKLEVUEHA NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF GREATER LOS ANGELES
OKLEVUEHA NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF ORANGE COUNTY
OKLEVUEHA NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF SACRAMENTAL HEALING INC.
OKLEVUEHA NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF SACRAMENTO
OKLEVUEHA NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF SOUTH BAY
OKLEVUEHA NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF SPIRITUAL HEALING
OKLEVUEHA NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF THE BAY
 OKLEVUEHA NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF THE VALLEY
 OKLEVUEHA NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF WEST LOS ANGELES

Delaware
OKLEVUEHA NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF DELAWARE FOUNDATION
OKLEVUEHA NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF THE EASTERN SHORE INC.

Florida
OKLEVUEHA BAND OF YAMASSEE SEMINOLE INDIANS, INC.
OKLEVUEHA NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF SOMAVEDA INC.
OKLEVUEHA NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH SOMAVEDA OF SOUL QUEST INC.
OKLEVUEHA NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF SPIRIT TALKS INC.

Idaho
OKLEVUEHA NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF SPIRIT SHIELD INC

Indiana
OKLEVUEHA NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF FIRST NATION CHICKAMAUGA INCORPORATED
OKLEVUEHA NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF INDIANA APACHE & CHEROKEE NATIONS INCORPORATED

Michigan
OKLEVUEHA NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH
OKLEVUEHA NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF CANTE WOWICAKHE
OKLEVUEHA NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF HEALING LIGHT
OKLEVUEHA NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF METROPOLITAN DETROIT
 OKLEVUEHA NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF OOEUOEU
OKLEVUEHA NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH SOMAVEDA OF THOUSAND SUNS, INC.

Nebraska
OKLEVUEHA ASSOCIATES LIMITED PARTNERSHIP

Ohio
OKLEVUEHA NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF ANYANA-KAI
OKLEVUEHA NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF MAHONING
OKLEVUEHA NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF WILLOWHAWK VALLEY SANCTUARY

South Carolina
OKLEVUEHA NAC BEAR CLAN OF SC

Tennessee
Oklevueha Native American Church of Buckeye Farm Inc.

Utah
OKLEVUEHA EARTHWALKS NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF UTAH, INC.
OKLEVUEHA NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF ORDERVILLE
OKLEVUEHA NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF SERENITY ECO VILLAGE
OKLEVUEHA NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF TAYLORSVILLE
OKLEVUEHA NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF TOQUERVILLE
OKLEVUEHA NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF WHISPERING WOLVES

Wisconsin
OKLEVUEHA BAND INDIAN COLONY, INC.

[educatedindian]

FB page with lots of revealing photos of a fair skinned and fair haired Mooney with a dangerous looking attempt at a sweatlodge.
 https://www.facebook.com/Victims-of-Oklevueha-Native-American-Church-1222864754413922/?rc=p
Wm Anderson shows up to defend ONAC. There's also a threat from an ONAC follower.

---------
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/prophecykeepers/2016/06/07/illegally-operating-churches-styled-as-oklevueha-native-american-church-branches-1
Oklevueha Native Amerian Church's Public Information Officer Sachem Joy Graves
has a special legal announcement regarding bogus ONAC branches operating illegally.

http://members.calbar.ca.gov/fal/Member/Detail/62102

List of the churches announced as being illegitimate:

Currently Registered with the State of California.

4 of them list Matthew Pappas as the Registered Agent.
HUERTA CHURCH OF ONAC INC. - Filed on 5/2/16 Entity # C3902973
MANZANITA CHURCH OF ONAC INC. - Filed on 5/2/16 Entity # C3902974
MESA GRANDE CHURCH OF ONAC INC. - Filed on 5/2/16 Entity # C3902972
PINES CHURCH OF ONAC INC. - Filed on 5/2/16 Entity # C3902971
1 of them list Charnel James as the Registered Agent.
DAM VIEW CHURCH OF ONAC INC. - Filed on 5/13/16 Entity # C3907541
15 of them list Patrick McNeal as the Registered Agent.
ARBOR VERDE ONAC INC. - Filed on 1/28/16 Entity # C3869485
ARBOR VITAE ONAC INC. - Filed on 1/25/16 Entity # C3868335
CELTIC ONAC MINISTRIES INC. - Filed on 1/25/16 Entity # C3868508
CIRCLE OF LIFE ONAC INC. - Filed on 1/28/16 Entity # C3869483
GARDEN OF LIFE ONAC INC. - Filed on 2/17/16 Entity # C3876474
LIFE CHURCHES OF ONAC INC. - Filed on 2/25/16 Entity # C3879516
LIFESPRING ONAC MINISTRIES INC. - Filed on 1/22/16 Entity # C3867715
ONAC OF ARROYO SECO INC. - Filed on 2/16/16 Entity # C3876452
ONAC OF SAN GABRIEL INC. - Filed on 2/16/16 Entity # C3876023
ONAC OF SAN PASCUAL INC. - Filed on 2/16/16 Entity # C3876025
RIVER OF LIFE ONAC INC. - Filed on 1/25/16 Entity # C3868510
SEA OF LIFE ONAC INC. - Filed on 1/28/16 Entity # C3869484
TREE OF LIFE ONAC INC. - Filed on 1/25/16 Entity # C3868336
TRINITY ONAC INC. - Filed on 2/16/16 Entity # C3876453
ZHI SHU ONAC INC. - Filed on 1/25/16 Entity # C3868337

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This is ONAC's denunication of Patrick McNeal. Frauds denouncing other frauds.
http://onackmoregon.wixsite.com/news-and-current-aff/single-post/2016/05/14/Double-Church-Sting-shuts-down-Fraudulent-Native-American-Church
Internal Church Sting shuts down Fraudulent Native American Church May 17, 2016
 Yesterday afternoon, a team of representatives of Oklevueha Native Native American Church , infiltrated a fraudulent Native American Church operating illegally in downtown Marysville, California.
 
 The "church', identifying itself as "Life Churches of ONAC INC." registered to Patrick D. McNeal of Tustin, California was in operation with McNeal present at the location. The issue is, that such a church was never officially nor Legally blessed into establishment, which is traditional authentication Of a Native American Church.
 
 Despite hearing his name being bellowed throughout the office, McNeal was unwilling to initially step forth as his office partner, attorney Charnel James was seemingly not present to help buffer the official confrontation. Video tape from multiple witnesses show Sachem Joy M. Graves, CEO of  for ONAC KM repeatedly refusing to sit down and wait while McNeal was apparently collecting "Contribution Money" from prospective victims.
 
 As counter staff attempted to stall, it would soon come to be learned that apparently NcNeal was actually calling police in the hopes of alluding the situation at hand. When McNeal did finally emerge, knowing he was being filmed, McNeal kept a peaceful disposition and accepted the notice and demand to shut down said he agreed to immediately stop all operations without any surprise to the notice nor alligation.
 
 When confronted about operating the illegal church and taking advantage of the church and tribal peoples by ONAC KM's Youth Delegate Tyler Chillson of the Cree Nations, McNeal quickly stated that he had received a blessing from both Oklevueha founders James & Linda Mooney just the week before... interesting to hear considering that this "Church" was actually legally incorporated by McNeal with the state of California January 26th 2016.
 
 McNeal, a Former attorney, who, as it turns out, was DISBARRED by the California state Supreme Court after being disciplined to the point of being Ineligible to practice law within the state, only showed a degree of shock at the presence of Chillson as Chillson was among the three tribal delegates asked to come and then ultimately thrown out of what has turned out to prove to be one among many of this churches illegal branches established to sell cannabis to church members for sacrament.  The Mooney's however both state that it is not only untrue but not How a blessing as a church is done and Legally established.

Photographed here on the right you can see front line cannabis activists David & Marla James of So-Cal, who are becoming famous for having been proprietors of a Santa Ana cannabis dispensary raided and shut down last year, a case which Pappas and his team continue to build their reputations off of today.
 
In the article published, Marla James is quoted as joining ONAC per the suggestion of Pappas in order of legally being able to dispense cannabis medicine despite county and state bans such as the one that shut them down once already. In the background, you can see now former assistant of Matt Pappas Sergio Sandovall engaging in conversation with former attorney turned crook Patrick McNeal (bald) with an ONAC banner immediately in the background..
 
 Patrick McNeal apparently became an attorney in 1974. 20 years in, he began suffering legal discipline ranging from probation's and fines, to suspension and ultimately even disbarment in 2010. However the state of California notes that McNeal has not been elegible to practice law within the state beginning in 1996 because of discliplinary action. ONAC  Sachem Graves encourages people to "seek the truth and facts out for yourself" and references to the state's website specifically regarding Patrick McNeal, and to contact the Mother Church directly IF you or someone you know has been victimized in this way by any of these people.
 
 Emails from McNeal to other Pappas workers show that McNeal had began targeting the tribal delegates for being a threat to this now exposed operation. McNeal is noted as having commented that "These stupid Indians have big mouths" and instructing other associates to "stay close to" and even to go so far as to monitor their telephone conversations and to "keep them away from our operations." To the contrary, McNeal prides himself as being a fan of tribal culture and is quick to note Always how he Chose to "Study Native American Culture" in college.
 
 Though Matthew Pappas's name is not directly on Any legality establishing this church, nor the second falsely established church associating into this situation "Life Spring ONAC Ministries", which doesn't yet appear to note McNeal as a part of other than by this scams association, church leaders say that McNeal's present position as well as connective history to Oklevueha and the Mooney's clearly intersect because of Pappas's affiliation with them almost one year ago and that it's yet unclear as to the level of depth and awareness into the scam of establishing fake churches for profit goes.
 
 What has shown clear is that since the first part of this year, Hundreds of Thousands of dollars have been illegally solicited and embezzled at the hands of Pappas and McNeal in the name of Oklevueha Native American Church, to which the church itself has seen not a single penny From, and this is just beginning to scratch at the top of the surface.
 
 More worrisome to church leaders is in the fact that there are many people out there who were led to believe that they are actual members of the church and that by being so they will be legally protected while in reality we have no official record of them, because they are not legitimate members and in turn have no legal protection that they think they do as they're out in their daily lives."
 
 Since word of the shut down has began to spread, more than 8 additional victims of McNeal's church have stepped forward claiming to have been financially taken thinking they were actually joining the church And buying independant branches thereof, some who have personally given McNeal tens of thousands of dollars, while all having signed contracts stating they owe tens of thousands more for church protection they have yet to obtain....

--------
McNeal's disbarment.
http://members.calbar.ca.gov/fal/Member/Detail/62102
Attorney Search Patrick Dayton McNeal - #62102
Current Status:    Disbarred
This member is prohibited from practicing law in California by order of the California Supreme Court.

Bar Number:   62102       
Address:   Law Office of Patrick D. McNeal
714 N Spurgeon St
Santa Ana, CA 92701   Phone Number:   (714) 836-0052
Fax Number:   (714) 836-0056
Email:   pdm@mcneallaw.com
County:   Orange
Undergraduate School:   Univ of California Irvine; Irvine CA
District:   District 4       
Sections:   None   Law School:   UCLA SOL; Los Angeles CA
Status History
Effective Date   Status Change
Present   Disbarred
2/26/2010   Disbarred    6/22/2009 Not Eligible To Practice Law in CA   
2/2/2005   Active    12/4/2004 Not Eligible To Practice Law in CA   
11/21/2004 Active    11/21/2003 Not Eligible To Practice Law in CA   
2/4/1997   Active    12/21/1996   Not Eligible To Practice Law in CA   
12/20/1974   Admitted to The State Bar of California

2/26/2010   Disbarment   07-O-10023   Disbarred
10/5/2009   Ordered inactive   07-O-10023   Not Eligible To Practice Law in CA
6/22/2009   Ordered inactive   07-O-10023   Not Eligible To Practice Law in CA
12/4/2004   Discipline w/actual suspension   04-N-10546   Not Eligible To Practice Law in CA
11/21/2003   Discipline w/actual suspension   97-O-16522   Not Eligible To Practice Law in CA
12/24/1998   Discipline, probation; no actual susp.   94-O-16879   
12/21/1996   Discipline w/actual suspension   95-PM-10628   Not Eligible To Practice Law in CA
7/17/1994   Discipline, probation; no actual susp.   93-O-10542   

7/1/2009   Suspended, failed to pay Bar membr. fees      Not Eligible To Practice Law in CA

PATRICK DAYTON McNEAL [#62102], 61, of Santa Ana was disbarred Feb. 26, 2010, and was ordered to comply with rule 9.20 of the California Rules of Court.

In a default proceeding that followed six prior disciplinary orders in 20 years, the State Bar Court found that McNeal committed 39 counts of misconduct in five matters. The court found that he failed to return unearned fees, perform legal services, account for client funds, communicate with his client and cooperate with the bar’s investigation. He also committed acts of moral turpitude, commingled personal and client funds in his trust account and abandoned clients.
In recommending McNeal’s disbarment, Judge Donald F. Miles said McNeal has “repeatedly committed misconduct during 21 of the 35 years of his practice. This is (his) seventh disciplinary proceeding. Probation and suspension have proven inadequate to prevent continued misconduct. And, no compelling mitigation has been shown.”
In all five cases, McNeal represented criminal defendants but did little or no work. When the clients sought refunds of their fees, he either issued a check against insufficient funds or ignored the requests.
He deposited personal and client funds in his trust account and either wrote bad checks or tried to make electronic transfers of funds.
December 12, 2004

PATRICK D. McNEAL [#62102], 55, of Brea was actually suspended for 60 days, beginning Dec.12, 2004.

McNeal did not comply with rule 955, as required by a 2003 disciplinary order. He submitted two incomplete compliance affidavits before submitting a corrected version late.
He has been disciplined five previous times; the underlying matter was a suspension imposed for committing seven acts of misconduct in two cases.
November 21, 2003

PATRICK DAYTON McNEAL [#62102], 54, of Brea was suspended for three years, stayed, placed on three years of probation with a one-year actual suspension and was ordered to make restitution, take the MPRE and comply with rule 955. The order took effect Nov. 21, 2003.

The State Bar Court found that McNeal committed seven acts of misconduct in two cases.
In the first, he agreed to represent a client in a real property matter the day before he was scheduled to begin an actual suspension from practice; the suspension lasted about six weeks. Nonetheless, the client never heard anything from McNeal despite inquiries for a year and a half.
The case was to be handled from McNeal's Rancho Cucamonga office by an associate who handled civil matters. After the associate left and the case was transferred to another attorney, the issues were researched, but no further work was done. McNeal acknowledged that he did not properly supervise the case and he ultimately closed the Rancho Cucamonga office.
The client's unresolved problem adversely affected her credit report, which shows a bankruptcy that her brother-in-law filed but is attributed to her. Threatened with foreclosure, the client was fearful her house would be sold. She negotiated the payment of a fraudulent loan on the home herself.
The bar court found that McNeal failed to respond to client inquiries, refund a $2,500 unearned fee or cooperate with the bar's investigation.
In the second matter, McNeal practiced law while suspended by representing a client in a criminal case. After the suspension ended and prior to the trial, the prosecution noted that McNeal had not provided a witness list and he also was sanctioned $400 for not being prepared to proceed to trial. An inexperienced attorney who had never selected a jury did so.
Just prior to the trial, McNeal asked the client for additional fees, but the client said he was unable to pay. McNeal encouraged him to plead guilty with an open plea, one without an agreement as to custody time. The bar court found that McNeal never computed the client's exposure, provided accurate information and gave the client the erroneous hope of probation and possible weekends in custody. McNeal told him it was realistic to expect a three-year sentence.
The court found that McNeal pushed the client to enter into the plea agreement. It also found McNeal did not properly prepare for trial.
The client pleaded no contest but later changed his mind. On McNeal's advice, he did not appear at a meeting with his probation officer and was arrested and remained in jail for nearly a year and a half pending a hearing on withdrawing his plea.
A new lawyer filed a motion to withdraw his plea which the court granted, finding that the original plea was not intelligently entered because of McNeal's erroneous advice, lack of preparation and ineffective assistance.
The bar court found that McNeal engaged in the unauthorized practice of law, committed an act of moral turpitude, failed to perform legal services competently and did not cooperate with the bar's investigation.
He has been disciplined four times previously, beginning in 1991.
In mitigation, he has performed pro bono work through the Orange County Bar Foundation.
December 21, 1996

The probation of PATRICK DAYTON McNEAL [#62102], 47, of Newport Beach was revoked and the previous stay of suspension was lifted Dec. 21, 1996. He was placed on actual suspension for 45 days.

McNeal was suspended and placed on probation in 1994 as a result of misconduct involving one client.
After filing a marital dissolution petition for his client, he failed to return her phone calls for two years, or respond to a request for a status report or to a letter from another attorney requesting documentation on the client's behalf. A member of his staff falsely informed the client her divorce was finalized. In addition, after telling the client that he failed to handle her case competently but would conclude the matter by year's end, he again failed to perform services.
As part of the discipline imposed, McNeal was ordered to file quarterly probation reports as a condition of probation.
McNeal did not receive a copy of either the Supreme Court's discipline order or a probation monitor's reminder until months later and he failed to file his first probation report. The State Bar Court found that because of the confusion, he was not guilty of failing to file his first report.
However, the court said he should have filed subsequent reports but did not.
McNeal was privately reproved in 1991 when he failed to appear at court hearings for his client or inform him of hearing dates. As a result, bench warrants were issued for his client's arrest, and McNeal was fired.
He failed to communicate with his client, competently perform legal service and return unearned fees.

[Piff]

Mooney's operation seems to be in a near constant cycle of drama, infighting, and accusations. Mooney periodically issues a "letter of distrust" with great fanfare to sever ties with anyone he is currently pissed off with.

Joy Maxine Graves, based in Oregon, creates and invests in tons of ONAC drama. Tons. Will Anderson does also.

Matthew Scott Pappas was the ONAC counsel, he no longer is. He still has an active license to practice law in California http://members.calbar.ca.gov/fal/Member/Detail/171860 , no public record of disciplinary actions.

I've uploaded here a .pdf of his statement concerning working for ONAC. His statement is very worth reading.

[Piff]

Apparently, not everyone agrees that an ONAC membership card is a “bulletproof” way to foil the cops—including ONAC’s own former attorney, Matthew Pappas. In the course of a very tawdry falling out with the church full of accusations and counter-accusations, Pappas released a letter to the public detailing his departure—he says, resignation—from the church. While crisscrossing the country to help defend ONAC-affiliated arrestees, Pappas became aware of Mooney’s “bulletproof” claim.

    "As we began helping people around the country who had been charged with crimes or had their sacraments taken by police or local authorities, I learned that James had been telling people they were “bulletproof” from law enforcement and had nothing to worry about when introducing them to ONAC and “gifting” branches while money was paid to him under the proverbial table. More and more people reported they were angry that they’d been promised that they were protected from the law yet had been arrested and lost thousands and thousands of dollars they had put in on a sincere and religious basis because of representations made by James Mooney.” (Pappas 2016:2-3)"

https://savageminds.org/2017/04/07/pandoras-brew-part-6/

Quote from Pappas http://rejectjamesmooney.weebly.com/uploads/1/1/3/0/11305035/matthew_pappas_response_to_mooney_5.15.2016.pdf

[Piff]

Current registered principals of the corporation OKLEVUEHA EARTHWALKS NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF UTAH, INC. , Spanish Fork, Utah:

Position                  Name                                            Address

Trustee    GEORGE GREY EAGLE BERTELSTEIN         1942 10TH AVE    San Francisco CA 941161331
Trustee    SHAUN MCCAUSLAND                         51 N 300 W    La Verkin UT 847455414
Registered Agent    JAMES W.F.E. MOONEY         1559 S 1460 E    Spanish Fork UT 84660
Trustee    JAMES W.F.E. MOONEY                         1559 S 1460 E    Spanish Fork UT 84660
Trustee    LINDA B.H.W. MOONEY                         1559 S 1460 E    Spanish Fork UT 84660
Trustee    LINDA M. SHEHYMN STONE                 1737 STARDUST DR    SLC UT 84118
Trustee    GARY LEE TOM                                         512 S 150 W    Cedar City UT 84720

------------
NAFPS thread on George Bertelstein http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?topic=109.0

Gary Tom is a member of the Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians. Some of the work he has done for ONAC includes running the sweat lodges for Ayahuasca Healings when it was active in Washington state. He is also listed as "Native American Medicine Man" for Marc Shackman's spinoff venture in Hawaii https://heartenergymedicine.com/the-hem-tribe/

Linda Stone is described on the main ONAC site: "ONAC Director of Matriarchal Circle, Elder Medicine Woman and retired Social Worker"
https://nativeamericanchurches.org/sacred-wisdom-circle-institute/

Shaun McCausland is a member of the Constitutional Party of Utah and has run for political office

[Piff]

Myth:

ONAC and James Mooney won a legal case; therefore, their church is legal.

Reality:

False.

Winning a legal case is not the same as being legal.

ONAC and James Mooney won a legal case for the use of peyote in the state of Utah, not for ayahuasca, in that state or any other.

Their peyote exemption in Utah does not extend to ayahuasca or any other sacramental ethnobotanical listed on their membership cards.

Membership to ONAC has already failed as a defense for cannabis possession a number of times.


http://ayahuascadefense.com/index.php/legal-info/myths-and-realities/

[Sparks]

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/prophecykeepers/2016/06/07/illegally-operating-churches-styled-as-oklevueha-native-american-church-branches-1
Oklevueha Native Amerian Church's Public Information Officer Sachem Joy Graves
has a special legal announcement regarding bogus ONAC branches operating illegally.

The abovementioned person comes up as one of the four "Officers" of the "Oklevueha Native American Church of Wahupta Oyate", which I started a new topic about yesterday:

About Us
Oklevueha Native American Church Wahupta Oyate (ONAC WO) is an Independent Sapling Branch of Oklevueha Earth Walks Native American Church of Spanish Fork, Utah rooted and flourishing in the Central valley area of California in Oroville, California.
 
ONAC Wahupta Oyate is to be the center stregnth of the defense of Mother Medicine Sacrament (Cannabis) within the state of California for community & church under the blessing and authority of James Warren 'Flaming Eagle' Mooney, founder of Oklevueha Earth Walks Native American Church.

Rev. Steven P. Cherms
Chief Executive Officer & Spiritual Leader
Reverend Steven Cherms, "The Rev" has been a minister as well as a front line defender and preserver of Cannabis for well over 25 Years and has been deemed a highly honored pillar as such in the Global Cannabis Community by generations of community activists.

Sachem Joy M. Graves
President & Medicine Healer
Sachem Joy Graves, 'Hawkeye' has been a minister for 7 years, a front line defender and preserver of Cannabis for about 20 years now, 13 of those directly under the wing of Jack Herer, founding father of the global cannabis movement himself personally.

Daniel Gomez
Vice President
Reverend Daniel Gomez has been a minister and a front line defender and preserver of Cannabis for about 10 years now directly under the wing of "The Rev" Steven Cherms.

Virgil Freeman
Chief Medicine Man
Virgil Freeman has blessed us with the agreement of being the Chief Medicine Man of Oklevueha Native American Church of Wahupta Oyate. Virgil is a federally recognized tribal member of the Pit River Reservation in Central California.

Oklevueha Native American Church Wahupta Oyate is an independent "Free" church of Oklevueha Earth Walks Native American Church who maintains  our own 508c1a Tax Exempt Status.

Our Federal Employment Identification Number confirming such is:
#82-238-8405
Please know and understand that this blessing as Oklevueha Native American Church Wahupta Oyate (ONAC WO) is received by the CEO and President of this church as an Additional Blessing upon their pre-existing works and standing as "The United Cannabis Ministry."

(My bolding of the first two paragraphs in this quote of a quote.)

Read more in this thread: http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?topic=5247.0