For tribes, members only - 2004-02-15
Last year, one of the largest families on the Redding Rancheria committed what Indians call the ultimate desecration: They exhumed the remains of two of their ancestors for DNA testing.
"It's a sacrilege, it's totally disrespectful, but I had to do it," said Bob Foreman, elder statesman of the 76-member clan.
It was either that or face being forced to leave the tribe. The rancheria's enrollment committee had ordered the Foremans to prove they were the direct descendants of the family matriarch, the late Virginia "Nano" Timmons, or be stripped of their tribal membership - including health and education benefits and about $40,000 a year per person from the tribe's Win-River Casino.
Read the full story at Sacramento Bee 
