Author Topic: "Native American Church" Strawberry Plains TN, Jerry Dills AKA Peshewa  (Read 214732 times)

Offline clearwater

  • Posts: 105
Re: Native American church....?
« Reply #45 on: January 22, 2010, 03:23:02 pm »
TO ALL: If anyone wishes at this time to step forward to defend the deeds of Jerry Neal Dills, now is the time to do so.

TO THE NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH (the real NAC, that is): If any members of the true NAC have words or thoughts regarding the matters presented in this thread, now is the time share them here.

Please make your posts now. This matter is about to be jacked to the next level. I will reveal what that means only once it is done.

Enough is enough.

clearwater

Hmmm ... two days and no comments. Silence is golden, I suppose.

For starters when you said one of his "wives" Marion or Melanie or even one i don't know about. Doc gave me payote at a young age to young if you ask me. i witnessed first hand is lies, decit, and under handedness. I watched him get rid of countless people Bruse Torbit, Frank, Roger Crowe, a man named Joe and basicallly anyone that came against him. How many children did he have when you knew him and did you experience the child abuse first hand? And the bingo thing actually ended in 93, in South Carolina i was there. Did you ever partake in what Doc called "konah"? I know about alot of things but what i am more concerned with is the neglect of his children some that is still going on today. I know there are 6, but i have info there is more just don't know how many more. And myself and some others have tried to take him down but he's hard to get too. I pray that one day his delusional world will come crashing and burning down.

Silver Star: Your prayer may be about to answered. We shall see.


24 hours ago I deposited into the mail stream a 3-page cover letter along with a printout of this entire thread, to the list of agencies which follows. To protect myself, I drove 200 miles to another city so that the postmark would not be the city in which I reside; I also left my debit card and cell phone at home and paid cash for the postage, fuel and food, all to ensure that my activities could not be tracked and the mailings could not be intercepted within the mail stream. These were mailed first class with no tracking service. The cover letter included specific details that have not been shared in this forum, in addition to revealing to these agencies my real name and phone number, and the real name and phone number of silver star.

These materials were sent to:

Officer in Charge
US Marshal Service
US Department of Justice
Knoxville, Tennessee

The Honorable Robert E. Cooper, Jr.
Office of the Attorney General
State of Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee

The Honorable Henry McMaster
Office of the Attorney General
State of South Carolina
Columbia, South Carolina

Special Agent in Charge
Knoxville Field Office
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Knoxville, Tennessee

Special Agent in Charge
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Headquarters
Nashville, Tennessee

Special Agent in Charge
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation
Knoxville Consolidated Facility
Knoxville, Tennessee

Special Agent in Charge
US Drug Enforcement Administration
Knoxville, Tennessee

Special Agent in Charge
US Drug Enforcement Administration, Atlanta Division
Atlanta, Georgia


In addition, I have been emailing a friend in another city regarding these mailings, however, much of the information in those emails is intended to be rabbit trails that lead to nowhere, just in case, by some small chance, my emails are being monitored.

The above represents the first wave of mailings regarding this matter. There will be a second wave of mailings next week, which is already set and in place, and will happen whether without me.

In an earlier post I indicated that I would not approach these agencies but would instead let them approach me. Well, after sleeping on my conversation with silver star for a few days, I have changed my mind. After departing from Dills' peyote cult in 1989 or 1990, I had thought that the group had pretty much fizzled out over time. Not so, apparently. It seems that the activities have become more extreme, more bizarre with time, and I cannot in good conscious sit on what I know, knowing that lives are in the balance as you read these words. The matters at hand are far more serious that even I had thought.


Regarding the DEA peyote permit

In my earlier posts I indicated Dills was using a borrowed permit and did not have one of his own. In conversations with silver star, that individual seems to think that there had been a change in permits and thought that Dills may now have a "valid" permit. If that ends up being so, then I would wonder how an individual like Dills can join a state-recognized tribe, without documenting Indian heritage, and then apply for and receive a DEA permit. If the regulations are that lax, then I also qualify to receive a permit. As an individual citizen, I do not have the power to check into these matters; however, federal investigators do, thus they are included in the mailing described here.


A word about Jerry Dills' powerful friends

Jerry Dills himself is a weak, puny, tiny human being who has a great deal of charisma, as cult leaders do, and has bastardized the Native American Church for his own twisted intent. Jerry is far from being stupid, and has always made sure he has surrounded himself by very powerful friends, including attorneys, but more importantly, politicians at the local, state and federal level. Take a look at this list on one of Dills websites:

http://www.nativeamericanchurch.com/thanks.html

I had referred to this list in an earlier post in this thread. The fact is, Jerry actually did know these people and was able to call any of them, or their staff, for assistance at any time. This list is from the mid 1980s, however, I have every reason to think that he has maintained friendships at the highest levels to this day. While many of these friendships and associations were based in mutual aid for topics of Indian affairs in Tennessee, some of these relationships were based on monetary payoffs and drug use. For example, I personally saw Jerry Dills partake of cocaine with a then-sitting US Senator [CORRECTION] US Congressman. I will not name that Senator Congressman (who is no longer in office) nor the time of place of that event. I will share the details of this event only with investigators, in private, for any of the above-named agencies. If interested, I can also point investigators to matters pertaining to the illegal drug trade in Upstate South Carolina in the early 1970s. It really does not matter.

To anyone is a position of authority or power who is assisting Dills' cover his ass, to you I say, you may at this time wish to re-think your allegiances with Jerry Dills.

Once wave #2 of my mailing is released next week, I will report that in this thread, 24 hours after they hit the mail stream in another city.

I will also continue my research and as I can locate information and individuals pertaining to EducatedIndians's query above, I will post that information here in this forum.

clearwater
« Last Edit: January 25, 2010, 06:50:10 pm by clearwater »

Offline Moma_porcupine

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Re: Native American church....?
« Reply #46 on: January 22, 2010, 06:07:32 pm »
Hi Clearwater

I like your user name. Me, i think I should have picked Paranoid_porcupine, because I seem to spend a lot more time getting alarmed than being motherly.

I totally understand you wanting to keep yourself safe, and the message bls926 reported getting when she tried to go to Dills webpage does seem to have been created by the type of person it could be unpleasant to confront.

For the most part what you are saying is very clear , but I do notice a couple places you may be getting sidetracked from the main issue.

It's not clear why you went to another city to mail letters, and why did you take precautions insuring they couldn't be traced back to you, if the letter inside says who you are and your phone number?

The only people those letters would come in contact with in between the point where you mail them and the point where they are recieved and opened , would be the postal workers. Are you saying you think the postal workers in your town would open these letters or report back to Dills that letters with your return address had been mailed to the people in the list you just reported? And if it is someone who works in the post office who is a friend of Dills you are concerned about , why were you worried about someone getting your debit card information to trace these letters back to you, when that information was inside the letter and presumably recieved by everyone who recieved this?

As someone with some expertise in being paranoid, I have found it's really important when I explain my concerns that I be as logical as possible. The first person this helps is myself, as when i feel scared that can take on a logic of it's own , and by making sure my fears actually make sense, I sometimes find that some aspects of my concerns are not really realistic, and it's always nice to know I don't actually need to worry about some of the stuff i was worrying about.  

I also have seen NAFPS threads disappear from google, and like you i suspected someone was pulling some strings to get them removed. maybe they were, but I think since then I have seen that happen with less contentious threads here, and it may also be something in the way google indexes it's searches. Whatever the reason was those contentious threads did come back and now the info is there for all vulnerable people looking for healing to read.

The SSDI is available on a number of search engines. You can also find it through the online LDS website below.

familysearch.org

Whether this death was a suicide or an accident, I am not entirely clear why this family tragedy, which could have happened to any family, is connected to Dills making himself important with a unrealistic Native identity and what many would consider an unrealistic , possibly exploitive version of Native culture. There is pressures in many families that can lead to suicide. I don't really see why this needs to be a part of this discussion.

Maybe there is something more you don't feel comfortable explaining here - and if that is the case don't feel pressured to do so, but it is also good to realize when you post stuff that doesn't logically connect up very well to people reading it who don't know all the details,  that does distract from the main issues which are pretty clear.
« Last Edit: January 22, 2010, 06:11:05 pm by Moma_porcupine »

Offline clearwater

  • Posts: 105
Re: Native American church....?
« Reply #47 on: January 22, 2010, 06:28:46 pm »
PM sent to Moma_porcupine. Thanks for your comments.

clearwater

[EDIT/UPDATE:] We have communicated by PM (see Moma_porcupine comments below). I decided to edit this post rather than to make a new post, because we both agree this is a side issue not relevant to the main topic...

Quote
It's not clear why you went to another city to mail letters, and why did you take precautions insuring they couldn't be traced back to you, if the letter inside says who you are and your phone number?

I have explained myself pretty clearly and I believe you understand my logic in PM, but disagree, which is fine. But the reason I state what I did was so that my correspondence would reach their intended targets, not so that it would not traced back to me. That's not an inconsistency. And yes, mail can be plucked out of the mail stream at any time and at any place. Thanks again for helping keep me focused.
« Last Edit: January 22, 2010, 09:55:13 pm by clearwater »

Offline Moma_porcupine

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Re: Native American church....?
« Reply #48 on: January 22, 2010, 07:26:10 pm »
Clearwater explained their comments to me in a PM. I don't necesarrily agree and think their personal feelings and the complexity of the situation may be slightly confusing the way they are approaching this , but from what I was told privately it sounds like there is a somewhat convoluted logical explanation for the things I pointed out in my previous post. And the main issue remains, which is the concern that people who use a Native identity, traditions and peyote, are doing this in a way that is honest and realistic and actually respects the integrity of these traditions, the people who participate in these traditions , and the identity of the Native people they claim.

Offline Cetan

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Re: Native American church....?
« Reply #49 on: January 22, 2010, 11:21:58 pm »
What I have not seen is the supposed NAC charter number - no official charter and it is not an official NAC chapter. As far as giving the medicine to children, well it is up to them if they eat the medicine and frequently children are given a little medicine if they want it, at least that has been my experience as a baptised member of the NAC, charter 3132 from SD

Offline clearwater

  • Posts: 105
Re: Native American church....?
« Reply #50 on: January 23, 2010, 12:36:05 pm »
What follows is my personal research, analysis and summary of the use of peyote by the Native American Church in general, and how this applies to Jerry Dills' Native American Church, specifically. This will be a rather long, extensive, thorough, and cerebral post.

[EDIT/UPDATE:] The purpose of this extensive post is to document the legitimacy of true Native American Churches, and to dismantle any argument that Jerry Dills may have at operating a legitimate church. I believe those reading this post will come to similar conclusion as I have based on the information presented.

First I will re-cap some comments by previous posters to this forum, and will address their comments as I unfold this review and analysis here.

Jerry Dills goes by several names, including Macaki Peshewa, and another name Neishte. They are all the same person. Dills administers peyote ceremonies in his home in Strawberry Plains, TN without a valid DEA permit. He claims affiliation with the United Remnant Band of Shawnee based in Ohio, where a priest there ("Chief Hawk Pope") did have a peyote permit. Dills does not have a permit and uses this borrowed permit to have peyote delivered to his home. He has, for several decades, administered peyote to young college students (including myself) who he taps into to become "Indian" enough to work for him for free. However, he has no standing to do this, hiding behind his "priesthood" and "Indian" in general and wowing starry-eyed wannabes with peyote trips using a borrowed permit.

As Jerry Pope [AKA "Chief Hawk Pope"] does not have a raptor feather permit, it is hard to imagine that he has a legitimate peyote permit.

Hmmm, I did not know peyote permits could be "lent".

look to the left in photo 3 fire circle and a lodge circle and further left a medicine wheel
looks like he made a bonified sacred sight

What I have not seen is the supposed NAC charter number - no official charter and it is not an official NAC chapter. As far as giving the medicine to children, well it is up to them if they eat the medicine and frequently children are given a little medicine if they want it, at least that has been my experience as a baptised member of the NAC, charter 3132 from SD

In this post I will attempt to analyze the legitimate use of peyote by NAC and how these permits are obtained. In conducting this research I find that there are gaping holes in the available literature.

With regard to  E.P. Grondine's comments above, I cannot find any requirement that an eagle feather permit be held in order to obtain a peyote permit. In conducting my research, my main question is, “What, then, are the requirements to obtain a peyote permit?” This is the question I will attempt to answer with this post.

It appears that the only requirement to obtain a DEA permit is that peyote be used by “Indians” in “bona fide religious ceremonies.” It is clear that the use of peyote is protected under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act:

From the US Department of Justice Website:
Section 1307.31 Native American Church.
http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/21cfr/cfr/1307/1307_31.htm

Quote
The listing of peyote as a controlled substance in Schedule I does not apply to the nondrug use of peyote in bona fide religious ceremonies of the Native American Church, and members of the Native American Church so using peyote are exempt from registration. Any person who manufactures peyote for or distributes peyote to the Native American Church, however, is required to obtain registration annually and to comply with all other requirements of law.

Note that this sub-section of the Act exempts individual members of NAC from registration requirements to use or ingest peyote. However, anyone who distributes peyote is required to obtain DEA registration, which would include growers who distribute it to churches and priests who distribute it to their members. I have found several reference to the requirement that this registration needs to be renewed yearly.

It is also of note that my review of the available materials, including numerous court rulings, makes it clear there are no restrictions on who may ingest peyote. Anyone of any race may ingest peyote and is exempt from registration requirements in this regard. Because there is so much literature to back this up, these questions are easily answered and there is no point in including references here.

So it is easy to establish, as I have done here, that use of peyote is protected under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and further, that there are no restrictions or registration requirements on who may partake of peyote within the construct and of a  “bona fide religious ceremony,” which, according to my understanding of this literature, is generally defined as the “Native American Church.”  So, the issue actually boils down to these questions: Who may obtain a permit to distribute peyote, and what are the requirements for them to apply for this permit? These questions are much more difficult to answer.

First, I will examine the issue of who may obtain a permit and how they may obtain one. Then, I will examine this issue as it related to Native American Church itself and what a “ bona fide religious ceremony” actually is, as this seems to be the only definitions I can find regarding this topic.

Regarding who may obtain a permit, this is an unclear issue, but here are some materials which shed some light on the answer:

Found on the “Drugs Forum” website:
http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8746

Quote
PEYOTE AND PEYOTE LAW

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency reports only a handful of registered distributors who are permitted to sell peyote, and sell only to persons who can prove at least one-quarter blood lineage to a Native American tribe.

Medicine men who live too far from the Texan plains to harvest their own peyote purchase it from such distributors, who must follow regulations from the DEA and the Texas Department of Public Safety. Peyote can be mailed using the U.S. Postal Service if both the distributor and the purchaser of the peyote meet the government's requirements.

Salvador Johnson, a peyote distributor in Mirando City, Texas, said the DEA has pressured him in recent years to be more selective in deciding to whom he should sell peyote.

He said that while membership in a Native American church used to be sufficient, his clients must now prove American Indian ancestry.

"We started asking for tribal enrollment cards and certificates of Indian Blood," Johnson said. "That is the only way we can prove a person is who he says he is."

A federal statute limits peyote use to "Indians" who use it in "bona fide religious ceremonies."

[NOTE: It is possible the laws have been modified to relax the 1/4 blood requirement? I also believe this is an outdated article in that various rulings seem to indicate that there are no race restrictions on who may be a member of the Native American Church. This seems contradictory on its face: court rulings allow any race to ingest peyote, but the law itself states that "Indians" is a requirement? Does this mean now that anyone who is non-Indian may be a priest in the Native American Church? Odd and inconsistent. But, there are other tests of a legitimate church which I will examine later in this post.]

Yes, as stated above, the federal statutes do indeed limit peyote use to "Indians" who use it in "bona fide religious ceremonies.” But finding definitions of what “Indian” and “bona fide religious ceremonies” actually means has been much more difficult for me to pin down.

(At this point I will address the comments of  dabosijigwokush quoted at the top of this post, who indicated that Jerry Dills' “scared grounds” appears to be a bona fide sacred site because it includes a “fire circle and a lodge circle and further left a medicine wheel” in the aerial photos I linked to much earlier in this thread. I can find no reference to any law or ruling which involves the physical location or details such as this. Having these objects on the “sacred grounds” does not in and of themselves define a “bona fide religious ceremony” any more than having a menorah on my table at Hanukkah would define me as having Jewish religious ceremonies or being of the Jewish faith. Someone might see these and conclude I am Jewish, but it is a deeper examination of my faith and practices that would reveal whether I am in fact Jewish or not. In regards to NAC, it is the same test in my opinion.)

So then, what is an “Indian” and what are “bona fide religious ceremonies”? And, applying these answers, who then may apply for and receive a peyote permit?

Some insight to these answers may be found on the Department of Justice website:

Guidance Regarding Petitions for Religious Exemption from the Controlled Substances Act
Pursuant to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act
http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/pubs/rfra_exempt012209.pdf

This 2-page .pdf file indicates there is a process in which to petition the Drug Enforcement Administration to request exemption from the Controlled Substances Act. However, this appears at first glance to be a matter of self-declaration, and this “guidance” really offers no guidance as far as I can tell. It does define a process, but offers little guidance.

In addition, Application for Registration with the DEA itself offers no clues as to who may or may not apply:

APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION
Under the Controlled Substances Act
APPROVED OMB NO 1117-0014
FORM DEA-224 (9-05)
Previous editions are obsolete

http://depts.washington.edu/uwmedres/professional/faq_files/224_form_0905.pdf

The above application does include peyote as a controlled substance but makes no indication of any special requirements placed upon the applicant.

This is further compounded by the fact that there are materials available online which advocate peyote and religious freedoms which make no reference at all to the Native American Church, and even offer an online self-declaration form for the religious use of peyote. The worst, most outrageous example of this is found here:

Council on Spiritual Practices
Entheogens and the Free Exercise Clause

http://csp.org/society/docs/telr-free_exercise.html

The above link to the Council on Spiritual Practices in my opinion incorrectly and illegitimately opens Pandora's box in that it essentially is a how-to guide for any wannabe peyote priest, no matter of race, to self-declare themselves legitimate. If you read this link thoroughly, you will see no reference to the Native American Church and “Indian” is only referenced once in the entire article, then it goes on to actually provide a blank template form for anyone to self-declare themselves to be able to use peyote for religious purposes and spells out a defense if they are ever arrested for having peyote. But, the writer of this article at least had enough sense to offer this caveat:

Quote
To clear up any confusion: The only people who should consider preparing a declaration like that modeled in this article are those people: (1) who, because they are not members of an established entheogen-using church, need to document their religious intent; and (2) fully intend to make efforts at presenting a religious defense (under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act) in the event they are ever arrested. If a person plans to defend on some other ground (e.g., "it's not mine," or "I didn't know what it was"), the declaration, if found, will likely be the best thing the prosecutor could have to rebut the defense.

Choose your weapon wisely.

Yes. Choose your weapon wisely. Interesting choice of words. This article first appeared in the The Entheogen Law Reporter (Issue No. 4, Fall 1994), and whoever wrote this article, in my opinion, is an absolute idiot. They are basically spelling out how to circumvent the very law they are purporting to rely on. I believe that anyone who is stupid enough to execute such a self-declaration is guilty of violating federal law, by definition.

The above link does offer one very interesting insight, however. This quote from the above article link is in regard to the high courts ruling against the use of marijuana and other controlled substances as protected by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act:

Quote
As a practical matter, a court will be more inclined to grant religious protection to a person utilizing a single entheogen rather than a multitude of entheogens. In fact, every case finding in favor of religious use of entheogens has involved a person or church employing a single entheogenic sacrament — namely, peyote.

I will return to this point at the end of this post.

So, the question still remains unanswered: what is “Indian” and what are “bona fide religious ceremonies”? You would think that since the entire issue of peyote permits relies on these definitions, that there would be some clarification of what this actually means. Not nooooo. Not so simple. The best I have been able to find on this is:

Found on the “Drugs Forum” website:
http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8746

Quote
Under federal law, peyote is listed as a Schedule 1 narcotic, which puts it right up there with heroin. Depending on the amount and circumstances, to possess or possess with the intent to sell peyote can carry a maximum fine of $4 million and a jail sentence that can range anywhere from 20 years to life.

However, if you are a member of a federally recognized Native American tribe, you are exempt--as long as everything is kept among tribal members.

"Frankly speaking, we have not come across any peyote seizures for several years (in Southern Arizona)," says DEA Public Information Officer Ramona Sanchez. "It is a controlled substance and is of course on our radar, but we have not seen an alarming use of it. We have a trusting relationship with the Native American Church (that peyote will not be abused). As far as the DEA is concerned, there is a list of all the tribes which can use peyote, and you must be of American Indian heritage with federally recognized criteria to possess and use peyote." (emphasis added)


Ok, well that's a start. So where is this “list of all tribes which can use peyote”? Is is nowhere to be found, that I could find. Unless, of course, it means all tribes? Federal tribes or state tribes? This remains undefined. I did find an online reference to a list of valid Native American Churches, but this link I would think is probably out of date:

DIRECTORY OF NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCHES
http://web.archive.org/web/20050308162749/www.utah-nac.org/nacindex.html

It is of note that the Native American Church of Strawberry Plains, TN (or Knoxville, TN depending on the E-911 change of address) is not on this list, although it has been active since at least 1981 according to the corporate records I documented in an earlier post. I do not know how authoritative or how out of date this list is, so to be safe, it should be assumed it is incomplete and out of date. But it is of note that no NAC is listed for Tennessee at all although that church has existed as a corporation since 1981, and since the early 1970s unincorporated.

So, since I am unable to find the answer to my most basic of questions online, which are, what is an “Indian” and what are “bona fide religious ceremonies,” I will try to answer these questions myself.

I believe the answer who is “Indian” should be left to another discussion another day. My read of the materials indicates that one applying for a peyote permit must be tied to a federally-recognized tribe, and I found many references to that. However, I cannot find this referenced in the US DEA literature, or the in the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. I assume this law and these regulations rely on definitions spelled out elsewhere in federal rules and regulations.

So, I will narrow my question, then, to what “bona fide religious ceremonies” may be, and then zero in on answer to this question as it pertains to the Native American Church of Strawberry Plains, TN.

A “religious ceremony” is defined as--

http://www.audioenglish.net/dictionary/religious_ceremony.htm

Quote
Meaning: “a ceremony having religious meaning”

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "religious ceremony"):

agape; love feast (a religious meal shared as a sign of love and fellowship)

libation (the act of pouring a liquid offering (especially wine) as a religious ceremony)

inunction; unction (anointing as part of a religious ceremony or healing ritual)

sanctification (a religious ceremony in which something is made holy)

sacrament (a formal religious ceremony conferring a specific grace on those who receive it; the two Protestant ceremonies are baptism and the Lord's Supper; in the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church there are seven traditional rites accepted as instituted by Jesus: baptism and confirmation and Holy Eucharist and penance and holy orders and matrimony and extreme unction)

divine service; religious service; service (the act of public worship following prescribed rules)

religious rite; rite (an established ceremony prescribed by a religion)


And, let us examine the definition of “church”:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/CHURCH

Quote
1 : a building for public and especially Christian worship
2 : the clergy or officialdom of a religious body
3 often capitalized : a body or organization of religious believers: as a : the whole body of Christians b : denomination <the Presbyterian church> c : congregation
4 : a public divine worship <goes to church every Sunday>
5 : the clerical profession <considered the church as a possible career>


Ok, well that doesn't help much, does it? I think, then, as far as I am able to determine, the final test for what a “church” is and what “bona fide religious ceremonies” may be more simple that anything we could all imagine. With my apologies to the true Native American Church, I believe the most appropriate comparison to knowing something for what it is or is not, may be found in the US Supreme Court ruling on Jacobellis v. Ohio, 378 U.S. 184 (1964), a Supreme Court decision handed down in 1964 involving whether the state of Ohio could, consistent with the First Amendment, ban the showing of a French film called The Lovers (Les Amants) which the state had deemed obscene:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobellis_v._Ohio

Quote
The most famous opinion from Jacobellis, however, was Justice Potter Stewart's concurrence, holding that the Constitution protected all obscenity except "hard-core pornography." Stewart wrote, "I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description; and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it, and the motion picture involved in this case is not that." (emphasis added)

So, I think this simple test can be applied to any use of a DEA peyote permit within the Native American Church.

Unless there are US DEA specifications to this effect (which I have been unable to locate), then a “bona fide religious ceremonies” is a subjective thing and the I know It When I See It test is probably the best one there is.

The Native American Church of Strawberry Plains, TN fails this test.

Applied to the Native American Church of Jerry “Doc” Dills (a/k/a Dr. Macaki Peshewa), I put forth that is fails this simple test, for these reasons:

1) Dills' church has less than a dozen members, although it claims to have hundreds of members, it will be unable to produce any membership rolls, names, receipts, anything to support that claim. Any cursory examination will pierce this lie and will in fact reveal that Jerry Dills' church is a sham;

2) Dills' church has left dozens of lives fragmented and destroyed, which will also be revealed  by a simple examination of his operation and interview with dozens of past members of this so-called “church” which is, in truth, a cult.

3) Dills' administers much more than peyote, and frequently administers marijuana, cocaine, and at time in the past, the Rx drug placydyl. These truths will be revealed should the Dills' NAC come under even the most basic scrutiny (which he will be unable to withstand) and as past members, including silver star and others, come out of the woodwork to tell their stories. That Dills' uses other controlled substances not covered by the  Religious Freedom Restoration Act, negates any claim he may have made to protection by the RFRA, and any claimed exemption of the Controlled Substances Act;

4) Jerry Dills is not a member of any federally recognized Indian tribe.


Summary and Conclusion

There is no doubt that the legitimate use of peyote is a protected religious freedom by "Indians" within the boundaries of "bona fide religious ceremonies." What is unclear is how these things are defined. I believe the very basic I Know It When I See It test will hold true even at the highest level of scruitiny. Simply stated: It's either real, or it ain't.

In regards to the comments posted by Cetan to this thread, quoted at the beginning of this post, again, as past members of Dills' Native American Church start to tell their stories, it will be established that he has administered peyote to children as young as 4 years old. I will here again repeat Cetan's quote to this thread:

What I have not seen is the supposed NAC charter number - no official charter and it is not an official NAC chapter. As far as giving the medicine to children, well it is up to them if they eat the medicine and frequently children are given a little medicine if they want it, at least that has been my experience as a baptised member of the NAC, charter 3132 from SD

To Cetan: if you believe that, for children as young as 4 “it is up to them if they eat the medicine and frequently children are given a little medicine if they want it” then why don't you also give these youngsters the keys to your car and your credit card? This makes just as much sense, and in all due respect, does not pass the laugh test nor does it pass the common sense or decency test. I will refrain from commenting on being a “baptised” [sic] member of NAC, which seems to blur the Native American faith with Christianity. Enough said. [EDIT/ADDITION:] Then again, I cannot claim to know much about the true Native American Church being that Jerry Dills is a fake priest running a bogus church.

For these reasons stated, I humbly submit that the “church” of Jerry “Doc” Dills (a/k/a Peshewa a/k/a Neishte) is not any church at all, because it cannot pass the most basic I Know It When I See It test for anyone who chooses to look beyond the surface and Dills' words and not be bamboozled with bullshit.

If there are guidelines in place for controlling who may apply for a permit, I have not been able to find them; if there are no such guidelines, there should be.

In conclusion, it is quite possible that Jerry Dills may in fact hold a "valid" DEA permit. However, if true, than I put forth that that permit has been acquired by deception and falsehoods.

Therefore, it is my opinion, from personal first-hand knowledge and from my review and analysis included here, that Dills is operating an illegal peyote cult, and not a church.

clearwater
« Last Edit: January 25, 2010, 08:55:00 am by clearwater »

Offline Cetan

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Re: Native American church....?
« Reply #51 on: January 23, 2010, 03:55:50 pm »
Does he a valid charter number? I have seen no mention of it. And more importantly, if he is a leaderman in the NAC who gave him his fireplace? and does that person acknowledge giving him the fireplace (there are some who have claimed to have received fireplaces from well known roadmen but when asked the roadman will say I never gave him a fireplace).  Without that documentation someone is never a bonafide NAC leader.

Offline clearwater

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Re: Native American church....?
« Reply #52 on: January 23, 2010, 04:38:55 pm »
Does he a valid charter number? I have seen no mention of it. And more importantly, if he is a leaderman in the NAC who gave him his fireplace? and does that person acknowledge giving him the fireplace (there are some who have claimed to have received fireplaces from well known roadmen but when asked the roadman will say I never gave him a fireplace).  Without that documentation someone is never a bonafide NAC leader.

Greetings Cetan, thanks for your comments and questions. I was a member of Dills' Native American Church and lived in him home, mostly sleeping on a beanbag, from 1978 - 1988 +/- (depending on how my departure date is defined). In all that time I never heard of the terminology you have used, including "leaderman," "roadmen," and "fireplace." These are all new terms to me. Also, the charter number you mention, is also unknown to me. Whether this be a state charter, a federal charter or a DEA permit #? I do not know. I had never heard this mentioned, ever.

I will contact silver star and ask that person to read your questions and hopefully post some comments. That person was with Dills' group for about 20 years and may have more information or knowledge on that than me.

clearwater

Offline educatedindian

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Re: Native American church....?
« Reply #53 on: January 23, 2010, 04:52:24 pm »
If that "church" never heard of something as basic as a roadman...that's like a Catholic church having never heard of altar boys or eucharist.

Thanks to James "Flaming Eagle" Mooney's court case, the requirement for Indian blood to possess and use peyote is pretty much gone. A search in the threads would tell you more.

Offline clearwater

  • Posts: 105
Re: Native American church....?
« Reply #54 on: January 23, 2010, 05:10:52 pm »
If that "church" never heard of something as basic as a roadman...that's like a Catholic church having never heard of altar boys or eucharist.

Thanks to James "Flaming Eagle" Mooney's court case, the requirement for Indian blood to possess and use peyote is pretty much gone. A search in the threads would tell you more.

Ok. I just phoned silver star and read the above three posts to him. Silver star had never heard of any of these terms before. He did tell me he had heard Dills refer to a "road chief." Silver star has never heard of "fireplace" or "roadmen" or "leadermen." These terms were new to this person as well. No knowledge of any charter number.

To EducatedIndian: I also read the "Flaming Idiot" ruling in my research and thought that was rather odd. Also, I am going to give you Silver star's phone number in PM so that you may speak with this person yourself if you wish. Silver star has indicated to me a willingness to speak with appropriate individuals and authorities regarding this entire matter. I do not know your identity, EducatedIndian, but I trust you implicitly.

My experience with Dills was there were more references to Christianity and Catholicism that to Native America faith. Dills referred to "sins of ommission," made me a "godfather" to three of his children, and so forth. Dills always referred to God as "grandfather" however according to silver star a few days ago, there was a far more complex system Dills had devised, and apparently, God was not in that picture. Weird.

I edited and added a sentence at the top of my long post above, basically explaining that the entire purpose of that study is to dismantle any argument or legal theory Dills may be using to justify his nuttiness.

You may call silver star yourself, It might be a very interesting conversation for you. I will PM you some more details and contact info.

clearwater
« Last Edit: January 23, 2010, 05:40:32 pm by clearwater »

Offline clearwater

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Re: Native American church....?
« Reply #55 on: January 23, 2010, 06:13:41 pm »

In this post I will share some of the text and rhetoric used by Jerry Dills on his many websites. All his sites contain a litany of new age jargon and in fact refers to the Age of Aquarius upon us. It is important to remember that Jerry Neal Dills, Dr. Macaki Peshewa, and Neishte are one and the same person.

From the Native American Church website:

http://www.nativeamericanchurch.com/
Quote
TRUTH, LIKE THE AIR WE BREATHE COMES TO US COMPLIMENTS OF THE CREATOR MAY IT ALWAYS BE SO

From the Neishte Kiva website:

http://www.neishtekiva.com/introneishte.html
Quote
Talking with Neiste is a strange sort of phenomenon all in itself. When he speaks the mental images appear and continuously accompanies what he is saying. At times, the images you see and the words he speaks blend together so it's difficult to know where one leaves off and the other begins.

Yes, I agree, it's called rambling and being incoherent.


http://www.neishtekiva.com/encounters.html
Quote
Recent Encounters with Neishte

Everyday you increase and exercise your Being, the easier it is it to 'see' the 'animal' in people; the easier it is to 'see' the Human and the Human condition in people. You will perceive clearly and succinctly because you do not have to falsify your ability to perceive 'things' as they are. This brings power of life to your Spirit - to your soul. You do not have to go around developing a false ego in order to defend your actions or your 'self'. You do not have to falsify images in order to live an imaginary 'self'. (emphasis added)

I agree, I think, kind of sort of. So you can use real images in order to live an imaginary 'self'?


http://www.neishtekiva.com/glimpses.html
Quote
Glimpses of Neiste

If you truly want to be a student, you must become centered and you must initiate your 'self'. Your life energy will increase and then a Shaman is necessary... Without a Shaman there is a strong possibility that 'things' will be worthless.

So, without folks like Jerry Dills, you don't stand much chance of "emerging."


Quote
Your words and actions must possess spiritual energy (Power). Your words direct your consciousness and reflective consciousness. If you utter stupid-lying utterances, then your knowledge begins to reflect this and your signals will distort everything around you. You must rely on your spiritual strength, your 'genetic' strength. If you do this, THEN ALL YOU NEED WILL BE YOURS...

...Each one of our individual spirits is made from the marvels of the universe and it is made up of the stuff stars are made of. When you utter complaints, excuses, avoidance i.e. - They made me do it - This is what was done to me - I don't know what to do-This or That did not happen - THEN your intonation, your projected energy has little or no effect. Except at times, it affects others who are infected just like to you....

...If you seek 'things', to escape your self - Then you are the one who has-no one-home. Do you tell people 'Dare to be great' - 'Live and Listen' to the universe as a participant. Learn to forgive. Or do you treat people like furniture, sit in it for awhile, as long as it's comfortable or rewarding. Something more comfortable, comes along - trade it in. Then you will have no sustained joy-peace-tranquillity... (emphasis added)

Considering how Dills throws people away when they are no longer of use to him, or question him, I find the statement above in bold is especially interesting. I am in complete agreement.


http://www.beyondprophecy.com/Emergence.html
Quote
The Emergence into The 5th World has begun.

People who can be ‘Spiritual’ have been being born for a while now. People of all walks of Life and all colors have started to feel the energy of what it-is-to-be. New kinds of plants are being manifested, also old plants have made a reentrance...

...The covenant is ‘never turn on the Creator or Creation’. If you do not break this covenant then ‘newness’ will appear in your life. If you have been breaking the covenant with the Creator turn from this path ...

...Gossip, false witnessing, causes a division and a misunderstanding between people. Telling lies for whatever reason, fragments people and this causes division in families, in our loved ones...

...In the World, there is lying, stealing and purposeful misleading going on every second of every day. Will this type of relationship bring harmony and harmonic convergence into our family; into this Life-Space?
...  (emphasis added)

Considering that Dills routinely lies and bears false witness to anyone who "turns against him" I doubt he would know the truth if it bit him on the ass. So these are good questions. Again, I am in complete agreement.


And then, of course, there is an earlier post by bls926 who did some research on Dills' websites:

Thought this "research project" was interesting. Think that Sioux saying they used on this page is fitting; should be coming around to bite him on the ass.

Quote
Native Americas University Research
Research Solicitation
<snip>
"This is the fire that will help the generations to come, if they use it in a sacred manner. But if they do not use it well, the fire will have the power to do them great harm." -Sioux Indian
http://www.nativeamericanchurch.com/Research.html

I agree with bls926's opinion above. Perfect.


And, finally, since Dills' loves to use Christianity to help explain his version of truth, let me throw these in here too, as a reminder to Dills of his "sins":

Quote
EXCERPT FROM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

ONE: You shall have no other gods before Me.

SIX: You shall not murder.

EIGHT: You shall not steal.

NINE: You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.


I personally know Jerry Dills very well. It seems as if Jerry Dills talks the talk. Too bad he doesn't walk the walk. Dills' words, thoughts, actions and deeds are not in alignment.  

clearwater
« Last Edit: January 25, 2010, 10:48:34 pm by clearwater »

Offline clearwater

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Re: Native American church....?
« Reply #56 on: January 25, 2010, 10:46:17 pm »
In the above post I had originally ranted about the Mooney US Supreme Court ruling but now realize that was irrelevant to this topic. My bad. Had to get it off my chest I suppose. Won't happen again.

So, I've edited the above post and replaced it with information more directly related this topic and focused on Dills and his new age nonsense.

clearwater

Offline clearwater

  • Posts: 105
Re: Native American church....?
« Reply #57 on: February 09, 2010, 03:38:57 pm »

To the moderators of this forum: If you have any reason to take exception to any element of this post (or upcoming posts I will be making), its tone, or its purpose, or feel I have strayed due to personal feelings, or is somehow inappropriate, please feel free to edit, delete or add comments as necessary. You have my complete permission and blessings to do so in advance. It is my sole focus and intent to remain faithful to the topic of this thread, but the full story, based primarily on my personal experiences and knowledge of these events, does require some in-depth reporting and commentary. Again, I apologize for the length of this post, but it will begin tying together and exposing the truths to the lies of Jerry Dills and his fake Native American Church.

This newspaper article is very interesting and relevant. This article about Jerry Dills' bingo game in Spartanburg, SC appeared in The Spartanburg Herald-Journal on May 17, 1993, on pages B1 and B5.

I have scanned the article and re-keyed it for inclusion in this thread, so that it is easier to read, so that I can add comments, and so that it can now be indexed by google and other search engines. The full text of the article follows; my comments are inserted in red italics.

I am also linking to the article I scanned here. View Page B1   View Page B5



Quote

Newspaper article as appeared in The Spartanburg Herald-Journal
on May 17, 1993, on pages B1 and B5


Shawnee works to save his heritage

By Suellene E. Dean, staff writer

Most people know him as the Bingo Man.

And rightfully so. For four years, MaCaki PeSheWa ran a bingo hall -- Indian Bingo off Reidville Road. I will have detailed information about this location in a future post on this forum.

He reluctantly closed the bingo hall three weeks ago, blaming his losses of more than $100,000 last year on big promoters who have taken over the lucrative fundraising business by aligning themselves with charities like his. Not exactly true. From inception, Jerry Dills (Peshewa) aligned himself with a silent partner named Hallow, a name well known to officials in South Carolina. I will have more information about Jerry's silent relationship with Hallow as you continue reading and in future posts.

PeSheWa refused to use big-time promoters. He raised what money he could to pay taxes and filtered the rest into the Native American Church. The SC bingo permit was issued to Native American Indian Media Corporation, based in SC. The NAC never had a SC corporate presence. So he took money from a SC charity and funneled it to a TN Corporation, by his own admission. PeSheWa is not only a Shawnee Indian but a 51-year-old Indian priest. And his mission from his church -- he took vows in 1974 -- has been to enter the white man's business world and raise money to help the needy. Jerry Dills is his own church, and he is definitely needy, and greedy. This will all become more clear soon.

His life's path as an Indian has included figuring out ways to honor his heritage. I can only presume that he is still trying to figure out what those ways are...

His grandmother, Rebecca Eagle, was married to John Dills from Illinois, and they moved to Spartanburg so he could work on the railroad. The family never left. During the 8-10 years I associated with Jerry Dills, he claimed his Indian heritage was from his father's side. This maternal connection was news to me.

PeSheWa (which means mountain lion) walked in white man's shoes as Jerry Dills. He graduated from Spartanburg High School. A couple of local businessmen helped pay his way through college, where he played basketball. He went on to complete a psychology degree at Wofford College in 1968 and then studied similar courses at more than a half dozen other colleges across the Southeast. A more accurate interpretation of Jerry's Indian name is actually "wild cat." I am in the process of verifying the degree with Wofford College and will update this post once I have that information. Note that Dills does not claim doctorate degrees, nor does the prefix "Dr." appear anywhere in this article although he claimed these designations before, and after, this article appeared.

Shortly after graduation, he worked for the S.C. Commission for the Blind, but he shed his suits and filed bankruptcy. This is true, except for the part about wearing suits.

He left to study with 12 medicine men from Mexico to India. He camped in teepees and toughed it out on mountainsides. After his study of life, he took vows of priesthood with his church and started raising money to "expand consciousness of American Indians." There is no way to verify this information. Jerry has claimed two doctorate degrees from the "Native Americas University" based in Mexico. I am also unclear why expanding consciousness requires raising money. Oh yeah, wait a second ... Jerry Dills worships money ... so the more money, the higher the consciousness?

"He was raising money for a purpose. He wasn't living a frivolous life," said Sen. John Russell, adding that PeSheWa has been calling him to talk about problems with bingo and big promoters for the past two years. Note that Jerry Dills immediately began cultivating a friendship with a powerful politician. It seems Jerry Dills forgot to mention to Senator Russell his silent partnership with Hallow. It also appears that Jerry Dills completely omitted his involvement with the largest bingo game in Tennessee and that he was the target of a federal investigation for his activities in the late 1980s. Amazing how these details seem to slip Jerry Dills' memory. I will have specific details of the TN bingo activities and the federal probe, which was widely reported, in an upcoming post.

Last year, the S.C. Legislature passed a tax on gross income from bingo revenues. The law was aimed at the promoters but is hurting the charities, Russell said. With the new tax on bingo came a 20 percent drop in charitable contributions.

With some of the bingo earnings, PeSheWa and his church bought seven acres of land off Interstate 40 near Strawberry Plains, Tenn. On the land are three totem poles carved from cedar. The first represents peace, the next medicine and the last creation -- a woman carrying a shield on her back, one of her arms holding the hand of one beside her. She was carved by an Indian who was a convicted felon who took up woodworking while in prison. Yes, and no. The three totems mentioned were carved by Roger Crowe (Cherokee), John Paul CutThroat (Lakota Sioux) and a non-Indian named Joe, who had been in prison. When he got out of prison, he dedicated his life to the church. That is, until Dills chased him off, prior to this article appearing.

A 50-foot-long concrete monument also has been erected near the totem poles. PeSheWa dreams that one day the valley will be filled with symbolic poles and the monuments will be covered in cedar and carved with names of thousands of tribal people, past and present, who have contributed to the world culture.

He calls the valley off the busy interstate the "Valley of the Totems." Apparently, he now calls this site his "sacred grounds" as described in an earlier post.

He said his plans for the monument have been developing in his head over the last 18 years. But he believes life is a constant journey and the totems are one part of it.

He also has spent the last two decades writing grants for Indian programs. Untrue. He has been associated with others who wrote those grants, but Dills has never written the first grant proposal, ever, and cannot produce one he wrote if he needed to. He's headed bingo fundraisers in Tennessee and was the co-founder of the Tennessee Indian Council, the first statewide delivery system for Indians. No, and yes. Jerry Dills / Peshewa was not a co-founder or incorporator of TIC at all, which is a matter of public record. What is true is that he was hired by Fritz Niggeler, who was the founder of TIC, to run the east Tennessee part of the statewide programs, back in the mid-1970s. Fritz found Jerry Dills by pouring through records in the unemployment office in Knoxville as he was seeking persons of Indian heritage to recruit as his staff so he could start operations. And yes, it is true that Jerry Dills later operated the largest bingo game in Tennessee, after engineering an overthrow of the TIC Board of Directors (which I helped him plan and execute); and, he was also silent partners in numerous other bingo games, mostly in east Tennessee. More detail on this and his relationships with organized crime "creative businessmen" to come in a future post.

In the mid-80s, one of his projects included an Indian newspaper concerning Indian and global affairs. He printed three issues, and money ran dry, but his publications won awards from the Native American Press Association. A few falsehoods are presented here. Actually, Jerry Dills refused to finance the complete mailing of issue three of the paper, and over 12,000 copies of that paper, bagged and ready to mail, were eventually thrown in the dumpster; he then stole a $3500 grant from the East Tennessee Foundation made to Native American Indian Media Corporation, to fund issue four of that paper, and did absolutely nothing after drawing those funds down; and, finally, the publication has never won any awards from NAPA, or any awards at all, and that is easily established. More on all this in an upcoming post.

And beyond the goal to establish the first monument honoring Native Americans, he has helped others. He can rattle off lists of ways he spent the money to help other people in Spartanburg. But his favorite charity has always been playing Santa Claus -- something he has found joy in doing for nearly 20 years. True and false. Jerry played Santa Claus for about 4-5 years than abandoned that "project." He has not played this role since this article appeared.

Last year, he spent $15,000 of his church funds to purchase truck-loads of toys for needy children. He personally delivers them to homes across six states. Six states?? I guess he flew around on his magic sleigh? He delivered toys within the Knoxville, TN area, and perhaps the Spartanburg, SC area, and then only for a few years. What a crock of crap.

"If I could be one person in history, it would be Santa Clause," says PeSheWa with a sheepish smile. He admits he looks an awful lot like the Christmas character anyway. A fictitious priest pretending to be a fictitious Christmas character. It does somehow seem fitting...

He also keeps an artificial Christmas tree lighted year-round in his primitive, clapboard house he built near Knoxville, Tenn. He has a similar family farm in Spartanburg The farm was his mother's, Thelma Dills.

PeSheWa has four children, ages 3 to 11. All are taught at home. A recent DHS complaint was filed in 2009 against Jerry Dills for not educating his children, who mostly remain unable to read or write as of 2010. The complaint was dismissed with only a cursory investigation, one can only presume, because Jerry bamboozled the investigator with bullshit piled deep. Too bad the investigator failed to actually determine if his kids had ever been educated. Their hair is worn in braids and never cut. The oldest -- Shanti, which means peace -- is being reared as a priest. Note that Jerry now has six legitimate children by two wives, as noted in an earlier post. Several of Dills' children, including Shanti, have since rejected his dad's teachings and are members of a Christian Church and do not practice the Native American faith. Shanti, who just turned 28 years old, is currently working on obtaining his GED, never having graduated from high school or anything equivalent.

Around his neck, PeSheWa always wears leather bundles. The last two he will give his youngest daughters once they are older. The bundles are filled with simple things -- rocks and shells they picked up together. The bundles can be opened at anytime. But the objects inside mean something only to his daughters and himself.

His main complaint about society is that people live in the future too much, waiting on what they think they will become. He plans to write his own book of thoughts. The title of his book will be "The Days of Gone." WTF?? These "days" can't be "gone" soon enough in my opinion.

"People are always waiting to become something. When you are born, you are something. There is no becoming. Instead of life after death, we should worry about life after birth."

PeSheWa, in his years as a priest, has had thousands of people come to him to help cope with a troubled, stressful world. Thousands of people?? Really?? This is so laughable as to be beyond the pale. Dills would be hard pressed to name two dozen people he has helped in 40 years, mostly having helped himself. It is actually much easier to name the people he has caused great harm and hardship to, and there are many of them with independent but similar stories to tell, stories waiting to be told.

One of the many who have sought help from PeSheWa is Mark, who was working at a convenience store on Reidville Road when a friend mentioned "Doc" to him. Mark, a commercial artist, said he was at "death's door." He was preparing to commit suicide, he said.

Because of his studies with PeSheWa, he said he is a new person. He carries a journal, which includes his feeling and interpretations of life. So where is Mark now? That is an interesting story that will not be shared here, but maybe Mark will stumble into this thread and add his story to this discussion. You out there Mark? Jump on in here. Maybe provide an update as to how Jerry's "help" worked out for you?

"People come to him for help, and he basically shows them that it is OK to just be yourself," said Marion, PeSheWa's wife.

Some may study with him for three to 10 years, PeSheWa said.

"The idea is to find your center," he said. He said too many people get caught in a forced routine of living and forced images of reality.

"People are always looking for security and absolutes, but everything is relative, beyond what we can see," he said.

"Most people in Spartanburg just see me as the Bingo Man, but I live a life beyond that. If you don't do something everyday that enriches your soul and benefits others, you aren't really living," he said.

PeSheWa is in a transition period. He said bingo corruption in the state has pushed him on. This is an interesting assertion he makes because Jerry Dills operated his own SC game and did not use any outside operator. Again, more on his relationship with Hallow to come. The next journey will be to read federal grant proposals for minorities. Yep, reading proposals is not the same as writing them.

"I'm leaving behind a lot of friends in Spartanburg, but I've realized I can't run with the big dogs and live with myself. I've got to answer to Grandfather, the Creator." An interesting play on words here. Yes, Jerry did run with the "big dogs" and tried to beat them at their own game. More on this "can't run with the big dogs and live with myself" follows below.

The S.C. tax Commission admits there is a problem with bingo. They say they are looking into it. Only 1 percent of the revenues generated in this state went to charities last year. This is almost verbatim what the TN Department of Revenue and TN Secretary of State were saying prior to bingo being outlawed in TN. History does seem to repeat itself...

Less than half a dozen bingo licenses are held by churches, according to a special task force of the commission. Jerry Dills had this newspaper reporter believe the permit was issued to Jerry's church. This is a calculated misrepresentation by Dills. The public record will show the permit was issued to Native American Indian Media Corporation based in Greenville, SC, and not to a church. More on this in a future post.

"We know there is corruption and that most promoters are crooked." Correct, and Jerry Dills was his own promoter and operator, and is crooked. More to come. We'd like to see them brought under control," said Danny Brazell, spokesman for the commission. Now we're beginning to see one of the reasons why Jerry Dills cut and ran from SC bingo. More to come.

"Big-time promoters are siphoning off business and corrupting bingo, making it difficult for the honest man," Brazell said. I agree completely.


Comments follow in the next post...

clearwater


[EDIT/UPDATE:] As promised, I am updating this post as to Jerry Dills' degree from Wofford College. I drove to Spartanburg this morning and visited the Wofford College Library. The record does indeed show that Jerry Neal Dills received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1968 from Wofford College. It appears he transfered from another local school and completed the last two years of his degree at Wofford. In that year, psychology was offered as a BA degree. In an earlier post I had stated that Jerry has not received any degree from any university. I stand corrected. --clearwater
« Last Edit: April 09, 2010, 08:57:51 pm by clearwater »

Offline clearwater

  • Posts: 105
Re: Native American church....?
« Reply #58 on: February 09, 2010, 03:40:01 pm »

Now some additional comments, analysis and a few personal insights to place this article in a larger context:

This article represents Jerry Dills' bullshit at its best: he uses legitimate resources (in this case, a newspaper article and a cultivated friendship with a Senator) to weave lies with some glimmers of truth. Here, he is playing the victim of the "big dog" bad guys, and you will note that he solicited the help over a two year period, and comments for this article, from Senator John Russell, a well-respected and powerful individual in South Carolina, who lives in Spartanburg.

Note that the article refers to Jerry's complaining about many things. That itself is revealing. Also note that Jerry makes numerous references to "his" church, implying ownership, which is quite accurate. Dills' Native American Church is all about Jerry Dills, and nothing about the Native American faith.

It is also interesting to note that Jerry Dills grew up in Spartanburg, SC. Nowhere in this article does he refer to himself as having PhD's or being a "Dr." although he claims that throughout most of his adult life outside of SC. Too many people in the upstate SC area would know this to be false so it's understandable why he downplayed this.

Also let's take a look at Dills' mission statement as reported in the article: "And his mission from his church -- he took vows in 1974 -- has been to enter the white man's business world and raise money to help the needy." As already documented in this thread, Jerry Dills had numerous corporations and let them all be dissolved in 1991, 92 and 93 (a time frame which coincides with when Jerry was busy operating bingo in South Carolina, digging a very deep hole for himself there). All his corporations were dissolved by administrative action by the TN Secretary of State -- with the exception of the Native American Church, Inc. This means that annual reports were not filed and other procedures were not properly followed, so the companies were dissolved by the state. It is clear that by the time this article appeared, Jerry Dills had decided that his best haven was to hide behind the corporate shell of the Native American Church, Inc. In this article he evens talks about funneling funds to the church in TN, although the permit was in the name of another corporation in SC.

Here is a more plausible, accurate and truthful version of what happened in South Carolina, which I will support in posts to this thread in coming days and weeks. This information is derived from conversations with several of the people who were involved with that operation, and well as my personal, first-hand knowledge I have of the situation there.

The bingo game in Spartanburg, SC was initiated immediately after bingo in Tennessee was declared illegal by the TN legislature in 1989. Without missing a beat, Jerry moved the operations to Spartanburg, SC and began immediately setting up operations at an old Bi-Lo grocery store building on Interstate 26, Reidville Road exit. As he was setting up operations, a figure well known to be connected with organized crime "creative business," Hallow, made himself known to Jerry, who accepted him as a silent partner in the bingo operation before it even opened its doors. (I was there the day Hallow walked in the door, and also have other personal first-hand information which I will share soon. It was very soon after this that I departed Jerry's group forever, prior to the game opening but just after the bingo license was obtained.) This relationship is well remembered by those who participated in operating that game in SC so it is not just my knowledge of this silent partnership. Others will be able to confirm this was going on.

The bingo permit was issued to the Native American Indian Media Corporation, a 501(c)(3) organization with roots in Greenville, SC (and later incorporated as a foreign corporation in Tennessee, but allowed to dissolve by Jerry Dills as already documented in this thread). The initial bingo permit was paid for by Hallow. The Native American Church never had any operations or license to this game, except for the fact that Jerry Dills intentionally blurs these together in the web of lies he weaves. Note that the article leads you to believe that the license was to NAC, because that is what Jerry Dills told this reporter. This is simply a falsehood.

Because of the demise of Jerry's bingo operation in Tennessee, several people key to covering Jerry's ass in his questionable activities in those games, no longer wished to be associated with him, for obvious reasons, myself included (I will describe my culpability in Dills' activities in TN in an upcoming post). He therefore leaned on one of his nephews to deal with the money laundering, so he could, as usual and is his style, claim "plausible deniability" should something go awry (more on this later). At this point it is crucial to understand the political environment that was happening just prior to bingo games being shut down in Tennessee. Because of the ongoing investigations there at that time, which was widely reported in the media, no organized crime "creative business" person was about to involve themselves with the Tennessee Indian Council bingo game, which had the effect of giving Jerry Dills the false sense that he had beaten the "big dogs" at their own game. Not at all. It's just that there was too much heat and scrutiny in the industry as a whole in Tennessee, from the bottom to the top, so Jerry's operation was left alone by the "big dogs," that's all. Then bingo was made illegal in TN and it all became moot anyway.

So, when Hallow walks in the door prior to launching in Spartanburg, Jerry did, I believe, feel emboldened to try to beat this guy at his open game. After all, he did that in Tennessee, right? Jerry immediately accepted this person as a silent partner in order to open his doors. In time Jerry played a very dangerous game with Hallow and did not live up to his covenants made with the "big dogs." Let's just say that a little bird told me that, because Jerry Dills dishonored the code of conduct so necessary to maintain with someone like Hallow, several things were unleashed on Jerry's operation. I will have more specific information about my own personal interactions with Hallow and how I know these things, from first-hand personal knowledge, in an upcoming post. Now is the time for broad bush strokes only regarding Hallow.

In an earlier post here I reported a recent phone conversation I had with "silver star" who was at the bingo game in SC until it ended in 1993. (Silver star helped me remember the time frame of these events, by the way.) Silver star seems to believe that there was a federal investigation which shut the game down. However, in my research I have not been able to verify that. What I did find, however, is that the SC Tax Commission had Jerry Dills' bingo operation in its sights and was starting to come down pretty hard, from what I have been able to understand, how events there unfolded. This was never reported in the local media there but was an ongoing probe.

Without competent helpers who knew bookkeeping and other tricks to maintain believable reporting on a cash-based business like bingo, Jerry had maintained no books on the Spartanburg game and was unable to withstand any level of scrutiny. Combined with what was being unleashed on him, Jerry Dills decided, probably very wisely, that the best thing to do was cut and run. It will be remembered by many that he shut down operations and left rather abruptly, heading back to Tennessee in a hurry. However, to maintain the illusion of legitimacy, and also to publicly explain his rapid departure from South Carolina, he solicited the help of Sen. Russell one last time for this article (and who, in all likelihood, helped call off the SC Tax Commission, that's what politicians are good for, in Jerry's world and who, in all likelihood, helped arrange for this article to be written. It's also of note that the article was written three weeks after Jerry voluntarily closed his game down, but he was already back in Tennessee by then). Then Jerry whined, complaining publicly about the bad guys shutting him down. So now let's revisit his quote above in this light. As Jerry himself stated, "I'm leaving behind a lot of friends in Spartanburg, but I've realized I can't run with the big dogs and live with myself. I've got to answer to Grandfather, the Creator." That's fairly accurate, surprisingly, on a variety of levels. A glimmer of truth there. The big dogs were in fact kicking Jerry's ass because he had violated his agreements first and foremost, and then he was clueless on what it took to actually cover his ass when the going got tough and the spotlight started to shine on him. Time to high tail and run. And run he did.

(I have heard in the last few weeks from a very reliable source in South Carolina, who recalled reading an obituary for MaCaki Peshewa in a small hometown paper about this time, the early to mid 1990s. Until my conversation with this person a few weeks ago, she thought Jerry had died because she had read his obituary. This would make sense to me given the individual that Jerry had decided to screw in business. However, I have not been able to verify this information, so I will continue, as I am able, to see if there is such a published obit on Peshewa. If found, i will post it to this forum.)

Jerry Dills also ran to Jim Lee, a respected tax man and (IRS) Enrolled Agent in Knoxville, Tennessee, to try to recreate the mess he had made of bookkeeping in Spartanburg. By now, bailing out Jerry's ass was a familiar task for Jim Lee. I am pretty confident that the "$100,000" loss Jerry refers to is, in part, his inability to reconcile what he was stealing, a drop in the bucket, really. Also, I can almost wager that Jerry Dills complained about records being stolen or lost so that the complete picture would never be known. This was a ploy Jerry has used many times in the past: lost or stolen records. (More on that later.) Poor, poor old Jerry, always the victim. Jim Lee may, or may not, have some interesting information to share in this respect. This was 17 years ago and tax records only need to be maintained for 3-5 years.  But memories last a lot longer. Lucky Jerry, or not?

So, in regards to the South Carolina bingo game, Jerry basically pissed off the wrong people, brings scrutiny on himself and his operations, high tails and runs, then hides behind his powerful friends, but not before soliciting a newspaper article to maintain his illusions and delusions and explain to the public why he ran. This is a recurring theme with Jerry Dills. As stated in an earlier post, Jerry Dills has always made sure he has powerful friends. And this is a pretty good example of why. Once light begins shining on Jerry Dills for who and what he is, Jerry Dills always runs away, hides behind his friends, and sticks his tongue out as he's leaving, which is exactly what he did here. Folks like Senator Russell, and Jim Lee, are above reproach and highly credible, and will not take too kindly to being snowed by Jerry's ongoing bullshit. Who would?

All of my comments above will be expanded to some degree in future post(s) as I am able to continue this ongoing research. As I can, I will scan and present these materials in this public forum. In addition to documents, there is additional first-hand information I will share from my own personal experiences with Jerry Dills and his bastardized church, which will help tie things together, but cannot yet share until I have the documentary support to back up my words and claims. These things take time, especially since most of these documents are on microfilm with no indexes, spread across three libraries over two states, spanning about a 25 year period. However, state and federal investigators in SC and TN should be taking some interest in how this all ties together. And it's far from over. Indeed, it may even be ongoing to this day ... for example, "silver star" seems to believe that Jerry Dills has some sort of ongoing "legitimate" connections with the bingo operation on the Catawba Reservation in Rock Hill, SC, or some tie with the Catawba Nation of some kind. I have no information on this, and silver star could not provide any more details other than Jerry Dills had done some sort of work with the Catawbas. Although, it would not surprise me if that were revealed to have some basis worth looking into.

One point of note is that after departing South Carolina in 1993, Jerry Dills laid low for more than 7 years, then re-emerged in 2001-2002 with his numerous websites. Just enough time for the statute of limitations to pass on his criminal activities in South Carolina. How convenient.

Within the next few days and weeks I will be making a series of posts which have started with this post about Jerry Dills' activities in South Carolina, and progress backwards in time, back to his activities in Tennessee. This will be very revealing and will shine some much needed light into the darkness of Jerry Dills and his delusional and dangerous world, and will tie together what until now has been disassociated, disjointed facts regarding Jerry Dills.

Jerry's main problem was, and remains, that he plays with forces he does not understand, and he combines elements of Native American rituals and powers, with elements of the voodoo religion, elements of business and powerful friends, with figures in the realm of organized crime, along with his heavy use of psychotropic drugs and other narcotics (which he also administers to some of his faithful followers), and the use of painful personal experiences of some of his followers, myself included, all spun together in a fabulous web of deception, lies, broken lives and criminal activity, in a world he has created for himself, all for his own personal benefit and his personal intent. All under the guise of the Native American Church, a legitimate church and religion. A poster to this thread pointed out earlier that Jerry Dills has bastardized the real Native American Church. I concur with that view.

Here, I will now address Jerry Dills personally and directly, so this paragraph is written directly to Jerry Dills, for his benefit: With regards to me personally, after departing your "church" in 1988-1989, you chose to target me and used some extremely painful memories of events of sexual abuse which happened in my life when I was a youngster of 13 years old, combined with one mistake I made in that realm when I was a youngster of 19 years old, a mistake I have never repeated since. I came to you for help and shared with you what happened to me at 13, and what I had done to another at 19, within days of that event. Steve Lohrey also knows these truths because he was in the room when I told you this, at your Tennessee Indian Council office located on the University of Tennessee campus. Instead of helping me, you held me at arm's length for nearly a decade, nearly drove me to suicide, and used my talents for your own intent, claiming my work as yours, which you continue to do to this day, and twisted distorted truths with inflated and outrageous lies, for about two decades now. I am fully aware what you have done in regards to trying to destroy me based on your lies, and I am fully aware of what those lies are, and what the truth is in those matters. Some in your group are aware of this but choose to turn away and turn a blind eye, I can only suppose because you provide them a good buzz. You did curb these lies once I sought help from Rossi, and resumed again after Rossi passed away. But you, Jerry, have never really asked the most basic questions of yourself, which are why your conjuring and casting spells on me never worked, and why they always backfired on you? I am well aware of the spells, Jerry. Remember my name on a piece of paper in your bean jar? Yes, I know you did that conjuring. That will have direct meaning to you, as you stole something Rossi showed you, with no understanding of what it was about, and tried a little voodoo on me. So tell me, Jerry, how did that work out for you? To that I will say directly to you, Jerry: it never had anything to do with me or anything I did, nor with Rossi or anything he did, but absolutely everything to do with you and what you do. This is a basic universal truth that seems to escape you. I did not care to learn anything from Rossi other than he showed me how to respect natural forces, to recognize them and not abuse them. He also helped me see you for who you are. Again, Jerry Dills, you do not understand the forces you choose to play with for your twisted, personal intent. And with me, you have simply picked the wrong person to keep fucking with. I am not the wimp you have always believed me to be, and I have silently taken your crap for over two decades now. Too bad you could not let go, as I did, decades ago. I walked away, you would not let go. Your footprints have re-emerged in my life again since I moved away from Tennessee 18 months ago, now I also know exactly why and where that is coming from. Does the name Theresa mean anything to you? Bullshitters, like birds, tend to flock together. As I mentioned earlier, enough is enough. I have nothing to lose here, and nothing to gain. You never understood and are completely clueless to the levels at which I helped you and remained loyal to you, even after I saw through your bullshit and decided to leave on my own. You are clueless and lack respect for me, who gave you nearly every success you now claim as yours, and who shielded you from prosecution by a federal grand jury. I deflected their case against you and intentionally diverted their attention to other things, because I was forced to testify when you yourself hid behind your powerful attorney friends and did not testify. This will become absolutely clear to you soon Jerry, because I am going to spell it out for you in an upcoming post, and will re-tell some of my testimony before the federal grand jury in Nashville, how I covered your ass for you. I will also tell how I covered your stolen funds from the bingo game in Tennessee, something the grand jury just neglected to ask me, so I did not offer that information. So now you know who I am, Jerry. What an idiot you are. Don't kick the people who have helped you, once those people, like me, see through you. That was my only infraction with you: seeing you for who you truly are, and that pissed you off, and you've been after me ever since. I know far more about you than you ever thought you knew about me, you have aired my laundry, adding your own dirt along the way, to all who would listen to your crap for decades, so now let's take a look at your laundry ... and let Life decide. Forget all about investigators and federal prosecutors and all that stuff. For you in this moment all that is irrelevant. That is the least of your concerns. In truth, Who is dirty and Who is clean? I put this question to the Life force to resolve. If I am the dirty evil person you have claimed me to be, then I will take whatever Life has to send my way to balance that out, with love, and no regrets. Will you do the same, Jerry? I do not now, nor have I ever held malice towards you, as you have towards me. I do not take joy in doing this here, nor can I rejoice if your world crumbles apart. I hope it does, that's for sure, but I will not rejoice in it. If anything, I might -- just might -- shed a tear for you. But probably not. It's now crystal clear to me why I googled your name last year and came upon this thread. It was not by chance. I have not been afraid of you for decades, I am unafraid of you now, and I am telling a powerful story. Except, I am telling truth to your lies. As I say, let's both, you and me, put this question to the Life force and go from there. That is what I am doing. Are you? Can you? We'll see. Life has a way of balancing these things out, with or without awareness of its movements or the beauty there to be found. When you violate natural laws, these things just kind of take care of themselves. I learned that a long time ago. Of that, I have absolutely no doubt. I know. And so should you. You should probably take time to examine the truth I have just shared with you here, as you may finally learn something useful.

So, in regards to the initial purpose of this post, Is this Native American Church for real? ... there is much more factual and supportable information to share regarding the mis-deeds and questionable activities of Jerry Neal Dills, who basically is the NAC in Strawberry Plains, TN. So hopefully, this question may finally be put to rest soon. More documents and first-hand experiences to come very soon...

clearwater
« Last Edit: February 10, 2010, 04:51:31 pm by clearwater »

Offline dabosijigwokush

  • Posts: 265
Re: Native American church....?
« Reply #59 on: February 09, 2010, 09:42:41 pm »
in bad taste i made a joke about picture # three sorry
so the question is who built the items in picture #3, as in being a native ceremony sight
how long have they been there
are they documented as a historic sight, by historians or state or native groups
and if they are or if they are not real, is he using them as a validation for his church
and next what to do about it, if they are fake remove them
if they are real remove him and his kind from disturbing it
and putting it under protection