If you didn't get confused -- even once -- watching the TV series "Lost," then the latest goings-on involving the Chukchansi tribe should be up your alley.
It's tempting to say that everything boils down to a well-worn twist on the Golden Rule: He who has the gold makes the rules.
But it's looking more like a case of he who makes the rules gets the gold that flows from the tribe's Highway 41 casino.
It's not that the tribe lacks rules. There are rules galore about elections, councils, committees, enrollment, suspensions and benefits. There's also a tribal constitution.
The rub is that little or nothing backs up the rules of this sovereign nation. There's no court system to decide civil disputes, and the federal government rarely pokes its nose into tribal affairs.
The seven-person Chukchansi tribal council is supposed to run the show. Right now, there are two mini-councils wrestling for control. One meets at the casino and has kicked another 70 members out of the tribe. The other meets in Oakhurst and opposes purging tribal members. Both have lawyers and public-relations consultants.
Which group is legitimate?
If the results of December's tribal election mean anything, it would be the mini-council led by Morris Reid and opposed to more disenrollment.
But the group headed by Reggie Lewis -- who finished sixth in a race for four open council spots -- is writing the checks, shedding tribal members and keeping vital tribal information under lock and key.
Tribal documents indicate that Lewis protested the election results. He claims that Harold Hammond, who opposes further disenrollment, was ineligible for the election ballot.
The hole in Lewis' claim is that Hammond was deemed eligible by the tribe's election committee and Lewis didn't challenge Hammond's placement on the ballot before the election.
It was only after Lewis saw his grip on power slipping away that he complained -- and then refused to go away. Now the Chukchansi will vote Saturday for someone to replace Hammond, who subsequently was ruled ineligible by the elections committee.
Like I said, it's more confusing than all of the episodes of "Lost" put together. With the show, at least you could rely on flashbacks, flash-forwards and flash-sideways to untangle the plot.
Up at the casino, competing claims of retribution, intimidation, patronage, jealousy and who broke the rules pour forth at the speed of sound.
The tragedy is, this is real life, not television. Disenrolled Chukchansi are losing income and benefits. Others have lost casino jobs because of stands taken over the December election. And while tribal members fight among themselves, there are a casino and hotel to run and $300 million in debt to restructure.
Overlooked perhaps is that the Chukchansi are U.S. residents entitled to the civil rights that protect all Americans. Thus, even though the law of the land says the tribe alone determines membership in its ranks, the Chukchansi must hold fair-and-square elections and abide by legitimate results.
This mess requires Bureau of Indian Affairs intervention. If the bureau ignores the situation, the message sent to the Chukchansi will only encourage more squabbles and power grabs among the tribe.