Greetings:
This notification is to inform you that a person known as Tomas Shash AKA Tomas Itsa Shash, AKA Itsa Shash AKA Tomas " Eaglebear" also founder of Aztlan Native American Cultural Arts Center in Gardner, Colorado is a fraud based on the following factual information:
That he uses the name " Itsa Shash " in his State of Colorado registration, reference http://www.sos.state.co.us/biz/BusinessEntityCriteriaExt.do , then type in " IGLESIA DE AZTLAN (CHURCH OF AZTLAN) ".
Note that this is a non profit organization. reference: http://www.sos.state.co.us/biz/ViewImage.do?masterFileId=19921024599&fileId=19921089068 and then use also the name of " Tomas Shash " and " Itsa Tomas Shash " in other legal matters ( all names cannot be legal ! )
The IGLESIA DE AZTLAN (CHURCH OF AZTLAN) then uses its State of Colorado status as a non profit Church in promoting Native American ways and arts and crafts, culture and traditions.
ID Number: 19921024599
Name: IGLESIA DE AZTLAN (CHURCH OF AZTLAN)
Registered Agent: ITSA SHASH
Registered Agent Street Address: 7102 CR 620 BOX 304, GARDNER, CO 81040, United States
Registered Agent Mailing Address:
Principal Street Address: 7102 CR 620, GARDNER, CO 81040, United States
Principal Mailing Address: Box 304, Gardner, CO 81040, United States
Status: Good Standing
Form: Nonprofit Corporation
Jurisdiction: Colorado
Formation Date: 03/10/1992
Term of Duration: Perpetual
Periodic Report Month: March
This is legal, but what the church is doing through Tomas Shash, is also selling arts and crafts in violation of Indian Arts and Crafts Act under Federal laws as the church of IGLESIA DE AZTLAN (CHURCH OF AZTLAN) and Tomas Shash and his followers are not approved and do not meet state and federal recognition as a Indian tribe.
IT IS A FEDERAL LAW THAT NO ONE EXCEPT ENROLLED MEMBERS OF A STATE OR FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED TRIBE, OR A CERTIFIED ARTISAN OF SUCH A TRIBE MAY CLAIM THAT THEIR ARTS AND/OR CRAFTS ARE AUTHENTIC NATIVE AMERICAN/AMERICAN INDIAN PRODUCTS!
THE INDIAN ARTS AND CRAFTS LAW OF 1990 STATES THIS CLEARLY!
What does that mean?
It means that if you are NOT registered/enrolled in a Tribe having FEDERAL or STATE RECOGNITION , or you are not legally certified by such a Tribe as a Tribal Artisan, DON'T LABEL YOUR ITEMS AS INDIAN/NATIVE AMERICAN!
it doesn't matter if you have 100 PERCENT Blood Quantum , i.e., both your parents are Indian, or if you have CLAIMED Tribal affiliation, or you 'identify' yourself as an Indian, or are a member of ANY UNRECOGNIZED Tribe, or it says 'Native American' on your driver's license, birth certificate AND census form, if you are NOT a bona fide Tribal Member with an actual enrollment number, forget about selling your handmade items as AUTHENTIC NATIVE AMERICAN/AMERICAN INDIAN arts or crafts!
You CANNOT just CALL yourself an Indian, make something & sell it as INDIAN-MADE!
For example, products sold claiming Indian Jewelry would be a violation of the Indian Arts and Crafts Act if the jewelry was produced by someone other than a member, or certified Indian artisan, of an Indian tribe. Products advertised as Hopi Jewelry would be in violation of the Act if they were produced by someone who is not a member, or certified Indian artisan, of the Hopi tribe. NO MATTER WHAT TRIBE IS CLAIMED, PROOF MUST BE GIVEN THAT A BONA FIDE ENROLLED TRIBAL MEMBER OR CERTIFIED ARTISAN OF SAID TRIBE DID INDEED PRODUCE EACH ITEM!
Tomas Shash and his organization is not legal in this matter and has been violating this for years !
FAKE TRIBES
A phenomenon of recent years (I first noticed them after the release of "Dances With Wolves") is the emergence of groups calling themselves a "tribe" with no legitimate claims to such. I'm NOT talking about non-federally recognized tribal groups whose families have common blood lines & untold generations of history together, or descendants of previously-terminated tribes who have not been re-instated.
The "Fake Tribes" that raise the hackles of real Indians are the individuals & groups who form fake "tribes" for the purpose of running scams on unsuspecting individuals & government entities for fun & profit (ego trippers & scam artists). These self-proclaimed "chiefs" & "princesses" with their fake war bonnets & dyed black hair are the butt of jokes among legitimate Indians everywhere.
We often hear from people across the US about people & groups who have tried to scam them. Sometimes they pay hundreds or thousands of dollars to take part in their fraudulent activities, before they realize it's a scam. The really unfortunate individuals are those who never realize they've been scammed, & buy into these scams lock, stock & barrel. The recent tragic deaths during a fake sweat lodge ceremony in Sedona AZ should put everyone on notice that fakes are dangerous!
We've had encounters with a couple of these fake tribes. One woman from a fake group in Florida posted photos stolen from our website as her own work, on the website of group in Arkansas, whose website is hosted on a server in Canada! Why? Could it be that they're trying to avoid US law?
Are they trying to keep their website from getting shut down under the US Digital Millenium Copyright Act? Don't cross me again, there's more than one way to skin a cat.
I can't say it enough: If you are legitimately native, try to track down the tribe of your descent & learn about your own heritage. You will be richly rewarded & may find your extended family. If you can't trace your ancestry, it doesn't make you any less Indian. Conversely, joining a "Fake Tribe" does NOT make you any MORE Indian.
Don't confuse tribal citizenship with bloodlines. You will still be related to people in your tribe of descent by blood, even if you aren't a tribal citizen. There are many Indians here in Oklahoma, even full bloods, who aren't a member of any tribe. But they don't go around joining fake tribes just because they aren't eligible for citizenship in their legitimate tribe(s) of descent.Tomas Shash " WarmSprings Apache Tribe " is a fake ! This is the case with Tomas Shash and his Aztlan Native American Cultural Arts Center in Gardner, Colorado.
FAKES & FRAUDS
Legitimate Indian spiritual leaders don’t have business cards calling themselves shamans, or have websites soliciting money for their "services". They don't conduct workshops, seminars, sweatlodges, or sun dances & charge hundreds or thousands of dollars to attend, nor do they openly talk about spiritual ceremonies to non-Indians. In fact, outsiders rarely know who these spiritual leaders are, even though they may have regular contact with them.
The stereotype image of an old holy man sequestered on a mountaintop, chanting rituals & existing on spirituality is fantasy. The truth is that many of these people have regular jobs in their pre-retirement years, because true spiritual leaders NEVER charge for their help. It is customary for the person or family requesting the services of a spiritual leader or healer to present them with a monetary or material gifts.
But there are numerous "fake Indians" (& some real ones) who are distorting & mis-using Indian spirituality to make money. Real Indian ceremonies generally take place on Indian land, owned by a Federally-recognized Indian Tribe, & are never open to outsiders, not even for money. Don't get ripped off by these frauds.
They are just the new-age version of greedy, insincere televangelists. ANYONE can buy a drum & dress up in Indian style clothing & give themselves a fake Indian name. That doesn't make them legitimate. This is the case with Tomas Shash and his Aztlan Native American Cultural Arts Center in Gardner, Colorado.
The recent deaths of several participants in a fake sweatlodge ceremony is a perfect example of this problem. Participants paid nearly $10K each to take part in fake ceremonies which sickened many participants & killed a few.
Be advised that under federal laws the following is factual and applies,see http://www.doi.gov/iacb/iaca90.html
I contacted the BIA and his Church " IGLESIA DE AZTLAN (CHURCH OF AZTLAN) " and his so called " Aztlan Native American Cultural Arts Center in Gardner, Colorado " are not recounted as a federal tribe.
In addition I contacted the New Mexico Tribes and that Tomas Shash and his other name such as Eaglebear and etc. is not in their records or rolls. they also stated that there is no Warm Springs Apache Tribe or even a Warm Springs, New Mexico !
Tomas states the following to reference this, Shash, a descendant of the Mimbres Apache tribe, see
http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?StoryID=82527 and later on he stated that was raised in a Warm Springs Apache family in New Mexico.
See
http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?topic=1604.15;wap2 . Tomas also claims Chiricahua which is also not true and then changes tribe at different times to different people when asked !
This is also true of the State of Colorado doe not recognize them a Indian tribe, they are legally registered as a" Church" that promotes Indian ways and arts, etc.
Also the Tomas Shash has performed baptism ceremony under Indian ways through the church , see http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?StoryID=82527 and performs " Sundances" ,
Tomas Shash has been on record stating that the Sun dances are the Apache , Dakota and other tribes depending on where he dances and tours and performs,and the Apaches from New Mexico officially stated that the Sun dance is not Apache and that what he is doing in not true under his tours and statements,
Also in 2008, in a Feb. 25 article, an incident happened regarding illegal bison killings, (see http://www.theflume.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=5198the ) .
In a letter addressed to Antonino Salcedo, Hawn gave permission to Salcedo and his "Atzlan Native Community" colleagues, based in Gardner, Colo., to "remove the buffalo from my ranch." This also included Tomas Shash, who told law enforcement he was " Tomas Itsa Shash", which is different than his other legal names that he used and gave to the Colorado Secretary of State and the Colorado courts !
The names of the 14 people held in connection with the hunting were revealed in the arrest affidavit as Antonino Salcedo, Tomas Itsa Shash, Collin Emory Tonozzi, Zachary Richard Rolloff, Mark W. Akins, Russell James Akins, Nathaniel Joel Herbst, Jesus Antonio Cisneros, Mark Dennis Quintana, Jon Lee Duran, Paul Bryan Borquez, Carson Levi Ford, Kenneth Scott Rathbun and Chet Gladstone. Twelve weapons were confiscated from the detained individuals, said the affidavit.
Sequence of events
In the affidavit, the affiant, Detective Sergeant Sven Bonnelycke of the Park County Sheriff's Office, said that on March 19 at shortly before noon, Tracy Downare called in to report that someone was shooting the Downares' bison at 10731 Union Creek Road in Park County. That address is for property known as the Norman Ranch, and Hawn bought the property in November 2007, said Bonnelycke in the affidavit. By shortly after 1 p.m. that day, the 14 people had been detained, and by 3 p.m. Salcedo had delivered to officers his letter from Hawn granting him and others permission to hunt on the Hawn property, which is managed by caretakers John and Roberta Norman.
Interviews with Salcedo indicated that Salcedo met Norman, the caretaker, when Norman came into Papa Joe's General Store "inquiring about buffalo management," according to the affidavit.
Salcedo gave his telephone number to Norman, and Hawn later contacted Salcedo at that number.
On March 19, three bison gut piles were found on the Hawn property, eight dead bison were found on Bureau of Land Management property, four dead bison were found on U.S. Forest Service property, 14 dead bison were found on property owned by Catherine Pimm, and three bison gut piles were found on property owned by Robert Lemm.
"While investigating, the officers found that 10 bison had been shot recently by the hunters with the intent to butcher and utilize the meat and hides, and that as many as 16 bison had been shot weeks prior to the hunt and had been wasted and left to rot," said the affidavit. "Ten of those rotting carcasses were in plain view of Jeffrey Hawn's residence."
Of the 16 bison shot weeks prior, it was confirmed that seven cow bisons had unborn calves in utero, it said.
"Monte Downare has stated that all of the 20 cow bison killed on the property were bred and would have calved in 15 to 20 days."
Salcedo said in an interview that Hawn had told him that he, Hawn, had killed two bison prior to Salcedo's arrival at the property, said the affidavit.
The value of the Downares' killed bison was $77,000, it said.
In addition, the affidavit indicated that in early March corrals were being built on the Hawn ranch to capture the bison live. Hawn paid Salcedo $2,000 before the corrals were built, and that was to be used for supplies and "to repair the existing corrals on Hawn's property with the intention of corralling and removing the bison live." However, then Salcedo contacted Hawn and requested more money, and Hawn told Salcedo that Salcedo and his colleagues had one week to remove the bison or Hawn would have hunters come in and remove the bison for a fee.
Also I performed a Colorado.com record search and found that he is using Itsa Tomas Shash , Itsa Shash , and date of birth 03/17/1961 for his civil legal proceedings ! Check for yourself at CoCourts .com if you wish (what is his real name and date of birth?)
He gives a diferent agewhen asked, and it does not match his alleged date of birth that he have to the courts!
This at least proves criminal impersonation fraud and lying under Colorado laws when using two different names that are not actual in documents and also in representations under laws and morals.
This is his webpage which includes his photo on myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/eaglebearapache
These are Tomas Shash's contact numbers:
(719) 746 2400-landline
(303) 880 1139-cellular
