Kaweah_Indian_Nation
Kaweah Indian Nation
Nonprofit organization
The Kaweah Indian Nation, Inc., was a civic group interested in cultivating a Native American identity. The group is named after the Kaweah people and has applied for status as a federally recognized tribe in the USA in the 1980s, a petition which was denied.[5][6]
Scam artists have sold purported citizenships in the non-recognized tribe, particularly to Mexican nationals who have entered the US without documents.[4][7] Malcolm Webber, who called himself "Grand Chief Thunderbird IV," was convicted on six felony charges and sentenced to prison time in 2008.[8]