Twelve Tribes communities#Child labor and homeschooling

The origins of the Twelve Tribes movement can reportedly be tracked back to the "Light Brigade," a 1972 teenagers' ministry.{{cite news | first=Gary | last=Warth | title=The 12 Tribes at a glance | date=2009-10-03 | publisher=Lee Enterprise | url =http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/valley-center/article_a68bc3cf-981d-5250-9525-e064a002bf1d.html | work =North County Times | access-date = 2009-11-11 }} The ministry operated out of "The Lighthouse,"{{cite journal|last=Palmer|first=Susan J.|author-link=Susan J. Palmer|date=May 1997|title=The Northeast Kingdom Community Church of Island Pond, Vermont: Raising Up a People for Yahshua's Return|journal=Journal of Contemporary Religion|volume=12|issue=2|pages=181–190|doi=10.1080/13537909708580798|author2-last=Bozeman|author2-first=John M.}} a small coffee shop in the home of Gene Spriggs and wife Marsha. The Light Brigade began living communally{{cite book | last = Hunt | first = Stephen | author-link = Stephen J. Hunt | title = Christian Millennialism | publisher = Indiana University Press | year = 2001 | location = Bloomington and Indianapolis, Indiana | pages = 209–223 | isbn = 978-0-253-21491-1 }} and opened a restaurant, "The Yellow Deli", while its members were attending several churches, before they decided to join the First Presbyterian Church. Members of the Light Brigade, while affiliated with First Presbyterian, caused friction within its establishment by bringing in anyone who was willing to come with them, including members of different social classes and racial groups, a practice which was not engaged in at that time. On January 12, 1975, the group arrived at First Presbyterian only to find out that the service had been cancelled for the Super Bowl, this led the group to form The Vine Christian Community Church. During this time, the group "planted" churches, each with its own Yellow Deli, in Dalton and Trenton, Georgia; Mentone, Alabama; and Dayton, Tennessee.

Their withdrawal from the religious mainstream turned what had been a friction-filled relationship into an outcry against them. They began holding their own services, which they called "Critical Mass" in Warner Park in Chattanooga, Tennessee,{{cite journal|title=The Twelve Tribes: Preparing a Bride for Yahshua's Return |journal=Nova Religio|date=February 2010|first=Susan J.|last=Palmer |author-link=Susan J. Palmer |volume=13|issue=3|pages=59–80|doi= 10.1525/nr.2010.13.3.59}} appointing elders{{cite news | first=Alan | last=Murray | title=Vine elders concede church has authoritarian character | date=1978-01-19 | publisher=Chattanooga Publishing Company, Inc. | work =Chattanooga Times}}{{cite news | first=Bill | last=Castel | title=Elder: 'We have no money' | date=1980-12-01 | publisher=Chattanooga Publishing Company, Inc. | work =Chattanooga Times}} and baptizing people outside any denominational authority. The deteriorating relationship between the group and the religious and secular Chattanooga community attracted the attention of The Parents' Committee to Free Our Children from the Children of God and the Citizen's Freedom Foundation who characterized the group as a cult and described Spriggs as a cult leader. Starting the summer of 1976, anti-cultist Ted Patrick began a series of deprogrammings that sought to convince Twelve Tribes members to leave the Twelve Tribes community.{{cite news | first=Joan | last=Garret | title=Chattanooga: Yellow Deli hosts reunion, betrothal | date=2008-05-03 | publisher=Chattanooga Publishing Company, Inc. | url=http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2008/may/17/chattanooga-yellow-deli-hosts-reunion-betrothal/ | work=Chattanooga Times Free Press | access-date=2009-11-07 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110305034837/http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2008/may/17/chattanooga-yellow-deli-hosts-reunion-betrothal/ | archive-date=2011-03-05 }} The group nevertheless largely ignored the negative press and the wider world in general, and continued to operate its businesses opening the Areopagus café and a second local Yellow Deli in downtown Chattanooga.{{cite news | title=Yellow Deli In Comeback Popular Christian Eatery From 1970s To Be Revived | date=2006-04-05 | publisher=John Wilson | url=http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_83232.asp | work=Chattanoogan | access-date=2009-11-08 | archive-date=2006-04-07 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060407125348/http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_83232.asp | url-status=dead }} In 1978, an invitation was received from a small church in Island Pond, Vermont, for Spriggs to minister there; the offer was declined but the group began moving in stages to the rural town, naming the church there The Northeast Kingdom Community Church. One of Patrick's last deprogramming cases in Chattanooga occurred in 1980; it involved a police detective who, according to Swantko, had his 27-year-old daughter arrested on a falsified warrant in order to facilitate her deprogramming, with the support of local judges.{{cite journal|doi=10.1023/A:1022021125576|title=The Twelve Tribes' Communities, the Anti-Cult Movement, and Government's Response|journal=Social Justice Research|year=2000|first=Jean|last=Swantko|volume=12|issue=4|pages=341–364|s2cid=140807868|url=https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1023/A:1022021125576.pdf|access-date=January 16, 2022}} The group continued moving, closing down all of its Yellow Delis and associated churches except for the one in Dalton. At one point, a leader conceded that the group was deeply in debt before closing the Dalton church down and moving the last members to Vermont.

File:Common Sense Café 28 Cross Street Island Pond VT May 2013.jpg

The move to Vermont, combined with an initial period of economic hardship, caused some members to leave. The Citizen's Freedom Foundation conducted several meetings in Barton to draw attention to the group. The Citizen's Freedom Foundation had made allegations of mind control in Chattanooga, but now it made accusations of child abuse. In 1983, charges were brought against Charles "Eddie" Wiseman (an elder in the group) for misdemeanor simple assault; this, combined with multiple child custody cases, formed the basis for a search warrant. On June 22, 1984, Vermont State Police and Vermont Social Rehabilitation Services{{cite journal|doi=10.2307/3512176|title=Media Coverage of Unconventional Religion: Any "Good News" for Minority Faiths? |journal=Review of Religious Research|date=December 1997|first=Stuart A.|last=Wright|author-link=Stuart A. Wright|volume=39|issue=2|pages=101–115|jstor=3512176 }} seized 112 children. Forty cases were dismissed as the parents refused to give the names of their children.{{cite news | title=Children of Sect Seized in Vermont | date=1984-06-24 | url =https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/23/us/children-of-sect-seized-in-vermont.html | work =The New York Times | access-date = 2009-11-12}} Due to what the group perceived were a massive misunderstanding of the events and concerns leading up to and surrounding the raid, its members began formal relationships with their neighbors. Two months after the raid, the case against Wiseman fell apart after the main witness recanted, saying he was under duress from the anticult movement. The case was later dropped in 1985 after a judge ruled that Wiseman had been denied his right to a speedy trial. Eddie Wiseman's public defender, Jean Swantko, who had been present during the raid, later joined the Twelve Tribes and married Wiseman.{{cite news | first=Scott | last=Wheeler | title=The Raid on Island Pond 25 Years Later – A Personal Look | year=2009 | publisher=Scott Wheeler | url=http://www.thekingdomhistorical.com/index.php/latest-news/210-the-raid-on-island-pond-25-years-later.html | work=Northland Journal | access-date=2010-02-26 | archive-date=July 17, 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717005334/http://www.thekingdomhistorical.com/index.php/latest-news/210-the-raid-on-island-pond-25-years-later.html | url-status=dead }}

During the 1980s, Twelve Tribes members followed Grateful Dead tours by bus, recruiting members from their concerts.{{cite web |title=At Concerts {{!}} Twelve Tribes |url=https://www.twelvetribes.org/concerts |website=www.twelvetribes.org |publisher=Twelve Tribes |access-date=6 September 2024}}

File:TT-literature.jpg

By 1989, the church had become widely accepted in Island Pond{{cite news | title=Vt. Village Warms to Church | date=1989-07-05 | publisher=Tribune Company | work =The Hartford Courant |page=17}} and grew substantially during the 1980s and 1990s, opening branches in several different countries, including the Czech Republic, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Spain, Germany, Argentina, and the United Kingdom. During this expansion phase, the group used the name Messianic Communities, before deciding to rename itself The Twelve Tribes.

Through the mid-2000s, the group remained controversial, with allegations of child labor,{{cite news | first=Kenneth | last=Lovett | title=Upstate 'Soap' Cult fined for Child Labor | date=2001-10-04 | publisher=News Corporation | url =http://www.nypost.com/p/news/upstate_soap_cult_fined_for_child_Eoi0z2cBQc5W4LlE1al4FK | work =New York Post | access-date = 2009-12-15 }} custodial interference, and illegal homeschooling.{{cite news | title=Fundamentalist Christian Group Gets School of Their Own | date=2006-08-31 | url =http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,2151809,00.html | work =Deutsche Welle | access-date = 2009-11-17 }} In 2006, the group held a reunion for members and friends of the Vine Christian Community Church and the former Yellow Deli in Warner Park, announcing a new community in Chattanooga.{{cite news | first=Robert T. | last=Nash | title=Chattanooga Yellow Deli Reunion Draws Crowd | date=2006-04-16 | publisher=Chattanooga Publishing Company, Inc. | url=http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_83886.asp | work=Chattanoogan | access-date=2009-11-17 | archive-date=2009-06-28 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090628210127/http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_83886.asp | url-status=dead }} The movement proceeded to open a new Yellow Deli in 2008, nearly 30 years after leaving Chattanooga.

The founder of the movement, Elbert Eugene Spriggs Jr. (May 18, 1937 — January 11, 2021), died in 2021 while visiting his Hiddenite, North Carolina, property. Within the movement Spriggs was also known as "the anointed one" and by the Hebrew name "Yoneq".{{Cite news |last=Massey |first=Wyatt |date=3 February 2021 |title=Death of Twelve Tribes founder leaves future uncertain for international Christian movement founded in Chattanooga |url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2021/feb/03/death-twelve-tribes-founder-leaves-future-unc/540927/ |access-date=2022-01-13 |work=Chattanooga Times Free Press}}

The Twelve Tribes's beliefs resemble those of Christian fundamentalism, the Hebrew Roots movement, Messianic Judaism and the Sacred Name Movement; however, the group believes that all other denominations are fallen, and it therefore refuses to align itself with any denomination or movement. Based on the group's practices, scholars describe the group as a cult.{{cite book|last1=Whitsett|first1=Doni|last2=Rosow|first2=Natasha Post|title=Women's Journey to Empowerment in the 21st Century: A Transnational Feminist Analysis of Women's Lives in Modern Times|chapter=Global Violence of Women in Cults|editor-last1=Zaleski|editor-last2=Enrile|editor-last3=Weiss|editor-last4=Wang|editor-first1=Kristen|editor-first2=Annalisa|editor-first3=Eugenia|editor-first4=Xiying|year=2019|location=Oxford|publisher=Oxford University Press|pages=343–368|doi=10.1093/oso/9780190927097.001.0001|isbn=9780190927097|url=https://academic.oup.com/book/38724|quote=The Twelve Tribes of Israel is an existing cult that still functions with thriving communities...Sarah’s former cult, The Twelve Tribes, is still very much intact and flourishing on four continents. It recently appeared in the news after authorities in Cambridge, New York, discovered child labor law infractions at one of its communities. This has also happened in Germany, where the court recently held up the removal of children from a large Twelve Tribes community in Bavaria.}}{{cite book |last1=Lalich |first1=Janja |last2=McLaren |first2=Karla |title=Escaping Utopia: Growing Up in a Cult, Getting Out, and Starting Over |date=2018 |publisher=Routledge |location=Abingdon/New York |isbn=978-1-138-23973-9 |pages=16–20, 88–89 |url=https://www.routledge.com/Escaping-Utopia-Growing-Up-in-a-Cult-Getting-Out-and-Starting-Over/Lalich-McLaren/p/book/9781138239746|quote=In fact, many Twelve Tribes escapees eventually return to the cult because they can’t tolerate the supposed evils of the outside world...Children in most cults are required to study, attend lengthy indoctrination sessions or church services, and work. For instance, the many businesses of the Twelve Tribes involved extensive child labor.}} It believes that for the messiah to return, the Church needs to be restored to its original form as described in Acts 2:38–42 and Acts 4:32–37. This restoration is not merely the restoration of the 1st-century church, but the creation of a new Israel which should consist of Twelve Tribes which are located in twelve geographic regions. Part of this restoration is the return to observing the sabbath, maintaining some of the Mosaic law{{cite news | first=Heather | last=Stephenson | title=A church of their own | date=2000-09-10 | publisher=Herald Association | work =Rutland Herald}} including dietary laws, and the festivals.{{cite news | first=Gary | last=Warth | title=VALLEY CENTER: Twelve Tribes Christian community lives as an example of its faith | date=2009-10-04 | publisher=Lee Enterprise | url =http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2009/oct/04/valley-center-twelve-tribes-christian-community/ | work =North County Times | access-date = 2009-12-13}} This interpretation of the prophesied restoration of Israel leads the group to believe that the end times has arrived, though no date has been set.{{cite news | first=Kim | last=Folstad | title=Life on the Farm | date=2000-12-02 | publisher=Cox Enterprises | work =Palm Beach Post | pages =9–12}}

One noted aspect of the group is its insistence on using the name "Yahshua", as opposed to Jesus. Because the name "Yahshua" represents the nature of Jesus, the group similarly bestows upon each member a Hebrew name that is meant to reflect the personality of the individual.{{cite news | first=Matt | last=Stearns | title=Disciples maintain a life of simplicity – Despite controversy, – group lives quietly | date=2002-01-06 | publisher=The McClatchy Company | work =The Kansas City Star | pages =B1}}

The group believes there are Three Eternal Destinies. It believes that after the Fall of Man every person was given a conscience; and that after dying every person goes to a state of being called death regardless of faith. Upon the second coming, believers will be brought back for the thousand years to reign with "Yahshua" before the last judgment. At the end of this millennium, all of the nonbelievers will be judged according to their deeds and put into one of two groups: the righteous and the filthy/unjust. The filthy and the unjust will be sent to the Lake of Fire while the righteous will go on into eternity and fill the universe.{{cite web | last=Twelve Tribes | title=Three eternal Destinies of Man | date=June 2001 | publisher=Parchment Press | url=http://www.twelvetribes.org/pdf/freepapers/3ED7.pdf |website=twelvetribes.org | pages=9–22 | access-date=2009-12-07 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061231162951/http://twelvetribes.org:80/pdf/freepapers/3ED7.pdf |archive-date=December 31, 2006 }}

The leadership within is structured as a series of Councils which consists of local councils, regional councils, and a global Apostolic Council; the group is also overseen within these councils by a fluid number of teachers, deacons, deaconesses, elders and apostles.{{cite book | last = Palmer | first = Susan J. | author-link = Susan J. Palmer | title = Children in New Religions | publisher = Rutgers University Press | date = 1999 | location = New Brunswick, NJ | pages = 153–171 | isbn = 978-0-8135-2620-1 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=c4RuQgAACAAJ | access-date= January 16, 2022 |ol=369790M}} Gene Spriggs is highly regarded as the first person to open up his home to brothers and sisters, but members state that he is not regarded as a spiritual figurehead.{{cite book | last = Palmer | first = Susan J. | author-link = Susan J. Palmer | title = Moon Sisters, Krishna Mothers, Rajneesh Lovers | publisher = Syracuse University Press | year = 1994 | location = Syracuse, New York | pages = [https://archive.org/details/moonsisterskrish0000palm/page/133 133–153] | url =https://archive.org/details/moonsisterskrish0000palm| url-access = registration | isbn = 978-0-8156-0382-5 }}

The group operates as a 501(d) – "for-profit organization with a religious purpose and a common treasury." The community pays property taxes, but the 501(d) structure tends to result in no income tax liability.

File:Twelve Tribes Wedding 003.JPG

Courtship within the Community involves a "waiting period"{{cite news | first=David | last=Filipov | title=Forgiven and free | date=2009-06-28 | url =http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/06/28/religious_group_opens_its_ship_peacemaker/?page=1 | work =The Boston Globe | access-date = 2009-12-27}} in which the man or woman expresses their desire to get to know the other person. The couple then receives input from the community while spending time together. The couple is betrothed (engaged) if their parents (or the entire community, if they are adults) confirm their love and compatibility; the couple is then permitted to hold hands.

Weddings are dramatized pre-enactments{{cite book |last=Palmer |first=Susan J. |author-link= Susan J. Palmer |editor=James R. Lewis |title=The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects and New Religions |chapter=Messianic Communities/North East Community Church |year=1998 |publisher=Prometheus Books |location=Amherst, New York |pages=334–335 |isbn=9781573922227 |ol=360149M}} of what the group believes will happen at the end of time when "Yahshua" returns to earth for his bride.

Children have been noted to play a central role in the group's eschatological beliefs, especially the sons. The Twelve Tribes believe that it is the parents' responsibility to properly enforce a consequence for sin (wrongful action, words, behavior) so as to allow the child to maintain the state of a clean conscience. Over time, the children's children will be better equipped to deal with or "overcome" the faults of their predecessors. This will enable future generations of the group to hopefully be the "144,000" of Revelation 7. Children are homeschooled. Within the group, children are apprenticed to elders by the age of 13 to be trained in "crafts and specialized labor".{{rp|158}}{{cite news | title=Healing Buildings and Healing Souls in the Catskills | url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9503E5DA173FF937A15754C0A9639C8B63 |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150529192430/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/24/realestate/healing-buildings-and-healing-souls-in-the-catskills.html |archive-date=May 29, 2015 | access-date=2009-10-28 | work=The New York Times | first=Fred A. | last=Bernstein | date=2005-07-24}} The group acknowledges using corporal punishment with a "reed-like rod" like a balloon stick (a minimum){{cite news | first=Brad | last=Pokorny | title=Island Pond has message for Media: Paint Brighter Picture or Get Lost | date=1985-02-24 | publisher=New York Times Company | work =The Boston Globe |page=32 }} across the child's bottom, though many former members, including children raised in the group, say punishments can include severe beatings to the point of bleeding or collapse, and are often repeated daily.{{cite news |title=In Germany's Twelve Tribes sect, cameras catch 'cold and systematic' child-beating |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/in-germany-s-twelve-tribes-sect-cameras-catch-cold-and-systematic-childbeating-8807438.html |first=Tony |last=Paterson |date=September 11, 2013 |newspaper=The Independent}}{{cite news |title=Yellow Deli restaurant linked to organization accused of child abuse, CUI investigation finds |url=https://www.cuindependent.com/2019/12/11/cult-twelve-tribes-child-abuse-boulder/ |first=Colie |last=Dorfman |date=December 11, 2019 |newspaper=CU Independent}}

The Twelve Tribes supports itself through means that allow its members to work together, without the need to seek outside employment. Businesses the group owns and operates include:

• Parchment Press: A printing company offering printing services, and also printing and selling the group's literature.
• BOJ Construction: a general contractor based in Plymouth, Massachusetts and operating nationally, using unpaid and child labor.{{Cite web|date=2016-08-04|title=FOX25 Investigates: Video Prompts Child Labor Investigation|url=https://www.boston25news.com/news/fox25-investigates-kids-working-on-local-construction-site/417099843/|access-date=2022-01-08|website=Boston 25 News|language=en}}
• Commonwealth Construction: construction contracting, primarily in the Southeastern US.{{Cite web|author=Staff Writer|title=Career forum at JFK school today|url=https://www.savannahnow.com/story/news/2008/04/04/career-forum-at-jfk-school/45067362007/|access-date=2022-01-08|website=Savannah Morning News|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Lebos|first=Jessica Leigh|title=Meet me at the Maté Factor|url=https://www.connectsavannah.com/savannah/meet-me-at-the-matandeacute-factor/Content?oid=2525457|access-date=2022-01-08|website=Connect Savannah|language=en}}
• Greener Formulas: A soap and bodycare research and development firm with ties to its other business, Common Sense Farm.{{Cite news|last=Rulison|first=Larry|date=2018-06-04|title=State finds 'multiple' child labor law violations at Twelve Tribes Farm|url=https://www.timesunion.com/business/article/Inside-Edition-airs-video-alleging-child-labor-12965339.php|access-date=2022-01-08|website=Times Union|language=en-US}}
• Maté Factor: a yerba mate import company that also runs two cafés, in Manitou Springs, Colorado and Savannah, Georgia.{{cite web|url=https://www.denverpost.com/2022/03/07/yellow-deli-twelve-tribes-cult-exploitation/|title=Twelve Tribes' businesses like Yellow Deli exploit cult followers for free labor, ex-members say |website=The Denver Post|author=Bradbury, Shelly|date=7 March 2022 |access-date=7 March 2022}}

File:Tribal Trading store (Twelve Tribes), Irun, Spain.jpg

• Tribal Trading: an organic foods distribution company based in Irún, Spain.{{Cite web|title=Las Doce Tribus|url=http://docetribus.com/|access-date=2022-01-08|website=docetribus.com}}
• A farm in Kansas.
• A construction business in Colorado. For that particular community, construction using unpaid labor is their main source of income.

{{ Cite news

| language = English

| access-date = 2022-11-19

| year = 2022

| department = Colorado News

| location = Denver, Colorado, US

| last = Sangosti

| first = RJ

| publisher = Digital First Media

| journal = Denver Post

| issn = 1930-2193

| url = https://www.denverpost.com/2022/03/07/yellow-deli-twelve-tribes-cult-exploitation/

| title = Twelve Tribes' businesses like Yellow Deli exploit cult followers for free labor, ex-members say : Religious sect runs businesses around country including Manitou Springs' Maté Factor Café

}}

The group also runs restaurant chains:

• Yellow Deli Restaurants
• Common Ground Café Restaurants

Bob Pardon, the executive director of Christian countercult movement New England Institute of Religious Research has done extensive research on Twelve Tribes. According to a report from the Southern Poverty Law Center, Pardon first became aware of Twelve Tribes when a former member reported potential evidence of child abuse. Because he was initially skeptical, he was given access to the group in order to research it. He also received information on the group's teachings from high level former members. Pardon released his research and findings in a report that stated "Messianic Communities, under the leadership of Spriggs, has tended towards an extreme authoritarianism" and a "Galatian heresy."{{cite web |title=My Analysis of the Twelve Tribes |url=http://www.neirr.org/conclusn.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051215195028/http://neirr.org/conclusn.html |archive-date=2005-12-15 |access-date=2005-10-23 |work=New England Institute of Religious Research website}}

In France, the group was listed on the 1995 Governmental Report by the Parliamentary Commission on Cults in France under the name "Ordre apostolique – Therapeutic healing environment."{{cite web | title=French National Assembly: On Sects | url=http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/12/rap-enq/r3507.asp | access-date=2008-05-09 }}

Twelve Tribes members Jean Swantko and husband Ed Wiseman have made efforts to combat social stigma and the anti-cult movement by engaging in dialogue with the media and government authorities.{{cite encyclopedia | last = Palmer | first = Susan J. | author-link = Susan J. Palmer | editor = Lindsay Jones | encyclopedia = Encyclopedia of Religion | title = Twelve Tribes | edition = 2 | year = 2005 | publisher = Macmillan Reference USA | volume = 14 | location = New York |page=9409}} Swantko, who also represents the group in legal matters,{{Cite news|title=Defender of the faith |work=The Boston Globe | author= Sally Johnson |date=March 12, 1993}} has presented at conferences including the Communal Studies Association{{cite web | url = http://www.usi.edu/libarts/communal/2010CSA-Abstracts.pdf | title = Communal Studies Association, 2010 New Harmony, Indiana | access-date = 2010-12-13 | year = 2010 | publisher = Communal Studies Association | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110720193424/http://www.usi.edu/libarts/communal/2010CSA-Abstracts.pdf | archive-date = 2011-07-20 }} and Society for the Scientific Study of Religion{{cite web | url = http://www.sssrweb.org/pdf/2010SSSRRRAprogramv3.pdf | title = Society for Scientific Study of Religion and Religious Research Association Annual Meeting 2010 | access-date = 2010-12-13 | year = 2010 | publisher = Society for Scientific Study of Religion and Religious Research Association Annual | archive-date = 2018-01-28 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180128094328/http://www.sssrweb.org/pdf/2010SSSRRRAprogramv3.pdf | url-status = dead }} as well as a chapter in James T. Richardson's Regulating Religion: Case Studies from Around the Globe.

The Twelve Tribes has been cited by Stuart A. Wright as a group suffering from "front-end/back-end disproportionality" in media coverage. According to Wright, the media often focuses on unsubstantiated charges against the group, but as charges are investigated and as cases fall apart, the media covers them significantly less at the end than it does at the beginning. Wright then asserts that this leaves the public with the impression that the group was guilty of the disproven charges.

File:Island Pond raid.jpg

On June 22, 1984, Vermont State Police arrived at the Twelve Tribes's Island Pond residences and took custody of hundreds of group members with their children, based on an investigation of accusations of child abuse. All cases were dismissed when a judge found that the search warrant was unconstitutional.{{Rp|page=153}} Frank Mahady, the judge in the case, called the action a "grossly unlawful scheme", while Judge Wolchik, who had signed the initial search warrant, said that he was given "false or unreliable information".{{Rp|page=153}}

The Vermont Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) also criticized the raid, calling it "frightening" and "the greatest deprivation of civil liberties to have occurred in recent Vermont history."{{cite news | first=Colin | last=Smith | title=ACLU: Raid on Sect was Lawless act by Vermont | date=1984-06-26 | publisher=New York Times Company | work =The Boston Globe |via=Newspapers.com}} Richard Snelling, the then-Governor of Vermont who had authorized the raid, reportedly drew the "hottest political fire of his career" in the weeks after;{{cite news | first=Colin | last=Nickerson | title=Island Pond Case: How Much Latitude Does the Church have? | date=1989-07-25 | publisher=New York Times Company | work =The Boston Globe |via=Newspapers.com}} while Vermont Attorney General John J. Easton Jr. attributed the raid to assisting his campaign for governorship.{{cite news | first=Michael | last=Kranish | title=Governor's Race a nail biter, Legislature Might Decide winner | date=1984-06-26 | publisher=New York Times Company | work =The Boston Globe |via=Newspapers.com}}

In 1992, John Burchard, who had been the State Commissioner of Social and Rehabilitation Services, and Vanessa L. Malcarne, published an article in Behavioral Sciences and the Law, encouraging changes in the law that would have allowed the raid to succeed.{{cite journal|doi=10.1002/bsl.2370100108|title=Investigation of Child abuse/Neglect in Religious Cults|journal=Behavioral Sciences and the Law|year=1992|first=John D.|last=Buchard|author2=Malcarne, Vanessa L.|volume=10|pages=75–88}}{{cite web|url=http://www.boulderweekly.com/article-5583-father-son-holy-toast.html|title=Father, son & holy toast | work = Boulder Weekly|date=12 May 2011|access-date=17 October 2017}} The group held anniversary events in both 1994 and 2000;{{cite news |last=New York Times |date=2000-06-19 |title=Island Pond Journal; Trip Home to Stand Up For Their Community |work=New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/19/us/island-pond-journal-trip-home-to-stand-up-for-their-community.html?pagewanted=1 |url-access=subscription |access-date=2010-01-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527142128/https://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/19/us/island-pond-journal-trip-home-to-stand-up-for-their-community.html |archive-date=May 27, 2015}} and produced a 75-minute documentary.{{cite news |last=Freyne |first=Peter |date=2005-07-27 |title=When Big Brother Ran Vermont |work=Seven Days |publisher=Seven Days |url=http://www.7dvt.com/2005/when-big-brother-ran-vermont |access-date=2010-01-10}}

The group teaches that the Jews are collectively responsible for the death of Christ, quoting Matthew 27:25.{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/jul/03/race.religion | location=London | work=The Guardian | first=Jeevan | last=Vasagar | title=Racist sect digs in at rock festivals | date=2000-07-03}} They are often labelled antisemitic, although the group repeatedly denies this accusation. Its members keep the Sabbath and the Jewish festivals of Pesach, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot. Youth hold Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah celebrations, and they regularly perform Israeli folk dances.{{cite news|last=Goswami|first=Neal|date=November 3, 2007|title=Let Us Pray: Twelve Tribes, honoring the past|work=Bennington Banner|location=Bennington, VT|url=https://www.benningtonbanner.com/local-news/let-us-pray-twelve-tribes-honoring-the-past/article_77bbd900-6cf7-539b-b348-c85899b2dcc4.html|access-date=January 13, 2022}}

In 2001, The New York Post ran an article accusing the group of child labor violations;{{cite news | first=Katy | last=Moeller | title=Worshippers of Yahshua as savior weather storm – Cambridge farm counters criticism | date=2001-04-15 | publisher=John E.N. Hume III | work =Daily Gazette | pages =A–01}}{{cite news | last=Associated Press | title=Twelve Tribes sect opens farm to Press group Denies Charges of Child Labor, Racism | date=2001-04-14 | work =Watertown Daily Times |page=29}} and later attributed itself as having prompted the investigation.{{cite news | first=Jeane | last=MacIntosh | title=State probes cult in Child Labor Scandal on heels of post report | date=2001-04-09 | publisher=News Corporation | url =http://www.nypost.com/p/news/state_probes_cult_post_child_labor_ejnbb0yjhckbYDg0QWMiJK | work =New York Post | access-date = 2010-01-03 }} The Twelve Tribes responded with a press conference at the Common Sense Farm where the alleged child labor had taken place.{{cite news | last=Staff Writer | title=Tribes speak, but don't apologize | date=2001-04-13 | publisher=MediaNews Group | work =Bennington Banner}} The Twelve Tribes reported that during a random inspection by Estée Lauder Companies, the company discovered that several 14-year-olds had been found assisting their fathers in the factory. This report was later confirmed by Estée Lauder who terminated their contract with Common Sense products. The group's official statement at the press conference stated that they believed that it was a family-owned business, and children ought to be able to help their parents in the business while making "no apology" for it. The New York State Department of Labor stated that they intended to visit all five of the Twelve Tribes's businesses. State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer asserted that apprenticeships amounted to indentured servitude and were illegal. Robert Redford's Sundance Catalog, who had contracted with Common Wealth Woodworks (another of the group's industries that made furniture), also terminated their contract as a response to the allegations. The Labor Department found no violations at Common Sense Farm or Commonwealth Woodworks. They did propose a fine on two other industries: $2,000 for allegations of child labor law violations that the group's spokesperson, Jean Swantco Wiseman, was quoted in a news article as saying were for a 15-year-old pushing a wheelbarrow and another 15-year-old changing a lightbulb.

In June 2018, another New York State investigation into the Common Sense Farm was launched, yielding allegations of child labor, after an Inside Edition hidden camera investigation revealed children working in the group's soap factory. The Twelve Tribes-owned business Greener Formulas had been contracted with brands including Acure and Savannah Bee to manufacture its private label body care products and was using the facilities of Common Sense Farm (also owned by the group) for production. Both Acure and Savannah Bee terminated their contracts with Greener Formulas following the airing of the Inside Edition story.{{Cite web|url=https://www.insideedition.com/undercover-investigation-exposes-child-labor-new-york-compound-43812|title=Undercover Investigation Exposes Child Labor in New York Compound|date=2018-06-01|website=Inside Edition|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-02}}

In Germany and France, the controversies centered on the issues of homeschooling, health, child abuse, and religious freedom. The group has several times been in conflict with authorities in Germany and France over homeschooling their children, with a particularly long and protracted dispute between the community in Klosterzimmern, in the municipality of Deiningen, Bavaria, and Bavarian education authorities.{{cite book|author=Jean A. Swantko|editor=James T. Richardson|editor-link=James T. Richardson|title=Regulating religion: case studies from around the globe |chapter=The Twelve Tribes Communities, the Anti-Cult Movement, and Governmental Response|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U6opyVE_IYkC&pg=PA197|access-date=27 August 2011|year=2004|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-0-306-47886-4|pages=197–199}} Homeschooling is illegal in Germany, with rare exceptions. When fines and arrests failed to have an effect on the community, authorities granted the group the right to operate a private school on the commune's premises in 2011, under state supervision. The agreement entailed that the school would not teach sex education and evolution.{{cite news | author=Alexander Görlach | title=Sieg der Sekten-Eltern | work=Die Welt | url=https://www.welt.de/print-welt/article195835/Sieg_der_Sekten_Eltern.html | access-date = 2011-08-26 | date = 2006-02-04 }}{{cite news | last=cpa/jol/dpa | title=Schulboykott. "Zwölf Stämme" erhalten eigene Schule | work = Der Spiegel | date = 2006-08-29 | url = http://www.spiegel.de/schulspiegel/wissen/0,1518,434193,00.html | access-date = 2011-08-26 }} Authorities revoked the school's right to operate in 2013, after it refused to answer to allegations of physical abuse and a lack of certified teaching staff.{{cite news | url=https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/aus-fuer-bayerische-sektenschule.680.de.html?dram:article_id=249316 | access-date = 2021-09-13 | date = 2013-06-07 | title=Aus für bayerische Sektenschule}}

According to a 2018 report by the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Twelve Tribes teaches its followers the curse of Ham as a racial curse that made Ham a servant of his brother, Shem. This teaching is used to justify slavery. Their teaching states that slavery was "a marvelous opportunity that blacks could be brought over here to be slaves so that they could be found worthy of the nations". Nevertheless, there are Black members of the Twelve Tribes, which teaches that "slavery is over for those who believe".{{cite web |last1=Kelley |first1=Brendan Joel |title=Inside an American white supremacist cult. |url=https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2018/darkness |publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center |access-date=8 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516025012/https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2018/darkness |archive-date=16 May 2021 |date=5 August 2018}} The SPLC concludes that since Twelve Tribes views only themselves as true believers, this does not apply to any black person outside the group.

On September 5, 2013, German police raided two communities belonging to the Twelve Tribes and removed 40 children to protect them from continued abuse.{{cite news|date=2013-09-05|title=German Christian sect raided and children put in care|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23977577}} The raid was prompted by undercover reporting by Wolfram Kuhnigk, who secretly recorded how the sect beat their children. The group admits that they use a "reed-like rod" for discipline, but denies abusing their children.{{cite news|author=Jamie Merrill|date=2013-09-16|title='It is our right to use the willow cane': Inside the Twelve Tribes Christian fundamentalist sect at centre of childcare controversy|work=The Independent|location=London|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/it-is-our-right-to-use-the-willow-cane-inside-the-twelve-tribes-christian-fundamentalist-sect-at-centre-of-childcare-controversy-8820271.html|access-date=2013-09-17}} In 2018, the European Court of Human Rights upheld the German move to take away the children from the sect.{{cite web |title=Germany / European Court of Human Rights: Caning of Children Justifies Withdrawal of Parental Authority |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2018-04-19/germany-european-court-of-human-rights-caning-of-children-justifies-withdrawal-of-parental-authority/ |date=April 19, 2018 |website=Library of Congress |last=Gesley |first=Jenny |quote=Furthermore, the ECtHR [European Court of Human Rights] decided that the risk of inhuman or degrading treatment of children, which is prohibited in absolute terms in article 3 of the ECHR, justified the partial withdrawal of parental authority and the splitting up of the families.}}{{Cite web|last=admin|title=Case of Wetjen and Others v. Germany (European Court of Human Rights) – LawEuro|date=August 23, 2019 |url=https://laweuro.com/?p=8248|access-date=2019-09-24|language=en-US}}

{{blockquote |text=In [the Wetjen v. Germany case], the parents believed, based upon their religion, that they had the obligation to cane their children under the age of 12 when they were disobedient. The Court distinguished the right granted to parents to pass on their religious and philosophical beliefs from the Wetjen's actions stating that, "[w]hile the Court has accepted that this [the passing on of moral convictions] might even occur in an insistent and overbearing manner, it has stressed that it may not expose children to dangerous practices or to physical or psychological harm."{{cite journal |title=Family Ties: The European Court of Human Rights' Protection of the Family and its Impact in Future Litigation |url=https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/jil/vol52/iss1/32/ |first=Rebecca J. |last=Cambron |journal=Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law |volume=52 |issue=1 |article-number=32 |page=711 |year=2020}}}}

On June 26, 2018, the group was showcased on the Vice HD channel in the United States on an episode of their Cults and Extreme Belief series, as former member Samie Brosseau accused the group of abusive practices.{{Cite web|url=https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/video/1743444035943/twelve-tribes|title = Twelve Tribes - Cults and Extreme Belief, Season 1 Episode 4}}

In July 2019, the American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released a 40-page summary of the results of a closed preliminary investigation stemming from allegations of child abuse at the group's Hiddenite, North Carolina, property.{{Cite web |title=Twelve Tribes Part 01 of 01 |url=https://vault.fbi.gov/twelve-tribes/twelve-tribes-part-01-of-01-1/view |access-date=2020-03-02 |website=FBI |language=en-us}}{{rp|page=1}} The documents revealed the existence of other investigations over the years to include suspicions of child abuse in other compounds. There were also deaths alleged to be suspicious.{{r|FBI|pages=4,7–8,40,51}}

On February 19, 2020, police in New South Wales, Australia, executed a search warrant as part of Strike Force Nanegai, on the group's Peppercorn Creek Farm property, seizing documents and other evidence in what has been a prolonged investigation into allegations of child abuse in the group.{{Cite news|title=Secretive Sect Twelve Tribes Picton Farm Targeted by Police Search Warrant|work=The Daily Telegraph|url=https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/macarthur/secretive-sect-twelve-tribes-picton-farm-targeted-by-police-search-warrant/news-story/3ba1b14bb36e45e532f353ce96b466c3&usg=AOvVaw3At1AHgtfGUOgMD_Dy0lcn}} On March 3, 2020, police returned for a more extensive search operation for stillborn babies buried on the property at Peppercorn Creek Farm and another of the group's properties. On March 7, an updated report said the body of at least one infant was found at the farm. In September 2020, NSW police announced in a statement they anticipated a close of the investigation late 2020 or early 2021. No official closure or criminal charges has been announced as of October 2021.{{Cite web|last=Sparks|first=Hannah|title=Religious sect Twelve Tribes under police investigation after dig for remains|url=https://aboutregional.com.au/religious-sect-twelve-tribes-under-lengthy-police-investigation-following-dig-for-remains/|access-date=2022-02-11|website=About Regional|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Sparks|first=Kayla Osborne and Hannah|date=2020-03-03|title=Police establish crime scenes at Twelve Tribes properties in Picton and Bigga|url=https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/6658826/police-establish-crime-scenes-at-twelve-tribes-properties-in-picton-and-bigga/|access-date=2022-02-11|website=Illawarra Mercury|language=en-AU}}

In December 2021, a fire broke out in Boulder County, Colorado. In June 2023, the Boulder County Sheriff's Office issued its investigative summary of the fire in which it concluded that the Marshall Fire originated from two sources, one of them being a slash burn intentionally started on the Twelve Tribes residential property six days prior on December 24, 2021.{{cite web |last1=Johnson |first1=Curtis |last2=Dougherty |first2=Michael |title=Marshall Fire Investigative Summary and Review |url=https://assets.bouldercounty.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/marshall-fire-investigative-summary.pdf |publisher=Boulder County}} The slash burn was visited by local firefighters after a community member noted the size of the fire, however, the responders were reportedly unconcerned with the fire. A resident at the property told detectives that he allowed the fire to burn to coals at which point he covered the fire with dirt, but did not extinguish the coals with water. Criminal charges were not brought against those at the property as slash burning is not illegal in Boulder County.{{cite news |last1=Drugan |first1=Tim |title=Marshall Fire investigation raises questions about safety of slash burning laws in Boulder County |url=https://boulderreportinglab.org/2023/06/19/marshall-fire-investigation-raises-questions-about-safety-of-slash-burning-laws-in-boulder-county/ |access-date=19 June 2023 |publisher=Boulder Reporting Lab |date=19 June 2023}}

File:12Tribes bus.jpg

File:Peacemaker1.jpg

The Twelve Tribes utilizes mobile operations and vehicles to evangelize at various events.

• Peacemaker Marine: A Class-A barquentine sailing ship bought and restored by the group sailing on the Eastern coast of the United States. The group now gives tours and evangelizes at ports.{{cite news|url=http://savannahnow.com/node/625617|title=Savannah Now article|last=Felty|first=Dana Clark|date=2008-11-29|newspaper=Savannah Morning News|access-date=2008-12-23}}
• Peacemaker I & II Buses: A custom PD-4501 Scenicruiser with added floor from the roof of an Aerocoach{{cite news |last=Wallgren |first=Christine |date=23 July 2006 |title=A festival of peace Twelve Tribes opens its Plymouth home to curious neighbors |url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/07/23/a_festival_of_peace/ |work=The Boston Globe |pages=1–3 |access-date=2009-11-04}}

• Antisemitism in Christianity
• Black Hebrew Israelites
• Groups claiming affiliation with Israelites
• Jesus Army
• Jesus People USA
• Restorationism

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist|2}}

{{Commons category|Twelve Tribes Communities}}

• [http://www.twelvetribes.org/ Twelve Tribes official website]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080705134923/http://www.twelvetribesteachings.com/ Twelve Tribes Teachings: Archive of teachings of the Twelve Tribes]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-8621MWqFE "Children of the Island Pond Raid: An Emerging Culture" (documentary on the Island Pond Raid at the Twelve Tribes YouTube channel)]

{{New Religious Movements}}

{{Simple living}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Twelve Tribes (Movement)}}

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