Thanks for posting this article. I agree everyone should respect the rights of the Indigenous peoples and recognize the Lakota nation as independent from the US. Not sure why this would be controversial…

JUSTICE is often a dream for those most deserving of it, and well is it known that uncountable are the masses who have lived to wait out the rule of Law (as it is supposedly understood in this greatest of all countries). But this nation, known as America, was stolen from those who had lived in peace and prosperity with common and cosmic driving forces through not only declarations and treaties entered into with little more than a trusting certificate of title; in a time, unremarkable for anything so heinous as brought about in the language of genocide, on this soil of young America. The Native American ancestry (their belief in the union of living in communion with this beautiful and respected allegiance to the soil, clean waters, dedication and thoughtful approaches to working with natural Earth patterns) is one to learn from, be enriched by and with deference to the “embodiment of the moral sentiments of the people” (William Blackstone) allied with Ideals mounted by the wise and humblest of great thinkers throughout the ages, compel a dignified expression of a broken circle aligned and healed after too long an endurance of humanity at the edge of a stinging judgment.

As a person with First Nation ancestry, I have found that using materialism based statistics as social indicators does not provide a clear illustration of social conditions. A more profound approach would relate On-Reserve conditions to those experienced by First Nation individuals living off reserve. Its fairly well known that conditions experienced in reserves would not be tolerated in other communities (building codes, health codes and such have been developed to deal with substandard conditions). The apartheid like system of reserves serves mostly to segregate and isolate, and furthermore, with strong dependence on funding from governments for their survival, the aboriginal cultures are essentially held to ransom by the gov’ts with respect to any resource/economic stimulations. I suspect that the move by the Lakotas to independence may further entrench this aspect of isolation and segregation and will not likely result in many improvements to their material well being. Pehaps a more productive approach would be the abolishment of the reserve system in favour of a strong cultural/spiritual foundation set up in a business like model that provides for a high profile and positive First Nation identity that supports and is an essential ingredient in a successful local, regional, and national econonmy.

Did anyone see the President’s speech this morning where he is encouraging the Israeli’s to allow the Palestenians, who were there first, to have their own nation? Will he give our Natives the same support?

That note of “who was here first” sounds so first gradish. We are adults, the human species – so far as we have evolved anyway. NO, I don’t think this president will. There are too many injustices in this world and I can’t quit living because I can’t change them; but I can change my heart, my mind. Increase the “letting go” experience and hope that mankind will one day find that we are all from ONE source—what or how that is I cannot say, but I do believe that. In the meantime, I am going to live my life with as much compassion, caring, love and forgiveness as I can (and I am evolving too). So, I will not see humankind’s perfect moment. I see that I can only change me, only stop the labeling. I have little physical reserves anymore, but my Spirit is one of love and always “under construction” so I will become less judgmental, remembering that it is like a boomerang and what I throw out there will come right back to me. Simply I want all humanity to be treated with dignity, kindness, caring, and assistance when it is needed. In the throes of the Universe I am totally insignificant. I cannot expect to receive what I am unwilling to give. I live simply, quietly and try very hard to keep TRUTH as my guide.

Why would the United States reach out to support the Palestinians and their quest for independence and sovereignity, and not the Lakotah? Why doesn’t the mainstream press even give this story a mention? I was attempting to comment on the commonality of their quest rather than who is right and who is wrong or who came first. I’m just curious, and didn’t intend to come off as supporting them just because they were here first! I’d like to see some light shed on the issue, so that I can better understand, rather than operate from my admittedly elementary perspective-you got that right Patricia! Thanks. Robert makes a point worth looking at and it helps to expand my consciousness about the subject. More of that and we can all work together and solve. Thanks for posting the article lynx.

deb, the answer is the the USA isn’t really interested in helping the Palestinians, not when we’re giving $80 billion + a year in military aid to the Israeli’s to help murder them. US presidents for decades now have mad a show of helping to negotiate “peace”because we need oil from Palestine’s Arab neighbors who are less then pleased at the genocide we are supporting, but it’s really a stalling tactic that allows Israeli “settlements” to take ever larger chunks of Palestinian land and for us to continue purchasing large quantities of crude oil. once the oil is gone (and it will be gone very soon – within a couple decades) the charade of peace talks will end and Israel will finally finish its ethnic cleansing of the indigenous population.

Robert – economic indicators are the ones the lakota themselves decided to cite as motivations, so they obviously think they’re relevant. and i think seceding from the US qualifies as abolishing the reserves, they want all their land back, not a tiny little chunk. the problem with doing as you suggest and essentially turning Lakota into a business is that … damn i don’t even know where to start here…. a people’s identity is not a brand name, for starters. secondly, the issue here is one of the collective right of a people and a Nation to control their own land. it’s not about some racist “blood quantum” (a concept, incidentally, that was imposed on native people by the settler population. the lakota have made it clear that they’re not interested in limiting citizenship in the Lakota Republic to people with native ancestry) it’s about self-determination. the right for a people to determine their own future. and that’s something they will never have as an internal colony of the united states, much less if their identity was reduced to a business.

This article and lynx’s response to my previous comment overlooks a crucial fact: our heritage is not tied to a piece of real estate. We are part of the land, despite any and all potilical conditions. Even though we are a conquered nation, we don’t have to accept the “benevolence” of the conquering race such as reserves and token handouts. Our identity is based on the strength of our connection to the land. The blood that courses through our veins come from the same source that emits the waters for our rivers and lakes, the nutrients and warmth that feed the plants that grow from the ground…

Throughout history, secession has been likened to an act of treason. I can’t help but think that such an act is being encouraged by outside forces who are intent on further de-stabilizing our already strained existence and who have vested interests in seeing the country as a whole distracted from making real progress on the social equity.

Effective change will be brough out from effective actions, pissing off a hive of bees will attract only a whole bunch of hurt without a guarantee of honey.

robert – it is absolutely NOT an act of treason for a conquered nation to exercise their legal right to withdraw from a union they never willingly joined. lakota independence is 100% legal and an entirely appropriate response to ongoing genocidal policies by the settler government. being connected to the land is beautiful, but it doesn’t require being connected to the empire.

Linx-The U.S. does not have a good track record when it comes to being compassionate about First Nation Issues. Have you ever come accross Wounded Knee in your studies? Despite the perceived legality of Secession, the reality of the situation is that US response has been shown through history as being swift and without compassion. I see no real practicial reason to see my brother’s blood shed needlessly (except for the sake of anarchy) when there are other means available.

Robert, don’t be condescending. of course I know about the history of US imperialism vs. native people, wounded knee included. that’s why this move by the lakota is so important. and nobody’s talking about shedding blood, this is in’t a military move, it’s diplomatic and completely within legal channels. they’re not even holding protests that the feds could attack, instead they’re filing lawsuits and seeking diplomatic recognition. as far as being “for the sake of anarchy”, please do us all a favor and take the time to research and understand what the words you use actually mean before using them.

in any case, the point of this article was to inform, i’m not terribly interested in debating with someone who seriously believes that indigenous sovereignty would be best served by converting tribal identities into brand names. take it up with the Lakota if you don’t like what they’re doing.

I would like to respond to this article. The statistics above are accurate, I should know, I live just south of Pine Ridge South Dakota in Nebraska and I’m the intake coordinator for a substance abuse treatment center 20 mins from Pine Ridge, Wounded Knee, Porcupine, etc… I compile the outcome measures and statistics for our fiscal report and my calculations match up with the stats above. I understand what Robert is saying about bringing business to the reservations. The tribe is too connected and entrenched in government funding. If they pull funding the tribe will have more trouble on their hands then they already have. Look at the statistics, unemployment is the highest in the country. The average income is less then $5,000. Over 70% of the tribal members are on food stamps. So,what do you think will happen if you remove funding and food stamps? How is the tribe going to support their members? By natural resources? Sure, but do you really think the U.S. is going to give up the Black Hills? Including large parts of Nebraska and the town I live in. Not on your life. As Robert suggested the tribe needs to first get economically sound by bringing business to the reservations. But there is a big problem the tribal council has blocked those interested in starting a buisness if they are from outside the reservation. The tribe did build a new casino but they had to go outside to a tribe up north to getting funding. With the old casino there had been quite a controversy about questionable accounting with the casino money. (it wasn’t dispersed to the tribal members as originally planned) The U.S. has been cutting back on a lot of funding to the Oglala Sioux Tribe in recent years. Ones that come to mind are the multiple Head Start programs and the police department. Funding was cut because the tribe had neglected to supply the monthly dispersments/accounting reports the government requires. There is a lot of work to be done before they become a sovereign nation.

dawn – bringing more economic activity to the rez would definitely be a good thing, as you trightly point out. for the record that’s not what robert suggested, he suggested the rez’s – the only land in the country still nominally under native rule – should be abolished and the tribal governments essentially converted into corporations. which is a very very different thing then what you are suggesting.

i think you’ll find, if you follow the link provided in the article, that the Lakota involved in the independence campaign aren’t particularly fond of the tribal government currently in power and argue that it is in fact a corrupt puppet regime supported by the US government, much like the regimes the US supports in so many other nations.

one last thought – last year in scotland the people voted the SNP (the Scottish Nationalist Party) into power for the first time and, with similar parties in power in Wales and Northern Ireland as well, it’s looking entirely possible that the United Kingdom will peacefully and bloodlessly dissolve within the next decade or so. No one, not even the London politicians who are incredibly pissed about this, is talking about or threatening violence. The difference between there and here is simple: for all it’s many many faults, the UK government at least makes an effort to follow the Rule of Law and recognizes that under the UN Charter, as well as dozens of treaties signed by both the USA and the UK, stateless nations have the legal right to assert their sovereignty whether the larger nation-state likes it or not.

think about that next time someone tells you how “free” we are in America or accuses the Lakota and others like them of “Treason”, as Robert did.

Lynx

Regarding the Lakota Freedom I can agree with you on the manipulation by the government however the tribe needs to take responsibility for the way they have mis-handled the allocated funds and allowed such control. For the most part the people want change but they are not willing to make the painful but necessary changes that need to be made.

This article is posted at www.chadrad.com and I think it will interest you. Not far from where I live (20 miles west) in Crawford, NE. there is a large uranium mine. the owners want another 2000 acres.

(NE) Could 1851 Treaty With The Sioux Stop Mine Expansion? Listen

By: Walt Winston Posted at: 01/17/2008 07:45 AM

Hear the story with comments from Chief Joe American Horse and Steve Collings CHADRON- On Wednesday, the hearing of the Nuclear Regulatory Comission’s licensing and safety panel began at the Chicoine Atrium on the campus of Chadron State College, the hearing was taking place and Chief Joe American Horse and Chief Red Cloud of the Oglala Sioux Tribe raised objections of the mine expansion citing two treaties made with the Great Sioux Nation back in 1851, and in 1868 signed by the grandfather of Chief Red Cloud and Chief American Horse the grandfather of Chief Joe American Horse with the United States. Chief Joe American Horse with the Oglala Sioux Indian Tribe, said that in the treaty, the settlers were only allowed to pass through the territory at the time but not stop here.

Steve Collings the President of Corporate Resources of the Crowe Butte Resources was asked how the treaty made with the Indians back in the 1800’s would stop his plans for the expansion of the mine near Crawford and Collings said the lawyers would have to look into this.

Those against the mine’s expansion are citing the 1851,and the 1868 treaties the United States made with the Great Sioux Nation. Chief Red Cloud cited Article one of either the U.S. Constitution or Article 1 of the U.N. as cause not to expand the mine hear Crawford.

Lynx, fascinating article, and a really interesting debate; thanks for the post. Hard to beleive it’s really happening, even when evidence is staring you in the face.

I agree absolutely that the US government has mistreated the Lakota (and all native American people), however I can’t help feeling that absolute secession is misguided. I worry that people seem to prefer splintering into smaller groups rather than embracing a united humanity.

Okay, that last is a little idealistic… I totally agree in local, sympathetic government – like the SNP in the UK – a central government simply can’t represent all of it’s people. However, I like to feel that evolution is leading us toward a bigger and better things. Slowly.

I hope the Lakota succeed, and if they manage to do so it would be an inspiration and a much needed lesson for all of us. I also hope that people don’t give up on the rest of humanity. The US may have failed the native people so far, but surely the best aim is to find a way to change the US system so that all people are represented as fairly and justly as it promises.