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Here in Alaska, some villages prevent members from selling their privately owned land. Selling the land is bad for village anyway that you look at it. I know Indians who don't own a vehicle, or much of anything; yet own 5-6 hundred acres and won't sell any of it. It is almost sacriligious to certain Indians; others sell all the land they get left to them ect.

I also know villages who don't have casinoes, Old grandma's that run the village say there won't be casinoes as long as they are in control. Same villages buy back land that has been sold off over the years to attempt to preserve their village, keep us Whites out for their own survival.

I know villages who lost all their land as late as 1940's to feds. The land is now BLM, Fed Park Land, ect. I could tell ya how they were driven off the land, Govt took all their kids and wouldn't give them back until Indians quit traditionally utilizing the land;;;alot of bad feelings still simmering against the govt over this. It would be much better for the govt to give the BLM lands back to Indians; let the Indians manage the lands.

I once had an Indian friend stay over. Have known this guy for years from another village 600 miles away. Back in 1997, he turned down 20 million over soveignty rights; I respect the heck outta him. He once told me that issue was the second most important thing he has done in his life. He said the first was preventing young members of his village from selling their lands.

I wish us Whites stood up to the Feds like the local Indians do around here. The feds don't want problems from Indians over it. We could learn a little from them backward Natives,,, if you know what I mean.