http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-backroom/946003/posts
What the TaxMan wants, the TaxMan gets...sad, really.
If ever a group of people personafied the "give me - I'm entitled" group, it's Indians. They don't realize that, while they are receiving compensation for what the white man did too many ago, they are also being held under the thumb of the white man.
The goal of many tribes is to become "self sufficient", which is great. Yet they still seek out federal funds for projects. They still seek out regular compensation "disbursements" from whitey.
The answer is one of the following:
1.) let them build casino's on their reservations without state or federal intervention. After all, one sovereign nation does not ask another sovereign entity to do or pursue something. The moment a tribe has to ask permission from the state or fedgov, they are no longer sovereign nations. For those that would decry the Indian casino's, don't worry - there is too much in-fighting in tribal government to hold something together. They'll run their casino's into the ground sooner or later. Believe me, I've seen it happen.
At the same time the tribes are building their casino's, COMPLETELY CUT federal funding for the tribes. Let them TRULY be self sufficient. Or,
2.) Do away with "reservations" and "dual citizenship" completely, and let the Indians in on all of the benefit of being an American citizen.
Until the tribes get out of the liberal "gimme" view, they will continue down a destructive path. If they don't eventually all implode, they will certainly never get anywhere in life, as individuals and as tribes. For proof, just take a drive through a reservation sometime, and note how mostly, life has not changed for the better since they were placed on the "rez".
For the record, my wife is Native, and we spent a number of years living on the "rez" and working for a couple of different tribal governments. That is, until we realized that there was more to life.