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Russell Means (American Indian activist)says he will back Thune in Senate race
mercurynews.com ^ | 02/05/04 | AP

Posted on 02/06/2004 10:03:03 PM PST by KQQL

Edited on 04/13/2004 2:49:34 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]

RAPID CITY, S.D. - Republican John Thune has received the backing of American Indian activist Russell Means as Thune challenges Democratic Sen. Tom Daschle in this year's election.

"I'm going to work with Sen. Thune's staff and the state Republican Party, and that will open doors to work with the National Republican Party to completely change Indian policy in America," Means said.


(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: South Dakota
KEYWORDS: 2004; aim; americanindianvote; daschle; dasshole; elections; electionussenate; endorsement; indian; indianissues; nativeamerican; russellmeans; thune
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To: Quix
Russell Means went to Nicaragua in support of Daniel Ortega and the Sandanista communists controlling Nicaragua. While there, Means, in his capacity as head of the American Indian Movementy, was asked to look in on a Nicaraguan Indian tribe, the Mesquito tribe. He did so and found out that they had been shamefully treated by the Sandanistas. When complaints to Ortega got no satisfaction, Means returned to the US, publicly abandoned the left, said that he was ashamed to have been a part of the left, declared himself also pro-life and has ever since demonstrated his libertarian conservative commitment and pro-life commitment. He even sought the Libertarian Presidential nomination. Bear in mind that about 9 of the original 10 editors of National Review were ex-communists and that magazine has been quite conservative for nearly fifty years. These conversions occur.
21 posted on 02/07/2004 12:05:25 AM PST by BlackElk (Dean of Discipline of the Tomas de Torquemada Gentlemen's Club)
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To: Chad Fairbanks
It ain't easy, my friend... tirelessly is a good word.

*laughs* Sometimes I think my time would be better spent banging my head against the Crazy Horse memorial - after all a few years of that, I might affect things. Ahh well, I wish I was still producing my paper, it'd be lovely to go annoy Marquez and Milanovich with this.

Hey.. I wonder if this means that the Republican party will actually allocate something to the 'Native American Caucus' at this year's convention, or if it'll be another closet again. Nothing like trying to shove millionaires with huge egos into a tiny room and say with a straight face that their efforts are appreciated.
22 posted on 02/07/2004 12:12:50 AM PST by kingu (Freepmail me if you want to be added or removed from the Survivor ping list.)
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To: Quix
MEANS is the IDIOT who destroyed 100+ jobs at a new Fairchild plant due to open in a week or so 30 years or so ago on the Navajo reservation at Shiprock.

I think there were close to 500 Navajos who lost their jobs over that deal. AIM (American Indian Movement - aka: Means and his gang.) were making demands and Fairchild said goodbye, shut the doors and left the Reservation. Means and other AIM members were also involved in the kidnapping of the Gallup mayor during the same time frame.

Indians in this area are typically Democrat, and I doubt if Means could change a thing. He's not real popular on the Rez here.

23 posted on 02/07/2004 12:12:51 AM PST by NRA2BFree (http://www.angelfire.com/nm2/chainreaction/ValentinesDay.html)
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To: kingu
Means has been arrested for domestic abuse on three reservations,

I was referring to political extremist activities like those that launched his career. I'm certainly not trying to canonize the guy!

I, among many others, have been working tirelessly to set up combinations between American Indians and the Republican party. Daschle's aid won't say it, but Means' joining the opposition is a horrible blow.

Glad to hear it!

24 posted on 02/07/2004 12:43:28 AM PST by JohnnyZ
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To: dts32041
I think you're thinking of Leonard Peltier, NOT Russell Means. Means has never been charged with murder.
25 posted on 02/07/2004 4:51:00 AM PST by alwaysconservative (Hey Congress! The deficit will go down when spending does!)
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To: JohnnyZ; alwaysconservative
Note to self: remember to read all the posts before responding. Someone like JohnnyZ may have already answered it!
26 posted on 02/07/2004 4:53:16 AM PST by alwaysconservative (Democrats: Party's interests above people's interests. Sound familiar?)
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To: BlackElk
Great find! The conservative Native American I love to read is David Yeagley, who is sometimes on FrontPageMagazine. I think his personal site is www.badeagle.com or something like that.
27 posted on 02/07/2004 4:59:18 AM PST by alwaysconservative (Democrats: Party's interests above people's interests. Sound familiar?)
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To: Quix
Was Dennis Banks the other one that you were thinking of? I think he and Means used to work as a team.

LQ
28 posted on 02/07/2004 5:03:52 AM PST by LizardQueen
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To: KQQL
People out there need to see how many of those 1 in 4 Republicans are on Tom or Linda's payroll.
Tom cant afford to leave Congress it may leave Linda vulnerable and she would have to work but just think some big company would hire Tom and he and Linda both could lobby at the expense of all Americans and with the "Neanderthal " Kennedy,"KKK" Byrd,'The Sandwich Man" Dodd,'Leaky" Leahy they could still keep their lifestyle and milking of America.
29 posted on 02/07/2004 5:14:47 AM PST by gunnedah
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To: KQQL
he declared himself a "Lakota Libertarian Republican."

An interesting concept, given that most American Indian cultures were highly communal in nature, and private property and individual land ownership were mostly alien concepts.

It'll be interesting to see how this plays out, however. Means is a highly charismatic individual, who had a starring role in The Last of the Mohicans and who often is front and center in protests. If he has gone on his own pilgrimage to a center-right philosophy, it might bode well for the state of Native Americans in general. Maybe he saw Kayenta, a town in the middle of the Navajo reservation where the elders have allowed free-market rules and private enterprise. That town is flourishing amidst the abject poverty and Stalinist economics of the rest of the reservation.

Catching the dream of free enterprise

by: Brenda Norrell / Today Staff / Indian Country Today

KAYENTA, Ariz. - From working behind the counter of Kayenta Trading Post as a child, to building the beautifully designed Hampton Inn and three Burger Kings on Navajoland, Navajo businessman Richard Mike learned the ingredients of successful business in Indian country the hard way.

He also learned to love it.

"What I've learned is that there are two sets of laws, one for white people and one for Indians.

"White people can own land wherever they want. Indians lease their lands for their homes and businesses.

"Freedom is based on land ownership."

Free enterprise is going nowhere in Indian country, because "the United States supports socialism," Mike said.

Tribal enterprises, such as the floundering Navajo Agricultural Products Industries, suffocate ideas of free enterprise, he said.

Routinely, off tribal lands, businesses have to answer to a board of directors for their failures. "If they don't make a profit, the board kicks out the CEO."

But, that's not the case in Indian country.

"That accountability doesn't exist. The BIA continues whatever the tribe wants."

There's no impetus for success.

"Free enterprise means capitalism without government interference. That just doesn't exist on any Indian reservation."

Mike said if tribal enterprises facing bankruptcy were left with repercussions - like having to pay the money back - tribes would think more carefully about "jumping into business so fast."

When a casino or other enterprise is successful, he said it simply means more power for the powerful and more dependency for everyone else.

"The incumbent chairman becomes more powerful if a casino or enterprise is successful. And the people either want more freebies, more goodies or go on welfare."

While states and many towns have Chambers of Commerce, there is a void of support for businessmen in Indian country. Tribal divisions, such as Navajo Economic Development and Navajo Office of Tourism, do not meet the needs.

"They are generally bureaucrats that monitor. They don't work for business people, they work for the tribe," Mike said.

Two years ago, after building a successful chain of Burger Kings on the Navajo Nation, Mike and partner Nina Heflin built a Hampton Inn in the heart of Kayenta, in drop-dead Southwestern style.

After securing a loan guarantee from the Office of Rural Development in the Department of Agriculture, Mike soon learned the hard truth about one bit of business advice.

During the first 10 months, no one knew he was there.

"I couldn't believe it. There's such a need for hotels in Kayenta," he said of the community on the edge of scenic Monument Valley.

During the first year, he used his savings and Burger King profits to pay the bills for the hotel, offering an outdoor heated pool, outdoor dining and fine gift shop, Kayenta Trading Co. The second year, the hotel paid its own bills. A profit is foreseen for this year.

Recommending franchises for American Indian businessmen, Mike said they offer benefits like training and setting standards of service, which guarantee success in a tough market. One way they do it is by way of secret shoppers.

"If you continue to flunk with your secret shoppers, they get rid of you."

But, the former owner of a Navajoland trading post, says, "Don't ever buy a trading post. You end up carrying a lot of credit, a lot of debt."

The whole concept of making money in Indian country has been slow to catch on. He said the idea of the "rich trader having it all," at the expense of everyone else, is a carryover from the trading post days.

While many Navajos are educated to go into public service, he said business is a way to bring jobs home.

Preparing to open a new Burger King at Burnside Junction near Ganado, he said, "A lot of people just say, 'There he goes again, taking more land.' But I create jobs.

"It's not fun to build. It's not a picnic," he said of the difficult work of constructing sewage, water and electric facilities on tribal land.

Already with 200 employees on the Navajo Nation at Burger Kings in Kayenta, Chinle and Shiprock, N.M., and the Hampton Inn in Kayenta, Mike is building a Burger King with convenience store and gas station at Burnside Junction that will create 60 new jobs.

When he first started out with the purchase of the Crystal, N.M., Trading Post in the 1980s, Mike learned that American Indian businessmen are perceived as rich in the community.

He said tribal members probably don't know about the 30-year debt commitment and mortgages.

During the past 10 years, he has changed his mind about the need for local taxation on tribal land. The Kayenta Township Commission, where he serves as a commissioner, is collecting 2.5 percent tax on all sales.

With those revenues, the township upgraded the airport and built a new post office and trash transfer station. It is now building 230 homes with its sales tax.

Mike says the homes are "for working Navajos who are having to sleep in shacks and trailers."

Mike grew up with the Anglo trading family of Reuben Heflin in Kayenta whose grandfather was Stokes Carson, turn-of-the-century trader at the nearby Inscription House.

"I got to see Indian business from behind a counter! From behind the counter, it all just seemed natural," he said.

Recently, Mike built traditional Navajo male and female hogans and a sweat lodge, between his Kayenta Burger King and Hampton Inn. There's a self-guided indoor hogan tour past sheepskins, enamel coffeepots and charcoal mutton grills. A museum is under construction.

The Navajo Codetalkers Exhibit in his Kayenta Burger King is extensive, with written accounts and military items Navajos returned with from World War II. The U.S. Marines credit the code, declassified in 1969, with helping win the war in the Pacific.

When well-meaning friends push Mike to take a vacation or retire, he asks, "Why? I love what I'm doing."

Besides, he said business is "not a big deal if you enjoy it."

30 posted on 02/07/2004 5:18:18 AM PST by dirtboy (We have come here not to insult Howard Dean, but to bury him...)
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To: alwaysconservative
Means has never been charged with murder.

I think Means was one of several who were charged with murder but had the charges dismissed by a judge when the FBI was caught lying.

31 posted on 02/07/2004 5:24:11 AM PST by MARTIAL MONK
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To: BlackElk
He's doing a good job spouting the "Bush was selected" line. He's not left or right - he's a pure opportunist.
32 posted on 02/07/2004 5:27:55 AM PST by MARTIAL MONK
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To: LizardQueen
YES! I think you are 100% accurate.

Thanks.
33 posted on 02/07/2004 7:09:17 AM PST by Quix (Choose this day whom U will serve: Shrillery & demonic goons or The King of Kings and Lord of Lords)
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To: NRA2BFree
I'm glad he's not populare on the REZ here. I still don't trust him.

I realized the Dine (Sp? Navajos) were entrenched with the HYPORATS when I went to a weaving guild meeting at the Community Center and Kacinich's crew were signing their endorsement up in another area of the Center.

I think it's a mixed bag. The contrary, fringe, lazier folks are in the Dem camp. Those who've been reared with some hard work values and a good relationship with God don't seem to buy the HYPORAT feces near as much, if at all.

500 jobs lost. I knew it was more than 100. Sad crazy thing to have happen to the tribe at that time--but they sort of deserved it for listening to those idiots as much as they did.
34 posted on 02/07/2004 7:12:49 AM PST by Quix (Choose this day whom U will serve: Shrillery & demonic goons or The King of Kings and Lord of Lords)
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To: BlackElk
WELLLLLLLLLLL! VERY GLAD TO HEAR OF IT.

I guess I'll have to adjust my assessment of him and happily so.

Yes, Reagan was on the other side at one point, too.

I'M A STRONG BELIEVER IN CHANGE, 2ND, 3RD, 4TH CHANCES ETC. No problem forgiving him. I just don't like to trust an UNchanged, dyed-in-the-wool commie.

I don't have trouble believing he's changed on the basis of your post. Happy to hear of it. Thanks.
35 posted on 02/07/2004 7:15:05 AM PST by Quix (Choose this day whom U will serve: Shrillery & demonic goons or The King of Kings and Lord of Lords)
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To: JohnnyZ
See my last post.

Glad to read of the change.
36 posted on 02/07/2004 7:16:06 AM PST by Quix (Choose this day whom U will serve: Shrillery & demonic goons or The King of Kings and Lord of Lords)
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To: JohnnyZ
I think their may be some information about this in the book "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee".
37 posted on 02/07/2004 7:35:39 AM PST by Big Horn (A waist is a terrible thing to mind.)
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To: Big Horn

http://www.johnthune.com/


38 posted on 02/07/2004 12:26:10 PM PST by KQQL (@)
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