You dare talk about them abusing the land after what the early americans did?
The treaties with the native americans should be honored, no taxes for them, and less taxes for us. I am for freedom, if you are for slavery them become a dimwit because they are the party of slavery!
I am for America and I don't believe that keeping American Indians on the reservation is good for them in the long run. It is the reservation system that perpetuates slavery.
As for the abuse, I said nothing about what the whites did. Yes, there were abuses but don't make it sound as though the Indians were some utopian society where everyone lived in peace, harmony and health until the white man showed up. They were nomadic tribes, for the most part, caught in their own societal problems, just as every other society.
Do you really think it is healthy to maintain reservations as they are, like zoos in the midst of another society? What happens when the casino boom collapses? Can't you see even now how the casino tribes are pitting themselves against the non-casino tribes? Is it not unbecoming of the Indians to argue who is and isn't an Indian based on who gets a share of the casino goodies? Is it not demeaning to human nature to have to ask permission of the Bureau of Indian Affairs or some cronied Indian tribal council to do anything? Is it really healthy to encourage a separate lifestyle in this most democratic nation in the world?
You are wrong about me. I am not prejudiced against Native Americans and I don't advocate slavery. I want them to join the mainstream and enjoy all the benefits of American citizenship and Native American culture in the same way that all other Americans enjoy both American culture and their ancestral cultures. I would love to see them maintain their tribal affiliation without it being an albatross around their necks. I think it can be done, but not with the current system of tying all Indians benefits to tribal membership and control.
It's way past time for Indians to find the best means to incorporate their own culture with that of America. Were they abused by white colonists? Of course. Should that abuse continue today with the condescending system of reservations today? I say no. Nor do I believe that encouraging self-sufficiency and integration is a mainstay of the Democratic Party so I think I will maintain my current conservative affiliation, thank you.