Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Lakota Indians Withdraw Treaties Signed With U.S. 150 Years Ago
Fox News ^ | Thursday, December 20, 2007

Posted on 12/20/2007 5:36:13 AM PST by Sopater

WASHINGTON — The Lakota Indians, who gave the world legendary warriors Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, have withdrawn from treaties with the United States.

"We are no longer citizens of the United States of America and all those who live in the five-state area that encompasses our country are free to join us,'' long-time Indian rights activist Russell Means said.

A delegation of Lakota leaders has delivered a message to the State Department, and said they were unilaterally withdrawing from treaties they signed with the federal government of the U.S., some of them more than 150 years old.

The group also visited the Bolivian, Chilean, South African and Venezuelan embassies, and would continue on their diplomatic mission and take it overseas in the coming weeks and months.

Lakota country includes parts of the states of Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming.

The new country would issue its own passports and driving licences, and living there would be tax-free - provided residents renounce their U.S. citizenship, Mr Means said.

The treaties signed with the U.S. were merely "worthless words on worthless paper," the Lakota freedom activists said.

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


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events; US: North Dakota; US: South Dakota
KEYWORDS: aim; americanindians; anarchists; brokentreaty; cessession; lakota; russellmeans; sedition; sioux
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 281-300301-320321-340341-350 last
To: LachlanMinnesota

MSM Exaggerates American Indians Claims of Seceding From USA
By Warner Todd Huston | December 21, 2007 - 15:29 ET
Sioux Indians “Withdraw From the USA”? Or not!

Here is the kind of story that really proves how little the MSM bothers to research things, how they often simply print glorified press releases without doing any real “journalism,” and how the defective end product gets picked up and regurgitated like it is suddenly a “fact.” In this one we have the story of “the Lakota Sioux Indians” announcing that “they” have withdrawn from agreed upon treaties with the US government and that they are now a sovereign nation, no longer to be called citizens of the USA. Problem is “the Lakota Sioux Indians” that have made this announcement are just an unaffiliated group of Indian activists the leader of whom does not represent the official Lakota tribe leadership! Yet here is the news media reporting this story as if all “the Lakota Sioux Indians” have banded together and quit the union.

Take this report from USA Today: Lakota withdraw from treaties, declare independence from U.S

The Lakota Sioux Indians, whose ancestors include Sitting Bull, Red Cloud and Crazy Horse, have withdrawn from all treaties their forefathers signed with the U.S. government and have declared their independence. A delegation delivered the news to the State Department earlier this week.

Wow, it sounds momentous, alright. But, who says that “the Lakota Sioux Indians” have abandoned their treaties?

“We are no longer citizens of the United States of America and all those who live in the five-state area that encompasses our country are free to join us,” said Russell Means, a longtime Indian rights activist. “This is according to the laws of the United States, specifically Article 6 of the Constitution,” which states that treaties are the supreme law of the land.

And who is the Russell Means? He is a long time Indian activist who does not officially represent any tribe, that’s who. It takes the local press to make this clear. The Rapid City Journal of Rapid City, South Dakota informs us that, “Means’ group is based in Porcupine on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation,” and that “it is not an agency or branch of the Oglala Sioux Tribe. Means ran unsuccessfully for president of the tribe in 2006.”

Yet in report after report, this Means character is presented as if he is “the Lakota Sioux” when, in truth, all he really is is A Lakota Sioux — not a representative of all of them. He does not represent American Indians except as a tangential, activist. He has no authority to make this “declaration of Independence” for the Lakota or any other American Indian tribe.

It turns out that these reports are nearly all just a rehash of Russell Means’ press releases and not based on any real reporting at all.

And here is the worst part. The bulk of the news outlets that have picked up this story are foreign press agencies like the Agence Presse France, The Telegraph, and Radio Netherlands, all of whom presented this as if it was somehow legal and binding instead of an activist’s scheming.

So, since this story wasn’t reported correctly, foreigners are imagining that all American Indians are trying to leave the USA and become a new nation. The truth is less shocking, that Russell Means does not represent “the Lakota Sioux Indians” at all.


341 posted on 12/21/2007 7:57:44 PM PST by HD1200
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 102 | View Replies]

To: cardinal4
Someone told me it was because Native Americans hadnt been exposed to alcohol until recently (in historical terms). Genetically they have difficulty with it.

Another posibility is that the reservations are merely a visible collecting point for indians having alcohol problems just like trailer parks collect whites with substance issues and inner cities collect blacks with substance isues. Those members of ethnic groups without debilitating substance issues are able to fan out across the nation as productive members of society.

This doesn't mean all inhabitants of reservations, trailer parks or public housing have substance problems, just some of them.

342 posted on 12/26/2007 8:57:21 AM PST by fso301
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 338 | View Replies]

To: Sola Veritas

“Most native americans lack enzymes that detox alcohol from their system. This means they get intoxicated easily...”

I didn’t know that. Thanks for setting me straight.


343 posted on 12/27/2007 8:53:03 AM PST by pianomikey (Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. -Reagan)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 335 | View Replies]

To: GovernmentIsTheProblem

What on earth makes you think they have voter id cards?


344 posted on 12/27/2007 8:56:10 AM PST by nygoose
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: ClearCase_guy
We should deport them.

They are NATIVE Americans! What you are suggesting is like some stranger coming into your house and kicking you out.

345 posted on 12/27/2007 9:00:39 AM PST by John123 ("What good fortune for the governments that the people do not think" -- Adolf Hitler)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: John123

I’m as much a native American as they are. That term buys nothing. They say they are not citizens of the US. Well, my views on non-citizens living within US borders without authorization are pretty clear ...


346 posted on 12/27/2007 9:03:39 AM PST by ClearCase_guy (The broken wall, the burning roof and tower. And Agamemnon dead.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 345 | View Replies]

To: Sopater
Well let’s see....you might need a passport to visit Mount Rushmore. You can’t tax Indian casino’s if they are on Indian land and use indian money, You can’t close the roads in and out because of NAFTA, The Indians could charge an access fee to anyone passsing through their land as a toll charge. They cold evict thousands of Americans out of their homes. You idiots think a war or military action will solve this problem you are stoned. While I DO NOT condone it, I also do not condone the lack of services the Indian nation receives. We pledge more money to third world backward ass places of no consequence than we ever did to the indians. The feces ‘CAN” hit the rotating oscillators if the Gov. isn’t sharp about handling this.
347 posted on 01/10/2008 9:13:44 AM PST by Wavrnr10
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: darkwing104

“A house divided against itself cannot stand.” - A. Lincoln


348 posted on 01/10/2008 9:22:15 AM PST by Jimmy Valentine's brother (Democrat, a synonym for Traitor)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Eric in the Ozarks

“Gather up the asphalt roads leading to the casinos...”

Or install tolls at the border.


349 posted on 11/14/2010 2:15:42 PM PST by Gil4 (Sometimes it's not low self-esteem - it's just accurate self-assessment.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 42 | View Replies]

To: Eric in the Ozarks

I hate it when I do a search and then post on a long-dead thread. (At least this one was more recent than the other one I posted on today.)

I’m an idiot, Today my tagline applies to me.


350 posted on 11/14/2010 2:35:27 PM PST by Gil4 (Sometimes it's not low self-esteem - it's just accurate self-assessment.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 42 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 281-300301-320321-340341-350 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson