It will never go to the SCOTUS. It does not ratify Treaties, which is up to the Legislative and Presidential branches of Government. Having abandoned all treaties, the Native American Nation is no longer bound by the constitution or protected by it, the territory of the SCOTUS. SCOTUS can only comment on the conformation of a treaty to our Constitution, they have no ability to enforce a treaty, or to force a treaty on any Nation.
Seriously folks, all of you who talk of sending in the Calvary and all that nonsense, are buying into a mindset that led to this predicament to begin with, and it implies a very derogatory, if not outright Racist attitude that the Native American Population is somehow less than that of the average American. What we have is a Palestine right here in America. Now, the question is: Are we going to treat with these people with the Honor and respect they DESERVE by the very definitions that make us Americans... that we say we up hold, that all men are created Equal, and treat with them as Equals? Or are we going to continue with the Bias that led to the uprooting and slaughter of thousands of innocents back in the days of Colonialism?
Don’t be fooled by the face this Movement is led by Means. He is a Native American, and now, like it or not - agree with it or not, he is one of the leaders of a Nation within our borders. As such has to be treated with respect regardless of his personal History. Regardless of the Resources the Native Americans have or don’t have, its time to treat with them with HONOR. That is something that has been completely lacking in both this discourse (I am ashamed at a vast majority of the posts I see in this thread, (you people are BETTER than that for God’s sake)), and in the discourse offered by the Federal Government in the 200 years it has had to deal officially with the American Indian Nation. What has been done to this indigenous people is both atrocious and it’s well past time to change it.
All that being said, yes I have a small amount of Native American in me, Seminole Indian, but not enough to call myself Native American I don’t think (1/16th), so I do not have a dog in this fight, other than to be appalled at the hypocrisy that I see in this thread and from the Federal Government. Honor, respect, hope for the future, hope for their culture and way of life, that’s what I see the Native Americans asking for, I think if they get it from the likes of us and from our government, they would be HAPPY to return to being and calling themselves Americans. That is just a guess, and likely a simplistic one I admit! Right now, given how they have been treated, discarded, ridiculed and shamed, I don’t blame them for wanting to throw off the mantle we have gifted them with in the name American. I dare say YOU , treated this way with all your family over generations would do the EXACT same, for the same reasons.
Either we believe in and LIVE BY the concept of “All men are created Equal” or we can expect to live by the consequences of NOT living by it. Right now we are seeing the consequences of NOT practicing, in reality, what we Preach. To ourselves, and to the world.
If you were born in America, you are a native American.
Lay off the peyote.
I'm thinking though that if these treaties are no longer in effect, that there are eventually going to be all kinds of interesting legal issues that are going to arise.
Just as one possible example: what happens now if an American citizen who is wanted for a crime or is a sispected terrorist is granted asylum within the Lakota nation? The courts may have a lot to sort through in terms of what can and can't be done legally now.
AMEN! Clearly the most accurate and well reasoned post on this thread. I will refer back to this thread many times in the future to see what some of these posters really are made of.
Last I heard, Russell Means was NOT a Chief of any Lakota band, nor the member of any Tribal Council. He’s a big wheel in an Indian MOVEMENT [AIM], which is a totally different entity.
Nice post.