Russel Means is NOT a Tribal Chieftain, but he has others that are with him and his movement. He has a VALID point, there are treaties that the United States is either not living up to, or is ignoring. What does that say to you? What does that mean? Perhaps its time to take a SERIOUS look at what is happening and why and CORRECT it rather than MOCKING it!
All men are created Equal, unless you don’t conform?? Is that what you are saying? That this applies to everyone UNLESS you are an member of an Indian Nation?
The hypocrisy of that statement is astounding, just as the knee jerk responses I see here in this thread are in large part, astounding. Lets look at it as the wake up call it is and maybe just maybe deal with the issue before it becomes a crisis. Ya think?
Alternatively, tell us your solutions for making unfarmable industryless land productive.
Let me point this out as well. We have spent FAR more on Iraq in 5 years than has ever been spent on the Indian Nations, we have built FAR more industry and infrastructure in Iraq than we have on our own poor living on reservations. What does that say of us as a People?
Your clearly an angry person and have alot of chips on your shoulder. You throw out alot of garbage in hopes that someone will agree with you. If you think all men are created equal you’re head is too deep in the sand. Wake up.
Why should our generation be held responsible for actions that were taken 150+ years ago? I don’t feel the least bit bad for the people living on the reservations. It is nobody’s fault but their own for not leaving and trying to make a better life for themselves. You said it best...”Alternatively, tell us your solutions for making unfarmable industryless land productive.” You have just painted the region as a dead part of the planet. Thats extremely ignorant of you to suggest.
I’ve been there and I never want to go back. I personally hope the people who are ‘stuck’ there can find a way out. There’s much more in this Great country than a life in a welfare ridden lifeless dead region.
“Alternatively, tell us your solutions for making unfarmable industryless land productive.”
An interesting bit of history: After the Lakota were settled on the Pine Ridge reservation, among other things to turn them into white men they were issued cows. In a while cattle herds were built up and it appeared that the Indians would join the world as cowboys. World War I came about and the government pursuaded the Indians to sell their cattle and rent out their land to raise wheat. This resulted in big money to the Indians. However, soon the war was over and there was a large surplus of wheat. No one wanted to rent the ground to raise wheat, the grass was plowed up and the Indians had no cattle anyway and likey all their money was gone.
The wheat surplus lasted until last year with a short exception in the 70s when Nixon sold wheat to the Russians.