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Yes, those pesky details of losing a war over land do make it inconvenient to try to continue your way of life if you are on the losing side. For several thousand years it has been inconvenient for the world at large......

Do you think the dozen or so tribes that at one time or another prior to the white man’s arrival claimed to own, as an example, the Black Hills, were permitted to continue their culture after the next tribe decided they wanted the Black Hills as their own? I don’t think so........and I don’t think they had much of an option to try to continue their lifestyle, do you?

What you say is true. Life has a way of forcing change, some of it unwanted. I guess I am looking at the people I know today, who are not blaming anything in the past, who simply have no hope and no way of getting out of the morass they are in. I am not arguing anything other than there is some serious need here, and as conservatives who care about our fellow man, we should educate ourselves to their current conditions and see what we can do to help, without simply giving handouts.

I am not arguing that they should try to help themselves, or that the history of how they came to be in this position was inevitable. Much of what is posted here are things with which I agree. But it is far more complicated than some wayward son not wanting to get a job. It is a systemic problem with many facets, all of which add up to a burden that any particular individual would be unable to conquer.

But I am also unwilling to rely on old feelings that these people are simply lazy or that they only want a hand out, and thus deserving of their plight.

This would be a great opportunity to see how concervatives would go about solveing a problem of this nature. If they did, it would be a model for so many other circumstances. I've probably expressed my concern as well as I am able at this point.

Do you think the dozen or so tribes that at one time or another prior to the white man’s arrival claimed to own, as an example, the Black Hills, were permitted to continue their culture after the next tribe decided they wanted the Black Hills as their own? I don’t think so........and I don’t think they had much of an option to try to continue their lifestyle, do you?

You absolutely MUST read a book called The Grey Prince by Jack Vance. The novel is several decades old but he eloquently explores the concept of the rights of the defeated, and what it means to own land. The lesson of the story is that only those who can successfully defend their land can claim ownership rights to it. This book is a must read by all conservatives!