water getting warmer lil froggie?

(sadly enough, the US has spend the last 200 years decimating the natives with alcohol, chemicals and brain-rot. despite the logistics issues, despite the financial woes, I sincerely wish those remaining with the warrior spirit to give 'em hell. They've lied to you for hundreds of years, they lied to use for nearly 100. Fuck 'em. /dn)

The United States is going to have to do a lot to work with members of the Lakota Sioux in the days ahead. Wednesday, December 19, a group that represents various reservations and states declared sovereign nation status and has withdrawn from all treaties with the U.S. government.

The Lakota Freedom Delegation, includes Lakota activist and actor Russell Means; Ogalala Lakota Strong Heart Society leader Duane Martin Sr.; Gary Rowland, Leader Chief Big Foot Riders; Women of Red Nations founder Phyllis Young and others were at the Plymouth Congregational Church in Washington DC to announce the tribe's withdrawal from the treaties.

"For far too long our people have suffered at the hands of the colonial apartheid system imposed on the Lakota Sioux," a press release dated December 13 read, "Our treaties with the United States government are nothing more than worthless words on worthless paper - repeatedly violated in order to steal our culture, our land and our ability to maintain our way of life."

According to the organization, and the website www.lakotafreedom.com, Lakota men have a life expectancy of less than 44 years, the lowest of any country in the World, including Haiti. The infant mortality rate is 5x the U.S. Average and the Tuberculosis rate on Lakota reservations is approximately 800 percent higher than the U.S. national average.

"We have no choice but to take historic action to protect our people and our way of life," the group said, "and reclaim our freedom from the colonial systems of the United States Government." The group has also stated that they intend to issue their own driving licenses and passports.

The move focuses on lands in 5 states, including South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming and Montana. Lands the groups claims have been illegally homesteaded for years.

What will happen next is up to the United States government, but the group said in a news release that if the U.S. fails to act, liens will be filed on real-estate transactions across the region, an action that could cause title issues for literally thousands of purchasers.
Multiple treaties with the United States have been broken throughout the years; this withdrawal from treaties signed in the 1800s comes about after years of discussions concerning American Indian rights. The Independence movement began in 1974 with some Lakota activists taking steps to withdraw from the U.S. In the past these measures have gone as far as drafting a "declaration of continuing independence."

The group has reportedly been meeting with foreign leaders in an effort to gain political support for sovereign nation status, the Rapid City Journal (www.rapidcityjournal.com) reported. According to their report, Bolivia Indigenous President Evo Morales is "very, very interested in the Lakota case."

Lakota reservations recognized by the US government include Ogalala Ogalala, Sicangu, Hunkpapa, Mniconjou, Izipaco, Siha Sapa, and Ooinupa. Some Lakota also live on other Sioux reservation in eastern South Dakota, Minnesota and Nebraska.

Not all of the Lakota Sioux are interested in joining the breakaway nation, however, the Argus Leader (www.argusleader.com) reported that Rodney Bordeaux, chairman of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, said his community had no interest in joining the group. "We're pushing to maintain and to keep the treaties there because they're the basis of our relationship with the federal government," Bordeaux said.

Meanwhile, the internet is buzzing as both members of the tribe and other people weigh in on the issue. "What is our primary industry? What is our defense stratagy? [sic] How would we fund and train that defense? How would we fund public services? Police, schools, healthcare, water treatment? What resources can we exploit to become a functional nation in todays world? I'm all for self sufficiency..." said one poster on a message board at http://forum.americanindiantribe.com

Another poster asks, "Would we need a passport to leave the rez?" (Rez is a slang word for reservation.) The complications involved in forming a separate nation in today's world are immense, with a high unemployment rate, and more than half of the residents living well below the poverty line, the leaders of this Independence movement will have to come up with some concrete plans to ensure that the Lakota people are adequately provided for.