Lakota Sovereignty
Whoa.
Lakota group declares sovereign nation status
By Journal staff Thursday, December 20, 2007A group represents the Lakota Sioux Indian representatives from various reservations and states said Wednesday that it is declaring sovereign nation status and withdrawing from all treaties with the U.S. government.
“This is an historic day for our Lakota people,” said Native American action and activist Russell Means. “United States colonial rule is at its end!”
Means was part of a four member Lakota delegation that traveled to Washington, culminating years of internal discussion among treaty representatives of the various Lakota communities. Other delegation members included Women of All Red Nations founder Phyllis Young, Oglala Lakota Strong Heart Society leader Duane Martin Sr., and Garry Rowland, Leader Chief Big Foot Riders. Means, Rowland, Martin were all members of the 1973 Wounded Knee takeover.
The move to form an independent nation will focus on property rights in a five-state area where the treaties in question were drawn up. The states include South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming and Montana – areas that the group say have been illegally homesteaded for years despite knowledge of Lakota as the historic owners.
If the U.S. government does not immediately enter into diplomatic negotiations, the group said in a news release, liens will be filed on real-estate transactions across the region—an action it says could cloud title issues over thousands of square miles of land and property.
“In order to stop the continuous taking of our resources – people, land, water and children- we have no choice but to claim our own destiny,” said Phyllis Young, a former Indigenous representative to the United Nations and representative from Standing Rock.
Young added, “The actions of Lakota are not intended to embarrass the United States but to simply save the lives of our people.”
The group has been meeting all week with foreign leaders in an effort to gain political support for sovereign nation status, including Bolivia Indigenous President Evo Morales. Morales said his country is “very, very interested in the Lakota case.”
Betcha that’ll bring the racists out of the woodwork.
tags: racism
WOW!!
I just hope it doesn’t bring U.S. armed forces out of the woodwork…
— plain(s) feminist Dec 19, 10:49 PM #
Oh, I sincerely doubt it—they’ve got enough of an image problem right now without adding something like that to the mix.
— Veronica Dec 20, 11:11 AM #
This is the most hilarious shit I’ve read all week.
I was unaware that the US was killing members of Young’s group, what is the threat they are saving lives from?
— Sam Dec 20, 03:21 PM #
go read the article again, sam. you’re either illiterate or a moron. 97% in poverty? highest death rate? any of that ring a bell? these things are the direct responsibility of the U.S. government breaking agreements and… well yes, there was the original genocide thing…
— noyb Dec 22, 05:59 PM #
I guess none of that rings a bell because it isn’t in her posted link, troll.
— Sam Dec 25, 12:53 PM #
Damn. This is very exciting. The daughter and I are on their site now. Good for them.
— more cowbell Dec 26, 01:35 AM #
Wakan Tanka wotehila wowaste Lakota Oyate.
— Meshullah Dec 27, 01:41 PM #