They might, if the US government decides to honor all the treaties they broke, and pays them for all their land that was stolen.

The Homestake Mine, located in Lead, S/Dak produced billions of dollars in gold for well over 100 years. I wonder if the Hearst family, who owns the mine (now closed), will ante up, and repay the Sioux for the gold?

 

There are no more treaties....remember, they cancelled them. Kinda puts them in a weak spot for negotiating purposes.

 

I think the Russian Gov't involvement being "ignored" is primarily because it is, at this point, just rumor.

 

A rumor that was acknowledged by the tribe. I don't talk about rumors but if you look at the Lakota site that was posted by Bdox in #6, you will see that they have admitted the involvement of the Russians. Probably others too.

 

But that still leaves the question of the land, 99% of which was taken without paying a cent.

The Gov't did pay for some of the land, at a staggering 2 cents an acre.

Consider what the mineral rights alone were/are worth.

 

Like I said before, let them leave, then we can take the land again without paying for it! Its the American way!

 

Which is exactly why I believe there is more to this than meets the eye. I think once the facts come out about who is instigating this then they will lose some sympathy. Of course there will always be those that want to see the U.S. government look bad and will side with the Lakota no matter what.

Should be interesting to say the least.

 

Anyone know a guy by the name of Russell Means? That will answer your questions...

 

Hadn't we already bought all that land from Napoleon?
Seems to me the responsibility should fall back on France, if they didn't do a title search before they sold it.

 

I don't think the issue of Russian involvement is being ignored. I think its a pointless sham. The vagueness of the entire statement makes it questionable at best. What if there is Russian recognition of the Lakota nation? So what? That doesn't fund or change the situation, its just another example of Putin trying to score political points. How is that any different than the US recognizing the break-away Siberian republic? Seems to me its tit-for-tat.

 

Russians are notoriously far thinking chess players, but historically bad businessmen.

Funny about that. One would think the end game were a primary consideration.

One entity, the other, or BOTH are "reaching"


The total package does not seem to gel.

*shrugs*

Without support - I don't think they can do it. An examination of the advantages might be worthwhile.

Unless of course the other shoe has not dropped yet... Unless there is something we don't know.

Are there mineral or petroleum assets involved?

The nations have little or no reason to trust the united states. It's a given, no matter how much it stings.

If something has been found worth developing - and they go outside the borders to develop it -

What then?

Offshore interest present in CONUS?

The area surrounding the Black Hills has a lot of Uranium doesn't it?

 

Seriously, does nobody remember Russell Means? He is the answer to the question, and problem as well.

 

(Taken directly from WIKIPEDIA)

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life
Means, an Oglala Sioux, was born on the Pine Ridge Reservation; both of his parents had been educated at Indian boarding schools. In 1942, Means's family moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. Means attended San Leandro High School, graduating in 1958.[1]


[edit] With AIM
In 1968, his life turned around when he joined the American Indian Movement and quickly became one of its most prominent leaders. In 1969, Means was part of a group of Native Americans that occupied Alcatraz Island for a period of 19 months. He was appointed the group's first national director in 1970. Later that year, Means was one of the leaders of AIM's takeover of Mount Rushmore. In 1972, he participated in AIM's takeover of the Bureau of Indian Affairs office in Washington, D.C., and in 1973 he led AIM's occupation of Wounded Knee, which became the group's most celebrated action.

In 1974, Means first ran for the presidency of his native Oglala Sioux tribe against the incumbent Dick Wilson. Although the official vote count showed Wilson winning by two hundred votes, Means charged that this was due to pervasive vote fraud and intimidation by Wilson's agents. An investigation by a federal court agreed with Means and ordered a new election. However, Wilson's government refused to carry this out, and the court declined to enforce the ruling.

Between 1974 and 1976, as AIM disintegrated from internal conflicts, Means stood trial 12 times for a variety of charges. The most serious of these was a 1975 trial for the murder of Martin Montileaux, for which Means was acquitted. In 1979 he served one year of a four-year sentence on charges stemming from a riot at a courthouse in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Means was paroled in 1980 and fully pardoned in 2002. His troubles with the law have continued, however; on August 23, 2005, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that under the Indian Civil Rights Act, the Navajo Nation has criminal jurisdiction over Means for an assault he allegedly committed against his father-in-law on Navajo land, even though he is not a member.[2]

In 1988, a group describing itself as the Ministry for Information of the American Indian Movement released a statement claiming that Means had publicly resigned from AIM on no less than six occasions, first in 1974.[3] However, as of 2004, Means's website states that he was a board member of the Colorado AIM chapter. Means has also been closely associated with the controversial activist Ward Churchill. Churchill gave the nominating speech for Means in 1987 when Means sought the presidential nomination of the Libertarian Party in a heated race against Representative Ron Paul.[4] He was defeated by Paul, who later returned to the Republican Party.


[edit] Other political involvement
Since the late 1970s, Means has often supported libertarian political causes, putting him at odds with several of the other leaders of AIM. In 1984, Means campaigned for the Republican nomination for vice president on a ticket with Larry Flynt; they lost to the incumbents, Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. In 1986 Means traveled to Nicaragua to express his support for Miskito Indians who were allied with the US-funded contra guerillas against the Nicaraguan government. In 1987, Means sought the nomination of the Libertarian Party for president and attracted considerable support within the party,[5], but eventually lost the nomination to Congressman Ron Paul.[6]

In 2001, Means began an independent candidacy for governor of New Mexico, but was kept off the ballot because of procedural problems. Instead, he again ran for president of the Oglala Sioux with the help of Twila Lebeaux, this time narrowly losing to incumbent John Yellow Bird Steele. Means has argued against the use of the term "Native American" and in favor of "American Indian". He argues that this use of the word Indian derives not from a confusion with India but from an Italian expression indios, meaning "in God" or "as God made them". He also states that since treaties and other legal documents say "Indian" on them, and not "Native American", use of the term Indian can help today's Indian people forestall any attempts at loopholes as they engage in legal proceedings to regain their land.

On December 20, 2007, Means publicly announced the withdrawal of the Lakota Sioux from all treaties with the United States government.[7] Means and a delegation of Lakota leaders including Phyllis Young, an organizer of Women of All Red Nations, Rapid City, South Dakota-area activist Duane Martin Sr. and Gary Rowland, a leader of the Chief Big Foot Riders, declared the Lakota a sovereign nation with property rights over thousands of square miles in South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming and Montana.[8] His authority to speak for the Sioux, let alone make policy declarations on their behalf, is not clear, as his attempts at election to the Presidency of the Oglala Sioux have thus far been unsuccessful.[9]

 

The last paragraph being the most important one of that whole post. Russell Means has spent his whole life making declarations for which he has no authority to make, including the one that started this thread.

 

Bingo - on the face of it the entire issue is spurious.

The proposal has been put forward by someone who does not represent the nation or any tribal council.

So WTF?

How did it become big news?