So, it appears that “Lakota Oyate” are continuing on with their redeclaration of independence. The map on the left now appears on the group’s website, along with an interesting press release:
Property ownership in the five state area of Lakota now takes center stage. Parts of North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming and Montana have been illegally homesteaded for years despite knowledge of Lakota as predecessor sovereign [historic owner]. Lakota representatives say if the United States does not enter into immediate diplomatic negotiations, liens will be filed on real estate transactions in the five state region, clouding title over literally thousands of square miles of land and property.
Well, I suppose that’s one way to grab folks’ attention — kill the real estate market, and trigger a court battle that they’re likely to fail (presumably over some question as to whether the Lakota Freedom folks are the appropriate representatives of the Lakota Nation, as well as failure to adequately exercise their claim in years previous), but I respect the chutzpah.
2 responses so far ↓
1 Brad // 6 Jan 2008 at 12:41 am
It would be great if the offspring of the Indigenous Americans could have a “sovereign nation”, if only it would be truly sovereign. Who would be responsible for basic human needs such as health care, schooling, food, water and adequate shelter? Would the rest of the people in the United States need a passport to visit the Indigenous Nation’s casinos? Neither I nor anyone alive today was responsible for the genocide of the people who lived in America first. They complain that their culture has been destroyed by the Whites’ ancestors, but in the year 2008, it is rare that any group’s culture (regardless of origin) has remained completely intact. The Indigenous people are American citizens with all the rights guaranteed by the Constitution. Would they be stripped of their American citizenship if they declared themselves independent? Would they be allowed to visit the United States without a passport? Also, in the confines of their new country’s boundaries, would the oppressive Whites be allowed to take away everything that they built and leave the new Indigenous people’s country completely devoid of anything that was a part of destroying the Indigenous culture? Think of all the buildings, cities, highways, etc. that would be demolished so that the Indigenous people could start anew without any reminders of the culture-destroying European influences! As for me, the Indigenous people can take my land, but they’ll have to kill me first!
2 Supreme Court Imposes Statute of Limitations on Federal Property Disputes // 8 Jan 2008 at 9:10 pm
[...] attention is because of recent events on the Great Plains, where a Lakota organization claims to be reasserting its independence, and has threatened to place liens against much of five states as inappropriately taken [...]