lakota indians withdraw treaties signed with u.s. 150 years agothursday, december 20, 2007. .
washington the lakota indians, who gave the world legendary warriors sitting bull and crazy horse, have withdrawn from treaties with the united states.. "we are no longer citizens of the united states of america and all those who live in the five-state area that encompasses our country are free to join us,'' long-time indian rights activist russell means said.. a delegation of lakota leaders has delivered a message to the state department, and said they were unilaterally withdrawing from treaties they signed with the federal government of the u.s., some of them more than 150 years old.. the group also visited the bolivian, chilean, south african and venezuelan embassies, and would continue on their diplomatic mission and take it overseas in the coming weeks and months.. lakota country includes parts of the states of nebraska, south dakota, north dakota, montana and wyoming.. the new country would issue its own passports and driving licences, and living there would be tax-free - provided residents renounce their u.s. citizenship, mr means said.. the treaties signed with the u.s. were merely "worthless words on worthless paper," the lakota freedom activists said.. withdrawing from the treaties was entirely legal, means said.. "this is according to the laws of the united states, specifically article six of the constitution,'' which states that treaties are the supreme law of the land, he said.. "it is also within the laws on treaties passed at the vienna convention and put into effect by the us and the rest of the international community in 1980. we are legally within our rights to be free and independent,'' said means.. the lakota relaunched their journey to freedom in 1974, when they drafted a declaration of continuing independence an overt play on the title of the united states' declaration of independence from england.. thirty-three years have elapsed since then because "it takes critical mass to combat colonialism and we wanted to make sure that all our ducks were in a row,'' means said.. one duck moved into place in september, when the united nations adopted a non-binding declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples despite opposition from the united states, which said it clashed with its own laws.. "we have 33 treaties with the united states that they have not lived by.
they continue to take our land, our water, our children,'' phyllis young, who helped organize the first international conference on indigenous rights in geneva in 1977, told the news conference.. the u.s. "annexation'' of native american land has resulted in once proud tribes such as the lakota becoming mere "facsimiles of white people,'' said means.. oppression at the hands of the u.s. government has taken its toll on the lakota, whose men have one of the shortest life expectancies - less than 44 years - in the world.. lakota teen suicides are 150 per cent above the norm for the u.s.; infant mortality is five times higher than the u.s. average; and unemployment is rife, according to the lakota freedom movement's website..
Well, I'm very much pro native American Indian.......................BUT...........................
I wish the Native American way could be our way. They left a small footprint on the earth. They did not destroy it, but lived in harmony with the land.
They also had tribal rivalries and would kill and plunder. As Marmot said, we can see these things through rose-coloured glasses. I think it says something when a native person says that if left to their own devices they would probably have grown to be like Europeans. Remember, our ancients were not too unlike Lakota and other native Americans in their early lifestyle. One cannot stop progress, be it good or bad, and the chances are native Americans would eventually have had their own industrial revolution.
Took a look at the site and it's obviously theological. I believe we should be looking for evidence from good proven historical/scientific/geographical sources. I never trust theological ones because they obviously have their own agenda.
after i initially left the jws' i did question the whole "is there a god"" especially when you look around and see all the atrocities - the sick sick things happening in your own back yard.then i put it out of my mind and carried on believing in a god.. right now i choose to believe in a god, whether that god be jesus, jehovah, buddha, allah, shiva, it doesn't matter - i'm happy with the idea that there is a spiritual & powerful someone running things.however lately i've been questioning again - so many posters on here that are atheists really make good arguments & i can't reason my way out of it.. why does god keep so quiet?
if you calculate how many times you'd have to play the lottery to win it, you'd probably come up with several million times. still, some people win it at the first try.
That's jolly good for this early in the moring! Seriously, a good analogy!!
Anglise, it's frosty here, too, but I don't know the temperature. Just seen a monkey looking for a welder if that helps! (Arn't the old ones the best!)
Hi to South Africa's dearest love (((((((((Louise))))))). Yes, make sure you come back here in the New Year!
Good to know I'm not alone here. It was awfully quiet!
