Finally, the old confrontational spirit has returned........


The Lakota Indians, who gave the world legendary warriors Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, have withdrawn from treaties with the United States, leaders said Wednesday.

"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 told a handful of reporters and a delegation from the Bolivian embassy, gathered in a church in a run-down neighborhood of Washington for a news conference.

A delegation of Lakota leaders delivered a message to the State Department on Monday, announcing they were unilaterally withdrawing from treaties they signed with the federal government of the United States, some of them more than 150 years old.


LINK

Good for them. But how is this going to help them? What is the reaction likely to be...

The US reaction will depend at lot on what actions the Lakota take in the next couple of days and weeks. If they push this as far as they can...it will be ugly confrontation.

No matter what, it's going to make people think about history.

You would think so---but wounded knee--did not make people think beyond the incident. we can hope that it will be more effective this time--if handled properly.

Back then there was not the type of media (tv and internet) and potential publicity there is now. I really think this could start a dialogue that will last for years.

Coyote wrote:haha that was a neat trick.

I couldn't figure out how a guest had managed to get around the permissions and post in this forum

You are so getting repped for that....er....Guest.

Just havin a laugh with you guys...my nick at the other forum is...oops, excuse me that's the phone...hehe...

Glad a rep is a good thing though, thought it was bad for a minute.

But won't there be longer term implications? If their claim to withdraw is ratified, there will be chaos. There must be other peoples who would wish to take the same step.

Your government is never going to buy that. How can it?

Was there a specific reason for this, or just a lot of things building up over time that finally culminated in this righteous decision? I think this will not make waves. No one in the U.S. government gives two tugs of a dead dog's wiener about aboriginal nations, or their peoples. The only way this leads to something bad is if it's in the interests of the fascists in D.C. to take action.

The reasons are numerous--just take a look at thr Rez and how they are treated.....the complete disregard of treaties by the US.....theft...as I said many. Actions will determine what will come of this....if calmer heads prevail...all will be fine...but who in Washington has a calmer head?

I don't see George Bush sitting still for this. Russell Means could have provoked a lesser action by poking him in the eye. Trouble is on the horizon for the Lakota. There is a lot of bad blood out there still.

That is what concerns me. Sometimes the reaction to perceived threats is over-defensive at best. Fanatical at worst.

Does anyone have an update on the current situation?

Thanks for the mental image of poking GW in the eye... I like that

What's happened so far? Do we know?