October 22, 2007

Another anti-Indian opinion

Tribal 'Nations' Within U.S. Aren't JustifiedYour front-page article "Plaintiffs Suing U.S. Tribes Can't Get Their Day in Court1" (Oct. 12) provides yet another reason to reconsider the privileged legal status of so-called Native Americans. Our school-taught, collective guilt over the demise of those who presided over North America 500 years ago has left us reluctant to broach the subject, but broach it we must. The costs to U.S. society of the aberration of a sovereign Indian "nation" within our borders are neither justified nor sustainable.

The sad fact is that American Indians were displaced by the successive pressures of the colonization, settlement and economic exploitation of North America. They lost a series of battles against soldiers and disease, and ultimately against the onslaught of a more advanced civilization. It is absurd to act as if the Indians didn't lose those battles and that war; to carve out an imaginary sovereign state belonging to them, the borders of which are continually shifting to the detriment of U.S. citizens; to include Indians as beneficiaries of U.S. social programs while exempting them from the obligations of their taxpaying neighbors; to allow their legal claims in U.S. courts while precluding claims against them; and to pretend they exercise a superior sort of stewardship over land or nature such that they can be made exempt from environmental regulation.

However unpopular it may be, we need to repeal the recognition of Indians and their Tribal Governments as a land within our land.

2 comments:

writerfella said...

Writerfella here --
That particular editorial letter to the WALL STREET JOURNAL is... all Greek to writerfella! We "so-called" Native Americans both have been Native and Americans since the 'Blanket Law' of 1920. And we all pay income taxes and sales taxes, be they local, state, and/or Federal. The only taxes NOT paid are taxes on monies derived from lands held in Trust status by the US of A or taxes on the lands held in such a Trust, certain Federal excise taxes, and then personal import duty taxes, and that's about all. Once again, writerfella's four-word-rules of life find application: opinions are NOT facts (no. 4), and facts are NOT opinions (no. 5).
Oh, look! The Ile de France just collided with the Andreas Doria yet another time!
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'

Eulala Pegram said...

This article certainly puts the poor quality of education American people are receiving and have received in schools regarding Native Americans. The people occupying this country before contact with Europeans were already Nations and that status was not bestowed upon them by the late coming U.S. Government (who copied their form of government from the Iroquois League in existence long before even the declaration of independence, as well as the writing Constitution.)
It also is apparent that the writer is not aware of how much various Nations are still contributing to the people who are now fellow citizens with them on this continent.
I like Russell's comment that opinons are not facts and facts are NOT opinions. Let's get on the same page and then we can talk.