Standing Rock to consider Means ploy

Tribe official says council will consider treaty pulloutAvis Little Eagle says she understands the frustration that led Lakota activists to announce a plan to withdraw from the tribe’s treaties with the U.S. government.

However, the vice chairwoman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council advocates holding the federal government to the provisions in those treaties, rather than withdrawing from them.

“I see where they’re coming from,” she said of American Indian Movement leader Russell Means and other members of the Lakota Freedom Delegation who declared the Lakota people’s independence to the State Department last week in Washington, D.C.

“But we, as elected officials, on a daily basis we refer to those treaties because to us they are living documents,” Little Eagle said Wednesday from the tribe’s headquarters in Fort Yates, N.D.

Little Eagle said council members will probably discuss the delegation’s letter, “and I can’t say what action they will take.”Comment:  You can bet the tribal council will reject or ignore Means's ploy soon after it considers it.

Meanwhile, Means and company plot phase 2:If the federal government doesn’t recognize the tribe’s independence, Lakota people will file liens on land in the five-state treaty area, which includes parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Nebraska and Wyoming, the letter of withdrawal says.

Means said members of the new Lakota nation wouldn’t pay taxes, and the new government would issue its own driver’s licenses and passports, the Sioux Falls (S.D.) Argus Leader reported. Non-Indians could still live in the new territory.Comment:  Translating Means's actions from activist-speak into reality, Means is saying he wants to be tried and possibly jailed for his criminal stunts. Because that's the inevitable outcome when you fail to pay your taxes. Presumably he craves the publicity, but whether it's for him or his cause remains to be seen.