Indians need "big daddy" to survive?

Here's the racist letter of the week. Ralph Williams of Verona gets a moron alert for this one:

Era of Indian nations has passedNo matter what our heritage, we are citizens of this great country, all equal with great opportunities, in charge of our own destiny. It is a disgrace; our Congress, after giving this right of citizenship to the Native Americans previously wards of the federal government, have allowed the tribes to circumvent our tax laws, receive a monopoly gambling status and receive federal yearly funds, yet still advocating that they are separate nations when it’s to their advantage.

Give us a break. Treaty rights, land claims, etc. These have tied up our court system for years.

You just can’t have it both ways, you’re either a contributing U.S. citizen or an Indian nation that needs ‘big daddy’ (government) to survive, we call this welfare.

Relationship between the government and Indian tribes was necessary at a time in history, but everything has its day. Status quo to preserve segregation of an ethnic group is illegal, discriminatory and should be cleared away from Native American Indians. The benefit of living in this state and country far outweighs anything offered by tribal government.Some comments on this piece of drivel:Mark Charles wrote on Jan 22, 2009 11:50 AM:

Dear Mr. Williams,

I am assuming you are not of Native American heritage and I have two questions for you.

1. Do you know whose land you are living on?
2. Are you willing to give it back?

If your answer to both of these questions is yes, then we can have a conversation.

m2bulls wrote on Jan 22, 2009 12:20 PM:

Mr. Ralph Williams

This land is what made this country great. This land was stolen and not conquered.

Proof of this lies in the very treaties that the government signed with the Indian. These treaties were ratified by Congress and became the law of the land.

Indians did not write these treaties, nor did they petition Congress, the government came to them with these treaties. The United States became legally bound to these documents on their own accord.

Johnny wrote on Jan 22, 2009 12:54 PM:

[I]f we throw out the treaties cause they are causing problems? How about throwing out the First Amendment since it too old and causes too many problems for politicians hiding corruption, and companies hiding pollution.Comment:  Unfortunately for the ignorant Williams, the Supreme Court has ruled that Indian nations are political groups, not ethnic groups. Which is obvious if you know anything about tribes today. Many of them have enrolled members who are less than half Indian by "blood."

For more on the subject, see The Facts About Tribal Sovereignty.