Back in 1974, the Declaration of Continuing Independence was created by a consortium of 97 Tribes and Nations across North and South America. Fashioned loosely on the US Declaration of Independence, this document asks that the United Nations assist the Native Nations in forcing the United States to honor the treaties as they were written prior to 1871. This document is a precursor to the recent action of the Lakota Nation. The Preamble reads:
The United States of America has continually violated the independent Native Peoples of this continent by Executive action, Legislative fiat and Judicial decision. By its actions, the U.S. has denied all Native people their International Treaty rights, Treaty lands and basic human rights of freedom and sovereignty. This same U.S. Government, which fought to throw off the yoke of oppression and gain its own independence, has now reversed its role and become the oppressor of sovereign Native people.
Might does not make right. Sovereign people of varying cultures have the absolute right to live in harmony with Mother Earth so long as they do not infringe upon this same right of other peoples. The denial of this right to any sovereign people, such as the Native American Indian Nations, must be challenged by truth and action. World concern must focus on all colonial governments to the end that sovereign people everywhere shall live as they choose; in peace with dignity and freedom.
The International Indian Treaty Conference hereby adopts this Declaration of Continuing Independence of the Sovereign Native American Indian Nations. In the course of these human events, we call upon the people of the world to support this struggle for our sovereign rights and our treaty rights. We pledge our assistance to all other sovereign people who seek their own independence.
The National Ledger reports that as a result of 150 years of broken treaties, the Lakota Indians, who gave the world legendary warriors Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, have withdrawn from treaties with the United States. 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.
Excerpts of the National Ledger article follows:
The Lakota Indians want out of the United States. The have announced that they will break a 150 year old treaty and will secede from the US. "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," said Russell Means, an Indian rights activist.
The tribe, whose territory spans five Midwestern states, delivered a message to the US State Department earlier this week, announcing that they were unilaterally withdrawing from treaties signed with the US government.
The new country would issue its own passports and driving licenses, and living there would be tax-free - provided residents renounce their U.S. citizenship, Means said. The treaties signed with the U.S. were merely "worthless words on worthless paper."
Is it legal? The activists believe that it is. 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.
The Lakota Indians have gone through hard times in recent years as a culture. Lakota teen suicides are 150 percent above the United States average; infant mortality is five times higher than the US average; and unemployment is very high.
Read or download a PDF version the Declaration of Continuing Independence here.
Read the entire National Ledger article here.
Read more about the Lakota people at the The Republic of Lakotah website.
Read the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868) here.
See how the Native American lands have been diminished since the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868):
plez sez: although this is a noble gesture and quite a big step to restoring the pride of their people, i don't see the US returning stolen lands to the Lakota Nation. with very little in the way of capital and very few armaments that would be necessary to take what is rightfully theirs, i can't see the united states walking away from prime real estate in the midwest.
if nothing else, this action shows a desire for self-determination on the part of the Lakota Nation... i would only hope that our Black communities could learn a thing or two about attempting to take control of our destiny by addressing the issues of excessive taxation, poor state of the education system in the Black community, the over-reliance of government in the Black community, the need to encourage and support Black businesses in our communities, and the real value of property ownership in the Black community.