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Yellow Bird: Russell Means makes a point
Monday, December 24, 2007
Filed Under: Opinion

"A group of Lakota Indians notified the State Department in Washington this week that, in the words of activist Russell Means, “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.”

In my humble opinion, I think THAT ship has sailed.

As I sat and pondered the possibilities of American Indian independence, my first thought was, “Yikes, I'd need a green card to live in Grand Forks!”

Of the people who called or e-mailed me, most are chuckling at the absurdity of it. Means and his group, of course, would be speaking for themselves and not tribes, whose tribal councils speak for them. But Means and his group have some points - perhaps 200 years too late, but they do have some points.

The land grabs that made Indian country shrink into mostly small land areas involved territory taken mostly “by hook and by crook.” And if you look at many reservations, they are in areas unwanted at the time - rough terrain such as the Badlands of the Dakotas, poor land for growing gardens and in isolated areas."

Get the Story:
Dorreen Yellow Bird: Means' empty gesture still makes point (The Grand Forks Herald 12/22)
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