"Hau! Mitakuipi Ampetu Kile chante ma waste napa chuza. "Greetings, my relatives. Today is a good day, my heart is strong, and I extend my hand in friendship."

I have been watching so many events happen in the past 41 years. There has been a dream of our ancestors. I could see this in my grandmothers, grandfathers and mother. I see a future that will be productive and rewarding. Like a parable I heard, our treasures are not here, but our children are walking away from the circle. I see them here, and I observe their confusion.

Our whole Lakota Nation must get focused again, but instead of waiting for some special solution, I have found the solution and the gold money, and we shall return to the circle. Our people see so many rich casino tribes and Americans prospering, but we're at a standstill with all our social problems. This isn't what Lakota people are all about, is it?

Congress never had plenary power over Indians through the Treaty Clause or the Indian Commerce Clause, and the treaty is the supreme law of the land. We're owed trillions of dollars for the 50 percent of the gold mined from our sacred Black Hills, and our people will receive their share.

It makes Cobell v. Kempthorne and the Black Hills claim very light: 3.75 million tons of gold, payable to the Lakota, probably $15 million a piece."

Get the Story:
Lavern Charles Fast Horse: Lakota Nation at standstill (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 6/11)