"“…the guys on the real reservations have no concern about federal recognition. They already have it.”

As opposed to what, “fake” reservations?

On June 28, this statement was e-mailed by Dr. Richard Allen, policy analyst for and tribal member of the non-reservation based Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and a co-founder of the now-defunct Cherokee Task Force, which was formerly tasked with attacking “non-federal” tribes before infighting and political considerations crumbled the organization. His e-mail was in response to some political cartoons that had been directed at his group by a college student and exposes the ironies of their organization.

In contrast to Allen’s viewpoint, Leech Lake Ojibwa professor David Treuer writes in his new book, Rez Life: An Indian’s Journey Through Reservation Life, “Some Indians don’t have reservations, but all reservations have Indians….”"

Get the Story:
Cedric Sunray: The 3 Rs: Reservations, Revisionism and Rhetoric (Indian Country Today 7/6)

Related Stories:
Cedric Sunray: The 'logic' of what's in and out in Indian Country (06/11)
Cedric Sunray: Racist tendencies common in too many tribes (05/11)