Comments on: In Support of Lakotah Sovereignty

By: shldn

shldn — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 01:32:52 +0000

thanx david sugar…i hope one day we will all be free from the chains of oppression

By: shldn

shldn — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 01:31:12 +0000

…the slaves they had and “owned” were something like the serfs in europe…slaves could married into family’s and they themselves could be seen as an equal once they gained respect….these families were also based on women;
matrimonial i think is the word.something completely and radically different from the european aspect..In indigenous eyes the way europeans fought wars was savage..for it was far more honorable to blow(not kill) an enemy to the ground..the wars we fought no children and women were slain….something they call victory is massacre for the other
well i guess the….find another way to be an insensitive ass

By: shldn

shldn — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 01:28:32 +0000

…the slaves they had and “owned” were something like the serfs in europe…slaves could married into family’s and they themselves could be seen as an equal once they gained respect….these families were also based on women;
matrimonial i think is the word.something completely and radically different from western civilization spectrum…In indeginous eyes the way europeans fought wars was savage..for it was far more honorable to blow(not kill) an enemy to the ground..the wars we fought no children and women were slain….something they call victory is massacre for they other
well i guess the find another way to be an insensitive asshole

By: hp

hp — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 18:08:35 +0000

Well I guess I was wrong in believing the “Sioux” (Chippewa name meaning enemy) were an empire themselves, expanding and conflicting with other tribes with which they came into contact?
Wrong in believing the Poncas, Omahas, Pawnees, Assiniboine, Crows, Shoshoni and Chippewa, to name a few, were enemies of and hated the Sioux, who, like all empires were in the business of expanding and appropriating land and wealth at the expense of the conquered?

Not to take away from the Lakota and their current withdrawal, which I find proper and encouraging.

I just feel it’s important to acknowledge the fact that these natives weren’t really too much different from the European “savages” when it came to empire and the killing, slavery and conquest which accompanies it.

By: David Sugar

David Sugar — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 13:28:17 +0000

First, a minor note of correction and apology. Originally a two paragraph introduction was prepared for publishing this letter here, and then later I drafted a shorter single paragraph one. I did not notice we actually had both versions of the introduction still in place until after it was on the site. So if the intro seems a bit…redundant…that is why :).

Lloyd, I would argue that whether one has American Indian blood or not, a few important elements of their culture did “migrate” into the U.S. “meme pool”.

More so than simply learning the basics of agriculture in North America, the first colonizers also learned something of civics from the Gayanashagowa of the Haudenosaunee, which we recognize today as the foundation for the U.S. constitution, and more broadly in general constitutional concepts of governance and federalism. Of course the reason the concepts and lessons of the great law functioned 500 years for the Haudenosaunee until the coming of colonizers, but did not function as well for the people of the U.S., leading to this “thing” we now call America becoming an executive ran police state for the protection of the wealthy few, is that the Haudenosaunee lived in an essentially classless society with a high level of economic equality.

The other great cultural trait, that everyone in the U.S. likes to uniquely identify as “American”, that of our concept of individual liberty, was also I believed “borrowed” from interaction with the indigenous population. American Indian cultures had this social trait and concept deeply in place long before a savage people first appeared from over the oceans to colonize them. Again, it became distorted, in part because it became coupled in a unique way with one trait the Europeans did uniquely bring with them, greed. And thus was established what is proclaimed as the “uniquely American” character, when in reality it is a distorted version of the American Indian.

There are many ways to support Lakotah sovereignty and dignity. One of the simplest I think is to support the Treaty school established by Russell and Pearl Means (http://www.treatyschool.com), which is an effort at creating a cultural immersion eduction for Lakotah children. Other things and ideas may be found at http://www.republicoflakotah.com.

By: Lloyd Rowsey

Lloyd Rowsey — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 12:49:59 +0000

Thanks for this, David Sugar. All Americans need to identify with South American indios of progressive persuasions, in our homes-of-choice and our ancestral homes in The States. Speaking for myself, I’m most proud to contemplate the possibility that I have AmericanIndian blood in my veins, by way of Oklahoma and Texas.

By: john andrews

john andrews — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 06:53:25 +0000

This is a fine cause and should be widely supported.