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Native American Wireless ISP Launched
babynerd writes "On Tuesday June 1st the Coeur dAlene tribe unveiled the Turbocharged Broadband Geek Project. The scheme, organized by project head Valerie Fast Horse and funded by a $2.8 million dollar grant from the USDA Rural Utilities Service and a 15% in kind match from the tribe itself, will help build a community technology center (CTC) with 40 computers, and a wireless broadband ISP that will provide high-speed wireless access to anyone living on and near the reservation at a price comparable to that of any other DSL or Cable Internet providers - there's currently no broadband Internet access of any kind available."
My biggest complaint about this is that the non-natives are funding this venture through the USDA Rural Utilities Service... Why doesn't their own tribe fund this effort? I have a feeling that they making more than enough money there to foot the $2.8 million bill themselves. Isn't that what those things are on reservations for? To build better Native American communities?
...very slow bandwidth . . . .
If there's ever a sequel to Smoke Signals:
Seriously - great movie, set on the Coeur d'Alene reservation in present day (well, present day six years ago). You'll laugh, you'll cry, it'll become a part of you.
Cool funny t-shirts for geeks, gamers and everyone else
That seems like enough for a *heck* of a buildout and, what? 10 years of expenses? How can I get a piece? :)
Linux IT Consulting and Domino Development in Michigan
Valerie Slow Horse prefers a floppy disk for data transfer...
I live in Spokane, 15 minute drive from CdA, and hopefully this project, if it succeeds, will bring more wireless into the area.
Right now the greater Spokane area is pretty much monopolized by Qwest's DSL (available some places) and Comcast's cable (available pretty much anywhere else). For a city with 300K plus total population it's a shame.
Too bad they ain't running Apache... maybe they've had bad experiences in the past?
Now homeowners associations can keep Indians from putting antenae on thier tee pees
Want to see what you can get from donations and volunteer efforts?
http://www.personaltelco.net
2.8 million would be nice to have, do not get me wrong. Given what we are doing for what we have it would mean a heck of a lot of coverage.
Poor little clams! Snap! Snap! Snap! Poor little clams! Snap! Snap! Snap! Poor little clams! Snap! Snap! Snap!
I'm starting to think my history teacher is psychic. Today, we watched Smoke Signals in class and now there is this in the news. Last week, we finished talking about Ronald Reagan, now he died. A while back, we talked about Elia Kazan in the 50's, within a week, he died. Wierd...
I should get him to talk about Bill Gates...
When SSNeP was introduced the overall performance reached full potential.
Dear aunt, let's set so double the killer delete select all
What, you people can't spot a joke when you see it? Do I have to add a little smiley or [THAT WAS A JOKE] tag at the end?
Mod: -1 Offtopic
All handouts tend to increase laziness. This is the reason why the economies of continental Europe severely lag behind that of the US.
Without incentive to work, people work less. Simple economics there.
This takes care of broadband south of Lake Coeur d'Alene. What about north? Coeur d'Alene and Hayden (where I live) are both north of the lake. Would be nice, but I think this is probably just for the tribe, not nontribals like me.
Mike
Intresting the history behind this organization... It started as one of the "alphabet soup" programs under Roosevelt during the Great Depression to help provide both employment and electrify the Nation's rural farms. The program was very successful, and established rural "electric cooperatives" that allowed a number of individuals to form their own electric substation at a fraction of the price of the major electric companies. It recieved a lot of flak along with other New Deal projects because it evoked a socialist-like image, and the "red scare" was part of the period. Later, the Rural Electrification project got squished together into the a small piece of the USDA. I wonder if this is the future of the project - if so, it will play a major part at bringing the nation cheap broadband access.
I wasnted to know if they had stolen my idea of placing Cell/802.11x antennas inside of totem poles...that would have been interesting given the number of environazis out here in Oregon who do not like to see cell towers in rural areas but might just go for a totem pole.
SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
Maybe the idea here is that by giving them a handout with potentially limitless educational value, we increase the odds that at least a few more of them will be motivated and have the resources to get out there and make it on their own.
I suppose you think fertilizer encourages laziness in plants...
They can enter into the on-line gambling business ! And look at the advantages: It will not go off shore to Singapore !
Did you go on these imaginery reservations in your dreams? I found it astounding that you are speaking about the laziness of Native Americans without so much as mentioning the cultural differences between us and them that may keep them on their reservations. More so the reasons of family and loyalty that would rather have them try and provide food for their families then go off to college. But thank you for your insight into a false reality.
and...
If the idea was to give them a better quality of life, maybe we should offer them education instead.
First of all, what makes you think their plan is to use WiFi to surf porn? Is that your primary Internet use other than trolling on Slashdot? In many rural areas (you must be a city dweller), educational opportunities are in fact taken advantage of over the Internet.
As to your other comments, of course they are pure bullshit, too. You seem bitter. Get turned down for the party school of you choice and have to go to Community College instead?
"Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
Wow, I didn't realize that we had posters that were around in the 1800's. They should really be ashamed of themselves.
The natives got screwed royally. No one denies that. This does not mean that white people are evil for the rest of time. Funny how people decry racism until it fits their needs...
"Faith: Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel." - A.B.
...in Eastern Standard Tribe.
SF future-prediction strikes again!
Grants in and of themselves aren't a solution...but grants directed into something that enriches both the community and the individuals within that community, like, say, an internet-enabled community center, and offering internet service (that the users will still have to PAY to use, by the way)...well, what the heck is wrong with that?
If you object to this, then perhaps you also think that opening up an after-school youth activities program in a predominantly african-american or hispanic urban community?
The values are the same: Bring people together, give individuals something to do other than self-destructive behavior that pervades much (but not all) of the culture of places as diverse as the urban street to the rez....help more people become internet-literate (just as written literacy was so important in the 19th century and visual literacy was so important in the 20th century)...
I could go on. But I won't waste my breath. You're either baiting this thread, or just ignorant. either way, you're entitled to your opinion, even if you're wrong ;)
actually several of us were born here.
"the best safety of the frontier...will be secured by total annihilation of the few remaining indians" L Frank Baum 1890
that poet/author Sherman Alexie (ever see 'smoke signals', or read 'the lone ranger and tonto fistfight in heaven'?) is from... i wonder if he had anything to do w/ this, or what his thoughts on it are.
... "and thomas builds the fire had taken over the computer lab, and was passing out frybreads to all of the children, who before the lab was built would have been out playing basketball"
I can just imagine his next story
:)
Well, native X'an means "born in X". So I guess I'm a Native American, 'cause I'm not an immigrant. (And my parents were not either, FWIW.) Nobody has any problem with me saying I'm a native Arizonan, or a native of the Phoenix metro area.
Regarding "indigenous", what does that mean exactly? People on most of the continents probably didn't evolve there. Well, they evolved a little, maybe, but they became Homo Sapiens much earlier, and somewhere else. Isn't it just one place in Africa or some such (or maybe the garden of Eden, wherever that is) where Homo Sapiens emerged? So everywhere else, they walked, floated or flew. Anyway I think "indigenous" probably has a narrower definition than "native", and neither word is meant to be so narrow as "having lived there since the dawn of the species" because that would rule out almost everybody in every place.
The parent probably is flamebait, but funny none the less. Given the lack of humor show here in the modding, I should probably keep my mouth shut about the possibility of out-sourcing call centers to them (ducks...)
"Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
The apostrophe isn't a mistake: it's "Coeur d'Alene" (it's French).
I live there, and it's really annoying when web forms try to "correct" it:
Coeur Dalene
Coeur dAlene
No.
Coeur d'Alene (I really meant it).
For the same damn reason we use tax dollors to let every Tom, Dick and Harry surf porn and do email from almost every public library in the U.S.. Fedral grants are handed out $millions at a time to put desktops in public schools or fund a new program at univeristies. Why does a tech grant to a tribe raise your ire any more than them?
Furthermore, how much do you know about tribes' "per-capita" payments, or scholorship programs? They're not simply tax money diverted from your pocket to their account. Many are the result of interest from trust-fund-like accounts, large lawsuit settlements against the gov't and income from tribe run organizations. And before anyone complains about a tribe's right to have those types of funds, realize that they are from treaties that the government signed, or lawsuits where the U.S. justice system found the government in fault.
Anonymous coward, indeed.
A previous attempt by a different group of native Americans failed to crystallize into an actual broadband offering. That group's spokesman, Eddie Slow Turtle, had no explanation.
- First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then ???, then profit.
Idaho...where men are men and the women, well they kind of look like men too.
You had me at "dicks fuck assholes".
I am familiar with the CdA / Spokane area so please allow me point out that a lot of people outside the Native American community (not just WA & ID residents; the CdA resort is a also a major tourist attraction) will benifit from this, provided that the people in charge implement this properly (Couer d'Alene is right on the Idaho/Washington State border for those not familiar with the area).
By the way, the Spokane area really isn't "rural" for the most part. Spokane is the second-biggest city in the State of Washington (I believe Tacoma is closing in fast).
So what are the rules for indian reservations and tribes according to the FCC? Does the FCC have jurisdiction over such areas?
Based on your link, Europe has 1/3 the per capita GDP of the United States. This qualifies as "severely lagging."
Since your actually funded and can, therefore, do better than fabricated pringle-can antenna's and 802.11, I recommend this. Grown-up wireless that works very well. 802.11 is an adaptation of Ethernet to microwave that does not scale. Canopy was created to do what you want to do.
Maw! Fire up the karma burner!
Actually, it was only recently that Spokane overtook Tacoma as the second-biggest (population-wise.) It was front-page news in the Idaho-Spokesman Review.
I'm on a road shaped like a figure eight; I'm going nowhere but I'm guaranteed to be late.
There is a systems integration and networking company here in the American West. I won't name their name, since the I'm going to say some pretty strong things...
The guy who owns gets a deep discount from distrubution partners because his is a "native-american" owned business. The company wraps themselves in the iconography and their logo is an animal synonymous with the American Indian.
This guy is ONE-EIGHTH American Indian. I won't even name the tribe. Doesn't matter. This guy is fat, pale white and bald and looks about as American Indian as Tony Soprano. perfect guy to compare him to, as well. Actually, I think Tony is less corrupt.
Nevertheless, he has a huge advantage over his competition. His discount is about 3 to 4 POINTS below a company without that status. Bidding an integration and database project that includes a $100,000 worth of Sun equipment? Going against these guys? Snap $4k off the top, just throw that money away or you WILL be underbid. Looking for an education contract? Good luck.
Want to know what else you are up against? the Tax benefits to a large corporation when they give business to a "Small Business Administration-certified 8(a)" firm. Want to double up the tax breaks? Do it in a HUBzone - Historically Underutilized Business Zone. Does your company need to be in the HUBZone to qualify for the tax break? Not necessarily. Quite a few legal entanglements there, depends what state your corporation is incorporated in.
Isn't about time we closed bullshit loopholes like these? I'm a Democrat and believe that certain inequalities exist and that in certain instances, Affirmative Action and tax incentives for areas make for good business and re-level a playing field that DOES have systematic racism in it. But laws regarding Indians are just being abused. Badly. I have a friend who is actually HALF Sioux. He moved away, but I wanted to start a business with him as an equal partner. 4 points on Cisco, Sun, and a myriad of other gear is big margin in the VAR world.
While increasing the total GDP of the European Union, the addition of these countries (Estonia, Latvia, Poland, etc.) undoubtedly decreases their per capita GDP, which is the relevant comparison.
WTF? Why would any self respecting geek use the overly abused term "Turbocharged" to describe their project? This is something thats always gotten under my skin... whenever people claim something other than a combustion engine is "turbocharged", I just shake my head. But I let it go because the common man/woman just wouldn't get it anyways. But a geek project? Aren't we supposed to be relatively smart around here? Come on! You don't see "overclocked ovens" in stores, why the hell do we use "turbocharged" in the same nonsensical manner? I may not be an expert, but from what I know, there is nothing in WiFi or even networking that involves turbine powered compression. Why does everyone love this misnomer? Doesn't it sound stupid to anyone else? Or is it just me?
[/rant]
Some people strip stuff like that out automatically trying to prevent things like SQL injection attacks - so it is probably not a correction, they are just not sophisticated enough to handle quotes for input.
It is pretty annoying, and likley not to get better for some time. In fact there are hardware devices that companies are deploying ahead of web servers to protect against attacks, that will also likley strip that "'" and lead to even more sites that munge the name.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
How could it get worse?
Friends of mine grew up on a couple different reservations and they said that from payday until they ran out of money, people would line up at the liquor stores and buy as much as they could carry. If they didn't have one in their town, they would drive to one that did and pack the car with as much as they could buy. Highway 666 in New Mexico is a very dangerous road, not because of the number, but because of the sheer numbers of drunks attempting to drive while 2-3 times over the legal limit.
...for IP via Smoke Signals
-- In the beginning was the WORD, and the WORD was UNSIGNED, and the main(){} was without form and void...
Anyway, thanks for pointing this out. I appreciate it.
Native Americans have had wireless communication for centuries. Smoke signals, anyone? No offense to my red brothers, we smokem peace pipe.
worst sig ever. . .
correct.. though, if we apply the term "native americans" to the decents of the clovis, let's at least stop thinking of them as some sort of noble savage. just ebcause their means at environmental destruction aren't quite as great as modern mans', the idea that they somehow live in harmony with nature is utter bullshit.
What is your penile percentile?
I am shocked to read the number of angry responses to this story. I always thought that technology was neutral in the racial game, and was quite surprised at the number of angry, racial geeks out there. I guess I should be glad that your remarks are based on ignorance rather than truth or honesty. The good news: you angry guys are not the majority.
NICE - reverse descrimination. My fiance if 1/8th Cherokee, we are 100% eligible to get her a full scholarship to a state school. First in her family to attend, Native American bloodline, and she grew up in a low income home. WE are workign our asses off, pyaing for college AS WE GO. Anyone can do it. If you can't, you'e mkaign an excuse - I could't find a job for 3 months, so you know what i did? I took pictures. I stuffed envelopes. I set up a couple networks. The point is, the money is there for whatever you want if you'd just get up off your lazy ass and find it. Black hair and dark skin doesn't keep you from it, the society of entitlement does. I don't need your money, tyvm, i'll get my own.
Learn about Photography Basics.
They have a page with giant videos (like > 270MB). If you want to Slashdot them, poke around for yourself -- I'm not going to link to them, since I don't want to see their servers start involuntarily giving off smoke signals.
"A great democracy must be progressive or it will soon cease to be a great democracy." --Theodore Roosevelt
The term 'aboriginal' is okay with me.
But if 'abnormal' means 'not normal', than wouldn't 'aboriginal' mean 'not original'?
I have to stop wasting so much time reading Slashdot. It's interfering with my crystal meth addiction.
Interesting thing about the wireless ISPs in Eastern WA is that they are intensely competing for coverage. To the point of knocking down each others repeaters, towers, antennas, etc. Yakima County police are using the 802.11(?) spectrum to network their mobile units. Certain people were broadcasting white noise or amping up the power on their transmitters enough to bring the sherrif out . They should be getting their own spectrum within a year, but for now the money they're saving by using off the shelf equipment makes up for the wait.
"I have a cunning plan..."
I went to site and attempted to read the article, but I couldn't find any information on the actual equipment they plan on using for the wireless part.
Looking at the pictures, they seem to not have heavy tree coverage, but if they are going to try and use something like Motorola Canopy equipment, trees could very well be an issue.
I would also be curios as to the radius that is going to need to be covered. Do most of the people live pretty close together or is the community spread out all over the creation?
If it is the latter, I would really like to know what kind of equipment they are using!?!
Usurper_ii
Ron Paul
I hope this is not connected to the insecure computer systems that have been shut down twice. IIRC, that was the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs).
I hate sigs.
I have a cousin who went to the college in Coeur d'Alene, and the town is pretty much owned by a group of cultist / supremacist / Aryan / whatever you want to call them run by some guy who I don't recall the name of with a compound up on the hill. He said that the guy shuts down the town once a year for a huge fireworks display - I don't recall if it's for July 4th or not. But he was very clear about the entire (useful) government being run by this guy, and that they're always having rallies.
What about north? Coeur d'Alene and Hayden (where I live) are both north of the lake.
As another poster already mentioned, the service is available to non tribe member residents on the res.
If they haven't already put an access point on your side of the lake, how broad is the lake? If only a few miles, you should be able to hit the access point with a directional antenna.
24 db dishes can be had online for less than a hundred bux, and two of 'em face-to-face can easily go more than ten miles, while one of 'em pointing at an ordinary accesspoint can make several miles. Similarly, a short yagi (or a "pringles can" antenna) can get you considerable distance.
So even if they don't have an AP on your side of the lake, you may be able to connect.
And IF you can connect, you can stick a second card in your box, enable routing, and become a local access point for the others who can't hit directly. (Two such volunteers can provide a solid feed without leaving the rest of your community in the lurch when you're rebooting.)
And I think some cheap routers can also be configured for this - just replace one of the rubber duckies with a directional antenna - or plug two of 'em - one with a directional antenna, one with duckies or roof-mounted omnis - into your ethernet hub or back-to-back with a crossover ethernet cable.
But since the intent WAS to feed the whole community don't be surprised if such relay access points are already part of the plan. (Or, since they're so cheap to add, if they get added once they're suggested.)
Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
Well - I think there should be kudos and pats on the back and I say good going.
However I do note that 2.8 million divided by 40 works out to about $70,000 per computer so these are slightly less expensive than the toilet seats we hear about.
The service area is the issue of course. Sparsely populated areas are expensive to service.
Still - good going and I hope it works out!
I have a cousin who went to the college in Coeur d'Alene, and the town is pretty much owned by a group of cultist / supremacist / Aryan / whatever you want to call them run by some guy who I don't recall the name of with a compound up on the hill. He said that the guy shuts down the town once a year for a huge fireworks display - I don't recall if it's for July 4th or not. But he was very clear about the entire (useful) government being run by this guy, and that they're always having rallies.
Well, your cousin is wrong. One, the group no longer owns a "compound" in the area. Two, they don't have a fireworks show, or anything else, that shuts down the town. Three... well, he might be right about them always having rallies, if by "always having rallies" he means "there are always a couple guys hanging out with the 'leader' when he goes to the grocery store to pick up his prescriptions."
Unfortunately the media gives an impressive amount of visibility to this crusty old troublemaker and his buddies. Forgive me, but both they and you look like idiots when this garbage is perpetuated. (At least you have your cousin to blame though...)
2 wrongs do not make a right.
I am system administrator, as well as project manager for (Glenwood Telephone Company - the smallest independant telco in Georgia - www.gtconline.com) in Glenwood, Georgia (population ~~800 - average home income $16,000 a year) was awarded the Community-Oriented Connectivity Broadband Grant program by the United States Department of Agriculture / Rural Utilities Service as well. We have already successfully deployed this project to our area. The main portion of the grant funds that we were awarded 277,819 was used for the community center (www.thenetcenter.net)(10 computers [8 alienware area 51 systems and 2 Macintosh G5's, planning to add some linux pc's soon], however the remaining portion of this grant was used to deploy DSL within the city limits of Glenwood. While I can say that this helped our little company by aiding us in our broadband deployment there have been alot of other winners. The biggest winners in this so far have been the kids that now have somewhere to hang out, play games and use computers that they cannot afford to have, as well as have access to high tech equipment that the rural schools choose not to afford for them (only have 6 old computers per classroom). I must add however, another huge winner in this program was the critical care facilities (hospital, fire, police, city hall, schools within Glenwood) who get free broadband access for the first two years. Already our community center (thenetcenter.net) has a steady group of gamers coming in and they are helping us keep this project ongoing. Grants like this do indeed help out the smaller communities, and provide something other than just a local gas station to hang out in. As system administrator for Glenwood Telephone Company I can tell you that this was an excellent way to provide high speed Internet in our area. DS1's cost anywhere between $1300 a month to ~$4000 a month in our service area. What rural america can really use help in is getting backbone services cheaper to our area. Our telephone company's outside plant is among the best, if not the best in georgia (over 99% of our plant is underground and we deploy fiber constantly when doing new plant additions). Problem with deploying DSL in our area is that not many can afford it. This gets me into another problem I have that is really at the crux of the whole issue... the welfare society in america. People do not seem to realize that ISP's generally are a marginal profit business and I can guarantee you that our bandwith costs eat us alive. If we could have cheaper backbones to rural georgia we could definately see the "Rural Divide" narrow significantly. On another note even with the "subsidies" that our telco recieves with the Universal Service charge our customers would rather pay for cable TV anyday than to have a telephone or computer with internet access in their home (rural welfare society at its finest... another topic altogether). We are the atypical ISP. Many of our customers are the new computer users, average age 40+ who want to learn about computers and how they can make their lives more enjoyable. The beauty of rural america is its simplicity and access in rural america can make life simply more enjoyable. I sincerely hope that access can provide rural america the american dreams that many of them so desire. [steps off his soapbox]
dude have you even been off of the "continent"? racism is a 100 times worse just about every part of the world than it is in america. just keep watching those hollywood movies.
ask france about their muslims. ask asians about their daughters marrying white men. ask any south american about the status of indians in their country. i think your precious muslims are real nice to women too.
no group of people is perfect. try keep it in perspective, dufus.
... than I always pictured this particular reservation when reading Sherman Alexie books.
One of the many things I hate. thingsihate.org
You have no idea how ignorant/misinformed that is, and how stupid it sounds.
The Aryan Nations are a complete joke. They're not even in town anymore; they got run out several years ago by a lawsuit that stripped them of their property (one of their security guards got overly ambitious and chased after a car that was driving by). At their peak, there were 10-15 of them, and the only time I ever saw them was when I went to one of their parades to see what they were like. I've never seen their former compound in four years of living there.
Their parades, BTW, were a complete joke too. The biggest one they ever had they dubbed the "100 man march," and they didn't even get 100 people -- even after flying in fellow racists from all over the country! Protesters always outnumbered marchers at least 10/1.
If there's anyone who dominates in Coeur d'Alene, it's Hagadone, who owns the big resort on the lake and the famous golf course with the floating golf green.
I find it hard to believe that your cousin could have lived in Coeur d'Alene for more than a week and been so clueless.
Actually, there are people in Coeur d'Alene who want the world to think dumb things about the area so they will stay away and not move here; the natives would rather keep this gorgeous area to themselves. It's quickly getting more crowded and traffic is getting worse.
If you keep reloading pages on the casino website often enough, you'll get an ad at the right side promising "32 oz. of heaven" .... "our signature 24 oz. porterhouse steak ..."
There's a 33% cheat right there ;-)
Now maybe my perspective is skewed because it would be easier for me to justify compensation for ancesteral pain and suffering than it is to justify STILL paying for "LAND CLAIMS AND BROKEN TREATIES". If it comes down to broken contracts, we should have had this resolved 100 years ago.
Pardon me if I come off condescending, but it isn't all that uncommon for a land claim to be settled in a way that the stolen land is perpetually rented, because the damages are perpetual.
Think of it this way: You either give back the land, or you pay rent.
PS, I might as well admit that my wife is a Canadian North American Native and my mother-in-law is a top lands manager (Awarded 1st Lands Manager of the Year for all of Canada).
That explains why she had to pay for her education and only received $2 a year from an OLD settlement. (Canadians got a shittier deal.)
If I've learned anything from talking to my mother-in-law, I've learned the politics and legal matters involved are not very poorly understood by the majority of people for a number of reasons.
It is just as easy to encode the imput in some way, but I fear a host of automated devices will just decide it's better to err on the side of removal for security!
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
What some of you fail to notice is the fact that this was a COMMUNITY project, funded through the USDA-- that's Department of Agriculture--not the BIA. That means that the project is being completed for the benefit of ALL people in the reservation community, the majority of whom are non-Indian. You might also notice that the governments of the City of Plummer, Benewah County and the State of Idaho are not contributing a nickel. Tribal government only is coming up with the required 15% matching funds. Plummer, Idaho, population 900, is overwhelmingly white. You should be so lucky as to have a tribal government like this in or near you own communities, ceaselessly investing its financial and human resources to improve the lives of all who live there, Indian and non-Indian.
Native Americans still have access to the "property" we are renting and all rights and priviledges we do, aside from their own land that we have no rights to.
What you're talking about is the ability purchase the property we are renting. Yes, Native Americans can purchase this land they same way we can purchase it, but try to remember:
You can only purchase the land if the current owner is willing to sell the land.
Think about it. The natives have been tricked, robbed, and killed from their land. Do you think they're going to want to sell it off after all that???
Now they could just exercise their rights and refuse to sell thier land, but having been tricked into selling their land for beeds for so long, you can bet they want extra protection by now.
Especially after schemes that including giving the chief and counsel nice little kickbacks. So, in order to keep the white man from tricking them again, what do you think they did?
They opted to make giving their land away VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE, which is well within their rights as property owners. (Especially if the government agrees.)
They still have access to welfare, can vote, are considered citizens AND collect rent.
Just like any other citizen who rents thier land or wins a land claim. You do know that white people can file land claims too, right? (If they have a valid claim.)
If you could convince the government to sign a treaty where you are semi-sovereign and don't have to pay taxes, you would expect the government to hold up it's end of the bargain, right?
I am still tired of carrying around someone else's guilt.
Again, this has nothing to do with retributions or guilt. It's about property rights and upholding the principles of contract law by holding parties responsible for the contracts they sign.
Look, I'm sorry you feel tired of carrying around someone else's guily. I personally don't feel that way.
If my company had to fire me because they lost a lawsuit where they were in the wrong, I would blame my company, not the other party who was wrong.
Let me sum this up for you:
Your government has been financially obligating to ALL SORTS of debt you didn't agree to since before you were born. So why single out the commitments they made (and broke) to the Native Americans?
If you're seriously going to complain about being in debt to the government's actions then I'd like to direct your attention to the following:
Did you agree to:
* Establish Social Security, Medicare?
* Commit to Federal Highway, Defense spending?
* Farm Subsidies, Universal Welfare?
* and borrowing trillions of dollars from China to pay for all of these?
Now if you believe that governments shouldn't be able to commit its citizens to these obligations, then I'll honor and respect your beliefs.
BUT, if you believe our government has the right to commit its citizens, then I think you need to explain why you're singling out our government's commitments to the Native Americans.