Glacier Reporter Letter to the Editor
8-2-12
Robert C. Juneau
To the Editor:
The Blackfeet have one of the strongest treaties of all the tribes in the United States. The
Blackfeet signed what is called a negotiated treaty which means the Blackfeet were not
defeated in a war and therefore negotiated from a position of strength and paid for the land that we are supposed to own today with land cessions. We have what is called a,
"bought and paid for reservation." It can never be taken away from the Blackfeet without
the consent of the Blackfeet people. Marquette University History Professor Francis
Paul Prucha says in his book American Indian Treaties The History of A Political
Anomaly on Page 16,"What kept the anomaly of the treaties alive was the enduring
quality in the American character that upheld the faith and honor of the nation.
Government officials, in the early years of the republic especially, were conscious that
the United States was an experiment in republican government, watched by the whole
world. If the treaty contracts were not lived up to by the federal government, there would
be an indelible stain on the honor of the country and its citizens. Moreover, there was
a deep consciousness that the United States was a Christian nation and that not only
would it lose its religious innocence by dealing unfairly with the Indians but that God in
his justice would punish the nation if it left the path of righteousness by violating
"sacred" treaties." In the Final Report of the American Indian Policy Review Commission
May 17, 1977 the Commission stated,"The fundamental concepts which must guide
future policy determination are:
1.That Indian tribes are sovereign political bodies, having the power to determine their
own membership and power to enact laws and enforce them within the boundaries of
their reservations,".
When it comes to changing the Enrollment Criteria the Blackfeet are on solid legal ground and can do so whenever they want.
No comments:
Post a Comment