Swordsmyth
10-20-2018, 12:51 AM
Speaking at the “New Code of the West (https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/constitution/item/30332-montana-summit-brings-in-officials-and-activists-for-liberty)” conference over the weekend, a pair of activists exposed some of the major problems with federal Indian policy. Comparing the U.S. government's Indian policy to a “great big hippopotamus sitting on the United States,” Elaine Willman (shown) slammed the infringement on the parental rights and other liberties of those who live under federally funded tribal governments. Another speaker, Custer Battlefield Museum founder Chris Kortlander, highlighted dubious voting policies and restrictions on state jurisdiction over elections processes on Indian reservations, suggesting these issues threaten the integrity of the ballot. Fringe left-wing groups and their “fake news” allies went wild in the days before the conference, but the summit nevertheless succeeded in educating citizens, policymakers, and lawmakers from across the region.
Throughout her remarks, Willman focused mostly on problems with federal Indian policy, her area of expertise. She described it as the federal government's “best kept secret.” Among other concerns, she blasted federal courts for creating the notion of semi-dependent, semi-sovereign tribal “nations” that treats Indian tribes as a dependent “federal trust.” This state of affairs was never envisioned in the U.S. Constitution or authorized by the U.S. Congress, Willman said. And it leads to all sorts of problems that harm Indians and non-Indians alike. The federal government and the tribal governments it funds often collaborate to trample on state sovereignty, too, and the consequences can be devastating for states and especially the Indians living under the thumb of federally funded tribal governments.
One major problem, Willman said, is that the rights of Indians are often not respected. And so, Willman highlighted some of the work done by the Citizens Equal Rights Alliance (CERA), where she sits on the board, to help Indians having problems with their tribal governments. “Many of my friends are tribal families,” Willman said, noting that she spent decades living on Indian reservations. “We provide whatever resources we can to tribal persons at odds with their tribal government. Within those tribal governments, members do not have the First Amendment, they do not even have parental rights.” In some cases, she said, tribal governments deprive parents of their parental rights and take their children away as a result of disagreements with tribal officials.
Ironically, CERA is one of the few organizations that actually helps Indians facing things such as the seizure of their children in retaliation for disputes with extremely powerful and wealthy tribal authorities. And yet, Willman and the organization, which promotes equal rights for Indians and all Americans, has been ludicrously smeared by fringe hatemongers as “anti-Indian.” CERA and Willman have both argued that federal policy should not be racial, and that everyone should be treated equally under the law — and that means Indians should have all of their constitutionally protected rights respected at all levels of government, just like anyone else. Somehow, though, hardcore leftists who seek to keep Indians down have argued that promoting equality is actually “anti-Indian.” Seriously.
Another expert on Indian policy issues, fellow CERA board member Kortlander, the founding director of the Custer Battlefield Museum and a very close friend of late Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Joe Medicine Crow, also spoke out fearlessly, despite having been brutalized and terrorized by heavily armed federal bureaucrats. Among other topics, the former Montana law-enforcement officer spoke about some key issues with federal Indian policy and elections.
In particular, he noted that non-tribal authorities from state and local government have no jurisdiction over polling places and elections on Indian reservations. And yet, state and federal voting takes place on those reservations. In the last election for the U.S. Senate in Montana, poll watchers were even kicked out. Democrat John Tester won by less than 3,000 votes in what many viewed as a suspicious election. But because of “tribal sovereignty,” state authorities could do nothing about the widely observed irregularities occurring on reservations. The significance of the election was obvious — it changed the Senate from Republican to Democrat control. And yet, suspicions abound.
There are other problems with Indian policy, too, said Kortlander. For example, he noted that CERA, which both he and Willman are affiliated with, has been lobbying for laws ensuring the protection of the rights of Americans of native descent, even if they live under federally funded tribal governments. He explained that tribal governments, which are funded by the federal government, often trample on individual rights of both native and non-native American citizens. And so, Kortlander, Willman, and other CERA leaders have spent many years trying to protect the individual rights of everyone.
And Kortlander knows what it is to have one's rights trampled by government — he himself has been on the receiving end of federal abuses. In 2005, his popular museum was raided by a heavily armed federal SWAT team from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. “They took down my museum interns with M-16s aimed at the back of their heads with their legs spread eagle on the floor,” he said. “They threatened that I would never see my special-needs son again.” For the next 10 years, Kortlander fought them with everything he had. Close friends were even loaning him money to stay afloat amid the battle. In the end, Kortlander was never indicted or charged with a crime. But the horror turned his life upside down. And it made him determined to tell the world.
Kortlander wrote a book called Arrow to the Heart: The Last Battle at the Little Big Horn detailing some of the abuses inflicted by the heavily militarized federal bureaucracy. Like others at the Montana conference, he praised the courage of BLM whistleblower Larry Wooten, who exposed some of the outlandish criminality that permeated the disgraced bureaucracy (https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/crime/item/27618-lawmakers-seek-justice-after-whistleblower-exposes-federal-thugs). One key piece of legislation that Kortlander said would help improve the situation is the Local Enforcement for Local Lands Act, or H.R. 622, which would strip the BLM and the U.S. Forest Service of their law enforcement authority.
The goal of the legislation, which was originally sponsored by retired U.S. Representative Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), is to rein in the rogue federal agencies that have been running around terrorizing citizens since they were given “law enforcement” authority in 2001. “It’s time to get rid of the BLM and US Forest Service police,” Chaffetz said in a press release. “If there is a problem, your local sheriff is the first and best line of defense. By restoring local control in law enforcement, we enable federal agencies and county sheriffs to each focus on their respective core missions.”
More at: https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/constitution/item/30368-summit-exposes-violations-of-indians-rights-fringe-left-freaks
Throughout her remarks, Willman focused mostly on problems with federal Indian policy, her area of expertise. She described it as the federal government's “best kept secret.” Among other concerns, she blasted federal courts for creating the notion of semi-dependent, semi-sovereign tribal “nations” that treats Indian tribes as a dependent “federal trust.” This state of affairs was never envisioned in the U.S. Constitution or authorized by the U.S. Congress, Willman said. And it leads to all sorts of problems that harm Indians and non-Indians alike. The federal government and the tribal governments it funds often collaborate to trample on state sovereignty, too, and the consequences can be devastating for states and especially the Indians living under the thumb of federally funded tribal governments.
One major problem, Willman said, is that the rights of Indians are often not respected. And so, Willman highlighted some of the work done by the Citizens Equal Rights Alliance (CERA), where she sits on the board, to help Indians having problems with their tribal governments. “Many of my friends are tribal families,” Willman said, noting that she spent decades living on Indian reservations. “We provide whatever resources we can to tribal persons at odds with their tribal government. Within those tribal governments, members do not have the First Amendment, they do not even have parental rights.” In some cases, she said, tribal governments deprive parents of their parental rights and take their children away as a result of disagreements with tribal officials.
Ironically, CERA is one of the few organizations that actually helps Indians facing things such as the seizure of their children in retaliation for disputes with extremely powerful and wealthy tribal authorities. And yet, Willman and the organization, which promotes equal rights for Indians and all Americans, has been ludicrously smeared by fringe hatemongers as “anti-Indian.” CERA and Willman have both argued that federal policy should not be racial, and that everyone should be treated equally under the law — and that means Indians should have all of their constitutionally protected rights respected at all levels of government, just like anyone else. Somehow, though, hardcore leftists who seek to keep Indians down have argued that promoting equality is actually “anti-Indian.” Seriously.
Another expert on Indian policy issues, fellow CERA board member Kortlander, the founding director of the Custer Battlefield Museum and a very close friend of late Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Joe Medicine Crow, also spoke out fearlessly, despite having been brutalized and terrorized by heavily armed federal bureaucrats. Among other topics, the former Montana law-enforcement officer spoke about some key issues with federal Indian policy and elections.
In particular, he noted that non-tribal authorities from state and local government have no jurisdiction over polling places and elections on Indian reservations. And yet, state and federal voting takes place on those reservations. In the last election for the U.S. Senate in Montana, poll watchers were even kicked out. Democrat John Tester won by less than 3,000 votes in what many viewed as a suspicious election. But because of “tribal sovereignty,” state authorities could do nothing about the widely observed irregularities occurring on reservations. The significance of the election was obvious — it changed the Senate from Republican to Democrat control. And yet, suspicions abound.
There are other problems with Indian policy, too, said Kortlander. For example, he noted that CERA, which both he and Willman are affiliated with, has been lobbying for laws ensuring the protection of the rights of Americans of native descent, even if they live under federally funded tribal governments. He explained that tribal governments, which are funded by the federal government, often trample on individual rights of both native and non-native American citizens. And so, Kortlander, Willman, and other CERA leaders have spent many years trying to protect the individual rights of everyone.
And Kortlander knows what it is to have one's rights trampled by government — he himself has been on the receiving end of federal abuses. In 2005, his popular museum was raided by a heavily armed federal SWAT team from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. “They took down my museum interns with M-16s aimed at the back of their heads with their legs spread eagle on the floor,” he said. “They threatened that I would never see my special-needs son again.” For the next 10 years, Kortlander fought them with everything he had. Close friends were even loaning him money to stay afloat amid the battle. In the end, Kortlander was never indicted or charged with a crime. But the horror turned his life upside down. And it made him determined to tell the world.
Kortlander wrote a book called Arrow to the Heart: The Last Battle at the Little Big Horn detailing some of the abuses inflicted by the heavily militarized federal bureaucracy. Like others at the Montana conference, he praised the courage of BLM whistleblower Larry Wooten, who exposed some of the outlandish criminality that permeated the disgraced bureaucracy (https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/crime/item/27618-lawmakers-seek-justice-after-whistleblower-exposes-federal-thugs). One key piece of legislation that Kortlander said would help improve the situation is the Local Enforcement for Local Lands Act, or H.R. 622, which would strip the BLM and the U.S. Forest Service of their law enforcement authority.
The goal of the legislation, which was originally sponsored by retired U.S. Representative Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), is to rein in the rogue federal agencies that have been running around terrorizing citizens since they were given “law enforcement” authority in 2001. “It’s time to get rid of the BLM and US Forest Service police,” Chaffetz said in a press release. “If there is a problem, your local sheriff is the first and best line of defense. By restoring local control in law enforcement, we enable federal agencies and county sheriffs to each focus on their respective core missions.”
More at: https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/constitution/item/30368-summit-exposes-violations-of-indians-rights-fringe-left-freaks