Native American tribes win $940 million in suit against the feds

[Little Tich]

Source: Washington Examiner

Acknowledging the U.S. government's "sad history" with Native American tribes, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell announced on Thursday that the Obama administration is settling hundreds of 25-year-old claims by tribes and their members against the government for almost $1 billion.

The proposed settlement ends the class-action lawsuit filed by 645 members regarding under-payment for contracts to manage educational, police, fire and other federal services on reservations.

The tribes maintained, and in 2012 the Supreme Court agreed, that the government did not allot enough money to pay the contracts in full.

"This landmark settlement represents another important step in the Obama administration's efforts to turn the page on past challenges in our government-to-government relationship with tribes," Jewell said. "Tribal self-determination and self-governance will continue to be our 'North Star'" as the federal government works to assist tribes in running their own reservations and lands, Jewell said.

Read more: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/native-american-tribes-win-940-million-in-suit-against-the-feds/article/2572351

[Omaha Steve]

1. PLEASE post this in First American's too

Thanks for posting.

K&R!

OS

[Wellstone ruled]

2. This Huge.

Now watch the Republicans in Congress try to derail the payments.

[jwirr]

3. Wonder what tribes are involved?

[elleng]

4. Oglala Sioux, Zuni Pueblo, Navajo, among others.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/1c2cc0286f6f41d89d82613ee363ec2a/feds-pay-940m-settle-claims-over-tribal-contracts

[jwirr]

5. Ojibwa in MN?

[glinda]

10. Cannot find that info. I wonder though.

[colsohlibgal]

6. It Will Never Be Enough

Every time I hear the term "Manifest Destiny" I cringe, what a bogus rationale.

Also to hear the right rail against immigrants as if we were here first.....well, it is amazingly tone deaf.

[Judi Lynn]

7. Such a good point you've made. They despised the original citizens for being here first,

and not vanishing the moment they decided to steal their land.

Doesn't say much for greedy people, does it?

[shadowmayor]

11. American Exceptionalism

Manifest Destiny is the Right to Conquer with god's approval. A hideous trait of one group of humans crushing another and taking, or stealing all that they can. In our national case, it's a Protestant (particularly) illusion of superiority used to excuse the most heinous atrocities. From the land of Canaan marked by one tribe as deeded to them by god, through Wounded Knee, to the Nazi lebensraum and now onto downtown Baghdad, the arc of this notion is sadly a core value of too many "proud" Americans. In the end, we truly are just monkeys on a mudball who had better learn how to get along.

It is as you said, a vile and thoroughly bogus rationale.

[jwirr]

14. Prosperity gospel. The bastard child of the real words of

Jesus.

[roody]

19. The Spanish and Portuguese Catholic conquerors killed

people under a similar belief.

[shadowmayor]

22. Certainly

Howdy Roody!

Not making any excuses for the followers of those "Penguins of Pederasty" at all. But the idea of Manifest Destiny has a certain Protestant flavor. It fits well with the Protestant work ethic and the Puritan values that still permeate the right wing of our nation. Along the Camino Real in the Rio Grande basin, the early Spanish actually thought the savages had souls to be redeemed and conquered and converted many from Mission to Mission. And yet, some of the Pueblo Tribes still have pieces of their homeland with rights given to them by the Spanish Crown. Along the east coast, the British/Dutch influence left little of the Native peoples in place. In fact, one of the earliest massacres in 1637 - the so called Mystic Massacre reflects this view of how settlers saw their neighbors. I understand that disease probably accounted for 90% of the deaths across the New World, and Catholics and Protestants alike have never faced up to the role of their religions in wiping out innocent people.

[roody]

23. I taught fifth grade and we studied the conquistadores.

It was brutal. I did not sanitize anything. Actually we used Wikipedia en espanol, because I was teaching in a dual language immersion program and we only had sanitized textbooks in English.

[shadowmayor]

25. Thank you

Seriously, thank you for coming to work as a teacher. Our country undervalues, under pays, and shits on teachers like no other country in the world. And yet, it is the most important job in society. I can never quite understand the thinking of my fellow citizens? And I live in Texas, where we gladly elect the dumbest of the dumb over and over again.

[LeftOfWest]

13. Shout it everywhere. Great post colsohlibgal.

For me, fuck manifest destiny off the face of the universe to this second.

[closeupready]

8. No amount can ever be enough, but if the tribes

can accept the payment and improve the lives of those who are alive today, then okay.

[Baitball Blogger]

20. Improving their lives would be a start.

Let's hope they use their money productively. And I don't mean building another income bearing casino. I mean education for all and possibly investing in infra-structure that will allow their members to develop to their full potential. Whether that means exploring their heritage through art or coming up with a solar panel factory that can break through government red tape, the sky's the limit.

Their destiny is in their hands.

[rockfordfile]

26. I agree

[jalan48]

9. It's great to hear but to put it in perspective, it's about the cost of one Stealth jet.

[The Roux Comes First]

12. Yes - and When Do We Get Serious Consideration of a Pardon for Peltier and

a proper reckoning over historical harassment, land thievery, and extensive criminality including murder on the part of the FBI and their local police and BIA cronies and goon squads? Talk about race war . . .

[jwirr]

15. And to put the Stealth Jet into perspective: a tool we

are now using to do what we did to the Native Americans. Exterminate people and steal their riches.
We have not changed on iota.

[jalan48]

16. Great point-how long before we start paying those countries for our "mistakes".

[jwirr]

17. I doubt we ever will but to me we should.

[Enthusiast]

21. The sick truth.

You weren't supposed to say it.

[jwirr]

24. I know none of us are supposed to tell the truth. Thank

to Bernie it is being done anyhow.

[tclambert]

18. They should use it to deport illegal immigrants and build a wall them out.

All 290 million of 'em.