Today's Eminent Domain Ruling--a Native American perspective.

[barbaraann]

Standing Bear, Ponca Chief
On the forced removal from their lands in Nebraska: "We told them we would rather die than leave our lands; but we could not help ourselves. They took us down. Many died on the road. Two of my children died. After we reached the new land, all my horses died. The water was very bad. All our cattle died; not one was left. I stayed until one hundred and fifty-eight of my people had died. Then I ran away with thirty of my people, men and women and children. Some of the children were orphans. We were three months on the road. We were sick and weak and starved. When we reached the Omaha Reserve the Omahas gave us a piece of land, and we were in a hurry to plough it and put in wheat. While we were working, the soldiers came and arrested us. Half of us were sick. We would rather have died than be carried back; but we could not help ourselves."

http://home.ptd.net/~nikki/indian.htm

[pmbryant]

1. Apples and oranges

Are you suggesting that all eminent domain, even where the government provides just compensation (as in today's case, but obviously contrary to the case of Native Americans), should be forbidden?

--Peter

[barbaraann]

2. Oh, I wasn't suggesting anything, just

trying to gain some perspective on the issue by remembering how the current owners got in the land in the first place and trying to see how people might feel when their land it taken because of this ruling.

[H2O]

3. Eminent Domain

The two cases have a few similarities. 1. The government forced people off of their own land. 2. In both cases, the government said that it was all for the common good, or the march of progress, etc.

"Just compensation" is a relative term. The public works dept offered a mere pittance of the value of the land that my grandparents owned. We had to take it court to get anything like its value.

The power of those with the most money must be curbed; otherwise, the people of this country will suffer.