Seneca to Obama: ‘You betrayed our trust’ (xpost)

[bananas]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8338844

Seneca to Obama: ‘You betrayed our trust’

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Seneca Nation of Indians welcomed President Barack Obama to Buffalo with protesters in the street and a full page ad in the local newspaper saying he broke his promise to honor treaties when he signed a law that will devastate the Indian tobacco trade and put thousands of people out of work in Western New York.

The ad was in the form of an open letter.

“Dear Mr. President, Last fall you invited Native American leaders to Washington, D.C. and promised to listen to our concerns and respect our treaty rights. You pledged meaningful consultation and dialogue before any changes in federal policies impacting Indian Country.

“Your words instilled confidence and hope in the hearts of the Seneca people. We believed your pledge to make tribes full partners in the economy and give Indian children a shot at the American Dream. But, Mr. President, you failed to keep your word,” the ad said.

http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/national/93793384.html

[ProgressiveProfessor]

1. He is a pol in Wash DC, why should they have expected anything different

[pscot]

2. The "right" to sell untaxed cigarettes

is maybe not the best issue to pick a fight over.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

3. Its really a sovereignty issue for the tribes but cigarettes are so non-PC

that its not the best choice.

Eventually it will come down to are we going to keep the the current concept of tribal nations are not. Right now its a mixed bag that profits some people, many non-Indian and still leaves the cesspools that are the reservations out west. IMO its in serious need of reform.

[pscot]

4. I'm all for tribal sovereignty

There's a native American bloodline in my family. Tribes with a resource base or access to population centers for their casinos are doing OK. The Muckleshoots here in western Washington are some of the most astute businessmen and developers around. For the Plains tribes life has always been hardscrabble; never moreso than now. If we're not going to help them, the least we could do is to stop actively screwing them.