MEMBER RESERVATIONS
Pine Ridge
Lower Brule
Cheyenne River
Standing Rock
Rosebud
Fort Peck
Crow Creek
Santee
Canadian Sioux
For Immediate Release July 8, 1999
Yesterday s visit to the Pine Ridge territory of the Lakota Nation by the President of the United States in no way addressed the real issues of poverty and neglect resulting from over 100 years of colonization. The President failed to acknowledge or even mention the treaties that exist as binding international agreements between our two nations that have been unilaterally and repeatedly violated by the United States. The President made no mention of the legally binding nature of our two peoples relationship, namely as nation to nation. The President failed to mention international Indigenous efforts to preserve our human rights which are currently being hindered by the United States government at the Commission on Human Rights at the United Nations in Geneva. Accordingly, the attached letter was intended to remind the President of these issues.
Black Hills
Teton Sioux Nation
Tetuwan Oyate
MEMBER RESERVATIONS
Pine Ridge
Lower Brule
Cheyenne River
Standing Rock
Rosebud
Fort Peck
Crow Creek
Santee
Canadian Sioux
Dear President Clinton:
I bring you greetings form the traditional elders, leaders and people of the Lakota Nation. My name is Tony Black Feather and I am the Spokesman for the Teton Sioux Nation Treaty Council. Since 1894, we have consisted of full-blood treaty descendants of the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868. Our purpose has always been to uphold the treaties and to protect our culture, our land and our distinct way of life. The Teton Sioux Nation Treaty Council is not a political organization based on United States Federal Indian Law. In 1983, we declared our independence from the political system and the tribal council and reaffirmed our inherent sovereignty.
Accordingly, for many years now we have been pursuing our goals of preservation of our traditional nation and human rights through international forums, especially the Working Group on Indigenous Populations at the Commission on Human Rights of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. Our purpose in being there is, again, simply to uphold the treaties our ancestors signed with your government and preserve our way of life. We stand on the treaties. Under the laws of both the Lakota Nation and the Untied States, as well as the conclusions of the United Nations Special Rapporteurs Study on Treaties of Indigenous Peoples, treaties govern the relationship between our two nations. Under the Constitution of the United States, treaties are the supreme law of the land. Under the Natural Laws of the Creator which govern the Tituwan Oyate (Lakota Nation) and Chanupa (the pipe), the treaties are sacred. It is an obligation for both of our peoples.
As you are aware, the Working Group, in consultation with Indigenous peoples, has completed its draft of standards through which the human rights of Indigenous peoples can be preserved. This historic human rights instrument is now being considered at the Commission on Human Rights. Currently, opposition to fundamental principles of self-determination and group rights contained in the Declaration on the Rights of the World s Indigenous Peoples are delaying its passage. Only in standing firmly behind the Declaration and in solidarity with these basic human rights can the United States honestly claim its role as a human rights leader. Supporting human rights standards is not always easy. It requires sacrifice. Our people know this. But, the Lakota Nation will have justice in the eyes of the world. We would call on the United States and your administration to live up to its own principles. It is time that Americans are honest with themselves and the world on human rights. We urge you to apply the same standards to our people that are enjoyed by the rest of the world s peoples. Support the Declaration and advocate for its standards.
Sincerely,
Tony Black Feather
Spokesman
TBF/kl