KETV Omaha: Tribe Demands $500M From Beer Makers

[OmahaBlueDog]

57. I realize this is poor form, but I want to comment on the hidden post

I have a hunch that MEGONE is someone with whom I am familiar who resides out in Western Nebraska - someone who is just a little to conservative for DU.

I have two thoughts: First, for MEGONE and the many others in this thread who have advocated that personal reaponsibility and refusing to drink is the correct approach, I post this:



This was posted on KILI's Facebook page, and there is an interesting discussion thread.

I've stated here before at DU that whatever the Government has tried to do to help Pine Ridge - it's not working. That said, even consevatives like Dave Heinneman agree that Whiteclay is a problem. Unfortunately, Gov. Dave, like everyone else, has no idea what, if anything, can be done about it.

I can't begrudge the Oglala Sioux the pittance (in relative terms) they receive from the US, as they were promised the entirety of the Black Hills by General Sherman, and then had that promise promptly broken when gold was discovered. It's hard for a people to pull themselves up by their bootstraps when the boots were stolen. The trime is on a great mass os substandard land; it's not good for farming; buffalo don't tend to graze on it; and it's not blessed with mineral resources (or doubtless the Government would have stolen it and moved them again).

People have been highly critical (with much good reason) of the role the Catholic Church has played at Pine Ridge, but the Red Cloud School may have finally gotten things right. They've put a big emphasis on Lakota culture and language, and mixed that with an academically challenging curriculum. Someone wrote that the school has been transformed from a place that students ran from to a place they now run to. To me, it looks like they are producing the leaders who may start to solve these problems 5 to 10 years from now.