The United Nations is sticking its unwanted nose into the affairs of American governance and history by suggesting that the United States should return some of the land back to Native Americans in order to combat discrimination.
James Anaya, is an UN special rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples and making leaps that giving land back with somehow improve poverty issues for the Indian people. He seems to forget that the Tribes in the United States are sovereign and what happens on their reservations many times are based on the laws they create for themselves.
Pulling on the heart strings of compassion, James Anaya, a UN special rapporteur the the rights of indigenous peoples uses information such as unemployment to suggest that the United States should give the Native American people the land back to solve these issues.
“You can see they’re in a somewhat precarious situation in terms of their basic existence and the stability of their communities given that precarious land tenure situation. It’s not like they have large fisheries as a resource base to sustain them. In basic economic terms it’s a very difficult situation. You have upwards of 70% unemployment on the reservation and all kinds of social ills accompanying that. Very tough conditions,” he said
The issue found here, has nothing to do with a need to give lands back, as the way to solve unemployment and what he calls discrimination, because Indian nations are sovereign to themselves. According to the Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies
Current federal policy in the United States recognizes this sovereignty and stresses the government-to-government relations between Washington, D.C. and the American Indian tribes.
Also, the Indian people are able to access all the same opportunities given every other United States citizen and many indigenous people have become exceptional in their person lives as well as within their tribes. The issues of tough conditions may very well be due to an entitlement mentality and not encouraging individuals to take advantage of the many opportunities provided to them.
Close to a million people live on the US’s 310 Native American reservations. Some tribes have done well from a boom in casinos on reservations but most have not.
Certain tribes have done things for their people that have helped stimulate the economy and given their people opportunity. Many individuals have taken the steps to improve themselves and have risen above any “disadvantage” and become all they can be within their tribal community as well as within the United States.
Source:
http://www.truthandaction.org/united-nations-us-return-stolen-land-indian-tribes/
The Guardian
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