This is our post for the holiday; please consider the plight of the American Indians as you enjoy our nation’s birthday. Remember our guarantee of freedom and liberty in the pursuit of happiness. Let us all reflect on the promise we have made to each other; to be treated equal under the law.
FREEDOM NOW!
AN ESSAY DEDICATED TO MI AMIGO FRANCISCO;
A FREE THINKER AND ONE BRAVE INDIAN!
The old line “don’t pee on my head and tell me it’s raining” comes to mind whenever I hear an Indian community claim our government has awarded them their sovereignty. We are nonplused when we hear anyone refer to their small towns and villages as sovereign nations. We should certainly be ashamed of our government for having created this fraudulent scheme and subterfuge; in order to permanently segregate the Indians from the rest of us. We should be even more ashamed of ourselves for allowing the government to continue the policy. This racist policy clearly foments resentment and discord between the races; it is unfair and un-American, and certainly illegitimate. Read more
No amount of legalese can hide this reality: BIA policy is sustaining and supporting racial and ethnic purity of our indigenous people. This is a universally codified crime against humanity; it’s often referred to as apartheid.
Since its inception in 1824, the Bureau of Indian Affairs has been both a witness to and a principal player in the relationship between the Federal Government and Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages. The BIA has changed dramatically over the past 185 years, evolving as Federal policies designed to subjugate and assimilate American Indians and Alaska Natives have changed to policies that promote Indian self-determination (From the BIA website—author’s emphasis added).
Reading this quote; please keep in mind that the Indian tribes mentioned are prior vanquished cultures that have long been subjugated. More striking is the fact that they have had U.S. citizenship since 1924. The BIA has a good grip on the subjugation part of their self created goals. No, the failure of the BIA has been with its limited policies of assimilation. Arguably, this can never be a goal of the BIA. Read more
June 20, 2009
Bucerias, Nayarit, Mexico
Free the Indians and the Country: Close the BIA
A plan to assimilate the Indians into mainstream society
Why are we allowing a rogue police agency to deny the State of Arizona the benefits of providing the sport of poker a home away from the gambling industry? Should we allow the power grab of this same agency to obstruct the tremendous opportunity for the Indians to become integrated into the mainstream business community?
All of the tribes can assist the sport by helping poker organize its affairs internationally. We must find a way to integrate the Indian communities into ours, so we can rid ourselves of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Surely, after two-centuries of racism and bigotry, our country has worn out any need to maintain such an agency with our tax money. Read more
To: Mr. Dennis Parker
Director of Racial Justice Program
ACLU Washington D.C.
Re: Ending state sanctioned racism in the United States
Dear Mr. Parker,
The *International Card & Game Players Association of Tombstone, AZ is battling with a state agency that is attempting to bust our union. They are a policing agency that was born from Arizona’s Indian Gaming Compact. An attack launched against our union, from the refuge of the BIA reservation system, drew our attention to one of those strange racist enclaves, which are scattered throughout Arizona. Amazingly, they actually appear to be trumpeting as positive values, racial and ethnic purity for the small bands of indigenous people inhabiting them. It leaves one to wonder; how is it even possible that this clearly racist institution has survived into Twenty First Century America? Read more
John Pappas is the Executive Director of the Poker Players Alliance of Washington D.C. He is lawyer and has ties to Tucson. Many of our members have asked me why the PPA isn’t more involved. I can’t answer that question; I can only speculate and encourage anyone that is really interested to email John and ask him. I have drafted the following letter in the hopes that he will provide an answer for us.
Dear John,
Since the legal profession is the ex-officio guardian of our judicial system; shouldn’t we expect it to come forward, and guard the right of the citizens to directly challenge prosecutorial authority? Unfortunately, in Arizona it appears many lawyers are befuddled by the concept. It is undisputable however; that our union of poker players successfully executed a direct challenge to prosecutors four years ago. We can see little difficulty in establishing as fact; that our union membership received prosecutorial nullification of the gambling law, with regard to the sport of poker and our right to organize our affairs. Read more