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Guttermouth's avatar

The reservation system is slow-motion extinction and a reflection of a centuries-old lack of political will to do one of two things:

1) Make designated Indian territories fully sovereign nations with the powers (and responsibilities) to figure out their own shit.

2) Make those with tribal claims to Indian territories and identity regular American citizens with no positive or negative special status, designate their land privately owned that they can do whatever they want with under law like everyone else, and finally end their status as existing in a limbo-state of half-assimilated descendants of conquered people.

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Johnny truthseeker's avatar

My understanding is that since the reservations operate outside of American jurisdiction on lots of matters, the people suffer under corruption from their leaders.

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Holadios's avatar

Sounds like unions.

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Guttermouth's avatar

Yes. While there are certainly good ones, tribal councils have basically no oversight and are the first stop of all cash going into or out of the reservation ecosystem.

Read up on "tribal roll purges" for a typical example of how this corruption usually works.

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