What do I mean by this? See, Tribal Sovereignty is basically what it sounds like, Indian Reservations are basically their own countries, accept that they don't have to print their own money. But they get to write and enforce their own laws, while developing their own infrastructure. The main problem is that a lot of tribes, including the Sioux, apparently don't get that with great freedom comes great responsibility.
For instance, when you moved out of your parents' house, you probably ended up paying your own bills, getting your own job, cleaning and maintaining your place (be it through a paid service or not), and many other things that your parents used to do for you. It seems the Sioux tribe didn't get this memo though, and they're not alone. Reservations frequently complain when the government does little to nothing for them as a side effect of their Tribal Sovereignty, and this pipeline issue is no different.
See, apparently, the Sioux do not have any idea how to pump, mine, clean, or trade for water. So when a pipeline came anywhere near any water that may somehow run through their reservation, they had and still have no idea what to do about it. The concern seems to be that the water may be either evaporated and/or contaminated by the pipeline due to heat or leaks. And, having little idea how to run a sovereign territory properly (and not much desire to learn), they decided that the only solution is to block it.
There are other options, all of which would be obvious to anyone who's ever run a government with any level of competence, but keep in mind that these people, and many other tribes, think that sovereignty means "independence minus the responsibility", so it should come as no surprise that their proposed solution is so rigid and destructive.
If I, sitting at my keyboard can propose, say, trading for clean water, building a water cleaning facility (creating jobs in the process), pumping water out of the ground, or even, you know, working with the pipeline company to seal and insulate the pipeline itself near the water, then it should be rather simple for a governing body of any level of competence, to come up with a workable solution, probably even a better one than I listed. But, again, these people have a mentality that the feds screwed them over by giving them the very sovereignty that they asked for.
This could, potentially, change for the better, but it's a mentality that they have held for so long, that I just wouldn't count on it.
And frankly, if their own lack of personal responsibility is going to cause them to screw with our way of life, something has to give, they either need to change their attitudes, or give up the sovereignty that they keep complaining about, and grow up.
But, Muh Heritage, whitey stole our lands
Well, yes, and unfortunately racism only made this problem worse. But the truth is, take a good look at human history. From Medieval Europe, to Rome, To Genghis Kahn, the Ghana Empire, and so on. What do you see? Endless conquest is what. And guess what? It was no different for the Native Americans.
They killed and conquered EACH OTHER for Millennia before the White Man arrived. In fact, Squanto, one of the most famous, was himself from a conquered tribe. Some people even think that this is the main reason he allied with the White Settlers (despite white captors mistreating him in the past), and worked with them to undermine Wampanoag influence in what is now New England, because he was mad at his Wampanoag conquerors. This is far from proven, of course, but what IS established, is that the Wampanoag had, in fact, conquered many tribes, including the Patuxet, from which Squanto came.
Mostly, the reason you don't hear about this is because a massive plague, circa 1616, wiped out most of their population, and with it, most of their history. Though, some evidence still lingers, and we can probably blame Political Correctness for downplaying it.
Mostly, the reason you don't hear about this is because a massive plague, circa 1616, wiped out most of their population, and with it, most of their history. Though, some evidence still lingers, and we can probably blame Political Correctness for downplaying it.
The point is, while the white man did steal their lands and murder a lot of their people, they were doing this to themselves long before white people arrived. Admittedly, racism played a role in some of this, but looking at human history, it's likely that all the racism did was maybe speed up the process. We were probably going to take it whether we were against them or not, because that's what human beings have done throughout history.
In fact, I'll close by pointing out that EVERY SINGLE COUNTRY IS CONQUERED LAND. There are zero exceptions to this, we don't have to like it, but if we don't accept it as fact, we will only self-destructively beat ourselves up. I mean, what are we gonna do, engage in a bloody and destructive war with all the world's governments because centuries and millennia ago, they unfairly overpowered and conquered people? Yeah..........I'm sure that'll show them..................
