Rebirth of a nation

PIERRE — For some it is the rebirth of a nation — for others, an opportunity to further their understanding of current American Indian affairs.

The recent withdrawal from treaties with the United States by a breakaway sect of the Lakota Sioux tribe has generated much discussion, and not just in the United States. News agencies from the Cayman Islands to the Netherlands have followed the paths of four Lakota Freedom delegates from South Dakota to Washington, D.C., to the Republic of Lakotah.

Somewhere along the way, however, communication between the delegates broke down — leading some members of the press to say a rift had formed between representatives of the Lakota Freedom movement and the Republic of Lakotah. But the dream of a Lakota nation is still alive and well, explained Naomi Archer, liaison for the movement.

Archer and Canupa Gluha Mani, one of the delegates who traveled to Washington with Republic of Lakotah representative Russell Means, said some aspects of the movement were changed without the consent of the full delegation. Means, actor and longtime American Indian rights activist, and two other delegates changed the movement’s Web site and adopted plans for a provisional government without discussing it with the Lakota Freedom movement, Archer said.

“There needs to be discussion about these things so there can be unity,” Archer said. “But that doesn’t change what happened in Washington — which was a great thing, an amazing thing.”

Archer said she is confident that members of the Lakota Freedom movement and representatives for the Republic of Lakotah will work together again soon.

“These things can be worked out,” Archer said. “It might take a while, but that’s up to the Lakota people. Liberation is called a struggle for a reason.”

The proposed Republic of Lakotah would consist of all of South Dakota west of the Missouri River, as well as portions of North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming and Nebraska, according to the Republic of Lakotah Web site.

Energy, powered by windmills and solar panels, would be free within the country, Means said. There would be no federal taxes and local communities would be the most powerful governmental entities in the republic.

The republic hopes to negotiate with representatives of the U.S. and local governments located within the five-state area soon, Means said. The republic sent out an open invitation Jan. 1 and has received one reply. Sam Kephart, a Republican from Spearfish running for the U.S. Senate, will meet with Means Wednesday to learn more about the group’s concerns.

“I think there are substantial legal questions that have been inadequately dealt with over the last 120 years,” Kephart said. “I’m not necessarily siding or recommending what (Means) is doing, but I absolutely want to hear more about it.”

The Republic of Lakotah was born from a section of Lakota people concerned about their culture’s future and their lack of rights as American Indians, Means said.

“Every aspect of our life is threatened,” Means said. “We haven’t any constitutional rights on an Indian reservation.”

Negative response to the Republic of Lakotah does not concern Means or the other delegates, he said. The group is fully within its legal rights to withdraw from treaties with the U.S. according to the constitution and Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, Means explained.

The republic has not been contacted by the U.S. State Department, Means said. The group plans to set up plans for electricity in the republic and finalize the structure of the provisional government during the next few years, he said.