U.N. Wants U.S. to Hand Over Control of Mt. Rushmore to Native Americans

[critter - a white non-ndn person]

The United Nations is claiming that one of America's most iconic monuments, Mount Rushmore, is on sacred ground and should be handed over to Native American control. Trace Gallagher reported that the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner spent 12 days in the U.S. talking to government officials and Native American leaders. The non-binding report won't be out until the end of the year, but he concluded that the U.S. is still oppressing Native Americans.

In the Northwest, Native Americans say restrictive laws are limiting their access to hunting and fishing areas, while the Southwest tribes are concerned that mining activities are contaminating drinking water. Tribes in this area also feel that they have no control over their sacred lands including the Black Hills in South Dakota which is where Mount Rushmore is located.

Apparently the Sioux Tribe has a territorial claim based on an 1868 treaty. After Congress took over that land, the Supreme Court ruled that the seizure was not legal and the Sioux received compensation. In attempts to get a comment from the government on the issue, Gallagher got in touch with a National Park Service spokesman who said in a statement, "I'm sorry but this is happening so quickly that at this point, we have no comment."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RbRAZfv73I

[earthw7]

wheres the like button

[Pono Aloha]

Well, it's a proposal before the UN: James Anaya, a U.N. special rapporteur on the rights of indigenous people, completed a fact-finding mission on Friday that included meetings with a number of Native American tribal leaders as well as White House officials. His investigation led him to suggest that the United States take additional steps to repair the nation's legacy of oppression against Native Americans. He'll officially propose the plan in an upcoming report. From the Associated Press:

Anaya said land restoration would help bring about reconciliation. He named the Black Hills as an example. He said restoring to indigenous people what they have a legitimate claim to can be done in a way that is not divisive "so that the Black Hills, for example, isn't just a reminder of the subordination and domination of indigenous peoples in that country."
The Black Hills, home to Mount Rushmore, are public land but are considered sacred by the Sioux tribes. The Sioux have refused to accept money awarded in a 1980 U.S. Supreme Court decision and have sought return of the land. The Black Hills and other lands were set aside for the Sioux in an 1868 treaty. But Congress passed a law in 1877 taking the land.