Believe What You Like But Know What You Must

People are free to be consumed with contemplating their existence, their origins, the origins of the universe, supreme beings, controllers of destiny or anything else. But solving "the Great Mystery" is neither a requirement of being Ohnkwe Ohnwe nor does it provide a path to righteousness. I maintain that spirituality does not require faith or the leaps that faith requires but rather awareness. If it helps to believe that "God has a plan" and we just must have faith that "He" knows what "He" is doing, then walk that path. My interest is in taking the mystery out of life by pointing to the obvious that is ignored everyday in the midst of fanatical ideology and the sometimes not too subtle influences of promoting beliefs over knowledge. I have said it before: “beliefs are what you are told, knowledge is what you experience”. I support a culture that prepares us to receive knowledge and to live a life with purpose. I am certainly not suggesting there is only one way to do that.

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Thursday, March 22, 2012

We Need to Turn the Tables on the State and Feds

Although I have said it before, let me start this rant by making one thing perfectly clear: Our sovereignty was not given to us by a white man, another country, a treaty or God. It was not "purchased" with our land and it cannot be legislated away or ruled away by white men in black robes. Our sovereignty exists because we are a distinct people with land, history and a culture all our own.

While clearly much of that distinction has faded over the last several hundred years, that does not diminish our birthright. The recognition of that birthright is clear. The entire early history of the United States is an analysis and study of a people who lived the concept that sovereignty is not God given to a royal family but is a birthright and a part of the laws of nature and creation. The concept of an inalienable right and that certain rights are natural and that to deny those rights is unnatural and defies creation came from us. This is the concept that went into developing the US republic. Even nations who would never grasp these ideas, recognized our distinction and our sovereignty. No one, until recently ever tried that bullshit "Christian Discovery Doctrine" lie on us. All those Christian nations knew better. They treated, begged and grovelled long before they lied, cheated, defrauded or ever dared to fight our people. The problem with all those that would like to pretend our sovereignty does not exist today, is that they can't pretend that it never existed.

And this is where any legitimate claim against our sovereignty or over jurisdiction falls apart. Even with some of our distinction fading over the years, if there has never been a legal and recognized transfer of our sovereignty, if we have never signed terms of surrender or in any other way agreed to subjugation, then there can be no claim of such. The US Congress can declare us their citizens till they are blue in the face, the US Supreme Court can write opinion after opinion about quasi-sovereigns or domestic dependent nations. They can claim in even more opinions that their congress has plenary powers over us. These aren't even rulings; they're opinions. Just because a white man in a black robe offers this opinion as a lame excuse for making bad rulings, does not make it so.

In our culture only the individual can give up his birthright. It is not legal in our way to sell out our children. For those who have never quite understood the concept of looking out for the seven generations, I suggest they do some soul searching. I have news for you; they know it is all a house of cards as well.

Consider the concept of making a "treaty argument" in our rejection of their jurisdictional claims or our defense against the general application of their laws on our lands against our people. It is absurd to be sucked into a circumstance where WE are trying to prove that our sovereignty exists, or to what extent it exists or that we have this right or that right by treaty. We must place the burden on THEM to prove that subjugation. Let THEM produce a treaty that gives them these powers over us. Don't feed me this bullshit about "rule of law" when you just make this stuff up as you go along! We don't have nor do we need a "treaty argument" to establish our sovereignty or our "rights". The "treaties" gave us nothing. Some of them may have acknowledged certain already undeniable facts but they "granted" us nothing.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Far too many of us suffer from Stockholm Syndrome, my friend. We have so many that believe in the inherent goodness of their oppressor. Far too many live in denial or ignorance. Far too many live in a state of self-deprication or self-importance. This leaves just a handful to point out that the US and Canada only has as much authority over us as we allow. Among this handful, many soon realize they can live comfortable personal lives if they just allow a small amount of control to our colonial oppressors.

Unknown said...

you echo what a lot of us think and say on this. thank you for doing so :).

Anonymous said...

The treaties are more important then ever. Within treaties are guaranteed rights given to tribal members to hunt on ceded land, fish, and gather (for our tribe at least). Also the treaties have cemented our place in history as legitimate Nations to be federally recognized as having autonomy for as long as the rivers flow and the sun shines.

John Kane said...

There are no guaranteed rights given in these acts of fraud. There may be certain rights affirmed or acknowledged but not "granted". These things created the unlawful "ceded" lands. Threats, booze, bribery and out right fraud were used to create these "ceded" lands and you think these "deals" are important because we are "given" the right to hunt and fish on some of the lands they stole? Never mind that between pesticides, fertilizers, landfills, and dozens of other contaminating sources the fish and game can't be safely consumed. I think you mean these "sacred documents" attempt to entomb us in history or make us history. The entire world knows of the Mohawks(Kanienkehaka)but the feds recognize no Mohawk Nation.
By the way the expression is not "as long as the rivers flow..." it is as long as the "waters" flow. If you are interested I'll explain the difference.
You discretely point out the other problem with these "treaties". They become for the feds the defining limits of those they treated with. your hunting and fishing comment is the classic example. Hunting and fishing are "permitted as long as no one tries to support themselves doing so.