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Quote by: Milton Bradley  I'm addressing your desire to dictate conditions to a culture older than your own, that pre-existed your nation, and your laws in the land you now occupy. |
hahahahahahaha that's funny. So by your rationale, no one can "dictate" anything unless they were there first? Given the fluidity of cultures and people, at what point in time do we "fix" that and say that all cultures are geographically fixed and can no longer overtake any others???
Furthermore, you show your ignorance of the actual conditions on so-called "reservations". The culture that exists on "reservations" today bears no resemblance to anything that predates the United States. Where minor nods to "tribal" influences exist, they are focused on crude stereotypes that usually do not reflect their tribal heritage. For example, the so-called "dreamcatchers" found for sale on almost every reservation, despite the fact that they were exclusively an Algonquin (Chippewa, actuall) item. Iroquois in reservations near me sell Navajo-style blankets and have murals showing
tee-pees.
If these tribes wanted to live on original tribal lands
and live in the way that their ancestors did - the point of the reservations, I would have no problem with the reservation system (indeed, I have advocated for similar treatment for the old order Amish in Pennsylvania). But I see no reason to grant them this latitude and sovereignty just so they can run casinos and smuggle drugs and generally flaunt their special circumstances.
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Why should they have to assimilate?
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They don't HAVE to assimilate, but if they want success, that is the best avenue.
And frankly, if they want to continue receiving the advantages that having a reservation grants them, they need to exhibit some reason for having it, i.e. to preserve their pre-U.S. culture.