Native Americans, federal workers, & others are suffering because the "president" got butt hurt by an Ann Coulter tweet.
13
I realize that America has a complicated relationship with the Native Peoples who were here before the Europeans came and ran them out, and that the word "Indian" is still in use in many places, including official government agencies. Still, I think the use of "Indian Country" in the title of this piece is a ridiculous anachronism that makes it hard to take the article seriously.
5
I have had the privilege of working with many Native Americans on issues of concern to them.
While I despise the government shutdown, this article really involves a much more profound subject.
Government policies for well over a century have shamefully created a culture of dependency on sovereign Indian lands that were initiated to control Native Americans and keep them ever subservient to the federal government. In other geographical areas of ecenomic depravation, education and other means to creat self suffiency are rightfully encouraged, even demanded, so people can improve their economic and social situations.
Yes, casinos have enabled many sovereign nations to improve their economic status, but that cannot and should not be used as an excuse for fundamental government policy which so severely misserves the needs of native people.
Poverty, abuse and alcohoism remain
scourges on native lands.We have miserably failed the first people and our policies continue to relagate them to the most neglected sectors of our society.
12
I would really like as an addendum to this article a how to help Native American's and where one can send funds to help.
8
How many times has the U.S. government broken treaties with Native Americans. Treaty obligations must be maintained as written under any circumstances. That's why they are called treaties.
10
What a disingenuous article. How about a balance where you show the devastation on border reservations due to illegal immigration and a porous border. How about an article detailing how reservations are mandated to use limited resources treating illegal immigrants as soon as they step foot on border reservations. How reservations must use limited resources to protect their borders. Or how about an article detailing how drug cartels use remote parts of border reservations to store drugs and use violence against legal residents. Or how they have flooded drugs on the reservations and recruit desperate young residents. As a person of Native ancestry I am offended and tired of people trying to use Native Americans to justify open borders. It is also offensive to suggest that all indigenous people of the Americas are the same and never had borders. That is historically inaccurate and racist.
9
Got it, but is this really about the Native Americans, or the Times’ anti-Trump crusade? I've never seen this group mentioned before.
3
"Only to the white man was nature a wilderness and only to him was the land 'infested' with 'wild' animals and 'savage' people. To us it was tame, Earth was bountiful and we were surrounded with the blessings of the Great Mystery." Black Elk, Oglala Lakota Sioux (1863-1950)
The second day of a new year, 2019. So little has changed yet much harm has been done. If there truly are 'savage' people, let them be counted in the corridors of leadership that continue to forge the chains of bondage and oppression under a false flag of MAGA.
10
It’s always the country’s most vulnerable that suffer the most.
6
the blame and the shame belong to Mr. Trump who said he was "proud" to claim the shutdown as his own, no matter what he said later on. Previously, he has said there's "nothing wrong" with a "good" shutdown.
Here we have clear examples of what is wrong with any shutdown. Fragile people don't get the services they are promised nor do government employees get paid, causing ripple effects throughout the economy.
Mr. Trump's idea of the "Art of the Deal" is to bully others until they give in to him. Not. This. Time.
8
The result of permanent welfare is permanent dependency.
6
As an Australian with a son living in the USA, once again I am gobsmacked at the lack of power your people have. A shutdown would never happen here because a dangerous corrupt manic like Trump would have been thrown out months ago. However even on the off chance a shutdown did eventuate there would be such a huge public outcry the government would be too scared to let it continue. The difference is we have a social security system that may not be perfect but sure helps looks after the most vulnerable, and I’m proud to help fund it with my taxes.
8
They are sovereign nations are they not?
3
But, but what about the illegal immigrants?!
Are not they receiving free medical care at the border?
Think about how wrong this is.
2
Trump makes life horrible for workers while Melania glows at Mar a Lago $1000 a ticket party. Tell me again how GOP cares for America. Ray Sipe
12
Impacts differ - unlike our Congressmen and Senators, Native Americans cannot get a Michelin "4 star" meal for free at the "K-Street Soup Kitchen".
7
Have them go down to our southern border to receive free medical care as is currently being offered to illegal entrants.
5
Some things never change. Those who were on this continent before we Euro-Americans showed up get the short end of the stick again. Disgusting,
6
If this shutdown continues, the Native Americans have every right to grab their land back, and pick prime real estate to occupy!
2
At this late point in America's history why is the US government treating First Peoples tribes like dependent children? The time for sitting down hashing things out and settling up was long ago and should not be put off further.
The descendants of the tribal peoples displaced by settlement should get a fair settlement, but the ridiculous and long outdated treaties should be retired and these "nations" shuttered as legal entities. The day these people thrive in America is when they are no longer raised with expectations of handouts from Uncle Sam.
4
If his past behavior is any indication of future actions, Trump will likely refuse to make any back payments and tell these workers they can just sue him.
2
Native Americans are always an afterthought to the liberal left until they can be used as a political pawn. The reality is that most tribes are self sufficient these days, having weaned themselves from the government teat from their very profitable casinos. Most NAs want nothing to do with Washington, based on the inhumane treatment they received from said government.
3
@cjhsa Pardon my apparent ignorance, but from what deep reservoir of anger does this nearly reflexive blame of "liberals" come from, such that every issue becomes yet another opportunity to use a broad claim against everyone you label as liberal? What does liberal mean? Did you bother to read the article? I would, possibly erroneously, assume that even "conservatives" would find it wrong for the federal government to renege on promises made under treaty, in this case leading to real privation among those affected. I guess this defines liberal vs. conservative for you, but this does not fit with my perspective on our country today. Also, I was not aware that most Indian tribes run profitable casinos. Is it really most?
7
Are the White House and Congressional bathrooms still being cleaned? I think that should be cut, along with heat in those buildings. Sadly, I bet the Democrats give in to this stupid waste of tax dollars wall, because Trump cares about no one, but himself and his family. He wouldn't care if the Indians starved and froze to death.
15
This and many tribes have a Casino, a gift from the government. They get free per cap money, free health insurance, grants to build buildings, and still they are feeding from the public troughs. Indian tribes with casinos should support themselves and get a job at the casino.
Kewadin Casino - The Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians Official Web Site
https://www.saulttribe.com › About Us › Kewadin Casinos › Contact Info
Kewadin Casino. Address: 2186 Shunk Road Sault Ste. Marie MI 49783. Email: [email protected]. Phone: 1-800- KEWADIN.
6
Don't be a vulture! There are loan sharks waiting to prey on these people, and even if their tribe has a casino it's no help if the roads aren't plowed and they can't drive to them. Is the casino going to use its proceeds to fund community medical care? Will it share funds with tribes whose lands are too remote to make tourism a viable option?
The U.S. Fed made a treaty with these people, the good land for funding, and we need to hold up our end.
3
Considering that the US government made treaties with sovereign American Native tribes to help create the US as we know it today, no one of these things are FREE. We are paying for them. And the historical treatment of Native Americans by the US has been very mixed with mostly being lousy. So hardly FREE.
5
I think we need to pass a new amendment to the Constitution that requires that the government must remain funded at all times, and if the members of Congress cannot do so because of circumstances under their own control they shall forfeit their right to reelection.
11
Where is Elizabeth Warren? And I'm being completely sincere. She basked in the warm glow of her family legend all her life. But the people she was mythologizing are here in the present now, and they could really use a powerful friend in Washington. So where is she?
10
@Patricia - Senator Warren, of the state of Massachusetts is, like every other Senator, in Washington DC at the opening of the Senate. If she were the Senator from California, or Senator from Oklahoma she would still be in Washington, DC. But we know that you're asking such a self-evident question. You're trying, ineffectually, to suggest that Senator Warren is a fabulist incapable of doing her job. You need more practice.
3
I didn't mean where is she located physically. She can issue a statement from anywhere. She's not present verbally. But Kamala Harris is on it already.
2
The absolute worst time of the year for this to happen. Snow and bitter cold throughout Navajo and Hopi lands here.
Just like Indian Country, the rest of the world is also learning that this country's word means nothing under this administration. But their alternative facts don't put wood in the stove, food on the table or treat a sick child. Here or in Yemen.
They just keep their plump hosts at Fox News happy.
103
@Lou Good
The tribes did not negotiate "treaties with the United States government guaranteeing funds for services like health care and education in exchange for huge swaths of territory” in perpetuity, as the article asserts. Nearly all treaties between Native American tribes and the United States obligated the United States to pay annuities only for a specified time, after which the tribes were supposed to become self-sustaining. The Chippewa treaties are no exception.
Signed in 1867, the most recent treaty between the Chippewa and the United States obligated the United States to pay the Chippewa total annuities of $45,500 for 10 years, or for as long afterward as the president deemed necessary.
The obligatory Chippewa annuities expired in 1877. What they get now is a form of welfare. The federal government decides to allocate about $20 billion a year to Native American tribes, but very little of it is money “owed” to tribes as treaty obligations. It is welfare.
14
@William Case
Interesting. Our government considers these welfare payments to Native American Tribes as "non-essential" while the other welfare payments such as Social Security to rest of the Americans as "essential".
15
@William Case
Rather than view money and services as welfare, I see it as (woefully inadequate) restitution or recompense.
18
Sickening to the core, the government stole the livelihood of The Native Americans - and continues unabated..
10
Republicans have greatly reduced the number of voting locations in Native American communities. After this, they'll probably eliminate them altogether ... while at the same time taking federal workers off the voter registration rolls.
8
It is insane that our government shuts down and turns an annual budget negotiation into an exercise in political blackmail and extortion.
How about we amend the Constitution so the members of Congress aren't paid and must stay at the Capital (receiving food delivered by the nearest prison kitchen) and sleeping on the House and Senate floors until they finalize a budget?
Millions of Americans are hurt by this shutdown.
I'm about 80 miles away from the Navajo Reservation (visiting relatives in Flagstaff, AZ), and there have been two snow storms in the last five days and it is bitterly cold.
The average annual income on the Navajo Reservation is around $20,000. 1/3 of people live in 3rd World conditions with no electricity or running water.
It is beyond shameful that we keep having shutdown after shutdown.
Please contact your representatives and demand an end to this manufactured crisis that is unique to the USA.
20
I would get the idea that this article is intended to generate sympathy for those affected to the shutdown. I consider myself to be left of center, but even I can't help but wonder why tribes need hand and receive handouts in this day and age?
Yes, things need to made made right for the wrongs committed hundreds of years ago, but how long must the handouts continue? I sure would prefer to see resources go towards better educational and job training , or entrepreneur support programs to help people help themselves.
Shining a light on this isn't going to stir compassion in the hearts of republicans. It's going to enrage them.
15
@Steve. Read the article. This is not about "need". Rather it is a contractual agreement the federal government made with tribes. If the feds are unhappy with these treaties, that promised native Americans support in perpetuity, they are free to try to re-open negotiations to alter them.
18
@Steve Hundreds of years ago? Their situation is still pretty grim. Visit the Grand Canyon. Drive out the east entrance and look at what the tribes were given to live on. Drive south out of Grand Teton and see the contrast in places like Fort Wakashie and Lander. Literally "the other side of the tracks".
6
@Steve. Actually all these treaties need to be revisited. There is a reason Native American tribes in North America are refusing to take DNA tests. Many are the descendants of Europeans pretending to be Native or Natives mixed with European and only married other Europeans. Often these treaties barred from reservations any persons who were of mixed tribal ancestry or mixed with African ancestry. It is why many of us who are truly Native American but don't belong to one tribe can still prove our ancestry to this day with DNA tests while they refuse to take the test. These treaties were formed with bigotry at a time when it was legally accepted and need to be challenged.
4
Alright...without sounding too callous, the disposition of money we send to foreign nations doesn't seem to rise to the same level of urgency as the money that's due to all of our own domestic programs.
11
Maybe Native Americans should file a class action complaint against Trump for unlawful discrimination, based on the fact that shutting down the government has had a disparate impact on this particular minority group.
15
They should do whatever they did when Bill Clinton shut down the government for 3 weeks.
1
This is typically deplorable despicable white European Judeo- Christian American supremacist evil inhumane corrupt greedy cowardly mistreatment of the heirs of the victims of the most evil illegal immoral migration in American history.
The aboriginal first Americans were 500 nations strong pioneers whose land was invaded and occupied by uninvited colonial imperial " civilized" people who stole their land, natural resources and lives. Nikki Haley and Bobbie Jindal are not American " Indians. Ivana and Melania Trump are not even natural born legal American citizens.
13
@Blackmamba
Thank you for speaking the truth. Stereotyping races of people is a positive thing if it supports liberal policies. Otherwise I think stereotyping is the embodiment of evil.
What a disgrace...the US has a habit of mistreating the most vulnerable.
13
Another horrible result of the stupidity in Washington. Nevertheless, wondering how much of the untaxed trillion dollars that the tribes make each year from gambling is contributed to the Indian nation as a whole.
3
@Mark There isn't "the Indian nation, " there are many, many sovereign nations with which the US signed treaties, in perpetuity. Most of which have no involvement with gambling / casinos.
8
Trillions.. Seriously!! Did you flunk math and history in High School? Total federal tax revenue is just 3.3 Trillion. Total lottery sales (all 50 states) is only about 75 Billion.
Tribal Indians are dirt poor literally.
3
@Mark. Your point? (if any)
I read another headline about Trump reminding Romney that he lost the presidency. Now this story. You have my condolences United States of America, Trump is a loser, jerk, ugly excuse for human being & being president has only proven that to the world.
11
It's hard to swallow if you have looked long enough at our dastardly national disgrace regarding centuries of shafting of our Native Americans.
8
@Dart I would dare say, they are not 'our Native Americans,' rather others would be considered 'Their (the native's) EuroAmericans.'
The NYT did not mention that the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Michigan, of which Aaron Payment is the chairman, owns and operates five Casios in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Kewadin Casinos pay no corporate or federal income taxes and are the largest employer on the UP of MI. All of the net receipts of the casino go directly into tribal accounts for their use. While the government shut down no doubt makes life less convenient for the Chippewa Tribe, they certainly have the means by which to take care of themselves until the mess in Washington gets sorted out.
11
@Kurt Pickard Nor did you mention that the gaming compact has, in lieu of taxes, a 2%-of-net contribution to local communities, which in 2015 amounted to over $26M.
So all of the net receipts do not go into tribal accounts for their use. The law says they contribute to their communities, and they do.
12
@Kurt Pickard. As members sovereign nations, Indian casinos do not file federal tax returns. As such, how would you know whether or not they have "the means to take care of themselves"?
7
@Kurt Pickard They should also be paid in full for their land. By your logic, it's okay for big corporations, Wall Street wheeler dealers, and people allegedly independently wealthy like t* to offshore their millions and billions and not pay their fair share to meet America's obligations.
4
I have spent a lot of time in the tribal area in Sault Ste. Marie. If they are getting $100k/day from the feds, then I think there should be some accounting by the tribe. As far as I can see, the tribe lives in poverty. They built some homes across from the casino in Sault Ste. Marie maybe 15 years ago and they are junk. They did build a few new buildings over the past few years for clinic services. However they own a casino there (and others elsewhere in Michigan), which are marginally maintained and provide jobs. There are also other employment and educational opportunities locally. At some point, you have to ask yourself what the tribe is doing with these vast sums of money because it doesn't appear it's trickling down to help the individuals.
21
@Julia Seems to be the America way doesn't it?
1
These government shut downs affect the most vulnerable and other relatively less powerful groups more than the well off and more privileged. We allow TSA to operate but close National Parks. We stop payments for certain essential services and not others. If you want to end this partisan bickering, when funding ends, actually shut down the departments affected. When airplanes stop flying, when borders are closed to American citizens, when the courts are closed, when corporations and contractors are told to stop their government projects, Congress and the President will take these issues more seriously.
7
so operating the national parks is as essential as the TSA? so public entertainment (that's what the national parks are) is as essential as public safety? what am I missing here?
2
@bored critic An argument can be made that our national treasure shouldn't be trashed while government sits it out. That's a waste of resources. Granted, the national monuments and national parks should be closed until the shutdown is sorted out in an effort to preserve nature and resources because at this point, people are in fact doing very bad things to the environment while not being penalized for it.
2
@bored critic. A number of studies have shown the TSA to be largely ineffective at a very basic level, e.g., finding contraband in passengers' carry-on effects. Second, ask a random sample of passengers who travel by air and they will tell you most TSA agents serve only to harass passengers.
The tribes did not negotiate "treaties with the United States government guaranteeing funds for services like health care and education in exchange for huge swaths of territory” in perpetuity, as the article asserts. Nearly all treaties between Native American tribes and the United States obligated the United States to pay annuities only for a specified time, after which the tribes were supposed to become self-sustaining. The Chippewa treaties are no exception.
Signed in 1867, the most recent treaty between the Chippewa and the United States obligated the United States to pay the Chippewa total annuities of $45,500 for 10 years, or for as long afterward as the president deemed necessary.
The obligatory Chippewa annuities expired in 1877. What they get now is a form of welfare. The federal government decides to allocate about $20 billion a year to Native American tribes, but very little of it is money “owed” to tribes as treaty obligations. It is welfare.
7
@William Case. Cite your source(s).
2
@William Case please cite sources.
2
These are not just broken promises, they are treaty violations. This is far more serious then a political oops, it is a matter of law which ought to be pursued vigorously.
18
@Rodger Parsons
The payments are welfare payments, not treaty obligations. The Chippewa treaty obligated the United States to pay annuities only until 1877.
5
With jobs moving to major metropolitan areas, rural reservations are economic and literal death-traps for their residents. The goal should be to subsidize people moving from reservations, not remaining on them where they will eventually die of drug abuse or domestic violence.
@Amanda And you 'know' this, how? What particular knowledge or experience do you have that allows you to declaim how indigenous populations are permitted to live or where?
5
This explains even more how messed up ALL work in the US is right now. This has been going on for generations. When are we going to admit to ourselves that WE'VE been rigged. Rigged to fill certain roles, rigged to perpetuate certain stereo types, rigged to constantly be "mad" about some nebulous injustice.
Start reading the NY Times obituaries to get the real story about why things are the way they are in the US. It reveals so much.
4
For any President (or showboat Texas Senator) to be able to shut down all or any part of the federal government is ridiculous, especially when it is used as leverage in negotiations. Would it take a Constitutional amendment?
2
Trump never pays a debt if he can find a loophole to worm his way out from under his obligation. He and his (Born in Europe Before They Stole) America (From It’s True) First (People) fanboys are probably delighted at the hardship they are causing to Natives. How did laughing at deliberate cruelty done to children and their families become an “America” value?
6
Never sign a treaty with the US government. It will not be honored by the land of the unbrave.
8
Why isn't the Federation of Indian Casinos stepping up and doing something? Why can they donate food and pay for medical care? They have hundreds of millions in their coffers-- Some tribe members receive over $7000 a month in casino royalties -- There is plenty of money out there to weather the storm.
6
I was just at the Grand Canyon and felt saddened for the international tourists because the visitor center was closed. Thanks to your article I now realize how much pain this shutdown is causing Native Americans. Thank you.
5
I'm sorry but the only person trump cares about is trump.
11
Native American tribes should sue the federal government for breach of contract, which is what the failure to provide services to them is. I hope they sue the bejesus out of the government --- and win --- AND it should be illegal for the government to "shut down", in any case. We are ALL paying for the government to run. Please pass a law that prohibits "shutting down" the government. Holding the American people hostage to push one's political point is appalling.
28
Maybe Trump could fund a disease ridden blanket program for the reservations. But Ann Coulter and Laura Ingraham have probably already proposed that.
8
For all of us who have been affected by this latest temper tantrum of Individual 1 in the White House: remember this and vote Democratic in 2020! This shutdown is an egregious display of ego and nothing else.
20
these same things are happening to all low income people in this nation right now..why is it more important when it happens to native americans?
3
It's not "more important," it's just especially *shameful* when the descendants of invaders treat the brutalized and oppressed descendants of the invaded with even less care and decency than is usual.
11
While your’s and my ancestors probably had a tough time getting to the US and most likely suffered xenophobic discrimination once here that’s nothing compared with being systematically dispossessed, murdered, and lied to repeatedly. The rest of us owe something to the survivors, maybe just health care and education if that’s ok with you.
13
It's perhaps no different in its effect, but it certainly differs in that the federal gov't is legally obligated to be making its payments to the tribes, but is defaulting on that obligation.
6
More broken promises to the Native American people. The Government has broken promises and treaties for decades and continues to do so today. Shameful beyond words.
175
@Jacquie - gee maybe they ought to start taking care of themselves instead of looking to the government to do so. how does all that casino revenue get spent anyway?
4
@Jacquie The Europeans who immigrated to this continent broke promises with the Native people ever since they first set foot here. Research the Pequot War in 1636, the Trail of Tears in 1836 ordered by one of Trump's heroes- Andrew Jackson who refused to honor a Supreme Court decision that granted autonomy to Native people. The massacres of the Lakota in the late 1800's.
And to @pierre: Have you ever been to a reservation? I suspect you would have difficulty seeking a living from the land we "reserved" for what few Native people survived the government's atrocities.
39
@pierre Go to the Rosebud or Standing Rock, figure out how to make them prosper, and then get back to us on how to do it.
Hint: casinos aren't a lot of good without a large population of customers nearby, and a Chumash casino near Santa Barbara doesn't do anything for Sioux in the Dakotas. Also, it's tough to make a living farming arid country without having the water rights and infrastructure for irrigation.
11
Question: If the US Federal Government fails to uphold its obligations as outlined in the treaties with various First Nations, isn't it in breach of contract, and doesn't that mean the affected tribes can sue for resumption of services and damages? I somehow doubt that any of these treaties has clauses in it that specify that the Federal Government can withhold agreed-upon services due to a budgetary dispute in D.C.
22
Obscene. Trump signed into law a Republican tax bill that makes the rich richer and exacerbates income inequality.
And now this.
Years ago, my mother, a member of a federally recognized Indian Tribe, said that this country is becoming like one in Central America, where all the wealth and land is held by a handful of powerful people and the rest of us, including all Americans, no matter their ethnicity or race, will be the poor masses.
Well Mom you, as usual, were right. The Temptations, however, were wrong when they sang in the their classic "Ball of Confusion" : "...and the only safe place will be on an Indian Reservation."
9
Basically it's like this: theNative American tribes are deprived from federal services (however unfair the treaties are, the payments and services are owed to them regardless of POTUS mood swings) because the descendants of European immigrants argue about financing of the wall to keep non-European migrants from entering this country. As Snyder pointed out, South and Central American migrants can not be denied entry and settlement in the US: the Catholic Discovery Doctrine which "legalized" the colonization of Americas no longer protects the government of the United States. US is no longer a domain under a Christian King. So if we insist on the wall and other restrictions to settlement of migrants, then the Doctrine is void, and the lands should be handed back to the indigenous people. Then they would not need federal handouts - they can just charge rent.
16
Trump and his mob buddies and supporters don't care about Native Americans!
All they are about is anything for prophets, and white nationalism.
More neglect. More atrocities. What Native Americans have had to endure since the founding of Jamestown in 1607, is an abomination. Yet these people are still with us. If you have a soul you should be ashamed like I am. No one deserves having to live as these people do. Shameful, absolutely shameful.
4
Fund real border security.
Feed and provide health care to Native Americans.
Surely we should take care of our own before letting in the rest of the 9 billion people on the planet (as hard a concept as that seems for Democrats).
6
Hey Frank, here are some ideas on helping our own:
1 Universal health care
2 Take better care of the air you breathe and the water you drink
3 Get in tune with the science on global warming
4 Treat addiction as a medical problem rather than a lifestyle choice
5 Guns allowed in the hands of grown up stable adults
5 A whole lot more improvement on infrastructure. You know like that Big Dig tunnel we paid for you to drive you vehicle (of whatever size) through
16
Apparently this “news report” was meant to generate ire. The shutdown was for all non-essential services. It would appear support of these services to our Native Americans should be considered essential. Kudos to the NYTs for reporting on this. However, contrary to most of the comments, I do not believe Trump is sitting in the White House rubbing his hands together and thinking,” I finally got those Indians”. The shutdown has some unfortunate consequences and why it is not the preferred way to govern. Not having adequate border security for the last 30 years is also no way to govern either. The shutdown could be over tomorrow if the Democrats providing funding for a wall, barrier, fence in strategic areas across the southern US. We all know that would help stem illegal immigration, and don’t give me the Dem talking point it won’t. And just by the way, Native Americans migrating across a land bridge about 10,000 years ago. There really are no “indigenous” people in the Americas in that strictness sense. Perhaps we should check their Green Cards. The last comment is a joke, by the way. Have to point that out now a-days.
5
10,000 years isn’t indigenous enough for you? SMH
5
He probably doesn't now that there are tribes outside of Connecticut.
1
In looking at the headline, I wondered what the shutdown had to do with a country thousands of miles away. Perhaps using the words native American would have been less confusing.
11
Shutdowns always affect the most at risk among us. Congress takes no personal losses - they push losses onto those whom they don't personally know. Cowardly, in my book.
6
The immigrants from the recent past are now starving and denying med care to the only true Americans.
Maybe America was last great only before Europeans came here by the millions. They sure could've used a wall!
6
Was it Obama’s fault there was a shutdown during his Presidency. I didn’t think so.
2
Trump said he would own this shutdown. There was a deal then Limbaugh and Coulter had to chime in and then Trump backed off signing it
3
According to Trump it was 100 percent Obama’s fault. We have Trump’s words in writing—shutting down the government demonstrates a lack of leadership. Also, in this specific case, Trump is shutting the government down for something he now expects but absolutely breaks a campaign promise: the American people will not pay for the wall.
1
Given the policies and statements from the Trump Administration, this cutback in services and funding to these Native American organizations and services are more of the same for Trump. As mentioned these are time-honored treaties promising funding in exchange for tribal lands and a stupid government shutdown is jeopardizing lives, health and services to an already desperate minority group that is not part of Trump's base. Shame on him.
3
The Chippewa Indians are as native as Native Americans can get, yet they aren't part of this president'e base, so why should he care?
5
You seem to forget that, even though we did not all vote for him, he still is the president of everybody in the USA, and he should care
off all the Americans!
3
This, on its own, condemns President Trump's excuse for shutting down vital services trying to get "my wall" as the snufflings of a heartless, spoiled, self-centered brat. He cares only about himself and is blind to humane thinking. Not to mention the hundreds of thousands of federal workers left hanging by the thread of his egomania.
3
This is the reality the story last week about the Wolf Point school in Montana. They stay on the reservation for federal money. Move off. No money. What would you do? What is best for your children? I’ve been to these reservations. There is not going to be any economic activity in an area with no economic activity. The land is not productive in these areas out West. It isn’t going to change.
1
The answer to shutdowns, fiscal cliffs, etc. ad nauseum is for Speaker Pelosi and her majority in the House to pass appropriations bills under regular order for the next fiscal year by May 1, send those bills to the Senate, and let McConnell and his obstructionist Republicans choke on them.
Government by continuing resolution is destroying America.
8
"A spokesman for the Interior Department, reached on New Year’s Eve, said so many people were out of the office for the holiday, or furloughed, that he had no information about the way the shutdown was playing out in Indian Country."
What a shameful, flatfooted response. The Department of the Interior, which has explicit trust and treaty obligations to the nation's 573 federally recognized tribes knows good and well (or *should* know) the impact of the shutdown on Native people.
As a tribal member, let me just say that it doesn't take a rocket scientist or focus group to understand the potential for deadly consequences in Native communities - particularly those across the Northern Plains and on the Canadian border like Sault St. Marie - where temperatures this time of year hover around 0 degrees. The Interior is well aware that this situation puts thousands of Native people in mortal danger.
Finally, Markwayne Mullin's proposal *should* have made it to a vote. Because Congress (I'm talking to you *Paul Ryan*) is well aware of its responsibilities to our nations tribal health facilities, which serve nearly 6 million tribal members.
My only hope is that Pelosi and Co. will work with Mullin to address the IHS facilities when they get back to work today. And for the record? Native people shouldn't have to beg. We should not be held hostage to maintain our health facilities and other essential services because of a shutdown.
11
Another breach of contract in a long line of breaches by the US government. In light of this contract infringement, litigation should be filed to restore native land (and all property on it) to the Native Americans who ceded it under terms of contract..
1
@Guernica
Unfortunately, such litigation would only drain finances from healthcare/education/emergency responders/ water services/etc. It would be drawn out for decades, & the indigenous peoples would still get stiffed.
It is ridiculous that payments to Indian country stop when the government shuts down. Do payments to the military stop? Do payments to deal with natural disasters stop? This is just one more affront to Indian country in a long list of affronts going back centuries. Unfortunately, I would not expect the Trump administration to care much, if at all. But many Americans do care, a lot. The tribes could put donation buttons on their Web sites to solicit donations from the public to help the tribes weather the shut down. I bet many Americans would respond generously.
2
The man stiffed his contractors and refused to pay small business operators. He hired undocumented workers and then didn't pay them, either. He walked away from his own debt multiple times. One thing is for sure: he has absolutely no interest in the suffering that this shutdown has caused and will continue it until Mo, Curly, and Larry (Anne and Laura and Rush) tell him it's OK to stop.
By the way, "rural" doesn't begin to describe the home of the Navajo Nation. Everything about this sublime place is so far beyond Trump's capacity for understanding or empathy that it reveals the vast wasteland (the nationally-supported desert of Trump's Ears) that rattles inside his head.
6
I couldn't even finish reading this article. Trump has gone off the rails. What kind of president (person) shuts down the government
and causes the suffering of so many people? I can't understand any of this. Why the American people continue to put up with this is getting way beyond me.
8
@Robert McKee Um, Obama presided over a shut down as well. How about the suffering he caused?
2
This is a shut down for something he previously promised we would not have to pay for with tax dollars. It is ridiculous.
2
If the USA was ever honest with itself about how this country was founded, we'd admit that our founding fathers committed genocide, theft and fraud to steal the country from the people who were already here.
Europeans who started arriving here in the 1600s were the original illegal immigrants, and they embarked on a deliberate campaign to starve, poison, sicken, slaughter, and wipe out the Native Americans and the ecology and native animals too.
Our founding fathers and all their minions over the years committed one of the worst atrocities humans have ever committed.
And with Trump's government shutdown, the atrocity continues.
6
This is horrid. When will we ever stop harming our Native Americans? I live in Utah and have a very good idea of how quickly things can deteriorate on the reservations here.
1
In one corner trump making money off a position that is looking more and more like it was the result of chicanery with Russia, a rich GOP concerned only about themselves - and in the other normal Americans and the American Indian tribes concerned about basic necessities.
Nauseating.
If you don't make huge contributions to politicians and you don't vote, then the government doesn't care about you one bit. Native Americans don't have the money to bribe politicians, unless they want to build a casino, and politicians do all they can to prevent them from voting. Their suffering during the shutdown will go unnoticed.
Thanks for this important story! With every shutdown, too much of the reporting focuses on national parks and museums -- which gives the impression of US-government-as-DisneyWorld, and I'm afraid that just reinforces the Tea Party/Freedom Caucus idea that government is superfluous and needs to be 'blown up'... We need to be reminding our fellow citizens of the Civics 101 concept that Government Is a Good and Useful Thing: that we pay in our taxes so that our society as a whole -- the indigenous and the needy, but also everyone who uses public roads, has kids in school, or collects Medicare -- receives necessary services that benefit us all as a collective...
19
This article is very informative. This shutdown is becoming very serious, very quickly, for many Americans, including Native American communities, where rates of poverty can be very high, and where food distribution centers are crucial, as are cleared roads and other services. I hope that the house speaker, Nancy Pelosi's brilliant and swift action on this matter will yield results. I have the feeling that this shutdown may mark the end of Trump's presidency, but the cost to many of our citizens is already tragically high. Multiple investigations are closing in. Mueller's is the most significant in the public eye, but there are many others, about 17 in all, and counting. Also, now the house will ramp up their investigation under Adam Schiff's leadership. Add to that th fact that Trump's Whitehouse is in chaos, and it is not just he ordinary chaos we have all become used to. The resignation of General Mattis, on top of many other departures, should cause incredible anxiety. Trump's presidency is collapsing, and that's what this shutdown is really about. If he digs in his heals, he will have to be removed from office. If he folds, he will be giving in, not to democrats, but to reality.
13
10 comments at this writing. That in itself gives me an idea of the concern most Americans have for our Native Tribes. The laws should be changed as other commenters have recommended so this can never happen again.
15
We need a massive restructuring of how our country handles Indian funds. Royalties for any use of their land (minerals, etc.) should go DIRECTLY to the tribes. Then the tribes should arrange for medical care, food, etc.
18
Fine but then they also shouldn’t be allowed to run gambling monopolies and should pay for their own courts and police as well.
2
It's my opinion that whenever there is a government shutdown, the first people who should incur the hardships of the shutdown and not get paid or have access to their government funded healthcare is the Congress, Senate, and president. Yes, they obviously have more reserves, but if anything, it should be a symbolic gesture for them to come to the table and negotiate a solution to the problem.
55
I agree! It would be symbolic it’s true but our President would react perhaps if it hit his wallet.
It’s a travesty that the most dependent people suffer because of this.
3
If I were a member of any tribe whose services were curtailed, I'd sue for breach of contract and reclaim the ceded lands.
Any contract is potentially void if either party breaches it's duties under the contract!
23
Many Americans have an amorphous view of life on a reservation. To many, they envision gambling casinos paying the bills.
Trump probably has this view. It’s hard to imagine him having been off-Road on the Navajo Rez dodging cows or trekking up to Bear’s Ears. To him this land is a means to an end, drilling for oil.
That mentality and lack of general empathy translates to a very rough winter for the Indigenous people. It should sadden all of us and we need to encourage their support by whatever means we can.
52
Please, more articles showcasing the devastating impact Trump's Shutdown is causing on American people.
Closing campgrounds because of overflowing bathrooms is an inconvenience but we should be highlighting the personal stories of those essential employees, TSA agents and Border Patrol agents,
who are scrambling to pay their bills while Trump
sits in the WH and complains about missing a party at Mar A Lago.
45
Both as a physician with significant Seneca patient-base and as a human being, this is infuriating. If ever there is an example of institutionalized racism in America at its worst, look at the federal government's treatment of the the Indian Health Services/Indian Affairs vis-a-vis the Department of Veterans Affairs. Trump is plenty foolish, but even he isn't dumb enough to risk bad press with the vets and their health. But the Native Americans?...his comments regarding Liz Warren speak for themselves, as does everything about this shutdown and its impact on tribal well-being. I can only imagine 45's response to this article: "They did lose their lands, after all. And I prefer my Americans to be winners."
Where are the safeguards, Washington? This cannot happen Trump. Honor your treaties, America!
285
@Allentown I agree with you 100% . How can this be happening?
18
@Allentown Trump? Honor? Not in his playbook. Indians are, for the most part, living in places both isolated and insulated from scrutiny. Trump has more important business (to him) playing to his "base." They could hardly be more aptly named.
21
@Allentown As a progressive and an independent I want to point out that both political parties and centuries of wrong-doing got us here. The shut down is ridiculous and wrong -- but the treatment of our native peoples has been shameful. Was it Trump who over decades has allowed tribal lands and drinking water to be raped and poisoned? And as to Liz Warren -- she was absolutely silent on Standing Rock. It is not "them" it's us, regardless of political affiliation.
7
Were Indian Trust Fund accounts ever set right, the tribes would have so much money at their disposal and control that hiccups like this one would be immaterial.
Could the Times please consider linking with Pro Publica, and perhaps the tribes to find out how and why the disorder has continued?
Casio revenues could fund some serious forensic accounting. Where is the missing money?
17
@Lawrence. As I recall, the Bureau of Indian Affairs has completely mismanaged the trust funds that have been set up per the treaties with several of the nations. As I recall, several years ago the trusts were investigated and it was determined that the BIA had no recordkeeping system in place that could show the amount of funds collected, disbursed or the balances. A complete disgrace perpetuated by both political parties over many decades.
5
Is it a surprise that MAGA means death and suffering to indigenous Americans?
109
Could these treaty-mandated government payments be made to a trust fund so that the Native American tribes could always access the money even in case of a shutdown? Or some other solution.
28
This is Trump’s doing.
And everyone who voted for the fool.
The Emperor has no wall, no dignity, no sense, no empathy. No moral compass whatsoever.
90
I must have missed your letter talking about the 16 days that BO let the government shut down, too, during his Administration. But we both know you would never write on that. Or would you?
6
Lord God Almighty! What possible difference does the shutdown of 2013 have to do with now? It doesn't matter. What is happening right now is wrong. Americans, We the People, are being hurt over a wall. It doesn't matter who did what 6 years ago. We need to be moving forward from right here, this spot in time.
11
@Patrick Turner
Nothing is Obama’s fault. Even government shutdowns.
2
This is why Indian tribes are, and will always be, our poorest ethnic group. Completely dependent on government handouts. I understand the land for perpetual welfare bargain that was made, but this has turned out worse than anyone imagined at the time. The Indians lost their land and their ability to support themselves. If we gave them back their land and cut off the benefits, they’d likely be extinct in a generation. The best thing they could do for themselves is turn it all down, but it will never happen. It’s like opium, once you are hooked, you are hooked for eternity. Trust me, The NY Times could recycle this same article 100 years from now. Nothing will change.
15
If we took back all the land that was stolen from us, where would you live?@Rjm
46
We would have to return the whole United States. The Native Americans are entitled to everything they get and more. How about giving them access to a free college education so they can become more self sufficient in the long run.
10
“Handouts”?! They are not receiving “handouts,” nor are tribes addicted to some kind of bad deal, as your comparison to opium addiction implies. This money is deferred compensation for thousands of acres of land that the rest of the US benefits from. It is the right of native people to receive this support for that deal. And your pessimistic prediction that Native people would disappear if such support were cut off is both racist and historically dubious given Native people have survived generations of US government neglect and literal genocide. Their resilience should never be questioned by the rest of us.
20
Werestate: Your "president", Mr. D.J.Drumpf (family's real name) don't care 'bout anyone but himself. We're so happy that we are not directly affected by the silly, immature,really dangerous shenenegans going on in the U.S A.
5
And the genocide continues...
The rights and the plights of Native Americans on the reservations are of less than no concern to Donald Trump, the Great White Chief in Washington. He won't come out of his sandbox until he gets his wall.
19
These are agreements we as a nation entered into. Trump shows as little respect for these agreements as he did the agreements he had with contractors he stiffed.
All the indicators were there for us to see. We — well, they, because I didn’t vote for him — walked right into putting an amoral, grandiose, narcissist con job in charge of the world’s biggest purse.
41
Just wondering....How did native people vote in 2016? Could they tip Michigan? Wisconsin? Arizona? Of course, I'm assuming they could overcome Republican voter suppression efforts....
12
@Skier
They voted overwhelmingly Democratic, but you should read about the efforts to deprive them of their votes in North Dakota. It was disgusting.
8
Our Native American Indians already live such vulnerable lives. It is shameful, once again, how our nation treats them.
Alas, the Great White Chief in DC is not so great.
5
It is a cruel and grotesque irony that a white (supremacist?) president Trump, the son and 2x husband and son-in-law of European immigrants to this part of North America is now causing indigenous peoples/First Nations/Native American Indians to bear the brunt of gvt shutdown-caused suffering and hardship when that very shutdown is about the president's obstinance about the erection of a massive wall to keep immigrants -- people like his parents and wives and on-laws -- from entering this part of North America.
In fact it is a travesty, like so many others Indigenous peoples have suffered over the past 6-700 years and especially the last 242.
To these indigenous nations, my family and I apologize and will let our Representatives know our displeasure (outrage) at this situation.
37
@MSW. ...re Trump's 2 of 3 wives are from Eastern Europe, both grown up under Communist regimes, Melania's father was a local Communist Party leader...so they are not actually "European" in the true sense. Both women had questionable entries into the USA & citizenship. First Nation Peoples deserve far better.
Donald is on the warpath; let chips fall on others where they may, but not on the insulated idiot who tramples on the lives of others. He should be denied all perks of office, his toys taken away, and fed scraps he would have others eat.
10
Good article, but I have to take issue with the part that says the shutdown is not felt by people who don't work for the government. It is affecting everything, and not just trips to national parks.
My sister-in-law works for the health service branch that serves the Navajo Nation. She has been furloughed since the start of the shutdown. That means she will not get paid for the time of the shutdown even when the government reopens (whenever that is). She is the major support of her family. At least those of us in the extended family who have non-government jobs will pitch in what we can. But this is outrageous.
232
@Doc Yes exactly. My husband is a self-employed consulting engineer who files applications for FCC review. Today is the last day that the FCC is accepting applications for the remainder of the shutdown. This impacts my husband's work and that of his clients.
My brother-in-law, the sole supporter of his family, is a contractor with the federal government. He's out of work with no chance of being reimbursed for lost pay. His wife has serious health issues.
Another brother-in-law and his wife are both NASA employees. Perhaps they'll be reimbursed when they finally return to work, but look at the loss in productivity if the federal government pays hundreds of thousands of employees back wages for no work.
In two years or less we'll be done with this immature, self-absorbed corrupt ______ in the White House and his incompetent administration, and hopefully he'll take down a whole bunch of complicit Republicans with him.
8
I'm grateful to be from a tribe that has more resources but this is the price the feds must pay for all they've taken from tribes since this country's inception and before that.
185
@RL As a fellow tribal member, I agree, RL. But regardless of what resources any given tribe may have does not relieve the federal government of its trust and treaty obligations. Indian Health Service is an essential service to millions of American Indian/Alaska Natives, regardless of what goes on with the government.
47
This is insane. Our most vulnerable people, our first people should not be abused like this. It really doesn't matter whose shutdown this is. These services have already been paid for with land and lots of it.
Something must be legislated so that it can never happen again. This money needs to be put in the same sort of trust that belongs to Social Security. No one should be able to use or manipulate it, except to keep our First Nations safe from further poverty and humiliation.
Let's stop playing games. There is a treaty. Honour it!
302
@Alex T social security has been abused and manipulated since LBJ was in office
1
@Alex T
I agree Alex, legislation must be created to insure what money is left be made available. regardless of congressional-executive problems leading to shutdown.
4
My thoughts, only. First of all, it should be illegal for the US Government to not be funded. No matter what the fight is in federal government, there should be an amendment to the Constitution of the United States prohibiting the 'closing down' of the Federal government. It's nothing more than disgusting in year 2019 for this to occur no matter whose fault it is. Second, our codicil with the American Indian must be honored no matter what so if there is a stop in funding of the government, there must be funds guaranteed to the Indian nation. It's only right. It's only correct and it's on the very proper and decent thing to do, as American people. And that's my two-cents this morning ..
335
@rocketship
Spot on!
It should be illegal for the US Government not to be funded.
33
@rocketship
The basic issue is that the government only has the right to spend money as authorized by law. At the most basic level, the shutdown is happening because the laws allowing the government to spend money (in certain ways) have expired.
To make it illegal for the government to shut down, one would need to specify how the government should spend money when no law authorizes it to do so. Saying "just extend the last law" doesn't always make sense (you can't keep building a bridge that has already been built, for example), but that's what Congress often does, when it passes "continuing resolutions."
There's a reason why the first shutdown, back in 1995, was such big news. The repeated shutdowns we've had since then have each been a demonstration of Republicans' basic inability to govern.
30
Right you are, rocketship, and in addition to your suggestions, add that the only piece of business a new Congress can address, absent the need of a declaration of war, is a budget. Until that piece of business is behind them, neither Congress nor the White House occupant nor his/her staff nor any member of the cabinet will be paid or reimbursed for so much as a paperclip.
20
Trump needs to stop talking about "immigration" if he's not willing to consider that everyone who came after the first Americans are all immigrants.
56
@Gene
I agree, Trump needs to stop talking, period.
But the fact is will never stop.
Trump is a deranged man.
He is a lost cause.
America needs to shift its focus on the Senate.
Mitch McConnell holds all the power to allow a vote to STOP TRUMP.
Yet we just continue complaining about Trump.
10
I think that the reason there are so many shutdowns is that the elected officials and their big donors are shielded from the consequences while powerless people pay the price. I suggest that air traffic during shutdowns be limited to public aircraft, with all private and corporate air traffic denied the right to takeoff or land in the United States until the government is funded. Let the CEOs find out what it is like to fly Spirit!
65
Great idea. Wait til they need to use the bathroom on a flight.
15
"I suggest that air traffic during shutdowns be limited to public aircraft, with all private and corporate air traffic denied the right to takeoff or land in the United States until the government is funded."
Oh gods I'm for this. We shouldn't let lobbyists be coddled while their purchased Reps and Senators play games with our money. Beto, if you become the 45th President and wanna start being actually-left-wing, this'd be one great way to start!
Also, impose an automatic 90% tax on outward international wire transfers and briefcase shipments beyond 10,000 USD/month per sending person during any such shutdown. Nothing wrong with immigrants who chip back to their families, but Cayman crooks don't need to Smaug away their gold while we suffer.
8
This is the most devastating thing I have read about the Trump Shutdown. I really cannot stand how American citizens can tolerate doing so much harm just to placate a tantrum driven president and his anti-Mexican base. If the people in those Red States want to play by those rules, then as the pendulum swings Left, let them be very, very afraid. This is deplorable, what Trump's base is doing to the Native Americans.
48
And just how many generations does it take for a people to become self-sufficient?
This is exactly what happens when you rely on government to satisfy your needs.
8
@Steve Crisp It depends if you are a family within an infrastructure that is well-developed and that you can join, or if you are in an endemic situation where getting out just doesn't happen.
6
@Steve Crisp- if you had *read* the article, you would come across this sentence: "Generations ago, tribes negotiated treaties with the United States government guaranteeing funds for services like health care and education in exchange for huge swaths of territory." So... is their reliance on government services somehow different from your own?
10
@Steve Crisp
Sir--
Your comment is particularly bizarre, given that tribes **were** "self-sufficient" prior to the genocides/habitat & wildlife destruction/land grabs/culture destruction/etc. perpetrated by the likes of Andrew Jackson, etc., and that the federal government controls tribal resources in alleged **trusts** while doling it back in parsimonious treaty payments.
1
Thank you, NYT, for this article. It was a much needed reminder of how devastating this shutdown can be for those most in need of federal services. It’s a mere inconvenience for most of us, but a huge quality of life matter for others. Even more than that, life or death. Utterly shameful.
35
While I am against gambling, it's obvious why some tribes would view the revenues made from it as a hedge against the US government's non-uncommon-failure or disinterest in following local treaties.
6
This is insane. How much have we already done, out of cruelty and malice, to the Native Americans - and now to fail them yet again for the millionth time? The Bureau of Indian Affairs, and any program that benefits Native Americans, should ALWAYS be fully funded regardless of the potential for a government shutdown. If we can build that into the defense budget for DoD Civilians, it can be done for the BNA and any other program. It MUST be.
I absolutely agree with Lawrence. Anyone who dies as a result of this shutdown dies because of Trump. Full stop.
28
The shutdown is a wake up call of what would occur if there was a true regional or national disaster in this country. People are prepared for nothing, having perhaps two weeks of food and when it comes to medicine, a CVS manager told me people normally refill on the last day or week following the end of their prescription. Of course, many have "Normalcy Bias" (nothing really bad will happen and if it does, it won't last very long) and this is what often results in the fatalities we read about in the media. In these situations, the only person you can depend upon is yourself.
46
Trust me, if we had the resources to prepare with, we would. If we could be self-sufficient, we would. We can't open our own businesses, clinics, etc. without federal approval.
41
@RL
And my liberal friends tell me I can’t criticize the government. It’s always the private businesses fault.
2
@Mark
I am a little perplexed. Are you recommending that e all have food, water & medicine for two months on hand just in case something happens? I seem to remember a really nasty autumn storm a few years ago that shut down the NE including electricity in a big chunk of NYC. We didn't depend on ourselves individually, we depended on each other collectively. That increased our resilience. I believe it called the Common Good. Our Founders were quite keen on that idea - going it alone, not so much.
2
''A blanket of snow has covered the region, but roads are unplowed because federal maintenance has stopped. Many people are now trapped in their homes, unable to make the 20- or 50-mile journey to buy water, groceries and medicine, said Mr. Begaye.''
Any deaths should be laid at Trump's doorstep.
130
@Lawrence
I forgot heating oils and propane. Fuel for snow machines and vehicles.
Maybe even clean beautiful coal.
4
Harry Barnes is a guy who deserves a NYT profile. Seriously. I have never met a more charismatic tribal leader.
27
Thank you for a well written article that calls attention to an important issue. I appreciate you highlighting that this is a US government obligation to the Native American people, not an entitlement program. As one of the Native American leaders pointed out, these services were prepaid with millions and millions of acres of land. As as side note and still important for folks to understand is that while funds have stoped now due to the shutdown, health services to this population have been underfunded for years leading to some of the worst health disparities in our country.
161
^^ yes, exactly. The IHS I went to growing up is 50mi away from the nearest fully functional hospital- no 24/7 emergency care, rarely an MD on staff, and absolutely no OB care so good luck if you're in labor or have another medical emergency. This is the norm nationwide with too few exceptions.
22
@Joseph Very good points, but I would like to also correct one point in that entitlements *are* US government obligations and are not optional. Social Security and other government obligations are paid during the shutdown, as should the obligations to Native Americans.
32
@Joseph Of course it is an Entitlement program - the whole point of the article is that people are upset their entitlements are postponed.
It is truly unfortunate to see those who need the govt care are the ones paying the price because we have a president who is throwing tantrum.
97
Would it WERE just a toddler's tantrum, and not a racist's hatred as well. Remember, a chief idol of the co-conspirator is Trail of Tears atrocitor[1] Andrew Jackson, and he defames Pocahontas by routinely using her name as a schoolyard insult.
A Warren win of the 45th presidency over the NOT-my-president could only be sweet justice—never mind how she'd improve all our rights against megacorps.
[1] There seems to be no word in (online) dictionaries for "one who commits an atrocity". Let's fix that!
13