An Open Letter for the People

1894 Sioux Nation Treaty Council 

PO Box 2003

Rapid City SD 57709

 Paha Sapa

(Black Hills)

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May 27, 2021

 

President Joseph Biden Jr.

The White House 

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington DC 20500

 

Secretary Antony Blinken

U. S. Department of State

2201 C Street NW

Washington DC 20520

 

Dear President Biden,

When I was a little girl, my grandmother told me that we only talk to the President or the Secretary of State of the United States as we are a separate nation. That is why, now, as I am the Spokesperson for my nation, I am sending this to you and the Secretary of State.

In many of your speeches, you keep talking about the need “to heal the soul of the nation.” It is because of this phrase only that has compelled me to write to you.

In the first contacts that all Native American Indian nations had with the white people, we were greatly misjudged. This kind of thinking was also enthusiastically influenced by the edicts from the Vatican called the Doctrines of Discovery, and carry down to today. What the white people did not know then and do not know now is that we are very spiritual people. Our relationship with God is part of a lifestyle, not a religion. We do not even have the word religion in our language.

So when you talk about “healing the soul of the nation”, I must respond. Until the treatment that was given to Native American Indians by the United States is acknowledged and some kind of resolution is begun, the coming generations of my people will continue to bring up the breach of trust as human beings to human beings, and the soul of the United States will never be healed.

We are only one (1) of more than five-hundred (500) Native American Indian nations whose tragedy at the hands of the United States must be acknowledged and actions taken to begin a resolution for healing of the United States to begin. There is no action that can be taken, other than acknowledgment, of the many nations that were totally exterminated. That is called genocide.

Where to begin? An apology cannot do. What would you think if Japan apologized for all those killed at Pearl Harbor? Their actions at Pearl Harbor started a war until Japan was brought to its knees. They were occupied for many years by the United States, but no longer are today. Yet, we, Native American Indian Nations are still occupied by the United States to this day, often in violation of Treaties and Article VI of the U.S. Constitution.

There is a way, Mr. President and Mr. Secretary, to initiate an acknowledgment and resolution and that is through the United Nations Decolonization Committee, or the Committee of 24. As an occupied nation, we are waiting for your leadership to begin such an action.

We, the Sioux Nation, have a Treaty with the United States, the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty. In that document, it even delineates the land territory set aside for our own “undisturbed use and occupation.” Yet, the United States continues to illegally occupy the Great Sioux Reservation (all of western South Dakota) and also illegally trespass and live on unceded treaty territory in parts of North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming and Nebraska.

We are not asking for anything extraordinary. We are only asking that the United States uphold its word and honor and disembark from our Treaty Territory. This can be accomplished with the help of the United Nations Decolonization Committee. This has happened in many other parts of the world, so the United States already has examples which to follow.

Your desire to heal the soul of the United States is to be commended. However, the healing will not happen if you don’t start with healing the initial wound. That is why copies of this are also being sent to the Vatican where we have asked for the rescinding of the Doctrines of Discovery, the U. N. Human Rights Council, and the U. N. Decolonization Committee, as all are involved.

Thank you, Mr. President and Mr. Secretary, for considering this request from one of the smallest Native American Indian nations still alive in North America.

Sincerely,

Zumila Wobaga, Spokesperson

(Charmaine White Face, American Name)

cc:

His Holiness Pope Francis

President Nazhat Shameem Khan, UN Human Rights Council

 

C-24 Chairperson Ambassador Keisha McGuire

 

Sunka Bloka

The Sioux Nation Treaty Council was established in 1894 by He Dog shortly after the Wounded Knee Massacre.  It was established at a time when it was very dangerous to speak of the Treaty.   He Dog knew the people would forget about the Treaty as the forced assimilation efforts were very strong at that time, and would get stronger.  The work of the Treaty Council, to support each other and to continue to educate the Sioux people quietly, had to be accomplished underground.  It is only in these last few years that more people have become aware of the continued work of the Sioux Nation Treaty Council.  Antoine ‘Tony’ Black Feather was the Spokesperson from 1984 to 2004 when he passed away.  Charmaine White Face, Zumila Wobaga, was given the lifetime appointment as the Spokesperson by the Treaty Council in 1994, and after Mr. Black Feather’s death in 2004, she continued the work to today.