An image from the Native Kids First campaign that targets the state of Connecticut.
The Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Oklahoma is defending its online lending operation from attacks by the state of Connecticut. The Institute for Liberty launched Native Kids First after the state imposed $1.5 million in fines on Chairman John Shotton and two tribal lending entities. The campaign accuses Gov. Dannel Malloy (D) of threatening the jobs and services that the lending operation funds. “This attack doesn’t just threaten this one tribe. It threatens all of them. What Connecticut is trying to do is to ignore hundreds of years of legal precedent and threatening the basic human rights of tribal people—rights guaranteed by our Constitution,” Andrew Langer, the president of the Institute for Liberty, said in a press release. In addition to a website and a social media component, the campaign has put up a billboard along a major highway in Connecticut. Langer, however, said he is not being paid by the tribe or its online partners although he declined to identify the source of his funding. Shotton is suing Connecticut in federal court in Oklahoma, saying his civil rights were violated. He also claims he is entitled to sovereign immunity as the tribe's leader. Get the Story:
Tribal Lenders Claim Right To Charge 448% On Loans In CT (The Connecticut Mirror 4/6)
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