{"id":74745,"date":"2024-12-20T13:59:31","date_gmt":"2024-12-20T18:59:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?p=74745"},"modified":"2024-12-20T13:59:32","modified_gmt":"2024-12-20T18:59:32","slug":"ryman-lebeau-native-nations-must-remind-america-of-the-truth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2024\/12\/20\/ryman-lebeau-native-nations-must-remind-america-of-the-truth\/","title":{"rendered":"Ryman LeBeau: Native nations must remind America of the truth"},"content":{"rendered":" \"Sitting<\/a>
A monument to Sitting Bull, 1831-1890, on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in Mobridge, South Dakota. Photo: Brett Whaley<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n
The 14th Amendment Means Peace and Freedom<\/div>\r\n
Friday, December 20, 2024<\/div>\r\n
By Ryman LeBeau<\/div>\r\n
Chairman, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe<\/div>\r\n

<\/P>\r\nDecember 15 is the anniversary of Sitting Bull\u2019s assassination by Bureau of Indian Affairs Police and U.S. Cavalry in 1890.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nJune 2, 2024, was the 100th Anniversary of the 1924 Indian Citizenship Act. Almost 150 years after American Independence, our Lakota were not U.S. citizens. \r\n

<\/P>\r\nNative activists, such as Gertrude Bonin (Yankton), Carlos Montezuma (Yavapai-Apache) and Henry Standing Bear (Lakota), promoted American citizenship because Congress continued to sell Indian nation land against our wishes. The Indian Citizenship Act was needed to give Native peoples a voice: In the 14th Amendment, Congress acknowledged that \u201cIndians not taxed\u201d owe allegiance to Native Nations, so the Citizenship Clause does not apply to us. \r\n

<\/P>\r\nFor the past several years, American law firms falsely tried to use the 14th Amendment\u2019s \u201cEqual Protection\u201d Clause as a sword to strike down the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act and the 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, among others, so fairness requires a public review of the American history of the 14th Amendment.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nAmerica was at war with Native nations in the 1860s: In Minnesota, the Dakota were starving while settlers poured in and the Indian Agent withheld treaty rations. In Colorado, the Cheyenne, camped under America\u2019s Flag, were massacred at Sand Creek despite Lean Bear\u2019s petition to Lincoln for sanctuary. In North Dakota, Sitting Bull and our People were attacked by the U.S. Army. Red Cloud and Crazy Horse defended the Powder River country in Wyoming. \r\n

<\/P>\r\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Ryman\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t
\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRyman LeBeau: Rescind the Wounded Knee Massacre medals\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t
\n\t\t\n\t\t\t

Until the Wounded Knee Massacre medals are rescinded, America\u2019s Medals of Honor will always bear the stain of mass murder.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

\n\t\t\"Indianz.Com\"\t\tIndianz.Com\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nOn December 21, 1866, Crazy Horse defeated the U.S. Army in the Fetterman Fight. On March 2, 1868, General Grant agreed to leave the Powder River Forts. In April 1868, the Indian Peace Commission met with our Lakota, and agreed to respect Indian lands. The Army left, so we burned the Forts. On November 3, 1868, President Grant was elected. Three days later, Red Cloud signed our 1868 Treaty, which says, \u201cWar \u2026 Shall For Ever Cease.\u201d \r\n

<\/P>\r\nThe Treaty reserves the Great Sioux Reservation, including our Black Hills. President Johnson proclaimed the Treaty in February 1869, days before President Grant\u2019s first inauguration on March 4, 1869. The Civil War and America\u2019s Indian Wars paint the backdrop of the 14th Amendment. Just as the 14th Amendment was ratified, Ulysses Grant ran for President saying, \u201cLet Us Have Peace.\u201d The Indian Peace Commission negotiated over 40 Indian treaties. \r\n

<\/P>\r\nNative nations must remind America of the truth: At its heart, the 14th Amendment means Peace and Freedom. In July 1866, Congress passed the 14th Amendment for state ratification to protect African-American Freedmen with Citizenship, Equal Protection and reformed Apportionment Clauses. Congress required confederate states to approve the 14th Amendment for re-admission to the Union. For Native Americans, the 14th Amendment affirmed Native Peoples self-governed by Native nations as Native citizens, recognizing Native jurisdiction in the Section 1 Citizenship Clause and expressly acknowledging \u201cIndians not taxed\u201d in the 14th Amendment Apportionment Clause. \r\n

<\/P>\r\nIn 1866, Senator Trumbull, the 14th Amendment sponsor working to secure its passage, explained that the Citizenship Clause does not apply to Natives because we owe allegiance to our Native nations. Trumbull said, \u201cthe very fact that we have treaty relations with them shows that they are not subject to our jurisdiction.\u201d \r\n

<\/P>\r\nIn July 1868, while the Peace Commission negotiated our Treaty, President Johnson proclaimed the 14th Amendment\u2019s ratification. Our 1868 Sioux Nation Treaty says when we become American citizens, we reserve our treaty rights. In other words, we become dual citizens. In 1924, Congress passed the Indian Citizenship Act after Natives served in World War I.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nIn 1870, Chief Red Cloud told a crowd in Philadelphia: \u201cI am a representative of \u2026 the first people of this continent\u2026. You want to raise your children and make them happy and prosperous. We have children we want to raise and make them happy and prosperous\u2026. All I want is what is right and just.\u201d At his second inauguration in 1873, President Grant sought \u201cto bring the aborigines of the country under the benign influence of education and civilization. It is either this or a war of extermination.\u201d \r\n

<\/P>\r\nSitting Bull said: \u201cWhat law have I broken? Is it wrong for me to love my own? Is it wicked for me because my skin is red, because I am Lakota, because I was born where my father lived, because I would die for my people and my country?\u201d \r\n

<\/P>\r\n

\r\n
\"Sitting<\/a><\/div>\r\n
Sitting Bull is seen in Bismarck, Dakota Territory, around 1883. Photo by David F. Barry<\/a><\/figcaption><\/div><\/div>\r\n

<\/P>\r\nPresident Grant embarked on a mission to strip Native children Wakanyajea\u2014the Creator\u2019s sacred gifts\u2014from parents and families. His mandate consigned children to Government and Church Boarding Schools with the mantra, \u201cKill the Indian, Save the Man.\u201d Generations of Native children suffered mental, physical, and sexual assault by Priests, Nuns, teachers and principals in the Boarding Schools. \r\n

<\/P>\r\nBy 1876, President Grant sent Custer to attack our peaceful Little Big Horn village, killing women and children. With Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse leading us, we defeated the 7th Cavalry and ended Custer\u2019s ambition to be President. \r\n

<\/P>\r\nIn 1877, after his surrender, the Army bayonetted Crazy Horse in the back. Congress, in violation of the Constitution and our treaty, took the Black Hills while Sitting Bull was a war refugee in Canada. When he returned, the Army made him a prisoner of war, yet he fought new land grabs. In December 1890, the Indian agent directed the B.I.A. Police and U.S. Cavalry to arrest Sitting Bull. They assassinated him by shooting him in the back. \r\n

<\/P>\r\nChief Red Cloud said, \u201cWe looked forward with hope to the time we could be as independent as whites and have a voice in the Government\u2026. Our rations were again reduced\u2026. You who eat three times a day and see your children well and happy cannot understand what a starving Indian feels! We were faint with hunger\u2026. We held our dying children\u2026. The Government sent the army to force our people back to the reservation prison\u2026.\u201d Then the regrouped 7th Cavalry massacred Chief Big Foot and our Lakota at Wounded Knee. \r\n

<\/P>\r\nUnder the 14th Amendment, America must maintain Peace and Friendship with Native Nations. America honors the Constitution and our Treaties when it respects our Freedom as Native Nations. With respect, we call upon President Joe Biden to revoke the Medals of Honor issued for the massacre of our Lakota People.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n

Ryman LeBeau serves as Itancan (Chief) of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe<\/a> — consisting of the Mnicoujou, Itazipco, Siha Sapa and Oohenumpa Lakota Bands. <\/em>
\r\n

<\/p>\r\n

Related Stories<\/div>
Ryman LeBeau: Rescind the Wounded Knee Massacre medals<\/a> (November 18, 2024)<\/div>\r\n
Seth Tupper: Medals still on the books for slaughter of Lakota people<\/a> (January 22, 2024)<\/div>
OJ and Barb Semans: Indigenous people of this country understand suffering<\/a> (November 27, 2023)<\/div>
H.R.3371, Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site Act<\/a> (September 19, 2023)<\/div>
Native Sun News Today: Wounded Knee descendants come together on massacre anniversary<\/a> (January 4, 2023)<\/div>
Native Sun News Today: Wounded Knee descendants left out of repatriation process<\/a> (November 28, 2022)<\/div>
Native Sun News Today: Memorial ride honors lives lost at Wounded Knee<\/a> (August 24, 2022)<\/div>
Rodney Bordeaux: The truth about America\u2019s genocide<\/a> (August 23, 2021)<\/div>
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Tim Giago: Will America ever own up to its sins at Wounded Knee?<\/a> (December 21, 2020)<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"America honors the Constitution and our Treaties when it respects our Freedom as Native Nations.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":74749,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,13,9,14],"tags":[117,112,600,3622,176,86,53,668,3720,980,98,220,154,569,670],"class_list":["post-74745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indian-trust","category-law","category-opinion","category-politics","tag-bia","tag-black-hills","tag-cheyenne-river-sioux","tag-crazy-horse","tag-genocide","tag-icwa","tag-joe-biden","tag-massacres","tag-ryman-lebeau","tag-sitting-bull","tag-south-dakota","tag-sovereignty","tag-treaties","tag-wars","tag-wounded-knee","no-wpautop"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/20\/sittingbull.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcoJ7g-jrz","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74745"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74745\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74761,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74745\/revisions\/74761"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}