Lakota Sioux Indians Withdraw Treaties Signed With U.S. And Declare Independence And Form Own Nation

I hate to quote from Fox News, so I am quoting instead a Turkish new site that picked up this interesting story (http://english.sabah.com.tr/95885BFE6D334D0A98F484F481153EBD.html ). Obviously, the USA has never lived up to its treaties with Native Americans, who were disposessed of their lands and slaughtered on a massive scale. The term "genocide" springs to mind as an apt description of what occurred. My question is whether or not the new Lakota nation will have gay friendly laws and allow gay marriage. If so, they might find themselves with an influx of citizens and money and talent. After all, currently gays in the USA are second class citizens, so giving up one's citizenship would be an easier step than for straights. Here are some story highlights:

WASHINGTON — The Lakota Indians, who gave the world legendary warriors Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, have withdrawn from treaties with the United States. "We are no longer citizens of the United States of America and all those who live in the five-state area that encompasses our country are free to join us,'' long-time Indian rights activist Russell Means said. A delegation of Lakota leaders has delivered a message to the State Department, and said they were unilaterally withdrawing from treaties they signed with the federal government of the U.S., some of them more than 150 years old.

The group also visited the Bolivian, Chilean, South African and Venezuelan embassies, and would continue on their diplomatic mission and take it overseas in the coming weeks and months. Lakota country includes parts of the states of Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming. The new country would issue its own passports and driving licences, and living there would be tax-free - provided residents renounce their U.S. citizenship, Mr Means said.

The Lakota relaunched their journey to freedom in 1974, when they drafted a declaration of continuing independence — an overt play on the title of the United States' Declaration of Independence from England. Thirty-three years have elapsed since then because "it takes critical mass to combat colonialism and we wanted to make sure that all our ducks were in a row,'' Means said. One duck moved into place in September, when the United Nations adopted a non-binding declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples — despite opposition from the United States, which said it clashed with its own laws.

"We have 33 treaties with the United States that they have not lived by. They continue to take our land, our water, our children,'' Phyllis Young, who helped organize the first international conference on indigenous rights in Geneva in 1977, told the news conference. The U.S. "annexation'' of native American land has resulted in once proud tribes such as the Lakota becoming mere "facsimiles of white people,'' said Means.