RE: [A-List] Kurds

["Craven, Jim" <jcraven@xxxxxxxxx>]

Craven, Jim wrote:
>
> Response (Jim C): I agree. What do you say about the right of the
> Blackfoot Nation to form and constitute an independent nation
> state--from an existing nation under international law (covering
> territories on both sides of the US-Canadian border--that is
> Traditional and decidedly non/anti-capitalist and has no ties
> whatsoever with--but rather is under seige from--the U.S. and Canadian
> governments?
>
> We are in no way in a situation analogous to the Kurds. We are not
> supporting any enemies of our enemies as "friends".
>
The Blackfoot Nation not only has the righ but also the obligation to
reclaim its land.  I am not familiar with their history, but even if the
Blackfoot nation signed an unequal treaty with the US or Canada, such
treaty can be rejected as China rejected all unequal treaties imposed on
it by Western imperialist powers in the 19th century and recovered Hong
Kong and Macau.  The US also withdrew unilaterally from the ABM treaty.

Yours is not an independence struggle, becuase your never lost your
independence.  Yours is a national renewal struggle to reclaim lost
territory from occupiers.  As long as there are Blackfoots, your have
sovereignty even if you lost your land.

Henry

Response (Jim C) So beautifully put Henry, I knew that you see it. And by
the way, Father Constatine Scullen, the official Crown Representative to
certify the signing of Treaty 7 by the Blackfoot Chiefs, wrote, in a letter
to the Government, that not only were there no real proper
translators/speakers of Blackfoot, but he also wrote that all of the chiefs,
starting with the principal chief Crowfoot, not only refused to make a mark
on the treaty, which was made for them when they refused, they also refused
to even touch the Pen. According to the accounts of someone semi-fluent in
Blackfoot, Crowfoot said something like the following: "We have come for
peace and the right to exist, which is our right as the same is your right.
For that which is our natural right, we need not trade or bargain anything;
we most certainly cannot trade away or bargain that which no one has a right
to trade or bargain--mother earth."

Our position is not analogous in any way to that of the Kurds or even of the
Tibetans. Unlike the Tibetans, none of our chiefs and leaders kept their
people in chains while they enjoyed their privileges; none of our chiefs
kept their people backward while they gathered the skills of literacy and
other skills to keep themselves in power. None of our chiefs was unremovable
by the members of the bands and nation, nor did any of our chiefs and
leaders claim direct appointment from some kind of deity. And finally none
of our chiefs collaborated with the enemies of our enemies as "friends" as
did the CIA-agent so-called Dhali Lama.

Thanks,

Jim