Part III...

The United States of America has complete sovereignty over all lands, territories, districts and holdings currently understood to be part of the US. No disputed areas exist, to the best of my knowledge.

The Federal government has the final authority over all areas and territories. All Native American lands fall currently into two categories: Federal reservations or privately owned property. In the area of reservations, the Fed is the only authority greater than the reservation itself... no State, county or municipality can supersede them.

As far as I am concerned, the settlements by the Federal government over the last 65 years has been satisfactory for both parties (the various Indian tribes and the Fed)... not because I'm an expert or an authority, but because the Supreme Court of the United States said it was. The various tribes can continue to demand that certain tracts of land be returned to the Indians and tribes, and the can continue to refuse to use the settlement moneys that are growing in trust on a daily basis, in the hopes for some future settlement for past failings or violations, but I don't think that will happen.

In this instance, the status quo is where we are supposed to be. This is one of the very few time when I can say with confidence that I think Washington would have been proud of where we are today. True equality under the law is what he wanted with the Indians, and while he (and most of his successors) failed to achieve that, there is no question that it exists now.

This begs the question of whether or not Jambo's point about "legal entitlement" is where they should be. I say yes, if for no other reason than it was a ball that began rolling with treaties and agreements made between the US government and the sovereign governments of recognized and established Indian nations. These peoples have the same rights and freedoms under the Constitution as any other American, and these "governments" have the same autonomy and authority as any other political territory within the US now... be it a territory like Puerto Rico or Guam, or a district like D.C., or a Protectorate like the Virgin Islands or Wake Island... and I feel that is fine. They are responsible for the cost of their infrastructure now (on almost every reservation across the land) and take no money from the Fed for things like healthcare, education, housing, and roads. For the first time since the country's inception, they are "autonomous". They have their own industries, businesses, governments and schools. What more could anyone hope for a people, community or society?

I don't want anyone to think that the "obligation" for the treaties that were entered into by the Indian nations and the Fed are held by the Feds alone. In signing the treaties and agreements, the Indian governments took on a degree of obligation, too... and that is why they are American first, and "tribal" second. This might not be the mind-set of every single Native American on the map... but it is where I believe everyone should be, and that is what I think (I make no assumptions here, as per my last post) Ryan was asking me: what is MY opinion.