Liberal Forum

At times, it appears that the most significant misfortune inflicted upon the Native Americans was not merely the appropriation of their ancestral lands, a practice that has been commonplace throughout much of human history, but rather the implementation of the reservation system. This system has perpetuated cycles of poverty for generations among individuals who might otherwise have been compelled to integrate into American society. I propose that every federally recognized tribe should have the option to either distribute the reservations and their resources among all eligible members, allowing each individual to determine their own path forward, or to establish each reservation as a corporation with its members as shareholders. In this scenario, all taxpayer funding and restrictions on the utilization of their land would be eliminated. While we cannot change the historical treatment of these individuals, we may be able to provide them with the opportunity to achieve success, or not, comparable to that of any other American.