Several Lakota Indians, tired of having the government not live up to its treaty promises, have decided to withdraw from treaty partnerships with the U.S. altogether, forming a new country that includes parts of the states of Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming.
“We have 33 treaties with the United States that they have not lived by,” Phyllis Young, an Indian rights activist said. “They continue to take our land, our water, our children.”
The new Indian country will issue its own passports and driving licenses, and living there will be tax-free, as long as citizens renounce their U.S. citizenship. The State Department has not yet reacted to the Lakota declaration of independence.
