A summary of the 1851 and 1868 treaties
The Great Sioux Nation, whose real name is the Oceti Sakowin, is comprised of seven sub-nations who spoke the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota language. The Tituwan sub-nation spoke the Lakota dialect and lived in the western most portion. The Oceti Sakowin (Great Sioux Nation) occupied a vast land area that covered 24 American states and parts of 4 Canadian Provinces. Other smaller nations also lived within the area as the Indigenous concept of territory followed natural law and was much different than the European concept of territory. The people of the Oceti Sakowin (Great Sioux Nation) originated from the mouth of Wind Cave in the Black Hills. The Black Hills were so sacred that they were used for ceremonial, prayers, medicinal, and burial purposes only.
Read more: A Summary of the 1851 and 1868 Treaties
Spokesperson
Charmaine White Face Zumila Wobaga
| Hits: 1623Yesterday, when you said, “I will defend the Constitution...” then I hoped you were the right President we should approach. We are an Indigenous Nation in the middle of North America that has one of the last Treaties that were made with the United States in 1868. In Article VI of the U.S. Constitution it states: “...treaties are the supreme law of the land..” but it is like that Article has been completely forgotten in our case. So we are hoping you mean it when you said, “I will defend the Constitution...”.
Sioux Nation Treaty Council est. in 1894
PO Box 2003, Rapid City, SD 57709 Phone: 605-342-1626
Jan. 21, 2021
President Joseph R. Biden
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Biden,
Yesterday, when you said, “I will defend the Constitution...” then I hoped you were the right President we should approach. We are an Indigenous Nation in the middle of North America that has one of the last Treaties that were made with the United States in 1868. In Article VI of the U.S. Constitution it states: “...treaties are the supreme law of the land..” but it is like that Article has been completely forgotten in our case. So we are hoping you mean it when you said, “I will defend the Constitution...”.
Our Sioux Nation is almost becoming extinct. By that I mean, your government’s efforts at forced assimilation have been almost successful. There are still some of us who learned our culture and about the Treaty in secret. Finally, with the Supreme Court decision in 1980 admitting to the unlawful taking of the Black Hills, which is located in our Treaty land territory, we started approaching the United Nations in 1982. We learned of a way that our Treaty, yours and mine, could be upheld. That way is through the United Nations Decolonization Committee.
Mr. President, in our old ways, we do not have an elected president, only an appointed Spokesperson based on abilities. We also are a matriarchy, unbeknownst to most people, and I, a woman, was appointed to the lifetime position of Spokesperson in 1994 and assumed this position in 2004 with the passing of the previous male Spokesperson.
Mr. President, as the Spokesperson for the 1894 Sioux Nation Treaty Council, I am asking for your help. We, the United States and the Sioux Nation, can ask for assistance from the United Nations Decolonization Committee to help us in a peaceful manner to uphold the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty, return our land to us, and allow us to live again as the nation that God created.
You also said, “to restore the soul...of America...”. That is why I am writing to you. What better way “to restore the soul of America” than by resolving this grave injustice that was done to the Sioux Nation to the point of extinction. We do not have the word “religion” in our language. Spirituality is a way of life and we know God is in every thing. Please will you consider my request to jointly approach the United Nations Decolonization Committee and ask for their help?
In the meantime, prayers will continue for you and your families’ protection.
Sincerely,
Charmaine White Face, Spokesperson
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Sioux Nation Treaty Council,
PO Box 2003, Rapid City, SD 57709.
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Contact
Sioux Nation Treaty Council
PO Box 2003
Rapid City
SD 57709 USA
Email: cwhiteface@gmail.com
"...CONCLUSION Various historians has determined that the "Sioux Nation Treaty Council" formally formed in 1894, shortly after the Wounded Knee massacre. The Sioux Nation Treaty Council represents all of the Sioux Tribes (Approx 49 Tribes), and all other Sioux Treaty Councils would be subordinate to it, regardless of the Treaty Council's name...." See Bielecki Report pages 7 & 8, Oct. 5, 2008 (Bielecki Report)