Native American Rights. The thoughts of a leader.

Let me introduce to you, Ben Carnes, Choctaw, a leader among all the tribes, a man who has seen the inside of prison and come out to lead spiritually and politically in the struggle for Native American Rights.

The struggle of many groups for their rights has been long recognized, and the state of these groups has improved, but the Native Americans are still denied the full use of our lands, and the treaties ignored, with the Federal Government claiming possession of lands that belong by treaty to the Native American Tribes, the original inhabitants of Turtle Island, the land now know as North America, comprising the United States of America and Canada.

Our government is now also treating the descendants of the Europeans, except for the genocide, as subjects, not citizens. When they come to take your lands, who will be there to stand beside you and defend that land that once was held by my people, and now you believe you own?

The incidents of local governments using Eminent Domain to confiscate the lands and home of private citizens for commercial projects have just begun. Only a few communities have been affected, two close to each other in Texas.

Will you continue to close your eyes to injustice?

Eminent Domain defined:

Eminent domain (United States, Canada), compulsory purchase (United Kingdom, New Zealand, Ireland), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Australia) or expropriation (South Africa and Canada's common law systems) is the inherent power of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent. The property is taken either for government use or by delegation to third parties who will devote it to public or civic use or, in some cases, economic development. The most common uses of property taken by eminent domain are for public utilities, highways, and railroads[citation needed], however it may also be taken for reasons of public safety, such as in the case of Centralia, Pennsylvania. Some jurisdictions require that the government body offer to purchase the property before resorting to the use of eminent domain. The legal doctrine of eminent domain, like the doctrine of seizure of contraband, allows expropriation of property within the existing system of law. Otherwise, expropriation may imply either a criminal or a revolutionary act.