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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

Ramidel Since: Jan, 2001
#53451: Apr 21st 2013 at 4:49:43 AM

Corporations established by the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. When Alaska became a state, there was a huge dispute over land rights because the state had been claiming, as vacant land, a lot of land that the regional Native associations claimed belonged to them, and there was some back-and-forth over how to settle the matter. Eventually, in 1971 and with the agreement of the Alaska Federation of Natives, Congress passed an Act that granted about $1 billion in cash and a package of about 40 million acres of land (total, counting direct control and mineral rights) to the Alaska Natives, in the form of thirteen regional corporations (12 in Alaska and one for expatriate Natives), plus about 200 separate village corporations, with every enrolled Native receiving shares in his regional company.

So essentially, instead of setting up reservations, we capitalized out our aboriginal land claims.

tclittle Professional Forum Ninja from Somewhere Down in Texas Since: Apr, 2010
Professional Forum Ninja
#53452: Apr 21st 2013 at 12:31:31 PM

And the GOP primary for Texas governor is heating up; Tom Paulken has thrown his hat into the ring.*

"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."
Achaemenid HGW XX/7 from Ruschestraße 103, Haus 1 Since: Dec, 2011 Relationship Status: Giving love a bad name
HGW XX/7
#53453: Apr 21st 2013 at 12:58:42 PM

America's bad week drags on

Three people have been injured at a shooting at the Denver 4/20 celebrations over the decriminalization of marijuana.

To quote HP: "A grim mood has gripped the country!"

edited 21st Apr '13 1:00:38 PM by Achaemenid

Schild und Schwert der Partei
AceofSpades Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
#53454: Apr 21st 2013 at 1:06:03 PM

[up][up][up]That sounds suspiciously communistic. And also like it works pretty well.

[up][up]Well, he's going to have some trouble if Perry decides to run again. Last few times, it didn't matter if the opponent was a Republican or not, there's a machine in place to keep Perry in the governor's position.

tclittle Professional Forum Ninja from Somewhere Down in Texas Since: Apr, 2010
Professional Forum Ninja
#53456: Apr 22nd 2013 at 12:24:08 AM

Oh hey, you remember that Texas fertilizer plant which blew up last Tuesday? Well it turns out they had 270 TONS of undisclosed ammonium nitrate.

According to the article, the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards Act (CFATS) requires companies/people who have over 400 lbs of the stuff to report it to the DHS in order to make sure terrorists aren't trying to get it/sabotage something.

On another note, now we know why the blast was so damn powerful.

"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."
Medinoc from France (Before Recorded History)
#53457: Apr 22nd 2013 at 12:33:22 AM

Wow, I was more right than I though when I called it "The american AZF"...

edited 22nd Apr '13 12:34:05 AM by Medinoc

"And as long as a sack of shit is not a good thing to be, chivalry will never die."
Ramidel Since: Jan, 2001
#53458: Apr 22nd 2013 at 12:51:39 AM

@Ace: Ironically, they did it that way because the Natives needed to be able to "participate in the capitalist system" if the villages were going to keep above water. But yes, it's worked out very well; the oil pipeline went through, the people living in the region got a share of the wealth, everyone's happy.

DeviantBraeburn Wandering Jew from Dysfunctional California Since: Aug, 2012
Wandering Jew
#53459: Apr 22nd 2013 at 2:10:10 AM

Homeland Security wants new fees imposed at Canada-U.S. crossings

Everything is Possible. But some things are more Probable than others. JEBAGEDDON 2016
Zendervai Since: Oct, 2009
#53460: Apr 22nd 2013 at 4:40:53 AM

If they do that, maybe the tourists visiting Canada will figure out they're in a different country?

AceofSpades Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
#53461: Apr 22nd 2013 at 1:30:18 PM

@Ramidel: That was slight sarcasm on my part, and I can totally understand that it was a way for them to actually participate in economic activity in an effective way. But somehow I think most Republicans today would go up in a fit of rage if anyone mentioned this sort of thing was working effectively to the wider audience of the rest of the US.

@tc: Yeah. Our regulations apparently suck here.

[up]That's actually a crap thing to do to all the people who regularly cross the border to do work and visit family. The article mentions pedestrians cross, for Christ's sake. And I think there are actual towns right on the border, where walking down the street could cause you to have to pay a fee!

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#53462: Apr 22nd 2013 at 1:33:38 PM

The United States has been a nation of immigrants since Day One, but each new wave of immigrants has, without fail, been reviled and treated like crap until they fully integrated, at which point they proceed to join in the tradition of treating new waves of immigrants like crap.

So much for, "Send us your poor, your tired, your hungry, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." Or maybe that's still true, but with the addendum, "so we can exploit them for all they're worth."

edited 22nd Apr '13 1:34:18 PM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Midgetsnowman Since: Jan, 2010
#53463: Apr 22nd 2013 at 2:00:57 PM

[up]

Not to mention its the same argument every time.

"so and so group doesnt integrate like the last one, are lazy, shiftless, no good lazy criminals, and steal all our jobs"

Greenmantle V from Greater Wessex, Britannia Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: Hiding
V
#53464: Apr 22nd 2013 at 2:11:21 PM

[up] I wonder if the Native Americans thought the same of the Vikings, or the first English settlers? [lol]

Keep Rolling On
Ultrayellow Unchanging Avatar. Since: Dec, 2010
Unchanging Avatar.
#53465: Apr 22nd 2013 at 2:31:46 PM

A lot of the Native Americans were assholes towards settlers, actually. You won't read it in most textbooks, which are all about how Anglo-Saxons abused their power, but back when the tribes were more powerful than the colonists things were no flower child fairyland.

Except for 4/1/2011. That day lingers in my memory like...metaphor here...I should go.
Midgetsnowman Since: Jan, 2010
#53466: Apr 22nd 2013 at 2:50:52 PM

[up]

In the tribal defense, the settlers did kind of basically come expecting free unoccupied land.

Pykrete NOT THE BEES from Viridian Forest Since: Sep, 2009
NOT THE BEES
#53467: Apr 22nd 2013 at 3:30:57 PM

The tribes were also known to war viciously amongst themselves. Attitudes toward outsiders were extremely diverse, and political webs between them were as tangled as any Europe ever had.

Status quo for most of human society, really.

edited 22nd Apr '13 3:32:06 PM by Pykrete

Midgetsnowman Since: Jan, 2010
RhymeBeat True colors from Eastern Standard Since: Aug, 2009 Relationship Status: In Lesbians with you
True colors
#53470: Apr 22nd 2013 at 4:08:27 PM

To be fair there was a lot of "free unoccupied land" around. Kind of due to the mass deaths caused by smallpox and such. Case in point Tisquantum (AKA "Squanto") was sold as a slave and when he returned to his hope everyone had already succumbed to smallpox. When the Pilgrims came by he went "take it. At least it's better than squatting in an empty villages." sad

The Crystal Caverns A bird's gotta sing.
RadicalTaoist scratching at .8, just hopin' from the #GUniverse Since: Jan, 2001
scratching at .8, just hopin'
#53471: Apr 22nd 2013 at 9:13:32 PM

How are natives doing in states that are not Alaska? I am more aware of the First Nations situation up in Canada than of the American Native situation.

Share it so that people can get into this conversation, 'cause we're not the only ones who think like this.
AceofSpades Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
#53472: Apr 22nd 2013 at 9:57:27 PM

That picture you posted suggest some sarcasm on your part. And the answer is generally not good. My understanding is that natives in Alaska and Hawaii managed to get better deals due to having vastly different situations surrounding the acquisition of those states.

RadicalTaoist scratching at .8, just hopin' from the #GUniverse Since: Jan, 2001
scratching at .8, just hopin'
#53473: Apr 23rd 2013 at 6:06:30 AM

I post that image in response to every discussion of Native American history.

New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez earns a "fucking REALLY?" from everyone. Stealth vetoing a bill on a holiday? Classy.

Share it so that people can get into this conversation, 'cause we're not the only ones who think like this.
Achaemenid HGW XX/7 from Ruschestraße 103, Haus 1 Since: Dec, 2011 Relationship Status: Giving love a bad name
HGW XX/7
#53474: Apr 23rd 2013 at 6:08:51 AM

[up]

Hilariously ironic is that I was listening to "Power In A Union" by Street Dogs when I read.

"Who'll defend the workers, Who cannot organize, When the bosses send their lackeys out to cheat us?"

edited 23rd Apr '13 6:10:42 AM by Achaemenid

Schild und Schwert der Partei
tclittle Professional Forum Ninja from Somewhere Down in Texas Since: Apr, 2010
Professional Forum Ninja
#53475: Apr 23rd 2013 at 8:56:41 AM

And another one is out, Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) has decided to retire.

"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."

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