Showing posts with label Native Americans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Native Americans. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 20, 2026

The 2026 Election, 11th Edition. The only good voting Indian is a disenfranchised voting Indian edition.

 


By https://www.facebook.com/eshoshonetribe/, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=61356655

Friends & Brothers, listen: Where you now are, you and my white children are too near to each other to live in harmony and peace. Your game is destroyed and many of your people will not work and till the Earth. Beyond the great river Mississippi, where a part of your nation has gone, your father has provided a country large enough for all of you, and he advises you to remove to it. There your white brothers will not trouble you; they will have no claim to the land, and you can live upon it, you and all your children, as long as the grass grows or the water runs, in peace and plenty. It will be yours for ever. For the improvements in the country where you now live, and for all the stock which you cannot take with you, your father will pay you a fair price.

Andrew Jackson, part of a letter to the Creek, 1829.  That sure didn't come true.

Chuck Gray, auditioning for the role of adoring political paramour to Donald Trump, his beloved and dearest, and thick in the throws of turning Wyoming's voter registration roles over to his dearest illegally, is now seeking to have the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision of Louisiana v. Callais applied.  In so doing, he's sent a demand to the Fremont County Commissioners to redistrict their county commissioner boundaries to wipe out a district that was designed to provide a commissioner from the Wind River Reservation, and he's written the Governor about the legislative districts, stating; "“I believe House District 33’s boundaries need to be examined to ensure compliance with Callais” .

Let's look first at what Callais actually says which few pundits have to date.  It's a long decision, so we'll only post part of it, but that part is where the Court made its decision:

So what that tells us is:

1.  A district must have a basis in more than race.

2.  The jerrymandering by race cannot have a demonstrable impact in favor of a political party.

3.  The totality of the circumstances must be considered.

Chuck, who loves Trump more than Trump loves Trump, has made a name for himself by being a divisive asshole and this will be no exception. The over monied little man who has never really worked likes to scream and howl, but this may prove to be a mistake in his bid for the House.  A large percentage of Wyomingites do not like him for variety of legitimate reasons, and he's been taking flak from the right from gadfly Reid Rasner, to which he's flop around like a fish on a deck trying to react to, and not very effectively.  Gray probably sees this action to terminate Native American districts on the Reservation as serving his far right nut case masters' cause of bringing back the Confederacy, but he's not a lawyer and disrupting Wyoming districts, ironically in one of the most conservative regions of the state, may not go well and is not likely to be appreciated.

There's a fair chance it might not succeeds as well.

Fremont County has a voting district for the county commission that causes it to have one commissioners who is drawn from the Wind River Reservation.  That was in fact the intent of the boundary.  And it has one House District that is also from the Reservation.  The legislator who is from that districts, HD33, is Ivan Posey, who is enrolled in the Eastern Shoshone Tribe but also also has Northern Cheyenne and Northern Arapaho ancestors.

Gray, of course, is a carpetbagging white rich unmarried white boy, but this fits right into the current MAGA effort that's disenfranchising minorities in a country that's on the verge of becoming a majority minority nation.  While they aren't willing to say it, MAGA basically hopes that they can reverse this demographic trend.

They can't, and they'll pay for it soon.

Here, Gray, who isn't a Wyomingite in the first place, likely doesn't grasp that the Wind River Reservation isn't solely an ethnic boundary, but the home to two sovereigns.  So there's a racial and sovereign divide here.  I suspect that these boundaries will hold up.

They already voted Democratic, they sure will in the future.  Gray's ordering the Fremont County Commission and Governor Gordon around may not sit well with the voters, and frankly they're likely to tell him to pound sand, in which case he'll sue, and try to disrupt the general election.  That won't work.

Gray needs to be sent packing.  He needs to find a real job for the first time in his life.  Let's hope he's offered one out on Wind River.

By Elders of the Arapaho Nation [2] - This W3C-unspecified vector image was created with Inkscape . based on photo and description here, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1031311

We will note here that the GOP race in Wyoming is turning batshit crazy with panicked Freedom Caucusers concerned that the South might not rise again while one notable one is actually attacking Donald Trump.  Hardcore WFC members are supporting Still Sucking On the Government Tit Bien.  While I may be imagining it, Bien seems to draw support from the less educated and poorer sections of the Wyoming population which demonstrates something peculiar, but I don't know what.  The more likely you are to economically and personally be hurt by Bien's world outlook of no social services and hardly pull yourself up by your bootstraps, while he sucks on the government tit, the more likely you are to support him.  

It's dumb.

Yesterday, of course, we have the oddity of Rebecca Bextel announcing a completely delusional and panicky run for the Governor's office on the Constitution Party ticket.  In a more sane political structure, all of the state's Cornfederates would be in that party.  Poor Bextel thinks she's a conservative, and has this on her website:
Like many of you, I know Megan Degenfelder or Brent Bien would make an excellent Governor! I sincerely hope one of them beats out Eric Barlow for the Republican nomination, but unfortunately, history is not on the side of us conservatives.

Well, that's just deluded, but it's typical of the Cornfederates who aren't conservatives or even Republicans, but think they are.  She's going to lose big and hopefully the WFC does in general, so they can go back to Sweet Home Alabama (where Bextel is actually from) and leave the West alone.


Go home Becky. . . the Southland is calling you.

cont:

And it looks like state legislators are beginning to see the pitchforks. . .South Carolina dropped its effort, Louisiana refused the map Trump wanted them to adopt., Mississippi decided to wait until 2027.

May 15, 2026

Bill Allemand, a complete and total no go on our list, is running for reelection to House District 58.  His DUI trial has not yet occurred.  He  faced opposition from Bar Nunn Mayor Peter Boyer as well as  Democrat.

J. R. Riggins is running for reelection in House District 59.  He faces opposition from the batshit carpetbagger far right.

Art Washut is running for reelection to House District 36.

May 16, 2026

Chuck Gray is being treated as sort of an irritating toddler, which he deserves.


Democrat  Kenneth R. Casner has announced his run for Governor.  He's 75 years old which puts him in the category of candidates who are too darned old to hold, yet alone run for, office.

May 17, 2026
Let me just set the record straight: Our country is not about one individual. It is about the welfare of all Americans and it is about our Constitution.  And if someone doesn’t understand that and attempts to control others through using the levers of power, they’re about serving themselves. They’re not about serving us. And that person is not qualified to be a leader.
Bill Cassidy after losing his bid to be reelected as a Senator from Louisiana.

May 19, 2026

Controversial former mayor of Evansville, Wyoming has announced she's running for Natrona County Commissioner.


May 20, 2026

The remaining influence of a demented octogenarian narcissist on the dwindling number of Republicans proved strong last night as Thomas Massie fell to a Trump paramour in Kentucky. Massie fell into Trump's ire principally as he wouldn't give up on the administration releasing the Epstein files.

A couple of lesson are applicable here, one being that the Epstein files must definitely contain something that Trump fears more than death itself, that his unhinged rage in his demented state is getting worse, and that the declining pool of Republican voters will be more and more hardcore members of MAGA.  Everyone else has left.  This will cause the GOP to race ever deeper into fascism and its remaining conservatives to increasingly leave the party intellectually, if not in fact.

Trump's replacing adoring sycophant is Ed Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL, increasing the military fascistic nature of the current GOP.

It's a tragedy for the nation in the short term.  In the long term, continued picks of fascistic toady's increases the chances of the MAGA being utterly destroyed in the Fall.

It'll also prove to be a tragedy for non MAGA views of Israel.  Piles of pro Israeli PAC money were spent in the race against Massie.  Public views are really changing towards Israel and to see groups that back Israel dedicating such an effort to get rid of an American Congressman doesn't help.  For people like myself, who have had a nuanced view on Israel for decades, it's now really impossible not to see the current Israeli government and the current American government in a highly negative light.  That's one thing, but anti semitism is really rising in the US and by now Muslim Americans have likely realized that supporting Trump in the last election was a massive mistake.

Massie won voters under 45 years of age by 30 points. . . that says something, and not something that the GOP will like in the future.  People hate it when you inject ageism into something, but there is a real "get off my lawn" element to current politics.

Locally, the Shoshone and Arapahoe tribes are clearly not going GOP this fall:

Tribal governments denounce Gray for ‘direct attack on Native voting

And as that what we started with, we'll conclude with that one.

And so we are rapidly finalizing the political landscape.  If you are black, Hispanic, Native American, Catholic, or Muslim, the GOP has no place for you.  If you would have voted for Strom Thurmond, it's your party.

Last edition:

The 2026 Election, 10th Edition. The Setting the stage for a Pyrrhic Victory edition.Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Monday, April 27, 2026

Thursday, April 27, 1876. Shrinking White Mountain.

April 27, 1876

Executive Mansion

It is hereby ordered that all that portion of the White Mountain Indian Reservation in Arizona Territory lying west of the following- described line, viz: Commencing at the northwest corner of the present reserve, a point at the southern edge of the Black Mesas, due north of Sombrero or Plumoso Butte; thence due south to said Sombrero or Plumoso Butte; thence southeastwardly to Chromo Peak; thence in a southerly direction to the mouth of the San Pedro River; thence due south to the southern boundary of the reservation, be, and the same hereby is, restored to the public domain.

U. S. Grant

Last edition:

Saturday. April 22, 1876. The first National League baseball game.

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Friday, April 10, 2026

Saturday, April 10, 1926. "Big Business and State Socialism are very much alike, especially Big Business."

It was a Saturday.

Chesterton penned one of his observations:
Big Business and State Socialism are very much alike, especially Big Business. 
G.K. Chesterton (G.K.’s Weekly, April 10, 1926)








Quill and Scroll, the high school journalism honor society, was founded at a convention held at the University of Iowa.

Mauna Loa erupted.  

Last edition:

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Wednesday, April 1, 2026

Courthouses of the West: Donald Trump attends oral arguments in Trump v. Barbara

Courthouses of the West: Donald Trump attends oral arguments in Trump v. Ba...: That's the birthright citizenship case. Trump's going to lose this case, which will be another example of the wheels coming off of h...

Donald Trump attends oral arguments in Trump v. Barbara.

That's the birthright citizenship case.

Trump's going to lose this case, which will be another example of the wheels coming off of his administration.  His presence at the Court will not impress anyone, let alone the Justices. Trump seems to have lost any sense that he's not that impressive to about 70% of Americans.

His attendance is, frankly, appalling.

Cont (April 1, 2026)

JUSTICE NEIL GORSUCH: Do you think Native Americans today are birthright citizens under your test and under your friend's test?

D. JOHN SAUER, U.S. SOLICITOR GENERAL: I think so. I mean, obviously, they've been granted citizenship by statute ...

GORSUCH: Put aside the statute. Do you think they're birthright citizens?

SAUER: No, I think the clear understanding that everybody agrees in the congressional debates is that the children of tribal Indians are not birthright citizens.

GORSUCH: I understand that's what they said. But your test is the domicile of the parents, and that would be the test you'd have us apply today, right?

SAUER: Yes, yes. So, if a tribal Indian, for example, you know, gives up allegiance to ...

GORSUCH: Are tribal members born today birthright citizens?

SAUER: I think so, on our test, if they're lawfully domiciled here. I'm not s—, I have to think that through, but that's my reaction.

GORSUCH: I'll take the yes. That's alright.

Gee Louise, this administration is really something. 

Sunday, March 8, 2026

Wednesday, March 8, 1876. Establishing the Crow Reservation.

 March 8, 1876

Executive Mansion

By an Executive order dated October 20, 1875, the following-described tract of country, situated in Montana Territory, was withdrawn from public sale and set apart for the use of the Crow tribe of Indians in said Territory to be added to their reservation, viz: “Commencing at a point in the mid-channel of the Yellowstone River, where the one hundred and seventh degree of west longitude crosses the said river; thence up said mid-channel of the Yellowstone to the mouth of Big Timber Creek; thence up said creek 20 miles, if the said creek can be followed that distance; it not, then in the same direction continued from the source thereof to a point 20 miles from the mouth of said creek; thence eastwardly along a line parallel to the Yellowstone—no point of which shall be less than 20 miles from the river—to the one hundred and seventh degree west longitude; thence south to the place of beginning.” The said Executive order of October 20, 1875, above noted, is hereby revoked, and the tract of land therein described is again restored to the public domain.

U. S. Grant

Note how the White House was called the "Executive Mansion". 

Last edition:

Tuesday, March 7, 1876. Bell patents the telephone.

Wednesday, January 28, 2026

Friday, January 28, 1876. Executive Order—Restoring Malheur Indian Reservation to Public Domain.

I haven't followed prior Presidents on Executive Orders, but Grant seemed to issue a lot of them on the topic of Reservations. 

Executive Order—Restoring Malheur Indian Reservation to Public Domain

January 28, 1876

Executive Mansion, January 28, 1876. 

It is hereby ordered that the tract of country in Oregon lying within the following-described boundaries, viz: Beginning at a point on the right bank of the Malheur River where the range line between ranges 38 and 39 east of the Willamette meridian intersects the same; thence north on said range line to a point due east of the summit of Castle Rock; thence due west to the summit of Castle Rock; thence in a northwesterly direction to Strawberry Butte; thence to Soda Spring, on the Canyon City and Camp Harney road; thence down Silvies Creek to Malheur Lake; thence due east to the right bank of the South Fork of Malheur River; thence down said right bank of the South Fork to the Malheur River; thence down the right bank of the Malheur River to the place of beginning, except such lands within these limits as have passed or may pass to The Dalles Military Road on the north, and the Willamette Valley and Cascade Mountain Military Road on the south, be, and the same is hereby, withdrawn from sale and set apart for the use and occupancy of the Piute and Snake Indians, to be Known as the Malheur Indian Reservation; and that portion of country set apart by Executive order of May 15, 1875, not embraced in the limits of the above-described tract of country, is hereby restored to the public domain. 

U. S. Grant.

Last edition:

Wednesday, January 26, 1876. Ft. Pease attacked.

Saturday, January 10, 2026

Monday, January 10, 1876. Death of Gordon Granger.


Gordon Granger, Commander of the District of New Mexico, died at age 54.  

Granger, in spite of a career in the Army, had been plagued with health problems his entire life.

Rutherford B. Hayes commenced a second term as Governor of Ohio.

Red Cloud Agency,  Ft. Robinson Nebraska, January 10, 1876.

Last edition:

January 5, 1876, Pokrok západu (Omaha, Neb.).

Saturday, December 27, 2025

Monday, December 27, 1875. A California Reservation.

Executive Order—Establishment of Mission Indian Reserves in California

December 27, 1875

EXECUTIVE MANSION, December 27, 1875.

It is hereby ordered that the following-described lands in the county of San Diego, Cal., viz, San Bernardino base and meridian: Portrero [sic].—Including Rincon, Gapich, and La Joya [sic], township 10 south, range 1 east, sections 16, 23, 25, 26, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, and fractional sections 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, and 29; Cahuila [sic].—Township 7 south, range 2 east, sections 25, 26, 27, 28, 33, 34, 35, and 36; township 7 south, range 3 east, sections 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, and 35; township 8 south, range 2 east, sections 1, 2, 3, and 4; township 8 south, range 3 east, sections 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6; Capitan Grande.—Township 14 south, range 2 east, sections 25, 26, 27, 34, 35, and 36; township 14 south, range 3 east, sections 31 and 32; township 15 south, range 2 east, sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10; township 15 south, range 3 east, sections 5 and 6; Santa Ysabel.—Including Mesa Grande, township 11 south, range 2 east, south half of section 21, northwest quarter, and east half of section 28, and sections 25, 26, and 27; township 11 south, range 3 east, sections 25, 26, 27, 28, 33, 34, 35, 36, and fractional sections 29, 30, and 32; township 12 south, range 2 east, sections 3, 10, 14, 15, and fractional section 13; township 12 south, range 3 east, sections 1, 2, 12, and fractional sections 3, 4. 10, 11, 13, and 14; Pala.—Township 9 south, range 2 west, northeast quarter of section 33, and north half of the north half of 34; Agua Caliente.—Township 10 south, range 3 east, southeast quarter of section 23, southwest quarter of 24, west half of 25, and east half of 26; Sycuan.—Township 16 south, range 1 east, section 13; Inaja.—Township 13 south, range 3 east, northeast quarter of section 35; Cosmit.—Township 13 south, range 3 east, north half of northeast quarter of section 25, be, and the same are hereby, withdrawn from sale and set apart as reservations for the permanent use and occupancy of the Mission Indians in Lower California.

U. S. GRANT.

However. . . :

Executive Order—Revocation of Executive Order Regarding Mission Indian Lands

July 24, 1882

EXECUTIVE MANSION, July 24, 1882.

It is hereby ordered that the Executive order dated December 27, 1875, setting aside certain described lands in the State of California, for the use and occupancy of the Mission Indians, be, and the same hereby is, canceled so far as relates to the northwest quarter of the northeast quarter and the northeast quarter of the northwest quarter of section 34, township 9 south, range 2 west of the San Bernardino meridian.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

Last Edition:

Tuesday, December 21, 1875. Hot Springs Reservation

Saturday, November 22, 2025

Monday ,November 22, 1875. The death of Vice President Henry Wilson.

Ardent opponent of slavery and career politician Vice President Henry Wilson died in office at age 63.


GENERAL ORDERS, NO. 97

WAR DEPARTMENT,

ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE

I. The following order announces the decease of Henry Wilson, Vice-President of the United States:

EXECUTIVE MANSION,

Washington, November 22, 1875.

It is with profound sorrow that the President has to announce to the people of the United States the death of the Vice-President, Henry Wilson, who died in the Capitol of the nation this morning.

The eminent station of the deceased, his high character, his long career in the service of his State and of the Union, his devotion to the cause of freedom, and the ability which he brought to the discharge of every duty stand conspicuous and are indelibly impressed on the hearts and affections of the American people.

In testimony of respect for this distinguished citizen and faithful public servant the various Departments of the Government will be closed on the day of the funeral, and the Executive Mansion and all the Executive Departments in Washington will be draped with badges of mourning for thirty days.

The Secretaries of War and of the Navy will issue orders that appropriate military and naval honors be rendered to the memory of one whose virtues and services will long be borne in recollection by a grateful nation.

U. S. GRANT

By the President:

HAMILTON FISH,

Secretary of State.

II. On the day next succeeding the receipt of this order at each military post the troops will be paraded at 10 o'clock a. m. and this order read to them.

The national flag will be displayed at half-staff.

At dawn of day thirteen guns will be fired. Commencing at 12 o'clock noon seventeen minute guns will be fired, and at the close of the day the national salute of thirty-seven guns.

The usual badge of mourning will be worn by officers of the Army and the colors of the several regiments will be put in mourning for the period of three months.

By order of the Secretary of War:

E. D. TOWNSEND, Adjutant-General.

He had been born Jeremiah Jones Colbath and born to extremely impoverished circumstances, growing up partially as an indentured servant to a farmer in his region.  At age 21 he changed his name, although the reasons really aren't known.  He became a shoemaker, and then entered politics as a Whig.  He was one of the organizers of the Free Soil Party in 1852 and became a U.S. Senator in 1855.  He served in the Union Army during the Civil War and exited the war back into politics as an advocate of the rights  of freed slaves.


With his death, under the law at the, the office of Vice Presidency fell vacant until the next General Election, that of 1877.

On the same day:
Executive Order—Expansion of Ute Indian Reservation Territory
November 22, 1875
EXECUTIVE MANSION, November 22, 1875.

It is hereby ordered that the tract of country in the Territory of Colorado lying within the following-described boundaries, viz: Commencing at the northeast corner of the present Ute Indian Reservation, as defined in the treaty of March 2, 1868 (Stats, at Large, vol. 15, p. 619); thence running north on the 107th degree of longitude to the first standard parallel north; thence west on said first standard parallel to the boundary line between Colorado and Utah; thence south with said boundary to the northwest corner of the Ute Indian Reservation; thence east with the north boundary of the said reservation to the place of beginning, be, and the same hereby is, withdrawn from sale and set apart for the use of the several tribes of Ute Indians, as an addition to the present reservation in said Territory.

U. S. GRANT.

Sunday, November 9, 2025

Tuesday, November 9, 1875. Indian troubles?

Indian Inspector E. C. Watkins issued a report to the Secretary of the Interior which would end up helping to bring about Gen. Terry's campaign of 1876.  Indeed, on the same day, Gen. Sheridan issued a confidential letter to Terry informing him that he had met with President Grant, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of War, and that the Grant had decided that the military should no longer try to keep miners from occupying the Black Hills: "it being his belief that such resistance only increased their desire and complicated the troubles." 


Watkins was a lawyer and businessman by profession who has served in the Civil War, where he obtained the rank of Major.  He'd been appointed Inspector of Indian Affairs in in 1875 and occupied that position for four years before returning to private life

Philip Sheridan was in command of the Military District of Missouri at the time.  Interestingly, he had only been  married, at age 44, for a few months, to Irene Rucker, who was 22.

Last edition:

Thursday, November 4, 1875. A Proclamation of Thanksgiving.

Monday, November 3, 2025

Wednesday, November 3, 1875. A fateful day.

President Ulysses S. Grant held a secret meeting with his cabinet and top military officials to decide on a strategy to force Native American tribes to move onto reservations in the West.  For the most part, they already had, but leaving the reservations seasonally was common.  With an increased agricultural and industrial population in the West, including forces which wished to exploit mining opportunities, real or imagined, this was an increasing problem for Washington.

This was a major step toward launching the final series of Indian Wars in the Rocky Mountain West.  While various struggles would continue into the 1890s, 1876, the following year, would be the deciding one.

By odd coincidence, November is Native American Heritage Month.

Last edition: