They wanted only to dance for the coming of a Savior; to be free again. It brought them death by Hotchkiss guns even after they had surrendered, been rounded up and been disarmed. Those wounded, but not immediately killed, were left to freeze to death. A few infants, miraculously alive two days later, were found under the frozen bodies of their mothers.
It cannot be denied that anything is worth what someone will pay for it; nor that the prevalent mindset of virtually all people of all ethnic backgrounds is to extract as much value from something as possible. Czywczynski HAS the right to ask what he wants to for his pieces of land - even if it is land that once BELONGED to the Sioux by Treaty; even if the $3.9 million is for ground soaked with their blood. But would not, say $50k, be enough for a piece of land valued at $7,000.00? He doesn’t “want” them to have it; he wants them to PAY. He wants as big a piece of the Cobell suit as he can possibly get. If he goes ahead and “…open(s) up bidding to non-Native Americans,” do you think it will bring much more than the $7,000 at which it is valued?
The Black Hills have always been sacred – the Creator's Cathedral, if you will - to the indigenous People of North America. The 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty included the Black Hills as part of the Great Sioux Reservation and the U.S. government swore the Hills would always belong to the Sioux. Forever ended up being 6 years later when one of Custer's expeditions found gold there. Three years after that, in 1877, the Gov't confiscated those sacred Hills. In the 1940s egregious insult was added to injury when the faces of a few of the "Great White Fathers" - those at the top of the chain of the authors of lies - were carved into them.
In the '80s, the Gov't (over 100 years after the theftt) awarded a little over $100mil to the Sioux for the theft of the Black Hills. The Sioux did not take the money. Why? Because the Hills were never for sale. It was and is a matter of honor; an acknowledgement that no amount of money can repay the theft of that which is sacrosanct. Instead, they wait for pieces to be offered for sale and then they work hard to purchase them back because the only thing that might be honored is a Deed in their name. A Deed might keep the lands safe for the Sioux.
In another thread, a member shared that Natives often refer to people of European descent as 'wasicu' which, loosely translated, means "takes the fat." The fat portion of the meal was once considered the very best and was reserved for highly honored guests, warriors, the elderly. If one were serving oneself first, it would be considered a gross breach of manners to take the fattest portions; but, Europeans who were invited to meals were always offered to serve themselves first and, virtually without fail, they would take the choicest pieces (the fat) for themselves - a blatant display of greed and bad manners.
Czywczynski no more represents all persons of European descent any more than I represent all indigenous persons; however, he is a shining example of wasicu. In fact, were there an annual Wasicu Award, I would nominate him without hesitation.
The video clip I provided above is contained in an article titled "The Arrogance of Ignorance." Since we here at ATS have a motto of denying ignorance, I thought Czywczynski's "offerings" to be a good way to bring denial of ignorance of the plight of some Native Americans to the forefront.
Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior, stated at the time of final approval of the lawsuit settlement “With the settlement now final, we can put years of discord behind us and start a new chapter in our nation-to-nation relationship."
But thanks to the likes of Mr. Czywczynski, we can clearly see that there will be no new chapters and that very little will change.
Perhaps if enough people of European descent made it known to Mr. Czywczynski that his actions are greedy and unacceptable and reflect on them in a guilt-by-association sort of way, he might relent and ask a fair and reasonable price. Perhaps if enough people knew the truth of Wounded Knee and knew about the sacredness of the Black Hills, they would understand … at least a little. Perhaps knowing the truth and acknowledging it would begin to ‘put years of discord behind us.’
The Native Peoples of the Americas don’t want pity. They don’t want charity. They want acknowledgment and acceptance of the truth. Deny ignorance.
edit on 14-2-2013 by SeesFar because: to correct typos made in haste
) Anyway, it may be a matter of waiting this guy out. The land isnt prime building land or farming
land, he just sees an oportunity to price gouge because he sees the tribe getting some money and wants more than the land is worth. If it appraises
for 7K, others in the open market WONT pay millions for it. Let it sit till he dies if need be. He he finagles it to be appraised at a higher amt, let
hs heirs pay the taxes on the false amount until they come to their senses. If they dont get it, fine. Let the ancestors fight it out. The money needs
to be put toward keeping them alive and having the basic necessities that everyone else in 2013 America has. 
Youre getting into funny
territory with whats belongs to whom and "ownership/tenure". I have a link if youre interested in a little background, but this IS 2013 and the man
does legally own the land himself. I dont see a problem selling what you have paid for at a reasonable fair market value. Times are hard, he has a
right to make money, but it isnt right to gouge property values because he can. Most are very agreeable to pay fair market value for the land as it is
appraised.. even a little higher than appraisal, just not millions. 
Other tribes wil kick in money for PR to buy this.. but not at that mans
ridiculous amount.. wherever he pulled it from. 
