Winona LaDuke on the Militarization of Indian Country

In the many conversations we have about the US military, here's a fact that is rarely mentioned: Native Americans have the highest rate of living veterans of any community in the country. An estimated 22 percent of Native Americans 18 or older are veterans.

Winona LaDuke says many Indian youth see no options outside the military to secure an economically stable future.

In her new book, "The Militarization of Indian Country," she asks: How did we move from being the target of the US military to being the US military itself? That question has to do with the larger forces of American society -- economic deprivation, domination, and racism -- all of which have figured into the high levels of Native induction into the military.

Winona LaDuke says she wrote "The Militarization of Indian Country" because she is awed by the impact of the military on the world and on Native America. It is pervasive.

Winona LaDuke, a member of the Anishinaabe Tribe, is a renowned activist working on issues of sustainable development, renewable energy and food systems. She lives and works on the White Earth reservation in northern Minnesota, and is a two time vice presidential candidate with Ralph Nader on the Green Party ticket.

As Program Director of the Honor the Earth, she works nationally and internationally on issues of climate change, renewable energy, and environmental justice within Indigenous communities.

For more information, visit: http://www.honorearth.org/

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[TheBerserker50]

@dwdeclare thanks for posting... like derrick jensen says... its time to get it on

[mucwaogima]

I love the forward ......includes a description of " Peace Chief" know yourself, know your clan and understand your history and how you fit in, so you might be of some use..............great read.

[dwdeclare]

it's always the natives that get shit on. just like in northern alberta where the multinational oil & gas companies move in (welcomed with open arms by the canadian/alberta governments), destroy the land with the tar sands project, spew their toxins into the the air and water, and it is the mostly native communities downstream who are now suffering the consequences with rare cancers & a traditional territory so polluted it will in all likelihood never fully recover . evil!