Lakota Sioux Indians Declare Sovereign Nation Status

The Lakota Sioux Indian have withdrawn from all previously signed treaties with the United States Government because they say the United States has never honored the 1851 and 1868 Treaties at Fort Laramie Wyoming. Lakota country includes parts of the states of Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming.

"We are no longer citizens of the United States of America and all those who live in the five-state area that encompasses our country are free to join us," -- Russell Means, long-time Indian rights activist

The new country would issue its own passports and driving licenses, and living there would be tax-free -- provided residents renounce their US citizenship, Means said.

The Lakota were defeated slowly by U.S. Army and military police actions and now the Lakota reservations are among the most impoverished areas in North America. Lakota men have the lowest life expectancy on earth, at 44-years. Lakota infant mortality rate is five times the United States average and teen suicide rates 150% more than national average. 97% of Lakota people live below the poverty line and unemployment hovers near 85%.