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Eminent Domain I don’t feel is in the best interest of our Tribal members. You say the sovereign and fundamental rights of the Tribe will be protected. Ancestral lands are not being protected. Look at how it has been treated. We have probed, excavated it, buried things in it. Chopped down our forests, leveled the hills, muddied and dirtied the water and air. Based on this, we have not been good caretakers. We have not taken care to ensure that our seventh generation will maintain.

But back to Eminent Domain, who exactly will benefit from our land being taken from us? I look at it as an easier way for us to be Terminated. I also feel that Eminent Domain is another way for our Council to control the members. 9-7-42 says whatever the Court finds reasonable, and compensation standards won’t take into consideration the compensation for the time my grandparents and parents and what I put into my home and land.

This is adoption of Eminent Domain by the Council, not by the People.

No, I do not think Eminent Domain is good for our Tribe. We need to be heard too.

Hazel R. Whitney