United Liberty
Native American Response to Banking Crisis
Mon, 12/08/2008 - 11:09am | posted by Matt Wittlief
The Lakota people of the north-central U.S. have established the Free Lakota Bank. It is touted as the “world’s first non-reserve, non-fractional bank that issues, accepts for deposit, and circulates REAL money” in the spirit of Austrian economics.
The bank charges a fee for the protection of your savings, which are measured in ounces, and for those who wish to put their savings at risk, there is an investment fund. Deposits to the fund are frozen for one year, but have a healthy return of over 7%. Loans are granted from the investment fund are distributed to applicants based on the merit of the investment - imagine that!
The Lakota people have declared their total independence from the U.S. and claim property rights to thousands of square miles of land within U.S. borders. They have not received formal recognition of this claim by the State Department.
I’d like to thank Andy Horning, Libertarian Party candidate for Indiana governor in 2008, for bringing this story to my attention at his blog, “We Declare”.
There was an Idaho guy who got raided by the Feds for creating his own money. Is this tribe running a similar risk?
I would imagine there is some risk since the government frowns on this sort of thing; however, the Lakota are at least somewhat sovereign and have fully declared independence. It will be interesting to monitor.
The feds shut down an Indian bank in Oklahoma about five years before the turn of the century (1995), that was not on the ‘system’, and issued numbered accounts.
I wonder how this one will fare.
I think this is a great Idea. If more people could begin to do this, even if the Evil Federal Government says its illegal, the people could have a revolution. I think that its highly possible that they will have trouble (like the Liberty Dollar). But I hope that they will fight it. I hope that that others will pick up behind them if it goes under. Only Civil Disobedience will bring the USA back to a government of the People.