Hello Everyone,
A few reports on what has been happening are in this newsletter, but the most important of all are plans for a meeting on Thursday, Nov. 12th in Kyle, SD, on the Pine Ridge Reservation. It has been a while since we had an in person meeting for a number of reasons. But let’s continue to the other reports first.
1. Secretary General Candidacy
As mentioned in the last couple of Newsletters, there was an effort by our relatives to the South, meaning Central and South America and Mexico, to have an Indigenous candidate be considered by the United Nations General Assembly (UN) for the Secretary General’s (SG) position. The current SG’s term expires in December. This effort was to show the General Assembly that we are still Nations who are not even given any kind of recognition as Nations, when the UN Charter states that the UN is “for all nations great and small.” In other words, having an Indigenous candidate was an act of Self Determination.
Although we hoped to meet in New York with the UN to complete this action, the United States would not grant the visas for the Indigenous representatives from the South to enter the US. This is not the first time. Denying Indigenous delegations from the South has occurred since 2002 with the meeting of the first Permanent Forum on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The General Assembly is currently meeting in New York. At this time, I’m not sure how we are going to proceed as I am the candidate for the position. In our Oceti Sakowin culture, I cannot promote myself. Will let you know what happens.
2. Canada Trip
From Sept. 6th to the 11th, my cousin, Edward Valandra, and I attended a meeting of the 150th Anniversary of the signing of the Treaty 6 Nations at Fort Pitt, Saskatchewan, Canada. Their Treaty was made with the British Crown, meaning King Charles now, not with Canada. Their Treaty is quite a bit different than ours and we learned a lot. The main question all the leaders were asking was what can they do now that Canada is increasing their colonizing efforts through Canadian law. It is what we have experienced for decades with the US.
It was a great meeting with about 500 people in attendance. It was outdoors in big tents and many people camped on site. It was also a time to be with old friends that I haven’t seen in decades, to have a meal together, remember funny situations, and catch up. It was also a time that we were able to make new allies.
3. O’Chiese First Nation Visit
One of the new allies we made in Canada were the leaders of the O’Chiese First Nation. The were already planning a visit during the Black Hills Pow Wow on Oct. 9-10-11. We will meet with them to discuss the International work and what other avenues we can take. We are also planning to pray at Bear Butte for all of our people and nations while they are here.
4. Powertech Uranium Mine Plans
Some of you might remember when Defenders of the Black Hills was fighting against new Uranium mining in the Southwest Black Hills starting in 2012. (Defenders is still the fiscal agent for this Treaty Council.) After fifteen (15) years without being able to get the water permit they needed, Powertech has withdrawn its application. We did prayers in the Black Hills asking for protection of the land and water, and I hope our prayers are still holding as there is a possibility of a new mining company stepping in. But for now, that area is safe. I would ask that we all keep praying for the good health and protection of the sacred Black Hills.
5. US Weapons in Space
On another note, the US has begun sending weapons into space around Mother Earth breaking a Treaty they made in 1967 with the other Nation-States in the UN. Russia and China have protested against this as it is deadly for the entirety of Mother Earth. Russia tried to help us years ago during a meeting of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in Geneva. China is the Nation that also led the efforts at the UN to eliminate the negative effects of colonialism. We sent them a thank you letter.
6.Treaty Meeting – Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026
Finally, our meeting on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, at the Oyate Ta Kola Ku Youth Center in Kyle on the Pine Ridge Reservation. In March, 2025, I was invited to present on the Treaty and the International work. It was a great meeting and they asked for a Treaty meeting there. I was so impressed by their Youth Center and their projects that I hoped we could have a meeting there. Enclosed is a Poster to share with your relatives and friends. Looking forward to seeing you then.
With good wishes for a wonderful Autumn,
Charmaine White Face, Spokesperson Zumila Wobaga. Itancan

Remember when you were a kid and you had to take history classes in school? I really didn’t like history because it wasn’t what my grandma told me, and I couldn’t remember all those dates. Later, as an adult, I realized that learning history explained a lot of the reasons why things are how they are, including the day called International Day of World’s Indigenous Peoples. A specific date was also given to it, August 9th.
Who did this? The United Nations, (UN) of course. It was proclaimed in Dec., 1994, following the International Year of the World’s Indigenous Peoples in 1993. That was 501 years after Columbus “discovered” us. Interesting, eh? Too bad it wasn’t called Indigenous Nations Day because we all come from nations. However, if they acknowledge our nationhood, they would have to acknowledge us in the UN as nations.
The UN was created on Oct. 24, 1945, or almost 81 years ago, by 50 different countries including the United States, Russia, China, and Great Britain. It was created to stop any more World Wars. It was created right after the end of World War Two.
The UN Charter is its founding document just like the US Constitution is the foundation of the United States. The Preamble to the UN Charter states its goals and ideals and states in part:
“WE THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS DETERMINED...to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained,...
It was these underlined portions which our elders read and decided that we needed to go to the United Nations to have our 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty enforced. However, our elders did not know that the colonizing governments, mainly Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States were working behind the scenes to have our Indigenous nations not included. The colonizing governments conveniently overlooked the fact that many of our people were involved in World War Two. The colonizing governments are nicknamed CANZUS, and also worked hard behind the scenes to have the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples changed to fit what they wanted as recently as 2006. [The author participated in the debates and wrote about it in the book, Indigenous Nations Rights in the Balance, with all proceeds going to the work of the 1894 Sioux Nation Treaty Council.]
However, there is also another portion of the UN Charter under Chapter 1: Purposes and Principles, Article 1 which states,
The Purposes of the United Nations are:… 2. To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace;…3. To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends.
Our elders were right in going to the United Nations. Despite CANZUS trying to stop Indigenous Nations from surviving and overcoming the oppression and occupation caused by CANZUS, there was still a Purpose of the UN that required the principle of Self Determination.
Self Determination means the free will of the people. It does not mean a law by an occupying nation which titles itself as Self Determination, or US. Public Law 93-638.
Even the Creator gave us all free will. In our old Tituwan Oceti Sakowin laws we have the law about not imposing your will on anyone else. This is Free Will.
If we all together want to speak a certain language, that is Free Will. If we all together want to pray a certain way, that is Free Will. If we all together want to share what we have with each other so no one goes hungry, that is Free Will. If we all together have laws to govern ourselves, that is Free Will.
All Indigenous nations around the world had these attributes of Free Will. When a group of people continued to live a certain way, they were a nation. We, the Oceti Sakowin, were a nation for hundreds of thousands of years with our own Ancient Laws long before Columbus “discovered” us. We were honorable people and thought the Americans were honorable people too, but they were not. We were taught for millenia that when you lie, you die. We thought they believed the same way. They did not and still do not today. (See The Ancient Laws of the Oceti Sakowin at www.siouxnationtreatycouncil.org .)
When the United Nations finally respects TRUE Self Determination for ALL Nations, including Indigenous Nations, then there will be a time to celebrate an International Day of the World’s Indigenous Nations. Until that time, we only can Remember the World’s Indigenous Nations, not celebrate.
We are becoming extinct. Our language, our true culture, not the beads and feathers imposed on us by the occupiers, our very nationhood is on the brink of disappearing. Many of our people don’t know why a certain feather is worn; why certain colors are worn; what certain face paint means; and certainly don’t know that our ancestors are continually trying to teach us through dreams. Many of our people don’t know that certain ceremonies can only be done by those who have had a dream or vision. And we wonder why our people have such a hard time. When those protocols are broken, the consequences fall on all of the people.
What can we do? Try to learn from our old traditional people, not elders, but our old traditions that some of our people still know. Ask for help. Pray and meditate. That was part of our old traditions. Help your community to begin again, to heal itself. Don’t wait for a ‘Savior’ to come save you. Each one of us has the choice and the free will to save ourselves and our relatives in our everyday words and actions. If none listens, at least we have tried.
The United Nations won’t be here forever. That is the consequence of NOT respecting their own Charter and continuing to allow the oppression and occupation of Indigenous nations. The United States will not be here forever either. Again, the consequence of Not respecting their own Constitution and their honor and commitment to the UN Charter which they helped build. The Circle does come around.
However, if we live the way the Creator made us to be, we will continue with Ina Unci Makoce (Mother Grandmother Earth) for as long as she is here. We do not have to go the way of the colonizers. We can choose our own way, exert our own individual self-determination. We might be considered eccentric but we will be true to ourselves and the Creator Who made us. Hetchetu ktso. (It is so.)
July 31, 2026
Charmaine White Face, or Zumila Wobaga, is an Oglala Tituwan Oceti Sakowin elder, (79) and the Spokesperson for the 1894 Sioux Nation Treaty Council. She has attended many meetings at the United Nations fighting for the enforcement of the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty including the recognition of the Sioux Nation as a nation. She can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Hello Everyone,
In the last Newsletter, I mentioned that the position of the United Nations Secretary-General would expire in December. I also noted that our relatives to the South wanted to select an Indigenous candidate for that position. The Indigenous nations in Latin America still number in the millions. Aucan Huilcamon, of the Mapuche Nation, who graciously hosted us when we traveled to Chile for a Summit of Treaty Nations in March, 2024, has kept us in the loop of their discussions. Representatives from many Indigenous nations and organizations were on the Zoom calls, and as their peoples number in the millions, we were interested in who they would select. To keep you up to date before it is publicized, I just wanted to let you know that they selected me. The eagle and the condor are together again as in our Indigenous prophesies.
Many people know me from my work at the UN and from the Spanish version of my book about how the UN betrayed all Indigenous peoples and nations through its version of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The book is called Indigenous Nations Rights in the Balance published by Living Justice Press. Our friends in Phoenix, Tonatierra, published it in Spanish so it could spread farther South.
It is a great honor to be selected and a very humbling experience. An Indigenous candidacy exposes the UN’s hypocrisy regarding true Self Determination by ignoring us and all Indigenous nations. The Preamble to the UN Charter states: “to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained... Article 1 No. 2 states: “To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples,...” Yet they totally gnore all Indigenous nations and peoples, sticking us in the corner with their own organizations and not listening to our requests.
Who do I stand for? I stand for all people and nations who are truly committed to real Self-Determination, not the kind imposed by colonizing governments. My presence will also be an opportunity to show the world that we, the Sioux Nation, are still here in the middle of North America, and that we still have a legitimate, International treaty with the United States that needs full enforcement.
We, a delegation from both the South and us, are hoping to go to New York City by the end of the month to make the selection formal and public. However, I wanted you all to know what was happening beforehand. In the meantime, we must raise travel funds for the trip. Tentatively we are planning for June 25 to 30, 2026, to be at the UN for the formal announcement.
Please, your prayers for this endeavor. If you happen to be able to spare some funds, it can be sent to Defenders of the Black Hills, PO Box 2003, Rapid City, SD 57709. Defenders is our fiscal agent and a non-profit corporation, and I am the only one right now to check the mail. Remember, this Treaty Council does not accept state, tribal, or federal funds, only individual donations or small grants and our coffers are very low.
Thanks to Steve W. for the postage and Bill M. for the funds to do the copying. My gratitude also goes to my cousin, Edward V., for editing this as I’m still kind of in shock but getting ready for this next challenge.
On another note, the Memorial for our friend and Treasurer for more than two decades, Brian Brademeyer, will be held at 10:00 AM on Monday, June 22nd at his place in the Black Hills. The easiest way to get to his place is to go all the way through Hill City. At the stop light on the highway leading to Mount Rushmore or on to Crazy Horse Monument, take a left to Mount Rushmore. About 6 miles on this road, the first sign you will see will be Palmer Gulch Campground on the right, and a short distance beyond that is a gravel road on the left leading to his place. The next turnoff is Palmer Gulch Lodge and you have passed his road.
He asked to be cremated and also said he was an atheist. However, he was very, very respectful of our ways. His two sisters and brother are doing the Memorial. It would show our respect for all he did for us if any of you know a traditional Memorial song and can be there. He was a true ally, a true Lakota. He was also honored by the Oglala Sioux Tribe in 1997 for his work on protecting the Black Hills.
Hope you all have a wonderful and safe summer.
Respectfully submitted by
Signed on Original Signed on Original
Charmaine White Face, Spokesperson Zumila Wobaga, Itancan
Hello Everyone,
This is an Update of what is happening with us and the UN. On June 10th, I sent you a newsletter about the announcement of an Indigenous candidate, Charmaine White Face, for the position of Secretary General at the United Nations (UN). Donations were also requested for the travel expenses as we do not seek federal, state, or tribal funds, and it was short notice to apply for a grant.
For this current action, we did receive enough private donations for my trip to New York City. Thank you, wopila tanka, to Sylvia L., Harold S., Jennifer S., Steve W., Ingrid M., Bill M., Brenda M. and the New England Peace Pagoda. The plane tickets were purchased and a hotel room was reserved. Then we were informed that the Secretary-General (SG) could not meet at the time we requested. Thankfully, the plane tickets and hotel rooms are on standby.
The organizers have been requesting an audience with the SG since May. The Ambassador of Columbia stated she would receive us at her embassy and also go with us to the UN to introduce us to the SG. Still no response. Now she is going back to Columbia on Aug. 1st.
We know the Indigenous Candidate will not be elected by the General Assembly, but we also have the right to submit an Indigenous candidate if the UN is serious about their Charter which says Self Determination for ALL peoples and nations. We are only exerting our right to Self Determination.
Years ago, the UN designated Aug. 9th to be Indigenous Peoples Day. As that is a Sunday, the UN will be doing a forum on Indigenous Peoples on Monday, Aug. 10th. We are in the process of planning events on both Aug. 9th with the Indigenous community in New York and also at the UN on Monday. Your prayers for our plans, our safety and good health during that time and on our trip would be greatly appreciated.
Wopila tanka (deepest gratitude) to all of you who donated as you are providing an opportunity to the UN to be respectful to us and all Indigenous Nations by helping us be able to be there. The UN’s choice, respect or disrespect, whether they believe it or not, is watched by our ancestors and the Creator of all. Self Determination is all we are asking. That means “Free Will” to make our own choices and not always having someone make those choices for us. Free Will is also a spiritual concept and one of the Ancient Laws of the Oceti Sakowin (Great Sioux Nation). “We cannot push our will on anyone else.” Thank you again and for your prayers.
Sincerely,
Charmaine White Face, Spokesperson
Zumila Wobaga, Itancan
Hello Everyone,
This newsletter is being sent to keep you updated as a lot is happening in the world that could have a positive effect on us if we “seize the day.” To that end, I have sent letters, which are attached, to Pope Leo; Felipe VI, king of Spain; and Claudia Sheinbaum, President of Mexico, via International Priority Mail. Thanks to our relatives from the South, we became aware of these happenings regarding the Doctrine of Discovery. The reason the Doctrine of Discovery is important to us in the United States is because it is the basis of federal Indian law, and also was the cause of so many of our nations no longer being in existence.
The following is taken from an article in El Pais USA Edition, March 16th, 2026, by Miguel Gonzalez, which also can be found at Spain’s King Felipe VI acknowledges that there were ‘many abuses’ in the colonization of America | Spain | EL PAÍS English .
“Spain’s King Felipe VI acknowledged on Monday morning, during a visit to the exhibition Half the World: Women in Indigenous Mexico, organized jointly by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Mexican Ministry of Culture, that “there was much abuse” during the colonization of the Americas by the Spanish conquistadors.
“There have also been struggles, let’s say, moral and ethical controversies regarding how power was exercised from the very beginning,” King Felipe said in an informal conversation with the Mexican ambassador to Spain, Quirino Ordaz, as seen in a video released by the Spanish Royal Household on social media.
“The opening of this same exhibition last November served as the stage for Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares.... “The shared history between Spain and Mexico, like all human history, has its light and dark sides,” he said. “There has been pain and injustice toward the Indigenous peoples. There was injustice, and it is right to acknowledge and regret it. This is part of our shared history; we cannot deny or forget it.”
However, there must also be action and that is where our recommendation that our Treaty be fully enforced by the UN Decolonization Committee comes in. Both the Mexican Ambassador and the Spanish Ambassador have heard this recommendation coming from us at the UN many times. But now it is directed to the King of Spain and the President of Mexico, as well as the Pope. If they truly want to undo all the harm that has been done, they need to act on our recommendations. Yes, the Decolonization process will take time, but it needs to be started. Kudos to all who are doing language and culture immersion. Kudos to all of you who are decolonizing yourselves. Kudos to all of you who continue to pray and offer your pain and difficulties for the good health of our nation. The Creator did not forget us.
According to our ways and understanding of the circle, by the King of Spain acknowledging the abuses and injustices done by Spain, he began closing that circle of abuse and injustice that was started by his ancestors more than 500 years ago in collusion with the Catholic Church and their Doctrines of Discovery. In addition, with Mexico starting to stand up for Indigenous peoples beginning with their last President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and continuing with the current President, Claudia Scheinbaum, they are also beginning the closing of that circle. Hopefully, it won’t take another 500 years before we can return to being the nation the Creator made us to be.
As the UN Seretary-General Antonio Guterrez’ term expires in December, our relatives to the South wanted to present an Indigenous candidate for thatposition. We haven’t heard if they have chosen a candidate yet.
Finally, I want to thank Steve W. for the postage needed to get this newsletter out to many of our elders and others who still receive it in the mail. Our thanks also goes to Jennifer S. for the envelopes which enable us to mail all the reports and letters. Our special thank you to Bill M. for the funds to make hard copies. Wopila tanka.
If you receive this newsletter via postal mail but want to receive it via email, please let me know at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. It will help with our expenses. Thank you.
Respectfully submitted by
Sgnd Sgnd
Charmaine White Face, Spokesperson Zumila Wobaga, Itancan
Letter to the Pope
May 8, 2026
Pope Leo XIV
The Vatican
Vatican City
Italy
Greetings,
Thank you for your stance on the genocide of the Palestinians, the Indigenous nation of that part of the world. Your stance against war anywhere is also commended,
However, the Catholic Church’s Doctrines of Discovery are still the foundations of the United States government’s Federal Indian Law, and are still being used against many Indigenous nations and peoples in the United States TODAY. It is an hypocrisy to call out the President and the United States government for what they do in other parts of the world without looking in the United States’ own backyard.
In the case of the Sioux Nation, of which I and all my relatives belong, we have experienced the genocide and continuing oppression to this day even though we have a legal, International Treaty with the United States. Our Treaty, the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty was recognized as still having its International status at the United Nations in 1999 in the Study on Treaties, Agreements and Other Special Arrangements between States and indigenous populations by Special Rapporteur Miguel Alfonso Martinez. The Special Rapporteur actually came to our Territory and visited with our elders about our Treaty with the United States so his findings and conclusions are not taken from any books.
In the 1868 Treaty, which my great-great grandfathers signed, there was set aside a specific geographic land area that was to be “...for the absolute and undisturbed use and occupation of the Indians...”. It was large enough to hold all the buffalo that we would need. However, when gold was discovered by white men trespassers into the sacred Black Hills, the United States government tuned a blind eye to the illegal trespass of settlers and miners and began the illegal, belligerent occupation and genocide of my nation.
We lived with Mother Earth and all Her children in a sacred manner. Our elder brother, the American bison or buffalo, had agreed to come to the Earth to help us in all ways by providing our food, clothing, shelter, tools, and even fuel for our fires through their dried dung. We followed the buffalo in their migratory journeys, and lived in a good way with all of the Creation for thousands of years.
Our great nation consisted of seven sub-nations all with the same culture. The only difference was that we spoke three dialects of the same language, speaking the L, D, or N dialect. Consequently, we were called Dakota, Nakota, or Lakota which is a misnomer. For example, Lakota means the language or ally. Friend is another word. Collectively we are called the Oceti Sakowin, which means Seven Fireplaces. I belong to the western most sub nation called the Tituwan and we are the only ones who speak the Lakota language. Our entire nation once covered 24 American states and 4 Canadian Provinces. However, by 1868, we, the Tituwan, were the last in the United States that had not been dominated by the United States. The United States was the one who asked for a treaty for peace as they could not travel though the center of the country without being stopped by our people.
After the passage of the 1868 Treaty and the illegal discovery of gold, the United States began their genocide of my nation, the Tituwan nation. The massive slaughter and almost complete extermination of the buffalo left us starving and freezing, catching their white man illnesses, and unable to resist their onslaught. In order to contain us, the United States corralled us into Prisoner of War camps, now called American Indian Reservations. Until after World War II, we were required to get permission to travel off the reservations. In the 1950s, a Bill was introduced into Congress that allowed the killing of any Indian that left the reservations. Thankfully the Bill did not pass. My father was working as a teacher off the reservation and he was a veteran of the U.S. Navy from World War II.
There were many massacres after the signing of the 1868 Peace Treaty, most of which are undocumented but passed down in our oral history. One of the most famous massacres was the Wounded Knee Massacre in December, 1890, in the middle of the Treaty Territory. My great grandfather and great-great grandmother were survivors. There were only fourteen (14) men in the whole camp which my grandmother learned from her father-in-law, a survivor, and she told me. The soldiers lined the men up and took their hunting rifles. Then the Army began shooting their Gatling guns (machine guns) into the whole camp killing more than three-hundred fifty people who were mostly women, children, and elders. Stories handed down through the generations tell of United States soldiers throwing Indian babies into the air and catching them on their swords like a game. Somehow my family escaped with the help of prayer and the spirits, so I could write this today. In the end, the United States gave twenty (20) medals of honor to the soldiers for their bravery in killing women, children, and the elderly.
The Wounded Knee Massacre happened after the United States and the Catholic Church had already started building their missions and boarding schools on the Reservations in order to forcefully assimilate Indian children into the white man’s culture. Both sets of my grandparents and my parents were sent to the boarding schools as children, and subjected to mental, physical, sexual, emotional, and psychological abuses. We had none of these abuses prior to the coming of the white man. Our ancient laws were strong and our people very spiritual. Pierre De Smet, one of the first Catholic priests to meet our people, said that he had never met a more Christian people. So why did they want to change us?
If a child ran away from the Boarding Schools, they were forced to carry a ball and chain for the rest of their school years. My maternal grandfather ran away from the Rapid City Indian School three times, the second and third times carrying his ball and chain over 100 miles in order to reach his parents on the Pine Ridge Reservation, or Prisoner of War Camp No. 344. This was in the early 1900s.
My parents at the ages of 6 and 8 years of age watched their fellow students be beaten to death as children for speaking one word in their first language, Lakota. Consequently, my parents’ DNA was changed by methylates due to the body’s reaction for survival and they could not speak the Lakota language although they understood it. Their DNA with it’s methylates were passed down to me and my siblings so we are unable to speak our Lakota language either. This has been proven in studies on trauma in young children. (See Grandma's Experiences Leave a Mark on Your Genes, May, 2013 Issue, Genes & Health, Dan Hurley)
As the children grew older, the girls with darker skin were told they were to have their appendix removed when in reality they were being sterilized. This happened to my father’s sister in 1934-35. This was in accordance with the United States’ efforts at racial control. The practice of forced sterilization of Native American Indian women continued until the 1970s with some girls as young as age eleven (11) being sterilized by the U.S. Indian Health Service.
This genocide continues to today with more than two-thousand (2,000) abandoned, open pit Uranium mines in our Treaty Territory since the 1960s and 1970s. The abandoned mines pollute the entire region with radioactive particles in the land, air, and water. By having to live with this pollution, my people have the highest cancer rate in the country as shown in a study in 2003 by the Indian Health Service. In my family, my father died from cancer, and both I and my sister have had cancer. Very high rates of heart disease and diabetes are all caused by exposure to radioactivity. Although we have made efforts to expose this threat locally and to the highest levels of the United Nations, the United States refused to allow the UN Special Rapporteur on Toxic Waste to investigate this matter. The United States refuses to clean up these mines and our Treaty Territory has been declared a national sacrifice area. Therefore, our mortality rate is also the highest in the United States.
The Catholic Church’s Doctrines of Discovery are responsible for the deaths of millions of Indigenous peoples, and hundreds of Indigenous nations in the United States alone, not to mention all the millions of Indigenous nations and peoples in other parts of the world. In 2023, your predecessor, Pope Francis, did recognize and repudiate the atrocity of what the Doctrines of Discovery did to the nations of Indigenous peoples in the western hemisphere. However, a repudiation is only words. He needed to go one step further and REVOKE the Doctrines of Discovery. Revoking is an action not just words. Revoking would finally mean the recognition of the humanness of all the Indigenous nations and peoples of the world. Revoking would also acknowledge the major violations of the human rights of all Indigenous nations and peoples of the world today.
In our case, we also seek Decolonization through the UN Decolonization Committee through the full enforcement of the 1868 Treaty. You, Pope Leo, could help in this matter by advocating for all Indigenous nations with Treaties, Agreements, and Constructive Arrangements with States to be listed with the United Nations Decolonization Committee. With our undisturbed use and occupation of our entire Treaty Territory, we would be able to heal ourselves and Mother Earth through our prayers and ceremonies.
There are many more abuses and injustices that were and are being committed by the United States against us, people of the Sioux nation. I would have to write a book to cover all those areas such as education, health, the justice system, and so forth. Presented here are only a few examples. However, the fact that the United States government’s actions and laws are based on the Doctrines of Discovery lead us to you and the Catholic Church, the foundation for all this horror.
We pray that you have the courage to revoke the Doctrines of Discovery. Perhaps then the United States will not have the basis for it’s brutal, inhumane actions. To allow the Catholic Church to continue to be responsible for the oppression and domination of Indigenous nations and peoples for more than five-hundred years through the use of the Doctrines of Discovery is an anathema. Our hope is that you will not allow this to continue for even one day longer.
Sincerely,
Charmaine White Face, Spokesperson Zumila Wobaga, Itancan
Letter to Felipe Vi - King of Spain
May 9, 2026
Felipe VI
King of Spain
28071 Madrid
Spain
Your Majesty,
It was with great relief and joy that we read of your remarks regarding your disapproval of the abuses and injustices that befell the Indigenous nations and people of Mexico, South and Central America by the conquistadors. Your integrity and courage are commended, We also are aware of Spain’s stance against the wars in the Middle East perpetrated by the United States and Israel. We strongly support Spain’s position.
We have endured what the United States and Israel are doing to the Indigenous nation of Palestine. We also were starved by the United States by their decimation of our economic source, the American bison which we call buffalo. The United States did this to us even though we have an International Treaty with them, the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868. Our Treaty was proven to still retain its International status at the United Nations in 1999 with the UN study on treaties between colonizing States and Indigenous nations and peoples. (Study on treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements between States and indigenous populations: final report / by Miguel Alfonso Martínez, Special Rapporteur; 1999; https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/276353?v=pdf)
The United States continues to intimidate the world with arrogance and superiority due to the fact that their laws are based on the Catholic Church’s Doctrines of Discovery. Those atrocious doctrines were developed at a time when the world did not even know we, Indigenous peoples, existed nor that we could be human beings. That superior attitude of eliminating or dominating hundreds of Indigenous nations in the United States has continued in the American mindset to today.
Your Majesty, your words would be more historic if they were followed by your actions. To that end, would you give your courage and support to Pope Leo XIV so that the Pope will do all in his power to revoke the Doctrines of Discovery? Coming from the King of Spain would mean more to the world than coming from anyone else. No one, in this case, has more influence on this subject than you.
Page 2. Letter Felipe VI
I am a member of an Indigenous Nation located in the middle of the United States. At one time, our great nation called the Great Sioux Nation lived in more than half of the states of the United States and in nearly half of Canada. The goal of the United States is to totally exterminate us even to today through the use of radioactive pollution. Although we have asked for the help of the United Nations in trying to expose this abomination, the United States refused to let the UN Special Rapporteur on Toxic Waste into the United States to do an investigation. My coming to you for help to eliminate the Doctrines of Discovery is also a cry for help so we can live.
By allowing one human being to be subjected to the Doctrines of Discovery without objecting to such oppression is a scourge on all humanity. Please, you Majesty, raise your objections to the oppression of all Indigenous Nations and Peoples world-wide so that all the human beings can know the truth. Millions of us have had to endure oppression and domination for more than 500 years.
We pray for your continued courage, integrity, fortitude, and good health.
Respectfully submitted by,
Charmaine White Face, Spokesperson Zumila Wobaga, Itancan
Letter to Claudia Scheinbaum, President of Mexico
May 11, 2026
Claudia Scheinbaum, President of Mexico
Palacio Nacional Edificio 10
Planta Baja Centro
Cuauhtémoc 06060
Ciudad de México
Mexico
Dear President Scheinbaum,
As King Felipe VI from Spain has admitted to the abuses and injustices inflicted on the Indigenous Peoples of the Western Hemisphere, we are hoping you will also support his position. Now, five-hundred (500) years later, the world is very much aware that Indigenous Peoples are human beings. We also had and could continue to have civilizations that live with Mother Earth in a way that does not destroy anything. The life philosophy of Indigenous Peoples would be good for all human beings to learn for the continued existence of our planet, Mother Earth.
I am a member of an Indigenous Nation located in the middle of the United States. At one time, our great nation called the Great Sioux Nation lived in more than half of the states of the United States and in nearly half of Canada. The goal of the United States is to totally exterminate us even to today through the use of radioactive pollution. Although we have asked for the help of the United Nations in trying to expose this abomination, the United States refused to let the UN Special Rapporteur on Toxic Waste into the United States to do an investigation. My coming to you for help is also a cry for help for our very lives.
We have endured what the United States and Israel are doing to the Indigenous nation of Palestine. We also were starved by the United States by their decimation of our economic source, the American bison which we call buffalo. The United States did this to us even though we have an International Treaty with them, the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868. Our Treaty was proven to still retain its International status at the United Nations in 1999 with the UN study on treaties between colonizing States and Indigenous nations and peoples. (Study on treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements between States and indigenous populations: final report / by Miguel Alfonso Martínez, Special Rapporteur; 1999; https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/276353?v=pdf)
Page 2. Scheinbaum letter
The United States continues to intimidate the world with arrogance and superiority due to the fact that their laws are based on the Catholic Church’s Doctrines of Discovery. Those atrocious doctrines were developed at a time when the world did not even know we, Indigenous peoples, existed nor that we could be human beings. That superior attitude of eliminating or dominating hundreds of Indigenous nations in the United States has continued in the American mindset to today. The American Western movies of cowboys and Indians continue to denigrate us, and glorify the mindset that violence is the answer to whatever they want.
By allowing one human being to be subjected to the Doctrines of Discovery without objecting to such oppression is a scourge on all humanity. President Scheinbaum, raise your objections to the oppression of all Indigenous Nations and Peoples world-wide so that the whole world can know the truth. Millions of us have had to endure oppression and domination for hundreds of years.
We also ask if you could have your Ambassadors to the United Nations Human Rights Council introduce and support the passage of a Resolution for Indigenous Nations to be listed with the Decolonization Committee by the General Assembly. We realize the Decolonization process takes years, but it would be a first step in recognizing the nations that can help with the survival of humankind.
We pray for your continued courage, integrity, fortitude, and good health.
Respectfully submitted by,
Charmaine White Face, Spokesperson Zumila Wobaga, Itancan


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