Jim Costa Quotes

It shall and may be lawful for the President to have the same superintendence and care over any tribe or nation in the country to which they may remove, as contemplated by this act, that he is now authorized to have over them at their present places of residence: Provided, That nothing in this act contained shall be construed as authorizing or directing the violation of any existing treaty between the United States and any of the Indian tribes.

First, take the government of the Indians out of politics; second, let the laws of the Indians be the same as those of the whites; third, give the Indian the ballot.

Tribes don't need Congressmembers' sympathy. What tribes need is for us to properly exercise our duty.

Think of the press as a great keyboard on which the government can play.

I left Mexico for artistic survival. If I had stayed, I would have been forced by the government, who control the movie business, to direct TV shows or commercials or infomercials for the government.

This is really high on the priority list of tribal concerns. This is a cash cow in many circumstances, and tribes are concerned about protection of tribal assets.

The United States have fulfilled in good faith all their treaty stipulations with the Indian tribes, and have in every other instance insisted upon a like performance of their obligations.

An Indian tribe is sovereign to the extent that the U.S. permits it to be sovereign.

We are the beast of state government.

There is now a recognition that there are three sovereigns in this country, and they are the Federal Government, the state governments and the tribal governments.

Government has ever been careful to hold a high hand over the education of the people. They know, better than anyone else, that their power is based almost entirely on the school. Hence, they monopolize it more and more.

Our government rests in public opinion. Whoever can change public opinion can change the government practically just so much.

An Act To Prevent Outrages Against The Indians

My mind is appalled at the thought of a political party having control of all the details that go to make up the sum total of our lives. Think of it for an instant, that the party in power shall have all authority to dictate the kind of books that shall be used in our schools and universities, government officials editing, printing, and circulating our literature, histories, magazines and press, to say nothing of the thousand and one activities of life that a people engage in, in a civilized society.

We, as Indian tribes, should be able to prosecute non-Indians on tribal lands. But on Indian land, we have no ability to prosecute anyone but another Indian. American Indians having status as a foreign nation is good for us, but it's not good in some ways if we don't have the jurisdictional power that the federal government claims.

As governor, I work in hand in hand with tribal leaders on everything from disaster response to economic development. Tribal governments are important partners to our state government, and I value the good relationships my administration has cultivated with them.

We have a government-to-government relationship with tribes, and they should have that opportunity to weigh in on important decisions that affect them.

Our country has a trust responsibility to Indian tribes, and it seems like their voice has been lacking in so many conversations that we've had in this country. And so, I'd like to make sure that tribal leaders have that seat at the table.

With federal recognition, the Lumbee Tribe would become a full player in Indian country, no longer second class Indians in the eyes of the federal government. As such, we would employ our substantial skills and abilities to help correct problems faced by Indian country and make significant contributions.

A little government involvement is just as dangerous as a lot - because the first leads inevitably to the second.

The mischiefs of anarchy have been equaled by the mischiefs of government.

Governments show thus how successfully men can be imposed on, even impose on themselves, for their own advantage.

There is nothing more dangerous than a government of the many controlled by the few.

That's a Roman concept where the government can do anything, as long as you give the people "bread and circuses." And I'd say this culture right now is similar, as long as people have money, fun, and food, our government can do heinous, heinous things.

Under fascism, citizens retain the responsibilities of owning property, without freedom to act and without any of the advantages of ownership. Under socialism, government officials acquire all the advantages of ownership, without any of the responsibilities, since they do not hold title to the property, but merely the right to use it -- at least until the next purge. In either case, the government officials hold the economic, political and legal power of life or death over the citizens.