I wish that there were a more diplomatic way to say this, but the plain fact is that Obama, and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, lied to the Tribal Nations Summit Conference, and to the world, on December 16. I do not relish raining on the parade of those who took Obama at his word, or to dash Indian country’s optimism that finally someone in the White House is going to change the fundamentals of U.S. indigenous policy. It is necessary, however, to face a tough reality. The United States has not, does not now, and likely will never honestly support the Declaration in its current form.

And so, the United States is ‘still lying after all these years’, according to a recent article in Indian Country.

An interesting, and angry piece, but nevertheless one that overlooks the reality that UN Declarations only mean as much as the sovereign-nation which signs them want them to mean. This, quite rightly, is shocking to indigenous activists across the settler world, who have just realised that all the hard work and energy invested into the UNPFII will produce results that fall quite short of the redress they all expected; but it shouldn’t really surprise international lawyers. The UN is a toothless tiger in matters like this — matters affecting first world (settler) states.

Overly negative, perhaps?