Let's talk Oklahoma, shall we? Had the biggest influx of residents in a decade. Second lowest business taxes in the country. Now for jobs. (record scratch)
Not really attracting much business. Strange, unless you consider major manufactuing facilities are not run by Bucky from down the road. They are run by people who want at least education, healthcare and infrastructure to go with their minimum wage non union patriot workers.
https://www.readfrontier.org/stories/why-three-major-companies-have-passed-on-expanding-in-oklahoma/
(White, Republican) Oklahoma is also fighting with one of its biggest revenue sources - tribal casinos. Also probably still a bit butthurt about SCOTUS returning 40% of the state to the tribes. 🤭
This is an excellent (long) article on the Lumbee and on using DNA as a measure of purity.
The Lumbee are an odd case, but raise the question - if a tribe intermarries with white settlers and black slaves, where do you draw the blood line?
Robeson is a majority-minority county; 38 percent Native American, 22 percent white, 22 percent black, and 10 percent Hispanic.
Bloody Lies: The Dangerous Frontier of Genetic Ancestry Testing in the Battle to Prove Indigenous… https://medium.com/@rachelwaters/bloody-lies-the-dangerous-frontier-of-genetic-ancestry-testing-in-the-battle-to-prove-indigenous-8a8b51697f5c
Yeah, I know a lot of Lowreys, Locklears, and Oxendines through Mr. Cosmic. It's made me reexamine my idea of a native tribe as well as how I process genetic ladder pulling. Don't get me wrong, I'm all behind more land returns and reparations, but a fair amount of reading and a topo map tell me that Native Americans, slaves, and settlers all took a wrong turn, wound up in the swamp, and the Lumbee emerged with a NA language and culture. Does 3 centuries in the same swamp make you a tribe?
Yeah, Stitt is a member of the Cherokee Nation - same as Markwayne Mullin. Do what you will with that, but definitely don't generalize Native American to mean blue progressive. There are plenty of very committed capitalists among the tribes, protecting their hoard.
From 2022. The Lumbee are still petitioning, but this plays out nationwide. Credit where due, Richard Burr is 95% suppurating ass boil, but he actively worked this issue, introducing bills every session.
https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nc/charlotte/news/2022/08/02/push-for-lumbee-recognition-raises-concerns-from-some-tribes