I too have wondered what is the best way to opt out of the current system altogether. During our travels, we visited many of the Indian Reservations personally, including the Hopi in the Four Corners Region. Like sjkted mentioned, most of them want NOTHING to do with anyone if they are white. They really do not care who you are, why you are there, or what your spiritual beliefs are. After all the horrors they have been through, I really cannot say I blame them one bit!
We spoke with many people living on the various reservations, only to find that the majority of the people were not happy with their own group of Elders or how they were running things. They also had a strong dislike for the “feds” (their word choice, not mind), who had infiltrated their leadership.
The way things are being run right now, on most of the Reservations I have been to, is far from the “Golden Rule.” Just like in our current government, it is all about who is the best at “milking the system”, or who is the most manipulative, or controlling. Sad, but true.
What saddens me the most about the current Native American situation is the loss of their culture, including their individual languages and customs. The worst part is, when speaking with them, is that they do not seem to have any interest in reviving these things.
I would love to find a way to help rebuild what has been nearly destroyed. Like the Phoenix rising from the ashes.
If you would like to research US Indian Reservations further, a map of them can be found here:
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/unite...icanindian.jpg
As for the Four Corners Region, the link below has me questioning the safety of this area. Go to:
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/map_s...#united_states
After clicking on the above link, scroll down and click on United States - Department of National Security Facilities (Monthly Review) This will bring up a map of those facilities. Now right click on the map, click on Save As, now instead of saving that picture look carefully at the file name THEY chose to give this picture! Does this raise any red flags for anyone? It does for me.
As far as a Land Trust goes, the majority (not all) of the current Intentional Communities use this method of land ownership. If the original group has a good plan of action put together that ALL of them agree on, a well-thought out list of By-Laws, and good leadership to start with, for some people this does seem to work. However, from what I have seen, it more often than not becomes a HUGE problem for everyone involved. Just like with what is going on in our current system, it is misused, abused and taken advantage of to the detriment of most of the people involved. This would take much too long to explain here.
When it comes down to the reality of making a Land Trusts work, there is a lot involved in it than most people realize. You could invest years of your life building something, hundreds of thousands of dollars, not to mention the mental and emotional investment, only to lose it all literally overnight. I have seen it happen.
There MUST be other options that we are not looking at, or are not yet aware of.
I look forward to your input.