"Word of Honor"

Note this critically important post discussing Daschle's "word of honor"--now and in 1978.

UPDATE: A number of readers were interested in the Giago/Daschle deal, so here is what I know. At the time of the deal, which induced Giago out of his third party bid, the Washington Post reported the following:

While Giago would not go into detail about the issues he and Daschle discussed, he has said that he wanted Daschle to open dialogue on returning the sacred Black Hills to the tribes of the Sioux Nation, and to help remedy the lack of economic opportunities on the state's reservations, the poorest in the country. Giago had expressed distress that Daschle did not seem open to discussing the Black Hills.

Although many Americans are not even aware of the issue, for Indians, the return of the Black Hills is a central theme. The federal government took the land in an 1877 act that violated the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty, and Indians have been fighting for it ever since. In 1980, the Supreme Court awarded the tribes $105 million for the loss of the Black Hills. The tribes refused the money, saying the land was never for sale.

The Lakota Journal also reported that Giago said “Every Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota will be shocked and surprised at some of the issues Senator Daschle will bring forth.” First, based on these comments and much talk around South Dakota, the Daschle/Giago deal apparently involves some form of agreement on the Black Hills or a portion of the Black Hills. The most consistent story circulating is that Daschle will at a minimum propose a return of Wind Cave National Park in the Black Hills to the Sioux, and perhaps more. Why all this has to be organized in secret I can't understand. Second, will Daschle keep his "word of honor"? I can't see how he gets around this, given how blatant his promise was and the fact that he desperately needed to nudge Giago out of the race. So I'm guessing there will have to be some kind of meeting and some sort of deal worked out. You would think that the press would actually be inquiring about all this, wouldn't you? By the way, none of that information in the above Washington Post story was reported by the Argus Leader.

UPDATE II: Ryne McClaren:

But what troubles me the most is that these sorts of talks are nothing more than a bargaining chip for Daschle with the Native American voters, a bargaining chip that holds nothing but empty promises and unaddressed problems. I don't think any realist living in the Black Hills feels like this could be anything more than a hollow ploy by Daschle to bump Giago out of the race.

UPDATE III: Ryne, it should be noted, is from the Black Hills. He adds an important historical note on the significance of Wind Cave to the Sioux.