There is one person from whom I would very much like to hear on this issue, because I am ignorant of so much that is relevant, and likely making a fool of myself.  You know who you are!

I am entirely embarassed at how late I am in bringing this up, but it is certainly relevant.  I would like to draw your attention to an interesting development, apparently out of the American Indian Movement - who you should remember from Wounded Knee II - or a related faction.  If Wounded Knee II is news to you, it may also be news to you that the U.S. government has never completely stopped warring against the continent's orignal nations.

On behalf of the Lakota Nation (though possibly without the authority to speak on their behalf), Russell Means (and some less-flashy associates) have announced the withdrawl of that people from existing treaties with the U.S. government, and the (re)creation of an autonomous Republic of Lakotah covering portions of several U.S. states.  The movement apparently has a website.

Per Uncannily Obvious, "The nation would issue its own driver's licenses, passports, and would purportedly levy no taxes upon its citizenry. Means has promised that any who wish to live there may do so, given that they first renounce their US citizenship."  Overall, this sounds like a reasonable deal to me.  Although the crushing poverty, poor infrastructure, and so on, may drive some off, an influx of immigrants might arguably bring with it the resources and sympathy to help things develop in a more positive direction.  Cultural dilution might be a possible danger, though.

A cautionary note is struck by The Wild Hunt - we also may observe very divergent perspectives in their comments section.

Technoccult, as usual, were hip to this all along.

Additional information here (with extensive and useful comments), and here.

From my (all too well-documented) point of view, this could be a positive development IF (1) the Lakota themselves are in near-unanimous sympathy to the idea, (2) they have some support from other presently and historically adjacent or collocated native groups, and, for good measure, non-natives resident in the region, and (3) there is massive "external" support (including lots-o-cash) coming from other native groups, the usual progressive groups, and libertarians and others opposed to the unwelcome imposition of power.  I fear that none of these will come to pass, but I fear especially that the movement may become semi-viable, which would be much worse than it not being viable at all.  "Worse" in this case means that the Lakota community gets divided against itself, outsiders attempt to impose their vision of what the Lakota "must" want on the probably more pragmatically-minded people at ground zero, and the conflict with the gummint gets escalated to fruitless violence.  On the other hand, if this is the start of a new Civil War... I can hear the voices now:  "Well, I've gotta die someday, right?"

Ah, but the "militant" fantasies of urban radicals or rural militiamen are not likely to count for much when the inevitable jackbooted thugs show up and start shooting at Lakota.  Smart money says that very few white wannabes will actually show up willing to die on the barricades, should it come to that.  Nor will the news media.  So, I suppose that my greatest fear is that the gummint will be provoked into yet more anti-Lakota brutality, which will go largely ignored or suppressed.

One has to wonder who, in the end, will benefit from this attempt at secession.  And there is the approaching Presidential race to consider...  Perhaps the best we can hope for is that the flamboyance of this gesture fuels a huge media and memetic flap, focussing world and national attention on the plight of the Lakota and other original peoples - which may very well be the point.  In which case:  Well played!