um, actually didn't the feds purchase most of that land? I mean i admit i don't know all the ins and outs of what land became each state when statehood was granted, but in terms of who owned it first, the fed or the state, i'm pretty sure it was the fed for much of the west.
I think the indians owned/occupied long before the feds took it over. The land has been taken by force many times before my life time and can always happen again.
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