What does a career Indian protester do when he realizes the Left has failed him and his people? Ask Russell Means, Olgala Sioux of Pine Ridge, South Dakota. Mr. Means recently endorsed Republican John Thune’s bid for the Senate. Thune is running against Democrat incumbent Tom Daschle. Means now calls himself a “Lakota Libertarian Republican.”

It makes perfect sense. There has been little improvement in Indian country under the Democrats. Conditions in South Dakota reservations certainly haven’t improved under Daschle. What’s an Indian to do politically? "I'm going to work with Sen. Thune's staff,” says Means, “and the state Republican Party, and that will open doors to work with the National Republican Party to completely change Indian policy in America."

For some years, in fact, Means has recognized the impotence of the Democratic Party’s approach to Indian problems. He joined the Libertarian Party in 1987, and ran as the Libertarian candidate for governor of New Mexico in 2002. “What is an American? I believe an American loves to be free. You are free to be responsible. That's the only rule you should understand,” Means says...