A Native American-led nonprofit has introduced that it bought almost 40 acres (16.2 hectares) of land within the Black Hills of South Dakota amid a rising motion that seeks to return land to Indigenous folks.
The Cheyenne River Youth Undertaking introduced in an April 11 assertion that it bought the tract of land adjoining to Bear Butte State Park in western South Dakota.
“Some of the sacred locations for the Lakota Nation is Mato Paha, now a part of Bear Butte State Park,” the assertion mentioned. “Entry to Bear Butte was severed within the late nineteenth century, when the U.S. authorities seized the Black Hills and broke up the Nice Sioux Reservation into a number of smaller reservations.”
Julie Garreau, government director of the undertaking, mentioned within the assertion that the U.S. Supreme Courtroom dominated in 1980 that the U.S. had illegally taken the Black Hills. The court docket awarded the Lakota folks $105 million, however they’ve refused to simply accept the cash as a result of the Black Hills have been by no means on the market, the assertion mentioned.
Garreau mentioned “alternatives to re-establish entry to sacred locations are being misplaced quickly as metro areas develop and land values skyrocket,” which contributed to the group’s resolution to purchase the land.
“Our folks have deep roots on this area, but we’ve to drive 5 hours spherical journey to be right here, and summertime lodging costs are astronomical,” she mentioned. “The gap and the associated fee forestall entry.”
The assertion didn’t say how a lot the group paid to buy the land.
In recent times, some tribes within the U.S., Canada and Australia have gotten their rights to ancestral lands restored with the expansion of the Land Again motion.