art courtesy of Wanbli Awanyankapi
By Greta Larson
March, 1997
Think of the Black Hills and you think of Mount Rushmore, "Black Hills Gold"
jewelry, family campgrounds and national parks. As a tourist, you may travel home
and not have any idea that the land you visited is named after Indians and, to some
tribes, it is their most sacred land. In fact, the Black Hills are the rightful property
of Indians and should still belong to the Dakota (or Sioux) tribe according to article 12
of the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty made between the U.S. Government and the Dakota people.
The treaty itself was written in April of 1868 by peace commissioners. It consisted of seventeen articles and secured peace between the Indians and non- Indians and designated that anyone violating the peace would be subject to the authority of the U.S. Government-- Indians and whites both. What would become one of the most important parts of the treaty to the Sioux in later times was that which specified conditions for cession of reservation land (article 12):
No treaty for the cession of any portion or part of the reservation herein described which may be held in common shall be of any validity or force as against the said, unless executed and signed by at least three-fourths of all the adult male Indians
In the late ninteenth century the Black Hills, which were protected from settlers by treaties with the Indians, were found to have gold. At this point the United States government found no need to follow the conditions of the treaty. The Hills held many riches and, besides, the Indians were a conquered people. The Indians refused to sell the Hills, but the U.S. "bought" the Hills from them anyway, without the consent of three quarters of the adult male indian population. This deal was a total sham.
While the whites found gold, the Indians mourned the loss of their sacred religious grounds. The Hills were where many sought the Great Spirit in Vision Quests. Black Elk, famous religious leader of the Dakota people, was taken to Harney Peak in the Black Hills-- the "center of the world"-- in his Great Vision.
As early as 1923 the Sioux attempted legal action to get the Black Hills back. Finally, in 1980, the Sioux were awarded $106 million by the Supreme Court for the Black Hills. The Sioux did not touch the money, they never wanted money-- they just wanted the Hills back. Congressional bills were introduced by Senator Bradley in 1985 and Congressman Martinez in 1990 which would return the Hills to the Sioux. Neither were successfully enacted.
Further AIM (American Indian Movement) protests continued into the 1980's. An Indian village, of sorts, was established from 1981 to 1983 in the Black Hills: Camp Yellow Thunder. Many Indians lived there in a traditional way and learned about their heritage, but they had the constant threat of state police and the park service who disapproved of their presence.
In the latter part of this century the Sioux showed that in some ways they are the same as they were back in the 1790's: They are still "strong and war-like" people. However, they are now people who have lost their sacred lands, and many of their traditions. While their sixty year fight to reclaim the Hills is admirable, Edward Lazarus in a book called Black Hills/ White Justice, contends that for the Sioux, "the claims process has encouraged them to evade any real responsibility for repairing the tragic conditions of their lives. They have come to believe in their status as victim, their sense of grievance, is their greatest source of strength and only hope of unity."
There may be some truth to what Lazarus says. However spiritual unity is the true hope of the Dakota people. The Black Hills themselves may not be legally owned by the Indians, but they are still the Indian's spiritual property-- no one can take that away from them. On May 31st, 1931 on the highest point of the sacred Black Hills, Black Elk prayed for his people:
O Great Spirit, Great Spirit, my Grandfather . . . Here at the center of the world . . . I recall the great vision you sent me. It may be that some of little root of the sacred tree still lives. Nourish it then, that it may leaf and bloom and fill with singing birds. Hear me, not for myself, but for my people; I am old. . . Hear me in my sorrow, for I may never call again. O make my people live!
The Dakota people have suffered more than a century of poverty and mistreatment, but they are certainly not dead. In the 1970's when they began to make a stand for their sacred Black Hills, a re-growth started as they re-discovered their power as a people. Perhaps Black Elk's prayer was being answered.
