The fight for the return of the Black Hills to the Lakota people may seem like a lost cause to many…but not for those who claim original rights to the land. We visit with Lakota elders and several of their well-known supporters to discuss the decades-old issue and examine plans to take the battle to the White House.
Echoes of the Black Hills Unity Concert are barely fading from the fields and valleys of Piedmont as Lakota elders begin gathering nearby to discuss the next step in their plans for the return of land they consider sacred.
After a two-day music festival that brought together Lakota tribal members and supporters from around the world…fanning the flame of resistance in old and young alike, it’s time to determine strategy for bringing the Black Hills Land Claim Issue to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Former Oglala Sioux Tribal President Theresa Two Bulls is a guiding force in the fight for the return of land taken from her people in 1877. Two Bulls says a week of meetings with some 100 tribal elders is focused in one direction.
“To unite everybody,” Two Bulls explains. “Tribal councils…treaty councils…the woman, the children the Native American attorneys. Anybody and everybody who’s interested in helping develop a land management plan when we go before President Obama and ask for the return of the federal lands in our sacred Black Hills.”
Sounds pretty ambitious. But the Lakota people will have to stand fully united, says Two Bulls, before President Obama will agree to sit down and discuss the Black Hills Land Claim issue with them.
“President Obama made that promise,” Two Bulls recalls. “He’s willing to sit down government to government…but we all have to be united. And they stressed that when we went to Washington, D.C. Myself and several Sioux chairmen and met with his staff and they strongly expressed that he will not sit down with you unless you’re all united. That’s the message he sent to us that day.”
For a people who have been historically divided…with disagreements between tribal councils and treaty councils, elected tribal officials and leaders of traditional extended family units called tiyospayes, and the often dissenting opinions of various grass-roots groups…achieving a united front is quite a goal to aim for. But the Lakota won’t be alone in their struggle. They have legendary activists like Buffy St. Marie, Arlo Guthrie and Joanne Shenandoah aligned with them. And there’s a new member in their ranks.
“My name is Rachael Knight,” says a young attorney. “I am the director of a community land protection program at Namati…which is an international NGO. I support communities to protect, claim and defend their land rights.”
Rachael Knight has prior experience assisting communities in Africa with land rights issues through her work with Namati. Strictly speaking, the international organization is dedicated to putting the law in people’s hands…especially those who live outside the protection of the law.
Although the Lakota are protected by federal, state and tribal laws, Rachel Knight says the Black Hills Land Claim issue falls into a category requiring assistance from her group.
“The courts have been very clear that there is no legal remedy,” Knight advises. “A judicial proceeding is not going to resolve this issue. And so what we’re trying to do is create a groundswell of action and energy and visioning and dreaming and dedication by every single household across all nine tribes.”
And it’s important to remember, says Rachel Knight, that she is just a consultant. This movement to return the Black Hills must be initiated and accomplished by the Lakota.
“I’m just going to come in, tell people what I know…what I’ve learned, how we’ve figured out how to do this and they have to take it on,” Knight explains. “And I think that’s very exciting. As I said before…in the past, it was a bunch of outside experts or lawyers…whatever…who were doing the work.”
But, says Rachael Knight, this time the work is being done by the Lakota people themselves.
To that end, the elders have drawn up a statement of their intention to pursue the return of jurisdiction and management of the Black Hills to the Lakota people. That statement is being circulated on the nine reservations across the state and, once signed by as many Lakota people as possible, is headed for President Obama’s desk.
In anticipation of their return, a management plan for the Black Hills is also being drafted.
Milo Yellow Hair has been a part of the Black Hills Land Claim issue since the 1980s. Yellow Hair says he feels good about what’s taking place.
“In order for anything to begin you need a light.” Yellow Hair observes. “We’re turning on a light at the end of the tunnel…is what we’re doing.”
Milo Yellow Hair adds that in order for America to become the great nation it is, it has to keep its word. The time for America to keep its word to the Lakota, notes Yellow Hair is now.
“Making a Noise in This World” Robbie Robertson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmIst-c0tks