Governor Dennis Daugaard opposes a federal government decision to place a parcel of Black Hills land into federal trust status. The governor spoke at a meeting of the Rosebud Sioux Tribal Council last week.
In 2012, a coalition of four tribes bought 2000 acres called Pe` Sla in the central Black Hills. Lakota people consider the land a sacred site. This year federal officials granted the tribes request to place the land in trust status.
But State officials question the Interior Department’s authority to take a piece of land into trust for multiple Native American tribes.
The state argues that making the parcel near Deerfield Lake “trust land” is the same as making it “reservation land”.
Governor Dennis Daugaard expressed concern over possible jurisdictional issues in his statements before the Rosebud tribal council.
“I also oppose the Pe` Sla land into trust for this reason,” explains Daugaard. “ You have
many tribal members who have needs here on the reservation. And if Grandma needs housing. Or if Grandma’ needs food. Or if Grandma needs transportation…Grandma doesn’t need you to spend tribal resources on a park land setting 200 miles away for religious use or for buffalo agricultural use. Grandma needs housing. Grandma needs food. And so…that’s your decision to make…not mine. That’s yours to make. But I don’t support it…for that reason. And that’s the reason I don’t support it.”
After the Governor’s comments Rosebud Sioux tribal member Wayne Fredrick laid out his beliefs on the importance of protecting Lakota sacred sites.
Related link:
Governor Dennis Daugaard's comments about the Pe` Sla land transfer issue before the Rosebud Sioux Tribal Council on April 21, 2016 can be heard from the 23:51 to 31:40 marks in the following video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elkPI1cc4gY