Giving the Black Hills Back to the Same Government who Stole It

I want to talk about a sacred site in the Black Hills know as Pe'Sla.  This land was purchased by various Sioux Tribes and by fund raising from some private sectors.  Pe'Sla was purchased for a very large amount of money.  I do not recall the exact amount of the purchasing price but I recall it being over 30 million dollars.  In the purchasing process the Sioux Tribes agreed upon a percentage of ownership and responsibility based on how much each Sioux Tribe contributed.  The Rosebud Sioux Tribe contributed the most money during the purchase retaining 51% ownership.

Pe'Sla is beautiful and its near Flag Mountain in the Black Hills about 25 miles North, Northwest of Hill City, SD.  Another site the Rosebud Sioux Tribe purchased in the Black Hills was land near Bear Butte and the Bear Butte Lodge.  The Black Hills were stolen from the Great Sioux Nation, through litigation the courts acknowledged that Black Hills was stolen from the Great Sioux Nation.  In this litigation process the Black Hills land base was not returned to the Great Sioux Nation.  A large sum of money was awarded to the Great Sioux Nation.  

This money was not accepted and remains in the Federal Reserve or Federal Treasury gaining interest.  The sum is now somewhere around 4 billion dollars I was informed.  It was a sad day but also a happy day when the Sioux closed the purchasing deal having to buy back land stolen from us.  It was very controversial in the purchasing of Pe'Sla, as many people expressed pros and cons about the purchase.

The sad reality of purchasing Pe'sla and the land around Bear Butte is how it was given back to the Federal Government.  Historically the Department of Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs has pressed and instilled rules, if a Tribe purchased land it had to be placed into Trust status.  Trust Status means, in Trust to the United States of America for the Rosebud Sioux Tribe as an example.  

The Rosebud Sioux Tribe is unique to the fact as we have a a chartered entity called Tribal Land Enterprise (TLE).  TLE was established in 1943 and to was to purchase Native owned land, in hopes to build the land base and retain Native land.  TLE mission statements was to not let Native owned land or fractionated interests owned by Native Tribal Members be sold to Non-Indians.  TLE used self generated revenue to purchase this land from its establishment to present day.  Purchased land was placed into Trust status by the Tribal Council through an application process of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

The Federal Government took our historical land base away from us spelled out in the 1868 Ft. Laramie Treaty.  The Native land base was stolen and we were forced on reservations.  Along came the 1934 Indian Reorganizational Act.  At this time the Federal Government had to honor the Treaties and tasked to provide everything the needed to Native Americans detailed in the 1868 Ft. Laramie Treaty.  During this time the Federal Government attempted to eliminate Native Americans by sending rotten meat and blankets infested with small pox.  We was not allowed to practice out Traditional Ceremonies openly until the Freedom of Religion Act.

We survived genocide and historical trauma from the Federal Government.  In this process the Bureau of Indian Affairs imposed rules on Native Americans and one of these rules was putting Native American land into trust.  While serving on the Tribal Council I opposed placing any Tribally purchased land into trust.  History always prevailed and the land was placed into Trust to the United States of America for the Rosebud Sioux Tribe.

When it came to the application to place Pe'Sla into Trust I tried and tried to explain to the Tribal Council and Tribal Administration not to place Pe'Sla into Trust status.  It fell on deaf ears and the application process proceeded with the Rosebud Sioux Tribal Government missing the big picture.  The big picture being, having to buy back stolen land, stolen Black Hills land, purchasing stolen land at an unethical price per acre.  The Tribes knew that price was overly inflated but we wanted Pe'Sla back.

What do we do, place Pe'Sla in Trust status back to same old Government who was told them stole it from us for our use.  We owned Pe'Sla, we owned it, it was ours, and we gave it back to the Federal Government by placing it in Trust status.  This is prime example of historical trauma amounting to brainwashing us for decades that we HAVE to put land into Trust.  

I bet a conversation took place in Washington DC when the Secretary of Interior signed Pe'Sla into Trust.  I bet the ghost of Uncle Sam lit a big cigar, leaned back in his chair, placed his feet up on a desk, and said, mission accomplished we killed the Indian and saved the man.  They purchased land I stole from them and gave it right back to me so they can use it.  This is the harsh reality of how Pe'Sla was given back to the Federal Government.

In this day and age with all the attorney's on Tribal payroll this still happened, we gave Pe'Sla back to Federal Government.  Some of Tribal Leaders think some fo these attorneys walk on water.  We have MOA's and MOU's we could have entered into one with the County where Pe'Sla and the Bear Butte land sits to retain sole ownership.  We could have assumed full jurisdiction of Tribal status rather than Trust status.   To the Tribal attorney's, it's not about historical meaning of the Black Hills, it's all about milking the Tribes for money.

I have heard Tribal leaders say, it has to be placed into Trust, it's complicated, this is what we have always done, or the BIA said we had to put Pe'Sla into Trust.  This is the cause of historical trauma and the Native Colonized mindset still engrained in out Tribal Leaders.  Some Tribal leaders have accepted colonization. Let's pay for land and without thinking hand it right back to the Government who stole our land.  Pe'Sla is not within the exterior boundaries of in Indian reservation so no, it did not need to be placed into Trust.  The lawyers you think walk on water lied to you again.

The Department of Interior has a process to remove land from Trust status and I think Tribal Members should press our Tribal Leaders to take Pe'Sla and the Bear Butte land out of Trust status.  I heard the excuse, we have to pay property taxes it its not in Trust.  So be it, negotiate with the county though a MOA/MOU but get back the ownership.  The sad fact is Tribal Government gave back stolen Black Hills land to the Government who stole it from us.  Thats the fact of the big picture and its 2022 not 1934 anymore.  I repeated myself through this article in hopes Tribal Leaders light bulbs go off and start thinking outside the box.

Respectfully,

Hawkeye Waln