#Native leaders draft bill to regain some of sacred #BlackHills

Tribal and treaty council representatives hope proposed legislative language to return federal lands in #SouthDakota's Black Hills to #Lakota people can be turned into a Congressional bill

by Amelia Schafer, Dec 2, 2024

FORT YATES, N.D. – "The Black Hills are not for sale and never will be was the central uniting message discussed during a meeting at the Prairie Knights Casino in Fort Yates, N.D. on the Standing Rock Reservation.

Representatives from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Oglala Sioux Tribe, Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, a group of Mandan Hidatsa Arikara Nation elders and various treaty councils gathered on Nov. 13 to formulate a plan for regaining land in the Black Hills.

"The group met to discuss the He Sapa Restoration Act, which includes a formal declaration from the #Oyate (nation) and the tribal governments to demand that the United States return federal land in the Black Hills to the #OcetiSakowin people. The group hopes to introduce the bill in 2025.

"The bill would not affect the titles of private lands. Though those lands would be cataloged as part of the land identification process, they would remain in possession of the title holders.

"'Today we’ve gathered to discuss the Black Hills,' Standing Rock Vice-Chairman Frank Jameson said. 'This fight has been ongoing for many decades before us and it will continue after us."

Read more:
https://ictnews.org/news/leaders-draft-bill-to-regain-some-of-sacred-black-hills

#CheyenneRiverSioux #CrowCreekSioux #LowerBruleSioux #OglalaSioux #RosebudSiouxTribe #SissetonWahpetonOyate #StandingRockSioux #SpiritLakeSioux #LandBack #SacredBlackHills #ProtectTheSacred

I don't blame them!

#KristiNoem banned by two more #NativeAmerican tribes in #SouthDakota

Governor, plagued by dog-killing story, unwelcome in 20% of her state after she accused tribal leaders of benefiting from cartels

Dani Anguiano
Mon 13 May 2024 19.52 EDT

"The move by the #YanktonSioux tribe and the #SissetonWahpetonOyate tribe last week follows criticism from the governor who has – without evidence – accused tribal leaders of 'personally benefiting
from drug cartels. The #Oglala, Rosebud, #CheyenneRiver and #StandingRockSioux tribes banished Noem earlier this year.

"In a statement announcing the ban in April, the #RosebudSioux said the decision was based not only on Noem’s recent comments but an 'ongoing strained relationship' with the governor, who took office in 2019.

"The tribe cited Noem’s support of the #KeystoneXLPipeline, her opposition to #checkpoints on reservation borders established by the #CheyenneRiverSioux and Oglala Sioux during the pandemic, and her support of the removal of 'significant sections' of #NativeAmerican history from state social-studies standards, among other issues.

"'Governor Noem claims she wants to establish meaningful relationships with tribes to provide solutions for systemic problems. However, her actions as governor show blatantly otherwise,' the tribe said in a statement.

"'Her disingenuous nature towards Native Americans to further her federal political ambitions is an attack on tribal sovereignty that the Rosebud Sioux tribe will not tolerate.'"

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/may/13/kristi-noem-banned-tribes-south-dakota

#StandWithStandingRock #NoKXL #CulturalErasure #FirstNations #NativeAmericanNews

UPDATE - 12/29/2023: "The #WoundedKnee descendants group has decided not to burn artifacts stolen from mass graves of #WoundedKneeMassacre victims after officials from the #CheyenneRiverSioux Tribe requested that they not burn those artifacts."

Wounded Knee descendants group plans ceremony for artifacts

A group of Wounded Knee descendants is planning to burn recently repatriated artifacts on December 29

by Amelia Schafer
Dec 25, 2023

RAPID CITY, S.D. – "Last November, more than 150 items stolen from mass graves of Wounded Knee massacre victims were returned to a group of descendants, the Si’Tanka Ta’ Oyate O’mniceye (Descendants of the Si’ Tanka Nation). Now, a year later, the group plans to burn the artifacts to mark the end of the one-year traditional bereavement period called wasigla.

"In 1890, more than 300 Lakota men, women and children were killed by the #UnitedStatesMilitary. The military had been sent to #PineRidge to stop a potential 'Indian uprising.' Instead, they encountered a band of #Mniconju Lakota led by Chief Spotted Elk (nicknamed Big Foot by the military). The military misinterpreted the group’s ghost dance songs as an intent to attack and opened fire on the band. Now 133 years later, the descendants of those who survived the massacre are working to preserve the memory of what happened that day.

"Mixed in amongst the artifacts are items from other tribes, Ojibwe moccasins, Dakota and Cheyenne beadwork and other items from other tribes were scattered in. Those items will also be burned.

"All repatriated items came from the #WoodsMemorialLibrary’s Founders #MuseumCollection in #BarreMassachusetts. The museum qualifies as a private collection.

"The Founders Museum did not respond to a request for comment. It is unclear if the museum’s entire 'Native American Collection' was given to the Wounded Knee descendants or just the Wounded Knee-related items.

"Some Wounded Knee survivor descendants claim they were left out of the process [to make the decision to burn the items]. The group said there are more than 500 descendants of Wounded Knee survivor James Pipe on Head alone, the grandson of Chief Spotted Elk.

"Broken Nose said just in Oglala, South Dakota over 30 families descend from Spotted Elk. This specific group is comprised of descendants who have met since 1980.

"Calvin Spotted Elk, a citizen of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, said he feels the descendants have not been properly included in the decision-making process, especially those who live out of state. Spotted Elk lives in California."

https://ictnews.org/news/wounded-knee-descendants-group-plans-ceremony-for-artifacts

#Genocide #Lakota #NativeAmericanHistory #WoundedKneeMassacre #NeverForgetWoundedKnee
#IndianWars #GhostDance #Repatriation