Some background about #PeSla

Pe’ Sla Controversial Drilling Project

GABRIELLE NELSON, March 25, 2026

Excerpt: "The decision memo doesn’t mention Pe’ Sla. Gubble says in the memo, 'There are no known Native American or Alaska Native religious or cultural sites within the project area.' The USDA spokesperson told #BuffalosFire in an email, 'No activities are planned on Tribal trust lands, including Pe’ Sla.'

"The #BlackHills #CleanWaterAlliance says otherwise. The map provided by #PeteLien & Sons shows the project’s drilling sites outside of Pe’ Sla boundaries, which were agreed upon in a Memorandum of Understanding between the Forest Service and tribes in 2024. But a map of the proposed drilling operations made by the alliance using coordinates provided by Pete Lien & Sons shows one site within those boundaries.

"Plus, the alliance says the actual area that needs to be protected from #drilling operations, which includes #noise, lights and traffic (usually 24 hours a day), should be larger. The alliance shows a two-mile buffer on its map. Most drilling sites are within that buffer zone. Yet, the alliance emphasized it is opposed to all drilling in the Black Hills, even outside this two-mile buffer.

"Protected Indian trust land also lies within the Pe’ Sla boundaries. In 2012, four #Sioux tribes — #Rosebud, #CrowCreek, #ShakopeeMdewakanton and #StandingRock — raised $9 million to purchase nearly 2,000 acres of Pe’ Sla. In 2016, the Bureau of Indian Affairs placed that land (plus 200 acres) into federal Indian trust status to protect the land from development.

" 'They recognized that due to the unique cultural significance of the Pe’ Sla area that this situation was different, that this is a special place,' said Gunhammer. 'But now, unfortunately, the Forest Service, Black Hills National Forest, has managed to look past all of this very, very well documented history.'

"Lilias Jarding, executive director of the Black Hills Clean Water Alliance, told Buffalo’s Fire that the project is 'obviously not OK' because of its proximity to Pe’ Sla. She said the Forest Service ignored this when they approved the project without an environmental assessment."

Read more:
https://www.lakotatimes.com/articles/pe-sla-controversial-drilling-project/

Archived version:
https://archive.ph/kq5sj

#USPol #IndigenousNews #IndigenousResistance #ProtectTheSacred #WaterIsLife #BlackHills #NoMining #OcetiSakowin #SiouxNation #PLS #RapidCreekWatershed

Pe’ Sla Controversial Drilling Project - Lakota Times

Pe’ Sla sits in the middle of the Black Hills, land that holds deep cultural significance to Northern Plains tribes, Flag Mountain, South Dakota. Thursday, June 9, 2022. Photo Arlo Iron Cloud Sr. Visiting the Black Hills is like Easter to Lisa Mni. When she sees lion’s mane mushrooms, hazelnuts or timpsila (prairie turnip) popping up out of the ground <a href="https://www.lakotatimes.com/articles/pe-sla-controversial-drilling-project/">[…]</a>

Lakota Times -

HAPPENING NOW!

#LakotaYouths are Locked Down to #Drilling Equipment at #PeSla

Drilling is Shut Down Now at 1 P.M. on Thursday: Two Drilling Sites are Shut Down and All Workers Were Sent Home. Lakota Youths Protecting Their Water Demand that all Drilling be Halted Until this is Heard in Court on Monday.

Posted by #NDNCollective, April 30, 2026, via @bsnorrell.blogspot.com

Photos by Angel White Eyes

"Lakota youth have locked down onto the drilling equipment at Pe’ Sla. An alter has been set up and community members have offered prayers. The drilling company said that law enforcement is on the way.

"At this time, we are calling on Tribes, Nations, Organizations, Collectives, and Coalitions to show support and sign the 'Stop the Drilling at Pe’ Sla' sign-on letter:

"If you are nearby, we encourage you to visit the #MysticRanger station and tell them to Rescind the permit and stop the drilling at Pe' Sla.

"#Mining activity is currently taking place at Pe' Sla despite community opposition. The Rochford Mineral Exploratory Drilling Project (#RMEDP) which seeks to drill for graphite, proposed by #PeteLien & Sons, must be stopped.

"The 2026 #MMIR March is a collaborative effort between the Minnesota Indian Women’s Sexual Assault Coalition (#MIWSAC), the Minneapolis American Indian Center (#MAIC), the Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center (#MIWRC), the Indian Health Board of Minneapolis, the Native American Community Development Institute (#NACDI), the Minnesota Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (#MMIR) Office, #GatheringsCafe, #Minneapolis Public Schools American Indian Education, the #IndigenousProtectors Movement, the #TRADISH Project (a MAIC program), the Culture Language Arts Network (a MAIC program), Indigenous Women’s Life Net (a MAIC Program), the Many Shields Society, Mending the Sacred Hoop, Make Voting a Tradition (a NACDI program), and the #AmericanIndianMovement (AIM)."

Source [includes photos]:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2026/04/lakota-youths-are-locked-down-to.html

Sign on letter:
https://ndnco.cc/signtosavepesla

#USPol #IndigenousNews #IndigenousResistance #ProtectTheSacred #BlackHills #NoMining #OcetiSakowin #SiouxNation #PLS #RapidCreekWatershed

Lakota Youths are Locked Down to Drilling Equipment at Pe'Sla

Censored News is a service to grassroots Indigenous Peoples engaged in resistance and upholding human rights.

@shrugdealer My friend #BrendaNorrell who runs #CensoredNews. We have been comrades since the 1990s. I just found out that she has been very ill (but is recovering), and could use some #MutualAid ...

"Donate via PayPal

Censored News is reader-supported news, with no ads, salaries, or revenues, and depends on reader donations to keep going.

Donations also help pay the cost of our laptops and audio equipment.

Censored News is independent, and in its 19th year, with 29 million page views.

Thank you, Brenda
[email protected]"

https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2019/08/donate-to-censored-news.html

#IndigenousNews #ReaderSupportedNews #Resistance

Donate to Censored News: Reader Supported News

Censored News is a service to grassroots Indigenous Peoples engaged in resistance and upholding human rights.

Bioneers On SoundCloud
"Revolution from the Heart of Nature is an award-winning radio and audio series featuring breakthrough solutions for people and planet."
https://soundcloud.com/bioneers

#SolarPunkSunday #Bioneers #Nature #WildLife #BioDiversity #SoundCloud #RestoringNature #BioMimicry #Ecology #IndigenousNews #Leadership #Spirituality #Gender #Psychology #Rivers #Food #Plants #Fungi #PodCasts #WaterIsLife

[Photos] #IndigenousYouths #Reclaiming #Waters and #Rivers: #Bioneers

"During Bioneers annual conference in Berkeley, Indigenous youths shared their struggles, from the Eastern Cherokee to the Klamath on the west coast, to Hawaii, as Native youths reclaim their waters and rivers, and rise to defend the natural world."

https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2026/04/indigenous-youths-reclaiming-waters-and.html

#SolarPunkSunday #WaterIsLife #DamRemoval #RiverKeepers #RestoringNature #ProtectNature #IndigenousNews

Indigenous Youths Reclaiming Waters and Rivers: Bioneers Photos by Robert Free 2026

Censored News is a service to grassroots Indigenous Peoples engaged in resistance and upholding human rights.

#ApacheStronghold #HolyGround Ceremony

March 28, 2026

"On Saturday, March 28th at 8 am, a Holy Ground Ceremony will be held in #SanCarlosAZ, at the 7 mile Holy Ground. Those who do not know the location are welcome to camp at the Nosie’s Residence Friday night or meet there at 7 am to follow us to 7 mile Holy Ground. More information about Sunday March 29th will be available tomorrow. Announcements will be made in person at ceremony."

https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2026/03/apache-stronghold-holy-ground-ceremony.html

#SaveOakFlat #ChíchilBiłdagoteel #ProtectOakFlat #Arizona #RioTinto #CopperMining #Fight4OurExistance
#SacredLand #TontoNationalForest
#WesternApache #ProtectTheSacred
#IndigenousNews #IndigenousActivism #CorporateColonialism #DefendTheSacred #CensoredNews #ReaderSupportedNews

Apache Stronghold Holy Ground Ceremony March 28, 2026

Censored News is a service to grassroots Indigenous Peoples engaged in resistance and upholding human rights.

#ApacheStronghold 'We Are Still Fighting'

Statement from Dr. #WendslerNosie Sr.
March 20, 2026

"Many of you have heard that on Friday, the Ninth Circuit again refused to stop the Government from giving #OakFlat to #ResolutionCopper for destruction. This is sad news. But we will never stop fighting to protect Oak Flat and each place that is sacred to our people. And we are still fighting—in the courts, in Congress, and, most importantly, spiritually.

In the courts, there are still four lawsuits seeking to protect Oak Flat. All four cases are still going. And any one of these cases could still put a stop to the Government’s and Resolution’s plans to destroy Oak Flat:

- In Lopez v. United States, on the day after Friday’s ruling, seven brave Apache women filed an emergency appeal in the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the Court to stop the mine and protect Oak Flat. The Supreme Court could rule on that appeal any day. The women in that case can also ask the Ninth Circuit to reconsider its ruling in their case. The deadline to ask for reconsideration is April 27, 2026. That case focuses on religious freedom.
- In #SanCarlosApache Tribe v. United States, also part of Friday’s ruling, the Tribe can also ask the Ninth Circuit to reconsider its ruling and/or appeal to the Supreme Court. That case focuses on the Tribe’s rights, tribal consultation, and the inadequacy of the government’s decision-making process.
- In Arizona #Mining Reform Coalition v. United States, also part of Friday’s ruling, several environmental groups and the Inter-Tribal Association of Arizona can also ask the Ninth Circuit to reconsider its ruling and/or appeal to the Supreme Court. That case focuses on the government’s unfair appraisal of Oak Flat and inadequate #EnvironmentalReview.
- Apache Stronghold v. United States, which is our case, has been 'stayed' (or temporarily put on hold) waiting for the Ninth Circuit’s ruling, which came on Friday. Now that the Ninth Circuit has ruled, our case will start again in the district court. We will continue making every possible legal claim to protect Oak Flat.

In Congress, on Tuesday, Representative #AdelitaGrijalva introduced legislation to preserve public lands in the Chí’chil Biłdagoteel Historic District and fight back against the proposed mine. This bill is an important part of the fight to protect Oak Flat.

But even more than legally and politically, we are continuing to fight spiritually. This fight has never been primarily about law or politics. It is about who we are as human beings, religiously and spiritually. If we allow sacred places to be destroyed for profit, we are saying that nothing is truly sacred. We are losing something essential about our humanity—our ability to respect #MotherEarth, to honor what is holy, and to live in balance with the world around us.

That is why we are calling on all people to continue raising their voices, in prayer and protest, to protect Oak Flat—to protect the sacred. We, the Apache Stronghold, invite you to an upcoming spiritual gathering on March 28-29, 2026 at Oak Flat.

The legal system may try to reduce our struggle to questions of ownership and profit. But our connection to Mother Earth predates those systems. It is something each one of us is born into, something we carry in our prayers, our songs, and our way of life. No matter what the courts rule, no matter what the government tries to do, we will never stop fighting to preserve our sacred places. We will not lose our connection to the Creator."

Source:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2026/03/apache-stronghold-we-are-still-fighting.html

#ChíchilBiłdagoteel #ProtectOakFlat #SanCarlosApache #ResolutionCopper #Arizona #RioTinto #SaveOakFlat #CopperMining #Fight4OurExistance #SacredLand #TontoNationalForest #WesternApaches #ProtectTheSacred #IndigenousNews #IndigenousActivism #CorporateColonialism #DefendTheSacred #CensoredNews #ReaderSupportedNews

Apache Stronghold 'We Are Still Fighting'

Censored News is a service to grassroots Indigenous Peoples engaged in resistance and upholding human rights.

Six Things You Need to Know About the Forced Sterilization of Native American Women

Each January at Native News Online’s Health Equity desk, we sift through the past year of news coverage: breaking news on policies and legislation, trends in data, and feature articles created from listening when Indian Country tells us what matters. What emerges is a list of our best estimate of which stories will unfold over […]

Native News Online
DHS Nominee Mullin Pressed on 2020 Election, Tribal Consultation

WASHINGTON – Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), President Trump’s nominee to serve as secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), faced tough questioning Wednesday before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. In his opening remarks, Mullin said he was humbled by the president’s nomination. The senator, a tribal citizen of […]

Native News Online