Black Hills Land Claim
One of the most popular Native American land disputes in the
United States is the claim on Black Hills from the Sioux Nation. The Black
Hills mountain range is vast; it stretches nearly 70 miles from South Dakota to
Wyoming; the land is rich with lush forests that produces pine and spruce
trees. This land was vital for the Sioux before being relocated; the ongoing struggle
is continuing and the Federal government is reluctant to give back the sacred
lands that once were ideal fishing and hunting grounds for the Sioux Tribe.
Here’s the kicker – the Blacks Hills contains several
popular national parks (Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Badlands National
Park, Devils Tower National Monument, Jewel Cave National Monument, Wind Cave
National Park and Minuteman Missile National Historic Site.) These parks bring in great sources of revenue
for the federal government – not a single penny is given to the Sioux people. There
have been many treaties dating back to the 1800’s regarding the Black Hills and
proper ownership rights; in each instance, the Native Americans got the short
end of the deal. The federal government continues to change the fine print of
the treaties and financial reconciliation has never been mutually agreed upon.
The Obama administration continues to support the tribe and
believes they should certainly have a say in the matter. A recent lawsuit has
been filed totaling 900 million USD against the federal government claiming damages.
I don’t know – how is it possible that the fed refuses to
compensate the original settlers of the Black Hills? It just doesn’t seem right..
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/north_america-july-dec11-blackhills_08-23/
Wow, Jon. Thanks for simply spelling things out so succinctly. I agree with you that the US should compensate the nation that originally cared for this land, the Sioux, generously for all that they've endured in ruptured treaties. I also think that giving the Sioux all their land back, plus the $900,000,000.00 would be a minimal apology and compensation for what this nation has endured. Let the Sioux decide if they'd like to keep the parks open to the public, and reap the revenue from these parks if they do. And let the US government pay also to restore the land.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Jon, its insane to think that the USA government gathers that much prophet with out the Sioux tribe getting compensated. They should be able to at least claim a portion of the land. I am not sure how giving back land, that contains so many monuments would effect the USA or the Sioux tribe, both would have to make big changes for this to take place. I agree with most of the points you made and enjoyed your blog.
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