Tribes Reach $9 Million Goal and Purchase Sacred Site of Pe' Sla

 

Vincent Schilling: November 30, 2012

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“The historic requisition of Pe’ Sla started today in Rapid City, South Dakota. The Rosebud Sioux Tribe, the Crow Creek Tribe, and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Tribe community gathered in a historic assembly of the United Tribes.

Pe’ Sla is sacred because it is related to the Lakota creation and it is the site for annual ceremonies. It has historically hosted many village gatherings. Black Elk, the Lakota visionary sought his visions at Pe’ Sla. It is the high mountain on a prairie in the heart of the Black Hills.

The land of Pe’ Sla was once protected by the 1868 and 1851 Sioux nation treaties. The United States violated those treaties and took the Black Hills in violation of the fifth amendment of the Constitution. Today the requisition is a historic event for the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota people. The tribes will work together to form the Oceti Sakowin Sacred Land Protection Commission to protect Pe’ Sla. We will preserve the sacred site for traditional and cultural ceremonies and keep it in a pristine state for our future generations.

We are grateful to stand together before the creator and to help our people in reclaiming one of our most sacred sites. We are not waiting for the United States to deal with this justly on the Black Hills rights and we ask that now that we are exercising our inherent sovereign authority to protect this most sacred site. We must perpetuate our way of life for future generations.

We thank the members of the public who donated to this cause to create justice for all people and now we are more determined than ever that the United States must provide justice for our people. We thank the Reynolds family for working with us in our requisition of Pe’ Sla as a sacred site for Lakota, Nakota and Dakota people.”

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 Finally! There has been a break through for Native people. It was unfair that they had to raise the money to buy back the land that they already donated, but still this is a massive achievement. It has taken a few months (since I last blogged about this), but the goal of $9 million dollars has been reached and their sacred site is back for the Native people. The speech above was something I considered to be extremely moving and connection to everyone that was involved in making this effort possible for the people. I can see how this is a victory for the Lakota, Nakota, and Dakota people, but why did it take so long and why was it originally out of their power in the first place...I know it was because they donated the land for a nature reserve and then individuals came in and destroyed that idea. The struggle for power and control goes back extremely far, but I am extremely proud of the people that worked so hard in order to get back their sacred site. Activism and movements can cause a large impact on the world and change the way we live. I'm glad that this is a movement that worked out in a powerful way and gave back Native people their empowerment. They stood up to injustice and won! That is amazing. I can't get over how mind blowing that is. There deserves to be recognition for this.