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#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