BLACK HILLS

In 1873 Black Elk is an eleven year old boy and his people of the Ogallala Sioux are camped in Paha Sapa -  the sacred Black Hills, in what is now known as Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. 

Black Elk remembers that in a previous vision he sees a beautiful flock of swallows before a terrible storm, but he cannot stone them as other boys are doing because he remembers that the Grandfathers of his vision told him that he is a relative of the birds. 

One day he goes hunting for squirrels with the other boys and he hears an inner voice telling him to go back.

He and his friends return and find that their people are breaking camp because Chips, the medicine man, heard a voice telling him that the Indians are being threatened and they must move.

They move camp several times finally locating at Fort Robinson (Soldiers’ Town).

In the spring (1874), when Black Elk is 12 years old, more soldiers come up from Fort Laramie and go into the Black Hills.  Approximately 400 men and 75 wagons on what they called a "geological  expedition" and stayed through October.

Black Elk learns that the threat (that Chips the medicine man made) came from General George Armstrong Custer, whom he calls Pahuska or Long Hair, who had entered the Black Hills.  Custer was elevated to the rank of General by a battlefield commission during the Civil War. 

Custer had emerged from West Point at the very bottom of his class where he had amassed a huge number of demerits.

His success in the Civil War may be attributed to the recklessly wild charges he led with no concern for his troops' welfare or the scouting reports, if he ever read them.  He had the highest casualty figures among the Union division commanders; however, he himself always miraculously emerged unscathed by keeping himself at a distance.

In 1867, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in the 7th Cavalry and began his career as an Indian fighter and cold blooded murderer.  He was not loved by his men or horses which he drove equally as hard .

In 1867 and after the war, he was stripped of his battlefield commission and returned to the regular army as a captain.  He was assigned to Texas to restore order, a task he felt was inconsequential and beneath him. 

He was brought up on charges of abandoning his command (to visit his wife) while simultaneously having (other) deserters from his own troops shot on the spot (Sans hearing).  He was convicted on both counts and sentenced to a year's suspension from rank and pay including forfeiture of salary but 10 months later he was reinstated by General Sheridan to lead the campaign against the Southern Cheyenne in Oklahoma Territory.

It was in Oklahoma that his diabolical strategy of a winter campaign would be tried to catch the Indians off guard and when they had become immobile in their winter camps.

The culmination of this campaign was the massacre of Black Kettles Southern Cheyennes in the Battle of the Washita on November 27, 1868, with 103 Cheyennes dead in the mud and snow.   The animals were all slaughtered at Custer's order and all captured possessions were burned to a cinder. 

The terms of the Fort Laramie 1868 Treaty that Red Cloud signed with the U.S. Government giving the land, including all of the sacred Black Hills to the Sioux, forbade Custer’s advance into the Black Hills but Custer discovered gold in them Black Hills and no legal piece of paper was going to stop his lust for this precious yellow mineral. 

 BEGINNING OF "ACTS"

The U.S. Congress passes the 1872 Mining Act - applying to lands in federal domain. 

 

This Mining Act states that for a miniscule filing fee an unlimited number of claims may be filed by prospectors. 

All the claimant must prove is that it will bring at least $100 worth of work to the area annually and also that after five years the claimant may file for a patent. 

If granted, the patent transfers the land from public to private property how ever the U.S. Government's Treaty of 1851, between Red Cloud and the U.S. government, recognized the Black Hills as Indian territory but that land became too valuable for empire-builders to ignore.

HEARST, THE FOUNDING FATHER OF HOME STAKE GOLD MINE AND CALAMITY JANE

George Hearst was a mining tycoon and those who live in the Northern Black Hills recognize the name.  Some historians refer to him as "The Father of the Homestake".

By the early thirties, Hearst had expanded his impressive media empire through his son William Randolph Hearst to include twenty-six daily newspapers in eighteen cities.  All together, 18 in the US and over 100 international magazines, but also the American Weekly syndicated supplement and services supplying news, features, photographs and television channels such as A&E, ESPN, Lifetime television, radio shows and much more.  

Almost one in four US families read a Hearst paper every day; which included Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan, Harper's Bazaar, Country Living,  Esquire,  Marie Claire ,  Town and Country, Popular Mechanics, SmartMoney, Seventeen, House Beautiful and Oprah Magazine. 

Martha Jane Canary was one of them and was born in 1848 in Princeton, Missouri. This hard drinking woman wore men's clothing, used their vulgar language also chewed tobacco and was handy with a gun and died of alcohol poisoning.. 

With the help of Martha Jane Canary, commonly known as Calamity Jane, General George Armstrong Custer led the Black Hills Gold Discovery Expedition in 1874.

His discovery of gold brought many adventurers and settlers to the area.

6 MILLION OFFER

In 1875,  President Grant sends the Allison Commission to negotiate with the Lakota Nation and after four months of unsuccessful discussion, the commission leaves its offer of $6 million for the land rejected. 

In late 1875, President Grant orders the Army not to enforce provision of the 1868 Treaty prohibiting non-indians from entering the Paha Sapa. 

Now this lethal combination of the 1872 Mining Act, and public knowledge of the gold in the sacred land of the Paha Sapa encourages many prospectors to enter the area and violate the Fort Laramie Treaty.

The Sioux did not especially value gold and the whites’ obsession with it bemused them but they soon realized however that the whites’ greed for gold and for land would mean the end of their own freedom.

With the US governments' economic motives combined with misguided missionary efforts to civilize the Indians, the U.S. government began to establish "agencies" to manage the Indian population and infiltrate their traditional governing systems.  They did this by building houses for the Indians, taking away the power of the circular tepee and began to confine and "concentrate" the nomadic Indians in camps that would be known as "reservations" (Rosebud, Pine Ridge, and so on).

 

Black Elk offers a rather detailed portrait of Crazy Horse, an enigmatic figure in Indian history, who Black Elk thinks was the greatest of all Sioux chiefs.   Unlike Red Cloud, Crazy Horse resists the whites’ efforts to contain the Indians.

 

He refuses to negotiate with whites and remains unrecognized to the imposed changes in the Indians’ way of life and  he will prove to be a ferocious warrior.

 

SANCTIONS: SELL OR STARVE 1876

This may be the first attempt by the US of applying political sanctions to other sovereign nations, beginning with the sovereign nation of the Lakota Suiox.  

 

US  congress states that the Lakota (Sioux) will not receive any more treaty-guaranteed rations until they agree to sell the Paha Sapa and the yellow mineral.  

 

 The Lakota call this the "Sell or Starve" option. 

 

On June 25, the Lakota and other allies defeat General Custer and the celebrated 7th Cavalry at the Little Bighorn. 

 

Later in the year, another US commission comes to the Lakota Nation.

 

From sworn statements from those present the following facts emerge: 

 

At the time of this meeting about one-half of the nation is in the north on a hunting trip, meaning that the representation of less than 10% of the people meet with the commission.

 

An agreement was signed and understood as a lease on the land.

 

 

Later that year George Hearst purchases a prospecting claim in Black Hills for $70,000 he has borrowed from his mother.

 

The United States passes the Black Hills Act unilaterally transferring the Black Hills to the United States.

 

 

A year later George Hearst's claim is now worth $6 million and he adds processing equipment to the Homestake Gold Mine.

 

1887 the "Dawes Allotment Act" is passed.  The law applies to all reservations (except Pine Ridge until 1902) dividing the land in 160 acre individual allotments.

1890,  the US congress now unilaterally reduces the Lakota reservations to six separate tracts.

 

Homesteaders enter the region in greater numbers, seeking to make a living off the land.

In late December of 1890, the U.S. 7th Cavalry destroys 350+ men, women, and children at Wounded Knee.

In 1917, the mineral rights to homestead land are retained by the government meaning gold and silver.

In 1919, the U.S. "gives permission" for the Lakota to file a court claim for land taken from them, however the Lakota are not told until after the case is filed that the claim is for money-instead of land contrary to the wishes of the Lakota. 

1924 - The US creates  the  "Indian Citizenship Act".  This act recognizes Indians as U.S. Citizens despite the Treaty affirmations of the inherent sovereign status of tribes.

1934 - I.R.A. establishes "tribal council" government on the reservations, Indian Reorganization Act (Wheeler-Howard Act).

These governments are subject to approval of the U.S. deliberately undermining the authority of the traditional governments.

There is a certain percentage of Indian voters needed in order for it to pass but the Lakota people in essence were voting "no" when they chose not to vote and Lakota elders have always considered the tribal council government illegal. 

1942 - The Black Hills Claim Case is dismissed.

1946 -   The "Indian Claims Commission Act"  is passed allowing monetary compensation for taken land but no possible return of it. 

 Again, the Lakota state that the land is not for sale.

UNITED NATIONS AND URANIUM

In 1950, a sub-commission of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights appoints someone to investigate the use of depleted uranium weapons among other types of weapons after passing a resolution which categorized depleted uranium weapons alongside such as nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, napalm and cluster bombs as a 'weapon of indiscriminate effect'.

In 1951 Uranium is discovered near Edgemont by Jerry Brennan, a local lawyer. In the 1950's the United States Department of Defense became interested in using DU (depleted uranium) metal in weapons because of its extremely dense, pyrophoric qualities and because it was cheap and available in huge quantities. 

 It is now given practically free of charge to the military and arms manufacturers and is used both as tank armor and in armor-piercing shells known as DU depleted uranium penetrators.

In 1953 the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) establishes a station near Edgemont to purchase ore produced in the area as ongoing uranium reconnaissance study continues under the AEC.

Large resource bodies are found in western South Dakota and in the Silliston Basin. Results of study are released to the energy industry. Ranching and tourism continue to be major state industries.

In 1964 the state of South Dakota proposes initiative to terminate South Dakota Reservations altogether, but this proposal fails.

1971  Homestake Mining Company (the Hearst run corporation) now obtains license to remove minerals (uranium) from 1,040 acres of state land in Custer and Fall River counties, claims transferred to Westinghouse in 1976.

1973  The Wounded Knee Occupation occurs lasting 71 days in which the Lakota reaffirm commitment to self-determination.

In August mineral prospecting permits are issued by the Commissioner of School and Public Lands, cover 21,076,067 acres of state land.

1975, A reconnaissance study is done on Pine Ridge and other reservations. A large uranium deposit is discovered in the Northwestern corner of the reservation and all hell breaks loose.

Those who lived through those times (1972–1976) on Pine Ridge and saw their friends and family members harassed, beaten and murdered, refer to it as “the reign of terror.” Norman Brown, Navajo, was 15 at the time of the shoot-out.

He said things happened so fast that he and fellow AIM (American Indian movement) members “didn’t have time to think.

I just grabbed my gun and started shooting and I stood up that day because it was my duty to stand up for my people.

“In those days, it was terrifying to live here when you were sympathetic to AIM,” said Dan Merrival, a member of the Oglala Nation and AIM supporter.

“I just want to let the past be in the past".

 "What I want people to understand, though, is that AIM really is peaceful people, we will fight for the protection of our loved ones and our way of life".

"Without AIM, we wouldn’t have what we still have left.”

Starting in 1972, under the Nixon administration and the boom of uranium mining, the FBI armed civilians aligned with tribal chief and president Dick Wilson, known as GOONs (Guardians of the Oglala Nation), with military assault weapons.

GOONs tended to be mixed-bloods who felt little connection with traditional Lakota ways and little sympathy for traditional Lakota people.

They are largely held responsible on Pine Ridge today for the assassinations of over 60 AIM members and sympathizers.

These murders were never truly investigated and at the time Dick Wilson signed away one-third of the uranium-rich reservation to the federal government. 

According to a 1973 FBI document, the government was concerned that AIM would shift their emphasis from advocacy of Native pride to the “prevention of resources exploitation. 

THE NIXON WILSON ADMINISTRATION

In 1969,  the US begins secret bombing raids on Vietnamese communist sanctuaries and supply routes inside Cambodia (dubbed the 'Menu Series').

Authorized by the newly installed US President, Richard M. Nixon and directed by his national security adviser, Henry A. Kissinger, the raids are illegal, as the US has not officially declared war on Cambodia.

In 14 months, 110,000 tons of bombs are dropped and 600,00 people are murdered..

When news of the raids is leaked, Nixon orders surveillance and phone tapping of suspects to uncover the source.

1972 - This was near the end of President Nixon’s first term, on June 17, 1972, five men were arrested breaking into the Democratic national headquarters in the Watergate office-apartment building in Washington, DC.

Leonard Peltier's participation in the American Indian Movement led to his involvement in the 1972 Trail of Broken Treaties which took him to Washington D.C., in the occupation of the Bureau of Indian Affairs building.

Eventually his AIM involvement would bring him to assist the Oglala Lakota People of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota in the mid 1970's.

On Pine Ridge he participated in the planning of community activities, religious ceremonies, programs for self-sufficiency and improved living conditions for the young children, elderly and infirmed.

He also helped to organize security for the traditional people who were being targeted for violence by the pro-assimilation tribal chairman and his vigilantes.

It was in this climate that the tragic shoot-out of June 26, 1975 occurred. 

It was during the violent Dick Wilson / Nixon administration where drive-by shootings were a common occurrence and children and elders were shot in the streets.   Homes were burned to the ground, entire families were slaughtered.

Special Agents Williams and Coler were  searching for a young Pine Ridge man named Jimmy Eagle, wanted for stealing a pair of cowboy boots.

The following day, the agents observed a vehicle matching the description provided to them of a red pick up truck which Eagle had been seen in several days before and followed them on to the reservation driving  in a civilian car wearing civilian clothes without a search warrant.

Shortly after the vehicle came to a stop, bullet's started flying and Williams radioed he and Coler had come under fire from the occupants of the vehicle.

Williams tragically received a  wound through his right hand and head, killing him instantly.

Coler, incapacitated from earlier wounds, was shot twice in the head and in total 125 bullets holes were found in the agent's vehicle, many from a .223 caliber (5.56 mm) rifle.

1976 -  The two out of the three native Indians who were charged with the FBI killings are acquitted. 

 Leonard  Peltier is extradited from Canada and is sentenced to life in prison where he remains to this day June 15 2005 . 29 years later.

 17.5 MILLION OFFER

1977 - U.S. offers the Lakota Nation $17.5 million for the Black Hills as a claim settlement. The offer represents the value of land in 1877.

 

The offer is rejected and the Lakota once again say the Black Hills Are Not For Sale!

 

In April, Union Carbide announces it has located a significant uranium deposit in Craven Canyon, Black Hills National Forest.

1978  Homestake Mining Company announces that gold production is over 50% of national annual output and over $1 billion has been removed to date.  

 

ACT 12.   1979 - January: SD Governor Bill Janklow AKA "Wild Bill Janklow" abolishes the Dept. of Environmental Protection; both energy development and environmental protection are now under the same department..  

Some 25 corporations, holding claim to approximately 1 million acres, are known to be in the area of the Black Hills.

U.S. offers the Lakota $105 million for the Black Hills, again traditionalists reject this offer.

105 MILLION OFFER

1980 - Court decision by Judge Blackmon awards the Lakota $105 million for the Black Hills as settlement. Settlement is refused.

1990s - Dockets 74A and 74B discussed throughout the Great Sioux Nation. All tribes refuse the settlements.

Honeywell gives 1200 acres of the Black Hills back to the Oglala.

1999 - President Clinton visits Pine Ridge reservation and is the first US president to visit Pine Ridge since the 1920s.

Clinton visited because of the struggles facing Native Americans on the reservation unemployment and substandard housing.

Near the end of President Bill Clinton's presidency in 2000 rumors began circulating that Clinton was considering granting Peltier clemency.

Supporters to free Leonard Peltier are Bishop Desmond TuTu, Queen Elizabeth the 2nd, Nelson Mandela, Jesse Jackson and the Dalai Lama of Tibet -  just to name a few.

Ironically Peltier was not released but Patrica Hearst heiress to Homestake gold mine fortune was pardoned by President Clinton with a few hundred others.

ACT 13.  2001 , Senator Tom Daschle attached a rider to a defense bill granting immunity to the owners of the Homestake Mine, a 125-year old cyanide heap leach gold mine from the early days of illegal claims, allowing Homestake to vacate the depleted mine without cleaning up any of the pollution or reclaiming deep pits in the landscape.

There are increased claims that many men, woman and children from the nearby reservations are sick and dying from  cancer.  See END OF THE INNOCENCE

2003  "Wild Bill" Janklow, the former 4 time South Dakota governor is convicted on manslaughter while serving as a South Dakota congressman and is sentenced to 100 days in prison but released after 30 days.

ACT 14.  2005 - Governor Rounds of South Dakota has made the conversion of the Homestake Underground Mine to the world’s premier underground science laboratory a priority for his administration leading scientists with experience in the study on neutrinos, particle physics, geo-science and other areas of critical scientific development have received the endorsement of the National Academies and other scientific evaluative bodies as they have outlined the need for a deep underground laboratory.

Shortly after assuming office, Governor Rounds began discussions with representatives of the Homestake and Barrick corporations, the present owners of the Homestake Mine to prepare a process for the transfer of the ownership of the mine to enable its conversion to a scientific laboratory.

In the course of the review of various appropriate legal approaches for the transfer of the property, the creation of an Authority under South Dakota law emerged as the most effective means of transferring ownership. The Governor directed the investigation of ownership transfer to a South Dakota Authority.

These studies included consultations with leading experts in the creation of such an Authority, and the results led to a favorable consideration of the transfer process.  Homestake's profits have been used to finance the recent ventures of United Nuclear-Homestake Partners, the third Largest Uranium-reserve holding company. Engineering and Mining Journal reports that there are over 8 million pounds of uranium, worth $800 billion, in South Dakota, mostly in the Black Hills