Desecration of the Sacred Black Hills
For over 10,000 years select Native American groups; Cheyenne, Crow, Kiowa, Pawnee, and Lakota have lived in Black Hills Forest(Papa Sapa). In the 1850s the govt considered Black Hills South Dakota a permanent Indian country. It was considered inhabitable due to the terrain, and claiming that the residence was dangerous for outsiders. Yet white capitalists slowly invaded the area, lurking for resourceful minerals, including gold. Prospectors overran sacred hunting grounds and sacrificed herds of bison as a way to create tension. The Lakota tribes began to starve, causing an uprising. A streak of battles continued between the indigenous & the settlers. The US army was sent to “keep the peace”. The expenses required to maintain troops were roughly 2 million dollars a month.
Law officials needed to come up with a plan that will eventually work in their favor. In 1868 the government presented the Treaty of Fort Laramie, signed by the Sioux & Arapaho People. The Great Sioux Reservation was created. This gave the Natives exclusive ownership of any land west of the Missouri River. The main term was that white settlement on this land was forever banned. Sadly The govt failed to abide by its terms and began to turn a blind eye to the evasions. Once publications confirmed that there was indeed gold in the Black Hills, hundreds of money-hungry came searching for their piece of American Treasure.
In 1875 politicians attempted to repurchase the Black Hills Reservations but all offers were turned down. No amount of money could persuade the brave Lakota people to give up promised land. The Govt then began to retract its protection for the land and its people. There were even secret rewards for slaughtering Tribesmen. President Grant spoke that he “feared for the safety of the white Americans”. All along Grant had a devious plan to spark off a war against the Tribes. In the harsh of winters the Sioux would annually camp in Wyoming for better hunting conditions, Grant ordered the Tribe to Go back to the Black Hills, knowing this would be dangerous. The tribe smartly refused this order. The battle began.
The Lakota Sioux believe everything has a spirit from the trees to the streams. They were rooted in nature work and honoring ancestors. During an annual sun dance, a ritual that was meant to elevate the tribes’ spiritual awareness. Tribe member Sitting Bull had a vision of soldiers riding upside down, ready for battle, they had no ears, because “white men never listen.” in June 1876, this vision came to life at the Battle at Little Bighorn.
After the Sioux and their allies defeated Custer and members of the 7th Cavalry, there was a demand for retaliation. Two months after in August of 1876, the U.S. incited “Sell or Starve” which refused promised food rations to the tribes that defeated Custer. The U.S. was set to claim the Black Hill and its gold. Years of suffering continued leaving only the option to starve or hand it over. The government threatened to destroy horses and weapons if the Lakota didn’t comply with the demands of moving. The Lakota were forced to relinquish their claim to their sacred lands. The Act of 1877 Congressional Act forced tribes onto reservations for the next 12 years, the federal government quickly took full ownership of the (Papa Sapa) Black Hills.
Mount Rushmore, in the name of patriotism, or should the name Six Grandfathers be restored?
Over a century before it was named after mining company Lawyer, Charles Rushmore. Six Grandfathers Mountain was and still is the true name of this resilient Moutain, named by a Sioux medicine man Nicholas Black Elk.“The vision was of the six sacred directions: west, east, north, south, above, and below. The directions were said to represent kindness and love, full of years and wisdom, like human grandfathers.’’
This name change was only the start of wiping out any culture that was rooted. It is presented as a shrine to democracy. An emblem representing freedom and patriotism; however, in reality, it is another reminder that shows a lack of understanding and respect for the Native people who inhabited Paha Sapa for generations before Settlement arrival.
In the 1920s, South Dakota state historian Doane Robinson saw the Six Grandfathers as an opportunity for the South Dakota to gain tourism by exploiting the Black Hills area. The racist sculptor Gutzon Borglum was hired to create a sculpture “to honor the West’s greatest heroes, both Native Americans, and pioneers.” KKK member Borglum wanted a Nationally significant piece, he was convincing enough in his pitch of using the faces of U.S. notable presidents.
After 14 years of chiseling and dynamite, the faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln were in the granite bluff. This act highlighted the disrespectful acts that came with colonization For the Lakota. While these presidents were leaders of the United States with big-name historical significance, Adding their faces on a sacred mountain was an act of final take over. The fact of the matter was Washington and Jefferson owned slaves. Roosevelt has coined the phrase: “the only good Indian is a dead Indian.” While Lincoln, on the day after he signed the Emancipation Proclamation, ordered the execution of the Dakota 38+2 at Fort Snelling in Minnesota.
Since this tragic moment in history, the land was returned to the Lakota people by 1980. Yet the US claim that it cannot return the State Park. The Lakota people stand their ground and refuse to accept the reparation payment being offered to this day. This is just one piece of the Untold Story of Native America. We must unlock the true history of this unique nation to move forward together as a nation of men and women who are created equal.
https://blog.nativehope.org/six-grandfathers-before-it-was-known-as-mount-rushmore
