The Bureau of Indian Affairs has announced that land considered sacred to the Lakota is on track for federal trust status. The 2400-acre site was purchased by a group of regional tribes in 2012 after the individual who owned the property announced it would be sold at public auction.
Pe` Sla – or “The Heart of All That Is” - sits at the center of the Black Hills. For some Lakota it’s the most sacred location within a 5,000-square mile geographical area.
So when the Reynolds family announced in August 2012 that the land would be sold, the Rosebud, Crow Creek, Standing Rock and Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux tribes raised $9 million to purchase the property.
Then the tribes petitioned the Secretary of the Interior to place the land into federal trust status in order to regain its designation as a sacred site.
Ann Wilson Frederick is director of the Rosebud Sioux Tribal Land Enterprise.
“The tribes get to have their say-so over it…what they’re going to do with it,” she explains “Which means it’s going to go mostly for cultural...religious purposes. And what happens is that once that goes into trust…the tribes get to decide what to do with that.”
Tribal officials say obtaining Pe` Sla and protecting it from possible development is a positive move. Rosebud Sioux Tribe Historic Preservation Officer Russell Eagle Bear adds that it’s really a case of buying what you already own.
“Under treaty this land was given to us and they took it away from us in 1874,” explains Eagle Bear. “And, you know, they broke that treaty and they took this land away. So…you know...a hundred and thirty somewhat years later we’re purchasing something that was given to us already.”
Notwithstanding, says Eagle Bear, the tribes are moving forward culturally.
“And that’s where the Thunder Beings…that’s where they live,” observes Eagle Bear. “ So, this summer we’re going to do a journey there and do another ceremony for the Summer Solstice.”
Eagle Bear says returning to Pe` Sla for that ceremony re-ignites a tradition that took place for countless generations. He says this time Lakota youth will take part once again.
Note - SDPB's Victoria Wicks contributed to this story.
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