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A Native American-led nonprofit has announced it has purchased nearly 40 acres (16.2 hectares) of land in the Black Hills of South Dakota amid a growing movement demanding the return of the land to indigenous people.
The Cheyenne River Youth Project announced in an April 11 statement that it had purchased land adjacent to Bear Butte State Park in western South Dakota.
“One of the most sacred places for the Lakota Nation is Mato Paha, which is now part of Bear Butte State Park,” the statement said. Broke up the Great Sioux Reservation into several smaller reservations.”
Julie Garreau, executive director of the project, said in the statement that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1980 that the U.S. had illegally occupied the Black Hills. The court awarded the Lakota people $105 million, but they refused to take the money because the Black Hills were never for sale, the statement said.
Garreau said, “As metro areas grow and land values skyrocket, opportunities to re-establish access to sacred sites are increasingly being lost,” which contributed to the organization’s decision to purchase the land. .
“Our people have deep roots in this area, yet we have to travel five hours to get here, and housing prices are very high in the summer,” he said. “Distance and cost prevent access.”
The statement did not say how much the organization paid to buy the land.
In recent years, some tribes in the US, Canada and Australia have restored their rights to ancestral lands with the growth of the Land Back movement.
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Published: April 15, 2024, 03:45 am IST
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