Rosebud
DEVELOPMENT THREATENS BURIAL AND SACRED SITES
Black Hills People's News, Volume 4, Issue 51
August 2003
Grass Mountain - Alfred Bone Shirt is an advocate for
the Sicangu Oyate. Bone Shirt and his fellow Sicangu
advocates are making a serious attempt to bring
awareness to Rosebud Housing and Tribal officials who
are not culturally sensitive.
We have been out in the communities recording these
burial and Sacred sites," Bone Shirt said, "and each
community has them. There is evidence of graves being
looted. A few years ago, Chief Iron Shell's grave was
looted and artifacts he was buried with surfaced."
When told that the Oglala "Sioux" Tribe ignores burial
and Sacred sites too, Bone Shirt responded, "The Graves
Repatriation Act is being ignored by Rosebud Housing
Authority and Rosebud tribal officials. NAGPRA is
being ignored. All these federal laws are being
ignored, but there is a reason for these federal laws.
Otherwise, Congress wouldn't have passed these laws."
When asked if BIA has stepped forward to address
burial sites and Sacred sites, Bone Shirt answered,
"Carson Murdy is the BIA official who is supposed to
protect our burial and Sacred sites. But he has to
cover the whole Aberdeen area. His approval is needed
on all building projects, and if he has to cover the
whole Aberdeen area, he doesn't have time to really
check these sites."
Bone Shirt said some bones were reportedly uncovered
recently at a construction site, and the Repatriation
Committee kept the remains because it did not have the
money to rebury them. We have several reports from
around here that this is true. And if it is true, it
is really wrong.
"Recently a road was cut right through a hill where
several graves have been identified," Bone Shirt said.
"Some tribal member wanted a home site on the other
side of the hill. But after the road was cut through
the burial and Sacred site, that tribal member found
out what happened and refused the home site. Yet,
remains have been found in the cut. If Carson Murdy
were doing his job, that road would have never been
cut through that hill. There's a housing area in
Rosebud that was built on burial sites. And every
anthill in that area has old pony beads in it. That
means burial scaffolds were there, or shallow graves.
Our ancestors, when they died, expected to be left
in peace. And that is not happening."
A lady who joined Bone Shirt and I, said I should be
careful when taking picture of burial sites, especially
the stone cairns that mark burial sites, for there are
a lot of off-reservation people who love to pillage
burial sites.
"Don't take pictures that show a landmark in the back-
ground, for there are people just waiting for an
opportunity. These people know Rosebud Tribe doesn't
enforce any burial or Sacred site laws."
Bone Shirt said outsiders come onto the reservation and
buy hunting licenses. But, for many of these outsiders,
their main purpose is to search and dig for artifacts.
Bone Shirt took a picture of a cairn that marks a
burial site, and the rocks and shadows form an image
of a face. "It's a spirit wanting to bring awareness
to sacred burial sites," Bone Shirt said.
Bone Shirt said that graves are located behind Darrel
Marcus' house, and Tribal Land Enterprise is attempting
to build houses on the burial site. There has been a
looting of gravesites there, too. There are signs of
artifact hunting there. Chief Iron Shell died in 1885.
And his grave was violated.
When Bone Shirt was asked if gravesites on the
reservation were ever mapped, Bone Shirt answered, "In
the 1950s, Bureau of Indian Affairs did an extensive
Graves Report. But it is not referred to. There is
no enforcement by BIA. Gravesites and Sacred sites
are a dad issue. The U.S. Circuit court won't address
these violations, either. And Rosebud Tribe had made
no attempt to stop the violations. All three agencies
claim there is a lack of funding to address the issue."
When told it wouldn't be hard to train tribal rangers
to watch these sites, Bone Shirt added, "If the tribe
wanted to, they could give our rangers training. We
should have monitors that monitor these areas. Millette
County has an updated report on burial and Sacred sites.
And according to the report, a lot of those sites are
on deeded land and access has been cut off to Sicangu
people."
I told Bone Shirt that he is fighting the same fight we
are fighting at Stronghold Table in the Stronghold Unit
of Badlands National Park. And that if the will is
there, the Oglala and Sicangu advocates would be
stronger in this fight if we could unite.
Bone Shirt and Shannon Brown showed BHPNews several
burial and prayer sites across Sicangu country. At
one site, a perfectly round bone was sticking out of
the ground. It looked like the top of a baby's skull.
Bone Shirt covered the bone with nearby earth.
Brown said, "At Lake Francis and Lake Sharp burial
sites are being violated. Even though money was allocated to removed the graves from those reservoirs in the 1950's, the graves weren't removed. Just the headstones were removed. So human bones are surfacing. And they are being violated. The U.S. government purposely passed a Culturally Resource Management Plan to stop or confuse jurisdiction there. Now, our people have to react and protest the violations."
"Our leaders are diluting the Graves Repatriation Act," Bone Shirt said. "Maybe we can go to Orlando Morrison of the Veterans Program to find the remote burial sites. Maybe Gene Iron Shell would have this information, too."
Brown and Bone Shirt said that Soldier Creek and the pine-covered canyons west of Rosebud are collectively known as Crazy Horse Canyon.
When I told Brown that the Oglala "Sioux" Tribe doesn't enforce resolutions, Brown and Bone Shirt said, "Resolutions made by the Rosebud 'Sioux' Tribe are law. And collectively we need to ask our tribe if economic development is more important than our burial and sacred sites."
When Bone Shirt was asked if the Oyate are interested in this issue, he replied, "The majority of the Oyate seem to be misinformed. Trickery is being used on the people. IRA government is operating in the loop of these violations. And over the years, a lack of respect for burial sites has clearly been displayed."
"If a big development comes in here, are we going to start moving our burial sites?" Brown asked. "Where has the respect gone for buried ancestors and loved ones. Or will they just move the headstones and go ahead with development? Originally, because of the many burial sites, this land was allotted for buffalo pasture."
The three advocates said that some of these sites are prehistoric and contain pottery. But the people, through ancient oral history, still remember where the sites are. That's why there are corn and cigarette offerings around these old sites. Yet, Housing doesn't respect these cultural sites. They turn a deaf ear to our past.
Brown said that grave robbers know that when our ancestors were buried, the prized possessions were placed toward the foot of the grave. So, if you find a violated grave, the hole has been dug at the foot of the grave. And a lot of graves are sunken at the foot of the grave.
Bone Shirt said, "The tribe needs to get their own professional archaeologist. And the tribe needs to set up its own Historic Preservation Office. Then, the tribe can keep information about ancestral graves and sacred sites here, instead of letting state and federal agencies tell the world about them. By telling the world about our prehistoric graves, it's just inviting grave robbers."
Bone Shirt pointed at the new road that cuts through the hill that contains burial sites and asked, "Whose fault will it be, when our ancestor's bones start washing out of this bank?"
Robert Clifford
SUPPLEMENT 1
ROSEBUD SIOUX TRIBE
Resolution No. 03-227
WHEREAS, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe is a federally recognized Indian Tribe organized pursuant to the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 and all pertinent ammendments thereof; and
WHEREAS, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe is governed by a Tribal Council made up of elected representatives who act in accordance with the powers granted to it by its Constitution and By-Laws; and
WHEREAS, in accordance with Article V of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Constitution and By-laws, provides for the communities to make recommendations to the Tribal council and to consult with representatives of the Interior Department; and
WHEREAS, the Soldier Creek community held a meeting on August 07, 2003 and by motion request that all actions of planning, on going development, which involves the management of Tribal Historic Preservation Office within the community of Soldier Creek to conduct no more scope of work; and
WHEREAS, the Tribal Historic Preservation Office affected the community by issuing a sentance that there will be no more development of Housing or development of future business because the community is a burial ground and a (illegible); and
WHEREAS, the affected statement stalls the need of housing, water, sewer, future business; and
WHEREAS, Soldier Creek community asks the support of Tribal Council that a program help endurance betterment of said resolution; and
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Rosebud Sioux Tribal Council does support Soldier Creek.
CERTIFICATION
This is to certify that the above Resolution No. 2003-227 was duly passed by the Rosebud Sioux Tribal Council in session on August 13, 2003, by a vote of Ten (10) in favor, One (1) opposed and Eight (8) not voting. The said resolution was adopted pursant to authority vested in the Council. A quorum was present.
ATTEST:
Geraldine Night Pipe, Secretary
Rosebud Sioux Tribe
William Kindle, President
Rosebud Sioux Tribe
SUPPLEMENT 2
From: "Alfred Bone Shirt"
To: "Black Hills Peoples Newspaper"
Sent: Thursday, August 14, 2003
Subject: Questionable Sites
Robert,
We have received reports of the Rosebud Housing and Tribal government officials who have a total disregard to the Elders and Oyate voicing concerns of cultural insensitive political appointees and commissioners who could care less if houses were put on Burial grounds and sacred sites here on the Rosebud Indian Reservation.
This picture is just one of more I am sending over to you to share with the people. We are going out in the next couple of days to take more pics of violations.
Thanks for being there
Alfred Bone Shirt
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