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Aug. 9, 2002
Badlands fossil dig delayed
By Heidi Bell Gease, Journal Staff Writer
STRONGHOLD TABLE -- The National Park Service has delayed a proposed fossil
dig in the South Unit of Badlands National Park pending a meeting with Oglala
Sioux tribal officials.
The dig for ancient animal fossils was supposed to start next week. Some
members of the Oglala Sioux Tribe have objected to the project, saying it is
too close to human graves and cultural or historical sites in the area.
This week, National Park Service Regional Director Bill Schenk agreed to
delay the dig until he and other park administrators could meet with tribal
President John Steele and other tribal leaders. The meeting will be Aug. 27
on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
"I think the Park Service is trying to be rational and understanding (of) the
concerns of the tribe," F.A. Calabrese, an archaeologist and associate
regional director for the National Park Service in Omaha, Neb., said. "There
isn't any reason that we have to do this in a hostile manner, that I can see.
"Hopefully, we can work it out."
Some tribal members protesting the dig by camping at Stronghold Table in the
South Unit had planned to link hands and surround the dig site next week.
They saw the delay as a minor victory for the tribe and for protesters.
"It's given us time to take a good breath," Lovey Two Bulls, who has led the
protest, said. "But we're still going back after our land."
The South Unit is technically tribal land but has been included in the park
boundaries for about 35 years. Under a Memorandum of Agreement signed in
1976, the National Park Service is responsible for administering the South
Unit.
Two Bulls and some others want to see the tribe sever ties with the park
service and take control of the South Unit, possibly developing it for
tourism. But that hasn't happened yet, and park service officials say they
are legally mandated to protect fossil resources in the park.
Fossil hunters already have plundered the proposed dig area, prompting the
park service to pursue funding for a dig. The three-year project would remove
the fossils and keep them in trust for the Oglala Sioux Tribe.
"We don't do excavations of anything unless you have to, basically, unless
it's threatened," Calabrese said. "We're not doing this just because the
paleontologists are interested. That's not it at all."
In geology and archaeology, he said, "When a resource is threatened, the
method of mitigating that threat is removal with documentation. That's just
the nature of the sciences."
He said the dig still could proceed this fall if an agreement is reached.
Badlands National Park Superintendent Bill Supernaugh said the Aug. 27
meeting is "an excellent opportunity for all of the decision makers to come
together and discuss the underlying issues. I look at this as a significant
opportunity to make some progress to a better understanding of our roles and
responsibilities."
Tribal President John Steele did not return calls for comment.
Questions or comments on this story? Call reporter Heidi Bell Gease at
394-8419 or e-mail her at heidi.bell@rapidcityjournal.com.
Stronghold Donation Address
Please send any donations to Lovey Two Bulls at this address:
Lovey Two Bulls
P.O. Box 131
Hermosa, SD 57744
A tax ID number for donators will be available soon.
Thank you,
Skye
PRESS RELEASE FROM THE TOKALA AT STRONGHOLD TABLE CAMP
NEWS RELEASE
August 7, 2002
Even though there is a tribal moratorium on the proposed excavation site on
Aug. 12, William Supernaugh and the NPS are still planning to excavate. A
protest group, which will include some elderly, plan to join hands around
the excavation site to protect the site.
This news release is also a call for warriors across Indian country to
support the Oglala at the Stronghold during Aug. 12-23, and also in Sept.
Our ancestors used the stronghold to Ghost Dance and pray for a better life
yet they were killed, will there be a repeat? We too want these same lands
for a better life also. This is the beginning of a millennium when it seems
that as humans we should have developed social skills on how we treat one
another, yet this not the case.
On Aug. 12, Percy White Plume and a group of riders will leave Wounded Knee
massacre site for the Stronghold. On the 13th there will be presentations at
the stronghold camp to address issues that youth face today. On the 14th,
the youth riders will make the return trip to Wounded Knee.
The Oglala people feel this is a time to show true sovereignty and stand up
against the theft of Treaty lands and the desecration of ancient burial
sites as well as fossils and historical cultural sites.
Hau Kola,
George Tall-Tokala
Stronghold
http://stronghold.table.tripod.com/stronghold.table.camp/
**** IMPORTANT! GATHERING ON THE STRONGHOLD! PLEASE COME!******
The Tokala will be hosting a gathering and invite all to come camp in protest of the planned excavation on August 12th. The camp will be moving down from edge to the excavation site and will stay for as long it takes. We are expecting a large amount of protestors from all over the country. Many different tribes will be represented, as there are many warriors of other tribes buried in the Badlands. Russel Means will be to the camp on Wednesday and will be speaking on Monday the 12th. Celebrity Indian sympathizers have been invited and are expected to arrive. Newspaper representatives and television news shows have also been invited and are expected to come. Please bring tents &/or tipis if you have them. We will provide what we have but are only outfitted for so many people. Canned food and personal supplies will be needed for those planning on spending the night. We will share what we have but may be in need of more. Any donations you can bring will be greatly appreciated. Campers and RVs are welcome. Please DO NOT BRING ALCOHOL OR DRUGS TO THE STRONGHOLD!
Please use the following contact numbers for any questions and directions to the camp.
Lovey Two Bulls : (home) 605-255-4108 (email)
Lovey@enetis.com
Toby Big Boy : (home) 605-867-1314 (email)
Hokshila@enetis.com
Skye Kamide : (home) 630-860-5165 (email) SkyeK1@aol.com
http://www.geocities.com/christinia_win/stronghold/
A new website of the conflict at the Stronghold. Also
have recieved a call for tarps.
06 Aug 2002 URGENT APPEAL FROM PINE RIDGE
RESERVATION!
Sacred Burial Grounds Disturbed; Zeolite Wanted for
Plutonium Disposal
Indians Appeal for Observers, Nonviolence Trainers and
Night-Vision
Gear.
Mass Civil Disobedience Set to Begin Aug. 12 on Indian
Land in South
Dakota.
U.S. Agents in Night Raids Use High-Tech Choppers and
Infrared
Equipment.
Sioux Nation, Scene of Daily Indignities, Becomes
"Mississippi of
the North".
I have just returned from Oglala Lakota Nation in the
Badlands of
South Dakota where a shocking drama has begun to
unfold. While the
White House is pushing hard to launch high-level
nuclear waste
disposal operations in Nevada, federal agents are
running roughshod
over human rights in Pine Ridge Reservation, S.D.,
astride "gold"
deposits of zeolite. If legal efforts to block the
invasions fail,
leaders and many members of the 25,000-strong tribe
plan to use their
bodies to stop the bulldozers as early as Aug. 12.
The Lakota people, also known as Sioux, are appealing
to other Indian
tribes, all Americans of conscience and the nations of
the world to
come to their aid. Right now they need:
*Qualified volunteers to conduct nonviolence training
for protesters.
*Independent observers ready to be witnesses in case
of confrontation.
*Infrared cameras and goggles for night-vision. *Four
big mud tires
for serious S.U.V. off-roading.
By day, federal police treat the Oglala Lakota people
so abusively
that their reservation has become known as "the
Mississippi of the
North," reminiscent of 1960s civil rights struggles.
Police insult
Indians, write bogus tickets, tear down meeting signs,
etc. By night,
helicopters, their lights turned off, whirl into
American Indian
airspace and touch down amid sacred sites near the
historic
Stronghold. The feds take ancient fossils, use heavy
earth-moving
equipment close to sites of human remains, and set
off small
explosions. The excavations under cover of darkness
appear to rely
on high-tech night-vision equipment.
Pine Ridge Reservation is a potential source of
zeolite, a mineral
that government officials would like to see mined for
use in plutonium
waste repositories. Work has begun to improve the
dirt road into the
area, reportedly with 16-inch-deep pavement, which
would support heavy
trucks. Plans are said to be drawn to build a
railroad line to reach
the remote area. Indians are concerned that zeolite
mining would
release erionite, a known human carcinogen, into the
environment.
Many sites of human remains exist in the area on and
near the big
Stronghold plateau, where survivors of the December
29, 1890 Wounded
Knee massacre went. There, most of those who escaped
the Wounded
Knee atrocity were subsequently hunted down, murdered
by white
militia, and left in winter graves. More than a
century later, just
in recent months, long-term erosion, natural to the
geology of the
area, has begun to uncover many shallow graves.
Coincidentally, in
recent months, federal agents have been entering the
area without
permission and tampering with Indian property. Some
of the Lakota
people believe the surfacing of the old human remains
is a sign that
it is time to take a stand.
Current federal activities in the area violate the
1868 Treaty of
Laramie, and a 1976 memorandum of understanding
between the National
Park Service and the Oglala Lakota Nation.
Department of Interior
officials have refused to consult with Lakota leaders
regarding
federal plans for the Indians's land. The Tribal
president has
demanded that the National Park Service replace its
area
superintendent, whom the Indians have found so
autocratic that they
refuse to meet with her.
Lawyers for Oglala Lakota Nation, while asking the
Department of
Justice to persuade the Department of Interior to back
off, got ready
to go to federal court for an emergency injunction.
If these efforts
fail, the tribal leaders and many other Indians are
expected to join
hands in a great circle around sacred areas where the
National Park
Service plans to step up daytime excavation activity
in the open on
Aug. 12.
They are appealing for help to ensure that peace and
justice will
prevail. Please respond. Please post and forward
this appeal to all
potential allies. My office can help you find
low-cost air fares to
Rapid City, S.D., plan logistics for ground
transportation or
helicopter service if desired, and get in contact
with Oglala Lakota
leaders.
By Tony Bothwell, Chairperson American Indian Affairs
Committee
National Lawyers Guild EMAIL:esquiure001@msn.com
References:
Pine Ridge Zeolite, technical bulletin by K. Barbarik
et al., Colorado
Agricultural Experiment Station, TB 91-2 (1991).
Erionite, CAS No. 66733-1-9, Ninth Annual Report on
Carcinogens,
National Institutes of Health. http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov.roc
(visited Aug. 5, 2002).
Hot Demonstrations of Nuclear-Waste Processing
Technologies, by H.F.
McFarlane et al., in 49 JOM 7 (1997), journal of The
Minerals, Metals
& Materials Society.
Disposing of Spent Nuclear Fuel, Argonne National
Laboratory. http://www.anl.gov/OPA/
vtour/emt.htm (visited Aug. 5, 2002).
Minerals Management, National Park Service, 36 C.F.R.
vol. 1, pts. 1-
199 (July 1, 1997).
Fossils on Federal and Indian Lands, Report of the
Secretary of the
Interior (May 2000). http://www.doi.gov/
fossil/fossilreport.htm (visited Aug. 5, 2002).
Badlands fossil dig mired in history, opposing views,
by Heidi Bell
Gease, in Rapid City Journal (Aug. 5, 2002).
Lakota protest National Park Service Badlands dig
Vow to use "all means" to protect sacred sites
By Jim Kent
http://www.okit.com/news/2002/julyaug/badlanddig.html
Badlands, S.D. - Oglala Sioux tribal members believe that there's a distinct
difference between an archeological dig site and the burial places of their
ancestors - now they're trying to make that clear to the National Park
Service.
Dozens of Lakota have set up camp on "The Stronghold" - an isolated area of
the Badlands where their ancestors gathered after the Wounded Knee Massacre in
1890 - to protest an archeological excavation planned by the National Park
Service and the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. The Lakota claim
that the location for the dig, scheduled to begin August 12, is sacred land.
National Park Service spokesperson Marianne Mills commented that the entire
issue is simply a misunderstanding in terminology.
"The controversy started with the word, 'graveyard', " she remarked. "The
nickname for the site has always been "titanothere graveyard", which got
interpreted as it was a human burial ground. And it's not, it's just an area
with a conglomeration of animal bones that are very, very old...up around 35
to 40 million years old. The initial confusion came about because people
thought we were going to go in and excavate a human cemetery."
Titanothere was an elephant-sized prehistoric animal that looked like a
rhinoceros, but was actually an indirect ancestor of the modern-day horse -
which is also sacred to the Lakota. Mills said the prehistoric site is nowhere
near The Stronghold, nor any areas that have been indicated as burial sites.
She pointed out that the National Park Service received a list of culturally
sensitive sites from the Oglala Sioux tribe in 1976 when the tribe signed a
Memorandum of Understanding to share joint control of the South Unit of the
Badlands National Park - where the dig will take place - with the Park
Service. Most of the South Unit is located on the Pine Ridge Reservation. The
land was previously controlled by the U.S. Air Force and was once part of the
Badlands Bombing - or Gunnery - Range - a training course for bombers during
World War II. The dig would be the first major excavation in the South Unit
since the MOU was signed.
"The area where the titanothere bone bed is found was not designated as a
sacred site," Mill observed. "There's also been some confusion because the
word's gotten out that we're intending on excavating The Stronghold, which we
are not."
Oglala Sioux tribal member Pat Clifford said that Mills "may" be right, but
added that if anyone's confused about the situation, it's Mills and the NPS.
"We know where they're digging and where they're gonna be digging," Clifford
advised. "And we know that there are burial sites there. It's not just The
Stronghold that we're talking about. We're talking about the whole area. We
want them out of the whole area."
Tribal spokesperson Johnson Holy Rock was a member if the Tribal Council when
the MOU with the Park Service was signed. He said the tribe is backing the
protesters at this point, but noted that there is some confusion regarding the
intent of the original document and the agreements that were made by the tribe
with the National Park Service.
"We're caught up here between self-determination, self-government and
self-whatever else comes along," Holy Rock observed. "And in the confusion, we
tend to misinterpret and misconstrue the intent of things that have taken
place. The Stronghold is one of these and seemingly now they're finding graves
over there and some of these people would like the land back and not let it be
a part of the National Park Service. And now there's a disagreement going on
between the tribal government and the National Park Service as to just who has
administrative authority over the Badlands National Monument. Right now it's
kind of a stand-off and it could go any direction."
Clifford commented that the protesters will make every effort to use the law
as their primary tool. The group is in the process of obtaining an attorney in
order to file an injunction to stop the excavation under the Native American
Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
"If we can do that, I see it all being handled in court," he remarked. "But if
we can't do that, we're gonna have to physically stop them, and I can't really
say how far they're willing to go."
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Photograph--Alfred Bone Shirt Sr. wearing a peace medal.