Stronghold Table
 Back to Stronghold Table News
South Unit fossil dig on hold until spring
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com
Sept.25, 2002
By Heidi Bell Gease, Journal Staff Writer
A proposed archaeological dig in the South Unit of Badlands National Park is
on hold, at least for the winter.
"We're not digging," Bill Schenk, regional director for the National Park
Service in Omaha, Neb., said Tuesday. "Based on our discussions there at the
Stronghold and subsequent discussions with (Oglala Sioux President John)
Steele, we're going to take some time over the winter to discuss the actual
excavation of some of those fossil remains."
The National Park Service had planned to launch a three-year excavation
project in August to remove the fossils of titanothere, a rhinoceros-like
animal that lived millions of years ago. But some members of the Oglala Sioux
Tribe protested, saying the dig would disturb an area they say is sacred
because it contains human remains and cultural sites.
Protesters say the South Unit of the Badlands, which technically is tribal
land but has been managed by the Park Service since the 1970s, should be
returned to tribal control.
Last month, Schenk and other federal officials traveled to the Stronghold, an
area of the South Unit where tribal members have been camped in protest since
June. They heard from many people opposed to the dig, which Park Service
officials say is necessary because thieves are stealing fossils from the site.
Fossils excavated through the proposed dig would remain tribal property and
be held in trust for the Oglala Sioux Tribe.
Schenk said the visit to the Stronghold influenced the decision to delay
excavation. "There was obviously great concern on behalf of at least those
people that we met with, and we want to address those questions," he said.
The delay will also mean federal officials can deal with newly elected tribal
officials. Every tribal council and administrative seat is up for re-election
this November.
Schenk said he hoped tribal and federal officials could come to an
understanding of the need to protect fossils on tribal land.
Steele was in Washington, D.C., and could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Meanwhile, some nonexcavation work is planned at the site. "We're going to
continue with some survey work and some site-stabilization activities,
weather permitting," Schenk said. Site stabilization might include work such
as covering exposed fossils with dirt, he said. "Nothing major."
Comments or questions on this story? Call reporter Heidi Bell Gease at
394-8419 or e-mail her at heidi.bell@rapidcityjournal.com.
SD: Dig in graves of Ghost Dancers planned by NPS
By Brenda Norrell
Independent journalist
STRONGHOLD TABLE, S.D. - Lakota elder Tony Black Feather told the United
Nations that the American flag represents a racist nation that violates
natural and spiritual laws, dishonors treaties and engages in a game plan
of corporate greed.
In his statement delivered to the United Nations and distributed here on
Stronghold Table, Black Feather pressed for disarmament and peace as
President Bush pressed for war in Iraq.
Urging America to "come clean in the eyes of the world," Black Feather said
people often ask him about the red, white and blue of the American flag
"I tell them that the aboriginal Lakota people of this country look at this
flag as a piece of red, white and blue cloth that stands for the foreign
racist system that has oppressed Indigenous peoples for centuries.
"For traditional Lakota people, that piece of red, white and blue cloth
stands for a system and a country that does not honor it's own word."
Black Feather, in his statement to the Working Group on Indigenous
Populations, said the flag represents a nation of dishonor.
"If it stood for honor and truth, it would remember our treaties and give
them the appropriate place under international law. But it doesn't. It
dishonors its own word and violates its treaties, that piece of red, white
and blue cloth."
On the Stronghold, Black Feather distributed his written statement, which
was delivered to the United Nations in July, as he challenged the National
Park Service in the Badlands. Ignoring demands from the tribe, the Park
Service plans to excavate fossils in the burial grounds of the Ghost
Dancers massacred here after they survived the massacre of Wounded Knee.
"America is a world problem," Black Feather told National Park Service
officials leading a tour in the Badlands of the proposed excavation site on
Oglala Sioux tribal land.
Lakota gathered here say the bones of the Ghost Dancers, who danced here to
bring back the buffalo and the old ways, are revealing themselves at this
time for a reason.
With a message for humanity and calling for disarmament around the world,
Black Feather chastised the Park Service for entering sacred grounds in the
Badlands with armed park rangers.
At the resistance camp manned by the Tokala Warrior Society, the
traditional Grey Eagle Society, Russell Means and others chastised National
Park Service officials.
Pointing out violations of federal laws, Lakota said the arrogance and
racism is indicative of federal Indian policy and a nation that is
spiritually bankrupt.
Black Feather's comments on deception and the flag were representative of
the situation here.
Black Feather said of the American flag, "This colorful cloth represents
imperialism with the professed Christian duty to destroy many races of
peoples throughout the world, to illegally confiscate their possessions,
property and even their lives when U.S. interests need to be served.
"It is their intention to establish one world government, based solely on
the American system of corporate greed.
"The cloth represents a political language that is designated to make lies
sound truthful and murder respectable. This piece of red, white and blue
cloth represents a political system that is contrary to the principles of
Natural Law and the moral principles, which govern a diversified humanity.
"This piece of cloth misrepresents the human race.
"As Lakota people, we engage in different actions to remember the Natural
Law and to assert our rights."
Black Feather said the takeover of the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council offices
and the current resistance on Stronghold Table asserts the rights of the
Lakota people.
"As the aboriginal people of this land, we must understand and assert that
it is under our care. The continents of the world belong to its aboriginal
peoples.
"Someday somebody will have to account for these violations of the Natural
Law and violations against Creation that the piece of cloth has been
responsible for.
"The United States needs to come clean to cleanse its conscience in the
eyes of the world. Only then will we have justice and balance in this world."
Black Feather's statement was among those of the Tetuwan Oyate Teton Sioux
Nation Treaty Council, delivered to the XXth Session of the Working Group
on Indigenous Populations in July and on Stronghold Table in August.
From: Brenda Norrell
Date: Wed, 4 Sep 2002 08:09:36 -0700 (PDT)
Lakota Stronghold
Hello,
News reports that the excavation in the Badlands has been halted are
misleading. The National Park Service regional director was at
Stronghold camp Aug. 29 and said, "Some bones have to come out in two
to three weeks." The halt was only temporary.
Lakota camped at the site on Oglala tribal land continue to protect the
remains of the Ghost Dancers, who were massacred here after surviving
the massacre of Wounded Knee.
They are still in need of food and camping supplies and surveillance
equipment such as binoculars, security cameras, etc.
Contact Stronghold camp in the Badlands or Lovey Two Bulls
605-255-4108.
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com
Aug. 30, 2002
National Park Service officials postpone dig
By Heidi Bell Gease, Journal Staff Writer
STRONGHOLD TABLE -- Protesters at Stronghold Table in the South Unit of
Badlands National Park won a small battle Thursday, when regional officials
of the National Park Service agreed not to move forward with plans to survey
and excavate fossils in the area until further discussion with the Oglala
Sioux Tribe's elected officials.
"Postponing the excavation and any surveys, that in itself, I suppose, is a
little victory," tribal President John Yellowbird Steele said after meeting
briefly with park-service officials at the Stronghold. "But I can tell you,
the tribe will not allow any excavation" without protection for human remains
and cultural sites in the South Unit.
The National Park Service had planned to launch a three-year dig for ancient
fossils of the titanothere, a rhinoceros-like mammal, earlier this month.
Park officials said fossils were being stolen from the site and a dig was the
only way to protect them.
Under a 1976 memorandum of agreement with the tribe, the park service is
responsible for administering and protecting resources in the South Unit,
which is tribal land. Any fossils removed would remain tribal property.
A group of tribal members has been camped at Stronghold Table since late June
to protest the dig. Park officials say the dig site is not close to any
cultural sites, but protesters disagree. They say the entire area is sacred
to the Lakota and should be returned to the Oglala Sioux Tribe.
On Thursday, National Park Service Regional Director Bill Schenk of Omaha,
Neb., told about 80 people at the Stronghold that the park service and tribe
need to review the 1976 memorandum of agreement and find ways to work
together to protect and preserve resources. "Many things have changed in that
time, and it is time to take a look at that," he said.
"We don't want to negotiate. How much more clear can we be?" asked Anita
Ecoffey, whose parents were forced from the area years ago when the U.S.
government wanted to use it as a bombing range. "We want it back. We want the
National Park Service out of here."
Russell Means, an Oglala Lakota and well-known American Indian Movement
activist, took the opportunity to announce his plans to run for tribal
president this fall.
"Whether I am in office or not this December, your troubles are just
beginning," he told Schenk. "It stems from the umpteen years that we lived
here and took care of this land without the help of the U.S. government."
Means cited Article 6 of the U.S. Constitution as saying treaties are the
supreme law of the land. "So you have no business here," he said. "The
memorandum of agreement is null and void."
Lovey Two Bulls, who along with her family has spearheaded the Stronghold
protest, said the protesters will do whatever it takes to get back the South
Unit.
"We're going to get our land back," she told Schenk. "We're going to put
camps at every gate. This is our land. We're not going to put up with this."
If the tribe and park service do review the memorandum, Patricia Parker
probably will play a role in that. As head of the National Park Service
American Indian liaison office in Washington, D.C., her job is to improve
relationships between parks and Indian tribes.
"I'm supportive of taking another look at this thing," she said Thursday.
"It's obviously been a very rocky relationship, not a mutually beneficial
one, on some levels."
Parker said she believes parts of the memorandum could be changed without an
act of Congress. But if legislation is required, "that's not unheard of."
The hardest part may be devising a process for reviewing the agreement that
will work, especially with every elected tribal official up for re-election
this fall.
Schenk said he hoped it wouldn't take long to get newly elected officials on
board. "Clearly, this is a burning issue for folks here," he said.
Meanwhile, he said he would consult with his park-service peers about other
alternatives to the proposed fossil dig.
"Anytime you take the time to sit down with people, it's productive," Schenk
said of Thursday's meeting. "Obviously, I can't change 150 years of history
in a five-hour visit to the park."
Comments or questions on this story? Call reporter Heidi Bell Gease at
394-8419 or e-mail her at heidi.bell@rapidcityjournal.com.
Denver Museum of Nature and Science..Sat, Aug 10
To: NatNews@yahoogroups.com
From: Ishgooda
Subject: [NativeNews] Denver Museum of Nature and Science..Sat, Aug 10
Sat, Aug 10, 2002
Boulder, Co -- This past Saturday morning Tim Hundsdorfer and his two young girls age 3 and 6 found that a handful of people and flyers just may make a difference.
Tim reports from Denver:
The Denver Museum of Nature and Science has committed to me that they will not
proceed on an excavation unless an agreement is reached with the OST.
We (Sage, Emma and I) were there from 8:30 until approximately 9:45,
when security called me into the building to talk with Julia Taylor, the PR
person for the museum.
Ms. Taylor said that the decision had been made earlier in the week to withdraw
from the cooperative agreement until/unless an agreement with the tribe and NPS
was enacted.
Everyone (even security) at the museum was very nice about it and I beleive
they are sincere.
Of course, it's pretty hard to be nasty to a three year old and a six year old.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
{Formatting removed}
THE FLYER THEY HANDED OUT BELOW:
Tell them to stop digging up the ANCESTORS!
The Denver Museum of Nature and Science is cooperating with the National Park Service on an excavation on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota without the participation of the Sioux tribe!
FACT: The area to be excavated is on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
FACT: The area is sacred, containing the graves of many who escaped the Wounded Knee Massacre.
FACT: The National Park Service is ignoring Executive Order 13084, which requires them to reach agreement with Native Americans on issues of mutual concern.
FACT: The Denver Museum of Nature and Science REFUSES to address the Sioux’s concerns about the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and the disposition of any fossils that are found.
It seems that the ONLY time that the Denver Museum of Nature and Science is interested in Native American Culture is when it sells tickets to the Museum!
Tell them to stop digging up the ANCESTORS!
The Denver Museum of Nature and Science is cooperating with the National Park Service on an excavation on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota without the participation of the Sioux tribe!
FACT: The area to be excavated is on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
FACT: The area is sacred, containing the graves of many who escaped the Wounded Knee Massacre.
FACT: The National Park Service is ignoring Executive Order 13084, which requires them to reach agreement with Native Americans on issues of mutual concern.
FACT: The Denver Museum of Nature and Science REFUSES to address the Sioux’s concerns about the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and the disposition of any fossils that are found.
It seems that the ONLY time that the Denver Museum of Nature and Science is interested in Native American Culture is when it sells tickets to the Museum!
Denver Museum will not participate in Pine Ridge Excavation without Tribal Agreement : Requests notes of appreciation to Julia Taylor
from Tim Hundsdorfer:
12 August 2002
Everyone:
I wanted to let you know that the Denver Museum of Nature and Science
has assured representatives of the Tribe that they will not participate
in any excavation on the Pine Ridge Reservation without an agreement
with the tribe.
This is probably the reason that the excavation has been postponed by
the National Park Service.
Thanks to everyone who sent a note to the Museum. You may want to send
a message to Julia Taylor (Public Relations) jtaylor@dmns.org thanking
her for the museums brave stand. Also, thank Matthew Gargan
mgargan@dmns.org (security) for his staff's respectful treatment of the
leafletters. The museum was very gracious and deserves our thanks for
refusing to participate in this unethical dig.
If you sent a message into the Museum and got something back from them,
please forward it to me because I would really like to see it.
If you could, please also contact Karen Whitehead (Vice Chancellor for
Academic Affairs) at Karen.Whitehead@sdsmt.edu, Jacquelyn Bolman
(Multicultural Affairs) at Jacquelyn.Bolman@sdsmt.edu and Julie
Smoragiewicz (Vice President of University Relations) at
Julie.Smoragiewicz@sdsmt.edu at the South Dakota School of Mining and
Technology and let them know that the Denver Museum has pulled out
because it is UNETHICAL for paleontologists to seek fossils on Native
Land--on a sacred site--without the approval or participation of the
native people who live there. South Dakota School of Mining and
Technology plans to go ahead and is now the greatest threat to the
Stronghold site apart from the NPS itself. Stopping SDSMT would go a
long way to stopping this project.
Once again, sincere thanks to everyone who sent a note to the DMNS--your
words WERE heard!
home : mission statement : contact : site map : search : store : links
DLN coalition : DLN issues : DLN nation : related issues Any reprints are under the Fair Use doctrine of international copyright law : See http://www.dlncoalition.org/fair_use.htm.
|
