Native American Tribes Successfully Halt Mining Exploration in Black Hills, South Dakota
A coalition of Native American tribes and environmental organizations successfully halted exploratory drilling by Pete Lien & Sons, a mining company, on Pe’ Sla, a sacred site in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The U.S. Forest Service had initially approved 18 boreholes, including 10 within a protected buffer zone, using a 'categorical exclusion' that bypassed environmental review. Upon discovering active drilling, Oglala Lakota scouts alerted the community, leading to a rapid, coordinated response. This included lawsuits filed by NDN Collective, the Black Hills Clean Water Alliance, Earthworks, and nearly every tribe in the Dakotas, alongside a direct action occupation of the drill sites. After seven days of protest and a federal judge halting drilling, Pete Lien & Sons withdrew its plan, stating it would not file another. 
