Tribal Coalition Successfully Halts Mining Operation on Sacred Land in Black Hills
A coalition of tribal nations and advocacy groups in Indian Country successfully halted a graphite mining operation on Pe’ Sla, a sacred prairie in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The U.S. Forest Service had quietly approved exploratory drilling by Pete Lien & Sons, a local mining company, allowing 18 boreholes on national forest land, including within a protected buffer zone. This approval was granted with a 'categorical exclusion,' bypassing environmental review for land considered sacred by the Great Sioux Nation. Upon discovering the drilling, Oglala Lakota scouts alerted their communities, leading to a rapid, coordinated response. The coalition, including the NDN Collective, the Black Hills Clean Water Alliance, and Earthworks, initiated legal action and organized an occupation of the drill pads. After seven days of protest and a federal judge halting the drilling due to permit irregularities, Pete Lien & Sons withdrew its plan, marking a rare victory for tribes in protecting ancestral lands from ind...
