V UNiversum
South Dakota: F Faces on the Black Hills For the second century running American Indians and settlers are on conflicting sides in the Black Hills, on the border between South Dakota and Wyoming. Over time the confrontation has acquired some sculptural forms.
Text
Aleksei Dmitriev
Translation
p. 120
Shamil Garaev
or the Indian tribe of Lakota Sioux the Black Hills of South Dakota are sacred — this is their fatherland. In 1868 in Fort Laramie the US government signed an agreement with the tribal chiefs according to which the land was “set apart for the absolute and undisturbed use and occupation by the Indians”. But in 1874 the General Custer expedition discovered gold in the Hills and prospectors rushed in to tap the resources in violation of the Fort Laramie Treaty. The Army patrols, Custer’s soldiers, although under obligation to prevent the seizure of the Indian land turned a blind eye. It had been three years since the California gold rush and the economy of the American West was stalling. The Lakota Sioux began attacking prospectors and the Army, in turn, punished the Indians. The Black Hills War ensued; it was America’s last colonial war. In the Battle of the Little Bighorn the Indian coalition under the leadership of Sitting Bull defeated the Custer troops and killed the General. But the victory led to nothing: in 1877 the Indians were forced to surrender and the US government decided to appropriate the Black Hills. It was not until 1975 that the expropriation was deemed unconstitutional and in 1980 the United States Supreme Court awarded the Lakota Sioux retribution: $17.5 million for the land and an additional fine of $105 million with interest. The Indians refused to accept payment for their sacred land and instead demanded the return of the Hills. 35 years later and not much has changed. Most of the Lakota live in the Pine Ridge Reservation area. p. 121