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Black Hills Dispute and War

The Black Hills are a geological anomaly created from volcanic eruptions that formed concentric rings approximately 1.8 billion years ago. The tallest peaks east of the Rocky Mountains, the hills suddenly emerge from the surrounding grasslands and are home to one of the most complex and diverse biological ecosystems. They are considered a sacred site by several Native American tribes of the northern plains such as the Kiowa, Cheyenne, and Lakota. Scholars currently date the earliest indigenous habitation in the area to 7,000 b.c.e. The so-called Black Hills Dispute and Black Hills War refer to a struggle of more than 150 years between the Lakota people (also known as the Sioux) and the United States government over ownership of this area, which continues today. Numerous natural sites within the Black Hills, such as Bear Butte, Harney Peak, Wind Cave, and Reynolds Prairie, are deeply connected with the oral and ceremonial traditions of the Lakota.

Lakota Oral and Ceremonial Traditions

While historical accounts note the Lakota's arrival in the Black Hills area circa the 1770s, Lakota oral tradition identifies the Black Hills as the site of their origin and posits the 1770s migration as a return to their homeland. For the Lakota, the sacred enclosed landscape of the Black Hills, which they refer to as the heart, is a physical location where the celestial movements in the sky are mirrored and associated with specific sites. Careful observers of the sun and the night sky, the Lakota were quite knowledgeable about the cyclic pattern of celestial movement and changing seasonal patterns. The interrelationship between celestial movements, particular stories, specific sites, and ritual served to provide sacred order to the life of the Lakota, gave meaning to their understanding of their place in the universe, and was believed to be necessary to the continuation of all life.

Broadly, the Black Hills mirror the movement of the sun through a great circle of stars that marks the perimeter and is remembered through two oral traditions: the sacred hoop and the race track. Movement of the sun through specific constellations of the night sky from spring to fall required the Lakota to move to particular sites along the racetrack and conduct specific rituals. For example, when the sun was in the constellation of the Bear's Lodge (at the summer solstice), memorialized through the story of a hill created by Fallen Star to save children threatened by bears, the people moved to what is known today as Devil's Tower to perform the Sun Dance ritual. Understanding the interconnections of the quartet aids in understanding the critical importance of the Black Hills to the Lakota.

Contact

Early contact between the Lakota and colonial powers began at the turn of the 19th century. They were one of the tribes encountered by the Lewis and Clark expedition. In the early years of contact there was trade between the tribe and French traders and Americans, but by 1851, white encroachment was quickening and the first major treaty was signed between the United States and the Lakota at Fort Laramie. In spite of land cessions, the original Ft. Laramie Treaty reserved a significant portion of land that included most of present-day Nebraska, the western halves of South and North Dakota, and portions of northeastern Wyoming and southeastern Montana for the Lakota. However, the United States retained the right to establish roads, military, and other posts in the Lakota territory. The treaty also served to establish boundaries between different Native nations.

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