The proposed mining exploration drilling projects in the Black Hills have sparked concerns among local organizations, who argue that these projects threaten sacred sites and Indigenous sovereignty.
- NDN Collective and Black Hills Clean Water Alliance
- Pe Sla
- Forest Service land
- Pete Lien and Sons mining company
- Graphite drilling
- Indigenous sovereignty
- Abrahamic faiths
The organizations, NDN Collective and Black Hills Clean Water Alliance, have expressed their concerns regarding two proposed mining projects: one for graphite drilling on the sacred site of Pe Sla, and another for radioactive uranium drilling in Craven Canyon.
- Pe Sla
- Forest Service land
- Pete Lien and Sons mining company
- Graphite drilling
- Indigenous sovereignty
- Abrahamic faiths
According to Taylor Gunhammer, a local organizer for NDN Collective, Pe Sla has been a sacred ceremonial site for Lakota people since the dawn of time. The site is significant to multiple indigenous nations in the same sense that Jerusalem is important to people of Abrahamic faiths.
”The underground deposits of graphite are small and low-grade,” said Gunhammer. “What that tells us here, is that this project isn’t even about the money. There’s hardly any money to be made. This is a calculated and willful attack on Indigenous sovereignty, history and human rights.”
Gunhammer also stated that the project is not only an attack on Indigenous sovereignty but also an attack on the history and human rights of the local community. The Black Hills Clean Water Alliance expressed similar concerns regarding the proposed uranium drilling project in Craven Canyon. The canyon is a 7,000-year-old cultural and historical site for Indigenous people, archaeologists and historians.
- Craven Canyon
- 7,000-year-old cultural and historical site
- Indigenous people
- Archaeologists
- Historians
”Drilling would disrupt the sacred site, the historical site, the land of water,” said the executive director of the Black Hills Clean Water Alliance. “And it would also create problems with drilling noise, lights and traffic that would disturb people who are praying or studying in the canyon.”
The organizations have urged the public to submit their comments on the proposed projects by the given deadlines, in order to ensure that their voices are heard.
| Project | Location | Company/ Organization | Concerns |
| Pe Sla | Forest Service land southwest of Rochford | Pete Lien and Sons mining company | Graphite drilling on a sacred site |
| Craven Canyon | Fall River County near the rim of Craven Canyon | Canada-based company Clean Nuclear Energy Corporation | Drilling for radioactive uranium on a 7,000-year-old cultural and historical site |
The public has until May 9 to submit their comments on the Rochford Mineral Exploratory Drilling Project, and until May 14 to intervene or send their comments on the Craven Canyon project.
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