Save Pe'Sla Campaign

SAVE PE'SLA CAMPAIGN

In August of 2012, after 1,900 acres of the Black Hills went up for sale by a private owner, the land was successfully bought back by the Oceti Sakowin Nations through a crowdfunding campaign that ignited international attention and donations from across the continent. The efforts raised by the Sioux Nation and Indigenous people, alongside the determination of the individual tribes and spokespeople across the world was powerful for Indian Country to witness. The campaign gained so much traction that it even received attention from celebrities such as P. Diddy, Bette Midler, Lou Diamond Phillips, Rosanne Barr, Whoopi Goldberg, Ashley Judd, and Susan Sarandon. Fall 2014, we’ve come to learn that the private owner has decided to auction off the remaining 438 acres of land on the sacred site.
              Between 1776 and 1887, Native homelands across the country vanished and were replaced with established reservations for Indigenous people. For the people of the Black Hills, this history is riddled with broken promises and treaties from the federal government, most notably the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851. The treaty provided a promise that the land would be protected for the Sioux nation, but was broken by the United States government within one year. In 1877, the United States removed the land from the people to benefit those who had found gold in the Black Hills. A  full century later, a 1980 Supreme Court ruling the Black Hills worthy of $100 million and attempted to grant it to the Sioux Nation. Our people have refused to accept the money because of the cultural significance these hills hold for our communities. 

          Pe’sla is important to the renewal of culture and language for the Oceti Sakowin nations because of its significance to Black Elk, the continuation and revival of our traditional ceremonies and the importance the land has held for the Sioux Nation. The land was stolen from Native Americans, and they deserve to have it back.

This campaign was one of the successful ones that many Native Americans can't say they have. The Lakota Nations were able to by back Pe'Sla. The salvation of this sacred area was due to many solutions, but one that contributed was social media. It help spread the awareness to multiple people around all over the world. Campaigns like these are starting to spark a change in our people and throughout the world.