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Black Hills Legacy

In the vaults of the U.S. government,
Sits a cache of money gathering interest.
But money cannot buy the hearts of a people
In exchange for land and legacy
For breaking the Laramie Treaty.

The ‘Black Hills’ have been raped
Of wealth beyond imagination,
A mere pittance of repayment
For stealing without consequence,
An insult to the Sioux Nation people.

‘Return the land to its rightful owners,
Compensate the victims for your crimes of plunder;
Respect their existence, their heritage, their plight.
Free your children of the shame you have inflicted,
Don’t let greed fester in your hearts any longer,
Now is the time, make the wrong right!’
                             ***

Notes:
1) Laramie Treaty (1868): The ‘Laramie Treaty of 1868 established the “Great Sioux Reservation’ which included ownership of the Black Hills located in present day South Dakota.

2) Indian Appropriations Act of 1876: The ‘Indian Appropriations Act of 1876 was called “Sell or Starve” by the Sioux. The Act cut off rations for the Sioux until they ceased hostilities and relinquished the Black Hills to the United States.

3) Agreement of 1877:The ‘agreement of 1877’ allowed the U.S. government to officially (and forcefully) take away the Black Hills, and relocate the Sioux onto Indian reservations. The lands were then opened to settlement and mining without negotiating with the First Nations People.
   There is no record of the transaction of the Sioux selling the land to the United States government.

4) United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians (1980): In 1980, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the Black Hills had been illegally taken, and that the Sioux should be compensated a sum of $105 million for the Black Hills plus an additional $44 million for the land outside the Black Hills.
   The Sioux Nation refused the payment and demand that their lands be returned. They say the land is not for sale.
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