US EditionTribes sue to halt exploratory drilling in Black Hills near sacred ceremonial site
The tribes say the Forest Service approved 18 graphite test holes without required environmental review or consultation.
- On Thursday, nine Native American tribes filed a federal lawsuit against The Forest Service and Department of Agriculture to stop exploratory graphite drilling near Pe Sla, a sacred meadow in the central Black Hills.
- Sioux tribes have gathered at Pe Sla for over 2,000 years, considering it "the heart of everything that is," within a region spanning over 1.2 million acres of land significant to Indigenous history.
- In February, The Forest Service granted a permit to Rapid City-based Pete Lien & Sons to drill up to 18 holes down 1,000 feet into the Earth without conducting an environmental review.
- Demonstrators blocked access to drilling pads with signs reading "Sacred ground not mining bound," while NDN Collective and environmental groups filed for a temporary restraining order to halt operations.
- The lawsuit alleges the project violates the National Historic Preservation Act and National Environmental Policy Act, with Rosebud Sioux Tribe member Wizipan Garriott stating these sacred places must be "protected for future generations.
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State lawmaker calls on state to support tribes in mining lawsuit
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) -- One South Dakota representative is calling on the state to pay attention to the mining activities happening in the Black Hills, as the state's nine tribes sue the Department of Agriculture and U.S. Forest Service for allowing exploratory drilling for graphite near a sacred landscape. The lawsuit has its first [...]
Nine Aboriginal tribes from South Dakota, North Dakota and Nebraska continue the federal government
Associated Press News
Tribes sue to halt exploratory drilling in Black Hills near sacred ceremonial site
Nine Native American tribes in South Dakota, North Dakota and Nebraska are suing the federal government, bidding to stop exploratory drilling for graphite near a sacred ceremonial site in the Black Hills.
9 tribes sue to stop exploratory drilling in Black Hills near sacred site
Sioux Falls, S.D. — Nine Native American tribes in South Dakota, North Dakota and Nebraska are suing the federal government in a bid to stop exploratory drilling for graphite near a sacred site in the Black Hills. A small group of demonstrators has been protesting at the drilling location and at the mining company’s headquarters since they learned ground was broken on the drilling project in late April. Masked demonstrators sit atop drilling eq…
Nine Native American tribes sue US Forest Service over approval of drilling at sacred site
Nine Native American tribes sue US Forest Service over approval of drilling at sacred site kcpnews2 Sun, 05/03/2026 - 11:02 Image (South Dakota Searchlight) Nine Native American tribes have filed a lawsuit against the US Forest Service over its approval of a graphite drilling project near Pe’ Sla, a site in the Black Hills that holds cultural and spiritual significance for Native Americans. The Oglala Sioux Tribe, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, C…
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