Protect Bear Butte and all Sacred Sites

I will do my best to protect our most sacred Grand Mother Earth by defending the Very Sacred Site known as “Bear Butte”, located in the heart of 1851 Treaty of Long Meadow Homelands by committing myself to email a statement similar to the following, to:

To: Meade County Commissioners            meade@meadecounty.org

RE: Alcohol sales/establishments proposed near the Very Sacred Site known as “Bear Butte.”

This is to notify you that I am against any and all alcohol establishments near Bear Butte and support the effort to have a twenty (20) mile, spiritual, religious, and nature protection “buffer” zone around the Very Sacred Site known as “Bear Butte” which is located in “the Black Hills of western South Dakota.”

Bear Butte is a Very Sacred Site Sacred Place to many Indigenous Red “Indian” Nations and Peoples, such as the Lakota, Arapaho, Crow, Ponca, and Cheyenne Nations. It is a place an Indigenous individual goes to learn how to appreciate nature, their human existence, realize the dependency to and superiority of animals and natural beings to that of humans, and to be thankful for each night and day and even the tiniest drop of water and wisp of wind.

Many also go to Bear Butte to “pray” in the Christian manner to a “higher power”, etc. It is truly a special and sacred place for Indigenous Peoples and one of prayer (church), learning (school), and healing (hospital). Bear Butte to Americans is a “National Historic Site”, a so-called “State Park.” Bear Butte Lake is a National Wildlife Refuge.

With such significance and designations, it is most beneficial and common sense to create the protection  “buffer” zone to protect the special site from further destruction that would come from future “development/desecration” through, bars, prostitution houses, lude conduct, more campgrounds, amphitheaters, and more roadways and highways that inevitably become part of such developments (there are already more than 50 businesses that sell alcoholic beverages in Meade County). 

The vicinity of Bear Butte is the wrong location for the type of development that you will be considering at the hearing for Jay Allen’s liquor license on April 4th, 2006.

Thank you Honorable Commissioners!

We the undersigned object to any and all future or present plans which might fall under the authority of the Meade County Commissioners for any and all “depredation businesses” such as alcohol consumption/sales establishments, weapons shooting ranges, sex shops or prostitution centers, etc., located within a twenty (20) mile radius of the Very Sacred Site known as Bear Butte near present day “Sturgis, SD”.

Bear Butte is utilized by the Lakota (“Sioux”) Indigenous Red “Indian” Nation and Peoples – as well as numerous other Indigenous Nations and non-Indian people – for extremely spiritual purposes, i.e., ceremonies, prayers, spiritual contentment, reflection, etc.

Such “depredation businesses” located near such a Very Sacred Site would be a violation of the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie, a site protected through Article VI of the U.S. Constitution which allows Indigenous Peoples to live and travel freely throughout the Black Mountain (“Black Hills”) Region. Attempts to build “depredation businesses” near such a pristine, beautiful and sacred site is blasphemy and sacrilegious.

We demand the state of South Dakota take measures to stop their citizens from trying to build offensive, disruptive, obnoxious and detrimental enterprises near Bear Butte and all similar sites such as the Ho Coka (Center of the World, misnomer “Harney Peak”), Gray Horn Butte (misnomer “Devil’s Tower”) – much the same as the world’s people would not want to see a shooting gallery next to their ‘churches’, the ‘wailing wall’, ‘old faithful geyser’, etc.

We encourage concerned American people to develop legislation in their states (twenty mile radius of peacefulness), which prohibits this flagrant violation of Article VI of the Constitution, the 1851 Treaty, and peoples right to gather, pray, seek solitude, and maintain their Way of Life without hindrance, disruption, and annoyance.