User:Evan.yoshimoto/sandbox

I am excited to be working primarily as the citation lead for my group. As citation lead, I am going to ensure that all citations are noted and checked for credibility as a reliable source. As there are only 3 of us in the group, I will also be contributing as a content editor.

GROUP PROJECT: NATIVE AMERICAN LAND TRUST

BLACK LIVES MATTER

INDIAN RESERVATION

DAKOTA ACCESS PIPELINE

DAKOTA ACCESS PIPLEINE PROTESTS

Land Disputes

The Black Hills Land Dispute

The Federal Government and the The Lakota Sioux tribe members have been involved with one another over the legal claim of the Black Hills since the signing of the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty, which created what is known today as the Great Sioux Nation covering the Black Hills and nearly half of western South Dakota. This treaty was acknowledged and respected until 1874, when General George Custer discovered gold, sending a wave of settlers into the area and leading to the realization of the value of the land from United States President Grant. President Grant used tactical military force to remove the Sioux from the land and assisted in the development of the Congressional appropriations bill for Indian Services in 1876, a "starve or sell" treaty signed by only 10% of the 75% tribal men required based on specifications from the Fort Laramie Treat that relinquished the Sioux's rights to the Black Hills. Following this treaty, the Agreement of 1877 was passed by Congress to remove the Sioux from the Black Hills, stating that the land was purchased from the Sioux despite the insufficient number of signatures, the lack of transaction records, and the tribe's claim that the land was never for sale.

The Black Hills are sacred to the Sioux as a place central to their spirituality and identity, and contest of ownership of the land has been pressured in the courts by the Sioux Nation since the they were allowed legal avenue in 1920. Beginning in 1923, the Sioux made legal claim that their relinquishment from the Black Hills was illegal under the Fifth Amendment, and no amount of money can make up for the loss of their sacred land. This claim went all the way up the Supreme Court United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians case in 1979 after being revived by Congress, and the Sioux were awarded over $100 million dollars as they ruled that the seizure of the Black Hills was in fact illegal. The Sioux have continually rejected the money, and since then the award has been accruing interest in trust accounts, and amounts to about $1 billion dollars in 2015. 

During President Barack Obama’s campaign he made indications that the case of the Black Hills was going to be solved with innovate solutions and consultation, but this was questioned when White House Counsel Leonard Garment sent a note to The Ogala people saying, "The days of treaty making with he American Indians ended in 1871; ...only Congress can rescind or change in any way statutes enacted since 1871." The He Sapa Reparations Alliance was established after Obama’s inauguration to educate the Sioux people and propose a bill to Congress that would allocate 1.3 million acres of federal land within the Black Hills to the tribe. To this day, the dispute of the Black Hills is ongoing , and sources believe principles of restorative justice may be the best solution to addressing this century old dispute.