Oceti Sakowin Treaty Council calls for repeal of 1872 Mining Act, protection of He Sápa

The Oceti Sakowin Treaty Council adopted a resolution calling for repeal of the General Mining Act of 1872 and permanent protection of He Sápa, also known as the Black Hills, during the Oceti Sakowin Treaty Conference on Dec. 17 in Rapid City, South Dakota.

“He Sápa is not for sale. It is not a resource colony,” Phil Two Eagle, CEO of Peta Omniciye Inc., said in the statement. According to the resolution, the Mining Act was enacted without the consent of Indigenous Nations and has enabled mineral extraction on Oceti Sakowin treaty lands in violation of the Fort Laramie Treaties of 1851 and 1868. The council stated that mining under the law has damaged sacred sites, water systems and ecosystems within He Sápa. Two Eagle said that He Sápa is a sacred place guaranteed by treaty and that laws imposed without consent lack legitimacy on treaty lands.

The resolution calls for full repeal of the Mining Act, an end to mining permits and claims within Oceti Sakowin treaty territory, and a new legal framework based on treaty compliance, Indigenous consent and environmental protection.