South Dakota pushes Trump statue garden near Mount Rushmore despite tribal concerns

South Dakota officials are promoting the Black Hills as the site for President Donald Trump’s proposed National Garden of American Heroes, drawing opposition from Indigenous groups who consider the area sacred. According to the Associated Press, Gov. Larry Rhoden wrote to Trump supporting the garden. A mining company, Pete Lien & Sons, offered to donate 40 acres near Mount Rushmore.

The land sits in a region subject to disputes between South Dakota and its tribes. The 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie recognized the Black Hills as Sioux territory. The U.S. later seized the land for gold — a violation of the treaty, according to a 1980 Supreme Court ruling.

The Department of Interior said the statue garden is still in the planning phase. Indigenous advocates, including NDN Collective, object to the project, as well as the mining company’s separate graphite drilling project near Pe’ Sla.