Mining company in South Dakota cancelled Drilling project in the Black Hills after opposition from Native American tribes and local groups.
In a letter submitted Friday by the Indigenous advocacy group NDN Collective, Rapid City-based Pete Lian & Sons told the U.S. Forest Service on Thursday that it is withdrawing its operations plan for the graphite drilling project. The letter said it had no intention of submitting another plan for this project.
Groups opposed the project because of its proximity to a sacred site called Bisla, a meadow in the Black Hills where Sioux tribes hold ceremonies and prayers year-round. The land is also used for grazing buffalo.
Forest Service and Pete Lane & The sons did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday afternoon.
Nine tribes in South Dakota, North Dakota and Nebraska have sued the Forest Service over the project, alleging violations of the National Historic Preservation Act and the National Environmental Protection Act for granting permits without environmental review.
There was also a lawsuit filed by the NDN Collective and environmental groups that argued that the Forest Service should not exempt the project from environmental review because it did not meet categorical exclusion requirements. In this case, a temporary restraining order was issued against Pete Lian & On Monday, residents prevented the drilling operation for two weeks.
“Today’s victory is multi-faceted and provides a blueprint for future Earth defense battles,” NDN Collective said in a statement.
Named after the rolling hills covered in pine and spruce trees, the Black Hills region is home to attractions like Mount Rushmore and state parks, but has long been the site of tension between mining interests and tribes, who view the area as unceded territory.
The 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie stated that the Black Hills belonged to the Sioux tribes, but the United States government seized the land years later after gold was discovered. The Supreme Court later ruled that the tribes were entitled to compensation, but they did not accept it and maintained their claim to the land.