Cheyenne River chair opposes Black Hills payout

Wednesday, May 7, 2008  

Joe Brings Plenty, the chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of South Dakota, is opposing an effort to distribute a settlement for the theft of the sacred Black Hills.

Brings Plenty said the Sioux Nation doesn't want money. "Those lands are sacred to us, and more than anything, we want those lands back," he told The Rapid City Journal.

In 1980, U.S. Supreme Court said the Sioux Nation was entitled to $146 million. The award had been made by the Indian Claims Commission, which was not authorized to award land.

Since then, the settlement has grown to at least $863 million and could even be over $1 billion. Attorney Doug Kettering has met with individual Indians who want a share of the payout.

Get the Story:
Tribes want land, not money (The Rapid City Journal 5/7)

Rosebud President: 'Black Hills are not for sale' (5/6)
Meeting focuses on Black Hills trust settlement (5/5)
Tim Giago: It's time for action on the Black Hills (5/5)