The four surviving great-grandchildren of Lakota leader Sitting Bull want his gravesite moved to Montana.
Sitting Bull's grave is located on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. But Ernie LaPointe, the family's spokesperson, said the site has been neglected.
Two men have bought the 40-acre site near Mobridge, South Dakota, with plans to preserve it. But they also want to build a visitor or cultural center, which doesn't sit well with the Sitting Bull descendants.
Instead, the family wants the grave moved to Little Bighorn Battlefield in Montana.
"We do this because North Dakota, South Dakota and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe have not honored their promise for proper care and maintenance of our Grandfather's burial site," LaPointe said in letters to the to states and the tribe.
Darrell Cook, the superintendent at the battlefield, has agreed to help the family. Sitting Bull defeated George Custer and the 7th Cavalry at the Little Bighorn site on June 25, 1876.
Get the Story:Sitting Bull's kin seek home for chief's bones (The Billings Gazette 2/22) Related Stories:
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Men want Sitting Bull gravesite on National Register (11/21)
Editorial: Don't turn Sitting Bull grave into tourist site (01/23)
Men hope to preserve Sitting Bull's burial site (05/17)
Land purchased to protect Sitting Bull site (12/20)
