BEAR BUTTE ISSUE MORE CRITICAL THAN EVER!
SACRED SITES ARE WORTH THE FIGHT!
By: Tamra Brennan
Founder/Director of Protect Sacred Sites, a grassroots organization.
Greetings to all my relations,
I am writing to you today to alert you to the escalating commercial desecration
of land held sacred by nearly all the Plains American Indian Nations, Bear
Butte. Blatant disregard for the spiritual beliefs and ceremonies of Native
People and the sacredness of this mountain is evidenced by the increased
presence of bars, clubs, strobe lights, campgrounds that sell alcohol and a
proposed stadium.
Bear Butte is a sacred mountain located eight miles west of Sturgis, South
Dakota. It is registered as a National Historical Landmark. Bear Butte is sacred
to the Plains Tribes who continue to travel to the mountain each summer to pray
and hold their annual ceremonies. Instead of praying in peace, traditional
people are forced to pray with loud music from bars, motorcycle noise, flashing
strobe lights over the mountain, and intoxicated campers nearby.
For the past few years there has been a continual encroachment of bars and
venues heading towards the sacred mountain. In the summer of 2006, the massive
two story bar opened just one mile from the mountain, called Sturgis County
Line. Their goal is to have a 50,000 seat concert stadium and a RV park, in
addition to the newly built two story bar. The owner of this location, Jay Allen
has been disrespectful from the start. He initially wanted to call the location
“On Sacred Ground” and erect an 80-foot Indian statue pointing towards the
sacred mountain. Of course this was not well received by Native People or others
who understand the disrespectful nature of such an act. There has been a
movement to stop Jay Allen, and further commercial development, ever since.
Unfortunately, there have been several developments since the summer of 2006.
Expansions of Sturgis County Line are in progress and things continue to get
worse.
On December 5, 2007 the Meade County Commissioners unanimously voted to revoke
Jay Allen’s on-sale liquor license, seemingly a good thing. The decision was
based upon, Jay Allen’s character, stating he was not a suitable person to hold
the liquor license in question. The character issue was a result of Jay Allen
defaulting on over $100,000.00 of debt, to local contractors who helped to build
the Sturgis County Line, in 2006.
In January, Jay Allen appealed the Meade County Commissioners decision to revoke
his license.
On April 14, 2008 the appeal was held before Judge Bastian, at the Meade County
Courthouse. Allen testified he had signed a Memorandum of Understanding,
purchase agreement on February 26, 2008 with Target Companies, a travel
corporation from Boston, MA. The agreement terms were to be finalized on May 3,
2008. Allen stated upon completion of the agreement, his only role in the
Sturgis County Line would be as a promoter, and because he was no longer the
owner, his character could not be basis for license revocation. Judge Bastian
remanded the decision back to Meade County Commissioners. His instructions asked
the Commissioners to reconsider their decision to revoke, based upon the new
information that Allen would no longer be the “owner” of Sturgis County Line.
The Judge’s decision was shocking; he re-wrote legislation at the bench. This
ruling sets precedence for anyone in South Dakota, if you lose your liquor
license due to poor character, the simple solution is to sell to a partnership,
disassociate yourself on paper, and your liquor license will be restored. The
intriguing part of this decision was, as of the court hearing date on April 14,
2008, Jay Allen was still the current owner and President of Bear Butte Sunsets
LLC/ Sturgis County Line. As of the hearing, the only legitimate change had been
new management, since the "sale agreement" would not be final until May 3, 2008.
The Meade County Commissioner’s held an Executive Session Meeting on April 24,
2008. They unanimously voted to appeal Judge Bastian’s decision. It has been
directed to South Dakota Supreme Court for further clarification, to determine
if Judge Bastian had the legal authority to make such a decision. A court date
will be scheduled in the upcoming months.
Target Companies marketing campaign is very aggressive. Plans were announced to
open Sturgis County Line year round. Biker rally events are currently scheduled
in June, July and in August for the annual Sturgis Rally. So far, over a
thousand bikers are scheduled to attend each event in June and July. The concert
venue will be moving forward and by next summer there may be a concert stadium
within a mile of Bear Butte. With this new year- round expansion, it will
virtually become impossible ALL summer, to pray in peace at Bear Butte. This
issue has escalated and is now, more critical than ever.
A campaign is in progress to educate the bikers, in regards to the significance
and protection for Bear Butte. This has been an on-going effort to create
awareness over the past two years. People from across the nation have
participated in reaching out to the bikers. It is through awareness that we can
help make a difference with this issue. We have support from many people within
the biker community but most people remain unaware of the struggle. Many bikers
have stated they were not aware of the significance of Bear Butte previously,
but will now support us and act accordingly.
We ask for respectful behavior from people who are near the mountain. We want to
limit the noise, intrusive lighting, and alcohol consumption near the mountain.
In addition, we struggle with continuing development. There is land for sale,
literally at the foot of the mountain that will likely be purchased by a
developer for the purpose of erecting yet another summer party venue. This
property lies between Northern Cheyenne lands and Rosebud Sioux Tribe’s lands
where prayer is taking place. Land prices have skyrocketed, artificially
inflated due to the prospect of money-making development. Purchase of land by
Tribal Nations has become unrealistic. We are at a crossroads. We need your help
before the mountain is lost to us forever.
For up to date information regarding the protection of sacred sites and the
ongoing Bear Butte efforts, please visit our website(s) at
www.ProtectBearButte.com or www.ProtectSacredSites.org.
We are continuing the struggle to Protect Bear Butte and hope you will join us
in these efforts!
"Our sacred lands are all that remain keeping us connected to our place on
Mother Earth, to our spirituality, our heritage and our lands; what’s left of
them. If they take it all away, what will remain except a vague memory of a past
so forgotten?"