EcoPerspectives Blog
A “Ripe and Rank Cape of Dishonorable Dealings”: How Fireworks are Threatening Sioux Sovereignty of the Black Hills
By Morgan Muenster, Staff Editor for the Vermont Journal of Environmental Law
March 23, 2022
A fight has been brewing in the Black Hills of South Dakotaand it has the potential to turn explosive.
Fireworks have long been a symbol of patriotism on Independence Day, and the fireworks at Mount Rushmore were, for many years, a spectacle of allegiance and patriotism. South Dakota, with permits from the Department of the Interior and the National Parks Service (NPS), conducted a fireworks celebration at Mount Rushmore from 1998-2009, only skipping the celebration in 2002 due to wildfireconcerns . The show was cancelled in 2010 (once again due to wildfire concerns), and did not return until 2020 .
In 2019, President Trump and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem urged the National Parks Service to again allow fireworks at Mount Rushmore, calling for “a very exciting Fourth of July .” However, fireworks in the Black Hills are symbolic of something much deeper and more sinister.
The Black Hills were once the home of the Lakota people, which they called He Sapa”black ridge .” The Lakota, one of the seven Sioux nations, emerged on the Great Plains during the eighteenth century, and quickly took over some of the most fertile buffalo hunting grounds in the West . To the Lakota and other Sioux nations, the Hills are the sacred center of the world, and are integral to their spiritual practices . The Lakota lived on these lands for years, even resisting the advances of white colonists in the early nineteenth century . Eventually, the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 preserved the Black Hills as exclusively Lakota land .
Yet the traditions of America’s colonial campaign reached even the Lakota. A gold rush in the 1870’s resulted in dispossession of the Black Hills from the Lakota, essentially rendering the Fort Laramie treaty moot . Today, the Lakota people inhabit some of the poorest counties in the United Statesa lingering effect of the horrifying campaign of indigenous land dispossession .
Still, Mount Rushmore, located on Lakota territory, remains one of America’s most recognizable landmarks, drawing thousands of tourists every year. A fireworks show over the faces of America’s “great men” screams patriotism and ultra-Americanism. Which is exactly why the fireworks show should be permanently cancelled.
Firstly, a fireworks show could have severe environmental impacts on the native land of the Lakota Sioux. Although the NPS issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the event in 2019, their actions since then have shown that the opposite is true . In anticipation of the return of fireworks in 2019, the Parks Service conducted a controlled burn near Mount Rushmore estimated to cost$30,000. The purpose? To reduce the probability of a wildfire catching on dry trees and brush . The Parks Service has also stated that the event may be cancelled depending on dry conditions in the area; yet the Black Hills are especially susceptible to drought, and have been experiencing dry conditions for years, calling into question how dry conditions need to be for the fireworks to be cancelled . In past years, 60 to 80 firefighters have been on standby to stop potential fires from occurring . Additionally, activists have called attention to the increase of groundwater contamination and debris left behind by the fireworks .
These are not illogical concerns. From 1998 to 2009, the Mount Rushmore fireworks caused twenty documented wildfires . The Mount Rushmore fireworks pose a serious threat to sacred Lakota land.
Beyond environmental concerns, the fireworks show is the perfect symbol of a culture built on the stolen land of indigenous peoples. Even Mount Rushmore itself is a symbol of oppressionthe mountain was sacred to the Lakota, which they called Six Grandfathers in reference to the earth, the sky, and the four directions . Now, many see it as a symbol of all they have lost.
After announcing the return of the fireworks, President Trump hosted a July Third rally at Mount Rushmore, where he declared that “Mount Rushmore will stand forever as an eternal tribute to our forefathers and to our freedom .” At the same time, twenty Lakota protestors were arrested for protesting Trump’s visit, with one activist facing jail time of over sixteen years . These activists say that instead of being a “shrine of democracy,” Mount Rushmore is instead “an international symbol of white supremacy .” And South Dakota is intent to keep it that way.
In 2021, Governor Noem filed suit against the NPS and other federal organizations, seeking a mandatory preliminary injunction to compel the NPS to grant a special use permit for the Mount Rushmore fireworks (the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe later joined as anintervenor ). However, the Court denied the request for injunction, stating that the NPS’s decision to deny the permit was not arbitrary nor capricious . While this was a short-term victory for the Sioux nations that inhabit the Black Hills, a decision has not yet been made for 2022. Already, Governor Noem has renewed her request for a 2022 fireworks permit .
The fireworks battle is not over, and South Dakota has not signaled a willingness to give into the demands of the Sioux nations. Yet the Biden administration appears to be more willing to side with the Siouxor possibly more concerned with environmental effects of the fireworks. Even the Supreme Court has noted the injustices faced by the Sioux Nations, stating about the takeover of the Black Hills “[a] more ripe and rank case of dishonorable dealings will never, in all probability, be found in our history .” The Court awarded the Sioux what in 2021 would be over two billion dollars (none of the Sioux nations have accepted this money, stating that the Black Hills are not for sale). Yet the injustices against the people of the Black Hills continue. Fireworks over Mount Rushmore are no more a symbol of patriotism than they are of hypocrisy.