Despite tribal protests Canadian company pledging to rape Black Hills

The Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming are not the only public lands plundered by foreign companies under cover of an antiquated mining law.

Although the company’s application for an exploratory permit from the state met little resistance, the Forest Service review of the company’s plan to drill on public land has sparked an outcry from some neighboring landowners, environmental activists and Native American tribal leaders. At a recent meeting between tribal leaders and Forest Service officials, Oglala Sioux Tribal Chairman Scott Weston was quoted by the Native Sun News as saying that new gold mining in the Black Hills would spark a “war.” “There will be bloodshed, because we have to stand up for our children and our grandchildren,” Weston was quoted as saying.

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Opponents to efforts by a Canadian miner exploiting the 1872 law and targeting lands on the Black Hills National Forest abutting tribal-owned off-reservation property are hinting legal action.

President Clinton’s Executive Order 13175, issued on November, 6, 2000, was prompted by a need to clarify consultation process and procedure. Clinton stated, “When I became the first President since James Monroe to invite the leaders of every tribe to the White House in April 1994, I vowed to honor and respect tribal sovereignty. At that historic meeting I issued a memorandum directing all federal agencies to consult with Indian tribes before making decisions on matters affecting American Indian and Alaskan Native peoples.”

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Last year Democratic Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton toured a Janklow mining disaster in the Black Hills calling it "a textbook example of how not to do it."