Nine Tribes Sue US Forest Service to Halt Graphite Drilling Near Sacred Black Hills Site

Sioux Falls, S.D. — Nine Native American tribes in South Dakota, North Dakota and Nebraska sued the federal government to block exploratory drilling for graphite near a sacred site in the Black Hills.

Demonstrators have protested at the drilling site and the mining company's headquarters since learning that ground was broken on the project in late April.

The tribes filed the lawsuit Thursday in South Dakota against the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Department of Agriculture. They claim the agencies violated federal law by approving the project near Pe'Sla, a meadow in the central Black Hills used year-round for tribal ceremonies, prayer and youth camps.

The project marks the latest tension between tribes and mining interests in the pine-covered Black Hills. The area covers more than 1.2 million acres and rises from the Great Plains in southwest South Dakota into Wyoming.

Millions of tourists visit the region each year for attractions including Mount Rushmore and state parks with abundant wildlife. Sioux tribes have long considered the area, which they call He Sapa, sacred as "the heart of everything that is," according to the complaint.

The gold rush of the 1870s altered parts of the landscape and displaced Native Americans. Rising gold prices in recent years have drawn new miners to the area.

Rapid City-based Pete Lien & Sons plans the project, which the complaint says would affect tribes' traditional, cultural and religious use of Pe'Sla. The Forest Service approved it without consulting the tribes.

Sioux tribes bought parts of Pe'Sla in 2012, 2015 and 2018. An agreement with the Forest Service created a two-mile buffer zone on public lands around the site, the complaint states.

The lawsuit alleges the approval violates the National Historic Preservation Act and National Environmental Policy Act because Pe'Sla was not identified as an affected area and no environmental review occurred.

Pete Lien & Sons, a supplier of limestone, sand and gravel, did not respond to email or voicemail requests for comment Thursday and Sunday.

Frank Star Comes Out, president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, called the lawsuit "a historic demonstration of unity" among the nine tribes in a statement. The tribes are separate federally recognized nations with shared cultural and linguistic roots, each with its own government and land base.

"We as Lakota people have been coming and praying and holding ceremony at these places for over 2,000 years," said Wizipan Garriott, president of Indigenous advocacy group NDN Collective and a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. "And so us being here is a continuation of countless generations before us. And it's important that these sacred places be protected for future generations to come."

The Forest Service issued a permit in February without an environmental review, citing a categorical exclusion for projects lasting less than a year with no impacts to environmental or cultural sites.

Tribal opponents argue the project fails to meet those standards and serves as a precursor to full mining. NDN Collective and other environmental groups sought a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to stop it.

Some drilling pads lie within the buffer zone, according to NDN Collective. The plan calls for up to 18 holes drilled 1,000 feet deep for samples.

On Thursday, opponents used signs reading "Protect Pe'Sla" and "Sacred ground not mining bound" to block access near two pads. NDN Collective said the Forest Service paused drilling for the day and sent contractors home.

The Forest Service declined to comment on the project. "The Forest Service does not comment on the specifics of the case or on issues that are part of ongoing legal proceedings," its statement read.

NDN Collective spotted operating drilling pads last week, though the exact start date remains unclear. The group plans continued protests to protect Pe'Sla.

"As Lakota, we pray as long as we need to," Garriott said.