A federal court dispute over exploratory graphite drilling near the sacred Black Hills site of Pe’Sla has ended after the mining company withdrew its project.
Nine Sioux tribes and three nonprofit organizations sued the U.S. Forest Service after it approved an exploratory drilling project by Pete Lien & Sons near Pe’Sla, a site sacred to the Lakota, Nakota and Dakota tribes of the Great Sioux Nation. Tribal leaders said the project threatened a place central to prayer and cultural traditions.
Last week, a U.S. District judge in Rapid City granted a temporary restraining order halting the drilling, finding the tribes were likely to succeed in their claim that the Forest Service improperly approved the project under a categorical exclusion. Shortly afterward, Pete Lien & Sons announced it would fully withdraw from the project and will not seek further approval.
Oglala Sioux Tribe President Frank Star Comes Out called the decision an important step in protecting sacred tribal lands. The company has said it does not plan to reapply for drilling near Pe’Sla.
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