Bear Butte is located within Meade County, in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The mountain is 6 miles east of Sturgis, home of the world’s largest biker rally.

Bear Butte is a sacred site to many of the Plains Tribes who continue to travel to the mountain each summer to worship and hold their annual ceremonies, which traditionally for thousands of years have been held from May until August.  Each year people are violated in ceremony with the extreme noise and commotion that the Rally brings towards the sacred mountain.

The covenants that many Tribes have received from Bear Butte, hold equal reverence for native people as the Ten Commandments do for those from many other religions.

To Native people, Bear Butte is sacred ground, just as Mount Sinai is to Hebrews or the Vatican is to Catholics.  

The 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 and large concert venues, excessive motorcycle noise pollution, helicopters, flashing strobe lights over the mountain and intoxicated campers nearby.

In addition to being a sacred site, Bear Butte also has four National Historic Designations. Bear Butte also became a State Park in 1961. Bear Butte Wildlife Refuge was also established in 1967, with an Cooperative Agreement with US Fish and Wildlife Service and is a protected refuge for endangered and migratory wildlife and birds.

•National Historical Landmark, listed on December 21, 1981

•National Historical Places, listed on June 19, 1973

•National Natural Landmark, listed on April 1965

•Registered National Trail (Bear Butte Summit Trail), listed on June 1,1971

Bear Butte is within the original boundaries of the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868.

Meade County has no zoning ordinances to regulate commercial venues or private land.

The struggle to protect the serenity of Bear Butte from continual encroachment has ultimately developed into a religious freedom vs property rights issue.

The Meade County Commissioners have continually disregarded the historical and spiritual significance of Bear Butte as reflected in a statement in June, 2011 from the Chairman of the Commissioners, Alan Aker regarding the oil drilling near Bear Butte, in which he posted in a public forum and social networking site as follows:

 

“The stakes are very high for protection of private property rights. "There is no reason to believe this ruling will be limited to Bear Butte, since we've been told the entire region is "sacred", and since the view shed of Bear Butte is hundreds of square miles. There is also no reason to believe this ruling will be limited to oil exploration or to private lands. If you think about it, roads, landfills, water systems, sewer systems, pipelines, wind generators, electricity transmission lines, and air force training ranges all require federal or state permits and are all at least as obtrusive a land use as drilling an oil well. When all these other land uses come before various agencies and boards for approval, tribes and environmentalists will testify that the same, or more restrictive, rules should apply, and this oil-drilling ruling will be useful to them in making those assertions in legal actions they may take. These restrictions, if allowed to stand, will give the tribes and environmentalists new and valuable tools in killing projects through delay, litigation, and increased expense. This is about much more than oil wells. This ruling has negative implications for economic development and wealth creation in the entire region. It will scare away investors and kill jobs. Those who want to see non-use of private lands need to get their wallets out and buy that land, instead of using the coercive power of government to achieve their goals. These efforts to restrict land use are nothing less than theft. I am shocked that a board in a supposedly conservative state like South Dakota would make such a ruling."

 

There are currently 14 campgrounds surrounding Bear Butte, in which 4 locations (Buffalo Chip, Glencoe, Broken Spoke Campground and Full Throttle) also include large concert venues that host thousands of people. These venues are within 3 miles of the boundaries of Bear Butte.

Each August, the Sturgis Bike Rally increases the population of Sturgis from 6,600 people to 500,000 literally overnight.

The encroachments that increasingly are violating the sacredness of the Mountain with developments include, but are not limited to the following:

·         A proposed shooting range (2003)

·         Building of Broken Spoke Campground (2006)

·         Starting large concert venue at Glencoe (2006)

·         Stopping helicopters flying over the mountain (2008)

·         Development of additional bars, campgrounds and venues, expansion of Broken Spoke Campground (2006 – current)

·         Proposed expansion of Sturgis City limits that would be increased up to Highway 79 (2010)

·         Proposed development of oil drilling (2010 – current)

·         Proposed development of wind farms (2011 – current)

 

With the current rate and increased threat of development surrounding Bear Butte, the mountain could be completely surrounded with various developments within the 5 -10 years.  

People travel from across the world to pay their respects, and to appreciate the peace and serenity that Bear Butte provides.  The Mountain deserves protection and preservation, not development and disrespect.  

Since 2003, organizations, private citizens and Tribes have requested the State and County create a “buffer zone” surrounding Bear Butte to protect from further development.  

In 2007 and again in 2008, Former Governor Rounds submitted House Bill 1275 FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to make an appropriation for a portion of the costs related to the acquisition of easements adjacent to Bear Butte State Park and to declare an emergency. On both accounts, the Bill was rejected by the House.  

Time is of the essence and we hereby are AGAIN requesting that the House of Representatives,  Senate and Governor Daugaard create and pass a Bill to enact a “buffer zone” around Bear Butte, before it is to late.   

Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States of American in Congress Assembled, That henceforth it shall be the policy of the United States to protect and preserve for American Indians their inherent right of freedom to believe, express, and exercise the traditional religions of the American Indian, Eskimo, Aleut, and Native Hawaiians, including but not limited to access to sites, use and possession of sacred objects, and the freedom to worship through ceremonials and traditional rites.;……… ;……… "Joint Resolution American Indian Religious Freedom", approved August 11, 1978 (42 U.S.C. 1996).  

For more information regarding the Protect Bear Butte efforts, please visit our website at www.protectbearbutte.com