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Hobby Lobby Bolsters Case for Returning Black Hills to Tribes for Religious Purposes

What do you get when you combine the Hobby Lobby ruling, executive orders, and Indians? A formula for one of South Dakota Republicans' worst nightmares: the Alito-Roberts Court opening the door for Barack Obama to give the Black Hills back to the Great Sioux Nation.

Ruth Hopkins lays the groundwork:

To say that the Black Hills (Kȟe Sapa) hold special significance for the Oceti Sakowin (The Great Sioux Nation) is an understatement. They’re not only our traditional homelands, where our ancestors once lived, they’re sacred. The Black Hills are the birthplace of our Nation, where we rose from Mother Earth’s womb. Our legends took place there. The Black Hills itself is a terrestrial mirror of the heavens above and thus forms the basis of our ancient star maps and Lakota astronomy. The entirety of Kȟe Sapa is a sacred site. Our rituals observe the natural cycles of the planet and our Universe. There are ceremonies that we must conduct at specific locations within the Black Hills. These ancient ceremonies benefit the whole of humanity. No, we aren’t talking about dirt protected by ‘No Trespassing’ signs. Kȟe Sapa is holy ground. It is where we are meant to pray [emphasis mine; Ruth Hopkins, "Reclaiming the Sacred Black Hills," Indian Country Today, 2014.06.28].

A core doctrine of Justice Alito's majority opinion was that we (the Court, the State, the people making laws) do not inquire into religious claims. We don't throw out a lawsuit from Hobby Lobby or the Lakota people just because we think the religious beliefs on which it is based are poppycock. If we adopt the thinking that Alito adopted to accept without scientific inquiry Hobby Lobby's religious (and counterfactual) claims that certain birth control methods cause abortion, then we must accept without judgment Hopkins's assertion that her people must perform their prayers at Bear Butte, Pe 'Sla, and other holy sites and that said prayers benefit all of humanity (awfully generous of you folks, Ruth!).

If the government must exempt Hobby Lobby from a federal law to ease its owners' religious queasiness about remote moral culpability for female employees' medical choices, then surely the government must act to protect the ability of the Oceti Sakowin to carry out one of their fundamental religious mandates to serve humanity with prayers in the Black Hills. And how better to protect that religious exercise than to hand the Black Hills back to its rightful pious owners, if not by legislation, then by a stroke of the Presidential pen?

Working with both Tribal and Treaty councils, the group is hopeful that they can develop a realistic plan to present to President Obama, and perhaps, the U.S. Congress. New Jersey Senator Bill Bradley introduced a bill in 1985 that would have transferred 1.3 million acres of forest in the Black Hills back to the Great Sioux Nation. Unfortunately the bill was unsuccessful. Even if Congress is unwilling to pass legislation to return the Black Hills to the Oceti Sakowin, it is within the President’s power to perform the task by Executive Order [Hopkins, 2014.06.28].

I'm still looking for the statute or precedent that makes clear the President's authority to transfer federal land like the Black Hills National Forest to any other entity, sovereign or private. But what better land to surrender than land that serves a crucial religious purpose and that nearly everyone, including the courts, recognizes was taken illegally in the first place?

Hopkins says Oceti Sakowin leaders will meet with President Obama to discuss the Black Hills in 2015. Just imagine President Barack Obama signing that order, shaking hands with Ruth Hopkins and her friends, and saying, "Threaten to impeach me? This is what happens."

Handing the Black Hills back to the Oceti Sakowin would be payback in many ways. It would also be one logical extension of the Supreme Court's view of religion expressed in the Hobby Lobby case.

52 Comments

  1. mike from iowa 2014.07.01

    I read awhile back that someone planned a shooting range fairly close to Bear Butte and that local Sioux were upset that the noise would disrupt the tranquility necessary for people to pray. Is nothing sacred?

  2. larry kurtz 2014.07.01

    "In 2008, during a campaign stop in Sioux Falls then Sen. Barak Obama gave Great Plains Indian tribes a ray of hope on the outcome of the century’s long legal battle over “theft of 48 million acres of their homeland.”

    http://www.buffalopost.net/?p=14205

  3. Taunia 2014.07.01

    Turn the Indians into all male Caucasions, you got yourself a land swap.

    Y'all Quaeda ain't having nothing to do w/ giving any Indian any land for a non-Jesus religion.

    It says so in the Bible.

  4. grainofsalt 2014.07.01

    If the original Americans could have seen into the future, perhaps they wouldn't have permitted any of the "immigrants" to gain a foothold in their country.

  5. larry kurtz 2014.07.01

    Uhhh: because the horse and musket were weapons of mass destruction used to enslave the indigenous who weren't dying of malaria?

  6. Steve Sibson 2014.07.01

    "The Black Hills are the birthplace of our Nation, where we rose from Mother Earth’s womb. Our legends took place there. The Black Hills itself is a terrestrial mirror of the heavens above and thus forms the basis of our ancient star maps and Lakota astronomy."

    If Obama does the transfer based on this New Age religious basis, then my arguments regarding New Age Theocracy is spot on.

    I doubt Obama would then push the United Nations to pay it forward and transfer the Temple Mound, along with the rest of the land of Canaan that includes the tomb of Abraham, back to the Jews.

  7. charlie5150 2014.07.01

    Unfortunately GOD forgot about Native Americans when he wrote the bible, so.........

  8. Steve Sibson 2014.07.01

    So Larry, after we return America back to the Indians, do the whites return to Europe, and the blacks return to Africa?

  9. charlie5150 2014.07.01

    perhaps if they cared to hold their beliefs a little more deeply......

  10. Jenny 2014.07.01

    Sibby, can I have you Neo Marxist social security check if you don't want it?

  11. Steve Sibson 2014.07.01

    Yes Larry, we should pay for the boat tickets back to Africa by adding that to the federal debt. And do we include Obama on that boat, or will he publicly announce that since his mother is white, he is not the first black president? Does he spend one month in Europe and one month in Africa, and continue to alternate?

    I hope you all understand that Cory's strawman is one that does not hold water. What will happen to the federal debt and the world economy if we return America back to the Indians? And what will the coveting Neo-Marxists do without a tax base? How quickly would America turn into Darwin's survival of the fittest?

  12. Steve Sibson 2014.07.01

    And Jenny, I forgot to answer your question. Once the American system is destroyed by Obama, no one will have a social security check.

  13. Taunia 2014.07.01

    Who else skips right over Sibson's posts?

  14. Jerry 2014.07.01

    Incredible news! Thankfully the tribes never accepted the pittance that was thrown to them for a settlement. I am quite sure the tribes could manage the homeland with much respect and with a whole lot better results than what is going on at present. Harney Peak would be renamed and so would Custer park for starters. Turns out these adjudicators may have been clever by half, that always seems to happen to ideologues.

  15. Jerry 2014.07.01

    "I Promise to be a President who works with you to give our children the future that they deserve"

    - Barack Obama, June 13th 2014, Standing Rock Reservation

  16. Jenny 2014.07.01

    I need to do that, Taunia. It would be better for my sanity.

  17. Craig 2014.07.01

    I want to skip them, but I can't right now as I am only one more post away from filling out my Sibson Insanity Loop Bingo Card.

    Here is what I have so far:

    B - Neo Facist
    I - Crony Capitalist
    N - anti-Christ
    G - Neo Marxist

    If he can give me a "GOP Establishment" I can fill out the O and be the big winner.

  18. lesliengland 2014.07.01

    twice this week people have suggested renaming harney "child-killer" peak and custer state park from the reprehensible nomenclature, exclusive of this blog.

    Obama doesn't have any problem maintaining ssi and expanding and Medicaid. krugman

    the non-indians pay their own way back and negotiate resolution with african americans. Indians keep the nukes and annex mexico if mutually agreed. non-Indians compensate Indians for losses and damages.

    so much for manifest destiny.

    wik-u have managed to not tar and feather yourself lately like geo. will did. please keep it that way.

  19. Jessie 2014.07.01

    Taunia, I fully intended to do so today but I started reading before I checked the poster's name. Then I noticed that there were two posts w/o neo-anything or crony whatsit and thought "Wow!" But could he hold on for a 3peat? Nope, he clutched and blew it. What a shame. Try again, Sibby. Tomorrow is another day.

  20. mike from iowa 2014.07.01

    Those aren't Sibby's words. He works through god.

  21. Steve Sibson 2014.07.01

    "I need to do that, Taunia. It would be better for my sanity."

    Sorry about asking questions that requires looking at reality. I know it drives those crazy who believe their Party's deceptive rhetoric. And that includes members of the GOP. Sad that you folks have to return to LaLa land by issuing personal attacks in order to ignore reality. But don't give up, it will take years to deprogram what the Kool-Aid has done.

  22. mike from iowa 2014.07.01

    Sorry sport,it ain't reality they are trying to avoid. It is ewe.

  23. Roger Cornelius 2014.07.01

    Craig,

    You forgot the C and W words, Covet and Worldview are also overused words by Sibson.

    I know that they don't fit your BINGO game, but maybe you can squeeze them in somewhere.

  24. Steve Sibson 2014.07.01

    Proverbs 9:8

    Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke the wise and they will love you.

  25. Taunia 2014.07.01

    Craig wins the interwebs today.

  26. Jerry 2014.07.01

    Here is another Craig. Neo-Confederate, that fits him to a T as his posts about Mississippi make him a Jim Crow kind of feller. I shall nickname Mr. Sibson, Ole Reb.

  27. Roger Cornelius 2014.07.01

    Jerry,

    I like neo-Confederate better than neo-reb.

  28. Craig 2014.07.01

    Steve: "Sad that you folks have to return to LaLa land by issuing personal attacks in order to ignore reality. But don't give up, it will take years to deprogram what the Kool-Aid has done."

    Did you just complain about personal attacks and the very next sentence accuse people of drinking Kool-Aid?

    Interesting.

    It might seem you are of the belief you are smarter than everyone around you and that only you are capable of rational thought. Only you are able to see through the rhetoric and only you are capable of seeing reality for what it is.

    Based upon what I've seen, your behavior seems to mirror that of a condition I've read about in the DSM-IV. It just so happens to contain the following symptoms:

    * Expects to be recognized as superior and special, without superior accomplishments
    * Expects constant attention, admiration and positive reinforcement from others
    * Is preoccupied with thoughts and fantasies of great success, enormous attractiveness, power, intelligence
    * Has an over-inflated sense of self-importance
    * Is known for dramatic, emotional behavior
    * Has difficulty handling criticism
    * Seems pre-occupied with commenting about Neo-Marxism, Neo-fascism, or crony capitalists

    (ok I made that last one up)

    Care to take a guess and what it might be?

    P.S. - Kool-aid is delicious and it is an insult to suggest people shouldn't drink it! Flavor Aid on the otherhand... well let's just say some folks have abused it.

  29. Roger Cornelius 2014.07.01

    United Sioux Tribes of Pierre would be the perfect vehicle to transfer the Black Hills to its rightful owners.
    The Sioux Tribes of South Dakota and North Dakota are the incorporators of UST and could ask that SCOTUS recognize "creator" as their GOD and make a religious claim to the Black Hills.
    In Your Face President Obama could then sign an executive order returning the Black Hills to the Sioux, he could also sign a full pardon for Leonard Peltier at the same time.

  30. Stan Gibilisco 2014.07.01

    Our courts do not dispense justice. They play politics.

    I hope the Lakota rename Lead.

    What about existing property "owners" in Paha Sapa?

    As I understand this notion, I favor it. Unless they want to take my house.

  31. grudznick 2014.07.01

    Mr. Gibilisco, I hope the Winnebago who were pushed out before the Sioux and have clear title to your land let you stay in your house. I don't care what they rename Lead to as long as it's not Winnebagoland and they keep the Bed Rock bowling alley open on Saturday afternoons.

  32. Jessie 2014.07.01

    Please note that I criticize Sibby's rhetorical skills, not the guy himself. I find his views unworthy of comment. If he would choose to use logical arguments instead of perjorative invective, I might be persuaded to read his posts. Maybe.

  33. Stan Gibilisco 2014.07.01

    My take more precisely: A question.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3J0SAjGdp4

    Please feel free to comment here, or on the video channel, or both.

    As an aside, if I were offered fair market value for my house, I'd let the Lakota have it.

    Cory, I have to say ... you got a knack for stretching logic. But even bent and stretched and twisted all around, logic it remains.

  34. Ken Blanchard 2014.07.01

    Who would we give the Black Hills back to? Tribes are corporate persons if ever there were such things. I suppose under Corynomics the Lakota people don't exist, nor would it be possible to create a new corporate entity to manage the Black Hills on behalf of Native Americans. So I suppose we would have to cut up the Black Hills into enough equal pieces to one to every Natural (Native) person. Such are the wonders of Corynomical legal theory.

  35. larry kurtz 2014.07.01

    Woah, Ken: text me the number of your dealer, man. 605-484-7288.

  36. Jerry 2014.07.01

    Mr. Cornelius had a brilliant suggestion of dispersing the ownership to the United Sioux Tribes for the stewardship. That seems like a good first step to look to.

  37. Stan Gibilisco 2014.07.01

    Thanks, Jerry. Good link.

  38. Roger Cornelius 2014.07.01

    The first thing that needs to be done when President Obama returns the Black Hills to the Sioux is to establish a broad and sweeping Immigration Law. I'll personally volunteer to write it. Watch out grudz.
    No other tribes have laid any claim to the Black Hills but the Sioux. The U.S. government by its own acknowledgment have recognized that only the Sioux are the rightful owners of the Black Hills by their own treaties.

  39. Jessie 2014.07.01

    If the Black Hills were returned to the Sioux, would that include Mt. Rushmore? Myself, I think carving the monument was an obscene thing to do to a perfectly innocent little mountain that was minding its own business.

    Don't fool yourselves, this ain't gonna happen. Not with the monument, not with the Hills. To do so would set precedent and pretty soon all native peoples would get the land back and then they would want the treaties enforced and it would just go on and on. Start being fair one place and it tends to spread out of control. (sarcasm set to "on" and at full power)

  40. Deb Geelsdottir 2014.07.02

    Tania, I always skip the Sibson comments. They're just not entertaining enough. He needs new comedy writers.

    Craig, you are my hero. Very funny. BTW, I think the answer is . . . . . . [Drumroll please!) . . . . . . . Narcissism!

  41. The Black Hills isn't just for the Oceti Sakowin Oyate. The Ft. Laramie Treaty named other plains tribes in it. This was always a war-free zone shared in good spirit with other tribes which we often were otherwise embattled with.

    If the Black Hills were turned back over, it would need a new form of jurisdiction, because there is no singular
    Great Sioux Nation any longer. We are divided into 9 different reservations. Plus the other tribes.

    The people working on treaty councils at the local level are hypocritical, conservative (Lakota version) and prattle about issues that sound more like Evangelical Christianity than anything that connects us to our stories and land.

    Many bloggers like Ruth love to pull from this mess for their own purposes.

    I used to consider myself a patriot of the Oceti Sakowin Oyate as a member of the OST. Moving back to a reservation made me realize how far we really are from being able to lead a jurisdiction in a democracy like America.

    We are still fighting about lineage and blood quantums and in-tribe fighting and bickering. Until we clean up our own backyards and reservations, a huge undertaking that has been stacked against us by generations of government and personal greed, we can't hope to thoughtfully and intellectually work our way through a jurisdiction full of non-tribal people, federal lands, etc.

    Is the keeping of the Black Hills perfect right now? No. God no. I'm worried about uranium mining and so much else. However, I don't want to see overlapping jurisdictions and fighting and lack of zoning that follows allow more land degradation.

    This is the first time I've spoke out about this, and I will blog this over at my own blog, but I'm sure I will get shit for it. Bring it on, I suppose.

  42. Jerry 2014.07.02

    Me, I would like to hear more about this Ms. Livermont.

  43. Jenny 2014.07.02

    That is a good observation, Craig. :)

  44. caheidelberger Post author | 2014.07.03

    Stan, we never know how strong logic is until we stretch and twist it to see where it breaks. :-)

    And good concise video, Stan!

Comments are closed.