Oglala Lakota Nation: Gold Mine Exploration Approval in Sacred Black Hills Fails to Comply with Law

A draft decision from the U.S. Forest Service would allow a Minnesota company to conduct exploratory drilling for gold within a half-mile of the Pactola Reservoir in South Dakota's Black Hills.

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The Oglala Lakota Nation has drafted a letter to ask the Black Hills Forest Service to withdraw a decision notice on a gold exploration project. Lakotas said the Forest Service has failed to comply with the law.

“The Black Hills are sacred to our people,” the Oglala Lakota Nation said. “We know them as ‘the heart of everything that is.’ The Forest Service has failed to comply with the law and has failed to consider the environmental and cultural impacts of the Project under the National Environmental Policy Act.”

The Jenny Gulch Gold Exploration Project is a year-long drilling project planned near Silver City, South Dakota, in search of gold.

In July, the Forest Service issued a decision notice providing the public with 45 days to object to the project. The last day to do so is today, August 22, KELO news reports.

Last week, the Oglala Sioux Tribe wrote a letter (below) to oppose the project.