RAPID CITY, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - All nine South Dakota tribes are moving forward on legislation aimed at returning federal lands in the Black Hills to the Great Sioux Nation.

In a press release, leaders said the early draft focuses on protecting sacred sites, clean water, and land management, without involving private property or existing legal treaty claims.

“The Oceti Sakowin people are coming together to claim the land that is rightfully and legally owed to us,” said Madonna Thunder Hawk, Cheyenne River Sioux elder. “We are here to say, loud and clear, that the Black Hills are not for sale. We love our land, and will continue defending it – from Pe’ Sla to Craven Canyon and beyond.”

Tribal officials said the goal is to preserve the Black Hills and curb mining activity across the region.

“The ability to live with and care for our land is essential to our collective healing,” said Russell Eagle Bear, Sicangu Lakota elder and Rosebud Sioux Tribe Presidential Cultural Liaison. “The fight for the Black Hills to be returned to its rightful stewards is not only a material one, but also a spiritual one.”

This comes after a proposed graphite drilling project near Pe’Sla, a deeply sacred ceremonial site in the Black Hills, was halted