Mennonite
Central
Committee

MCC workers active in stand against proposed biker bar near sacred site

Marla Pierson Lester
July 11, 2006

Bear Butte, on the outskirts of the Black Hills, is known as Mato Paha to the Lakota people and Nowah'wus to the Cheyenne. It is a sacred place of prayer for more than 30 Native American Nations across the Great Plains.

On its slopes and at its base, Native American traditions and stories are passed from one generation to the next. Families come together for ceremonies and to seek herbs for healing compounds like the ones their ancestors made.

But commercial development in the area is creeping ever closer to the mountain, which is also a state park and national historic landmark.

Biker bar development

Recent plans for a 600-acre biker bar, concert venue and campground less than a mile from the mountain sparked protests from Native American communities and partner organizations of MCC, which has worked in the Oglala Lakota Nation since 1992.

The Spiritual significance of Bear Butte

"Bear Butte to our people is a very, very spiritual place. It's the place where we go to fast, to meditate and try to be closer to the Creator," said Victorio Camp of the Intertribal Coalition to Defend Bear Butte. "It's the place where we worship, the place where we learn, the place where we gather medicine."

Sturgis, the nearest town to Bear Butte, is also the site of the one of the largest motorcycle events in the United States. The Sturgis Rally, which this year will be Aug. 7-13, draws more than half a million people to this town of 6,600.

Sturgis Rally protest

During the Sturgis Rally and in the weeks prior to it, Native American groups plan to gather at Bear Butte to pray and protest. A July 4 to Aug. 15 Gathering of Nations is an opportunity for tribes to show their unity in protesting growing commercial development near the mountain.

"We're trying to preserve Bear Butte right now while we still can before the bars are built, before the stores are built, before the homes are built. We need to stand up and protect it," Camp said. He and others are pushing for a 5-mile commercial-free zone around the mountain.

MCC Support

MCC has provided funds to support rallies on the issue, and MCC workers Carl Meyer and Karissa Ortman Loewen have participated and taken video footage of rallies at their partners' request.

In addition, Meyer and Loewen collaborated with the MCC Washington Office to send out an e-mail inviting more than 150 Anabaptists and MCC supporters to join the effort to speak out against the biker bar and commercial development in the area.

Respecting places of prayer

"We think it's really important for us to follow the lead of our partners," Loewen says. "I find this issue really compelling. It's really important we respect other people's places of prayer."

Most Mennonites would be horrified if an enormous bar was built near their place of worship, Loewen noted.

Meyer and Loewen have also submitted a proposal to Christian Peacemaker Teams to have a presence at the Gathering of Nations camp. The couple also will likely be involved in some logistical support for the camp.

Camp thanked Meyer and Loewen for their support and their efforts to spread word about the issue to Anabaptists in and beyond South Dakota.

"We welcome all who want to stand with us on this sacred issue," Camp said.

He hopes more and more people will learn about the mountain and what it means to Lakota and other Native American tribes. The ceremonies and traditions he learned on its slopes shaped and nurtured him. A commercial-free zone around the mountain, he believes, can help guarantee that same chance for generations to come.

"That way, my children and grandchildren one day can use this mountain to pray as I did when I was a kid," he said. "This is about protecting it for the future, the future of our children, the future of our nation."