Mount Rushmore National Monument, Black Hills National Forest, South Dakota, August 1994

In 1868 the Federal government deeded millions of acres in the Black Hills of South Dakota to the Great
Sioux Nation. Nine years later, when gold was discovered in the area, Congress broke the treaty and took the land back.

In the 1920s the state of South Dakota, eager to attract tourists, commissioned a sculptor to carve a colossal
monument into Mount Rushmore. The Sioux still considered the Black Hills their own sacred land.

In 1980, the Supreme Court awarded the Sioux $17 million plus interest accrued since 1877 as compensation.
The award is now valued at nearly $300 million, but the Sioux continue to refuse the money and to seek title to their land.