June 15th, 2011 
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11 Most Endangered Historic Places
Bear Butte
Year Listed: 2011
Location: Meade County, South Dakota
Current Status: Endangered
Threat: Energy Development
Significance
Bear Butte, the 4,426-foot mountain called Mato Paha by the Lakota in the Black Hills of South Dakota, is sacred ground for as many as 17 Native American tribes. Believed to be the spot where the creator communicates with his people through vision and prayer, the mountain earned its nickname because of its resemblance to a bear sleeping on its side. For thousands of years, Native American tribes, including the Lakota, Dakota, Nakota, Cheyenne and Arapahoe, have traveled to Bear Butte to perform annual prayer ceremonies. Tribal people and visitors from around the world make annual pilgrimages for spiritual renewal and sustenance to this sacred site, which is part of Bear Butte State Park. It was here, from the expansive summit of Bear Butte, that the Sioux held their Oyate Kiwsiyaya, the Great Reunion of the People, where Crazy Horse pledged to resist further “white” encroachment into the Black Hills in 1857.
Despite its cultural and religious significance, this National Historic Landmark is threatened by proposed wind and oil energy development. A wind installation, to be placed roughly five miles away from the mountain, is currently under consideration. In addition, last November, the South Dakota Board of Minerals and Environment approved a plan to establish a 960-acre oil field. Based on tribal opposition and recommendations made by the National Trust and the South Dakota State Historic Preservation Office, the board agreed that no wells would be located within the NHL boundary, and adopted other restrictions to reduce the project’s impact.
Because the placement of any oil wells or other energy development near Bear Butte would negatively impact the sacred site and further degrade the cultural landscape, any future development should be based on meaningful tribal input and full consideration of impacts to cultural resources. The most effective way to achieve this result would be through strengthened state and local protections.
http://www.preservationnation.org/travel-and-sites/sites/mountains-plains-region/bear-butte.html
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