Hey - if you're here looking for new stuff, you're likely going to be disappointed. Check here instead.
March 27, 2006 Dear Friends, The last couple weeks have really been heating up for us, despite three consecutive Sunday March snowstorms (one dropping 20 inches on Porcupine, according to my aunt's TV set in Sioux Falls). Here's what's cooking: Three weeks ago, a construction crew broke ground on a new development project within a mile of Bear Butte, a sacred place of prayer for the Lakota and many other Native Nations. Jay Allen, an Arizona entrepreneur, is planning to build what he calls the "largest biker bar and concert venue in the world." You won't believe this, but he originally wanted to name the venue "Sacred Ground" and erect an 80 foot statue of a Native person facing Bear Butte! Needless to say, that was not well received. He boasts on his web site that the re-named Sturgis County Line will provide "hundreds of acres to party... in a safe haven, free from a policed environment, that's what I'm talking about! ... over 150,000 s.f. of asphalt for semi-tractor trailors... 22,500 s.f. of... ice cold beer... kick-butt music & oh yea, hot hot women!".[1] Our Lakota friends here have been mobilizing against this project since early last fall, but the pace has certainly picked up in the last month. Just days after the construction started, mother earth kindly sent those three spring snow storms to slow the construction and buy us some more time. As we've said before, Bear Butte is an important sacred site to Native Nations all across the Great Plains. It is located on the edge of the Black Hills near the town of Sturgis, about 2 hours drive from Porcupine. It is also the site of the largest motorcycle rally in the United States. The Lakota and many other tribes go to Bear Butte to pray year round, but particularly during the summer months, which is also when the Sturgis motorcycle rally takes place. Two years ago when we first arrived here, the Defenders of the Black Hills were celebrating a roaring success (you may remember us writing about it). They had just stopped the construction of a recreational shooting range next to Bear Butte. Many people celebrated, even knowing that this was only one success and that the development would continue. Since then, many of our partners have been working on a long term strategy to protect Bear Butte from further desecration. In the last month, Carl has been driving to all day meetings every weekend, making phone calls, and working on websites for this effort. Now our partners have asked us to help them generate a letter, fax, and phone call shower on the Meade County Commissioners. On Tuesday April 4 the Commissioners will meet to consider Allen's application for a malt beverage (beer) license. Please help by sending them a written statement of your opposition to Allen's license application, using the talking points below. The Commissioners have limited public feedback at the hearing to only 30 minutes for opponents of the license, so your written statements are critical. Letters from outside of South Dakota and the United States are important to demonstrate that this is an issue of national and international concern. Please send letters, faxes, or emails BY APRIL 4 to: Meade County Commission 1425 W Sherman St Sturgis, SD 57785 Fax: 605-347-5925 Email: meade@meadecounty.org Points to include in your letter: The Commissioners are required to consider the criteria of LOCATION and CHARACTER in their decision on the malt beverage license. The location, within a mile of Bear Butte, is inappropriate for a massive biker bar and concert venue. The 24-hour drunken party and "biggest music acts known to mankind"[2] will desecrate this sacred place of worship and interfere with prayers at Bear Butte. Massive outdoor concerts and large drunken parties are not appropriately located next to a state park, a national landmark, or especially next to a sacred place of prayer. All of us are affected when we continue to desecrate Native lands and Native places of worship. The construction of this bar is a human rights violation that will not only impact Meade County or South Dakota residents. Bear Butte is a state park and a national historic landmark, and Native American freedom of religion is an international human rights issue. Jay Allen's own websites[4] reveal the character of the environment he intends for this bar and already maintains at his existing "Broken Spoke Saloons." His plans for Sturgis County Line include "... an 1800s school house with a deck. It's never too late to go back for some schooling, especially when the teachers are serving ice cold beer. You're guaranteed to leave with a serious crush on the teacher."[3] Photo galleries (recently removed from Allen's website) of his own pictures include photo after photo of topless women and lewd behavior at his other bars.[5] Ask the Commissioners whether they would approve the liquor license for a 600-acre bar and amphitheater next door to a church. For more background, please visit the websites of the Bear Butte International Alliance (http://www.matopaha.org) and the Intertribal Coalition to Defend Bear Butte (http://www.defendbearbutte.org). Thank you for your prayers, and for taking action to protect Bear Butte. Sincerely, Carl & Karissa [1] http://www.sturgiscountyline.net. Quotes as of March 11, 2006. [2] ibid. [3] ibid. [4] http://www.sturgiscountyline.net and http://www.brokenspokesaloon.com [5] Photo galleries removed from website in March 2006, still available through Google cache.
