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April 6, 2006 Dear friends & family, Many of you have already e-mailed to ask us how the hearing went on Tuesday. So, do you want the good news first, or the bad news? Let's start with the bad. With heavy hearts, we report to you that the five Meade County commissioners unanimously approved Jay Allen's malt beverage license. After over an hour of impassioned and eloquent testimony from native spiritual & tribal leaders and other non-native Meade County residents, the commissioners took only a few minutes to make their decision. Only one took the time to address the public. Almost everyone who testified (with the exception of Jay Allen, his lawyer, and his employees) opposed the license. Commissioner Dean Wink explained his vote by saying, "I'm not convinced that Meade County needs another biker bar, but I do feel strongly... that private property rights have been eroded." Many Lakota people would agree that "property rights have been eroded": the 1868 Ft. Laramie Treaty guaranteed all of western South Dakota, including the Black Hills and Bear Butte, to the Great Sioux Nation "in perpetuity." (The Treaty has been upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States, although so far only monetary compensation, at outdated land prices, has been offered in settlement). Now for the good news! Our best estimate (from the kitchen crew) is that over eight hundred people came together on Tuesday in Sturgis to stand up for Bear Butte. (In a small town in a state with a population of only 700,000, that's huge!) A majority of those came from reservations which are 2-4 hours' drive away. There were people in attendance from many native nations, some traveling from Montana and as far away as Oklahoma. There were school buses full of children. There were tribal council representatives. There were spiritual leaders, traditional chiefs, and elders. There were great-grandmothers and tiny babies. There were Native people, non-Native allies, Meade County residents and ranchers, even a contingent of bikers called "Rolling for Bear Butte." It was exciting to see such a broad base of people coming together out of a common concern for respecting sacred places and human rights. The energy and the power in the crowd was overwhelming. We gathered at 10 am at the base of Bear Butte for prayer and words from several spiritual leaders. Around noon we made a giant caravan of 150 to 200 cars (plus 2 buses and 5 motorcycles) as we rode from Bear Butte several into the park in Sturgis where the march began. We marched down the busiest street in Sturgis to the Community Center where a group of dedicated women served a meal to the entire crowd! After lunch, we marched two more blocks to the courthouse for the hearing. They allowed only 70 into the courtroom and limited the time for testimony, leaving most of us outside to hope and wait. We all knew that these same commissioners had kept their ears closed in the past; but with all the momentum, the crowd, and the powerful testimony, it was an emotional moment when we learned that they had decided in favor of Jay Allen, 5 to 0. The crowd gathered again afterward and many people went to the mic and committed to taking this struggle to a new level, saying that this day was only the first step in a long struggle to achieve permanent protection for Bear Butte. Some of our partners had already been planning a Gathering of Nations this summer at the base of Bear Butte. Now this idea is gaining new support and momentum. They will hold the opening ceremony on July 4th, and people will be camped there until August 15th, throughout the Sturgis bike rally (which will be August 7-13.) A lot will be taking place there during those six weeks! We want to thank all of you who took the time to write letters or emails to the Meade County commissioners. We heard from twenty of you who wrote, and we know there are many more. The newspaper reported Wednesday that the commissioners received a total of 633 letters, all but a handful opposing Allen's license application. You can certainly expect to hear more about Bear Butte from us in the coming year. In the meantime, you can check out these websites for pictures and more information: (www.meyerloewen.net) Our pictures from the rally (www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2006/04/05/news/top/news01.txt) Wednesday's featured front page article from the Rapid City Journal (www.matopaha.org) Bear Butte International Alliance (www.defendbearbutte.org) Intertribal Coalition to Defend Bear Butte (www.bringbacktheway.com) Owe Aku (Bring Back the Way) - Hold your cursor over "Bear Butte" on the left for a menu of options. Sometime soon we'll update you about the rest of our lives. Until then, we remain,.... your devoted Carlissa (aka Carl & Karissa)
