Pete Lien & Sons, a mining company based in Rapid City, South Dakota, canceled a graphite drilling project in the Black Hills after opposition from Native American tribes and local groups, according to a letter provided to the U.S. Forest Service. In the letter, the company said it was withdrawing its plan of operations for the drilling project.
The letter was provided to the Forest Service on Thursday and shared with Indigenous advocacy group NDN Collective on Friday, the Associated Press reported. Pete Lien & Sons also said in the letter that it did not intend to file another plan for the project, according to the advocacy group that supplied the document.
Opponents have targeted the project because it is near Pe’Sla, described by tribal opponents as a sacred meadow in the Black Hills where Sioux tribes hold ceremonies and pray throughout the year. They also said the land is used for buffalo grazing, expanding the dispute beyond mining plans alone to cultural and ongoing subsistence practices.
The Forest Service and Pete Lien & Sons did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday afternoon, the AP reported. The withdrawal comes as litigation was already underway over the project’s permitting path.
Nine tribes in South Dakota, North Dakota and Nebraska filed a lawsuit against the Forest Service, alleging violations of federal laws including the National Historical Preservation Act and the National Environmental Protection Act. The tribes said the Forest Service granted permits without an environmental review, according to the AP.
NDN Collective and environmental groups also filed a separate lawsuit arguing the Forest Service should not have exempted the project from an environmental review under categorical-exclusion standards. In that case, a temporary restraining order issued on Monday prohibited Pete Lien & Sons from conducting the drilling operation for two weeks, the AP reported.
In a statement, NDN Collective characterized the outcome as a “multi-faceted” win and said it provides “a blueprint for future land defense fights.”
The Black Hills, which are known for attractions including Mount Rushmore and state parks, have also been a longstanding site of tension between mining interests and Native communities, which describe the area as unceded territory. A 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie, opponents note, established that the Black Hills belong to Sioux tribes; the U.S. government later seized the land after gold was discovered, and the Supreme Court later ruled the tribes were owed compensation, which they have not accepted while continuing to assert their claim.