By Talli Nauman, Native Sun News, health and environment editor
ROSEBUD – A Canadian company failed to notify the Rosebud Sioux tribal government of a meeting July 25 to inform community members about mining proposed near the Native American sacred site of Mato Tipila, or Devil’s Tower, according to the tribal historic preservation officer.
“They didn’t tell us about it,” Tribal Historic Preservation Officer Russell Eagle Bear said on July 29. “If it’s on federal land, they should contact us. They need to have a consultation with the tribes,” he told the Native Sun News.
The Vancouver-based Rare Element Resources Ltd. scheduled the informational meeting in Sundance, Wyo., to explain its plans for mining gold and lesser-known metals called rare earth elements (REE) at Bull Hill, located in the federally administered Black Hills National Forest on a site 15 miles southeast of the landmark.
The tribe had warned in February that federal and state authorities will be taken to task if the laws protecting American Indian religious, cultural and historic rights are not followed in the mining development process there.
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