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STURGIS, S.D. --
When folks around here say the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally doubles the
population of South Dakota, it's only a slight exaggeration. More
than 500,000 bikers invade the Black Hills each August; 776,000
people live in the state.
As the influx revs
up this week, so does the tension that has been mounting for several
years between the party-hearty biker culture and Native Americans
trying to preserve their religious traditions. It came to a boil this
year when Arizona entrepreneur Jay Allen started building what he
proudly calls the world's biggest biker bar just two miles from Bear
Butte, one of the most sacred sites of the Plains tribes.
"Imagine
sitting in a church or sitting in a synagogue, trying to have a
&ldots; prayer service, and you have half a million bikes running by
every minute of the day and night for three weeks," said Debra
White Plume, a Lakota Sioux from the nearby Pine Ridge Indian
Reservation. "That's what the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally does to
this environment."
White Plume is one
of the organizers of a monthlong prayer vigil at Bear Butte, a
volcanic formation just a few miles east of Sturgis. Since July 4,
several hundred Native Americans have been camped at the foot of the
hill they revere as the North American equivalent of Mt. Sinai.
The way they see
it, the roar of the drag pipes and the drunken revelry emanating from
the cavernous biker bars and open-air concert venues threaten the
sanctity of their holy ground.
The campers have
been praying, fasting and seeking divine guidance on how best to
protect the mountain. This week they were joined by representatives
of other indigenous peoples—from Canada, Latin America and other
parts of the U.S.—whose sacred sites are similarly threatened by
commercial or political developments.
The protesters are
demanding a five-mile buffer zone around Bear Butte with no alcohol
sales and no concert venues.
Organizers say
they are not trying to stop the rally, which runs from next Monday
through Aug. 13 this year, and they don't have anything against bikers.
"Bikers are
involved only because, as they move out from Sturgis, they're moving
their parties closer to our mountain," said Nick Tilsen of the
Lakota Action Network. "If it was any other kind of development,
we'd oppose that too.
"This is
about preserving our way of life and protecting our land."
But John
"Brother Speed" Finlay, a biker who works security for
Allen's bars, argued, "Man has no right to be selfish and say
it's just mine, when it's everybody's."
"You just
can't stop the wheels of progress," added Finlay.
The Meade County
commissioners have said land owners have a right to use their
property as they see fit, and the commission had no grounds to deny
beer and liquor licenses to a number of businesses near Bear Butte
that cater to the thirsty visitors.
Much of the local
economy depends on the annual influx of bikers: Many businesses
remain shuttered for all but a few weeks a year. Even the famous
Broken Spoke Saloon, Allen's original biker bar in Sturgis, opens in
mid-July and closes in mid-August.
On Friday, Allen's
bigger and better Broken Spoke—part of a 600-acre site that
includes a campground—is scheduled to open within sight of Bear Butte.
"The
motorcycle venue is moving very, very close to the mountain,"
said Charles Rambow, who served as a ranger in Bear Butte State Park
for 30 years. "They're going to have the biggest biker
bar—with people from all over the country coming to provide live
entertainment—just a mile and half from the mountain."
Allen confirmed
Wednesday that construction crews are putting final touches on a
22,500-square-foot bar that will have continuous live music for the
visitors at his new Sturgis County Line Campground. Plans for the
future include more bars, more RV hookups, and a 30,000-seat
amphitheater overlooking Bear Butte.
But Allen said the
concert stage {ndash} and the sound system {ndash} will face away
from the mountain. What's more, he said, there are thousands of acres
between his land and the butte.
"I really
think, in time, these people will realize that they overreacted out
of fear." Allen said, "We're going to watch sunsets
together some day."
Bruce Ellison, an
attorney who has long represented Native Americans, said summertime
is the main period of worship on Bear Butte.
"The
ceremonies conducted there require solitude and quiet - not alcohol,
amplified rock and unmuffled Harleys," he said.. Rambow said
Bear Butte has been sacred ground to Native Americans for more than
2,000 years. "They use the mountain for vision quests," he
said, spending up to four days and four nights in the open, taking no
food or water and sleeping as little as possible.
According to
Cheyenne legend, Rambow said, it was on this mountain that a young
man named Sweet Medicine received the Four Laws: You must not kill.
You must not steal. You must not commit adultery. You must not marry
within your own family.
The Cheyenne face
the mountain—which they call Nowah'wus (Sacred Lodge, or Home of
God)—whenever they pray. "It's like Jerusalem for Jews or
Mecca for Muslims," Rambow said.
But the mountain
is sacred to other tribes as well. The English name comes from the
Lakota, Mato Paha (Bear Mountain).
"The bear is
a symbol of quiet wisdom," said White Plume.
The Indian
protesters have received some support from local ranchers, who say
their cattle have contracted pneumonia from the dust bikers stir up
on gravel roads, and from some church groups. On Sunday, in 110-degree
weather, about 100 people organized by Christian Peacemaker Teams
held a "prayer walk" from Allen's new bar to Bear Butte.
"We felt
strongly as Christians that people of faith need to stand up for the
right of native people to be able to pray in their way and not have
their sacred sites desecrated by 24-hour party spots," said Carl
Meyer of the Mennonite Central Committee.
The Native
Americans, who tried unsuccessfully to challenge the liquor licenses
in court, plan to march on the county courthouse in Sturgis Friday
and later to gather at the intersection of State Hwys. 34 and 79,
where bikers have to pass on their way to the campgrounds near Bear
Butte. Ellison said police would accompany the protesters, "to
make sure traffic flows smoothly and to avoid problems."
"It could be
a long, hot summer," said Ellison.
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