North Dakota Man Helps Sioux Nation Buy Sacred Land in Black Hil - KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson

North Dakota Man Helps Sioux Nation Buy Sacred Land in Black Hills

A piece of sacred land in the Black Hills is back in the hands of the Sioux Nation.

This is video from the area.

Known as Pe'sla to the Sioux, it's been in the hands of the Reynolds family since 1876.

They decided to auction off the property in August.

That set in motion a series of events that led to the tribes acquiring the land for nine million dollars yesterday.

Chase Iron Eyes is a local man who helped call tribal governments to action and to raise money online for the purchase.

His website, lastrealindians.com secured around 900,000 dollars.

He calls the purchase monumental and historic. He says it's the first time tribes have collectively owned property in the Black Hills.

Ann thousands of people from all over the world donated money to help in the purchase.

"We are happy that we can share in this success because it sends a powerful message to us, to our own people, but it also sends a powerful new narrative to the world. In a sense everyone was able to rally behind the Great Sioux Nation and we haven't felt that sense of people rallying behind us for a long, long time," says Chase Iron Eyes.

Iron Eyes says the purchase is not about money or prior conflicts in the Black Hills. He says it's about people of all backgrounds uniting. He says it's about

"Practically it will mean that more numbers of us can go to Pes'la to pray, to make an offering. Our spiritual leaders have been conducting ceremonies there continually for thousands of years, but now were gonna see more people appreciating and practicing their ways in the places we should be able to practice them," says Iron Eyes.

The Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Shakopee, Dakota Community in Minnesota the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe along with the Indian Land Tenure Foundation helped make the purchase possible. Other tribes are open to come in at later dates, including Standing Rock.

Iron Eyes says they even had a kindergarten class in South Dakota turn in a piggy bank with 50 dollars to help.