Students Gather at Mt. Rushmore Effort Made to explain land struggle by Karen Testerman Indian Country Today. Feb. 29, 1996. B-1. He Sapa: Not For Sale 2.29.96 BLACK HILLS, SD - Wanting to educate visitors on the struggles of the Lakota people, Lakota students recently gathered at Mount Rushmore. The Lakota Student Alliance organized a public assembly at Mount Rushmore to coincide with an MTV filming of a performance by rock band The Presidents of the United States of America, which aired nationally President's Day. The students expressed an alternative viewpoint of the four presidents carved in the mountain and the reasons why the Sioux Nation continues to refuse monetary compensation from the United States government. "We still believe the Black Hills are the heart of our nation," students said. "We must negotiate the unconditional return of our land." In 1980, the United States tried to right a wrong by awarding the Sioux Nation monies for the Black Hills,
Founded Fall 1995 The Lakota Student Alliance is an alliance of grassroots Indigenous peoples and Students of the Lakota Nation whose mission is to advocate, sponsor, promote and encourage public awareness education among grassroots Indigenous people in the struggle toward Sovereignty and Independence.