The Black Hills local paper of record, the Rapid City Journal, has published a profile of a friend of mine, Mother Linda Kramer, lives in the Heart of the Black Hills and has been working to preserve it for years. (Protecting "a gift from God," Episcopal priest works for prairie preservation, RC Journal, 9/16/2012) Kramer lives and works at Borderlands Ranch a working farm and spiritual center in the heart of the Pe' Sla.
The piece also has more background on what is currently happening up there on the ground.
Kramer is doing what she can to help preserve [the sacred lands]. As a non-Native involved in sensitive Native issues, Kramer knows she is open to criticism from both sides. But she counts on her many Native friends and mentors, who have urged her to carry on with her work, for guidance. And she gets essential support from her Borderlands board of directors, which includes Native and non-Native members. The acquisition of the Reynolds Prairie land may open up possibilities to preserve even more of this beautiful place. "I'm totally working with the understanding that this is a sacred site, like a cathedral or, more than that, the holy land of the Lakotas and others," Kramer said. "And I'm also a priest. And part of my responsibility as a priest is to protect places of worship. If we destroy Pe' Sla, we destroy a gift from God."The bow-tie shaped tract in the center of the image above is the original Borderlands Ranch. The purple area just north of it is an adjoining tract that Borderslands purchased in 2007. The much larger area north of that is the area of land currently in negotiation between the Reynolds family and the Sioux. The large pale orange area is the main high plain that composes the Pe' Sla. Google map here.