The U.S. Government Offered The Sioux More Than $1 Billion For The Black Hills – They Refused To Take The Money
The claim survived because the people for whom it mattered kept it alive.
The Economic Context — What The Reservations Were Like When The Money Arrived
When the Supreme Court ruled in 1980 that the Sioux were owed more than $100 million in compensation for the Black Hills, the economic conditions on Sioux reservations made the stakes of the decision immediately clear.
The Oglala Sioux Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota was, in 1980, among the poorest places in the United States.
Unemployment rates were severe — by various accounts, ranging from 50 to 85 percent depending on the season and the methodology used to count.
Infrastructure was inadequate.
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