The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, one of the largest such events in the world, takes place in the Hills each year.

For the residents and businesses that have built their lives and livelihoods around the Hills as they currently exist, any proposal to transfer land to Sioux sovereignty raises immediate concerns about what that would mean for access, management, taxation, and the economic arrangements that have developed over a century.

These concerns are not illegitimate.

They reflect real investments, real relationships, and real dependence on the current arrangements.

The political representatives of South Dakota have consistently reflected these concerns in their opposition to Bradley Bill-style proposals.

All three members of the South Dakota congressional delegation at the time of the Bradley Bill’s introduction opposed it.