Their argument was not primarily that the Sioux’s historical claim lacked merit — the Supreme Court had already addressed that question.

Their argument was about the practical consequences for current stakeholders.

This is the political terrain on which any legislative resolution would have to be navigated.

A proposal that addresses the Sioux claim without being perceived as threatening the interests of current Black Hills residents and businesses would need to be extraordinarily carefully constructed.

The Bradley Bill approach — federal land only, no private displacement — was designed with exactly this constraint in mind, and even it failed.

The political geography has not fundamentally changed since the 1980s.