The land in question was held by the federal government — primarily National Forest land — and specifically excluded Mount Rushmore, privately held land, state land, and the various other categories that would have raised the most politically charged issues.

The Bradley Bill was the product of remarkable internal work within the Sioux nations.

It had taken two years and 29 meetings of a steering committee formed by traditional and tribal organizations to reach sufficient agreement among the different Sioux nations to produce a unified legislative proposal.

The process of reaching that agreement — across sovereign nations with different priorities and different political cultures — was itself described by at least one participant as a minor miracle.

The bill did not pass.

The opposition was fierce and immediate.