The second attempt was complicated by internal divisions that had emerged within the steering committee — disagreements about leadership, strategy, and the specific terms of the proposal.

The brief window of political possibility, never wide to begin with, closed.

No comparable legislative effort has succeeded since.

There have been subsequent discussions, subsequent proposals, subsequent expressions of federal interest in finding a resolution — but the fundamental political calculus has not changed significantly.

Returning land in the Black Hills to the Sioux nations would require a level of political will at the federal level that has not existed, and a willingness in South Dakota to accept a major change that has not materialized.

The money continued to accumulate in the trust account.