Lakota activist: Mount Rushmore key in move to regain land

March 25, 2021

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) – When then-President Donald Trump visited Mount Rushmore last year for a fireworks display, Lakota activist Nick Tilsen saw an opportunity to advance the Land Back Movement.

The movement seeks to return to Native Americans control of land they once held.

Tilsen told The Associated Press in an interview this week that he has a vision for Mount Rushmore to be placed under tribal control and used as a tool for teaching tribal history.

But those plans put him in direct conflict with top Republicans in the state like Gov. Kristi Noem, who say it should be preserved it in perpetuity as a celebration of America.