This weekend the public is invited to share ideas on improvements at and around Bear Butte State Park. The Bear Butte Forum is hosted by the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks. It’s scheduled to take place in Sturgis this Saturday at the town’s Community Center.
Bear Butte is located in Meade County on the rolling plains just outside the town of Sturgis. That places it in the path of thousands of bikers who visit the small Black Hill town each year for one of the world’s largest motorcycle rallies.
Lakota grandmother and educator Jace DeCory is worried about encroachment on the site Lakota consider sacred.
“We are concerned that with the increased cabins…and people…noise pollution…traffic and human waste…and all those sanitary kinds of things,” DeCory explains. “ And…you know…it’s just too much…it’s just too much again.”
Organizers hope that every tribe that has a spiritual connection with the site is represented at the Bear Butte forum. Those tribes are also encouraged to provide educational DVDs to Bear Butte State Park in order to share their culture with visitors.