Melmer: Liquor sales to continue in Bear Butte

Liquor sales to continue in Bear ButtePosted: May 15, 2006by: David Melmer / Indian Country Today
http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096412973
STURGIS, S.D. - The expansion of liquor sales andentertainment complexes inthe shadow of Bear Butte continues unabated byprotests, petitions andlawsuits.The commissioners of Meade County, in which Bear Butteis located, rejected alegal petition to put the issue of a malt beveragelicense for Jay Allen'sSturgis County Line bar on the grounds that they madean administrative decisionand it was not subject to referendum. The petitionsincluded 756 signatures.A liquor license was also renewed for Allen's BrokenSpoke bar, which islocated within sight of Bear Butte.An additional liquor license for a new biker bar, theRock 'n The Rally,which is within earshot of Bear Butte, was awarded toGary Lippold on May 2.Lippold also owns a resort near the mountain.Protesters and opponents of expanded entertainmentvenues appeared at twohearings, one held April 4 for Allen's application andanother on May 2 forLippold's.Opposition is coming from more areas than tribalgovernments, members andorganizations. Local ranchers are also protestingbiker bar expansion. Someranchers at the April 4 hearing said they had toretrieve trash in the ditchesalong the highways and roads they travel on a dailybasis during the rally. Onerancher said she was afraid when 30 bikers drove intoher driveway. They weredrunk and lost, she said.The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, held in early Augusteach year, attracts some500,000 bikers who tour the entire region for morethan a week. The officialrally is scheduled for only one week.Lippold said his new Rock 'n The Rally will featurenearly 20 majorentertainment events over the five nights of therally. He said Aerosmith, KeithUrbanand Big & Rich are among the bands already booked.Two lawsuits have been filed against bar expansion.Cheyenne River Siouxtribal attorney and state Rep. Thomas Van Norman fileda lawsuit on behalf oftheCheyenne River Sioux Tribe. The Lakota people areamong some 32 tribes thatconsider Bear Butte a sacred mountain and theycontinue to offer prayers at thesite.Van Norman's complaint states that the Meade Countycommissioners actedarbitrarily in its determination of Allen's characterand, according to thecomplaint, the commissioners placed the burden ofsuitability of character onthechallengers, not the applicant.Another lawsuit, filed by Rapid City Attorney BruceEllison, was filed onbehalf of Meade County rancher Jessie Levin and sixothers. That complaintalleges a violation of due process and that thecommission failed to followlegalstandards in the application process. Ten differentgrounds were filed with thatcomplaint.Protesters and opponents are not finished. Protestsare in the planningstages for the rally itself; and a July 4 rally isstacking up to bring innearly5,000 people from all over the country, according toorganizers.The Bear Butte International Alliance, a groupopposing any expansion ofliquor or entertainment in the vicinity of Bear Butte,states on its Web sitethatits initial stand continues: ''No more alcoholpermitting until a buffer zoneis established protecting the custom, culture andtradition of the people whoregard Bear Butte as a sacred site.''A five-mile buffer zone was requested and, accordingto letters from allLakota tribal governments, that is still their stand.''We have a concern for sacred sites; they are a placewhere great leadershave a vision and you are destroying mother earth,''said Arvol Looking Horse,19th generation keeper of the sacred pipe of theLakota.''We want to save our way of life. The energy of lifeneeds to be wellrespected,'' he told the commissioners.Russell Eagle Bear, Rosebud, said the tribe boughtland near Bear Buttebecause they had no other place to pray. A lodge sitson the land and is usedforeducation and spiritual purposes. The biker bars, withliquor, are just downthe road from the lodge.The Northern Cheyenne recently purchased more land atthe base of Bear Butte.The Northern Cheyenne Tribal Council also opposes anyliquor near themountain.The Northern Cheyenne origin stories center aroundBear Butte. Sweet Medicinewas given the sacred bundle for the Cheyenne at BearButte.The county commissioners remained steadfast in theirapproval of more andrenewed liquor and malt beverage licenses. Onecommissioner, Dayle Hammock, saidthe commission acted within the legal limits byrefusing to honor the petitionfor a referendum. He told the crowd if they didn'tlike the law, they shouldgo to the state Legislature and have it changed.An administrative decision, according to state law, isnot subject toreferendum of the voters.''The BBIA believes that all who have been engagedwith Meade CountyCommissioners on this land use issue remain committedto living well on thesesacredlandscapes.''We will not silently go away, our work, values anddetermination to supportgovernment policies of local control based on humanrights is stronger todaythan ever,'' according to a prepared statement by theBBIA.NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107,this material isdistributed without profit or payment to those whohave expressed a priorinterestin receiving this information for non-profit researchand educational purposesonly.