Mount Rushmore Bill Considered "Unnecessary" By Lawmaker

A House subcommittee deliberated on the third iteration of a bill, aimed to deter any future attempts to modify or rename Mount Rushmore, a monument whose existence on what Indigenous people consider stolen, hallowed land has been a longstanding point of contention.

The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands conducted a legislative examination on Thursday, gathering arguments on the Mount Rushmore Protection Act. U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), the sponsor of the bill H.R. 386, is making his third try to push this legislation through the corridors of Capitol Hill. The bill intends to stop any application of federal funds toward activities intended to alter, damage, demolish or relocate the monument.

However, the bill faced opposition from a Native American advocacy group closely associated with Mount Rushmore and the National Park Service (NPS), both labeling the legislation as "unnecessary."

Nick Tilsen, CEO of NDN Collective, in an interview with Native News Online said in their reporting, "Mt. Rushmore is, and will always be, a symbol of white supremacy and American hypocrisy," Tilsen added, "It's literally built on stolen Lakota lands carved by a member of the Ku Klux Klan. These faces are responsible for the murdering of Indigenous people, and are literally the founding fathers of American Genocide."

During the hearing, Michael Reynolds, the deputy director of the NPS, stated that the bill's wording would have unexpected repercussions that would jeopardize the agency's capacity to maintain the memorial.

"We share the goals of what's happening with the protection of Mount Rushmore in perpetuity," Reynolds said.

Rep. Johnson used an earlier mentoring experience with a group of 14-year-old boys in the Black Hills of South Dakota, home to the Mount Rushmore National Memorial, as evidence for his support for the legislation. The boys were taken aback by what they saw and expressed their admiration.

"George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt-these are imperfect men," Johnson said during the hearing. "They're not up there because of their imperfections, they're on the monument because of their strengths, because of the values they have brought to our country."

"The Mount Rushmore Act is very clear, we are not going to use one nickel of taxpayer dollars to try to tear down that monument or to change its name," Johnson said. "That doesn't come without threat."

Johnson noted the need for law as evidenced by the renaming of the tallest mountain in the Black Hills as Black Elk's mountain.

"It wasn't all that long ago that South Dakota's tallest peak was renamed without a vote of the people, without any acquiescence of the governor or the state legislature or people from the area," he said. "They just decided 'your tallest mountain will be renamed if you like it or not.'"

In his speech, Johnson omitted the historical context behind the original name of the peak formerly known as Harney Peak. This peak was named after a military officer implicated in the massacre of Native peoples. Moreover, he did not acknowledge the renaming of this peak by a federal body, which has for 133 years, been legally entrusted with the task of maintaining uniform nomenclature throughout federal establishments.

In 2016, the U.S. Board on Geological Names altered the name of the 7,242-foot high peak, to honor Nicholas Black Elk, a figure deeply respected in Lakota culture. The Rapid City Catholic Diocese is presently championing an initiative to canonize Black Elk. If this local diocese's efforts prove successful, Nicholas Black Elk would be only the second Indigenous individual from the Western Hemisphere, also known as the New World, to be officially declared a saint by the Catholic Church.

Johnson additionally brought up various elected officials and their remarks regarding the potential removal or modification of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. These suggestions for change or removal arise from Johnson's observation of numerous other statues that have been taken down recently. For example, the statue of Theodore Roosevelt was not long ago removed from the Museum of Natural History in New York City.

South Dakota State Senator Helene Duhamel was Johnson's witness for his legislation. "I join you today in support of H.R. 386, the Mount Rushmore Protection Act, as introduced by Representative Johnson," she said at Thursday's hearing. "Deep in the heart of the Black Hills National Forest of South Dakota rises a colossal sculpture carved from granite that stands as a tribute to democracy."

"For Dusty Johnson to push forward H.R. 386 clearly shows his racially and politically motivated stance to not tell the true history of this nation and attempt to erase the original peoples of this land," said NDN Collective CEO Tilsen in Native News Online reporting. "Dusty Johnson's name will be right next to many other racist in the history books, where it belongs."

In 2020, a protest was organized by the NDN Collective near the Mount Rushmore National Memorial during a firework display attended by former President Donald Trump at the national park in South Dakota's Black Hills on July 3. This took place while the former president was overriding a ten-year pyrotechnic ban, put in place by the National Park Service due to safety and environmental concerns. The decision to host the fireworks display was made despite warnings from federal officials about large gatherings due to Covid-19 precautions.

Native News Online reported that the July 3 protest resulted in the arrest of twenty adults and one minor by the Pennington County Sheriff's Office. Tilsen was apprehended and charged with various offenses including second-degree robbery, grand theft, two counts of simple assault against law enforcement officers, and three other misdemeanors. Tilsen's felony charges are related to an accusation of stealing a shield from a female Air National Guardsman and assaulting her, both acts are considered felony crimes in South Dakota.

In March 2021, a proposal was put forth by Pennington County to dismiss charges against all other individuals apprehended during the Mount Rushmore demonstration if Tilsen pleaded guilty and enrolled in a prison diversion program. Completing the program would also lead to his charges being dismissed. On December 13, 2022, Pennington County conveyed to Tilsen's attorneys through an email that all charges against Tilsen have been dropped by the state.