Campaign stickers advocated for the name change. Photo by Neeta Lind / Flickr
It's official -- Shannon County is no more. Starting today, Oglala Lakota County is the new name for a county located entirely within the boundaries of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. The county was originally named for Peter Shannon, who was the Chief Justice of the Dakota Territory Supreme Court in the late 1800s. He served on a federal land commission that forced Sioux tribes to negotiate away their lands. Unhappy with that constant reminder, members of the Oglala Sioux Tribe came up with a new name. Last November, they approved Oglala Lakota County with 80 percent of the vote.
A view of Harney Peak in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Photo from BHrock / Wikipedia
Tribal members now have their eyes on Harney Peak. The sacred Black Hills site is named after General William S. Harney, who led a massacre of the Lakota people in 1854 during the Indian wars. “Those men went out and killed our people,” Dorothy Sun Bear, who voted for the county name change and supports the Harney Peak name change, told the Associated Press. “It’s not just another name. People don’t know the story behind the men.” The South Dakota Board on Geographic Names is taking public comments on a proposal to change the name to Black Elk Peak, in honor of Black Elk, who was a medicine man. A recommendation will be sent to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. Get the Story:
Activists work for Native American-friendly site names (AP 5/1)
Join the Conversation
Related Stories:Tribal members support new name for sacred Black Hills peak (4/30)
Delphine Red Shirt: Restoring our sacred peak to its original name (4/17)
Native Sun News: Ceremony welcomes return of spiritual beings (3/31)
Lakota Country Times: Efforts to rename sacred peak ramp up (3/30)
Richard Iron Cloud: Remove murderer's name from sacred peak (03/26)
Voters on Pine Ridge Reservation approve county name change (11/5)
Charles Trimble: Rename peak in Black Hills for Oglala holy man (09/23)
Native Sun News: Indian lawmakers seek new name for county (6/20)
