Entrance to mass grave burial site at Wounded Knee. Photo by Christina Rose, Native Sun News
Negotiations for sale of Wounded Knee move forward RAPID CITY—On October 15, the final deadline for sealed bids to be accepted and reviewed by landowner Jim Czywczysnki for the two plots of land he has put up for sale at Wounded Knee and Porcupine Butte passed. So the question remains, is Wounded Knee headed for the public auction block? For many across the country the $4.9 million that Czyczysnki has asked for the two forty acre tracts of land seemed to be exorbitant. However according to the landowner it is a good possibility that he may have found his buyer. But the question must be asked: How does one put a price on historic land, Czywczysnki speculated? When NSN first reported the Trust for Public Land, a non-profit based out of San Francisco, Calif., had contacted Czywczysnski about negotiating to buy the land on behalf of the Oglala Sioux Tribe there was speculation on the sincerity of the company after multiple parties had inquired about the land and then eventually faded away over the past few months. According to Czywczysnki talks between him and the organization that specializes in historic site preservation are getting serious and that they are now working to find an appraiser with the ability to appraise a national historic site. “This is the only National Historic site that is for sale in the entire country. There is a lot of history that needs to be taken in to account and we are working to find someone with the expertise to do this accurately,” said Czywczysnki. The negotiations that are underway have for now placed the public auction of the land on hold he added. “They (TPL) have the approval of the Oglala Sioux Tribe to negotiate for a price on the land. These negotiations will hopefully lead to a sale and if so I will not need to place the land up for auction.” Czywcysnki said that TPL was in contact with the unnamed group that he had sold the First Right of Refusal to and that the two entities may work out a deal where both would contribute funds to purchase the lands. (Contact Brandon Ecoffey at staffwriter2@nsweekly.com) Copyright permission by Native Sun News
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