South Dakota Eager for Trump's Statue Garden Near Mount Rushmore Despite Local Opposition [View all]

Source: US News and World Report/AP

June 24, 2025, at 12:08 a.m.


SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Officials in South Dakota are pushing hard to build President Donald Trump 's proposed National Garden of American Heroes in the Black Hills near Mount Rushmore, but the effort has sparked a backlash from Indigenous groups who see the area as sacred.

A mining company has offered to donate 40 acres (16 hectares) less than a mile from Mount Rushmore, where massive sculptures of four of the nation's most prominent presidents are carved out of granite.

“The Black Hills mark the perfect location to achieve your vision for the National Garden of American Heroes,” Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden wrote in a letter to Trump. “Together, we will make this project happen in a way that honors America’s heroes, takes advantage of South Dakota’s natural beauty, and incorporates the most iconic monument to our greatest leaders: Mount Rushmore National Memorial.”

But the Black Hills have long been the subject of disputes between South Dakota and its tribes. The 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie recognized that the Black Hills belong to the Sioux people, but the U.S. government seized the land less than a decade later to mine for gold. A 1980 Supreme Court decision found that the U.S. violated the treaty, but the tribes refused the $1.3 billion in compensation they were offered and maintained their rights to the land. Indigenous groups also oppose drilling project

Read more: https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2025-06-24/south-dakota-eager-for-trumps-statue-garden-near-mount-rushmore-despite-local-opposition