The Lakota, the Americans, and the U.S. government struggled over who owned the land and how.

The Black Hills offered the Lakota the essentials of life, feeding their bodies and spirits. The Lakota used these gifts together, without dividing the land. Owning the land together was part of their way of life.

American gold-seekers had other values. For them, "unused" land was wasted, especially when it held mineral wealth. Prospectors believed in staking claims to control land privately.

The U.S. government also held faith in private ownership and rewards. These values overwhelmed its promises to the Lakota in the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868. When officials realized the Lakota would not leave, they withdrew U.S. troops guarding the Black Hills against prospectors. This opened the hills to a new way of life.