Mount Rushmore Fireworks Celebration

Last updated

Mount Rushmore Fireworks Celebration
Mount Rushmore Fireworks Celebration (50083352836).jpg
President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump as they arrive on stage, below Mount Rushmore during the Fourth of July Celebration
DateJuly 3, 2020 (2020-07-03)
Venue Mount Rushmore
Location Keystone, South Dakota, U.S.
Coordinates 43°52′44″N103°27′35″W / 43.87889°N 103.45972°W / 43.87889; -103.45972
Organised by Donald Trump

A Fireworks Celebration at Mount Rushmore held on July 3, 2020, was the only official use of fireworks at Mount Rushmore since 2009. President Donald Trump spoke at the event, which was also attended by South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, host of Entertainment Tonight Mary Hart, First Lady Melania Trump and Trump's eldest son Donald Trump Jr.

Contents

The event was controversial for being held amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. [1] The event was also protested by Indigenous people who see Mount Rushmore as a symbol of settler colonialism and dispute ownership of the site as part of the Black Hills land claim. The protests helped establish the Land Back campaign in the US.

Background

Fireworks displays were regularly held at Mount Rushmore between 1998 and 2009. In 2010, the National Park Service stopped fireworks displays because of concerns about wildfires and potential contamination of drinking water.

Speeches

The event included remarks by Mary Hart and Governor Noem. Trump's remarks at the event covered his deploying of law enforcement to protect monuments, repeatedly expressed his support for God, largely ignored the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, and included a reiteration to build the border wall. [2] The speech, as described by Matthew Rowley, is all about 'the power of positive history'—by focusing on what made America great, Americans will be moved to greatness; by focusing on failure, Americans will become harsh, judgmental and intolerant. Although the George Floyd protests form the backdrop to Trump's words, the President nowhere mentions police brutality. 'In other words', writes Rowley, Trump seems to argue that 'America is great because it removed the knee from the slave's neck, not wicked because it knelt over the slave for centuries'. [3] Then-U.S. president Trump had been known to share an affinity with Mount Rushmore, even telling South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem that it is a dream of his to have his own face carved onto the monument. In an article done by Steven Groves he reveals that Trump “joked at a campaign rally about getting enshrined alongside George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. And while it was Noem, a Republican, who pushed for a return of fireworks on the eve of Independence Day, Trump committed to visiting South Dakota for the celebration”. [4]

The Lakota Nation and Mount Rushmore

The original inhabitants of the Black Hills were the Lakota people, who called the area Paha Sapa (Black Hills) or He Sapa (Black Mountains). The region was spiritually important and provided food and medicine for Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho communities. [5] In 1874, Lt. Col George Armstrong Custer led an expedition into the Black Hills looking for gold without permission from the tribes. [6] [7] This broke treaties the government had with the tribes; however, the US government allowed gold prospectors to settle in the Black Hills during the Black Hills gold rush. [8] The Sioux Nation was relocated onto reservations, leading to charges that the government was attempting to wipe out Lakota culture. [7] In the early 1900s the Lakota sought to reclaim their lands, and that conflict is ongoing. [9]

In 1927, following the relocation, construction of Mount Rushmore began on the mountain the Lakota referred to as Tunkasila Sakpe, which translates to Six Grandfathers. [6] [8] Doane Robinson proposed the project to increase tourism in the Black Hills and hired sculptor Gutzon Borglum to create a sculpture that honored “the West’s greatest heroes, both Native Americans, and pioneers”. Borglum proposed to Robinson that they use the faces of past U.S. presidents. [8] The Lakota viewed Mount Rushmore as a symbol of United States dominance. [9]

Further protests by Indigenous people occurred at Mount Rushmore in 1970 and 1971, when activists set up camp on top of the memorial for several months demanding return of their land. The protests ended in their arrests. In 1980, the Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians that the Black Hills belong to the Lakota. The Lakota were offered $17.1 million in compensation for theft of their land, but the nation rejected the offer and demanded return of their land. [5]

Environmental concerns

In an effort to bring awareness to the concern with the event, a report was put out by The National Park Service. Bill Gabbert, an editor at Wildfire Today and Fire Aviation, stated that “fireworks were used at Mount Rushmore on July 3 or 4 from 1998 to 2009, except for 2002 when it was canceled due to the danger of the pyrotechnic display starting a wildfire. During those 11 events 20 documented wildfires were ignited by the fireworks during the middle of the fire season”. Many of these firefighters were placed around the park in order to prevent any larger blazes. The Black Hills is filled with thousands of acres of forest, causing much concern". Gabbert further states concerns regarding the “trash that can never be completely picked up. Left on the sculpture and in the forest are unexploded shells, wadding, plastic, ash, pieces of devices, and paper”. On account of the terrain, cleanup of the pyrotechnic devices is very difficult. [10] Joe Lowe, who served as fire chief for South Dakota's Division of Wildland Fire from 2001 to 2012, stated that the embers from pyrotechnics can ignite the dry terrain surrounding the memorial site, which is why his team was prepared to extinguish potential fires. Firefighters called in crews from other states to help a few days prior to the firework event, as a blaze consumed approximately 150 acres about 6 miles south of Mount Rushmore. [11]

Protest

On the day of the firework celebration, NDN Collective organized a protest of about 200 people that used vehicles as barriers and blocked the road to the park for about three hours, stating individuals were trespassing on sovereign lands of the Great Sioux Nation. [4] In response, law enforcement officers and members of the South Dakota Air and Army National Guard were called in, leading to a skirmish between protestors and law enforcement. [12] Some activists wore eagle feathers, beat drums and faced off with a line of national guardsmen in riot gear. No violence broke out, but 21 activists were arrested on misdemeanor charges. [6] Videos of the protest went viral, as did the “#landback” hashtag and NDN collective's demands for the closing of Mount Rushmore and return of the Black Hills to the Lakota people. Protesters described Mount Rushmore as “an international symbol of white supremacy." [13]

After gaining national attention, tens of thousands of advocates raised money for bail funds and petitioned on behalf of the land defenders. NDN Collective CEO Nick Tilsen was charged with a combination of misdemeanors and felonies that could have led to 17 years in prison. [12] Charges against all the protestors were dropped. [14] Though dismissed from his prison sentence, Tilsen was obligated to attend a diversion program.[ clarification needed ] [12]

Tilsen has discussed his agenda to turn Mount Rushmore back to the tribes. According to an article done by Steven Groves, “prosecutors say that part of the program is admitting wrongdoing and ensuring that offenses don't happen again; however, Tilsen told the Associated Press he is not done pressing for changes to the monument and the Black Hills”. [4] “Wherever you go to connect to God, that’s what the Black Hills are to the Lakota,” said Tilsen. The area is “the heart of everything that is” and sacred to the Lakota people. [15]

Though plans for it had been proposed, in an effort to reduce endangering the relationships with the Lakota, as well as reduce the risk of wildfire, the Fourth of July fireworks were not planned for 2022. [16]

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic

The event had a large crowd in attendance who did not social distance and were not required to wear masks, despite recommendations to do so by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and other science experts, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. However, masks were handed out and attendees were given temperature screenings (despite COVID-19 being able to be spread by asymptomatic individuals). [17] [18] Donald Trump Jr.'s girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle was also in attendance despite testing positive for the virus the same day. [19] [20]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Rushmore</span> Mountain in the United States featuring a sculpture of four presidents

The Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a national memorial centered on a colossal sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills near Keystone, South Dakota, United States. The sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, named it the Shrine of Democracy, and oversaw the execution from 1927 to 1941 with the help of his son, Lincoln Borglum. The sculpture features the 60-foot-tall (18 m) heads of four United States presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln, chosen to represent the nation's birth, growth, development, and preservation. Mount Rushmore attracts more than two million visitors annually to the memorial park which covers 1,278 acres. The mountain's elevation is 5,725 feet (1,745 m) above sea level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Elk Peak</span> Highest point in South Dakota

Black Elk Peak, formerly known as Harney Peak, is the highest natural point in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the Midwestern United States. It lies in the Black Elk Wilderness area, in southern Pennington County, in the Black Hills. The peak lies 3.7 mi (6.0 km) west-southwest of Mount Rushmore. At 7,244 feet (2,208 m), it is the highest summit in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. Though part of the North American Cordillera, it is generally considered to be geologically separate from the Rocky Mountains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Hart</span> American television personality (born 1950)

Mary Hart is an American television personality. She was the host (1982–2011) of the syndicated gossip and entertainment round-up television program Entertainment Tonight. She was Miss South Dakota 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Standing Rock Indian Reservation</span> Native American reservation in the United States

The Standing Rock Reservation lies across the border between North and South Dakota in the United States, and is inhabited by ethnic "Hunkpapa and Sihasapa bands of Lakota Oyate and the Ihunktuwona and Pabaksa bands of the Dakota Oyate," as well as the Hunkpatina Dakota. The Ihanktonwana Dakota are the Upper Yanktonai, part of the collective of Wiciyena. The sixth-largest Native American reservation in land area in the US, Standing Rock includes all of Sioux County, North Dakota, and all of Corson County, South Dakota, plus slivers of northern Dewey and Ziebach counties in South Dakota, along their northern county lines at Highway 20.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Hills National Forest</span> U.S. national forest located in the states of South Dakota and Wyoming

Black Hills National Forest is located in southwestern South Dakota and northeastern Wyoming, United States. The forest has an area of over 1.25 million acres (5,066 km2) and is managed by the Forest Service. Forest headquarters are located in Custer, South Dakota. There are local ranger district offices in Custer, Rapid City, and Spearfish in South Dakota, and in Sundance, Wyoming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Monument (Rapid City, South Dakota)</span> Arenas in Rapid City, South Dakota, U.S.

The Monument, formerly known as Rushmore Plaza Civic Center and Rushmore Plaza, is a 500,000-square-foot (46,000 m2) exhibition center, in Rapid City, South Dakota. The Monument is the main event center for the Black Hills Region, serving Western South Dakota, South West North Dakota, North West Nebraska, and Eastern Wyoming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doane Robinson</span> American historian (1856–1946)

Jonah LeRoy "Doane" Robinson was an American historian who was the state historian of South Dakota. He is known for conceiving of the idea for the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in the Black Hills, which he believed would stimulate tourism to the area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Rushmore in popular culture</span>

Because of its fame as a monument, Mount Rushmore in South Dakota has appeared frequently in works of fiction. It has been discussed or depicted in dozens of popular works, such as the location of the climactic chase scene in Alfred Hitchcock's 1959 film North by Northwest, and in the 2007 film National Treasure: Book of Secrets. Repeated themes using the mountain have been depictions of its destruction to imply a larger catastrophe, alterations or additions being made to the famous faces on the mountain, or use of the monument as a cover to hide a secret such as a treasure trove or military base.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crazy Horse Memorial</span> Mountain monument under construction in South Dakota

The Crazy Horse Memorial is a mountain monument under construction on privately held land in the Black Hills, in Custer County, South Dakota, United States. It will depict the Oglala Lakota warrior Crazy Horse, riding a horse and pointing to his tribal land. The memorial was commissioned by Henry Standing Bear, a Lakota elder, to be sculpted by Korczak Ziolkowski. It is operated by the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation, a nonprofit organization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seizure of the Black Hills</span> Land dispute between Native Americans and the US government

The United States government illegally seized the Black Hills – a mountain range in the US states of South Dakota and Wyoming – from the Sioux Nation in 1876. The land was pledged to the Sioux Nation in the Treaty of Fort Laramie, but a few years later the United States illegally seized the land and nullified the treaty with the Indian Appropriations Bill of 1876, without the tribe's consent. That bill "denied the Sioux all further appropriation and treaty-guaranteed annuities" until they gave up the Black Hills. A Supreme Court case was ruled in favor of the Sioux in 1980. As of 2011, the court's award was worth over $1 billion, but the Sioux have outstanding issues with the ruling and have not collected the funds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kristi Noem</span> Governor of South Dakota since 2019

Kristi Lynn Noem is an American politician who has served since 2019 as the 33rd governor of South Dakota. A member of the Republican Party, she was the U.S. representative for South Dakota's at-large congressional district from 2011 to 2019, and a member of the South Dakota House of Representatives for the 6th district from 2007 to 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 United States Senate election in South Dakota</span>

The 2022 United States Senate election in South Dakota was held on November 8, 2022, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of South Dakota. Incumbent three-term Republican U.S. Senator John Thune, who is the Senate Minority Whip, was first elected in 2004, defeating Democratic incumbent Tom Daschle, the then-Senate Minority Leader. He ran for reelection to a fourth term. The Democratic nominee was 26-year Navy, Air Force JAG Corps veteran, and former college professor Brian Bengs. Thune was ultimately reelected.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 United States presidential election in South Dakota</span>

The 2020 United States presidential election in South Dakota was held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, as part of the 2020 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. South Dakota voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote, pitting the Republican Party's nominee, incumbent President Donald Trump, and running mate Vice President Mike Pence against Democratic Party nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, and his running mate California Senator Kamala Harris. South Dakota has three electoral votes in the Electoral College.

The COVID-19 pandemic in South Dakota is an ongoing viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The state of South Dakota reported its first four cases and one death from COVID-19 on March 10, 2020. On June 15, 2021, South Dakota public health authorities reported 25 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the state's cumulative total to 124,377 cases. The state's COVID-19 death toll is 2,026, with no new deaths reported over the previous 24 hours. The state ranks 9th in deaths per capita among U.S. states, and 3rd in cases per-capita, behind only North Dakota and Rhode Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Salute to America</span> 2020 event arranged by the Trump administration

The 2020 Salute to America was an event with flyovers and fireworks arranged by the Trump administration held on Independence Day, July 4, 2020. It was the second event of its kind; the first was held a year prior, in 2019. The 2020 event was especially notable for being held amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and for not requiring masks or social distancing, despite recommendations to do so from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health officials due to the pandemic. Although masks were handed out free of charge, few of those who attended wore one.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Land Back</span> Movement by Indigenous people in North America to reclaim lands

Land Back, also referred to with hashtag #LandBack, is a decentralised campaign that emerged in the late 2010s among Indigenous Australians, Indigenous peoples in Canada, Native Americans in the United States, other indigenous peoples and allies who seek to reestablish Indigenous sovereignty, with political and economic control of their ancestral lands. Activists have also used the Land Back framework in Mexico, and scholars have applied it in New Zealand and Fiji. Land Back is part of a broader Indigenous movement for decolonization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harold Frazier</span> American politician and tribal leader

Harold C. Frazier is an American politician and tribal leader who is the former chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, serving in that position since 2014. A member of the Democratic Party, Frazier serves concurrently as the chairman of the Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Association, a position he was elected to in 2018.

NDN Collective is an indigenous-led activist and advocacy organization based in Rapid City, South Dakota, United States. Founded in 2018, NDN Collective works with more than 200 Indigenous-led groups in the U.S. NDN Collective's mission is "Build the collective power of Indigenous Peoples, communities, and Nations to exercise our inherent right to self-determination, while fostering a world that is built on a foundation of justice and equity for all people and the planet." and includes "defend: our people, communities, and nations; develop: Indigenous communities in a regenerative and sustainable manner, and decolonize: our minds, communities, and sovereign nations." According to president and CEO Nick Tilsen, NDN Collective has "an overall strategy to shift power, decolonize wealth, and resource Indigenous people who are on the front lines of fighting for justice and equity." NDN is operated entirely by Indigenous leadership, board, and staff that come from over 25 Tribal Nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sitting Bull Crystal Cavern Dance Pavilion</span> United States historic place

The Sitting Bull Crystal Cavern Dance Pavilion is a historic event venue on the south side of U.S. Highway 16 northeast of Rockerville, South Dakota, near the Sitting Bull Crystal Caverns. Built in 1934, it hosted the Duhamel Sioux Indian Pageant, a Lakota tourist performance created by Black Elk in 1927. The pageant ran every summer until its discontinuation in 1957. A major attraction in the 1930s, its purpose was to not only profit off of tourism to the nearby Black Hills and Mount Rushmore but also—according to Black Elk—to represent Lakota traditions in a respectful, authentic way. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995 as a venue of enduring cultural and religious significance, and for its association with Black Elk.

References

  1. ↑ Eilperin, Juliet; Darryl, Darryl; Dawsey, Josh (June 25, 2020). "Trump is headlining fireworks at Mount Rushmore. Experts worry two things could spread: virus and wildfire". The Washington Post . Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Remarks by President Trump at South Dakota's 2020 Mount Rushmore Fireworks Celebration - Keystone, South Dakota". whitehouse.gov . July 4, 2020. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved November 21, 2020– via National Archives. That is why I am deploying federal law enforcement to protect our monuments, arrest the rioters, and prosecute offenders to the fullest extent of the law. (Applause.)
  3. ↑ Rowley, Matthew (2021). Trump and the Protestant Reaction to Make America Great Again. London: Routledge. pp. 80–83. ISBN   978-0-367-67684-1.
  4. 1 2 3 Groves, Steven (June 26, 2020). "Native Americans Protesting Trump Trip to Mount Rushmore". AP News. Associated Press.
  5. 1 2 McKeever, Amy (May 3, 2021). "South Dakota's Mount Rushmore Has a Strange, Scandalous History". National Geographic. Archived from the original on February 23, 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 McGivney, Annette (July 3, 2021). "The Battle for Mount Rushmore: 'It Should Be Turned into Something like the Holocaust Museum'". The Guardian. The Guardian News and Media.
  7. 1 2 Estes, Nick (2021). Our History Is the Future: Standing Rock versus the Dakota Access Pipeline, and the Long Tradition of Indigenous Resistance. Verso. ISBN   9781786636720.
  8. 1 2 3 Native Hope. "The Six Grandfathers before It Was Known as Mount Rushmore." The Six Grandfathers Before It Was Known as Mount Rushmore".
  9. 1 2 Ostler, Jeffrey; Wilson, George (2011). The Lakotas and the Black Hills the Struggle for Sacred Ground. Recorded Books. ISBN   978-0670021956.
  10. ↑ Gabbert, Bill (March 5, 2020). "Park Service Releases Environmental Assessment to Use Fireworks at Mount Rushmore". International Firefighter. International Firefighter Magazine.
  11. ↑ Eilperin, Juliet (July 3, 2020). "Rocket's Red Glare and Protests: Trump's Mount Rushmore Fireworks Anger Tribes". The Washington Post. WP Company.
  12. 1 2 3 Sullivan, Meghan (March 22, 2021). "Charges against treaty defenders dropped". Ict News. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  13. ↑ "The battle for Mount Rushmore: 'It should be turned into something like the Holocaust Museum'". the Guardian. July 3, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Breaking: Charges against Nick Tilsen and Land Defenders Dropped, NDN Collective Celebrates a Victory for the Movement". NDN Collective. NCN Collective. March 22, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Lakota Mount Rushmore protester says charges being dropped". AP NEWS. March 22, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  16. ↑ Yost, Rae (June 2, 2021). "Judge Rules against Noem in Fireworks Lawsuit; Noem Vows to Appeal for 2022". KELOLAND.com. Keloland Media Group.
  17. ↑ Shaw, Adam (July 3, 2020). "Trump to kick off Independence Day weekend at Mt. Rushmore amid anti-monument push from activists". Fox News. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  18. ↑ Bowden, Ebony (July 3, 2020). "President Trump, Melania to kickoff July 4 weekend at Mount Rushmore". New York Post. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  19. ↑ Calicchio, Dom (July 4, 2020). "Kim Guilfoyle tests positive, Don Jr. negative, for coronavirus, Trump campaign confirms". Fox News. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  20. ↑ "Donald Trump Jr's girlfriend tests positive for coronavirus, reports say" . The Independent. July 4, 2020. Archived from the original on May 24, 2022. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.