Long-time resident and second generation pioneer Lila Lytle of Custer speaks to a crowd in the Pine Room of the Custer County Courthouse Annex, saying why Harney Peak should remain the name of the 7,242-foot peak. A petition to change the name of the peak was filed a couple of months ago and public comment was taken this past week during sessions hosted by the South Dakota Board for Geographical Names, made up of, from left, Eileen Bertsch, Department of Tourism; Jay Vogt, State Historical Society; June Hansen, Department of Transportation; Steve Emery, Department of Tribal Relations and Joe Nademieck, Department of Environment and Natural Resources. The board heard why the Harney Peak name should remain or why it should change to the proposed name Black Elk Peak. The board also allowed people to suggest other names for the peak, with some proposing Ponderosa Peak or Harmony Peak. The board will make a recommendation to the U.S. Board for Geographical Names, which will have the final say in the process on May 7.
By Carrie Moore
To quote Shakespeare: “What’s in a name?” For the supporters and opponents of the Harney Peak name change petition, it’s everything.
The petition to change the name of Harney Peak — named after Gen. William S. Harney in the late 1850s — was submitted by Basil Brave Heart, an Oglala-Sioux Lakota who proposes changing the name to Black Elk after Nicholas Black Elk, Lakota holy man who had a vision while on the peak. The petition has over 1,000 signatures.
“Wars carry a shadow and the U.S. is carrying a shadow for all the atrocities it committed,” said Brave Heart. “When we go buy, it reminds us of difficult things that happened to our Lakota people. If you go with (the Harney name), you are saying you agree with what this general did.”
The South Dakota Board on Geographic Names, which investigates proposed names, for geographic features, is overseeing the process. The board has hosted a number of public forums, gathering input from South Dakotans about the proposed name change to Harney Peak. The forum in Custer was held Wednesday, April 29, at the Pine Room Custer Annex.
The board is represented by five areas of the South Dakota government: June Hansen, Department of Transportation; Jay Vogt, State Historical Society; Eileen Bertsch, Department of Tourism; Sec. Steve Emery of the Department of Tribal Relations; and Joe Nadenieck, Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
After the public comment period is up, the board will review information and comments before making their own decision on May 7. The recommendation— whether the Harney Peak name should change or not — will be sent to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, which was the ultimate authority on renaming Harney Peak.
While there was a mix of opinions from the crowd, a large percentage of people who attended the meeting were against changing the name, claiming the switch cannot change history.
“We see things by the prism of our education, our understanding of history and our moral and integrity senses. We cannot go back into history and know what was happening at the time; what he people were thinking,” said Gail Davies of Custer. “We cannot change history. If we do, each and every one of us loses. We must honor each and every factor of history if we are going to remain the good country that we are.”
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