House Bill would bar changes to Mount Rushmore

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - South Dakota state Sen. Helene Duhamel, R-Rapid City, said the men on Mount Rushmore are not perfect, but they were critical to U.S. history.

“Like it or not, imperfections or not, it is our history, and it’s worth preserving for generations to come,” Duhamel said.

Duhamel traveled from South Dakota to Washington, D.C. to speak in favor of a bill from Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-SD, that would bar using federal funds to alter, change, destroy the name or likeness of Mount Rushmore.

Some believe Mount Rushmore should be returned to the Native American Lakota Tribe, which the U.S. broke a contract with in keeping the land. One of the latest calls came from the Ice Cream company Ben and Jerry’s on the Fourth of July.

“Oh it’s amazing to me that we can have the manufacturers of overpriced ice cream weigh in on some of the most important parts of American history,” Johnson said.

A Supreme Court Settlement ruled the land was effectively stolen from the Lakota and awarded them more than $100 million that has since accrued interest and is worth more than $2 billion. But the Lakota have refused the money, saying they want the land back.

“This in fact is settled law,” Duhamel said. “In 1980 the Supreme Court decided not to give back the land, but to make a monetary settlement.”

This is the fourth session of Congress Johnson has attempted to pass the Mount Rushmore Protection Act.

“There is a reason that Mount Rushmore is called the shrine to Democracy. When you look at those four leaders, they symbolize the greatest strengths of America, about our unity, about our coming together, about our march toward a more perfect union.”

This is the fourth session of Congress Johnson has attempted to pass the Mount Rushmore Protection Act.

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