Amelia Schafer
ICT + Rapid City Journal
RAPID CITY, S.D. – For the first time ever, the World Wilderness Congress was hosted in Rapid City, bringing Indigenous people from about 40 countries to He Sapa, the Black Hills. This is also the first time the global event has been led by Indigenous people.
Two years ago, Philimon “Phil” Two Eagle, executive director of the Sicangu Lakota Treaty Council, spoke on behalf of the Oceti Sakowin and asked the Wilderness Congress to come to the Black Hills.
Amy Lewis, chief executive officer of the Wild Foundation, was chatting with Two Eagle when he presented her with the opportunity to tour sacred sites in the area. The two discussed the Treaty Council and things threatening the hills.
“I wanted to show her the beautiful lands of the Lakota, the seven council fires,” Two Eagle said. “So I said, ‘Can you help me bring the world to the Black Hills so they can see firsthand what we’re going through?’”
Two Eagle’s invitations presented WILD organizers with a unique opportunity — the chance to center the congress around Indigenous perspectives and voices.
“This invitation was really unexpected,” Lewis said. “But his request was so compelling to me that I one hundred percent said let’s see what we can do, and here we are.”
The World Wilderness Congress was formed in 1976 to help conservationists and environmental protectionists from around the world gather and develop new strategies and actions for Earth.
The Congress began in South Africa as a partnership between game ranger Ian Player and his Zulu mentor, Magqubu Ntombela. Since then, the Congress has continued to bring advocates from around the world together to address the environmental crisis.
“We invited other Indigenous people here. We wanted them to tell their story, where they’re located because we’re all going through the same things,” Two Eagle said. “We’re all going through the effects of colonization.”
The Congress takes place every four years. The 2024 conference was held the last week of August. It aimed to create an official declaration to center Indigenous voices in conservation efforts and stewardship. This was done through several resolutions and an exchange of knowledge. Resolutions created included one to reintroduce more bison to their natural homelands, and a declaration to increase LandBack, or land returns, to Indigenous peoples.
“Everyone knows about the temperature rise, but what’s less known is that there’s an equally science-backed target for biodiversity. We have to protect at least half of the planet and keep its nature intact, or we cross into a threshold that reduces the ecological functionality and the life-saving services we get from that,” Lewis said. “The only way we’re going to get to that target is by capacitating and expanding the ability for Indigenous people to steward their traditional territories.”
With this in mind, the twelfth Congress aimed to place Indigenous people at the center of the conversation on biodiversity and environmentalism.
In the months leading up to the Congress, Indigenous leaders and elders gathered to work on resolutions that would be discussed at the Congress and later presented to the United Nations and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
The bison resolution, Through the Eyes of Buffalo: A Strategic Platform to Restore All Natural World Relationships, aims to achieve the goal of at least one million wild bison on 100 million acres by 2050 and to further expand their numbers and range during the last half of the 21st Century.
“The buffalo belong to the Great Plains,” Two Eagle said. “They’re the natural caretakers of the land.”
The resolution was proposed by Tatewin Means, the executive director of Thunder Valley, Two Eagle, and Cristina Mormorunni, co-chair of the Bison Working Group.
The Congress was equally as impactful for participants. Participation was open to everyone regardless of status as a delegate.
“This is the most interesting conference I’ve ever attended,” said Arthur Zimiga, an Oglala Lakota elder. “I’ve been to so many conferences, law conferences, bureaucratic conferences, but what we need are conferences (like this) with action.”
Zimiga, 84, is a former professor with more than 30 years of experience in education. He has taught at the University of South Dakota, Oglala Lakota College, Harvard University, and the University of California.
Zimiga said he appreciated that Congress produced direct results, like resolutions, something he hasn’t often seen at different conferences and conventions.
“It really uplifts me to see all these people, to see people show me what they’re doing,” Zimiga said.
Throughout the week, dozens of different sessions brought Indigenous leaders to the podium to present on their research and on the different ways their communities had made change. Participants were also brought on a tour of different sacred sites in the Black Hills.
One bus load of about 50 people was brought to Bear Butte State Park while another 100 people went to Wind Cave National Monument.
For the tours, the WILD Foundation partnered with the South Dakota Native American Tourism Alliance and George Washington University for Native American tour guides to train and present to Congressgoers.
“The purpose was to show visitors the importance of our Black Hills,” Two Eagle said. “People should see that and realize that, ‘Hey, the Lakota are telling the truth that they are connected to the Black Hills. Their stories are connected to the land and sky.’”
The twelfth Congress will conclude on August 31 after a full week spent convening in the Black Hills.
“I’m super pleased and really proud of this event and what it’s doing,” Lewis said. “I think the WILD’s role here was really to open a space, create a space, and hold it open so that the Lakota Treaty Council could fill it. I’m so proud of how they built this space and the dialogue we’re having.”
The next World Wilderness Congress will be held in 2028.
This story is co-published by the Rapid City Journal and ICT, a news partnership that covers Indigenous communities in the South Dakota area.
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