To the Lakota the Black Hills are Paha Sapa, the heart of everything, and the center of a lasting land claim. Beneath the postcard scenery runs a human history as deep and layered as the Badlands rock.

The 1868 treaty recognized the hills as part of the Great Sioux Reservation.

What sets it apart

A gold rush and federal seizure in the 1870s stripped the land from the tribes. For those who know the region well, it is a quiet point of pride.

A 1980 Supreme Court ruling awarded compensation that the Lakota have refused to accept.

Why it matters

Step back, and a larger picture comes into view: this is South Dakota in miniature, rugged and unhurried. It is a heritage still very much alive in the communities and gatherings of today's South Dakota.