Mount Rushmore Fireworks Celebration
firework celebration mount rushmore held july official use firework mount rushmore since president donald trump spoke event also attended south dakota governor kristi noem host entertainment tonight mary hart first lady melania trump trump eldest son donald trump jr event controversial held amid ongoing covid pandemic event also protested indigenous people see mount rushmore symbol settler colonialism dispute ownership site part black hill land claim protest helped establish land back campaign u firework display regularly held mount rushmore national park service stopped firework display concern wildfire potential contamination drinking water event included remark mary hart governor noem trump remark event covered deploying law enforcement protect monument repeatedly expressed support god largely ignored ongoing covid pandemic united state included reiteration build border wall speech described matthew rowley power positive history—by focusing made america great american moved greatness focusing failure american become harsh judgmental intolerant although george floyd protest form backdrop trump word president nowhere mention police brutality word writes rowley trump seems argue america great removed knee slave neck wicked knelt slave century thenus president trump known share affinity mount rushmore even telling south dakota gov kristi noem dream face carved onto monument article done steven grove reveals trump “joked campaign rally getting enshrined alongside george washington thomas jefferson theodore roosevelt abraham lincoln noem republican pushed return firework eve independence day trump committed visiting south dakota celebration” original inhabitant black hill lakota people called area paha sapa black hill sapa black mountain region spiritually important provided food medicine lakota cheyenne arapaho community lt col george armstrong custer led expedition black hill looking gold without permission tribe broke treaty government tribe however u government allowed gold prospector settle black hill black hill gold rush sioux nation relocated onto reservation leading charge government attempting wipe lakota culture early lakota sought reclaim land conflict ongoing following relocation construction mount rushmore began mountain lakota referred tunkasila sakpe translates six grandfather doane robinson proposed project increase tourism black hill hired sculptor gutzon borglum create sculpture honored “the west’s greatest hero native american pioneers” borglum proposed robinson use face past u president lakota viewed mount rushmore symbol united state dominance protest indigenous people occurred mount rushmore activist set camp top memorial several month demanding return land protest ended arrest supreme court ruled united state v sioux nation indian black hill belong lakota lakota offered million compensation theft land nation rejected offer demanded return land effort bring awareness concern event report put national park service bill gabbert editor wildfire today fire aviation stated “fireworks used mount rushmore july except canceled due danger pyrotechnic display starting wildfire event documented wildfire ignited firework middle fire season” many firefighter placed around park order prevent larger blaze black hill filled thousand acre forest causing much concern gabbert state concern regarding “trash never completely picked left sculpture forest unexploded shell wadding plastic ash piece device paper” account terrain cleanup pyrotechnic device difficult joe lowe served fire chief south dakota division wildland fire stated ember pyrotechnic ignite dry terrain surrounding memorial site team prepared extinguish potential fire firefighter called crew state help day prior firework event blaze consumed approximately acre mile south mount rushmore day firework celebration ndn collective organized protest people used vehicle barrier blocked road park three hour stating individual trespassing sovereign land great sioux nation response law enforcement officer member south dakota air army national guard called leading skirmish protestors law enforcement activist wore eagle feather beat drum faced line national guardsman riot gear violence broke activist arrested misdemeanor charge video protest went viral “landback” hashtag ndn collective demand closing mount rushmore return black hill lakota people protester described mount rushmore “an international symbol white supremacy gaining national attention ten thousand advocate raised money bail fund petitioned behalf land defender ndn collective ceo nick tilsen charged combination misdemeanor felony could led year prison charge protestors dropped though dismissed prison sentence tilsen obligated attend diversion program tilsen discussed agenda turn mount rushmore back tribe according article done steven grove “prosecutors say part program admitting wrongdoing ensuring offense dont happen however tilsen told associated press done pressing change monument black hills” “wherever go connect god that’s black hill lakota” said tilsen area “the heart everything is” sacred lakota people though plan proposed effort reduce endangering relationship lakota well reduce risk wildfire fourth july firework planned event large crowd attendance social distance required wear mask despite recommendation center disease control prevention science expert due ongoing coronavirus pandemic however mask handed attendee given temperature screening despite covid able spread asymptomatic individual donald trump jr girlfriend kimberly guilfoyle also attendance despite testing positive virus day national garden american hero salute america covid pandemic south dakota president trump remark mount rushmore salute america event cspanorg remark president trump south dakota’s mount rushmore firework celebration whitehousegov