FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Contact: Darren Thompson at (605) 519-4806 or darren@darrenthompson.net

 

The Black Hills Unity Concert to Gather Native Artists and Leaders

Concert Features National Gathering

 

RAPID CITY-August 10, 2015-The Black Hills Unity Concert, an international gathering focused on educating the general public on the history of the Black Hills, will host its second annual concert from Friday, August 28, through Sunday, August 30, 2015. The concert will be hosted at the Elk Creek Resort in Piedmont, South Dakota and will feature dozens of internationally recognized musicians, Native American leaders and thousands of supporters from all over the globe to be in attendance. It will also host community leaders from 12 Lakota, Dakota and Nakota reservations to present their solutions to social and environmental challenges.

 

“We feel that we have a sacred obligation to our people to come together in unity. We put forth sacred intentions to help our Great Sioux Nation understand these grounds are beautiful and sacred and they are not for sale. We have to prioritize this for the sake of the face we cannot see yet and for all living and breathing on Unci Maka,” said former Oglala Sioux Tribal President Theresa Two Bulls.

In its inaugural year, the Unity Concert for the Black Hills attracted thousands of people from all corners of the United States and various parts of the world - making the event a platform for a variety of social and political issues to be voiced. Expanding on it success from last year, the Unity Concert will feature award-winning indigenous and non-indigenous musicians such as Frank Waln, Ulali, Keith Secola, Scatter Their Own, Supaman, Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul & Mary, Cody Blackbird, Darren Thompson, Bethany & Rufus and many others. In addition to evening entertainment, workshops, presentations and ceremonies are planned to allow the public to gather information and learn from local indigenous leaders and various tribes throughout the United States that find the Black Hills sacred.

"Our elders advised us to remind people, through example, what the Black Hills were for. In ancestral times nobody lived there, they were only visited in times of prayer. They were a place to set aside our differences and pray for all our relations,” says lead organizer Lyla Johnston. “Reconciling divided cultures and finding a solution to the Black Hills issue lies at the heart of the concert, but it is much more than that. It is a place for people to put their minds together and pray for solutions to the social, environmental and indigenous issues that we face today.” 

The Black Hills Unity Concert is free and open to the public. For more information on the Black Hills Unity Concert including venue location, schedule of events, list of performers and lodging please visit www.theblackhillsarenotforsale.org.

 

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Founded in 2014, The Black Hills Unity Concert promotes a greater understanding of indigenous peoples among the general public regarding American Indian and Alaskan Native peoples and rights. For more information please visit www.theblackhillsarenotforsale.org