for many americans, mount rushmore is one of the country s most patriotic and awe-inspiring symbols, like a giant apple pie wrapped in a kid rock t-shirt, yee-ha. but for others, it s a reminder that this country was intended to be whites only. as we talk about the removal of controversial monuments and statues, mount rushmore is a part of that. located in the black hills of western south dakota, it s become the epicenter in a battle over who are the rightful inhabitants and caretakers of the land currently known as the united states of america. i m letting you go first because i m a gentleman. but really, it s because i m afraid. and these two have a lot to say about all of it. this is nick tilson of and krystal two bulls of the northern cheyenne and lakota. she is also a military veteran. we met at the entrance of mount rushmore park there with the ndn collective, an indigenous nonprofit fighting to get indigenous lands back into indigenous hands. our people this
folks. the indigenous people of this land who want their land back. whose land? our land. whose land? our land! reporter: if many americans, mount mushmore is one of america s most awe inspiring symbols. like a giant apple pie wrapped in a kid rock tee shirt. but for others, it s a reminder this country was intended to be whites only. as we talk about the removal of controversial monuments and statues, mount rushmore is a part of that. located in the black hills of western south dakota, it has become an epicenter in the battle of who are the rightful inhabitants and caretakers of the land known as the united states of america. i m letting you go first. reporter: these two have a lot to say about it. this is nick tilson and crystal two bulls. she is also a military veteran. we met at the entrance of mount rushmore park. an indigenous run non-profit fighting to get indigenous lands back into indigenous hands. our people call this a sacred site that they blew up
property is a crime. but for his actions that day, nick has been charged with four felonies and three misdemeanors. he is facing 16 1/2 years in prison. if those charges sound overly harsh, i think that was law enforcement s point. just as the system overcharged many of the black lives matter protesters that same year. and remember, the fight for the return for black hills had been going on since 1868. remember the little broken treaty i talked about? during the civil rights movement of the 1960s, the american indian movement emerged. aimed at challenging u.s. policies that were trying to remove indigenous communities from their lan and force them to assimilate. the movement paved the way for protest, civil disobedience and land occupation across the country, including mount rushmore in the summer of 1970. our people have never given up the fight for this land. they tried to put native people in the past all the time instead of putting us in the present. yeah. right now in sewed,
videos of the protest went viral as did the hash tag land back. reporter: now obviously, taking a cop s property is a crime, but for his actions, nick has been charged with four felonies and three misdemeanors. he is facing 16.5 years in prison. if those charges sound overly harsh, that was law enforcement s point. and remember, the fight for the return of the black hills had been going on since 1868. remember that broken treaty i talked about? reporter: during the civil rights movement of the 1960s , the american indian movement emerged. aim challenged u.s. policies trying to remove indigenous communities from the land and force them to assimilate. the movement inspired a wave of protests. and occupation across the country including mount