Crow v. Gullet
Crow v. Gullet
Opinion of the Court
Plaintiffs-appellants, spiritual leaders and religious practitioners of the Lakota and Tsistsistas Nations, brought a class action suit against defendants-appellees, the Manager of the Bear Butte State Park, the South Dakota Fish and Parks Department, and the State of South Dakota. Appellants sought declaratory and injunctive relief, as well as damages under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (1976) on the grounds the appellees’ actions in developing and regulating public use of Bear Butte State Park violated appellants’ religious free exercise rights under the first amendment,
Bear Butte, a geological formation on the eastern edge of the Black Hills in South Dakota, was acquired by the state in 1962 and designated as a state park. The Butte is an important religious site for the Lako-tas and Tsistsistas, and has been traditionally used by these people for various religious ceremonies, including the Lakotas’ Vision Quest, a ceremony which may last for several days. In recent years the state has developed the park by constructing roads, a machine shop, campgrounds, parking lots, wooden walkways on the Butte, and a visitors center. Most recently, the state has undertaken several construction projects including constructing an access road to and a parking lot near the area of the Butte traditionally used by the Indians as a ceremonial ground and campsite, relocating the maintenance shop, and repairing and resurfacing the main road into the park. In addition, the state requires that all persons entering the park register at the visitors center and that all persons wishing to camp at the park obtain a camping permit. The permit for ceremonial campers is free of charge and allows a ten day stay..
On June 18, 1982, pursuant to the agreement of the parties, trial on the merits was consolidated with the evidentiary hearing held on appellants’ motion for a preliminary injunction, and the district court
plaintiffs failed to establish any infringement of a constitutionally cognizable first amendment right. To the extent their right of access was temporarily restricted at the ceremonial grounds, this Court concludes that the plaintiffs’ interests are outweighed by compelling state interests in preserving the environment and the resource from further decay and erosion, in protecting the health, safety, and welfare of park visitors, and in improving public access to this unique geological and historical landmark.
Crow v. Gullet, 541 F.Supp. 785, 794 (D.S.D. 1982).
Accordingly, the district court granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment as to all claims raised in plaintiffs’ complaint. Before this court, appellants have essentially raised the same contentions made in the district court. We have carefully considered appellants’ arguments, the
. U.S. Const.Amend. 1.
. The Honorable Andrew W. Bogue, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the District of South Dakota.
. See Crow v. Gullet, 541 F.Supp. 785, 788 (D.S.D. 1982). Although the district court indicated that the merits were before the court on the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment, it is clear from the record and opinion in this case that in fact the court was entering a judgment for defendants after a stipulated trial on the merits. Thus, for purposes of appellate review the,standard is that applicable to such judgments (i.e., the clearly erroneous doctrine), rather than the stringent standard of review applicable to summary judgment (viewing evidence in light most favorable to nonmoving party to determine if there is genuine issue of material fact). Cf. Toney v. Bergland, 645 F.2d 1063, 1066 (D.C.Cir. 1981) (for purposes of appellate review, in some circumstances cross-motions for summary judgment may be treated as a mutual request for trial on a stipulated record).
. See Badoni v. Higginson, 638 F.2d 172, 176-80 (10th Cir. 1980) (denied relief to members of the Navajo tribe challenging, on first amendment free exercise grounds, the governmental regulatory and development activities at the Rainbow Bridge National Monument and Glen Canyon Dam), cert. denied, 452 U.S. 954, 101 S.Ct. 3099, 69 L.Ed.2d 965 (1981); Sequoyah v. TVA, 620 F.2d 1159, 1164-65 (6th Cir.) (rejected free exercise challenge by Cherokee Indians to the flooding of ceremonial grounds caused by the Tellico Dam), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 953, 101 S.Ct. 357, 66 L.Ed.2d 216 (1980); Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Ass’n v. Peterson, 552 F.Supp. 951, 954 (N.D.Cal. 1982) (road construction and accompanying intrusions into area sacred to several Indian tribes did not unlawfully burden Indian plaintiffs’ free exercise rights). See also Inupiat Community of Artic Slope v. United States, 548 F.Supp. 182, 186-87 (D.Alaska 1982); Hopi Indian Tribe v. Block, 81 I.L.R. 3073 (D.D.C. 1981).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Frank Fools CROW, Arvol Looking Horse, Pete Catches, Grover Horned Antelope, Larry Red Shirt, Selo Black Crow, and Francine Nelson, for Themselves and on behalf of the Lakota Nation and Persons Practicing the Lakota Religion, and Bill Red Hat, Jr., Terry Wilson, Laird Cometsevah, Walter Hamilton, The Southern Cheyenne Research and Human Development Association, Inc., for Themselves and on behalf of the Tsistsistas Nation and Persons Practicing the Tsistsistas Religion v. Tony GULLET, in his Official Capacity as Park Manager of Bear Butte State Park, The South Dakota State Game, Fish and Parks, and The State of South Dakota
- Cited By
- 12 cases
- Status
- Published