Wounded Knee © Jimmy Emerson
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No one seems to know what should be done with the land in South Dakota where scores of Native Americans were massacred by American Soldiers at Wounded Knee in 1890.
The land is currently in private hands, but the 74-year-old owner of the parcel has decided to sell it once and for all. James Czywczynski has owned the land since 1968, but has not lived there since Native activists staged a forceful takeover of the area in 1973 and his home and store were burned to the ground during the protest.
Members of the local Oglala Sioux tribe are up in arms that the land might be sold, but the tribe is already deep in debt and would have to borrow the money to meet the asking price of $3.9 million. The elderly Czywczynski claims to have been trying to sell the land to the tribe for 30 years and has grown fed up with the process, which never seems to reach any kind of conclusion. He now says that if the tribe does not reach an agreement to buy the land by May 1, then it will be put up for auction on the open market.
There is little consensus among the tribe about what should happen to the historic parcel of land. Many resent having to buy back land which they view as rightfully theirs in the first place. Others have qualms about the price. Among those in favour of acquiring the land, opinion is split on whether any development should take place and there are valid arguments on both sides.
Find out more about this in The New York Times