Authorities in South Dakota are investigating the cause of a fire early Thursday morning that destroyed the Rosebud Sioux Tribe’s retreat center near Bear Butte.
. Firefighters arrived at the Bear Butte Lodge to find the building engulfed in flames, but fortunately no one was inside.
The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has jurisdiction over fire and arson on federal and tribal land.
Bear Butte, or Mato Paha in Lakota, is a spiritual site for the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and other tribes of the Oceti Sakowin as well as to the Cheyenne people. Indigenous people have visited Bear Butte for thousands of years.