White Horse Hill renaming ceremony held

U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), a Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee member, hosted a ceremony on Wednesday, August 19 celebrating the renaming of White Horse Hill, a National Game Preserve within the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation. Senator Cramer was joined by Aurelia Skipwith, who oversees National Game Preserves as the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).

"Naming this hill after General Sully was a great injustice. While changing its name may have seemed insignificant to some in Washington, it was never a small thing to me or the people of this land. And because of that, we made change happen," said Senator Cramer. "While we cannot change the past, we can improve our future, and today we took a step towards that goal."

White Horse Hill was previously named Sullys Hill after a Civil War and Indian Wars military officer who gained his reputation carrying out several massacres against Native Americans, including one of the worst in the history of the Dakota Territory. At the request of Spirit Lake Nation, last year Senator Cramer introduced legislation to change the name to its traditional Dakota name, White Horse Hill, which required an act of Congress. It was the Senator's first bill to pass the Senate and became law when President Trump signed it along with last December's appropriations package.

The ceremony began with a Color Guard presentation, followed by remarks from Senator John Hoeven, Indian Affairs Commission's Kyle Iron Lightning, North Dakota Transportation Department Director Bill Panos, and Tourism Director Sara Otte Coleman. After the remarks, Senator Cramer presented a U.S. flag flown at the Capitol to Chairman Doug Yankton, who also delivered remarks.

The group then participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for White Horse Hill's new sign.