"SUE" UPDATE

by Karen Reedstrom

On February 3, 1993 U.S. District Judge Richard H. Battey ruled against the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research in their ownership claim on the 65 million year old T. rex.

The facts are:

1) The fossil was removed from Indian trust land within the exterior boundaries of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Reservation of South Dakota on August 12, 1990 by employees of the Black Hills Institute. Excavation was completed on September 1, 1990.

2) Legal title to the land is held by the U.S. in trust status for Maurice Williams, an Indian. (To hold in trust means that the U.S. will hold the land for a period of 25 years in trust for the sole use and benefit of Maurice Williams. He does not have to pay taxes on the land but in order to sell it he must have permission from the Federal Government. This is an out dated act based on the belief that Indians were too naive to decide things for themselves).

3) On August 27, 1990 The Black Hills Institute issued a check to Maurice Williams for $5,000, saying that it was "for title to the fossil and the right to excavate the fossil from his land." Williams contends the money was not payment for the fossil itself but merely a fee for the right to disturb his land.

4) The U.S. government contends that neither the Black Hills Institute nor Williams had the right to remove the fossil without the knowledge or consent of the agencies of the U.S. Failure to obtain permission or proper permits rendered the fossil sale null and void.

5) Was the fossil an interest in land? The court had found no case authority saying that a fossil embedded in the ground is an "interest in land" and The Black Hills Institute asserted that the fossil, upon its severance from the land, became personal property and thus not subject to the restrictions of the trust. Here is the crux: What is the definition of property? Quoting the court records CIV. 92-5070:

6) The court decided that "Sue" was an embedded fossil and was an interest in land and therefore subject to the requirements of the trust law.

The Black Hills Institute is appealing the decision but they are already suffering under a load of legal bills. They said that if the sale was void the ownership should revert back to Williams. U.S. Attorney Kevin Shieffer said that he wasn't so sure, that the question needed to resolved by the Clinton administration and that the U.S. holds title to the fossil and that, under the Antiquities Act, the government might be able to claim the fossil for "the benefit of recognized scientific or educational institutions."

Not only has the Black Hills Institute lost "Sue", and the town of Hill City, S.D. going to loose potential revenue from the proposed museum built around "Sue", but now the government is actively pursuing a federal grand jury investigation of the Institute. Institute employees have been testifying before the grand jury since Jan. 19. The government is accusing the Institute of removing their other fossils from government land...even those that were discovered in Peru! The government sent them a subpoena from the FBI saying they had 24 hours to hand over records that were so far reaching, based on the vague wording of the document, that they had to turn over virtually all their business records, photographs, videotapes, field notes, more than 100,000 documents. "It completely stopped all work here..." Larson said. It was a truckload. Now it is hard to defend themselves as to where specific fossils were found because the FBI has their field notes. This is not just losing a valuable fossil, it could mean the closing of the Institute and the loss of jobs to the workers.

When I last spoke to Terry Wentz he told me: "When you come out here this summer it may not be to dig dinosaur bones with us, you may have to visit me in prison."