Drilling has started in the 2-mile buffer zone around Pe' Sla, a sacred Indigenous site in South Dakota. (Image credit: NDN Collective) Drilling has begun at Pe' Sla, a sacred site in South Dakota, following the U.S. Forest Service's decision to permit exploratory sites — despite the land falling under federal protection. Authorizing mining activity in this sacred place is a direct attack on protected Indigenous lands and the fundamental right to religious freedom. It also threatens ecosystems and waterways, and could cause permanent environmental degradation. At least two drill pads are now operating on tribal lands within the 2-mile (3.2 kilometers) buffer zone promised to be protected by the Forest Service and tribes. This should ring alarm bells everywhere, because it means that even lands protected by the U.S. government are not safe from the threat of destruction.…