Epstein investigation reveals possible illegal hobby with Bobby Kennedy in South Dakota

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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – While the Department of Justice released Epstein files, certain South Dakotans are asking about local connections.

The alleged sexual assaults and trafficking are grabbing headlines, but there are other questionable activities: one of the alleged hobbies of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell highlights a problem that private landowners and reservations in the state are facing today.

In the Epstein files, testimony about one thing can lead to other questions. An email from the Department of Justice indicates that Epstein’s longtime companion, Ghislaine Maxwell, emailed him, recalling fossil-hunting in North Dakota.

Later, in Maxwell’s interview with the DOJ, the transcript describes being on a trip with Bobby Kennedy and Epstein. She said they went “dinosaur bone hunting in the Dakotas.”

The exact location and even the timing of these endeavors are blurry. What is known from talking to Crow Creek Tribal Chairman Peter Lengkeek is that illegal digging for graves, artifacts, and fossils is a systemic problem.

“It’s quite common to go to the reservations and dig up Indians and take their things. We’re trying to protect it, and people are trying to rob it, you know? Constantly,” Lengkeek said.

There’s one location specifically targeted on the reservation.

“We call the boneyard. But it’s actually a mass grave where 1,500 Indians were put into, were killed, and buried there along the river. It’s actually a national historic site. It’s the Arikara burial ground,” Lengkeek explained.

The marks in the soil show what was done in secret.

“See tracks come in, especially in the wintertime when a river freezes. They come up from Chamberlain on 4 wheelers along the riverbank and go there and dig. I just made a report two weeks ago to the Corps of Engineers. ‘Hey, somebody’s down there digging,’” Lengkeek explained.

The tribe recently reclaimed its sacred items from someone else. They had been kept in Kansas.

“And there was a guy down there who frequented South Dakota and frequented my area. And he had over 5,000 items in his collection. And he’s the only one that we found out. What about all the others we don’t know of?” Lengkeek said. “All I can do is pray for their safety because some of those things they’re touching are very sacred and can turn out bad for them.”

Illegal digging can bring fines and even jail time. While some may call digging a sport, to many it’s sacred.