News For All Americans
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The Wounded Knee Massacre site is where Lakota men, women and children were killed by members of the U.S. Army’s 7th Cavalry on December 29, 1890. Proposed plans near the South Dakota site have upset some people. (Photo-Antonia Gonzales)
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Navajo and Hopi youth begin the Three Sister’s Bears Ears Run to raise awareness about the sacred Bears Ears site in Utah. (Photo-Navajo Nation, Office of the President and Vice President)
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Street art and graffiti cover walls in Indian Alley in Los Angeles, California. The alley’s history includes Native people who once lived on the streets. Native people still face housing and other challenges living in the city, but many are going to Indian centers for services, a place to find a network of support, and reconnect to their Native culture. (Photo-Antonia Gonzales)
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People take part in a round dance at United American Indian Involvement in Los Angeles. Native culture is part of health and wellness initiatives at the center. (Photo-Antonia Gonzales)
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Cynthia Plenty Bull and her daughter, Tia are celebrating the Christmas season with their very own home in the Eagle Nest Housing Development at the village of Wanblee on the Pine Ridge Reservation. (Photo-Lakota Funds)
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A coalition of Native groups and conservationists organized a protest outside the Dena’ina Center in Anchorage, Alaska during the 2017 Alaska Federation of Natives Convention. (Photo-Daysha Eaton)
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38 Democratic members of Congress wrote a letter to Republicans urging them to include provisions for Indian Country in their tax bill. (Screenshot)
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People demonstrate at a LNG construction site in Tacoma, Washington. Native people and their allies say they’re concerned about water and other threats to the environment. (Screenshot-Native Daily Network, Facebook)
by Jim Kent
A recent Hate Crimes Forum in Rapid City, South Dakota turned out to be quite a different gathering than Lakota people attending the event anticipated it would be. The law enforcement panel explained the technicalities behind hate crimes laws. Members of the Native American community were hoping for a longer discussion about incidents toward Native Americans and other groups.
Representatives of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Rapid City Police Department and Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, spoke for about 70 minutes on hate crimes, what they are and how they are prosecuted. They noted the difficulty in assigning the hate crimes designation to an offense and added that, collectively, they could not recall a hate crime being prosecuted in the Rapid City area.
After the panel presented, about 25 minutes was given for questions and comments. National Native News was asked not to tape audience remarks, but the vast majority of Native Americans there told us they were not happy with what they witnessed including a Native man, who asked not to be identified over fear for his safety.
“I left here 20 years ago because of this and I come back and it hasn’t changed one bit. What are we doing here? This is all just a show,” he said.
Stacey Low Dog advised the law enforcement panel that two non-Native women were brought to trial in 2009 for assaulting her niece. Both women were convicted of a hate crime.
“I expected a dialogue with the community,” said Low Dog. “I thought they would at least bring up this (her niece’s case), we successfully prosecuted this one hate crime. How they weren’t gonna’ tolerate this, it wasn’t even mentioned.”
Low Dog believes it is because of a lack of acknowledgement or interest in crimes against Lakota people that there is distrust of law enforcement in South Dakota by the Native community. U.S. Attorney Randy Seiler, who retires December 31, acknowledged the concerns expressed by Low Dog and others, noting there will be other forums in the future.
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A “Hate Crimes Forum” is held in Rapid City, S.D. Members of the Native community were critical of the panel saying more needs to be done to address hate crimes. (Photo-Jim Kent)
