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Anchor: Daniel Montaño
The U.S. Justice Department is filing a lawsuit against Rapid City hotel owners accused of denying service to Native Americans.
South Dakota Public Broadcasting’s Lee Strubinger has more.
Federal prosecutors accuse owners of the Grand Gateway Hotel and Cheers Sports Lounge of devising and implementing racially discriminatory policies this spring.
One of the hotel owners posted on Facebook that Natives were no longer allowed at the hotel and bar following an overnight shooting in their building in March.
Days after, Native Americans tried booking rooms at the hotel twice and were allegedly denied service.
Kristen Clarke is the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the DOJ.
“Policies that prohibit Native Americans from accessing public places are patently offensive, racially discriminatory and have no place in our society today.”
The DOJ says the owners violated title two of the Civil Rights Act.
Nick Tilsen is the CEO of NDN Collective, an indigenous rights organization.
They filed an initial lawsuit against the hotel saying they were denied service.
Tilsen calls the move by the Justice Department significant.
However, Tilsen says it’s up to the community to tackle the issue of racism in Rapid City.
“If it wasn’t for us marching in the streets and if it wasn’t for us speaking truth to power. If it wasn’t for us having the courage to walk into Grand Gateway and get denied. If it wasn’t for the courage of us filing a lawsuit, the Department of Justice wouldn’t be doing this today.”
Defendants Nick and Connie Uhre did not respond to requests for comment.
U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK) was greeted with exuberant applause and a standing ovation at the Alaska Federation of Natives annual convention where she delivered the keynote address Thursday.
She spoke to the convention’s theme of “unity”, although she deplored the pervasive political climate she said is filled with negative political messages that inspire fear, distress, and worry.
“They’re Destructive. They’re acidic. They tear us down. There is no place for hate and fear and self-pity if we’re going to survive and thrive and overcome our challenges.”
Rep. Peltola (Yup’ik) peppered her speech with personal asides and memories.
She took time to recognize the family of long time Rep. Don Young who were in attendance.
Rep. Young died in March and Rep. Peltola won the special election to fill out his term.
She is on the November ballot to fill the seat on the November election.
The AFN gathering in Anchorage is the first fully in-person convention since the start of the COVID pandemic.
A rare white buffalo mounted at the Montana Historical Society will be returned to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.
Montana Public Radio’s Aaron Bolton reports a ceremony was held Thursday to acknowledge the move.
Big Medicine was born on the Flathead Reservation in the 1930s.
He was not considered albino as he had a brown tuft of fur between his horns, but the slim odds of the local herd producing a white buffalo made him sacred to the Salish, Kootenai, and other tribes.
When Big Medicine died, he was mounted and eventually displayed at the Montana Historical Society in Helena.
The CSKT formally asked for his return this summer with plans to bring him back to the National Bison Range on the reservation where he once lived.
The historical society’s board voted unanimously to grant that request.
CSKT Tribal Chairman Tom McDonald spoke in a ceremony shortly after the vote.
“It’s a revitalization. His return will be very significant for us, can’t be overstated how important today is.”
The historical society plans to hold onto Big Medicine until the CSKT builds a facility on the bison range where he can be displayed.
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