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An Indigenous group has filed a federal lawsuit against owners of a Rapid City hotel and lounge for discrimination. The civil suit was filed on Wednesday by NDN Collective of Rapid City, South Dakota and two named individuals who were turned away when they tried to check into the hotel. The lawsuit comes on the heels of a Saturday night shooting at the hotel and racist public statements made afterward by the hotel’s owner. Victoria Wicks has more on the contents of the civil complaint.
The Grand Gateway Hotel and Cheers Lounge has been the subject of national attention since March 20th, when its owner, Connie Uhre, declared on Facebook that the business would no longer allow access to Native people. Connie Uhre made her inflammatory statements in the days following a March 19 shooting at the hotel. Quincy Bear Robe, 19, was arrested and charged with assaulting Myron Pourier Jr., who was hospitalized with serious injuries. Both men involved are Native.
Two days after Connie Uhre announced the hotel’s new policy on access, two Native women went to the Grand Gateway Hotel and asked to rent a room, according to the civil complaint. An employee refused, saying the hotel had a policy of not renting rooms to people with “local” identification. The employee also refused to rent a room to the other woman whose identification was not local.
Connie Uhre’s son Nicholas manages the operation. Nicholas Uhre publicly disavowed his mother’s statements, but a few days later refused service to a group of Native people, according to the lawsuit filed in federal court. On March 22, representatives of NDN Collective attempted to rent five rooms at the Grand Gateway and were turned away, first by a desk clerk and then by the manager, believed by the group to be Nicholas Uhre. The complaint describes the manager as forceful and threatening.
NDN Collective is represented by Sioux Falls lawyers Brendan Johnson and Timothy Billion, who are asking the court to certify the matter as a class action.
Photo: Jerzy Strzelecki
The City of Nome has agreed to pay a $750,000 settlement to an Alaska Native sexual assault survivor in her lawsuit against the city, a former police chief and former police officer. All parties signed the agreement by Monday. KNOM’s Davis Hovey reports.
Five years ago this month, Clarice “Bun” Hardy reported a sexual assault to her colleagues at the Nome Police Department, which was under the leadership of John Papasadora at the time.
“I was a 911 dispatcher. I felt like one of them, someone working hard to keep Nome safe. And they did nothing. A year later, I realized that I wasn’t worth their time.”
After initially asking the city to pay $500,000 to settle with Hardy, the Alaska Civil Liberties Union filed an equal protection lawsuit in February 2020 against the City of Nome, Papasadora, and Nicholas Harvey on Hardy’s behalf. Lisa Ellanna of Nome, an advocate for Alaska Native women, says it’s because of Hardy following through with the lawsuit that many of those who are voiceless now have a voice.
“Bun’s bravery and strength to move forward in holding the police department accountable, it gave bravery and strength to all Alaska Native women. What happened to Bun speaks volumes about what the situation is for the rest of the state.”
Based on the settlement announced by Hardy’s attorneys Tuesday, Hardy required the city to issue a public apology and acknowledge that her reported rape was not handled properly.
“That apology is for all of us. The City of Nome has promised that the police department will do better. But I know that the only way to ensure that actually happens is if we continue the work activists in Nome started five years ago.”
According to court documents, the apology from the city reads “The Mayor and Common Council wish to apologize to Clarice ‘Bun’ hardy for the fact that the Nome Police Department in 2017 and 2018 failed to adequately and properly investigate her complaint of sexual assault…”
The statement goes on to say that the City Council has instituted measures and is monitoring the Nome Police Department to prevent what happened to Hardy from happening again. KNOM previously reported that a backlog of 460 sexual assault cases, some dating back to 2005, were considered cold and not followed up on by NPD.
The current Nome police chief, Mike Heintzelman, and the previous chief Bob Estes oversaw the audit of those cold cases over the last few years.
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