A resolution to “Resolve Three Outstanding Deeds Related to the Rapid City Indian Boarding School Lands,” has been approved by the Rapid City Legal and Finance Committee.
It is being sent without recommendation to the Rapid City Council for its November 2nd meeting.
The resolution deals directly with 1,200 prime acres of land on the West side of Rapid City that was disposed of by the Department of Interior in the late 1940’s. Currently the land is worth $20 million dollars and this resolution is the first step of many to lay out the framework for a land swap. This is for land of equal value on or near Rapid City.
Beverly Warne is an Oglala Lakota Elder and a member of the Rapid City Indian Boarding School Lands Back Project. She spent most of her life in Rapid City and remembers a time when ‘No Indians allowed signs” hung on the doors of businesses around town. She said during public comments that a land swap is important to moving forward.
“I want our future generations, all these young people here to not feel that way anymore. And part of this healing will be to acknowledge that we have put in a lot of work. I am so proud of these young Lakota people who are quite grounded traditionally, but educated in Western way. We now know your language. We know how to approach in a good way for this community at large, so that the National Native community, as I live it in other States, don't look at rapid city as racist city. We don't want that anymore. I know you don't and we don't. We can learn together well, and this land swap will be a solid beginning. It's not just talk it's action. And that's what we need.”
These sentiments were echoed by Legal and Finance Committee Chair Alderwoman Darla Drew of Ward 5 after a motion failed to move the resolution to a full council meeting November 10 for more research.
“Anybody that's lived here knows that relations have been much worse than now, much worse. At least we're in a room talking, which is really a great step forward for us. And so the cause is just, and the time is right and let's move this forward. It's about justice. It's about reparations. It's about things that I didn't do, but I can help make them right. And so I'm passionate about saying that this is the time to do it. Let's not wait until November. They've been waiting 70 years. They've been working on this 10 years. And if we didn't know about it, that's our problem because everybody here that's a native knows about this. If you're white and you don't know about it, that's your problem. You should have known about it.”
If the resolution passes, the City of Rapid City will work together with members of the Native American community and the Rapid City Indian Boarding School Lands Back Project to come up with a plan that deals with land exchange and investments equivalent to the disposed 1,200 acres of land. The plan will be presented to the Department of Interior for final approval.