Senate Bill 191 is dead in the SD House. It was the only bill related to Native children in foster care to have survived past a committee hearing so far this session. The Indian Child Welfare Task Force that would have been created through SB 191 would have allowed a 17-member group of stakeholders, lawmakers, representatives from the state’s nine tribes and officials with the state Department of Social Services to tackle issues surrounding native children and foster care in the state. Vice President for the Oglala Sioux Tribe Alicia Mousseau says the decision “is deplorable and signifies the states refusal to work with sovereign tribal nations for the protection of Indian children and families.”
With the height of tourism season a few months out, an organization made possible by state and tribal leaders is preparing to open a new travel experience for visitors that highlights the culture and lands of the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota people in South Dakota. Secretary Jim Hagen of Travel South Dakota and Dew Bad Warrior from George Washington University and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe are speaking up about the newly-created South Dakota Native Tourism Alliance and the work done to shift the tourism focus to a unique perspective. As far back as 2019, the seeds for a new tourism opportunity in the state of South Dakota were planted in partnership with state tourism and tribal officials.
Those are your headlines at this hour. I’m Colette Keith in the KIPI News center.
