A new tourism initiative in South Dakota will share the culture of the nine Native American tribes in their words, in their stories. “It’s important for us to tell our story. To tell our truth,” said Sarah Kills In Water, a grant writer with the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Sicangu Resource Development. The first tour bus focused on Native American Cultural tourism will visit three American Indian Reservations in South Dakota next week. The tour will be the first of several this summer. Kills In Water, along with others involved, believes it will be the start of growing cultural tourism on the tribal lands with the intent to share authentic Lakota stories. Kills In Water is one of the partners in the new South Dakota Native Tourism Alliance (SDNTA), a group established to develop authentic Native American cultural tourism experiences for visitors.
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt vetoed a bill that would have allowed Native American students to wear tribal regalia during graduation ceremonies. Senate Bill 429, which passed both the Oklahoma House and Senate, defined regalia as clothing, jewelry, feathers, stoles and “similar objects of cultural and religious significance.” Stitt, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation whose ancestry has been previously challenged, vetoed the bill saying schools had the right to determine their own dress codes. “In other words, if schools want to allow their students to wear tribal regalia at graduation, good on them; but if schools prefer for their students to wear only traditional cap and gown, the Legislature shouldn’t stand in their way,” he said in his veto message.
Those are your headlines at this hour. I’m Colette Keith in the KIPI News center.
