The past two years have been a succession of firsts in Indian Country: The first time a Native American was appointed to a cabinet position, the first time the federal government looked at its role in Indian boarding schools, and the first time the government organized an effort to connect oral testimonies of survivors of the schools and their descendants. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland a Laguna Pueblo —along with Assistant Secretary Bryan Newland from the Bay Mills Indian Community began the Road to Healing Tour in Oklahoma in July, with the intention of collecting oral testimonies of those who experienced Indian boarding schools. The Interior Department heads are slated to travel to South Dakota in the next couple of months.
After two years of absence, the Native American Day parade is returning to the streets of Sioux Falls this October. Due to COVID-19, the parade was put on hold in 2020 and 2021 but now, organizers Char Green-Maximo and Shaina Yellowback are excited to bring the festivities back to downtown Sioux Falls. They think this year’s event will be the biggest one yet. “Gosh, it’s so exciting. I can’t even put it into words. And as we get closer, the excitement just kind of builds,” Green-Maximo said.
Even though it is nearly invisible in the late September fog and with first snows forecast within days… It’s on course to be the world’s largest statue. The Crazy Horse Memorial, with its 26-metre-tall face of Crazy Horse in the Black Hills was conceived in 1948 when Standing Bear, chief of the Lakota people asked Korczak Ziolkowski to create a memorial to a local Native American hero. . . . ”
