Native American Day: Just another holiday?
Some fear Native American Day's potential is squandered
by Nestor Ramos
It's been almost 20 years since Gov. George Mickelson called for a Year of Reconciliation in South Dakota.
It was a Big Idea - forcing the state to talk about race relations and confront an ugly history wasn't easy.
"At the time, we saw it as a great victory," said Avis Little Eagle, vice chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.
But the Big Idea appeared to die with Mickelson. Ten years after the Year of Reconciliation, a different South Dakota governor, Bill Janklow, dismissed as "garbage" a federal report that shined a light on serious racial tensions simmering throughout South Dakota.
Any gains we'd made, it seemed, were fleeting.
But there is one measurable remnant of the Year of Reconciliation - one indication that those efforts in 1990 weren't for naught. South Dakota still is the only state in the nation to replace Columbus Day with a day honoring Native American history and culture. We observe that day Monday.
Oglala Sioux Tribe Vice President William Brewer, though, said Native American Day has become "just another holiday" to many. "I really don't see efforts being made, anything happening to bring awareness," he said.
But by virtue of this one day per year, the lofty goal of the Year of Reconciliation continues to draw breath.
People will celebrate South Dakota's unique holiday at powwows and other events across the state Monday. Only a hopeless cynic would refuse to see the value in that.
But if your aim is to make a lasting impact on society, schools are as good a place to start as any. And schools are, in large part, where Native American Day is best celebrated.
"Our schools on the reservation, we use that as an opportunity to educate them on the culture," Little Eagle said. "We use this day just as an educational day to remember and to create cross-cultural awareness; to forward the reconciliation effort between Indian and non-Indian."
That effort extends to schools around the state. In Sioux Falls, students at every level spend time learning about the short history of Native American Day and the very long history of Native American culture.
Could we - native and non-native alike - do more? Always. This isn't just another holiday. It's unique to South Dakota because South Dakota is, in many ways, unique.
Is this all that's left of that Year of Reconciliation - a Big Idea boiled down to one day? Perhaps. But that's at least something real and tangible.
"I think it was an opportunity," Brewer said. "I don't think it's lost."
Voices reporter Sheri Levisay contributed to this story.
