Elders Valentine’s Day gathering at Mother Butler

Brandon Fergusson at the Elders Valentines Day event at Mother Butler

RAPID CITY – One of the largest gatherings of Lakota Grandparents from across the Black Hills, Ending The Silence‘s Gathering of the Elders was held at the Mother Butler Center in North Rapid on Sunday, February 18.

Over 100 business owners and community leaders partnered with Ending the Silence by volunteering their time and talents or sponsoring prizes for the Hot Seat Drawings and Mega Prize Bingo Games.

The legendary Jim Warne, Arizona State Rose Bowl Champion, former NFL player for the Cincinnati Bengals and EMMY nominated filmmaker was the special guest speaker at the Gathering. Warne is an enrolled member of the Oglala Lakota Nation.

Warne most recently produced the multi-award winning documentary “Remember the Children” a telling of the Rapid City Boarding School through the eyes of the Native children who lived there.

His mother, Beverly Warne, 83, the 2022 South Dakota Hall of Fame Inductee, came and hung out with all of her friends. Bev is best known for creating the Native American Nursing Center in Rapid City.

With over two million streams on Spotify, indie folk national recording artist Trap Kit acoustically performed his hit singles and handed out some signed copies of his latest book.

Brandon Fergusson with Beverly Warne at Valentines Day event at Mother Butler.

Currently in South Dakota, four out of five Native American youth are sexually abused before they reach the age of 12 years old. Over half of Lakota teens have contemplated, attempted or successfully completed the act of taking their own lives within the past year.

A majority of our Lakota Elders have become primary caretakers for their grandchildren due to crisis intervention and abandonment from their parents. The event featured numerous agencies including Abbott House, Love Inc, Wellfully, SDSU Extension and Tatanka Story of the Bison to spread information about the services and resources their program offers.

The event would not be possible without support for numerous Black Hills area businesses, organizations and community leaders – thank you:

The Biker Nation, Rhinestone Headbands, 605 Auto Plaza, Red Road Institute, Cathie Harris, The Indians, Connie Hopkins, Lodi Hopkins, Paul Geissler, Alex Johnson Starbucks, Thirsty’s Burgers & Beer, Runnings Stores, Rushmore Candy Company, Dakota Party, Cornerstone Thriftstore and Walmart provided financial assistance for rental, sound system, Indian tacos, candy, chocolate boxes and supplies.