Tribal Flags Dedication
Vermillion SD— On October 16, 2023, the University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law held a tribal flags dedication ceremony.
The Knudson School of Law, the only law school in the state of South Dakota, aspires to be the home of law in South Dakota.
Knudson School of Law had always welcomed all those engaged in the administration of Justice, but recently administrators at the Law School felt, the courtroom at the school did not reflect all the courts, judges and courts who make their home in South Dakota.
Especially when in 2022, a law student, Maranda Herman (Oglala, J.D., 2023) observed that the courtroom at the Law School did not display the Oglala Sioux tribal flag nor the flags of all of the tribal courts in South Dakota.
Herman gave opening remarks at the dedication ceremony and participated in the blessing of the space where the flags are now displayed in the Law School courtroom.
The work and support Neil Fulton, Dean of Knudson Law School, including Frank Pommersheim, Kathy Ultich, Ann E. Tweedy, Damon Leader Charge (Sicangu), John Little (Standing Rock), Kat Kennedy, Sawbra Hall, and Megan Red Shirt-Shaw (Oglala), made it possible for the dedication ceremony to occur.
Today, the courtroom, the most important ceremonial space at the Law School, now represents every tribal, state and federal court within South Dakota.
Opening prayers were said by Richard Moves Camp (Oglala). Remarks at the dedication ceremony were given by Sheila K. Gestring, President (USD), Seth Pearman (J.D., 2012), Judge Andrew Robertson (J.D., 2012), and Marilyn Allen, USD Native American Law Students Association president (Class of 2025). The Sungmanitu Oyate H’ oka sang the opening and dedication songs.
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October 21, 2023