Community healing begins with acknowledgement

RAPID CITY – In the wake of a profound and painful investigation at the Rapid City Indian Boarding School, the community has come together to acknowledge a dark chapter of historical trauma through the Remembering the Children Memorial. This memorial stands as a powerful testament to the Indigenous children who were forcibly removed from their families and cultures, many of whom tragically lost their lives in the boarding school system.

The discovery of children’s burials has brought to light the devastating impact of U.S. government policies designed to systematically destroy Native American family and cultural structures. Wizipan Little Elk Garriott (Rosebud) said these policies were explicitly created to make it easier to steal Indian land, with assimilation viewed as a “cheaper alternative” to physical elimination.

Little Elk Garriott was named NDN Collective President in January. Nick Tilsen, Founder and CEO of NDN Collelctive said that Little Elk Garriott has been dedicated to “fighting for tribal sovereignty and indigenous self-determination.” This was in reference to Little Elk Garriott’s wide-ranging experience, from federal policy to tribal economic development.

From 2012 to 2021, Little Elk Garriott, a graduate of Yale, was the CEO of the Rosebud Economic Development Corporation (REDCO), during which he started businesses and community-based programs, including a Native language immersion school and 1,500 head buffalo herd. He then served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs in the U.S. Department of Interior from 2021-2024. He served as the first assistant and principal advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Indians Affairs in the development and interpretation of policies affecting Indian Affairs bureaus, offices, and programs.

Tilsen said on the NDN Collective website that Little Elk Garriott’s combined experience is invaluable, “from working deeply in his own community on grassroots and tribal solutions, all the way to working in two presidential administrations will prove to be catalytic for the work here at NDN Collective.”

Little Elk Garriott said that the recent unveiling of the sculpture Tiwahe at the Remembering the Children Memorial was a right step in the right direction. “Remembrance is one thing, but repair is something that we still have a long way to go, and the first part of repair is an acknowledgement. And so, the United states local governments and community members have to acknowledge what happened, that Indian children were stolen and removed from their families and their cultures and their people with the express policy intent for the United States to steal their land. That was policy.” He said it was cheaper to assimilate Indians than it was to kill them. “And so assimilation was an alternative to killing Indians, and that history is still something that has to be acknowledged,” said Little Elk Garriott. “In my former role, I got to work with an incredible team of people including Assistant Secretary Brian Newland and Secretary Deb Haaland, and we were able to produce two reports on boarding schools to formally document that history and talk about some of those impacts.”

While the Biden administration sought to engage in discussions and make efforts to highlight the critical importance of acknowledging these historical wrongs and took concrete steps toward healing and reconciliation, the Trump administration has not. Among other things, Trump revoked eighteen executive actions from the Biden administration, including an order designed to strengthen tribal sovereignty and expand self-determination for the 574 federal recognized tribes.

“President Biden issued an apology to Native Americans for the boarding school era. When something like that is done, it’s done on behalf of the United States for all people, for all time,” explained Little Elk Garriott. “And it doesn’t matter what one administration says or does, you cannot erase that. That is there. And if we truly believe in the U.S. Constitution, if we truly believe in honoring treaties which are a part of the Constitution, if we truly believe in being big, bold and brave and great, then we have to honor those treaties, and we have to stand up and face our history and our past and do it greatly. We can’t run from our past,” emphasized Little Elk Garriott. “In order to do that, we have to continue to do the work that was started on behalf of all Americans.”

The apology was one of the recommendations in the board report but there were others. “It also included a massive investment, or a recommendation for a massive investment into language and cultural programs for tribes on behalf of the United States government. Unfortunately, what we’re seeing is a complete run from that kind of investment. We just witnessed that with the recent budget that actually cuts Indian Affairs massively and significantly.”

Little Elk Garriott asserted that Americans are at a moment. “Are we about honor? Or are we about dishonor? Are we about bravery? Or are we about cowardice? And that is the kind of moment we are at.”

He noted the community members who came on that recent sunny Saturday to remember the children was an example of that bravery to acknowledge the history. “The next step is land return, and that was also included as a formal recommendation in the boarding school report, because there was so much Indian land given to churches and other institutions. But it had land reversions attached to it. So, the next step is to get the land here in the sacred He Sapa to finalize that land reversion so that it can come back to its original and rightful owners which is the Great Sioux Nation, the Lakota Oyate. So that’s the next step.”

He said the third step is to continue language and cultural efforts. Children from the Oceti Sakowin Community Academy (OSCA) sang at the sculpture installation. The Academy is Rapid City’s first Indigenous-led, community-based school grounded in Lakota language, culture, and philosophy. “Every single person in the Rapid City community should be investing in that school,” said Little Elk Garriott, “because it’s an embodiment of healing and an embodiment of what we should be doing moving forward.”

Little Elk Garriott said that there is already a lot of great work underway, like the He Sapa Indian Center that is being planned and developed. He encouraged the community to rally behind and support it. “There are so many other areas where the community can come together for a common purpose and common cause that’s going to benefit not just Indians, but everyone here in the He Sapa and throughout the region.”

(Contact Marnie Cook cookm8715@gmail.com)

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