Ending the Silence’s 2023 Black Hills Health Expo

 

 

By Brandon Fergusson

Ending the Silence Executive Director

RAPID CITY – Ending the Silence’s 2023 Black Hills Health Expo took over The Monument with the area’s top health care providers, celebrity meet & greets, powerful keynote addresses, Lakota Elders storytelling, huge musical performances, big air stunts by professional BMX riders and numerous informational booths from the area’s largest non-profits and businesses.

The legendary actress Elaine Miles, star of NBC’s hit TV Series ‘Northern Exposure’, ‘Smoke Signals’ and HBO Max’s ‘The Last of Us’ flew in from Seattle to hang out, connect with fans, signed autographs and took pictures with everyone.

Elaine made special guest appearances on Good Morning KOTA Territory and KEVN Good Morning Black Hills to address Child Sexual Assault and Suicide among our youth.

Miles is an enrolled member of the Umatilla Tribe in Washington. Elaine shared how her personal life experiences and the hardships endured while growing up in poverty on her reservation prior to becoming an international award winning actress.

Miles’ role in all six seasons of ‘Northern Exposure’ led to the series being nominated for 39 Emmy Awards, winner of 7, nominated for 10 Golden Globes, winner 2, winner of 2 Peabody Awards as well as a Grammy nomination.

Elaine Miles was selected as Native American Woman of the Year, America’s Celebrity of the Year and nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance with an Ensemble.

Most recently Miles played Florence on the 2023 #1 hit series on HBO Max’s “The Last of Us” sharing the screen with Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey and Academy Award Nominee Graham Greene.

Miles currently lives back in the Pacific Northwest working with Seattle’s urban Native youth growing up under the same conditions she was raised, in hopes of empowering them to keep pressing forward through the struggles and focus on education.

Miles spoke on the importance of giving our youth a voice and providing an open ear for them as suicide and drug addictions plague the inner cities.

After hearing of the struggles among our Native communities in South Dakota, Miles wanted to come and share her story along with encourage families to connect with Ending the Silence. The movement is focusing on spreading awareness and starting conversations within the families in hopes of beginning a healing process as well as giving youth a voice.

Currently four out of five of our Native youth in Rapid City are sexually abused before they turn 12 years old. Over half of the teens both on and off the reservation have contemplated, attempted or successfully completed the act of taking their own lives this past year alone.

The first annual Black Hills Health Expo brought together agencies to share resources available to all community members in the areas of mind, body and spirit. Helpline was present handing out swag and promoting the new National Crisis Hotline 988 and the importance of speaking out.

Lakota living legends shared stories and their life accomplishments including international award winning author Dr. A.C. Ross, activist for Lakota treaty rights Chief Alex White Plume, the most decorated professional horse jockey of all time Fred Ecoffey, educator Phyllis Swift Hawk, Bear Program founder Tiny DeCory, MA Education Specialist Edwina Fire Thunder-Brown Bull, Actor Lawrence Swallow and numerous others attended at the Health Expo.

Powerful keynote addresses from Miss South Dakota Hunter Widvey, Lakota Language Immersion Developer Peter Hill, Lakota A.I. Code Camp Founder Mason Grimshaw along with Actor and Oglala Lakota Children’s Justice Center Investigator Larry Swallow, who all empowered the crowds with their ongoing efforts to change the narrative when dealing with Native issues both on and off the reservation.

Professional BMX Riders provided massive air stunts including TikTok influencer Cody Jackson. National Recording Artists Sequoia Crosswhite and Stella Standing Bear along with World Champion Misun Mills all poured their full energy out in massive live performances.

Falconry and Raptors Education from Roslyn brought out numerous birds, SOL Yoga did free classes every hour, Vitalant hosted a blood drive, Cricket Wireless gave away free smartphones, Mikes Bikes gave away free bikes, Y-ME Community Garden gave everyone starter grow kits and the Black Hills top agencies hung out to visit and hand out swag to participants.

Among the numerous agencies that attended included Monument Health, South Dakota Department of Tribal Relations, South Dakota Department of Health, Department of Social Services, Helpline Center, Volunteers of America, Rapid City Homeless Coalition, Working Against Violence, SPEAK Network, STARS, Pulse Innovative Therapy, Mary Kay Foundation, Plunge by COOL CRYO, Organo, FOY Foundation, Youth and Family Services, Habitat for Humanity, WEAVE, R.I.S.E., Saldare, A Place for Meow Rescue and Superior Nutrition.

Exhibition performances from Black Hills Fencing, Black Hills in Motion Cloggers, painting demonstrations from Happy Hills Painting and VR Den provided out of this world virtual reality experiences.

Tanner Hull, Tunes and Thrills, Tate Artworks, MMIW, Master of None Artistry, 605 Ageless Beauty and several Lakota Jewelry Artists all setup booths to share their talents and products.

The Ending the Silence Black Hills Health Expo 2023 was presented by The Monument, Prairie Edge, Lori Lowery, Best Western Ramkota, Holiday Inn and all of the businesses and organizations listed above.

For full event coverage visit KOTA Territory News, KEVN Black Hills Fox, Newscenter One, Rapid City Journal, Native Sun News or visit the official Facebook page of Ending The Silence RC

 

The post Ending the Silence’s 2023 Black Hills Health Expo first appeared on Native Sun News Today.

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