LNI: Evolving with the changing times

Mike Carlowe, Danny Walking Eagle, Bryan Brewer, Chuck Wilson, Silas Blaine at the Lakota Nation Invitational reception at Prairie Edge on Wednesday, November 20. Visit Rapid City presented a sponsorship check for $5,000 in support of LNI which brings thousands of visitors to Rapid City for the event which will take place December 18 -21, 2019. (Photo by Kirk Dickerson)

Eyes are looking to the future of the Lakota Nation Invitational while in the shadow of the naming rights for the civic center expansion being sold to Monument Health. The $130 million project will undoubtedly change the shape of Rapid City and its major events like the stock show, Black Hills Powwow, Lakota Nation Invitational, high school state tournaments, and big-name concerts among others.
Bryan Brewer said “They want to work with us and we want to work with them.” after a meeting with Rapid City mayor Steve Allender. Currently no basketball floor is ordered for the 250,000 square feet arena, but the LNI would add 8 basketball teams to both boys and girls if the resources are made available. The tournament will have no problem finding new teams having already been contacted from teams as far away as the American South West.
“There are a lot of new events we would like to incorporate” said Bryan, and it is possible because the entirety of the LNI will expand if basketball expands, being one of the main eye turners. Even now the basketball is not the most participated in event. Brewer said “Hand games are our largest event now. We have 50 hand game teams this year, and 40 language teams. We even have teams coming from Sioux Falls and Minneapolis. With how many people have reached out for the language competition we will have to add Dakota.”
Archery is on the rise as well. Bryan said “I went to the archery final last year and I could hardly get in there was so many people in there, and archery takes place in the Rushmore North room with wrestling. It is a large room.” The business plan competitions has past participants operating businesses and artists of past art shows selling their work professionally.
The basketball official’s coordinator, David Dolan, has a perspective which gauges the size capability that the tournament can expand to and the needs that will need to be met. This year the tournament has 55 officials, an increase of 10 from last year. Officials are spread thin throughout the tournament with 16 games taking place the first day in both the main civic center arena and the ice arena. If 8 boys teams and 8 girls teams are added then the officials will increase. Dolan said “72 officials will be needed if we add those teams. The challenge isn’t finding new teams, but new and reliable officials.”
Amber Sierra is returning this year, she had officiated the boys championship last year. Rich Brewer will is returning as well who is “a very good official and good mentor” said Dolan “Those are the types of people we need. We need to know they will call the game consistently and fairly.” But holes are left when officials like Kevin Bad Wound retire because he was a “mentor, friend, and leader” said Dolan.
Official jamborees, friendly pre-season scrimmages, take place at local schools to prepare officials for the regular season. Saint Thomas More hosted returning two year LNI champion White River, and Rapid City Central hosted Red Cloud, the number one seed of this year’s LNI. This year at the jamborees was the first year which glasses with a camera were used to train newcomers. The camera allows trainers to see what the trainee is seeing to teach zones of coverage. Good officiating begins with the entirety of the court being examined all of the time.
Officiating from 1987 until 2015, David Dolan has seen many changes to the high school basketball atmosphere in South Dakota, including the LNI. It began in 1977 and is now in its 43rd year of existence. From humble beginnings of eight teams to talks of 48 basketball teams in the future and being covered extensively by local news sources to national outlets, it is hard to ignore the grandeur of this event.
Tim Giago described the LNI as “The Olympics of Indian Basketball” and said “There is nothing as spectacular as watching the teams from the many nations march into the stadium with banners waving as they salute the crowd with confidence and pride. That is the way it is at the LNI.”

(Contact Travis at travisldewes@gmail.com)

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