Native American Day Parade a huge success

Organizers for murdered and missing indigenous women and men took part in the veterans’ and dignitaries’ grand entry on Saturday for the Black Hills Powwow.

RAPID CITY – The Native American Day Parade in Rapid City was filled with culture, traditions, color, and important social messages, including honoring murdered and missing indigenous women. The Parade celebrated its 5th anniversary thanks to Bruce Long Fox and Bobbi Jo Jarvinen. The came up with the idea of the parade 5 years ago.
On Saturday, hundreds of children and families lined the streets of downtown for the fourth annual Native American Day Parade. The parade is sponsored by several businesses and organizations in Rapid City and is organized by Rural America Initiatives.
Embedded in the floats were messages of hope and survival; messages designed to bring people together for a common purpose and for a sense of unity. Amongst those messages was the honoring of murdered and missing indigenous women, men, and children.
Rural America Initiatives and the Ateyapi Program had several vans decorated for the parade. Students and staff of the program collaborated in creating the van’s design and message. Makoce Bear Runner, 24, is a Tier 1 Mentor for Ateyapi and worked with students to decorate a van honoring missing and murdered indigenous women. The van had the names of persons missing or murdered on red paper dresses taped to the van.
Bear Runner is a mentor at Rapid City High School. In this position, she is able to work with eight students and help guide them through their high school experience. One of her students is Kaden Klatt, 17. Together, along with other students, Bear Runner and Klatt chose to honor this growing segment of Native American populations which are missing or murdered. This float was inspired by the movement which is highlighting the need for justice, information, and calls for ending violence to women, men, and children.
When asked about the parade, Bear Runner replied, “I thought it was really good. I was noticing a couple of them (floats) and how they have meaning. I thought it was really awesome, the people’s decorations.”
Although Bear Runner doesn’t have anyone in her immediate family who is considered to be missing or murdered, she understands the need to honor these persons. “I noticed that it’s something that’s important to the people, the Native people. We focused on the names that are on the dresses (located on the van’s exterior). We focused on the local ones, the missing and murdered adult women and children,” said the Ateyapi mentor. As a mentor, she felt highlighting a community was an important teaching tool for the future leaders she is mentoring.
“We just know that it (MMIW) has a lot of meaning and that it should have more publication,” she said. Makoce said she has friends in her circle that are related to the persons depicted on the van’s red dresses. “We’re definitely going to be in the parade next year. We don’t know what we’re going to be doing, but we are going to keep it (float) around representing things that have meaning and are important to the people.”
Kaden Klatt, 17, also had a red hand painted on his face during the parade. This symbol has become internationally known to represent the silence that has occurred over the generations, and the silence that will not exist anymore. People are going to speak loudly for the missing and murdered indigenous persons in their families and communities, and this van represented just that.
“I think it was pretty great to come out and do a lot of these nice things. Women are life’s choice. They bring food to the table. The way we were raised by our mom is a great thing. One of my family members was murdered,” Klatt said as to why he participated in this parade.
It is Klatt’s generation, through people like Bear Runner’s mentorship, which is inspiring future generations to come together in times of crisis to protect others. (Contact Richie Richards at richie4175@gmail.com)

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