Soo San Drive renamed

RAPID CITY – Soo San Drive, a road in West Rapid City which was previously associated with the Rapid City Indian Boarding School, has been renamed to Sioux San Drive by the Rapid City Council in a 9-1 vote. The issue was met with little discussion and the only dissenting vote was from Councilman Bill Evans.

In a comment submitted to the Rapid City Council before the session, Councilman Ritchie Nordstrom provided a synopsis of the history of Soo San Drive and claimed that the original legal name for the road was Sioux Sanatorium Drive. “In the official land deeds from the United States government gifting the lands to various recipients, the road is always called “Sioux Sanatorium Drive” in the official legal description,” his comments read. “A review of the original documents would lead one to believe that “Sioux Sanatorium Drive” was the official name of the road, and ‘Soo San’ was a short hand used by the plat map makers that became adopted by the City over time.”

Councilman Evans provided the only verbal comments about the resolution during the meeting. “For me, to actually rename something from one name into another that is derogatory doesn’t necessarily make any sense,” Evans said while reference the term “Sioux” which is a derivation of an Ojibwe term meaning “little snakes”. “The reality is that I think time could be better spent on something like saving the main building at the Sioux Sanatorium which is slated for destruction in about two and a half to three years,” he finished.

The decision to rename Soo San Drive comes briefly after a resolution to begin the process of amending three outstanding land deeds associated with the Rapid City Indian Boarding School passed 9-1.