The pink splash for the Indigenous Peoples’ Day highlights high rates of cancer among Native women

Indigenous Peoples’ Day Parade 2025 float. (Photo by Marnie Cook)

RAPID CITY – Downtown Rapid City was aglow in pink balloons, banners, streamers, and t-shirts on Saturday morning as parade-goers began lining up along Main Street to claim the best spots and floats were lining up to show-off their themes for the Indigenous Peoples’ Day Parade. The pink splash was in recognition of this year’s parade theme “We Walk in Pink for Our Relatives” honoring those who have survived and been lost to breast cancer and all other forms of cancer.

Parade sponsors the Great Plains Tribal Leaders Board (GPTLHB) said on their website that their goal with the pink is to raise awareness about cancer. According to the Great Plains Tribal Epidemiology Center (GPTEC) which is a component of the Board, cancer is the second-leading cause of death for American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) women in the Great Plains from 2014 to 2022. During this time, AI/AN women were one and a half times more likely to die of cancer than white women.

The warm October weather encouraged thousands of people to turn out for the parade which featured dozens of dignitaries, floats, motorcycles, schools, organizations and youth groups, plus candy tossed out to kids of all ages. There were nearly 100 floats according to reporting from KOTA.

(Contact Marnie Cook at cookm8715@gmail.com)

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