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0330/1052/OPINION01

October 12, 2008

Native American Day: Just another holiday?

Some fear Native American Day's potential is squandered

Nestor Ramos
nramos@...

It's been almost 20 years since Gov. George Mickelson called for a Year of
Reconciliation in South Dakota.

It was a Big Idea - forcing the state to talk about race relations and
confront an ugly history wasn't easy.

"At the time, we saw it as a great victory," said Avis Little Eagle, vice
chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.

But the Big Idea appeared to die with Mickelson. Ten years after the Year
of Reconciliation, a different South Dakota governor, Bill Janklow,
dismissed as "garbage" a federal report that shined a light on serious
racial tensions simmering throughout South Dakota.

Any gains we'd made, it seemed, were fleeting.

But there is one measurable remnant of the Year of Reconciliation - one
indication that those efforts in 1990 weren't for naught. South Dakota
still is the only state in the nation to replace Columbus Day with a day
honoring Native American history and culture. We observe that day Monday.

Oglala Sioux Tribe Vice President William Brewer, though, said Native
American Day has become "just another holiday" to many. "I really don't see
efforts being made, anything happening to bring awareness," he said.

But by virtue of this one day per year, the lofty goal of the Year of
Reconciliation continues to draw breath.

People will celebrate South Dakota's unique holiday at powwows and other
events across the state Monday. Only a hopeless cynic would refuse to see
the value in that.

But if your aim is to make a lasting impact on society, schools are as good
a place to start as any. And schools are, in large part, where Native
American Day is best celebrated.

"Our schools on the reservation, we use that as an opportunity to educate
them on the culture," Little Eagle said. "We use this day just as an
educational day to remember and to create cross-cultural awareness; to
forward the reconciliation effort between Indian and non-Indian."

That effort extends to schools around the state. In Sioux Falls, students
at every level spend time learning about the short history of Native
American Day and the very long history of Native American culture.

Could we - native and non-native alike - do more? Always. This isn't just
another holiday. It's unique to South Dakota because South Dakota is, in
many ways, unique.

Is this all that's left of that Year of Reconciliation - a Big Idea boiled
down to one day? Perhaps. But that's at least something real and tangible.

"I think it was an opportunity," Brewer said. "I don't think it's lost."

Voices reporter Sheri Levisay contributed to this story.