By Tim Giago
Native Sun News Publisher There is a holiday that comes around every October in 49 states, but not in South Dakota. That holiday is, of course, Columbus Day. And this holiday brings out the total disregard for the culture of Native Americans by the department stores and state media because, you see, South Dakota has replaced Columbus Day with Native American Day. Getting the state to do this was no easy chore. The original Lakota Times’ pushed for the change in 1990 in order to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the massacre at Wounded Knee. There was no single white politician who came up with the idea because for all intent and purpose, no white politician ever gave Wounded Knee a second thought. No, it was me and my newspaper that suggested the idea and then fought tooth and nail to make it happen. It is sad that the state media still gives Gov. George Mickelson 100 percent credit. Make no mistake that it was important to have a Governor in place who could get behind the idea, but to suggest that he pushed the idea out of the goodness of his heart is ludicrous. So Native American Day did replace Columbus Day. Now try to convince the managers of Joseph A. Banks, Herberger’s, Office Max, Hancock Fabric, Sears, Kohl’s, and JC Penney that there is no Columbus Day in South Dakota. Every single one of these businesses ran “Columbus Day” sales ads. Are the local managers of these stores so insignificant that they do not have the power to convince their corporate executives that Columbus Day does not exist in South Dakota? Or do they even give a damn! The first time I drove up to the drive-up window at Wells Fargo and saw a sign in the window that said, “We will be closed for Native American Day” I literally shouted “Hooray,” somebody gets it! And then the very next day I pick up the local newspaper and the inserted flyers came tumbling out with “Columbus Day Sale” written all over them. Which brings the next question to mind: Does the editor of the Rapid City Journal realize that October 12 is now Native American Day? Does the editor of the Journal even know how the holiday got started or do the editor and publisher even give a damn? It takes a strong and honest media to bring about change and back in the 1980s; the one and only Lakota Times took that responsibility because the rest of the state media did not. The Rapid City Journal and the Argus Leader had more than 100 years to push for a holiday such as Native American Day, and all Native Americans know why they didn’t take charge of doing it. They didn’t care and they wanted nothing to do with such a cause. Well, we did it and now it is time for the rest of the media in South Dakota, including South Dakota Public Radio and Television, to step up and throw their support behind it. Please don’t be shy South Dakota media just because none of you had the gumption to push for such a day. But at least publicize it and recognize the Native American newspaper that made it all happen without your input. If Native Americans had waited on the RC Journal or the Argus Leader to take the bull by the horns and make it happen, we would still be waiting. We urge them to now start printing the truth! Tim Giago, an Oglala Lakota, is President of Unity South Dakota. He was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard with the Class of 1990. His weekly column won the H. L. Mencken Award in 1985. He was the founder of The Lakota Times, Indian Country Today, Lakota Journal and Native Sun News. He can be reached at UnitySoDak1@knology.net Copyright permission by Native Sun News
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