Native Sun News Today: Community honors Native man with prayer circle

Friday, March 29, 2019  

RAPID CITY – Several community members came together in Rapid City over the weekend for a prayer circle to honor Larry Low Dog who passed away recently.

On Sunday, nearly fifty Native and non-Native citizens met at the corner of 4th and Kansas City Streets near downtown Rapid City, across the street from the Trinity Lutheran Church parking lot where Low Dog was found deceased on the morning of March, 14, 2019.

Kayla Low Dog lost her father in a tragic way. She was present for the Prayer Circle for Rapid City Native Community event. She stood in unity and prayer with the family of Tyrell Bull Bear who lost his life to violence in December, 2018. His family brought signs and Bull Bear’s mother, Jennifer, spoke to the crowd about the need for standing together against violence in Rapid City.

The Wambli Ska Drum and Dance Society provided a drum and singers. Their prayer songs were a powerful statement in the cool and dreary day for those in mourning.

Family members spoke about the life of Larry Low Dog. His cousin, Stacy Low Dog, talked about him being a very successful Native American citizen in Rapid City in terms of his professional success and becoming an upper-level manager at Walmart. It was a tragic brain injury in 2004 which affected Low Dog’s ability to navigate life and left him partially handicapped as he had “problems with his memory”.

Low Dog’s family did not want his life to be just another statistic. They did not want his name drug through the mud and used to justify the needs of social service programs and other organizations who wish to capitalize off the lives and deaths of homeless and/or addicted Native Americans. Yet, they are bewildered at how he passed away directly across the street from the Pennington County Jail and Crisis Care Center in Rapid City.

In the days leading up to his death, Low Dog had been staying in a small apartment near Mount Rushmore Road. He was not considered homeless and yet his family feels he has been portrayed as another “drunk Indian” whose addiction led to his death. His daughter, Kayla Low Dog, says her father’s ex-wife, I’lese Uses The Knife, had passed away recently and perhaps he had been mourning her passing in some way. She feels he may have been having some behavioral health issues and turned to alcohol as a coping mechanism during this period.

Larry Low Dog was adopted out to a non-Native family at a very early age. He was raised away from the Lakota culture and had spent a majority of his adult life trying to reacquaint himself with those traditional ways. His daughter feels in trying to find this identity, he would turn to alcohol to substitute that part of his life that he was missing. He was into golf and rugby she said. His favorite attire to wear was clothing that could be worn in either sport.

The Prayer Circle had given Kayla Low Dog an opportunity to experience Lakota culture and follow in her dad footsteps of learning the traditional ways; as she lives in Chicago and rarely makes it to South Dakota. “Being there in the circle was awesome and bitter sweet. I was on the verge of having a panic attack with everything going on, and I just felt so good being there,” she said.

“I’m out here and I’m with my brother. It’s just giving me a lot of purpose as to how to go forward. There is a silver lining in this; I’ve met some of my relatives but meeting them again and learning more about our culture has been great,” said Low Dog. “Learning how to do things in the Lakota way is all coming full circle.”

Kayla wanted to give her dad a personality for others to see. She wanted him to not just be another Rapid City statistic. She wanted him to be remembered as an avid sports fan, who watched football and kept up with golf and rugby teams.

“He and I liked to watch Dallas Cowboys football together, because he lived in Arlington, Texas for a while. This was after living in Virginia for a long period,” she said. It was in Texas where he began to get into rodeos.

During his adulthood, Low Dog had begun to return to South Dakota periodically to get to know his birth parents and get to know other family members. He spent his time absorbing the culture and the ways. According to his daughter, his adopted mother was very loving and kept him firm in the belief of family traditions. She would host events which kept the family working on projects together. This upbringing gave him a kind and gentle spirit as he was described as being a “good man” by those who met him.

Kayla did not grow up with her father in the home. She remembers him always living away, but when he did make it back to see her, he would “spoil” her with gifts and attention. She claims he would always be driving in new vehicles and would be dressed like a gentleman with a purpose. This love and attention made up for him being an absent parent in her life. “Although he didn’t see me enough, he was always making up for it the best that he could,” she said.

The brain injury had happened as a result of being stabbed in the head back in 2004. This injury resulted in loss of memory, seizures and other physical injuries which left him partially handicapped. He had a hard time remembering family and friends after this. “He was in a fight or an altercation at the time. He got jumped and he was stabbed in the head. It was in Rapid City,” she said. “He probably shouldn’t have lived, but he did. But he had to live with this brain injury from then on.”

“The amount of memory loss was very substantial. When I went to get his stuff from his apartment after he died, he had all these notes to remind himself of things to do. They were all over. He was giving himself clues for appointments and things like that,” she said. Kayla said despite her father being in this state, he was still functioning in society and was able to work.

Contact Native Sun News Today Correspondent Richie Richards at richie4175@gmail.com

Copyright permission Native Sun News Today