Indianz.Com > News > Ivan Star Comes Out: Confronting racism and homelessness among our people
Rapid City Journal’s racist headlines on homelessness
Monday, December 7, 2020
Native Sun News Today Columnist
• Support Camp Mni Luzahan
The recent headlines in the Rapid City Journal about the homeless situation can be interpreted as racist. No amount of rationalizing will change that.
For this reason alone, the reservation governments must direct their attention on their homeless natives surviving on the mayor’s streets. Actually, many have died within city limits over the years, and forgotten because it is a burden on the city’s coffers.
One may be thinking that the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) has nothing to do with the homeless situation in the city. For starters, part of the preamble in the Oglala Sioux Tribe’s IRA constitution states “…in order to establish a more perfect organization, promote the general welfare, conserve and develop our lands and resources, secure to ourselves and our posterity…” The oath every elected official swears on is similar.
This preamble, written by non-native government official’s 80-plus years ago, explains each IRA government’s purpose and underlying philosophy. I’m not sure what the authors were intending to accomplish but Oglala Lakota County (Pine Ridge Reservation) today holds one of the nation’s “poorest county” designations. This means as much as half the residents are impacted by a long list of negative results.
NATIVE SUN NEWS TODAY
Support Native media!
Read the rest of the story on Native Sun News Today: Rapid City Journal’s racist headlines on homelessness
Ivan F. Star Comes Out can be reached at P.O. Box 147, Oglala, South Dakota, 57764; via phone at 605-867-2448 or via email at mato_nasula2@outlook.com.
Note: Copyright permission Native Sun News Today
Search
Filed Under
Tags
More Headlines
Native America Calling: No ordinary animal
Native America Calling: Safeguards on Artificial Intelligence
NAFOA: 5 Things You Need to Know this Week
Chuck Hoskin: Cherokee Nation takes the lead for our environment
Native America Calling: Earth Day assessment for Native peoples
Cronkite News: Gathering addresses ‘epidemic’ among Native people
VIDEO: Cody Desautel on tribes and federal forest management
AUDIO: Legislative Hearing on Discussion Draft of Forest Management Bill
Native America Calling: Remembering the 1974 Navajo border town murders
Native America Calling: Can the right approach close the Native immunization gap?
Cronkite News: Long COVID cases remain high in Arizona
Native America Calling: Eyes in the sky for development, public safety, and recreation
Native America Calling: Three new films offer diverse views of Native life
NAFOA: 5 Things You Need to Know this Week
Chuck Hoskin: Cherokee Nation works toward cure for arthritis
More Headlines
Native America Calling: Safeguards on Artificial Intelligence
NAFOA: 5 Things You Need to Know this Week
Chuck Hoskin: Cherokee Nation takes the lead for our environment
Native America Calling: Earth Day assessment for Native peoples
Cronkite News: Gathering addresses ‘epidemic’ among Native people
VIDEO: Cody Desautel on tribes and federal forest management
AUDIO: Legislative Hearing on Discussion Draft of Forest Management Bill
Native America Calling: Remembering the 1974 Navajo border town murders
Native America Calling: Can the right approach close the Native immunization gap?
Cronkite News: Long COVID cases remain high in Arizona
Native America Calling: Eyes in the sky for development, public safety, and recreation
Native America Calling: Three new films offer diverse views of Native life
NAFOA: 5 Things You Need to Know this Week
Chuck Hoskin: Cherokee Nation works toward cure for arthritis
More Headlines