A bird stands on the head of the statue “Dignity: Of Earth and Sky” on Sept. 20, 2024, near Chamberlain. The statue, which depicts a Native American woman, is a creation of South Dakota artist Dale Lamphere and a gift of the McKie family of Rapid City. (Photo by Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight)
Today is Native Americans’ Day in South Dakota, which is described in state law as a legal holiday “dedicated to the remembrance of the great Native American leaders who contributed so much to the history of our state.”
Gov. George S. Mickelson and the Legislature created the annual holiday in 1990. They chose the second Monday in October, which is federally designated as Columbus Day. The effort was part of a broader Year of Reconciliation proclaimed by Mickelson at the urging of Native American newspaper publisher Tim Giago.
The following is an excerpt from a speech that Mickelson delivered Oct. 8, 1990, at Crazy Horse Memorial on South Dakota’s first Native Americans’ Day. He began by speaking in Lakota, and then provided the English translation for the traditional greeting:
Today, I stand before for you and shake your hand with a happy heart. And today that really takes on extra meaning as we stand here and make history.
Chief Standing Bear made a statement long ago that became the theme of the Council for Reconciliation. It is hard for us to imagine, but it was the attitude in 1879 that it had to legally be decided in this country, in this nation, whether or not Indians were people under the law, in the context of an issue that was being decided at that time.
South Dakota Gov. George Mickelson in an undated image from the 1980s. (Courtesy of South Dakota Mines, University Relations/Digital Library of South Dakota)
And there was a judge by the name of [Elmer] Dundy who was sitting in judgment on Chief Standing Bear when Chief Standing Bear made a point that is the theme for the year of reconciliation. And what Standing Bear told Judge Dundy was, “My hand is not the color of your hand, but if you pierce it, I shall feel the pain. The blood that will flow from mine will be the same color as yours. I am a man. The Great Spirit made us both.”
The Great Spirit made us both. That concept is what Native American Day is all about. The Great Spirit made us, but years of turmoil, years of misunderstanding, years of mistrust have built walls between us and have made separate nations within the same state.
Well, ladies and gentlemen, I’m not so naive to believe — and I know that you aren’t either — that we can turn back the clock of history by a hundred years and undo those things that have gone on in the past.
But what this day represents, and what we can do, is both turn to the future together and face it. We can reason together. We can negotiate. We can reach deep into our hearts for compassion. We can reach down and have a better understanding and trust of each other, and we can make a better life for ourselves and our children.
The most important thing to remember about today is that it is just a beginning. It is a foundation upon which to build friendship and trust.
