Letter to the Editor: Remembering Native History

On October 10th, USD will celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day, honoring Native history, culture and people. On this day of celebration, I will also remember the painful history between the United States and Indigenous communities.  

For over a century, hundreds of thousands of Native children were taken from their families and placed in federally sponsored boarding schools, experiencing violence and abuse. For Native South Dakotans, this is not a history that only exists in the long past. In our state, at least 30 Indian Boarding Schools operated between 1819 and 1969, making us the state with the fourth-highest number of schools. 

The consequences of these actions are ongoing. A 2012 SDBOR report found that Native college students at USD still face massive barriers to success, including high poverty rates and little access to the mentorship and advising many non-Native students had in high school. Native students also make up just over 3% of college students in South Dakota, even though they represent almost 9% of the state’s population. 

I urge senators Mike Rounds and John Thune to co-sponsor the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies in the United States Act (H.R 5444/S. 2907). This legislation would be the first step in reckoning with the violence inflicted on Native communities by the federal government. 

As we honor the culture and resilience of Native people this Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we must also hold our government accountable for the actions that have caused so much pain to these communities, past and present.

Rachel Overstreet

Sioux Falls, SD