News & Commentary

Wanapin sapa win (Dawnee LeBeau) is a independent visual storyteller, an avid gardener, coordinator, and small business owner of Kikta’.

The right to join with fellow citizens in protest or peaceful assembly is critical to a functioning democracy and at the core of the First Amendment. Unfortunately, our elected officials sometimes attempt to violate this right through means intended to thwart free public expression.

Gov. Noem’s demands for tribes to remove their COVID-19 checkpoints and threat of legal action is an unnecessary escalation of the already strained relationship between the state and the tribes. In fact, it’s an apt illustration of the longstanding fight for indigenous justice in South Dakota.