South Dakota

Wounded Knee descendants decide not to burn artifacts – South Dakota Searchlight

Published

2 years ago

January 10, 2024

Wounded Knee descendants decide not to burn artifacts – South Dakota Searchlight

This story was originally co-published by the Rapid City Journal and ICT, through a news partnership that covers Indigenous communities in the South Dakota area.

RAPID CITY — More than 150 recently repatriated artifacts from the Wounded Knee Massacre were set to be burned. Instead, tribal leaders from the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and later the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe asked to halt the ceremony.

On Dec. 29, instead of burning the artifacts, descendants of Wounded Knee Massacre survivors gathered to pray, sing and remember the over 300 Lakota men, women and children killed by the United States military.

The issue stems from disagreements over what to do with items repatriated from the Woods Memorial Library’s Founders Museum Collection in Barre, Massachusetts. While one group of descendants planned to burn artifacts, others requested more time to consider alternatives.

Wounded Knee descendants group plans ceremony to burn returned artifacts

In November 2022, the Woods Memorial Library’s Founders Museum gave items back to a group of descendants of Wounded Knee survivors. The group, Si’Tanka Ta’ Oyate O’mniceye (Descendants of the Si’ Tanka (Big Foot) Nation), is comprised of Mniconju and Hunkpapa Lakota survivor descendants most of whom live in the Oglala area on Pine Ridge.

Following the massacre, several survivors chose to settle in the Oglala area, said the group’s historian Michael He Crow, Mniconju Lakota. He Crow’s own family settled in the Oglala area after the massacre.

The repatriated artifacts had been taken from the mass graves of Wounded Knee Massacre victims killed in 1890. The military had been sent to Pine Ridge to stop a potential “Indian uprising.” Instead, they encountered a band of mostly Mniconju Lakota led by Chief Spotted Elk (nicknamed Big Foot by the military). The military misinterpreted the group’s ghost dance songs as an intent to attack and opened fire on the band.

The items returned from the Founders Museum were stolen from the graves of Wounded Knee victims. Most of the items are clothing – moccasins and ghost dance shirts. Some moccasins have blood splatters on them. The rest of the items are several peace pipes, hand drums, a few dolls, two tomahawks, a bow with arrows and a few beaded lizard and turtle amulets/pouches containing umbilical cords.

Mixed in amongst the artifacts are items from other tribes – Ojibwe-style moccasins, Dakota and Cheyenne beadwork and other items.

The Founders Museum is a private collection of items. As such it is exempt from provisions from the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). The repatriation did not have to follow federal guidelines. Instead, it was “inspired by NAGPRA,” according to the museum’s initial press release. As such, the items were given back to a group of the museum’s choice.

An alternative proposal for the Wounded Knee medal problem

The Founders Museum did not respond to requests for comment about the repatriation process.

Since the artifacts were returned, the group has hosted public meetings once a month, sometimes twice a month, for community members. The meetings were meant to be a way for survivor descendants to voice their opinions, He Crow said.

“The Cheyenne River tribe supported what we planned to do up until October of this year (2023),” He Crow said.

The tribe published a statement on the eve of the Wounded Knee ceremony voicing its opposition to burning the artifacts.

“The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and many Wounded Knee descendants have not seen the artifacts that were repatriated by the Barre Museum,” a press release from the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe said. “Accordingly, we ask that any proposal to burn the artifacts be halted and we propose a joint meeting between the Oglala Sioux Tribe, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and our Wounded Knee survivor associations be held in the coming days so that we can meet and discuss the artifacts and our plans concerning the artifacts.”

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South Dakota

DOC officials touch on state of prison reform in South Dakota

Published

9 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

DOC officials touch on state of prison reform in South Dakota

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – The governor’s Correctional Rehabilitation Task Force, which aims to determine the best path forward for expanding services, will hold its second meeting on Wednesday.

The meeting will continue the dive into what programming should look like for the new prison. Officials in the Department of Corrections say they appreciate the attention to the issue shown over the year.

“The focus is in the right place. I think people are asking the right questions. I think that it’s being noticed that reentry in totality is a group effort,” Justin Elkins, DOC Chief of Behavioral Health, said.

Sitting at 43%, lawmakers and the Rhoden administration have dedicated a substantial amount of time to addressing recidivism in the state.

“I think people are starting to see that reentry is something our department needs help within terms of collaboration and relationships. Because we only determine part of the equation when it comes to reentry,” Elkins said.

Corrections Reentry Program Manager Scott Day says this change in perspective regarding inmates is needed.

“95% of these individuals are going to come back into your community. They’re going to be your neighbors. They’re going to work at your local fast-food restaurant or at your local store. You’re going to see them walk down the street. We just need to see as a culture that these aren’t bad people; these are just people who need an opportunity to show that they can succeed.”

The prison reset task force, which focused on the structure of the new prison, ensured that programming space increased from what is currently available, even when the location changed from Lincoln County to Sioux Falls.

“There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t constantly think about what we could do more. And the new prison is needed. We need the space, we need the opportunity to get more programming in there,” Day said.

Day says the investment into programming space is not a matter of being soft on crime but rather smart on public safety.

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South Dakota

Recent Farmland Sales in Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, South Dakota

Published

21 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Recent Farmland Sales in Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, South Dakota

Link to the listing: https://www.frrmail.com/…

For more information, contact: Cory Busse, Farm & Ranch Realty, Inc., at 785-332-8345 or frr@frrmail.com

KENTUCKY, Hopkins County. Five tracts of river-bottom cropland totaling 597.9 acres sold at auction for $5.39 million, or $9,015 per acre. Tracts ranged from 16 to 255 acres, with much containing drainage tile. Soil types were primarily Karnak silty clay and loam with some Belknap and Robbs silty loam. Structures included a tool shed and a 5,000-bushel grain bin. Tracts ranged in price from $7,800 to $11,500 per acre.

Link to the listing: https://www.kurtzauction.com/…

For more information, contact: Joseph Mills, Kurtz Auction & Realty Co., at 800-262-1204 or jmills@kurtzauction.com.

SOUTH DAKOTA, Dewey County. A contiguous, 1,529-acre farm sold to a single bidder at auction for $2,600 per acre, or $3.98 million. The property was offered in four parcels, two of which were historically in crop production (wheat, oats, corn and sunflowers) and boasted Soil Productivity Indexes of 70 or higher. Another highly productive parcel was planted in grass and alfalfa but could be converted to row crops. The remaining parcel included a blend of cropland, pasture and an updated home with a steel barn, shop, two Quonset-style buildings, continuous panel corrals and water tank.

Link to the listing: https://glcland.com/…

For more information, contact: Kristen Gill, Gill Land Company, at 701.934.2732 or 605.848.4502 or kristen@glcland.com.

— These sales figures are provided by the sources and may not be exact because of rounding.

— Submit recent land sales to landwatch@dtn.com

Katie Dehlinger can be reached at katie.dehlinger@dtn.com

Follow Katie on social platform X at @KatieD_DTN

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South Dakota

Former South Dakota National Guard adjutant general announces bid for state house of representatives

Published

1 day ago

December 15, 2025

Press Room

Former South Dakota National Guard adjutant general announces bid for state house of representatives

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) -The former top official of the South Dakota national guard under former Governor Kristi Noem has announced his campaign to become a state representative for district 33.

Jeff Marlett’s bid makes him a contender in the Republican primary for the district.

Marlett served for 36 years in the South Dakota National Guard which included combat service in Iraq and most recently spending three years as the commanding general of the national guard from 2019 to 2023.

“I’ve always considered that job, it’s not about me, it’s about the great men and women who served in the South Dakota national guard, and I got the opportunity to serve with them so, it was an honor to serve with them,” said Marlette.

Marlette also worked as the west river director under Senator Mike Rounds and served for numerous years as a superintendent of schools for districts in South Dakota. Now Marlette wants to spend his next chapter as a state representative. He explained that he thinks people are “tired of the noise” with politics. He blamed that exhaustion on people stepping away the two major parties.

“They want people that are willing to go, and, and not think they have all the answers and not be wrapped up about, well I’m more Republican thank you are or you’re a dem o.. no, it’s not about that. It’s about looking at meaningful policy, laws if needed, but governing by what’s really truly necessary and best for South Dakota,” said Marlette.

According to a press release for Marlette, he says he will support sensible restructuring of the property tax system, a strong education system and a vibrant environment for business. Marlette said during our interview that he has mixed reviews on the 19 property tax relief proposals out of the property tax task force.

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