South Dakota

South Dakota soldier gets OK for long hair, feather to honor Native heritage

Published

1 year ago

November 2, 2024

South Dakota soldier gets OK for long hair, feather to honor Native heritage

Moses Brave Heart grew up on the Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota, where he says positive role models were hard to find. Now, he wants to be that role model and hopes a religious accommodation to grow his hair long in the tradition of his heritage as an Oglala Sioux will help him spread that message.

“The mindset is in order to be successful and have a better life, you got to move away from the reservation,” Brave Heart, a specialist in the South Dakota National Guard, told Task & Purpose. “You gotta move away from home. That’s what a lot of people do. Then where’s all the role models? It’s as simple as if you see a young native driving a nice car. I want to give younger kids that hope. Like, ‘if he could do it, I could do it, too.’”

After high school, Brave Heart knew he wanted to start a career in law enforcement and saw the military as a road to that career. But wanting to remain close to home, he decided that joining the National Guard would be the best route.

“You can get the benefits and what not, and still volunteer for deployments,” he said. “But my whole goal was to be a good role model by coming back and showing other Native Americans I could have a good life. It’s why I pushed for this accommodation.”

Brave Heart began pushing for an accommodation in October of 2022 and it was approved in May 2023. He’s spent the year since growing it out.

Under the accommodation, which has been extended to a handful of Native soldiers and Air Force airmen, Brave Heart is subject to Army female grooming standards in length and style of hair. He can also wear traditional Sioux head decorations for Army portraits, including an eagle feather.

Sioux add feathers for significant life events. Brave Heart wears one, which he received when he graduated from high school.

“I get the weird looks, and I expected looks because it’s not normal to see a male in uniform with long hair. I look at it as an opportunity to tell them about our culture,” Brave Heart said. “We view it as an extension of our spirit, is what I always tell them. The only time we would cut it off is if we lose someone close to us. It would be part of the grieving process to cut it off. And what we do with it is either to burn it or burial.”

Brave Heart said that Army grooming standards had come up when his mom’s brother passed away a few months ago, when his hair was still short — too short, he says, to even cut off ceremonially for his uncle’s passing.

When he joined the Army National Guard, in 2020, Brave Heart said, he gave little thought to hair requirements.

“I knew I wanted to go into law enforcement and the military, and at the time thought, well, I can only do that with short hair and that’s how it’s got to be,” he said.

Spec. Moses Brave Heart is permitted to pose in uniform wearing the traditional eagle feather headdress under a religious accommodation granted for his Oglala Sioux heritage.

Screen capture from South Dakota National Guard Facebook.

He spent four years with the North Dakota Army National Guard before transferring to the South Dakota Guard’s 235th Military Police Company in April.

He began to look into a religious waiver after reading about Connor Crawn, an Air Force security forces airmen who received a religious accommodation for his Mohawk Nation heritage.

“I reached out to him,” Brave Heart said. “You know, if the Air Force could do it, why not?”

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He also credits a fellow North Dakota Guardsman, Capt. Nathan Johnson, with helping him push the accommodation through.

“The thing that really pushed me was that I wanted to be in uniform and also express my culture, and long hair is significant in all Native American tribes,” Brave Heart said in a release. “So being in the Army and being told ‘Be All You Can Be,’ well this is a part of me, and Capt. Johnson was really excited and supportive to help me get this.”

When word spread of his accommodation on social media, he said, there was a predictable amount of negative comments, mostly from soldiers from past eras. One voice, though, surprised him.

“I had an uncle that was in the Marines,” Brave Heart said. “He was one of them that kind of gave me some pushback on that. He was like, ya know, ‘you should stay disciplined!’ And he was one of my role models growing up.”

But he has no regrets.

“I just turn it all into noise because I’m being strong in my beliefs and culture,” Brave Heart said.

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South Dakota

Sheridan Lake rescue prompts winter ice safety warning

Published

38 minutes ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Sheridan Lake rescue prompts winter ice safety warning

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – A harrowing scene at Sheridan Lake ended without serious injury Tuesday after a man, a woman and their dog fell through thin ice near the swimming beach, authorities said.

Keep pets on a leash and never attempt a risky rescue if someone falls through the ice, officials said. Call 911 immediately.

The South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks agency advises that ice three inches or less is unsafe. Four inches is generally considered the minimum for walking, ice fishing or skating.

Lt. Casey Kenrick of the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office said the incident is a reminder to take extra precautions this winter.

“Usually at this time the ice is significantly thick on the lakes around the area, well, some aren’t even frozen all the way at this point. The temperatures have been up and down so much that the ice isn’t solid even though it may look like it is, so make sure you know the ice depth that you’re getting onto,” Kenrick said.

Kenrick said those precautions could mean the difference between a close call and a tragedy.

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South Dakota

A day in South Dakota history

Published

13 hours ago

January 8, 2026

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RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – On Jan. 7, 1995, William Janklow began his third of four terms as governor. From statehood until 1972, governors served two-year terms. Voters then approved a constitutional amendment in 1972 allowing governors to serve two consecutive four-year terms.

Janklow served from 1979 to 1987 and again from 1995 to 2003. His 16 years are the longest stint of any governor in South Dakota history

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South Dakota

As South Dakota’s student population shrinks, more choose homeschools

Published

1 day ago

January 7, 2026

Press Room

As South Dakota’s student population shrinks, more choose homeschools

South Dakota’s K-12 population dropped slightly this year, along with public and private school enrollment, but enrollment in alternative instruction grew once again.

That’s according to headcount numbers taken Sept. 26, 2025, and released by the South Dakota Department of Education by Dec. 31.

All totaled, there are 163,053 K-12 students across the state, with 83% of those students attending public schools, 9% enrolled in nonpublic schools and 8% in alternative instruction.

There are 934 fewer K-12 students across the state than last year’s count of 163,987, a 0.5% decrease.

Public school enrollment decreased by 1,736 students statewide. Across 147 public school districts, there were 135,577 K-12 students this fall, down from 137,313 in last year’s fall count, a decrease of slightly more than 1%.

Private school enrollment decreased by 142 students statewide, totaling 15,043 students in nonpublic schools accredited by the SDDOE across the state, down from last year’s count of 15,185, a decrease of 1%.

Nonpublic school enrollment includes 9,462 students in private schools, 5,072 in tribal/BIE schools, 268 in special population schools, 175 in coop/multi-districts, 26 in community-based service providers, 21 in the South Dakota School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, and 19 in alternative schools.

Alternative instruction enrollment increased by 944 students statewide, totaling 12,433 students in alternative instruction or homeschooling this fall, up from 11,489 in last year’s count, an increase of 8%.

In the Sioux Falls metro area, there are 52,325 K-12 students, with 85% attending public schools, 9% enrolled in nonpublic schools and 6% in alternative instruction.

Sioux Falls area public schools

The state’s largest public school district, the Sioux Falls School District, shrunk by 171 students this fall, down from last year’s count of 24,221 K-12 students to this year’s count of 24,050.

Sioux Falls’ neighboring public K-12 school districts saw the following enrollment changes this year:

Harrisburg, the state’s third-largest district, grew by 173 students, from 6,182 last year to 6,355 this year.
Brandon Valley, the state’s fourth-largest district, grew by 82 students, from 5,073 last year to 5,155 this year.
Tea Area grew by five students, from 2,509 last year to 2,514 this year.
West Central shrunk by 32 students, from 1,418 last year to 1,386 this year.
Lennox grew by 14 students, from 1,119 last year to 1,133 this year.
Tri-Valley grew by 41 students, from 952 last year to 993 this year.
Dell Rapids shrunk by 32 students, from 965 last year to 933 this year.
Canton shrunk by 23 students, from 888 last year to 865 this year.
Baltic grew by three students, from 539 last year to 542 this year.
Garretson shrunk by 10 students, from 468 last year to 458 this year.

All totaled, there are 44,384 K-12 students in Sioux Falls area public schools, a growth of 50 students or 0.1% from last fall’s count of 44,334.

Sioux Falls area private schools

Sioux Falls’ three largest private K-12 school systems saw the following enrollment changes this year:

Bishop O’Gorman Catholic Schools, the largest private school system in the state, shrunk by two students, from 2,224 last year to 2,222 this year.
Sioux Falls Christian School shrunk by nine students, from 1,447 last year to 1,438 this year.
Sioux Falls Lutheran School grew by 41 students, from 336 last year to 377 this year.

Other local nonpublic K-12 school enrollments include:

221 students at St. Mary’s School in Dell Rapids;
130 students at Children’s Home Society of South Dakota;
125 at East Dakota Educational Cooperative;
119 at LifeScape;
49 at McCrossan Boys Ranch;
45 at Good Shepherd Lutheran School,
43 at Westside Christian School,
23 at Bethel Lutheran School;
Four at Southeastern;
Three at Baan Dek Montessori;
One at 605 Prep;
One at DakotAbilities.

All totaled, there are 4,801 K-12 students in Sioux Falls area nonpublic schools, a growth of 24 students or 0.5% from last fall’s count of 4,777.

Sioux Falls area alternative instruction

Though it’s the second-largest public school district in the state, Rapid City Area Schools saw the largest number of students opt out of public school and into alternative instruction and homeschooling once again this year, with 1,839 students, followed by the largest district, Sioux Falls, with 1,793 students.

Sioux Falls-area schools had the following alternative instruction enrollment shifts this year:

1,793 in Sioux Falls, an increase of 131 from last year’s count of 1,662;
379 in Harrisburg, an increase of 78 from last year’s count of 301;
350 in Brandon Valley, an increase of 67 from last year’s count of 283;
111 in Tea, a decrease of four from last year’s count of 115;
105 in Lennox, an increase of two from last year’s count of 103;
97 in West Central, an increase of six from last year’s count of 91;
87 in Dell Rapids, an increase of 11 from last year’s count of 76;
79 in Canton, a decrease of two from last year’s count of 81;
73 in Tri-Valley, an increase of seven from last year’s count of 66;
42 in Garretson, an increase of 10 from last year’s count of 32;
24 in Baltic, a decrease of one from last year’s count of 25.

All totaled, there are 3,140 students in alternative instruction in the Sioux Falls metro area, an increase of 305 students or 10.7% from last year’s count of 2,835.

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