South Dakota
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.
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
Dept. of Agriculture and Natural Resources announces $48 million for statewide projects
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – The South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR) has the approval of over $48 million in loans and grants for statewide projects.
Together with the Board of Water and Natural Resources, a total of $36,958,000 in state loans, including $425,000 in principal forgiveness, was authorized for drinking water and wastewater improvements.
More funding was distributed to the following programs:
BDM Rural Water:
- Received an additional $233,450 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to construct a new water treatment plant, install a new water reservoir, install a pipe to expand the water system, and replace water meters
Clay Rural Water:
- Received $334,250 in ARPA grant funds to construct two ground storage reservoirs near the Greenfield reservoir and the Wakonda Water Treatment plant
Mid-Dakota Rural Water System:
- Received $917,357.85 in ARPA grant to update the existing water system
Mitchell:
- Received $3,930,000 in Clean Water State Revolving Funds to upgrade the clay sanitary and storm sewer
Rapid City:
- Received a $14,512,000 Drinking Water State Revolving loan to make improvements to an existing well and also construct two new wells
Shared Resources:
- Received $1,500,000 in ARPA grant funds for a treatment plant, well field, distribution pipeline, and two storage tanks
Sioux Falls:
- Received $7,648,000 to complete a third connection to the Lewis and Clark Regional Water System
- Received $17,746,000 to construct a new Southeast Basin sanitary force main
South Lincoln Rural Water System:
- Received $328,250 in ARPA funds to install an elevated water tank, new pump station, and new water treatment plant
South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources:
- Received $1 million in ARPA funds for its statewide Riparian Buffer Initiative
Toronto:
- Received $770,000 Drinking Water Revolving Loan to accommodate the Department of Transportation installing new storm sewers and highway surfacing
These programs are funded through a combination of federal appropriations, loan repayments, and bonds.
The board approved the funding during a January 8 meeting in Pierre.
Copyright 2026 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.
The South Dakota Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Jan. 8, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Jan. 8 drawing
05-12-13-39-48, Lucky Ball: 13
Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize
- Prizes of $100 or less: Can be claimed at any South Dakota Lottery retailer.
- Prizes of $101 or more: Must be claimed from the Lottery. By mail, send a claim form and a signed winning ticket to the Lottery at 711 E. Wells Avenue, Pierre, SD 57501.
- Any jackpot-winning ticket for Dakota Cash or Lotto America, top prize-winning ticket for Lucky for Life, or for the second prizes for Powerball and Mega Millions must be presented in person at a Lottery office. A jackpot-winning Powerball or Mega Millions ticket must be presented in person at the Lottery office in Pierre.
When are the South Dakota Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Lucky for Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
- Lotto America: 9:15 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Dakota Cash: 9 p.m. CT on Wednesday and Saturday.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a South Dakota editor. You can send feedback using this form.
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.
See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.
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Copyright 2026 KOTA. All rights reserved.
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