One Year Anniversary of the Petition in Support of the 57 Children from the American Horse School

One year ago, adult fans at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center (RPCC) in Rapid City South Dakota, shouted racial slurs and poured beer on children from the American Horse School, which is a part of the Lakota nation. In response, the petition was developed and has been signed by over 1300 supporters. The creators and supporters of the petition have contacted the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center, the Rapid City Journal, and KOTA-TV, informed them of the petition, and asked for a response. More specifically, as stated in our petition, we asked: (1) That Craig Baltzer, the Executive Director of the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center (RPCC) and other officials of the RPCC identify and prosecute the persons who committed this hate crime against children. (2) That the Rapid City Journal, which engaged in victim blaming in reporting this event, move beyond a lukewarm apology and meet with the children and their parents to discuss concrete restitution. (3) That KOTA-TV issue an official apology to the children and their parents for minimizing the impact of this racist event by euphemistically referring to this hate crime as “bad behavior.” (4) That the RPCC inform the public, as well as the parents of the children assaulted during the January 24th event, of the concrete policies implemented to ensure that future RPCC patrons will not be subjected to hate crimes. A representative from RPCC, who is an assistant to Craig Baltzer informed us that the actions that have been taken since the incident include putting spotters in place at all games in order to monitor potentially problematic behavior. Also, the RPCC initiated a family section that does not serve alcohol. The assistant to Mr. Baltzer also indicated that the owner of the suite has offered to pay (transportation, tickets, and food) for the students to come back. The assistant did not indicate that officials or suite owners at RPCC facilitated the identification of the persons that committed the crime, which was a main demand of our petition. News reports indicate that Trace O’Connell of Philip, South Dakota, was initially charged with disorderly conduct, but was later found not guilty. Hence RPCC has not acted upon or facilitated the main request of our petition. A representative from the Rapid City Journal informed us that the judiciary system decided that the incident that occurred did not meet the standard of a hate crime. Though there was individual sentiment “that positive change is on the horizon,” this representative did not indicate that the Rapid City Journal has offered concrete restitution. Hence the Rapid City Journal has not acted upon or facilitated a main request of our petition. A representative from KOTA-TV informed us that the only charge that came out of the incident was a charge of disorderly conduct, that the person charged was found not guilty, and that the incident people claimed was a “hate crime” did not legally fit the criteria; hence the reference to “bad behavior”. KOTA-TV has not issued an official apology to the children and their parents. In their series of responses, the KOTA-TV representative also placed the burden of proof for the hate crime allegation on the shoulders of the children as opposed to listening to the adults. KOTA-TV reiterated the assessment that the incident was “bad behavior”. Hence KOTA-TV has not acted upon or facilitated a main request of our petition. One year after this event that inspired this petition, the only change that has been made at RPCC are the spotters that are in place at all games in order to monitor potentially problematic behavior and the family section that does not serve alcohol. Though RPCC is aware of the Suite that was involved in the incident, no one has been charged with the crime that was committed, the Rapid City Journal has made no offers of restitution, and KOTA-TV has not only failed to issue an apology, but reiterates that what occurred was mere “bad behavior” instead of a hate crime against children. KOTA-TV also chooses not to trust the allegations described by the adults due to the silence of minors. This is a significant departure from the typical social norm of protecting minors from full responsibility prior to the age of majority. We have every indication that had the parents involved in this incident been middle- or upper-class and European American, their allegations would have been accepted as credible. By denying the validity of the parents’ claims, KOTA-TV has added insult to the original of injury that prompted this petition. The children and parents from the American Horse School who were the targets of hate crime have transcended the dynamics of hate enabled by RPCC, the Rapid City Journal, and KOTA-TV. However, the children and parents have done so despite support from RPCC, the Rapid City Journal, and KOTA-TV. Please join us in condemning this lack of support and reiterating the demands of this petition.