Native Sun News also covers local issues on Pine Ridge, Rosebud and the other reservations, issues that often need to be covered by an experienced investigative reporter. But other than that, we believe that LCT and NSN are both important newspapers for the residents of Pine Ridge.

 

One of the efforts made by NSN to bring an end to racism in South Dakota happened last week when Governor Mike Rounds proclaimed 2010 as the Year of Unity. It took a six-month effort by a committee organized by the publisher of Native Sun News to get the job done. This is a legitimate news story LCT refused to publish even though they had a representative at the announcement in Pierre. Instead they chose to print a fabricated story.

 

For reasons still unknown to us, LCT chose to ignore the good people who brought the Year of Unity to fruition and decided to push a man named Lynn Hart into the limelight. We would like to inform LCT and our readers that Mr. Hart had absolutely nothing to with the Year of Unity. Hart showed up in Pierre when the governor was making his proclamation speech, squeezed himself into a photo with the governor and suddenly considered himself as the initiator of the event. It is not true. Hart never attended any of the meeting held by the Unity Committee leading up to the actual proclamation.  He has never been involved in the preparation or implementation of the Unity proclamation. The Lakota Country Times then shamelessly inserted a photo of Hart in their newspaper standing with the governor in a blatant effort to lend credence to their obvious deception.

 

However, in last week’s issue of Native Sun News, an article written by the governor himself, he identified Mr. Giago as the leader of the committee that eventually brought the idea of a Year of Unity to his attention. Nowhere in his article did he mention Lynn Hart. Mr. Hart did the same thing in 1990 when he attempted to claim credit for the Year of Reconciliation. Again, he had nothing to do with it.

 

We do not really care who gets credit for the Year of Unity, but we do care when credit is given where credit is not due. There were many people responsible for pushing the governor to make the proclamation. There was the leader of the committee, Tim Giago, Linda Rabe of the Rapid City Chamber of Commerce, Gerard Baker, the Superintendent of Mount Rushmore Memorial, Daphne Richards Cook, the leader of the Powwow Gardens planned for Rapid City, Randy Ross, a well-known Lakota advocate, Dan Tribby, manager of the Prairie Edge Co., Michelle Lintz, director of the Rapid City Visitor and Convention Center, Bryan Brewer, founder of the Lakota Nation Invitational, Lynn Rapp, an investment money manager, and last, but not least, Roger Campbell, the tribal liaison between the governor’s office and the nine tribes in South Dakota.

 

We encourage the editor of the Lakota Country Times to join us in the effort to stop racism in South Dakota instead of taking pot shots at us with every opportunity. We continue to believe that LCT is a good community newspaper, but its editor has a lot to learn about professional journalism ethics.

 

The newspaper readers on Pine Ridge know truth from fiction and we have received many, many phone calls and emails asking us why the editor of the Lakota Country Times is so venomous towards us and asking us why we do not respond to her hatred. Well, we suggest that you ask her instead because we do not know the answer to that question.

 

Now it is time to stop the pettiness and get on with the real and important issue of bringing all of Pine Ridge together in a show of unity. To Connie Smith we would say, let’s report on the real issues effecting Pine Ridge and set aside the petty and childish attacks on our newspaper.  Native Sun News is bringing about change for the good for all Native Americans and we suggest LCT try to do likewise.

 

This is our last editorial on this subject.