A hotel banned Native Americans. The Sioux hit back with a trespassing order.

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/03/30/south-dakota-hotel-native-americans/

No paywall
https://archive.ph/KLCoc


On March 20, one day after a young Native American man was shot at a Rapid City, S.D., hotel, the owner posted on Facebook that she was implementing a new guest policy.

“We will no long[er] allow any Native American on property,” wrote Connie Uhre, owner of the Grand Gateway Hotel, according to a screenshot of the post.

The social media post set off a firestorm in Rapid City, South Dakota’s second most populated city, where about 10 percent of residents are of Native descent. A nonprofit group that defends the rights of Native Americans has filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the hotel and Uhre, alleging racial discrimination, and Sioux tribal leaders have served the hotel with a trespassing order, saying the Grand Gateway is on Native land, in violation of an 1868 treaty.

“Some of our people were shocked and upset after seeing that” social media post, Harold Frazier, chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, told The Washington Post. “Some of our people were like, ‘We always go through this,’ but to really see it in writing, it caused a lot of anger.”

“Gateway Hotel is in our treaty land,” he added. “… By treaty and by law, we still own that land.”

*snip*

[Coventina]

1. Well played!!!

[Budi]

2. Welcome to the Sioux Hotel, now under new managment.

Power to the 1st People.
👍🍃

[Brother Buzz]

9. Soon come

Grand Gateway Hotel of Rapid City is temporarily closed, but a little birdie told me the Sioux Nation is inside measuring curtains.

[calimary]

26. That would be cool!

It’s on THEIR land? Why not? They could rehire everybody involved and then all would benefit.

Or maybe I’m just being naive with my wishful thinking…

[SergeStorms]

43. No republicans allowed.

Unless they pay quadruple prices for the honor of staying at the Lakota Hotel.

Republicans are so damned messy, and they carry diseases.

[Totally Tunsie]

64. Not to mention bedbugs.

[Maraya1969]

44. Looks like the original one is already closed. At least temporarily - for now.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Gateway+Hotel+Rapid+City%2C+S.D&rlz=1C1ZKTG_enUS904US904&oq=Gateway+Hotel++Rapid+City%2C+S.D&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i22i30.11480j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

[Budi]

45. That was fast!

Grand Gateway Hotel of Rapid City
☆3-star hotel

Temporarily closed

[Demovictory9]

3. Excellent

[Chainfire]

4. Tell them to go and take their hotel with them. ;)

[Farmer-Rick]

5. So the owner barred all Native Americans

From her hotel because some people who happened to be Native American did something wrong. So how often have white people done something wrong in her hotel? There are probably hundreds of white people who have staid there and did damage or something else wrong. But she never ever considered barring all white people.

Racist can't help being god awful racists. And they don't even notice it when they do it.

I wonder if that treaty would stand up in Court?

[luvtheGWN]

6. I wonder if that treaty would stand up in Court?

It should, but sadly it won't. Just about every treaty made with native Americans in the past 200 years has been broken, so imagine the precedent this would set. The courts wouldn't have time to deal with the thousands upon thousands of suits.

And Canada's record isn't much better, although we are trying to make amends through the Truth and Reconciliation Committee.

You make such a good point about white folks misbehaving in her Hotel. Gee, I can't imagine that that hasn't happened...many times over.

[ShazzieB]

21. Treaty, schmeaty.

Nobody knows better than our Native American friends that those treaties weren't worth the paper they were printed on. I suspect the Sioux Nation is just using the treaty to make a point and generate unfavorable publicity for the hotel and favorable publicity for the discrimination lawsuit.

The Sioux know good and well they're going to win that lawsuit, treaty or no treaty. A private business refusing to provide service to people of a particular race isn't going to fly in ANY court. That's just plain illegal, and how those hotel owners thought they could get away with it is beyond me.

Meanwhile, if the Sioux can generate enough bad publicity, that hotel may end up crawling to the Sioux Nation on their hands and knees, offering a nice fat out of court settlement to make this go away.

The Sioux know exactly what they're doing, and I applaud them for it.

[paleotn]

40. Doesn't matter.

It's a gross violation of Title II of the Civil Rights Act.

[Maraya1969]

46. Maybe it might. This country has changed a lot in the last many years. What would happen to a

judge that denied the treaty? Their face and name would be plastered all over the internet.

I think Native Americans should start taking their country back one little piece of land at a time.

[efhmc]

56. Wrote this on Twitter about the ban.

"Unbelievable. Wonder how many "white" hotels would still be open if they banned all whites because of the crimes that other whites committed there."

[soldierant]

30. This OP doesn't have (doesn't claim to have) the whole story,

but just on what's here, I fail to ee how getting shot constitutes "doing something wrong". Sounds more to me like blame the vidtim.

[muriel_volestrangler]

34. The man arrested for the shooting appears to be Native American too

Officers arrested Quincy Bear Robe, 19, for aggravated assault and commission of a felony with a firearm following witness interviews. Additional charges may be pending.

https://archive.ph/QxrKI

And the hotel owner, who really is a piece of work, described it as "Natives killing Natives" on social media - though the victim still appears to be alive.

[Farmer-Rick]

51. Thanks for clarifying that

So a Native American happen to be both a victim and the perpetrator.

The owner is still a racist. Don't white people kill each other daily in the US? Just about every mass school shooting is white on white crime.

During that Charlottesville Nazi march and parade that TFG praised only one white person died. White on white crime seems to be OK even by white supremacists?

[soldierant]

62. Thanks. That figures. I hope thetrespassing suit goes well for the tribe.

[Farmer-Rick]

50. Yeah, seems to me it's not clear

What actually happened is not clear but the owner obviously thinks some Native American did something wrong. I didn't know what would describe it accurately. So a vague statement was better than hanging my hat on facts that weren't clear. It maybe they were the victim. I can't tell from the article.

But in the end the owner is a racist and what she is doing is illegal.

[cntrfthrs]

39. see Herrera vs state of wyoming.

a Crow tribal member in montana strayed into wyoming elk hunting. After getting his elk, he was charged with poaching by wyoming game & fish. he took his case to the supreme court who ruled although the reservation was diminished, tribal treaty rights were not which meant treaty rights are just as valid as the constitution and are not abrogated.

[IronLionZion]

7. Maybe they should ban people who look like mass shooters

or racists, white supremacists, Nazis, or insurrectionists.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

33. Too logical.

Not enough white supremacy.

[SallyHemmings]

38. They would be thrown a party and invite Fox News

[packman]

8. Bravo, my brothers

[frogmarch]

10. Sioux, or Lakota?

from blackhillsvisitor.com:

Many Lakota people today prefer to be called Lakota instead of Sioux, as Sioux was a disrespectful name given to them by their enemies.

That aside, Connie Uhre should be ashamed of herself, and I hope her hotel goes bust.

[wnylib]

20. Yes, Sioux is derogatory. It means "snakes"

in the language of their old enemies, the Ojibway.

The Sioux term has been used by non Natives to refer to culturally and linguistically related groups of Native people. So Sioux does not automatically mean Lakota. Two other related groups are Dakota and Nakota.

[ShazzieB]

27. All true, but the term "Sioux" seems to be here to stay as an umbrella term.

From Wikipedia:

The Great Sioux Nation is the traditional political structure of the Sioux in North America. The peoples who speak the Sioux language are considered to be members of the Oceti Sakowin (Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, pronounced [oˈtʃʰetʰi ʃaˈkowĩ]) or Seven Council Fires. The seven-member communities are sometimes grouped into three regional/dialect sub-groups (Lakota, Western Dakota, and Eastern Dakota), but these mid-level identities are not politically institutionalized. The seven communities are all individual members of the historic confederacy. In contemporary culture, the designation is primarily a linguistic, cultural, and for some, political grouping.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Sioux_Nation

If you're just talking about the Lakota, it is indeed proper to use that term. However, this discrimination lawsuit is being brought against the owners of the Grand Gateway Hotel by the Great Sioux Nation, which includes and represents not just the Lakota, but all of the communities listed above: https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/grand-sioux-nation-issues-notice-of-trespass-against-owner-of-hotel-that-banned-native-americans

[geardaddy]

59. Anishinaabe is the preferred term for Ojibwe, I think

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anishinaabe

[wnylib]

61. Nearly all Native Americans have a preferred name

that they use for themselves instead of the ones used by non Natives.

The Iroquois, for example, prefer their own name, Haudenosaunee.

And yet, the non Native names persist.

EDIT TO add:
If you go to the Seneca territory at Salamanca, NY, you will see a large water tower with the words "Seneca Nation of Indians" printed on it. Their website says "SNI" for "Seneca Nation of Indians." Their bingo hall is called "Seneca Bingo." They refer to their Salamanca casino as a Seneca gaming institution.

But their name for themselves is Onondowaga (People of the Great Hills).

Anyway, the point of my earlier post is that, even if Sioux was a correct name, it is not correct to assume that all people called Sioux are Lakota. The name, however incorrect, includes Dakota and Nakota, too, not only Lakota.

[geardaddy]

63. You are correct on your earlier post

that not all [Sioux] are Lakota. In Minnesota, they are the Dakota.

[AverageOldGuy]

37. The last person who messed with the Lakota . . .

. . . was named Custer and he messed with them in June 1876.

[geardaddy]

58. Thank you

If they're in South Dakota they're Lakota.

Here in Minnesota they are Dakota.

[Sylvarose]

11. This is why we need immigration reform...

...so people like the Uhres don't take land and rights from real Americans.

(*Wanna bet Connie Uhre's heard and believed similar talking points...just didn't think it applied to her?*)

[The Jungle 1]

12. Give them a date to leave.

The next day, burn it to the ground!

[The Jungle 1]

13. This one is great. Watch and smile.

&t=24s&ab_channel=RebelHQ

[Joinfortmill]

16. Maybe go find some real crooks.

[Duncan Grant]

18. Nick Tilsen's last words to them? Hah!

Thanks for sharing, that was great.

[efhmc]

42. Read any of Hillerman's book and you would know this.

I am sure other books reference this fact but that is the one I am familiar with.

[The Jungle 1]

49. I have never read any of his work.

I looked into his books and they do look real interesting. Which book are you referencing?
I have three books lined up now so he will be on the list. Presently I am reading The Farmer's Lawyer. Which has sucked me in.

[efhmc]

57. I would start with the first in the series.

https://mysterysequels.com/tony-hillerman-books-in-order His daughter has continued the series but sadly not as effective.

[panader0]

60. Tony Hillerman is definitely good reading. I've read almost all of them.

[BumRushDaShow]

53. Wow. I was wondering where Shuster landed

I didn't even recognize him. Some might recall his history - https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2010/04/msnbcs_shuster_suspended_by_ne.html

Aside from that, am glad that Native American group invoked its rights because the "just comply" mantra becomes ludicrous when it is continually expected to only apply to certain demographics.

[Trueblue1968]

14. the INDIAN NATION should sue the hotel for discrimination. they can't ban Indian Citizens !!!!!

[ShazzieB]

29. They are doing exactly that.

It's in the o.p., but kinda buried:

The social media post set off a firestorm in Rapid City, South Dakota’s second most populated city, where about 10 percent of residents are of Native descent. A nonprofit group that defends the rights of Native Americans has filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the hotel and Uhre, alleging racial discrimination, and Sioux tribal leaders have served the hotel with a trespassing order, saying the Grand Gateway is on Native land, in violation of an 1868 treaty.

There's no way they won't win the suit, because a private business denying service to members of a particular race is flat out illegal.

[Joinfortmill]

15. I hope Native Americans win back tons of U.S. dollars owed as rent on their land.

[The Jungle 1]

52. Interesting events

Native Americans are buying their land back. They open casinos make money and buy the land.
Now that will make you smile.

[txwhitedove]

17. Connie, there are more of your fellow Americans with NA/indigenous blood

than you know, and we're all pissed at you and your stinky hotel. It's 2022, why haven't we grown? I was about 13 when told of my Cherokee blood, that I could join a tribe if I wished, but DON'T TALK ABOUT IT not even to grandma. Whoa! That was early 1960's.

[onetexan]

19. Kudos to the Sioux council. Kick the racists off tribal land.

[wnylib]

22. Reminds me of a Lone Ranger joke

that I heard years ago.

Tonto and the Lone Ranger are riding alone through Native country when a band of Natives comes upon them and surrounds them. The Lone Ranger looks at Tonto and says, "Well my friend, looks like the end for us."

Tonto looks at the warriors who are angry about the tresspassing and says, "What do you mean 'us,' white man?"

[lillypaddle]

23. Shit like this gives me a headache

WTF is wrong with people????

[LakeArenal]

24. Is there genetic testing at the door?

Or is it just folks who “look” Native American. Or with names like Whitefeather…

[turbinetree]

25. Maybe the Očhethi akowiŋ Oyte should ask everyone living in the state to leave

after all it is Očhethi Šakowiŋ Oyáte land ..... and all of the intruders can leave along with your Manifest Destiny BS ...... starting at the Gateway Hotel....maybe someone should send her and her bunch a copy of the treaty....or better yet send her and her bunch a treaty of 1851....


https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/sioux-treaty

https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/horse-creek-treaty.htm

[Hekate]

28. Someone better get her own lawyer. This is incredibly, jawdroppingly, stupid.

“Gateway Hotel is in our treaty land,” he added. “… By treaty and by law, we still own that land.”

[trof]

31. 1. Open mess kit.

2. Defecate in same.

[BidenRocks]

32. I have been many places in my life.

Since retirement and Covid, I am stuck in So. Cal.
Now I want to visit the parts of America I missed.
I need a "Green Book" so I don't end up in this type of brothel.
I made Alaska and Hawaii. Never the Dakotas or Montana.
If I end up in a GOQP bar I could end up dead.
God Bless America! Yeah, right!
I support the cause!

[drmeow]

35. I hope this financially bankrupts

the already morally bankrupt Uhres

[AverageOldGuy]

36. Someone needs to remind the Gateway Hotel . . .

. . . about the Lakota Sioux, a guy named Custer, and the Battle of the Greasy Grass.

[paleotn]

41. Violation of Title II of the Civil Rights Act.

[niyad]

47. Guards armed with f'n assault rifles? WTAF?????

[niyad]

48. One wonders why someone who hates the Indigenous peoples of SD would open a hotel

there.

[malthaussen]

54. My immediate thought: to rub their noses in it.

Build your piece of trash right on their treaty land, preferably close to or on a sacred site, so every day they can see they are subjugated. Maybe I just think too poorly of my fellow humans.

At any rate, it would seem this time the plan blew up in their face, if that was it.

-- Mal

[niyad]

55. I think you are quite correct.