Native Americans in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Photo from Sioux Falls Native American Community / Facebook

Race relations in Rapid City, South Dakota, frequently make the news but life in the state's largest metropolitan area poses similar challenges for Native youth.

The Sioux Falls Argus Leader hosted a roundtable with Native youth ages 15 to 19. They shared similar encounters with racism, discrimination and stereotypes.

“I feel we are different from Caucasians and get treated different all the time. Like I have people shoot me dirty looks all the time. I’m at work and they don’t, like, want to touch me," 17-year-old high school student Bryce Redwing, who works as a cashier in a grocery story, told the paper. "It’s weird."

The youth expressed pride in their tribal heritages and some said they were bothered by the way their cultures are treated by some of their peers. They are often at the target of jokes based on their race.

"I have multiple friends that are white, and they don’t honor my culture as I do," Mackenzie Lee, 17, told the paper.

American Indians and Native Americans represent 2.7 percent of the population in Sioux Falls, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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