Brandon Ecoffey: Native voters face a simple choice in Rapid City

Two men are running for mayor. One's platform contains the model way of incorporating minority populations into city government, while the other would have fit in with the Ferguson, Missouri police department.

Mayor Sam Kooiker is the former. He moved to Rapid City from Iowa and has embraced the Native community by taking a strong stance against racial discrimination, as well as discrimination against those suffering from physical and mental handicaps. During his time in office he has made a number of political gestures toward the Native community that have resulted in real public policy changes. These changes include the establishment of a polling place smack dab in the middle of the most densely populated Native American neighborhood in the city and the creation of a civil rights commission that has the legal authority to enforce the city’s antidiscrimination laws. Kooiker has also consistently tapped Native people to fill empty seats on city boards.

Conversely, Steve Allender’s reign as a city official is not so flattering, and the current divide between police and the Native community can be placed directly on his shoulders. During Allender’s time as an administrator in the Rapid City Police Department the number of Native officers has declined to the low single digits despite serving a population that is nearly 30 percent Native. Allender has admittedly taken part in a police culture that has made a mockery of race issues, a culture that continues to exist despite his departure from the police force. According to former RCPD officer Glen Yellow Robe, Allender consistently took part in an environment within the RCPD that promoted bigotry and racism. Yellow Robe had recorded Allender making racist jokes while on the job but when Allender found out about the recording he erased it in a fit of rage. Shortly after the incident Yellow Robe was let go from the force. In statements made as part of a lawsuit against the RCPD, Allender is quoted as saying one of his favorite jokes is, “Black is beautiful, brown is grand, but white's the color of the big boss man." According to Yellow Robe, Allender regularly asked the Native officers if they were consuming canine for lunch—a jab at one of the most sacred ceremonies in Lakota culture.