Native Sun News Today: New panhandling law called racist toward Indian people
Tuesday, March 19, 2019
Potential ‘racist law’ to target homeless in Rapid City
Panhandlers object of new law
By Richie Richards
Native Sun News Today Correspondent nativesunnews.today
RAPID CITY – Although not clearly written in black and white, a seemingly racially-biased, anti-panhandling ordinance in Rapid City will soon go into effect.
During the City Council Meeting on Monday, February 4, 2019, Ordinance No. 6303 was unanimously approved by the members. The ordinance targets “aggressive panhandlers” and could place them under arrest for panhandling in downtown Rapid City.
This ordinance repealed Section 9.08.020 of the Rapid City Municipal Code and enacted and amended provisions the City felt that certain behaviors put public safety at risk.
Largely, a major portion of the panhandlers in the downtown area happen to be tribal members from surrounding tribes. These men and women are often addicted to alcohol and openly use in public. This problem of addiction is an underlying factor in the overall problem of panhandling in downtown Rapid City, but not in all cases and not all panhandlers are dangerous and/or aggressive.
Many in the community feel Ordinance 6303 unfairly targets Native Americans panhandling in Rapid City and attended both the initial and second reading of the ordinance during the last two City Council meetings. The pleas against the ordinance unfortunately fell on deaf ears; city council members had denied this ordinance was based on race. Despite the City’s denial, citizens on both sides of the issue voiced their concerns at the City Council meeting earlier this month.
Rapid City Council Meeting: March 4, 2019
Up first at the podium during the meeting was Tusweca Mendoza. “I am against this because I feel that is de-humanizing… With this, I don’t want to cause anymore suffering to the people who are going through suffering at the moment,” he said. Mr. Mendoza talked about the hardships of the financial burden of the possibility of being put into the judicial system. This endless revolving door of homeless persons entering into the Pennington County Courts has been at the heart of many discussions over the years.
Also speaking against the ordinance was Karissa Loewen of One Rapid City, a local organization who has been working diligently on social issues which affect impoverished tribal members. Loewen had requested information from her City Council representative on the ordinance that was being repealed. This ordinance was referred to as the “aggressive solicitation” ordinance.
“We’ve been told by the council at the last meeting that this ordinance is not intended to target any particular racial group. However, there is an implementation and enforcement question. Who is going to be affected by this ordinance?” Loewen said. She felt it was necessary to identify who has been most affected by this past ordinance. “Even if it doesn’t say in this ordinance that this is directed at Native people, the actions speak greater than the words.”
Loewen said it was implied that people who could not afford to pay a fine would not be given a fine, but that was not written into the ordinance. “Also, I don’t know how jail time is going to solve the behavioral issue,” she said. Loewen asked the Council about how the ordinance would solve the problems of the downtown business owners and employees who are being affected most.
Ramona Running Shield, also of One Rapid City, spoke during the meeting as well. She talked about the recent efforts of the Rapid City Police Department to recognize and address the historical trauma of many of the Native American citizens living in Rapid City. This includes the homeless and addicted in the downtown area.
“I think that this ordinance should have been discussed with us, the Native community, instead of bringing it to the Council if the true meaning of healing is the goal of this grant that you brought to this community,” said Running Shield. “It’s really disappointing that you came to the Council to ask for our most needful people… You’re more concerned for the tourist than you are for our people.”
Cante Heart of MMIW He Sapa spoke to the city council as well. She is an Emerging Leader of Collective Impact and heavily involved in the Native American community in Rapid City.
“I am just here to speak for those people who are unable to speak for themselves. I want you to know that indigenous people on these streets are not homeless people. They are houseless people. These are their homelands. I believe this ordinance and how you’re going about it, is not the way to end homelessness. These are people in crisis and I think they need resources. They need help,” said Heart. “They do not need jail time.”
Natalie Stites-Means, JD, was fearless in her statement to the City Council. “I call this this ordinance out for what I feel that it is, which is blatantly racist against Native Americans who are 70 percent of the homeless population here in the city… I want to lay out, it’s not racist, and then what is it? Well, it’s short-sighted. The panhandling ordinances are being struck down all over the country because it infringes on people’s constitutional right free speech rights,” said Stites-Means.
Stites-Means went on to say money is a form of free speech as well. How a person attains and uses there money is a freedom. “This is not an issue of panhandlers and tourism. This is attacking symptoms of the social issues that Rapid City faces. I took a look at your comprehensive plan, the Rapid City 2020… I don’t see incarcerating every panhandler as part of the plan. The people are suffering. They are the most victimized people in the city. They are victims of crime repeatedly. This is anti-crime victim. This is anti-science and anti-data. This goes against all the literature we know of, of trauma informed responses,” she said.
