Native Sun News Today Correspondent
RAPID CITY – The Native American Day Parade in Rapid City was filled with culture, traditions, color, and important social messages, including honoring murdered and missing indigenous women. The Parade celebrated its 5th anniversary thanks to Bruce Long Fox and Bobbi Jo Jarvinen. The came up with the idea of the parade 5 years ago.
On Saturday, hundreds of children and families lined the streets of downtown for the fourth annual Native American Day Parade. The parade is sponsored by several businesses and organizations in Rapid City and is organized by Rural America Initiatives.
Embedded in the floats were messages of hope and survival; messages designed to bring people together for a common purpose and for a sense of unity. Amongst those messages was the honoring of murdered and missing indigenous women, men, and children.
Rural America Initiatives and the Ateyapi Program had several vans decorated for the parade. Students and staff of the program collaborated in creating the van’s design and message. Makoce Bear Runner, 24, is a Tier 1 Mentor for Ateyapi and worked with students to decorate a van honoring missing and murdered indigenous women. The van had the names of persons missing or murdered on red paper dresses taped to the van.
Bear Runner is a mentor at Rapid City High School. In this position, she is able to work with eight students and help guide them through their high school experience. One of her students is Kaden Klatt, 17. Together, along with other students, Bear Runner and Klatt chose to honor this growing segment of Native American populations which are missing or murdered. This float was inspired by the movement which is highlighting the need for justice, information, and calls for ending violence to women, men, and children.
When asked about the parade, Bear Runner replied, “I thought it was really good. I was noticing a couple of them (floats) and how they have meaning. I thought it was really awesome, the people’s decorations.”
NATIVE SUN NEWS TODAY
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