{"id":22604,"date":"2022-03-30T20:55:01","date_gmt":"2022-03-31T00:55:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=22604"},"modified":"2022-03-30T20:55:02","modified_gmt":"2022-03-31T00:55:02","slug":"federal-investigation-sought-into-ban-of-native-people-at-hotel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/03\/30\/federal-investigation-sought-into-ban-of-native-people-at-hotel\/","title":{"rendered":"Federal investigation sought into ban of Native people at hotel"},"content":{"rendered":" <a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/03\/28\/indians-allowed-sioux-nation-rallies-against-racism-and-discrimination\/badndngoodndn\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-22553\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"2038\" data-attachment-id=\"22553\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/03\/28\/indians-allowed-sioux-nation-rallies-against-racism-and-discrimination\/badndngoodndn\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/29\/BadNDNGoodNDN-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,2038\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;4.5&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;ILCE-7M3&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1648329979&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;114&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0025&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"&amp;#8216;Indians Allowed&amp;#8217;\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;Indians Allowed in Rapid City, South Dakota&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;&amp;#8220;Good NDN&amp;#8221; and &amp;#8220;Bad NDN&amp;#8221; t-shirts at the &amp;#8220;Indians Allowed&amp;#8221; rally and march took in Rapid City, South Dakota, on March 26, 2022. Photo by &lt;A href=&quot;https:\/\/twitter.com\/Kevin_Abourezk&quot;&gt;Kevin Abourezk&lt;\/A&gt; &lt;A href=&quot;https:\/\/twitter.com\/Kevin_Abourezk&quot;&gt;&lt;I aria-hidden=true class=&quot;fab fa-twitter&quot;&gt;&lt;\/I&gt;&lt;\/A&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/29\/BadNDNGoodNDN-1024x815.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/29\/BadNDNGoodNDN-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"&#039;Indians Allowed&#039;\"  class=\"size-full wp-image-22553\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">&#8220;Good NDN&#8221; and &#8220;Bad NDN&#8221;  t-shirts are seen  at the &#8220;Indians Allowed&#8221; rally and march   in Rapid City, South Dakota, on March 26, 2022. Photo by <A href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Kevin_Abourezk\">Kevin Abourezk<\/A> <A href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Kevin_Abourezk\"><I aria-hidden=true class=\"fab fa-twitter\"><\/I><\/A><\/figcaption>\r\n<div class=\"h3-responsive font-weight-bold\">Federal investigation sought into ban of Native people at hotel<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"date\">Wednesday, March 30, 2022<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"byline\">By <A href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Kevin_Abourezk\">Kevin Abourezk<\/A> <A href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Kevin_Abourezk\"><I aria-hidden=true class=\"fab fa-twitter\"><\/I><\/A><\/div>\r\n<div class=\"source\">Indianz.Com<\/div>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nA Sioux Nation tribal leader is calling on <a href=https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/ag>U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland<\/a> to investigate a  hotel owner\u2019s decision to ban all Natives from her business.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nOn March 20, Connie Uhre, who owns The Grand Gateway Hotel in Rapid City, South Dakota, posted on Facebook: \u201cWe will no longer allow any Native American on property.\u201d She cited a shooting   involving two young Lakota men at the business as the reason for her controversial decision.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nThis week, Chairwoman Janet Alkire of the <a href=https:\/\/www.standingrock.org\/>Standing Rock Sioux Tribe<\/a> submitted a letter to the Department of Justice, alleging Uhre\u2019s actions violate the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which she said prohibits discrimination in public accommodations.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n <a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/03\/30\/federal-investigation-sought-into-ban-of-native-people-at-hotel\/janetalkire\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-22608\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1445\" data-attachment-id=\"22608\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/03\/30\/federal-investigation-sought-into-ban-of-native-people-at-hotel\/janetalkire\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/31\/JanetAlkire-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1445\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Janet Alkire\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;Janet Alkire&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Janet Alkire serves as chair of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, an Indian nation with homelands in North Dakota and South Dakota. Photo courtesy Standing Rock Sioux Tribe&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/31\/JanetAlkire-1024x578.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/31\/JanetAlkire-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Janet Alkire\"   class=\"size-full wp-image-22608\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"figure-caption\"> Janet Alkire serves as chair of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, an Indian nation with homelands in North Dakota and South Dakota. Photo courtesy Standing Rock Sioux Tribe<\/figcaption>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cThe Department of Justice has the responsibility to enforce the Civil Rights Act prohibition against denial of access to public accommodations based upon race,\u201d Alkire said.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nAlkire also sent a letter to fellow Great Plains tribal leaders encouraging solidarity.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cThis type of discriminatory behavior cannot be tolerated, and will not be tolerated,\u201d she wrote. \u201cAllowing this type of discrimination to occur without repercussion will undeniably set a precedent for other business owners to follow suit, and ultimately cause civil unrest.\u201d\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nNearly 1,000 Natives and others marched Saturday in Rapid City, to protest Uhre\u2019s actions. They carried signs that read \u201cIndians Allowed\u201d and \u201cLand Back\u201d and wore T-shirts that read \u201cGood NDN\u201d and \u201cBad NDN.\u201d\r\n<p><\/p><div class=\"mt-1 mb-1\"><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block; text-align:center;\" data-ad-layout=\"in-article\" data-ad-format=\"fluid\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-8411603009680747\" data-ad-slot=\"6394965691\"><\/ins><script>(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/script><\/div><P><\/P>\r\nEarlier Saturday, tribal leaders from North Dakota and South Dakota gathered at a downtown convention center to discuss possible responses to Uhre\u2019s actions and later issued a list of actions they are considering to address racism in Rapid City.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nThose actions include: boycotting the Grand Gateway Hotel and its subsidiaries, moving the Lakota Nation Invitational basketball tournament to another location, moving the Black Hills Powwow and filing hate crime charges against the hotel\u2019s owners.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nLast week, the Native nonprofit <a href=https:\/\/ndncollective.org\/>NDN Collective<\/a> filed a federal civil rights class-action lawsuit in the western division of South Dakota\u2019s U.S. District Court against the Grand Gateway Hotel\u2019s owners.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n <a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/03\/28\/indians-allowed-sioux-nation-rallies-against-racism-and-discrimination\/indiansallowed2\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-22547\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1510\" data-attachment-id=\"22547\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/03\/28\/indians-allowed-sioux-nation-rallies-against-racism-and-discrimination\/indiansallowed2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/29\/IndiansAllowed2-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1510\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;4.5&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;ILCE-7M3&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1648332433&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;33&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.005&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"&amp;#8216;Indians Allowed&amp;#8217;\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;Indians Allowed in Rapid City, South Dakota&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Nearly 1,000 people turned out for the &amp;#8220;Indians Allowed&amp;#8221; rally and march in Rapid City, South Dakota, on March 26, 2022. Photo by &lt;A href=&quot;https:\/\/twitter.com\/Kevin_Abourezk&quot;&gt;Kevin Abourezk&lt;\/A&gt; &lt;A href=&quot;https:\/\/twitter.com\/Kevin_Abourezk&quot;&gt;&lt;I aria-hidden=true class=&quot;fab fa-twitter&quot;&gt;&lt;\/I&gt;&lt;\/A&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/29\/IndiansAllowed2-1024x604.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/29\/IndiansAllowed2-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"&#039;Indians Allowed&#039;\" class=\"size-full wp-image-22547\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"figure-caption\"> Nearly 1,000 people turned out for the &#8220;Indians Allowed&#8221; rally and march in Rapid City, South Dakota, on March 26, 2022. Photo by <A href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Kevin_Abourezk\">Kevin Abourezk<\/A> <A href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Kevin_Abourezk\"><I aria-hidden=true class=\"fab fa-twitter\"><\/I><\/A><\/figcaption>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nOn Monday, the Lakota People\u2019s Law Project, a Native rights organization, set up an online action so people can show support for Alkire\u2019s request to the Department of Justice: <a href=https:\/\/lakota.law\/sd-hotels>lakota.law\/sd-hotels<\/a>.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cLaws, in of themselves, won\u2019t change discriminatory behavior,\u201d Alkire said. \u201cThey must be enforced. The Department of Justice should step in quickly, investigate, and prosecute. We need to send a clear message: it\u2019s unacceptable that Native people still face open racism in our daily lives, especially here in our own homelands.\u201d\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<div class=\"h4-responsive\">Related Stories<\/div>\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/03\/28\/indians-allowed-sioux-nation-rallies-against-racism-and-discrimination\/\" title=\"\u2018Indians Allowed\u2019: Sioux Nation rallies against racism and discrimination\">\u2018Indians Allowed\u2019: Sioux Nation rallies against racism and discrimination<\/a> (March 28, 2022)<BR>\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/03\/23\/harold-frazier-no-indians-allowed-even-on-our-own-homelands\/\" title=\"Harold Frazier: \u2018No Indians allowed\u2019 \u2014 even on our own homelands\">Harold Frazier: \u2018No Indians allowed\u2019 \u2014 even on our own homelands<\/a> (March 23, 2022)","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is calling on the Department of Justice to investigate a business that has banned Native patrons. 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