{"id":23257,"date":"2022-04-16T23:24:53","date_gmt":"2022-04-17T03:24:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=23257"},"modified":"2022-04-16T23:24:54","modified_gmt":"2022-04-17T03:24:54","slug":"native-artists-left-hanging-after-big-event-fizzles-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/04\/16\/native-artists-left-hanging-after-big-event-fizzles-out\/","title":{"rendered":"Native artists &#8216;left hanging&#8217; after big event fizzles out"},"content":{"rendered":"<a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/04\/16\/native-artists-left-hanging-after-big-event-fizzles-out\/akisa2022\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-23267\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1283\" height=\"776\" data-attachment-id=\"23267\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/04\/16\/native-artists-left-hanging-after-big-event-fizzles-out\/akisa2022\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/17\/Akisa2022.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1283,776\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-title=\"Akisa 2022\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;Akisa 2022&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;The Akisa 2022 was announced as being canceled only a day before the event scheduled in Rapid City, South Dakota, on April 15, 2022. Photo: Rushmore Mall&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/17\/Akisa2022-1024x619.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/17\/Akisa2022.jpg\" alt=\"Akisa 2022\"   class=\"size-full wp-image-23267\" \/><\/a> <figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">The Akisa 2022 was announced as being &#8220;canceled&#8221; only a day before the event scheduled in Rapid City, South Dakota, on April 15, 2022. Photo: Rushmore Mall<\/figcaption>\r\n<div class=\"h3-responsive font-weight-bold\">Native artists &#8216;left hanging&#8217; after big event fizzles out<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"date\">Saturday, April 16, 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\nAn ambitious showcase of Native talent scheduled for Saturday in Rapid City, South Dakota, devolved into controversy and recrimination this week when the show\u2019s promoter allegedly failed to fulfill his financial commitments to performers and vendors.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nSeveral of the performers who were <a href=https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/whitney.rencountre\/posts\/10226570856488738>expected to take the stage<\/a> at the concert, billed <a href=https:\/\/www.blackhillsbadlands.com\/events\/akisa-2022-good-way>Akisa 2022: In a Good Way<\/a>, backed out of the event on Thursday and Friday saying the event\u2019s promoter, Brandon Ferguson, failed to pay them for their travel costs and hotel rooms.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nRobin Opichee Day-Bedeau, aka Opie Day, the lead singer for drum group Midnite Express Singers, said Ferguson promised to cover his travel and hotel costs when he initially asked him to perform.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cNow when I\u2019m asking him for confirmation about our rooms &#038; compensation he ghosts me,\u201d Day-Bedeau wrote. \u201cIt is now almost midnight on the day before we are scheduled to leave &#038; still no answer.\u201d\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<div class=\"fb-post\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/mnxsingers\/posts\/276363974497356\" data-width=\"500\" data-show-text=\"false\"><blockquote cite=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/mnxsingers\/posts\/276363974497356\" class=\"fb-xfbml-parse-ignore\"><p>It was a great weekend for us amongst our Sisseton Wapheton relatives. \r\nBesides taking in all the awesome singing &amp;&#8230;<\/p>Posted by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/mnxsingers\">Midnite Express Singers<\/a> on&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/mnxsingers\/posts\/276363974497356\">Monday, November 15, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote><\/div>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nBy Friday afternoon, even the venue for the event \u2013 the Rushmore Mall in Rapid City \u2013 had ended its involvement in the event.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cThe Akisa 2022 event has been canceled due to performances not happening,\u201d the <a href=https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RushmoreMall\/photos\/a.6928338787180092\/8314526031894687\/>company wrote<\/a> on its Facebook page.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nBut by Friday evening, a Rapid City Native nonprofit had stepped forward saying it would host the event, <a href=https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ndncol\/photos\/a.1922254038041818\/3179566032310606>renaming it FTP Fest (For the People Festival)<\/a> and changing the venue to the Rapid Skillz Athletic Complex in Rapid City.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cAs a community, we have also been coming together in unity to call out racism and build a better future for Native people,\u201d <a href=https:\/\/ndncollective.org\/>NDN Collective<\/a> wrote on its Facebook page. \u201cLet\u2019s come together and celebrate through music, culture and entertainment.\u201d\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nIn an interview with Indianz.Com, Nick Tilsen, president and CEO of NDN Collective, said his organization got involved in planning the festival on Thursday after being contacted by several performers who had been booked for Akisa 2022.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cA bunch of the artists were left hanging by Brandon Ferguson, the organizer of the Akisa 2022 event, and that he basically ghosted them and he wasn\u2019t following through on any of the commitments that he made to the artists,\u201d Tilsen said.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<div class=\" content_cards_card content_cards_domain_www-instagram-com\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"content_cards_image\">\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_image_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CcY0OvHlRhc\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/10\/624630706_18130535728460001_7158413603637129489_n.jpg\" alt=\"NDN Collective on Instagram: &quot;In response to the most recent cancellation of the \u201cAkisa 2022: In a Good Way\u201d concert at Rushmore Mall In Rapid City, SD, a number of artists on the event lineup who were left stranded without a show, reached out to NDN Collective. For these artists to be left hanging and disrespected is no way to treat our relatives. We, at NDN collective, believe in taking care of our artists and our community. \nTo be clear, NDN Collective has no association with Brandon Ferguson, \u201cAkisa 2022\u201d event organizer, or the \u201cAkisa 2022\u201d event. We have never had any association with them and we never will in the future. \n\nNDN Collective also recognizes that many young people in our community were looking forward to experiencing the music, laughter, culture and unity of this event. As a result, NDN Collective has met with many of the artists and our team has been scrambling to pull something off that both supports and uplifts the artists, and also provides a great opportunity for youth and families. \n\nWe are proud to announce, \u201cFTP Fest! For The People Festival\u201d \nThis event will include artists and entertainers from throughout NDN Country. \n\nThe event is free to all people from all walks of life. \nAs a community, we have also been coming together in unity to call out racism and build a better future for Native people. Let\u2019s come together and celebrate through music, culture and entertainment.\n\n*This event is a drug-free, alcohol-free, smoking-free and vape-free event \nDay &amp; Time: \n\nSaturday, April 16, 2022\n\nDoors Open at 1pm \n\nMusic Starts at 2pm-10pm \nVenue: \nRapid Skills \n840 E Centre St. \nRapid City, SD\n\n#ForThePeopleFest&quot;\">\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_title\">\n\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_title_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CcY0OvHlRhc\/\">\n\t\t\tNDN Collective on Instagram: &#8220;In response to the most recent cancellation of the \u201cAkisa 2022: In a Good Way\u201d concert at Rushmore Mall In Rapid City, SD, a number of artists on the event lineup who were left stranded without a show, reached out to NDN Collective. For these artists to be left hanging and disrespected is no way to treat our relatives. We, at NDN collective, believe in taking care of our artists and our community. \nTo be clear, NDN Collective has no association with Brandon Ferguson, \u201cAkisa 2022\u201d event organizer, or the \u201cAkisa 2022\u201d event. We have never had any association with them and we never will in the future. \n\nNDN Collective also recognizes that many young people in our community were looking forward to experiencing the music, laughter, culture and unity of this event. As a result, NDN Collective has met with many of the artists and our team has been scrambling to pull something off that both supports and uplifts the artists, and also provides a great opportunity for youth and families. \n\nWe are proud to announce, \u201cFTP Fest! For The People Festival\u201d \nThis event will include artists and entertainers from throughout NDN Country. \n\nThe event is free to all people from all walks of life. \nAs a community, we have also been coming together in unity to call out racism and build a better future for Native people. Let\u2019s come together and celebrate through music, culture and entertainment.\n\n*This event is a drug-free, alcohol-free, smoking-free and vape-free event \nDay &#038; Time: \n\nSaturday, April 16, 2022\n\nDoors Open at 1pm \n\nMusic Starts at 2pm-10pm \nVenue: \nRapid Skills \n840 E Centre St. \nRapid City, SD\n\n#ForThePeopleFest&#8221;\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_description\">\n\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_description_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CcY0OvHlRhc\/\">\n\t\t\t<p>350 likes, 3 comments &#8211; ndncollective on April 15, 2022: &#8220;In response to the most recent cancellation of the \u201cAkisa 2022: In a Good Way\u201d concert at Rushmore Mall In Rapid City, SD, a number of artists on the event lineup who were left stranded without a show, reached out to NDN Collective. For these&hellip;<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_site_name\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.cdninstagram.com\/rsrc.php\/yr\/r\/rzWiSjZRxk5.webp\" alt=\"Instagram\" class=\"content_cards_favicon\"\/>\t\tInstagram\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nHe said his staff held a meeting with some of the artists and decided to host an entirely new event.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cWe took a really unfortunate situation and are trying to make something really positive out of it that both uplifts the artists and creates something healthy and positive for the Native community and our allies in the broader community here in Rapid City,\u201d he said.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nTilsen said he doesn\u2019t know how Ferguson had planned to fund the travel, hotel and performance fees for those scheduled to perform Saturday.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cWe\u2019re funding the whole thing out of our budget because, honestly, to do it last minute like this, we\u2019re all in work mode,\u201d he said. \u201cWe actually don\u2019t have time to raise money for this event.\u201d\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nHe said NDN Collective would pay the artists for their travel and time, as well as provide the sound, lighting and all other logistics needed to host the event.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nAnd Tilsen offered his thoughts about the mistreatment of Native artists.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cIt\u2019s important that we value our artists,\u201d he said. \u201cThey contribute so much to our society.\u201d\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cWe should not be leaving them hanging them like this.\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\nOne of the performers allegedly \u201cleft hanging\u201d by Ferguson was Trenton Casillas, aka <a href=https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LetItBeeMusic\/>Let It Bee<\/a>, a 25-year-old hip-hop artist from the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nHe said he didn\u2019t know anything about Ferguson before agreeing to perform Saturday in Rapid City. He said at first Ferguson seemed legitimate and capable of hosting the event. But then Ferguson\u2019s actions began to worry Casillas.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cHe just kept getting weirder and weirder,\u201d he said of Ferguson. \u201cHe wasn\u2019t very transparent. \u2026 He tricked us all into thinking that he got this all on lock.\u201d\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nEventually, after Casillas began questioning Ferguson about whether he had properly secured the venue, Ferguson kicked him from the event.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cLast thing he said to me was don\u2019t tell me what the F to do,\u201d he said.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nFerguson, who describes himself on his Facebook profile as a \u201cnational award winning film director and entertainer from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation,\u201d did not respond to a request for comment from Indianz.Com.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<div class=row>\r\n<div class=col-7>\r\n<div class=\"fb-video\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/brandon.ferguson.3597\/videos\/319686133603467\/\" data-width=\"auto\" data-show-text=\"false\"><blockquote cite=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/brandon.ferguson.3597\/videos\/319686133603467\/\" class=\"fb-xfbml-parse-ignore\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/brandon.ferguson.3597\/videos\/319686133603467\/\"><\/a><p><\/p>Posted by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/brandon.ferguson.3597\">Brandon Ferguson<\/a> on Friday, April 15, 2022<\/blockquote><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"col-5 align-self-end\">\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">Brandon Ferguson: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/brandon.ferguson.3597\/videos\/319686133603467\/\">Friday, April 15, 2022<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nBut in a <a href=https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/brandon.ferguson.3597\/videos\/319686133603467>late Friday night video<\/a> that he posted on his page, Ferguson defended his handling of the Akisa 2022 event, saying he was being unfairly targeted for his \u201cdark past.\u201d\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cA couple weeks ago I had an idea about us putting on an event here in Rapid City where we would be able to bring our families and youth together,\u201d he said. \u201cThey wouldn\u2019t have to hear the word racism and they wouldn\u2019t have to hear the word landback and they wouldn\u2019t have to feel like being present that people were going to judge them because they were picking a side.\u201d\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nHe said he began organizing the event a little more than a week ago because he wanted to bring the community \u2013 Natives and non-Natives \u2013 together following a tumultuous series of events that began March 19 when a young Lakota man shot and critically injured another young Lakota man who later died. A day later, Connie Uhre, who owns The Grand Gateway Hotel in Rapid City, South Dakota, announced she was banning all Native Americans from her hotel.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nIn response, NDN Collective filed a federal civil rights lawsuit, and several days later nearly 1,000 Natives and others marched in Rapid City to protest Uhre\u2019s actions.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cIt\u2019s really sad because we\u2019ve got a lot of business owners that truly do love us and a lot of people that really do appreciate our business,\u201d Ferguson said. \u201cWe wanted to do an event that brought everyone in the community together. We wanted to feed them and we wanted to have some really good music and laugh together.\u201d\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<div class=\" content_cards_card content_cards_domain_indianz-com\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"content_cards_image\">\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_image_link\" href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/03\/28\/indians-allowed-sioux-nation-rallies-against-racism-and-discrimination\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/10\/indiansallowed1-scaled-2.jpg\" alt=\"\u2018Indians Allowed\u2019: Sioux Nation rallies against racism and discrimination\">\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_title\">\n\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_title_link\" href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/03\/28\/indians-allowed-sioux-nation-rallies-against-racism-and-discrimination\/\">\n\t\t\t\u2018Indians Allowed\u2019: Sioux Nation rallies against racism and discrimination\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_description\">\n\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_description_link\" href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/03\/28\/indians-allowed-sioux-nation-rallies-against-racism-and-discrimination\/\">\n\t\t\t<p>The people of the Dakota, Lakota and Nakota nations came together to take a stand against racism and discrimination on their homelands.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_site_name\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/favicon.ico\" alt=\"Indianz.Com\" class=\"content_cards_favicon\"\/>\t\tIndianz.Com\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nHe mentioned several Rapid City businesses who had provided support for the Akisa 2022 event, including Hotel Alex Johnson, Visit Rapid City, Elevate, Ramkota, Country Inn and Suites and Lil Gailes, a Native-owned clothing store.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nHe said he secured commitments from more than 40 Native musicians to perform and hotel rooms for all the performers.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cIt was always with the best of intentions that I wanted to create an event like this and make it a reality and I had no intentions on causing any harm to anyone,\u201d Ferguson said. \u201cBut the thing and the reality is I\u2019ve got a dark past, a bad past where I\u2019ve sat a lot of time in prison. Yes, I am a felon and yes, I was found guilty of embezzlement from our tribe 10 years ago.\u201d\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nHe said he doesn\u2019t plan to host any other events in the future.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cI\u2019m not going to able to bring our Native people together for projects because this is what\u2019s going to happen every time,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m always going to have a fan club that has a desire that every time Brandon tries to do something we\u2019re going to bring him down.\u201d\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nBut <a href=https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/archive\/usao\/sd\/pressreleases\/2012\/RC-2012-12-07-Ferguson.html>Ferguson\u2019s \u201cdark past\u201d<\/a> may not be as distant as he claims, according to one Oglala Lakota family that claims Ferguson raised a large sum of money for one of their relatives in January but only spent a small portion of the funds he raised to help their relative.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nIn January, Ferguson raised nearly $28,000 through a GoFundMe page for Lynn Two Bulls and Aaron Two Crow, an elderly couple living in a run-down trailer house with several grandchildren in Kyle, South Dakota, on the Pine Ridge Reservation.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<div class=\" content_cards_card content_cards_domain_www-facebook-com\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"content_cards_image\">\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_image_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/brandon.ferguson.3597\/posts\/10158644330636524\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/10\/498185079_10161271384131524_381949584241631129_n.jpg\" alt=\"Brandon Ferguson\">\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_title\">\n\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_title_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/brandon.ferguson.3597\/posts\/10158644330636524\">\n\t\t\tBrandon Ferguson\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_description\">\n\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_description_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/brandon.ferguson.3597\/posts\/10158644330636524\">\n\t\t\t<p>The Kyle Elders in Need Now have a Huge Home! Aaron Two Crow, our elder, was on-site the entire time helping us move in the trailer. It was cool to see him smiling the entire time &#8211; he picked right&#8230;<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_site_name\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.xx.fbcdn.net\/rsrc.php\/y1\/r\/ay1hV6OlegS.ico\" alt=\"www.facebook.com\" class=\"content_cards_favicon\"\/>\t\twww.facebook.com\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nAfter posting a series of alarming photographs inside the couple\u2019s trailer house, Ferguson managed to raise nearly $23,000 in barely a day. He told supporters he would purchase a new mobile home for the couple as a temporary solution until he could have a wood frame house constructed for the family.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nBut as of Friday, more than three months after raising the funds for the couple, Ferguson had managed only to purchase a used trailer house for the couple. The family believes the trailer cost about $7,000 &#8212; or only about 30 percent of the $23,000 raised. And while the couple is grateful for the home, the home lacks electricity, running water or propane.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nOnly a small fireplace inside the home can be used to heat it, and the family has cordoned off most of the trailer because the fireplace can\u2019t heat the entire building, said Michelle Two Bulls, Lynn Two Bulls\u2019 daughter.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nMichelle Two Bulls said Ferguson also promised to purchase a second mobile home for her younger sister but after purchasing a second trailer house, Ferguson actually sold it to a buyer. And despite promises to pay her mother\u2019s utility bills for a year, Ferguson failed to pay for anything else except for a single payment of $160 for electricity and $100 for groceries, Two Bulls said.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nIn a post on his Facebook page on Friday, Ferguson claimed that Lynn Two Bulls\u2019 daughters had contacted GoFundMe and filed complaints, requesting they be given control of the account. The company granted their request under the condition that all funds raised be returned to individual donors and that the Two Bulls family repost the page as a new fundraiser.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nBut Michelle Two Bulls said she received a message from GoFundMe that Ferguson had already withdrawn the entire amount raised by the GoFundMe page \u2013 $26,061 after fees \u2013 prior to it being shut down by GoFundMe.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nAnd the new fundraiser that the Two Bulls family posted afterward only <a href=https:\/\/www.gofundme.com\/f\/help-bring-their-homes-to-kyle>raised $155 before Two Bulls<\/a> decided to shut it down.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nAs of Friday, she said her mother\u2019s living conditions had improved little since Ferguson got involved in trying to help her, and now Ferguson has said he won\u2019t be helping the family anymore.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cShe\u2019s living like she was before, no light, no propane,\u201d she said. \u201cIn the end, he just used my mom and forgot about her.\u201d\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cHis greed got the best of him.\u201d","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An ambitious showcase of Native talent devolved into controversy and recrimination as performers and vendors were left in the dark about the event.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23267,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[17,13,1],"tags":[2763,2758,600,101,1554,128,696,2762,2761,33,235,605,97,61,147,2759,98,2760,6],"class_list":["post-23257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-entertainment","category-law","category-national","tag-aaron-two-crow","tag-brandon-ferguson","tag-cheyenne-river-sioux","tag-crime","tag-discrimination","tag-elders","tag-housing","tag-lynn-two-bulls","tag-michelle-two-bulls","tag-music","tag-ndn-collective","tag-nick-tilsen","tag-oglala-sioux","tag-racism","tag-rapid-city","tag-robin-opichee-day-bedeau","tag-south-dakota","tag-trenton-casillas","tag-urban-indians","no-wpautop"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcoJ7g-637","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/17\/Akisa2022.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23257"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23257\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}