A Shared Land
By: Gov. Larry Rhoden
October 10, 2025
I recently visited Washington, DC, to see our South Dakota National Guard soldiers who are part of President Trump’s effort to make DC safe and beautiful again. I was amazed by what they told me about their mission. But I was even more impressed by what I heard from a South Dakota native who lives in DC: “Having the National Guard here has changed everything. I’ve been here for 5 years, and I’ve never felt so safe as right now.”
Washington, DC, is our nation’s shared capital city. It’s a place that all of us should admire and respect, because it’s the seat of a government founded in admirable and respectable principles.
I heard our founding principles reflected time and time again throughout my trip to DC. Both the Trump Administration and Congress are focused on returning our government to one that is of, by, and for the people – and that is limited by the constitutional provisions that our Founding Fathers so wisely put into place. We talked about restoring opportunity for agriculture, security for our people, and economic possibilities that will make South Dakota, and our entire nation, grow and thrive.
I strengthened my rapport with crucial leaders like Senate Majority Leader John Thune (we are proud to have a South Dakotan in such a key position!), U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, and Deputy Director of ICE Madison Sheahan (herself a former South Dakotan). And I strengthened our connection to the U.S. Department of the Interior, which is such a crucial entity for a rural state like ours.
I’m also working on strengthening relationships with our Native American tribes. I know that maintaining trust between the State and the Oceti Sakowin can be challenging, but I am committed to achieving it. I’ve visited several tribal nations on my Open for Opportunity tour, and I hope to visit all nine of our tribal nations soon.
South Dakota became a state in 1889, but long before that, this great land was already home to the Oceti Sakowin. We have nine tribal nations: Cheyenne River, Crow Creek, Flandreau, Lower Brule, Oglala Lakota, Rosebud, Standing Rock, Sisseton Wahpeton, and Yankton.
Just a few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit Crazy Horse Memorial and stand atop his arm. This monument has always impressed me – his face rises over 87 feet tall! Crazy Horse was recognized by the tribes as their greatest leader, which is why that memorial is such a crucial part of our Black Hills today.
Since 1990, South Dakota has recognized tribal nations on Native American Day. As we celebrate Native American Day, I encourage all South Dakotans to learn more about each of the tribes that call this land home. The South Dakota Office of Indian Education provides valuable resources for teachers, students, and the general public to learn more about the history, language, and cultural values of the Oceti Sakowin.
I invite tribal leaders to reach out with ideas on how we can better support your communities – just as I did with our federal leaders in Washington, DC. If we communicate and work together, the sky is the limit for what we can achieve.
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I invite tribal leaders to reach out with ideas on how we can better support your communities.
Well, Mr. Big Hat, Big Boots , No Cattle….
You can start with not shooting off fireworks in our Black Hills.
You know, the Black Hills that we own because of the Ft. Laramie Treaty that was signed by the exact same government that you profess to love and obey today.
As a matter of fact, every person living in the Treaty area owes the Lakota people a land tax.
Retroactive back to when you stole, ……bought
“Your” property.
“The Fort Laramie Treaty settlement has been a significant issue for the Sioux tribes. The Supreme Court awarded approximately $105 million for the illegal taking of the Black Hills, but the Sioux have refused to accept the settlement money, which is now valued at around $2 billion. The tribes continue to maintain that the land was never for sale and that accepting the funds would be tantamount to a sales transaction.”
Do ya think that maybe, just maybe the Lakota Sioux could use $2B to improve the lives of those on the reservations?
Get over it.
I’m going to steal your house.
I’m going to steal your car.
I’m going to steal your bank account.
I’m going to steal your identity.
I’m going to make you believe in my God.
I’m going to make you speak a different language.
I’m going to beat you into submission.
Get over it.
You can try.
Lets start with tbat Ft Laramie treaty’s provision for health care.
Abolish the IHS, close the clinics and hospitals, and set up one physician in a $3000 house down by the river in a location where timber is plentiful.
With the money saved, hire the two blacksmiths and the one engineer the government was supposed to provide.
(It is fortunate that the mission creep which turned one doctor in a shack by the river into the IHS did not extend to the blacksmiths and engineer; can you imagine the consequent obligation to provide transportation?)
Anyway, once that is straightened out, end all the housing and nutritional support, and go back to giving each adult male a pair of pants and every adult female a flannel skirt every year. And that’s it.
The details of the treaty are amusingly quaint.
It can be argued that the tribes which accepted housing, food and health care from the federal government already traded their land for all that stuff.
Mic drop!!
I guess the truth hurts, doesn’t it The Truth Hurts?
the reason the treaty stipulated two blacksmiths but only one engineer and one physician was because the indigenous people were still in the stone age and needed to be brought up to the iron age.
it’s actually mind-boggling that their descendants are complaining about that..