SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The owner of a South Dakota hotel who stated that Native Americans were banned from the establishment has been found liable for discrimination against this community.
A federal jury in Rapid City decided that the owner of the Grand Gateway Hotel will pay damages to various plaintiffs who were denied service at the hotel during the discriminatory period. The jury awarded $1 to the NDN Collective, the Indigenous advocacy group that initiated the lawsuit.
The lawsuit was a class-action civil rights case against Retsel Corporation, the hotel’s parent company, filed in 2022. The proceedings faced delays when the company filed for bankruptcy in September 2024, and issues were compounded by the passing of the company's head, Connie Uhre, in September.
“This was never about money. We sued for one dollar,” stated Wizipan Garriott, president of NDN Collective and an enrolled member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. “It was about being on record for the discrimination that occurred, and using this as an opportunity to call out racism and injustice.”
In 2022, Uhre posted online that she would ban Native Americans from the hotel following a fatal shooting involving two teenagers, identified as Native American, which garnered significant backlash and protests in Rapid City.
Many community members condemned Uhre’s post, including local officials, highlighting the ongoing issues of racial discrimination in the region. Subsequent attempts by Native American members of NDN Collective to book rooms at the hotel were blocked.
In the latest ruling, the jury also recognized Retsel’s countersuit against NDN Collective, stating that the group acted as a nuisance during protests against the hotel, awarding the company $812.
Earlier resolutions mandated through the U.S. Justice Department led Uhre to apologize publicly and barred her from managing the hotel for four years, pointing to systemic issues that have lingered in Rapid City, where part of the population identifies as American Indian or Alaska Native.
Rapid City is a key gateway to Mount Rushmore and grapples with historical and ongoing racial tensions that affect its diverse populace.
