Past Campaigns & Events

West River Bail Fund

One Rapid City sponsored the West River Bail Fund which raised over $1 Million in legal funds for the Land Defenders who blocked the main road access to an Independence Day event at Mt Rushmore, taking peaceful action to protect their treaty land which includes the Sacred He Sapa (Black Hills). Around 20 land defenders were arrested and face misdemeanor charges, while NDN Collective Director Nick Tilsen continues to fight several overblown felony charges for his leadership role in the action. All Funds raised by the West River Bail Fund have been transferred to the Black Hills Legal Defense Fund which is managing bail and court costs for the arrested Land Defenders. For more information on the West River Bail Fund, see the statement of transparency.

West River Tenants United

West River Tenants United grew from a listening session hosted by One Rapid City in January of 2019. We supported the development of the group under the name West River Housing Coalition through the following year. The tenants group began regular door knocking and hosting tenants rights workshops in several neighborhoods in November of 2019. During the pandemic they shifted their focus to providing court support to tenants facing eviction. We supported their call to action for our county and state to halt evictions during the pandemic. In April of 2020, the group became an autonomous tenants’ union now called West River Tenants United. We continue to work in partnership with the tenants’ union. West River Tenants United has been in the media frequently in 2020, including a Native Sun News article and an article in the national law journal Law360.

Two Lakota Girls

One Rapid City supported the efforts led by He Sapa Voter Initiative to advocate for two Lakota girls who were facing charges and experienced excessive use of force by the Rapid City Police Department. On October 23, 2019, instead of using deescalation techniques, Rapid City police officer Richard Hold jumped into the middle of a schoolyard fight between two young Lakota middle school girls, using a palm hand strike against one of the girls and pinning another to the ground with her head twisted at a dangerous angle. Holt is an experienced martial artist and a 28 year veteran of r.c.p.d. Both girls were traumatized and criminalized when they most need support and healing. For more information, see the petition with over a thousand signatures, and the Native Sun News Article on the incident.

Opposing Ordinance 6303

In February of 2019, One Rapid City organized community opposition to a new “panhandling” ordinance which was written to target unsheltered Indigenous relatives and public protests. The police chief wanted the Council to replace the old panhandling ordinance which was no longer being enforced due to its unconstitutionality. The clear recommendation of national homeless advocacy groups is to repeal and NOT REPLACE unconstitutional panhandling ordinances. Across the country, panhandling ordinances, including ones rewritten to avoid language around speech content, have been successfully challenged. The city attorney who wrote Ordinance 6303 acknowledged that it was redundant with the statue on disorderly conduct. The ordinance was written to allow charges against citizens based on whether they caused another to “feel threatened,” leaving wide room for racial bias by a police department that already disproportionately arrests and charges Indigenous people. Despite our efforts, including many letters, calls, and in-person testimony, the ordinance was passed unanimously.