Aug 1, 2019
Excerpt:
A Pine Ridge man will take center stage later next month when he sings the National Anthem in Lakota at the first presidential forum dedicated to issues impacting Native American communities.
"I think it's an honor to be able to represent the Oglala Lakota people," 20-year-old Steven Wilson said Wednesday. "For a long time Native Americans have gone without a voice in the government" so the forum is "really monumental in my mind because we have presidential candidates that are taking the time to learn and express their stance on Native American issues."
Wilson will sing the anthem during the opening ceremony of the forum at 9 a.m. on August 19 and again on August 20 at the Orpheum Theatre in Sioux City, Iowa. The event, titled the Frank LaMere Presidential Candidate Forum, is named after a Winnebago activist who died in June and is known for helping to shut down the stores in White Clay, Nebraska, that sold alcohol to people on the Pine Ridge Reservation.
"We're just very honored that (Wilson will) be singing the national anthem, especially in Lakota," said Matt Samp, spokesman for Four Directions, the Mission-based Native American voting rights organization that's hosting the forum. Wilson "really has a message to people. He isn't just singing the national anthem, he recognizes the sacrifices that Native Americans have made for their country, even though land was taken from them."
The upcoming forum will focus on treaty obligations, sovereignty, addressing the Missing and Murdered Women crisis and improving Native American infrastructure, economic development, health care and education, according to the release. Candidates will also be asked about their position on the Remove the Stain Act, a bipartisan bill that would revoke the medals given to soldiers who carried out the Wounded Knee massacre.
https://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/pine-ridge-man-to-sing-national-anthem-in-lakota-at/article_e881ecd8-f702-5278-b3ce-6c9c9cc6e3b2.html
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