(Also available in Orange at Daily Kos)
Ironically, it’s Native American Day in South Dakota, but not in the United States as a whole.
In 1989 the South Dakota legislature unanimously passed legislation proposed by Governor George S. Mickelson to proclaim 1990 as the “Year of Reconciliation” between Native Americans and whites, to change Columbus Day to Native American Day and to make Martin Luther King’s birthday into a state holiday. Since 1990 the second Monday in October has been celebrated as Native American Day in South Dakota.
Perhaps it’s time for a new twist on that old saying in United States poltics – As California South Dakota goes, so goes the nation.
Or to put it another way, why is South Dakota so far ahead of the rest of the country in recognizing there’s a problem and seeking to rectify it?