PHOTO OF THE DAY: DAY OF ‘DIGNITY’

This is “Dignity of Earth and Sky,” the sculpture just off Interstate 29 outside of Chamberlain created by Dale Claude Lamphere that “brings to light the beauty and promise of the indigenous peoples and cultures that still thrive on this land.” It was dedicated on Sept. 17, 2006 and stands “as an enduring symbol of our shared belief that all here are sacred, and in a sacred space.” The photo is posted here in honor of Native American Day, an holiday in South Dakota that replaced the observance of Columbus Day held in most other states.

Here’s more on that via Jeremy Waltner’s publishers column printed in the upcoming issue of The Courier.

Because of Native American Day on Monday, this week’s issue of The Courier had to be printed 48 hours earlier, on Saturday morning, Oct. 11. Because of that, I had to upload all my files to Rocket Printing — the plant in Armour that has been printing this newspaper since 1978 — by the end of the night on Friday. And because of that, I was limited in both time and space, and therefore unable to give adequate coverage to homecoming celebrations held in the communities of Freeman and Menno.

The good news is there are plenty of photos posted on a gallery accessible through freemansd.com, and the even better news is that there’s another print edition on tap for next week, where proper coverage — in good, old-fashioned ink — can be given.

Since the Monday holiday had an impact on the production of this week’s paper, it’s only appropriate to pay homage, not only to Native American Day itself, but the spirit behind it.

While multiple states honor the original peoples who occupied our land in various ways — Native American Day is observed in California and Nevada in September, the state of Washington celebrates Native American Heritage day late in the 11th month, and Tennessee observes American Indian Day, also in September — South Dakota and Vermont are the only two states in the country that do not observe Columbus Day.

Here in the Mt. Rushmore State, that became the case in 1990, when the late Gov. George Mickelson declared it the “Year of Reconciliation,” and renamed Columbus Day Native American Day.

Lawmakers passed the measure unanimously.

Mickelson, who took office as the 28th governor of South Dakota in 1987, strove for reconciliation between Native American and decedents of white, European settlers early on in his governorship, pushing to overcome historically bad relations between the two groups. South Dakota, of course, has a strong American Indian culture, with nine tribes peppering the state from the northeast to the southwest, and Mickelson’s proclamation called for Indian and non-Indian people of the state “to set aside their differences so that mutual respect and understanding will grow between the two groups.”

I remember this period of time well in the same way I remember hearing that Mickelson had been killed in a plane crash on April 19, 1993 while returning from a lobbying effort in Ohio midway through his second term as governor. I have often wondered what the tall, likeable leader would have done had he lived beyond the age of 52 — particularly as it relates to tribal issues.

While we’ll never know, Mickelson is forever immortalized in the gift he gave the American Indian community here in South Dakota. And I was happy to reflect on that as I buttoned up the paper early, even at some expense.