Stories of the STORYTELLERS SIANDHARA BONNET | SETH TUPPER | TIM GIAGO Volume 3. Issue No. 9SEPTEMBER 2022
monument.health/communityhealthscreenings One of Monument Health’s top priorities is impacting our communities. Our goal this year is to provide over 5000 health screenings to our friends and families in the Black Hills. From blood pressure checks and prediabetes screenings to mental health assessments, our focus is to provide preventive care, close to home Find us at one of these upcoming events: Sept. 10 Patriots Day Sept. 17 - Heart Walk Oct. 7-9 - Black Hills Pow Wow United Way Month of Caring Throughout the month of September, find pop-up health screenings by visiting our website. FREE COMMUNITY HEALTH SCREENINGS
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4 ELEVATE • 2022SEPTEMBER Shakespeare would be nothing without Hamlet. Poe would be nothing without a Lucasraven.would be nothing without Darth Vader.
Welcome to this issue of Elevate, where we’re telling the stories of the storytellers. While we can’t promise them the name recognition they deserve, we can give them a quick second to gather their breath, emerge from behind the curtain (or clouds), and tell us a little about themselves.
It’s even truer in news writing, where a byline is sometimes an eighth the size of the headline. Day after day, news writers bring us the events of the day, unbiased and clear, without regard for notoriety. Until now.
Good storytellers rarely draw attention to themselves. The stories they tell fill pages and bring you into the lives of the characters they create. Before you know it, you’ve forgotten all about the author.
You’ll read the story of meteorologist Brant Beckman, who has been fascinated by the way clouds move since the age of nine. And then there’s the path of Siandhara Bonnet, a first-generation American whose childhood experiences inform her storytelling to this day. We’ve also included the story of journalist (and Edward R. Murrow Award winner) Seth Tupper, an east river kid who moved west and never looked back. Finally, we are honored to reprint a tribute to the legendary Tim Giago. Tim’s decades upon decades of work on racial issues and writing about topics that matter (and continue to matter) to this nation is without equal. Tim never pulled any punches, was fearless, and told the truth. All of us will feel the echoes of his work for generations to come. Stay safe and God-speed.
PRESIDENT & CEO Tom Johnson MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR Shiloh Francis PUBLIC POLICY DIRECTOR Anna Hays WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT & TALENT ATTRACTION DIRECTOR Samantha McGrath INNOVATION & DIRECTORENTREPRENEURSHIP Mitch Nachtigall BUSINESS RETENTION & EXPANSION MANAGER Larissa Hespen INVESTOR ENGAGEMENT MANAGER Becky Knox EVENTS & TRAINING MANAGER Rachel Nelson ECOSYSTEM SUPPORT & PROPERTY MANAGER Loni Reichert PUBLIC POLICY MANAGER Garth Wadsworth VISUAL CONTENT MANAGER Maggie Jean Wince INVESTOR RELATIONS MANAGER Jason Wittenberg OFFICE MANAGER & HR COORDINATOR Liz Highland HOUSING COORDINATOR Laura Jones WORKFORCE & COORDINATORSUSTAINABILITY Reese Niu EXECUTIVEASSISTANTADMINISTRATIVE Ashley Simonson Elevate is a monthly publication produced by Elevate Rapid City. It is the premier business magazine for the Black Hills region telling the stories that make our area unique and vibrant. PO Box 747, Rapid City, SD 57709 elevaterapidcity.com605.343.1744 Tom PresidentJohnson,&CEO DESIGN AND LAYOUT Maggie Jean Wince PUBLISHED BY THE RAPID CITY JOURNAL Ben Rogers, ben.rogers@lee.netPresident ADVERTISING Eddie Hebron, ehebron@amplifieddigitalagency.com605.394.8356 PRINTED BY SIMPSONS PRINTING STORIES OF STORYTELLERSTHE
5 elevaterapidcity.com EVENTS September 3 POPFEST You will have a firsthand chance to listen to eclectric Indigenous musicians from the Great Plains area and around the Nation. www.nativepop.org September 4 7TH ANNUAL WAGS & WAVES The Humane Society of the Black Hills' most anticipated summer event - pooch pool party at the Jimmy Hilton Municipal www.hsbh.org/event/wags-waves-2022Pool! September 9-11 BALLOON LAUNCH Spectators are welcome! View the launch from the Stratobowl Rim Trail. Balloon launch is scheduled for stratobowl-historic-hot-air-balloon-launch-2www.blackhillsbadlands.com/events/sunrise. September 10 AGRICULTURE IN THE SQUARE There will be tons of fun and engaging stations to learn about where your food, fuel and fiber comes from. We will also have stage entertainment, live animals, free SDSU ice cream, giveaways, and www.facebook.com/agonthesquare.rc/more. September 17 STORYBOOK ISLAND ADULT FUN NIGHT This 21+ Event will have beer and wine, food trucks, a cornhole tournament, live music and www.storybookisland.org/eventsmore! September 24 2022 PUMPKIN FESTIVAL Downtown's biggest festival, The Great Downtown Pumpkin Festival, returns for its 14th www.mainstreetsquare.org/pumpkinfestyear. 2022 FESTIVALPUMPKIN WAGS & STORYBOOKWAVESISLAND CONNECT WITH US @ELEVATERAPIDCITY
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7 elevaterapidcity.com Volume 3 // Issue No. 9 SEPTEMBER 2022 SIANDHARA8 BONNET Following her passion to the Black Hills BY DOWNTOWN RAPID CITY 20 BRANT BECKMAN Brant Beckman overcomes self-doubt to become Black Hills’ beloved meteorologist BY MICHELLE PAWELSKI SETH15TUPPER Local journalist tells the story of the life and people of South Dakota BY MICHELLE PAWELSKI Tim Giago's legacy as champion of press freedom inspires brilliant path to follow BY JODI RAVE SPOTTED BEAR GIAGOTIM30 FrancisShilohbyphotoCover BUSINESSBUSINESS EXPO! OCT 11 3-7 PM BOOTHS NOW AVAILABLE ELEVATERAPIDCITY.COM TO
Siandhara (shan-Dar-uh) is a combination of Sian and Dara from the Gaelic language meaning “wise from the heart.”
favorite
Siandhara’s favorite interview was with Olympic Champion gymnast Simone Biles. “She is the epitome of feminism. She’s beautiful, powerful, and a true inspiration.”
wise from the heart
FOLLOWING HER
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Siandhara Bonnet is a first-generation American born to a Filipino father and a Scottish mother. Early in her youth, Siandhara's parents divorced; soon after, her father was deported. "I didn't know what that meant at the time. I just knew I wasn't going to see him for a while," she recalled. Siandhara's mother did her best to support the family and teach the Filipino culture to her daughters. This proved challenging when her mother remarried, and the family moved to a suburb of Austin, Texas. "It was hard being multi-cultured. At school, I was asked, 'What are you?' and given the label of 'not a real Asian,' which was tough." In high school, Siandhara became involved in the school paper, and her interest in journalism took root. She reflects fondly on her teacher Danielle Bell, who introduced her to journalism and instilled her passion for storytelling. "We called her Mama B, and she helped me find my voice, not just in journalism, but within myself," added Siandhara. After high school, Siandhara bucked Austin tradition and enrolled at the rival college University of Oklahoma. "My stepfather was from Oklahoma, and his mother went to OU. Watching Sooner football was a Saturday tradition in our household. Still, I couldn't even wear my OU gear until I got accepted due to the deep-rooted rivalry," she joked. Siandhara was quick to adapt and thrive in the new college environment. It wasn't long before she became the youngest editor in the history of the OU Daily, a student-run newspaper. "It was suggested to always have an internship, so the summer after my junior year, I interned at the Shawnee News-Star, which is where I met Kent Bush," said Bonnet. A recipient of the Chips Quinn Scholarship Program, Siandhara later found herself interning in Washington state, unafraid of following her passion for journalism. "I had only had my driver's license for a year when I packed up my 1999 Camry to drive from Norman to Washington. My parents encouraged me to follow my dreams, and this was just one step in that journey," she explained.Aftergraduating from OU in 2019, Bonnet moved to Arkansas for her first
STORY BY DOWNTOWN RAPID CITY // PHOTOS BY SHILOH FRANCIS
Siandhara Bonnet CALLING TO THE BLACK HILLS
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Bonnet's fearlessness and determination paid off immensely. "I really love it here. It's a great town and I feel like a part of the community," said Bonnet. She now works as the City Editor. "I love learning how a city functions. I get to talk with experts about their passions and it is infectious."
As for what's next for Siandhara, she sees herself staying in the journalism industry for a long time. "Journalism is so important and a vital service to our community. I would love to teach journalism someday. Some of my biggest influencers were my teachers. I believe in the mission of journalism and see no greater calling." “I REALLY LOVE IT HERE. IT’S A GREAT TOWN AND I FEEL LIKE A PART OF THE COMMUNITY.” SIANDHARA BONNET
11 elevaterapidcity.com full-time journalism position. The job was not a great fit, and after a few months, she began job searching and reached out to her references. By this time, her former internship supervisor, Kent Bush, was in Rapid City working as the Editor for the Rapid City Journal. Kent was impressed by her work at the Shawnee News-Star. In May 2020, Bonnet found herself on yet another road trip across the nation to take on a position for the Journal as the Northern Hills reporter. "I wasn't sure what to expect. No one in my family even knew where Rapid was. I just took a leap of faith and put my trust in Kent and my own abilities," recalled Bonnet. "My family was worried about me moving, but supported my dream. My stepdad bought me a copy of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee." While remote work during the pandemic made the transition to Rapid City difficult,
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“To me, this is one of the most interesting places in the world – the scenery, the history, settlers and Native Americans, Deadwood, the forest and mining issues, public lands, the military, and the history of the Air Base – it is endless, and it is fascinating,” Seth said of life in western South Dakota. “There is news everywhere you turn.”
// PHOTOS BY
LOCAL JOURNALIST
STORY BY
A South Dakota native, Seth grew up in the small East River towns of Wessington Springs and Kimball before making his way west. He started his journalism career by doing nearly everything at South Dakota State University’s student-run independent newspaper, The Collegian. With no faculty advisor, Seth and his fellow newsies started each school year figuring out what equipment, if any, they had. “It was crazy, but it was great. We learned a lot about journalism.”Thestaffalso learned a lot about troubleshooting in a business where meeting a deadline is everything. One time when computers crashed, the team used a photographer’s iMac and did the paste-up on the patio window, Seth said. “We had to get the paper out.”
Seth Tupper has always been a storyteller. It’s revealing the untold stories of the unique people and places of South Dakota, especially West River, that has kept him in a rollercoaster industry for more than 20 years.
SETH TUPPER MICHELLE PAWELSKI SHILOH FRANCIS TELLS THE STORY OF THE LIFE AND PEOPLE OF SOUTH DAKOTA
CALVIN coolidge IN THE BLACK HILLS
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While Seth can’t see himself doing anything else, the instability of the newspaper industry has caused him to question the future of
Surviving the '72 Flood Seth started covering sports and worked his way up to editor-in-chief, even recruiting his now wife, Shelly, to the sports staff. During his senior year, he interned with the South Dakota Newspaper Association covering the legislative session – a beat he has always been passionate about. “I enjoy working on public policy and politics and am really into the accountability piece.”Hehas covered local, state, and national political issues throughout his career. He interviewed Barak Obama during his primary stop at the Corn Palace, reported on the Bernie Sanders presidential rally, and covered the national Tom Daschle/John Thune Senate race. “It was the biggest race in the country at the time.”In2021, he won a national Edward R. Murrow Award, one of the most prestigious in news, for his investigative reporting on the political and environmental ramifications of fireworks displays at Mount Rushmore National Memorial. He spent 18 years in newspapers, from the Daily Globe in Worthington, Minn., to The Mitchell Daily Republic. And finally, the Rapid City Journal, which brought him and his outdoor-loving family to the Black Hills. While working at the Journal, Seth reported on a wide range of subjects but was especially drawn to issues surrounding mining, public lands, and the U.S. Forest Service. He traveled to an underground mine, reported on the rebuilding of buttes in Northwest South Dakota, interviewed ranchers, and did a Saturday series, Eight over Seven, exploring the area’s highest peaks. “There are just so many interesting land and environmental issues in this area.”
Seth’s first task is to hire three new reporters. “I am excited to be part of something that is adding jobs back into journalism.”Sethhasalso used his talent for storytelling to write and contribute to three books: Calvin Coolidge in the Black Hills, a story of the 30th president’s summer in South Dakota in 1927; The Black Hills of South Dakota, a travel guidebook published by Fodor’s; and his latest book, Surviving the ’72 Flood, was co-authored with local photographer Johnny Sundby. The book commemorated the 50th anniversary of the 1972 Flood that killed 238 people.
- SETH TUPPER
He enjoyed the new challenge of reporting news and working with audio and television. “It was fun and a nice change of pace. I learned a whole new side of journalism.” He also learned that people still valued quality reporting. SDPB recently raised $13 million during a capital campaign. “It really fascinated me that people were being asked to freely give their support and were doing it. It convinced me that nonprofit news was the future.”
Seth’s favorite part of being a journalist is the digging, researching, and telling things that people don’t know and sometimes things people don’t want you to know. “It’s all about being part of the process of bringing information to light. We need journalism for democracy.”
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Which is what convinced Seth to take on his newest opportunity.
It’s also one of the best ways to get to know your community. “I feel like I have gotten to know this area so well through my job. You get to invite yourself into people’s lives and jobs and really immerse yourself in the area.”
journalism. “We saw this whole decline in the newsroom, cutbacks, people cutting their print editions. For a while, I didn’t know if there would be a future in it for me.”
"TO ME THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING PLACES IN THE WORLD – THE SCENERY, THE HISTORY, SETTLERS AND NATIVE AMERICANS, DEADWOOD, THE FOREST AND MINING ISSUES, PUBLIC LANDS, THE MILITARY, AND THE HISTORY OF THE AIR BASE –IT IS ENDLESS, AND IT IS FASCINATING."
However, in 2020, Seth left newspapers and joined South Dakota Public Broadcasting as a supervising senior producer. “South Dakota Public Broadcasting was creating jobs, and I just saw an opportunity.”
Seth is the editor-in-chief of a new South Dakota website from States Newsroom, a nonprofit focusing on state politics and policies. Initially started in North Carolina, the business model has expanded to 28 other states, with South Dakota part of the organization’s next expansion.
ELEVATE • 2022MARCH Weatheringstorm THE BRANT BECKMAN OVERCOMES SELF-DOUBT TO BECOME BLACK HILLS’ BELOVED METEOROLOGIST STORY MICHELLEBYPAWELSKI PHOTOS BY SHILOH FRANCIS
If Brant Beckman forecasted his journey to meteorology, it would likely include torrential downpours, large hail, and damaging winds –severe weather for a life just as turbulent. Even as Brant sits in the NewsCenter1 studio, he is in awe that he is a weather scientist, let alone the station’s newest chief meteorologist.“I’veneverseen myself as a meteorologist, even today,” he said. “I never thought I was smart enough to do it. I just liked watching other people who did it, and I just assumed it would be something someone else would do.”While Brant doubted his ability to be a meteorologist, he never doubted his passion for weather. “At 8, 9, 10 years old, I would watch the weather channel for fun.” Brant was born in Waterloo, Iowa, but spent most of his childhood living out of a suitcase traveling from Los Angeles to St. Louis to Chicago.Livingin chaos made Brant feel at home with chaotic events like thunderstorms, hurricanes, and blizzards. “I had a pretty back and forth childhood, so weather was this great escape for me –reassurance that the natural world was still there for me.”
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"I WANTED TO SEE STORMS. I WANTED TO SEE SOMETHING COOL."
- BRANT BECKMAN
Brant’s parents divorced when he was four, so the young weather-lover would split his time between Los Angeles and Chicago. With little weather in LA outside of hot winds and wildfires, Brant would get excited when visiting his dad in Chicago. “I would fly out there, and it was like traveling to this mystical land where there were actually thunderstorms and other interesting things happening.”Everymorning, Brant would get a brief weather update from his grandfather, a Chicago firefighter and construction business owner, and then tune into the Windy City’s daily weather report. “I wanted to see storms. I wanted to see something cool. I always felt comfort in the weather – anticipating the moments; the idea of what it is going to do; how it is going to interrupt things; how it is going to change things; how it is going to reveal itself to people.”
At one stop, Brant’s grandfather questioned why there were so many motorcycles. The duo had stopped in Rapid City during the first week of August – the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. “We went to see buffalo and cruise through Spearfish Canyon. We were near Devil’s Tower at a campground overlooking the plains and I can’t confirm it, but we both think we saw a tornado. I just remember the clouds and storms being different here.”Many years later, Brant would find himself back in the Black Hills, watching the same unique storm systems. “My mother and grandfather were really the ones who encouraged the passion and enthusiasm for it,” Brant said. And while Brant can’t believe where his life is now, his mother can. “I still don’t believe it, but my mom said she always knew I would be doing this. She said, ‘It took you a bit, but you got there.’” It took a while, and many ups and downs -- including getting kicked out of
A two-week road trip with his grandfather when he was 12 sparked his passion for the weather even more and gave him a quick glimpse of the place he would eventually call home. “For two weeks, we slept out of the back of a minivan and just drove West. We had no destination. We followed the Platte River going up the Oregon Trail and pulled over at every gimmicky place.”
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the University of Oklahoma’s meteorology program -- for Brant to realize what he was always meant to do. “I was depressed and had a lot of misgivings,” Brant said of his freshman year at the University of Oklahoma. “I walked in and there were all these people talking about momentum equation. They had been studying math their whole life. Meteorology is a math thing, and if you don’t know math, what are you doing here? Math was my biggest struggle.”
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Brant put on a suit and tie and handed out his resume to every business he could, willing to take anything. “That was probably my lowest point – my self-worth and value were nothing. I didn’t know what I was going to do.”
Instead of going to exams, Brant would get into his car, drive out in the middle of nowhere and watch the storms. He didn’t know the momentum equation but knew momentum when he saw it. Brant flunked out that first year and decided to pursue a different field at a different school. He graduated from Culver-Stockton College in Missouri, earning a history degree with the hope of teaching. However, with St. Louis still reeling from the recession, finding a teaching job was next to impossible. “I resigned to what I believe a lot of millennials did after the recession. I had to survive.”
Brant got a job with a local heating and air conditioning company and was doing well when one day his mother questioned him about his passion for weather. “She said that everyone has that moment where they have to jump off the cliff and either you fail, or you succeed, but at least you tried.”
Brant loaded all his possession into his Ford Fusion and headed to Mississippi
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Brant decided to stay at NewsCenter1, feeling a pull that he had not fulfilled his purpose here and had not yet figured out the craziness of western South Dakota weather. “I want to finish what I started, and I still haven’t figured out the Black Hills, but here is an honest review: I never will.”
Brant says he would likely be bored anywhere else. “We get everything here except for hurricanes.” This is why he takes off two weeks every September to go to the Gulf Coast for hurricane season. His passion for what he does is contagious. Brant loves talking about the weather but loves even more teaching about the reasons behind it. “I’ve always wanted to be a teacher, but here I get to teach. I have the opportunity to empower people with information. I get to verify people’s experiences and give them the words to describe it. Weather belongs to all of us. Nature belongs to all of us. The experiences. The rollercoasters and emotions. The sadness and hard times. It belongs to all.”
"NATURE BELONGS TO ALL OF US. THE EXPERIENCES. THE ROLLERCOASTERS AND EMOTIONS. THE SADNESS AND HARD TIMES. IT BELONGS TO ALL." BECKMAN
State to pursue his master’s degree in hisBlackandcommunityBrantRapidfamiliarMichigan,twograduatedthingsmeteorology.broadcastThistimestartedtoclick.Heandwasofferedjobs–oneinAlpena,andoneinacommunitycalledCity,SouthDakota.Formorethanfouryears,hasbeenteachingtheabouttheaweunpredictabilityoftheHillsweather.Aftertwo-yearcontractended,
- BRANT
Brant says his purpose is to reconnect humanity to the natural world. “The way to do that is to remind people that everybody has a little nerd in them; everybody has a passion for their thing and should go after it; and that everyone has a little bit of passion for weather, they just don’t always know it.”
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GIAGO FOUNDED THE LAKOTA TIMES, NATIVE SUN NEWS, AND THE ASSOCIATIONJOURNALISTSAMERICANNATIVE 2022MARCH
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More than 40 years ago, he was a lone American Indian column writer with a platform in major South Dakota daily newspapers. Back then, an editor wanted to censor Giago’s strong voice on the injustices faced by Indigenous peoples. LEGACY AS CHAMPION OF PRESS FREEDOM INSPIRES BRILLIANT PATH
TO FOLLOW
As Tim Giago entered his final hours, the Thunder Beings filled the yet-dark sky above the Black Hills early Sunday morning. I sat outside watching these brilliant horizontal flashes of lightning fill the air. A gentle rain later fell. The Thunderers, the Beings who embody lightning, thunder and rain, hold immense power. While they give life, they take it away, too. Yet, after a storm passes, new life emerges. Giago, famed Oglala Lakota journalist, died around 8:45 a.m. July 24 at Monument Hospital in Rapid City, S.D. In the wake of his death, he leaves a greener path for Native journalists to follow. As a trailblazing independent publisher, he brought news to the people. In 1981, he established the Lakota Times, which then became Indian Country Today. He also founded the Lakota Journal. Fourteen years ago, he founded the Native Sun News.Giago, a Navy veteran, lived his life as a true warrior. He earned the Lakota name Stands Up For Them, or Nanwica Kcjii. A name deserved as a champion for press freedom. It was a two-front battle, one in which he first staked himself to being an independent voice on the Pine Ridge Reservation. On the other front he fought to amplify Native stories ignored by the mainstream press.
tim GiaGo BY JODI RAVE SPOTTED BEAR TIM GIAGO'S
A few short years after founding the Lakota Times — the country’s first independent Native newspaper that operated free of tribal government influence — more than two dozen Native journalists joined him in 1983 to found the Native American Press Association. It would become the present-day Native American Journalists Association. Giago served as NAJA’s first president. In 1990, he played a groundbreaking role in working with South Dakota Gov. George Mickelson to bring about one of the first reconciliation efforts in the country. The idea was to heal bad relations between settlers and Indigenous peoples. The effort resulted "I DECIDED THEN THE ONLY WAY WE INDIANS COULD HAVE A VOICE IN SOUTH DAKOTA, THE ONLY WAY WE COULD EXPRESS OUR VIEWS FROM OUR OWN PERSPECTIVE, WAS TO HAVE OUR OWN NEWSPAPER."
“I will not pardon your ignorance…If you come out to Indian Country to write about us, do your damned homework.”
- TIM GIAGO
Not one to be backed into a corner, he forged a new path in American Indian journalism. “I decided then the only way we Indians could have a voice in South Dakota, the only way we could express our views from our own perspective, was to have our own newspaper,” he told the South Dakota Hall of Fame.
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31 elevaterapidcity.com in flipping Columbus Day into Native American Day. Decades later, similar efforts are taking hold across the country.By1994, Giago rose as a prominent newsman and earned his place in the South Dakota Hall of Fame. He was well known for evocative columns in which he addressed the inequities of American Indians. He received an H.L. Mencken Award for his opinion pieces inIn1985.2017, the Native American Journalists commemoratedAssociationGiago’s many achievements with a NAJA-Medill Milestone Achievement Award for his “commitment to journalistic excellence and advancement in Indian Country,” and for being a “game-changer in Indian Country journalism.” Giago was born July 12, 1934 on the Pine Ridge Reservation in Kyle, S.D. On July 24, 2022 standing by his hospital bed, surrounded by daughters, Jackie Giago described her husband as a fighter. His illness this past year marked the most difficult time of her life, she said. Her champion lost in the final bout to cancer. Jackie and Tim Giago married in August 1997. She has been his stalwart business partner at the Native Sun News, which is now the largest weekly newspaper in South Dakota. At the helm, Nanwica Kcjii proved himself a fearless newsman. He didn’t seek permission or approval. The hard work has been recognized. The walls in the Native Sun’s newsroom at the former Campbell street location were filled with many awards, including the South Dakota and North Dakota newspaper associations as well as the Native American Journalists Association. Giago wanted to retire from the news business. I attended his 87th birthday and retirement in July 2021. “For the first time, I’m burned out,” he told me. “I just don’t want to do it anymore. I want to enjoy life a little bit instead of spending every day working.” He was a prolific writer. He wanted to write more books. He already had at least two books to his credit, including “The Aboriginal Sin and Notes from Indian Country Volumes I and II,” and “Children Left Behind.”Retirement from the newsroom didn’t last long. Even as his body weakened during the past year, Giago envisioned a grand future for the Native Sun News. He called me about a month ago. We visited. He’s been an astute businessman. I listened. It was the last time weFortalked.several years, I’ve had frequent visits with the Giagos. Rapid City is a straight jaunt south from my home on the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota. I’ve admired all of Tim’s business accomplishments. It’s easier to walk a path when others shine a light for us. One of my favorite quotes of his: “No, I will not pardon your ignorance. If you come out to Indian Country to write about us, do your damned homework.”
childrenbehindleft
Giago was the first American Indian journalist selected as a Nieman Fellow at Harvard in 1991. We shared that fellowship experience. In 2003, I became the first Native woman to study as a Nieman. His accomplishments as a reporter, editor, column writer and newspaper publisher have resonated coast to coast. On Nov. 5, Giago will be inducted into the National Native American Hall of Fame at the First American Museum in Oklahoma City. He will be posthumously recognized. The other eight other honorees include Bill Anoatubby, Ryneldi Becenti, John Echohawk, Susan Harjo, Marshall McKay, Earl Old Person, Sr., Joanne Shenandoah, and Patricia Zell. Each inductee “has brought about dramatic improvements and substantive changes to the lives of Native people and communities,” wrote Hall of Fame founder James Parker Shield, Little Shell Chippewa.Likethunder and lightning, Giago’s blazing presence has reverberated across Indian Country for nearly a half century. On Sunday, July 24, I watched the Thunder Beings flash with intensity across the Black Hills sky. In a few more hours daylight would come. Giago would soon be free of his earthly journey, no longer weak, no longer tired. The hard rain would fall later that day, a reminder of life’s renewal.
brilliant-path-to-follow/articles/tim-giagos-legacy-as-champion-of-press-freedom-inspires-https://www.nativesunnews.today/ notes from indian country vol.
Reprinted with permission from Native Sun News. Originally published August 4, 2022. 1
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