Sunday marks the opening for a memorial to commemorate at least 50 Native American children who died attending the Rapid City boarding school more than 100 years ago.
Organizers say the issue is crucial for understanding race relations in the city.
Amy Sazue, executive director of Remembering the Children — the group that puts on the annual event — said the children’s story was lost for decades.
“Their families didn’t forget them, but this community did. This community forgot that at least 50 children died while attending a school here. That’s part of the division and differences in community members or people not understanding why things are the way they are.”
Sunday was the seventh annual Remembering the Children walk. Sazue said it’s a commitment to the children.
“Most of them went home, whether it was at the time of their death or later. The school did fund some of that. It’s heartbreaking to read those letters. The family was destitute. They couldn’t come get their child, so their child was shipped home. We’ve read through all of those, looked through them. Looked through records here, in Kansas City, in [Washington] DC. There’s some pieces that aren’t there. It’s important for us to share what we know.”
Hundreds walked about a mile from Sioux Park to the new memorial site on a parcel of land just west of the boarding school property where there are unmarked graves.
The spot was a grazing area and is located between West Middle School and Canyon Lake United Methodist Church.
The memorial will have a plaza, picnic area and a path that switchbacks up the hill. Sazue says some pine trees near the top are cairns—stacks of rocks used to indicate a marker. Scans later identified remnants of unmarked graves.
In 2017, a group of researchers identified the 50 children who died while attending the school.
“Folks didn’t even bother to write down their names when they passed away or let their families know what had happened to them," said Heather Dawn Thompson, one of the researchers. "By being able to share this history together, we’re able to not only honor and remember those children, but also move forward in a positive way forward as a community.”
Borders of the 1,200-acre school lands stretched from Bakken Park to Canyon Lake. In the late 1940’s the city annexed five square miles of Rapid City and were able to able to obtain the remaining 1,200 acres through a congressional land transfer.
The Sioux San buildings have since been demolished. Oyate Health Clinic now sits on the land.
Dave Emery is a board member for the memorial site. The enrolled Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe member is the former CEO of Black Hills Corp—a large utility company headquartered in Rapid City, as well as a former member of the federal reserve out of Minneapolis.
He said much of the Rapid City community is unaware the Sioux San building was once a boarding school.
“I don’t think most people understand that. They certainly don’t understand the west Rapid City lands issue. That all of this property—all of it—was all Indian land at one time and was given away by the government to churches, schools, etc," Emery said. "I think it’s part of understanding where people’s perspectives are—it helps to know what happened.”
He said the memorial is about looking to the future.
“Through the educational component of the memorial where we’ve got a large group of teachers who are integrating this into their curriculum in the city, so the next generation grow up understanding exactly what happened here," Emery said.
The memorial site is still under development.
In June 2025, a sculpture made in collaboration with Dale Lamphere will get installed. Officials say that will kick off a series of artworks for the memorial site set to get installed during the next decade. The organization will also dedicate the memorial site plaza to Beverly Stabber Warne—a lifelong Lakota nurse who died earlier this year.
