About 80 people attended a meeting in Rapid City on Wednesday intent on healing racial divisions following an alleged attack on Native children attending a minor league hockey game in January and a police shooting that left a Lakota man dead in December.
The meeting began in a large circle, participants then broke into small groups and worked through a series of questions, at the end they gathered back into a circle to share ideas.
Organizers included Mark Anderson the Executive Director of the Barbara Schneider Foundation. The organization works on training, and community building in response to crisis.
Anderson says, right now many cities around the country are struggling with race issues. He notes that by coming together in meetings like this community members in Rapid City can provide positive solutions to long standing problems.
“This community, in spite of the crisis that people are in the midst of over these recent incidents, really can provide leadership nationally for this dialogue this native non-native dialogue around these issues and really help improve that relationship,” says Anderson.
Many at the meeting say they believe the challenges pose opportunities for reconciliation, healing and continued community building.
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