In a significant ruling on Friday, October 27, 2023, a federal jury found that Retsel Corporation, the owner of the Grand Gateway Hotel in Rapid City, South Dakota, was liable for discriminating against Native Americans. The decision came following a class-action lawsuit filed by the NDN Collective, which argued that Native Americans were systematically barred from the hotel based on the owner's public declaration to do so after a shooting incident in 2022.
The jury ordered the hotel to pay several plaintiffs tens of thousands of dollars in damages, awarding $1 specifically to the NDN Collective, emphasizing that the lawsuit was about holding the hotel accountable rather than financial gain. Wizipan Garriott, president of NDN Collective and a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, stated, This was never about money. We sued for one dollar. It was about being on record for the discrimination that happened.
The controversy surrounding the hotel escalated after Connie Uhre, the then-owner who passed away in September 2024, publicly stated on social media her intention to ban Native Americans from entering the hotel, which triggered protests throughout Rapid City. Following the public outcry, the mayor and tribal leaders condemned her statements.
As the trial progressed, the jury also ruled on a countersuit brought by Retsel against the NDN Collective, finding the organization to have acted as a nuisance during protests, awarding the company $812.
In conjunction with this lawsuit, the U.S. Justice Department had reached a consent decree with Uhre in November 2023, resulting in a public apology and her ban from managing the hotel for four years.
Rapid City has historically been a site of racial tension, with approximately 8% of its 80,000 population identifying as American Indian or Alaska Native, according to census data.
The jury ordered the hotel to pay several plaintiffs tens of thousands of dollars in damages, awarding $1 specifically to the NDN Collective, emphasizing that the lawsuit was about holding the hotel accountable rather than financial gain. Wizipan Garriott, president of NDN Collective and a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, stated, This was never about money. We sued for one dollar. It was about being on record for the discrimination that happened.
The controversy surrounding the hotel escalated after Connie Uhre, the then-owner who passed away in September 2024, publicly stated on social media her intention to ban Native Americans from entering the hotel, which triggered protests throughout Rapid City. Following the public outcry, the mayor and tribal leaders condemned her statements.
As the trial progressed, the jury also ruled on a countersuit brought by Retsel against the NDN Collective, finding the organization to have acted as a nuisance during protests, awarding the company $812.
In conjunction with this lawsuit, the U.S. Justice Department had reached a consent decree with Uhre in November 2023, resulting in a public apology and her ban from managing the hotel for four years.
Rapid City has historically been a site of racial tension, with approximately 8% of its 80,000 population identifying as American Indian or Alaska Native, according to census data.
