The Lakota Nation Invitational is an annual

multi-sport event A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports among organized teams of athletes from (mostly) nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of interna ...

tournament held each winter that began in 1976. The event takes place in the

Rushmore Plaza Civic Center The Monument, formerly known as Rushmore Plaza Civic Center and Rushmore Plaza, is a exhibition center, in Rapid City, South Dakota. The Monument is the main event center for the Black Hills Region, serving Western South Dakota, South West North ...

Rapid City Rapid City ( lkt, link=no, Mni Lúzahaŋ Otȟúŋwahe; "Swift Water City") is the second most populous city in South Dakota and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement developed, it is in western So ...

and hosts around 40 different schools from

Indian Reservations An Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a federally recognized Native American tribal nation whose government is accountable to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs and not to the state government in which it ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, So ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

and

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

. The event has categories including basketball, traditional Lakota hand games, knowledge and language bowls, a student art show, a business plan competition, wrestling, volleyball, cross country, archery, golf and a chess tournament

History

In 1976, the inaugural Lakota Nation Invitational (LNI) was held at Pine Ridge High School. The basketball tournament developed out of tensions resulting from the

American Indian Movement The American Indian Movement (AIM) is a Native American grassroots movement which was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in July 1968, initially centered in urban areas in order to address systemic issues of poverty, discrimination, and police br ...

’s occupation of Wounded Knee in 1973. In 1973, Itancan Bryan Brewer was a basketball coach at Pine Ridge School. The American Indian Movement. wanted the U.S. government to honor the treaties, which, they believed, had been broken. The occupation, which included the site of the 1890 massacre, set off an intense dispute between A.I.M. supporters and a private paramilitary group funded by the existing tribal leadership, whom the A.I.M. had accused of corruption. In the three years following the seventy-one-day occupation, stabbings, shootings, and beatings related to the conflict became common, and by 1975, the impoverished

Pine Ridge Indian Reservation The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation ( lkt, Wazí Aháŋhaŋ Oyáŋke), also called Pine Ridge Agency, is an Oglala Lakota Indian reservation located entirely within the U.S. state of South Dakota. Originally included within the territory of the Gr ...

had the highest murder rate in the United States. Following American Indian Movement’s occupation, Athletic directors from school districts across South Dakota refused to let their athletes play basketball with students from Pine Ridge. Itancan Bryan Brewer decided to start a tournament of his own. Brewer contacted schools in other states to play in the tournament. Seven schools agreed to compete in the 1976 tournament, which packed the Pine Ridge gymnasium. Three years later, the tournament relocated to the recently constructed Rushmore Plaza Civic Center Arena in order to better accommodate large crowds of spectators. The tournament has seen significant growth and changes since its inception. Originally a gathering just for basketball games, the tournament now boasts a variety of events including traditional Lakota hand games, knowledge and language bowls, a student art show, a business plan competition and chess tournament.

Events and coordinators

Lakota Nation Invitational Chess Tournament

*Event Founder: Itancan Bryan Brewer *Board President: Chuck Wilson *Lakota Language Bowl Coordinators: Philomine Lakota and Peter Hill *Announcers Coordinator: Tiny DeCory *Ads/Sponsorships Coordinator: Tonya Whirlwind Soldier *Basketball Coordinator: David Dolan *Activities Coordinator: Karla Cuny *Student Workshop Coordinator:Dayna Brave Eagle *Archery Competition Coordinator: Mike One Star *Knowledge Bowl Coordinator: Yamni Jack *Handgames Coordinator: Roger White Eyes *Cheer Competition Coordinator: Jenifer Gayton Bowman *Poetry Slam Coordinator: Brandie Macdonald *Youth Business Plan Coordinator: Angela Koenan *Art Show Coordinator: Michael Poland *Chess Competition Coordinator: Aries Yumul *Lakota Ways/SongFest Coordinator: Kiri Close *Golf Competition Coordinator: R. Ben Bordeaux

References

External links

* {{authority control Sioux Plains tribes Native American history of North Dakota Native American history of South Dakota Siouan peoples Native American tribes in North Dakota Native American tribes in South Dakota Members of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization