The Rapid City motel owner who said she would ban Native Americans from her establishment will step down for 4 years and apologize under an agreement with the U-S Justice Department.
The consent decree with Connie Uhre and the other owners of the Grand Gateway Hotel still needs approval from a federal District Court judge,
Uhre posted on social media last year that she would no longer allow American Indians on the property following a fatal shooting at the hotel involving two teenagers police said were Native American.
Members of the Indigenous-led activist group NDN Collective were denied hotel rooms shortly after Uhre’s posts, which led to months of protests and boycotts
The Justice Department then stepped in and sued, alleging racial discrimination against American Indians.
In announcing the consent decree, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke described Uhre’s behavior as “hateful,” saying it “invokes a long and painful history of negative stereotypes against and exclusion of the Native American community.”
Clarke went on to say that Justice Department staffers “applaud the Tribal elders, local officials, and advocates who took a stand against this shameful conduct,” adding that the settlement “should send a message to public establishments across the country that their doors must be open to all communities regardless of race.”