FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 12, 2025
Rapid City, SD – On Monday, December 15th, the trial resulting from the federal civil rights class action lawsuit filed in March 2022 by NDN Collective against the Retsel Corporation, owner of the Grand Gateway Hotel, is set to begin.
The jury selection will begin at 9 a.m., with the opening statements and first witnesses expected to begin in the afternoon. The trial will continue throughout the week, with a ruling expected on Friday.
A timeline of activity around this trial and the events leading up to it can be found here.
Dozens of community members are expected to attend the trial to show support for NDN Collective.
“This is bigger than the Grand Gateway Hotel and NDN Collective – we’re putting racism on trial, and saying it’s beyond time to dismantle white supremacy in Rapid City and beyond,” said Dr. Valeriah Big Eagle, Director of He Sapa Initiatives at NDN Collective. “We are building on our ancestors’ work of resilience and the refusal to let racism define them. We are showing it’s possible to have a city where everyone feels valued, welcomed, and safe.”
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NDN Collective is an Indigenous-led organization dedicated to building Indigenous power. Through organizing, activism, philanthropy, grantmaking, capacity-building, and narrative change, we are creating sustainable solutions on Indigenous terms.
