RAPID CITY, S.D. — A long-envisioned Indigenous community center in Rapid City is closer to becoming a reality after more than 70 years of advocacy and over a decade since the idea was first formally proposed.
He Sapa Otipi, the organization behind the effort, has secured six acres of land and $9 million in Vision Fund grants. However, access to the funds requires matching contributions, prompting the organization to launch a $3 million capital campaign aimed at covering construction costs.
Cante Heart is the executive director of He Sapa Otipi.
“We do need to match the funds in order to access them, so we’re launching out capital campaign,” Heart said. “Right now, we are raising $3 million to access those funds, and it’s primarily for construction only.”
Heart told SDPB this represents a chance at community healing.
“All the way back to the Winona Club for a group of grandmothers who cared about their community — who wanted a better community — because of the high tension between race relations in Rapid City,” Heart said. “There never was a great relationship between Natives and non-Natives, so we believe it’s up to us as the new generation to create a new relationship in Rapid City. We thank all of the grandmothers and those who have created efforts to create a community center that’s been long needed for over 70 years.”
The building of the Indigenous Community Center is entwined with the history of the Indian Boarding School and surrounding land in west Rapid City, S.D. A portion of that land remains in use as Rapid City IHS, formerly Sioux San Hospital & Clinic. What happened to the rest of the land (around 1,200 acres total) that had been given to Native Americans by the federal government for their use?
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The Winona Club long advocated for a center of this kind in the mid-20th century, alongside the Sioux Addition Civic Association. He Sapa Otipi seeks to at last complete that vision.
“It’s really going to bring our community together and highlight that we are more alike than we are different, because we all want a better future for our children, we want a safe place for our families to grow up and raise our children,” Heart said. “That’s something we all have in common. This place will really highlight our Lakota values and what we practice every day. It’s important that we share our Lakota ways with our community.”
The center is intended to serve the large Indigenous population in the Black Hills region while also providing a space for broader community education and engagement. The project is rooted in decades of work by groups such as the Winona Club and the Sioux Addition Civic Association, which sought to improve community relations and provide a dedicated space for Native families.
The future facility will be located just north of the Uptown Rapid shopping mall. Its development timeline depends on the success of the ongoing fundraising campaign.
Additional details can be found on the He Sapa Otipi website.
