Good afternoon District 27. This morning I was up extra early to drive to Pine Ridge to sign-wave at the entrance of Maȟpíya Lúta (formerly known as Red Cloud School Indian School). As I sped away from Martin in the morning twilight, I began my daily rosary, praying and meditating on the Mysteries of Light for the special intentions of a pregnant woman who is having mono(chorionic) twins – two identical babies who develop with the same placenta but in separate amniotic sacs. I also prayed for the success of my campaign.
At 7:15 AM, I finally arrived at my destination. It was a little warmer, but the northwest winds kicked in shortly after sunrise and the temperature began to drop. I stationed myself at the US Highway 18 approach near the school and started waving to parents, faculty, staff, and students who were starting to arrive. Several people waved back to me and smiled. Others honked their car horns as they passed by. Apparently, someone was disturbed by my presence and decided to contact the school superintendent.
I recognize I am over the target, and I was not welcomed. The superintendent of the school, who was off campus at the time, immediately contacted security personnel who drove over to where I was standing and told me that I was not allowed to campaign at the school. I informed the person that I am standing in a public right-of-way, and I have a Constitutional right to stand there and wave to people as they approach the school. The security personnel agreed with me and didn’t dispute the fact that I had every right to be there but told me he was simply the messenger and that I needed to leave. He then took a photo of me with my sign that he was planning to share with the superintendent. I told him I intended to stay put and that if he had a problem with it to call local law enforcement. I explained to him the total hypocrisy of the matter. One could easily see several Harris-Walz campaign signs, amongst others, line the South Dakota Department of Transportation right-of-way ditches from the school to Pine Ridge and no one has a problem with that, except for when I am out in the highway right-of-way holding my sign as I wave to people passing by that says, “Good morning teachers, staff, parents, and students. Have a great day learning at school!”
As a faithful Catholic and a Certified Lay Ecclesial Minister for 12 years, one would expect better treatment from a Catholic institution run by Jesuit priests to support my candidacy since I am Pro-baby, Pro-woman, and Pro-Family. The mission statement found on their website states: “Maȟpíya Lúta embraces Lakȟota and Jesuit Catholic values and teachings to grow as a community through education, spiritual formation, Lakȟota language, art, and culture” (1). Sadly, Holy Rosary Mission has steadily lost its Catholic identity and is no longer teaching traditional Catholic values according to local mass attendees that I have spoken to. Moreover, I have attended several events over the past year at Holy Rosary Mission including the Reservation-wide mass on the Solemnity of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary celebrated on Sunday, October 6th, and again at the anniversary memorial mass of the Servant of God Nicholas Black Elk on August 17th. On both occasions, I was able to participate in fellowship activities with local people after mass and provide campaign literature. Even the local Jesuit priests had no problem with me interacting with the people and distributing my campaign literature.
What is becoming clear is that the opposition feels threatened that I am making steady inroads in my opponent's voting block. They don’t like that a Republican state senate candidate for office should be allowed to have the freedom to meet the voters where they are without being censored. This continuing censorship occurred two Saturdays ago when I was in Kyle.
After attending mass at Our Lady of Sorrows, I wandered over to the fellowship hall for breakfast to meet voters. I was asked by a few parishioners to join them in playing bingo for prizes at the Oyate Ta Kola Ku Youth Center. Out of respect for the Lakota people, I accepted their invitation. During the intermission of playing bingo, I approached three women sitting at a table and introduced myself. I then proceeded to pass out some of my campaign literature, only to be told, that I could not campaign here. I asked the woman if I could continue playing bingo. She said, “Yes, but you are not allowed to campaign here.” Again, I was censored in a space that was open to the public. This is what I have been up against.
As I continued to sign-wave at the highway approach near the Maȟpíya Lúta school, immediately the verse from Matthew’s Gospel popped into my mind: Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me (Mt 25:40). I envisioned myself as Christ waving to the people and casting a big smile on them as they entered the school complex. Those who saw Christ in me smiled and waved back. Others did not. I know for certain, Christ is looking down on me and smiling. That is all that matters.
Around 8:30 AM, the traffic died down and I decided to leave the premises. I will admit, I was a bit discouraged, but that is what the opposition wants. I then drove to Pine Ridge and drove steadily by the voting center located at the fellowship hall of Sacred Heart Catholic Church. The south fence line was littered with campaign signs facing US Highway 18. I stopped to pace off the distance from the door entrance to a few of the campaign signs. It was evident that there were signs less than 100 feet from the entrance, but no one does anything about it. I continued to drive east on Highway 18 and stopped by Pine Ridge Building Products in anticipation of meeting the owner and checking on my yard signs that I had mounted to the chain link fence on October 6th. The business was closed, and both of my yard signs were missing. The business owner’s mom granted me verbal consent on October 2nd to post my signs. Her son though, did not approve. Because of my party affiliation, the son removed them without calling me and did not afford me the opportunity to pick them up. The bottom line is the left wants to silence me from getting my message out. It is why I have had to start my own campaign website because Facebook censored one of my previous posts this past spring when I attended a local branding - a photo of me wrestling a calf while it got branded.
As I continued onward to Martin, I stopped to check on my signs along US Hwy 18. They were all in great shape. I then drove slowly through the Town of Batesland. The Lord quietly said to me, “I want you to stop and canvas these voters on the north side of the highway.” It was the new tribal housing complex by the community garden. I complied and stopped at each home delivering my campaign literature. Several people were not home – probably working. I thought to myself, "I am heading home after this last home if nobody answers the door." I pressed the doorbell three times. Initially, nobody was coming to the door, so, I decided to leave. I quickly put my campaign literature in the door jamb and headed for my vehicle. An elderly Lakota woman in a night robe finally came to the door as I was about to get into my vehicle. I mentioned to her that I was in the neighborhood and wanted to meet the voters and drop off some campaign literature. She looked somewhat puzzled that someone would stop by to visit her at this hour. I introduced myself to her and mentioned to her that I was running for state senate. She then mentioned to me that she was a former teacher and had taught in the local Oglala-Lakota County School District for 40 years and was now at home enjoying her retirement. She was watching her grandchildren while the child’s parents were at work. I had a nice conversation with her and she seemed open to the possibility of voting for me when I mentioned to her that I am working on my master’s in elementary education. I told her that I loved teaching second graders. She then explained to me that she loved teaching sixth graders. I shared with her that I had substitute taught in Bennett County School District for five years and I asked if she was a part-time substitute teacher, now that she is retired. She said, “No.” I asked her if she had plans to vote on November 5th. She said, “Yes.” I said to her, “I hope I can earn your vote.” I then smiled, picked up the campaign literature that fell to the floor when she opened the door and wished her well. As I left her home, I thought to myself perhaps that was the person the Lord wanted me to speak with. I jumped back into my vehicle and steadily sped back to Martin thinking, “I wonder how she will vote? Could she be the deciding vote in this election?”
At the end of the day, this campaign is in the Lord’s hands. I am simply his instrument doing his work in his vineyard. The voters will ultimately decide whether or not I am worthy of their vote. Some will cast a vote for me and others will not - strictly based on political alignment. If people could vote based on what they see in my heart, I think I would win by a landslide, but that is not how it works in the real world. Nonetheless, I am doing my part to uphold the agreement with my Lord and Savior. He expects nothing less. Have a good day. God bless.
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