The mayor of Rapid City, South Dakota, is under fire for statements he made concerning panhandling Native Americans.

Mayor Steve Allender said that panhandling in the city “is largely a Native American issue,” reported the Rapid City Journal.

“These are not crazy white people downtown, these are not Mexicans, these are not all women, they’re not all men, the only pattern is that they are all Native American,” Allender said. “Where is the Native American leadership? Where are the Native American community leaders to say, ‘It’s time for us to act. We have a walking billboard that’s making us all look bad, so what can be done about it?’”

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In Rapid City, community tension and debate have ensued surrounding Allender’s words.

“To paint one race with such a huge, ragged, unwashed and tainted brush has taken this solvable issue to a whole new level of ugliness, intolerance and hatred,” wrote a reader in the comments section of the article. “If Native folks want to live as a sovereign nation, they need to take responsibility for their tribal members who cause the vast majority of crime in Rapid City,” wrote another.

Indian Country Media Network spoke with Mayor Allender on the fallout of that article, and here is some of what he had to say:

“When I mentioned that it’s a Native American issue, it was that the downtown core and all of the complaints were about panhandlers, vandalism, public drinking, and all of that virtually points to Native American folks down there doing that. There’s no question about that. I brought it up with some sloppy word choice, and then it was prefaced by the Rapid City Journal concluding that I was blaming them.”

Mayor Allender expressed shock in the way in which his words were used.

“Certainly, I was using sloppy words, and speaking off the cuff, and I own that. But for the Journal to conclude that what I was saying was that the reason we have crime is because of Native Americans, that was so wrong and far off point. … I am one person, one politician, and a temporary politician, and I am imperfect just like everyone else, but I get to be imperfect in public. When I say something wrong, it gets turned around, and now I’m evil? That assessment doesn’t match my actions,” he said. “I want people to judge me by my actions, and not on my words for one day.”

Mayor Allender says that great effort has been made in the community to bring Native and non-Native communities together. He cited the special events organized for the Lakota Nation Invitational’s (LNI) 40th Anniversary this past year.

“There’s a lot of wounds from the 70s and 80s. But at the thirty-ninth anniversary of LNI last year, I said we were going to celebrate for the fortieth anniversary,” he said. Allender added that the state needs to hold LNI every year, particularly for the kids.

Allender also spoke of a handful of initiatives within the city that have encouraged community relationship building. He spoke of his efforts to create affordable housing and homeless services, and transportation initiatives that have helped Native American youths.

Allender also touted a project called Collective Impact, which is a community supported initiative with long-term commitment to a common agenda for solving specific social problems in Rapid City, according to rccimpact.org.

Later, in a written statement, Allender addressed the public concerning his poor use of words.

“Your opinions and reactions are being heard,” he wrote. “Since I did not effectively communicate this very sensitive issue. Here’s how I would word it today if I had a chance to do it again: ‘Homelessness, including the factors leading to it and resulting from it adversely and disproportionately affect Native Americans more than anyone else in Rapid City. The entire issue needs and deserves attention and solutions. The Native American component needs and deserves special attention and will require overall community leadership, including Native American leadership to work together.’”