Amelia Schafer
ICT + Rapid City Journal

RAPID CITY, South Dakota — When Shawnee Red Bear-Keith, Oglala Lakota, was looking for options after high school, she settled on going into the Marine Corps.

At 17, only six days after graduating, Red Bear-Keith left for basic training. Now, she serves as the Oglala Sioux Tribe Veterans Officer, working to provide community members with a bridge to help.

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To celebrate the contributions of Native veterans, Red Bear-Keith helps to organize the annual Veteran Warriors Ride along with Redrum, an Indigenous motorcycle group.

A lot of veterans are motorcyclists, Red Bear-Keith said. Including her.

“The summer of 2020 during the pandemic, I needed to take up a hobby that would allow me to be myself,” she said. “I taught myself how to ride on the back roads of Pine Ridge.”

A year later, Red Bear-Keith helped to organize the first ride, which takes place the second weekend of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, around National Code Talkers Day, and aims at providing resources to veterans and raising awareness for veterans experiencing homelessness.

Credit: A Redrum member arrives at the Memorial Park Bandshell in Rapid City, South Dakota, after completing the hour-long ride from Sturgis on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, for the third annual Veteran Warriors Ride honoring Indigenous veterans. Redrum, an Indigenous motorcycle group, helps organize the run. (Photo by Amelia Schafer for ICT/Rapid City Journal)

Now in its third year, the Veteran Warriors Ride drew hundreds of riders out on Friday, Aug. 11, in South Dakota for the hour-long ride from the city of Sturgis to Rapid City.

Red Bear-Keith said the ride is quickly becoming one of the most popular rides during the Sturgis rally. While the ride is geared towards Native veterans, anyone can join regardless of whether they served in the military.

“It’s a pretty awesome thing to see non-veterans come together to support veterans,” Red Bear-Keith said. “It’s moving and inspirational.”

A legacy of service

Native Americans are believed to be among the highest-serving demographic group in the U.S. military, according to the United Service Organizations. Native women in particular serve at a much higher rate than women of any other demographic, with 20 percent of all Native veterans being women as opposed to 15 percent of other groups.

Red Bear-Keith said joining the military felt natural, since both her grandfathers had served in the Vietnam War and protecting the people is a traditional value. Another major factor, Red Bear-Keith said, is that joining provides Native people with a way out of unemployment.

Credit: Shawnee Red Bear-Keith, the Oglala Sioux Tribe Veterans Officer, helps greet the arrival of riders from the Veteran Warriors Ride on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, at Memorial Park Bandshell in Rapid City, South Dakota. Red Bear-Keith, Oglala Lakota, was one of the organizers of the annual ride. (Photo by Amelia Schafer for ICT/Rapid City Journal)

“A lot of them have no other options,” she said.

After serving, however, many veterans lack resources and a greater risk of experiencing homelessness than the general population, according to a study by the National Center of Homelessness among Veterans.

Related story: Riding for remembrance, riding for change

About 4 percent of those experiencing homelessness in Rapid City were identified as veterans per the 2022 point-in-time count. Red Bear-Keith is hoping to get a more accurate count of how many veterans are experiencing homelessness in the area and work to build a database.

Building partnerships

One of the community members in attendance for the rally Friday was Eddie Piña, 88, who is Mexican-American with Nahua (Aztec) ancestry. Piña served in the 17th Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion, near the end of the Korean War and served two tours in Vietnam.

While Piña doesn’t ride motorcycles, he made sure Friday to make it to the meal after the ride to shake the hands of every rider and thank them for their service.

Credit: Eddie Piña, 88, who is Mexican-American with Nahua (Aztec) ancestry, turned out to shake the hands of riders in the Veteran Warriors Ride on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, honoring Indigenous veterans. Piña, whose wife and children are Hunkpapa Lakota from Standing Rock, said he appreciates the work of Indigenous motorcycle group Redrum to provide veterans with resources. (Photo by Amelia Schafer for ICT/Rapid City Journal)

Piña said he is deeply appreciative of Redrum’s service to provide veterans with resources and acknowledge their service, especially toward Native veterans. Piña’s wife and children are Hunkpapa Lakota from Standing Rock.

Red Bear-Keith said she would like to see other organizations partner with the group to provide more resources for veterans who attend. As the OST Veteran Services Officer, Red Bear-Keith acts as a bridge to unite community members with resources and encourages all veterans in need of help to reach out to her.

“We hope to continue building a community that is welcoming, family-oriented and encourages comradery among our veterans,” she said.

This story is co-published by the Rapid City Journal and ICT, a news partnership that covers Indigenous communities in the South Dakota area.

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Amelia Schafer is ICT's North Central Correspondent based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Schafer covers MMIP, Indian Gaming and business for ICT. She is of Wampanoag and Montauk-Brothertown Indian Nation descent....