National Day of the American Cowboy

«I wish to thank my Dad Lu Vason for so much that I can not describe,this is what he has taught me to be and do still today. Thanks Dad!
(The Man behind South Dakota's Martin Luther King Holiday and America's first Native American Day)
By Roseanna Renaud, Lakota Country Times, In 1990, twenty-nine-year-old Lynn ”Smokey” Hart, a Yankton Sioux Tribe member, borrowed gas money from a friend and braved an intense snow storm to reach the State Capitol in time testify before the State Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives. South Dakota was one of a handful of states that had not yet recognized Martin Luther King’s birthday as a national holiday, and a group of legislators, including Patrick Kane and Rex Hagg, invited him to speak. His voice punctuated by emotion and some tears, Hart spoke for forty-five minutes. He told his audience that South Dakota was created by people of color, Indians, Blacks and Chinese and you’ve got to give credit where credit is due. We need to recognize the Martin Luther King Holiday, because it’s not a black holiday. It’s a people’s holiday. The Legislature took its cue from Hart in drafting the measures that would forever change the face of prairie politics. Mr. Hart returned to Rapid City in his 1969 chevy pick-up truck to learn of his success in newspaper headlines. Mr. Hart considers himself a Blindian, half Yankton Sioux and half Black.
When Mr. Hart, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, stood before the Committee twenty four years ago, he testified that visitors might see the absence of an MLK Day as a barrier and label his beloved home state as racist. He also spoke of the mistreatment of Indians and that it hurt his heart to hear South Dakota being referred to as the “Mississippi of the North.” Although the first motion failed, it passed the next day with Governor Mickelson supporting the measure and pledging to make 1990 the Year of Reconciliation. Lynn Hart’s impassioned plea had altered attitudes. His powerful testimony launched two holidays and opened new dialogue between Indians and non-Indians in the State of South Dakota. Governor Mickelson told Hart it was because “We have been strangers for too long." The legislature subsequently passed two bills, one to establish Native Americans Day on the second Monday in October, replacing Columbus Day, dedicated to the remembrance of the great Native American leaders who contributed so much to the history of our state. The other recognized Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, dedicated to the remembrance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and to the observance and appreciation of the various ethnic minorities who have contributed so much to the state and nation. Representative Jerry Lammers, who was initially against passage, credited Mr. Hart for his change of mind. What I think struck me more than anything, he was so sincere. The impression was a lasting one, because in 1992 House Commemoration Number 1005, introduced by Representatives Lammers and Larry Gabriel, honored Hart for his involvement. Lynn Hart demonstrates that hard work by an individual can make a difference in the legislative system. In January of 1992, Stevie Wonder, Coretta Scott King, and Congressman Ralph Regula (R-Ohio) presented Mr. Hart with the Making of King Holiday award in Washington, D.C., on behalf of the Martin Luther King Federal Holiday Commission. One of Mr. Hart’s mentors, Oglala Lakota holy man Pete Catches also received the award. “It is the highest award we give to people who really work to make a difference,” said commission spokesman Alan Minton. “Lynn has gone about doing things he thought were right. We couldn’t accomplish the things we did in his area of the country without his assistance.” Lynn Hart, forever comfortable in a cowboy hat, has worked as a ranch hand, stunt man, rodeo bull rider, bullfighter-clown with the PRCA, and toured with the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo for years. For two years beginning in 2004, he was a re-enactor with the National Lewis and Clark Expedition, portraying York, Captain Clark’s slave on the expedition and rode a horse across the rockies. Ever the agent for social change, he is currently involved in several projects, as a public speaker promoting “Education Creates Reconciliation,»