The scandal involving a South Dakota hotel whose owner said it would no longer serve Native Americans took a "bizarre twist," The Daily Beast reported on Saturday.
In March, the hotel generated massive backlash and protests after Grand Gateway Hotel owner Connie Uhre said it would "no longer allow any Native American on property” after a fatal shooting.
"We're tired of this bullsh*t," said Kevin Killer, president of the Oglala Lakota Sioux Tribe.
Five tribal leaders filed a "Notice of Trespass" as the hotel's location is a violation of the Ft. Laramie Treaty of 1868. According to the treaty, negotiated with legendary Oglala Lakota leader Red Cloud and ratified by the U.S. Senate, the land on which the hotel sits belongs to the tribe. In 1980, the Supreme Court agreed, but instead of requiring the return of the land, instead awarded cash damages. The tribe has refused to accept the money in an ongoing legal battle.
"On Monday, June 6, Judson Uhre filed a lawsuit in Pennington County against his mother Connie, who issued the racist tweet, as well as his brothers Nick and Chad Uhre. He also sued the Retsel Corporation, a family company, citing breach of fiduciary duty, shareholder oppression and tortious interference in the operation of the hotel," The Beast reported. "But on Saturday, he told The Daily Beast he regretted filing the lawsuit and will withdraw it."
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Uhre told Beast reporter Tom Lawrence that his mother is not racist.
"I feel absolutely horrified and stupid. I love my mother very much," he said. “And I will even say this: My mother is not a racist. I will say my mother loves Native Americans. She has many Native Americans that she loves."
Uhre's defense of his mother comes as "high tensions remain."
In March, a class-action lawsuit was filed against the hotel by the NDN Collective. The Native American advocacy group is being represented by Brendan Johnson, who was the state's U.S. Attorney during the Obama administration.
Johnson is the son of Tim Johnson, who represents South Dakota in Congress for a decade and in the Senate for three terms.
“In the face of the horror and mayhem, she obviously lost her mind,” Uhre said of his mom. “This is not the mother I know… this is not the person her friends know. This is not the person her Native American friends know.”
“She broke and it was a momentary thing," he added.
Read the full report.
