Judge dismisses Rapid City hotel lawsuit against Native American activists

Claims, Judge Larry Piersol finds, were rehash of previous issues already decided

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by the owners of a Rapid City hotel against members of a Native American activist group, finding the hotel owners filed a duplicative lawsuit.

Retsel Corp., the owner of the Grand Gateway Estate Hotel, sued NDN Collective and several of its individual members last year over a series of confrontations with Native Americans. Those culminated with a March 2022 murder at the hotel. Following that shooting, Connie Uhre, one of the owners, posted on Facebook that the hotel would no longer rent to Native Americans.