Sioux Falls, South Dakota – A tribal leader described a South Dakota lawmaker’s now-deleted Fourth of July Instagram post as a “disappointment” during a State-Tribal Relations committee meeting on Thursday.
Garrett Renville, Chairman of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Tribe, briefly commented on Republican Representative Logan Manhart’s now-deleted Instagram post. Manhart represents District 1 in the state legislature, which includes portions of the Lake Traverse Reservation, home to the Sisseton-Wahpeton tribe.
“It’s white boy summer, and the boys are back in charge,” Manhart wrote on July 4. The post was deleted, and three days later, Manhart responded to criticism from the South Dakota House Democratic Caucus.
Renville told the committee that Manhart’s statement was inflammatory.
“I usually don’t give credence to inflammatory or racially charged statements. Frequently, I know they are intended to distract or appeal to the lowest instincts in politics, and history has shown that such strategies rarely produce progress,” Renville stated. “It certainly doesn’t reflect the kind of leadership that we needed here.”
“Despite these disappointments and comments made by one of the district reps, I still believe in the promise of public service,” she said. “I believe there’s always hope, hope that other leaders, such as yourselves, will continue to lead by example.”
Republican co-chair of the committee, Will Mortenson, responded to Renville’s remarks.
“I want to assure you that those are not reflective or commonplace of this legislature,” Mr. Mortenson said. “This committee doesn’t associate ourselves with it, and I think shares your sentiments to a large extent.”
After seeing the deleted Instagram post, Toby Morton, a former writer for the TV show South Park, created a website that shared Manhart’s other social media posts. Morton isn’t from South Dakota.
