Rapid City Journal from Rapid City, South Dakota • 9

SATURDAY Rapid City Journal October 9, 1993 Classified, B3-10 Obituaries, B2 Local BA homoirs FBime RBdlge ypie By Dan Daly Journal Staff Writer the nation's economy," said SBA Administrator Erskine Bowles during the ceremony. "The businesses honored today by the SBA are simply the best, and we salute their dedication and perseverance." The Pouriers and the other regional winners also were honored at a congressional reception at the Library of Congress and a black-tie banquet and ball Thursday night, Pich said. "It was such a powerful event," Pich said of the ceremony. "The people's personal stories were just incredible." Of the 10 regional winners, Henry Ellison, owner of a Virginia computer firm, was named the national minority business person of the year. "The growth and leadership of minority firms across the country has contributed significantly to the overall importance of small business in minority business owners to win the regional honor.

Region 8 also includes Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana and North Dakota. President Bill Clinton was scheduled to present the awards, but rising tensions in Somalia forced him to miss the event, said Connie Pich, Patricia Pourier's sister. Pich accompanied the Pouriers on their trip to Washington, returning Friday. The Pouriers will stay on until Sunday. Conoco convenience store and Pourier Tiyospe, a propane business, won the Region 8 honor in the Small Business Administration's Minority Business Recognition Program.

Bat Pourier, an Oglala Lakota, and Patricia opened Big Bat's in May 1990. State officials have hailed Big Bat's, a 24-hour convenience store, as a key employer and service for the Pine Ridge community. They were the first South Dakota WASHINGTON Loren "Bat" and Patricia Pourier, owners of Muddy Creek Oil and Gas in Pine Ridge, were among 10 minority business owners honored during a White House ceremony Wednesday. The Pouriers, who through their company own and operate Big Bat's Bat Pourier Patricia Pourier Across cultures Rapper's or i- -4 frfj. i Molester won't get early release Joe Kafka Associated Press Writer PIERRE An admitted child molester due to be released early from the state prison next week will not be freed, state Corrections Secretary Lynne DeLano said Friday.

Willard Petteys, 52, of Hot Springs must serve his full 10-year sentence because he is likely to commit more sex crimes, DeLano said. A law passed by this year's Legislature allows prison officials to revoke time off for good behavior if inmates indicate they may offend again. Petteys, who pleaded guilty in 1987 to sexual contact with a 9- ftp 'This guy is an Jeff Davis, circuit judge year-old Hot Springs boy, had hoped to get out of prison 3'2 years early. DeLano's decision means he will not be released until April 14, 1997. A -prison hearing I values rooted in tradition Cherokee artist says Indian survival depends on culture.

By Erin Andersen Journal Staff Writer While some rap artists make headlines with their songs of violence, America's first Indian rapper inspires his audiences with hard-rocking tunes about cultural pride and traditional values. The Tulsa, rap singer Litefoot is in Rapid City this weekend performing for the school district's Indian Education Awareness Week. His performance Friday at North Middle School brought students and teachers to their feet, clapping, swaying and even experimenting with a few hip-hop rap dance steps. A member of the Cherokee Nation, Litefoot never reveals his age or his real name. is a combined reference to his Indian heritage and his dancing abilities.) Yet, he openly talks of his values and his conviction that Indians need to return to their traditional values to survive.

Litefoot launched his professional career eight years ago, when his sister, a singer, needed a rap song. "I always like to rap and write poetry. So I decided to try it," Litefoot said. A Los Angeles production company liked the song and asked Litefoot to perform it, instead of his sister. Why rap music? "It's always what I listened to in high school and college," he said.

Litefoot grew up with the music of famous black artists like the Four Tops, the Spinners, the Temptations, Earth Wind and Fire, and the Jacksons. "My mom used to have people come over, and then she would want me to do Michael Jackson for them," Litefoot said with a smile. "It was always in my veins to perform." Two-and-a-half years ago, he and his all-black backup group of Shel-Shock, X-Cel, Journal photo by Steve McEnroe Indian rap artist Litefoot had the students at North Middle School clapping and cheering during a performance Friday. foundation, then I've really done something." He sees Indians, especially young ones, losing touch with their culture, traditions and history. So he spends time at every concert urging his audiences to make something of their lives and to give something back to their race.

"I really feel strongly that my people need someone out there in mainstream society, in the media, who is Native American first and an entertainer second," he said. "Our people don't have that. My people need someone to look up to," Litefoot said. "I really believe it is my path. This is what I have been placed here to do.

I think there is definitely a bigger power involved out there. I know there is." Concert free If you missed Litefoot Friday, you can catch him today during a free afternoon concert. The concert begins at 3 p.m. If the weather is nice, Litefoot will perform outside at Mother Butler Center, 201 Wright St. In case of inclement weather, the concert will move to the North Middle School gym, 1501 N.

Maple Ave. Litefoot memorabilia, including posters, T-shirts and tapes of his latest hit single "Native Tongue," will be sold. K.L.A., and his disc jockey, "DJ Terrifying," started performing full time. Litefoot is working on his third album, all produced under his own label, Red Vinyl Records. His latest hit, "Native Tongue," talks of Indian history and the need for Indians to preserve their heritage.

Much of Litefoot's time is spent on the road, performing in communities with large Indian populations. "I really feel a strong sense of belonging to my culture, a real strength with my Native American heritage," Litefoot said. "I feel like if I just have a few hits or get on billboards, I haven't done enough. If I can help my people and give them a strong sense of direction, or get them thinking about their ancestry, their Monday set aside for native culture was held for Petteys on Sept. 21.

Based on his testimony and the opinion of a psychologist who examined him, hearing officer David O. Carter of Sioux Falls recommended Petteys not be released. "Based on the information presented at that hearing, I determined that his conduct did evince an intent to re-offend," DeLano said. Circuit Judge Jeff Davis of Rapid City has received about a dozen letters over the years from Petteys expressing his belief he had done nothing wrong and that it is appropriate to have sex with minors. Petteys also wrote he was not remorseful because he felt his victim enjoyed the sex act.

Davis has lobbied DeLano to keep Petteys in prison for his full term "This guy is an animal," the judge told The Associated Press. "He truly is. "By God, at least there won't be any more victims for another 3Vi years because there will be as soon as he's out." Since the law was changed to allow revocation of time off for good behavior, Pelieys has written the judge a couple of times to say he now knows he made a mistake. "It's not genuine," Davis said. "It takes more than just a letter to say that you've found the error of your ways." After Petteys was told he would not be released early, DeLano filed legal papers in Minnehaha County asking for a judge's declaration that keeping him in prison for his full sentence does not violate his constitutional rights.

He was to be released next Thursday. Woman gets 1-year sentence for drug offence By Pat Dobbs West River Editor DEADWOOD A rural Deadwood woman received a one-year prison sentence Friday after pleading guilty to possessing a controlled drug. Jo Beth Smith changed her mental illness plea to guilty and received credit for 14 days spent in jail, according to her attorney, Bruce Ellison. Smith and her husband, David Gordon Smith, made national news earlier this year when they were arrested after nearly eight years on the run. David Gordon Smith had escaped from prison in Oklahoma, where he was serving a life sentence for shooting an Oklahoma police chief.

The Smiths lived as Gary and Bobbi Johnston here. David Smith since has told friends he did not shoot the police chief, and the Smiths say they fled Oklahoma to escape a prison official who was extorting money and sex from Jo Beth Smith. David Smith was extradited to Oklahoma. Jo Beth Smith was taken to South Dakota's Springfield facility to immediately begin her sentence. "She decided to do this to get it over with.

She was looking at serving more time if her case went to trial and she was unsuccessful in proving her case," said Ellison. The medication Smith took is used in hospital procedures and can induce respiratory arrest. Ellison said Smith took the drug "solely to try to kill herself." By Bill Harlan Journal Staff Writer sented in 1990, then renamed this year in honor of the late Gov. Mickelson. Anita Paz of Sioux Falls and Ray Hillenbrand of Rapid City will receive awards for their work in local communities.

Jim Bigger-staff of Aberdeen and Don Yellow of Rapid City will be honored for statewide activities. Gov. Walter Dale Miller, Sen. Tom Daschle, and Rep. Tim Johnson, also will speak at the ceremony.

The Crazy Horse sculpture crew will blast 500 tons of rock off the giant mountain sculpture during the ceremony. A Lakota drum group also will play. Ruth Ziolkowski, wife of the late Crazy Horse sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski, said any Indian dancers and singers are "most welcome." After the ceremony, there will be a meal of buffalo. Admission is free to Crazy Horsp for the ceremony. the April plane crash that also killed Gov.

George Mickelson. The gift is from the Investor Owned Utility Cos. of South Dakota. The gift sponsors "The Plains Peoples," an exhibit that will be part of the cultural center's permanent exhibition, "The South Dakota Experience." There also will be an art exhibit, and there will be storytelling at 2 p.m. by Pam Kaizen of Aberdeen.

The center will be open from noon to 4:30 p.m. on Monday. Call 773-3458 for more information. At Crazy Horse Mountain, ceremonies will start at 10:30 a.m. State Indian Affairs Coordinator Francis Whitebird will present four George S.

Mickelson Reconciliation Awards. The reconciliation awards were first pre Spiritual leader and historian Sidney Keith. Keeper of the Sacred Pipe Arvol Looking Horse. Oglala Sioux Tribe Vice President Mel Lonehill. Elder and Citizen of the Year Cecelia Montgomery of Rapid City.

At 10 a.m. a traditional drum group will perform. A traditional meal will be served between 1 1 a.m. and 1 p.m. The public is invited.

The event is sponsored by the LakotaDa-kotaNakota General Council and other groups. Call 341-5479 for more information. In Pierre, there will be a program at the Cultural Heritage Center at 1 p.m. A gift of $45,000 will be presented in memory of Angus Anson, who was killed in Native American Day programs will be held Monday in Rapid City, Pierre and at Crazy Horse Mountain near Custer. The state Legislature created Native American Day in 1990 to replace Columbus Day, which many Indian people in South Dakota did not regard as a cause for celebration.

Native American Day honors Indian contributions to the state's heritage. In Rapid City, ceremonies at the Mother Butler Center at 201 Wright will begin at 8 a.m. with a traditional prayer ceremony. This year's themes are spirituality, respect and unity, said Melvin Miner, one of the event's organizers. Speakers will include: Meetings Yellowstone visitation down YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo.

(AP) Fewer people visited Yellowstone National Park in September despite excellent weather and spectacular fall colors, officials said. Yellowstone registered 40,112 recreational visitors in September for a 13.2 percent drop from the same month last year, said park spokesman Cheryl Matthews. "Schools did start earlier, especially in this area, and this time of the year, a lot of the people we do have visit the park are from the surrounding states," Matthews said. Year-to-date visitation is off 7.1 percent from last year's record pace. She said 2.74 million people have visited the park so far this year, compared with 2.95 million for the same period last year.

Poor weather has been blamed for much of the decline. Campbell County joins 911 search GILLETTE, Wyo. (AP) Campbell County has become involved in the plea for an Enhanced-911 emergency system in Gillette and surrounding areas. The Gillette City Council had considered the E-911 system before and tried last year to obtain federal Abandoned Mine Land money for it. The project was presented Tuesday to a joint meeting of the Council and Campbell County Commission.

It was the first time commissioners had heard the proposal. The new system could cost at least $100,000 and be paid through a 50-cent per line surcharge on telephone lines. Jehovah's Witnesses' Watchtower in Rapid City. Events 3 p.m. Litefoot, Indian rap singer, performs free outside at Mother Butler Center, 201 Wright St.

In case of inclement weather, he will perform at North Middle School..