By Rich Winter 

605 Sports

PINE RIDGE — For multiple years, Red Cloud Indian School students have worn jerseys and sweatshirts with the name Mahpiya Luta on them. 

Following the lead of their student body, the school’s name and sports’ teams names have officially been changed to Mahpiya Luta. 

“We really wanted to support our student-athletes who told us this is what they wanted,” said Jennifer S. Irving, the school’s Vice President of Communications and Marketing. “Even our opponents liked Mahpiya Luta and that made the change all that much easier.” 

Irving explained it has taken time for the name change to come full circle but noted items regarding a name change have been discussed for years. 

“We had a board director who said we should stop using the term Indian (in our school name) as that can be construed as derogatory,” she said. “The board and a lot of people felt like the previous name just didn’t capture our tribal nation of Lakota accurately.” 

Irving said the school was originally named after Chief Red Cloud. In the Lakota language, Mahpiya translates to cloud and Luta means red. 

“He didn’t go by that name,” Irving said. “He went by Mahpiya Luta and that is how you would have heard his name spoken back in the 1800s.” 

The change to Mahpiya Luta is wide-spread among the Pine Ridge Reservation. In addition to the high school, the middle school and the elementary school, Mahpiya Luta also has another elementary school, Lady of Lourdes in Porcupine. In addition the school has a cultural heritage center (featuring an art show and gallery) and the work of the churches on the Reservation. Irving said Mahpiya Luta oversees the Holy Rosary Mission which oversees six active churches on the Pine Ridge Reservation. 

“When we just called it Red Cloud Indian School we missed the beautiful work at the Heritage Center and we missed all the work happening at our churches,” she said. “Mahpiya Luta allows us to umbrella all of that great work under one organization and one title.”

Irving said there was little-to-no resistance at the state level with the South Dakota High School Activities Association. 

“We have great relationships with SDHSAA and South Dakota Public Broadcasting,” Irving said. “In the last three years that our girls have qualified for the state basketball tournament they have called us to make sure they were saying this right, even asking to send a video so they wouldn’t pronounce names wrong. I think that’s a beautiful thing and I love it when people are vulnerable and open.”