I can’t get enough of the Lakota Nation Invitational. 

The annual pre-Christmas tournament is a basketball showcase for high school student-athletes, and the ultimate platform for Native American youth. The inaugural boys basketball tournament was held in 1976 at Pine Ridge High School, and three years later was moved to Rapid City to accommodate the large crowd of spectators. 

It’s continued to evolve and grow each season, with more teams and more activities added throughout the years. 

While basketball is the main attraction, the event offers so much more for the student-athletes to shine. The five-day event features everything from boys and girls basketball, wrestling, cheerleading, Esports, skateboarding, archery, chess, hand games, Lakota language bowl, art show, knowledge bowl and oral interp, among other activities. 

The showcase will expand next season with even more teams joining the field. In 2026, it will feature 64 teams — 32 boys and 32 girls teams — as the event continues to grow each year. 

For myself, and many others, it’s a reunion filled with laughs as fans swarm to Rapid City to support the youth. It is South Dakota’s most unique sporting event, and the highlight for Native American communities across the state. 

There’s something special about the Lakota Nation Invitational that can’t be explained to the casual fan. If you regularly attend the LNI, it’s good for the soul to see so many familiar faces watching the game we all love. 

Native American hoopers dream of playing in the LNI, and former players beam with pride from the stands. 

The Lakota Nation Invitational grand entry features Native American drummers and singers and pow-wow dancers perform. (Rodney Haas / 605 Sports)

Friday night’s grand entry is a South Dakota sports tradition unlike any other. The two-hour event welcomes the basketball teams onto the court, while Native American drummers and singers vibrate the arena and pow-wow dancers perform. 

There are few South Dakota sporting events that rival championship night at the Lakota Nation Invitational. The electric atmosphere is unmatched, and the buzz in the 12,500-seat Summit Arena is at an all-time high.   

This season’s LNI championship night once again delivered on the basketball court. The 48-team tournament — 24 boys and 24 girls teams — crowned six total champions and the last two title games were memorable for different reasons.

Class A No. 1 Mahpiya Luta won its fifth straight Oceti Sakowin bracket championship, the most consecutive girls basketball titles in tourney history. Mahpiya Luta cruised past Lakota Tech, 65-34, in the title game and cemented itself in LNI lore with its fifth consecutive championship. 

The Oceti Sakowin bracket boys championship game was an all-time classic. Mahpiya Luta outlasted Cheyenne-Eagle Butte, 76-74, in double overtime in an electric Summit Arena. 

Mahpiya Luta rallied back from a 14-point second-quarter deficit, edging the Braves in one of the LNI’s all-time greatest games. 

The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat was on display as the raw emotions of winning and losing filled the arena.

The Mahpiya Luta boys basketball team won on the scoreboard, but we’re all winners for witnessing the ultimate showcase of Native American basketball at its finest.