The Department of Justice reached an agreement with South Dakota’s Grand Gateway Hotel earlier this month which stipulated that owner Connie Uhre would have nothing to do with the direction or overview of the company or its subsidiary businesses after she made public comments discriminating against Indigenous Americans.
Now, a year after the Justice Department launched an investigation stemming from complaints alleging racism, the hotel is under fire again for anti-Indigenous practices—this time, allegedly at the hands of the owner’s son, Nick Uhre.
In October, Ryan and Jessica White filed a lawsuit against Grand Gateway Hotel and the Cheers Sports Lounge and Casino in Rapid City after the married couple and their family allegedly had their reservation canceled at check-in after traveling from Wisconsin.
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According to the lawsuit, which was shared by the Rapid City Journal, the White family made reservations—for the couple, their three children, Ryan’s mother, and Ryan’s aunt—for three rooms at Grand Gateway Hotel through booking agent Travelocity. Jessica, who is white, began to check into the hotel on Aug. 13 without any issues. However, the man behind the desk, believed to have been Nick Uhre, stopped processing the check-in when Ryan, who is Indigenous American, entered the lobby.
“Jessica White attempted to provide the Grand Gateway employee with their confirmation number from Travelocity. The Grand Gateway employee refused to take the confirmation number, look in the hotel’s system for the reservation, or take steps to honor the White family’s reservation,” the lawsuit read.
The White family called Travelocity to verify their reservation and saw that there were rooms available on the hotel’s website, but the employee still refused to provide them any accommodation.
“On information and belief, Grand Gateway’s manager and owner Nick Uhre was working at the desk and interacted with Jessica White when she attempted to check into the Grand Gateway,” the complaint read.
The lawsuit also alleged that the employee screamed at the Travelocity representative, who spoke with an accent, to “speak English!” when she was trying to go over the reservation with him.
“After the White family continued to ask the Grand Gateway to honor their reservation, the Grand Gateway employee told Ryan White to leave the lobby,” the lawsuit stated. “The Grand Gateway employee then called security. The Grand Gateway employee also told security to bring backup. The Grand Gateway employee next picked up the phone and said he was calling dispatch. Those statements made the White family feel threatened, intimidated, and concerned for their safety and the safety of their children. Ryan White left the hotel.”
The White family left the Grand Gateway Hotel and had to make another reservation through Travelocity, the lawsuit read.
“As a result of the Grand Gateway’s discrimination, the White family felt and feels threatened, embarrassed, humiliated, disturbed, and shocked,” the lawsuit stated. “The discrimination experienced by the White family was part of a pattern of discrimination by the Grand Gateway… The Grand Gateway created a hostile, discriminatory, and unwelcoming environment for Native Americans.”
In a statement, Expedia Group, the parent company of Travelocity, told The Daily Beast that it “does not tolerate acts of harassment, violence, or discrimination.”
“We will take appropriate action against any guests, partners, and/or properties who exhibit or promote such behavior in-stay or offline,” an Expedia representative told The Daily Beast. “We have suspended the Grand Gateway Hotel from our sites while we investigate this traveler’s experience further.”
The recent lawsuit is not the Grand Gateway Hotel’s first rodeo of being accused of anti-Indigenous behavior.
As previously reported by The Daily Beast, in March 2022, then-owner Connie Uhre made a series of social media posts claiming that due to a recent killing at the hotel, the business would “no longer allow any Native American on property.”
Connie claimed that she wouldn’t be able to determine “a bad Native or a good Native.”
At the time, Nick Uhre told local outlet South Dakota Public Broadcasting that there would not be a ban on Indigenous Americans from staying at Grand Gateway Hotel.
On March 22, 2022, the NDN Collective, an Indigenous activist organization based in South Dakota, filed a complaint against the hotel, Connie Uhre, and Nick Uhre for “explicit racial discrimination.”
As if Connie’s social media comments weren’t bad enough, she was arrested in May 2022 for allegedly spraying Indigenous Americans with some sort of cleaning solution as they protested outside the Grand Gateway Hotel.
Connie was charged with three counts of assault.
In October 2022, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the hotel for civil rights violations.
The DOJ settled the debacle concerning the “egregious” conduct of the hotel on Nov. 11, 2023, demanding that Connie Uhre be removed from her position for four years and that the hotel and its owners “issue a public apology and send it specifically to tribal organizations in South Dakota and throughout the Great Plains region.”
“The defendants both prevented Native Americans from booking rooms at the hotel and made public statements discouraging Native Americans from setting foot on the business’s property,” said U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in the Justice Department’s November press release. “Statements like the one made by a defendant in this case… are reminiscent of a long history of prejudice and exclusion Native American communities have faced. The Justice Department will continue to work alongside Native American communities to fulfill the promise of equal protection under the law.”
According to the White family’s lawsuit, the family wants a trial by jury and financial relief.
The family and their legal team declined to comment on the matter.
In a request for comment, an employee for the Grand Gateway Hotel told The Daily Beast that their manager “may or may not get back to you.”
