Mayor Allender announced the City of Rapid City will observe Juneteenth and Native American Day as official city holidays

Rapid City, S.D. – According to the city officials, the recognition will begin next month when City offices will close on Monday, June 19 in recognition of Juneteenth. 

City administrative offices will also be closed Monday, October 9 in observance of Native American Day.

Juneteenth commemorates and observes the official end of slavery in the United States, when three months after the Civil War ended and two and a half years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, word of freedom finally reached enslaved people in Texas.

According to Mayor Allender, for many years the City of Rapid City has recognized nine legal holidays of observance among city employees. 

These holidays included the traditional observances of New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.