Red Dawn Foster facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Red Dawn Foster
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| Member of the South Dakota Senate from the 27th district |
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| Assumed office January 8, 2019 |
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| Personal details | |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | University of Colorado Denver (BA) University of Notre Dame (MBA) |
Red Dawn Foster is an American politician who serves in the South Dakota Senate. She represents the 27th district, which includes the Pine Ridge Reservation and several counties like Bennett, Haakon, Jackson, Pennington, and Oglala Lakota. She was first elected in November 2018 and started her work on January 8, 2019.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Red Dawn Foster studied political science at the University of Colorado Denver, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. Later, she received a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Notre Dame. She is a member of two Native American tribes: the Oglala Sioux and the Navajo tribes.
Political Career
Serving in the South Dakota Legislature
How She Was Elected
In 2016, Red Dawn Foster first ran for a seat in the South Dakota House of Representatives for the 27th district. She ran with state Senator Jim Bradford. However, they did not win the election that year.
In 2018, she ran for the South Dakota Senate. She won the Democratic Primary election against James Bradford with 55.6% of the votes. In the main election, she ran against Republican Bill Hines and won with 58.6% of the votes. This is how she became a state senator.
She ran for re-election in 2020 against Republican Judd Schomp and won again with 56.3% of the votes. In 2022, Senator Foster ran as the person already holding the position and won against Republican David Jones with 51.45% of the votes.
According to South Dakota's rules for how long lawmakers can serve, Senator Foster can serve one more term in the Senate. She is able to run for re-election in 2024.
Her Work in the Senate
From 2019 to 2020, Senator Foster worked on several important committees. These included committees for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Health and Human Services, Military and Veterans Affairs, and Transportation.
In the 2021-2022 legislative session, she served on the Commerce and Energy, Health and Human Services, and Local Government committees. In 2022, she also worked on special committees. These included the Ag. Land Assessment Task Force, Rules Review, State-Tribal Relations, and a study on Juvenile Justice.
Bills and Ideas (2022 Session)
Supporting Native American Rights
Senator Foster has always worked to support the rights of Native American people in South Dakota. She has helped create many bills that aim to celebrate the achievements of Indigenous people. She also supports bills that would allow Native Americans to hunt, fish, and visit state parks without needing special licenses or paying fees.
She also believes that Native American history should be taught in South Dakota schools. This is a topic that people in South Dakota often discuss.
| Bill | What the Bill Does |
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| SD HB 1195 | Asks the Indian Education Advisory Council to report to the Governor and the State-Tribal Relations Committee each year. |
| SD HCR 6001 | Suggests that the star quilt should be recognized as the official quilt of South Dakota. |
| SD SB 161 | Provides money to help research new ways of building homes for tribal communities, especially for use in space. |
| SD SC 814 | Honors Norma Rendon, Waciampi Win, for her honorable life and leadership. |
| SD SC 817 | Praises the Social Distance Powwow for keeping traditional songs and dances alive online during the pandemic. |
| SD SC 824 | Honors the Lakota Nation Invitational for 45 years of success and showing off Native youth's talents. |
| SD SC 825 | Honors Stevi Fallis for scoring 1,000 points and the Red Cloud High School girls basketball team for their great playing. |
| SD HB 1141 | Would allow members of Indian tribes in South Dakota to hunt and fish without paying fees. |
| SD HB 1142 | Would allow members of Indian tribes to visit state parks without paying admission, camping, or service fees. |
| SD HB 1170 | Aims to include the Oceti Sakowin Essential Understandings in the social studies lessons taught in schools. |
| SD HB 1185 | Would allow students to wear a beaded graduation cap at school ceremonies. |
| SD HB 1148 | Provides money to build a memorial for the South Dakota Sioux Code Talkers. |
| SD HC 8014 | Honors the life and service of Dr. Arthur W. Zimiga. |
| SD HC 8015 | Honors the work of Ethleen Iron Cloud Two Dogs. |
| SD HC 8016 | Honors the work of Beverly Warne. |
| SD HCR 6014 | Asks the federal government to fully fund the police departments on the Pine Ridge and Rosebud Sioux Reservations. |
Addressing Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons
Senator Foster has also worked on bills to bring attention to the Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) movement. This movement focuses on the many unsolved cases of Native Americans who have gone missing or been murdered. Indigenous women and girls are much more likely to be victims of violence.
| Bill | What the Bill Does |
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| SD HB 1171 | Changes rules about missing children. |
| SD HB 1194 | Provides money to temporarily fund a position for a person who helps with Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons cases. |
| SD HB1264 | Provides money for the office that helps with Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons cases. |
Expanding Healthcare Access
The expansion of healthcare programs like Medicaid and Medicare is a big topic in many states. Senator Foster strongly supports making these programs available to more people in South Dakota.
| Bill | What the Bill Does |
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| SD HB 1103 | Sets up how much money will be paid for chiropractic, dental, and eye care services under the Medicaid program. |
| SD SB 102 | Creates a fund for Medicaid expansion and explains how money received from expanding Medicaid will be used. |
| SD SB 186 | Aims to expand who can get Medicaid benefits through a decision by the Legislature. |
COVID-19 and Tribal Checkpoints
When the COVID-19 virus spread in 2020, the Cheyenne River Sioux and Oglala Sioux tribes set up checkpoints. These checkpoints were on roads leading through their lands. They did this to try and stop the virus from spreading. At that time, the Navajo nation was facing very high rates of infection and deaths from the virus. They had asked the United States Government for help but received little.
South Dakota's Governor Kristi Noem chose not to put many rules in place to fight COVID-19. She wanted to keep the state open to help the economy. She threatened to take legal action against the tribes, saying their checkpoints were against the law. The tribes argued that their checkpoints were legal because they are sovereign nations. This means they have the right to govern themselves.
Senator Red Dawn Foster supported the tribes. She criticized the governor for not doing enough and for threatening the tribes. Senator Foster stated that the Coronavirus was "a matter of life and death on a reservation."
