About us

West River Tenants United is a Tenants' Union in Lakota Territory West of the Missouri River (in South Dakota), currently based in Mni Luzahan (Rapid City). We are an intersectional anti-racist organization, organized by and seeking accountability from the working class, Indigenous people, women, the LGBTQ+ community and other marginalized groups. We are not a service organization; we are a union, a vehicle for mutual aid, and a movement. We are bringing tenants together, educating our community about their rights in the colonizer's legal system, and supporting each other as we challenge landlords, government officials, and the unjust system of housing under capitalism.

Our History

In February of 2019, a local non-profit called One Rapid City hosted a community listening session on housing discrimination as part of its project to document discrimination in Rapid City. Those that gathered generated a series of action ideas and wanted to continue meeting regularly. One Rapid City then partnered with West River Democratic Socialists, the Black Hills Community Loan Fund, and others to form the West River Housing Coalition which continued hosting regular meetings throughout the next year. 

In the fall of 2019, Coalition members attended an online training on organizing tenants run by the LA Tenants Union. The West River Housing Coalition immediately made plans to put their training into action. In November of 2019 we scheduled several tenants’ rights workshops and held their first neighborhood canvassing event in Valley Village Trailer Park in Box Elder. Throughout the winter, we continued hosting regular neighborhood canvasses and tenants’ rights meetings. In January 2020, Marina Allison went to the media regarding Cynthia Akers’ fraudulent billing practices in Rapid City and we were put in touch with her. Over the next two months, the Coalition hosted four tenants’ rights meetings for Akers’ tenants and door-knocked and flyered every home in the four trailer parks owned by Akers in Rapid City including Countryside, Marquette, Deluxe, and Hillsview.  

In mid-March of 2020 when COVID19 became a major concern in our community, our meetings moved to phone and online. At the same time, people began reaching out to us regarding evictions, and the group shifted its energy to providing regular court support for tenants. In April of 2020, the group declared itself an autonomous tenants’ union and began operating under the name “West River Tenants United.” As of August 2020, we have provided physical court support to seven families facing eviction in Rapid City and have been in touch with additional families facing eviction. We have begun limited low-contact flyering again in the community and will be holding more in-person meetings outdoors while the weather allows.