PIERRE, S.D. (AP) – Continuing an effort that began 20 years ago, Gov. Mike Rounds declared a Year of Unity and urged South Dakota’s different races to get to know each other better and cooperate on common problems.

Watching in the Capitol rotunda during a noon ceremony Friday was Tim Giago, who helped persuade former Gov. George Mickelson to declare 1990 a Year of Reconciliation between American Indians and non-Indians.

“This time around we’re going to make it work,” said Giago, a journalist and Oglala Lakota Sioux. “We’re really going to make it work.”

Rounds said much has been accomplished since 1990, and he outlined steps for state government to take in his final year in office.

“The Year of Reconciliation was a historic and courageous first step to begin the process of improved race relations in South Dakota,” he said.

“I believe South Dakota has come a long way in bringing people of different races and cultures closer together, but there is always more that can be done.”

Rounds said the proclamation is intended to encourage races and cultures to better understand each other, to promote education about racial and cultural diversity and history, and to improve communication and coordination among groups to address common challenges.

Mike Jandreau, chairman of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, cited a recent meeting of federal, state and tribal officials to discuss crime in Indian country as an example of cooperation.

He said the state’s nine tribes share a responsibility to cooperate.

“Tribes must have a desire to interact and make it happen,” Jandreau said.

Rounds said state government’s involvement over the next year will include promoting Indian culture and history books in summer reading programs, working to improve Indian health, and focusing on tribal art and economic development.

“Government and tribal organizations alone cannot bring people closer together,” Rounds said. “The Year of Unity must be carried forward in the hearts and minds of individuals.”