STURGIS – Sturgis Brown High School has canceled all of its homecoming activities and forfeited a football game against Pine Ridge following racist comments that appeared on social media.

Photos began to circulate Wednesday night showing a car spray-painted with the words "Go back to the rez."

Pine Ridge School is a K-12 school serving the Oglala Sioux Tribe on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

Another picture showed the car being smashed with a sledgehammer as a part of a "car bash," a homecoming tradition that the school says has not been officially sponsored for several years.

In a release, the Meade District School Board said they would like to "express our deepest apology for the actions of a few students from Sturgis Brown High School Wednesday evening."

#ArgusPreps:SDHSAA supports Sturgis Brown homecoming game forfeit after racist posts

The release continued, "We are appalled and disgusted by the racist comments that appeared on social media. We met with Sturgis Police Department this morning to investigate the details, so appropriate action can be taken."

The pictures were taken in the Sturgis high school parking lot without the knowledge of staff or administration, the release said, and administrators throughout the district are planning assemblies to address racism.

"We are a diverse district with many races and backgrounds," the release said, "which is why this situation is so painful."

The Sturgis Police Department said in a separate post that they are "working closely with School Administration" and "the actions of a few do not represent Sturgis Brown High School or the Community of Sturgis."

Donald Kirkegaard, superintendent of the Meade School District, said the incident was "totally, 100 percent inappropriate," and there will be consequences for the students involved.

Kirkegaard said the school board met Thursday afternoon and voted 8-0 to forfeit Friday's homecoming football game against Pine Ridge.

"This was an issue that required severity on our part," he said.

An update on the Meade School District website just before 2 p.m. said the homecoming parade for the Sturgis high school on Friday has been canceled, and the homecoming dance was canceled later the same day.

State Sen. Kevin Killer, D-Pine Ridge, an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux tribe, said seeing the pictures was concerning at first.

"You know, I thought the narrative is changing," Killer said. "We have different legislative actions, we're supporting the inclusion of tribal voices. It was kind of disheartening to see this by a younger generation."

But seeing the school board and the student council condemn the actions gave him some hope, Killer said.

"I think it's an opportunity to have both student councils work to build bridges and understand," Killer said. "We need to have a broader conversation about how these things can be prevented in the future."