U. S. Justice Department at LaCreek District Human Rights Committee Meeting
From the 14 June 2002 issue of the Black Hills People's News
Thanks is extended to the Black Hills People's News
LACREEK, S.D. -- A meeting was held in the LaCreek CAP Building on Tuesday, 11 June 2002. Chuck Jakosa, with the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, and Kyle Nayback with the U.S. Department of Justice, were there to take testimonies from Oglala Lakota people who have complaints against Bennett County law enforcement.
Chuck Jakosa was the first to speak. Jakosa said: I know that many of you have been stopped by the local police many times, and have had your rights violated. I hope something can be done about this. And it's not that the United States will do anything about it. The United States doesn't work that quickly. It takes so long for the United States to do anything about civil and human rights complaints. I'd love to walk in here and take your testimonies and file a complaint with the U.S. Civil Rights Commission. But it doesn't work that way. I know you're frustrated. But you are only beginning the long process of bringing justice to Bennett County. It takes many years to accomplish something like this. We have a case in New Jersey. For thirteen years we've been trying to put the case together. And the case is still going on. And what you're starting here, it's not going to get accomplished unless the people get involved. You people are at the beginning of a long process. I know, because I do lawsuits. You're now working hard to elect the right people in Bennett County. And I heard where you recently had success in doing that. If you can take political control, it would help you more than any lawyer can in a court case. You want to be able to drive down the highway without being harassed. You want to feel like the system is fair and works for you. We'd like to talk to all of you, get your stories. Kyle Nayback is here. He works in the Department of Justice. He's the Deputy Director of Tribal Justice. He makes sure Indian Country is served by the Department of Justice. Nayback is going to apply pressure to get us to do something about what's happening in Bennett County. I want you in attendance to know, I'm trying to get a case going against the Custer Detention Center. I know a lot of you have had problems with that facility. I need your input on Custer, too.
Kyle Nayback: I am the director of Tribal Justice in the U.S. Department of Justice. I work along with the Circle Project here in Pine Ridge. I've worked on Nevada vs. Hicks. A high profile case that went to the U.S. Supreme Court. I work with the COPS Grants, which supplies a lot of funding to Pine Ridge law enforcement. I'm here to assist Chuck Jakosa. I am here to support Chuck. I'm here to listen.
Marie Lange, who was born and raised in La Creek District, spoke next: My father is Harry Conroy. He was elected to tribal government and worked hard on human and civil rights for the Oglala Lakota people. Because of his influence, I had the opportunity to have a business in Rapid City. The Lakota are very honorable people. Alcohol, drugs, sexual violence: those things were all introduced to us. We Lakota didn't live that way. We believed in the right to the animals and birds to live on the land. And to live in equality with us. This system of government has failed us terribly. Our true leader was Tunkasila. What is democracy today? It is a republic. We are a treaty people, and three-fourths of us live in poverty. Those not in poverty share their income. My nephew, Jess Claussen, sets a beautiful example of doing that. Jess works hard and makes a good living and he shares it with the LaCreek people. He works hard for the rights of the LaCreek people, too. How did our ancestors deal with their laws? Let's say I'm an alcoholic. I get drunk and run over a child with my car. I'd wake up miserable. And you know what I'd want to do? I'd want to put myself down. I'd want my people to put me down. America has no solutions to its problems. Now we have many suicides among the Lakota people. We don't have suicide bombers who want to destroy America. Many of us feel hopeless and destroy ourselves.
There is lawlessness in Rapid City. Drugs and alcohol are there. But the Rapid City law enforcement ignored that it's a city-wide problem. Instead, Rapid City law enforcement focuses on the Lakota. Like it's an Indian problem.
Our Lakota people are being controlled and regulated by poverty.
On this reservation, the American system of law enforcement is flawed. And has been handed to us by the United States on purpose. For instance, the BIA police have to arrest our people. And the BIA policeman who has to arrest us, is our relative.
All of this is a form of genocide. The U.S. Justice Department is destroying us. You (Dept. of Justice) attempted to destroy us. But we're still here. I want to have the freedom to live like my great-great grandfather did. When the Indians are set free, only then will you set every American free. You people in Washington, D.C. have deaf ears. Custer didn't listen to us. Look what happened to him. I don't want my grandchildren to experience what I experience. We Lakota are non-capitalistic people and that frightens America. I don't want my people to suffer for the next 200 years. Pila maya.
LaCreek District Representative Craig Dillon: Recently, we had major upsets in local elections. We even had a Lakota elected to the school board. That's never been done before. That shows, if we get organized, we can change things. If things go right in the November election, we will be able to take care of our own problems here in Bennett County. You, from the Justice Department, will hear today about Indian people who were arrested by local law enforcement and taken to jail. Where their feet and hands were cuffed and then were left on the cement floor of a cell for hours. You will hear that inmates were shot with stun guns while incarcerated. You will hear of illegal searches of houses. This past Sunday the police forced their way into a house. They were conducting a "welfare" search. These things are really happening. If an Indian person will sit down and write a complaint, you know they have been victimized. And we have a lot of complaints on file. Now, rumors are moving around the whole community of Martin that our newly elected Indian people are non-taxpayers. Some are being accused of being pot smokers. In the 60's, pot was readily available here. I'll admit I did. And I'll admit I inhaled. But we can't hold that against someone's past. I'm going to turn the microphone over to Jess Claussen. Jess is our leader in this movement. I just wanted to say, the election showed us that things can change.
Jess Claussen: We hope to get rid of Sheriff Waterbury this November. We have many people who have been terrorized by Waterbury. I'd like to see Russ Waterbury in court. I don't want him to just move on to another community. He likes to bully people, and harm people. I'd love to see where he can never be a police officer again.
We are glad the Justice Department is here. It will get the attention of those in Martin who oppose us. By being there, you two help us put pressure on them. When the ACLU or Justice Department shows up, Bennett County law enforcement steps up the harassment on us. When we do something to expose them, we get pulled over and searched. Maybe we can get a statement from you folks, to get these people to back-off from harassing us. Your presence creates that harrasment, so we need your support.
Chuck Jakosa: I will be happy to stay here and listen to all your stories. One thing I'd like to respond to is: Maybe we can get the sheriff to back off. But past experience seems to show they come back, then back-off, then come back. I can advise you on how to stop the sheriff from targeting the Lakota. Political power will help you, too. Please let us know today how you want to tell us your stories. We can tape your testimonies.
Claussen: We need to have individual interviews. And the interviewer should lead the person into the interview, to ask pertinent questions. We need that type of help. If we have courageous people who will stand up today, it would be good. I myself was violated twice. One time was when they searched my house last year. I still don't know why they did it. They gave me no reason. No apology. I guess I just looked like a good person to search. I have a nice home, a new vehicle. So I was assumed to be a drug dealer. I did drugs, but that was in my past. Now I do everything to help people who have abuse problems. The way we are treated in Bennett County, we feel "the sheriff's office is our enemy". Very few of the Indian people are criminals. Yet, all of us are treated like criminals. The wealthy white people and their politicians can go to the bar five nights a week. They have no fear of being stopped when they leave the bar. Gross partiality goes on here, and it's been going on for years. Most of the time, there is no probable cause for an Indian being stopped. Just this Saturday night, a Lakota house was entered illegally by law enforcement. No reason was given. No apology.
This past winter over 600 people showed up at a march in Martin. But not many on the outside even heard of that march. For we have had a media blackout here. Black Hills People's News has been here, and has helped us a lot. We only got a little clip on television regarding that march. The Rapid City Journal interviewed me for forty-five minutes. That really got me fired up, excited. The next day, I read the newspaper. My forty-five minutes was cut to: "Jess Claussen praises law enforcement". That's all that was in there. The Lakota Journal did a story on Waterbury, and they praised Waterbury. Like I said, we suffer from a media-blackout in Bennett County.
Four Native Americans have died recently because of the sheriff's department. One of them had tried suicide before, so when he was arrested he was put on a suicide watch. That evening he allegedly hung himself. A Native American died that night. A wrongful-death lawsuit should come of that. And there was another suicide in the Jail. Irving Milk was not the type of person to commit suicide.
To stop these suicides, we want to get the right people elected.
Another incident was when Bennett County Deputy Sheriff Shannon Butler was transferring an inmate to Hot Springs. Butler was just leaving Pine Ridge when he heard another deputy calling for help back here in Bennett County. Butler spun his patrol car around because he wanted to be involved. He headed back through Pine Ridge at 65-80 miles-per-hour and ran into a Lakota family, killed Dave Mousseaux and his wife.
In court, Butler was found to have been speeding. That's all. No federal charges have been filed yet. The prisoner in the sheriff's car was hurt badly. Butler was then allowed to leave this area of South Dakota. He moved on. Now he is a deputy in another county.
Sheriff Waterbury is supposed to investigate complaints against his officers, but he won't. We have asked the state (Department of Criminal Investigations) to come in. They have come in. They spend a half-hour in Waterbury's office, then they're gone. Nothing ever happens.
During the march last winter I prayed that nothing violent would happen. And yes, publicly I thanked and praised law enforcement for controlling things.
We did that march after everything else failed us. We had went through the chain of command. We went to the city council, the mayor, the county commissioners. Still they wouldn't do anything to address our civil rights complaints. So we had the march to get their attention. And we then took our complaints to Washington D.C. Vern Moves Camp did turn in a box of documents to federal authorities in Rapid City, but nothing happened. When Vern Moves Camp was arrested and taken away, a lot of documents we needed came up missing...
Robert Fogg, Jr., a resident of Martin who has worked diligently to register voters for the city and county elections, asked Chuck Jakosa: Do you two men have business cards? Can we have some of your business cards? And would you accept statements by mail?
Jacosa replied: Here are some of my business cards. And yes, we can accept mail. But after the anthrax scare, my mail doesn't work well. FAX or email works well for me. But it's more helpful to meet with me here. Even if you in attendance are afraid to tell us your complaints in public, we can make arrangements to talk to you privately. It would be a lot better for me to talk with the people. But if you do decide to send me your complaints, here is a Civil Rights Complaint Form.
You have to give consent to law enforcement in order for them to search your car. If they violated that, we want to know about it.
Fogg: I felt safe during the March on Martin last winter. I felt safe with the Lakota people, and with their law enforcement being there.
Myrtle Howard, a lifelong LaCreek resident, spoke: I am 71 years old. I've been here for years and years. Ever since I was a little girl, I was exposed to racial brutality. I can remember when they used a water hose on a 16 year old Indian boy and killed him. I know of people who died in this jail. Nobody ever did anything about these things. Indian people are naturally bashful. I am too. But I'm here at this meeting, because I don't like what's going n in Bennett County.
One time my granddaughter and I were shopping in Martin. She was accused of stealing. Sheriff Waterbury came and was feeling her all over, accusing her of stealing. That was really wrong. In 1911, the land in Bennett County was stolen from the Indian people. They stole it from us. What's going to happen because of that? Nothing. Why don't they go back to Europe where they come from. Their land is over there. What about the white guy in Parmalee who killed an Indian? He got three years for killing an Indian. I know of a lot of bad things that happened. I'd rather be in the penitentiary than this jail up here. When are white people going to accept that us and them are the same? Accept that we have the same type of kidneys, etc.
It's so hard for me here. It's so pitiful here. Look at the Indians in jail. Look at the white guy who stole money from the bowling alley. Nothing was done to them. Look at the white guy who stole money from the Co-op. Nothing was done to him. But they blamed Indians. Yet it was white guys who did the crimes.
The government put us out on the reservation in bunches, like dogs. After that incident in New York last September, a white lady at the cafe in Martin asked me: Wasn't that awful what happened in New York City? I smiled and told her: Maybe now the white people will know how our ancestors felt at Wounded Knee in 1890...
Marie Lange: Waterbury has really hurt the people here. We're going to get Waterbury someday. Even if he's 100 years old.
Rich Mousseaux, a LaCreek resident: Everyone mentioned how bad they are treated out here. Well, in Bennett County Jail you are treated like dogs. I had my jaw broken in jail. I'm an unsika warrior out here and I've been picked on enough. That's why I'm coming forward. When I was arrested, they used a shocker on me. Then cuffed my feet and hands and left me on the cell floor. I tried to tell the jailers that my jaw was maybe broken and that I couldn't talk. What did the jailers do? They turned up the music. Finally, I was taken to the hospital and x-rayed. The x-ray said my jaw was broken. They didn't want to take me to Rapid City, so they released me. I want justice. All the deputies' wives are jailers. While I was in jail, I was charged, but I never did receive papers on it. I was in jail three days without seeing a judge. Then the charges were dropped. I'm present here today, to talk for all the boys who were and are incarcerated.
Claussen: If you keep a person in jail for extended periods it's easier to get a plea bargain from them. A lot of our problems are due to the Weed & Seed Program. The Weed & Seed Program was brought in for the Indian people. But it has actually turned against the people. We recently turned down $6 thousand from Weed & Seed. Weed & Seed lied to the Empowerment Zone and President John Steele. These two didn't see if we really did pass a resolution to accept Weed & Seed. Tribal government works by resolutions. Why wasn't that procedure followed? Sheriff Waterbury has been budgeted $250 thousand for 2003. That's a $125 thousand raise to continue to treat people badly.
Charles Bettelyoun: Why wasn't the Weed & Seed funding given to the district, and the district or tribal treasurer could of handled the money?
Claussen: The sheriff's budget keeps going up. There is now a drug dog they purchased. But there is no money put out for intervention or prevention. There is an alcohol problem on the reservation. A place where we can do sweats etc. We could support intervention and prevention. I been to treatment three times. I've been sober for six years now. Weed & Seed doesn't come to us Indian people, they just use our names to get funding. Weed & Seed would work if it was used for intervention. Weed & Seed used the Oglala Sioux Tribe, LaCreek District and the Empowerment Zone to come in here. LaCreek turned it down. The city of Martin wanted it. The city saw dollars. We saw problems. The city needs numbers to qualify and satisfy the Weed & Seed Program. So they are bound and now determined to show that Indian people are big drug users and drug dealers. And nepotism is in Weed & Seed. It reeks of corruption in that area. The people in Weed & Seed accumulate lists of people to satisfy the need for numbers. Kids, who are known to attend parties, are pulled out of school to take drug tests. We don't like the way they treat our children.
Charles Bettelyoun, former OST Councilman from LaCreek District: I was on the tribal council for 18 years. About two years ago, I was approached by Sandy Flye. And she told me that LaCreek people were having problems with Bennett County law enforcement. When this all first started, a number of us attended a county commissioner meeting. We told them about the sheriff. They laughed us off. We found out then, the sheriff controls the city council and county commissioners.
When I stop in town to get gas, I fear the police will stop me. I'm not a troublemaker. A lot of these problems I blame on Weed & Seed. The sheriff got Weed & Seed by using LaCreek District's name. There was fraud in getting Weed & Seed. A Lakota woman posed as a district representative, when she wasn't one.
Many members of my family are in the service. Yet we are being treated this way. It's getting to the point where there is a conflict between white and Indian people. But, I must mention, there are some good white people. Now, we have decided to fight fire with fire. Three of our Indian men were top vote-getters in the recent election. A friend of the Indians is now in as mayor. I know it will take a long time to solve these problems, and it will take longer yet to get over all this. I liked Robert's article on the March in Martin. Especially where he wrote: The Whole World is looking at Martin, South Dakota. I have friends in faraway places who know of Russell Waterbury. Waterbury is a very dangerous man. We have nothing to lose. I don't care how long it takes to get rid of Waterbury, we'll get rid of him...
At this point the LaCreek District Human Rights Committee decided it was time for lunch.
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