Lawlessness and violence at Northern Cheyenne

LAME DEER, Mont. – Within the past few months, four unsolved murders, several home invasions, the rise of bold drug operations in broad daylight on Cheyenne Avenue (Main Street in Lame Deer) ; the increased presence of intoxicated persons also hanging out in that area and finally the rise of various groups or gangs of young people who often have public altercations, underscore the point that the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, especially the major community, Lame Deer is dealing with a major increase in crime and lawlessness.

Jason Small, Northern Cheyenne Tribal members, state Senator and vice-chair of the Montana Legislative Tribal Relations Committee represents both the Crow and Northern Cheyenne Reservations. He has been researching the problem of inadequate law enforcement, affecting both reservations, and contacted this reporter to share some of his findings.

In tandem, on July 22, 2020 President Rynalea Pena with the concurrence of the Tribal Council wrote to the three members of the Montana Congressional delegation (Tester, Daines and Gianforte) requesting a formal inquiry with federal law enforcement regarding deaths of tribal members, including three in 2020 and one in 2018.  The tribal members who died under suspicious circumstances include: 1) Lonnie Flatness, an elder and retired Marine, violently murdered in his own home; 2) Christy Woodenthigh, a mother of three children who was run over and killed by a vehicle; 3) Kamani Littlebird, allegedly found hanging under suspicious circumstances and 4) in 2018, Henny Scott, age 18 found frozen to death under suspicious circumstances.  To date, there have been no investigative results, charges or prosecutions.  The suspects remain at-large and these deaths have had a unsettling effect upon the small close-knit reservation community.

In its letter the Tribe complains about the lack of information provided to them or to the victim’s families.  Small also expressed frustration about getting information from the B.I.A.  “They won’t answer me,” he said, “wanting everything in a Freedom of Information Act request forwarded to the Central Office.”  Apparently, this applies to the Tribal Government as well.

Small was, however, able to ferret out some startling information.  Normally with a B.I.A. force of about 12 officers, the Northern Cheyenne Agency is now down to a handful (five or less, including the Area Office which has two officers who can be dispatched daily to areas that are short-handed). The Northern Cheyenne Agency has not been fully staffed since 2013 and Small wants to know where that savings went and if there is a contingency plan. Until recently Crow was in the same boat, until Chairman AJ Notafraid managed to find funding to hire additional officers.  The details of that are not available.

When fully staffed, the B.I.A, officers averaged about 300 arrests per month, misdeamenors under the Tribal Law and Order Code.  Yet, in recent months, that average has dwindled to about 12 per month.  “They just don’t seem to be arresting people,” Small said “and often call upon the Military Societies that are still active, willing to assist and provide shelter for intoxicated persons.”

The other problem is the availability of detention facilities for those who are arrested.  The Lame Deer Jail, a B.I.A. owned and operated center has been closed for some three years awaiting repair.  Thus, the Lame Deer B.I.A. is now dependent upon the Two Rivers Detention Facility in Hardin, which serves several Tribes, located some 60 miles from Northern Cheyenne.  Plus, that transportation exacerbates the officer shortage problem, sometimes leaving one office on duty, responsible for the entire reservation.  As a result of CoVid, the capacity at Two Rivers is 100 and often they do not have room for additional inmates.  Finally, neither does the B.I.A. or Tribe have Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) in place to utilize other area detention facilities such as the Hardin or Rosebud County sites.

According to several local sources who have videotaped conversations with B.I.A. officers, the B.I.A. has decided that because Lame Deer is (on paper, but never implemented) an incorporated town, they are leaving jurisdiction of that area, especially Cheyenne Avenue or County Road 39, ( the hotbed of the trouble spots) to the Rosebud County Law Enforcement.  Once, again there is no MOU in place to allow that, given the long-standing tension between the Tribal and County Governments, especially as it comes to Law Enforcement.  And such a thing is unprecedented.

Small’s personal theory is that the B.I.A. wants to get out of the Law Enforcement business on reservations.  “That agency could address these life-threatening problems very quickly, but their action or lack of action indicates they doesn’t care or have other plans.”

 

(Clara Caufield can be reached at acheyennevoice@gmail.com)

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