Wotanin wowapi 1988-11-03

              Frazer/Lustre team member � Chris Bauer � makes All conference Team
-photo p. 9-
Ft. Peck Tribes, WPCO work to get Indian vote out Nov 8
Masquerades across Reservation -photos p. 5-
Tribal Executive Board Action
October 24-25 pp. 10-12
The Fort Peck Tribes and the Wolf Point Community Organization Casino are participating in getting out Indian voters for Tuesday's Nov. 8 General Election.
About 20 tribal employees will be volunteering to haul voters to the polls, be poll watchers where they will sit at one of the precincts on the reservation keeping track of who has voted..
Each community through the Fort Peck Reservation will nave a phone bank where people can call for a ride. Poll runners will then be sent out to bring in those who need rides.
The phone  banks will be
located at the following places: Wolf Point Casino � 653-3475 Dorothy Cody's Office � 653-2733
Poplar YMCA � 768-3735 Tribal Office � 768-5155 ext. 2356
Frazer Headstart � 695-2224 Brockton Nutrition Center � 786-3304
Ft. Kipp Headstart � 786-3267.
The WPCO Casino will be running free taxi service to the polls.
The Fort Peck Tribes have gone out in an effort to register as many Indian people to vote in the general elections as possible.
The next step is to get the people to the polls to vote.
Voters- going to the polls will vote for president and vice-president; one United States Senator; one United States Representative from the Second Congressional District (eastern); a governor and lieutenant governor; secretary of state; attorney general; state auditor; clerk of Supreme Court; a state senator from district 10; a state senator from district 11; a state representative from district 20, and a state representative from district 21.
County elections include a clerk of District  Court;  one
Roosevelt County commissioner for district 3.
A write-in candidate for* the 1 commissioner seat is being waged for tribal member Pat Bushman, Wolf Point. Commissioner James R. Halverson, Wolf Point Democrat, was running unopposed .
A Judicial Ballot will ask voters if Justice Russell McDonough of the Montana Supreme Court should be retained for another term in office, and whether Justice Fred Weber should also be retained, as well as Judge M. James Sorte for the Fifteenth Judicial District.
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"Serving the Fort Peck Reservation"
VOL 19 N0. 43
NOVEMBER 3,1988-
SA ��� research documents 170 child sexual abuse cases
Poplar Headstart classes held educational inlormation sessions for Halloween safety, Sanitarian Fred Steele Jr.
conducted by the IHS
Aggravated sexual assault draws 5 years
WOLF POINT � A Frazer man, Marvin Bull Chief Sr., pled guilty to 5 counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child on October 13 and was sentenced, on October 28, to five 1-year terms to run consecutively tor a total sentence in detention of five years.
The defendent appeared in Wolf Point tribal court, before Judge Violet Hamilton, with his representative, lay counselor Kevin Rasor. Judge Hamilton accepted special tribal prosecutor Ron Arneson's recommendations in the Sentencing Order. Bull Chief will serve his time at the tribal jail in Poplar.
Bull Chief is ordered to pay the "reasonable medical costs not paid by other sources of mental health treatment" to the victim, and to pay $10,000 restitution to the victim. The defendent's MM account is attached until the total amount of costs and restitution is paid in full, and any property owned by the defendent is also attached until the full amount of costs and restitution is paid in full, according to the Sentencing Order.
According to the order, Bull Chief  can   be   released   on
probation at any time after one year from the date of the order, but first, the IHS is ordered to do a complete evaluation of the defendent and complete a plan of appropriate treatment based on the findings discovered in the evaluation. IHS' plan shall include placing the defendent in an appropriate treatment facility, where he is ordered to comply with all rules and regulations of the facility, and to mal<e a "good faith attempt" to complete the treatment program. Failure by-Bull Chief to do so will be considered contempt of this court's order.
The defendent can be released from treatment upon written recommendation of a licensed
psychologist or psychiatrist or other qualified professional, that the defendent is determined to be no longer be a danger to other persons in the community. If Bull Chief is released from treatment before October 14, 1993, he will be placed on probation for the remainder of time, according to the Sentencing Order.
According to the prosecutor, the victim  had  been sexually
assaulted by the defendent over a number of years before the victim came forward.
Arneson, who is employed under special funds to the Tribes to prosecute child abuse cases, said he is "absolutely satisfied" with Judge Hamilton's decision to accept his recommendations. "In 'my opinion, the fine is a limited amount compared to the suffering the victim went through, one has to balance that against the damage."
The state has a victims restitution assistance program, but the Tribes do not, said Arneson. "I'm hoping in the future we'll get to the point where we can provide help. It's a traumatic situation."
Arneson feels the people need to be aware that there is a child sexual abuse problem, that something will get done, and that peopie will be made aware of it.
Child abuse is not a problem exclusive to this reservation, said Arneson, but we're just now starting to be "brave" enough to say we won't accept it.
Aggravated sexual assault is considered a felony that carries a maximum sentence of one year, a $5000 fine or both, according to the Tribes Code of Justice.
POPLAR - There is a total of 170 documented cases of child sexual abuse cases on the Fort Peck Reservation from 1982 to October, 1988 according to a preliminary research report from the Fort Peck Tribal Sexual Abuse Victims Treatment Project (SAVTP).
Originally, SAVTPwas provided with 78 known victims, but after a more thorough research, 95 more cases of "possible child sexual abuse" were found by Clare Helminiak M.D. who was contracted by the project to research medical files.
A records review was conduced in October by Dr. Helminiak, who was hired by SAVTP at $200 a day to review medical records at the Verne E. Gibbs Health Center in Poplar and the Wolf Point
Montana Senator, Governor endorse Trinder
POPLAR � After spending a weekend of campaigning in Northeastern Montana, with Chuck Trinder, both Senator John Melcher and Governor Ted Sch-winden have decided to endorse Chuck Trinder and his campaign for Montana State Senate, District 10, according to a news release issued this past Monday from the Trinder campaign.
On Saturday, the campaign swing through northeastern Montana began with a luncheon, a W.P.C.O. Casino, where Governor Schwinden said, "Chuck Trinder will provide the kind of common sense leadership we need to find responsible solutions to the problems of education, economic development and the effects of drought on agriculture," it stated.
Trinder had lunch in Plen-tywood and dinner in Scobey, on Sunday, with Senator Melcher at campaign fund raisers. Senator Melcher said, "I know Chuck understands the problems we all face, whether in agriculture, education, economic development, or the care of our senior citizens.
Both Montana's Senator Melcher and Governor Schwinden urged the voters of Senate District 10 to join them in support of Chuck Trinder and vote on November 8 to send Chuck Trinder to the Montana State Senate in January.
"Special chief" of Sioux to make Black Hills presentation
POPLAR�On Thursday, Nov. 3, California engineer and millionaire Phil Stevens, who was made a "special chief" of the Sioux, will be making a presentation on the Black Hills.
The presentation will be at the Poplar Activity Center from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., and supper will be served at 5:30 p.m. Stevens is providing for the meal, as he sent in a $300 check to help cover expenses.
Stevens is well known among the South Dakota Sioux for taking up the cause of the Black Hills and presented amendments to the Bradley bill seeking an additional $3.1 billion in compensation to the Sioux tribes.
Stevens has also been the center of controversy, not only for his proposed amendment, but also because of a special honoring ceremony by some members of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe naming Stevens a "special chief". He was presented an eagle feather
war bonnet
According to a Lakota Times spokesperson, the Oglala Sioux, parts of the Rosebud Sioux, and the Cheyenne River Sioux support Stevens' amendment.
According to the Times newspaper, the Black Hills Steering Committee, made up of 8 Sioux tribes including Fort Peck, developed the originalBlack Hills legislation with the coordination of Gerald Clifford, an Oglala Sioux from Pine Ridge Reservation. The legislation became known as the Bradley bill and is currently stalled in a Senate Committee. It was sponsored by Sen. Bill Bradley, (D-N.J.) and would return about 1.3 million acres of federal land in the Hills as well as about $200 million in compensation to the Sioux.
Stevens supports the bill but has proposed an amendment seeking an additional $3.1 billion in compensation.
According to the Times, Clifford
and the steering committee have opposed Stevens on the grounds that the request for additional compensation would sabotage the bill.
Stevens' association with the South Dakota Sioux began in 1986 when he went to Pine Ridge.
Stevens, chairman of the board of Ultrasystems, Inc., Irvine, Calif, travelled to Washington, DC in October, 1987 with Clifford and then Oglala Sioux tribal attorney Mario Gonzalez, where they met with the office of the Secretary of Interior, the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs and the House Staff Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs.
The Oglala Sioux tribal council passed a resolution authorizing Stevens to work with the Black Hills Steering Committee "in a coordinated effort to seek unity among the Sioux people and broaden the base of congressional and senatorial sup-
port" for return of the unoccupied federal land in the Hills, the Times reported.
However, according to news reports, there appears to be a division among the Sioux with the Bradley bill supporters and the Stevens supporters.
The Black Hills Sioux Nation Treaty Council, comprised of elderly Sioux members, voted to dissolve the Black Hills Steering Committee and renounce coordinator Clifford. The Treaty Council "pledged total support" for Stevens and his campaign. However the Treaty Council action is without power, according to a source in South Dakota. According to the Times, dissolving the Steering Committee would have been a victory for Stevens.
The ceremony naming Stevens a chief was criticized by some Rosebud Sioux members who felt the cermony should not have
(Page 3 �Stevens)
IHS Clinic, including Mental Health, Social Service, and Outpatient Clinic. Records from Poplar Community Hospital that were contained in the outpatient chart were also reviewed, as well as at Tribal Court. SAVTP provided Dr. Helminiak with 78 cases they documented prior to October, 1988.
SAVTP director Ed Bauer said the BIA Social Services, IHS and Tribal Courts each have their own record keeping systems and it was difficult to trace each case through.
According to the preliminary report records indicate there were 2 in 1982, 8 in 1983, 6 in 1984, 40 in 1985, 14 in 1986, 30 in 1987 and 34 in 1988 so far, with another 36 not documented by year.
Of the 170 cases, there is no documentaion of 36 being tried, the report indicates, twenty-seven went to tribal court and were dismissed without going to trial; six went to federal court and were dismissed without trial; there were 14 convictions in tribal court and 12 convictions in federal court, the report shows, and the 1988 cases are in progress.
Special child abuse tribal prosecutor Ron Arneson said he could not agree without seeing or verifying the legal statistics. Child abuse cases without enough substantial evidence are dismissed, and this could include not enough medical information, as well as in the investigation and interview of the victim, said Arneson. If there is not probable cause shown, it would be a violation of the civil rights of the accused to go ahead with prosecution, he said. However, said Arneson, he is an "aggressive prosecutor" who will push for federal or tribal prosecution if he is convinced there is evidence.
The preliminary report indicates that there were 34 male and 136 female victims, with 21 of them in the ages of 0-4 years of age; 50 of them between the ages of 4 to 8 years old; 37 who were between the ages of 9 to 13 years old; and 52 victims in the age group of 14 to 18 years old.
Of the types of child sexual abuse there were forty-seven cases vaginal intercourse, according to the report, with 31 victims being fondled; 26 cases indicating anal intercourse; 19 oral intercourse; 10 pornography; 8 fondling with digital penetration; 1 vulvar coitus; with 61 cases not specifing the type of abuse.
Research shows that 42 victims had psychiatric followup; 34 victims were in the home; 30 were placed in foster care; 8 were placed with an extended family; and 6 were institutionalized.
Bauer feels that the lack of
followup on all the victims is a problem. Victims coming through the tribal system need to be followed up on, said Bauer, to see if the cycle of abuse will be repeated.
The preliminary report provided additional profiles of the victims. According to the report, 54 victims were related to the perpetrator by blood or marriage; 29 hold a history of previous neglect; 14 had previous physical abuse; 7 cases had previous or subsequent sexual abuse; there were 5 victims with developmental delay; 4 victims had subsequent teenage pregnancy; 4 with mental retardation; 3 cases of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome; 1 Fetal Alcohol Effect and 1 with special education.
Bauer said some information of the victim and perpetrator cannot be determined through the files, such as income levels, education of perpetrator, dates and time referrals, referral source, disposition of cases, for example. The information did exist anyplace, he said.
SAVTP
Three years of life was given to the SAVTP recently with the passage of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act after 6 years and three Congresses. The President had 10 days, from October 22, to sign the bill, if not, it will be a "pocket veto." A tribal delegation to Washington, D.C. in September to seek funding was successful in that amendments were introduced by Senator John Melcher to the Health Bill for the 3 years of funding.
SAVTP was originally funded in 1987 with a one-time special appropriation from the Bureau of Indian Affairs to research child sexual abuse on the Fort Peck Reservation and develop and design a model treatment plan for both the victim and perpetrator.
After several months of delays caused by the tribal election and selection of personnel, the SAVTP got underway this past March with the present staff of Bauer, researcher/grant writer Richard Courchene and secretary Carlene Belt.
Bauer said they originally envisioned they would be done with their research in 90 days, but it took 7 months.
Bauer said the original proposal included that the project staff research and make a comprehensive file of the child sexual abuse victims. However, he said, their staff could not obtain access to IHS medical files. The original grant writers didn't know the legalities regarding medical files, he said, a court order and parent's signature was needed to review individual medical files.
(Page 2-SAVTP)
Masquerades were held across the reservation last weekend. Shown is some of the people who came out to play.