Strides against reservation violence

By Sara Burnett, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published January 17, 2008 at 12:30 a.m.

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Photo by Javier Manzano / The Rocky

Ernest House Sr., tribal chairman of the Ute Mountain Utes, and other leaders want the tribe to take over its own court system.

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One year after the soaring crime rate on the Ute Mountain Ute reservation made headlines, tribal leaders and law enforcement officials say they have taken unprecedented steps to curb violence, even if progress has been slow.

The tribal council has notified the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs that the tribe wants to take over its own court system, a move that will allow for stiffer penalties and fines for offenders.

More than 100 area law enforcement officers have been deputized to enforce the law on the reservation, and efforts are under way to provide better treatment for people addicted to alcohol and drugs - problems that have long plagued this area of southwest Colorado.

And perhaps most notably, tribal officials and area police are working together in ways never before seen.

"The attention has been positive," said U.S. Attorney for Colorado Troy Eid, who pronounced the Ute Mountain Ute reservation the murder capital of Colorado 13 months ago.

"I think most exciting is that we've redefined what's possible in the eyes of people in Southwest Colorado and others who said nothing would ever change there," Eid said.

But change won't happen overnight. The reservation, anchored by the town of Towaoc and home to about 2,000 people, still saw its share of arsons, domestic violence, drunken-driving deaths and killings this past year.

"It's going to take a long time, because there isn't an easy answer to all our problems," said Ernest House Sr., who was elected tribal chairman last fall.

Runaway murder rate

Eid began making noise about the alarming level of crime on the reservation in hopes of bringing attention - and action.

In 2005 and 2006, the reservation saw six killings, for a rate of three homicides per 1,000 residents. If Denver had the same murder rate, it would have seen 1,693 homicides in those two years - far more than the 127 that actually occurred.

Eid, along with tribal officials, attributed much of the problem to drug and alcohol use, as well as a lack of funding for courts and police. The Bureau of Indian Affairs police department based in Towaoc, for example, had just five full-time officers to patrol an area roughly the size of Rhode Island.

In April, the U.S. Attorney's Office got permission from the Bureau of Indian Affairs to train area police and sheriff's deputies on responding to crimes in Indian country. The officers are then deputized, providing back-up to police on the reservation.

The entire police department for Cortez, a few miles to the northeast, has been deputized. After years of sometimes hostile relations between the department and the tribe, it's what Chief Roy Lane calls "a win-win."

"We now have a working relationship," Lane said.

For the past year, he's also met every few weeks with Gary Hayes, a Ute Mountain Ute tribal councilman. The men discuss events on the reservation and share ideas about how to improve life there.

It's something that had never occurred in the 27 years Lane has been with the department.

"I'm hopeful that at some point, a lot of the barriers will be broken down," Lane added. "Quite truthfully, if we don't exchange ideas and work together, it only benefits the criminal element."

Tragedies mount

In December, Congress approved about $500,000 to help the Ute Mountain Utes take over their own courts.

House hopes that the end result will be a system that runs more consistently - recently, the reservation went nearly a year with no prosecutor, and cases often are dropped when they shouldn't be.

Tribal leaders also are trying to get help in dealing with alcohol and drug problems, House said.

They're planning sports and other activities and summer jobs for youth, too many of whom are getting involved in gangs or could be considered gang "wannabes," vandalizing cars and buildings and leaving a trail of graffiti, House said.

But the tribe also acknowledges that talking to its young people isn't enough. It must address issues like broken homes, and a deep-seeded anger visible in many of the younger people.

"Words alone are very, very, very weak," House said. "They don't do the trick."

Meanwhile, the reservation continues to see tragedy.

In November, a man was accused of shooting a woman at a party, after the group had been drinking and the pair began fighting over alcohol, according to an affidavit filed in federal court. Roybal Whiteman, a Ute Mountain Ute tribe member, was charged with second-degree murder.

Two passengers died in a drunken-driving accident in July, police say. The driver has been charged with involuntary manslaughter.

That same month, another tribal member confronted his wife about an affair, pointing a rifle at her and threatening to kill her before setting several small fires in her home. The man cut his wrist as a police officer approached. He survived and has been charged with arson and being a felon in possession of a weapon.

Still, Eid and others see hope.

"There hasn't been a decrease (in crime) yet," he said. "But they're on the right path."

burnetts@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5343

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