Manning: Sarah Lee Circle Bear Died While in Police Custody; Family Seeks Justice
Sarah Sunshine Manning
7/28/15
The death of Sandra Bland, an African American woman who died in a jail cell on July 13 , has the nation abuzz about the ongoing saga of police brutality against people of color, and this time, it is becoming even more apparent just how poorly women of color are treated.
But a lesser known story regarding a beautiful young Lakota woman is just as worthy of our attention. On July 6, 24-year-old Sarah Lee Circle Bear of Clairmont, South Dakota, was found unconscious in a holding cell in Brown County Jail in Aberdeen. Circle Bear was jailed on a bond violation.
Witnesses stated that before being transferred to a holding cell, Circle Bear pleaded to jailers that she was in excruciating pain. Jail staff allegedly responded by dismissing her cries for help, telling her to “knock it off,” and “quit faking.” Witnesses say that inmates cried out for the jail staff to help Circle Bear, to which they eventually responded by picking her up off of the floor, dragging her out of the cell, and transferring her to a holding cell. Circle Bear was later found unresponsive in the holding cell.
I recently learned about Sarah Lee Circle Bear while attending a family ceremonial gathering. A relative set out a memorial chair for Sarah, a tradition of the Dakota and Lakota people. Sarah’s story was shared, and the circle prayed for her and her family for four days. In that time, we all connected with Sarah as a relative. She is one of us. She had life. She was young, beautiful, and she had a future. Sarah was also a mother. Two precious sons, age one and two, are now without their mom.
The family of Sarah Lee Circle Bear continues to grieve, and meanwhile seek justice for their beloved daughter. They are presently looking into different options for lawyers, and fear that without the right lawyer they may miss an opportunity for justice for Sarah.
While the family and loved ones await the results of a toxicology report, the fact remains that Sarah Lee Circle Bear, a beautiful young woman worthy of life, appears to have been blatantly neglected and treated cruelly by the jail staff while in their care.
When any person is taken into custody and under the care of law enforcement, it is their right to receive appropriate medical attention and just treatment. This does not appear to be the case with Sarah Lee Circle Bear, and in the state of South Dakota where Native Americans are the largest minority and hate crimes are reported at high levels, it is time to demand a thorough investigation into her neglect and her death. It is time to demand better treatment of Native women, and justice for Sarah.
Sarah Sunshine Manning (Shoshone-Paiute, Chippewa-Cree) is a mother, educator, activist, and an advocate for youth.
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http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2015/07/28/manning-sarah-lee-circle-bear-died-while-police-custody-family-seeks-justice-161204Here Is What We Know About the Death of Choctaw Medicine Man Rexdale W. Henry
Sheena Louise Roetman
7/28/15
Editor's Note: Indian Country Today is continuing to pursue the facts in the death of Rexdale W. Henry, a 53-year-old Choctaw medicine man and activist who was found dead in his jail cell in Philadelphia, Miss., on the morning of July 14. Stay tuned for more reports:
Henry was arrested for failing to pay a minor traffic citation.
Henry was arrested on July 9 and held in Neshoba County Jail until his death.
According to the Jackson Free Press, he was last seen alive around 9:30 a.m. Correction officers at the facility found his body at 10 a.m.
Following funeral services on July 19 on the Bogue Chitto Reservation, Henry's body was flown to Florida for an independent autopsy funded by anonymous donors.
The Mississippi Crime Laboratory in Jackson is conducting an autopsy, and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations is reportedly looking into the matter.
Henry was running as a tribal council candidate for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians prior to his arrest and served as a stickball coach in his community.
The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians has not released a statement on the death of Henry.
Last November, another inmate in Neshoba County jail died mysteriously in his cell – Michael MdCougle, 29, was found dead on the morning of November 2, 2014 after being arrested at 11 p.m. the night before when police responded to a burglary report. The autopsy reported a head injury and the presence of drugs.
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http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2015/07/28/here-what-we-know-about-death-choctaw-medicine-man-rexdale-w-henry-161205Cellmate Is Suspect in Death of Choctaw Man, Police Say; Choctaw Issue Statement
Simon Moya-Smith
7/31/15
Authorities in Philadelphia, Mississippi, have named a suspect in the suspicious death of Native American activist and medicine man Rexdale Henry.
Justyn Schlegel, 34, was in the Neshoba County Jail cell with Henry when police found him dead, Sheriff Tommy Waddell said, according to WAPT News. Schlegel is now being charged with Henry’s murder.
Police arrested Henry on July 9 for failing to pay a minor traffic citation. According to reports, Henry was last seen alive at 9:30 a.m. on July 14, but by 10 a.m. he was deceased.
Henry was a member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and was recently a candidate for tribal council. The tribe said in a statement released Friday that they are mourning the loss of Henry and are working with authorities to reveal what occurred leading up to his death.
“I, along with the entire tribal community, am saddened by the loss of Mr. Henry. I am committed to working with authorities to see justice served in this case,” Tribal Chief Phyliss Anderson said in a statement. “Please continue to keep the Henry family in your thoughts and prayers.”
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is reportedly looking into the crime. Anonymous donors paid to have Henry’s body flown to Florida for an independent autopsy.
The suspicious death of Henry is the latest in several cases like his that have recently sparked national attention. On July 13 – one day before Henry’s death – Sandra Bland, an African American woman, was found hanging in a Waller County, Texas, jail cell. Medical examiners ruled her death a suicide, but Bland’s family argued that she would not have killed herself given all she had to live for.
Less than a week before Bland’s death, a Lakota mother of two, Sarah Lee Circle Bear, was found unconscious on July 6 in a jail cell in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Circle Bear was later taken to a hospital where she died.
Witnesses said Circle Bear was suffering excruciating pain and heard her pleas for help. The jailers allegedly told her to “knock it off” and “quit faking.”
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http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2015/07/31/cellmate-suspect-death-choctaw-man-police-say-choctaw-issue-statement-161256I guess they weren't dark skinned enough to make the national news, or qualify for liberal outrage.
