Rally to discuss safeguarding Box Elder schools to follow cross walk

A cross walk followed by a rally to investigate better protection for Box Elder schools is set for Saturday.

The cross walk is set to start in Big Sandy at 9 a.m. Saturday at the rest area there and will proceed to Box Elder.

“Because of the darkness of alcoholism, drug addiction, missing and murdered indigenous persons and violence in north-central Montana and the Hi-Line, we will carry a cross, walk and pray,” a flyer about the event says, saying people can call Pastor Rich Jesperson at 406-680-7080 fro more information.

Local activist G. Bruce Meyers, a chaplain and former state representative who helped organize a prayer vigil following a double homicide in Box Elder March 25, said he wants the people at the rally to say what should be done to protect the students at the school, who are 200 yards from the convenience store where Darin Benard Caplette, 41, and Thomas Roderick Yallup, 42, were shot to death about 1:30 a.m. March 25.

“(Students) walk to that store for snacks and goodies,” Meyers said.

He said a population of drug users are in the area, and people who are high regularly walk by the school.

“Those issues put our students at risk,” he said.

Meyers said he is not saying what should be done, but he wants to hear from local residents and parents of the students what they want to see.

One possibility is following in the steps of the Circle of Nations School in North Dakota, formerly the Wahpeton Indian School, he said.

The school was founded by Congress in 1904 for a school for the education of Native American Children under the direction of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, which administered it until 1993 when administration was transferred to the Wahpeton Indian School Board, a tribal corporation chartered by the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians. The school is not on a reservation or tribal land.

The North Dakota attorney general, the school board and the North Dakota congressional delegation requested an opinion from the Bureau of Indian Affairs solicitor whether the school was considered Indian Country.

The solicitor found that, despite a significant Native American presence at the school, the absence of a specific tribal jurisdiction to regulate and provide law and order meant that the state could exercise civil and criminal jurisdiction over it, due to the vacuum of jurisdiction if it was considered Indian Country.

State and local law enforcement normally do not have jurisdiction over tribal land, which is provided by tribal law enforcement and federal agencies.

Box Elder also is not on a reservation but borders Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation with numerous villages on the reservation close by and a significant number of students who are Rocky Boy residents.

Meyers said he thinks one possible solution for the situation in Box Elder is to have the state attorney general and Montana’s congressional delegation request an opinion from BIA finding that a joint jurisdiction could be created with the Chippewa Cree Tribe, the state and Hill County providing safety at the school.

“The school of Box Elder is dependent on those three entities to come together and provide for the safety of the children,” Meyers said.

He said one possibility would be to have increased presence from the Hill County Sheriff’s Office, possibly even creating a substation such as the Chouteau County Sheriff’s Office has in Big Sandy.

But, he added, he is not creating a solution. That is for the local residents and the parents of the students to decide.

“I propose that, but it’s up to the parents to support it,” he said. “ … I don’t want to overstep my bounds and present solutions that the community will not support.”

He said the rally will be at the Joe Rosette Memorial Park across from the schools following the walk, and he hopes to see as many people as possible there to talk about the issues.

The flyer for the walk says it will start at the Big Sandy rest area at 9 a.m. and proceed to Box Elder, and is expected to reach there by early afternoon.

A vehicle will be providing water, energizing snacks and a ride for the weary.