04/01/2022
Tragically, in April 1991 two Lawrence police officers, who were called to avert a potential su***de, actually shot and killed the victim—a 22 year old Creek-Choctaw man. His sister had seen me a few weeks previous for employment assistance. The vice-president of the Lawrence Indian Center Board of Director’s 19 year old son, who was Cherokee-Choctaw, had been discovered dead in Lawrence a year before, and his death remained unsolved. There were other unsolved deaths of young male Indians in the past 15 years. Besides Gregory Sevier, died 4/21/91, and Chris Bread, died 3/2/90, there were other’s remembered: Harry Oliver, Kikapoo, died 12/4/89; Cecil Dawes, Jr., Cheyenne-Arapaho-Creek-Seminole, died 10/89; John Sandoval, Navaho, died 4/89; and Laurence Picotte, died 3/77, when he was shot and killed by three Lawrence police officers. The city commissioner, concerned that violence might break out over racial tensions with the police, spoke to the Lawrence Indian Center Director and me. A few days later the inquest determined the shooting was justifiable homicide because the young Indian man had alcohol in his system and was holding a knife. Forums for expressing frustration followed, but the tension did not seem to be relieved for me. With the guidance of the vice-president of the Lawrence Indian Center Board of Directors, I arranged with the city manager, and went to the racially split segments of the community and spiritual leaders whom I asked to come together and pray during a four day healing ceremony, where I held vigil in a teepee for three nights between the court house and the police station in Lawrence. Over 500 individual’s signed their respects at the register book outside the teepee during the three days of my vigil. (A year later I had the opportunity in a mediation social work class to meet with the consultants who provided training and development for the Lawrence Police Department around minimal force issues.) Five years later the City of Lawrence settled out of court with the family for wrongful death. This experience profoundly re-directed my focus in counseling from simply career development issues to include mental health and social advocacy.