BIA and Justice System Work Hand In Hand in Land Fraud

May 29, 2004

Bill Benjamin
Regional Director
BIA Great Plains Regional Office
115 4th Ave. S.E.
Aberdeen, SD 57401

Dear Mr. Benjamin,

What kind of justice is this? What kind of justice system is this? Is this an example of criminal actions covered by laws? What we have here is an attempt to commit an illegal eviction for the purpose of (1) legitimizing prior fraudulent activities, and (2) gaining valuable property valued at thousands of dollars through legalized theft.

I was sitting at my computer yesterday, May 28, 2004, when I saw a police car. I jumped up and looked out the window. Here I saw Robert getting out of a little red car, and here was Louise Big Boy. I looked for Barry Bachrach’s number and started dialing. There was a knock at the door. Phone in hand, I motioned for the police officer to come in. On the phone, secretary said Barry wasn’t in. I gave her the urgent message for him to call. Officer Muffie Mousseau told me they had come to evict me, that I was to get out.

I asked, “What about my property?”

“You had plenty of time to get out,” was her answer.

“I’m going to make some phone calls,” I said, going to the phone.

“No,” she said, “you can’t do that. You have to leave NOW!”

“Where is your authorization?” I asked.

“I have a court order from Judge Lisa Cook.” She had a number of court papers in her hand.

“Why wasn’t I served a copy of that decision? Why was Judge Lisa Cook holding an eviction hearing when the BIA has not yet determined where the 2 acres of deeded Church land is located? What about my property and belongings? If you remove me, are Louise Big Boy and her son, Robert, going to take over my house and property? Are they planning on hooking up to my electricity? What are my appeal rights?”

“As an officer of the law, I am just following orders. My orders are to remove you.”

At this time, the phone was ringing. It was Barry Bachrach, who asked to speak to Officer Mousseau. He informed her that the eviction was illegal, that she would be party to carrying out an unlawful order, that the BIA had not yet determined whose land this is.

Mousseau became argumentative and accused Barry of threatening her.

“No,” Barry said, “I am informing you of the facts. Supt. Bodin and the BIA are in charge of this land dispute, and are to be given time to investigate, and then a decision will be made in writing. What you are doing is carrying out an illegal order.”

Mousseau became belligerent, antagonistic, and told Barry she didn’t have to listen to him. End of phone call. Then she said to me, “I want you to get out now.”

I said, “I am calling the Superintendent.” Which I did, but could not reach him.

“Let’s go,” said Mousseau.

I said, “I am going to the car to get something.” She tried to stop me, because Louise was standing there. Louise backed away like I was coming after her. I said to Mousseau, “You can walk with me if you wish. I only want to get something.”

I walked on past Louise to the car, got a folder with the numbers of the Area BIA Director in Aberdeen, and other numbers. At this point, chief of police, Marty Mesteth arrives. He tells me he has orders to move me out. Phone rings. It is Barry. Police have gone to their cars by Louise. Barry wants to talk to Mesteth. I get him.

Barry explains as he did with Officer Mousseau. Mesteth said, “I have a court order here from Judge Cook that orders me to carry out this eviction.”

Barry explained, “The BIA is still investigating the location of the 2 acres and the ownership of this land. How can an eviction hearing be even contemplated at this time? What can we do to get the order rescinded?”

“We don’t rescind. We just follow orders.”

“In that event, we could end up in federal court with a nasty lawsuit. My client is entitled to due process which you are trying to deny her. I am trying to help you avoid that situation.”

“I have my orders.”

“Would you agree to giving us time to contact the Superintendent?”

Mesteth agreed to giving me 2 hours. At 4:00 he would be returning to evict me. In the meantime, I noticed Louise and Robert were marching all around my house, looking, like they can hardly wait to seize my property.

I said to Officer Mesteth, “What about them? Am I supposed to make arrangements with those two vultures sitting there waiting to steal my stuff and take over on all my house? Don’t you know this is very stressful? Prolonged stress causes high blood pressure and other diseases. Are you going to let them sit there taunting me?”

“I will ask them to leave,” Mesteth said.

They all left. I had just 2 hours to try contact someone, and try figure out what to do. My fingers were trembling as I dialed the numbers. I couldn’t reach anyone. I was told Supt. Boden was not available. Couldn’t reach anyone at Tribal Bldg. I finally thought to call Robert Clifford at the BHPNews. He told me to get my valuables safe, and then wait for them to come and take me away, because that would only get them into deeper trouble, that as a nonmember I still had the basic right of due process, which is being denied here.

What he said made sense to me. I did as he suggested, and minutes before 4:00 came, I was ready for them to swoop in and remove me, a lone elderly woman getting ready to face down a post-modern GOON squad. Four o’clock came and went. 4:30, Barry calls, who was glad to find me still there. He had called Supt. Bodin, Chairman’s office, and the Vice President. I think that probably made a big difference in my not being evicted right then and there.

Eight years ago, I was invited by Louise Big Boy to come live on “her land”. She said I could build a house, plant a garden, paint, hold classes, anything I wanted to do. I told her that building a house was a big job and I was looking to make this my permanent home. Louise said, “No one wants to live down here, no one will bother you.” In return, I agreed to clean up the place and watch her property.

Four years later, after I had started building a 2 story house, cleaned up the property, planted over 100 fruit trees, Louise told me that I would have to move. She gave a reason that she was selling her land, which has turned out to be false. She said Calvin would not buy the land unless I was removed. She sold 80 acres to Calvin Clifford, but not the whole 158 acres like she said she was going to do.

Then Louise started to charge me lease of $800 a year, which I paid for 2000 and 2001. What I have since discovered is that Louise was leasing the same land to Calvin Clifford. I tried to get Louise to lease to me just the part of the land I lived on. Then lease the rest to Calvin, in 2 leases. And I wanted a lease through the BIA land office. Louise refused.

When I went to the Land Office, I discovered that my house was located on two acres of Church land, deeded to the Holy Rosary Mission. Although I offered to lease or buy the 2 acres from the Catholic Church, the Church refused to sell or lease to me. They deliberately ignored my plight, and would not respond to my letters. Finally, the Church sold the 2 acres back to the Tribe, Father Peter Klink explaining to me that “it was best to let the Courts decide.” He sold the land without notifying me or responding to my offers. He was aware that I was the only person who had an investment of thousands of dollars on this property in the house I had built with my own two hands.

Then Louise Big Boy wrote a letter to BIA, stating that I was trespassing and she wanted me removed. Frieda Brewer, BIA employee wrote an eviction letter, rubber stamped Supt. Larry Boden’s signature, and sent me the letter via registered mail, letter dated Oct 20, 2003. BIA employee Frieda Marshall came out to my house in Oct. She told me I would have to move. I told her I believed I was located on Church land. She told me “the Church had built in the wrong location.” I told her that the 2 acres wasn’t specifically defined in the deed other than located in the NW corner of the quarter section. How could the original Church make a mistake? Frieda informed me that Church built in the wrong spot. I asked her to ask one of the oldest living heirs of the Church land location. She refused. Why hasn’t someone asked Cecelia Hernandez Montgomery, neice of Rayz Hernandez, born in 1910, the location of the Church?

What I didn’t learn until just recently, Louise filed with the Kyle court, an eviction on Nov 24, 2003. She would put me out of my house with winter coming on, and with no place to go. I was to be removed from my house that I built.

In March, 2004, Louise Big Boy authorized her son Robert, to move a trailer into my yard without any authorization, no permit. I attempted to stop him. He wouldn’t listen. I requested a restraining order from Judge Lisa Cook. She refused to grant me one. I withdrew the restraining order. Judge Cook then combined the Restraining order and eviction into one hearing set for May 7th. How can she do this? I never paid a filing fee, plus new BIA investigations were undertaken by Supt. Boden to determine the status of the land in question. I requested Supt. Bodin remove that trailer sitting in my yard. To date, nothing has been done about that. In the meantime, Robert has returned at will, to drive around in my yard, to tamper with my vehicles, and to steal my property. I call the police, but nothing is done because I do not have a restraining order. As an excuse, Robert uses that trailer to come and stride all around my house. Why do I have to put up with this? All of this is very stressful to me and I am developing stress related health problems because of it. Who is going to pay my medical bills?

On or about May 15, I discovered Frieda Marshall over near my house. I asked what she was doing. She said she was conducting a survey. Standing beside her I saw 2 boys in their teens. I did not see any survey equipment. She said they were determining the location of the 2 acres. I asked how this could be done without any coordinates. She assured me it could be done. I asked her if they asked eye witnesses. She said that wasn’t necessary. Frieda told me that I was not located on Church land. I asked her why that trailer wasn’t removed. She said Louise had a right to put a trailer anywhere she pleased. I asked Frieda how do you know Louise owns any of this land, Where’s her proof of ownership? Frieda said they had the evidence. I asked her if I could see it. She told me that she didn’t have to show it to me. I asked her if she could show the evidence to my lawyer, Barry Bachrach. She thought maybe she could. Later, Barry Bachrach called Frieda and asked her for the documentation that proved Louise owned any of this land. Frieda told him that she didn’t have to provide that information, told Barry he was rude for asking, and hung up on him. When Barry called back to ask her if she made a mistake, she said no, and hung up on him again.

On or about May 25th, Rural Water came to the trailer in my yard to set up water. They showed me a work order to start delivering water, requested by Robert Montleaux, son of Louise Big Boy. How can he do this when no one can prove ownership of this land? Just saying I own it, isn’t good enough. Show me and a REAL court of law, the evidence.

Why has no one investigated the obvious issues? What is the history of this land? How did Louise come to own this land as sole owner, when she is not part of the original heirship? The last deed I have on the land states that the land was sold to the U.S. Government in 1937. Then, Forence Hernandez and family were moved out of the bombing range in the early 1940’s. From there, Chancey, his son, and wife, Eleanor Hernandez, lived on the land for 25 years, and they built the cabin I am living in today, the cabin I restored. The land was declared submarginal, could not be bought or sold. So, how did Louise come to own this land, when Eleanor and Chancey could not buy or lease it? I hear that Louise has many letters and forged signatures locked up in that land office vault, which no one is privileged to see. If Louise is honest, what does she have to hide? Why is Frieda Marshall hindering, hurrying, and obstructing the BIA investigation? Since Louise can show no grievances against me, why am I asked to move in the first place, if the real reason isn’t to cover a trail of fraud. If I am to be removed, why has no one mentioned my house and what is to become of that? Where is my due process?

I am told that many Indians experience that same land fraud as myself. The BIA land records are supposed to be open to public scrutiny according to the 1868 Treaty, Section 6. I ask that you make it a priority to thoroughly investigate the Land Operations, make your findings public, and see to it that all parties to this fraudulent scheme are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and that myself and all injured parties are duly compensated for damages and abuse at the hands of the legal system that is supposed to uphold and protect everyone’s rights according to just laws.

Sincerely,

Janis Schmidt
Box 4
Kyle, SD 57752

Cc: ACLU
Barry Bachrach
Supt Larry Bodin
Tom Daschle
David Melner, Indian Country Today
Brenda Norrell
Black Hills Peoples News
UN Observer and International News
Carson Walker, AP