Health expert visits Minn. reservation By DAVE KOLPACK, Associated Press Writer Published 5:39 pm PDT Tuesday, August 30, 2005
http://www.sacbee.com/24hour/nation/story/2674460p-11199614c.html
RED LAKE, Minn. (AP) - In the weeks after a student killed seven people and himself at the high school on this Indian reservation, 150 students either quit or only showed up to class sporadically.
School administrators banned backpacks to try to make the school safer. Counselors were brought in. But students were scared, especially when a second teen was arrested as a possible accomplice in the March 21 attack.
Now, as the Red Lake Band of Chippewa prepares to start a new school year, the director of the Federal Indian Health Service says he isn't sure how many of the school's approximately 300 students will be back.
"We're doing everything we can, and that includes mental health services and working with the tribe on traditional healing methods," Dr. Charles Grim said Tuesday, after wrapping up a tour of the reservation and meeting with teachers and administrators.
Students are due to return for orientation sessions Thursday and Friday at the reservation schools in northwestern Minnesota. The first day of classes is Tuesday.
Grim, the director of the federal Indian Health Service, said his department had dedicated $1 million to reservation health programs, including counseling for students and adults, following the shootings that left 10 people dead.
Jeff Weise, 16, killed his grandfather and his grandfather's companion before going to the school and killing five students, a security guard, a teacher and then himself.
Earlier this month, teachers, parents and elders fanned out over the reservation to encourage students to return.
Grim said his meeting with teachers and staff was uplifting. "I think the teachers are ready," he said. "I told them they have many people supporting them."
Grim closed his visit by participating in traditional tribal dances, one for healing and one for safe travels. "His visit was something that means a lot to us," said Judy Roy, tribal secretary. "These are not just empty promises. They can help."
After the shooting, the school board considered ways to make its schools more secure, but some teachers complained the changes were not enough.
Students were prohibited from leaving the campus at lunch, partly because teachers complained the students weren't returning in the afternoon. But the board declined to require uniforms to reduce teasing and bullying. Weise, who favored a black trench coat and sometimes twisted his hair to look like horns, was reportedly harassed by other students.
Prosecutors have not said how they believe the second student arrested was involved. Louis Jourdain, the son of Tribal Chairman Floyd Jourdain Jr., is to be tried as a juvenile in connection with the March 21 shootings, family members said Monday. Juvenile proceedings are not made public.
High school Principal Chris Dunshee said all the school's teaching slots are now filled, even though some teachers resigned over the summer
"We're keeping our fingers crossed that everything will go off and we'll get the kids back in," Dunshee said.
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