Azure Says Steps Needed To Cut Crime
Asks For Community Effort
The chairman of the Fort Peck Tribes is tired of the crime activity occurring on the reservation. Floyd Azure feels enforcing existing laws and having people step up to take responsibility are parts of the path to decrease the amount of crime.
“It’s time for the tribes to step up and take action,” Azure said. “We’ve been basically not doing anything. Too many people on past councils have been afraid to lose votes.”
While being interviewed by this newspaper on Wednesday, April 8, Azure mentioned that another elder was attacked the previous night in Poplar. That alleged incident came just a week after an elder in Wolf Point was brutally attacked at her residence. The area has also recently experienced youths attacking a young Poplar student with a machete and another person being shot in the shoulder with a high powered rifle.
“There’s something wrong when they don’t respect elders,” Azure said regarding some of the attacks. “The current council wants to take action. I would like to think they are committed to cleaning up the reservation for all the people.”
Azure points out that there are laws on the books that aren’t always being enforced, such as that children should stay in school until the age of 18 or that the housing authority can evict tenants if criminal activity occurs at their location.
He said that some of these young people are in “survival mode” because they aren’t being held accountable by parents or other relatives.
“It makes me mad. The majority of people are good people here,” Azure said.
The amount of drugs available to young children is also a great concern, he added.
One positive step was a recent meeting with tribal officials, Fort Peck Tribes Department of Law and Justice, the Roosevelt County Sheriff’s Office and the Wolf Point Police Department where good conversations on fighting crime took place.
“They all have a lot of good comments and are willing to help us any way they can,” Azure said of the meeting.
Also recently, the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Drug Task Force conducted a sting operation that resulted in the removal of drugs and also arrests on authority of federal and tribal warrants. Azure said more such efforts might happen in the future.
The chairman explains there was a time when some juvenile court hearings took place at area schools so travel was easier for guardians. He feels that route should be used again.
Azure says it’s the tribal government’s duty to take action to make the reservation a better place for everybody, but it also needs to be a complete community effort.
“All the people know someone or are related to someone who breaks the law,” Azure said. “You just can’t depend on the police. We have to do it together.”
He urges residents to call law enforcement when they have knowledge of a crime or possible crime taking place. He said finger-pointing doesn’t solve any problems.
“We all have to get involved. We all live on the reservation no matter what color you are or who you are,” Azure said. “This is a community problem and we have to work together.”
