Leech Lake resident Silas (Jake) Blue faces charges carrying a
maximum penalty of more than one year in jail for angrily retrieving his
youngest daughter from Baptist missionaries. According to Blue, the child
was picked up without his consent Sept. 27 by a van belonging to the
Heritage Indian Baptist Mission in Cass Lake, where she was taken to church
service.
The Anishinabe man says his three-year-old daughter was barefoot.
"I walked into church, I looked around, I found my baby, I grabbed her and
I pointed at all the people in that church, and I said 'don't ever come
pick up my baby again.' I said, 'look, she doesn't even have any shoes and
socks on,' said Blue".
As Blue left the church followed by pastor Frank Combs, Cass Lake
police officer Richard Sellman intervened in the dispute. According to the
official vesion of events, Blue at one point "...approached Officer Sellman
in a very aggressive manner, placing his hands on Officer Sellman's chest
and pushing him backwards. Officer Sellman instructed DEFENDENT to take
his hands off the officer and then pushed DEFENDENT away from him to a
comfortable distance."
Blue said that he had good cause to be angry, accusing Sellman of
attempting to provoke a confrontation. "I didn't touch him. I pointed at
him," said Blue. "That's when he said, 'what are you doing, pushing me,
Mr. Blue?' like he wanted me to grab him. But I didn't grab him; I just
told him it's none of his business."
Pastor Combs, a Cherokee preacher from Mississippi, said the church
had nothing to do wiht the criminal charges, which were signed by chief
deputy Randy Fisher. Blue is charged with 5th degree assault and two
counts of disorderly conduct. "I think his problem is with the police.
This has nothing to do with the church," said Combs.
Combs asserted that the church driver had the consent of an adult
accompanying the 3-year-old Blue, stating that no one had ever ofjected to
their weekly pickups. "We've been doing this for 11 years, and we've never
had any complaints," said the pastor.
But in fact, several parents in the Cass Lake area have expressed
concern about indoctrinating children in religious faiths which may
contradict the parents' beliefs. Pam Smith, whose children have attended
the Baptist services, said parental consent should be made mandatory. "It
would be different if they would go and ask the parents if it's alright.
But they just come by and they disappear in that bus without a word to
us," she said.
Smith's spouse, Tim LaRose, said the church uses candy and other
material incentives to induce the children to pray. Children attending the
services say they are denied the treats if they fail to say the prayers.
Referring to Blue's case LaRose said, "They must be hard up for Christians,
rounding them up while they're still in pampers.".......
feather eaglerock
leech lake rez (a sovereign nation surrounded by the state of minnesota)
english is a foreign language!
reclaim your heritage
reclaim your language