Alcohol sales ban cut short
WELLPINIT, Wash. – Responding to a growing concern that the use of drugs and alcohol is fueling violence on the Spokane Indian Reservation, the Tribal Business Council earlier this month approved a 30-day moratorium on the sale of alcohol.
But eight days after enacting the moratorium on June 9, it voted to shorten the ban to permit alcohol sales on the reservation in time for the busy July Fourth weekend.
“We were hoping to control anger, stop retaliation and begin healing,” said Lillian Alexi, a tribal elder. “We felt we were slapped in the face.”
She and others said that lifting the ban on Monday also was disrespectful to the memory of Gary Flett Jr., a 20-year-old tribal member who was killed June 1 in what many believe was a drug-related shooting.
On Tuesday, a suspect in Flett’s death, Joey Moses, 23, waved his right to a probable cause hearing in U.S. District Court in Spokane. Moses was arrested June 6 by FBI and Bureau of Indian Affairs agents on the reservation, 30 miles northeast of Spokane, and charged with second-degree murder.
On June 5, the first night of a two-day wake for Flett, Moses’ mobile home on the reservation was burned to the ground. On June 24, Flett’s reservation home also was damaged by fire.
“We are aware of and investigating both of those incidents,” said Special Agent Frank Harrill, a supervisor in the FBI’s Spokane office.
On June 8, at the request of some reservation residents who believe liquor was aggravating already heightened emotions, the tribal council voted unanimously to ban the sale of alcoholic beverages on the reservation until July 9.
A week later, about 80 concerned residents gathered at the Longhouse in Wellpinit to discuss the recent killing and fires and the toll that substance abuse has taken on the reservation of about 1,500 residents. Warren Seyler was the only council member in attendance.
Some called for a permanent ban on alcohol sales on the reservation. The Yakama Nation in south central Washington approved such a ban in 2000, but it has been difficult to enforce and challenged in the courts.
“Alcohol has impacted us so heavily,” Alexi said. “There is not a family who doesn’t have an empty chair because of alcohol and other drugs.”
But on June 16, the council voted to limit the ban to only 18 days, ending it on June 26. Clinton M. Wynne, who defeated Greg Abrahamson in June 3 elections, was sworn into office on June 19. On June 17, Richard Gary won a runoff election to replace David Wynecoop Jr., who did not seek re-election.
Voting in favor of curtailing the moratorium were Abrahamson, Wynecoop, Gerald Nicodemus and Richard Sherwood. Seyler’s was the lone vote against the new resolution.
The vote was a disappointment to tribal ire chief and Stevens County deputy coroner Jack LeBrett, who said the moratorium had made a “positive impact” during the nearly three weeks it was in place.
“Our call volume decreased dramatically,” LeBrett said.
The month before, he said, was the busiest month on record for Spokane Tribal Ambulance, which was making a run a day, transporting patients to Spokane hospitals.
Most transports are related to substance abuse, he said, either because of injury accidents or chronic disease. He called the moratorium one of the best resolutions the council has made.
“We have seen more violent deaths here over the years,” LeBrett said. “It’s no secret we have a drug problem. What community doesn’t?”
But on a reservation as small and close-knit as the Spokane’s, even one untimely death has a major effect on the community. Both tribal and non-tribal residents of the reservation were represented at the Longhouse meeting, LeBrett said.
“The message was the same: ‘Drugs are killing our people.’ ”