Tragedy at Red Lake; why is it only in small print?

The tragedy at Red Lake High School has gotten little coverage and yet it is no less of crisis than the natural attrocities facing Indonesia nor the killings at Columbine. We have short-term memory loss and the mainstream media depends on it. Only the fact that one of the conspirators in this horrific occurence was related to the tribal leader draws any attention. And yet many lives were lost, an entire community was emotionally disemboweled; still we grieve loudly for the pope and Ms. Shiavo, when so many more need our help.

The shooting deaths of students at the school at Red Lake Indian Reservation shatter our collective souls. Again we are reminded of how tentative life is, how close we are to not being able to open a door ahead and continue on. The tragedy at Red Lake High School has gotten little coverage and yet it is no less of a tragedy than the natural atrocities facing neither Indonesia nor the killings at Columbine. We have short-term memory loss and the mainstream media depends on it. Only the fact that one of the conspirators in this horrific occurrence was related to the tribal leader draws any attention. And yet many lives were lost, an entire community was emotionally disemboweled; still we grieve loudly for the pope and Ms. Shiavo, when so many more need our help.

Following are two takes on the event at Red Lake, one from the NY Times and another from the University Wire during the week of March 28th. After you read them, and are so inclined, there is a list of donation resources for those that are left. To nurture their families and dispel the enormously sad specter of a world gone mad, a child killing his family, peers and then himself. It is like the Sex Pistols warned, "No Future"! I certainly hope this is just a lyric.

NYTimes:
So the arrest over the weekend of Floyd Jourdain's 16-year-old son, Louis, in connection with the shootings last week at and near Red Lake High School that left 10 people dead, is not just another blow to a wounded community, tribe members said.

What had been a path of loss and grief over the actions of one troubled young man has become more complex with the suggestion that a member of a family that has been central to the community might have shared the same violent thoughts.

"It seems like this has gone from bad to worse," said Eileen Sumner, 46, who works at Red Lake Hospital, as she stood beside a memorial to those killed. Her daughter Katie, 20, said that what had stunned everyone was that Louis Jourdain seemed to have such a positive family.

"If this kid could be in this kind of trouble," she said, "anybody's kid could be in trouble."

Floyd Jourdain, who as tribal leader led the mourning last week, was compelled as a father on Tuesday to defend his son, who government officials say was intimately involved in planning the attack, although the police say it was also clear that the gunman, Jeff Weise, acted alone.

an oped piece on the u wire states:Red lake(U-WIRE) LINCOLN, Neb. -- Funeral ceremonies for the victims of last Monday's school shooting on the Red Lake Indian Reservation in
Minnesota began this weekend with friends, family and an entire community in
remembering the 10 people who died.

On March 21, Jeff Weise, 16, killed his grandfather and his
grandfather's longtime companion, before proceeding to the school, where five
students, a schoolteacher and security officer were shot, before the teen killed
himself.

While the nation, and especially the media, openly questioned that
day's unfolding, the reservation community has been reluctant to do so.

The Associated Press reported: "It simply is not their way. For much of
the week, they slammed the door of their reservation to the prying eyes of
television cameras and reporters who wanted to know why . . ."

As the story hit the presses, more community members came forward
testifying to Weise's mystifying and depressive behavior. Stories explained
Internet sites where Weise detailed his views about himself, his depression, his
fading hope in the world and the "nightmare" of a reservation he called
home, his entire life.

The AP, in an article over the weekend, cited a Minnesota survey
stating, "Red Lake students said they assaulted other classmates and used more
alcohol and drugs than other students across the state."

Other figures reported on life for American Indian teenagers - they
"commit suicide at three times the national rate," are "involved in
alcohol-related arrests twice the national average" and "die in alcohol-related
incidents at 17 times the national average."

The majority of articles about yet another school shooting have
targeted life on the reservation, but few articles are commenting on the
alarming facts of violence in American school culture.

The focus shouldn't be on violence of teens on American Indian
reservations or the disparaging and emotionally charged story of another high school
shooting.

Many researchers are studying youth violence and aggression. In the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln's youth violence and aggression lecture
series, internationally known researchers such as William Pollock and
Susan Limber, and the upcoming Andy Horne and Nicki Crick, have presented
their research nationwide.

But it seems America isn't listening, or is failing to target a
solution, to this seemingly American phenomenon of violence. Our question is: Why
not?

With each yearly figure reported on violence in America, and each story
about a school shooting that questioned the school or region, why isn't
the nation examining the source of this violence in detail?

Before the Red Lake tragedy fades to a news brief blip on the press
wires, it would behoove all Americans to take a hard, long look on public
school culture.

The nation's children have more to say about their learning
environments than can be captured by large-scale test results. And perhaps school
shootings like Columbine and Red Lake are more than just the horrific
actions of individuals. Perhaps they are symptoms - proof that the
collective we call America is letting its children down.


**Support the Red Lake High School Community**
Here is a short list of organizations collecting donations to help the
people of Red Lake.

General Donations:
Red Lake Nation Memorial Fund
P.O. Box 574
Red Lake, MN 56671

Red Lake School Tragedy Assistance Fund
St. Philip's Catholic Church
702 Beltrami Ave., NW
Bemidji, MN 56601

Food and Fuel:
Gasoline cards ($25 recommended) and grocery gift certificates for
family traveling back to the reservation.
Red Lake Urban Office
Franklin Business Center
1433 E. Franklin Ave., Suite 13A
Minneapolis, MN 55404

Funeral Expenses:
Victim's Families of Red Lake Memorial Fund
First National Bank, Bemidji
P.O. Box 670
Bemidji, MN 56619