Spirit Lake Nation of North Dakota suspended its social services director, who is facing domestic violence charges.

Mark Little Owl, a member of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, is accused of hitting a woman and shoving a child, believed to be one of his sons. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges but his appearance at a public forum on the reservation yesterday drew criticism.

“Why are you still sitting there?” Robin Poorbear told Little Owl, The Grand Forks Herald reported. “You can’t even take care of your own family!”

“Mark, you owe this tribe an apology for coming in here after what you did," added Lavonne Albert, the paper said.

The incident occurred August 1, 2012, shortly after the tribe hired Little Owl. The tribe later agreed to hand control of its social services program to the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

People at the forum spoke about cases of child abuse and sexual assault that have gone unpunished. One man said his 14-year-old daughter committed suicide after coming forward about being assault.

"Before she took her life, she told me she wished she never stepped forward,” the man told tribal and federal officials, the Herald reported.

U.S. Attorney Tim Purdon said his office investigates every single child abuse allegation.

Get the Story:
BIA, FBI hear stories of child abuse, vow to ‘make improvements’ at Spirit Lake (The Grand Forks Herald 2/28)
Federal Officials Outline Efforts to Combat Abuse on N.D. Reservation (PBS Frontline 2/28)

Related Stories:
Spirit Lake Nation hosts public forum on social service issues (2/26)
PBS: Abuse allegations continue to plague Spirit Lake Nation (2/26)
Spirit Lake social service director had prior domestic cases (01/24)
Spirit Lake social service director charged in domestic case (1/23)
Native Sun News: Partnership to protect Spirit Lake children (01/23)
BIA to provide Spirit Lake Nation with fingerprinting services (01/11)