The three brothers of Mason Nasser fight child abuse in their own way here.
Justice for Mason
Family turns tragedy into opportunity to educate
By Brandon Ecoffey
Native Sun News Managing Editor RAPID CITY – Mason Nasser, a 4-year-old member of the Lower Brule Sioux tribe, was allegedly murdered in his home in Gann Valley, SD. The family of Mason refuse to let his death be in vain. Each year there are countless deaths in Indian country as a result of child abuse. Many of these incidents are often swept under the rug and are never aired publicly. The family of Mason Nasser is determined to use Mason’s unfortunate death as both an opportunity to educate others about child abuse and to hold the state of South Dakota’s Social Services department accountable for their role in his death. According to prosecutors, Donika Rae Gonzalez, 22, the live in girlfriend of Tyler Nasser Sr. beat 4 year old Mason Nasser to death on Feb. 21 in their home near Gann Valley, SD, for urinating in his pants. Gonzalez has been charged by the state with second-degree murder, first degree manslaughter, aggravated assault and felony child abuse. The second-degree murder charge carries with it a mandatory life sentence if convicted. “He was just a little child and he didn’t deserve to have this happen to him,” said Mellissa Walters the maternal aunt of Mason. “We tried over and over to tell the DSS workers that there was meth being used in the home where he (Mason) was and that he had bruises on him from being abused,” she added. Recently the state of South Dakota has come under fire for not following both its own policies and those established by the Indian Child Welfare Act when removing children from their home. Both the Oglala Sioux tribe and the Rosebud Sioux tribe have joined together in a class action suit demanding that a Federal judge order the state to give the parents of children who are being seized a hearing detailing why a child has been removed from the home and an opportunity to speak on their own behalf. According to attorneys representing the tribe the state has removed Native children at a far higher rate than non-Natives and the hearing that the state holds now does not meet the minimum constitutional requirements necessary to satisfy the rights of the parents. Mason Nasser was born in Mitchell, SD to Tyler Nasser a non-Native from Gann Valley, SD and Angelina Walters, an enrolled member of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe. The two also had two other children together Tyson, 3, and Tyler, 5. In 2010 Angelina Walters the mother of the boys was convicted of assault on a minor and remanded to custody at the South Dakota State Women’s prison. After Angelina began serving her sentence custody of the youngest son Tyson was granted to Mary Nasser who is both a certified foster parent in South Dakota and the paternal grandmother of the three boys. Mason and Tyler were first placed under the supervision of DSS and were eventually placed by the State in the home of their father Tyler Nasser Sr. Somewhere between the time of the placement of the children and Mason’s death Tyler Nasser Sr. began dating Donika Rae Gonzalez who would eventually move in to the home where Nasser Sr. and his oldest two boys lived. Shortly after the Walters family began hearing from both mutual friends and from Angelina’s other son Treshawn (from another relationship), who was also living in Nasser Sr.’s home that Mason was being abused by Gonzalez. “After we started hearing that they were being abused in the home we contacted DSS and told them that we wanted visits with the boys,” said Mellissa Walters. “When we took them all to visit their mother at the prison Treshawn told his mother that Donnika was beating up his brothers,” she added. DSS would not allow unsupervised visits because according to Mellissa Walters the Nasser family was not comfortable with them being around the children. Eventually DSS allowed for visits to take place at the DSS office in Chamberlain, SD. At the visits the Walters family began to notice bruises all over the boy’s bodies. Immediately they began contacting both DSS and the Lower Brule Sioux tribe about what they had witnessed, however a social worker for the State named Nancy Tichy told Walters “going out there (Nasser home) is a waste of time because the boys are perfectly safe.” The family then went to the Lower Brule Sioux tribal court and asked them to step in based on ICWA and the allegations of abuse but the tribe ruled in favor of the Nasser’s and awarded custody to them. Shortly after the death of Mason, Nancy Tichy the case worker who was assigned by the State of South Dakota to look after Mason and his brothers resigned. When contacted by Native Sun News the state of South Dakota originally agreed to answer questions about Mason’s death but after viewing the questions that were provided in writing at the state’s request declined to comment as did the ICWA representative for the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe. “We reported the abuse over and over and we even had a picture of one of the bruises he had (Mason) on his head but the state wouldn’t do anything about it,” said Mellissa Walters. As the family continued to plead for either the tribe or the state to step in Mason was murdered in his home. Amy Sazue a friend and coworker of Melissa Walters felt that Mason’s death was something that could have been prevented if the social worker and the state would have simply done their job. “Everyone kept telling them that this was taking place and if it would have been an Indian parent they would have probably done something,” said Sazue. “I just don’t ever want to see something like this happen to anyone else,” she added. So in an attempt to get the message out about what they feel was a failure of DSS and the Lower Brule Sioux tribal court to protect Mason and his brothers the two coworkers started the Facebook page “Justice for Mason.” The page which was originally started as a plea for help from the family against the possible placement of the children back in to the home of Tyler Nasser Sr. where the death of Mason occurred has now become something more. The page has evolved into a place where people can both donate to the cause of preventing child abuse and as an outlet for advocates trying to prevent child abuse. “We just don’t want what happened to Mason to happen to another child,” said Mellissa Walters. “We want something good to come out of this so Mason can have a purpose,” she added. Mellissa has recently been granted custody of all of Mason’s brothers and is also raising two children in her home in Rapid City. Despite the monumental task of raising five children Mellissa along with her friend Amy Sazue, and the rest of the Walters family have stepped up efforts to advocate against child abuse. Recently they attended a walk against child abuse sponsored by the Court Associate Special Advocates which is a child protection service that was held in Rapid City. At the walk the brothers of Mason wore shirts emblazoned with the saying “Justice for Mason.” During the walk Mellissa Walters and her family sold raffle tickets for a star quilt and are planning on using the money raised to further their cause. For further information you can view the page for yourself at www.facebook.com/justiceformason (Contact Brandon Ecoffey at staffwriter2@nsweekly.com) Copyright permission by Native Sun News
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