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Crow Tribe demands justice after woman was found badly burned

Monday, June 13, 2016

A woman named Lynn was the victim of a brutal attack on the Crow Reservation in Montana. Photo from GoFundMe

Leaders and members of the Crow Tribe of Montana are demanding federal authorities provide more information about a brutal attack on an Indian woman.

The woman was badly burned and was found in an area near the border of the Crow Reservation and the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in April. She suffered injuries over the majority of her body, The Billings Gazette reported.

"The victim is being treated for her injuries. The FBI and the BIA continue to conduct a joint investigation. We cannot release any further information due to the ongoing nature of the case," the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Indian Affairs told the paper.

Beyond that statement and a GoFundMe page set up by the victim's family, there is little information about the incident. Crow leaders say the federal agencies are violating the Tribal Law and Order Act by failing to coordinate with the tribe.

“If this had happen to a non-Indian in any other community, it would have made 'Good Morning America,'” Sen. Shawn Real Bird said at a meeting of the Crow Legislature last Thursday, The Billings Gazette reported.

A march this Thursday will draw attention to the issue. Trista Fog in the Morning, a spokesperson for the victim's family, called it a "a walk of prayers for healing" in a post on Facebook.

"We are all standing on faith and prayers," Fog in the Morning, wrote. "I feel it's a way to help us all.. I'm thankful for Crow Legislative, Crow Tribe and Crow Tribal Courts/Juvenile Court."

In a related matter, Real Bird said the FBI and the BIA are pressuring the family of two homicide victims not to speak about the case, The Gazette reported. Tana Shane, 50, and her husband, Jason Shane, 52, were killed last July and their daughter was shot.

The suspect, Jesus Yeizon Deniz, is relying on an insanity defense, the Associated Press reported.

Get the Story:
March announced to support Crow woman found alive after being set on fire (The Billings Gazette 6/10)
Lawmakers want answers after woman found badly burned on Crow Reservation (The Billings Gazette 6/10)
American Indians Grapple With Land Divided by History (Thomson Reuters Foundation 6/10)
America's Crow Reservation Is Home, Not a Ghetto or Barrio, Residents Say (Thomson Reuters Foundation 6/10)
Factbox: America's Crow Indians, the 'Children of the Large-Beaked Bird' (Thomson Reuters Foundation 6/10)
Crow double slaying suspect to rely on insanity defense (The Billings Gazette 6/2)