The Fort Peck Tribes Veterans Affairs department participated in the Wolf Point Wild Horse Stampede in July 2016. Photo from Facebook
Minutes obtained the Associated Press show that leaders of the Fort Peck Tribes of Montana admitted responsibility for a "Wino Round Up" in which dozens of people were arrested without charges and detained in deplorable conditions. According to the minutes, tribal leaders were concerned about the appearance of transients and others during the Wild Horse Stampede, held every year in Wolf Point in July. So they asked tribal and local police to round up as many people as possible and transport them to a detention facility in Poplar, 33 miles away. The Fort Peck executive board "wanted these people picked up and detained temporary (sic) somewhere until the Stampede weekend was over," the minutes from the tribe's law and justice committee meeting stated, the AP reported. While in Poplar, at least 31 people -- both men and women -- were housed together during a hot summer afternoon in July 2013, according to a complaint filed in federal court last week. As the day wore on, it began to rain and the group was left outside, exposed to the elements, the lawsuit states. Eventually, the women were taken inside to spend the night. The men were housed in a garage without windows, according to the complaint. Throughout the ordeal, the complaint alleges the men and women were denied medical assistance and adequate bathroom and other facilities. The lawsuit blames at least one subsequent death on the "physical stresses experienced during the incarcerations." The lawsuit was filed on behalf of 31 people but it alleges as many as 50 people were arrested and detained in July 2013. Of those who signed on as plaintiffs, five have since passed away, according to the lawsuit. Get the Story:
Documents: People Held to Shield Image of Montana Tribe (AP 7/19)
Related Stories
Fort
Peck Tribes accused of demanding 'Wino Round Up' in 2013 (7/14)
Join the Conversation
