The flag of the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribe of Montana. Image from Facebook
The leader of the Fort Peck Tribes of Montana says the drug epidemic is to blame for the death of a one-year-old girl on the reservation. Chairman Floyd Azure told The Wolf Point Herald-News that the tribe will be taking more action to address drug abuse in the wake of Kenzley Olson's death. He also said drugs were linked to a kidnapping of a four-year-old girl earlier this year. “When drugs are more important to somebody than a 14-month-old baby’s life, there’s a big problem," Azure told the paper. Kenzley was found dead on April 20 in Poplar. One resident told The Billings Gazette that methamphetamine use is "out of control" in the community. "We need to bring attention to it," Thomas Denny told the paper. "We need some help."
Kenzley Olson was born on March 4, 2015. Photo from Clayton Stevenson Memorial Chapel
Janelle Red Dog, 42, has been charged in tribal court with one count of felony murder for Kenzley's death. She pleaded not guilty on Tuesday and could face additional tribal as well as federal charges, the Associated Press reported. Red Dog's mother, Rhea Starr, told the AP that she believes Kenzley's death was an accident. She also said her daughter once struggled with an addiction to painkillers. “There’s so much drugs on this reservation it’s crazy,” Starr told the AP. Kenzley had been in Red Dog's care for about two weeks, the AP reported. Her mother, Eva Hernandez, was in jail at the time of the girl's death on unspecified charges, the AP added. Kenzley is being laid to rest on Wednesday afternoon. Get the Story:
Investigator Said Woman Punched Infant To Death (The Wolf Point Herald-News 4/27)
Town of Poplar mourns toddler, laments pervasive meth use (The Billings Gazette 4/27)
Woman pleads innocent in Poplar baby’s death (The Great Falls Tribune 4/27)
Woman pleads not guilty to murder in Montana baby’s death (AP 4/26)
Woman arrested in connection to Kenzley Olson's death pleads not guilty (KYFR 4/26)
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Fort Peck Tribes indict woman in connection with
baby girl's death (4/22) Suspect in custody for death of baby girl on Fort Peck Reservation (4/21)
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