Long after tragic mysteries are solved, families of Native American victims are kept in the dark - By Scott Sonner Associated Press
It was the winter of 2021 when Philbert Shorty's family found his abandoned car stuck in the mud outside the small community of Tsaile near the Arizona-New Mexico state line. "We knew something happened from the get-go," said his uncle, Ben Shorty. "We couldn't find any answers."
Family members reported the 44-year-old man missing. And for the next two years, they searched — hiking through remote canyons on the Navajo Nation, placing advertisements on the radio and posting across social media in hopes of unearthing any clues.
The efforts produced nothing. They had no way of knowing he'd been killed more than a week before they reported him missing.
They remained unaware even as U.S. prosecutors finalized a plea deal last summer with Shiloh Aaron Oldrock, who was charged in connection with Shorty's death as a result of a separate investigation into the killing and beheading of Oldrock's uncle. The 30-year-old Fargo, North Dakota, man told authorities his uncle had threatened to kill him during an alcohol-fueled fight that came eight months after the pair conspired to cover up Shorty's death by dismembering and burning his body on Jan. 29, 2021.
In both cases, Oldrock told investigators, a night of heavy drinking and fighting ended in death at his uncle's home near Navajo, New Mexico.
The details of this tale are more gruesome than most. Yet to those living in Indian Country, the elements underlying the tragedy are all too familiar. Generations of unaddressed trauma combine with substance abuse to create a dangerous recipe that often ends in violence, and law enforcement resources and social support programs are too sparse to offer much help.
DEATHS AND DISAPPEARANCES ARE GETTING NOTICED. WILL IT HELP?
Shorty's story is one of many across the United States and Canada, where high rates of missing persons and unsolved killings involving Indigenous people have captured the attention of policymakers at the highest levels.
In 2019, former President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing a task force. Congress followed in 2020 by passing two key pieces of legislation aimed at addressing the crisis. U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who had championed legislation as a congresswoman, has been working under the Biden administration to solve some of the systemic problems and jurisdictional challenges that have left victims' families feeling invisible.
The Interior Department is nearly three weeks passed a deadline for responding to a set of recommendations from a special commission that spent months traveling the country, speaking with family members, advocates and police officials about how best to tackle the epidemic.
Commission members heard hours of heartbreaking testimony from family members who have fought to keep their cases in the spotlight, often memorializing those lost with prayer vigils, special blankets and buttons, traditional ribbon skirts and red handprints painted on sidewalks and buildings.
Like others, Shorty's family now knows the suffering will linger despite the increased emphasis on solving such crimes.
Shorty's family "had been left in the dark about what happened," U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico Alexander Uballez acknowledged in a November sentencing memo that referred to Shorty by only his initials — PS. Wrote Uballez: "They are just beginning to grieve as they were only informed recently that PS was deceased, rather than missing."
Uballez expressed hope that putting Oldrock behind bars would bring some closure, saying that Shorty's elderly aunt could stop looking down the driveway in hopes her nephew might one day return.
Uballez said Oldrock's convictions were part of the U.S. Justice Department's duty to bring answers to tribal communities. While no amount of investigation or prosecution will bring back a loved one, he said, law enforcement partners will meet each case "with urgency, transparency and coordination."
PROMISES THAT MAY OR MAY NOT LEAD SOMEWHERE
That vow of transparency is what has Native American families frustrated. Many say authorities regularly fail to communicate about the status of pending cases. In Shorty's case, unanswered questions about whether there were any remains recovered have left his family guessing as to whether they can ever have a burial for him.
"The investigators never called me. They were supposed to but never did," Ben Shorty said in a recent interview. "It was all done behind closed doors."
The FBI's most recent list of missing people from the Navajo Nation still included Philbert Shorty. That's despite investigators having had reason to believe he was dead as early as October 2021 with Oldrock's confession. A medical investigator's report issued the following spring said that while it couldn't be confirmed conclusively, communications with law enforcement suggested that charred remains found at the home of Oldrock's uncle likely were those of Shorty.
Darlene Gomez, an Albuquerque attorney, has represented dozens of Native American families. The handling of Shorty's case doesn't surprise her.
"The FBI does this all the time," she said. "They don't even talk to the family until there is an indictment. And very often they don't say anything at all."
While there is a need to keep confidential certain details as investigations move forward, federal authorities did not immediately respond to questions by The Associated Press about the process for sharing information with families and whether people were assigned to serve as liaisons to help families as cases move through the system.
The federal Not Invisible Act Commission devoted part of its 212-page report to related concerns and recommendations. The report references stories shared by families about difficulties in accessing police and autopsy reports: "Families are often kept waiting, not knowing if the person identified is their family member or not knowing the cause and circumstances of death nor how the body of their family member was handled."
It all rings true for Bernadine Beyale, the daughter of retired Navajo police officers who founded the non-profit 4 Corners K-9 Search and Rescue in Farmington, New Mexico, in 2022. Her group has conducted dozens of individual searches, and she has helped to build bridges between families and law enforcement to help families avoid feeling like their cases are falling through cracks.
"Even if (law enforcement) would just talk to the families, say, `We don't have anything yet but we're still working on it,' it would help," she said.
'I TRY TO BE AS TRANSPARENT AS POSSIBLE'
Records obtained by the AP show that a witness gave a ride to Oldrock in October 2021. He had cuts on his face and blood on his hands and clothes. He told the driver he had just killed his uncle, identified as Erwin Beach. He said he believed Beach had killed his grandmother a year earlier and was going to kill him, too.
Oldrock told the FBI he stabbed Beach repeatedly after Beach swung an axe at him during a drunken fight. Oldrock said the chain of violent events that October day began much the same way as when Shorty was killed months earlier — with heavy drinking. Oldrock was sentenced in November to 35 years in prison for second-degree murder in the killing of Beach and involuntary manslaughter in Shorty's death.
Whether details are unveiled through court documents or they come from investigators in the field, Beyale acknowledges it can be difficult to decide how to share information with victims' families.
"If we find a body or remains, I don't give a lot of details," she said. "But I try to be as transparent as possible and tell them we don't have a positive ID but we found remains in this area."
Beyale tries to persuade families who want to conduct their own search to let her do it instead. "I always ask them if they are not only physically ready to do a search like that, but also mentally ready to find something," she said. "They always say, `Yeah, yeah.' But they are not. I've not found one family that was mentally ready."
Shorty's family still hopes to have a funeral. They're ready for closure but are — still — waiting on investigators.
"What are we supposed to bury? Just nothing? At least some ashes or something," Ben Shorty said. "We got nothing still."
___
Sonner reported from Reno, Nevada. Associated Press reporter Susan Montoya Bryan contributed to this report from Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Los Lunas Village Council approves controversial deal with water bottling company – Valencia County News-Bulletin
The Niagara Bottling Company is about to significantly increase its water use in Los Lunas.
The Valencia County News-Bulletin reports that the Village Council approved a new deal with the company in a 3-2 vote.
The company already exceeded its water usage under the previous contract. Many locals say the village can’t afford to let the company use more of its water.
Leaders of surrounding communities that share an aquifer with Los Lunas – including the Pueblo of Isleta, Peralta and Bosque Farms – have voiced concern about the deal.
A hydrologist gave a presentation on the health of the aquifer at the village council meeting. He said that it’s doing well and will continue to as long as it’s properly regulated.
He also expressed skepticism about the deal, pointing to Niagara’s poor track record in complying with the existing agreement.
Local watchdog group Valencia County Water Watchers vowed to keep fighting the deal.
Debbie O’Malley throws hat in the ring for state Senate - Carolyn Carlson, City Desk ABQ
This story was originally published by City Desk ABQ.
Former Bernalillo County Commissioner and Albuquerque City Councilor Debbie O’Malleyhas thrown her hat into the ring for State Senate District 13.
O’Malley has been in local government since 2003, serving on the Albuquerque City Council until 2012. She then ran for the North Valley seat on the Bernalillo County Commission where she served until December 2022.
Due to recent redistricting changes in 2020, many district boundaries changed significantly and over half of District 13 is “new.” It still includes parts of the North Valley, but now incorporates Wells Park, Downtown, and Barelas, as well as the South Broadway and San Jose neighborhoods.
“These are the communities that I know well,” O’Malley said in a press release announcing her candidacy. “What we need most in Santa Fe are progressive fighters — leaders who are unafraid to stand up for the needs of our families and our environment, and leaders who are unafraid to stand up to the corporate lobbyists and their outsized influence on policy.”
“Now, I am running for State Senate District 13 to use my skills and experience to further uplift families, women, and children while serving in the New Mexico state legislature,” she said.
The District 13 seat is currently held by Bill O’Neill who has held the Senate seat since 2013. O’Neill served in the House of Representatives representing District 15 from 2009 to 2012. It is not known if he will run again when his term ends on December 31, 2024.
Albuquerque Police Department opens internal investigation into embattled DWI unit - Associated Press
The police department in New Mexico's largest city opened a new internal investigation related to an ongoing federal inquiry into allegations of possible corruption in the department's DWI unit.
The internal investigation will look into the conduct of current and former officers in the unit, according to a release from the Albuquerque Police Department on Friday. Chief Harold Medina temporarily reassigned one target, a lieutenant in the Internal Affairs Division, to an unspecified position.
"We will leave no stone unturned with this investigation," Medina said in a press release, echoing comments he made earlier this month related to the federal investigation.
No officers had been charged. Medina previously said five officers were on administrative leave.
According to documents obtained by the Albuquerque Journal, the federal probe began after a stop by an officer in August in which he allegedly told the driver to contact a certain attorney to ensure that no case would be filed in court by police.
The FBI investigation has partly focused on DWI criminal cases filed by certain officers that ended up being dismissed in court, according to the Journal. More than 150 cases alleging that motorists drove while intoxicated have been dismissed as part of the federal investigation.
Three Albuquerque police officers combined filed 136 of the 152 DWI cases, and at least 107 of those were filed last year, which was 10% of such cases for the department that year.
Albuquerque Police Department Chief crashes into vehicle while avoiding gunfire - Associated Press
The police chief in New Mexico's most populous city crashed his car into another vehicle after he attempted to avoid gunfire while on his way to a Saturday morning press conference.
The Albuquerque Journal reported that Albuquerque Police Department Chief Harold Medina and his wife, who was in the truck with him, were not injured, but the driver of the classic Mustang that he crashed into was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
Department spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos told the Associated Press that Medina had pulled his vehicle over by a homeless encampment that was blocking a sidewalk, which the department has recently enforced. He called for officers to look at the encampment, before a fight broke out between two people with one person pulling a gun.
The person with the gun shot at the other person, who ran in the direction of Medina's truck, Gallegos said. The department is still looking for the shooter.
There is not yet an update on the Mustang driver's injuries, Gallegos said.
Medina was on the way to address efforts to fight crime in the area, particularly near a store nearby that had seven homicides over the past four years, Gallegos said in a phone interview.
"It was scary to everyone that we were going to talk about that and then the chief was a witness to a shooting right nearby," Gallegos said.
Legislature calls on attorney general to create new missing and murdered Indigenous people task force - By Bella Davis,New Mexico In Depth
The New Mexico Legislature has asked Attorney General Raúl Torrez to create a new task force focused on a crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people after a memorial containing the request passed in the final hour of the legislative session, which concluded at noon today.
Senate Joint Memorial 2 cleared the House on Thursday morning after passing in the Senate last week.
A spokeswoman for Torrez didn’t respond to a question from New Mexico In Depth about whether he plans to act on lawmakers’ request. Unlike a bill, the memorial isn’t enforceable.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham quietly dissolved a task force dedicated to finding solutions to the crisis in mid-2023.
Her staff said the group achieved its objectives and the state is carrying forward its recommendations. But some task force members believed their work was just beginning, and a handful of impacted families protested the governor’s decision in October.
Lawmakers agreed, and the House and Senate both passed the memorial unanimously.
A new task force should, according to the memorial, be made up of no more than 40 members, including tribal representatives, survivors and families, and law enforcement, who should offer legislative proposals and update a 115-page plan the defunct task force delivered in 2022.
The attorney general’s office, recently renamed the New Mexico Department of Justice, is a logical home for a couple reasons, memorial sponsor Sen. Shannon Pinto, D-Tohatchi, said in an interview in January.
Other states have created similar groups overseen by their attorneys general, who work with many law enforcement agencies, Pinto said. A lack of coordination between jurisdictions often stands in the way of getting justice for missing or murdered Indigenous people.
“I think it’s a grand idea that it is put under the attorney general’s office, where it will get the importance, the high priority that it needs,” Sen. Brenda McKenna, D-Corrales, another sponsor, said during debate in the Senate last week. “We know we need to fix the gaps between the database systems and having this task force under the attorney general’s office gives me a bit more solace.”
But the Department of Justice already has a few legislative mandates meant to address the crisis that, as of November, hadn’t entirely been met.
Two years ago, lawmakers created a missing Indigenous persons specialist position in the attorney general’s office and required the office to set up an online portal to track cases. Under the legislation, which contained a $1 million appropriation, the department could also give tribes grants to help in that search.
Sen. Linda Lopez, D-Albuquerque, also a memorial sponsor, questioned what progress had been made in implementing the bill at an Indian Affairs Committee meeting in November.
Chief Deputy Attorney General James Grayson said a specialist was working on cases but the portal hadn’t been created and no grants had gone out. The FBI and the Department of Public Safety already have similar databases, Grayson said, and his department was working with a vendor “to establish better communication and better connection to those databases for other law enforcement agencies in the state and for tribal nations.”
Asked in January if she had any concerns about the attorney general overseeing a new task force, Lopez said she was hopeful there will be more focus on missing and murdered Indigenous people in Torrez’s second year in office. He became attorney general in January 2023.
“It takes a while for you to come up to speed,” Lopez said. “I think the task force will also give some more guidance and help. I think it can work together.”
Santa Fe mayor weighs in on Meow Wolf canceling Matisyahu show - KUNM News, Santa Fe Reporter
Meow Wolf canceled a concert by Jewish American reggae artist Matisyahu Tuesday following a campaign by local pro-Palestinian activists and a shortage of staff willing to work the show. Now, the mayor of Santa Fe is weighing in, criticizing the venue’s decision.
Members of the local pro-Palestinian groups New Mexico Jews for a Free Palestine, the Santa Fe Democratic Socialists of America, Santa Feans for Justice in Palestine, Northern New Mexico SURJ and Santa Fe Ad Hoc Committee on Palestine said in a press release that the cancellation came out of advocacy efforts from their groups and members of Meow Wolf’s labor union. They said they opposed the artist’s outspoken support of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, calling it genocidal, and characterized some of Matisyahu’s social media posts as "Islamophobic and transphobic.”
Meow Wolf spokesperson Kati Murphy told the Santa Fe Reporter in a statement that the cancellation was due to the venue finding itself “without adequate staff to safely manage the sold out crowd.”
Mayor Allen Webber issued a statement Thursday also calling out Islamophobia and bigotry, along with antisemitism — but for Meow Wolf’s cancellation.
“There is a significant difference between protesting against the policies of the Netanyahu government in Gaza and shutting down the performance of a Jewish-American artist in Santa Fe,” he said.
According to the Santa Fe Reporter, Webber received a letter from the Jewish Community Relations Coalition of New Mexico ahead of his statement, which argued Matisyahu “became a target only because of his identity as a Jew with an affinity toward Israel.”
Over 28,000 Palestinians and 1,200 Israelis have been killed since the war began on October 7, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
CORRECTION, 2/16/24, 7:45 p.m.: This story has been updated to reflect that members of the Meow Wolf Workers Collective, not the organization itself, advocated for the show to be canceled.
Protestors seek cease-fire resolution from UNM Regents – Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
More than 100 protestors attended the University of New Mexico Board of Regents meeting on Thursday last week to demand the university call for a cease-fire in Gaza.
The Albuquerque Journalreports most of the protestors were students but there were also some faculty members and people from the wider community.
Law student Hakim Bellamy invoked the widespread movement in the 1980s when students called for divestment from apartheid South Africa. UNM divested itself of more than $1 million from companies doing business in the country in 1986. Bellamy and others urged the regents to follow that example, calling a cease-fire resolution “the barest of minimums.”
The Regents expressed support for the students’ rights to express their views, but were reticent to make public comments about the issue. Chairwoman Kim Sanchez Rael told them the board would discuss “an appropriate next step” with UNM administrators.
Protests over the war have roiled campuses across the U.S. and reignited a debate over free speech. College presidents and other leaders have struggled to articulate when political speech crosses into harassment and discrimination, with both Jewish and Arab students raising concerns that their schools are doing too little to protect them.