An excerpt:
Some Leech Lake tribal leaders were suspicious when asked to help create the wellness court back in 2006. The tribe is sometimes at odds with the state, and band leaders are protective of their sovereignty.
But the tribe came to realize that participating in the program gave tribal judges the chance — for the first time ever — to sit in a courtroom with county judges as equals. It gave the tribe a direct say in the outcome of cases involving band members.
The Leech Lake tribe has a lot at stake. By some estimates, as many as 60 percent of the reservation’s tribal residents struggle with drug and alcohol addictions. It’s a problem that touches nearly every family.
In Cass County, Ojibwe people make up about 12 percent of the population, but they typically account for close to half of the county jail population. They’re over-represented in the state corrections system, too, and they’re more likely to reoffend and get sent back to prison.
Korey Wahwassuck is an associate judge for the Leech Lake Band. In wellness court, she shares the bench with her counterparts from Itasca and Cass counties. Wahwassuck says the program is a way to heal people rather than lock them up.
Turtle Talk 