At least 19 people have died in tribal jails overseen by the federal government since 2016, according to an investigation by NPR and the Mountain West News Bureau.
The reporting uncovered a pattern of neglect, mismanagement, and poor training at the far-flung, often remote facilities.
Among those who died was Willy Pepion, a 22-year-old grocery store worker from northern Montana.
He was left unattended in Blackfeet Reservation tribal jail after being arrested for disorderly conduct after a night of drinking. He was hit in the head in a scuffle before police arrived, but was still given a medical clearance when he was examined following his arrest.
“He asked the jailer, ‘I need help. I need help,’” said Frederick Noon Jr., who was in jail with Pepion that day. “I was like, ‘Hey, this guy needs help, he's pretty sick.’ And she was like, ‘Lay down, go pass out.’
“He wouldn’t let his head touch the pillow,” Noon told the Mountain West News Bureau. “It was like he was protecting his head. He looked like a little baby, falling asleep and just bobbing his head up and down, moaning and groaning.”
Federal policy says guards are supposed to check on prisoners every half hour and take inmates to a health clinic if they ask for help. But records show correctional officers never brought Pepion back to the hospital.
“At the Blackfeet jail, they broke the rules that day,” said Mountain West News Bureau reporter Nate Hegyi, who investigated the case. “Pepion’s body wasn't discovered until nearly three hours after he died.”
The autopsy found that Pepion suffered a cracked skull "due to blunt force injury" and died from a subdural hematoma.
Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs officials declined to comment on the circumstances surrounding Pepion's death.
A death was reported in 2020 at Nevada's only tribal jail, in Owyhee, about 100 miles north of Elko on the Idaho border.
Hegyi said staffing is a chronic issue at tribal jails, which are frequently in remote areas with a small labor pool to draw from.
“One in five correctional officers on duty at these jails have not received the basic required training to do their jobs that includes training and CPR, first aid, inmate handling techniques,” he said, adding that medical care is often lacking as well.
“Even more so than training is the lack of medical personnel at these jails,” Hegyi said. “There are no doctors or nurses on-site, and that's very different than other federal correctional facilities.”
Interior Department officials have said they plan to contract with an outside agency to examine the troubles plaguing the detention centers.
Editor’s Note: Nevada Public Radio explores the issues facing the state’s tribal communities in its Native Nevada podcast.
Nate Hegyi, roving reporter, Mountain West News Bureau
