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BAY MILLS - At first, many locals thought it was just a classic example of "kids being kids" when they would discover that their unattended coolers had been raided and all the contents inside them had been stolen. This usually happened at the ball diamond, "Gum Shoes," or in someone's backyard after a little get together. It didn't really matter where one was at, it was pretty much a general consensus in the community that if you had a stash of booze laying about it was only a matter of time before you were a victim of one of these late night raids. Bicycles laying unattended in a yard that wound up missing were never really thought to be stolen, but rather, temporarily borrowed by some random kid who was tired of walking and who would inevitably leave it lying safely somewhere on the side of the road when they had no more use for it.
While only minor and temporary inconveniences, no one was particularly concerned by these types of behaviors, which were generally regarded as normal by mostly everyone in the community. There was really never any direct anger at the gumption of these few "mischievous kids." Instead, it was usually just laughed off and locals learned to not only protect their caches of alcohol a little better, but to keep their bicycles locked in a garage if they didn't want to deal with the headache of spending hours searching the roads for their child's "misplaced" bike.
Somewhere along the line, however, it seems that our "mischievous kids" graduated to vandalism. At first it was destroying property at the ball diamond, usually the sinks, toilets or bathroom doors, which was accompanied with the occasional spray painting here or there. Pretty soon, the random acts of vandalism turned into the more sinister malicious destruction of property, in which no one seemed safe. People's homes and their properties, police vehicles, the golf course were all attacked. Anywhere and everywhere, it seemed, was a potential target for these reckless and senseless acts of violence.
For Bay Mills elders Roland and Dorothy Menominee, there was a time that they, too, once believed that local disturbances were not that serious, probably caused by nothing more than a few "mischievous kids running wild." There was a time that they, like mostly everyone else in the community, didn't even lock their doors when they went to bed at night, or even when they went out of town. Not anymore. After their house was recently broken into and several hundred dollars in change and a 12-gauge shotgun was stolen, their opinions of the perpetrators of these crimes has changed quite a bit. For the Menominee family, who luckily were not home when their house was burglarized, they see the recent wave of "breaking and enterings" plaguing the community as an ominous sign of things to come. With a younger generation that seemingly has no respect for local law enforcement, our court system, or for the elders and other residents of our community, Roland Menominee, Sr., said things have gotten out of hand and the time has come for something to be done.
"I think we should hang 'em from the highest tree," a frustrated Menominee said when asked what he thought should be done to those responsible for the burglary at his home. "It's getting out of hand. These kids are getting too brave. No one is safe. Something has got to be done and soon. I hope they all go to jail."
For the Menominee family, like any other victim of burglary, the event has changed their lives and violated the sense of security they had always felt inside their own home. The Menominees, like most residents living in the community, didn't even lock the doors in their homes or their vehicles, until recently. The couple now stays up late into the night and are constantly waking up at all hours of the night just to peer out their windows and scan their property for potential intruders. According to Roland Sr.'s wife, Dorothy, each night is filled with the terrifying thought that tonight could be the night the burglars return to her home. What's even more terrifying for her is the thought that somewhere in the community, whoever was responsible for breaking into her home, now has their shotgun in their possession.
"It's a scary thought," Menominee said. "What are they going to do with that gun? Maybe, they'll just sell it, but who knows? I don't know and it scares me. In all my life, I've never been scared to be alone, but not anymore. I'm terrified. I don't want to be anywhere alone, now."
For Bay Mills Housing Authority Director Cheryl Parish and Assistant Director Gail Glezen, whose jobs are to provide safe and affordable housing for their tenants, the recent wave of "B & E's" in the community has caused widespread fear from those who occupy their housing units. Parish said her office is flooded each day with phone calls or visits from people who want new locks and dead bolts put on their doors, new doors, or just better locks for their windows. She said some frustrated tenants have even been openly stating for anyone and everyone within earshot that they are now keeping loaded weapons in their residences to protect their belongings. While comments like these are meant as a warning to would-be-intruders, Parish said residents who live nearby are growing concerned that they could be potential victims of a bullet gone astray from an uneasy neighbor with a loaded firearm and have been requesting to move.
"We want our community back," Parish said. "Everyone is living in fear and it's just ridiculous. Those responsible for these crimes should be brought in front of the Executive Council and brought in front of the General Tribal Council and banished. Banish every single one of them. It's a privilege to live in Bay Mills, not a right. Maybe it's time we start holding their parents accountable for their actions, as well."
Parish and Glezen said that the housing office has been broken into several times already, with the thieves making off with well over $600 in cash. The Bear Trail apartments, alone, have been broken into four times in just the past few weeks, Parish added. Parish said what really enrages her, and the community as a whole, is the fact that one apartment was robbed of nearly $6,000 worth of items. Even more disturbing is the fact that the tenants who resided in this particular apartment lay in hospital beds downstate trying to recover from a near fatal car accident they were involved in several months ago.
For residents of the Bear Trail Apartments, many now believe that if a couple fighting for their lives can be targets of these thoughtless crimes, than anyone can. To help alleviate some of the fears of their tenants, and to deter people from attempting to break into their units, Parish said cameras will be installed to monitor the back of the apartments, in addition to the cameras currently in use in the hallways. Lights will also be installed in the back of the apartments to illuminate the entire area behind the apartment buildings. The apartments will also be outfitted with new patio doors with better locks, she added.
Like Parish, Glezen said that it is time for the community as a whole to come together and hold those responsible for the crimes accountable, as well as their parents. According to Glezen, they are not the only ones who feel this way. Tribal elders have also been flooding the housing office with requests to evict parents for their children's behavior, she said. And while that idea may be growing in popularity, Glezen said that is something the courts would have to decide. But if it were up to her, Glezen said she would definitely evict parents as a result of their children's behavior.
"The only way we're going to clean this mess up is for the community, as a whole, to start holding parents accountable," she said. "We have got to get our community back. Even if you are a tribal member, it is a privilege to live here. These kids need to be put in front of the GTC and banned. It's a small group of kids who are doing these things and they have no fear, so they keep pushing it. Somehow, we have to put fear in them."
Diane Solberg, purchaser for Bay Mills at Advanced Office Technologies, said it is time for the community to start watching out for each other's properties, homes and possessions. Solberg, who has had her office broken into twice, her home broken into at least three times, her camper twice, and has even had her car stolen, has been sending out emails and passing out flyers urging residents to come together and form a "Community Watch" program. Solberg said she isn't rallying the community together to simply start pointing fingers at each other, but rather, to come up with different ideas to help solve some of the problems in our community and hopefully, cut down on the crime.
"It's all everyone is talking about anymore," Solberg said of the series of breaking and entering cases in Bay Mills. "It seems everyone you talk to nowadays has had something either vandalized or broken into. There has got to be something we, as a community, can do. We need to start looking out for each other."
Solberg said she is saddened by the idea that a "few bad kids" are giving Bay Mills a bad reputation. Amazingly, she said she does not harbor any bad feelings for those who broke into her home or AOT. Instead, she said she would like to have seen the kids responsible have to do community service and perhaps come to work with her for a couple of days. Solberg said she honestly believes that if the kids responsible for the recent crimes felt like they were a part of the community, like everyone else here does, than they would not commit such senseless acts. By the community embracing the younger generation and by parents being held accountable for their children's actions, Solberg said the community could finally get back to normal.
"I just don't think that these kids feel like a part of the community," she said. "Maybe, if they did, like the rest of us do, then these things would stop. Their parents need to be held responsible, as well. I know how helpless and hopeless you can feel when you have a kid that doesn't listen to you, but your child is still your responsibility."
What many people are asking is if, and when arrests are made, who will pay for the damages done to their properties, or reimburse them for any possessions they have had stolen from them? Who will pay for the lodging of these individuals if they are arrested, tried in court, and then sent away? The tribe? Their parents? According to BMIC Tribal Chairman Jeffrey Parker, a small portion of the cost to incarcerate these individuals would come from the BIA, as part of their master contract with the tribe, but the majority of the cost would come out of the tribe's general fund. Parker added that BMIC has a contract with Chippewa County to incarcerate tribal members in jail for $30 a day, and said that the tribe typically pursues restitution for those costs, but for most part the tribe has to foot the bill. By taking money from the general fund, which he said supplements just about every program in the community, including youth programs, the medical center, health insurance, and senior programs, Parker said that those responsible for the recent break-ins are affecting the entire community and in essence, stealing from their own families.
The Executive Council, which wishes to see the community get back to normal as soon as possible, has offered a $1,000 award for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone responsible for these crimes. To send a message to the youth in the area that they mean business, the Executive Council passed an amendment to Chapter VII of the tribal code at their April 24 meeting that would allow the courts to try 17 year-olds as adults. According to Parker, the people responsible for the recent break-ins will be brought to justice. He added that, while the tribe cannot constitutionally "disenroll" anyone from the tribe, the Executive Council would consider banishment for anyone convicted of these crimes.
"These kids need to be taught a lesson," he said. "They can rest assured that we will find out who they are and that their punishment will be issued according to the laws of the community. While we cannot 'disenroll' anyone, constitutionally, it is not a constitutional right to live in Bay Mills. It's a privilege. And anyone that misuses that privilege can have it taken away."
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