Further Potential Evidence of a Link

The pressure is pretty intense this month. I am a target for three of the 12 elected tribal council and school board official. The three, who happen to be on the tribal council, have used devious political methods to go after me. Why? Because I am non-native and I have uttered the un-utterable. I have said students at the school where I work and the others I have worked for have a high rate of FASD. In the words of one elected tribal council member, I am stereotyping Indians. I wish he could prove me wrong. I really wish he could prove me wrong, because if I am wrong, the students will be much more resilient, more academic, more successful than I am seeing as of now. Oh, I wish I were wrong.

I am took a day off and got away for a three day weekend. Central Idaho beckoned me. Up to Challis and along the Salmon to Stanley. The further I drove, the more beautiful the drive became. I could feel the tension leave my body. I ended up at a quiet campground on Redfish Lake. Out came the camping gear and I began to build a campfire.

I never know when I will be confronted with evidence of FASD or the lack of knowledge of FASD. There, in the only campground that was open in mid-May, I once again found myself amazed.

A retired gentleman, the only person I saw walking through the campground, approached me, asking about my 9’ pontoon boat. He had a friend that was interesting in purchasing one and wanted to know where to find a similar boat. We began to chat and the conversation came around to our occupations. When I mentioned my position with the tribe, he said, “Oh, really, that must be a challenge. I was a teacher for 35 years. A friend of mine worked in Alaska in one of the villages. He said it was like Vietnam. There was so much drinking.” That opened the conversation regarding alcohol and Alaskan Natives, which led to me mentioning FASD. He had no idea what I was talking about. I had to explain what FASD was and I could see he was completely unaware and he quickly changed the subject to something he was more familiar with, the Iraq war. Of course, he grew up and completed his education prior to anyone knowing about FASD. I need to remember the rest of the world does not know or is not interested in knowing the extent of the problem.

An article May 10th in the Minneapolis Star Tribune further confirmed my belief there is a link between school shooters and FASD. The young adolescent who killed the principal of his school in Wisconsin last year suffers from conditions that are linked to FASD. According to the article, his defense attorneys stated he has Attention Deficit Disorder and Hyperactivity Disorder. Another red flag was the fact he lived with and was abused by his father and stepmother since he was three. That would indicate to me his mother did not get custody of him when he was three. What would cause a judge to give custody to a father? The mother either died or was extremely negligent. What is the most likely reason for negligence? Alcohol abuse. Another school shooter case that makes me determined to find out if there is a link between FASD and school shooters.