SPIRIT LAKE SPECIAL REPORT
Chairman says child protection getting better, critics disagree 
In his 11th “mandated report” concerning suspected child abuse at Spirit Lake, Thomas Sullivan, tells ACF superiors and other federal officials that he has “seen little that is substantial” to indicate that his detailed allegations have been taken seriously.
By Chuck Haga , January 18, 2013
Report: Meth-addicted baby returned to mom who refused drug test at Spirit Lake
The 4-month-old infant was hospitalized for a month before being placed in foster care until last week, when the child was returned to its addicted mother, according to a report made to federal officials.
By Patrick Springer , November 11, 2012
BIA details steps taken for child protection at Spirit Lake
The Bureau of Indian Affairs has handled more than 100 reports of suspected child abuse or neglect at the reservation. It has new procedures for placing children in foster homes and has hired a social worker. Earlier this week, some members of the Spirit Lake Tribe, however, complained that visible progress is not being made.
By Patrick Springer , November 11, 2012
Whistleblower says Spirit Lake children are in peril
A child with routinely soiled underpants as a defense against rape. Little boys brazenly engaging in outdoor sex acts. Children left in homes with known sexual predators. Those incidents are among an alleged “ongoing epidemic” of children who remain at risk on North Dakota’s Spirit Lake reservation despite four months of abuse reports from Thomas Sullivan, a regional human services administrator.
By Patrick Springer , November 05, 2012
Spirit Lake whistleblower calls federal response ‘window dressing’
A federal official who has repeatedly reported allegations of child abuse at Spirit Lake Nation wrote Tuesday to complain that investigators have failed to take action to protect victims from ongoing abuse.
By Patrick Springer , October 31, 2012
Spirit Lake tribe members team up against violence
An "Awareness and Healing" conference, which continues Friday with presentations on child protection, family violence and other issues, is part of the Spirit Lake tribe’s response to highly publicized concerns about child welfare on the reservation.
By Chuck Haga , October 25, 2012
Official: BIA to run tribal child protection for years
The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs, which assumed responsibility for child protection services at Spirit Lake Monday, likely will manage the program for several years before returning responsibility to the tribe, said Bruce Loudermilk, the BIA’s regional director.
By Chuck Haga , October 04, 2012
Spirit Lake social services to be taken over by BIA today
The Spirit Lake Tribal Council blamed a “tremendous shortfall” of support from the federal government as a reason it decided to surrender control of its social services.
By By Patrick Springer , October 01, 2012
Tribal court offers no hope of appeal at Spirit Lake
The door to the appeals courtroom has been slammed shut for more than a year for American Indian residents of Spirit Lake Nation.
By Patrick Springer , September 30, 2012
Beauty found amid blight at Spirit Lake
Walk along a dusty street in one of the little reservation towns here, and the stereotypes scream their half-truths. Scruffy children play by abandoned cars, chased by scruffy dogs. Some houses appear abandoned, windows broken or boarded.
By Chuck Haga , September 24, 2012
Strength in family: Methenys prove that life is not all bleak and despairing at Spirit Lake
Lost in all the recent warnings and negative reports coming out of Spirit Lake, Paul Matheny says, is another reality: not every family there is dysfunctional, not every child at perilous risk.
By Chuck Haga , September 24, 2012
Little Owl out as Spirit Lake social services director as feds plan takeover of department
Little Owl out as Spirit Lake social services directorMark Little Owl, hired in mid-August by the Spirit Lake Tribe to restore its embattled social services department, will not continue as director after the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs takes over the department on Oct. 1, he confirmed Friday.
By Chuck Haga , September 21, 2012
BIA officials prepare for handover of Spirit Lake Tribe social services
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Officials are preparing for a handover of social services programs from Spirit Lake Tribe to the Bureau of Indian Affairs that will take place on Oct. 1.
By Patrick Springer , September 18, 2012
At Spirit Lake, an effort to let children know which adults can’t be trusted
Looking down on the children trooping into the recreation center at the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation are 36 mugshots of sex offenders, kept there to warn them of adults they must not trust. It's an effort with added poignancy because of the trouble the reservation has had with its child protection and social service programs, which have failed so badly the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs is taking them over.
By Chuck Haga , September 16, 2012
BIA to take control of Spirit Lake social services programs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs will assume control of social services programs for the Spirit Lake Tribe, which has been beset with criticisms that it has failed to protect endangered children.
By Patrick Springer , September 14, 2012
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