Cd'A Tribe: Students racially harassed at park

COEUR d'ALENE  — The Coeur d'Alene Tribe on Wednesday said Tribal School students were racially harassed at McEuen Park on Friday.

Tribe Chairman Chief Allan is calling for a community response.

"The time to act is now. I am calling on every one of our elected leaders, community leaders, business leaders, and church leaders to join me in standing up to bigotry, racism and discrimination of every kind. We are all neighbors, brothers and sisters who deserve love and respect," Allan said in a prepared statement.

According to  press release from the Tribe, a group of Coeur d’Alene Tribal School students on a field trip were walking in McEuen Park near the Third Street boat ramp when a group of middle-aged white males began harassing the children, mocking them with gestures imitating feathers behind their heads, whooping, laughing and pointing. 

"One of the harassers yelled 'Go back to the f---ing reservation, you aren’t allowed here,'" the release said.

Coeur d'Alene Police Capt. Dave Hagar said they are investigating the incident and reviewing surveillance footage.

Allan said a "pathetic, ugly display of disrespect and harassment occurred in the center of a busy public space in broad daylight."

He said the Tribe would not "sit back and watch our community deteriorate into a place where people believe it’s OK to treat people differently based on the color of their skin."

"These racist cowards felt emboldened enough in our community to approach a group of Native kids in public and essentially tell them to ‘go back where they came from,'" he said. "Quite an ironic charge, given that Coeur d’Alene is our homeland and our people have always been here and always will be.”

The release noted that two years ago, members of a white supremacist hate group were arrested wearing hoods and riot gear on their way to a Pride event in Coeur d'Alene. This spring, members of the University of Utah women’s basketball team reported they were harassed and subjected to racial slurs while walking in downtown Coeur d’Alene.

“Given the concerning pattern resurging in our community, I am disgusted but not surprised. We have heard from many people of color and diverse backgrounds who don’t feel safe in Kootenai County. Is this what we as a community want to be known for?” Allan said.

Coeur d'Alene Mayor Jim Hammond said he fully agreed with Allan.

"We all need to stand up against any racist behavior," he said. "Respect for all people must be a foundational principal of our community. It is my intention to bring together tribal, business and government leaders to build a strategy to combat this egregious behavior."

The Coeur d’Alene Tribe is offering a $25,000 reward for the positive identification and information leading to the conviction or civil judgment against the individuals who harassed and intimidated the school children Friday, May 24, at 11:45 a.m. the Third Street boardwalk by the boat ramps, according to the release.

The Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations board of directors "condemned in the strongest terms this horrific act of hate toward the youth from the Coeur d’Alene Tribe by those who spew such vile forms of prejudice and bigotry," according to a press release.

"We must not forget how the Coeur d’Alene people welcomed the first white settlers to the lands that the Coeur d’Alene Tribe have occupied for centuries," the release said. "It is time for the good people of our region to stand up and say, 'No more.' We have had enough of hate and outrageous behavior. We will not be silent in the face of this most recent violent hate speech."

The task force is calling on the city of Coeur d'Alene's prosecution’s office to review Idaho’s Verbal Assault Law passed in 1979 and "if those responsible for these horrendous acts are found to seek justice for the victims."

"We stand as allies with the youth that faced such a terrible experience," the release said.