Until now, I have done my best to minimize my interpretation of the evidence of Coltte/Red Cherries’ criminal record. I’ve provided screen shots and links to public records wherever possible rather than have my reader trust my reporting or opinion. I can’t do that in this instance. To remove identifying details on the original criminal complaint documents to my satisfaction, I would have to obscure the overwhelming majority of each page in the series.

Instead, I am going to quote from these documents, removing (redacting) any sensitive information which might identify a victim.

The first criminal complaint names the defendant as “Bernard L Red Cherries Jr.” of “Portland, OR” [includes last known specific street address of the defendant, confirmed but redacted];  DOB –/–/1962 [month and day redacted to prevent identity theft but the date of birth (DOB) on these criminal complaints is exactly the same as the DOB on all prison, arrest, and court records for Coltte/Red Cherries I have seen (e.g. here, here, here, and here among others.)] There are four (4) separate counts of specific offenses listed in this document. This also appears to be a warrant for the arrest of the defendant on these charges.

• Count 1: “THREAT TO COMMIT CRIME… On [date redacted] did threaten to commit a crime against the person or property of another, to wit: murder, in violation of [specific law redacted].”
• Count 2:  ”THREAT TO COMMIT CRIME… On [date redacted] did threaten to commit a crime against the person or property of another, to wit: murder, in violation of [specific law redacted].”
• Count 3: “RAPE… On [date redacted] did assault a person with the intent to commit rape, and did commit rape upon such person, in violation of [specific law redacted]. …upon conviction, must register as a sex offender pursuant to [specific law redacted].”
• Count 4 “A&B… On [date redacted] did assault and beat [redacted], in violation of [specific law redacted].”

A second criminal complaint names the defendant again as “Bernard L Red Cherries Jr.” of “Portland, OR”;  DOB –/–/1962 [see DOB redaction note above.] There is one (1) count of a specific offense listed in this document.

• Count 1: “ABUSE PREVENTION ORDER, VIOLATE [specific law redacted] On [date redacted] did fail to comply with a court order to refrain from abuse, to vacate the household, multiple family dwelling or workplace, to have no contact with the plaintiff or the plaintiff’s minor child(ren), or to surrender any license to carry firearms and/or firearms identification cards which the defendant held, or to surrender all firearms, rifles, shotguns, machine guns and ammunition which the defendant then controlled, owned or possessed, issued under the provisions of  [specific laws redacted], or a protection order issued by another jurisdiction, as defined by [specific laws redacted].”

In summary, these documents show that Coltte/Red Cherries is charged with two counts of threats to commit murder, one count of rape, one count of assault and battery, and one count of violating an abuse prevention order. My best information is that the warrant for his arrest is still active as of June 13, 2011.

• Bernard Leonard Red Cherries
• Robert Oliver Coltte
• Bernard T. Red Cheri Jr
• Bernard Redcherries
• Bernard Red Cherrys
• Robert Colette

From the Montana DOC record (1997) is this slight variation:

• Bernard Leonard Redcherries

A different Montana DOC record includes the addition of “Jr” to some names:

• Bernard Redcherries Jr
• Bernard Leonard Redcherries Jr

From less official sources, I’ve also found several other names he has allegedly used, names which are completely different from the variations above. For the moment, since I don’t have solid documentary proof of the connections between him and those names, I’m refraining from printing them here. If I find confirming evidence of the connection between the names and Coltte / Red Cherries, I’ll add them to this post.

[Added July 20, 2011: According to this Multnomah County Oregon court docket, the name “Robert L Coltte” is also an alias.

“Indigenous Sounds”
WSLR, Sarasota, Florida – June 6, 2009
Sal White Horse Serbin and Eugene Johnson

This is a transcript of the first hour of the radio show “Indigenous Sounds” on WSLR, originally broadcast and streamed live on the web on June 6, 2009. “Indigenous Sounds” is hosted by Sal White Horse Serbin. A copy of the .MP3 audio file used for transcription can be found at http://www.mediafire.com/file/zidtozzkhdm/IndigenousSoundsWSLR-EugeneJohnson-June-06-2009-1of2.mp3 The file name is IndigenousSoundsWSLR-EugeneJohnson-June-06-2009-1of2.mp3

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES: Times are in [minutes:seconds] and within straight brackets []. Times are only accurate in relation to the specific sound file named above. This is NOT an absolutely verbatim transcript. False sentence starts are mostly eliminated as are word fumbles and transitional clauses of basically nil significance to the expressed verbal meaning. Arbitrary paragraph breaks have been inserted for ease of reading. At a few points, I was unable to definitively transcribe particular words. My phonetic approximation is followed by a (?) to indicate this circumstance.

[03:48]
Sal “White Horse” Serbin: …just want to break into the song. As promised, I have on the telephone Eugene Johnson from KBOO in Portland, Oregon. Eugene, you there?

Eugene Johnson: Yeah I am. Can you hear me?

Sal: Yes, we can hear you just fine.

Eugene: OK.

Sal: And there was some controversy between you and Chief Bernard Red Cherries and he came on the radio show two weeks ago and gave his side of the story and we wanted to give you the opportunity to offer your side.

Eugene: OK, sounds good. First I’d like to let people know a little about myself so we can kind of understand who I am and where I’m coming from.

[04:24] My name is Eugene Douglas Johnson. My mother was Joanne Bonnie Brooks who was Finnish, English, Dutch and Scots Irish. My father was Louis Wilbur Johnson. He passed away back in ’81. He was Alsea, Kutcat(?) and Lower Umpqua. My paternal grandparents were Violet Johnson, formerly Smith. She was Alsea and Klickitat. My paternal grandfather was Zulas(?) Johnson and he was supposedly the last Chief of the Lower Umpqua. I’m a member of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz and I’m also a poet, a blogger, a radio show host and a TV show host. I’ve written a book of poetry that is out of print called “Tremble In Fear Before the Soft Pudgy Indian.” I’ve produced a radio show for KBOO in Portland, Oregon for about 14, 15 years called “Mitakuye Oyasin.” I had some really good co-hosts throughout those years. One was James Craven who’s the Solicitor General of the Blackfoot Traditional Government. He’s also the head of the Business Department at Clark College up in Vancouver, Washington. He also indicted the United States and Canada for the crimes of genocide and has been pushing for a hearing at the UN ever since. Another co-host I had was… my wife was my co-host for a while. Another co-host I had was David Liberty who was a former Ph.D. candidate at the University of Oregon for archeology, anthropology. He resigned about six months before he was going to do his dissertation because of the racism around the Kenniwick Man case, which I’m not sure a lot of people know about but I’m assuming that a lot of people do. Currently my co-host… “Mitakuye Oyasin” is now a collective, the radio show is now a collective and my co-host is Dean Lookinghawk who’s a web designer and an AIM member, and also he’s Lakota.

[06:27] On “Mitakuye Oyasin” we’ve interviewed folks like Vine Deloria Jr, long before he passed away of course, Ward Churchill many times, Andrea Smith author of “Conquest,” a book about sexual violence in Native America, Joy Harjo who is a musician and poet, Arigon Starr who is a Nammy winner and musician, Karen Greenberg who is one of the editors of “The Torture Papers” which is documentation about the torture around the Abu Ghraib story. One of my favorite interviews was a boy soldier from Sierra Leone, his name is Ismael Beah, who wrote a book called “A Long Way Gone.” The TV show is hosted by David Liberty, and I recently got back on there. I was the host for about 5 or 6 years. There’s also a young man named Adam, and I forget his last name. Sorry Adam if you’re listening. I’ve done all sorts of stuff on that TV show. I also write a blog which is pretty much where this problem really started with Bernard, which is called pudgyindian2.blogspot.com, in which I discuss all sorts of topics from fluffy flower photographs to serious issues of genocide, rape, child abuse and so on. I’ve never claimed to be representative of Native Americans, I just wanted to make that clear. That would mean someone would have to have asked me to do that for people and I was never asked. The only person I claim to represent is myself. I am a Native American and I deal a lot with Native American issues.

[08:07] As far as Bernard Red Cherries goes, about two years ago he asked to come on “Mitakuye Oyasin.” He was in search of his daughter Della who had ran away from state custody. He hadn’t found out about it until about 30 days after she had ran away. I didn’t think about it then but a former co-host did and informed me but that would mean that he had no contact legally with Della and the state had no legal recourse to inform him that this was going on. So I didn’t think of that as a red flag or anything at the time. Also when they did find her, Della was 15 at the time, when they did find her, Bernard came back on the show and said that when they asked her whether she wanted to go home, she threw a major fit and refused to go. Those were like little red flags that I see now but didn’t really think about then.

[09:13] So about 4 or 5 months ago, Martha Alvarez who was his stepdaughter started emailing us because me and a former host had put messages up on our blog, looking for Della also shortly after Bernard had come on. Listening to her testimony, at least reading it in the emails, and what she was alleging happened to her when she was in Bernard’s care… A couple of the things I’ve studied for the last 14, 15 years is genocide and child abuse and how it affects people even after it happens, how it affects people intergenerationally. For example, like how do Indians feel now from the genocide that happened to us physically which probably actually the physical part probably ended with the boarding schools which I think were really ended in about 1970. So what happens to the generations and how we act and behave since then.

[10:23] So I’ve made these studies and I’ve read lots and lots of books like “Co-Dependent No More,” “The Verbally Abusive Relationship.” I read lots about various holocausts and genocides all over the world including in Native America.

I thought about it for a while and I started going over in my head all the patterns and everything Martha was talking about and I decided to make a post on my blog because I felt that we’d been had. I felt that Bernard, I believed that Bernard had used the radio show to make his case more legitimate and so whatever the state had against him, which they must have had something against him if they didn’t inform him for over 30 days that his daughter ran away. I had a legitimate… I should have gone to him personally, is what I should have done and I didn’t do that and I regret not doing so. But also I’m glad it’s coming up because it helps deal with abuse in Native America, in Indian Country. It gives kind of a face to it, probably not a face that really should happen but it’s there now. I’m hoping that this will bring up issues about how to deal with it better instead of keeping it quiet because in Indian Country, most people decide just to keep it quiet. I’m finding out that a lot of people I know have done things in the past, I don’t know if they are doing it now but they definitely had done things in the past, and nobody has ever said anything. So I’m kind of hoping that these things will lead to abuse prevention, help for victim survivors and help for people who are abusive also. That will come up with time.

[12:19] So Martha emailed me with these things and I put a post on my blog saying that I felt like we’d been had by Bernard and that he’s been accused of abuse from a former stepchild. At that time I wasn’t using her name because I didn’t really have permission at that time. I left it at that and for a couple of weeks I only got a few comments, I didn’t see anything. That was probably three or four months ago that I put that post up. Then about May 7th I think it was, I got a call from Robert Vanpelt who’s a fellow Siletz tribal member, saying that he was asked by Bernard Red Cherries to talk to me about that post on my blog. I said I hadn’t gone and looked at it in a long time, I didn’t get emails on my comments or anything of what was going on. I said, well, what if I take it off, would that satisfy Bernard? He said he thought it would. He didn’t say it definitely would, he said he thought it would. I said I won’t be able to get onto the Internet until the next day and so I’ll take it done then. When I took it down, there were a lot of comments on there then.

[13:34] Martha Alvarez had submitted comments from emails that she had sent to me and a fellow blogger. And then, after that was all sorts of crazy abusive crap coming at her and her mother and others. And so I read this stuff and thought, OK, they are going to ask me to make an apology and I don’t know if I’m going to do that. Sure enough the next day I got a phone call from Robert Vanpelt and he asked me to make an apology… or he sent me an email, that what it was. He asked for an apology. The demand for the apology was coming from a group called the Red Brotherhood Warrior Society, who I assume is out of Oklahoma, and Oklahoma AIM. I only know of two members of the Red Brotherhood Warrior Society, and that’s Bernard Red Cherries and Ralph Birdshead Jr. Ralph Birdshead I don’t know any other way or anything. I can’t find anything out about Oklahoma AIM. I’ve even asked people who know old AIMsters, who’ve been asking for me these old people and nobody seems to know who’s in Oklahoma AIM or what they do or anything.

[14:52] So I had been reluctant to apologize and so I put a post on my blog calling out these guys, not bringing up the issue. I said let’s not bring up the issue that we have between us. But I put my name and face behind everything I say. That way if there’s something wrong with what I say, things like this will come up. If I’m proven to be wrong, I will admit it. It’s happened several times in the past with the radio show and my blog and other things so I admit it. Because I’m fallible, I make mistakes, I understand it.

[15:28] But Martha kept on emailing us and talking about what happened to her and stuff and I couldn’t bring myself to make an apology for accusations that she’s making. I just brought up the fact that he is accused of being abusive and these accusations have come from Martha Alvarez who is a former stepdaughter of his which was also further proven by some of those horrific abusive comments that happened on the original post.

[16:01] So I did these little battles with folks who were coming up. I believe some of the folks were actually Bernard but I can’t prove that. You can be anybody you want to on the Internet and I’m not a person that does that kind of thing. In fact there’s forums I won’t participate in because I can’t use my name. I will immediately be removed from those groups, or my comments will be, because I use my name. And I just can’t do something like that, it bothers the heck out of me. I tried a few times but it just bothers me so I don’t do it.

(Continues in Part 2 of 3)

[16:40] Eugene Johnson: So anyways, about May 14th Robert Vanpelt showed up at the radio station where I was answering phones for the pledge drive. And he gave me this letter from Ralph Birdshead Jr. And what I was expecting from Robert Vanpelt was for him to come and say, “This is what’s upsetting Bernard and this what he’d like and what do you have to say to that?” and have him go back and forth until like Bernard and I defined comfortable ground to talk with each other, is what I expected. But what I got instead was the fact that he gave me this letter that was again demanding the apology that I wasn’t about to give. It was signed by Ralph Birdshead and I was supposed to say in my apology that these lies that I’m putting forth are really hurting all these people involved. But I’m not lying. Martha Alvarez, who is willing to come forward, has accused Bernard Red Cherries of abuse.

[17:48] I have an email which I’m going to read a little from in which she describes it but I’m going to continue with what went on at this meeting at the moment. What happened at this meeting, as he handed this to me I was informed that I was now banished from all Native American events and that Portland AIM, who I know some bad stuff about too, which was also covered up by Robert Vanpelt but I won’t go into the details of that, are going to be the ones that enforce this.

So now I’m supposedly not going to be allowed to go to powwows or public speaking events where Indians are speaking because Portland AIM will be banishing me for coming out and saying these things about Bernard, which all I really stated was that he is accused of abuse, which he is, by Martha Alvarez.

Then Robert Vanpelt made these veiled threats at me and if you know me you know I don’t respond to that type of stuff very well. What he said was that he’d hate to see anything happen to me or anybody I know. At that point, I kind of ramped up my stuff on my blog. Which by the way if anybody goes to my blog you’ll see there aren’t any posts about this other than me being on your show because I started getting in fear of the people that I know coming to harm, not necessarily from Bernard but from people in Portland AIM. And so that’s what really got on my nerves.

[19:31] It’s one thing to threaten me, big deal. I don’t care, you can threaten me all you want but sometimes people know where to look for a weakness. And in that case, with me, it’s the ones I know. There were verbal threats on my blog in the comments sections that were starting to come out towards some of the people I know. That’s when I took everything off. Like I said, it really upset me and bothered me.

[20:00] I’m just trying to put this behind me and trying to get into a good space and deal with other issues in my personal life. It’s really hard because this keeps coming up. It would not even be public, Bernard would not even have come on your show had Robert Vanpelt actually been a mediator between us. All this stuff on the Internet and all these people hating me and all this other stuff would not have even happened if we had good mediation between each other, somebody talking. But at the same time, I’m kinda glad it did come up because… I was told in the letter to do my own investigation and I found out all sorts of things. Like Bernard Red Cherries did time in 1986 for kidnapping. It wasn’t really called kidnapping, it was like holding someone against their will or something like that. He did 15 months for that. He was also charged with robbery in that but the robbery charge was dropped. He was also arrested in El Reno [Oklahoma] for drunk driving in January [2009].

[21:01] So I’m finding out all these things and then I’m getting other people, who want to remain anonymous because they’re scared, coming forward and telling me a whole bunch of other things about him that are pretty horrific. And not all of these people are people who’ve been involved with him in his family. But none of them want to come forward and to protect them I’m not going to say anything about their issues because I don’t want anybody going after them for saying anything about this. Because there’s definitely a feeling that people are coming after me or people I know about this issue because I’ve gone public with it.

[21:43] So that meeting ended. I wrapped up stuff on my blog. I’m just pretty tired of this. I’m not one who shies away from controversy either. I’ve been involved with all sorts of stuff like this but this one seems a hell of lot more dangerous than anything else I’ve been involved [in]. My wife joked with me shortly after all this started coming down. She laughed at me and she said “Yeah, you thought that after all this time it would be white people that killed you.” She goes, “White people love you. It’s Indians, Indians who are going to kill you.”

[22:20] I had all this coming up. Then I heard through some of the people that I’ve been talking with that Bernard had been on your May 23 [2009] show. And that he had said that I had been proven a liar, which I haven’t been a proven a liar because Martha Alvarez is till willing to come forward and talk about all the things that he did to her when she was his stepchild as well as things he did to her mother and so on and so forth. She still accuses him of abuse. That’s an accusation. It hasn’t gone to court or anything which all those people are saying “legal proof, legal proof.” Well, testimony is legal proof but testimony doesn’t necessarily get you convicted.

[23:07] So I heard that. Then I also heard that Bernard said we came to some sort of settlement, but we never came to any sort of settlement. All we came to was the fact that all of a sudden I have three different organizations coming after me: The Red Brotherhood Warrior Society, Oklahoma AIM, and Portland AIM. I know some of the people at Portland AIM so I know who to look out for there at least. And so all of these things kind of wretched things up. If anybody wants to email me about this or talk to me about this personally, my email is kbooindian@yahoo.com.

Again, I avoid going through certain details but Martha Alvarez has given me permission to use her name and everything else. She tired of living scared. That’s what happens with victims. A lot of victims… most people will never talk about what happened to them, ever. But there’s a few that finally just get tired of feeling that and they will start talking and Martha Alvarez is one of them.

[24:24] This what she has had to say in one of her emails to me:

[24:30] “Robert was a controlling man. When I was a little girl, I remember him being nice, almost like a savior when we moved to Montana. We were in a group home in Warm Springs and apparently it was Robert’s idea to come and get us. He told my mother to get the kids and bring them back here. She did. After a while that man went away. As to the extent of our abuse, I remember the most because I was older, about 7 or so. My little brothers were 2 and 5 when we moved there. He abused us in every form except sexual. He whipped us with anything, 2x4s, extension cords, belts. And not just our butts. I know the difference. I recall being drug through the house on numerous occasions, pulled up off the ground by my hair, yelled at, threatened, belittled, etc.

[25:24] “The worst for me was the mind games. He would always tell us to go to our room… the back room and we would know what was coming, almost like walking down Death Row. And most of the time we didn’t even know what we had done. On one occasion, my brother Tommy Joe and I were in the back room and Robert walked in with his belt in one hand. We were both crying, of course, and he holds out his finger to me and says “pull it.” Tommy looks at me and vice versa. We look at him. I just stood there looking at him. He turns to my little brother and says “pull it.” Tommy, still crying, put out his hand and pulled his extended finger. Robert farted and started laughing and said “get out of here.”

[26:09] “He also liked to use guns, rifles on my mother. I actually saw this. My mother has never really mentioned anything else but that about what happened to her behind the doors. We were made to call him Dad. I didn’t want to but we didn’t have a choice. When people use the expression “walking on eggshells,” we really did. He would tell us not to go outside when he wasn’t there and we would listen. That’s the type of control he had over us. We weren’t allowed to talk at the dinner table, only he was. We were the family that has been seen and not heard, truly. (This was confirmed by an anonymous source also.) It felt like we were there for appearances. Looking back now, I was always the defiant one. I don’t think I realized that until now.”

[27:01] And that was part of what she had to say about her life with Bernard. But what I really want to point out here is that abuse is, it is rampant in Indian Country. The way Indians have dealt with it for many, many years is to just… They either avoid the person, I’ve heard of about this happening in various places, I’ve had to deal with this in certain forms. They avoid the people. They sometimes, like with this, they go after the messenger. But mostly they know that the one person or another has been abusive and so they basically try to avoid them or have limited contact with the person.

[27:51] What I would like to see happen is, because there are so many damaged Indians from abuse… and a lot of the abuse… I talked with Ward Churchill on “Mitakuye Oyasin” a week or so ago, a week and a half ago, and I asked him to talk on that because he wrote this excellent book called “Kill the Indian, Save the Man” about residential and boarding school abuses of Indians. A lot of abuse stems from that era because of the horrific abuse children had to go through then. And at times, it doesn’t happen with everybody, but at times it gets passed on. One person who was abused will abuse from time to time. There is a percentage of that. Personally, although there’s not any documentation that I have read, I believe that that type of abuse was deliberate because people knew then that it would continue throughout our communities.

[28:52] And so now we as indigenous people, well, not just Indians, it happens to all communities really. But as indigenous people that is where a lot of the abuse behavior that happens now comes from. That’s a big part of the history of what has happened to our people. In my opinion, and I could be wrong because nobody has even… Here at the Bradley-Angle House, I interviewed somebody, a woman, it’s a battered women’s shelter, about 5 or 6 years ago, who had started a program that was specifically designed for indigenous peoples but it could help anybody. I thought that was really good. I plan on hunting that person down again and seeing if I can’t get her back on the air if she still works there. It’s an issue that really we need to find ways of dealing with it. I keep on thinking of abuse prevention programs, teaching our children about it, what it looks like, what it feels like, how to prevent it, where to find support if it’s happening to you. Victim/survivors could… people who are in it need a safe place to go and people who have survived it and are no longer in it definitely need help because there is a psychological damage that is sometimes even physical. There is definitely a psychological damage that goes with abuse, having that terror put into you.

[30:37] If you talk to veterans, you know PTSD, if you talk to vets… I’m listening to a great book right now called “My Father’s Secret War.” It’s about a guy from World War II who was a spy and he didn’t talk about anything he had seen until he was in his 80s and he saw some pretty horrible stuff.

[31:01] I think that what we need to do… What I’d like to see done is programs for… prevention programs, abuse victim/survivors programs to help people that are in it get out or to help people who have been in it to heal because there needs to be a healing process. As my co-host would always say, this should to be rooted in our life ways and culture and try and find healing that way. There should also be programs, in my opinion, for people who do abuse because they need to break that pattern. It’s a pattern. Everything operates in patterns. If you look at people who have been abused, they’ll do things throughout their life that are patterns of… kind of like re-living it but in a lighter form.

[31:57] People have to heal from all this. And the abusers have to heal from whatever has led them to do that because it doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It’s not like some really great, nice guy all of a sudden one day decides, “What the heck, I think I’ll just start beating my wife and kids.” It doesn’t happen that way. There’s roots to it, there’s a history to it. And therefore there is a pattern to it and those patterns are what we need to break so we can heal and move forward and become a more productive and healthy community.

[32:34] So I’m kind of glad, even though this stuff has been so horrifically stressful this last month or so and I haven’t done a whole lot to not stoke the flames on my end either. I want to make people aware it’s there. Most people are aware that it’s there but it needs to be talked about and somehow we need to find solutions to deal with the problem of abuse in Indian Country.

[33:11] If anyone wants to talk or has any great ideas, kbooindian@yahoo.com. My blog is pudgyindian2.blogspot.com. Let’s start a dialogue and try and find ways to make a good, healthy society because I see this type of damage in so many people, not just Indians, but there are certain patterns that need to be changed or broken in my opinion. It would be nice if we started heading that way instead of just saying “Yeah, we know so-and-so is an abuser and what are you going to do about it?” Except avoiding him or her or whatever. I don’t know. I don’t know where we should go from here but I’m hoping somebody has some great ideas. So that’s about it for me, Sal.

(Continues in part 3 of 3)

[34:16] Sal: OK, if I could just offer… I just wanted to make sure you had got all your points across. Just as a third party, I’m not representing you or Bernard Red Cherries. He has, if I remember right, Robert Vanpelt representing him. As a Native American, why didn’t you seek to handle this in a traditional way by going to the Native Chiefs and offering tobacco and stating your case among the other Chiefs and seeing how that would go?

[34:42] Eugene: Well, I saw how… I won’t go into the details of it, but I saw how Portland AIM’s bad behavior was dealt with, which was basically giving people tobacco to not say anything about it and to keep quiet about it. To me, that just wasn’t right. To me… and none of it would have come up in meetings or anything… To me, it should have been handled differently as far as that goes. It should have been “OK, you, so-and-so, you need to take responsibility for your actions, for what you did. And you, you need to take responsibility for these actions that you did. You need to make the proper apologies and make amends for the actions you’ve done that have harmed people on one level or another or have somehow disgraced the organization.” And so on and so forth. And what I saw was basically a cover-up and the use of tobacco to keep people from talking about it.

[35:47] So to go in more traditional manner, the people that I knew of who knew us both, I didn’t feel comfortable with. And so the only thing that I felt to do was to come forward with it. Then, in terms of protection for myself, I thought it was best to bring up names because if any harm comes to me like it was said through Robert Vanpelt, you know, he’d hate to see something happen to me or anybody I know. Veiled threats aren’t anything that police or anybody else knew anything about. I wanted, if anything actually happened, I’d want there to be a trail, people to be investigated. So as a self-defense, I’ve started naming names just to protect those that I know. Not so much myself because as I said I don’t mind putting myself on the line but it’s when I put myself on the line and then all of a sudden other people that I know are targeted, then it makes it like a whole different thing altogether.

[36:56] So I didn’t do it traditionally because I had seen that happen with the Portland AIM issue and the people that I knew that knew us both didn’t seem… I didn’t feel comfortable with. So the only thing that I knew to do, which I usually do, is to open my big fat mouth, which has at times got me in trouble but I still do it. That’s what I do. Like I said, I’m hoping in the long run that what this helps with is to bring about prevention programs and programs to help people get out of abuse, programs to help people who have been abused and programs to help people who are abusers. But I don’t know. I don’t know if anything will even come from it other than a lot of people being pissed off at me. So I don’t know. Maybe what I’ve done has done the complete opposite but that’s how I operate. Well that’s pretty much my explanation.

[38:03] Sal: One other thing too. You mention that Martha Alvarez is his accuser, his stepdaughter… cause so far she hasn’t come forward yet. If she doesn’t come forward, what do you think you might have to do then? Because then it will look like a smear campaign on your part against Bernard Red Cherries. [crosstalk] Because of the work he’s done, that has happened before…

Eugene: She sent me an email. Another person I’ve been talking with said you talked to her and that she recanted. But then I talked to Martha herself and Martha said she didn’t even know who you were at that time. She sent you an email, which also came to me, asking you about that because she had never talked to you. I don’t know if you talked to… somebody or how you got whatever number you had but if you want her to, I’m sure she’d be willing to talk on your show too.

[38:52] Sal: Well, not that, just… Let’s go the police. If there is a case of abuse, then let’s get some charges filed. If there’s abuse, there are other channels of handling this other than just blogging about it.

Eugene: Yeah, well, also I’m not sure what the statute of limitations are on something like that. I haven’t looked that far into the law. So I don’t even know if those type of things can still be brought up at this point. They probably can, I don’t know. But you would have to ask Martha about that herself since she’s his accuser, she’d be the one that would be able to do so. I don’t know if that’s where she wants to go or for that matter if that’s a way she actually can.

[39:37] Sal: OK, well, if she never does comes forward, would you offer any sort of apology or whatever officially to them or no?

Eugene: But she has come forward. Like I said she’d be even willing to talk on your show if you wanted her to.

Sal: [pause] Well, that she’d gone to the police though and talked to them…

Eugene: If she goes to the police?

Sal: Yes.

Eugene: You mean if she doesn’t go to the police, would I offer an apology or anything like that?

[40:04] Sal: Well, yes, because really if there is abuse, that is the proper way to handle it then that you want to go if you don’t want to handle it the traditional way is to go to the police and let’s file some charges and get the man locked up. If he is guilty of abuse, he’s guilty of abuse and should be sitting in a jail cell. [crosstalk] Otherwise then it’s just one woman’s word. I just hope you weren’t being used…

Eugene: [crosstalk] Again, I don’t know the laws that well as far as statute of limitations and stuff like that and what gets a person comvicted… Sometimes people get convicted of crimes they didn’t commit on circumstantial evidence. For example, Leonard Peltier. Sometimes people get convicted on circumstantial evidence when they are guilty. The state laws… That would have to be something you’d really have to bring up with her.

[40:51] But if she even doesn’t go to the police, no, I wouldn’t offer an apology because, again, I’m not his accuser. I just brought up the fact that Martha had accused him of abuse. And even if she can’t bring it up in court or anything like that, she will still continue to accuse him of abuse when she was a child, when she was his stepchild. So I don’t see the fact that whether or not she takes it to the courts, through the court system, would have anything to do with me giving an apology because, again, she’d still accusing him, whether or not it goes through court. She stands by her words and she was actually his stepdaughter.

[41:38] Sal: OK, but like us that just came in as a third party, we’re not really seeing any proof other than what you’re posting about. Or were posting but it’s no longer there. That’s my concern.

Eugene: So somebody accusing somebody of abuse that was actually his stepchild is not considered proof to you guys, that’s what you’re saying. Even though…

Sal: Well, let’s go to the police and do that. That’s my point.

Eugene: … for example in boarding schools and residential schools, most proof in the cases there, especially up in Canada and residential schools, is only testimony. It’s only testimony from the people who have been abused. …

Sal: [crosstalk] Well, could you offer what proof that was offered to you before you posted that?

Eugene: …There is not photographs or physical evidence or anything, it’s just the fact that, yeah, they were at the school and, yeah, they are accusing these people of abuse in various forms.

[42:25] Sal: [crosstalk] Well, could you offer what proof that she offered you that made you post this?

Eugene: Other than that, testimony is considered proof, is that…?

Sal: How about what proof did she offer you that encouraged you to post this?

Eugene: Huh?

Sal: What proof did she offer to you of abuse that warranted you posting all these accusations?

Eugene: For one, her testimony. And, two, she follows the same patterns of having been abused. She was definitely his stepchild. And many other people, like I said, have came forward but they want to remain anonymous, that have dealt with him and/or been abused by him in one form or another. So that is the basic proof at the moment…and… I’m not exactly sure what you’re looking for…

Sal: I’m looking for…

Eugene: Testimony is considered proof but even if it doesn’t go into the court system, it still what it is, it’s still an accusation.

[43:33] Sal: OK, just, to all of us it looks like you’re attacking the man, that’s my point.

Eugene: But what?

Sal: That was my point. It appeared to many of us that you were attacking the man.

Eugene: Oh, attacking him?

Sal: It just appeared, yes…

Eugene: I felt like the show was used as a cover for possible bad behavior on his part, possibly towards Della, after I found this out. But then again that’s just possibilities, I don’t know exactly what. But I do know that Martha has stated that he has abused her and she has stated the same things over and over. Her story doesn’t change and her mother has supported her on this although her mother wishes she wouldn’t come forward because she’s terrified. And so has her grandmother. And other people have come forward as well like I said. That unfortunately kind of leaves me out there as the point person in all this and all I am is the person that’s pointed out the fact that he’s been accused. It may look like an attack but really I don’t care about Bernard one way or the other, other than the fact that he came onto the radio show, that he possibly used it as a form of cover, that he’s never come forward to deny this. That’s another thing: This whole thing, never been a denial, never a rebuttal. All that came forward was the fact, through Robert Vanpelt, that there were three different organizations, Native organizations, coming after me because I brought this up. And so there hasn’t been any like “Oh yeah Martha was then my stepdaughter but I was the model father.” He’s never come forward to say that. He’s never said that through Robert Vanpelt or to me personally.

[45:30] You know, like if someone accused me of something, which has happened in the past, I’d say “Well, no, I never did that. What I did was this.” Or “No, I wasn’t even there. I have no idea what you’re talking about. I was someplace else and I can prove it.” But none of this has been done. This whole month that we’ve been going through this there has been no rebuttal, no denial. I mean, if you were accused… If I came up to you and accused you of beating your dog. You’d say “Well, I don’t have a dog so how can I beat my dog?” You know? Or whatever. You’d have some sort of denial or rebuttal to it, unless you actually did it. Then, if you were man enough, you’d admit that “Yeah, I beat my dog but I don’t beat my dog anymore. I really love my dog. If I lose my temper, I go out of the room” or whatever else. Like I said, none of this has happened. There has been no denial, there’s been no rebuttal, there’s been nothing other than veiled threats against anybody I know. And this invisible army of only whom I know a few people.

[46:37] Sal: OK, did you happen to hear the show when he was on WSLR two weeks ago? [crosstalk] Because that was his offer of his side of the story.

Eugene: I haven’t heard it yet. I have copies of part of it. I haven’t had a chance to sit down and listen to it yet but I’ve been told the things that I brought up, saying that I have been a proven liar which hasn’t happened yet. And that Bernard and I came to some sort of settlement. That has never happened. The only thing that has happened is what I said: The fact that Robert Vanpelt came forward, gave me this letter of which I was supposed to make this apology that was a lie in my opinion. And that I had three different organizations coming after me and that I’m banished from all Native American events and Portland AIM is going to be that banishing arm. That’s all I’ve been getting. And ever since, I’ve been getting harassed. And ever since, my wife has been harassed. All these other people were getting verbally harassed when I had those posts up. That’s all we’re getting. We’re not getting any denials. We’re not getting any “Nuh-uh, that didn’t happened.” We’re not getting any “Well, this person that I’ve known a long time will say I’ve been a fine upstanding great father, who’s seen me father these people joyfully and happily and helped them go through whatever they need to.” None of that has happened. All that has come forward was the use of bullying and force to get me to shut up. And if you’re gonna get me to shut up, that not the way to do it. And so, that’s where I am with that.

[48:18] Sal: OK, are there any steps maybe to move on from this? Put an end to it or something?

Eugene: Yeah, it would be nice if some organizations like AIM would come up with programs to prevent abuse and to help those who have been abused. And to listen to people when they come forward and say “Hey, you know, I was abused,” even if it’s years afterwards. “Hey, you know, my dad used to beat me all the time when I was a kid and he’s a great upstanding guy right now and I still hurt from it and we all need to deal with it.” To come up with programs or something to help people that have been abused or are abusers or to prevent it because it’s a rampant problem in Native America. It’s not just Bernard, it’s happening all over. And so that is what I would like to see come out of that. If something like that would? I kind of doubt it but I’m hoping something like that would. That’s what I’d like to see come out of all this.

[49:18] Sal: OK, well for those that are listening when is your show on again on KBOO in Portland, Oregon? Can you give any web links, maybe they can tune in and listen?

Eugene: Yeah, the web is http://kboo.fm and our next show… We do a show every other week with “Indian World” and our next show will be this coming Thursday, which I believe is the 12th. My co-host lined up Russell Means for that show so that should be an interesting show. Probably talk about Palestinians and everything like that too. That’s one of the things we usually bring up too, is the commonalities between what happened to Palestinians and what’s happening to Indians.

[50:03] Sal: Uh-huh. Is there anything else you’d like to add while you have the stage right now?

Eugene: Um, just if anybody has any great ideas as to what to do with abuse, please move forward with it. Try and help out and it will be challenging, it will be difficult. It won’t be easy. As I’ve tried to start various things throughout my fifteen year career as an activist and Native show host and stuff, usually you get frustrated and stop. But this is an issue that needs to be dealt with and maybe there’s going to be some sort of golden gem that will start opening doors and helping people out. Because that is the main thing we should be doing is helping each other and that would be, seriously, one great way to help people heal from abuse. Like I said, it’s historical. It goes back to the boarding schools, it goes back to the genocides that our people have gone through and all of that is part of it. We need to heal and to, not just move on, but to build something better, to create something more beautiful than we have already. That would be really, really nice. kbooindian@yahoo.com if you want to talk to me.

[51:22] Sal: OK, well, I really thank you a lot for coming on the air and letting us know your side of the story. Hopefully, one day this abuse thing will be taken care of. That’s not just an Indian issue, that abuse is among all cultures.

Eugene: Oh yeah, it happens in… there’s not a culture that I know of anymore that it doesn’t happen. I haven’t read anything or heard any studies that it happened before the colonization started here. Before Christopher Columbus showed up on our shores, I don’t think abuse was anything in our cultures here like it is now, if it existed at all. But it’s certainly here now and we need to do something with it.

[52:01] Sal: OK, well once again thank you for coming on and hopefully we can once and all finally put this behind us and move on to some more pressing issue and always keep this in mind.

Eugene: OK. Thanks Sal.

Sal: Thank you. Good talking to you.

Eugene: Good talking to you. Bye.

Sal: Thank you. Bye. We’ll get back to some music. I’ll start that song that began. This is “My Land” by Lightfoot.

[52:21] (music begins)

(End of part 3 of 3.)

Once Upon a Time in the West is the blog of Lizzie Tool. Her interest in this particular issue resulted in a long series of blog posts, mostly posted under the umbrella heading/category/tag of Anatomy of a Threat. There are other posts as well but those are most easily accessible. The “threat” in this case started with the threats and bullying directed toward Eugene Johnson.

As an aside, I’d like to acknowledge that Lizzie’s early posts around this subject were a major inspiration for me to begin The Abuse Papers. She has done and continues to do excellent work to bring out details and analyze the situation and people involved. What I found missing (for me) was a roughly chronological presentation of the early deleted material and comments. I saw a need for this and decided to fill it. This is no slight or insult to Lizzie: her posts, opinions, and detective work continues to inform my work here.

While my opinions about these allegations of abuse are strong, I’ve opted to let the material stand on its own with minimal commentary or opinion from me. For the moment, this seems like a satisfactory course.

For the moment, I’d like to focus specifically on resources and help for women and children in Indian Country as well as those Indians living off-reservation. I’ll certainly consider adding other suggested resources which are not quite so specific if I like them.

So leave any links to websites in the comments and I’ll add them to the sidebar. If it is only a hotline number, try to give me a little info about their services. I really don’t want to have to call a hotline to find out who they are and what services they offer.

As far as I know, this was the last post Eugene made about the Bernard Red Cherries/Robert Coltte abuse allegations which he then deleted after publishing.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Custer Work

I love driving down I-5 in the early mornings to see the morning star on the eastern horizon. When the moon is waning and sharing the horizon with the star it looks like it is trying to catch it as it slides across the horizon.

The morning star is also the nickname of a famous American Hero, “Son of the Morning Star Who Attacks at Dawn,” aka, George Armstrong Custer (shove those awls in a little deeper to help solve that hearing problem of his, ladies).

Custer is known for his bravery in the field of murdering women, children, elderly, and an occasional warrior. He loved the early morning surprise attacks because it is easier to catch folks unawares. A chicken shit method mistakenly called “bravery,” but very effective when using this method of genocide.

Now George Custer couldn’t have done all this glorious slaughter without some help. Like the “Apache Attack Helicopter,” George Custer needed Indians to help find and attack their fellow Indians. Indians still do this today, though with kinder gentler methods. This is called, “Custer Work.” I’ve also heard Indians who do this referred to as “Custer’s Scouts” and doing the work for “COINTELPRO.”

No doubt that many of the male Indians involved in the defense (as it were) of Bernard Red Cherries (aka Robert Coltte) consider the fact that I helped expose Bernard’s abusive behavior as “Custer Work.” But let’s take a closer look.

I have never attacked Bernard. I exposed the fact that he has been accused of child abuse by his former step-daughter, Martha Alvarez. I did this because Bernard came on the “Mitakuye Oyasin” radio program looking for a daughter who escaped from state custody, Della Redcherries. He was not informed of this until 30 days after it had occurred, which means he was not allowed contact with her. The state must have a reason for such action, don’t you think? Then Martha came forward with the accusations and I made a post on my blog about it.

Then a week or so after I took the post off in order to calm the situation, Robert Vanpelt, the alleged mediator between Bernard/Robert and I came to KBOO and we had a meeting. During this meeting I was informed of a large invisible Indian army out to get me for exposing Bernard/Robert’s past abuses. That army includes Indian groups like: the Red Brotherhood Warrior Society, Oklahoma AIM, and Portland AIM. I was also informed that I was banned from all Native American events and that Portland AIM would be the enforcement arm of this banishment. Knowing that Robert Vanpelt has helped cover-up past bad behaviors on the part of Portland AIM, I come to the conclusion that he is doing the same thing with the Bernard/Robert issue. He is like the Colin Powell of the Native world. Robert has also, to his credit, brought a powwow to Mt. Hood Community College. Robert also made the veiled threats that he would hate to “see anything happen to [me] or anyone I know.”

The leaders of Portland AIM are James Logan, Sgt. @ Arms, and Patrick “Little Buffalo,” spiritual leader. As stated previously, I point these things out in self-defense, not as an attack. If anything happens to me or anyone I know, the people who need to know will know who to investigate.

During this whole issue, so many people have come forward, almost all of them too terrified to let us expose their names. Some abused directly, others having worked with him and finding Bernard/Robert a rather horrifying person to work with and often have witnessed the effects of his abusive behavior. But I think people are becoming more brave and willing to stand up against him and others like him. It’s just a matter of time. To overcome such terror is very hard even if the threat no longer exists directly. Abuse does that kind of thing.

While co-hosting the local Native TV show, “Native Nations,” with David Liberty, I was told by one of the young men, Adam, who helps with the show and is a member of Portland AIM that he has been hearing a lot about me. What he has been probably hearing is most likely not the whole story. During my meeting with Robert Vanpelt, I was also informed that Portland AIM has been having meetings specifically about me. Not about Bernard. Not about investigating the accusations. Not about the women and children. They’ve been having meetings on how to best shut me up, I assume.

Then Bernard appeared on Sal “White Horse” Serbin’s show, “Indigenous Sounds” on WSLR in Florida. Sal and Bernard made up lies about me saying that I was “a proven liar.” Yet, oddly, Martha still accuses Bernard of being an abuser and is willing to come forward. Sal was called by a person and asked if he talked to Martha Alvarez. Sal said that he had and that Martha recanted her story. Oddly, Martha says she never talked to Sal and has been e-mailing him about this lie. Whose the proven liar, here, again? It was also said on this show that Bernard and I have come to a settlement. We did? I am not aware of this. In fact, we haven’t. Another lie! Who is the liar here?

Since this show, 5-23-09, Sal and I have been bantering back and forth and on his 6-6 show, he is going to have me on to tell my side of the story, with a guest who will talk afterwards about this, I guess. I thought Sal was going to broadside me, and he got all butt hurt when I mentioned this. He obviously has not been following this other than what Bernard/Robert is telling. Sal also informed me that he is a long time good friend of Bernard/Robert and an admirer of his work. Since it is proven in this area that there are many organizations willing to protect Bernard/Robert and not women and children victim/survivors, and many are willing to bully me into shutting up instead of bravely investigating the issue, I had absolutely every reason to believe that Sal was going to broadside me. He, however, has stated that he will not do so and allow me the time to tell my side of the issue. WSLR 6-6 3-5pm PST. I’ll be on early in the show.

Given all of this massive amount of terror handed my (and by extension, those that I know) way by my fellow Indians, I chose to take down my previous posts on the issue. This was done not of fear for myself, but due to the threats to those that I know.

Phil Sheridan said once during his slaughter of Indians, “Kill the women and children first. They’re easier to kill and it strikes terror into the hearts of the men.” These folks knew what they were doing when they told me through their mediator, Robert Vanpelt, that they’d hate to see anything happen to anyone I know. “Kill the women and children first…”

Here are a couple of things to look at as far as these men are concerned. One, they have NEVER investigated these accusations. Two, they have gone on a kill the messenger campaign. Three, the have NEVER mentioned any concern for the women and children. Four, their have been NO DENIALS. Five, they are making no attempts to deal with abuse issues in Indian Country. Six, they are having secret meetings about me. Seven, most of these “warriors” do not come forward and put their names and faces behind their words.

So, tell me, who do you think is doing the Custer Work, here?

Posted by Eugene at 8:14 AM

I heard the show. Bernard Red Cherries, aka Robert Oliver Coltte, aka Bernard Redcherries calmly (though sounding like he’d been drinking) lied through his teeth.

He lied on all three questions Eugene proposed he be asked. Too bad no one had offered him tobacco first. I call on anyone who crosses this guy’s path to do so, and ask again. And keep asking. Just so the Creator can hear him lie over and over again.

Both Redcherries and White Horse lied about Eugene. While White Horse’s main offense here is that he didn’t bother to find out what anyone besides Redcherries had to say about this, Redcherries simply lied. White Horse lambasted Eugene for not telling the whole story.. Eugene has let even abusive men post insults here, but Sal White Horse never once mentioned the words of the women who have come forward about Redcherries/Coltte’s abuse of them, nor as far as I know did he attempt to contact any of the women, nor even Eugene and Shusli. And he told the unbelievable lie that Coltte has somehow been “cleared of all charges” and Eugene “proven to be a liar.” Sal, if you’re reading this, what on earth gave you that idea? That is pure fantasy. What has Redcherries been feeding you?

A grateful survivor | 05.23.09 – 9:29 pm | #
***********

Oh, dear, I had thought Sal “WhiteHorse” Serbin, (screen name nativebad on alt.native), had long since disappeared into his spaghetti sauce.
Along with rest of his rainbow group.
*Claims* to be Lakota.
I have some Lakota friends,
They do not know him.
Why am I not surprised he has climbed on the slime wagon.
My clan nephew had some very sharp words with him, as did I.
N RunningWolf | 05.24.09 – 1:02 am | #
***********

This is not the first time I have heard, “offered tobacco”.
Yes, I know what it should mean.
But, what makes one think it would make a difference in some situations?
Just a passing thought.
Maybe I should have just let it pass on through, though?
Incidentaly, “Whitehorse”s name is Serbin.
N RunningWolf | 05.24.09 – 12:59 pm | #
***********

Well, if Bernard was really as holy as he likes to think he is, if he lied, he knows there would be consequences to that lie. Wilbur, however, may not be brave enough to get an answer he may not want.

Still, and more importantly, his accuser has come forward and is willing to do so publicly. Another piece of information that the warriors of AIM and the Brotherhood don’t seem to want to address. If they did, however, I think the AIM and Brotherhood types would attempt a full on assault of her instead of acquiring testimony and digging into the facts.

It seems to me that organizations in their current forms such as the Brotherhood and Oklahoma and Portland AIM use these banners to cover up bad behavior. The Vatican does it, the Jo-Ho’s do it, the UN does it, and so many others. Robert Vanpelt helped cover-up Portland AIM’s bad behavior by making it a requirement that people stop talking about what they did. They even offered tobacco to the main person with the grievances asking that he not mention Portland AIM’s bad behavior ever again. I, however, was not offered tobacco in such an abuse of the sacrament way. The man took the tobacco mostly out of shock. Now, Vanpelt is a part of a movement trying to silence me. His main reasoning is this:

Don’t bring up negative things about Indians because outsiders will use those things against Indians. Sounds like cover for abuse to me. Heck, wife beaters, child rapers, women rapers, verbal abusers, and so much bad behavior can be covered under such a banner, don’t you think? Sounds like great protection for perpetrators and continued abuse of those who come forward by those who want to keep it shut down. Perpetrators protected…victim/survivors still threatened if not still abused in one form or another.
Eugene | Homepage | 05.24.09 – 2:31 pm | #
***********

Tobacco or no tobacco.
There is always consequences to any act.
We may not see it.
But that is not up to us.
There are things that are more powerful than any of us can imagine.
All we can do is go on, and do what we can do to stop the abuse.
Education and support.
And what you and Shusli are doing, educating and giving support.
Teaching on how to find resources in the community.
And not be distracted.
That is what this is attempting to do,I think.
I think those two men are only pawns.
It is bigger than they,but they can’t see it.
N RunningWolf | 05.24.09 – 3:28 pm | #
***********

Chief Bernard Red Cherries is a friend of mine. We became friends many years ago. I started to see White people and even some Natives exploiting the American Indian culture, traditions, and ways of life. I started to do what I could to expose these people and stop them whenever possible. Chief Bernard Red Cherries contacted me back in 2002 about an open letter I wrote to the Navajos at Big Mtn. (http://www.thepeoplespaths.net/News2002/0209/ Serbin020922LetterToNavajoSundancers.htm) I was the first Sioux to ever state what the Navajo were doing was wrong, and not just the Navajo but any Native which evolved into the June 6, 2003 Protection of Ceremonies meeting at St. Francis SD. (http://www.dlncoalition.org/dln_issues/ 2003june6.htm)

I continue to try to preserve and protect American Indian traditions and ceremonies. Through out the years I crossed paths with Chief Red Cherries as we were exposing and sometimes stopping exploiters. We became friends as we seemed to always be fighting on the same side. I have made many friends and enemies over the years trying to preserve and protect the American Indian Culture.

Chief Bernard Red Cherries has shown me he is an honorable man. A radio DJ named Eugene Johnson at KBOO in Portland Oregon started to make some accusations against Chief Red Cherries. No proof was ever presented that showed the allegations were true. Eugene Johnson has now apologized to Chief Red Cherries and his family. Chief Red Cherries called me and we talked about the allegations. I looked at what was being alleged by Eugene Johnson. I contacted everyone that I could to learn if what was alleged was true. I looked at the apology offered to Chief Red Cherries and his family by Eugene Johnson. Chief Red Cherries asked for my help in restoring his name and reputation. Since there was no proof of the allegations and Eugene Johnson did offer an apology and a settlement offer, I believed Chief Red Cherries. I don’t know at this time if the settlement offer will be accepted or rejected.

Chief Bernard Red Cherries is a man I consider my friend. Chief Red Cherries was never charged with any of these alleged crimes. Chief Red Cherries has been one of the few men I know that I can count on for help and support with Native issues. Chief Red Cherries has earned my respect and I hope that I have his. Chief Red Cherries is one of the very few honorable Natives I have ever met. I will stand beside my friend Chief Red Cherries.

I do not know Eugene Johnson or the other people that have contacted me on his behalf. I do know Eugene Johnson did apologize and make a settlement offer. I do know that No proof was ever presented. If there is proof, please lets see it. I am making no attempt to hide. Post anonymously, call anonymously, you clearly know how to contact me.

Sal White Horse Serbin
Email: Indigenoussounds@gmail.com
Sal White Horse | 05.24.09 – 4:51 pm | #
***********

Thank you for posting, Sal.

I have been told you have talked to one of the victims and she allegedly recanted. I am in the process of contacting her.

I have never offered a settlement. Did Bernard tell you that? No settlement has ever been offered on this issue. There was an attempt to coerce me into making a lie of an apology. Did you read the apology I made? Are you going to ignore all the items I have posted in order to not see “anything negative” that your good friend Bernard may have done?

You best not be lying about talking with one of the victims. I will find out. Bernard definitely lied to you about this alleged settlement. There is none. The apology you should read. Have you? I would say not.

NC Running Wolf seems to know some things about you. I have a tendency to dig my nose into shit fellas like you don’t have the balls to even consider. The more I dig into this shit, the uglier it gets.

Also, saying I’m a “proven liar,” is an offense worth litigating I’m told by a friend of my who is in the newspaper biz and at least one attempt (failed) has been made against her to sue her for libel. You best be on top of this shit, bud, because I’ll be e-mailing your radio station as well.

Eugene | Homepage | 05.24.09 – 8:27 pm | #

Eugene Johnson posted this to his blog Pudgy Indian 2 after Bernard Red Cherries/Robert Coltte appeared on Sal “Whitehorse” Serbin’s radio show “Indigenous Sounds” which airs on WSLR. (The latter half of Sal’s interview with Red Cherries on May 23, 2009 is available as two downloads: Part 1 and Part 2.) This post was taken down later and Eugene refers to being “…threatened with a large unseen army in the forms of the Red Brotherhood Warrior Society, of which Bernard/Robert is a member, Oklahoma AIM, and Portland AIM…” Because of these threats, Eugene apparently felt compelled to withdraw the post from public view.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Hello Sal White Horse of WSLR Florida

Hello Sal White Horse,

It has come to my attention that you had Bernard Red Cherries, aka Robert Coltte on your radio show recently, “Indigenous Sounds.” I’ve heard mention that you and Bernard/Robert had a good old time running my name through the mud. Know what, I really don’t care about having my name dragged through the mud. I do, however, care about abuse in Indian Country. Did you two talk at all about abuse in Indian Country?

Please read the posts in this blog surrounding the issue as well as the comments. I had to remove a recent comment made by one, Wilbur Hawk, which was an attack on my wife and NC Runningwolf. Wilbur, if your still reading, I rescind the comment about you being a warrior and not retreating in a battle. You see, I listened to commentary made about My Lai recently in the book, “The Father of All Things,” by Tom Bissell. As these marines murdered unarmed women, children, and men, one of their kin, a helicopter pilot, was given permission to kill the marines if necessary. When he pulled out his weapon, they immediately stood down. You see, men who attack women and children and unarmed men stand down when faced with a real threat.

That said, if any of you are interested in sending comment to Sal you can do so at:

indigenoussounds@gmail.com

Pay close attention to the words I’ve used on this blog. I have never attacked Bernard. My wife and I have brought forth that he has been accused of abuse by a former step-child, who is willing to come forward and has commented on this blog. However, I have been threatened with a large unseen army in the forms of the Red Brotherhood Warrior Society, of which Bernard/Robert is a member, Oklahoma AIM, and Portland AIM (I could tell you some stories about Portland AIM since I have not been sworn to secrecy if you’re interested).

Hope you get a chance to have another perspective on this issue, Sal, considering I am assuming you haven’t read anything here nor did you have his accuser on the air, I assume.

My wife, Shusli and I, are now working on trying to get some sort of focus on DEALING with abuse in Indian Country. Wouldn’t that be nice, don’t you think, Sal? I’m sure you have organizations in Florida that might like to come on your show and let victim/survivors know they have options. I’m sure there are abuse prevention programs that you can make listeners aware of as well, should you feel so inclined.

Good Health and Happiness to you Sal.

Eugene Johnson

Posted by Eugene at 5:25 PM