Red Lake Chairman says media and FBI disrupting tribe: Reservation 'passports' may be reinstituted

Red Lake tribal chairman Floyd Jourdain Jr. said Wednesday the intrusiveness of the news media and the aggressiveness of federal investigators have unsettled his community as it tries to heal from last month's shootings. Jourdain said in an interview that community members and students believe the reservation is safe. He challenged portrayals that there may be a continuing threat from those who had knowledge of the plans of Jeff Weise, who assaulted Red Lake Senior High School on March 21. He said the fact that his son, Louis, was "swept up" by federal investigators has unnerved families whose children also are being interviewed. Louis Jourdain, 16, was arrested a week after the shootings and remains in custody. And Floyd Jourdain said the reclusive tribe may respond to the media deluge by requiring all visitors to obtain "passports" to visit the reservation, a policy that could ban unwanted reporters and other non-Indian visitors. [more]