How Far Does Lisa Cook's Jurisdiction Extend?

On June 1st, 2004, I was arrested, evicted, jailed, and banned from the house I had been building located on deeded land on the Pine Ridge Reservation. I contend that a conspiracy of top level officials wanted to get rid of me because I was publicly questioning the fraudulent land decisions made by the BIA. As a nonmember, I refused Tribal jurisdiction, which is my right to do so according to the Tribal Code. I have evidence that shows that no hearing was held on May 7th, as claimed by Lisa Cook. I was not served with a notice of eviction, or a warrant, or a court order. I was simply arrested and taken to jail. Not only was my house that I was building worth thousands of dollars given to a member who cannot show proof that she either owns the land or is part of the heirship; but I was prevented from returning to retrieve what I could of my belongings, including diabetes medication. I tried to get legal help, but no advocate would help me, including Legal Plains, because they had been threatened with their jobs if they did. I realized my only recourse was to tell my story and put it out on the Internet to alert people of this gross injustice. Now Judge Lisa Cook is denying me the right to tell my story, and threatening the Canadians as well, who have staunchly defended my First Amendment right of free speech and press. And I quote from Dr. Caleb, an editor of Vive le Canada: Assuming the poster of the article is indeed Judge Cook, she would know the laws of the Pine Lake reservation do not apply here. The Board of Directors of Vive Le Canada is in agreement on this: We absolutely will not delete any of your stories (or any stories or comments that do not violate our code) without an order from the Court of Queens Bench in the Province of Alberta, and even then we'll fight it. Barratry is not practiced in Canadian courts, and we're not about to let it start now. In this changing world, we must fight for those rights people seek to take away from us, and to challenge those in positions of authority who would seek to use that authority to shape society. For a scary big brother thing, look what happened to IndyMedia yesterday, courtesy of the FBI. Judge Lisa Cook then posted her one-sided comments on her court decision, and posted the entirety of that decision which was made without a hearing. And I quote: “Please find here a cut-and-paste copy of one of the court orders for which Ms. Schmidt finds justification to publish defamatory statements against me on vivelecanada.ca and for which vivelecanada and at least some of its membership humor her. Ms. Schmidt is a white woman non-member of the Tribe and a long-time squatter on a tribal member's property. She did not pay rent nor has she purchased or otherwise lawfully leased or the property. She elected to build and plant without permission and, consequently, assumed the risk of loss if evicted from the property. The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is not a lawless corrupt enclave. Many, many educated and qualified tribal peoples, including myself, live and work here in challenging conditions for the betterment of the people… Ms. Schmidt plays upon the stereotypes of the average non-Indian Joe (and Josie) to win sympathy and support for her self-appointed and self-aggrandizing "cause" and to maintain unwarranted conflict in the local community.” Judge Cook goes one step further and posts another court order she made, once again without a hearing, this time to include a time line for me to be able to retrieve my belongings. She did not follow any authorized procedure in a lawful eviction, CFR (BIA) guidelines were totally ignored, the status of the land in question was not resolved, plus she totally ignored the Tribal Code eviction policy to provide a person ample time to retrieve their belongings, an eviction that should not have taken place in the first place. And I quote from Judge Cook: “This is the second order issuing in the matter of Ms. Schmidt and Louise Big Boy. Tribal police attempted to serve Ms. Schmidt with the first order just after its issuance but she refused service, ran inside the house, slamming and locking the door, and then deliberately avoided service thereafter. I then prevailed upon Sheriff Daggett on June 1 to serve that order along with this one that was necessitated due to Ms. Schmidt's uncooperative conduct. The Treaty of 1868 and the Oglala Sioux Tribal Constitution and Law and Order Code all provide for the lawful and orderly removal of trespassers and other persons who are not entitled to possess tribal land.” It appears that Judge Cook is manufacturing ‘evidence’ by providing out-of-court unsubstantiated accounts of things I did not do. Why did Lisa Cook not use the Tribal police to serve any notices? It is NOT the business of the State, represented by the sheriff, to serve Tribal notices, yet she is now trying to involve the State because no notices were ever served at any time. Judge Cook goes on to abuse my character and integrity with outright lies: “Ms. Schmidt has absolute contempt for any local tribal authorities and for the tribal court itself. When the law finally caught up to Ms. Schmidt, she fully invoked all of the civil unrest and chaos of the 1970's era which no longer exists on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Interestingly, this plays right into the hands of all you conspiracy-theorist well meaning white folk who think you are necessary to set us Indians right. Well, try to engage a little critical thinking when reading Ms. Schmidt's writings and you will see not only rampant self-justification and grandiosity, but also rampant contradictions and admissions of lack of ownership of the property in question.” “she fully invoked all of the civil unrest and chaos of the 1970’s era” That’s a petty big accomplishment, wouldn’t you say? I would certainly like to take credit for that, but I do not think I wield that kind of power. Although Ms. Cook accused myself and Vive le Canada of defamation, what would you call these remarks? Lisa Cook attempts to justify herself by stating: “Public comment by a Judge with regard to a case is typically unavailable. However, in this case, I respond in the context of a Request for Retraction because (1) the case before the court is final as it has not been appealed and there are no other motions otherwise reactivating the case in some way such that I would be required to make further orders on the case or recuse; (2) Ms. Schmidt has virtually inundated this site with a critical mass of hyperbolic untrue propaganda that unfairly personally attacks and defames me in a public forum; (3) Ms. Schmidt has undertaken to do the same in local media; (4) Vivelecanada required a response of some sort from me before further consideration of retraction (in spite of the fact that Ms. Schmidt's postings appear to be outside the mission statement and purpose of Vivelecanada.ca) ; (5) Ms. Schmidt is simply wrong and she is furious that I held her legally accountable in a court of law for trying to steal a tribal member's land; and (6) Ms. Schmidt continues to escalate the whole matter not only locally in the community but internationally through the misuse of public forums available on the internet. I take this all very personally because I am a decent human being and I will not stand idly by while a white woman squatter who is completely in the wrong diligently undertakes to undermine me professionally in the domestic and international communities, and personally in the community in which I live.” Why does a judge need to justify her ruling, if the ruling was fair and legal? Is white woman squatter who is completely in the wrong a blatant racist comment? To be made by a Judge? For all the world to see? I was encouraged to write this letter by a retired judge of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, who told me that these reckless and unfounded statements by one who professes to be a Judge of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, casts the Lakotas and Indians in general in a very unfavorable light. “What are people to think of our justice system when they read this?” She requested that I say to the world that Lisa Cook does not represent all Lakota judges, nor does she represent true Lakota perspective, laws and customs. Lisa Cook further stated: “Ms. Schmidt is a divisive element in the indigenous community of the Pine Rige Indian Reservation and should not be allowed to access this site to constantly deride me and my professional efforts as the tribal Associate Judge responsible for the judicial needs (justice, fairness, diligence and access) of this community. Ms. Schmidt is a social misfit, a political outlyer, and a "loose cannon”. My goodness! Are these comments befitting a judge? “ Ms. Schmidt's writings about me are obviously hate-based and inappropriate and may, in fact, be racist as she consistently juxtaposes "full bloods" against mixed blood types like me who have a legitimate role in tribal government. She is not the voice of Native America. The irony of her being a white person espousing this view cannot be overlooked except at the site's peril to the legitimacy of its public dialogue. I also cannot overlook the fact that Ms. Schmidt's postings are completely outside the mission of the site …Is this site to be used for the public airing of personal grievances that have not been legitimately challenged or appealed in the appropraite forum? If so, then this site is no better than that gossip rag so popular in the United States, "The Enquirer". Does your inquiring mind want to know? Then do the work of accessing and studying legitimate sources of indigenous culture and history and quit cheaply relying on misfits like Ms. Schmidt to "inform" you of the current "Reign of Terror" invented in her own delusional mind. Please retract the postings for which I had previously made the request on October 7.” I have been asked by true Lakotas here on the Pine Ridge Reservation, if you would investigate Lisa Cook’s court decisions because she has been harming a lot of Lakotas here. They have exhausted all remedies to try remove her from off through petitions, resolutions, pleading to Council and Executive to no avail. I request you investigate Lisa Cook because she is a dangerous, power struck person who is causing irreparable harm to many people, myself included. Sincerely, Janis Schmidt CC: Johnson Holy Rock, Fifth Member, Oglala Sioux Tribe Senator Tim Johnson Senator Tom Daschel Representive Stephanie Herseth Department of Justice Vive le Canada Ambassador Michael Kergin, Canadian Embassy Prime Minister Paul Martin