Wind River Indian Reservation cracks down on DUI
By
The Associated Press
Story Published:
Nov 24, 2008
Story Updated:
Nov 21, 2008
LANDER, Wyo. (AP) – The Wind River Indian Reservation has toughened its drunken-driving standards for tribal members.
The Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes share the reservation in central Wyoming. The new legal blood-alcohol limit on the reservation is 0.05 percent. That’s just half of the reservation’s old limit of 0.1 percent and lower than Wyoming’s standard of 0.08 percent.
Eastern Shoshone tribal Chairman Ivan Posey pushed for the lower limit, saying that drunken driving is one of the main causes of premature death on the reservation. He said many pedestrians have been killed by drunken drivers over the years.
“Public safety was the first and foremost reason we changed these laws,” Posey said. “There was really no deterrent, or very strong deterrent, to keep people from putting themselves and others in danger.”
Posey said he hopes the state of Wyoming follows the tribes’ lead on this issue and also revises its blood-alcohol content limit down to .05.
Mark Howell is spokesman for the Northern Arapaho Tribe. He said that the new limits apply only to tribal members. Tribal courts generally don’t have authority over non-Indians.
Leslie Shakespeare, chairman of the joint Shoshone-Arapaho Traffic Code Revision Committee, said the tribes are also increasing the penalties for DUI.
Those convicted of driving with a blood-alcohol content of .10 or higher under the old law had to pay a $250 fine and a $10 court fee. The new law specifies that convicted first-time offenders face fines of from $500 to $1,000. Repeat offenders face higher fines and jail terms of up to one year. Shakespeare said jail time could be suspended if the offender completes alcohol and drug safety programs.
Shakespeare said the tribes had several reasons for lowering the alcohol limit on the reservation.
“One is a sovereignty issue,” he said. “If tribal members are going to write laws for the tribes and tribal memberships, our laws shouldn’t reflect anything else but what we feel we need. Secondly, we looked at DUI laws not only nationally, but internationally, and a lot of countries across the world have a standard below .08. In fact, the U.S. has one of the highest average limits in the world; most countries are lower.”
Lorrie Pozarik, facilitator for Gov. Dave Freudenthal’s council on impaired driving, said the council wants to see the state Legislature revise state law to target repeat offenders.
“High BAC multiple offenders cause the most carnage on the highways, statistically,” Pozarik said. “The governor’s council has recommended graduated charging and graduated sanctions, so the charges and sanctions match the relative risk to the rest of us on the roadway. Somebody more likely to cause a crash is also more likely to reoffend.”
Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Sunday, Dec 14 at 5:05 PM open your eyes wrote ...
alcholol gets cheaper and cheaper it is that way for the purpose of natives to get their selves in trouble now they have tribal police (your own people ) turning you in to the white people courts and there are thousands of natives in prisons right now for misdemeaners and such,their whole point of putting the liquer stores where they are is another act of geneocide when we are taken from our ways and people we cannot be strong.We have to fight to practice our ways in jail,just like every law
13590674Monday, Dec 8 at 12:14 PM amanda wrote ...
i think the dui thing is so cool becuase we shouild have that in everystate because there are alot of people who drink.
13299294Wednesday, Dec 3 at 9:08 PM ray wrote ...
Ban Alcohol all together!!
13119488Wednesday, Dec 3 at 11:14 AM Ern Norton wrote ...
One issue in this article makes my blood run cold!!! "Tribal courts generally don’t have authority over non-Indians." Why Do us white get an exemtion from your laws and regulations while on your lands??? If I go to Canada or Mexico and break their laws I'm still held accoputable in their courts. The Indian judicial system should pertain to *ALL8 who are on your lands
13089054Monday, Nov 24 at 10:45 AM clarice shavanaugh chapoose wrote ...
This great is great I wished they never made alcohol period. Alcohol is the cause of most deaths on our reservation too.
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