Winter Counts(37)
He motioned for me to follow.
“We’re very proud of our facility. We think it’s the best in Indian Country, maybe even the best in the state. Thirty-six units in medium and maximum security and about one hundred kids in our transitional program. All of our clients—we don’t call them inmates—take part in cultural and rehabilitative training. That’s our motto up there.”
He pointed to a mural on the wall. There was a large medicine wheel in bright red, yellow, and white. Inside the wheel were these words: WITHIN THE CIRCLE OF LIFE ARE TWO PATHS, ONE OF SORROW . . . ONE OF HAPPINESS . . . YOU HAVE A CHOICE!
“One of our clients painted that. He’s got a steady job now, heard he got married too. All clients join in our talking circles. I’m sure you’ve heard about the teen suicides around here?”
I nodded.
“Two completed suicides last month, and four attempted. It breaks my heart. The kids here have such despair—they don’t think there’s anything better for them. But there is! We tell them to have grit. Gratitude, Respect, Integrity, Tenacity. GRIT, get it?”
He led me down a hallway and through a door to a courtyard.
“That’s the greenhouse, where we teach gardening skills. Look over there. Those are our bee colonies—we sell our own honey! Real Lakota honey from real Indian bees.”
He looked over to see if I’d gotten his little joke, but I wasn’t in a laughing mood.
“Over there is our sweat lodge. We purify once a week—parents are welcome to take part. Some of our clients have never taken a sweat, and they say it’s the best thing they’ve ever done.”
He shook his head ruefully, and I saw my opening. “Thank you for the tour, looks like a good place. But I need to know about my nephew. Can I see him now?”
“Sure. Let me take you down to the visitation room and I’ll get him. Here’s the resident handbook—you can look this over when you have a chance. By the way, we allow contact visitation here—better for the clients.”
He handed me a folder, and we walked down a different hallway, past some heavily fortified cells with bars in the vinyl windows. For all of Joe’s talk about the progressiveness of the center, these didn’t look much different than the jail cells I’d seen. He took me to an enclosed room with large reinforced windows and two plastic chairs inside. I leafed through the handbook he’d given me while I waited.
Finally they brought Nathan in. He was dressed in a bright orange jumpsuit and sneakers, and looked sad and defeated. I’d been angry at him, but those feelings melted when I saw him. I hugged him, and then we sat down.
“Leksi, I swear to you I didn’t do it!” he exclaimed. “They came to Auntie Audrey’s house and said there were pills in my locker. They weren’t mine, I’m telling you. I’ve never even taken pills, so I don’t know what they’re talking about! I wasn’t—”
“Take it easy, just tell me what happened. I need the truth, okay?” He seemed genuinely upset, but I was wary. I needed more information from him, and my bullshit alarm was on high alert.
“I am telling you the truth. I don’t know nothing about no pills—it’s gotta be a mistake or something.”
I looked at his face, trying to determine if he was trying to play me. “Do you share a locker?”
“No, I don’t share with anybody. It’s just mine, so—”
“Anyone have the combination to your lock?”
“No. I mean, I don’t think so. The locks are like, built in, part of the door or whatever, so I guess only the school has the combo.”
“You don’t know what they found or how it got in there?”
“No, I don’t know nothing. That’s what I’ve been saying.”
I wanted to believe him. But I’d known some addicts back in the day, and I knew that they were liars or worse. Nathan had recently tried heroin, and there was no denying that he’d been mixed up with some bad people.
“Nathan, you know I support you, but this is serious shit. Very serious. If you’re covering for someone, I need to know. Now.” I crossed my arms. “The guys you got the heroin from, did they give you the pills?”
“No. No! I’m telling you, none of this is right. I know I messed up with the dope, but I never took any pills. There’s gotta be a mistake—maybe they looked in the wrong locker or something. It’s not true. I swear on Mom’s grave, okay?”
Something moved in my chest. I decided to trust him, as much as I could. What choice did I have? If I was able to get him out of here, I’d monitor him, check for drugs in his room, make sure he wasn’t lying to me. Trust but verify.
“Okay, I believe you.” I touched his shoulder. “But you got to promise that you’ll be straight with me, all right?”
He nodded, and I saw some tears pooling in his eyes.
“What’d the police say?” he asked after a moment. “You know, like what’s going to happen to me next?”
I hesitated, wondering how much I should tell him. I decided to keep quiet about the possibility of him being moved to the federal holding center, and the fact that he was looking at thirty years in prison if convicted.
“They haven’t told me much, just that they found illegal pills. I’ve got a meeting with a lawyer in Rapid City tomorrow. We’ll figure this out and get you out of here. Marie’s been helping me—she’s staying at our place for now.”