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Column: 'Dirty Indian' story stirs controversy
Monday, November 10, 2008
Filed Under: Opinion

"Two stories that I wrote last month about a brawl in Cut Bank with racial overtones stirred up a lot of interest.

The first was about Glacier County Attorney Larry Epstein's decision not to press felony charges against three brothers, all white, who knocked down county Commissioner Ron Rides at the Door and kicked him, calling him reportedly "a dirty f— Indian." Michelle Rides at the Door and two other Indian men also were beaten up.

The second story was about the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council demanding that Epstein treat the incident as a racial hate crime and file felony charges; Epstein's response was that he had already asked the state Attorney General's Office to review the case.

Between them, the two stories generated about 225 posted comments on our Web site.

Epstein never complained about the news stories, but some of the comments clearly stung. Charges of racism rang back and forth, and some of them were downright ugly. Many readers recounted instances of how poorly they had been treated in the reservation-border town, while others staunchly denied there was a problem."

Get the Story:
Eric Newhouse: Cut Bank brawl stirs heated online forum discussions (The Great Falls Tribune 11/9)

Related Stories:
Blackfeet Nation seeks hate crime charges (10/23)
No hate crime charges for men in 'dirty Indian' attack (10/21)

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