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A group of about 30 people gathered Tuesday outside the trading post on the Red Lake Nation reservation to take part in one of two planned vigils. Robin Hanson, a citizen of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa, died while in custody at the Red Lake Detention Center on April 2.

Betty Hanson said while her husband Robin was incarcerated, he did not receive treatment for multiple preexisting health conditions.

“You just can’t let someone die in the jail and think no one is going to get in trouble for it,” she said. “He has family. He has family and we want justice for him.”

In a public statement, the Red Lake Public Safety Department director, Kendall Kingbird Sr., said the Federal Bureau of Investigation had been flagged to investigate Hanson's death in conjunction with the Bureau of Indian Affairs-Internal Affairs Division. Kingbird added that their "thoughts and prayers are with the Hanson family."

Hanson’s daughter, Angel Powers, noted there have been several deaths at the jail in the last several years.

“It’s an ongoing problem and they say they’re fixing it but I don’t see a change at all,” she said. “So I’m hoping with our voices we can push them into making some better policies for the jail.”

Powers would like to see a qualified nurse staffed at the jail. A second vigil was planned for Tuesday evening.

Mathew Holding Eagle III

Author

On the Red Lake Nation reservation, family and friends are mourning Robin Hanson, who died while in custody at the Red Lake Detention Center earlier this month. They planned two vigils for Tuesday.

Vigils held for Red Lake citizen who died in detention

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