Nathaniel
Saunsoci-Mitchell
Jan. 20, 2005 - September 24, 2006
Find
A Grave Memorial
Born to Jacki Saunsoci, who was only 17 at
the time, Nathaniel had severe Asthma and his mother had trouble caring
for him properly. Jacki had problems with drugs and alcohol and the decision
was made that she would go into rehabilitation for those problems. While
she was in rehabilitation, Nathaniel was placed in foster care. Jacki's
mother would have taken him, she was not
allowed to because she had a criminal record.
At first, Nathaniel was placed with Robert
and Susan Goodburn though an American Indian child would normally be placed
with an American Indian family. Eventually, Nathaniel went to live with
his Aunt, Tiara Saunsoci, he was eventually moved again, for medical reasons.
From there he went to another foster home, which would be the last place
he would live. The family he was placed with, Carlos and Tisha Vega, are
not American Indian. It is said that they had 12 people living in their
home, five of their own children and five foster children, including Nathaniel.
Nathaniel was only 20 months old when on
September 22, 2006, he was with a baby sitter before the Vega's came home
and were there for a few hours before they took Nathaniel to Mercy Medical
Center in Sioux City where he was found to have traumatic head injuries.
Nathaniel was flown to the University Of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.
He died two days later.
Nathaniel's death not ruled as a natural
causes death. That means that someone KNOWS that he was killed and
no one is doing anything about it. His body showed other signs of trauma
in the form of dog bits on his face, a broken clavicle and his broken leg
was still in a cast.
Ed Matney said:
"I am mystified at the placement
of Nathaniel Saunsoci in the Vega household. The Vega
household was quite full. A decision
to place Nathaniel, that baby, in a household
that size, is puzzling ... I hope
a situation like that can be avoided in the future"
Authorities did not arrest anyone in connection
with his death, citing a lack of evidence as for what had happened to him.
In July of 2007, Nathaniel's family wanted to find out why no one had been
arrested yet in connection with his death:
"I think it's a lot of frustration
as to why no one is arrested"
Olivia Saunsoci - Nathaniel's Grandmother
The family was meeting with the Omaha Tribal
Council in Macy, Nebraska to request documents that might shed some light
on why Nathaniel was placed with this particular foster family, from Child
Protective Services. The council agreed to request the documents, though
they couldn't say for sure if they would be released to them.
Policy states that Child Protective Services
will not comment on any investigation, including that of Nathaniel, they
chose not to make a comment in this situation, siting that policy:
"I do not believe the department
will ever have a statement"
Thane Glenn - CPS Attorney
CPS is controlled by the tribal government
which means any comment would have to go through the tribal council. Because
of the ongoing investigation, a secretary said the council could not comment.
The first foster family Nathaniel had live with was upset about his death:
"He was a sweet little boy, and I
wished they would have left him here"
Susan Goodburn
On the day that Nathaniel died, the other
four children who were from tribal foster care, were removed from the home.
What about the other five children? Who was worrying about them? Ed Matney
said that he was worried about tribal officials asking for an adult audit
of their child protective agency where children are placed as foster children.
It had taken an extended amount of time to interview all of the people
in the household that day and it was taking longer since the removal of
the children meant they needed to be located in order to be able to interview
them:
"In such a full home, when something
bad happens, there are a lot more people to look at"
Ed Matney, a Dakota County Lawyer said
that he was concerned that people were not coming forward with information
that was crucial to the investigation. With the proper amount of information,
he would be able to get a grand jury to seek and indictment and which would
force the Vega's to tell what happened to Nathaniel. He also said that
charges didn't seem very likely without information.
A memorial fund was created by a family
friend to help pay expense related to his funeral and to help the family
who was suffering from financial difficulties. When he asked what he could
do to help, if there was anything he could bring them, the Saunsoci family
asked for apples and then for grapes, then they said Nathaniel didn't have
a
head stone:
"Not only do they not have food,
they don't have a headstone or anything. They wouldn't have
asked if I wouldn't have prompted
them. It's a different kind of poverty. Unless you've been
down there, it's difficult to understand"
Will Meier
Donations to the family of Nathaniel Saunsoci-Mitchell
can be made in person or by mail to Central Bank in Sioux City, 522 Fourth
St., P.O. Box 776, 51101. Amy Chace, vice president and branch manager
of Central Bank, is overseeing the donations. The bank can be contacted
at 712-293-2265.
At the time friends were helping the family,
Dakota County Officials would continue to investigate Nathaniel's death:
"Children are the most vulnerable
people in our society, and it's important for everybody to know
that this sort of thing is treat
appropriately. It is difficult to say how long the investigation could
take. These sorts of things take a long time to get all the materials in.
We want to make sure we have everything in place. The autopsy report can
take anywhere from a week up to a month to get t
he full report in"
Ed Matney
Ed said that he had plans to talk with
family members while the investigation took place:
"I think that the family members
of this child, they need time to get through the process and to
grieve. I wish them well through
that process. It's obviously an extremely difficult process"
Evan Saunsoci, Nathaniel's greatgrandfather
said he has heard a lot of negative comments about American Indians since
the death of his grandson. Some of that feedback was on the Sioux city
Journal web site. He is upset about how closed minded people can be. He
also said that he knows Nathaniel was sent here for a reason:
"As soon as they hear the word 'reservation',
they think the worst. It's not like that. Maybe that
reason is to show that our children
are being mistreated"
The Saunsoci family has stated that they
had wanted Nathaniel to remain on the reservation, with them.
Nathaniel was buried in the Omaha Indian
Cemetery in Macy, Nebraska. Black smoke rose into the air as the as his
tiny, white coffin arrived at the cemetery where he would be buried on
top of the grave of his paternal Grandfather, Nathan Mitchell Sr, while
two grandfathers and one great grandfather kept watch over the flames near
his grave:
"Even the fire itself represents
life. Without that fire, we wouldn't be able to live"
Adrian Saunsoci
At 10:30am, Nathaniel was buried with more
than 100 people around his grave. Adrian Saunsoci is considered a grandfather
to Nathaniel, he is the brother of Olivia Saunsoci, said:
"Because he wasn't raised with his
father's family, in this sense, we are giving him back.
His grandfather will hold him in
his arms"
Family members were crying as they shoveled
earth over the grave of Nathaniel. Two red, heart shaped balloons that
said "I love you" were released into the air. Children carried flowers
and toys to his grave. Family and friends circled the grave:
"The circle is one of the biggest
symbols of Native life. Nathaniel is in the middle. Nobody
told them where to go. It just happens"
Sarah Dick, Nathaniel's great grandmother
cried, with her hands over her face. She had never even met Nathaniel due
to him having been moved from home to home and the fact that she is disable
and not able to get around easily. Sarah said the hardest part of what
had happened was not knowing what really DID happen:
"I just imagine everything. Maybe
he was crying, or whether he was knocked out and didn't hurt.
It's like a puzzle, and a piece
of it is missing. I need to find that missing piece"
Jacki Saunsoci was calm throughout the
ceremony. In her hands she had a scrapbook full of pictures of Nathaniel:
"He was very sweet. He was really
smart. He was very lovable. He meant everything to me. He was
my first baby, and everybody loved
him."
Jacki says that she knows Nathaniel is
happy:
"I don't want to grieve too much
because his soul's not going to rest if I continue to grieve"
Only when she spoke of who had hurt her
son, did Jacki's voice begin to tremble:
"I hope that whoever did it to him
gets arrested and locked in prison or executed. They just can't get away
with this. It's not right"
Nathaniel's cousins shared happy stories
about times they had been able to spend with him. They had taught him sign
language when he was a baby. Nathaniel brought his hands together when
he wanted more of something. He would place his hands over his mouth when
he was hungry and he put one hand over his heart to say love.
Josephine Saul said that Nathaniel loved
chocolate chip cookies and often had chocolate on his face. When she spoke
of him and that memory, she smiled:
"We all loved him so much"
Read
Newspaper Stories About Nathanial
For information about
preventing child abuse in the state of Iowa, click the links below. If
they can't help you, ask for someone who can. NEVER give up looking
for help for an abused child!
Call this number
to report child abuse ANY WHERE in the United States!
1-800-4-A-Child
1-800-422-4453
   
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My sincerest appreciation goes out to
Diane Trembly for allowing me to use one
of her beautiful Angels to make the graphics
for this set. Please visit her site,
by clicking the link below, to see all
of her amazing work.
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