Nathaniel Saunsoci-Mitchell
- September 24, 2006
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 the 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 to 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"
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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