27852_fort-berthold FINAL SCRIPT Visual intro, driving into Fort Berthold Indian Reservation along with oil traffic; fracking rig, oil worker; gas flares TEX HALL (on stage) - MHA Nation is number one tribal oil produced on American soil. Title: BIG OIL MONEY EDMUND BAKER - I was basically being used as a janitor, to clean up his by-products there // handling hazardous waste for him. Title: A TRIBAL LEADER STEVEN KELLY - 51:02 I think Tex saw somebody that could go out and make him money, and while he was chairman. Title: A FELON MARILYN HUDSON - 01;48;10;09 How could Tex Hall ...let himself be taken in by a guy like James Henrikson who has a rap sheet as long as your arm. // Title: AND A MYSTERY. LISSA YELLOWBIRD-CHASE (driving) - I was told that they basically made a midnight run out here and dumped KC’s body out here. TITLE: TRIBAL OIL AND TROUBLE TEX HALL - My Indian name is Ihbudah Hishi, and that’s Red-tipped Arrow. // It means the first, first to draw blood.... Sound of expo up under Tex Hall intv while silent. Expo MC: intro “Former basketball star, superintendent of schools...Our chairman, Mr. Red-tipped arrow Tex Hall...” TEX HALL (on stage) - MHA Nation ...in 2009 we have 50 oil wells, and here we are now with over 1000 oil wells and more to come and a refinery that is under construction. native drumming and singing at Expo; B-roll Tex Hall begins to present “Bakken gold and black star quilt” to Senator Hiedi Heitcampt IN APRIL TEX HALL HOSTED HIS ANNUAL OIL AND GAS EXPO. “Sovereignty by the barrel, the dream is here....” THE THEME: “SOVEREIGNTY BY THE BARREL” AS THE THREE-TERM TRIBAL LEADER OF THE MANDAN, HIDATSA AND ARIKARA NATION, TEX HALL OVERSAW THE BOOM YEARS OF OIL DEVELOPMENT ON NORTH DAKOTA’S FORT BERTHOLD INDIAN RESERVATION. FORT BERTHOLD NOW PRODUCES A THIRD OF ALL OIL IN THE STATE. B-roll: visual intro to oil development on Fort Berthold; entering badlands, hauling crude; oil derricks, gas flares TEX HALL - When oil was discovered, we were poor. We didn’t have the money like many tribes. It’s hard to be sovereign on an empty stomach. // So we said, the more oil that is produced on Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, the more revenue we can generate to create our own regulatory scheme. // We will develop it and we’ll protect the environment OUR way. We won’t depend on the Great White Father in Washington, D.C. MARILYN HUDSON - Tex has testified in Congress to set our own codes and do away with any oversight of fracking, flaring or any EPA requirements. They just want free reign on development. Hudson in front of oil pump jack: “my husband and I get royalties from this well...” OIL REVENUE HAS HELPED MARILYN HUDSON’S FAMILY AFFORD BETTER MEDICAL CARE, BUT TEX HALL’S BUSINESS DEALINGS AS CHAIRMAN CONCERNED HER. MARILYN HUDSON - 02;04;09;29 I’m sure he’s the one that coined that phrase, “Sovereignty By the Barrel.” I don’t know why they use it. To me, it’s almost shameful. . B-roll of tribal administration building and MHA Nation logo; Crestwood spill site; oil traffic and accident; natural gas flares Fade to black; ext. MHA tribal admin building; oil trucker: “we do 2 loads a day”; traffic accident; oil flares OIL HAS BROUGHT HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS IN REVENUE TO THE MANDAN, HIDATSA AND ARIKARA NATION. LIKE ELSEWHERE IN NORTH DAKOTA, THE LURE OF BIG MONEY HAS ATTRACTED MANY OUT OF STATE WORKERS. IT’S ALSO LEAD TO A RISE IN CRIME, TRAFFIC DEATHS AND POLLUTION. Woman points to horizon lit up with small fires YELLOWBIRD - All the yellow dots you see out there, those are all flares. photo of Tex Hall with oil pipeline company rep THE TRIBES DO HAVE ENVIRONMENTAL CODES, BUT AS CHAIRMAN, TEX HALL HAD THE AUTHORITY TO ENFORCE THEM, OR NOT. photos of Crestwood pipeline spill july 2014 FOR EXAMPLE: WHEN A MILLION GALLONS OF TOXIC BRINE SPILLED ON THE RESERVATION LAST SUMMER, THREATENING TRIBAL DRINKING WATER, EVEN THE TRIBES’ OWN ENVIRONMENTAL DIRECTOR, EDMUND BAKER, DID NOT KNOW THE EXTENT OF CONTAMINATION. EDMUND BAKER - 28:38-29:16 It was completely discouraging for me as an environmental director, not only in that capacity but as a tribal member. That things were withheld... I think generally it’s safe to say there’s conflict of interests there. Tex hall presiding over oil and gas expo; Maheshu; WITH SO MUCH MONEY AND OUTSIDERS COMING ONTO THE RESERVATION, TEX HALL WAS IN A UNIQUE POSITION TO BOTH REGULATE THE OIL BOOM AND PROFIT FROM IT. WHILE HE WAS TRIBAL CHAIRMAN, TEX HALL OWNED A PRIVATE OIL COMPANY ON THE SIDE, CALLED MAHESHU, BASICALLY SEEKING CONTRACTS FROM THE SAME INDUSTRY HE WAS SUPPOSED TO KEEP IN CHECK. TEX HALL - It was entirely legal to have a business. So I had a business. And the people elected me because, partly because of my business skills. I’m able to go toe-to-toe with anybody from Marathan or Kodiak or whatever oil company, because I know the business. pause for emphasis; kelly silent before speaking KELLY - 51:02 ...Tex saw somebody that could go out and make him money, and while he was chairman. Photos of James and Sarah; B-roll sequence of Trustland and Kelly at his desk THAT SOMEBODY WAS JAMES HENRIKSON. IN 2011 HENRIKSON AND HIS SOON-TO-BE-WIFE SARAH CREVELING WERE LOOKING FOR ACCESS TO FORT BERTHOLD’S OIL BONANZA. TO DO THAT, THEY NEEDED A TRIBAL PARTNER. HENRIKSON FIRST CALLED STEVE KELLY, A TRIBAL MEMBER WITH A TRUCKING COMPANY. STEVE KELLY - James Henrikson called me from Texas... and told me he had ten trucks and he wanted to come up here and sub-lease. // So I said come on up. KELLY - He was a very nice looking guy. Charismatic, very muscular, Sarah, very, very nice looking lady. Very smart. 49:08 KELLY - James Hendrikson had always asked me, he’d say who’s the chief? Who’s the chief? Who’s the main guy? Who’s running the show here? And I said well Tex Hall is... Maheshu website stills/ Maheshu business exterior...abstract of trucking...oil rigs... WITHIN A YEAR HENRIKSON AND CREVELING HAD ENDEARED THEMSELVES TO THE TRIBAL CHAIRMAN. THEY SUBLEASED WITH TEX HALL’S COMPANY, MAHESHU, AND SET UP AN OFFICE IN HIS GARAGE. Truck traffic; composite of Henrikson mugshots WHAT TEX HALL AND OTHERS ON FORT BERTHOLD DID NOT KNOW THEN IS THAT HENRIKSON ALREADY HAD A LONG HISTORY OF FELONY CONVICTIONS IN OREGON, FOR BURGLARY, THEFT, AND ASSAULT. HUDSON - James Hendrikson, if anybody had looked into this guy, they would have found he had a rap sheet a mile long. // He came onto this reservation and he started to take advantage of people. And who helped him do that? Tex did. More TERO docs, signatures, showing Maheshu and Tex Hall and Blackstone; tribal invoices to Blackstone for dust abatement WORKING FOR THE CHAIRMAN GAVE HENRIKSON AND HIS COMPANY BLACKSTONE ACCESS AND PRESTIGE ON THE RESERVATION. STEVE KELLY BEGAN TO LOSE SERVICE JOBS TO TEX HALL AND HIS NEW PARTNER. KELLY - 39:46 I said you know the chairman seems to be involved here, and seems to be supporting Blackstone, I said why is my chairman, supporting a non-union company here on the res-, over me? Facebook stills shot on monitor THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JAMES HENRIKSON AND TEX HALL WAS ALSO PERSONAL. AS IN ANY SMALL TOWN, PEOPLE ON THE RESERVATION BEGAN TO TALK. Detail shots of Marilyn Hudson in her home office; shows photos of henrikson, creveling, tiffiany, peyton martin and tex hall in Hawaii, identifies each HUDSON: Take a look at this one here. This is of the little paddle boats in Hawaii. MARILYN HUDSON AND OTHERS LEARNED OF TEX HALL AND JAMES HENRIKSON’S HAWAIIAN VACATION... ON THE INTERNET. HUDSON (at her computer) - ZA8A9038.MOV THis was on Facebook. This is Tiffany, that’s Tex’s girlfriend. Tiffany Martin. And there’s Tex. Indian people have a real sense of humor. Probably helped them survive through all the. ...there’s been so many comments about these pictures. Here’s Henrikson here and this is his wife Sarah, and this is Peyton, Tex’s wife’s daughter.. TEX HALL - ZA8A8904.mov (Brent) What was your relationship with James Henrikson of Blackstone? No relationship. Previously, you know, end of 2011, 2012, Blackstone was a subcontractor - and Henrikson was involved with Blackstone - was a subcontractor for Maheshu. And they were terminated at the end of 2012. So, no relationship. :00:43 Brent: There were photos circulating on the Internet with you and James Henrikson in Hawaii, you seemed to have a close relationship. TEX HALL - 2012, that was 2 years ago. Baker driving by Tex Hall’s property; trucks and trailers going by BAKER (driving by Tex’s property) - Over there, past that last trailer... SEVERAL MONTHS AFTER HE EVICTED HENRIKSON AND BLACKSTONE, TEX HALL ASKED EDMUND BAKER TO REMOVE HAZARDOUS WASTE FROM HIS PROPERTY. BAKER - 50:56 The chairman sent me a text saying that I have a few frack socks near my shop, can you come take care of them? B-roll: wastewater trucks at fracking rig; trucks at wastewater disposal site; of filter socks being used at the water injection head FRACK SOCKS ARE SOMETIMES CALLED THE USED CONDOMS OF THE HYDROFRACKING PROCESS. THEY FILTER RESIDUE FROM PRODUCTION WATER AND PICK UP NATURALLY OCCURRING RADIOACTIVITY. FRACK SOCK WORKER - Demonstrates how the socks collect “stuff” Footage of reclamation of illegal dumpsite in Noonan, ND, April 2014 MOST FRACK SOCKS EXCEED THE LIMITS FOR RADIOACTIVITY ALLOWED IN NORTH DAKOTA LANDFILLS. AND SO THEY OFTEN GET DUMPED ILLEGALLY. Maheshu website describing oil field services, such as hauling of fracking fluid and flowback TEX HALL AND JAMES HENRIKSON’S BUSINESSES BOTH PROVIDED HAULING SERVICES TO THE OILFIELDS. BAKER // Can you take care of these.? Basically, take care of these. Incidents reports and photos of Baker and team cleaning up filter socks on Tex Hall’s property BAKER - Once we got there and saw 53:21 the amount that was stacked there ...question marks above our heads, how in the heck could this happen? Why are these look like they’ve been here for a while. // They looked weathered and sun-baked. // How can you be the leader of a Three Tribes ...and continue to do this? I: Do what? E: Call your regulator, and think he’ll do a favor for you, and be quiet about it. Baker at home with family BAKER - And so the question was, am I going to say anything about it. And the real scare was at the time, how am I going to take care of my family? I’m going to be strong-armed here. I’m going to be a casualty of this. BAKER - As the environmental director and how I was raised, traditional teachings and upbringing, builds a conscience in you. TEX HALL SAID HE DID NOTHING WRONG IN CALLING HIS ENVIRONMENTAL DIRECTOR. ULTIMATELY, BAKER BELIEVED THE CHAIRMAN’S MOTIVATION WAS TO AVOID HAVING A SEARCH PARTY STUMBLE UPON THE DUMPSITE. Baker preparing for sweat lodge; Sound up here from Baker talking about importance of ceremony in these times of division, needing to stay grounded in who we are as Indian people Strikes a fire; carrying stones into lodge BAKER - The timing of when I got these texts to come and retrieve these frack socks was also the same time that they 01:01:28 were gonna do an initial sweep of his property ... looking for this this young gentleman who had 50:16 disappeared. Pause for emphasis; music up KRISTOPHER “KC” CLARKE HAD WORKED FOR JAMES HENRIKSON AT BLACKSTONE. ACCORDING TO PEOPLE CLOSE TO HIM, THE TWO MEN HAD A FALLING OUT OVER MONEY. KC CLARKE WAS LAST HEARD FROM ON HIS WAY TO MEET HENRIKSON, AT TEX HALL’S PROPERTY. BAKER - 01:02:40 You know, this is the kind of stuff that, ends up in crime mystery books ya know (Laughs) and the possibility of, finding a body on the property totally eclipses the frack sock thing Driving across North Dakota badlands, highway to dirt road to wagon trail in the grass; fracking wells, Little Missouri River LISSA YELLOWBIRD-CHASE (driving) - People are afraid to get involved, knowing that Blackstone was connected to Maheshu, to Tex. Nobody wanted to get on the wrong side of that. But it doesn’t take away from the fact that somebody’s child is missing out here. More driving in Badlands, searching in gullies KC CLARKE WENT MISSING ALMOST 3 YEARS AGO, BUT LISSA YELLOWBIRD-CHASE HASN’T GIVEN UP SEARCHING FOR HIS BODY. A FORMER BOUNTY, YELLOWBIRD DEVOTES HER FREE TIME TO FINDING MISSING PEOPLE, LIVING AND DEAD. SHE DIDN’T KNOW KC CLARKE PERSONALLY, BUT SHE RESPONDED TO HIS MOTHER’S DESPERATE POSTINGS ON FACEBOOK. Montage of “Missing” fliers YELLOWBIRD - 55:28 Fifty thousand flyers went out. // We wanted people to say hey, something happened. We need to look into this, we need to question what happened. Video from Facebook page: Find KC Gimpdaddy, Nov. 2012 SHE ALSO HELPED PRODUCE A VIDEO DESCRIBING WHAT SHE LEARNED OF KC CLARKE’S DISAPPEARANCE. PEOPLE CLOSE TO HIM SAY CLARKE WAS PLANNING TO LEAVE BLACKSTONE TO WORK FOR A COMPETITOR. CU cellphone with picture of empty tool box that looks like coffin YELLOWBIRD - They put him in there, and let him sit in there for the rest of the work day, and that’s why nobody witnessed him coming out. YELLOWBIRD (driving) - I was told that they basically made a midnight run out here and dumped KC’s body out here. Yellowbird hiking through gullies and grasslands YELLOWBIRD (hiking) - It’s after dark. They’re out here trying to get rid of a body. That’s how you gotta think. YELLOWBIRD (hiking) - I have a lot of contacts and some of them are involved, and I think they’re getting a bit of a conscience about it. Yellowbird picks up bone in ravine; climbs into shaded culvert HER EFFORTS GOT THE ATTENTION OF LOCAL INVESTIGATORS, BUT WITHOUT A BODY FOR EVIDENCE, THE KC CLARKE CASE - SEEMED TO GO COLD. YELLOWBIRD - Enforcement agencies will say, it’s not a crime to go missing. Blackstone invoices to Tribes; MHA tribal business council minutes w/ payment and approval by Hall TEX HALL KEPT TIES WITH BLACKSTONE FOR A YEAR AFTER CLARK VANISHED. DURING THAT TIME, BLACKSTONE COLLECTED MORE THAN HALF A MILLION DOLLARS FROM THE TRIBES. TEX HALL APPROVED THOSE INVOICES WITHOUT DISCLOSING HIS CONFLICT OF INTEREST. THEN, LAST WINTER... KHQ News report montage of James Henrikson being suspected in contract killing of Doug Carlile in Spokane, Wash., Dec. 15, 2013 A SPOKANE BUSINESSMAN NAMED DOUG CARLILE WAS SHOT TO DEATH IN HIS KITCHEN. POLICE FOUND A GLOVE WITH DNA THAT HELPED IDENTIFY THE ACCUSED KILLER, A MAN NAMED TIMOTHY SUCKOW. AND IN HIS GETAWAY VAN WAS A WRITTEN PLAN FOR THE ATTACK, AND CONTACT INFORMATION FOR JAMES HENRIKSON. CU of Carlile fight w/ Henrikson over $ ACCORDING TO THE ARREST REPORT, HENRIKSON HAD BEEN FIGHTING WITH CARLILE OVER AN OIL LEASE PURCHASE ON FORT BERTHOLD RESERVATION. STEVEN KELLY - It all finally got out of hand. When it came out that Doug Carlyle got killed that kind of said hey, who are we dealing with here? // And why are they associated with our 01:01:58 chairman? AFTER READING THE ARREST REPORT, THE TRIBES’ ATTORNEY, DAMON WILLIAMS, BEGAN INVESTIGATING JAMES HENRIKSON AND BLACKSTONE. CU detail shots of murder report DAMON - First of all, I was like man, this is a horrific murder. // And you flip to the back of the report and it starts talking about Tex, it starts talking about the Three Affiliated Tribes, it starts talking about all these companies. // I would have never looked into Blackstone, if I hadn’t seen that murder report. Tribal Business Council shots; CU of name plates Judy Brugh, Fred Fox AFTER THE MURDER, THE TRIBAL BUSINESS COUNCIL PASSED AN EMERGENCY AMENDMENT BARRING ELECTED MEMBERS FROM DOING BUSINESS WITH OIL COMPANIES ON THE RESERVATION. AND IT HIRED A FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY TO INVESTIGATE TEX HALL. DAMON - Companies who left the reservation acknowledged that yeah we were told to give all the contracts to the chairman’s company, or Blackstone. So, we created this monster. DAMON - He was looking to be the big shot and be as rich as he could, and this guy was very experienced at scamming people. It looks like from various transactions that he wasn’t paying a lot of people. YELLOWBIRD - 13:56 I think he was duped. I think James and Sarah were charismatic, very manipulative people. From what I understand they actually did their homework before they even got here. MHA Times protest footage at the door; protesters gathered in tribal chambers once let inside THE FALLOUT FROM HIS ASSOCIATION WITH HENRIKSON DID NOT STOP TEX HALL FROM RUNNING FOR A 4TH TERM AS TRIBAL CHAIRMAN. Unfolding scene from MHA Times footage of protest and meeting in chambers with council when investigation is handed out THE DAY BEFORE THE PRIMARY, TRIBAL MEMBERS PROTESTED OUTSIDE THEIR GOVERNMENT OFFICE AND DEMANDED TO SEE THE REPORT ON TEX HALL. IN IT WERE FINDINGS THAT THE CHAIRMAN HAD RUN A VIRTUAL “JOINT VENTURE” WITH HENRIKSON AND CREVELING, AND SHARED IN BLACKSTONE’S PROFITS. COUNCILWOMAN JUDY BRUGH: This has been weighing on us, because we knew what we had to do with it.... Tex Hall on stage at oil and gas expo IN A PHONE INTERVIEW, TEX HALL REPUDIATED THE REPORT, CALLING IT A ‘A SMEAR CAMPAIGN’, AND SAID JAMES HENRIKSON HAD CONNED HIM OUT OF MONEY. CU details of arrest report; pics of KC Clarke and Doug Carlile TEX HALL CAME IN 4TH PLACE IN THE PRIMARY. THAT SAME DAY JAMES HENRIKSON WAS FEDERALLY CHARGED WITH TWO COUNTS OF MURDER-FOR-HIRE IN THE DEATHS OF KC CLARKE AND DOUG CARLILE. DAMON WILLIAMS (campaign) - If it wasn’t for good people on our tribal council, we would have slid to the dictatorship a long time ago. Yard elections signs “Stop Corruption and Unethical Government” LEADING UP TO ELECTION DAY IN NOVEMBER, THE REMAINING CANDIDATES CAMPAIGNED ON MESSAGES OF CHANGE AND REFORM. Scene of election night results; radio announcers, Mark Fox acceptance speech; MARK FOX - You see the intensification of conflicts, or turmoil, of dispute amongst our people. And it’s money. It’s about money, reality. Greed is a powerful factor. RADIO ANNOUNCER: Really excited to see who gets the chair. THEODORA BIRD BEAR: Well, there’s a difference of 107 votes between the candidate I’m supporting, Damon Williams, versus Mark Fox. NATSOT: Damon Williams 48.67 percent. MARK FOX, A FORMER LAWYER, WON THE ELECTION BY A SLIM MARGIN. ANNOUNCER: Mark is going to come up and address the crowd here, so let’s now join the new chairman. MARK FOX (speech): I want to bring honor back to you, by doing my job right, by being a respectable leader. Sound up: Mark Fox being sworn in as tribal chairman wearing native headdress WS of landscape, Lake Sakakawea w/ casino and yacht in distance; closer yacht, reads “Island Girl” MANY TRIBAL MEMBERS HAVE NOT BENEFITTED FROM OIL PRODUCTION, AND STILL STRUGGLE TO MEET BASIC NEEDS. PERCHED ON THE SHORE OF LAKE SAKAKAWEA STANDS A 96-FOOT REMINDER OF TRIBAL LEADERS’ MISPLACED PRIORITIES. DAMON - Tex wanted a yacht. Tex wanted a boat. 01:06:11 // It’s a status symbol...it’s an albatross of a bad, selfish time that this tribe has gone through. Montage; visual wrap-up of the story and various scenes: trucking, sweat lodge prep, fatal traffic accident near fracking rig; Lissa’s search for KC, garish oil and gas expo stuff MARILYN HUDSON - I call it our last hurrah. 02;06;36;23 Once our oil is gone and the reservation is probably destroyed to some degree - what will we have left for generations to come. ————— END IT —————