From the American Indian news site, indianz.com, a series of interesting stories.

In Montana:

The Crow Tribe of Montana is suffering from a methamphetamine "epidemic," Chairman Carl Venne says.

At least six young people on the reservation have died from meth use and meth-related incidents are on the rise. Venne lost his only son in a meth-related accident three years ago.

"We have a meth epidemic on our reservation," Venne told The Billings Gazette. "I felt like I had to make a decision to stand up and talk about it and fight the use."

In Washington State:

Members and leaders of the Lummi Nation of Washington held a cleansing ceremony to burn down a house that was used to sell drugs.

The house was being rented to a person who is in jail for drug-dealing. The owners, who were unaware of the activity, agreed to have it burned down.

The ceremony was part of increased efforts by the Lummi Nation to combat drugs and crime on the reservation. Since January 2004, 21 people have been charged with drug dealing, resulting in 15 convictions and five pending trials. The tribe has opened a youth treatment facility and a youth safe house.

In South Dakota:

Travis Whirlwind Soldier, the public defender for the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, was ordered to remain in custody pending trial on charges of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

Whirlwind Soldier, 28, was charged in federal court last month. He is accused of participating in a meth conspiracy from October 1, 2003, through August 18, 2005 [PDF: Indictment].

The period coincides with Whirlwind Soldier's service as public defender for the tribe.

In New York, on the Canadian border:

The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe of New York isn't the only border community that deals with drug smuggling, Chief James Ransom says.

The Akwesasne Reservation sits along 12 miles of the U.S.-Canada border. According to a recent New York Times story, it is a prime spot for bringing drugs into the U.S.

Ransom says the tribe works with two county drug task forces, spends over $800,000 on its police force and works on other border issues. He says tribal police are the first line of defense on the reservation.

And all across the United States, and Canada is seen as a source of the problem:

Methamphetamine, or meth, has taken hold on reservations across Indian Country. The drug, typically imported from Mexico but sometimes produced in labs on tribal lands, has contributed to already-high crime rates, torn apart families and put a strain underfunded law enforcement, health and social service programs.

Darrell Hillaire, the chairman of the Lummi Nation of Washington, reported similar problems. He said 41 percent of the 1,200 children born on the reservation in the last 10 years have been affected by drugs like meth.

"That's unacceptable," said Hillaire, whose tribe was recently featured in a front-page New York Times story about a tribal member who oversaw a drug ring that smuggled meth into Washington from Canada.

And what are they doing about it? Some Native Americans are far more concerned about their power than their children, it seems:

In Minnesota, the Red Lake Nation recently pulled out of a drug task force out of fear its sovereignty was being encroached, said chairman Floyd Jourdain Jr. Coupled with comments in The New York Times story that accused him of hindering drug investigations, Jourdain said he is being viewed as "anti-enforcement" and "difficult."

"These collaborations, these task forces, have to be approached very carefully," he said, citing an example of an attempt to enforce state law on tribal lands. Although Minnesota is a Public Law 280 state, Red Lake does not fall under the act so the state has no criminal or civil jurisdiction there.

While others seem to think that drugs are the greater enemy:

But other tribal leaders, while not referring specifically to Jourdain or the Red Lake Nation, dismissed those kinds of concerns. Dennis Smith, the vice chairman of the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes on the Duck Valley Reservation in Nevada and Idaho, said tribes need all the help they can get to fight meth.

"Some of the tribes are using sovereignty, to me, as an excuse to not let state troopers come on to the reservation," Smith said. "As far as I'm concerned, that is an excuse because there are ways of coming up with a memorandum of agreement or memorandum of understanding with the state and county."

Smith said it was unrealistic for tribes to engage in battle alone or rely on the federal government. "The Bureau of Indian Affairs doesn't have the manpower and will never work," he warned. So developing partnerships with local and state governments is a sensible solution, he said.

The damage done to people and property is growing by leaps and bounds:

Known as the "poor man's cocaine", meth, a man-made stimulate, produces a longer high than cocaine, lasting anywhere from two to 14 hours compared to cocaine's high, which can lasts up to 30 minutes. Manufacturers can produce $3,000 in product for as little as $80 at home.

"Meth is probably the worst drug on the surge the reservation has ever seen," said Greg Adair, senior criminal investigator for the tribe's Tuba City Criminal Investigation Department. "It's going to be worse than alcoholism."

Because meth affects the central nervous system, users believe they can get more done during its "rush" and can stay up for as many as 15 days without sleep and little food.

Unfortunately, meth can also cause strokes, paranoia, and permanent brain damage.

While meth is believed to be sold on the Navajo Nation and not yet manufactured, Hopi Police Offer Emerson Ami said there have been two house fires on the Hopi Reservation as a result of a meth lab.

"There's a lot of people out there messing with the stuff," Ami said. "It's turning into a real epidemic that kind of caught everybody off guard."

Enough of this. Now back to the story of the mysterious fire in Caledonia, the blacked out windows, the police being told to stay away, the violence and paranoia...well, like I said, entirely a different story.