Photos by
Shane McMillan

Information


Name: Crow

Tribe: Crow

Population: 6,900

Native: 75%

Counties: Big Horn,
Yellowstone

According to their lawsuit, after the meeting, Oravec pulled Cletus Cole aside.

"'Cletus, come here, I wanna talk to you for a minute,'" Cletus says Oravec told him. "(Oravec) gets up and walks back toward the corner and he looks at me and pulls his coat open, and he goes, 'Do you got a problem with me?'"

Cletus says that Oravec purposefully pulled him out of video surveillance and flashed his gun when he pulled his coat open, an action Cletus says he knew was meant to intimidate him.

Oravec would not comment on either the case or Cletus Cole's allegation, saying FBI policy forbids it. He now works in Quantico, Va.

The FBI closed its investigation into Bearcrane-Cole's death within weeks of its occurrence and turned the agents' report over to the South Dakota federal attorneys. By midsummer, the Coles say they learned later, U.S. Attorney Steven K. Mullins and Assistant U.S. Attorney Maura Kohn declined to prosecute the case, on the grounds of self-defense.

But the Coles say they weren't notified of the decision until February 2006, a year after their son's death.

In April 2008, Bangert and the Coles traveled to South Dakota and met with U.S. Attorney Marty Jackley, who had taken over for Mullins, and assistant U.S. attorney Kohn, to express their concerns. The Coles say the two attorneys gave them a commitment to review the case and get back to them with their findings.

However, the lawsuit states that despite the Coles' pleas and presentation of substantial evidence, "Jackley and Kohn have not gotten back to the Coles with the results of any review, and have not initiated any prosecution."

Bangert says Jackley met with them only because it was his job. "I know when someone is meeting because they have to and just kind of usher you out their door," she says.

Photographs of Steven Bearcrane-Cole decorate the walls and cram the shelves of the Coles' home. His 7-year-old daughter, Precious, took one of the pictures around Christmas 2004 when she was just 3 years old. It has become a family favorite since his trademark smile was captured for an instant. Earline says Precious remembers taking the picture and even carried it to school for months.

That the dispute that led to their son's death revolved around a horse is ironic to the Coles. His Crow name "Akiichiilaakinneesh" or "Horse Rider" was handed down from an ancestor who was a scout for General Custer and the 7th Cavalry. It was fitting too, his grandfather says, because Bearcrane-Cole loved horses and was always riding.

Horses were his future. Cletus smiles as he recalls his son's plans to start a business, leading trail rides in the surrounding hills. Earline and Cletus point across the highway to where their son hoped to build a home. It's not far from where his gravesite is.

The family is still trying to come to terms with their loss. Bearcrane-Cole's absence at family gatherings, his truck sitting off the edge of their driveway, his pictures in every corner, his horses in the field and his daughter Precious are all bittersweet reminders.

Every day Earline toils to complete another step in piecing her son's story together. She says she long ago gave up assuming the law would take care of finding justice in the case.

"You naturally expect justice," Earline says. "We couldn't rely on the justice system so now we got to do it and get down that path ourselves."