TRAGEDY AND COMPASSION IN INDIAN COUNTRY

By Juan Montoya
Ever since they were four years old, Maria Iliana and Iva Joy had been the best of friends.
Like all little girls, they ran around the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe reservation in Central Michigan together, attended elementary school, and went on to graduate from high school.
During that time, they built a friendship that had lasted them for a lifetime. In a word, they were "bods." Iliana (at left, Iva is at right) had become a champion jingle-dress dancer (below) and was chosen as princess of the tribe.
Iva had a little boy, Larry, and Iliana had married and was working on having a family. They both lived the ups and downs as only two young women who are the best of friends can. When Iliana had a miscarriage, Iva was there, as she had always been, to lend her a shoulder to cry on and share her love and support.
Then, last weekend, Iva's brother was released from prison. Dan wasn't a bad boy, but like many native youth, alcohol and idle time on their hands proved the devil's playthings and he got into trouble with the law.
He was paroled last week after serving much of a sentence of up to five years for fleeing a police officer, according to Michigan Department of Corrections records. He was sentenced in Isabella County Trial Court in 2006 after pleading guilty to that charge, as well as a charge of assaulting or resisting a police officer.
As people close to the case tell it, upon his release, Dan started drinking heavily and Iva spent much of the two days he went on a binge following him and trying to keep him out of trouble.
Sometime July 9 (Friday) police received a tip that a body was lying in a field.
It turned out to be Iva's. Her body was discovered around 9 a.m. Saturday, and investigators uncovered what they are calling a crime scene nearby.
Authorities have not given any indication of motive or how Iva died.
However, her brother has confessed that he suffered a blackout and that he had committed the crime.
Iliana was devastated and heartbroken over the senseless death of her closest lifelong friend.
When I heard about it, I felt a deep anger that a young mother and close friend of Iliana's had come to that horrific end.
Then I spoke to Iliana. To my complete amazement, she said that she had already forgiven Dan, who in all likelihood will spend the rest of his life in prison.
"That's not the Dan that I knew," she said. "When he realizes the enormity of his deed, he will regret it for the rest of his life and may end up taking his own life. We need to pray for him, too."
Once her friend is buried Thursday, Iliana has already made arrangements with Iva's family to adopt Larry, now an orphan.
"He is going to be a very lonely boy," she said. "He's going to miss his mother very much and he's going to need me to help him cope with his loss."
I struggled to understand how this young woman in her mid-20s had come upon such wisdom, wisdom that I haven't yet acquired. And even though she has to go through this staggering episode in her life, she has already found the strength to forgive Iva's brother for his horrible crime.
I wish I could claim some credit for her wisdom, but I can't. All I know is that at this moment I am immensely proud to call her my daughter.