A ranger was seen in a video giving a pistol to a Native American who was walking his dog with his sister at a national monument in New Mexico on Sunday.
Darrell House, who is Oneida and Navajo, told NBC News that he went for a walk with his sister and dog on Sunday afternoon at the Petroglyph National Monument in Albuquerque, where he said he often prayed and meditated in honor of the land and its people. ancestors.
House said he left the trail to maintain the social distance of a group of hikers who were approaching, when a ranger ran after him and warned him to stay on the path.
In a short video recorded by House, the ranger can be heard asking the ex-marine for his identification, which House said he initially refused to provide before providing a false identity. The police officer can be seen warning the man that he would be arrested if he did not identify himself.
“I saw no reason to give my identification. I don’t need to tell people why I’m going there to pray and give things in honor of the land. I don’t need permission or consent, ”said House. “And I don’t think he liked it that much.”
Tensions rose, with the ranger seen in another video that his sister shot House repeatedly while he shouted for help.
In the video, House’s sister can be heard begging the ranger to stop shooting his brother.
“I have nothing,” House says, between screams. “I apologize for leaving the trail.”
The ranger, who has not been publicly identified, instructs House to sit on the ground while he appears to drag the owners’ dog down the leash towards House’s sister.
“You are being detained because you refused to identify yourself,” said the ranger. “If you resist, I will attack you.”
Another police officer can be seen handcuffing House before the video is cut.
NBC News does not know what happened before or after what is shown in the video, nor have the identities of the park rangers in the video been confirmed.
A National Park Service spokesman told NBC news in an email that the agency was investigating the incident.
“We take any allegations of wrongdoing very seriously and we thank the public for their patience while we collect the facts of this incident,” said Vanessa Lacayo.
Lacayo said that all park officials complete extensive law enforcement training and are required to undergo special training to transport Tasers.
House said he was arrested and fined for three citations: interfering with the agency’s role and resisting, being off track and providing false identity information.
House, who grew up on a reservation, added that he never encountered a problem or found a forest ranger on the hiking trail, where he usually performs his rituals, such as offering tobacco and stirring sage.
“We don’t have a set time, we don’t have defined places, we don’t have buildings and we don’t have things built to worship,” said House. “Nature is what we have adored … and protecting it has always been our job.”
“I am a native, you know, I have rights over this land. I have rights off the trail, ”he said.
