None will bring back her grandson, who moved from Denver to Rosebud in 2018 with a hopeful outlook that lifted the lives of those around him. That legislation has not advanced past committee.įor Cordier-Beauvais and her family, many of these declarations ring hollow. South Dakota’s congressional delegation introduced a bill last year to address staffing, accountability and patient care within the IHS system while instituting new whistleblower protections. (Photo: Stu Whitney / South Dakota News Watch) “Nobody ever said they were sorry,” said his grandmother, Rose Cordier-Beauvais. He died when emergency services failed to reach him due to massive snowdrifts outside his home. The cemetery in Mission, S.D., where Honor Beauvais was laid to rest on Jan. Court of Appeals ruling in 2021 after the Rosebud Sioux Tribe sued IHS following the temporary closure of the emergency room at the 35-bed Rosebud Hospital in 2015. Those rights were reinforced by an 8 th Circuit U.S. The one-year anniversary of Honor’s death comes amid renewed scrutiny of IHS, which provides free health care to enrolled tribal members as part of the government’s treaty obligations to Native Americans. “It was the storm.” Tragedy revives health care scrutiny The Rosebud reservation in Todd County, with about 9,500 residents and one of the nation's highest poverty rates, received snowfall of 2 to 3 feet, with winds gusting to more than 60 miles an hour. Robert Oliver, head of the tribe’s Emergency Preparedness Program at the time, told News Watch that such characterizations are unfair to the difficulties his crews faced. She also accused Rosebud tribal officials of inadequate disaster preparedness and a lack of emergency services the night Honor died, when her family’s pleas for help were not enough to prevent tragedy. Indian Health Service officials declined a request for comment through the agency’s public affairs office.Ĭordier-Beauvais contends that her grandson should have been held at the hospital rather than released due to severe weather and the probability that follow-up care would be needed. ![]() “We will bring all necessary resources to bear to see justice is done, changes are made, and that Honor’s death was not in vain.” “Honor’s death was an avoidable tragedy,” Johnson told News Watch. The lawsuit is expected to be filed in the next 60 days. He stopped breathing the next day and died, with massive snowdrifts preventing an ambulance from reaching the family’s ranch until it was too late.Ĭordier-Beauvais, represented by Sioux Falls attorney Brendan Johnson of Robins Kaplan LLP, is pursuing a medical malpractice lawsuit against IHS. He was evaluated, given medicine and released. 14 with flu symptoms and breathing difficulties. She recounted how Honor was taken to the IHS emergency room in Rosebud on Dec. “They were too busy trying to get their story straight.” ![]() “Nobody ever said they were sorry,” said Cordier-Beauvais, 70, who works as business manager for the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. The death of Honor, a sixth grader with asthma living with his aunt and uncle on the reservation, has come to encapsulate the challenges and shortcomings of the disaster response, whether from state, federal and tribal officials or the Indian Health Service. 22 and activated the state’s National Guard to haul firewood and remove snow. ![]() ![]() Kristi Noem declared an emergency on Dec. Honor Beauvais was one of six people who died during the 2022 holiday blizzards, which shut down roads and stranded residents, some of whom ran out of propane to heat their homes. 15, 2022, at age 12 during winter snowstorms that ravaged the Rosebud Indian Reservation in south-central South Dakota. The November sky was spotless for a visit to the gravesite of her grandson, Honor, who died Dec. Thomas Catholic Cemetery in Mission, where Rose Cordier-Beauvais paid her respects. – A cracked and peeling wooden sign signals the entrance to St. Honor was 12 when he died during winter storms that pounded the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in December 2022. Thomas Catholic Cemetery in Mission, S.D. Rose Cordier-Beauvais, 70, visits the gravesite of her grandson, Honor Beauvais, at St. His death on the Rosebud Indian Reservation has come to encapsulate the challenges and failures of the disaster response. 15, 2022, and emergency crews couldn't reach him through the winter storm. Honor Beauvais stopped breathing on the night of Dec.
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