Author Topic: John Roos, claiming enrollment with lakota nation  (Read 44571 times)

Offline Chaska

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John Roos, claiming enrollment with lakota nation
« on: January 11, 2008, 07:04:56 pm »
Be Warned: There is an individual named John Roos in the Knoxville Tennessee area claiming to be enrolled in the Lakota Nation.  This is false, as John Roos is Italian.  John Roos also claims to have received authorizations to conduct ceremonies from Chief David Swallow and Mike LittleBoy Sr.  These ceremonies are purification ceremonies called Lakota Family Sweatlodges.  This, again, is false as John Roos cannot sing any ceremonial songs nor does he know any traditional protocol or the Lakota Language.
John Roos currently is moderating a Recovery Program in the Knoxville area and in a recent newspaper article he claims he is an enrolled Lakota Nation member. Newspaper article (http://thedailytimes.com/article/20071105/LIFE03/71104024)
John Roos attends sundances and uses these sacred experiences to impress those around him that he is a knowledgable Traditional person.  He also uses the Recovery Programs to single out women.  This person needs to be investigated because he confuses many people under the pretext of spiritual ways.  He uses a BIC lighter in these purification ceremonies to convince those participating that the "Lights" are the spirits.  He is obsessed with assuming the role of being an Indian person.

Offline Barnaby_McEwan

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Re: John Roos, claiming enrollment with lakota nation
« Reply #1 on: January 11, 2008, 07:18:12 pm »
Hello and welcome. Can you tell us a little more about this person? How did you hear about him?

frederica

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Re: John Roos, claiming enrollment with lakota nation
« Reply #2 on: January 11, 2008, 07:22:22 pm »
Here is a recent article. http://thedailytimes.com/article/20071105/LIFE03/71104024  Most everything else on the internet is the same. Ads for this program. Where does he claim to be enrolled?
« Last Edit: January 11, 2008, 11:59:37 pm by frederica »

Offline Chaska

  • Posts: 29
Re: John Roos, claiming enrollment with lakota nation
« Reply #3 on: January 12, 2008, 04:09:34 am »
I first had contact with John Roos in Tampa Florida, at that time I had moved there to be with my wife's father, who was in his late 80's and requested our presence.  We moved and had 3 acres of land, so I put up a purification lodge and conducted purification ceremonies.   I learned of another purification lodge in St. Pete Florida at a persons house, named Ken Culp.  This Lodge had been erected by John Roos several years earlier and he left it to continue at Ken Culp's house.  I was told that John Roos had been authorized to put up Purification Lodges by Mr. David Swallow and Mr. Mike Little Boy...I went to participate in ceremony, but soon learned that those there had no knowledge of what they were doing and were trying to do ceremony, I told them to cease attempting to do a ceremony and that they needed to learn the songs and have Traditional elders instruct them as participants and that they had no authorization to conduct any type of ceremony.  They were mixed blood people and did not know hardly any protocols, besides burning sage and offering prayers to the Great Spirit.  The explained to me that a sundancer named John Roos had put the Purification lodge up there and left it to them to do.  I invited them to the Purification lodge on our property and conducted ceremony while explaining protocols and prayed with them.  Soon after that I received a phone call from Colorado, from john Roos, he asked me for help.  He had a run in with the Mike Little Boy family in Pine Ridge and walked away from them because of dope use by the sons of Mike Little Boy, he explained he was tired of "doing all the work for them"....he also explained his association with Dave Swallow and that Dave Swallow authorized him to conduct ceremony and put up Purification Lodges where he seen fit to build one, "to help the people".  I explained that I knew of these people indirectly (Dave Swallow and Mike Little Boy) but never met them.  I explained that my Elders had instructed me from a early age of traditional spiritual ceremonies and that I have authorization to conduct ceremony, I pointed out what was lacking at the ken Culp residence where HE (John Roos) put up a Purification Lodge, that he needed to be with them, instead of abandoning them to do as they pleased in the name of conducting ceremony.  He agreed to come down to Florida from Colorado and I counseled him about his problems, which were many, some were mental problems.  I cautioned him about claiming he was authorized to conduct ceremonies, when he didnt know any songs, or even knew how to sing one single song associated with ceremony.  He also didnt know the language, but knew bits and pieces of the language and pronounced the language like a boy scout would.  I told him that in order to conduct ceremony, that the Elders and Medicine people would be the ones to authorize it and the Elders and Medicine people would have to know that he knew the protocols and songs with the ceremony.  John Roos then told me that during the Sundance at Dave Swallows, that Dave Swallow had conducted several purification ceremonies during the day and asked him (John Roos) to pour water in one ceremony.  I told John Roos, that THAT was not authorization, that was help.  Over a period of a year of helping John Roos, he never made any attempt at learning songs or the language and I began to suspect that things he had told me were fabrications.  He claimed " he was adopted out as a child and that he was Oglala", then he changed it to "the elders at the Sundance had adopted him"......he made reference to a elder lady named "Wilma" and another lady named "Babette ThinElk", John Roos claimed that his tribal I.D's and paperwork were stolen by someone at Mike Little Boys.
I decided to check on these stories through friends in Pine Ridge area.
meanwhile, John Roos, made a claim that he was part of a Tokala Society under Gerald Ice (Pine Ridge) and asked me IF I knew about Tokala Societies, I explained that Tokala Society's were a internal warrior society, warriors to protect the people, John Roos wanted to start a Tokala Society in Florida, I told him that in order to start a society, that he would have to speak to Mr. Gerald Ice and Chief Crowdog, who would instruct him about what he would have to do, namely protect the Indian people and stand up for their concerns, and once it becomes known among the elders and traditional people, then it is THEY who would speak for beginning a society to Traditional Leaders.

Several people who participated in Purification ceremonies on our property in Florida began to be concerned about john Roos and his attitude towards them, particularily towards women....they felt threatened by him and noticed rude comments he would make towards them.  I cautioned John Roos and reminded him that Women were sacred in the Traditional spiritual ways.  I was informed by Ken Culp that John Roos was doing drugs and preying on women in the St. Pete area who were participating in Drug rehab, impressing upon them that he was a Sundancer and a man of great Knowledge, a warrior.  I told Ken Culp, that those things were John Roos's business and that as long as it doesnt interfere with those participating in ceremony on our property, it was best to stay out of it.
We then began our move to Tennessee, three families in florida moved up in the Knoxville Tennessee area and John Roos stayed with one of the families.  We never invited John Roos to any ceremony on our property in Tennessee, I determined that John Roos was lying about many things to all, I learned that the Tribal Enrollement in Aberdeen South Dakota, Bureau of Indian Affairs, had no John Roos as a Tribal member of any Federally Recognized Tribe.  I seen documents that John Roos and others had made out on a Tribal member from Pine Ridge, named Billy Good Voice Elk Jr., claiming that Billy Good Voice Elk had bilked them for money.  I avoided John Roos and others until I seen a article in a local newspaper that John Roos, a Lakota was moderating a Recovery Program under White Bison Inc. in the Knoxville Area.  I called the administrator of the Recovery Program, named Valerie Ohle, I spoke to her about John Roos, and informed Valerie Ohle, that John Roos was not a lakota.   Valerie Ohle, explained to me that she HAD TO utilize John Roos, because she had the Recovery Program in place and that John Roos volunteered to moderate the Program.   I realized i was talking to a brick wall, Valerie Ohle was only concerned about have the Recovery Program procede irregardless of John Roos frauding himself to her and all that he was a Lakota.
I had already contacted Arrvol Looking Horse (Keeper of the Sacre Pipe and Ceremonies) and Paula Horne, as well as other Traditional leaders about John Roos and his activities. 
Then, a few days ago a news article appeared explaining the Recovery program with John Roos, now, a enrolled Lakota.
I felt that this fraud had now taken another step.  I contacted the Editor and corrected him about John Roos, being a enrolled member of the Lakota Nation.  It was a outright lie.
Today, I recieved word from the Editor (email) and learned that John Roos, was his room mate and friend.....(should have known, but need the truth to be known)

I have docuementation and others willing to collaborate on the information I have given.


                                                                                      Chaska Denny

frederica

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Re: John Roos, claiming enrollment with lakota nation
« Reply #4 on: January 12, 2008, 05:41:20 am »
What I see is the program is part of the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church in Alcola Tennessee PO Box 850 Toll Free Number 866-690-4080. They have this program under a Mission Statement (Native American Ministries). Chairperson Vicki Collins Oak Ridge. District Committee Clergy Debbie Glen Vice President. Valarie Brestel-Ohle is listed as one of several Lay members of the Mission. Doesn't say if there is a fee or not. Might be easier to deal with the Methodist Church. A lot of the papers in those areas print stories without validation.

Offline gdmedicine

  • Posts: 10
Re: John Roos, claiming enrollment with lakota nation
« Reply #5 on: January 12, 2008, 10:04:28 pm »
i would like to ask people that are concerned about Mr. Roos activity to contact the national headquarters of the Methodist church and ask for a formal investigation by the church into this fraud as it seems some of the funding and endorsement is coming from Methodist church.  Indeed, in the newspaper article there is a statement at the end that lists Mr. Roos as an "enrolled" Lakota.

Offline gdmedicine

  • Posts: 10
Re: John Roos, claiming enrollment with lakota nation
« Reply #6 on: January 13, 2008, 09:55:48 pm »
I just rec ieved an email which was originated by steve wikdsmith, who is the weekend editor of the Daily Times in Knoxville, TN in which Mr. Wildsmith admits that not only is John Roos  his roomate, but the John Roos is NOT INDIAN...NOT ENROLLED...AND IS ACTUALLY POLISH!!! of course John Roos would like for this to be left alone and forgotten about...but now is where the real work begins.  Not only do the people providing the funding for the recovery program need to be notified..but more importantly our indian people that have been participating in these ceremonies and this recovery program need to be informed.  THEN...the administration over this program has a responsibility to the native community to put a stop to this outrage.  The administration has a responsibility to the people and the program to make things right number one by bringing this all out in the open to all involved parties.  then they need to go about it in a good way and find a REAL INDIAN who is enrolled who has the proper training and knowledge and who can conduct these ceremonies in a good way that will really make a difference and help the people.  sgi

Offline educatedindian

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Re: John Roos, claiming enrollment with lakota nation
« Reply #7 on: January 13, 2008, 10:19:05 pm »
I haven't had any luck finding anything other than the mentions of him in WHite Bison.

Chaska and gdmedicine, if you have the authors' permissions, could you repost the emails?

Offline gdmedicine

  • Posts: 10
Re: John Roos, claiming enrollment with lakota nation
« Reply #8 on: January 13, 2008, 10:41:38 pm »
we were tryng to figure out how to post emails to this site but couldnt figure out how to do so...please advise how
sgi

Offline sapa

  • Posts: 35
Re: John Roos, claiming enrollment with lakota nation
« Reply #9 on: January 13, 2008, 11:44:30 pm »

If you dont mind, what can you tell me about Mike Little Boy. There is someone with a name very similar that has been coming to Ga. to run sundance ceremony.
Thanks, Sapa

Offline Cetan

  • Posts: 238
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Re: John Roos, claiming enrollment with lakota nation
« Reply #10 on: January 14, 2008, 02:07:59 am »
I know of Mike Little Boy  from Porcupine SD. He is a respected ceremonial man in his community, I never heard of him travelling.

Offline Barnaby_McEwan

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Re: John Roos, claiming enrollment with lakota nation
« Reply #11 on: January 14, 2008, 10:03:52 am »
gdmedicine, the simplest way would be to copy the relevant text from the emails, and paste it into a message.

Here's a page of information with lots of detail on how to post:

http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?action=help;page=post

Offline gdmedicine

  • Posts: 10
Re: John Roos, claiming enrollment with lakota nation
« Reply #12 on: January 15, 2008, 05:41:59 am »
--Forwarded Message Attachment--
From: steve.wildsmith@thedailytimes.com
Subject: Re: John Roos
Date: Sun, 13 Jan 2008 12:10:05 -0500
To: waminega@yahoo.com

OK, you're right - "Wannabe John" is not an Indian ... he's not enrolled ...  he's not even Italian. He's Polish! So now that you've heard what you want to hear, "Wannabe John" strongly suggests that you leave it alone.


Furthermore, I would again ask that you not contact me.


Sincerely,


Steve

Offline gdmedicine

  • Posts: 10
Re: John Roos, claiming enrollment with lakota nation
« Reply #13 on: January 15, 2008, 05:46:36 am »
removed at request of author
« Last Edit: January 21, 2008, 03:57:55 pm by gdmedicine »

Most_Respectful

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Re: John Roos, claiming enrollment with lakota nation
« Reply #14 on: January 28, 2008, 07:44:50 pm »
Interesting. Any furhter developments on this?

[Barnaby's note: this user signed up using the address steve.wildsmith@thedailytimes.com
As he says...interesting.]
« Last Edit: January 28, 2008, 08:23:11 pm by Barnaby_McEwan »