NAFPS Forum

https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/former-tribal-councilman-and-fraudulent-ute-mountain-ute-medicine-man-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-for-multiple-counts-of-sexual-assault/

QuoteOverview:
A former tribal council member who presented himself as a spiritual healer was sentenced for sexual crimes spanning at least 12 years.

Lyndreth Hemp Wall, 60, a former tribal councilman of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, on Tuesday, August 18, was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted on 15 counts of sexual abuse in Indian Country and abusive sexual contact in Indian Country. Wall's crimes involved five victims, including a minor.

Wall was elected to the Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Council in 2020 and is a former school board member in Montezuma-Cortez School District Re-1. He presented himself as a traditional Native American healer, sometimes referred to in some tribes as a "medicine man," according to trial documents.

For at least 12 years, Wall sexually exploited multiple women on the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation under the guise of spiritual treatment. Survivors reported that he created an elaborate ruse by using traditional elements of Ute healing to trick his victims into believing his actions were part of a healing ceremony. During his "ceremonies," Wall isolated victims alone and touched them sexually for his own gratification. Wall told multiple victims that, if they told anyone about his sexual touching, the healing would not work.

Similar reports at several other news outlets:
https://www.justice.gov/usao-co/pr/ute-mountain-ute-medicine-man-sentenced-life-prison-after-multiple-sex-assault
https://www.redlakenationnews.com/story/2026/08/21/news/former-tribal-councilman-and-fraudulent-ute-mountain-ute-medicine-man-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-for-multiple-counts-of-sexual-assault/142328.html
https://www.ksjd.org/podcast/ksjd-local-newscasts/2026-08-19/former-ute-mountain-ute-tribal-councilman-is-sentenced-to-life-in-prison
https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/news/former-ute-mountain-ute-councilman-sentenced-to-life-imprisonment-after-sexual-abuse-conviction/
https://www.gjsentinel.com/news/western_colorado/life-in-prison-for-ute-mountain-ute-medicine-man/article_b08095b7-055f-48f8-a7a9-525ca0451738.html