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Opinion: Everyone to blame for Red Lake tragedy
Friday, March 25, 2005

"Jeff Weise was 16 and lived with his grandfather on the Red Lake Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota, a very poor community marked by unemployment and rising methamphetamine abuse.

Nobody is to blame for Weise's killing spree, but everyone is to blame. Jeff Weise was an outcast, a loner, the kid who was teased and ridiculed at school. He was a kid who apparently had no social life, except for what he could create on the Internet.

Weise's life was complicated by being a member of the Red Lake Chippewa tribe. After living in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, Weise moved back to the reservation, wearing strange clothes and bringing a big city attitude that didn't fit in in Red Lake.

He sought refuge on the Internet, reportedly frequenting Web sites that feed the fantasies of people on the fringe. News reports say he posted his thoughts on chat rooms frequented by racists and Nazi followers. Weise found support online, the support that he couldn't find on the Red Lake Reservation."

Get the Story:
Lodge: A tragic path to death (MetroWest Daily News 3/25)

Relevant Links:
Red Lake Net News - http://www.rlnn.com
Red Lake Nation - http://www.redlakenation.org
Red Lake High School - http://www.paulbunyan.net/rlschools/hs.htm

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Letters: Star Trib readers respond to tragedy (3/24)
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Details emerge on tragedy at Red Lake Reservation (3/23)
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Editorial: Tragedy at Red Lake unites all in grief (3/23)
Editorial: Solidarity with the people of Red Lake (3/23)
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