Church Rally lands Sachem in Jail

On Friday, January 15th 2016 the city of Portland, Oregon celebrated the birth of Martin Luther King by standing up for Civil Rights issues, and Oklevueha Native American Church of Kautantowit's Mecautea of Oregon were invited to take part in the rally, protest and marches because of the ongoing situation going on with the federal government and postal service attacking their mail. Little did they know they'd put the church sachem in Jail, but that's Exactly the way the evening ended.

On the way back to the church sanctuary in south valley from the rose city Portland, ONAC KM sachem Joy Graves was traveling the only way she could from point A to point B, which was Interstate 5. "When the media showed Portland police our federal suit and one disappeared, returning with state troopers, I must admit I was suspicious as to whether we'd have encounters with them, but honestly I never thought they'd pull something like this" Graves said.

At a quarter to the stroke of midnight, Oregon state police trooper Don Rummer pulled Graves over for what he claimed was "reckless driving". It was a pitch black, fog filled night, with winds and rain steadily flowing with frequent gusts of each. Graves was traveling in the "slow lane" on the highway at a reduced speed and clinging to the white solid line as the cars would pass splashing water onto the windshield of her car, an ole 2001 police interceptor, which apparently translated into the officer's mind of being reckless.

"My father was a military driving instructor" says Graves "So I was taught by the highest of scrutiny when it comes to safely operating a motor vehicle". Graves has no prior reckless driving charges and notes she has been driving motor vehicles for more than 1987. Graves resents the alligation, but this would only be the beginning of grounds for her upset.

In addition to the reckles driving alligation, trooper Rummer quickly expanded his grounds because Graves had what appeared to him as being "a car filled with marijuana". As it would turn out, the plant matter police thought was real, were nothing more than silk leaf lei's Graves is well known for wearing as costume during cannabis rallies across the west coast. "They acted as if the leaves were real, like in the drinking commercial when the drunk opens his car door and booze pours out... he acted like he expected cannabis to come pouring out my car when the door opened, as if a dump truck had filled my car with real medicine."

Graves was taken from her vehicle and made to perform a sobriety test, which she believes she passed, with the exception of having fast counted the 30 second stop test. "I was freezing cold, and the weather was only making it worse, wind gusts and rain splashes as the cars would pass by, not to mention the weather itself gusting both up at will" Graves said. Ultimately Graves was placed under arrest for that fast countingand charged with Driving under the influence because, after all, she Admitted to having toked three puffs initiating ceremony for the church just 13 Hours beforehand!

A concerning twist came after Graves was cuffed and Miranda rights read, when trooper Rummer began searching her person. "He reached into my coat pocket a few different times, pulling medicine sacrament (cannabis) from it, which seemed to frustrate him. Then he said he wasn't taking my coat to jail and demanded that I take it off... I told him I was still fighting off a bacterial pneumonia and was already freezing, but he demanded I take it off when he uncuffed me, and also made me take my jewelry off as well, along with my sacred spiritual objects including my fathers ashes." Rummer took Graves items and set them off to the side and began physically touching her person and then kept her subjected to the weather despite on camera acknowledging she was "Freezing" literally before having her disrobe in the nasty weather. Graves estimates having been standing in the weather without her coat and hat between 5 to 10 minutes before being placed in the rear of Rummers patrol car.

Graves believed that the trooper would be putting these objects into his car along with Graves to transport to the Linn County Jail in Albany, but once in the car would quickly realize otherwise, that he was in fact putting them into Graves car and having it towed away. Graves became paniced and asked the trooper to retrieve the items from her car before it was towed, but the trooper refused insisting it was the best option for the items "for safety reasons" saying "There's no way I'm taking all your tuff to jail with you." Graves had no choice at that point but to accept the troopers decision, but was very mentally and spiritually upset by being separated from her possessions.

At the jail, Graves was treated with minimal concern, accounting that she was uncuffed within minutes and remaining so for the duration of her incarceration. "I was allowed to walk around as the guards while other people were kept cuffed in the area I was in, a few times I walked near the wide open doors and none of them even took note of the fact I was close enough to walk out without obsticle." Of coarse Graves remained opposed to attempting to escape, but says to her it proves they knew she was not of a criminal nature, except of coarse regarding plants from nature that laws don't like such as cannabis.

Graves states that she was then told of tests they would conduct on her, and that she was told she could speak with one of her attorney's Before being put through these tests, but says the room she was put in with the phone to Call wouldn't allow her to get a call through to either of her Civil Rights attorneys. Graves said she then asked for a Lane County phone book so to call her former attorney Brian Michaels but was told by jailers they had no phone book or way to track down Michael's number for her, so that ultimately she was forced into their tests Without her right to pre-speak with counsel.

"Three times they had me do a breathalyzer test, and all three times I blew 000, meaning that I passed the test 100%, but it was only the beginning of their tests to come" Graves says she "Aced them all" and chuckled as she recalled the "Independant officer's reaction" to the 30 second stop test": "It blew his mind he said, because I was to tell him to stop at the 30 second mark from mentally counting in my head, and I stopped him at 29.6 seconds... he said no one had ever gotten that close that he'd ever tested." Graves accredits her accuracy to the fact that she was then being tested indoors and out of the harsh cold weather.

Despite passing the tests, Graves was held in jail an additional 8 hours "To be sure your not still intoxicated to be released, we don't want liability." Just after 8Am Graves was released from jail, but not allowed to call for a ride to come get her. Graves then went over and asked the sheriff's department to use the phone to call for a ride, explaining that she was fighting off pneumonia and that her coat and hat were towed away with her car. Graves was told no, and continued to plea pointing out the rain pouring down, but ultimately was told she could use a payphone down the street at a convenience store. Graves had no mooney to use a phone because the trooper had disrobed her and had taken away her fanny pack and had all her means towed away with the car. Graves asked where her car was so to try and retrieve it as promised, but no one would tell her where her car had been towed.

Sunday Graves was rushed to the hospital after having walked 29 miles on the freeway heading toward the south valley sanctuary, her original destination when she was arrested. Graves body had stiffened and it was noticed by a passing motorist she was unable to walk any further. She was soaken from the non stop rain to the point the motorist actually put a towel down on his seat saying "your gonna get my seat wet". Graves left knee was wrapped and she was wrapped in 5 heated blankets to warm her up, and was given medication for the pain. The hospital then privately paid for a taxi to take her the remaining distance to the sanctuary where she's been resting since.

Tuesday evening Graves again went into the hospital with pain in her right lung causing a flare in her costocondritis (chest wall). Physicians determined that it's a muscular-skeletal issue, likely brought on by the long walk from jail, and encouraged her to follow up with her primary physician later in the week. Graves was given muscle relaxants in effort to help curb her pain until then. Graves is awaiting an appointment with her physician now. Graves notes she has not taken any of the prescriptions as of yet, but is in severe physical pain "from head to toe inside and out". She continues to rest at the south valley sanctuary.