A Native American spiritual leader is seeking answers about how an indigenous man was stabbed to death while serving time in a federal prison in New Jersey.
Two months after the killing at the Federal Correctional Institution at Fairton in Cumberland County, officials have said little about the case and have not indicated if anyone has been charged.
Markis Nathan Rattling Leaf, 42, of South Dakota, was stabbed in the head, neck and chest with a pencil on March 4 and died the following day, according to his death certificate.
His death was a homicide, according to a copy of the death certificate his family provided to NJ Advance Media.
Federal officials previously said Rattling Leaf was found unresponsive following a “perceived altercation” at the prison and later died. They did not say how he died or if his death was deemed a crime.
A representative for the FBI confirmed the agency is investigating the case but has refused to say if anyone has been charged. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey has also declined to comment.
Rattling Leaf was Native American and a member of the Rosebud Sioux tribe in South Dakota, his family said.
He was serving a prison sentence for molesting a child.
In 2012, Rattling Leaf pleaded guilty to a charge of abusive sexual contact with an 8-year-old victim in South Dakota and was sentenced to more than 18 years in prison, according to a press release about the case.
He was serving his sentence in a federal facility in Tucson, Arizona, before he was transferred to New Jersey last June.
Shannon Rivers, a Native American spiritual leader for men and women incarcerated in California and Arizona, is trying to assist Rattling Leaf’s family.
Rivers had not met Rattling Leaf, but was alarmed to hear about his killing.
“When I heard the story, obviously, I was shocked,” he said.
“The death of our inmates and the killing of our inmates and the assaults that happen within some of our institutions are sadly not uncommon,” Rivers said. “There’s a lot of violence in some of these institutions, so we do our best to try to maintain a safe space for them.”
The problem is worse for inmates who identify as gay or transgender, he said. Rattling Leaf identified as both gay and bisexual, a family member said.
“When it comes to our transgender community members, they are more susceptible in many spaces in the carceral institutions to violence,” Rivers said. “So it becomes even more difficult when someone who identifies as transgender or gay becomes susceptible to that violence.”
Given the lack of details released about Rattling Leaf’s death, it’s not known if his sexual orientation was a factor in the killing.
Rattling Leaf was an advocate for the queer and transgender communities in prison, according to his sister, Miranda Roubideaux. He co-founded Brave Hearts, a group of LGBTQ+ inmates who focused on financial independence through art and ending violence against LGBTQ+ people in prison.
The family was told by someone at the prison that he was trying to counsel the inmate who attacked and killed him, Roubideaux said.
While puncture wounds from the pencil caused his death, he also suffered blunt force trauma to his head and neck, the death certificate said.
One of the stab wounds was to his eye, Roubideaux said in March.
In a letter to a South Dakota judge about Rattling Leaf’s death, the prison warden said the prisoner was found unconscious on the floor of a cell around 11 a.m. on March 4. He was treated by prison staff and EMTs who were called to the scene, then airlifted from the prison to Cooper University Hospital in Camden.
He was pronounced dead at the hospital shortly after 4:15 p.m. the following day. The letter, included in federal court records on Rattling Leaf’s South Dakota criminal case, includes no details about how he died.
Rivers has been in contact with Rattling Leaf’s family and has tried to speak to federal investigators, but has received no response so far. He wants to help the family get answers about the case.
“I think they’re still processing it,” he said of Rattling Leaf’s family and friends. “I think everybody’s just in shock.”
Investigations involving deaths in federal prisons can be lengthy, Rivers said.
“Sometimes that can take six months to a year. It can take a long time,” Rivers said. “And any of that information will not be released until that full investigation is done.”
He hopes whatever is learned will be released publicly.
Prison officials declined to say why Rattling Leaf was transferred to the New Jersey prison, citing privacy, safety and security concerns.
In a letter, Rattling Leaf told his sister his transfer to the federal prison in New Jersey was so he could continue his violence-reduction work in other federal facilities.
His was advocating for LGBTQ+ prisoners, his sister said.
“He was doing some really good work within the community about how to conduct yourself as an indigenous person, but he was working with all inmates not just Native American inmates,” Rivers said.
Rivers said he plans to keep pushing for information about Rattling Leaf’s death.
“I think if we put enough pressure on the investigative unit and just say: What really happened that day? Why was he transferred?” Rivers said. “So we’re asking a lot of the right questions, but we’re not getting any answers.”
Stories by Matt Gray
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Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com.