The brother of an Indigenous man from South Dakota says his siblings' hair was cut without anyone's permission sometime during his stay at the University of Colorado Hospital, alleging the act was a violation of his culture and spiritual rights.
Keith Janis of the Oglala Lakota nation stood outside UCHealth's facility on East Colfax Thursday afternoon demanding to know why Arthur Janis' hair was cut from his head and was, at the very least, not returned to his family.
"He's a traditional man and he values his long hair and somebody butchered his hair really bad," Janis said. "I came down here to find out who did that."
Janis said he and his brother are from the Pine Ridge Reservation located in the southwest corner of South Dakota.
According to Janis, Arthur was life flighted to UCHealth in late August. Janis said that, to his understanding, Arthur's medical condition was concentrated in his abdomen and that he did not know of a reason why his hair would need any attention.
After Arthur's arrival, communication proved tricky for the family. Janis said they have gone back and forth with Arthur's care team on surgical needs, abilities and overall care.
Janis said eventually the hospital performed a surgery after which Arthur was unconscious for some time. Once his family arrived, Arthur woke up. They soon returned back to South Dakota.
While the family doesn't know exact dates, Janis said Arthur was transferred to The Center at Lowry, a physical and medical rehabilitation center, then released back to UCHealth. When Arthur met with his family via a video conference, his hair was gone.
"They're blaming each other, these two separate facilities are passing the blame off on one another," Janis said. "My sister called me crying, said they cut Arthur's hair off. Why would they do that?"
According to Reddog, a friend of the family who is trying to raise awareness about the incident, UCHealth told relatives that after reviewing video footage, Arthur left the facility with long hair and when he returned, it had been cut.
Janis said he spoke with UCHealth and "they finally admitted that a great wrong has been committed, but they are lying about what happened to his hair."
He added that when he spoke to the Center, they told him Arthur's hair was already gone when he checked in.
"They told us very clearly when we were over there this morning that they do not cut hair and they were 99% certain that they did not cut his hair," Janis said.
In a statement, UCHealth representatives said, "UCHealth and its nurses, physicians and staff members have deep respect for our patients and their individual beliefs and customs. We agree that a patient should be fully informed and should consent to any medical care, and that their culture must be honored. We are committed to working with family members to investigate any concerns and to help determine if an incident happened at one of our care locations."
The Center where Arthur also received care didn't immediately return a request for comment.
On Thursday, Janis stood in the sun at General's Park with Reddog and several other supporters. He explained the significance of the Janis' family losing Arthur's hair.
"Our hair is our memory. It's our DNA that reaches back all the way to our ancestry," Reddog said. "When all Western medicine fails us, when things are hard, when times are rough, we look at our own spirituality and our hair... So, him losing it at this time when he's fighting for his life. When he's here for critical care, far away from his family, they take one of the strongest components to his being and disregard it."
He added that when relatives pass, their hair is cut and treated after the funeral for an entire year as a memorial. Whoever is responsible for cutting Arthur's hair, Reddog said, robbed Arthur and his family of that ceremony.
The group burned sage and washed the smoke across their bodies before walking across the street to the facility, chanting and waving flags and feathers in solidarity.
In front of UCHealth, Reddog and Janis again demanded answers.
"We're asking for his hair back," Reddog said. "He was here for other surgeries. Nothing to do with his hair. Nothing to do with his head. He had no trauma to his head. So there was no reason for his hair to be cut."
Janis echoed the sentiment and said he wants someone to take accountability and ultimately return Arthur's hair. Both also said that more cultural sensitivity training so that this doesn't happen to anyone else.
Once they were done, Janis said he was going to visit Arthur and asked the group to also visit Arthur when ultimately Janis has to return to South Dakota. The group agreed. But before Janis leaves, he has one request.
"I want to get Arthur's hair back. I'm here for his hair," Janis said.
