David Granados Charged w/Sexual Assault

[educatedindian]

I've gotten a series of emails about him. His claims of what he is and who he learned are very dubious.

One account has him running ceremonies at this church. I should stress the church is a Native-oriented Catholic church and none of its clergy, as far as I know, are charged with anything or accused of wrongdoing outside of hosting Granados.
http://congregationofthegreatspirit.org/CurrentEvents.html

Among the complaints about him.
He is runnning Sun Dance Sweat Lodges
Vision Quest Lodges 
Cherokee, Mayan/Toltec and Midaween Ceremonies.
He also runs lodges in prison,
lodges at the Milwaukee VA 
teaches a course in Secrets of Native Healing in Parkside

His pre-trial hearing is August 13th. He sat with a naked woman in the sweat lodge and applied bear grease on her as a healing practice. There were 12 other women the DA found out that he had done this too but they were too scared to file.

His myspace page includes a photo.
http://www.myspace.com/nativeways8

Workshop he was part of.
http://grouptalkweb.org/pipermail/list_grouptalkweb.org/2008-March/002839.html

Early article on him.
http://www.journaltimes.com/articles/2005/11/30/community/iq_3776748.txt

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http://knowmore.typepad.com/know_more/2009/08/man-who-performed-sweat-ceremonies-charged-with-sexual-assault.html
August 03, 2009
Man, who performed sweat ceremonies, charged with sexual assault
Raymond, WI - A 62-year-old Town of Raymond man, who performed Native American sweat ceremonies, was charged with a felony charge of third degree sexual assault.

David Granados was charged by the Racine County district attorney’s office and told by a judge at the preliminary hearing on July 31 not to perform any more sweat ceremonies alone with women.

Granados posted a $500 cash bond and signed a $5,000 signature bond. If Granados is found guilty of the charge, he faces up to 10 years in prison and could be fined up to $25,000.

According to the criminal complaint, Granados, 4332 W. 6 ½ Mile Road, ran the Earth Lodge Foundation where he performed Native American healing ceremonies called sweat ceremonies. In October, a woman who was at one of the ceremonies told investigators with the Racine County Sheriff’s Department that she was sexually assaulted by Granados.

Granados is also known as “8 Eagles.”

The woman said she met Granados through an instructor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Granados performs Native American workshops and said he was a Native American medicine man. The woman said she had been to sweat ceremonies three times, with the last one being held a year ago.

Granados allegedly told the woman’s husband that “all he needed to do to heal him self was to go smoke a Native American pipe containing tobacco” and the man did. Once he was done doing that he was to go into the house to start dinner for the three of them leaving Granados and the woman alone.

The woman told investigators that Granados scolded her for wearing a bra and told her to take it off, which she did. Granados allegedly began whispering to himself and put bear grease on her abdominal area. He then lifted up her shirt, reached around from behind and grabbed her breasts. He then tried to kiss the woman.

The woman told investigators she “yanked away from him and that he told her that the healing session was done and that the next month, she could do a healing on him.”

The woman also said she knows another woman who was touched by Granados.

The husbands of the two women allegedly confronted Granados and asked why he would touch their breasts. Granados said he was “working with her heart” and when one of the women said “her heart was not in her nipples,” Granados allegedly said, “I don’t know why I did what I did. God made me do it.”

One woman asked why he touched her vagina and Granados said he did not know why he did so, but when the told him he hurt her, he apologized and said he was sorry and “it is what it is.”

Granados is expected to have a preliminary hearing on Aug. 6 in Racine County felony court in front of Judge Alice Rudebusch.

[educatedindian]

 DA Case # 2009RA004899
 Race Listed: Hispanic
 Violation:  940.225(3)  3rd Degree Sexual Assault
 Prosecuting Attorney:  Robert S. Repischak  phone:  262-636-3637
 Court Official re/ Bond and Conditions:  Alice A. Rudebusch Preliminary
hearing official 8/6/2009 @ 9am
 $500 cash, plus $5,000 signature bond, no contact with the victim, no
sweat lodge ceremonies alone w/ women, failure to apear will result in the
issuance of a warrant for arrest, possible bail jumping charges and
forfeiture of any bond on deposit.


 Additional Open Cases (this does not include the previous convictions of
wh/ there are a number)

 1.   DWD vs. David Granados  Worker Com $13,515.73
 2.   Seek Incorporated vs. Eight Ealges Transit, LLC et al. $11,808.26
[two filings w/ one number difference so this one is X 2]
 3.   Tom Collins vs. David Granados  $7, 654.96  3 causes entered into
record  Eviction Judgement

--------------------

There's also a further account of one who spoke personally with Granados.

Granados said his mother taught him about spiritual matters, but did not say whether she had been formally trained or not.  He credited Laurence Henry (who is Midaywin and not Lakota) with being his mentor with sweat lodges for the past 10 years. 
Granados says he tied through his father with Ysleta Pueblo, but he is not enrolled. 

Currently Granados is not allowed on the VA grounds due to his arrest. Officials at the VA have talked in detail with those in the NDN communities about having better qualified people do any future healings.

[WINative]

Charge against medicine man will likely be reduced
JANINE ANDERSON janine.anderson@journaltimes.com | Posted: Thursday, September 10, 2009 12:50 pm


RACINE - The charge that a medicine man sexually assaulted a woman during a ceremony will likely be reduced, according to information released at his preliminary hearing in Racine County Circuit Court Thursday morning.
David Granados, 62, also known as Eight Eagles, is the founder of the Earth Lodge Foundation, a nonprofit organization based at his home, 4332 W. 6 1/2 Mile Road.
He was accused of inappropriately touching a woman during a sweat lodge ceremony at his home last summer.
On Thursday, when Granados waived an initial hearing on his case, the state outlined its current offer to him: amending the charge from third-degree sexual assault to attempted third-degree sexual assault. At sentencing, the state would recommend Granados serve time on probation with some time in the Racine County Jail.
The woman, who reportedly took part in three sweat lodge ceremonies, told law enforcement that she looked at Granados as a religious leader, teacher and doctor. The woman told an investigator that, during a ceremony on Aug. 26, 2008, the last one she participated in, Granados told her to take off her undergarments and touched her inappropriately.

[WINative]

I'm revisiting this topic since I have known of him in Wisconsin and seriously think he should be moved to fraud. I think he meets the criteria.


This is a quote directly from his myspace page that is listed above:

"It wasn't until his passing that we found out we were Native. At forty-five years of age I was finally aware that my father was born on an Indian reservation know as Ysleta,TX. This discovery was a profound one for me, for all my life I had a connection with the Native ways and spirit through my mother teaching me herbal medicine, prayer to spirit, and the practice of candle lighting to shine on my path."


 Location (according to their web-site)
"The Ysleta del Sur Pueblo is situated within the City of El Paso and the City of Socorro, Texas, just north of Mexico along the Rio Grande. The land configuration is referred to as "checkerboard" or pieced together with non-contiguous boundaries. The primary reservation community is one mile northeast of the Zaragoza International border between the United States and Mexico."

So you could be Mexican descent and live in parts of El Paso, and still say you were born on the reservation?
I would think this claim is dubious at best since he claims his mother taught his native ways, why would his father reject these ways if they belonged to his family, and allow his wife to teach his son and children them?


I have never heard of any American Indian tribe using candle lighting for any traditional activity.

He was also know to have several get-rich-quick businesses including tranpsort vans for workers which were not very safe.

His mentor is known as Lawrence Henry-Ojibwe Mide. Why he would choose to mentor him and allow him to run sweats or if he did is in serious question.

I don't think that gives him the right to be able to call himself a medicine man, and run Cherokee, Mayan, Inca, Toltec, Navajo, Apache..etc type sweats.

These are his heroes from his Myspace page: other frauds mentioned.

"Sitting Eagle, Woman Standing in Four Man Watching Her, Power of the Black Horse, Geronimo, Black Elk, Two Crows, Half Moon, Night Eagle, Red Eagle, Talking Hawk, Tim Dancing Red Tail Hawk, Whale Women, Women from Red Lake, Five Eagle Woman, JoJo Pah, Lone Buffalo, Golden Bear Woman, Big Cat, Butterfly in the Breeze, Rock, Nine Ravens."

Not to mention in articles and in public admitted to committing the sexual assaults in a sweat lodge ceremony.

He must be making good money since he supports himself off his spiritual activities. No other employment known.

[educatedindian]

So you could be Mexican descent and live in parts of El Paso, and still say you were born on the reservation?
I would think this claim is dubious at best since he claims his mother taught his native ways, why would his father reject these ways if they belonged to his family, and allow his wife to teach his son and children them?

I have never heard of any American Indian tribe using candle lighting for any traditional activity....

His mentor is known as Lawrence Henry-Ojibwe Mide. Why he would choose to mentor him and allow him to run sweats or if he did is in serious question.

I don't think that gives him the right to be able to call himself a medicine man, and run Cherokee, Mayan, Inca, Toltec, Navajo, Apache..etc type sweats.

Ysleta Pueblo is tiny, a couple dozen acres completely surrounded by El Paso. Sixty years ago many people were born at home, so his claim is possible. There's also quite a bit of intermarriage and the tribe has a BQ requirement one of the lowest anywhere, 1/32.

Candle lighting is very common in lots of villages in Mexico where tribal and Catholic traditions mix. I don't know if it's part of Ysleta tradition. But I think we all agree his claim to be able to teach traditions of other tribes than his (alleged) own is nonsense.

[WINative]

I agree and I don't want to get sidetracked with his claim of American Indian blood which is not the reason for him being listed here or shunned by the American Indian Community in Southeastern WI.

It is true that American Indian people that participate in traditional ways here do not feel him to be qualified to run any type of ceremony, and that he is supporting himself running ceremony, and workshops..etc..with non-Indians.
Also that he has admitted in several ways (court-public-newspaper) that he has committed the sexual assualts in the sweat lodge and has yet to be sentenced.
He has made all legitimate American Indian people trying to live a good life look bad here.
So for us he will always be considered a fraud, and I just want to let others who might want to work with him in the future of this.

[WINative]

01-25-2010
Status conference
Court Official Jude, John S.
Court Reporter Vorpahl, Jenny
Event Party
Granados, David
Additional Text:
Defendant David Granados in court with attorney John A. Cabranes. Matthew Hastings appeared for the State of Wisconsin.
Court Reporter: Jenny Vorpahl. Status conference scheduled for 03-03-2010 at 08:30 am.

[Defend the Sacred]

http://www.journaltimes.com/news/local/article_c421370e-5b88-11e0-bd64-001cc4c03286.html

*****************************************************************

Shed lost in fire -- Property connected to man accused of sweat lodge sexual assault

Journal Times staff JournalTimes.com | Posted: Thursday, March 31, 2011 6:19 am | (2) Comments

Fire officials on Wednesday said the occupant of 4332 6½ Mile Road was burning grass when the wind shifted, and a shed on his property was destroyed by fire. / Mark Hertzberg mhertzberg@journaltimes.com

RAYMOND - A shed was completely lost in a fire Wednesday afternoon at the last known home of a medicine man accused of sexual assault of a woman during a sweat lodge ceremony.

Firefighters responded to 4332 W. 6 1/2 Mile Road Wednesday at about 1:45 p.m., said Raymond Fire Assistant Chief Dale Mentink.

The fire was ruled accidental, Mentink said. The occupant told authorities he was burning a brush pile outside when it got away from him, according to Mentink.

"The wind picked up evidently," he said.

He did not believe there were any valuables inside, just mostly garbage. Mentink said the shed that had been burned down was the larger one of two sheds on the property. The smaller one was not affected by the fire, he said.

The fire was put out in about 30 to 45 minutes, Mentink said. There were no injuries. No damage estimate was available.

The address is the last known residence of David Granados, who was accused in July of sexually assaulting one of his followers during a sweat lodge ceremony at his home in 2008.

At the scene, Granados said a sweat lodge was also destroyed, but he would rebuild it.




*****************************************************************

[WINative]

Usually when that happens it means you are not meant to run or have a sweat lodge. Many traditional people burn the sweat lodge when they feel it is being mis-used. Seems like the Creator's sending him a message....

[WINative]

His case is still on-going for past 4 years, and many in the American Indian community are trying to give him the benefit of the doubt since he is not convicted yet, but many have distanced themselves from him and his other apprentice Tim Dancing Red Hawk Mcintosh...

01-15-2013
Hearing
Defendant David Granados in court with attorney John A. Cabranes. Robert S Repischak appeared for the State of Wisconsin. Court Reporter: Sandra Campbell. Matter was set for JT. State requesting adjournment due to death in the victim's family. BTC: adjourn. Motions to be filed before 4/1. Verdicts/instructions to be filed before 4/10. Jury trial scheduled for May 14, 2013 at 01:30 pm.

[WINative]

$700 fine for Native American spiritual leader accused of fondling follower
KRISTEN ZAMBO kristen.zambo@journaltimes.com
Posted: Wed, 15 May 2013 4:38 AM
RACINE — A Native American spiritual leader stood beaming outside a Racine County courtroom Tuesday after being ordered to pay a fine — instead of going to jail — for inappropriately touching a female follower in a sweat lodge.
Racine County Circuit Judge Allan “Pat” Torhorst sentenced David Granados, 66, of Raymond, to pay a $700 fine plus court costs for fondling the female follower more than four years ago during spiritual sessions at his home.
During the past four years, the case has gone to trial once — ending with a hung jury — and Granados “had a bout of cancer,” defense attorney John Cabranes said during the plea and sentencing hearing. “He, quite frankly, wants to put this thing to rest once and for all.”
Granados, who also is called “Eight Eagles,” had been slated to go on trial Tuesday afternoon. He is the founder of the Earth Lodge Foundation, a nonprofit organization based at his home.
More than four years ago, Granados was accused of sexually assaulting one of his followers during a sweat lodge ceremony. The woman reportedly attended three sweat lodge ceremonies with Granados and later accused him of rubbing bear grease on her chest multiple times and fondling a different portion of her body during the third sweat lodge visit. These acts occurred during the summer of 2008, according to his criminal complaint.
Granados was charged in June of 2009. He had been charged with third-degree sexual assault for the Aug. 26, 2008, incidents, which prosecutors later amended to a downgraded charge of attempted third-degree sexual assault, court records show. The charge was reduced after the case went to trial and the jury deadlocked, on March 9, 2012.
Assistant District Attorney Robert Repischak amended the charge again on Tuesday during Granados’ plea hearing: to two counts of fourth-degree sexual assault. Those charges are Class A misdemeanors, punishable by fines and a maximum of nine months in jail on each count.
Repischak said the two new charges stem from “two different touching” episodes with the female follower on Aug. 26, 2008.
Granados pleaded no contest Tuesday to those two charges.
Repischak and Cabranes negotiated a plea agreement calling for the $700 fine. Cabranes said with court costs, the total might cost $1,200 to $1,300. Granados will not have to register as a sex offender.
“Mr. Granados does not have a prior record,” Repischak said during the sentencing. The woman “is interested in having this matter resolved so she can get on with her life.”
The woman reported to Racine County sheriff’s investigators that she viewed Granados as a religious leader, teacher and doctor. She said during the third and final sweat lodge ceremony, Granados told her to take off her undergarments and touched her inappropriately, according to court records.
Such ceremonies include prayers and are meant to purify one’s body.
“The ultimate resolution of this case included the input and the support of the victim,” Racine County District Attorney Rich Chiapete stated after Tuesday’s sentencing.
The way the case ended might leave some people thinking he did sexually assault the woman, Cabranes said after the sentencing.
“Quite frankly, we were prepared to go to trial again. I don’t think the victim was a credible victim,” he said. “Mr. Granados has been through the wringer now for four years. More than anything he was just tired and wanted it done.”
Granados now may resume conducting sweat lodge ceremonies, Cabranes added.

[milehighsalute]

So you could be Mexican descent and live in parts of El Paso, and still say you were born on the reservation?
I would think this claim is dubious at best since he claims his mother taught his native ways, why would his father reject these ways if they belonged to his family, and allow his wife to teach his son and children them?

I have never heard of any American Indian tribe using candle lighting for any traditional activity....

His mentor is known as Lawrence Henry-Ojibwe Mide. Why he would choose to mentor him and allow him to run sweats or if he did is in serious question.

I don't think that gives him the right to be able to call himself a medicine man, and run Cherokee, Mayan, Inca, Toltec, Navajo, Apache..etc type sweats.

Ysleta Pueblo is tiny, a couple dozen acres completely surrounded by El Paso. Sixty years ago many people were born at home, so his claim is possible. There's also quite a bit of intermarriage and the tribe has a BQ requirement one of the lowest anywhere, 1/32.

Candle lighting is very common in lots of villages in Mexico where tribal and Catholic traditions mix. I don't know if it's part of Ysleta tradition. But I think we all agree his claim to be able to teach traditions of other tribes than his (alleged) own is nonsense.

no that claim cannot be true.....ysleta are a small tribe....but only recently obtained a reservation.....ysleta del sur was NOT a reservation 60yrs ago

they are of my people....the tiwa.....or " southern tigua" as they call themselves

the candle thing aint as much an indian thing as it is a catholic/spanish thing.....yes we do it....most pueblos do....and yeah they mix catholic with indian traditions......thus the word "indo-hispanic"

[WINative]

David Granados is no longer living in Wisconsin. So for us his practices an ceremonies are over...Time to repair the damage and move forward.