MAKUEEYAPEE Whitford is one of the criminals featured in the hit Netflix series I am a Killer.
He appears in episode six of the show’s fifth series, which dives into his killing of a fellow Native American man whom he had a dispute with.
Makueeyapee received a 60 year prison sentence for his crime[/caption]
Reportedly, the two men were arguing about their tribes when the encounter became violent.
Here’s everything you need to know about Makueeyapee’s case.
A “rollercoaster” childhood
Makueeyapee was born on November 13, 1980, and was brought back to the Blackfeet Indian reservation in a cardboard box, since his parents couldn’t afford a car seat.
His grandfather was Chief Running Crane, the last chief of Blackfeet Indian Nation, and his father was also Native American.
His mother, who was not Native American, went on to have seven children with different fathers and moved often.
Makueeyapee lived in Montana, Idaho, Washington, California and Oregon during his childhood, which he described as a “rollercoaster”.
He witnessed his stepfather hitting his mother when he was a child, prompting him to move in with his uncles.
It was at this time that he was swept up in the gang violence of Tacoma, Washington and started drinking and taking drugs.
He went to prison after being charged with robbery in the first degree and three charges of assault in the second degree, as well as a charge of deadly weapon enhancement for a hotel robbery.
Makueeyapee pointed a gun at an elderly lady during the encounter and thought to himself “I’m not going to do this”, but it was already too late.
Getting his life together
He was sentenced, in 1988, to 10 years and decided to use his time to study.
In prison, he joined Indians of All Tribes, a group which advocated for “Native Pride”.
Within two months of leaving prison, he met the mother of his future children.
After knowing each other for just a month, the couple were expecting their first child.
Then, after Makueeyapee’s son was born, his partner became pregnant with his second child – a daughter.
He became a 4.0 GPA student at Blackfeet Community College and made the dean’s list at the school.
A joke gone wrong
Makueeyapee went to Polson, Montana, with his friend and they both found their way to a house party hosted by the Flathead Indian Reservation.
Once at the party, he made a joke that sparked a life-altering series of events.
Makueeyapee said “Where are all the Blackfeet at?” which angered another partygoer, since the event was being hosted by the Flathead tribe.
Unbeknownst to Makueeyapee, the partygoer was also angry because of a rivalry with the Blackfeet tribe that was centuries old.
When the other partygoer became aggressive, Makueeyapee’s memories of prison came flooding back.
John Pierre Jr went over to Makueeyapee and started referencing the historic rivalry, Makueeyapee stabbed and killed him.
Return to prison
Makueeyapee received a 60-year sentence for his crime, with a 25-year-parole restriction.
John Todd, one of the jail commanders for the Lake County Sheriff’s Office in Polson, Montana said that Makueeyapee picked fights in prison.
John said: “He was, I’d have to say, kind of a bully.
“He would poke at the smaller, weaker guys and just poke and poke and poke until they exploded.
“And then he would hurt them, or attempt to hurt them.
“And then it was never his fault.”
Makueeyapee maintains that he was the victim of a hate crime and that he killed John in self-defense.
