Missing and murdered Indian men to be honored on Father’s Day

RAPID CITY – As part of the larger movement to find and identify those responsible for murdered and missing indigenous persons, three women have organized a prayer walk in Rapid City to shed light on the men and boys who are part of this international effort.

Not wanting to take away from the MMIW (Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women) campaign, the three women who came together in Rapid City simply want to have their male relatives and friends included in the overall conversation.

The Prayer Walk for Murdered and Missing Indigenous Men and Boys will take place on Sunday, June 16, 2019 from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. The walk will begin near Roosevelt Park in Rapid City and will walk along Rapid Creek. This is the sight of the eleven unexplained deaths which some have called unsolved murders beginning in the late 1990’s.

Among those found dead during that period were; Ben Long Wolf, 36, George Hatton, 56, Allen Hough, 42, Royce Yellow Hawk 26, Randell Two Crow, 48, Lauren Two Bulls, 33, Dirk Bartling, 44, Arthur Chamberlain, 45, Timothy Bull Bear Sr., 47, Lonnie Isham, 43, and Wilbur Johnson, 41. It is believed many of these were homeless and most of them were Native American men.

The three women organizing the event are Misty Hernandez, Carla Cheyenne and Shaunta Roubideaux. These concerned women are all advocates in the community for various causes and came together on a social media page called “Our Missing and Murdered Warriors”; a page started by Hernandez in honor of her missing relative, Alex Vazquez who was last seen near Kyle on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in fall of 2015.

The organizers of this event hope to bring in speakers of influence in political, social, traditional, cultural, and law enforcement backgrounds in order to create the buzz needed to get law enforcement and others to continue to put importance on finding their loved ones and solving murders.

“On Father’s Day, we will be doing this walk for our missing and murdered indigenous warriors and men,” said Roubideaux.  “We want to stop the injustice against them and other warriors around the country.” She feels the state and federal systems are not protecting these men and that many are lost to the streets on the reservations and in urban areas due to alcohol and drugs. This makes these men and boys especially susceptible to violence and dangerous situations which may lead to their death or disappearance.

As the founder of “Our Missing and Murdered Warriors”, Hernandez has a personal investment in this cause. “I started the page because of my cousin Alex Vazquez. We didn’t have a lot of help from law enforcement when he first went missing. It was hard getting help; even to this day it’s like he’s been pushed aside,” said Hernandez. “There is not a lot of media out about him and not just him, there are a lot of missing men.”

During her research, Hernandez has had the opportunity to meet and hear from other families who have missing and/or murdered men and boys. Through these interactions, some commonalities in their stories began to form. “A lot of them aren’t getting help. Many of their family members have been pushed aside, too. There is no one helping them. A lot of people don’t even know that these men are still out there, still missing.”

Hernandez has found out there are no central locations or databases which are easily found on the internet. She has used various internet search engines, but nothing has come up. The organizers of the prayer walk says this is a problem. Despite the fact that murdered and missing cases are constantly turning up in Indian Country, both on and off reservations, they feel there should be a place where families can go to find updated information or other items of interest which may help in finding loved ones or solving these murders.

“There’s not much out there about missing men,” said Hernandez. “We hope to have more media attention. Keep their names alive and keep their stories told.”

Carla Cheyenne would like to invite all the surrounding Native American communities, rural and urban, to come walk in Rapid City on Father’s Day. She wants the tribes to get involved and for anyone who has a missing or murdered male in their circle to come and pray. There will be a traditional prayer in the Lakota language, as well as drummers and singers to sing the prayer and ceremony songs associated with mourning, healing and hope.

“We want people there who haven’t received justice yet. We are doing this event for all the families. One of the sponsors will be the American Indian Movement Grassroots,” said Cheyenne. “Also we are asking people to come on board with us and please get ahold of us. My number is 605-545-6554. As time passes, we will be getting more information out on this event.”

Cheyenne said she hopes this prayer walk will rally the community to remember the men and boys who are missing or have been murdered. “We want to be in prayer for these people, so that they can get some kind of justice. With prayer, things happen. We’re hoping to bring some attention to these missing and murdered people.”

Roubideaux confirmed the site of the Father’s Day prayer walk as being significant due to the unexplained deaths along Rapid Creek twenty years ago. Some of the men were found in the creek, face down. “I think that we need more support and coverage for them. Their families need to be at peace. Hopefully, we can bring those families back to Rapid Creek and someday justice will prevail,” said Roubideaux. “Justice is on our side. We hope to show unity and solidarity so that our warriors are not forgotten.”

The organizers are quick to say that the responsibility for finding loved ones or bringing justice for murdered individuals does not fall solely on law enforcement and the courts. Many times, investigators’ hands are tied because people do not come forward with information. Rumors swirl in many of these stories, but until someone comes forward with information and witness testimony, many of these alleged crimes remain unsolved and uninvestigated, according to the event organizers.

“Let’s hope this walk will get people to come forward. Hopefully, if they see the hurting, to see the families hurting, maybe they will help want to bring closure,” said Hernandez in tears.

“Like Misty said, they (possible witnesses) see the hurt these families are going through and I hope they will finally speak up and not be scared or afraid to say what they know,” Cheyenne said. “There’s a lot of people out there and somebody knows something about these cases. In fact, just like the ones in Whiteclay (Nebraska) that have never been solved. Their families are still seeking justice for them”

Cheyenne said she hopes people speak up and release some of that guilt they may be carrying by having information about the unsolved murders or missing person’s cases. “When it comes time for them to go to the happy hunting grounds, they’re not going to be able to go because they know something. We’re hoping this will bring those people out to speak to bring closure to these families with information they may have. Somebody knows something.”

Rapid City is known for one of the many urban areas across the country which takes the lead in activating for social causes, cultural needs and addressing current and historical hostilities towards Native Americans. Rallies and marches of various kinds take place throughout the year to highlight the needs of families and youth to correct the perceived mistakes of others.

The Prayer Walk for Murdered and Missing Indigenous Men and Boys event is a first for the area and as far as the organizers know, it is the first of its kind. They want to encourage other towns, cities, reservations to host similar walks or gatherings on Father’s Day to highlight the needs in those communities in regards to missing and murdered indigenous males. They hope one day this will be a national and international event which will mirror the MMIW efforts and include men and boys in the larger conversation. They want this prayer walk to take nothing away from the MMIW movement.

“The reason we chose Rapid City for this walk is because of its central location. We all gather in the Black Hills. This is where a lot of indigenous people come for events and from all different directions,” said Roubideaux. “The murder rate for indigenous people is high for all nations, all the way to Alaska. We are number one when it comes to the murder rate.”

Hernandez said she hopes to see other communities remembering their men. She wants to see more walks like this around Indian Country. “I want to see other people talking about this and doing this for their warriors.”

The walk will begin at Roosevelt Park and walk west towards Memorial Park where there will be speaker presentations and a community feed. Organizers want to invite families with missing or murdered loved ones to attend and speak about their loved one, pray for their healing and gather with others who are experiencing similar situations.

If you would like to attend, donate, and support the walk or for more information, visit: www.facebook.com/events/1460731947400494/.

(Contact Native Sun News Today Correspondent Richie Richards at richie4175@gmail.com)

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