Native Sun News Today: Father's Day walk honors missing and murdered men and boys

Wednesday, June 5, 2019  

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.

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

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

Copyright permission Native Sun News Today