MIAMI, Okla. — A special event in Miami took place Tuesday evening to honor lives lost both locally and nationally.
Among other things, the month of May is “Missing Murdered Indigenous People” month. In Miami’s “Rotary Centennial Park,” more than 100 people gathered for an awareness walk on Tuesday (5/30), as the sun set in Northeast Oklahoma. It also gave families of victims the chance to share stories of their loved ones.
Nationally, there are nearly 6,000 missing or murdered indigenous — a majority of which are women. Out of all 50 states, Oklahoma ranks second for the highest number of those victims.
“Indigenous people are victimized at a rate ten times higher than any other ethnicity, so 1-in-3 Native America women are victimized before they’re adults, and 29 is the median age,” said Lisa Arnold, Manager of the Wyandotte Nation Family Violence Prevention Program.
Participants in the awareness walk, hosted by the Wyandotte Nation, held candles as they passed by banners along the walkway. Each banner told the story of a local victim. The families of those victims were in attendance tonight.
“It’s out there and it’s going on in the communities right now, but people just don’t know the signs to look for and people don’t know where to go for help. Now there are several agencies that are just a phone call away. You just need to be brave enough to make the phone call, whether it’s for you or for someone you love. And to get out of the situation,” said Larry and Debra Kropp, parents of Katherine “Katie” Kropp, who was killed in 2003 at the age of 30.
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Before the walk, those who have lost a loved one, locally, spoke about their missing or murdered loved one. That included Lorene Bible — the mother of Lauria Bible. Her daughter Lauria, and Lauria’s friend, Ashley Freeman went missing in December of 1999, and were both murdered. Their bodies have never been recovered.