ONEIDA (NBC 26) — On Saturday, for many attending the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Remembrance Walk, the event hit close to home as they walked in honor of missing or murdered relatives.
- Community members walk in support and remembrance of Indigenous people, honoring those who are missing and murdered
- Dwight Hill, who was walking in memory of a loved one who was found murdered
- The walk from the Oneida Civic Center to the Oneida Nation Elementary school
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
Dwight Hill says his wife's grandmother was one of the indigenous women who went missing and was found murdered.
"The missing and murdered women that perished over the years throughout indian country, it's a reality," Hill said.
On Saturday morning, Hill was one of hundreds who gathered at the Oneida Civic Center before marching to the Oneida Nation Elementary School.
The walk aimed to raise awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous people and to call for justice for those still unaccounted for.
"Now that it's coming to a head finally, everybody's getting awareness out there," Hill said.
According to the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs, the most recent data from the National Crime Information Center is nearly a decade old, a reality that continues to drive awareness efforts.
"This is the part where you start remembering, it's not about the forgotten," Hill said.
Ryan Arnold, says the walk was a personal reminder of the loved ones their family is still waiting for.
"I know an aunt in my family is still missing," Arnold said.
Their maternal aunt was eventually found after being missing for some time but not without lasting impact.
"My mom's sister, she was missing for awhile and got really beat up and i'm just glad that she's alive and we have her now," Arnold said.
Hill says that for Indigenous communities, being seen and knowing others are standing with them serves as a reminder that they are not alone.
"The people that are here today who didn't have the people that they know or that are missing or murdered that they still are cared about," Hill said.
For those at the walk they say they'll continue coming out to raise awareness for those individuals who are still missing.
