GILA RIVER INDIAN COMMUNITY, AZ — Members of the Gila River Indian Community took to the streets on Saturday to march against what they are seeing as ongoing violence in their neighborhoods.
Several family members of deceased loved ones came out to speak about what they see as a lack of support for families who face violence in their community.
“He is somebody, and they treated him like he was nothing,” said Lynelle Blackwater, who says she lost her son to violence a few years ago.
Blackwater’s son, Ohitika Daniel Redbull, fell victim to violence in 2021. But when his attackers went to court, she says her son could not handle it.
“He told me when they were doing a plea agreement: 'I can’t sleep, I can’t eat, I can’t concentrate. I tried to share this with the judge and the prosecutors, they didn’t do anything,'” said Blackwater.
About a year later, Redbull took his own life.
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It is cases like these that Gila River Indian Community members are marching for.
They have four key demands:
- Enhanced law enforcement training and better staffing
- More collaborative efforts to address the root causes of violence, like poverty and generational trauma
- More support resources for families impacted by violence
- Better transparency and accountability from the community council.
“My daughter can never come home, and it’s not fair. A short time of their life for taking my daughter’s life, you know?” said Cheryl Miller, who lost a daughter.
Blackwater began a crime victims support group in 2021, and at that time, counted 93 unsolved missing or murder cases in their community. Since then, the number has gone up to 143.
It is something she says she cannot stand.
“Every one of those victims is a person, they’re someone’s child, they’re someone’s father, brother, son, or grandson, and they need justice,” said Blackwater.
The Gila River Indian Community shared the following statement with ABC15:
Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis, the Community Council, and the GRIC public safety team joins with every tribal member and family in working 24-7 to stop violence within the Community. The safety of our children, our elders and our families is our top priority. That is why Gov. Lewis issued an executive order declaring a public safety emergency in February, and instituted a temporary curfew for minors. That curfew was again extended on March 28th, and it will remain in effect until at least May 1, 2025. The Community has increased law enforcement presence in areas subject to violence, and stepped up efforts to inform Community members of gun-related incidents and 911 emergencies that impact public safety. As ever, providing support to victims of violence and their families is another top priority, and we continue to add resources to assist those in need.
Because every tribal nation needs more resources to prevent crimes against Indigenous people, Gov. Lewis and other Community leaders have advocated strongly for House Bill 2281, which would create a Missing Indigenous or Endangered Person Alert System, to be managed by the Arizona Department of Public Safety. Gov. Lewis, who helped write the bill, testified just last month before the Arizona House Public Safety Committee. As he told the committee that day, members of Native communities suffer violence at rates that outpace the general U.S. population. That is unacceptable, and must stop.
"We must act," Gov. Lewis told committee members, and action to keep Community members safe will continue to happen until violence is no longer a pressing issue within the Community.
