Comanche Nation Honors MMIP Victims, Families with Mural

Comanche Nation Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) hung their mural on June 18 at Watchetaker Hall.

Comanche Nation MMIP Coordinator Roxe Large said it was a community project.

“It felt very emotional to be here to speak for our MMIP families, but it's a very important topic that we need to speak about in the community,” she said. “This is an important project that was donated to us, and so we're very honored, and we're very grateful that we were able to, you know, have the community come and finish the mural. And also, we got assistance from Verizon employees. They were able to help us, you know, paint it, and so it's just, it's very emotional, but it's also an honor.”

Large’s favorite part was seeing the collaboration amongst everyone involved.

“And for two states to collaborate, like the state of Texas and the state of Oklahoma and, like I said, Verizon employees and Comanche Nation employees and Comanche Nation community members just to see everybody, you know, have a good time and relax and, you know, let their hair down and paint,” she said. “And it's for a good cause, you know, it's for MMIP families out there, so it's a special, special project.”

Anyone with a missing loved one can contact MMIP.

“Contact the family or, you know, refer those families to us because we have a grant. We have funding that we're able to help any tribal member in the state of Oklahoma that is 18 and on,” Large said. “Plus that, we can assist with emergency assistance, and so we would just like people to know that the resources that we have, so that we're able to help the best way that we can.”

The community can support the program by attending their events.

“Or if they're not able to attend our events, they could let their family members know, they could share the flyer, they could just let anyone in the community know that about all of the events and the projects that, you know, take place throughout the year,” she said.

Comanche Nation Princess Arlene Schonhin attended the event.

Families spoke about their loved ones and the work MMIP does for those in need.