GRIC employees walk in honor of MMIP
May 5, 2023
Velia Moncada
Gila River Indian News
On May 5th at 7 a.m., over 200 registered employees from various departments of the Gila River Indian Community came together at the Governance Center in Sacaton. They showed their support for Missing and Murdered Indigenous People’s Awareness Day by participating in a ‘Wear Red’ virtual and in-person walk/run. It was a powerful and moving event that highlighted the strength and unity of the Community.
“All of these activities are part of never forgetting our relatives, never forgetting what they mean to us, never forgetting their connection to us,” said Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis at the introduction of the walk.
Lt. Gov. Monica Antone shared a payer before the event started to recognize participating employees and acknowledged all individuals lost due to this national epidemic.
“It’s all about these serious situations that happen to our children, our little ones, young ones, and adults that go missing and murdered in cases that we hear about,” Lt. Gov. Antone said. “I just appreciate each of you coming out and each of the departments here and the [MMIP] task force in helping us with spreading awareness.”
According to Marsha Chischilly, the Employee Development Program Manager at the GRIC Human Resources Department, the red t-shirts given to registered employees are the same as those given to Community members who participated virtually.
Chischilly added, “Last year was the first year that we contributed to the MMIP event, with a wear red photo contest, and this year we were approached with an employee walk.”
Ramsey Moffett, the Housing Services Manager, took part in the walk/run event of this year. He expressed that if it wasn’t scheduled during work hours, he probably wouldn’t have been able to participate. He appreciated that the event was made available to employees, which was a significant gesture.
After the walk, employees had the opportunity to visit Southern Arizona Legal Aid Inc., along with Gila River’s Crime Victims Services and other resource booths present. Each contributes their services in various ways to help victims and families affected by the MMIP crisis.
