Musicians Gather for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Awareness
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) held a jam fest on Saturday, July 26, at Dorothy Lorentino Education Center in Lawton, Oklahoma.
Families spoke at the event about missing and murdered loved ones, as well as Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples (MMIP), Oklahoma State Chapter President Carmen Harvie.
Coordinator Natalie Wallace said it’s taken several years to get the jam fest going.
This also included getting a sound engineer and contacting bands, although some contacted her.
“I know a lot of band members, and they have family and friends who…are part of our MMIW, and they wanted to do something, so we started a few years ago, but it never went through,” Wallace said. “So, we got it going last year, and a lot of the bands that are participating, some already got their own MMIW songs or, like I said, family members or friends that you know they're doing it for them.”
Bands included Matty B, Blu, TLS Project, Native Sol, Brando Price and Cecil Grey Native Blues.
Wallace said she hoped people enjoyed their time.
“It feels good,” she said. “It was tiring getting up to this point, but it's all worth it.”
Lead Singer Brando Price said MMIW is an issue that’s been going on for hundreds of years.
“Coming together as one solid people, to you know, figure out what we can do…the awareness is out there and it's growing and growing and growing, which is a good thing, and it's getting all over the U.S., Canada, maybe worldwide,” he said. “You can almost talk to anybody now in the streets and…they've heard of that, and the red hand, and they've heard of the MMIW issue going on because some people do get pretty good media, you know, and some people get absolutely zero media. So, those are the ones that we want to try to step up and help, especially…if you know that they were murdered by somebody and they just got away with it, you know.”
Price said he was honored to be at the jam fest, raise awareness for MMIW, and have all native bands at an event.
“But I think that's a good thing too for musicians to be able to come together and combine, maybe work together on new stuff, and make new friends, that's important,” he said.
Price also creates documentaries on MMIW families, is a drummer and vocalist on a Grammy-winning album from Gathering of Nations and is a seven-time Native American Music Award Nominee.
Comanche Business Committee Member Alice Kassanavoid attended the event, and Comanche Nation MMIP Director Roxe Large also spoke at the Jam Fest.
