‘Apache Strong': Mural honors slain teen Emily Pike as community demands justice

Yahoo

17-03-2025

Community members wait in line at the water tank in Peridot, Arizona, so that they can place a red hand print of the mural honoring Emily Pike and everyone impacted by the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples crisis. Photo by Shondiin Silversmith | Arizona Mirror
Alika Harvey from the White Mountain Apache Tribe placed her hand covered in red paint firmly on the water tower, adding to the hundreds of other red hand prints stamped across a mural painted in honor of late San Carlos Apache Teen Emily Pike and other Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples.
'Emily was the same age as me,' Harvey said. 'She was 14. I am 14.'
Emily, a member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe, went missing in January. Her remains were found on Feb. 14 outside of Globe, in a remote area off of U.S. Route 60.
Harvey, who serves as Jr. Miss White Mountain Apache 2024-2025, drove with her family to San Carlos when she heard that local artists had created a mural in Emily's honor and the community was hosting a vigil for the family.
When Harvey heard about Emily's story, she said it made her mad, especially after hearing about how Indigenous women go missing and experience violence at higher rates than the national average.
'Why are we still going through this as Indigenous people?' she said.
Harvey's mother, Desiree, watched her daughter place her handprint on the water tower and said it was beautiful.
They came out in support of Emily, Desiree said, because her tragedy impacts all Indigenous peoples.
'We're all coming together,' she added.
Seeing the mural of Emily and all the hand prints on it, Alika Harvey said it really touched her as an Indigenous woman because she's happy to be a part of it.
'It's important for this to be put up in her memory, to spread awareness (and) to show people that we care,' she said. 'We're still here and we see that this shouldn't be happening anymore.'
The mural of Emily Pike is on a large water tank that can be seen off U.S. Route 70 near a Bashas' grocery store in Peridot.
San Carlos Apache artist Myron Starr said when he learned about Emily's love for art, he started thinking of how to use his talent to honor her. He decided a mural for her was the best way.
'I didn't know what to expect,' Starr said when he approached the family about the mural. To his surprise, they already knew who he was.
'They were honored,' he added.
Starr began the mural on March 7 and ultimately brought five other artists on board to contribute to it. The mural, which stands more than 40 feet tall, was completed on March 11. A few days later, they held an event to involve the community by asking them to place red hand prints on it.
The artists who joined Starr for the project were Carrie Sage Curley and Samuel Bendle, who are both San Carlos Apache, and AJ Larson, Felicia Garcia and Erica Raymond.
'This is something that had to be done,' Starr said of the mural. 'She needed to be brought home the right way.'
The mural's centerpiece is a portrait of Emily wearing a red Apache camp dress surrounded by medicinal plants used by the San Carlos Apache people. Silhouettes of Apache warriors stand beside her. The words 'Apache Strong' are written boldly in white, surrounded by a butterfly and stars. The final touches of the mural were the individual red hand prints from people who wanted to honor her and support the fight against the murdered and missing Indigenous people's crisis.
'It speaks volumes without speaking,' Starr said of the mural.
When the idea of allowing the community to add red handprints came up, Starr said the artists did not expect how well it would be received.
'It united the community,' he said. Hundreds of people came through to place a red handprint. The artists had Emily's mother, Stephanie Dosela, right in the center of the mural. Her red handprint is the only one in that area.
Curley joined Starr and the other artists after passing by the area late one night and seeing them working on the mural. She contacted Starr and said he invited her to join.
'As an artist, it's such an honor to be part of it,' she said, and she thanked all the other artists who worked on the mural because it was hard.
'People think that art is just beautiful, but it's heavy,' she said. 'It's heavy at many times to paint crosses, to paint memorial things — but this is beautiful.'
Curley said they chose to paint Emily wearing an Apache camp dress because it's a shield for them as Apache women, and she believes that a lot of Indigenous women can understand that.
'This is us respecting her,' she said, adding that having a mural for Emily is 'bringing her home in a good way.'
Curley said the water tank off Highway 70 was a great canvas for the mural because it allows people to see it from the road and brings more awareness to what's happened.
'Having her be seen is number one,' Curley said. 'This is our way as artists.'
Larson thanked the San Carlos Apache Tribe and the community for letting them work on their land and paint the mural.
'It's been one of the most powerful experiences I've ever been through,' he said. 'I painted other murals that people have lost their loved ones, but this one hit differently for me.'
He said witnessing everyone come and place their handprints on the mural was beautiful.
'Each one of you basically signed that water tower,' he said.
Emily's aunt, April Victor, talked about the mural during a candlelight vigil on March 15. She said that it was an emotional experience to place her handprint on the water tank.
'Once I put my hand on the tank, I couldn't help but cry and tell Emily I'm sorry,' Victor said. 'I'm sorry nobody was there to protect you. I'm sorry you had to be alone when you died. I'm sorry that you had to suffer the way that you did. I'm sorry that none of us were there to save you.'
She said she commends the work that all the artists did for Emily.
Hundreds of people, some holding signs, others wearing red or having red handprints across their mouths, gathered in front of the Apache Gold Casino on March 15 to honor Emily Pike and demonstrate their support for her family and those affected by the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous peoples.
San Carlos Apache Tribal Chairman Terry Rambler spoke during the vigil, updating the community on the investigation and announcing an award.
Rambler said the Gila County Sheriff's Office is leading the ongoing investigation, but the San Carlos Police Department and Game & Fish Department are assisting.
'The Gila County Sheriff's Office is committed to finding whomever committed this horrible act,' he said. 'They will continue to update us, and we will share what we can.'
Rambler shared with the community that the San Carlos Apache Tribal Council is offering a $75,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
He said the council has launched an independent study to help determine where the tribe can improve its internal processes to prevent a tragedy like this from happening again.
'Our San Carlos Council will be meeting with Governor (Katie) Hobbs, our state legislators, and our sister tribes to work with our representatives to help improve group home standards off reservation to help prevent something like this from happening again,' Rambler said.
At the time of her disappearance, Emily lived in a group home in Mesa. She was last seen on the evening of Jan. 27 near Mesa Drive and McKellips Road. Two days later, the Mesa Police Department issued a poster for Emily, listing her as a missing or runaway juvenile.
When Emily went missing, it took a week before San Carlos Tribal Social Services notified the family. A month after she went missing, the Gila County Sheriff's Office reported that Emily's remains had been found.
'She was so young, super young. She had everything ahead of her,' San Carlos Apache teen Alayna Redhouse said about Emily. She attended the vigil and placed a handprint on the mural in her honor.
'We care about our people,' Redhouse, 16, said. She attended the vigil with her friend, Dlavin Thompson, 15. They both had a red handprint over their mouths and danced with the community during a prayer song.
'She deserved better than this,' Thompson said of Emily. When she heard what had happened to her, she was heartbroken and started crying.
'This needs to stop, because why us?' she added.
As the sun set behind the snow-covered mountains and the temperatures started to drop, supporters remained well into the night to hear from Emily's family, listen to the drum group, enjoy community members singing and hear from tribal officials.
Emily's uncle, Allred Pike Jr., spoke during her vigil, thanking the community for supporting the entire family.
Allred Pike said that Emily knew that all life was precious and her life may have been cut short, but her name will be remembered all over.
'Her name is not confined to this reservation anymore,' he said. 'It has spread throughout all of Indian Country.'
Allred Pike said people are saying her name because they all want one thing: justice for Emily.
'We've got to continue to say her name,' he added. 'We've got to let the world know that we want justice for our very own.'
San Carlos Apache Tribal Vice Chairman Tao Etpison said the tribe will continue to work until an arrest and conviction is made for what happened to Emily.
'We will not rest. We will not sit back,' he said. 'Apaches are known everywhere, and this has happened to us. We are victims of a missing and murdered Indigenous person.'
Etpison said that the tribe will continue to look for people who are missing and make sure they are returned safely if that's possible.
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