A high school student named Stephanie Bearstail died on the Wind River Reservation on Mar. 4. While the cause of her death is still under investigation, advocates are marching in her honor this weekend to demand justice and to raise awareness about domestic violence.
A recently-formed Facebook group called JusticeForSteph currently has over 360 members.
Bearstail was a senior at Fort Washakie High School, who was taking pre-college courses at Central Wyoming College and had plans to pursue a career in medicine.
“Stephanie entered this world as a bundle of joy, her radiant smile bringing happiness to all who knew her,” states an obituary for Bearstail posted on County10. “From an early age, she was full of life and curiosity, forming complete sentences by the age of two. She quickly became the little boss of the family—never one to be denied the last word.”
MiRae Hughes is a two-spirit member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe and said Bearstail’s life was taken way too soon.
“ Stephanie, 18 years old, had her whole life ahead of her. Gonna go to college, do one of the big dreams that we all dream of,” she said.
Hughes believes Bearstail’s death was a result of domestic violence and said people need to pay a lot more attention to the issue on the reservation.
“ The system is failing our Native women, the system is failing them really hard,” they said. “I wish people would just take this seriously. Something needs to be done in order for this to change.”
Hughes pointed to the recent murders of two Indigenous women, Clarinda Blackburn of Riverton and Inez Whiteman of Ethete, as examples of that systemic failure, and emphasized that domestic violence on the reservation is not a joke.
“There's jokes like, ‘She only loves you if she stabs you,’ or, ‘Hickey and a black eye, that's how you can tell that they're in love.’ People think it's funny, but it's not,” she said.
Studies show that more than 84 percent of American Indian and Alaska Native women experience some form of violence in their lifetime.
According to 2021 data from the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, roughly a third of women in Wyoming experience intimate partner physical violence, intimate partner sexual violence, and/or intimate partner stalking in their lifetimes. About 30% of men in Wyoming experience the same.
Not Our Native Daughters is a nonprofit that raises awareness around MMIP issues. The organization posted the following message on their Facebook page after Bearstail’s death.
“Stephanie’s passing is a heartbreaking loss, and our thoughts and prayers are with her family, friends, and all who knew and loved her. We pray that justice will be served, standing as a testament to what happens when violence is committed against Indigenous women and girls. No one should ever have to suffer in silence.”
There will be a march for Bearstail in Riverton on the afternoon of Mar. 15. It will start at 2 p.m. at the 789 Gas Station and will go to the highway mile marker on Rendezvous Road. Attendees are encouraged to wear red, a color symbolizing the MMIP crisis.
FBI Denver Public Affairs Officer Vikki Migoya said the case was still under investigation and that the coroner will determine the cause and manner of Bearstail’s death. According to reporting from the Lander Journal, the Fremont County coroner will be the one to go through that process.
“Wind River Police / BIA notified FBI of an incident early on March 4. A female who was involved has since passed away. Part of our investigation involved a scene near the 900 block of Rendezvous Road. That location was processed by FBI along with BIA and Wyoming Highway Patrol,” Migoya wrote. “The investigation into the incident is ongoing. At this point it is accurate to call it a death investigation.”
