VERNAL, Utah (ABC4 News) – The Uintah high football team will wear masks Friday night to raise awareness about Indigenous women missing and murdered during their game.
The campaign is personal for two Uintah players, Cebron Mountain Lion and Nate Serawop, whose aunt Akosita “Sita” Kaufusi was found shot dead near the Great Saltair in Salt Lake County.
“That loss broke the hearts of all of Sita’s family members and friends,” said Cebron’s mother, Mikki Su Mountain Lion. “The family would like to bring these stolen sisters to Uintah High School’s attention to honor the women who have lost their lives over the decades.”
Nate’s mother Fololina Tauaalo contacted Uintah High soccer coach Justin DeCol and asked if the team would be able to wear MMIW-designed masks, which along with the Uintah High administrators agreed to the request.
“It’s a big deal for our family,” said Tauaalo. “We never expected to lose such a close relative.”
In 2016, the National Crime Information Center reported 5,712 cases of missing Native American and native women in Alaska, USA. The US Department of Justice has found that Native American women are murdered ten times the national average.
Currently, the Ute Indian tribe has 34 known cases of MMIW from the 1950s, according to Mikki Su Mountain Lion.
“Many local families are personally affected by these tragedies,” she said. “Many have at least one relative or girlfriend who has become a stolen sister.”
DeCol said Nate’s mother’s request was easy to fulfill.
“The chance to support the MMIW campaign is a unique opportunity for our team,” said the head coach for the first year. “Both Nate and Cebron are very important to their teammates and our coaches.”
DeCol mentioned that the first of the four core values of the football program is respect for women.
“We want our players to grow up to be great community leaders, husbands and fathers,” he said. “We believe that respect for women is critical to this goal, and we are grateful as a program for the opportunity to raise awareness of the challenges Indigenous women face in our region.”
No arrests were made when Akosita Kaufusi died. Anyone with information on the case should call the Greater Salt Lake Unified Police Department at 801-743-7000.
For more information on the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women campaign, visit www.mmiwusa.org.
The Uintah Utes will wear their MMIW masks during a special Friday Night Lights event on October 30th at the Coach Belcher Stadium in Vernal. The community is invited to help Uintah High celebrate its football seniors and bring the 2020 season to a close.
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