Cross walk from Big Sandy to Box Elder followed by rally set

Editor’s note: This version corrects the location of the rally.

A cross walk followed by a rally to call for Box Elder being made a Native American Dependent Community is set for Saturday, May 18.

“Because of the darkness of alcoholism, drug addiction, missing and murdered indigenous persons and violence in north-central Montana and the Hi-Line, we will carry a cross, walk and pray,” a flyer about the event says, saying people can call Pastor Rich Jesperson at 406-680-7080 fro more information.

G. Bruce Meyers said Tuesday that a rally will be held at the end of the walk with the intent of calling for Box Elder to named by the U.S. Government as a Dependent Community because of the high number of Native American students attending Box Elder schools, although Box Elder is outside of Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation.

Meyers said that, especially after the double-homicide in Box Elder April 18, increased law enforcement is a necessity in the community, and the hope is to have a substation of the Hill County Sheriff’s Office created in the community to increase law enforcement presence.

The flyer for the walk says it will start at the Big Sandy rest area at 9 a.m. and proceed to Box Elder, and is expected to reach there by early afternoon.

Meyers said the rally will be held after everyone arrives at Box Elder, and that he has invited many more to attend the rally even if they do not walk.

A vehicle will be providing water, energizing snacks and a ride for the weary.