By BROOKLYN BROWN
One Feather Reporter
CHEROKEE, N.C.—With help from the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Fund for Indigenous Journalists: Reporting on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Two-Spirit and Transgender People (MMIWG2T), the Cherokee One Feather is detailing each of the 35 documented Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) cases in a monthly article.
Lou Montelongo, an EBCI tribal member and cousin of Ruby Sky Montelongo, holds a sign in her memory at the 4th Annual Missing and Murdered Relatives Walk in Cherokee, N.C. on May 5, 2023. (SCOTT MCKIE B.P./One Feather photo)
Ruby Sky Montelongo, a 16-year-old member of the EBCI, was found beaten to death in April 2023. Her uncle, Gerald “Lij” Britton, discovered her body in a field in Mendocino County, Calif.
Ruby’s body was discovered three weeks after Nicholas Shehli Whipple was found murdered on the Round Valley Indian Reservation. In response to the killings, Round Valley Indian Tribes declared a state of emergency on April 16, 2023, one day after Montelongo was found dead.
A 15-year-old female has been charged in the murder of Montelongo. The investigation is ongoing.
Lou Montelongo, a cousin of Ruby Sky, shared the story of travelling with her family to Ruby’s funeral in Covelo, California. “When my family arrived in Covelo for Ruby’s funeral, we were told to be aware of our surroundings and that fights would most likely break out. The community of Round Valley are in a constant state of grief,” Montelongo said.
“We drove out to California in prayer, with dirt from our grandma Nora’s sweat lodge, and water from the spring up Wrights Creek. We sang “Guide me, Jehovah” in Cherokee and everyone seemed to settle. There were no fights. There were no arguments. Just pure love for Ruby. It was so beautiful to see.”
At the MMIW Walk held by the Qualla Boundary Chapter MMIW NC Coalition in May 2023, Montelongo and other family members of Ruby carried signs and wore t-shirts to honor her memory, including a sign that read, “Ruby Sky Montelongo. Forever 16.”
This reporting was supported by the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Fund for Indigenous Journalists: Reporting on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Two-Spirit and Transgender People (MMIWG2T).
