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.
Jessica “Jet” Calhoun (Photo contributed)
Jessica “Jet” Calhoun, 29, and her daughter, Ah-Yo-Ka “Yoki Bear” Calhoun, 5, both members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), were tragically killed in a car wreck on Jan. 9, 2021. Jet was pronounced dead on scene, and Yoki was pronounced dead while in EMS transport to Cherokee Indian Hospital.
Jet’s other three children, Elvis, Ataliana, and Jallen, were also in the vehicle and sustained injuries. Elvis, who is now 7 years old, had to get pins in his knee. Ataliana, who is now 10 years old, suffered injuries to her leg and face. Jallen, who is now 12 years old, suffered a fractured pelvis.
Jacob Wilnoty, then-27, also a member of the EBCI, was arrested and charged by Jackson County with two counts of Second-degree Murder Without Regard, four counts of Aggravated Felony Serious Injury by Vehicle, and two counts of Felony Serious Injury by Vehicle. He is currently in Jackson County Detention Center. The next court date is Dec. 2 in Jackson County Courthouse.
Wilnoty, Jet’s boyfriend at the time, is alleged to have purposefully wrecked the vehicle into a tree near the intersection of Olivet Church Road and Old Mission Road in Whittier.
Ah-Yo-Ka “Yoki Bear” Calhoun (Photo contributed)
“It’s been three years since all this happened,” said Myra Calhoun, the mother and grandmother of Jet and Yoki. “They need justice. My daughter needs justice so she can rest in peace.”
Calhoun is raising Jallen, Ataliana, and Elvis. “The hardest part is watching these kids suffer with everything that they’ve gone through. We cry together over them, and sometimes we laugh at memories of them. I told these kids, ‘One day, we’ll meet your mom and Yoki again. Hopefully not anytime soon, but we will meet mama and Yoki again.’”
Calhoun describes Jet and Yoki as very loving, especially of their family, and they both loved to fight with their siblings. Jet’s brother, Jarette Calhoun, was a pallbearer for Jet and Yoki. “She’d want to whoop the heck out of her brothers, but she wouldn’t let nobody mess with them,” Calhoun said of Jet.
Jallen, Ataliana, and Elvis keep their mother and sister’s memory alive by talking about them and sharing memories often, “Mommy is the best mom. Yoki was my favorite,” Elvis said.
Myra Calhoun stands with her grandchildren, Ataliana, Elvis, and Jallen. (BROOKLYN BROWN/One Feather photo)
Calhoun is thankful for the community support she receives, especially from Cherokee Indian Police Department (CIPD) officers. “Every officer in Cherokee knows these kids. They know me. I’ve got a lot of support helping me try to deal with this. It’s still hard, but we’re getting through it,” she said.
“It’s just crazy how one day you’ve got them in your life, and the next day they’re gone. I never thought that I would have to bury one of my children. I never thought that I would have to bury one of my grandchildren. Always tell them you love them, because tomorrow is never promised.”
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).
