Today marks National Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples (MMIP) Awareness Day, a national day of recognition honoring the lives lost and the families affected by the ongoing MMIP crisis. Communities across the United States are holding marches, vigils, and public forums to raise awareness, demand accountability, and create healing spaces for those impacted.

The day was first observed in 2017 following a U.S. Senate resolution led by Montana’s congressional delegation. May 5 was chosen in honor of Hanna Harris, a 21-year-old Northern Cheyenne woman who went missing in 2013. Since then, the day has served as a call to action to address systemic issues surrounding the disproportionately high rates of violence against Indigenous women and girls.

Among the many lives remembered today is that of Shirley Phyllis Ahhaitty Gokey, a member of the Kiowa Tribe, whose 1978 death in Oklahoma remains unresolved.

Gokey, then 43, was last seen on May 20, 1978, in Shawnee, Oklahoma, where she had traveled in search of her husband. A week later, on May 27, her body was discovered in a wooded area northeast of Shawnee, near Moccasin Trail Road and approximately 3.5 miles east of State Highway 18. Two young boys found her nude body around midday, but police did not arrive on the scene until 5 p.m.

Authorities initially believed Gokey had suffered gunshot wounds, but later ruled those marks to be the result of decomposition. While her death was officially attributed to natural causes, her family has long disputed that conclusion, suspecting foul play. Tests suggested she likely died between May 21 and May 22. Investigators were unable to determine whether she had been sexually assaulted.

Gokey had recently been released from jail in Chandler, Oklahoma, and had returned to her home in Lawton before heading to Shawnee. Witnesses reported that she was last seen leaving a bar with a man who later admitted to being with her that night. He was questioned but released. According to those familiar with him, the man had a history of violent behavior, particularly when intoxicated.

Born on September 5, 1934, in Lawton to Walter Ahhaitty and Irene Yellowfish, Shirley Gokey was a graduate of Lawton High School. She married Leon Elmer Gokey in 1960 and was the mother of eight children. Her family continues to seek answers and justice nearly five decades later.

Anyone with information regarding Shirley Phyllis Gokey’s death is urged to contact the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-522-8017. Tips can remain anonymous.