Photo: Mika Westwolf (l) and her mother, Carissa Heavy Runner, photo courtesy of Mikamatters.com
Carissa Heavy Runner is inviting anyone who can make it to the sentencing hearing of Sunny K. White, the driver who is charged in the 2023 death of her daughter Mika Westwolf. Ms. Heavy Runner expects the media to be there, and more people inside and outside the courthouse will be a show of physical support for the family.
Sunny White has taken a plea deal instead of a jury trial in the 2023 vehicular death of Mika Westwolf on the Salish and Kootenai Reservation, north of Arlee, Montana.
Her jury trial would have started on December 2, 2024. Instead, Ms. White’s sentencing will be held January 31, 2025, at 10 am, at the Lake County Courthouse in Polson, Montana.
Though Carissa would have preferred a jury trial for Ms. White because it would have likely led to a harsher sentence and “more accountability,” the plea deal is much farther along than most Native families get when they pursue justice for murdered and missing family members.
Carissa said she has “left it up the Creator, what He believes is right and what our family can handle. There’s still good to come out of this.”
To prevent her daughter’s name from being forgotten, Carissa and Kevin Howard’s, (Mika’sparent’s) tireless efforts have led to organizations seeking out Mika Matters for events. Carissa has made presentations at rodeos, walks and museum exhibits addressing the MMIW/MMIP crisis.
Recently, Carissa read one of Mika’s poems at the exhibit opening at the Zootown Arts Community Center (ZACC) in Missoula, Montana. This exhibit, “Indigenizing the ZACC,” is still open and features Mika’s life and accomplishments.
(Click here to see Carissa Heavy Runner speak at Indigenizing the ZACC)
As an outgrowth of becoming an MMIW/MMIP activist, Carissa was invited to serve on the Board of the Indian Art Committee of the Jeanette Rankin Peace Center ,“Something I never imagined I’d be part of.”
The MMIW/MMIP crisis is ongoing in Montana. The Mika Matters Facebook page regularly features the names and photo of the missing young people, and also notes their return or recovery, depending on the outcome.
“I want to give people hope. Only you can share the truth of your story.”
And through it all, Mika continues to speak to her mom. “When I read her poem (at the ZACC), It caught me off guard how smart she was. It was like I was reading it for the first time.” Mika’s words carry such wisdom, the live audience agreed that Mika’s words should be published because they could “help anyone who read them.”
Click below for more:
Liz Dempsey, “Walk With Purpose,” Char-Koosta News, November 7, 2024, https://www.charkoosta.com/news/walk-with-purpose/article
Marianne Addison, "Indigenizing the ZACC: Walk With Purpose Features Indigenous Art," Char-Koosta News, November 7, 2024, Charkoosta.com
Mika Matters, Facebook Group
Mika Matters Homepage (www.mikamatters.com)
