“I stood w/my sisters in honor of Nex Benedict today to acknowledge the loss of this young Chahta relative and reaffirm our commitment to restore the original traditions of this continent. The cost of Euro-Christian concepts of gender and sexuality is paid in human suffering,” Raven Payment, Co-Chair of the Denver American Indian Commission posted on X from a Denver vigil held on Saturday. Attendees shared photos from the event, including images of signs that included slogans like “Transphobia and homophobia are not traditional” and “Make two-spirit sacred again.”
The vigil was just one of many held across the country, from Massachusetts to California, to remember the life of Nex Benedict, a 16-year-old of Choctaw ancestry who identified under the two-spirit, transgender, and gender nonconforming (2STGNC) umbrella. Benedict died the day after an attack in an Owasso High School bathroom, sparking widespread outrage and heartache.
In Huntington Beach, California, Kanan Durham, executive director of Pride at the Pier and organizer of the vigil held there on Friday, said Benedict’s death reverberates with 2STGNC people across the country. “You might look at this and go, 'This happened a world away. This happened several states, a different time zone,'’ Durham said according to a local ABC affiliate, “but Nex Benedict's story, that's the story of every trans and nonbinary person here in Orange County."
A candlelight vigil for Benedict in Oklahoma City was held on Saturday evening, where hundreds gathered at Point A Gallery, an Oklahoma City LGBTQ+ community haven. Kendra Wilson-Clements, a citizen of the Choctaw Nation and founder of advocacy group We The People, opened the event with a blessing, saying, “As you journey beyond this realm, may the strength and wisdom of our ancestors guide you as you transcend the pain and cruelty inflicted upon you in this world. Rest in power, knowing that you are loved, cherished and held in everlasting remembrance.”
Tyler Wrynn, a former Owasso teacher, who resigned after far-right Twitter account Libs of TikTok reposted a video in which Wrynn showed support for LGBTQ students, also attended the Oklahoma City vigil. “The world is a little darker because Nex is gone,” Wrynn said.
In Massachusetts, hundreds gathered in the cold evening at Boston Commons on Saturday for another candlelight vigil, where LGBTQ+ and Indigenous community leaders gave statements. "May we remember Nex. May we fight like hell for you. May all our children from the river to the sea, to Turtle Island be able to grow old and grow safely," Reggi Alkiewicz, Civic Engagement Coordinator at the North American Indian Center of Boston, said according to CBS Boston.
In what a Tulsa ABC affiliate reports as “an attempt to spread love amidst the hate,” Owasso High School students led a demonstration on Monday, followed by a peaceful walkout amidst rising tensions in Benedict’s Oklahoma community. Cassidy Brown, an Owasso graduate and demonstration organizer said, “I just want to get the word out and show these kids that we’re here. There is a community here in this city that does exist, and we see them, and they are loved.”
