Homicide victim remembered during vigil and Woki’ksu’ye

Sisters Mena and Hialle Keeble watched their mother die on Nov. 4.

The victim of the third homicide at Meadowland Apartments in Sioux Falls this year alone, Bonita “Bunz” Tawacin Keeble responded to a knock on her door at about 5 a.m., only to be shot by 18-year-old Kray Bluebird, the father of Hialle’s 1-year-old son, witnesses and family said.

He was charged Nov. 6 with three counts of first-degree murder, three counts of first-degree attempted murder, three counts of first-degree attempted burglary and grand theft and is now in jail on a $1,000,000 bond.

The Keeble family is close-knit, said friend and relative Sabra Greger during a candlelight vigil to honor Bonita.

Nearly 50 community members gathered outside the apartment complex under a full moon Nov. 5, with a drum circle, smudging ceremony, song and prayer while aunties, cousins and grandchildren held one another.

Mena, 21, was at the vigil with her 4-year-old daughter that night. The little girl had pigtails and stars on her pants and was carrying around a mini lantern for a grandmother she didn’t yet realize was gone.

Mena was hiding in her bedroom closet when her mother was shot in the living room the day before.

“She’s still in shock,” Greger says of Mena. Greger is Mena’s mother-in-law and helps to take care of Mena’s daughter.

“She doesn’t know how to feel,” Greger says. “It happened so fast.”

Who was Bonita Keeble?

As members of the Crow Creek Reservation in Fort Thompson, Bonita’s father, Wilfred Keeble, was once their tribal leader and today leads the annual Makatoh Reconciliation and Healing Horse Ride, a 16-day, 300-mile journey from Fort Thompson to Mankato, Minnesota, to honor the 38 Dakota men who were hanged in 1862.

Bonita, age 43, used to join her father on these rides, Greger says, and grew up as a Fancy Shawl Dancer for powwows. They were a “strong Indigenous family,” she said.

“Everybody loved her,” Greger says. “She was a big light, very lively and stood her ground.”

Sioux Falls Police Department Chief Jon Thum said on the morning of the homicide that law enforcement and emergency medical personnel were initially called to a “weapons violation” shortly after 5 a.m. near 43rd Street and Larch Avenue.

Multiple residents called about the incident in which multiple shots were fired, Thum said.

“The apartment is ruined,” Greger says. “There are gunshots everywhere.”

Police reports say Bonita died on the scene, but her daughters were shot at, too. Greger says Bluebird came to the apartment that morning looking for Hialle and wanting back a gun that allegedly belonged to him.

Hialle, 22, said she was shot in the hand and will need surgery to remove the bullet. The gunfire missed Mena.

“I love my daughter-in-law a lot,” Greger says. “I’m really in her corner, that’s my grandbaby’s mom. It’s just devastating to know she could not have been here anymore.”

Candlelight vigil includes message on domestic violence

Indigenous activist Tracii Barse hosted the candlelight vigil for Bonita on Wednesday night.

He said as a “community helper,” he used to patrol the Meadowland Apartment neighborhood, often seeing gang and drug violence and domestic abuse. Within three nights alone, he found and took three people to a treatment center, he said.

“Single mothers come to live (at Meadowland) and try to rebuild their life with their children,” said Barse, who grew up in Sioux Falls and says he sees his hometown as “multi-cultured, family-oriented.”

“But how are they supposed to live in a place that tells them they are welcome, then their safety is jeopardized?”

Community member Camille Battesse said at the vigil that she, too, was in mourning after recently losing her son and brother. She spoke of her experiences with domestic abuse and urged all those at the vigil to “love your daughters, your nieces and your granddaughters.

“Show them how to properly be loved," she said.

Barse says he sees a lot of domestic disputes at Meadowland.

“But the more we call for help, the less they are coming,” Barse said. “These little kids are becoming initiated to it. Babies heard the sound of the gun that night when it went off. We must mentor them accordingly, teach them resiliency and look after each other.”

The Keeble family prepares for Bonita’s funeral

Thum said the suspect, whom the department is reportedly familiar with, ran out of the apartment building after the shooting, still armed, and then barricaded himself in another. He was found a few hours later and taken into custody “without incident.”

SFPD Communication Officer Aaron Benson said Nov. 6 that the suspect’s charges have yet to be filed and that “no other information is being (released) at this time, as the investigation is ongoing.”

That information includes how the department is classifying the case, how old the suspect is and what charges that individual will face.

She was a good person, Mena says of her mom.

“She was always looking out for everybody, always so happy,” Mena says.

Greger says Bonita’s father is at home in Fort Thompson planning his daughter’s funeral. No date has been set.

“We came here tonight to sing for Bonita and anyone else before her,” Barse said. “We have a drum, we have words, we have a Woki’ksu’ye memorial. This is how you honor someone.”