Amelia Schafer

ICT

RAPID CITY, S.D. – Sahela “Toka Win” Sangrait would have turned 22 on March 26. Instead,  more than 50 people gathered on her birthday to demand justice and systemic change.

Federal prosecutors have charged United States Airman Quinterius Chappelle with first-degree murder in connection to Sangrait’s homicide, which law enforcement say took place on the Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota on Aug. 10, 2024.

But those gathered say the crime could have been prevented.

Chappelle was convicted of aggravated assault following a February 2024 domestic incident not involving Sangrait, according to Jesse Fagerland, a sergeant with the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office. Fagerland testified during Chappelle’s November 2024 arraignment in the Sangrait case. The February 2024 incident was handled by Air Force authorities.

Additionally, local Box Elder law enforcement officials responded to a report of domestic violence at Chappelle’s residence on the night of Sangrait’s death but did not contact anyone inside the residence, Fagerland testified. Because the 2024 assault case was handled internally by the Air Force, it’s unclear if Box Elder police were aware of Chappelle’s criminal history.

Lorna Cuny, executive director of Indigenous motorcyclist advocacy group the Medicine Wheel Ride, holds a bundle of prairie sage and a lit candle at a vigil for Sahela Sangrait on March 26 in Rapid City, South Dakota.

“This should not have happened to her, there were signs, there were things that could have prevented her from facing this tragedy,” said Lorna Cuny, Oglala Lakota and the Executive Director of the Medicine Wheel Ride, a group of motorcyclists who raise awareness for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women epidemic.

Sangrait’s grandmother agreed.

“I don’t have a hard heart,” said Vonda High Hawk, Mnicoujou Lakota. “But this girl should have lived. I think they (the Airforce Base) should at some point be held accountable for the wrongful death (of Sangrait). There’s a chain of command…These senseless crimes need to be handled appropriately by their chain of command. There has to be some type of example made of that.”

Chappelle and Sangrait were in a romantic relationship, family members said.

“She was killed by someone she knew… someone she trusted,” Hillary Dubray, Sangrait’s mother said. **“**We want her story to get out. She was just (about to turn) 21, just getting her life started, but her life was cut short.”

Dubray, Mnicoujou Lakota, stood firmly, wearing a bright red hooded sweatshirt with her daughter’s face on it. Dubrary gathered with family members, friends and community in chilly below-zero temperatures and drizzling rain on March 26 to demand justice for her daughter.

Two young men sing at a vigil for Sahela Sangrait on what would have been her 22nd birthday. Federal prosecutors have charged a United States Airman with first-degree murder in connection to Sangrait’s death. Credit: Amelia Schafer, ICT

“We want people to know she mattered,” said Sangrait’s other grandmother, Phyllis Bald Eagle, who is Mnicoujou Lakota and Mdewakanton Dakota.

Community members are organizing a mid-April demonstration outside of the Ellsworth Air Force Basewhere Sangrait was killed. Organizers from local MMIW advocacy groups, the Medicine Wheel Ride and the Red Ribbon Skirt Society, said the demonstration will bring awareness to Sangrait’s murder as they await the accused’s trial in Rapid City in May.

“It’s for justice,” said Frances Dupris, Sicangu Lakota/Northern Arapaho and an organizer with the Red Ribbon Skirt Society. Dupris spent 24 years as a United States Airman before retiring. “The individuals that should be held accountable for Sahela’s murder are Airmen… I was an Airman, I retired, so this is not to say that all Airmen are bad. But the people who do bad things need to be held accountable.”

Nationwide, Indigenous women are reported missing at a disproportionately high rate. Further, homicide is one of the leading causes of death among American Indians and Alaska Natives, a significant proportion of which are the result of domestic violence.

Sixty-one American Indian/Alaska Native people were reported missing in South Dakota as of March 26, compared to 95 total missing individuals, meaning roughly 65 percent of all missing people in the state are American Indian/Alaska Native. Natives make up only 11 percent of the statewide population. This percentage of missing Native people statewide has remained steady for over two years.

Vonda HighHawk speaks at a vigil for her late granddaughter Sahela Toka Win Sangrait, who federal prosecutors say was killed by a United States Airman on the Ellsworth Air Force Base. Credit: Amelia Schafer, ICT

So far, two individuals are federally charged in connection with Sangrait’s murder. Chappelle and Drew Durand, both 25 and both residents of Box Elder where the Ellsworth Airforce Base is located. Chappelle is charged with first-degree murder and Durand with accessory after the fact and misprision of a felony.

Law enforcement believe that Chappelle and Durand transported Sangrait’s body to the Black Hills National Forest in the early hours of Aug. 11. Sangrait’s remains were found by a hiker in a remote area within National Park boundaries near Hill City on March 11, 2025.

Police charged Chapelle days later with Sangrait’s murder.

Due to the homicide having allegedly taken place on the air force base and the body being found on National Park Service land, Chappelle and Durand are charged in federal court.

Chappelle and Durand will both appear before a 12-person jury May 25 at Andrew W. Bogue Federal Building in Rapid City. Each has pleaded not guilty.

Authorities believe Chapelle killed Sangrait at his residence on the Ellsworth Air Force Baseon Aug. 10. That same night, local law enforcement responded to a report of a domestic dispute at his residence but left without making contact with Chappelle or anyone inside the residence, according police testimony at Chapelle’s to a March 28, 2025, arraignment.

A man hold a sign depiciting Lakota woman Sahela Sangrait. Federal prosecutors have charged a United States Airman with first-degree murder in connection to Sangrait’s homicide and say her death occured on the Ellsworth Air Force Base in Box Elder, South Dakota. Credit: Amelia Schafer, ICT

Due to Chappelle’s assault conviction on the air force base, his commanding officer required him to go to local law enforcement when he arrived at work on Aug. 12 with finger nail scratches across his face. Chappelle reported to Rapid City law enforcement officers that the scratches were the result of an Aug. 10 break-in at his residence. Chappelle declined to follow up with officers regarding an investigation.

Crimes committed on an Air Force base are often prosecuted internally by the base’s court, meaning records of the incident are not available to the public or civilians. Due to this, no court records regarding Chappelle’s assault conviction are available to the public. Information regarding the incident was only made available to the public through law enforcement testimony at Chappelle’s arraignment.

In February 2024, Chappelle was charged with aggravated assault via strangulation.

He was found guilty for these charges in November, two months after the alleged

murder, Fagerland said. Chappelle also broke no-contact orders two separate times, according to Fagerland.

Sahela’s story

Sangrait comes from a strong lineage of Lakota and Dakota warriors – a legacy that lived on through her, her family said.

Her great-great-grandfather was Mdewakanton Dakota Chief Little Crow, also known as Ta-Oyate-Duta, who led the six-week 1862 Dakota Uprising in Minnesota. Little Crow is remembered as one of the Dakota 38+2, a group of Dakota men killed by the United States Government in retaliation for the uprising.

Sangrait was also a descendant of Chief Dave Bald Eagle, a World War II veteran who parachuted into the D-Day invasion of Normandy.  Bald Eagle was awarded a Silver Star and a Purple Heart for his service. Bald Eagle was also the grandson of Hunkpapa Lakota Chief White Bull, who was Sitting Bull’s nephew. White Bull fought in the Battle of Little Big Horn.

“There’s a beautiful history this lady comes from,” High Hawk said. “She comes from a very strong lineage, and she will never be forgotten.”

Sahela was given her Lakota name, Toka Win, which roughly translates to Different Cheyenne Woman, by her great-grandmother Clarenda Little Crow, who was Chief Little Crow’s Daughter.

“Everyone needs to know who she was and who she came from,” Bald Eagle said.

High Hawk said it’s paramount to remember Sangrait’s ancestor’s battles and what they went through while fighting for justice for her.

Community members gathered in honor of Sahela Sangrait on March 26 in Rapid City, South Dakota. Federal prosecutors have charged a United States Airman with first-degree murder in connection to Sangrait’s death. Credit: Amelia Schafer, ICT

“These injustices and these atrocities go way back,” High Hawk said. “There needs to be more awareness, more events like what we just did. … We will continue to say her name.”

Sahela grew up in the Black Hills area and moved to Rapid City at 18 years old, her mother said. In Rapid City she worked to fundraise for youth programming and was a vocal advocate for Indigenous youth.

“She was beautiful, just so pretty,” said Sangrait’s other grandmother Vonda High Hawk, who traveled over two hours from the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota, to attend the vigil. “Regardless of the odds that were against her in this life she still radiated with beauty.”

Community members gathered in honor of Sahela Sangrait on March 26 in Rapid City, South Dakota. Federal prosecutors have charged a United States Airman with first-degree murder in connection to Sangrait’s death. Credit: Amelia Schafer, ICT

At just 20 years old, Sangrait hadn’t quite figured out what she was going to do yet as an adult, her family said. She was passionate about helping others and volunteered at Ateeyapi, a local non-profit youth program for Indigenous students in the Black Hills area. She also wanted to raise awareness for domestic violence victims, her mother said.

Sangrait will be buried in April on the Cheyenne River Reservation, her family said.

The post Family demands justice, accountability for Lakota woman killed on South Dakota Airforce appeared first on ICT.

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