Someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted every two minutes and the Choctaw Nation had its annual Kick Up Your Heels event Saturday to bring more awareness to sexual violence.
The tribe said approximately 70 people, including men, walked a lap wearing red high-heeled women’s shoes Saturday morning. Originally scheduled outdoors at the Choctaw Nation Headquarters, it was moved inside because of the weather.
Anna Marcy, director of the Choctaw Nation Family Violence Prevention Program, spoke during the event. She thanked those who attended and said every person sends a powerful message that they care and will not turn away.
“For those who are new to this event, Kick Up Your Heels is our annual walk to raise awareness about sexual assault and to stand in solidarity with survivors,” Marcy said.
Marcy said the event started in 2011 and the walk is not just paved with footsteps, but also courage, compassion and community.
“Inspired by the national Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event, we invite the men in our lives to walk in red high heels — not to make light of anything, but to make a statement,” Marcy said. “It’s a way to say: ‘We see you, we hear you, and we are willing to walk—literally and figuratively—with you.’
“Now, we know those heels aren’t comfortable. They pinch, they wobble and they demand a new kind of balance, and that’s kind of the point. Because if even a few minutes in heels can help someone feel what it’s like to walk in someone else’s shoes, then we’ve taken a meaningful step toward empathy — and change.”
The national slogan this year is, “Together We Act, United We Change.” Marcy said that is not just a tagline, it is the truth.
“Because real change — the kind that breaks cycles, that shifts cultures, that saves lives, it doesn’t happen in silence or isolation,” Marcy said. “It happens when people come together. It happens when survivors are believed and supported. It happens when communities raise their voices, not just in April, but all year long.”
She said change is desperately needed and she read statistics about sexual abuse:
• In Oklahoma, the rate of rape and attempted rape among women has consistently been 35 to 45% higher than the national average for more than a decade. Let that sink in for a minute.
• For Native American communities, the numbers are even more alarming. More than half of all American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime.
• Native women are 2.5 times more likely to be raped or sexually assaulted than women of any other race.
• Among these cases, many go unreported or unprosecuted, especially when jurisdictional issues create confusion and barriers to justice.
“These aren’t just statistics, they are people,” Marcy said. “Our sisters, daughters, mothers, partners, friends. They are our community members and they deserve better. That’s why we walk.”
According to Marcy, the walk is not only to raise awareness, but also to drive action and say “no more” to the systems that fail survivors, and say “yes” to a future where everyone, regardless of race, gender or background, can live free from the threat of sexual violence.
“Here in the Choctaw Nation, we are doing that work,” Marcy said. “Through the Ahni Center and the Family Violence Prevention Program, we are showing up for survivors of sexual assault, child abuse, domestic violence and more. We provide trauma-informed care, forensic services, advocacy and therapeutic support, and we’re not stopping there.”
The tribe is building partnerships, training law enforcement, educating youth and supporting families while also planting the seeds of prevention, according to Marcy, who added that prevention is how to change the future.
“But we can’t do it alone,” Marcy said. “It takes all of us. This work isn’t just for advocates or clinicians. It belongs to every one of us as parents, coworkers, leaders and community members. Every time you speak up, support a survivor, call out harmful behavior, or teach consent and respect, you are acting, and when we act together, we create change that lasts.”
