Mark Walker

mwalker@argusleader.com

One by one, friends of Jamie Lee Wounded Arrow filled a white board with messages in her memory.

The 28-year-old Pine Ridge native was found dead in her Sioux Falls apartment about 9:15 p.m. Friday after a neighbor called police to report a strong odor coming from the unit.

Sioux Falls police are investigating the death near Eighth Street and north Cleveland Avenue as a homicide but released no other details.

At a vigil outside Wounded Arrow's apartment Saturday evening, friends asked anyone with information about her death to come forward.

“We need justice and we will get it,” said Franklin Whiting, Jr., a friend and neighbor of Wounded Arrow.

Reina Parker, youth outreach director for the Center of Equality, a Sioux Falls-based nonprofit that advocates for LGBT rights, met Wounded Arrow at a Native American LGBT event six months ago.

Wounded Arrow identified as a transgender woman, friends said, and while she had struggles in life, family and her passions, she gave off an energy can came from a place of strength.

“She is the type of person that when she talks people stop to listen,” Parker said. “The impact she leaves on people after meeting her once is something nobody forgets.”

Whiting described Wounded Arrow as an honest person who showed compassion for others and loved everyone.

“I’m still in shock,” Whiting said. “I keep thinking she’s going to text me or come up here.”

Wounded Arrow grew up and graduated on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and moved to Sioux Falls about a year ago, friends said. She worked at Five Star Call Center, a customer service organization. One of her favorite places to spend time was the library, friends said.

The Center of Equality released a statement condemning violence against transgender people.

“This marks the second transwoman murdered in 2017, and it happened in our own backyard,” it said. “While the investigation is ongoing, we see that gender and race often play a role in the escalation of violence toward transgender people.”

After a prayer, friends attending the vigil walked down to Wounded Arrow’s apartment and laid a photo, two white teddy bears and vases of flowers at her door.

“I always judge myself more severely than everyone around me,” Whiting said. “She made me feel like I could be myself.”

Police planned to release more information about Wounded Arrow’s death 10:30 a.m. Monday at the department's regular weekday media briefing.

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