TRIGGER WARNING: This story contains material regarding sexual misconduct allegations involving a minor.
Felix Clary
ICT + Tulsa World
TULSA, Okla. — The last remaining criminal charge against Yakama-Pawnee artist Walter “Bunky” Echo-Hawk Jr. was abruptly dropped Friday after prosecutors said they needed further investigation into the allegations against him.
The dismissal comes as an Oct. 28 trial date was approaching for Echo-Hawk on a charge of lewd behavior with a child under 16 years. Another charge of felony possession of juvenile pornography was dropped earlier this year after questions were raised about the search warrant that led to seizure of the materials.
“It has become apparent to the state of Oklahoma that additional investigation is necessary to fully develop potential evidence in this case,” according to prosecutors’ motion to dismiss the charge of lewd behavior.
The dismissal was made “without prejudice,” meaning new charges could be brought at a later time.
Defense attorney Tommy Adler said Echo-Hawk has long maintained his innocence in the case.
“For more than two and a half years, Bunky has maintained his complete innocence against every single charge and allegation ever made against him,” Adler said. “Our belief in his innocence has never wavered.”
Echo-Hawk is an artist and poet known for his paintings, murals and community-engaged art about Native topics and hip-hop culture. He attended the Institute of American Indian Arts and has exhibited in major museums and galleries throughout the United States and overseas.
After his arrest in January 2022, however, social media users voiced outraged against Echo-Hawk, and the allegations began to surface in discussions of missing and murdered Indigenous people, a movement that includes advocates for young Native people who have suffered sexual assault.
“The sad truth is that much of the world immediately ‘canceled’ Bunky Echo-Hawk in response to the mere allegations in this case,” Adler said.
A warrant was issued for Echo-Hawk’s arrest after a girl younger than 16 accused him of inappropriate touching while tickling her. In an interview with a county health worker, however, the girl told authorities she had been drawing pictures of the alleged incidents in journals since she was 8 years old.
Those journals were among the items gathered during a search by the Pawnee Police Department of Echo-Hawk’s residence on Dec. 17, 2021. The police also seized several tablets, phones and USBs from Echo-Hawk’s home. After searching through the electronic devices, investigators claimed that the devices contained several photos and videos that could be considered child pornography.
Attorney Dan Good, who also represents Echo-Hawk, told ICT and Tulsa World in April that he looked at the files and believed they were not necessarily child pornography.
Echo-Hawk has denied the allegations of lewd behavior, saying he kept his hands over the girl’s clothes when tickling her.
Good said the electronic devices seized from Echo-Hawk’s home were not within the scope of the search warrant, as they were not mentioned during the interviews between the girl and the psychologist. That led to the pornography allegations being dropped in the spring.
The charges were originally filed by the Osage-Pawnee District Attorney’s Office. The case was transferred to Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler in March 2024, however, after Osage-Pawnee District Attorney Mike Fisher moved to withdraw from the case, citing a “conflict of interest.”
The dismissal of the remaining charge Friday against Echo-Hawk drew sharp criticism from Frances Danger, Muscogee and Seminole, a well-known advocate for missing and murdered Indigenous women.
Danger had tweeted updates about the case when Echo-Hawk was first arrested in January 2022.
Danger said she believes that Echo-Hawk “benefited from police error in going outside of the scope of the warrant.”
“Due to this error, the warrant was quashed,” Danger said. “That’s not the same thing as being exonerated and people need to remember that.”
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