Kiowa Tribe to rebuild historic church after it burned in wildfires

The Kiowa Tribe cleaned up the location of its historic church after the building burned down in the March 14 wildfires. 

Established in 1893, the Rainy Mountain Kiowa Indian Baptist Church has caught fire and been rebuilt twice. The church that most recently burned down was built and dedicated in 1949. It will be the congregation's third time rebuilding, the deacon said. 

“Rainy Mountain is what we kind of consider the heartbeat of the Kiowa Tribe,” said Senior Deacon Terry Hunter. 

When the church burned for the third time, Hunter said, “We couldn’t believe that this happened to our church. We felt like we were losing a family member.” 

Hunter explained that a power line behind the church snapped off and caught it on fire that day. 

“Those winds must have been 70 MPH that day,” the church leader said. “By the time the fire department got here, it was engulfed.” 

He added that he was on his way to the church with fire extinguishers when he found out the church was on fire. 

“I had bought some fire extinguishers just to put in the church, just in case something happened. Well, they called me and said it's on fire.” 

The day after the fire, the Kiowa Tribe came out to clean up what little was left of the church. 

“As you can see, that heavy-duty equipment belongs to the Kiowa Tribe. They asked us what we wanted to do, and we really consider this a sacred site because of all the memories that are associated with it,” started Hunter. 

So, the church leaders decided to bury all that remained underground where the building once stood. 

“This meant so much here and had such historical significance to our people – the Kiowa people,” he continued. 

Since the fire, Hunter said the congregation has received donations and support from “all over.” 

“I call it – not only the Indian spirit – but the Oklahoma spirit. I think Oklahomans like to reach out and help each other.” 

The church said its policy was recently dropped by insurance, with the insurance company citing the area as ‘high risk.’ The church said it was in between policies at the time of the fire, so unfortunately, none of it was covered. 

Leaders said it will likely cost around $300K to rebuild. 

To donate to the church’s GoFundMe, click here. 

RELATED: Historic Kiowa church burns down during Friday wildfires