Since 2017, May 5 has been recognized as the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIW). Proclaimed the national Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day by President Joe Biden in 2021, the day is one of remembrance and mourning for many. In a stark contrast to gleeful Cinco De Mayo celebrations, indigenous communities across America are calling for awareness and attention to a tragic, worsening crisis.
According to the National Institute of Justice, more than four out of five (84.3%) Native American women will experience violence in her lifetime. These numbers confirm harrowing statistics that place Native American women at the top of the list as the largest group of victims of sexual violence, stalking and physical violence by an intimate partner.
May 5 was first selected as a day of remembrance to honor Hanna Harris, a 21-year-old single mother from Lame Deer, Montana, who was born May 5, 1992. When Harris went missing on July 4, 2013, the local police did not take the situation seriously. Her family gathered its own search party and discovered Harris’ body four days later, on July 8. Harris, who was from the North Cheyenne tribe, had been sexually assaulted and was found beaten to death on the North Cheyenne Indian Reservation.
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day is held each year to raise awareness of the victims and those who are currently missing. During events honoring MMIW, advocates share stories about problems they have experienced within the judicial system, lateral violence, information and resources. Many participants of rallies and marches are seen with a red hand painted over their mouth. The red hand symbolizes the voices of the missing, for those who are not heard. It also represents media and law enforcement, both of which are often silent in MMIW cases.
A Voice for the Silenced
Trennie Burch from the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (MMIR) Task Force of Colorado states that there is often pushback when trying to file a missing indigenous person report.
“It’s a lot of ‘Well they’re off partying. You know, they’re off to a party. They’re off having fun, fun with their friends. They’re into drugs, we should expect this.’ There’s a lot of, ‘Oh, well, they chose to be houseless, and that’s a life that they want to live.””
In the last few years, Colorado has passed two pieces of legislation aimed at addressing the growing issue. SB22-150 created the Office of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (OMMIR), which works with the Colorado Bureau of Investigations (CBI) to respond to MMIR cases. OMMIR is also responsible for the development of a Missing Indigenous Person Alert (MIPA), yet there are loopholes when it comes to meeting the criteria for the missing. The main complaint about MIPA is the need for an investigating officer to believe the person is missing and indigenous before they file a report. If the officer is dismissive of the situation or demands proof and there is no documentation currently available, they can refuse to file a report.
SB 23-054 was added on to SB22-150. It increases the duties of OMMIR to include the operation of a hotline, shared data with other agencies, liaisons for families and MMIR training to advocates.
Both bills are meant to provide advocacy by assisting families and applying pressure to law enforcement entities to ensure the issuance of MIPAs. The legislation also supports the organization of MMIR events across Colorado, while providing training for law enforcement, presentations at conferences and colleges, and resources for searches – including searches conducted by drone.
Having two pieces of legislation sets a precedent for addressing MMIW cases in Colorado. Activating a MIPA is a good first step, but there is much more work to be done to reduce the number of MMIW cases overall.
Burch confirms, “For a missing indigenous person alert you have two days for law enforcement to issue the report. Right now, it’s taking them an average of 7 to 10 days to issue it. When I say they really have a disregard for Native lives, they really do have a disregard. As a task force, we’ve actually had to contact law enforcement ourselves and say, ‘Look, this person’s family is trying to reach you. Why is there not a missing person report going out?”
The MMIR Task Force of Colorado is a grassroots organization made up of volunteers. The courageous group of women includes Daisy Bluestar, Trennie Burch, Lynette Grey Bull, Raven Payment, Danielle SeeWalker, and Monycka Snowbird. Together they work on raising awareness, developing policy, advocacy, data compilation, implementing training and conducting “boots on the ground” searches for the missing. The group led efforts to get SB22-120 and SB23-045 passed and are known for working alongside CBI to create special alerts when law enforcement denies an MIPA. Their website currently lists over 90 relatives – including children – who are missing, in addition to unresolved cases.
Frustrated, Burch shares, “Somebody from Southwest Colorado was like, ‘My son is living in Denver. I can’t get a hold of him. It’s been a couple of days. I’ve tried to call the police, nothing.’ So, over a span of one to two days we called and called and called to try to get a missing person report. Nothing. We left messages, we called…nothing. No callbacks; no reports being made. Luckily, in a day and a half, we were able to locate the individual. But that’s the repeated cycle we get – nobody answering; nobody calling back; nobody caring.”
Burch continues with an even more concerning situation, “Raven (Payment) and I, in one of the cases, had to actually stop an officer on the street and say, ‘Hey, we have a missing person. Nobody will take a report. We need you to take a report right now.’ And he didn’t even want to take it then. And we’re like, ‘No, this is a missing person! We’re part of the MMIR, a task force in Colorado.’ We’re reporting that this person was there and their family was actually there getting ready to do a ground search. Finally, after 20 to 30 minutes of talking to them, they were like, ‘Okay, okay, we’ll do it.’ It took three weeks for us to find this person – this person was actually drugged in Downtown Denver, and they were being trafficked.”
Spreading Awareness Through Artistic Expression
Kristina Maldonado-Bad Hand, is an artist who uses art to heal and spread awareness about the MMIW crisis.
“I have been drawing since I could hold a pencil,” Maldonado-Bad Hand says. “I am an illustrator and graphic designer, and I like to merge past and present themes in my artwork and work with mixed media.”
Art is more than just her passion – it is her tool of activism for topics that are important to Indigenous people, particularly the MMIW and MMIR epidemic. She is Sicangu Lakota and Cherokee, from Taos, New Mexico, and is enrolled in the Rosebud Sioux tribe.
“My work centers on many cultural topics and pop culture narratives,” she says. Along with being published 12 times (mostly in comic anthologies) Maldonado-Bad Hand has lent her talent to local Native non-profits and has successful partnerships with Meow Wolf, Denver Arts and Venues, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Denver Art Museum, Redline Contemporary Art Center, various schools and tribal governments. She also organizes and runs an Indigenous Comic and Art festival called áyA Con. Showcasing her signature digital art style, she weaves activism and art together as one.
“I feel like art is imperative to activism. When you don’t have the words to express a feeling it can be accomplished through art.” she says. “As an artist, I have created stickers and illustrations, and I created a scarf to raise awareness about Missing Murder Indigenous Women and donate funds to support the families affected. I have donated the funds from these scarves to specific families, but I also have a sum that will be going to a local domestic abuse prevention organization as well.” she explains.
“The one I am best known for is the image on my scarf, it features the ‘Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil’ scene, and represents how we often try to avoid problems by not hearing, seeing, or speaking about them. I found this to be true when it comes to MMIR and MMIW cases that are treated as a problem or an inconvenience by law enforcement. When there is a missing Indigenous person, regardless of their circumstance, they should be given the same respect and dedication as everyone else.”
Maldonado-Bad Hand’s scarf shows three women with red handprints on their eyes, mouths, and ears. Her art has been healing for families who have lost a loved one to the horrific epidemic.
“I love doing portraits and have been asked to create memory pieces. I also created an MMIR piece that features a white buffalo and jingle dress dancers for the Women of the White Buffalo film project and NFT gallery,” she says.
Using Dance as a Form of Resilience
Kayla MB is an Afro-Indigenous/Eastern European multimedia artist from Colorado. She represents the Southeastern tribes removed from ancestral homelands in Oklahoma’s Creek Freedman, Chickasaw and Choctaw Land lineages which were involved in the Mississippi Land Allotments under the Pontotoc Treaty. She expresses her activism through artistic dance.
“Dance in Indigenous communities is prayer; it is conflict resolution; it is powerful. Dance is used in so many ways from coming of age to war dances,” she notes.
Since she was young, MB has danced and witnessed the artform’s connection to her Indigenous heritage. “I was always moved and inspired by the Pow Wow dances I grew up seeing in Denver (March Powwow) and in Oklahoma. I started dancing hip hop, jazz and ballet classes, and later took to more Indigenous forms of dance led by cultural leaders such as West African Dance, Indian Folk dance, and Native social dances,” she says.
The dancer studied leadership and entrepreneurship at Colorado State University before graduating with a degree in Arts in Dance. She has performed and choreographed with Yəhaw̓ Indigenous Creatives Collective, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, Osage Ballet and The Public Theater New York City, in addition to performing in the 5 Points Nutcracker Savoy last winter. She is the owner of the Banks Movement Company and has worked as an experienced dance teacher at Colorado Ballet and Cleo Parker Robinson Dance.
MB uses dance to connect with both her Indigenous and African heritage, while honoring MMIW. “As a dancer, I represent the resilience of the women on the stage, weaving together stories of African and Native ancestry. This relates to the MMIW movement because I usually weave in colors of red – which, in the movement, represent the blood lost and shed. Mvto,” or “Thank you” she says in Cherokee.
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day 2024
This year on May 5, the MMIR Task Force will host an MMIR Rally at Acacia Park in Colorado Springs. Participants are to meet near the bandshell in Acacia Park and will continue to City Hall before ending at the “Take Back the Power” mural.
Attendees are encouraged to wear the color red or a ribbon skirt and bring a hand drum. Jingle dress dancers are needed to perform during the demonstration. All are welcome to participate, and Indigenous people will lead the march in honor of their loved ones.
Murder is the 3rd leading cause of death for Indigenous women, with victims less than one year old to 83 years old having lost their lives to preventable violence. In addition to participating in remembrance ceremonies and holding space for the lives lost to tragic violence, it is important to remember the role that systemic inequities have played in creating historical trauma, which has plagued the lives of Indigenous Americans for hundreds of years.
Editor’s Note: For more information about the MMIR Task Force of Colorado, visit www.mmirtaskforceco.com.
