Relatives of missing, murdered Indigenous Minnesotans mourn, mark progress at state Capitol
Hundreds of people gathered at the State Capitol on Friday to mark a national day of action for missing and murdered Indigenous women.
Organizers set up tepees, tables and art on the Capitol lawn. Attendees dressed in bright red, some with red handprints over their mouths, a symbol of the movement for missing and murdered Indigenous people.
The afternoon’s events gave speakers and attendees a chance to mourn the missing, but speakers also noted steps towards solutions.
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan praised the work of Minnesota’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (MMIR) Office, which the state created in 2021 to address violence against Indigenous people.
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“We are now implementing all of the things that people have been working on for so long, and this may be the hardest part, is we make sure that we get it right,” Flanagan said. “The pressure of carrying the memory of all those who have gone missing or who we have lost is heavy.”
According to the MMIR office, Indigenous people make up about 1 percent of Minnesota’s population, but 9 percent of murdered women and girls in the state between 2010 and 2019 were Indigenous.
MMIR Office Director Juliet Rudie said that in her first year on the job, her office helped 28 families with murdered or missing loved ones. The office helps guide relatives through legal proceedings and connects people to services for mental health and trauma.
“These statistics should be shocking to all of us. They’re a travesty and they should make us all angry,” Rudie said.
The MMIR Office organized the rally in collaboration with several other groups — some focused on Indigenous activism and some representing other groups of people. Organizers spoke to the disproportionate level of violence against Black women and girls, too.
A Long Walk Home (ALWH) is a Chicago-based arts organization aimed at empowering Black women and girls and ending gender-based violence. The group has been working with Minnesota Indigenous activist groups for several years.
“This issue is really personal to us,” co-founder Scheherazade Tillet said. “This is why we continue to uplift and be in solidarity with you.”
The event ended with a chance for attendees to call out the names of lost loved ones.
Flanagan thanked Indigenous legislators in the state who are working to address the issue.
“We have a tremendous amount of work that we have done, but we have a tremendous amount of work that we can still do,” Flanagan said.
