Bemidji vigil honors families of missing and murdered Indigenous relatives
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Near the waterfront of Lake Bemidji, the sound of drum and song resonated. Indigenous community members and allies gathered as the sun set on Saturday. They held candles and signs with names and photos of loved ones who have gone missing or have been murdered.
Tamika-Jo Andy is with local group MMIW 218, which organized the gathering. She said the group gathered to acknowledge five years since Nevaeh Kingbird went missing and 10 years since Jeremy Jourdain disappeared.
“It's really important for families to know that the community has not forgotten about them,” Andy said.
A sign with Nevaeh Kingbird's photo was held at the gathering. Kingbird was last seen in a local neighborhood on Oct. 22, 2021. She was 15 years old.
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Her mother, Teddi Wind, described her daughter as someone who “always tried to see the good.”
“I was thinking about Nevaeh, how she is and how easily she forgave people. How much she just loved everyone, good or bad. She was just a loving person,” Wind said.
Last week, the Bemidji Police Department renewed its call for information about Kingbird’s disappearance. Family and friends say she was wearing either a black zip-up hoodie or a red sweatshirt with a bull logo, jeans and black and red Nike sandals.
October also marks 10 years since Jeremy Jourdain went missing. He was last seen on Oct. 31, 2016, leaving a family member's home on foot. He was 17 at the time.
Theresa Jourdain, his mother, also spoke.
“I don't think there is a day that goes by that we don't think of him in some shape, either way, or something. Laughter, stories,” Jourdain said.
The group also honored 18-year-old Andrew Fisher, who died following an assault and stabbing in Bemidji on June 24, 2023. One man pleaded guilty to Fisher’s murder while two others pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting aggravated robbery.
Fisher’s mother, Donna Jones, stood in front of attendees at the vigil.
“My heart hurts for everybody here, whether your family member was murdered or if they're missing,” Jones said. “My baby's missing from our life and it hurts.”
The state's Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Office says 732 Indigenous Minnesotans were reported missing in 2025.
Andy says vigils and gatherings raise awareness and educate the broader community.
“This isn't an issue that just affects the Indigenous community. It's an issue that affects kind of everybody, and we need allies,” she said.
Reward funds for information regarding both Kingbird's and Jourdain's disappearances have been set up with Minnesota's MMIR Office.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Bemidji Police Department or Crime Stoppers of Minnesota.
MPR News senior visual journalist Kerem Yücel contributed to this report.
Chandra Colvin covers Native American communities in Minnesota for MPR News via Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues and communities.
