Sault tribe raises awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

SAULT STE. MARIE — May is Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Awareness Month, and the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians is drawing attention to the national issue with events and displays.

Since 2016, tribal groups across the country have teamed up to bring awareness to Indigenous people who have been the victims of murders or kidnapping. According to national statistics, Native women are more likely to be kidnapped or murdered than any other demographic. In 2016, 5,712 Native women were considered missing, and only 116 of those cases were reported to the Department of Justice missing persons list.

The month of May is dedicated to bringing awareness to this issue, and May 5 is recognized as the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.

The Sault tribe will be raising awareness with displays of signs and red dresses throughout the region during the month of May. Red dresses are used to signify and remember missing and murdered women, and have been a symbol of the cause since it was founded.

"We need to recognize the importance of this issue," said Jessica Gillotte, Advocacy Resource Center (ARC) member and event organizer. "With awareness like this we can work towards preventing it, but the event is also about remembering people that have been taken from us."

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On May 5, several tribal groups will be holding awareness events. Larger events, such as a march happening in downtown Grand Rapids, will see hundreds of attendees. The Sault tribe is hosting its own awareness event on that day as well.

Starting at noon at the Niigaanagiizhik ceremonial building, the tribal ARC will be hosting an event to spread information about resources available to family members of missing or murdered people.

This year, in an attempt to spread awareness of tribal issues, the event will also include information about missing and murdered Indigenous men. While Native women are the most affected demographic of this issue, it also affects Native men at an unusually high rate.

"We want to bring awareness to the whole issue and this year we're going to start being more inclusive," said Gillotte. "Indigenous men are also more likely to end up missing or murdered or be victims of other crimes, that's why we're changing it to missing and murdered Indigenous relatives."

Advocates said one reason why the number of Native victims is so high is because state and federal police don't often track missing Native people if they were taken on tribal land. Because of this, law enforcement often lacks the databases they need to help track down missing people. The Sault tribe has their own database of missing people, and events like this help to spread awareness about the use of such databases.

At the event, ARC hopes people will learn about ways to prevent violence, and provide resources to victims and families of victims.

ARC also wants to prepare people for the worst case scenario in case they become victims themselves.

At the event, people will have access to family ID kits. With these kits, someone can leave info about their DNA, fingerprint and other identifying data. Also available are emergency toolkits. These kits contain information on what to do if your family member or friend has been kidnapped.

These kits contain information such as how to conduct a ground search, how to work with police officers and how to best spread information through social media and news outlets.

ARC will also provide access to even more resources, each with their own purpose.

Advocates said there are many factors in preventing kidnappings and murders, and some of these resources help to prevent these issues by making education more accessible.

"A lot of it starts with educating our children," said Gillotte. "We want to be able to demonstrate healthy relationships and make sure people know what to do if they're a victim of domestic violence. Hopefully we can prevent issues before they begin."

Tribal Chairman Austin Lowes will be speaking at the event about the importance of bringing awareness to these issues. Tribal police will also speak at the event about how this issue affects the community.

For more information on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Awareness Month, visit niwrc.org/mmiwnatlweek23.

— Contact Brendan Wiesner: BWiesner@Sooeveningnews.com

This article originally appeared on The Sault News: Sault tribe raises awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women