BEMIDJI 鈥� Hundreds of supporters wearing red, raising signs and beating drums came together on Friday to raise awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women with a walk/run followed by a program in Bemidji.
Attendees trekked from the Subway parking lot near downtown Bemidji along the sidewalk, traveling southeast to Lueken鈥檚 Village Foods South, then looped back and ended at Paul Bunyan Park.
ADVERTISEMENT
As participants gathered outside the Tourist Information Center to conclude the walking portion of the event, MMIW 218 organizer Tamika-Jo Andy welcomed attendees by reading a poem her sister wrote about the impacts of violence on the Indigenous community.
鈥淥n the daily, I read of an Indigenous woman who is missing, who has been murdered 鈥� a grandmother, a mother, a daughter, a sister. Most importantly, our life carriers,鈥� Andy read. 鈥淚 sit here questioning myself. When will it stop? How do we get it to stop? 鈥� When I pray for my women, I pray for their safety, I pray for their families, I pray they go home to their loved ones.鈥�
During the event, a drum group played several healing songs, including a song written specifically for MMIW 218. Throughout the program, attendees had the opportunity to dance, grieve, hear from speakers and participate in a tobacco offering at the lake.
As a healing song was played, anyone who had a loved one go missing or lose their life as a result of violence was invited to stand in a line while attendees went through and offered kind words, condolences and hugs.
Participants were also invited to honor their lost loved ones by covering the palm of their hand in white paint and pressing a handprint onto a large red tipi that was on display at the event.
鈥淎nyone who has lost a loved one may offer their handprint marked by white paint on the red tipi to honor and memorialize their MMIW/relative in a sacred way,鈥� a card describing the tipi read. 鈥淭he handprints represent a life taken, a family disrupted, a reminder to those who perpetuate ongoing violence, let them be seared into their consciousness.鈥�
ADVERTISEMENT
'An ongoing crisis'
MMIW 218 has held an event on May 5 for the past several years, coinciding with the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls, which was federally recognized for the first time in 2021.
On Thursday, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz issued a proclamation that May 5 would be recognized statewide as Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Awareness Day.
Walz shared some statistics in the proclamation, noting that while Native Americans make up about 1.1% of the state鈥檚 population, from the years 2010 to 2018 American Indian women and girls represented 8% of all females murdered in the state.
鈥淭his is an ongoing crisis that affects Indian Country across the United States, on and off the reservation and in urban and rural communities, where 97% of Native women and 90% of Native men who experience violence are victimized by an interracial predator,鈥� the proclamation read. 鈥淚ndigenous women continue to experience the highest rates of sexual assault and rates of domestic violence up to 10 times higher than all other women in the U.S.鈥�
In 2021, Minnesota established the first-in-the-nation which works to support families during law enforcement investigations by developing and distributing missing person materials, connecting family members with mental health resources and victim services, and facilitating communication with investigators.
During Friday鈥檚 event, several family members and loved ones of Indigenous men and women who have gone missing or been murdered had the opportunity to speak to attendees about their experiences.
A prominent topic was the disappearances of two missing Bemidji teenagers 鈥� Nevaeh Kingbird, who went missing in 2021, and Jeremy Jourdain, who hasn't been seen since 2016.
ADVERTISEMENT
鈥淣evaeh Kingbird went missing not too far from here, toward where the walk turned around,鈥� MMIW 218 organizer Simone Senogles explained, referring to the Nymore area of Bemidji. 鈥淪he and another relative, Jeremy Jourdain, went missing from that same area of town. That鈥檚 partly why we walked up there, we wanted to honor them, we want to remember them and be in that part of town to make our presence known.鈥�
Kingbird鈥檚 mother, Teddi Wind, spoke to attendees about her determination to find answers and her persistence in searching for her daughter and other missing Indigenous relatives.
鈥淚 want to tell you guys, miigwech, for supporting us through this tragic ordeal that we鈥檙e going through,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been very hard on us, and our family and community are doing our best to try to find answers in my daughter鈥檚 disappearance. I just wanted you to all know that we will never give up on our efforts on searching for Nevaeh, or Jeremy, or anybody in the community that鈥檚 missing.鈥�
For more information about missing and murdered Indigenous relatives and related issues, visit the
The Trust Project
