RUTH BUFFALO

Melissa Eagleshield went missing 5 years ago. Thousands more Indigenous people have vanished since

Natasha Rausch — Sun, 26 Jan 2020 11:01:00 GMT

BECKER COUNTY, Minn. — It’s been five years since Linda Anderson last saw her daughter. And she hasn’t stopped looking since.

Her daughter Melissa Eagleshield, then 42, vanished in the middle of an autumn night.

Her socks, shoes, purse, left behind at a house in the middle of the woods. It was dark and only a few degrees above freezing when she was last seen at the house.

Investigators think perhaps Eagleshield wandered off in the middle of the night, losing her way in the unforgiving wilderness of Becker County.

Her mom thinks something more foul happened.

No one knows for sure, as Eagleshield has yet to be found. But her mom is certain about one thing: Her daughter isn’t alive. She would have called one of her kids or grandkids, or used the money left in her bank account by now, Anderson said. At this point, Anderson is just hoping for “closure.”

“It’s just a long, hard journey of no answers,” she said. “You’re always looking, but there’s no answers.”

Read the rest of this series:

Part 2: Governments seek answers as crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women persists Part 3: Crisis of missing Indigenous people sparks activists, self-taught searchers to help families awaiting answers

Eagleshield, a descendant of the White Earth Nation in Minnesota, is one of the thousands of Indigenous people who have gone missing in the 21st century. The precise number of missing Indigenous people, however, is still unknown because of inadequate data collection, according to Global Indigenous Council acting president Tom Rodgers.

Annita Lucchesi, a Cheyenne woman, is working to determine that number. With no initial funding or institutional support, she founded the Sovereign Bodies Institute in 2019, with the goal of documenting every case of a missing or murdered Indigenous person in North America. In February 2019, she told South Dakota legislators that she alone had documented over 4,000 cases in the United States and Canada — 158 from South Dakota, and 35 from North Dakota since 1900.

“This violence is happening on a truly tremendous proportion,” she said.

'It’s very deep-rooted'

Historian and South Dakota state Sen. Tamara St. John, a Republican from the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Tribe, said last year that cases of Indigenous women gone missing and forgotten “go on and on,” fueled by the long-term historical trauma of colonialism, stereotyping and dehumanization. She told fellow legislators the story of Lakota Rae Renville, a shy girl from her tribe who police assumed was a prostitute after she was murdered at 22 years old in 2005.

“When Native women are portrayed in such a way, I think that adds to that perception, or even to depersonalize individuals and not see us as mothers or maybe a young working woman,” she told reporters.

The crisis has also been linked to natural resource extraction on or near reservations, jurisdictional disputes between local, state, tribal and federal authorities, a convoluted justice system that doesn’t always hold non-Native perpetrators accountable, insufficient law enforcement in often remote Indian Country, and longstanding struggles with poverty on reservations.

And it goes by many names, such as missing and murdered Indigenous women, women and girls, people, or relatives, and dates back to European colonists' first contacts with Native peoples.

In the upper Plains alone, hundreds of Dakota women and children died after being exiled from Minnesota to Crow Creek, South Dakota, in 1862. Less than 30 years later, hundreds of Lakota men, women and children were slaughtered by U.S. troops in the 1890 massacre at Wounded Knee, for which U.S. soldiers received Medals of Honor.

During the boarding school era from 1869 to the 1960s, thousands of Indigenous children were taken from their homes, placed into boarding schools where they suffered abuse and were forced to assimilate to European culture in the pursuit to " kill the Indian, and save the man." As recently as the 1950s and 1960s, Native women have alleged abuse at Catholic boarding schools in Marty, South Dakota.

“It’s very deep-rooted,” said North Dakota state Rep. Ruth Buffalo, D-Fargo. “Until uncomfortable conversations and addressing the atrocities that Indigenous people have faced over time, what we’re seeing today is a symptom.”

By 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice estimated more than half of Indigenous women have experienced sexual violence in their lifetimes, and they're 1.7 times more likely than White women to have experienced violence in the past year. Also in 2016, the National Crime Information Center logged almost 6,000 cases of missing and murdered Indigenous people in the U.S.

But that figure may be low, according to the Global Indigenous Council, as many cases go unreported, or a person’s tribal affiliation goes unrecorded.

As more Native women have been elected to state, local and federal offices, they've brought forth proposals to better understand and address the crisis. In Minnesota, a state task force was created to probe the issue and find state-level solutions. And North and South Dakota have passed legislation calling for increased data collection and law enforcement training on the issue.

But advocates say that’s not enough. And at the federal level, Congress has failed to pass reforms that could forge meaningful change.

Cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women continue to be reported in the region and beyond. Meanwhile, as more go missing, family members, friends and others have continued searching, picking up where law enforcement left off or opted not to pursue investigations.

Still out there

Melissa Eagleshield was last seen near Island Lake in Becker County, Minnesota — outside the boundaries of the White Earth Reservation.

Her case fell to the Becker County Sheriff’s Office. Todd Glander was the sergeant on duty the night Eagleshield’s cousin called 911 to report a missing person. Glander is now the county sheriff.

The call came in at 7:20 p.m. on Oct. 5, 2014, at least 14 hours after Eagleshield was last seen, police records show. Officers quickly determined Eagleshield had last been seen at a house on Jager Road, south of County Road 126 near Island Lake. Dan Jager, who lived at the house, told police he last saw her at 5 a.m. Assuming she had found a ride or went to meet somebody, he didn’t report her missing right away.

Around 10 p.m. that night, searchers descended on the area. Becker County Sheriff’s Office and Detroit Lakes Fire Department showed up; Hubbard County brought a search dog and two snowmobiles; Sanford AirMed sent a helicopter. The Frazee and Wolf Lake fire departments also joined the effort. The next day, even more help arrived, from the White Earth Police Department and state patrol.

Once the search began, “I don’t believe we quit looking,” Glander said. “This search started, and once it started, essentially it hasn’t ended.”

Every fall, spring and summer, the search continues. Though it’s been more than five years since she went missing, Glander still remembers the cool weather on the first night of the search, and he wonders whether she was dressed for the elements, having seen many cases of hypothermia.

Jager Road is a dead-end leading to the woods — a vast expanse of trees, hills, low ground, swamps, ponds and lakes. It’s beautiful, but it’s easy to get lost. Or not be found. Eagleshield’s mom, cousins and aunts have been out searching, too, though not going too deep into the woods.

According to her mom, Eagleshield was a spunky person. When she was growing up, she was mechanically inclined, too, once taking the bolts out of all the doors in the apartment just for fun.

Her aunt, 56-year-old Pauline Keezer, said Eagleshield was funny, that most people remember her sense of humor. She was outgoing, too. Keezer remembers babysitting her when she was young and then frequently running into her in Detroit Lakes when she’d grown up.

“I pray for her every night,” Keezer said. “It’s not knowing. That’s the hardest part. Not knowing what happened, where she’s at, who could do such terrible things.”

Anderson said Eagleshield started drinking alcohol as a teenager and eventually became addicted. She had her first daughter when she was 15. As an adult, Eagleshield was frequently homeless and “part of a bad crowd,” her mom said.

But Anderson said the community should be safe for everyone. “It isn’t about whether you’re an addict, or you’re homeless, or whatever. You’re still a valuable person,” her mom said.

Lissa Yellow Bird-Chase, who’s dedicated her life to searching for missing people, has helped search for Eagleshield. “Missy’s out there,” she said. “She’s out in that forest. I just know it.”

Because the case is still open, Glander said there aren’t any conclusions yet on what happened to her. “We’re not ruling anything out right now,” he said, but “at this point, we have nothing to indicate that foul play was involved.”

Anderson thinks differently.

“It was dark. It was cold,” she said. “You don’t walk away barefoot. I think something happened.”

But with her daughter still missing, Anderson said she doesn’t know for sure.

After all these years, she just wants answers. And for that, she said, “You always have to have hope.”

If you or someone you know is a victim of violence, please consider calling the National Indian Women Resource Center at 406-477-3896 or the StrongHearts Native Helpline at 1-844-762-8483. In an emergency situation, please call 911.

We are still collecting our stories on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. If you have a story to share with one of our reporters, send an email to MMIW@forumcomm.com or call toll-free 1-877-583-1817.

Melissa Eagleshield went missing 5 years ago. Thousands more Indigenous people have vanished since

Melissa Eagleshield was last seen at a house on Jaeger Road in Becker County, Minnesota. Law enforcement has conducted numerous searches through the nearby forest since she went missing in October 2014. Independent sleuth Lissa Yellow Bird-Chase said Eagleshield has to be somewhere in the woods. Chris Flynn / The Forum

U.S. soldiers pose with Hotchkiss Guns used against the Lakota at Wounded Knee. This photo, taken by John C. H. Grabill on Dec. 31, 1890, is available from the U.S. Library of Congress. Special to The Forum

Fifty-six-year-old Pauline Keezer, a White Earth member, is the aunt of Melissa Eagleshield. "It’s hard at night when I go to bed thinking of her," Keezer said. "I pray for her every night. I miss her, not seeing her. It’s taken a toll on all of us." Chris Flynn / The Forum

Becker County Sheriff Todd Glander was the sergeant on duty the night Melissa Eagleshield was reported missing. "I don’t think there’s many days that go by that I don’t think about it," Glander said. "I’ve met with her mother, her aunt, relatives. I see the pain that they’re going through of just not knowing." Chris Flynn / The Forum

The Becker County Sheriff's Office and the Sahnish Scouts of North Dakota, led by self-taught sleuth Lissa Yellow Bird-Chase, have searched for Melissa Eagleshield, who's been missing since Oct. 5, 2014. Submitted photo

Melissa Eagleshield, a descendant of White Earth Nation, was 42 years old when she went missing on Oct. 5, 2014. She was last seen at a house in the woods of Becker County, Minnesota. Submitted photo

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Fargo lawmaker to testify in Congress on missing and murdered indigenous women

John Hageman — Tue, 12 Mar 2019 20:55:11 GMT

BISMARCK — A North Dakota lawmaker will testify before a congressional subcommittee Thursday, March 14, on missing and murdered indigenous women.

Rep. Ruth Buffalo, D-Fargo, said she was invited to discuss her legislative work and potential federal solutions with the House Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States.

Buffalo, a freshman lawmaker and member of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, has introduced two bills aimed at addressing the problems surrounding missing and murdered indigenous people. One seeks law enforcement training and another, as amended, would create a database on all missing people in the state.

Buffalo's bills are awaiting action in the North Dakota Senate after sailing through the state House.

Buffalo invoked the disappearances and deaths of Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind and Olivia Lone Bear, two recent high-profile cases that have elevated awareness of missing and murdered indigenous women. Though studies have said Native women face high rates of violence, a report released last year highlighted data shortcomings on the issue.

A livestream of the hearing, which starts at 9 a.m. on Thursday, will be available on the House Natural Resources Committee's Facebook page.

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Bills introduced to improve response to missing, murdered indigenous people in North Dakota

Amy Dalrymple / Bismarck Tribune — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 00:35:09 GMT

BISMARCK — Two bills introduced in the North Dakota Legislature would require law enforcement training and data collection related to missing and murdered indigenous people.

The proposals, sponsored by Rep. Ruth Buffalo, D-Fargo, are mirrored after Savanna’s Act and prompted by discussions by a local task force following the 2017 death of Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind in Fargo.

“It’s unfortunate that it takes tragedy to sometimes bring people together to fix the gaps that exist,” Buffalo said Tuesday, Jan. 8. “Hopefully, moving forward, this can prevent further tragedies.”

House Bill 1311 would require the attorney general’s Human Trafficking Commission to promote law enforcement training on missing and murdered indigenous people.

House Bill 1313 would require the criminal justice data information sharing system to include data related to missing and murdered indigenous people.

In 2016, North Dakota had 125 cases of Native American women and girls reported missing to the National Crime Information Center. However, the actual figure likely is higher due to a lack of reporting.

A recent report by the Urban Indian Health Institute highlighted a lack of data for cases of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls.

"Through raising awareness, we’re hoping to prevent further cases from occurring," Buffalo said.

The brother of Olivia Lone Bear, who went missing in 2017 on the Fort Berthold Reservation and was found dead nearly a year later, called the bills a step in the right direction.

“Law enforcement doesn't treat these issues with urgency. Olivia was missing for six, seven days before law enforcement even started asking questions,” Matthew Lone Bear said. “I think having more training on that would definitely help.”

North Dakota Indian Affairs Commissioner Scott Davis said both bills are important to help law enforcement develop procedures to respond to missing person cases and to develop mechanisms to track data.

“I think that her bills are very, very important for all agencies to look at,” Davis said.

The goal of the training and data collection would be to make it available across jurisdictions, including for tribal law enforcement, Buffalo said.

Buffalo said she received strong bipartisan support for the legislation, with 11 legislators from both parties listed as co-sponsors.

The proposals are the first bills introduced by Buffalo, the first Native American Democratic woman elected to the state Legislature.

House Bill 1311 was referred to the House Human Services Committee and House Bill 1313 was referred to the House Judiciary Committee. Neither has a committee hearing scheduled yet.

At the federal level, U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp introduced Savanna’s Act in fall 2017 following the death of LaFontaine-Greywind, a member of the Spirit Lake Tribe who vanished in August 2017 in Fargo while eight months pregnant. Her body was found eight days later in the Red River.

Heitkamp’s bill passed unanimously in the Senate but stalled in the House in the final days of the session. Supporters of Savanna’s Act in the Senate have voiced plans to push for the legislation in Congress this year.

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'There is no justice right now': LaFontaine-Greywind family and supporters march for indigenous women

Kim Hyatt — Fri, 12 Oct 2018 02:03:57 GMT

FARGO - In delivering a forceful message on behalf of his family, the father of slain Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind said he was angry with law enforcement and the legal system for acquitting a co-defendant in his daughter's murder.

"She didn't deserve this, neither did Haisley (LaFontaine-Greywind's daughter)," said Joe Greywind, flanked by his wife, Norberta, and daughter, Kayla.

His breath lingered in the cold air with a "March for Justice" banner as the backdrop.

In raising awareness of missing and murdered indigenous women, the march for LaFontaine-Greywind and other Native American women took place in downtown Fargo Thursday, Oct. 11.

Thursday marked the birthday of Olivia Lone Bear, a 32-year-old mother of five from New Town who disappeared last October. Her body was found in a submerged truck in August, but the circumstances surrounding her death are still unknown.

More than 50 people wearing red to symbolize the missing and murdered indigenous women movement marched down Broadway Thursday evening to the beat of a deerskin drum. Mothers walked while holding their children's hands and others carried signs that said "We are our sister's voices," and "Not forgotten."

Supporters of the Greywind family gathered outside the depot building along Main Avenue before marching. There, elders were singing and praying for togetherness and hope among clouds of burning sage.

Sharon White Bear, chairwoman of the city of Fargo's Native American Commission, greeted the crowd there for all missing and murdered indigenous women and specifically for the "big injustice that happened here."

LaFontaine-Greywind, 22, was eight months pregnant when she went missing last August. Brooke Crews, 39, is serving a life sentence for conspiring to murder LaFontaine-Greywind and kidnap her baby. On Sept. 28, a jury found William Hoehn, 33, not guilty of conspiring to murder. He had already pleaded guilty to lying to police and conspiracy to commit kidnapping. His sentencing date has yet to be set.

"Me and my family are mad," Joe Greywind said. "We're mad at the community, we're mad at the jurors, we're mad at police. We're mad. This ain't right. This is all common sense right here. It's common sense what these guys did. And for him (Hoehn) to get off? That's bull s- - -."

Greywind continued: "Me and all of my family are pissed off - for any other missing and murdered indigenous women, it's bad. This is bad. For a not guilty plea to come back? Get the hell out of here. ... That's how we feel."

White Bear said she wouldn't say the names of those charged with LaFontaine-Greywind's murder, but had a message for them.

"Every time you put water on your face or take a scoop of water to put to your mouth, remember you have blood on your hands. Don't' forget that," she said. "Every morning you are going to know that. Those are the hands that have blood on them. There is no justice right now."

During the march, Jacqueline Harris wore a backpack with the words "Strong. Resilient. Indigenous."

"We are walking for our women, our missing and murdered indigenous women. Our ancestors and the next generation," Harris said. "There are hundred of missing and murdered indigenous women all over the United States and Canada. It's scary. It's an epidemic. It needs to be fixed.

Native people are still here and we're not going to give up on this problem."

The murder rate of indigenous woman is 10 times the national average, according to the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women. Four in five indigenous women are affected by violence today.

Ruth Buffalo, a Democratic candidate for District 27 in the state House of Representatives, said Thursday's march was about preventing violence against indigenous women here and in all communities.

"It's good to come together in prayer and song to show support for the (Greywind) family. They are still grieving" she said.

Despite the heartache in the Greywind family and other indigenous families still searching for loved ones, White Bear wanted to leave the demonstration with a glimmering of hope.

"It just takes one of us to help. We all matter in the circle of life," she said. "I want to give you some hope, so we can have hope for our lives and our sisters and girls."

'There is no justice right now': LaFontaine-Greywind family and supporters march for indigenous women

Marchers for missing and murdered indigenous women walk along Broadway on Thursday, Oct. 11, 2018, in downtown Fargo. Michael Vosburg / Forum News Service

Marchers for missing and murdered indigenous women gather Thursday, Oct. 11, 2018, in downtown Fargo. Michael Vosburg / Forum News Service

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Fargo forms task force on missing and murdered native women

Blake Gumprecht — Tue, 09 Jan 2018 01:06:36 GMT

FARGO-The Fargo Native American Commission has formed a task force to address the issue of missing and murdered indigenous women.

Commissioners began discussing the idea in September following the murder of Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind. The 22-year-old Fargo woman, a member of the Spirit Lake nation, disappeared in August while eight months pregnant. Her body was found eight days later in the Red River.

"What happened in Fargo-Moorhead rocked everybody to the core," said Ruth Buffalo, a member of the Native American Commission. "We want to find ways to continue supporting the entire Fargo community in making sure our communities are safe for all people."

Discussion to create the task force was stimulated in part by a desire from commission members to support the United Tribes of North Dakota, which wrote a letter in September to North Dakota's congressional delegation demanding that they take action on the issue. The United Tribes of North Dakota is an organization composed of the state's five tribes.

Commissioners met with Mayor Tim Mahoney in October to discuss the task force and, according to Buffalo, "he's very receptive and supportive."

Buffalo said the task force is "still in its infancy." Commissioners have not yet determined how many members it will have or who will be asked to join.

She said commissioners are "compiling a list of potential stakeholders" and researching what is already being done about the issue. They are also formulating what the group's goals will be.

"We want to provide support locally to what is happening statewide and nationally," Buffalo said.

The Native American Commission was formed in 2006 to act as an advisory group to the Fargo City Commission.

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