Inaugural Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Seminar hosted in Las Vegas, NV

Pictured (Left to Right): Tammi Tiger, Brian Wadsworth, Assemblywoman Shea Backus, Kristin Welch, Athar Haseebullah, and Dr. Crystal Lee.

By Brian Wadsworth, Native Public Media (NPM)

Las Vegas, NV, October 24, 2024 – The first Missing and Murdered and Missing Indigenous Relatives Convention was held in Las Vegas, Nevada, bringing together Indigenous healers, MMIR advocates, community members, and students to share stories and harbor discussions on solutions to the MMIR pandemic plaguing our Indigenous communities.

The United Natives, an Indigenous-led organization whose mission is to “…unite and advance local to global Indigenous communities in leadership, mentorship, culture, health, education, and civic engagement...” hosted the inaugural event. Brian Wadsworth, NPM Finance Director, remarked on the gathering, “It’s encouraging to hear about all the hard work people do to address MMIR in their communities. Each community will have its journey on where to begin looking at solutions for MMIR; however, Indigenous communities are not alone in this area, and many resources are available.”

Panelists provided invaluable insight into potential partnerships and solutions for Indigenous Nations to address MMIR within their communities and how the State of Nevada is helping to address this issue. Assemblywoman Backus reported that in the last Legislative Session, the State of Nevada Legislature passed Assembly Bill 125, which established a Tribal Liaison within the Department of Public Safety to provide communication and reporting on missing and murdered Indigenous persons in the state.

On the panel “Strategic Planning & Implementation, State of Nevada Assemblywoman Shea Backus joined Wadsworth; Kristin Welch, Waking Women Healing Institute; and Athar Haseebullah, Executive Director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada (ACLUNV).

Wadsworth introduced the new ruling from the Federal Communications Commission on the Missing and Endangered Persons (MEP) Event Code and what this could mean for Indigenous communities. Wadsworth requested attendees to participate in a new NPM survey titled “Solutions to Address Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Cases.” This survey guides NPM in prioritizing solutions and developing new ones to address MMIR work. In addition, this survey will help guide NPM in producing radio public service announcements.

Throughout the day, there were several panel discussions on mental health and resources, male allyship, data sovereignty, the LGBTQIA+ community, strategic planning, and program implementation. Miss Indian World Kassie John sat on a panel to discuss how she uses her platform to advocate for MMIR and share her story. A small group activity sparked conversations on the importance of data sovereignty. One group noted the importance of engaging with Tribal Councils. In contrast, another group stated the importance of collaborating with community partners to advance the discussions and solutions for MMIR within our communities.  

At the end of the seminar, attendees noted the importance of coming together as communities to help address the MMIR pandemic in their communities.

XXX

If you want to take NPM’s MMIR survey, please scan the QR code below or click here.