Yurok Tribe to host inaugural summit on missing, murdered Indigenous people
Tribes have been limited in how they can respond to the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people in their communities, but the Yurok Tribe is leading an effort to find solutions that will empower tribes across the state and the country.
Next week, the Yurok Tribe is set to host the inaugural Northern California Tribal Summit on Missing and Murdered Indigenous People, where the topics of discussion will include the root causes of the crisis, ways to reduce the risks to Indigenous people, and what kind of efforts are underway at the state and federal levels.
“The crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people has touched every tribal citizen in California and throughout the United States. This has gone on long enough. The time for action is now,” Yurok Chairman Joseph L. James said in a statement. “The purpose of this summit is to develop a series of mutually agreeable actions that tribal, federal and state stakeholders can take in the short- and long-term to protect Indigenous Californians.”
The discussions at the summit are expected to be informed by the three years of research the Yurok Tribal Court did on the crisis in Northern California. The To’ Kee Skuy’ Soo Ney-Wo-Chek’ Project released three reports detailing the crisis beginning in 2020.
The first report looked at the history of the crisis and found that one in five cases of missing and murdered Indigenous people was from Northern California, specifically Humboldt County, while the third and final report offered tools and a blueprint to end the crisis.
“The epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous people is a national humanitarian crisis, with California ranking fifth in the nation for incidents of MMIP, and the far north of the state accounting for most cases,” Yurok Tribal Court Director Jessica Carter said in a statement. “This extremely complex issue requires cooperative solutions that transcend political boundaries. We also need to amend antiquated state and federal policies, which limit tribes’ abilities to respond to the crisis.”
The Yurok Tribe has been working on just that. The Yurok Tribal Council declared an emergency of missing and murdered Indigenous people in December, which has led to an expansion of the program designed to confront the issue; established the Office of the Tribal Prosecutor to assist investigations and prosecutions of the missing and murdered; and helped get the Feather Alert bill passed.
The Feather Alert bill, which was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday, authorizes the California Department of Highway Patrol to issue a “feather alert” when an Indigenous person goes missing under unexplained or suspicious circumstances.
“We supported the Feather Alert bill because it will help reduce the disproportionate rate of MMIP cases in California,” James said. “The next generation of Indigenous Californians should not have to live in world where they have to worry about family members going missing or worse. With the emergency notification in place, we will take action to address the remaining root causes of this complex crisis.”
In July, James also convened a briefing with more than two dozen tribal leaders from across the state to develop a unified response at the state and federal levels.
On Tuesday, North Coast lawmakers Rep. Jared Huffman (CA-02), State Sen. Mike McGuire and Assemblymember Jim Wood are expected to address efforts to address the issue in their respective legislative bodies.
“While the epidemic of missing Indigenous people spans the country, tribal members in Northern California are particularly affected by a status quo of inequity, complicated and ineffective policy, and a lack of focus by government agencies charged with protecting them,” Huffman said in a statement. “This tribally led summit should be a catalyst for change at every level and help begin to comprehensively address this pervasive problem.”
The summit is set to be at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Arcata Community Center, which is located at 321 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway in Arcata.
Sonia Waraich can be reached at 707-441-0504.
By: Sonia Waraich
Source: Eureka Times Standard
Next Article Previous Article