CENTER - On May 31, the San Luis Valley American Indian Center held a Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples Awareness Event at Casa Blanca Park in Center. 

The event was a colorful and beautiful event open to the public. There were approximately 200 people at the event throughout the day, which included speakers, dancing, live music, a walk to honor the missing and murdered indigenous people, and there was also a reggae concert at 4 p.m. 

San Luis Valley American Indian Center Director Ruth Horn spoke about the event and how important it was for people who do not know about the MMIW/P. 

“Missing and murdered indigenous people is a very serious issue that effects all Tribal nations. This doesn’t only happen on tribal land; this happens everywhere across the nation, including on non-tribal lands. This happens across North America; it happens in Canda. Canada has a very high rate.” 

At the event, Horn put together a symbolic circle of chairs. Each chair in the circle gave a different statistic of MMIW/P. There was also a list specific to Colorado. There was a pie chart on one of the chairs that read “Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Task Force of Colorado,” in the chart the statistics show that of the cases in Colorado at 8.9% are missing adults, 43.8% are cases of homicides that have been solved, 4.5% are missing children, there are 2.7% unidentified, and 28.6% are unsolved homicides. 

Horn said that although the statistics are alarming, they are real. “It’s not just about the missing and the murdered; it’s also about the lack of prosecution,” Horn said. “It’s about the lack of justice. A lot of times there is no investigation, no prosecution, and we also have sovereignty versus the Bureau of Indian Affairs, versus other laws. “ 

According to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, tribal sovereignty is in reference to the ability of Native American Indian tribes to hold governing laws over their tribes, internally. Tribes have been given the authority to establish their own government and laws, to enforce rules, taxes, and even citizenship, all within their distinct jurisdictions. According to the BIA, there are also limits to sovereignty, however, including some federal laws, decisions made within courts, and even treaties. 

Horn mentioned that there is an alert system for indigenous people in Colorado in place, much like the Amber alert system. The MMI, refers to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives, according to the website there is an alert system in Colorado, Washington, and New Mexico. This alert system helps law enforcement to locate missing indigenous people in these areas. 

During the event, Native American girls danced to native music, for healing and to honor those missing and murdered. A walk that took place from Casa Blanca Park, and went up the main road, all the way around and back to the park. Speakers spoke about the importance of seeking justice for missing and murdered indigenous people, and there was also a reggae concert in tribute to these important people who have not been forgotten. 

Center Mayor Archie Gallegos attended the event, went on the walk, and said, “I think this is an important event for our town and community. Everybody should be aware of what is going.” 

Horn said that she wants people to know and be aware that this is happening every day. “We have lots of missing indigenous people that are not finding justice. We know as indigenous people we are at greater risk of going missing or being murdered. We know that through statistics, we are ten times more likely than the normal population to go missing. We just want people to be aware. This is very real, and it’s not just data; it’s happening every day. We are the unseen population in the valley and everywhere else.” 

Horn thanked the San Luis Area Health Education Center for hosting the event, and the Saguache Sales Tax Grant for helping to sponsor the event as well.