Seeking Justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous People

Zac Schultz:
A rally for missing and murdered Indigenous people was held at the Capitol to bring awareness to this growing concern for the state’s tribal community. “Here & Now” reporter Erica Ayisi spoke with the task force on how they are trying to gather data to address the problem. This report is in collaboration with our partners ICT, formerly Indian Country Today.

Erica Ayisi:
A day of remembrance.

Glory Jean Kelly Walpoose:
I am a relative of Katelyn Kelley, the Indigenous young woman that was stolen from us on June 19th, 2021, and was tragically murdered.

Erica Ayisi:
For Wisconsin’s missing and murdered Indigenous people…

Rachel Fernandez:
Today, we honor our relatives that are still out there missing. Today, we honor our relatives that have been murdered.

Erica Ayisi:
…over 20 speakers gathered outside the Capitol.

Rachel Fernandez:
Today, we stand together in solidarity and unity to bring justice, to bring awareness.

Erica Ayisi:
Awareness about the disproportionate number of missing and murdered Indigenous people in Wisconsin’s Native Tribes.

Woman # 1 at microphone:
Rhys Pocan was my auntie.

Erica Ayisi:
Family members said their loved ones’ names, a reminder to the public that their relative is not forgotten.

Woman # 2 at microphone:
My little brother, Sean Grignon was brutally murdered on the reservation and also my nephew, Cory Grignon.

Erica Ayisi:
A single red hand symbol printed on shirts, skirts and signs signaling that a member of the Indigenous community left home and never returned.

Woman # 3 at microphone:
I had a son murdered one year ago. These two boys, they were best friends. They died together, and their killer is still out there.

Erica Ayisi:
A Milwaukee mother grieves and calls for justice.

Woman # 3 at microphone:
Monroe Weso and Alex Sanchez. We need justice.

Erica Ayisi:
Missing and murdered Indigenous people is an increasing concern affecting all of Wisconsin’s Native Tribes. Many of these cases go unsolved, like the murder of Andy Lemke’s cousin.

Woman # 4 at microphone:
Rae Elaine went missing when we were just 18 years old. She had a six-week-old baby, Alysse.

Erica Ayisi:
Shannon Holsey, president of Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians, says addressing the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous people starts by dismantling erasure towards Native Americans and respecting tribal sovereignty.

Shannon Holsey:
Accepting what sovereignty looks like, allowing Tribal Nations to exercise that sovereignty, and looking at cross-jurisdictional ways to share that data to make sure that we come together as collective people and understand that this is not an MMIR crisis. This is a humanitarian effort.

Erica Ayisi:
In 2020, state Attorney General Josh Kaul formed the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Task Force to help address this effort. According to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, there’s over 4,000 unsolved cases across America. But here in Wisconsin, that exact number is difficult to track. The task force says they’re releasing a report by the end of this year. And the exact number of missing Indigenous people in Wisconsin is also missing.

Justine Rufus:
We lack resources, including just simple, like databases. Every other police officer in the state has access to, like an NCIC database where when a person goes missing, they immediately — that will go through all the police forces and we don’t have access to that type of equipment. That’s very vital when our relatives go missing.

Erica Ayisi:
Justine Rufus, chair of the Wisconsin’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Task Force, says their upcoming report includes a request for $3.5 million.

Justine Rufus:
For liaison positions and why we decided that we needed to do that is because as a task force, we never anticipated families coming directly to us and needing our assistance when their relatives went missing, or for them to come to us if they wanted to look at cold cases.

Erica Ayisi:
About 80% of Indigenous people live in urban areas. Others live on reservations. Rufus says part of their action plans for the state are collaborative efforts between county and tribal jurisdictions.

Justine Rufus:
We really rely on our county partners to identify us correctly and to get that data back to our tribal communities, and that system just isn’t in place. And so that’s something that we are recommending.

Erica Ayisi:
Stories of pain…

Woman # 5 at microphone:
Rae Elaine Tourtillott was my cousin.

Erica Ayisi:
…and loss.

Woman # 6 at microphone:
Mary C. Tomow.

Erica Ayisi:
…were matched with support for healing.

Rachel Fernandez:
We need to hear these stories, and these stories need to be told because we need justice. We need healing.

Man at microphone:
Kyle Stout, he was murdered.

Woman # 5 at microphone:
Braxton Lee Phillips, you are never forgotten.

Erica Ayisi:
Reporting from Madison, I’m Erica Ayisi for “Here & Now.”