Dozens of people gathered in Kenai on Tuesday to recognize the problem of missing and murdered indigenous persons in Alaska, and to remember those who have been lost. Tribal employees say the ceremony is equal parts sharing resources and offering a place of healing.
It’s a blustery day at the Dena’ina Wellness Center’s Raven Plaza, where a fire crackles and pops in a sunken pit. Around 50 people line the plaza’s perimeter, some wearing red or holding paper lanterns that feature a feather motif. The candlelight vigil is how the Kenaitze Indian Tribe is observing Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day.
Crystal Schwartz steps forward to read.
“Often, we focus on the stories of success, the many victims who heal and who go on to live healthy lives and even to help others,” she said. “But today, we come to remember stories that ended another way.”
Schwartz coordinates tribal services for people experiencing domestic violence and sexual assault. In her eight years with the tribe, she says they’ve lost 13 un’ina – that’s Dena’ina for “people who come to us.” Of those, she said nine have been confirmed dead.
“We fill out the reports and close their cases in silence and without ceremony,” she said. “These women and men were among those who came to us. They came to seek help and healing in a world that proved too dark for them to find it.”
In Alaska, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Day brings attention to the disproportionate rates of violence against Alaska Native people and the systemic barriers hindering accurate reporting of murdered and missing persons. The most recent quarterly report from the state Department of Public Safety identifies nine people missing from the Kenai Peninsula who are Alaska Native, American Indian or of unknown race.
Maria Guerra says the day is also an opportunity to highlight resources. That includes the year-round work of the tribe’s Na’ini Family and Social Services team, which she directs.
“For us, it's very real,” she said. “It's in our home. It's in our own backyards. And we want, we wish that we could have these gatherings a lot more frequently, but we take the opportunity to go ahead and honor, bring awareness and a reminder to our community that we can do this as a community, come together anytime that there is a need for that.”
Some of the resources offered Tuesday came from Mandy Mackenzie. She’s an assistant U.S. attorney with the Department of Justice whose work focuses on ensuring rural and native communities are represented in the federal system. She says Alaska faces unique challenges as one of six U.S. states without designated Indian country, which federal law requires for prosecution of Native crimes.
“The number one thing that we want to stress to you is when somebody goes missing, we would love for you to contact us and law enforcement first 911, before you put it on social media, before you do anything else, because we can get a jump on it.”
This year, the day of observance comes less than a month after Anchorage police confirmed the death of Kelly Hunt of Shaktoolik. The 19-year-old was a freshman at Alaska Christian College in Soldotna at the time she was reported missing in January. Last month, law enforcement identified human remains found in Spenard as Hunt’s.
In recent weeks, advocates for missing and murdered indigenous people have criticized the way Hunt’s case was handled. During commencement last week, Alaska Christian College observed a moment of silence and prayer for Hunt. And Soldotna Republican Rep. Justin Ruffridge took to the state House floor to decry how Hunt’s story underscores systemic failures in Alaska.
“There's hundreds of missing indigenous people in Alaska labeled as suspicious or unresolved, and families are left navigating a system that oftentimes lacks any answers or even clear data,” he said. “At this point, I think it's fair to call this a pattern, and the pattern is that women go missing, families search, time passes, and they are never really rescued. They are recovered.”
Multiple people spoke at Raven Plaza about their own family members who were murdered. One mom cried quietly while her daughter shared memories, while another held a photograph of a family member and recited a poem. Jamie Ball offered smudging as attendees listened to others speak.
The day’s ceremony closed with three songs from the tribe’s Heartbeat of Mother Earth Drum group. They opened with “Heartbreak.”
Resources
Local:
Alaska:
- Alaska Department of Public Safety
- Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault
- AKNWRC (Alaska Native Women’s Resource Center)
- Governor’s Council MMIP Report
Federal
- U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Alaska
- U.S. Department of Justice
- U.S. Office for Victims of Crime
- Federal Bureau of Investigation
