Off of Bethel’s main highway, a crowd of marchers formed a red cluster. Clad in ruby t-shirts and holding red-painted posters, some wore crimson roses in their hair or fastened to the shoulder of their jackets. Each bright piece is a symbol of the MMIP movement.
Carey Atchak addressed the crowd.
“What do you want to say to the people out there, for our people in this community, the ones that are lost that have no answer to what happened to them?” she said.
Each year, May 5th marks a day of awareness for the MMIP movement and remembrance for those lost. It aims to bring awareness to the high rates of violence against Indigenous people, and the historical lack of data and investigation of victims.
Atchak says, enough is enough.
“Tua-i, that’s what we’re gonna say, Tua-i.”
As Atchak called the Yup’ik work meaning “no more,” the crowd echoed it back to her. “Tua-i.”
Atchak asked for everyone to walk closely together to show their unity. Following the drum beat, the wave of red moved together along Bethel’s main road.
Marcher Paul Roehl said he marched to show support for a worthwhile cause.
“There's no excuse for so many indigenous people to go missing for so many years, you know, year after year,” Roehl said. “So it's a little thing, but, you know, I'm here to show my support.”
He’s shown up annually to these marches. And so has Bethel resident Buck Bukowski.
“I’ve marched every year for it, Bukowski said. “I got relatives in all the villages and 50 grandkids. I worry about them all the time, and I think there's not enough justice done for the ones that got lost.”
Many people hold signs that read “Our lives matter, we are never alone” and “No more stolen brothers and sisters.” Some of those signs had pictures, faces of people, of relatives.
Olinka Peterson carried a poster with a picture of a girl’s face.
“This is Alfreda Gregory,” Peterson explained. “She went missing in Anchorage. We're holding it up for Aggie Gregory.”
She nodded towards some marchers in front of her. She said here, when devastation happens, everybody is there for everybody. It’s handled as a community, like the one she’s walking as part of today.
“Part of our traditional values, is to be there for people, regardless of who they are, if we know them or not,” Peterson said. “We stand together.”
Austin Fitka carried a similar sign.
“I wanted to bring awareness to Kelly Hunt and her case, because there's just so much behind it that more people need to be aware of,” Fitka said. “For today, I feel that this is the best way to do it.”
Kelly Hunt was a nineteen-year-old girl originally from the village of Shaktoolik near Nome. Last month, her body was found in Anchorage after she’d been missing for four months. Advocates say during her disappearance, not enough was being done to investigate or keep her story in the public eye.
“We need to bring more awareness to our missing and murdered sisters,” Fitka said.
In Bethel, Fitka said coming together shows a strength.
“Seeing this many people walk with us. It makes me feel, it makes the community feel a lot closer, like we're unified behind this movement,” Fitka said. “And it's like,like the lady that started the march today, it needs to stop. Doi.”
The marchers walked from AVCP’s family housing to their offices near Joe Lomack, where the event concluded with refreshments.
If someone goes missing, law enforcement says that you do not need to wait any amount of time to report them. Call 911 or the Alaska State Trooper line at 907-543-2294.
Find information on the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Tribal Community Response Plans and resources for training and educational material by contacting Alaska’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Coordinator Ingrid Cumberlidge at Ingrid.Cumberlidge@usdoj.gov or 907-306-0669.
