Indivisible Tohono co-founder April Ignacio said at a press conference on May 5, 2023, the National Day of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls that the City of Tucson and Pima County formed a task force. talks about the importance of the intention toPhoto by Antonio Ramirez | City of Tucson

The City of Tucson is the first city to launch a Task Force of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in the country to work on ways to address crises within the city, Pima County, and neighboring Tribal States .

Tucson has the fourth-highest MMIWG rate in the nation, and Arizona has the third-highest rate, according to a report. Urban Indian Health Institute.

“The number of indigenous women missing or murdered in this community is not new, but our priorities are new,” said Indivisible Tohono Co-Chair April Ignacio.

Community advocates, tribal leaders, and city officials gathered near downtown Tucson on May 5 to acknowledge the importance of creating task forces for cities, counties, and tribes.

“This is the least we can do, not enough,” said Adelita Grijalva, chairman of the Pima County Supervisory Board. “You have to let people know there is a problem and you have to be part of the solution to solve it.”

Pima County Supervisory Board issued a proclamation The May 2nd meeting identified May 5th as “the day to recognize the epidemic of missing or killed indigenous peoples”.

During the meeting, Indivisible Tohono and members of the community stood in front of the board with photographs of indigenous women lost due to the MMIWG crisis.

Standing before the board, Ignacio stressed how important it is for families and communities for authorities to acknowledge the disappearance and killing of Indigenous women and girls in Tucson. I said I want to

“Don’t admit it’s perpetuating the violence that continues in our community,” she said.

City and county officials credited the work they do for the MMIWG with grassroots efforts by Indigenous women spearheading efforts to raise awareness of the crisis within their communities. .

“We know Indigenous women in our community have been leading the charge on this issue. It was not addressed by state officials,” said Tucson Council member Lane Santa Cruz. “As the City of Tucson and Pima County, it is our turn to take swift and urgent action to address the crisis within our region.”

The task force was announced in conjunction with the National Awareness Day for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, making Tucson the first municipality to develop a task force.

“Within the City of Tucson and Pima County, the task force will bring together experts from law enforcement, social services, medical care, and other related fields to coordinate efforts and address cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women. Develop a comprehensive strategy to prevent and respond to this, said Charlene Mendoza, Chief of Staff to Mayor Regina Romero.

Mendoza said she understands that data are limited, lack accuracy, and that Indigenous women are often misidentified. I hope to give the MMIWG some idea of ​​the true impact of the crisis and bring about the necessary system and policy changes to collect accurate and accurate data.

“This is necessary to ensure that resources and services are directed precisely where they are most needed,” she said. “Now is the time to make meaningful changes to our data collection, policies, training and services.”

For Ignacio serving in State MMIWG working group established in March by Governor Katie Hobbsseeing cities take steps to develop localized task forces is a major concern for indigenous communities.

Ignacio is Tohono O’odham and has advocated for the MMIWG within Indian Country for many years. She said she knows she wants more indigenous peoples to get involved in some way.

“The first step is just to show up,” said Ignacio. “Just by showing up and making your presence known, you influence leaders in your community.”

And that’s what Ignacio has been doing. She has responded to her calls to action on the MMIWG, including in 2019 when a bill establishing her MMIWG study board, the first in the state, was approved.

Ignacio said indigenous communities need to understand that they can make a difference just by showing up. Because the changes that are happening now were only possible through grassroots efforts.

“You don’t have to keep marinating in grief,” she added. “We can be a beacon of hope and take steps to keep these families in our memory.”

Elayne Gregg, an Indivisible Tohono member from Tohono O’odham Nation, spoke out during the announcement, praising the city and county for publicly acknowledging this type of violence happening to Indigenous women and girls. Did.

Greg has been an advocate for MMIWG recognition for many years, and has made changes in Arizona, including in 2019, when the state legislature passed House Bill 2570 to establish the state’s first MMIWG study committee. We have been at the forefront with the inseparable Tohono in some of the key pushes we seek.

Greg has spoken out in honor of the lost Indigenous women and girls in her community, but also to her late daughter Lia Danae Almeida, who was 7 when she was murdered in Ajo in 2009. also respectful.

“What I’ve learned through pain and silence is that I still have a voice and we all have a voice,” Greg said. ”

Greg has shared her experience many times to help the MMIWG’s efforts to address the crisis in Arizona. One of the points she emphasized was that those responsible for what happened to her daughter were outside the tribe’s land. She got help and justice in her daughter’s case.

“If you look at the victim services that our people receive on our tribal lands, they are woefully inadequate,” Greg said. That is why it is so important to ask for

Anna Harper-Guerrero, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer of the EMERGE Center Against Domestic Abuse, attended the Task Force’s announcement. She praised her Indivisible Tohono for her work on her MMIWG and for sharing Gregg’s courageous story.

Harper-Guerrero pointed to several key factors that contributed to the MMIWG crisis, including the lack of victim services available to victims of domestic and sexual violence.

“Our lack of resource allocation has only helped to make them less visible and expedite the elimination of many of the women and girls whose faces are here today,” she said. We are ill-equipped to provide the level of support families need.”

Harper-Guerrero, like many MMIWG advocates for indigenous communities, noted that violence against indigenous women is not new to these communities and is associated with domestic and romantic violence. Did.

“The number of indigenous women and girls who are missing or killed in our communities is directly related to the prevalence of unaddressed domestic and sexual violence in our communities.” said Harper Guerrero. “It is deeply rooted in an embedded belief system that women’s bodies are worthless and that it is acceptable to dehumanize and sexualize women and girls.”

Harper Guerrero added that the only way to begin the path of healing for Indigenous communities is to first acknowledge the historical trauma at the origin of this violence.

“We know that sexual violence was a tool used against women and girls when this land was taken, and it continues today.

Task Force details will be released by the Mayor’s Office and submitted to the Tucson City Council for an official vote.

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