Minnesota Native News: Honoring Missing and Murdered Indigenous People

Transcript

Marie: This is Minnesota Native News, I’m Marie Rock.

Headlines: February fourteenth is a day dedicated to remembering Missing Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and People. Marches and gatherings happen all around the state, the US, and Canada.

Data reveal the murder rate of American Indian/Alaskan Native women is almost 3 times that of non-Hispanic White women.

And Minnesota is one of the top ten states in the U.S. with the highest case number of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

Reporter Leah Lemm attended the solidarity walk in Bemidji.

STORY #1 - MMIW
5 degree temps and snowy, gusting winds didn’t slow down the energy as walkers honored and raised awareness for missing and murdered indigenous relatives in Bemidji.

GOODWIN: This is our third year doing the solidarity March here in Bemidji.

REPORTER: Audrianna Goodwin is one of the co-organizers for the march.

GOODWIN: Since 1492 indigenous women and peoples have been raped, murdered, and kidnapped that astounding rates. About 20, 30 years ago is when these marches first started happening is when indigenous women were like, hey, we're going missing at alarming rates.

So that's when they started organizing on Valentine's Day - to signify the love and to honor the loved ones that are missing and murdered.

REPORTER: Raised above our heads were hand-made signs, red ribbons, and a red dress. We trekked just over half a mile and my winter boots filled with snow.

ANDERSON: It's what we do. It's worth it.

REPORTER: Cindy Anderson worked in the domestic violence and sexual assault field for decades.

ANDERSON: Society tends to not want to spend a lot of time dealing with that. I think it's really important that time and attention is given to the people that lived through that.

REPORTER: And we were there to do just that. After the walk, we collected in the Beaux Arts Ballroom on the Bemidji State University campus. The entire room stood in line to shake the hands, one by one, of those who lost family members.

Among the many being acknowledged was Ramona Dunn.

DUNN: My daughter was murdered in 2011. Kandice Dunn. She was my only daughter, mother of two - little boy and a girl. She used to work for the Leech Lake ambulance. she just started a job there prior.

Her ex boyfriend broke into house, our house and shot. Her kids were in the house.

REPORTER: Kandice was 22 at the time, and Mona was living in Green Bay.

DUNN: When I heard about this, I was almost eight hours away, so that's the longest I ever cried back here.

REPORTER: Mona now cares for and has custody of Kandice’s children.

DUNN: The little boy was just five months old, so I became his mother. But my granddaughter remembers her. She always tells me, Oh, I miss my mom, you know, but she's happy now and she's glad to be with me.

REPORTER: Brian Ibarra moved to Bemidji from Oklahoma in October so this was his first year at the march.

IBARRA: I love it. It's a great way to bring the community together here in Bemidji, which is a great town in a lot of ways. I do find there's a lot of underlying racism in this town, just beneath the surface. And so to have these sorts of gatherings, it's really important to put it all out there.

REPORTER: Brian was also one of the hands I shook that day.

IBARRA: I’m here on behalf of my mother Sandra Henman, who was murdered in 2014 by her boyfriend.

REPORTER: Part of the program was the debut of a new song for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women by Mark R Kingbird Sr. He is a cultural mentor in Red Lake.
[SONG]

KINGBIRD: I was approached to make this song. They wanted a song that was made from someone from our area. I wanted to make a song that lifts people up, and have that powwow style. It gets people in the mood to come out and dance, and to feel good, and to think about these women.

REPORTER: As I leave you with an excerpt of Mark’s composition, I want to thank those who shared their stories with me.

For Minnesota Native News, I’m Leah Lemm.