HANNAHVILLE, Mich. (WZMQ) – Indigenous communities across the country are raising awareness about their murdered and missing relatives this month.
Every May, the Hannahville Indian Community and Hannahville Victim Services host a Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Walk. According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Justice research shows that more than 84 percent of American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced violence in their lifetime.
“Native women are high-target people for kidnapping,” said Hannahville Tribal Council Secretary Anna Larson. “It affects everybody. It affects everybody.”
Larson says the issue hits close to home for many.
“We have a lost member now,” she said. “I think she’s been missing almost 30 years, and we don’t know where she’s at or what happened to her. We think the worst, but that’s because she’s not contacted anybody since she’s been gone.”
“Although it was before my time—I was a little younger—I do know that we still acknowledge them, and it’s still a very sensitive topic within our community,” added Tribal Council member Tessa Keshick.
It is also a sobering reality for Indigenous communities across the country.
“There are some horror stories that have happened to some family members in another community where the law enforcement didn’t do anything to help them,” Larson said. “When you see a missing or murdered individual of color, you don’t get the press. I have seen a lot more lately, but in the past, there was nothing to really help the individuals that needed help.”
That’s why the Hannahville Indian Community’s annual walk has become such an important tradition.
“It goes well beyond just our community,” said Keshick. “It goes into Indian country, so I think any form of advocacy or spreading awareness is definitely important.”
Most participants wore something red. Many articles of clothing depicted a symbolic red hand.
“It’s supposed to represent blood lost,” Keshick explained. “Putting it over the mouth is supposed to signify that we aren’t silenced. We’re still here, and we can still utilize our voice.”
The one-mile walk is a way to remember those who have been murdered or remain missing. It is also a call for change.
“I hope that when we say somebody’s missing, that it’s just not, ‘Well, wait till they come home,'” said Larson. “No, it’s not that way anymore. If something happens, let’s make news out of it because somewhere, somebody knows something. The more help we can get with this, it lets us help the families more to get answers. That’s what I hope, that we get a quick response just like any other person would, whether we’re black, white, green, yellow, whatever. It’s important to us.”
It is also an opportunity to let victims know that support is available and that the passion of their community is powerful.
“Just good thoughts of those that have passed on before us,” Keshick said. “Showing others that may be going through difficult times right now that there is hope.”
Hannahville Victim Services offers confidential support and advocacy for victims of crime. To learn more, call (906) 723-2669 or click here.
