Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives Honored In Duluth

DULUTH, Minn. — Wednesday was a day to honor indigenous women and relatives who have been murdered or are missing.

It is part of the 9th Annual Memorial March for Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives. The event starts with an opening ceremony at the Robert Powless Cultural Center in Duluth, transitions to a march downtown, and ends with a presentation, and some food.

Community members wore red to raise awareness and remember those loved ones lost. One woman’s daughter went missing in 2019 and she got involved in the MMIWR Task Force to help out. She wants people to be proactive in teaching each other about this issue.

“To teach our younger generation to be more aware of their surroundings because of the missing, murdered, indigenous epidemic because of human trafficking, sex trafficking. So, to teach our younger generation you know we need to be safe out there because we do have a target on our backs,” said Lauren Matrious, in the MMIWR Task Force.

The hope for the march is that people watching pay attention to the message the group is trying to convey.

“The visibilities first, the recognition that there is an issue, and then the work that’s going forward within the communities at a grassroots level. Reaching out to the state and then federal level,” said Rene Ann Goodrich, Founder of the Native Lives Matter Coalition.

The MMIWR annual event is growing every year. Everyone is invited to attend, learn, and help out.