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CONTACT:
Amber Schindeldecker
651-216-0837
May 2, 2023
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Office Unveils New Logo
Office to Amplify Growing Epidemic During National Day of Awareness
ST. PAUL - Minnesota’s first-in-the-nation Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (MMIR) Office is publicly releasing the poignant image that will directly identify its work moving forward. Director Juliet Rudie and her staff worked with an Indigenous firm over several months, and took great considerations, to create the MMIR Office logo.
“Our goal was to have our logo recognize the growing epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous people,” Rudie said. “We hope this image brings a renewed awareness to the crisis affecting Indigenous people across Minnesota while evoking a sense of hope for a better and brighter future without violence, poverty, racism and injustice.”
The main element of this logo features a gender-agnostic Indigenous person accompanied by a powerful image that many people associate with this movement of missing and murdered Indigenous people. The iconic red handprint is placed over the person’s mouth. In addition to the color red, the MMIR Office wanted to incorporate various shades of teal to represent awareness, prevention and support of sexual assault survivors. Finally, the person sits in front of a red circle representing the sun, which signifies a new day and new beginnings for Indigenous people everywhere.
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This logo release comes just days before the May 5 National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives. Indigenous people make up just 1 percent of the state’s population, but between 2010 and 2019, 9 percent of all murdered girls and women in Minnesota were American Indian.
“These may be shocking statistics, but I urge you to think about them in a different way,” Rudie said. “These victims are not just numbers, but human beings with families, jobs, dreams and futures.”
In its first two years of existence, the MMIR Office has welcomed a staff that has accomplished key projects to reach the ultimate goal of reducing and eliminating violence against Minnesota’s Indigenous people. These accomplishments include:
- Working with families who have missing or murdered loved ones by supporting and guiding them during a law enforcement investigation and connecting them to victims service professionals.
- Building relationships with tribal leadership, victim service providers, law enforcement agencies, and Crime Stoppers Minnesota.
- Developing training standards for law enforcement on Brandon's Law (Minnesota Missing Persons’ Act) and anti-bias with specific focus on Indigenous people.
- Presenting at public education events and offering lectures to youth, families and the community.
When a loved one goes missing or is murdered, the fear and grief can be overwhelming. The MMIR Office is here to help support and guide families and communities through this horrific time. For Minnesota’s Indigenous population, the pain is compounded by the epidemic of violence their communities continually face. Understanding the root causes of violence, such as racism, colonization, and historical trauma, is key to identifying solutions of prevention and reduction.
In 2019, the Minnesota Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) Task Force and Wilder Research provided a report to the state legislature. The report included mandates aimed at reducing and ending violence against Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit people. As a result, the legislature created the MMIR Office to provide support and resources for affected Indigenous families and communities.
Gov. Tim Walz signed into law the legislation to establish the MMIR Office in 2021. Staff are housed in the Department of Public Safety Office of Justice Programs (OJP) and will work to implement the recommendations of the MMIW Task Force.
Visit the MMIR Office’s webpage to learn more about its current scope of work.
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Editor’s Note: Technical difficulties prevented DPS staff from recording the 1 p.m. media availability on this topic. As a result, a recording of that event will not be available for download. Media can download the high resolution logos by clicking on each image in this release.
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