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Department of Public Safety Remembers Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives
State officials join with community members to remember the missing
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WHAT:
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The Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Minnesota Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (MMIR) Office announces the annual Feb 14. Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Day of Remembrance and March. This event is a collaboration between the MMIR Office, the Minnesota Indian Women’s Sexual Assault Coalition (MIWSAC), the Minneapolis American Indian Center (MAIC), the Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center (MIWRC), and other community groups to honor the missing and murdered.
“The trauma wrought by having a missing person in the family is something that reverberates across our communities,” said Ana Negrete, the interim director of the MMIR Office. “We gather to remember those who we hold close to our hearts, those who did not make it to our holiday tables, missed a birthday, an anniversary. We gather to say that we remember you, we mourn your absence and miss you each day and year that goes by.”
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WHEN:
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Friday, Feb. 14 at 11 a.m.
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WHERE:
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Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives March
Organized by the Minnesota Indian Women’s Sexual Assault Coalition
Minneapolis American Indian Center
1530 E. Franklin St., Minneapolis
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WHO:
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- Impacted families
- Community organizations
- Public officials
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WHY:
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In 2024, the MMIR Office provided services and resources for 28 families with missing or murdered Indigenous relatives. Staff also conducted referrals or consults on 10 additional cases. In four instances, cases were closed when the victim was found safe or was located.
Although Indigenous women account for less than 1 percent of Minnesota’s population, they account for 10 percent of the missing females in the state, according to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension’s Missing Person’s Clearinghouse. Indigenous men are also overrepresented in missing person’s and homicide data.
According to the BCA Missing Persons Clearinghouse, 716 Indigenous persons went missing in Minnesota last year, 57 percent were women.
The public can support raising awareness around the MMIR epidemic across the country by purchasing Minnesota’s MMIR license plate. This not only brings attention to the issue every time motorists get behind the wheel, it supports the Gaagige-Mikwendaagoziwag Reward Account that will consider rewards for tips that lead to a resolution of MMIR cases.
About the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (MMIR) Office
In 2021, Gov. Tim Walz signed into law the legislation that established the first-in-the-nation MMIR Office. Staff began their inaugural year of work in 2023.
- When a loved one is missing, time is critical. There is no required waiting period to report a loved one missing to law enforcement.
- The MMIR Office is here to help if a loved one goes missing, but families must reach out to us after opening an active missing persons case with law enforcement.
- Request MMIR Office services.
MMIR Office staff are housed in the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP).
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