{"id":60948,"date":"2024-12-05T12:34:57","date_gmt":"2024-12-05T17:34:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?p=60948"},"modified":"2024-12-05T12:37:10","modified_gmt":"2024-12-05T17:37:10","slug":"arizona-mirror-hearing-addresses-crisis-of-missing-and-murdered-relatives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2024\/12\/05\/arizona-mirror-hearing-addresses-crisis-of-missing-and-murdered-relatives\/","title":{"rendered":"Arizona Mirror: Hearing addresses crisis of missing and murdered relatives"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9\">\r\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7bhLNW1bfgI?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">House Committee on Appropriations: <a href=https:\/\/youtu.be\/7bhLNW1bfgI>Oversight Hearing \u2013 Investigating the Crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women &#8211; Panel 1 &#8211; November 20, 2024<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n<div class=\"h3-responsive font-weight-bold\">From jurisdictional issues to lack of resources, Indigenous women testify on MMIW crisis<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"date\">Thursday, December 5, 2024<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"byline\">By Shondiin Silversmith and Jim Small, <a href=\"https:\/\/azmirror.com\">Arizona Mirror<\/a> <\/div>\r\n<P><\/P>  <p>Paul Begay, Anne Curley, Ella Mae Begay and Everett Charley are the names of only a handful of Navajo people missing that Navajo Nation Council Delegate Eugenia Charles-Newton shared as she addressed a congressional committee hearing on Missing and Murdered Indigenous People.\u00a0<\/p><p>\u201cThese are a few of the names I wanted to read aloud, so they know they are not forgotten,\u201d Charles-Newton told the House Appropriations Committee oversight hearing on Investigating the Crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.\u00a0<\/p><p>The victims are both men and women, but it is Native American women who disproportionately go missing and are murdered in cases that are rarely solved, if they\u2019re investigated at all. The Bureau of Indian Affairs estimates that there are approximately 4,200 missing and murdered Indigenous peoples cases that have gone unsolved.<\/p><p>She said that the total number of known people missing from the Navajo Nation is 75, and they do not know the number of Navajo people who have been murdered.<\/p><p>\u201cIt\u2019s unaccounted for because we lack the manpower to track those cases properly, and we also lack the infrastructure to record all cases,\u201d she said.<\/p>\r\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"300\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" allow=\"autoplay\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/playlists\/1917029827&#038;color=%23ff5500&#038;auto_play=false&#038;hide_related=true&#038;show_comments=false&#038;show_user=false&#038;show_reposts=false&#038;show_teaser=false&#038;visual=true\"><\/iframe>\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">Indianz.Com Audio: <a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2024\/12\/03\/audio-investigating-the-crisis-of-missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women\/\" title=\"Investigating the Crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women\" target=\"_blank\">House Committee on Appropriations &#8211; Investigating the Crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women &#8211; November 20, 2024<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n<p>Charles-Newton was one of five Indigenous women who testified to the committee on November 20, and each shared their experiences working and advocating for missing and murdered Indigenous people in both rural and urban settings. As part of the testimonies, each woman also provided recommendations on how federal agencies can better support MMIP efforts.\u00a0<\/p><p>Many of the concerns highlighted in the hearing related to continued jurisdictional issues among federal, state, and tribal entities, the lack of readily available resources for investigations involving MMIP cases, the need for more comprehensive data collection regarding Indigenous peoples and accountability among federal agencies.<\/p><p>\u201cMy inner being agonizes over the lack of worth given to Native women and the senseless acts that lead to their harm,\u201d said Mary Jane Miles, vice-chairman of the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee and member of the Nez Perce tribe. \u201cIn the past, people in power have not cared about Native women, but their families and tribes do care.\u201d<\/p>        <a href=\"https:\/\/azmirror.com\/subscribe\">        <div class=\"subscribeShortcodeContainer\">            <div class=\"subscribeTextContainer\">                <i><\/i>                <p>GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.<\/p>            <\/div>            <div class=\"subscribeButtonContainer\">                SUBSCRIBE            <\/div>        <\/div>        <\/a>        <p>Over and over again, the women who testified spoke about the jurisdictional confusion that, many said, is ultimately used as a way to pass the buck and avoid doing the police work required to seek justice for the victims.<\/p>\r\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FRepMikeSimpson%2Fposts%2Fpfbid02ZSceh5gqGgrnRCYp8TYfZZHGpcuqZ35o86fS2ECVSJvE2tadEc4tJydx2GG3ZbnCl&#038;show_text=true&#038;width=500\" width=\"500\" height=\"771\" style=\"border:none;overflow:hidden\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share\"><\/iframe><p><\/p>\r\n<p>Cheryl Horn, a member of the Assiniboine Tribe of Fort Belknap who sits on the Montana Missing Indigenous Persons Task Force, spoke about the difficulty in getting any help from the tribal, county and federal law enforcement agencies when two of her nieces went missing.\u00a0<\/p><p>\u201cNone of these jurisdictions want this case,\u201d said. \u201cI don\u2019t want jurisdiction used as an excuse not to do it, which is what I\u2019m seeing in Montana.\u201d<\/p><p>Likewise, Urban Indian Health Institute Director Abigail Echo-Hawk told the committee that the \u201cmaze of jurisdiction is just an excuse\u201d that allows law enforcement \u201cto not pay attention to those they don\u2019t care about \u2014 and those they don\u2019t care about look like me and the other women on this panel today.\u201d<\/p><p>Charles-Newton drove home exactly how jurisdictional confusion has failed Native victims, telling the committee about her own kidnapping and brutal repeated rapes when she was just 17 years old. She said she accepted a Coca-Cola from a man she knew, only to wake up later, tied up in a shack and held for more than a week.\u00a0<\/p><p>\u201cHe raped me repeatedly, he beat me, he broke my ribs, broke my cheekbones. He tried to carve his initials into my pubic area,\u201d she said.<\/p><p>And although Charles-Newton knew who her rapist was, and told police over and over, she said all they kept asking her about was where the shack was located, a question she couldn\u2019t answer. Because of that, jurisdiction was never settled, and her rapist was never prosecuted \u2014 and now she represents that man as a Navajo Nation delegate.<\/p><p>No one came to search for her, she said, because tribal police told her family that she\u2019d just gotten tired of living in her tribal community and had left. That was an excuse, Charles-Newton said, but her family believed it because they have been conditioned to believe the police.<\/p><p>\u201cNobody wants to solve these cases. They just want to say that it\u2019s closed,\u201d she said. \u201cI wish we had law enforcement where everybody took their jobs seriously.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FTomColeOK04%2Fposts%2Fpfbid0iR15nnFzYT91DcqqK4eu2NTpwoa3V3x7eCzuvzFXHFfTp1vAp2cPPPBLGfZiQgTul&#038;show_text=true&#038;width=500\" width=\"500\" height=\"562\" style=\"border:none;overflow:hidden\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share\"><\/iframe>\r\n<P><\/P> <p>The tendency to blame Indigenous women who are victimized \u2014 conditioned by decades of stereotypes that treat Native people, and especially Native women, as less than human \u2014 makes it that much more difficult to get non-tribal law enforcement to respond to the cases the same way they would if the victims were white women, Echo-Hawk said.<\/p><p>\u201cThis cannot depend on one person, on one organization. It must be a systematic approach that upholds accountability,\u201d she said. It is something we\u2019ve been calling for, but no one has been willing to take up the cause.\u201d<\/p><p>Maulian Bryant, a member of the Penobscot Nation in Maine and the incoming executive director of the Wabanaki Alliance, said the failure to recognize the crisis taking place on tribal lands and against Native Americans living in urban centers is only the latest trauma visited upon Indigenous people by the U.S. government.\u00a0<\/p><p>Things like the American government stealing land from Native people and then forcing them into boarding schools, where they literally had their culture beaten out of them, have left Indigenous people \u201cless than human\u201d and \u201cinvisible.\u201d<\/p><p>\u201cIt\u2019s so much more than laws and jurisdiction, it\u2019s where we\u2019ve been placed in society,\u201d she said. \u201cWe love this place and we need it to love us back.\u201d<\/p><p>Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, called the hearing as part of the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, which oversees funding for the Department of Interior.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<div class=\" content_cards_card content_cards_domain_indianz-com\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"content_cards_image\">\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_image_link\" href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2024\/12\/03\/video-investigating-the-crisis-of-missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women-panel-2\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/11\/housecommitteeonappropriations-2.jpe\" alt=\"VIDEO: Investigating the Crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Panel 2\">\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_title\">\n\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_title_link\" href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2024\/12\/03\/video-investigating-the-crisis-of-missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women-panel-2\/\">\n\t\t\tVIDEO: Investigating the Crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Panel 2\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_description\">\n\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_description_link\" href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2024\/12\/03\/video-investigating-the-crisis-of-missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women-panel-2\/\">\n\t\t\t<p>Federal government officials testify about the crisis of missing and murdered relatives on November 20, 2024.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_site_name\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/favicon.ico\" alt=\"Indianz.Com\" class=\"content_cards_favicon\"\/>\t\tIndianz.Com\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n<p>More than 40% of American Indian and Alaska Native women are raped in their lifetime, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.<\/p><p>For Indigenous women between the ages of 10 and 24, homicide is the No. 3 leading cause of death. For Indigenous women ages 25 to 24, it is the fifth leading cause of death.\u00a0<\/p><p>\u201cForty percent of all victims of sex trafficking are identified as American Indian and Alaska Native women,\u201d Simpson said. \u201cIn 2023, over 5,800 American Indian and Alaska Native females were missing \u2013 and 74% were children. This is tragic and unacceptable.\u201d<\/p><p>Simpson said that, as part of the FY2025 House Interior appropriations bill, the Bureau of Indian Affairs\u2019 public safety and justice programs received a $191 million increase, including an additional $141 million for criminal investigation and police services.\u00a0<\/p><p>Simpson said the bill also provided an additional $13.5 million for a total of $30 million for the missing and murdered Indigenous women\u2019s initiative, which focuses on helping address the MMIP crisis, including resources for criminal investigators, software platforms and evidence recovery equipment.<\/p><p>\u201cThese steps are just the beginning,\u201d he said.<\/p><p>The goal of the hearing is not to point fingers, Simpson said, but to solve a problem.\u00a0<\/p><p>\u201cWe want to know what\u2019s working and what\u2019s not working, things that might need to be changed and that is the purpose of this hearing,\u201d he said, because as the appropriations committee, it is their responsibility to fund many of those programs.\u00a0<\/p><p>Echo-Hawk spoke to the committee on behalf of the Indigenous people living in urban areas who continue to be impacted by the crisis yet still do not have access to resources promised through the Savanna\u2019s Act and Not Invisible Act.<\/p><p>\u201cThese people are suffering in the same ways the tribes are suffering,\u201d Echo-Hawk said of Indigenous people living in urban settings.<\/p>\r\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fnavajonationcouncil%2Fposts%2Fpfbid032ZZunsVgjnADhyQFGPgUXCuwyBWRR9sAdx4vzpkqyL3a3nJhys3tDTKxJXjYhn5Ll&#038;show_text=true&#038;width=500\" width=\"500\" height=\"708\" style=\"border:none;overflow:hidden\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share\"><\/iframe><P><\/P>\r\n<p>Echo-Hawk, who is a member of the Pawnee Nation and serves as the executive vice president of the Seattle Indian Health Board, touched on three major topics related to the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous peoples: the Department of Justice\u2019s failure to implement the Savanna\u2019s Act and the Not Invisible Act, the need for a national alert code for missing and endangered Indigenous people, and the importance of holding the military accountable for violence against Indigenous people.<\/p><p>\u201cPlease ensure that there is accountability for urban Indian populations as we move forward in doing everything we can to achieve justice,\u201d Echo-Hawk said.<\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/tribal\/mmip\/SavannasAct\">Savanna\u2019s Act <\/a>is an effort to improve the federal response to missing and murdered Indigenous peoples, including increasing coordination among federal, state, tribal and local law enforcement agencies.<\/p><p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/tribal\/not-invisible-act\">Not Invisible Act was signed into law in 2020<\/a>, and it requires the U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Interior to establish the Not Invisible Act Commission, a cross-jurisdictional advisory committee that will develop recommendations to address the public safety challenges associated with missing and murdered Indigenous peoples.\u00a0<\/p><p>The commission was formed in May 2022, and it held field meetings in June 2022, which helped it compile a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/otj\/media\/1322566\/dl?inline\">recommendation report<\/a> for the Departments of Justice, Interior, and Congress in November 2023.\u00a0<\/p><p>Some of those recommendations included tracking and reporting MMIP and human trafficking cases, coordinating tribal-state-federal resources to combat MMIP and human trafficking, and identifying, reporting, and responding to instances of MMIP cases and human trafficking.<\/p><p>\u201cFor those of us serving in the urban setting, the promises of the Savannah\u2019s Act and Not Invisible Act have never come,\u201d Echo-Hawk said. She noted how she has often interacted with law enforcement agencies that acknowledge a crisis happening among Indigenous people, but they do not know how to adequately address it because they do not have the resources to do so.<\/p>\r\n <a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2024\/12\/05\/arizona-mirror-hearing-addresses-crisis-of-missing-and-murdered-relatives\/eugeniacharlesnewton-2\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-61015\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1728\" height=\"1296\" data-attachment-id=\"61015\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2024\/12\/05\/arizona-mirror-hearing-addresses-crisis-of-missing-and-murdered-relatives\/eugeniacharlesnewton-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/05\/eugeniacharlesnewton.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1728,1296\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Eugenia Charles-Newton\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;Eugenia Charles-Newton&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Navajo Nation Council Delegate Eugenia Charles\u2013Newton, third from left, testifies about missing and murdered Indigenous women before the House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, in Washington, D.C., on November 20, 2024. Photo courtesy of Navajo Nation Council&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/05\/eugeniacharlesnewton.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/05\/eugeniacharlesnewton.jpg\" alt=\"Eugenia Charles-Newton\"  class=\"size-full wp-image-61015\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"figure-caption\"> Navajo Nation Council Delegate Eugenia Charles\u2013Newton, third from left, testifies about missing and murdered Indigenous women before the House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, in Washington, D.C., on November 20, 2024. Photo courtesy of Navajo Nation Council<\/figcaption>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>Echo-Hawk pointed out that the commission for the Not Invisible Act took two years to be appointed, and the process for appointment and data collection was rushed. As a result, many Indigenous people within urban communities were unable to share their experiences with the commission.<\/p><p>\u201cThey need to do better,\u201d she said. \u201cOur urban communities must be involved and we have to ensure that all of our people, regardless of where we live, have the opportunity to see justice.\u201d<\/p> <p>To address violence against Indigenous women by the military, Echo-Hawk shared her personal experience of being victimized as a young woman by an active-duty military man.<\/p><p>Echo-Hawk called for accountability within the Department of Defense, stating that department leaders need to make current data readily available on human trafficking, sexual assault, domestic violence and homicide of both active-duty military who are affected and those who are perpetrators in the active-duty military.<\/p><p>\u201cWe need to know what the impact is of the military on this crisis and of those active-duty service members who deserve safety,\u201d she said, adding that Indigenous people make up over 1% of those in active-duty military service, and this crisis impacts them.\u00a0<\/p><p>U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, said that it is a complex crisis, and there has been growing awareness and focus on resolving unsolved cases as well as understanding and addressing other contributing factors, such as drug and human trafficking, domestic violence, poverty, housing issues and more.\u00a0<\/p><p>\u201cThey\u2019re all equally important to confront the scale and severity of this issue,\u201d she said. \u201cThat is why it\u2019s imperative we pass a full-year interior appropriations bill and not have programs constrained by operating under a continuing resolution.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Today, in the Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, we were confronted with the heartbreaking reality of the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women within our borders. This is unacceptable and evil. We cannot allow these atrocities to continue. I\u2019m\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/OT3dT5gN57\">pic.twitter.com\/OT3dT5gN57<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Rep. Jake Ellzey (@RepEllzey) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RepEllzey\/status\/1859373868919685156?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 20, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\r\n<p>Pingree pointed out several initiatives that have been put in place to address the ongoing crisis, including the establishment of Operation Lady Justice in 2019 to pursue these unresolved cases; the creation of a missing and murdered unit within the BIA Office of Justice Services in 2021, which was established to provide leadership and direction for cross-department and interagency work; and the 2023 launch of the DOJ\u2019s missing and murdered Indigenous regional outreach program, which permanently placed 10 attorneys and coordinators in five designated regions across the United States to help respond to cases.\u00a0<\/p><p>Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Oklahoma, said that Indigenous women and girls continue to be disproportionately targeted by dangerous predators.\u00a0<\/p><p>\u201cThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data indicates that Native women and girls experience a murder rate 10 times higher than the national average,\u201d Cole said. \u201cTragically, I have seen these stats first hand in my home state of Oklahoma, which ranks No. 2 on the list of the top 10 states with Native American and Alaska Native missing persons cases.\u201d<\/p><p>Cole said that while the statistics are alarming, data collection on the issue is still lacking, and solving the MMIP crisis will require sufficient awareness and resources.\u00a0<\/p><p>\u201cBecause of the extreme lack of resources, statutory roadblocks, and several other barriers, this crisis won\u2019t be solved without the work and partnership of leaders of the federal, state, tribal, and local law enforcement,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>        <a href=\"https:\/\/azmirror.com\/donate\/?oa_referrer=midstorybox\">        <div class=\"donateContainer\">            <div class=\"donateTextContainer\">                <p>YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE.<\/p>            <\/div>            <div class=\"donateButtonContainer\">                SUPPORT            <\/div>        <\/div>        <\/a>        <style> figure, .tipContainer, .socContainer, .subscribeShortcodeContainer, .donateContainer {display:none !important;} .youtubeContainer { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; padding-top: 30px; height: 0; overflow: hidden; margin-bottom:12px; } .youtubeContainer iframe, .video-container object, .video-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100% !important; height: 100%; margin: 12px 0px !important; } .newsroomSidebar {width:35%;max-width:35%;padding:10px;border-top:solid 2px black;background-color:#d3d3d3;float:right;margin-left:50px;} .snrsInfoboxSubContainer {padding:10px;border-top:solid 2px black;background-color:#d3d3d3;} .halfwidth {float:right;width:50%;max-width:50%;} .indent2Container {margin-left: 1em;margin-bottom:1em; border-left: solid 1px black;padding-left: 2em;} @media only screen and (max-width: 600px) {.newsroomSidebar {max-width:95%;width:95%;margin-left:4%} .halfwidth {float:none;width:100%;max-width:100%;} }<\/style> \r\n<HR>\r\n<P><strong>This story originally appeared on <a href=\"https:\/\/azmirror.com\/2024\/11\/20\/from-jurisdictional-issues-to-lack-of-resources-indigenous-women-testify-on-realities-of-mmiw-crisis\/\">Arizona Mirror on November 20, 2024<\/a>. It is published under a Creative Commons license (<a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nd\/4.0\/\">CC BY-ND 4.0<\/a>).<\/strong><\/P>\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/azmirror.com\">Arizona Mirror<\/a> is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arizona Mirror maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jim Small for questions: <a href=\"mailto:info@azmirror.com\">info@azmirror.com<\/a>. Follow Arizona Mirror on <a href=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/azmirror\">Facebook<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ArizonaMirror\">X<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n<HR>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Paul Begay, Anne Curley, Ella Mae Begay and Everett Charley are the names of just a handful of people who have gone missing on the Navajo Nation.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":61015,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,13,1,14],"tags":[3586,5776,214,42,5111,117,373,3976,5743,101,1254,118,362,2924,640,48,894,511,1244,4915,4876,3977,197,249,24,1851,1490,127,2680,47,2846,4920,297,572,6,44,102],"class_list":["post-60948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indian-trust","category-law","category-national","category-politics","tag-118th","tag-abigail-echo","tag-appropriations","tag-arizona","tag-arizona-mirror","tag-bia","tag-cdc","tag-chellie-pingree","tag-cheryl-horn","tag-crime","tag-dod","tag-doi","tag-doj","tag-eugenia-charles-newton","tag-fort-belknap","tag-house","tag-idaho","tag-law-enforcement","tag-maine","tag-mary-jane-miles","tag-maulian-bryant","tag-mike-simpson","tag-mmiw","tag-montana","tag-navajo","tag-nez-perce","tag-not-invisible-act","tag-oklahoma","tag-penobscot","tag-race","tag-savannas-act","tag-sihb","tag-tom-cole","tag-uihi","tag-urban-indians","tag-women","tag-youth","no-wpautop"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/05\/eugeniacharlesnewton.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcoJ7g-fR2","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60948","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60948"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60948\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61021,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60948\/revisions\/61021"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}