MMIW volunteers claim multiple jurisdictions hinder search assistance

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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month and while it is a complex and multifaceted issue, a focus in South Dakota is particularly on missing and murdered Indigenous women.

First Alert Investigator Beth Warden met with leaders in state organizations that work directly with those targeted, and their families, to identify their needs to make a difference.

Of the people listed as missing on the South Dakota Missing Persons Clearinghouse, over sixty percent are Native American.

Nonprofits and volunteers gave us a glimpse into what happens when a relative goes missing in South Dakota.

Although the Not Invisible Act was passed in 2020, the funding to coordinate efforts to reduce violent crime against Native Americans is minuscule. This is why grassroots organizations like the Red Ribbon Skirt Society help look for the missing and support their families.

“They can’t wait. They can’t wait for somebody to decide. Okay, we’re gonna give this state this amount of money. Give that state an amount of money,” said Red Ribbon Skirt Society founder Lily Mendoza.

One of the barriers in the search has been the number of jurisdictions and who to contact for help. Take the case of a woman who lives on a reservation and disappears on the way to Pierre.

“Do we call DCI? They’re an assist agency. Do we call the FBI? Well, they’re only brought in at the Seven Major Crimes Act. And if it’s federal jurisdiction, do we call Pierre? Do we call Hughes County Sheriff and then ultimately the Bureau of Indian Affairs or Tribal Police?” asked Tanya Grassel-Krietlow, the program manager of the South Dakota Network Against Family Violence and Sexual Assault.

Grassel-Krietlow sees the struggle firsthand.

“Multi jurisdictions in our state. We use multi-databases and the databases do not talk,” said Grassel-Krietlow.

She claimed unless someone is very young, or old, needs medication, or if there’s a suspicion of foul play, the reaction is slow.

“There’s that Gray area of adulthood who have the right to go missing. They have the right to ghost,” explained Grassel-Krietlow.

“And that’s 68% of all the women missing in South Dakota are Native American. But then you factor in that piece about: the right to go missing? So there’s a lot more I think, behind the statistics that we’re not aware of,” said South Dakota Humanities Council program and volunteer engagement coordinator Stacy Chidaushe.

A solution: more coordination of law enforcement.

“We need all of our jurisdictions. We can’t have the FBI speaking on behalf of Lower Brule. We can’t have the BIA speaking on behalf of Lower Brule. We need all of our jurisdictions there,” Grassel-Krietlow said.

The group praised the efforts of two Bureau of Indian Affairs investigators in the Rapid City area for assisting with missing and murdered cases.

Attorney General Marty Jackley said his office continues to work in cooperation with the tribes.

Grassroots organizations such as South Dakota Missing Persons founder Laura Bullock voiced concerns about the accuracy of the state’s missing persons clearinghouse.

She cited the state clearinghouse showing only 7 missing people from 1970 to 2000, while the National Namus Registry is double the number of South Dakota missing people. A Black Hills-area John Doe from 1978 just appeared on the state’s page last year.

Watch Full Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOr0geUG0UM