GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Local tribes gathered Friday for the second MMIP March through downtown Grand Rapids in observance of National Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day.
The Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi (NHBP), Pokagon Band of Potawatomi and the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians hosted the march.
The event allows Natives and non-Native allies to come together peacefully to shatter the silence and give thousands of missing and murdered Indigenous people a voice.
“We host this event to bring awareness and educate people in Southwest Michigan on MMIP,” NHBP Tribal Council Coordinator Robyn Burlingham said. “The March for MMIP allows people a space to ask questions and provide those impacted by this issue a safe place to heal and connect.”
Native women face murder rates more than ten times that of the national average, according to data from the U.S. Department of Justice.
“I think the way that my family looks at, you know, life, death, it’s a circle,” Nancy Smit of the NHBP said. “And yet, for many people, it might only be half a circle because they haven’t been able to complete that process.”
Meanwhile, the D.O.J. says there are more than 4,000 unsolved cases of missing Indigenous people and 55 percent of Native women have experienced domestic violence, although experts believe these numbers are low because many cases go unreported or unrecorded.
"[Friday] is a day of remembrance and commitment," U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten said. "We remember the all-too-many victims of violence in our tribal communities and the families and friends who are affected, as well. And we commit to addressing this crisis by bettering our systems, strengthening our partnerships, increasing our resources and bolstering our resolve to address this epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous persons."
Participants gathered at the Ah-Nab-Awen Park on Front Avenue NW in Grand Rapids Friday at noon.
There were speakers representing the movement before the crowd embarked on a one-mile march through downtown Grand Rapids.
Additionally, victims services representatives from Michigan Tribes were onsite for people wanting to ask questions or learn about available resources.
