A day of remembrance honors, spotlights missing and murdered Indigenous relatives
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Voices rang out in the gym at the Minneapolis American Indian Center on Friday. One by one relatives shouted the names of their lost loved ones.
“Today is for them,” said Nicole Matthews, executive director of the Minnesota Indian Women’s Sexual Assault Coalition. “Every day is for them.”
In south Minneapolis, the 10th annual march for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives movement took place. The march falls on Feb. 14, a day of remembrance for those in tribal communities that are missing or were murdered in acts of violence.
Hundreds of people wearing red or black shirts and holding large posterboard signs with messages resonating with the movement filled the center’s space in solidarity. For many, the day is filled with emotion.
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Kathy Mishow spoke at the gathering, sharing her and her family’s experience with the loss of her daughter, Kateri, who went missing 18 years ago. She described her as being “funky, very spunky and a little bit sassy.”
“I always wanted to find out more answers, and there's still no answers,” Mishow shared. “I know we need to keep our daughter's name, Kateri, out there in order to get some, eventually, some good news, some answers.”
Alongside Mishow, Naveah Kingbird’s mother, Teddi Wind also stood at the podium. With a large banner behind her with her daughter’s name and photograph depicted, Wind shared more about Kingbird. She highlighted her love for the Ojibwe culture and her love for school.
“She loved everybody, even the good and the bad,” she said. “I will always look for my daughter until I find her and find answers.”
According to the state’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Office, anywhere between 27 to 54 Indigenous women and girls were missing in any given month from 2012 to 2020.
Sen. Mary Kunesh, DFL-New Brighton led efforts to establish the MMIR office, which opened in 2021.
“I hope people will take some time to educate themselves around the historic trauma. And the effects of this violence, trafficking, murder, the social impacts of homelessness and joblessness have had on our communities of color and of Native American people,” Kunesh said.
Community member Robert Pilot said there is a lack of visibility and acknowledgment of missing Indigenous people.
“We are still here, and we need to gather and still put on pressure with our politicians, and the news and the media that this is an issue in our community, when we have a staggering amount of people missing and murdered,” he said.
Sophia Redday is another community member whose been affected by loss. She shares those sentiments when it comes to visibility.
“I’m just hoping that us being here and everybody joining together as a community, that our voices will be heard,” she said, wearing her ribbon skirt and holding an MMIR movement flag as she waited for the march on East Franklin Avenue to begin.
Redday was among the many others waiting, some even traveled from across Minnesota. Allison Porter came to the march with a group from Mille Lacs.
"All the red, seeing all Native people from different reservations, different tribal affiliations all come together in a peaceful way to support this one huge movement," Porter said while waiting with members of her group. "It's beautiful to be a part of."
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan was present. She gave an official proclamation that marked Feb. 15, 2025 as Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Awareness Day in Minnesota.
"Minnesota commemorates the lives of missing and murdered Indigenous relatives whose cases are both documented and undocumented in the media and in public records, and remain supportive of victims’ families," Flanagan read.
Other MMIR marches took place in Bemidji and Duluth on Friday.
“We’ll continue showing up in the streets until we, until one day, we will show up in celebration that there's no more missing relatives,” Matthews said.
