Latest news with #MichellePauleneAbeyta
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New Mexico creates turquoise alert for missing Indigenous Americans
New Mexico became the fourth state in the nation to create an alert system for missing Indigenous Americans after its governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham, signed legislation creating a 'turquoise alert' on Monday. The act, which passed both chambers of the state legislature unanimously during the state's recent legislative session, symbolizes the growing attention that a crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people – most often women and girls – has received in recent years. 'Communities like mine are all too familiar with the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people. For years now, we have stepped up on our own to help locate our missing brothers and sisters through coordinated local efforts and on social media,' said the state representative Michelle Paulene Abeyta, who is Diné and one of the bill's sponsors. 'Establishing the turquoise alert will allow the state to amplify these community-led efforts to better ensure the protection and safe return of our loved ones.' Related: California university to expand student minds with new psychedelic studies course Indigenous American and Alaska Native communities experience rates of murder, rape and violent crime all above the national average. A 2016 study by the National Institute of Justice found that four in five American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced violence in their lifetime, including more than half who have experienced sexual violence. But less than half of violent crimes against women are ever reported to police. In 2016, there were 5,712 reports of missing Native American women and girls to the US Department of Justice, but only 116 of those cases were logged in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. According to the New Mexico department of justice, there are approximately 200 missing Indigenous people in the state, on average of more than 1,600 days missing. 'Too many Native American families have faced crisis and the heartbreak of a loved one disappearing without the swift response they deserve,' said Josett D Monette, cabinet secretary of the New Mexico Indian affairs department. 'The turquoise alert system is a critical step forward in ensuring that missing Native American people are prioritized in the same way as other emergency alerts. This legislation reflects New Mexico's unwavering commitment to justice and the safety of our Indigenous communities.' The turquoise alert system – named for the sacred stone popular in Diné jewelry – will function much like an 'Amber' or 'silver' alert. Cellphones will receive an alert when law enforcement are notified of the disappearance of a Native American. California, Washington and Colorado have already implemented similar alert systems – and after the brutal death of San Carlos Apache teenager Emily Pike, Arizona lawmakers are considering following suit. Since Washington's alert system went into effect in 2022, the state patrol had issued 114 such alerts and located 101 of the missing individuals. New Mexico is home to 23 federally recognized tribes – giving it one of the largest Indigenous American populations per capita of any state. In 2020, after then president Joe Biden appointed her the first Indigenous cabinet secretary in the United States, former New Mexico congresswoman Deb Haaland created a Missing and Murdered Unit within the Bureau of Indian Affairs. In February, Haaland announced her run to replace Lujan Grisham as New Mexico's governor when the Democrat's term expires in 2026.
The Guardian
08-04-2025
- The Guardian
New Mexico creates turquoise alert for missing Indigenous Americans
New Mexico became the fourth state in the nation to create an alert system for missing Indigenous Americans after governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed legislation creating a 'turquoise alert' on Monday. The act, which passed both chambers of the state legislature unanimously during the state's recent legislative session, symbolizes the growing attention that a crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people – most often women and girls – has received in recent years. 'Communities like mine are all too familiar with the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people. For years now, we have stepped up on our own to help locate our missing brothers and sisters through coordinated local efforts and on social media,' said the state representative Michelle Paulene Abeyta, who is Diné and one of the bill's sponsors. 'Establishing the turquoise alert will allow the state to amplify these community-led efforts to better ensure the protection and safe return of our loved ones.' Indigenous American and Alaska Native communities experience rates of murder, rape and violent crime all above the national average. A 2016 study by the National Institute of Justice found that four in five American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced violence in their lifetime, including more than half who have experienced sexual violence. But less than half of violent crimes against women are ever reported to police. In 2016, there were 5,712 reports of missing Native American women and girls to the US Department of Justice, but only 116 of those cases were logged in the National Missing and Unidentified persons System. According to the New Mexico department of justice, there are approximately 200 missing Indigenous people in the state, on average of over 1,600 days missing. 'Too many Native American families have faced crisis and the heartbreak of a loved one disappearing without the swift response they deserve,' said Josett D Monette, cabinet secretary of the New Mexico Indian affairs department. 'The turquoise alert system is a critical step forward in ensuring that missing Native American people are prioritized in the same way as other emergency alerts. This legislation reflects New Mexico's unwavering commitment to justice and the safety of our Indigenous communities.' The turquoise alert system – named for the sacred stone popular in Diné jewelry – will function much like an 'Amber' or 'silver' alert. Cell phones will receive an alert when law enforcement are notified of the disappearance of a Native American. California, Washington and Colorado have already implemented similar alert systems – and after the brutal death of San Carlos Apache teenager Emily Pike, Arizona lawmakers are considering following suit. Since Washington's alert system went into effect in 2022, the state patrol had issued 114 such alerts and located 101 of the missing individuals. New Mexico is home to 23 federally recognized tribes – giving it one of the largest Indigenous American populations per capita of any state. In 2020, after then president Joe Biden appointed her the first Indigenous cabinet secretary in the United States, former New Mexico congresswoman Deb Haaland created a Missing and Murdered Unit within the Bureau of Indian Affairs. In February, Haaland announced her run to replace Lujan Grisham as New Mexico's governor when the Democrat's term expires in 2026.
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill would create alert system for missing Indigenous people
From right, Rep. Michelle Paulene Abeyta, D-To'hajiilee, and Sen. Angel Charley, D-Acoma, prepare Senate Bill 41, which would create an alert system for missing Indigenous people, on Feb. 7, 2025. (Photo by Bella Davis/New Mexico In Depth) Two state lawmakers are trying to create a 'Turquoise Alert' system in New Mexico for sending out statewide alerts when Indigenous people go missing. Sen. Angel Charley (Laguna Pueblo/Zuni Pueblo/Diné), D-Acoma, and Rep. Michelle Paulene Abeyta (Diné), D-To'hajiilee, are sponsoring Senate Bill 41. 'I've done this advocacy for years,' said Charley, who is a former executive director of the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women. 'So to be on this side and get to implement what we know families have been asking for and what will work, it's just the most powerful thing that I could imagine in my journey of this work.' There are 198 Native Americans missing from New Mexico and the Navajo Nation, according to an FBI list. This story was originally published by New Mexico In Depth and is republished with permission. 'In New Mexico on any given day, we know that there are hundreds of missing Native Americans. We also know that the first 48 hours are crucial to finding someone,' New Mexico Indian Affairs Secretary Josett Monette (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians) told a crowd gathered at the Roundhouse on Friday for American Indian Day. The alert system would 'ensure that those critical hours are not missed,' Monette said, adding it should function similarly to other missing persons advisories, like Amber Alerts. If passed by the Legislature, the bill, which does not include an appropriation, would amend the state Missing Persons Information and Reporting Act to include a Turquoise Alert. The Department of Public Safety would be tasked with developing a plan for getting the alerts out to law enforcement agencies and the public as quickly as possible. At least three other states — Colorado, Washington and California — have passed similar legislation in recent years. Since lawmakers in Washington mandated a system in 2022, the State Patrol had issued 114 alerts as of August last year, and the subjects of 111 of those alerts were located, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.
