Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls

The Navajo Police Department Shiprock District is asking for the public’s help in locating a missing person. 33-year-old Marissa Jacobson was last seen in July of 2022 in Farmington, New Mexico.

According to the new guidelines, all investigators will be trained to employ a victim-centered, trauma-informed and culturally responsive approach to criminal investigations.

Ella Mae Begay went missing more than a year ago from her home in Sweetwater, Arizona, on the Navajo Nation. There have been few clues to her disappearance, according to law enforcement, and her family is desperate for answers. Begay’s niece, Seraphine Warren has not stopped searching. This summer, on the one-year anniversary of her aunt’s disappearance, Seraphine decided to walk from the Navajo Nation all the way to Washington, D.C. Her mission was to raise awareness not only for her missing aunt, but for the growing number of missing and murdered Indigenous women worldwide. Seraphine Warren spoke to KNAU’s Sakya Calsoyas about her journey.

Navajo Nation officials say they have issued an executive order to investigate and locate missing tribal members in a manner that is empathetic to victims and their families.

Tre James, the suspect in the murder of a Navajo woman whose remains were found on the Hopi reservation last year was ordered to remain in custody by a magistrate judge in Flagstaff Tuesday. The victim’s family traveled from across Arizona and New Mexico to show support at the hearing.

The Navajo Police Training Academy last week awarded certificates to the first group of graduates of a new women’s empowerment program focusing on self-defense, situational awareness and assault prevention.

The Navajo Police Department is asking for the public’s help in locating a missing teenage girl. Authorities say 14-year-old Nevah Martin Kiyite was last seen leaving Crownpoint High School on the Navajo Nation in New Mexico around 3:45 p.m. on May 3, 2022.

In the U.S., Indigenous women and girls go missing and are murdered at disproportionately high rates. The Urban Indian Health Institute says homicide is the third-leading cause of death among Native American women, who also face rates of violence up to 10 times higher than the national average.

Members of a congressional panel focused on civil rights and liberties are acknowledging that more needs to be done to address the disproportionate numbers of Indigenous, Black and other women and girls of color and minority status who are missing in the United States.

The FBI is offering a reward up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the persons responsible for the disappearance and death of Jamie Lynette Yazzie. Her remains were discovered in November 2021 on the Hopi Reservation after she disappeared in June of 2019.