This Friday marks Missing as well as Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day.
The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska is holding a rally to insist that the murder and missing people be seriously investigated and further investigated.
Jeni Brown who works for Tlingit as well as Haida’s Violence Against Women Task Force she said that, like the majority of Alaska Native people, it’s personal to her.
span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”I consider seriously this MMIP campaign but not only because I’ve lost or murdered persons in my family, but it’s been affecting me from the time I turned a child,” she said. “And I’m 45.”
Brown said that such events are crucial because a lot of people remain in denial about the issue. In 2016 The National Institute for Justice published a report which found that nearly four out of five Indigenous American women experienced violence throughout their lives.
span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”There’s plenty of people in Juneau and in our community, who believe that this isn’t happening to us. This doesn’t happen to us in the community. This is the case,” Brown said. “There’s racism in full force and thriving within our community. Sexual assaults occur in our local community .”
And Brown added that even though authorities aren’t always taking the instances seriously, it’s high time for Juneau as a city — does.
span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”Our people disappearing and no one is in a position to speak about it. I think now is the right time,” she said. “This is our moment now, it’s our turn to voice our opinion. It is our responsibility to let everyone know of the fact that this is happening. .”
The rally begins around five p.m. from the Capitol steps, with a lineup of speakers. The participants will then walk through Marine Park Pavilion. Marine Park Pavilion.
