Justice for Relatives

Geraldine Toya has two reasons to be hopeful.

First, she’s in the process of requesting that the Albuquerque Police Department reopen the case involving her daughter Shawna’s death.

“I feel relief that something is getting done, you know; we’re wanting to still look for justice, answers,” she said.

Second, Toya (Jemez) was in attendance on Feb. 24, 2022 for the signing of legislation that will be a first step to addressing issues of missing and murdered Indigenous people in New Mexico.

“Today’s the day that we are going to make history,” she said at the bill signing event. “We’ve been searching for this moment, to get through with what we need, we deserve it. And we’re gonna actually see it and observe it for ourselves. So it’s big, it’s a big opening for us.”

That day, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed two bills into law that are the first step in addressing the systemic issues that contribute to the MMIWR crises. The first will establish a Missing In New Mexico Day, where families like the Toya’s can share information about their case with law enforcement. The second bill will give the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office more authority to coordinate these cases between agencies and pay for investigators to work these cases exclusively.

Toya’s experience is far too common. First, she’s taking the initiative and demanding answers on her own dime. She pays for flyers, gas to visit Albuquerque and anything else required to keep her daughter’s case in front of the people that can help out one day.

A group of advocates is working with Toya and others to try to help where they can, but they are often flooded with calls from families with questions and concerns about how police and legal systems have failed their relative who was killed or has gone missing.

Many of these advocates also take part in the New Mexico MMIWR Task Force, which was established in 2019 to evaluate need and address these issues. The two bills signed into law were among their many recommendations. As federal dollars reach communities trying to find their relatives, the task force has become a model for other states beginning their own reform process.

The federal government is investing millions of dollars into communities to help with local police grants and victim services. The goal is to help people from the moment they file a police report, through their court proceedings and into counseling as they recover.

As part of the national effort, the FBI is increasing rewards for cold cases involving crimes against Native Americans. And the Violence Against Women Act was recently renewed with language that allows tribal courts to prosecute non-tribal residents for crimes committed within the tribe’s jurisdiction.

But the work is far from done.

Below are a series of stories that show the problems identified by families, community members, advocates, law enforcement and politicians. There is a path forward, and some progress is being made by everyone involved. But it takes time and serious accountability to make a dent in a problem that is rooted in the very foundation of the United States.