Native leaders, advocates gather for Emily’s Law bill signing ceremony

Surrounded by the flags of Arizona’s 22 Tribal Nations, Indigenous leaders, advocates, and officials gathered with Gov. Katie Hobbs on May 21 to witness the ceremonial signing of a long-awaited law.

“ We are here because the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people demands our full attention and collaboration,” Hobbs said. “It demands action and it demands solutions.”

Hobbs officially signed House Bill 2281, the Turquoise Alert System bill, into law on May 13, establishing a new system to issue state-wide alerts for missing Indigenous or endangered persons using the federally authorized Emergency Alert System. 

The alert applies to anyone younger than 65 who does not meet criteria for an Amber or Silver Alert. An Amber Alert is activated when a minor is abducted, and a Silver Alert is for when a person over the age of 65 or who has a cognitive or developmental disability goes missing. 

If a person who is 18 or older goes missing in Arizona, a public alert of their disappearance is not available nor required. That’s a hurdle that many Indigenous families are familiar with. The Department of Public Safety will oversee the new alert system. 

Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis said that the new alert system closes jurisdictional and age-related gaps, which will help better serve Indigenous people who go missing or could be in danger.

“The language provides for collaboration between Tribal, state and local police, and as we know from the success of the Amber Alert system, the sooner law enforcement and the public are alerted to potential danger, the stronger the likelihood that endangered individuals can return home safely,” he said.

Lewis collaborated with Rep. Teresa Martinez, R-Casa Grande, who sponsored the bill, which passed through the legislature with unanimous support.

“ I applaud all of the members of the legislature for their support for this bill and for taking this important step to addressing this longstanding, missing and murdered Indigenous crisis that continues throughout our state,” Lewis said. 

Arizona is the fifth state to implement a missing and endangered Indigenous persons alert system. The other states are California, Washington, Colorado and New Mexico.

The bill is known as Emily’s Law in honor of 14-year-old Emily Pike, a member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe who went missing and was later found dead earlier this year.

“ Every year, tens of thousands of people go missing who fall outside the criteria for an amber or silver alert,” Hobbs said. “Emily Pike was one of those people. Her life and her story mattered.”

Hobbs announced that the state is contributing $25,000 to the San Carlos Apache Tribes’ reward for information on Emily Pike’s murder. Hobbs said the contribution comes after meeting with San Carlos Apache tribal leaders and asking them how the state could help support the investigation. The total award is now $175,000.

“ I urge anyone with information to contact the Gila County Sheriff’s Office or the FBI,” Hobbs said, adding that Emily Pike would have turned 15 on May 15. 

“She should have celebrated with her friends and family. Her family deserves this justice,” she added. “And in her honor, I am proud to sign Emily’s Law to establish the Turquoise Alert in Arizona.”

Lewis said the law will not bring Emily Pike back, but he hopes that Emily’s Law will prevent another Indigenous relative, child, or teen from suffering the same fate.

“ With the implementation of the Turquoise Alert System along with the Amber Alert System and Silver Alert System, together, we can collectively all work together to protect our children, our elders, our most vulnerable, our tribal members, and act quickly to bring them to safety,” he added.

Emily Pike’s mother, sister, and uncle, Allred Pike Jr., attended the signing. Her uncle spoke on behalf of the family, expressing that he is conflicted about the name, Emily’s Law, because his niece is no longer here. 

“ She was murdered. She was dismembered. She was tossed to the side of the road like she didn’t matter,” he said. “She was our daughter, our niece, our granddaughter, our cousin, our friend, and we’re here to tell you that she mattered, her life mattered.”

Allred Pike said that it was hard to be at the signing, but the family understands that Emily’s Law is a step in the right direction to move forward. 

“We just don’t want this to happen to anyone else out there and to make sure that this law helps save lives for other missing and murdered Indigenous women,” he added.

The new Turquoise Alert System will operate in parallel with the Missing and Endangered Person alert code, a national alert code adopted by the Federal Communications Commission in the fall of 2024. The national code is being established in Arizona and is expected to be launched by the summer.

DPS will establish the Turquoise Alert System, a quick response system designed to issue and coordinate alerts following the report of a missing Indigenous or endangered person.

The alert would only be issued at the request of a law enforcement agency investigating a missing person report. 

DPS would approve and issue the alert, but for it to be issued, the missing person must be an Indigenous or non-Indigenous endangered person under the age of 65.

Due to state work on implementing the FCC’s new alert code for the last year, Hobbs said that the Turquoise Alert System can be implemented immediately when the law goes into effect, 90 days after the close of the legislative session.

“The Turquoise Alert will be ready by the end of this summer, and I’m so glad that we are able to come together in a bipartisan way to pass common-sense legislation that will increase public safety,” Hobbs said.

More than 10,600 Indigenous people were reported missing in the U.S. in 2023, roughly 3,300 of whom were 18 or older, according to the FBI. 

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System reported that more than 23,700 missing persons cases were in the database at the end of 2023, and 255 of those were for Indigenous people. 

In 2021, Arizona was ranked as having the third-largest number of unresolved cases of missing Indigenous people in the country, according to NamUs. Currently, there are 93 cases of missing Indigenous people in the NamUs database for Arizona.

The Urban Indian Health Institute reported that Arizona also has the third-largest number of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in the country. 

Their study reported 506 known cases in 71 urban areas across the country, 54 of which were in Arizona, including 31 in Tucson.

There is still no comprehensive database that provides accurate numbers or data related to missing and murdered Indigenous peoples across the country. Without a centralized system among the thousands of federal, state, and tribal entities, the information available remains limited.

When examining the numbers, it’s important to note that Indigenous people make up only about 6% of Arizona’s population. 

The state has three major metropolitan areas, all home to large Indigenous populations. Each of Arizona’s 22 tribal nations has many tribal members living on their tribal lands.

The recommendation for a missing endangered persons alert in Arizona was first made in 2022 by the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls ad hoc committee and has continued as a recommendation by the task force.

Sen. Theresa Hatathlie, D-Coal Mine Mesa, said getting Emily’s Law signed is a milestone, but that advocacy work will continue.

Hatathlie, a member of the Navajo Nation and advocate for MMIP, said there have been discussions regarding jurisdictional issues, training requests and educational needs to address MMIP, but the work must be done collaboratively. 

“We need to stop working in silos,” she added. “We need to come together and have these difficult conversations because every single day, we have another missing person.” 

Rep. Myron Tsosie, D-Chinle, who is also from the Navajo Nation, said that Emily’s Law brings some relief for Indigenous peoples and their families who have fought to have their voices heard. 

“Our voices are being heard,” he said. “This brings some relief to our tribal communities, not only here in Arizona, but across the country.” 

Tsosie said the fight for MMIP must continue and the community must help raise awareness.

UPDATE: This story’s headline has been updated for clarity.