BEMIDJI — Amidst the gray February gloom, a storm of bright red could be seen traveling along Paul Bunyan Drive on Tuesday as more than 100 supporters gathered for the seventh annual Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women's walk.
Held each year by MMIW 218, the event aims to honor and remember Indigenous women who have been murdered, as well as raise awareness for those who are still missing.
The walk began at Paul Bunyan Park and participants trekked up Paul Bunyan Drive toward the Bemidji State campus. Their journey came to an end at the Beaux Arts Ballroom for an event with speakers, honor songs and a time to honor Indigenous women who are missing or who have been affected by violence.
In opening, MMIW 218 organizer Valahlena Steeprock brought attention to a symbol that has become synonymous with the cause.
“As you look around, you’ll see the red hand over the mouth that has become a symbol of the growing movement — the missing and murdered Indigenous women’s movement,” Steeprock said. “It stands for the missing sisters and brothers whose voices are not heard. It stands for the silence of the media and law enforcement in the midst of this crisis. It stands for the oppression and subjugation of Native women and men who are now rising up to say ‘No more brothers and sisters.’”
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Organizers and event-goers participated in the singing of the "Strong Woman Song," which originated from Anishinaabe women who were in solitary confinement in Ontario's Prison For Women during the 1970s.
Audrianna Goodwin, an organizer with MMIW 218, gave a presentation on the history of missing and murdered Indigenous women and shared a few staggering statistics.
“Indigenous women and girls make up 1% of the population here (in Minnesota), but from 2010 to 2018, 8% of all murdered women and girls in Minnesota were American Indian, and some of those women and girls came from our community here in Bemidji,” Goodwin said, mentioning the murders of Rose Downwind and Krista Fisherman.
Downwind, a mother of five, was killed in 2015 by her ex-boyfriend Marchello Cimmarusti when he pushed her down the stairs of his home after an argument. Fisherman was also murdered in 2015, after her boyfriend Brian Jourdain stabbed her several times in the leg.
“On a national scale, 84% of Indigenous women have experienced some form of violence in their lifetimes — that means that almost all of us in this room have experienced some form of violence in our lifetime,” Goodwin said, addressing the packed ballroom. “This is astounding. This is sad. And people from outside of our community need to know what we experience.”
Goodwin also brought attention to missing Bemidji teenagers Nevaeh Kingbird and Jeremy Jourdain.
“They are still missing, and we are still searching for them,” she said. “Our families and our communities want to see them come home and want to see their families heal from this.”
Jourdain’s mother, Theresa, expressed that enforcing a positive mindset each day is what has kept her going since her son went missing in 2016.
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“As you can see, it’s still pretty hard,” she said, standing before the room full of attendees with tears in her eyes. “My friend asked me this morning if it ever gets any better, and it really doesn’t. You just have to decide every day your mindset . . . I’m glad to be a part of this. If I have to be, I will, because people need to know that our people are missing.”
Several of Kingbird's family members thanked attendees for their continued support since the now 16-year-old went missing from Bemidji in October 2021. Daniel Wind, Kingbird's uncle, also revealed that the family is working on creating a documentary about her disappearance.
“Our No. 1 mission is to bring our missing home and to help and support the families that have been affected by this,” Steeprock said about those impacted by Indigenous women who have gone missing. “We want to give families hands-on support and guidance and if we don’t have the answers, we get the answers so these families cannot feel abandoned and alone in the struggle like so many had before them.”
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