South Dakota MMIP hosts educational event

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KELO) — South Dakota’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Program hosted its first-ever awareness and training event Monday in Rapid City.

State and local agencies gathered to focus on a serious topic facing the Native American community. The state’s MMIP coordinator says it’s a statewide issue, felt beyond reservation borders.

“Rapid City is close proximity to Pine Ridge, and the outskirt cities of the tribal reservations have such high numbers because of the close proximity of them. So you’re correct, it is a statewide issue, not just a tribal issue,” MMIP Coordinator Allison Morrisette said.

Close to a dozen different groups took part today. People also came on their own.

“Everyone’s different roles when an MMIP happens. If someone’s missing, if someone is murdered, you know we have law enforcement, people from state level here talking, we have different people from the community and grassroots organizations talking about what kind of their role is and how they help when someone is missing or murdered,” Great Plains Program Manager Brooke Pond said.

Today’s awareness and training sessions have several topics at hand. With one of those being building that bridge and connection between native families and communities and law enforcement.

“It’s telling them the crucial time frame when somebody goes missing. To actually report it as soon as you know the loved one is missing. Also walking them through the steps of the investigation process and allowing them to create that transparency from law enforcement to the families,” Morrisette said.

“A big takeaway is helping people understand what they can do by highlighting their relatives on social media and getting that information out there so it can be spread across the nation or to wherever kind of help in those cases,” Pond said.

It’s information that could potentially save lives.

You can learn more about the issue of missing murdered indigenous people here .

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