‘Keep our sisters safe’: Rally for Missing Murdered Indigenous People reaches Santa Rosa City Hall

The smell of sage wafted through a sea of about 150 people wearing red and carrying signs calling attention to the Missing Murdered Indigenous People Crisis crisis outside Santa Rosa City Hall on Tuesday.

The crowd had marched a half mile from the Peace and Justice Center to raise awareness of the disproportionate numbers of Indigenous people who become victims of violence, including murder, human trafficking and kidnapping, as many of their cases go unsolved.

It was the second annual march organized by Madonna Feather-Cruz, a tribal liaison based in Santa Rosa, who planned to read the city’s previously passed ordinance declaring Missing Murdered Indigenous People day. The rally follows the fourth consecutive year President Joe Biden has recognized May 5 as National Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples Day.

Many of Tuesday’s marchers painted red hand prints across their mouths, a symbol of the MMIP crisis. As the beat of Indigenous drums reverberated, some sang “Keep our sisters safe.”

Others chanted names of Indigenous people who have gone missing or have been murdered on reservations, including Khadijah Britton from the Round Valley Indian Tribes and Nicole Smith from the Manchester Rancheria.

Native family members Angelica Smith and her 19-year-old daughter Precious Thomas were part of the march.

Their cousin, Nicole Smith, was killed in a drive-by-shooting at another cousin’s home on the Mendocino County reservation in 2017. She said Smith’s killing is considered a cold-case now.

“It just kind of really makes everybody sad, because you just don't know when that could happen to anybody,” Angelica Smith said. “Then just to see nothing move forward, what are they supposed to do?”

Every year, the two go to ceremonies to dance and raise awareness for missing people, including Nicole Smith, who was also a traditional dancer and mother of three.

Smith said that as she dances for the MMIP movement, she prays for Native families.

“I always pray for the strength to move forward, the strength to just be able to understand that everything has its place,” she said.

There are over 150 cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women and two spirit people (a Native term for someone who identifies as both genders) documented throughout the state, according to the Sovereign Bodies Institute in 2020.

That places California among the top five states with the highest number of MMIP cases. More than a third of California's MMIP cases come from Yurok Country in Del Norte and Humboldt counties in the far northern reaches of the state.

Several prominent local leaders joined the rally, including Herman G. Hernandez, executive director of Los Cien, Alicia Sanchez, a longtime activist and union leader, and City Council member Eddie Alvarez.

“Often we simply stand away because it doesn’t affect us immediately,” Alvarez said. “But the first step is to listen and hear solutions. Action is long overdue and I’m happy to see our Native community members come together to tell their stories.”

Precious Thomas said she was taking the day to feel grateful for the amount of national attention Native communities have received through rallies like the one held Tuesday.

“There’s always more you can do, and I think we should take a moment to feel grateful and proud that we’ve reached this point,” she said. “It’s not just being swept under the rug anymore.”

You can reach Staff Writer Alana Minkler at 707-526-8531 or alana.minkler@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter,) @alana_minkler.