Darian Nevayaktewa disappeared 15 years ago in northeastern Arizona. She was 19 years old and lived in New Mexico with her mother, Lynette Pino. But it was a summer stopover on the Hopi reservation where her father lived who disappeared after going to a collection and never returning home.
“We take it one day at a time and just pray that one of these days something will come out,” Pino said.
Her search took her from Tesuque Pueblo to Albuquerque on Sunday for the second annual Day of the Missing in New Mexico. Nearly two hundred Native Americans are missing in the state and the Navajo Nation, according to an FBI list last updated in November.
Although it was intended for other missing people in New Mexico, Pino, who also worked last year, said the occasion allowed for face-to-face conversations with authorities and information about resources such as search and rescue teams. After the winter, she hopes to be able to organize a new search for her son.
Over the past decade and a half, she’s struggled to get the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which still lists her son’s case as open on its website, to communicate with her.
Whether it’s unanswered calls, ignored considerations, or blaming victims, relationships with law enforcement are one of the biggest barriers to getting justice for their missing or murdered loved ones, Indigenous families say. Lawmakers created the Sunday occasion in 2022, which the state is required to celebrate annually, in part to test how to tackle the problem.
But Pino may have just missed it.
Officials announced the date and location on Nov. 28, less than a week before the event, organized through the Department of Indian Affairs and the Department of Public Safety. Dozens of chairs were empty when the protest began with speeches by state officials in a hotel convention hall.
Along with other affected families, Pino wondered if the state is doing enough to raise awareness.
“Looking around, no one,” Pino said, adding that he learned about the time a friend sent him a pamphlet. “It’s depressing. Maybe the advertising wasn’t smart enough.
Several state agencies reported on social media and officials “reached out to tribal leaders to complete the dissemination of information,” Indian Affairs spokesperson Aaron Lopez wrote to New Mexico In Depth on Monday.
The state doesn’t have an official attendee count because the event is open to the public and no registration is required, according to Herman Lovato, a spokesperson for the Department of Public Safety. Agency staff, Lovato said, interacted with about “30 other people from families of missing persons. “
Josey Tenorio (Hopi), who has two siblings who were murdered, and a couple other advocates confronted Indian Affairs officials after their opening remarks, telling them she thinks they should’ve announced the date and location earlier.
“This room would’ve been filled with hundreds of families,” Tenorio told Indian Affairs Secretary-Designate James Mountain and Deputy Secretary Josett Monette.
Some families she’s in contact with didn’t know the event was happening, Tenorio said, and even if they had, the late notice would’ve made it difficult for people who live outside of Albuquerque to make it.
In response to the families’ criticisms, Monette said: “One perspective is that, of course, if we’re able to help a family – a family – that’s really good work. Of course we want to help as many families as we can.”
Monette said that going forward, state officials should “get the deal out there as soon as possible” and are already setting the date for next year.
During her talk with Mountain and Monette, Tenorio said affected families need to be included in a new Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Advisory Council announced last week.
Tenorio among a few dozen Indigenous families who traveled to Santa Fe in October to protest the dissolution of the state’s task force on missing and murdered Indigenous women and their loved ones earlier this year. A member of the task force proposed to lawmakers that New Mexico create Day of the Missing after learning of similar occasions in other states.
Advocates and families, along with state leaders and law enforcement officials, will form the advisory council, according to a news release. Pojoaque Pueblo Gov. Jenelle Roybal and Picuris Pueblo Gov. Craig Quanchello, whom Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham appointed to lead the group, are members.
“Their considerations are vital and I think we’ve addressed them,” Mountain told New Mexico In Depth at Sunday’s event. “I’m pleased to be able to communicate with them. “
When asked how officials responded to his concerns, Mountain said, “Listening to them is important and this addresses this issue. I mean, what we control today is what we control today. However, in the future, I heard what they were talking about and we exchanged main points so that we can do a much bigger task on our part.
Tenorio is skeptical that being listened to will lead to greater results.
“They’re going to push me away like they do because they’re only telling us what we need to hear,” Tenorio said.
by Bella Davis, New Mexico In-Depth, Source New Mexico December 6, 2023
Darian Nevayaktewa disappeared 15 years ago in northeastern Arizona. She was 19 years old and lived in New Mexico with her mother, Lynette Pino. But it was a summer stopover on the Hopi reservation where her father lived who disappeared after going to a rally. and never come home.
“We’re taking things one day at a time and just praying that one of those days goes well,” Pino said.
Her search brought her from Tesuque Pueblo to Albuquerque on Sunday for the second annual Missing in New Mexico Day. Nearly 200 Native Americans are missing from the state and the Navajo Nation, according to an FBI list last updated in November.
While geared toward people missing from New Mexico, Pino, who also attended last year, said the event provides face-to-face conversations with law enforcement and information about resources like search and rescue teams. After winter, she hopes to be able to organize another search for her son.
For more than 15 years, she has fought to be touched by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which lists her son’s case as open on its website.
Whether it’s unanswered calls, ignored considerations, or blaming victims, relationships with law enforcement are one of the biggest barriers to getting justice for their missing or murdered loved ones, Indigenous families say. Lawmakers created the Sunday occasion in 2022, which the state is required to celebrate annually, in part to test how to tackle the problem.
But Pino may have missed it without a hitch.
Officials announced the date and location on Nov. 28, less than a week before the event, organized through the Department of Indian Affairs and the Department of Public Safety. Dozens of chairs were empty when the protest began with speeches by state officials at a hotel. convention hall.
Along with other affected families, Pino wondered if the state is doing enough to raise awareness.
“Looking around, there’s no one there,” Pino said, adding that she learned about the time a friend sent her a flyer. “It’s depressing. Maybe the exposure wasn’t enough.
Several state agencies posted about it on social media, and officials “reached out to tribal leaders to complete the dissemination of information,” Indian Affairs spokesman Aaron Lopez wrote in depth Monday in New Mexico.
The state does not have an official count of attendees because the occasion is open to the public and registration is not required, according to Department of Public Safety spokesperson Herman Lovato. Agency staff, Lovato said, interacted with about “30 other people from families of missing persons. “
Josey Tenorio (Hopi), who has two siblings who were murdered, and a couple other advocates confronted Indian Affairs officials after their opening remarks, telling them she thinks they should’ve announced the date and location earlier.
“This room would’ve been filled with hundreds of families,” Tenorio told Indian Affairs Secretary-Designate James Mountain and Deputy Secretary Josett Monette.
Some families he is in contact with didn’t know what was happening, Tenorio said, and even if they had known, the delay would have made it difficult for other people who live outside of Albuquerque to arrive.
In response to the families’ criticisms, Monette said: “One perspective is that, of course, if we’re able to help a family – a family – that’s really good work. Of course we want to help as many families as we can.”
Monette said that going forward, state officials should “get the deal out there as soon as possible” and are already setting the date for next year.
During his interview with Mountain and Monette, Tenorio said affected families will need to be included in a new Missing and Murdered Indigenous Advisory Council announced last week.
Tenorio is one of several dozen Native families who traveled to Santa Fe in October to protest the dissolution of the state’s Task Force on Missing and Murdered Native Women and Family Members earlier this year. One task force member proposed lawmakers create Missing Persons Day in New Mexico after hearing about occasions in other states.
Advocates and families, along with state leaders and law enforcement officials, will make up the advisory council, according to a news release. Pojoaque Pueblo Gov. Jenelle Roybal and Picuris Pueblo Gov. Craig Quanchello, who Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham appointed to lead the group, are selecting members.
“Their concerns are important and I believe we addressed them,” Mountain told New Mexico In Depth during Sunday’s event. “I was glad to be able to talk with them.”
When asked how officials responded to his concerns, Mountain said, “Listening to them is important and this addresses this issue. I mean, what we control today is what we control today. However, in the future, I heard what they were talking about and we exchanged main points so that we can do a much bigger task on our part.
Tenorio is skeptical that being listened to will lead to greater results.
“They are going to push me away like they do because they only tell us what we need to hear,” Tenorio said.
Source New Mexico is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Source New Mexico maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Shaun Griswold for questions: [email protected]. Follow Source New Mexico on Facebook and Twitter.
Bella covers New Mexico’s Native affairs in depth, a position made possible in part through the national organization Report for America. Based in Albuquerque, Bella recently reported on cannabis, housing, local government, and more for the Santa Fe Reporter. received a one-year reporting fellowship with New Mexico In Depth. Davis received her first steps in journalism at her university’s newspaper, which she joined at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and throughout the summer of 2020 primarily. covered the protests sparked by the police killing of George Floyd. She graduated from the University of New Mexico with a degree in journalism in December 2020. A member of the Yurok tribe, Davis was born in Eureka, California and grew up in central New Mexico. .
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