Legislature(2025 - 2026)DAVIS 106
04/10/2025 08:00 AM House TRIBAL AFFAIRS
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Presentation: Missing, Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two Spirit Alaska Working Group | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON TRIBAL AFFAIRS
April 10, 2025
8:33 a.m.
DRAFT
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Maxine Dibert, Chair
Representative Ashley Carrick
Representative Robyn Niayuq Burke
Representative Andi Story
Representative Rebecca Schwanke
Representative Jubilee Underwood
Representative Elexie Moore
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
OTHER LEGISLATORS PRESENT
Representative Alyse Galvin
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION: MISSING~ MURDERED INDIGENOUS WOMEN~ GIRLS~ AND TWO
SPIRIT ALASKA WORKING GROUP
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
KENDRA KLOSTER, Co-director
Missing, Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two Spirit Alaska
Working Group
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Co-presented the presentation, titled
"Understanding the Crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous
People and Taking Action."
CHARLENE AQPIK APOK, PhD, Co-director
Missing, Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two Spirit Alaska
Working Group
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Co-presented the presentation, titled
"Understanding the Crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous
People and Taking Action."
ACTION NARRATIVE
8:33:12 AM
CHAIR MAXINE DIBERT called the House Special Committee on Tribal
Affairs meeting to order at 8:33 a.m. Representatives Moore,
Underwood, Carrick, Burke, and Dibert were present at the call
to order. Representatives Story and Schwanke arrived as the
meeting was in progress.
^PRESENTATION: Missing, Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and
Two Spirit Alaska Working Group
PRESENTATION: Missing, Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two
Spirit Alaska Working Group
8:33:59 AM
CHAIR DIBERT announced that the only order of business would be
the presentation by the Missing, Murdered Indigenous Women,
Girls, and Two Spirit Alaska Working Group.
8:35:10 AM
KENDRA KLOSTER, Co-director, Missing, Murdered Indigenous Women,
Girls, and Two Spirit Alaska Working Group (MMIWG2S), introduced
herself and shared that she is Tlingit. She stated that she is
one of the cofounders of MMIWG2S. She stated that she is also
the Director of Government Relations for the Alaska Federation
of Natives.
8:36:09 AM
CHARLENE AQPIK APOK, PhD, Co-director, Missing, Murdered
Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two Spirit Alaska Working Group,
co-presented the presentation, titled "Understanding the Crisis
of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People and Taking Action"
[hard copy included in the committee packet]. She introduced
herself in Iñupiaq and translated this into English, stating
that she is originally from Golovin. She stated that along with
being one of the cofounders of MMIWG2S, she is also the
Executive Director of Data for Indigenous Justice. She
expressed gratitude to be able to share information about
MMIWG2S.
DR. APOK began the presentation on slide 2, and she emphasized
the strength collaboration brings to the working group. She
added that all the working partners are nonprofit organizations.
She overviewed the different organizations that are dedicated to
the work, including Native Movement, Data for Indigenous
Justice, Alaska Native Women's Resource Center, Alaska Native
Justice Center, and Alaska Native Heritage Center. She
discussed how these groups came together and pointed out that
they meet weekly to work on the issue.
DR. APOK moved to slide 3 to discuss current statistics, and she
noted that she would explain some of the acronyms used on the
slide. She stated that the acronym MMIWG2S is used to call
attention to gender-based violence. She also noted the acronyms
for missing and murdered Indigenous relative (MMIR) and missing
and murdered Indigenous persons (MMIP). She directed attention
to several statistics on the slide and shared the reminder that
these numbers represent real people, and the issue deeply
affects communities. Directing attention to the first bullet on
the slide, she noted that the report by Data for Indigenous
Justice on MMIP was the first of its kind. The report showed
229 cases of missing, murdered Indigenous women, and girls
(MMIWG) in Alaska, with 149 missing and 80 murdered. She stated
that since this time over 1000 cases have been reported, and
this number includes cases that were not previously tracked.
8:42:48 AM
DR. APOK, in response to a question from Representative Carrick,
clarified that the report with 229 cases was first published in
2021.
DR. APOK directed attention to the second bullet on the slide,
which showed that Alaska has the fourth highest MMIP cases in
the nation. She directed attention to the last bullet, stating
that there has been a long history of violence against
Indigenous people in the state, as 82 percent of Indigenous men
are victims of violence in their lifetime.
8:44:33 AM
DR. APOK, in response to a question from Representative Story,
pointed out that data is shared, and this will be addressed on a
later slide. She expressed the understanding that MMIP cases
are disorganized because of the lack of centralized data sharing
and the lack of shared definitions. She stated that in the
beginning of this research data on MMIP could not be pulled by
law enforcement because it was not being tracked by race and
ethnicity. She stated that since this time, the categories have
been updated, but data collection is still complex. She pointed
out that some systems have not been upgraded, and she added that
there is also a lack of accountability for reporting.
8:47:45 AM
DR. APOK moved to slide 4 and emphasized the importance of the
use of data to create a story of what is happening in the
communities, and what is happening in agencies. She pointed out
that, in creating solutions, data is the shared common language
between agencies. She expressed the importance of using data to
identify issues and to measure progress. In conclusion, she
stated that data works both ways and it creates the story of
what is happening in the state.
DR. APOK moved to slide 5 and discussed Alaska Native
leadership's participation in MMIP work in both the state and
nation. She pointed out that this includes being a part of the
Not Invisible Act Commission. She directed attention to the
quotes on the slide from the commission's report. She stated
that the commission participants represent many different
Indigenous communities from across the nation, including several
individuals from Alaska. She stated that the commission came to
Alaska, noting that she and Ms. Kloster were able to attend the
meeting. She pointed out that the commission's report has been
deleted off the federal government's website, per the new
administration. She expressed the understanding that state and
federal systems are not built to track Indigenous people and
this issue, so Native organizations are tracking the data and
what it represents. She noted that she has saved a copy of the
commission's report because it gives excellent recommendations
on moving forward. She stated that she would share this with
any interested committee members. She asserted that this work
would continue nationwide, regardless of the report. She
emphasized that the report had taken years to make, and she
stressed that the hard work was not waisted.
8:53:47 AM
DR. APOK, in response to a question from Representative Story,
expressed the understanding that the removal of the report was
related to the federal government's efforts to remove Diversity,
Equity and Inclusion (DEI). She stated that this effort has
resulted in the erasure of data representing people of color.
She expressed the opinion that one of the issues with the report
is that "American Indian" and "Alaska Native" have been
misunderstood as being racial categories, as opposed to these
being understood as sovereign peoples. She emphasized the
importance of the data collected in Alaska because of the unique
difficulties in the state. She expressed support for a letter
to be sent requesting that the report be reposted on the federal
website.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY recommended that the state post the report
on its website.
8:56:59 AM
MS. KLOSTER stated that she has spoken to Alaska's Congressional
Delegation, the United States Department of Justice, and others,
and these entities are aware of the situation concerning the
report.
MS. KLOSTER, co-presenting the presentation, moved to slide 6.
She described the colonization of the Alaska Native peoples, and
the relationship between Native boarding schools and MMIWG. She
explained that when Native children were sent to the boarding
schools, this had taken away their culture and language,
destroying their identity. She pointed out that when Native
Alaskans were colonized, their way of life was changed, and they
no longer had a voice for self-determination. She expressed the
understanding that this trauma has resulted in the high rates of
violence, sexual assault, and MMIWG in Native Alaskan
communities. She asserted that the root cause of these high
rates can be recognized by understanding the many individuals
who went through the boarding schools. She pointed out that
these individuals were never taught how to be part of their
Native communities, which effects the parenting of the next
generation, and this history explains the negative statistics on
Natives today, and the lasting effects on communities. She
emphasized that now is a "beautiful" time for Alaska Natives, as
the Native peoples are reclaiming their languages, dance, and
culture, and this revitalization of Native culture has
positively impacted the people.
MS. KLOSTER directed attention to slide 7, titled "Missing in
Life Missing in Data Missing in Media," and she pointed out that
this is the framework for MMIWG2S's work. She reiterated that
this work is done in partnership with other entities,
communities, and families who have been affected. She directed
attention to the kuspuk made by Amber Webb shown on the slide,
which has been painted with the faces of MMIWG. She noted that
the kuspuk has been displayed in the capitol building. In
response to a committee question, she stated that she would
follow up to the committee with Amber Webb's contact information
so her work could be furthered displayed.
9:05:01 AM
MS. KLOSTER directed attention to slide 8, titled "Missing in
Life." She reiterated that every MMIP statistic represents an
individual person, who was a mother, grandmother, daughter, and
more. She stated that MMIWG2S is working for these people, and
it hosts a Heartbeat of the Drum ceremony every year in the
spring to promote healing. On slide 9, she stated that while
promoting a remembrance of those who are lost, MMIWG2S also
promotes action, including an annual 5k Run for Justice, MMIW
Awareness Day on May 5, a yearly self-defense class, and the
distribution of resource guides. She discussed distributing
resource guides in detail, as this would help those family
members who are going through the process. She added that
toolkits are distributed to communities to help when these
situations arise. She directed attention to the annual
Awareness Rally, which began in 2018. At the time of the first
rally, she said there had not been a list of names of those
Native Alaskans who were missing or murdered, and the families
and community members writing down the names had started the
list. She pointed out this was the beginning of Data for
Indigenous Justice.
9:10:12 AM
CHAIR DIBERT commented on the usefulness of resource guides, and
she shared a recent experience in Fairbanks.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY questioned the MMIWG2S's process once a
person has been reported missing.
MS. KLOSTER, in response, stated that each situation would be
different. She noted that MMIWG2S is not a direct-services
organization; however, it does receive phone calls from families
in need. She stated that MMIWG2S is discussing ways to fill
this need. Currently it would reference people to direct
services, such as the Alaska Native Justice Center and police
departments. She stated that there are four MMIP investigators
at the Department of Public Safety (DPS). She reiterated the
importance of the resource guides, as these could help families
make a direct connection for support. She pointed out the
importance of the media message informing people not to wait 24
hours before reporting a missing person.
DR. APOK added that a resource coordinator position was created
because there are too many cases, and this coordinator will
direct people to the best resource. She stated that MMIWG2S
works to uplift the families who have campaigns for their loved
ones.
MS. KLOSTER, in response to a follow-up question, stated that
the first step would be to report a missing individual to the
Village Public Safety Officer (VPSO) or to an Alaska State
Trooper. She added that if a community does not have an
officer, reports should go directly to DPS. She deferred the
question to the commissioner of DPS who is scheduled for an
upcoming committee meeting.
MS. KLOSTER moved to slide 10, titled "Missing in the Media."
She stated that the media could be used to connect, influence,
and educate the world. She emphasized that the stories coming
out in the media would influence people. She pointed out that
many cases involving MMIP are often not reported in the media,
and she argued this is a way of erasing the issue. She
maintained that there is a crisis in the state, but it is not
seen in the media. Moving to slide 11, she expressed the
importance of uplifting the issue and talking about it so it can
be understood. She discussed the media interviews that MMIWG2S
has done. She asserted that some reporting could misrepresent
the issue, and this could cause harm to the communities
involved. She recommended that there should be care when words
are chosen to describe the situation and the people involved.
9:22:03 AM
DR. APOK asserted that the media needs to be coached on what is
considered negative, such as displaying graphic pictures of
people dying. She pointed out that the positive aspects of
people's lives should be the focus. She stated that MMIWG2S has
partnered with IllumiNative, which is involved in Indigenous
communications nationally. This effort produced a guide to help
media engage in positive ways, such as prioritizing Indigenous
voices on the issue. She stated that the guide has been shared
with the media in Alaska, and it has been received "really
well." She stated that she would follow up to the committee
with a copy of the guide.
DR. APOK, in response to a question from Chair Dibert,
emphasized that in the moment of crisis for families, the media
could be a powerful tool. She observed that once a case goes
"cold," this becomes a problem, as it is difficult to reopen the
case. She suggested that the use of media could help with this.
She stated that MMIWG2S has acted as a bridge between law
enforcement and families.
9:26:34 AM
REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK questioned whether law enforcement should
have different training, so these cases do not become cold
cases.
MS. KLOSTER, in response, stated that Senate Bill 151 [passed
during the Thirty-Third Alaska State Legislature] helped, as
mandatory cultural training for law enforcement has been
implemented. She expressed the understanding that the training
has gone well, but it has not reached every entity. She
discussed the training in detail, adding that this would not be
"one and done," rather it is ongoing.
MS. KLOSTER, in response to a follow-up question, stated that
all law enforcement must participate in the training,
reiterating that it is ongoing. She noted that because this is
a new requirement, it would take time to reach everyone. She
deferred the questions to the commissioner of DPS who is
scheduled for an upcoming committee meeting. In response to a
follow-up question from Chair Dibert, she expressed the
understanding that the police department in Fairbanks would
train through DPS, while the police department in Anchorage has
its own training programs.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY expressed her appreciation that the
training is not a "one and done."
DR. APOK recognized Ingrid Goodyear, who is the federal MMIP
coordinator. She stated that she works with Ms. Goodyear's
working group on a weekly basis. She explained that this group
helps organize law enforcement across the country, including
many entities, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation. She
discussed the creation of the Tribal Response Plans, and the
testing of these plans. She noted that law enforcement is also
receiving this type of training.
MS. KLOSTER added that Fairbanks has been tested this response
plan.
9:35:09 AM
DR. APOK moved to slide 12, titled "Missing in the Data." She
reiterated that when MMIWG2S started this work, there was no
real data for MMIP cases in Alaska. She explained that the
first database was created from oral stories shared by family
members and communities. She stated that since this began,
social media has been useful in tracking names. She expressed
the importance of the data, as it would allow communities to
advocate for themselves. She noted that Senate Bill 151 has
made it mandatory for cases to be reported to the federal
database, as this was not happening before. She moved to slide
13 and pointed out the report containing data collected from
Native Alaska communities, and she stated that the report is
available on MMIWG2S's website. She explained that when these
sensitive stories are shared, there is a responsibility to act,
and this is the origins of the report. She noted that this is
an effort for the Native community to track its own cases and
create meaningful change. Even though the Native community is
being stewards of the data, she emphasized that the state needs
better systems to track this, as data systems are important.
DR. APOK moved to slide 14 and pointed out the areas that need
improvement in the data systems, which include transparency and
tracking through DPS. She pointed out that cold case files are
now available. She reiterated that there is mandatory
reporting; however, some of the data fields still need to be
updated. She noted that under the "missing persons" category,
there are now four different data fields, which can better
represent what is happening in a case. She expressed the need
for more work on centralizing the data systems, as the
categories and data fields for each agency are not the same, so
information is not shared correctly.
9:43:44 AM
DR. APOK, in response to a question from Representative Burke,
stated that the updated data fields now include "environmental,"
"suspicious," and "nonsuspicious." She noted that the important
data fields are "suspicious" and "nonsuspicious," with law
enforcement making this determination. She stated that these
categories had been previously covered by only one field.
DR. APOK, in response to a question from Representative Story,
clarified that the "environmental" field would designate if an
individual were out hiking or boating, for example. She
expressed uncertainty on the details of the "suspicious" and
"nonsuspicious" fields. She expressed the opinion that these
categories still would be considered imperfect. She deferred
the question to the commissioner of DPS who is scheduled for an
upcoming committee meeting.
MS. KLOSTER, in response to a question from Chair Dibert, stated
that [NamUS] stands for the National Missing and Unidentified
Persons System.
DR. APOK added that NamUS has categories and data fields
different from those listed in the state system, and for better
reporting, these need to match. She noted that families and law
enforcement can add names to this database, and MMIWG2S is
conducting training for families to be able to do this.
9:48:54 AM
MS. KLOSTER moved to slide 15 and drew attention to the
successes of MMIWG2S, which include the passage of Senate Bill
151. She explained that this has helped to obtain two of the
four MMIP investigators at DPS. She noted that, because of the
large workload, the department could use more investigators.
The bill also included mandatory cultural training, and it
created a review commission. She discussed some of the other
policies that would be created under Senate Bill 151, including
bone testing in the state to help solve some of the cases. She
clarified that she does not know the status of the grant for the
bone testing system.
MS. KLOSTER pointed out that there are important things
happening on both the federal and state level for public safety
and having an increased presence of VPSOs. She pointed out the
work on updating the 911 system in the state. She emphasized
the length of time it could take for a case to go through the
Department of Law, as this is another issue that is being
addressed. In conclusion, she expressed appreciation to the
committee.
DR. APOK, in closing, expressed appreciation to the committee.
She noted that the network across the state is large and
complex, as the issue matters to many people. She stated that
tribal administrators and others are doing this work every day.
She expressed gratitude for the success of Senate Bill 151;
however, she pointed out the work is not finished.
9:57:49 AM
REPRESENTATIVE BURKE expressed her gratitude to the presenters
for helping people heal and their advocacy for public safety.
REPRESENTATIVE SCHWANKE expressed appreciation for the work the
presenters are doing. She questioned whether the public could
report on a missing person anonymously.
DR. APOK, in response, stated there are numerous lines for
anonymous reporting to DPS.
REPRESENTATIVES CARRICK and MOORE both expressed appreciation
for the work the presenters are doing.
CHAIR DIBERT offered the committee's support for the work the
presenters are doing. She made closing comments.
10:03:31 AM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Special Committee on Tribal Affairs meeting was adjourned at
10:03 a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| MMIWG Presentation - House Tribal Affairs 4.9.25.pptx.pdf |
HTRB 4/10/2025 8:00:00 AM |
|
| 34 NIAC Final Report_version 11.1.23_FINAL.pdf |
HTRB 4/10/2025 8:00:00 AM |
|
| MMIP_guide_sm-1.pdf |
HTRB 4/10/2025 8:00:00 AM |
|
| DIJ onepager_Feb20251.pdf |
HTRB 4/10/2025 8:00:00 AM |