cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/5334510
There’s been a flash point of change in the U.S. that has brought new recognition and reckoning with the high rates of missing and murdered Indigenous people.
After decades of sporadic police and public interest and investigation, public awareness, support and funding sources have aligned in a way that may finally bring closure and justice for families.
Recent developments in the decades-old murder case of Susan “Suzy” Poupart highlight the shifts.
And, ICT has learned, that after years of struggling to pay for expensive DNA testing of evidence found with Poupart’s remains, the Vilas County sheriff’s department will be receiving help from the Bureau of Indian Affairs Missing and Murdered Unit, which will fund the testing as part of the agency’s initiative Operation Spirit Return. The initiative focuses on solving cold cases in Indian Country.
The recent momentum, however, could be endangered by the Trump administration’s war on diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, which targets public policies or programs that examine underlying causes of problems driven by racial or social inequity.
“We’ve come so far,” said Stacey June Ettawageshik, executive director of Uniting Three Fires Against Violence in an interview with ICT. Ettawageshik is a citizen of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians.
“We are finally just beginning to get our voices heard and gaining access to funding,” Ettawageshik said. “But having that suddenly taken away would be devastating for our communities and leave us back to square one.”