Lake County event to bring awareness to missing, murdered Indigenous people

The Lake County Tribal Health Consortium will host an event Friday to recognize the plight of missing and murdered Indigenous people and provide resources amid the national crisis.

The event, from noon to 5 p.m., will feature multiple officials talking about efforts to combat violence against Indigenous people.

According to the National Institute of Justice, 84.3% of Native women and 81.6% of Native men have experienced a form of violence in their lifetime. The national average is about 33% of women and 25% of men, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Pomo dance groups will also perform feather dances and there will be a raffle at the event, held at Xabaitin Park, 800 N. Main St. in Lakeport.

The Lake County Tribal Health Consortium will offer dental and crisis counseling among nearly 40 booths stationed at the park offering resources, including Mendocino College, the Indigenous Wellness Alliance and the Inter-tribal Council of California.

“Our focal point will highlight how to combat the MMIP crisis, deliver education to the tribal communities on how the Feather Alert system works, and provide the community with opportunities to speak to the DOJ, and FBI directly,” said Darnell Aparicio, public health outreach manager for the Lake County Tribal Health Consortium.

The Feather Alert system is an emergency notification apparatus to help authorities locate Indigenous people who go missing in California.

Speakers include Merri Lopez-Kiefer, director of the Office of Native American Affairs for the California Justice Department, and Frankie Myers, vice chair of the Yurok Tribe and the first Native American candidate to run for a North Coast Assembly seat.

The event is held two days before the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous People. The movement advocates for the end of violence against Indigenous People and seeks to draw attention to the high rates of disappearances and murders of Native people.

You can reach Staff Writer Madison Smalstig at madison.smalstig@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @madi.smals.