The number of unsolved cases involving missing and murdered Indigenous people continues to grow, and Shawano Community High School is doing its part to shine a light on the issue.
The high school will be observing Missing and Murdered Indigenous People’s Day on May 3 with a walk starting at the school at 8:30 a.m. and anticipated to end at Shawano Community Middle School. The day of remembrance is traditionally May 5 in the United States and Canada, but since that day is a Sunday this year, officials with the school’s Title VI program are conducting the event on a regular school day.
Title VI tribal liaison Joel Doxtator noted that Native Americans are at a higher risk of suffering violence and death than many other ethnicities. FBI statistics show 84% of women and 82% of men have experienced violence and victimization, he said, and the Congressional Research Service found that Native Americans have 3½ times a higher percentage of going missing than those who are non-Native.
“Being Native, because we’re such a small population, we’re all very much interconnected,” Doxtator said during a presentation April 8 to the Shawano School Board. “That’s part of what makes this such a big day. When we lose one person, two people, it’s a big deal.”
Doxtator said the walk is not meant to be any kind of political statement, but instead is a day to honor those who are missing or have been killed. He said the public is invited to participate, as long as the community doesn’t try to turn the event political.
“There is to be no advocacy, no statements saying we want this or that,” Doxtator said. “We’re just there to honor them.”
Another measure Doxtator has in place to keep the event from being political is that students will not be able to do interviews with media outlets.
Students will be wearing shirts commemorating MMIP Day, and female students will also be wearing ribbon skirts, a common piece of attire for Indigenous tribes in the area, as they walk. Doxtator said that students have to get approval from teachers and the principal showing they’re passing classes before they can participate.
Doxtator noted that an honor song will be part of the event.
“We’ll be telling the kids in an assembly beforehand, this is not something we can joke about. This is not something where we’re getting selfies,” he said. “It’s almost like a funeral procession, in a way. We want them to be solemn and remember those we have lost.”
After the board meeting, Doxtator said that SCHS has done other events in previous years to honor MMIP Day, such as bringing in guest speakers, but this is the first year it has done a walk.
“There are not many of us,” Doxtator said. “When we lose one, it affects all of us.”
lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com
SCHS honoring missing, murdered with walk
