More than a dozen tribal leaders are in San Diego to find solutions to the disappearances of members of California’s indigenous tribes, reports NBC 7’s Joe Little.
Since the 1980s, seven people have disappeared from Indigenous tribes in San Diego County, and no ones knows where they are today. It’s a problem that’s far more widespread than people may think.
“It impacts all of us,” said Joe James, chairman of the Yurok Tribe of northern California.
Dozens of members from California’s indigenous tribes are in Pala this week for the third annual Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Summit. The Pala Band of Mission Indians is hosting the conference at the Pala Casino Hotel through Wednesday.
“We are trying to educate a system that was never built for us,” James said.
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James said indigenous people are victims of violent crimes at a higher rate than any other ethnic group. James believes the tribes' sovereign nations need help from state and federal governments, need better procedures in place with law enforcement and need systemic change from the top down.
“It's critical to bring awareness, action, education,” James said.
The idea of Feather Alerts, a statewide notification when a tribal member disappears, was borne out of the first MMIP summit, in 2023.
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“We want them to come home, want them to come home living,” James sid.
A summit spokesperson told NBC 7 that California has the fifth highest rate of missing or murdered indigenous people in the nation.
“Decades of marginalization have only deepened the vulnerability of indigenous communities, resulting in high rates of poverty, lack of housing, child-welfare disparities, entanglement in the criminal justice system and ongoing threats to the health and well-being of indigenous people," read a statement issued by the summit.
The MMIP summit continues Wednesday at the Pala Casino Hotel. Organizers said everyone is welcome to attend.
