The National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People was a day of remembrance and healing for many who gathered at the Swinomish Reservation on Tuesday.
Numerous adults and children wore red handprints over their mouths to symbolize those whose voices were silenced with blood, shedding light on a crisis that Mental Health Program Manager Nakesha Edwards said institutions have long failed to track and address appropriately.
According to a 2016 report from the National Institute of Justice, 84.3% of American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced violence in their lifetime, with Washington being the state with the second-highest rates of missing Indigenous women cases in urban centers. Indigenous men are affected as well, with many names appearing in Washington State Patrol’s list of people reported missing by law enforcement — which counts 108 people as of April 27.
Elder Services Director Amanda Buck said some of the elders she works with have lost family and friends or live in fear that their loved ones — especially if they’re female — may not be safe.
Healing from trauma, together
The crowd first met at the John K. Bob Ball Field, marching down Reservation Road and First Avenue to the sound of the Swinomish Canoe Family’s drumming and singing.
Upon returning to the field, attendees stood in a large circle as the family members of 12 victims — women and men — lined up at the center, some holding photos of their loved ones in silence. The organizers invited people to come forward with their stories of loss, pain and acceptance in a healing circle.
Sitting at the healing dinner held at the Boys & Girls Club that evening, Swinomish tribal member Amanda Charlie said she found solace in the Canoe Family’s singing and in speaking openly about her grief.
In 2021, Charlie received a phone call informing her that her niece, a teen from the Yakama Nation and the Spokane Tribe, had been killed in a hit-and-run. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, she missed her funeral. To further add to the pain, the driver was never found.
In Washington, Indigenous people are 2.5 times more likely to be the victim of an unsolved homicide, according to the Office of the Attorney General’s Homicide Investigation Tracking System.
“I watched her grow up from a little girl all the way into adulthood,” Charlie told La Conner Community News. “All the memories that I had, and the ambition that she had, the dreams that she had… Losing her at 19 years old was really tragic.”
Today, the memories of her niece dancing at the Swinomish Tribe’s powwows bring her a feeling of warmth. And while counseling and family have been helpful, she was one of a few people to express the need for the grief peer support meetings to resume after they were paused during the pandemic.
The 1989 murders of Nancy and Donald Cooke in Whatcom County changed the lives of cousins Jae Jefferson and Laura Edwards forever.
Jefferson is a Lummi tribal member who married into the Swinomish Tribe, where she works as the Cultural Events Coordinator. Many also know her as a member of the Swinomish Canoe Family. She was a young child when her aunt and grandfather were stabbed to death, a tragedy that “completely shattered” her family.
Swinomish tribal member Laura Edwards, who was only 5 when her mother and grandfather were murdered, said she initially blocked much of the trauma out. As she grew older, however, the feelings of anger and sadness became unbearable.
That wasn’t the first traumatic loss for her family. Years before she was born, her great-grandfather on her father’s side, Gerald Edwards Sr., was also killed.
At only 12, Laura Edwards turned to alcohol and drugs, remaining in active addiction until four years ago.
For years, Jefferson and her family have struggled seeing the murderers out of prison after serving two decades, which she said was not nearly enough. She hopes the justice system will impose longer sentences for murder so that grieving families don’t have to see killers walk free while their loved ones are gone forever.
Today, the two women are striving to make a difference for themselves and others.
Building a better future
For Laura Edwards, it all “clicked” when she was sent to prison four years ago at age 39.
“I just was tired of being in addiction, and tired of going to jail and prison, and tired of not being able to be there for my daughter,” she said. “But most importantly, tired of not being there and showing up for myself.”
After serving two years, she took her life back, regaining custody of her daughter and finding a job and housing. She credits counseling, spirituality, family, friends and community events like Tuesday’s ceremony for how far she’s come.
This year is the first time that Jefferson has felt comfortable talking to a crowd with a microphone. Emceeing the ceremony, sharing her own story and listening to others meant a lot to her, she said, emphasizing the importance of collective healing.
Growing up, there was a lack of programs and cultural activities that could help families cope with trauma and loss in Indian Country, she said.
Things look much different now, with many fighting to raise awareness, bring peace to their families and protect younger generations from enduring the same pain she and her loved ones went through.
“I feel like our parents are starting to follow us and heal themselves with our generation stepping forward,” she said. “We’re trying to break the cycle.”
Luisa Loi is a general assignment reporter for La Conner Community News.
