* Registration on our Eventbrite page here is not required but appreciated *
This free, public event is in honor of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2-Spirit Individuals (MMIWG2S) Awareness Day, which is observed on May 5, and is followed by the MMIWG2S National Week of Action (May 5-9). Our event will take place in the Maxwell Museum Courtyard, where there will be an information table with statistics/facts on the MMIWG2S crisis in New Mexico and resources for families of the missing; an opportunity to speak with Detectives Ida Lopez and Gerry Roach from the APD Cold Case Unit; hear about the OMI Missing and Unidentified Human Remains (MUHR) Program grant, their successes, and review open forensic cases; and donate a family reference sample or find out more about the New Mexico DNA Identification System (Michelle Graham).
Another table will offer free drinks, snacks, and MMIWG2S stickers. Lastly, we will have a table with a community art project to engage with the thoughts, feelings, and emotions of the reality of MMIWG2S.
At 12:00 pm, there will be a Remembrance Ceremony for those missing and/or murdered, those identified, and those waiting to return home.
This is a family-friendly, all-age appropriate event. Its main organizers are the Maxwell Museum's Collections Manager of Human Osteology and Laboratory Supervisor, Ashley Burch, and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) Coordinator, Ash Boydston-Schmidt. For more information, please contact them at ashboydston@law.unm.edu and/or aburch1@unm.edu, respectively.
