New Mexico鈥檚 would allow law enforcement to quickly share information about missing Indigenous people through cell phone alerts, social media and digital highway signs. The system, which would also distribute information to the news media, would be similar to Amber Alerts for missing children.
In New Mexico, there are about 200 missing Indigenous people, according to the state鈥檚 department of justice.
Sen. Angel Charley, a Democrat who is Laguna and Din茅, co-sponsored the bill, which is awaiting the governor鈥檚 signature. She said the alert won鈥檛 solve the crisis, but it will ensure there鈥檚 a rapid response to a missing Indigenous person.
鈥淭he root causes of murdered and missing Indigenous people are jurisdictional complexities, historic lack of funding, and systemic racism,鈥� Sen. Charley said. 鈥淔amilies who have lost their loved one have shared their story over and over and over in the hope that something would change. And this is one of the ways that they've affected change.鈥�
Colorado, Washington and California have similar systems for missing Indigenous people. Colorado鈥檚 alert, which went into effect in late 2022, helped locate at least 15 people in its first five months, according to an .
Arizona lawmakers recently advanced to create their own alert. It comes as the of 14-year-old Emily Pike, of the San Carlos Apache Tribe, shakes tribal communities in Arizona and beyond.
According to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, there are missing Indigenous people cases in several Mountain West states, including Arizona, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico and Wyoming.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, 萝莉少女 in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the .