PHOENIX — Monday marked a historic day for the State of Arizona and a big step in addressing the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous people.
"Everybody thought that I was gone on my own accord so, I know how it feels. My family knows how it feels," said Wi-Bwa Grey, Council Representative for the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community.
Grey was missing for two years when she was younger but managed to escape a bad situation.
"We need to be that voice for the families and for those who are missing," said Grey.
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She is now one of more than a dozen members of the new Missing & Murdered Indigenous People Task Force.
Others include members of the state legislature, representatives of several tribal nations, and law enforcement professionals.
"What needs to change is those jurisdictional issues that we're facing even from other native communities to other native communities," said Grey.
Governor Katie Hobbs created the task force under an executive order. The first meeting was held on Monday.
"It will require us to work together to find solutions and to take courageous actions to address where we have fallen short in the past," said Governor Hobbs.
Governor Hobbs says the task force will be consulting with government agencies, collecting data, reviewing policies, and proposing recommendations to find pathways for justice.
ABC15 is told Native American women are three times more likely to be a victim of sexual assault or domestic violence.
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"There's a lot of cases that have come from the supreme court that have created what we call a jurisdictional maze that unfortunately, allows perpetrators to get away with crimes against our people without allowing tribes to help them, hold them accountable, and protect our people," said Mikah Carlos, Council Representative for the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community.
Jasmine Blackwater-Nygren, the First Lady of the Navajo Nation, is the youngest on the task force but is hoping to make a big impact.
"I am one of those statistics, you know. I'm more likely to go missing or be murdered.... and to say that, to think about that, you know, it's really difficult. But, I think as the next generation, we're really motivated to actually do something because of that," says Jasmine Blackwater-Nygren, First Lady of the Navajo Nation.
