By Kalvin Valdillez, Tulalip News
“MMIP stands for Missing and Murdered Indigenous People, and we need to come together every year and say their names, to keep their spirits alive. They know that we’re here and they’ve been waiting for this event. Because when we say their names, they come.”
– Tulalip member and MMIP mother, LaVerne Jones
It was an emotionally heavy evening at the Tulalip Gathering Hall on National MMIWP Day. Hundreds of Tulalip families and relatives from nearby tribes met to honor the lives lost and those who are still currently missing this May 5. The crisis that continues to impact Native families nationwide is often looked at through a statistical lens for many Americans, but on reservations it is felt a much deeper level.
These individuals are a large part of the fabric of our communities. They are our mothers, fathers, children, cousins, aunties, and uncles. They play an impactful role in our day-to-day lives. They are loved unconditionally by many. And when they are taken from us untimely, the loss of their presence is felt by all. And to make matters worse, their cases rarely receive the justice and time they are due and deserve, leaving families without closure and answers.
The 2025 MMIP event put an extra emphasis on uplifting the families whose loved ones fell victim to this terrible epidemic. In 2023 and 2024, the Tribe put together a similar event to this year’s MMIP Coastal Jam. However, this year’s event was organized by the community and led by local Indigenous activist and tribal member, Sarah Hart.
Prior to May 5 officially becoming a national day of observance for MMIWP victims, Sarah was the first person to bring attention to this epidemic at Tulalip. If you traveled along Marine Drive in the past couple of weeks, you may have noticed red dresses and shirts hanging up throughout the reservation. This has been Sarah’s personal project for the better half of a decade.
As tears welled up in her eyes, Sarah explained, “Losing so many sisters close to me and losing my younger cousin, Kyle Van – there just wasn’t any awareness here at Tulalip and I wanted to bring comfort and healing to start that conversation. I had this vision to start with one or two dresses, and it started to grow from there. I began wanting to hang up more and hit the spots where people were going to see them the most. The second year, Monie [Ordonia] showed up to help me, and she’s been with me ever since. She’s been my right hand, making sure I have support and has been a true treasure to me. It’s to bring awareness and healing more here at home because we don’t talk about it enough.”
After being one of the sole advocates for MMIWP Awareness locally, organizing the MMIP Coastal Jam felt like a natural step of progression for Sarah. She was determined to honor all those affected by the crisis in a good way and really lean into the healing aspect the Tribe’s ancestral songs and dances provide. And she was able to accomplish this by cutting down on the number of speakers and extending the coastal jam.
In previous years, multiple guest speakers and tribal leaders were featured on the agenda and they shared their personal experiences and feelings about MMIWP. To keep things running smooth, the only guest speaker this year was Tribal Chairwoman, Teri Gobin.
Said Teri, “We are excited to have this event tonight so we can remember those who have gone on before us. This is such an important event, and I want to thank the volunteers who started to pull this together and all of our staff members who worked together on this. It’s so important that we remember those who have gone on, we remember their family members who are still suffering, for those who haven’t had closure because they haven’t found their loved ones yet. My heart breaks for each and every one who are going through this. This happens way too often, and we just want to wrap our arms around you with love and show you this community cares about each and every one of you who have a missing or murdered loved one. We want to keep them in our prayers. We always hold out, hoping we will find our loved ones.”
Similarly, at the MMIP events in years past, each of the families of Tulalip MMIP victims were called to the front of the Gathering Hall to share a few words. Unbeknownst to event organizers, many of these families felt put on the spot and had a hard time getting through their allotted time at the podium. This year, after the potluck style dinner, Sarah opened the floor up and invited the families to come and speak and reminisce without pressure. Those who chose to get on the mic included the families of Cecil Lacy Jr., Kyle Van Jones-Tran, Jolene Leanne Flores, Mary Davis Johnson, and Gina Blatchford.
Many tears were shed as the families spoke. But one thing they all expressed was their gratitude for being surrounded by so many people and the love they felt at the Gathering Hall that evening. Once the families spoke, everybody was invited outdoors to light lanterns and send them to the heavens in remembrance of their loved ones. Though there were a few mishaps, and some lanterns caught fire, this was a special and fun way to pay tribute.
Before the coastal jam commenced, attendess had a moment to make medicine bundles of sage and lavender with the Tulalip Youth Council, as well as visit the Legacy of Healing resource tables, and to also write messages to those who are no longer with us on the two MMIWP walls in the halls of the venue.
As the people warmed up their drums and put on their regalia, event MC Chuckie Jones shared a few statistics. He stated, “There were 9,575 entries for missing AI/AN persons, in the FBI National Crime Information Center, filed in 2020. 71% of those cases were people under the age of 21. 43% were females under 18. And 15% of those cases remained active until the end of 2020. Just some numbers to think about, why we’re here tonight – to celebrate and remember those who are missing. This is a national problem, not just a local thing.”
With dancers and singers at the ready, the coastal jam officially kicked off with the powerful MMIW song, composed by Lummi tribal member, Antone George, who was in attendance and led the way.
After the jam was underway and the people were leaving and receiving that good medicine on the floor, Sarah took a moment to reflect on this year’s gathering. She expressed, “No words can describe it. It was absolutely beautiful and breathtaking. I was a little bit worried and wasn’t sure how things were going to come about and turn out, but I knew that I wanted today to be different, more community-driven. I wanted to bring healing and medicine for everybody, and I feel like we did that today, the turnout was amazing.
“This year specifically, I requested that we start a master log of our MMIW and MMIP that will be shared with all tribal entities and could be kept somewhere. There seems to be some kind of miscommunication, so it’s really important for me to get that out to the community. If you’re missing a loved one, if you want to be a part of this, if you want me to add a dress or shirt, or say their name, please reach out to me and e-mail me and I’ll gladly do anything I can to help support our people.”
For more details and info, Sarah can be reached at TulalipSarah@gmail.com.