Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Awareness Month

Pathways to Healing honors community healing, visible action, and the lives we carry with us this May.

Throughout the month of May, Pathways to Healing, and partners across the Cowlitz Indian Tribe, have come together to raise awareness about the ongoing MMIP epidemic, honoring the lives of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People while advocating for justice, healing, and systemic change.

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW), or MMIP (People), refers to the ongoing crisis of Indigenous people who go missing or are murdered at disproportionately high rates in the United States and Canada. Indigenous women, girls, Two-Spirit, and gender-diverse people are especially impacted. For Tribal communities, it is both deeply personal and systemic, honoring loved ones while pushing for resources, jurisdictional reform, and respect for Tribal sovereignty.

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Cowlitz Indian Tribe Health and Human Services (HHS) and Cowlitz Tribal Public Safety have continued their partnership in raising awareness throughout MMIP Awareness Month. HHS provided educational and awareness materials in support of these efforts to Public Safety.

"As the Tribe’s victim services program, Pathways to Healing remains committed to honoring the lives of those who are missing and those we have lost," said Amanda Workman, Pathways to Healing Program Manager.

Throughout the month, MMIP awareness has been marked with visual projects across Tribal campuses and throughout the reservation in Ridgefield. MMIP yard signs displayed in front of Public Safety serve as a powerful reminder of the ongoing crisis and the importance of prevention, advocacy, healing, and justice. Officers have also added MMIP patches to their uniforms to visibly show solidarity throughout the month. In addition, Public Safety vehicles feature MMIP window clings with Cowlitz Coast Salish language “skʼʷnínwasmitstawt ɬ tit snxmántnkɬ” (we are thinking about our relatives) and MMIP awareness messaging, bringing continued visibility throughout the community. These visible representations are important reminders that loved ones are not forgotten and that the work of raising awareness and advocating for change must continue.

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Together, the Cowlitz Indian Tribe honors those who have been lost, stands beside those still searching for answers, and remains committed to prevention and awareness efforts that bring change.