‘You can be careful but still get snatched up’: Lakota Tribes raise awareness for missing indigenous

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Since 2016, more than 5,000 indigenous people have been reported as missing.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, indigenous women are killed at a rate ten times higher than the national average.

“The problem is, we have all these missing indigenous relatives, and no one really seems to stand up to end it,” said Andrea Evans in an interview.

Nebraska ranks the 6th highest state with the most missing or murdered indigenous women. Many women and relatives are going missing in Lincoln due to sex trafficking.

Evans recounted the story of a young woman found dead after being missing for several months.

“It’s so sad we found her like that, and a lot of people didn’t even know she was missing,” said Evans. “We need to get the word out about our missing indigenous people because without the word being out, we can’t stop it.”

This woman’s story along with countless others is why the Lakota Tribes of Nebraska hosted its third “No More” event at City Impact Sunday afternoon.

At the event were indigenous keynote speakers, performers and vendors all raising awareness about the missing indigenous women and relatives.

“Why do I have to go in front of the [Legislature] to even ask them to begin tracking [missing indigenous relatives]? Our lives matter too, all lives matter,” said speaker April Satchell.

There were also professional wrestlers from the Native Wayz Wrestlers Association at the event.

“We wanted to team up with other indigenous that could be a great example of business,” said Satchell. “Or just to give our people a little hope.”