Blackfoot mother speaks out about her murdered daughter for MMIP Awareness Day [Video]

BOZEMAN — May 5 is Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Awareness Day. On the Montana State University campus, the American Indian Hall held awareness events Friday morning.

“Can you tell me a bit about your daughter?” I asked Carlene OldPerson.

“Vandree? She was beautiful. She was loud. She was vibrant,” Carlene told me.

Carlene OldPerson is a member of the Blackfeet tribe. She tells me about her daughter Vandree, who was murdered in March of 2023. She was just 20 years old.

“My daughter’s death is being wrote off. Just being pushed. Who woke me up to it was the FBI. I thought they were going to handle it, but they just stood in my house, in my living room, and laughed at me. ‘Oh that goes on up here all the time,’” Carlene told me.

Vandree OldPerson is just one of thousands of missing and murdered Indigenous people. According …