MMIW volunteers claim multiple jurisdictions hinder search assistance [Video]

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month and while it is a complex and multifaceted issue, a focus in South Dakota is particularly on missing and murdered Indigenous women.

First Alert Investigator Beth Warden met with leaders in state organizations that work directly with those targeted, and their families, to identify their needs to make a difference.

Of the people listed as missing on the South Dakota Missing Persons Clearinghouse, over sixty percent are Native American.

Nonprofits and volunteers gave us a glimpse into what happens when a relative goes missing in South Dakota.

Although the Not Invisible Act was passed in 2020, the funding to coordinate efforts to reduce violent crime against Native Americans is minuscule. This is why grassroots organizations like the Red Ribbon Skirt Society help look for the missing and support their families.

“They can’t wait. They can’t wait for somebody to decide. Okay, we’re gonna give this state this amount of money. Give that state an amount of …