September 27, 2023 National Native News
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Cases in new AK missing persons report go back to 1960 |
A first-of-its-kind report on missing persons in Alaska, which maps out hundreds of cases going back to 1960, has been released by state's Department of Public Safety and the Anchorage Police Department, as Rhonda McBride from our flagship station KNBA reports.
The State Department of Public Safety and the Anchorage Police Department collaborated to collect this data.
Austin McDaniel, a spokesman for the Public Safety Department, says the report maps out hundreds of cases going back to 1960.
“We think this is a good first effort, and we’re definitely interested in adding additional data points.”
McDaniel says the work, which is an outgrowth of Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R-AK)’s People First Initiative, will be updated every quarter and can be found online.
In the last quarter, from April to June, 200 Alaska Native or American Indian people went missing in the state. Most of those have been found, except for 25.
The database has an important new feature.
It categorizes the circumstances surrounding the disappearances, identifying those which are suspicious.
As director of the Data for Indigenous Justice group, Charlene Apok welcomes the new report and says it’s what advocates for missing Indigenous people have been asking for – for years.
She worked on an earlier attempt to track their numbers.
“Sadly, I think what this really illustrates is a systemic issue of violence that’s being perpetrated in our community in the state of Alaska. And that should raise flags and alarms, and really start igniting justice.”
Apok hopes the database will continue to improve and provide more information about those missing, including their hometowns and Native cultural identities, so they become more than just points of data, but reminders of loved ones, lost to their families.
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| my screenshot from the new report👆 |
**Maybe this TV show helped?👇👇
Yesterday I watched the last two episodes of Alaska Daily who had made a similar map and report... Devastating to watch... Trace
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