Minneapolis hearing aims to reduce crimes against Indigenous community

MINNEAPOLIS -- A federal commission is in Minneapolis Tuesday looking for ways to reduce crimes committed against Indigenous people, and hearing suggestions from the public as well.

This marks the fourth public hearing of the Not Invisible Act Commission, but leaders said their work is far from over.

The goal of this hearing -- which was, at times, very emotional -- was to leave with recommendations on how to better fight the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous persons.

"It changes you in every aspect," Melissa Pamp said.

She lost her daughter three years ago, after she was stabbed by her son's father's girlfriend.

"A little piece dies with them and you have to learn how to live again. Stuff that makes you happy doesn't make you happy as much. Celebrations aren't the same. You see all her friends growing up. And she'll forever be 21," Pamp said.

Pamp isn't alone. Monte Fronk lost his daughter two years ago at the age of 14. She was human trafficked for two years before she was killed.

"Every family involved, going through this, needs to have support and guidance from the beginning of the journey and through the end," Fronk said.

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It's something that Pamp said was missing in her family's tragedy.

"I felt like I was a lead investigator," Pamp said. "There's a disconnect between law enforcement and tribal communities."

Parents of victims say they'd like to see collaborative training and want to see trauma-informed, Native liaisons on tribal grounds to better support and investigate these types of crimes. Pamp adds that she'd like to see a specialized law enforcement division trained to work on tribal grounds.

"I don't believe our ancestors would have stood silent if our women and children kept coming up missing," she said.

During the hearing, commission board members heard a variety of testimony, including a message from Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan.

"As Native people, we all know someone who's directly impacted by this issue, or we ourselves are personally affected. There isn't a single solution to this problem, but there's an urgent and critical need for all of us to work together in whatever area we have of our expertise, so we can create a future where all our communities are safe, and we'll be able to give some sense of closure to loved ones who lost family members," Flanagan said.

Minnesota has led part of this fight, with the first Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Office in the country. 

Meanwhile, Minnesota will be adding five new Indian country processors to specialize in crimes against Indigenous people in the state. U.S. Attorney Andrew Lugar says it will be a "game changer." 

The next public hearing will be later this month in Northern California.