TOPPENISH, Wash. – May 5 is recognized as a day to raise awareness for missing and murdered indigenous people. Family and community members gathered for a walk to honor missing and murdered indigenous people with one message…they want justice.
Many different people with many other ties to the Yakama Nation showed up in solidarity to help bring awareness to the number of indigenous people going missing and the lack of answers as to why it’s happening so often.
Rosella Umtuch says her brother went missing last May. She and her aunt filed a missing persons report with the tribal police after searching everywhere.
“I was at home, getting ready to go to work, and I had two detectives come knock on my door, and they notified me they had found my brother’s body,” Umtuch said.
Umtuck says her brother was a victim of a hit-and-run outside of Toppenish. She says she was told her brother’s body had been there for two weeks before it was found. She thinks it was there longer.”I would like our people to be taken serious, “I would like missing files for people that are still missing. For people who are missing in the future, I would like them to be taken more seriously.”Clara Selam said she has had multiple family members who are either missing or have been murdered, including her younger sister.”She was found in Harrah, Washington,” Selam said. “. I believe the person who was responsible for her murder is still getting formally sentenced.”Umtuch said that even though police were able to find her brother, she still thinks that more families should be included in these searches.”There are so many people that don’t have answers, she said. “They don’t have their family members. They can’t put them to rest because they don’t know where they are.”The group walked from the Yakama Cultural Center to the Yakamart in Toppenish. Before the walk, a prayer and song were held.
