As residents observed national Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives (MMIWR) Awareness Day May 5, the New Mexico MMIWR task force released a revised plan for responding to missing and murdered Indigenous women cases.  

The task force was created to solve specific cases and the updated plan includes six objectives including support services, community outreach and prevention strategies, community resources and increasing law enforcement, according to KOB 4 News.

Seraphine Warren, an advocate for MMIWR issues, told KOB 4 that her aunt, Ella Mae Begay, a member of the Navajo Nation, has been missing since June 15, 2021, KOB 4 reported.

"My aunt is human,” Warren said. “She shares the same air we breathe. She deserves the same respect you all live by. We need urgency, thorough investigations and well-experienced trained officers to report to stop crimes."

Albuquerque and Gallup, New Mexico, have 71 cases of missing and/or murdered Indigenous women or relatives – the highest in the United States – but advocates claim that number is extremely low, according to KOB 4.

"They have a voice to speak," Darlene Gomez, an MMIWR task force member, told KOB 4. "They're able to speak their stories and talk about their journeys."

Gomez is an attorney for victims' families, in addition to serving on the task force.

The task force is now forming a partnership with the University of Nebraska, Omaha to find out just how many missing and murdered cases there are, KOB 4 reported. The partnership would also create a framework for long-term data collection and reporting which could expedite investigations.

"Most definitely, data collection is the key,” Gomez said. “We (must) get proper data collection. We need resources for our families, resources (for) our police departments."