ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Tomorrow is national Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day. The list of missing or murdered Indigenous people throughout New Mexico and the Navajo Nation continues to grow. 

Despite the devastating numbers, Delilah Teronio with the Indian Affairs Department says these databases didn’t exist a few years ago.

“Really, until very recently this was just a silent issue. This is something that was happening in tribal communities, not everyone was aware of it,” said Teronio. 

A mark of progress as more resources are being put towards the MMIP crisis.

On MMIP Awareness Day, May 5, the department is partnering with the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women to honor advocates, and highlight the long road ahead for the families who are impacted.

“A safe space to gather with all of our impacted families, we will have resource tables available. We will have the Crime Victim Recreation Division, to provide information on compensation. We will also have the New Mexico Department of Justice and the Department of Public Safety,” said Tiffany Jiron, an executive director of the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women. 

The event will be at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. People will also learn how to access the FBI and DOJ databases.

“The staff at the coalition really know firsthand the experiences of what it is like to grieve a loved one, a family member, a community member because it happens so frequently in our community, and when it happens in our small communities it impacts all of us as a whole,” Jiron said. 

Organizers say while MMIP Awareness Day comes and goes, their work is year-round.

“We do remain committed to continuing the MMIP work in New Mexico, and I think the state what we will see in the future is moving forward with more resources. You see that coming out from the NMDOJ, coming out from DPS, and we also see it I think legislatively,” said Tenorio.