ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — It’s been about a year since New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham dissolved the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Task Force.

Since then, advocates have called for it to be restored. This Friday, the New Mexico Department of Justice’s MMIP Task Force will meet at The Clyde Hotel in Albuquerque. The night before, the New Mexico Department of Indian Affairs will host an MMIP listening session at the UNM School of Law. The session will be a time for people, including family members with lost loved ones, to voice their concerns.

“I feel like there’s very little accountability when it comes to the Indian Affairs Division, the Attorney General’s division, and the governor when it comes to missing and murdered Indigenous people. At one time, New Mexico was the leader in task forces and now they’re completely disbanded,” attorney Darlene Gomez said.

Gomez was a part of that task force and now represents families who have lost loved ones. She says there are a number of issues, like the location of the listening session. She added that the greatest number of missing and murdered Indigenous people in New Mexico are in Gallup and Farmington and on the Navajo Nation. That requires people to make a two, three or even four-hour drive to make it on time.

Gomez is also calling on leaders to bring back the MMIP task force.

“I’m calling on our state legislatures and our Indian Affairs Division and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to enact a Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives Task Force that was very similar to the one that was initiated in 2020,” she said.

Gomez isn’t alone in calling for a revamp of the task force and accountability.

“House Bill 12 and 13 were supposed to create a task force. They were also supposed to hire someone who was going to be actively working MMIW cases, which I don’t believe they’ve done. So I think they were also awarded $1 million to go to tribes to implement their own MMIP divisions, which has not happened,” she said.

Gomez says the state isn’t living up to its promises.

“The [Indian Affairs] Secretary, Josett Monette, promised them that they would have these quarterly sessions that would allow the community to answer questions and to be united. And that has not happened, so that is a direct failure,” she said.

The listening session will offer Gomez and others a chance to voice their concerns and ask questions. However, there are concerns about if this will make a difference.

“I plan to use all three hours, if I need to, if there’s not other people speaking. I’ve contacted the families I represent that I’m going to announce tomorrow on their behalf,” Gomez said. “I hope that I’m able to set out some different solutions that we can all work together. And I’m just hoping that someday we’ll be able to have that task force we had in the past.”

Gomez plans to speak out until changes are made.

“If they choose not to listen, then the route of bringing up the national media has been very effective in the past,” she said.

The listening session is Thursday from 5-8 p.m. at the UNM School of Law building. The MMIP Task Force meeting is Friday with public comment starting at 11:30 a.m. You can submit comments here and learn more about the task force members here.

We’re working to get in touch with the New Mexico Department of Indian Affairs and the governor’s office about this.