ACME, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – “Behind every case is a person.” That message, first thing in the morning on Tuesday, Oct. 6, set the tone for the day as approximately 275 people gathered at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa for Michigan’s first statewide Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) and Human Trafficking Summit.
The two-day conference brought together tribal, local, state and federal law enforcement, government officials, medical professionals, advocates, nonprofits and others, with educational vendors lining the conference area.
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The summit, sponsored by Uniting Three Fires Against Violence (Michigan’s statewide tribal coalition focused on domestic violence and sexual assault), the Michigan Attorney General’s Office and Michigan Human Trafficking Commission, was billed as an effort toward “strengthening our collective response” while honoring relationships and “creating safer tomorrows.”
It began with traditional Indigenous drumming and music. Outside the conference rooms, displays highlighted Indigenous people and their history. The summit included discussions on tribal sovereignty, trafficking and missing persons, advocacy, community response plans and turning lessons from the conference into action.
“Missing and murdered Indigenous people is not simply a statistic or an abstract public policy issue,” Sandra Witherspoon, Chairwoman of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians said ahead of the keynote speaker and others. “Behind every case is a person, a family, children, parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, and communities who carry the uncertainty, grief, and lasting effects of that loss.”
Jurisdiction, Trust and a Complicated System
One recurring problem discussed as a challenge to solving crimes involving Indigenous persons is jurisdiction. Addressing the issue was Assistant U.S. Attorney Roy Kranz who walked attendees through the complicated questions that determine whether tribal, state or federal authorities can prosecute a crime – including where it happened and whether the suspect and victim are Indigenous or non-Indigenous.
Those complications can make relationships between agencies especially important – and have also prompted efforts to remove some of the jurisdictional uncertainty when tribal and state authority intersect. One recent effort to clarify the relationship between tribal and state authorities came from the Michigan Attorney General’s Office. In September, the office issued statewide guidance clarifying that personal protection orders issued by federally recognized tribal courts are immediately enforceable throughout Michigan without an additional state court process.
Damoose Pushes Legislative Response
State Sen. John Damoose (R-Harbor Springs), who spoke briefly at the beginning of the summit, said his involvement in the missing and murdered Indigenous people issue began because several tribes are located within his northern Michigan district. During a visit to tribal headquarters, he noticed a sign referring to 5,000 missing and murdered Indigenous people.
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“I didn’t even know what this was, so I started talking to the chairman,” Damoose told Michigan News Source. The sign prompted him to start asking questions. “I said, ‘you can’t put a sign up without some people wanting to do something about it,’” Damoose said.
Those conversations eventually led Damoose to begin working with the Attorney General’s Office and the Office of the Tribal Legislative Liaison, whose purpose is to maintain the government-to- government relationship between Michigan’s 12 federally recognized tribes and the Legislature. They are currently working together on an MMIP legislative package with a focus on better determining the scope of the problem and improving how cases are reported, with Michigan’s tribes being consulted before legislation is introduced.
Separately, Damoose also pointed to a bipartisan human-trafficking package of bills that passed the Senate unanimously at the end of January but remains stalled in the House. He urged the House to act on those bills and said the package would be reintroduced in January if necessary.
Trafficking and Generational Trauma
Human trafficking was often described during the summit as intertwined with the MMIP crisis.
Michigan Human Trafficking Commission Vice Chair Katie Green said both problems involve vulnerability, violence and failures to protect vulnerable communities. Green, herself a trafficking survivor, called for Indigenous-led and survivor-centered solutions.
The summit also confronted historical trauma. An opening speaker described how Indigenous boarding schools and forced assimilation separated children from their language and culture, including punishment for speaking their native language.
New Statewide Efforts Target MMIP Cases
Michigan’s MMIP Task Force was launched by the Attorney General’s Office more than two years ago to bring tribal, federal, state and local prosecutors, law enforcement, advocates and human-services specialists together. Since 2024, members have worked to strengthen relationships across jurisdictional lines and build trust with tribal communities.
Understanding Culture, Building Trust
For one social worker interviewed by Michigan News Source, learning how to build trust across cultural differences was part of why she attended. She said as a therapist she wanted to provide “culturally responsive care” to clients and stressed that understanding Indigenous culture is a continuing learning process. Samantha Carducci, an LMSW social worker, said providing that culturally responsive care requires a “lifetime of learning” to better understand different perspectives and experiences. She also praised the keynote speaker, Dr. K. Irene Countryman-Roswurm, in helping her to understand the barriers of the trust dynamic between the victims and those trying to help them.
If there was one message that carried throughout the summit, it was that people want to help – but doing so effectively requires communication, trust and relationships that extend beyond a two-day conference. For those working on MMIP and human trafficking cases, continuing to build those connections across tribal communities, law enforcement, government agencies and service providers may be just as important as any new policy or legislation.
