Bluestem Prairie was pleased last May 6 when we posted National MMIW+R awareness day: scenes from Sisseton, South Dakota; St. Paul, Minnesota. The blog post included stories from the Dickinson Press--South Dakota establishes office for missing, murdered Indigenous persons cases--and from the Rapid City Journal--South Dakota to create liaison for missing and murdered Indigenous people.
In an article Wednesday from the Associated Press, Stephen Groves reports that Ravnsborg's office has been unable to find money to fund the position, but has requested money for the position in this year’s state budget.
In South Dakota AG unable to fund office for missing Indigenous, we learn:
South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg told state lawmakers Wednesday that he has been unable to find funds to hire someone to coordinate tribal, state and local law enforcement agencies to investigate missing Indigenous people.
The Legislature last year established a one-person office under the attorney general’s office to coordinate law enforcement efforts across agencies as the state saw high numbers of Native American people, especially women, go missing. But the office did not receive a budget allocation, and lawmakers said they hoped it could be funded with federal or tribal funds.
That has not happened, Ravnsborg said Wednesday, calling it “basically an unfunded mandate.”
He pointed to his work to bolster the state’s website that lists missing people and claimed he had tried to raise the issue of funding in conversations with tribal leaders.
Rep. Peri Pourier, the Democrat who proposed the position last year, said tribal lobbyists had been working on getting federal funding for the attorney general’s office, but were waiting on a formal request from the state.
Ravnsborg said his office has requested an allocation for the position in this year’s state budget.
Lawmakers will shape the budget during the nine-week legislative session that started this week.
At South Dakota Public Broadcasting, Richard Two Bulls reports in Year after lawmakers ordered it, still no liaison for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons:
Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg said Wednesday that he has not hired anyone to serve as a liaison for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons, even though the Legislature passed a law last year requiring him to create the position.
Ravnsborg briefed the Legislature's State-Tribal Relations Committee during the panel's first meeting of the 2022 legislative session.
He said on any given day, there are 30 to 40 missing Indigenous people on the South Dakota Missing Persons database on the attorney general's website. Half of the missing Indigenous people on the list do not have a current or recent photo.
Last year, House Bill 1199 was signed into law to establish the Office of Liaison for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons.
“That passed, and it put the requirement on my office to staff this person, but it talked a lot about federal funding,” Ravnsborg told the committee. “And so come July 1st, it went into effect, but we have not received funding in any fashion. When I've talked with the various tribes in other discussions, and my office, we always bring this up to see what they're doing to try and find funding for that, so I have basically an unfunded mandate right now.”
The attorney general said it would cost about $70,000 to fill the position. He went on to say that a new missing person website should roll out in April with improvements and better search capabilities.
Ravnsborg is facing potential impeachment this session for his role in a 2020 car accident that resulted in the death of a pedestrian near Highmore.
Other topics discussed Wednesday by the committee included Tribal tourism, Oceti Sakowin teaching standards and efforts to fund and erect a World War II Code Talker Memorial at the Capitol.
Given the clear legislative intent, let's hope the Attorney General gets it together and the lawmakers do more than virtue signaling on this one. Like many indigenous families, that of our partner mourns a relative whose killer(s) has yet to be identified and brought to justice.
Photo: Jason Ravnsborg. Credit: Lee Strubinger/SDPB.
If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.
Or you can contribute via this link to paypal; use email [email protected] as recipient.
I'm on Venmo for those who prefer to use this service: @Sally-Sorensen-6
Comments