Activists and supporters are taking to the streets for a march in Minneapolis in honor of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Minnesotans.
According to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Missing Persons Clearinghouse, 716 Indigenous people went missing in Minnesota just last year.
It’s an issue executive director of the Minnesota Indian Women's Sexual Assault Coalition Nicole Mathews says her community have has been pushing into the spotlight for over a decade.
"And ever since then, it has grown, and it has grown, and it has grown," says Mathews. "And, and sadly, we're still here because we're still having our relatives who are missing. We still have relatives who have been murdered."
Lieutenant governor Peggy Flanagan (D) was also in attendance at the March to present a proclamation marking February 14th, 2025 as Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Day.
Flanagan, who is indigenous to the White Earth Tribe, spoke just before the march began.
"As we're here and as we're marching together, and as was mentioned, this march gets bigger and bigger every year," she said. "The power of simply taking up space and being here together is one of the most powerful things that we can do in this moment."
Leaders say it's one of the biggest turnouts for the event since it's inception 10 year ago.
Although Indigenous women and men account for less than 1% of Minnesota’s population, they make up 10% of all missing cases in the state.