New Mexico became the fourth state in the nation to create an alert system for missing Indigenous Americans after its governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham, signed legislation creating a “turquoise alert” on Monday.
The act, which passed both chambers of the state legislature unanimously during the state’s recent legislative session, symbolizes the growing attention that a crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people – most often women and girls – has received in recent years.
“Communities like mine are all too familiar with the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people. For years now, we have stepped up on our own to help locate our missing brothers and sisters through coordinated local efforts and on social media,” said state representative Michelle Paulene Abeyta, who is Diné and one of the bill’s sponsors. “Establishing the turquoise alert will allow the state to amplify these community-led efforts to better ensure the protection and safe return of our loved ones.”
Indigenous American and Alaska Native communities experience rates of murder, rape and violent crime all above the national average. A 2016 study by the National Institute of Justice found that four in five American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced violence in their lifetime, including more than half who have experienced sexual violence.
But less than half of violent crimes against women are ever reported to police. In 2016, there were 5,712 reports of missing Native American women and girls to the US Department of Justice, but only 116 of those cases were logged in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.
According to the New Mexico department of justice, there are approximately 200 missing Indigenous people in the state, on average of more than 1,600 days missing.
“Too many Native American families have faced crisis and the heartbreak of a loved one disappearing without the swift response they deserve,” said Josett D Monette, cabinet secretary of the New Mexico Indian affairs department. “The turquoise alert system is a critical step forward in ensuring that missing Native American people are prioritized in the same way as other emergency alerts. This legislation reflects New Mexico’s unwavering commitment to justice and the safety of our Indigenous communities.”
The turquoise alert system – named for the sacred stone popular in Diné jewelry – will function much like an “Amber” or “silver” alert. Cellphones will receive an alert when law enforcement are notified of the disappearance of a Native American.
California, Washington and Colorado have already implemented similar alert systems – and after the brutal death of San Carlos Apache teenager Emily Pike, Arizona lawmakers are considering following suit. Since Washington’s alert system went into effect in 2022, the state patrol had issued 114 such alerts and located 101 of the missing individuals.
New Mexico is home to 23 federally recognized tribes – giving it one of the largest Indigenous American populations per capita of any state.
In 2020, after then president Joe Biden appointed her the first Indigenous cabinet secretary in the United States, former New Mexico congresswoman Deb Haaland created a Missing and Murdered Unit within the Bureau of Indian Affairs. In February, Haaland announced her run to replace Lujan Grisham as New Mexico’s governor when the Democrat’s term expires in 2026.
