MMIWR Task Force Quietly Disbanded, U.S. Interior Sec. Deb Haaland & Celebrating Native American Heritage

This week on New Mexico in Focus, we discuss Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s decision to quietly shut down the state’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives Task Force. In October, reporter Bella Davis (Yurok) broke that story at New Mexico In Depth. This week, she sits down in our studio with Darlene Gomez, a member of the disbanded task force, and Vangie Randall-Shorty (Diné), a mother whose son was murdered. Three years after his death, she’s still waiting for answers from investigators. 

Then, correspondent Antonia Gonzales (Navajo) continues the conversation in an interview with Jana Pfieffer (Diné), another former member of the task force, and Shereena Baker (Southern Ute & Karuk), an artist and advocate, and asks the two how they plan to continue that work on their own. 

This summer, Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) announced an order ending oil and gas leases on federal lands in a 10-mile radius around Chaco Culture National Historic Park. Correspondent Antonia Gonzales speaks with Haaland about her work and asks her to respond to activists who say the federal government isn’t doing enough to protect the Greater Chaco landscape. 

This month, Albuquerque libraries are celebrating Native American Heritage Month by displaying books from Native authors and films about Native American culture. But at the San Pedro Library, one staffer took it a step further by hosting Navajo crafting classes. Antonia Gonzales and our crew went for a demonstration earlier this month — learning to make a decorative vase in the style of traditional Navajo moccasin — all while giving a deeper understanding of native culture and tradition. 

Host: Laura Paskus

Segments: 
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland 
Correspondent: Antonia Gonzales (Navajo) 
Guest: Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo), United States Secretary of the Interior 

State Quietly Disbands MMIWR Task Force 
Correspondent: Bella Davis (Yurok) 
Guests: Vangie Randall-Shorty (Diné), Mother of Zachariah Juwaun Shorty 
Darlene Gomez, attorney, former member of the New Mexico MMIWR Task Force 

Engaging Youth to Address MMIWR Crisis 
Correspondent: Antonia Gonzales (Navajo) 
Guests: Shereena Baker (Southern Ute & Karuk), activist, artist, UNM graduate assistant 
Jana Pfieffer (Diné), former member of the New Mexico MMIWR Task Force 

Celebrating & Teaching Native American Heritage 
Correspondent: Antonia Gonzales (Navajo) 
Guest: Desiderya Costello (Navajo), library paraprofessional, San Pedro Public Library 
Estevan Montaño, manager, San Pedro Branch