The search for Jemini Posey, a Fort Totten woman who went missing last year, still continues. Her family hasn’t given up hope and is still doing as much as they can to bring attention to her disappearance. To continue bringing attention to her and other missing and murdered indigenous women, her family organized a 5K walk and run on Sunday afternoon.
It was by no accident that the event was on Mother’s Day. Posey is a mother herself, with a 2-year-old daughter. May 5 is also recognized as MMIW Day across the United States and Canada. [The initials stand for Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.]
“It was just something that me and the girls I searched with were talking about that we needed to let them know I wanted to do something for my sister,” said Jade Frier.
Over 40 participants, from children to teenagers to adults to senior citizens, many wearing yellow shirts with Posey’s photo on the front, started at the Fort Totten Rec Center and made their way to the courthouse. After making it to the courthouse, the participants turned around and made their way back to the Rec Center. Everyone gathered inside the center’s gymnasium and formed a circle for a prayer and smudging. Everyone who attended then shook hands and/or hugged Posey’s immediate family members as a sign of love and support.
Afterwards, a supper was served of a meal that was Posey’s favorite dish (spaghetti with bread and fruit), as well as cake.
Frier was also invited to witness the signing of HB 1199 by Gov. Kelly Armstrong. The bill establishes a Missing Indigenous People Task Force and a criminal justice data sharing system among law enforcement and emergency services.
“We got invited up and I am so thankful for that because when this started, I couldn’t just call and ask to put my sister on the Amber or Silver Alert,” she said.
The silver lining for her is that change can come from the future with these new measures. “What I’ve said from the very beginning is if there’s any change brought from this, then it’s easier for me to accept what’s going on,” she said “I pray for both our families, for Isaac’s family, for Renzo’s family and all the ones that have gone missing or people don’t have answers for them.”
