{"id":41932,"date":"2022-02-27T04:03:06","date_gmt":"2022-02-27T11:03:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/four-corners-prayer-run-advocates-for-missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:04:20","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T09:04:20","slug":"four-corners-prayer-run-advocates-for-missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/four-corners-prayer-run-advocates-for-missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women\/","title":{"rendered":"Four Corners Prayer Run advocates for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Runners
Runners and supporters of the Four Corners Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Prayer Run arrived at the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Teepee Village Saturday.<\/span>Kala Parkinson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

It is Melanie Marie James\u2019 30th birthday July 5. She\u2019ll likely have a candlelight vigil.<\/p>\n

From Farmington, Marie is a \u201cgoofball,\u201d said her mom, Leila Mailman.<\/p>\n

But she\u2019s been missing for eight years.<\/p>\n

James\u2019 is one of the missing Indigenous women for whom runners and advocates traversed 232 miles in the Four Corners Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Prayer Run this week, beginning and ending in Montezuma Creek, Utah.<\/p>\n

\"A
A runner in the Four Corners Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Prayer Run jogging toward the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Teepe Village Saturday.<\/span>Kala Parkinson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

James is Walker River Paiute, Comanche and Navajo.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe liked to joke, she liked to meet people, and any way she could help anybody, she would do it,\u201d Mailman said.<\/p>\n

The positive memories caused Mailman to break out into a smile, but they only briefly assuaged the tears that the recount of her ongoing nightmare triggered.<\/p>\n

James was out applying for jobs in 2014 when she went missing.<\/p>\n

Mailman went to the police department to report James\u2019s disappearance.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe has to be gone 48 hours,\u201d an officer told her.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been past 48 hours,\u201d Mailman replied.<\/p>\n

\"Advocate
Advocate Brandy Martinez holds a sign with information on Melanie Marie James.<\/span>Kala Parkinson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The clock started from the time Mailman walked into his office, the officer told her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see other young girls out there, and I always wonder where she\u2019s at,\u201d Mailman said.<\/p>\n

A purse likely belonging to James was turned into the police, containing blood, two phones and a letter with James\u2019 name on it.<\/p>\n

But police don\u2019t know if it\u2019s stolen evidence, and Mailman still hasn\u2019t received clarity from the finding as a result, she said.<\/p>\n

Two weeks ago, Mailman received a warrant listing James as a victim of domestic violence in March 2014.<\/p>\n

No further information was provided.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2019We don\u2019t know, we\u2019re going to look into it\u2019 \u2013 but that\u2019s all they keep telling me,\u201d Mailman said.<\/p>\n

Mailman speaks about her daughter at every event she can, despite her constant emotional and physical fatigue.<\/p>\n

\u201cPretty much only prayers,\u201d provide comfort, she said.<\/p>\n

She wakes up and goes to bed praying, hopeful still.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou need to slow down,\u2019\u201d her three kids tell her.<\/p>\n

But she\u2019s not planning on it.<\/p>\n

James\u2019 disappearance is hard on her siblings. They have moments where they \u201cfall apart\u201d \u2013 even from something as simple as hearing a song that reminds them of their vanished sister.<\/p>\n

Brandy Martinez advocates for missing Indigenous women, and urges disappearances to be reported as soon as possible to any officer who will file a report.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing I\u2019m finding out is a lot of whether they even get reported missing is up to the opinions of the officer \u2026\u201d Martinez said. \u201cSo if the officer doesn\u2019t deem that person has been missing, if they think they\u2019re a runaway, if there\u2019s possibly drugs involved, if they have a certain lifestyle, they won\u2019t report them missing.\u201d<\/p>\n

She doesn\u2019t want mothers like Mailman to feel alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hear her story. We see Melanie\u2019s picture. We\u2019re not going to stop searching ever. So Lela\u2019s not alone anymore,\u201d Martinez said.<\/p>\n

The run wound through Southwest Colorado, where subfreezing temperatures lingered from one of the biggest storms in years.<\/p>\n

Cars carrying supporters, some adorned in tribal gear, stopped and started along the route, waving flags and poles of support.<\/p>\n

Joining the caravan of vehicles was Michael Vernon Shortey, an Indigenous artist from Beshbitoh Valley, Arizona, who ran about 15 miles the first day of the event.<\/p>\n

Planted along the shoulder of U.S. Highway 160, cold wind funneling from cars and trucks buzzing by feet away, Shortey made sure to tape down the corners of the poster on his rear windshield to effectively amplify the message: \u201cSlow Down For MMIW.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Michael
Michael Vernon Shortey, an Indigenous artist from Beshbitoh Valley, Arizona, largely lives on the road supporting causes like the Four Corners Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Prayer Run.<\/span>Kala Parkinson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Tacked at the bottom of the poster, a \u201cmissing\u201d flyer picturing his uncle Lance Dee Dennis fluttered.<\/p>\n

In this way, the prayer run \u201chit home,\u201d Shortey said.<\/p>\n

Shortey\u2019s uncle went missing about a month ago. Searches for him lasted for six days in Arizona \u2013 to no avail. A police investigation is underway, and foul play is suspected.<\/p>\n

Shortey has largely lived on the road for the past eight years, traveling to reservations across the country and participating in similar events.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just save, save, save and then hit the road wherever they need help with anything,\u201d he said. \u201cI try to stay away from the protesting now \u2013 just be more on the positive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Members of other reservations are just as much his family as members of his own Navajo tribe, he said.<\/p>\n

\"Pascha
Pascha Nierenhausen and Cecil Palore traveled from Winterland, California for the prayer run.<\/span>Kala Parkinson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Pascha Nierenhausen and Cecil Palore traveled 10 hours from Winterland, California, to rally behind the runners.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe lay down our lives to sacrifice, to raise awareness for the lost,\u201d Nierenhausen said, the fire in her eyes matching her tribal attire.<\/p>\n

The runners and advocates were blessed at the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe\u2019s Teepee Village, where they entered a fire circle from the east. Tribal elders thudded drums and murmured songs of appreciation and hope. Attendees filed one by one to stand before Tribal Elder Terry Knight Sr., who fanned them with prayer.<\/p>\n\n

Tribal Council members and event coordinators gave speeches.<\/p>\n

\u201cWomen bring life into this world. They\u2019re very sacred to us. We need to respect them in that way,\u201d said Tribe Chairman Manuel addressing the crowd. \u201cWe as 574 tribes that are recognized in this country \u2026 we need to be able to have that voice. Legislative-wise, we need that support.\u201d<\/p>\n

He called for more government action, including increasing police presence on tribal reservations.<\/p>\n

For instance, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, spanning 600,000 acres across three states, has only about five officers, he said.<\/p>\n

He referenced the August disappearance of Gabby Petito, whose remains were found in Wyoming, where boyfriend Brian Laundrie strangled her while the pair were traveling across the country in a van.<\/p>\n

Several speakers, Heart among them, declared all missing person cases tragedies, regardless of gender or ethnicity.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut when it comes to our Native women, Native children, there\u2019s hardly any media coverage, there\u2019s hardly any law enforcement having a search and rescue to cooperate with different organizations,\u201d Heart said.<\/p>\n

Native American women are murdered at a rate 10 times the national average and three times more than white women, run organizer Martina Maryboy said.<\/p>\n

The National Crime Information Center reported 5,712 missing American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls as of 2016. In comparison, the U.S Department of Justice tallied 116 cases in its missing National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe found out this morning that one of the girls that we\u2019ve been looking for, they found her remains and the family was notified last night, which is just one more slap in the face as to why need to be out there searching faster,\u201d Martinez told the crowd.<\/p>\n

She urged onlookers to train in search and rescue and aid police efforts.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe shouldn\u2019t have families that are waiting eight years to find the loved ones,\u201d she said. \u201cI believe the latest number I heard is, if we have someone out there searching within the first 48 hours were 75% more likely to find that personal alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

After encouragement from the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, the champions for Indigenous voices voyaged on to Beclabito, New Mexico.<\/p>\n

Though they were somber, they were optimistic.<\/p>\n

\"Michael
Michael Vernon Shortey\u2019s uncle, Lance Dee Dennis.<\/span>Kala Parkinson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The flyer picturing Shortey\u2019s uncle, now partially torn, blows in the winter wind as it travels along the highway.<\/p>\n

James\u2019 police report is less than a page long.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Runners and advocates soldiered through Cortez Friday and Saturday <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41933,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,167,445,547],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-41932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-local-news-lead","tag-newsletter-lead","tag-ute-mountain-ute-indian-tribe"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41932"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41932\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85154,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41932\/revisions\/85154"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41932"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=41932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}