Indiana University students, and members of the Bloomington community marched from Dunn Meadow to the Monroe County Courthouse, listened to speakers, and watched Mexica dancers during the celebration of the first Indigenous Peoples Day in Bloomington, Monday, October 14, 2019. A resolution passed by the Bloomington City Council officially puts Indigenous Peoples Day on the calendar as a holiday every second Monday of October. City council members Isabel Piedmont-Smith, and Dorothy Granger were at the courthouse to celebrate the holiday. Piedmont-Smith read the resolution to the group gathered at the courthouse. (Photo by Jeremy Hogan/The Bloomingtonian)
Crime Local news Police / fire news

Missing woman remembered during Indigenous Peoples Day #MMIW

October 15, 2019
Jeremy Hogan
Notafraid Perkins holds a photo of missing indigenous woman Esther Maria Smith, who once lived in Bloomington, and disappeared in 2006 after leaving her home in Washington State, during Indigengous Peoples Day, Monday, Oct., 14, 2019 in Bloomington, Ind. Agnes Woodward, right, read a statement about the missing woman. Woodward said a woman with Maria Smith’s ID checked into the New Hope shelter in 2016, but nobody remembers a person matching her description.
According to the website, Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women, “The U.S Department of Justice found that American Indian women face murder rates that are more than 10 times the national average.
Homicide is the 3rd leading cause of death among 10-24 years of age and the fifth leading cause of death for American Indian and Alaska Native women between 25 and 34 years of age. – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Homicide.” Woodward said she’s trying to bring attention to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women MMIW issues, and also help find Maria Smith. Anybody who has information about Esther Maria Smith should contact Detective Kay Walker at (360) 416-1911 case number: 19-01718. #MMIW
(Photo by Jeremy Hogan/The Bloomingtonian)
Anybody who has information about Esther Maria Smith should contact Detective Kay Walker at (360) 416-1911 case number: 19-01718. #MMIW

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