PHOENIX — A day after authorities confirmed the body found off Highway 60 near Globe last month was that of a missing 14-year-old girl from the San Carlos Apache tribe, the indigenous community is rallying together to raise awareness about a growing issue.
At an indigenous community fashion show at Brophy College Preparatory Saturday night, there was a red-colored reminder of a collective crisis.
“This is horrible to know that a young lady who had her whole life ahead of her, her life was taken,” said Mary Kim Titla, the executive director of United National Indian Tribal Youth, Inc.
The discovery of the remains of a missing 14-year-old Native American girl named Emily Pike in mid-February is sending shockwaves throughout social media and the indigenous community.
ABC15 has learned that Pike had been left off Highway 60 near Milepost 277 northeast of Globe. Her body had been dismembered, according to a leaked Gila County Sheriff’s Office internal memo, which has since been removed from Facebook.
A homicide investigation is now underway.
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“The way in which it happened and continues to happen with indigenous women, indigenous communities, it is so alarming,” said Jolyana Begay-Kroupa, the chief executive officer at Phoenix Indian Center.
“If you look at the statistics, there are more indigenous women and girls nationwide than any other ethnic groups who go missing and are found murdered,” said Titla.
MMIW, or Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, has become the acronym to describe this alarming trend.
The community wants more of an effort thrown at these cases, especially more communication and coordination among tribal communities, law enforcement and task forces.
“There is not enough focus when it comes to the underrepresented. When it comes to people of color, it’s always less of a priority,” said Begay-Kroupa.
