Yurok Tribal Court releases 3rd and Final report on Missing and Murdered Indigenous People

KLAMATH, Calif. (KIEM)- The Yurok Tribal Court today released its final report of a three-part examination of missing and murdered indigenous women.

The release of that document taking place at the tribe’s headquarters in Klamath.

The third and final report focuses on how tribal, state, and federal agencies can better respond to new and existing cases.

The impetus for the detailed protocol for law enforcement came in the wake of the disappearance of Emmilee Risling from the Yurok reservation last October.

“Essentially, we learned the hard way that many of the protocols and practices that should be automatically initiated when a report is taken aren’t yet at the point where everyone knows what they should be doing. There’s a real need and a a desire for knowledge in that regard and a place for tribes to work with law enforcement to craft those policies and procedures. And so, in our third year, we’ve offered a template and a resource so that tribes can do that work with their local law enforcement partners,” said Dr. Blythe George, Project Researcher for I will See you soon Project.

The report also proposes a series of policy changes to remove systemic barriers that prevent California’s 110 federally recognized tribes from mounting a full response to missing and murdered indigenous people and limit tribal governments’ capacity to keep their people safe.