Sault Tribe to Host Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons Training

MMIP training and collaboration in Sault Ste. Marie Sept. 29 

 SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. – Tribal and Local Law Enforcement, Victims’ Services Teams and community members are invited to attend a day of Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) training and collaboration. The collaborative event will begin at 9 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 29, at the Kewadin Casino Convention Center in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.

There is no cost to attend, and lunch will be provided. The event is hosted by the Sault Tribe MMIP Advisory Workgroup.

In 2021-22, Sault Tribe, in partnership with the Bay Mills Indian Community, worked with the US Department of Justice, Department of the Interior, the US Attorney’s Office, and the Executive Branch Lady Justice Initiative, to implement a MMIP Tribal Community Response Plan planning project. We were one of six pilot projects across the country to bring together tribal law enforcement and tribal MMIP teams to articulate an MMIP TCRP Protocol. This culminated in a one-day event to share the results with speakers, including the Governor and Attorney General of Michigan, as well as our two U.S. Senators and the U.S. Attorney’s Office from the Western District of Michigan.

“Since developing our MMIP Tribal Community Response Plan, the tribe has improved its response to missing persons and built an MMIP database,” Tribal Chairman Austin Lowes said. “We continue to work with our Victims Services, Law Enforcement, and Communications departments to reach out to our tribal community on MMIP issues, including the safety of our men, women and children.”

It has long been the tribe’s intention to share the results of what the MMIP Advisory Workgroup has learned and to assist other tribes and local law enforcement communities in implementing an MMIP TCRP Protocol in their respective communities, benefiting both tribal and non-tribal communities alike.

Sault Tribe Chief of Police Robert Marchant said, “We put months of work into our MMIP TCRP protocol and it is one of the most comprehensive in Indian country. Sharing it with our sister tribes and surrounding community is one of our top priorities.”

In addition to walking participants through how the tribe accomplished its protocol, the workgroup plans to share copies of the tribe’s MMIP TCRP Protocol with participants and facilitate a workshop to coordinate efforts among our neighboring tribes and the surrounding law enforcement communities. Please see a copy of the draft agenda (attached), which includes a keynote speaker from the US Department of the Interior regarding TCRP’s and MMIP protocols.

Representatives from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) will be joining us. The former Sault Tribe chairperson and current tribal board member and MMIP advocate Dr. Aaron Payment is undertaking a one-year tribal fellowship with the NCMEC. He will share valuable free NCMEC resources focused on prevention, rescue, recovery, case management, incident data, and information about Team Hope for long-term missing survivors.

As a significant commitment and to open lines of communication to tribal nations, NCMEC Executive Director for Special Programs Missing Child Division Alan Nanavaty will join us in person to share the depth of resources available to local and tribal communities with respect to advanced forensic science, DNA testing, and free assistance in supporting local jurisdictions in their respective investigations. NCMEC respects and values local control but brings to bear necessary and sometimes expensive advanced resources at no cost to tribes or local law enforcement.

Please contact Dr. Aaron A.. Payment at 906-440-8946 or via email at aapayment@saulttribe.net if you have any questions or plan to attend. There is no formal registration, but we would like to ensure we have an accurate count for means and to share resource materials.