State official says no public comment at meeting on missing and murdered Indigenous people

Indian Affairs Secretary Josett Monette, center, talks about the department’s response to a crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people on July 15. (Zoom screenshot)

The public won’t be allowed to make comments at a state-run meeting today about a crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people.

That continues a pattern of shutting out the community, advocates say.

The Indian Affairs Department began hosting meetings early this year to update the public after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s administration was criticized for disbanding a task force focused on the crisis.

Some advocates say the three previous meetings haven’t allowed for back-and-forth between officials and people attending. And they want a change.

But it appears that change won’t happen at the next meeting, scheduled for today.

“No public comment at this meeting, however we intend to hold at least two listening sessions at a later date,” department spokesman Aaron Lopez wrote in an email.

A public comment period wasn’t included on the agenda for a meeting in July, either, but it was allowed during that meeting.

A public notice posted to the state agency’s website last week that announced this week’s meeting suggests people can request in advance to speak: “Please note due to zoom settings if you would like to make a public comment or questions relevant to the agenda, please reach out to Shaniya.Decker@iad.nm.gov prior (sic) the meeting.”

At past meetings, community members haven’t been able to ask agency officials questions, said Darlene Gomez, an attorney who represents affected Indigenous families. And those attending virtually weren’t able to see each other.

“This does not seem to be a community based meeting but a meeting that is very controlled by [the Indian Affairs Department],” she replied by email Oct. 8 to an announcement email from a department staffer.

Gomez said as of the morning of Oct. 11 she had not received a response.

At least five other advocates in the email thread, which Gomez shared with New Mexico In Depth, agreed with her.

“For many years we were told to be silent and not talk about it,” a person wrote in the thread. “Now that we have formed a strong UNITY of families, advocates, community we are being muted/censored/filtered.”

Chastity Sandoval, another advocate, wrote that she has stopped attending because of the issues Gomez raised.

“There is a vast disconnect and no communication; there needs to be a connection for the community to have a place to ask questions or share what they need,” Sandoval wrote.

Some mentioned the task force, which met monthly before being shuttered.

“The monthly Zoom meetings were productive and the members of the group shared ideas and it felt like progress was being made. I don’t feel that way now,” wrote a person who works for a national nonprofit.

Scheduled for today are presentations from the Indian Affairs Department, the state justice and public safety departments and the FBI.