Senator Mary Kunesh fights for the silenced
Minnesota senator fights for the rights of missing and murdered Indigenous people by educating the public.
Sen. Mary Kunesh was walking to her car after giving a speech at a college in Ely when she was approached by two tall, white men in camouflage. She was alone and nervous, especially in a place where the sex trafficking of Native women was the highest in the state.
To her surprise, the men were genuinely interested in what she had said during her presentation after hearing the stories of injustices faced by Indigenous people for centuries. They were currently training to be law enforcement officers and remarked that there was nothing being taught to them about this issue. No one was talking about it either. Today, thanks to the work of Sen. Kunesh and other allies, racial training is a required part of public safety training.
Sen. Kunesh, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, learned from a family of leaders the importance of taking action and standing up for her rights. After becoming a legislator eight years ago, she has worked on countless initiatives and made her mark as the first Indigenous woman to serve in the Minnesota Senate. Her most recognized work has been with the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Task Force (also known as Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives) which was passed in 2018. Outside of this legislation, she has offered a voice for marginalized communities and for the environment.
In her younger years, Sen. Kunesh’s grandpa taught her to value and fight for Turtle Island and her place as a Lakota woman in society. She came from a strong network of inspiring figures like her mother, great aunt Josephine Gates and the leaders she knew through Standing Rock.
“Russell Means, [Dennis] Banks, all of those guys were bringing the trials and tribulations of being Indigenous to the public,” Sen. Kunesh said.
“I am impressed by [Sen. Mary Kunesh’s] tenacity, she stays on top of things and does not get rattled.” — Robert Pilot
As someone with a background in teaching, Sen. Kunesh has made it a goal of hers to educate people about the experience of Native people in the U.S. Robert Pilot, the host of Native Roots Radio, believes in her mission and has featured her in over 300 episodes. On the show, Sen. Kunesh speaks about the latest in legislation and culture.
“I am impressed by [Sen. Mary Kunesh’s] tenacity,” he said. “She stays on top of things and does not get rattled.”
At a young age, Sen. Mary Kunesh was exposed to stories of missing and murdered Indigenous people. “I had an awareness of the violence against Native people for a long time,” she said. Her father, a pro bono lawyer who worked for tribes in Northern Minnesota, would often take her along on his trips across the state where she learned more about the hardships faced by tribes.
One story hit close to home, a relative named Elsie Kelly who went missing a generation ago. She is just one of many who were not properly investigated by law enforcement agencies.
The statistics were not on their side either. If an Indigenous body was recovered, it would often be improperly recorded or not recorded at all. In some places, east Indians were lumped in with American Indians, and cause of death was often written off as suicide with no further investigation, according to Sen. Kunesh.
Many missing and murdered Indigenous relatives were never officially recorded in the Department of Justice’s database. With a lack of officiated data, the only thing propelling any sort of investigation into this centuries-long phenomenon were personal stories from those who had lost their loved ones.
“[This lack of media coverage] was just so typical of what happens with Indigenous violence, especially [with] women” — Sen. Mary Kunesh
In the summer of 2017, Sen. Mary Kunesh heard the story of Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, a woman of the Spirit Lake tribe. Until her body was found, the media had very minimal coverage despite concern amongst the people who knew her. She was 22 and pregnant at the time she went missing.
“[This lack of media coverage] was just so typical of what happens with Indigenous violence, especially [with] women,” said Sen. Kunesh.
Later that same year, she began putting together the MMIW task force and a report that would be released in December 2020 highlighting the injustices and historical trauma faced by Native women.
It wasn’t an easy start. Without statistics and data to show the widespread problem, she had to rely on the stories of people within her community, and gaining their trust took time and patience.
“There’s just such a historic distrust in any type of government or authority,” she said. “In doing this we would be dredging up a lot of painful history.”
As the deadline for the hearing approached, Sen. Kunesh had reached a dead end. She got connected with to a leader of the American Indian Housing Organization (AICHO) for help, and suggested that the women write their stories down on postcards. A few days later, a stack about 4 inches thick was driven 150 miles down to the capitol from Duluth.
“They went over to the capitol and handed them out and people were amazed by [the stories], and they came to me and said ‘What is this?’” said Sen. Kunesh. “That’s how we got the very first hearing.”
Members of tribes from across Minnesota stood up and testified, telling stories of their missing and murdered daughters and relatives, many of which had not been heard before.
“Their stories were so genuine and so heartbreaking,” Sen. Kunesh said.
After many long hours, the MMIW task force and legislation were passed with a 100% bipartisan vote after an omnibus supplemental budget deal in 2018. The first MMIR office in the nation was signed into law by Gov. Tim Walz in 2021. According to Ana Negrete, an MMIR community planner, Sen. Kunesh continues to visit and support the office to this day.
Framed by 11 tribal flags during her speech at the American Indian Day on the Hill, Sen. Mary Kunesh celebrated progress. She spoke of the 10 pages of legislature that positively impact Indigenous people and of the hope she has for the future as she works to get Indian land back. Her next mission? Red Lake.
“She is unafraid to do the right thing, she is fearless.” — Sam Strong
Sam Strong, the secretary of the Red Lake Nation, spoke highly of Sen. Kunesh after her speech. According to him, she has done lots of work in carrying the land back bill meant to return the entirety of the Red Lake back to tribal jurisdiction. As of now, the Department of Natural Resources owns the lower part of the lake.
“She is unafraid to do the right thing,” Strong said. “She is fearless.”
Actual versus logged missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls
- In 2016 only 116/5,712 cases of MMIWG were recorded in the Department of Justice’s database
- 153 cases identified by UIHI that do not exist in any law enforcement records
Merrina O’Malley is a student at Bethel University graduating in May with degrees in English Writing and Spanish. During her time at Bethel, she has had the pleasure of working on social justice stories while abroad in India and writing for Press Publications.
This story was part of a partnership between Bethel University’s journalism program and ICT editors Kevin Abourezk, Dianna Hunt and Dalton Walker.
