MAY 6, 2023
Hundreds of supporters wearing red, raising signs and beating drums came together on Friday to raise awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women with a walk/run and program in Bemidji.
www.bemidjipioneer.com
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During Friday’s event, several family members and loved ones of Indigenous men and women who have gone missing or been murdered had the opportunity to speak to attendees about their experiences.
A prominent topic was the disappearances of two missing Bemidji teenagers — Nevaeh Kingbird, who
went missing in 2021, and Jeremy Jourdain, who
hasn't been seen since 2016.
“Nevaeh Kingbird went missing not too far from here, toward where the walk turned around,” MMIW 218 organizer Simone Senogles explained, referring to the Nymore area of Bemidji. “She and another relative, Jeremy Jourdain, went missing from that same area of town. That’s partly why we walked up there, we wanted to honor them, we want to remember them and be in that part of town to make our presence known.”
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Kingbird’s mother, Teddi Wind, spoke to attendees about her determination to find answers and her persistence in searching for her daughter and other missing Indigenous relatives.
“I want to tell you guys, miigwech, for supporting us through this tragic ordeal that we’re going through,” she said. “It’s been very hard on us, and our family and community are doing our best to try to find answers in my daughter’s disappearance. I just wanted you to all know that we will never give up on our efforts on searching for Nevaeh, or Jeremy, or anybody in the community that’s missing.”
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Teddi Wind, mother of missing teenager Nevaeh Kingbird, left, embraces Theresa Jourdain, mother of missing teenager Jeremy Jourdain, during a Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women’s event on Friday, May 5, 2023, at Paul Bunyan Park. Madelyn Haasken / Bemidji Pioneer
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