U.S. Interior Sec. Deb Haaland & MMIWR Task Force Quietly Disbanded

New Mexico in Focus (A Production of NMPBS)

Lou DiVizio opens the show with headlines from around the state, including an update on the suspect accused of firing a shot Albuquerque's Coronado Center over the holiday weekend. This summer, Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) announced an order ending oil and gas leases on federal lands in a 10-mile radius around Chaco Culture National Historic Park. Correspondent Antonia Gonzales (Navajo) speaks with Haaland about her work and asks her to respond to activists who say the federal government isn't doing enough to protect the Greater Chaco landscape.

Then we discuss Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's decision to quietly shut down the state's Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives Task Force. In October, reporter Bella Davis (Yurok) broke that story at New Mexico In Depth. This week, she sits down in our studio with Darlene Gomez, a member of the disbanded task force, and Vangie Randall-Shorty (Diné), a mother whose son was murdered. Three years after his death, she's still waiting for answers from investigators.

Correspondent Antonia Gonzales (Navajo) continues the conversation in an interview with Jana Pfieffer (Diné), another former member of the task force, and Shereena Baker (Southern Ute & Karuk), an artist and advocate, and asks the two how they plan to continue that work on their own.

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland
Correspondent:
Antonia Gonzales (Navajo)
Guest:

Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo), United States Secretary of the Interior

State Quietly Disbands MMIWR Task Force

Correspondent:
Bella Davis (Yurok)
Guests:

Vangie Randall-Shorty (Diné), mother of Zachariah Juwaun Shorty

Darlene Gomez, attorney, former member of the New Mexico MMIWR Task Force

Engaging Youth to Address MMIWR Crisis

Correspondent:
Antonia Gonzales (Navajo)
Guests:
Shereena Baker (Southern Ute & Karuk), UNM graduate assistant

Jana Pfieffer (Diné), former member of the New Mexico MMIWR Task Force

For More Information:

Protest derails planned celebration of 20-year ban on oil drilling near Chaco national park – Associated Press New Mexico pulls plug on missing and murdered Indigenous people task force – New Mexico In Depth Advocates call on the state to create a new MMIWR task force after shuttering the original – New Mexico In Depth Lawmakers gave the attorney general $1 million in 2022 to help find missing Indigenous people. The money hasn’t been spent - New Mexico in Depth

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