Local tribes react to new Feather Alert system made to help find missing Indigenous people

Indigenous people face disproportionate numbers of missing and murdered people with high numbers of unsolved cases.

In response, California is launching the Feather Alert in 2023, a new system created to help the state find Indigenous who have gone missing "under unexplainable or suspicious circumstances."

"This is an epidemic. That is, I think it's unaware to a lot of the people that are in the state of California," said tribal council chairman of the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, Thomas Tortez. "Putting a light on this, I think, is the biggest thing, the biggest help."

Assemblymember James C. Ramos created the new law. His office said in a press release, "The California Highway Patrol would activate the alert at the request of local law enforcement, and it work much like an Amber Alert."

The Feather Alert will be a resource available to law enforcement agencies. It will give immediate information to the public to help in the recovery of missing indigenous persons.

Tortez has been hosting round tables with different tribes to bring awareness to the new system. 

"The inequity that has happened, you know, for hundreds of years for our tribes. And this brings equality to everyone, you know, at the same level," said Tortez.

A report by the database Sovereign Bodies Institute says only 9% of murders of indigenous women in California have ever been solved.

"There are hundreds of testimonies of, you know, families that are missing children or missing, you know, women in their reservations. So the statistics are telling the truth," said Tortez.

The notifications will be sent through California Highway Patrol. 

"The Feather Alert provides law enforcement with additional tools and resources to help locate at-risk missing Indigenous persons through cooperation between tribal nations law enforcement, the community, and the CHP," said Lt. Justin Howlett of CHP's emergency notification and tactical alert center.

For a Feather Alert to be activated, a law enforcement agency or tribal authority must determine that the following criteria have been met.

Feather Alert Criteria:

• The missing person is an indigenous woman or indigenous person.
• The investigating law enforcement agency has utilized available local and tribal resources.
• The law enforcement agency determines that the person has gone missing under unexplainable or suspicious circumstances.
• The law enforcement agency believes that the person is in danger.
• There is information available that, if disseminated to the public, could assist in the safe recovery of the missing person.

Some tribes from the Coachella Valley are eager to see the new alert be put into action. Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians Chairman Darrel Mike shared the following statement:

“As a Tribal Nation, we are very happy that the state of California has enacted the Feather Alert system.   Feather Alert is a statewide notification program which will act much like the Amber Alert and Silver Alert programs which are in place to protect abducted children and elders. This program focuses on protecting any missing indigenous person/Native American who has been taken off of or from Tribal reservations. This enactment helps the general population remember that Native Americans, children, women, and men, are often forgotten in the mix of people who go missing. We know the Feather Alert will help save lives and provide support for all Tribal Nations and the communities of Native Americans across California,”

Chairman Darrell Mike, Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians

"It'll shed light on all of the tribes here and bring hope to the tribes that are missing people within our community in our tribal communities," said Tortez.