Say Her Name Emily Pike & MMIW2S




Standing in Remembrance: Honoring Emily Pike and the Fight Against MMIW

I have been unable to rest since hearing the news about Emily Pike last week. A 14-year-old child, dismembered and left near Globe, Arizona. The horror of it is too much to process. At first, I tried to push it out of my head, but eventually, I sat down, read the articles, and absorbed the full weight of what had happened. It shattered something in me—this false premise of safety we often hold onto. The realization that human monsters walk among us, that someone could commit such brutality against a child, in the vastness of the desert, is dark, heartbreaking and terrifying beyond words. It isn't someone else's child, it isn't something I just read or heard about. It became very real for me this week, and personal.  Trauma has ripple effects; we either ignore the ripples and waves of emotion and become numb to it or listen to our caretaker voice and see how one can help.

Today, I knew I couldn’t sit with these feelings alone anymore. After work, I went to the protest for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) at the Arizona Capitol. I didn’t know what to expect—I just needed to be among others who felt the same pain, anger, and urgency for change. I needed to be in communion with those who understand the weight of this loss and, more importantly, who refuse to let it continue.

The protest was held at the Capitol because this MMIW group has been there since February 1st, ensuring their voices are heard while the legislature is in session. Right now, over a hundred bills in the Arizona Legislature that directly impact people of color, women and the LGBTQ+ communities—some of them deeply racist—are moving through the system, and this MMIW group is making sure their voices and concerns are seen and heard. And then, in the middle of it all, Emily Pike’s tragic death became another reason to stand together, to demand action.

By my count, a couple of hundred people gathered. It was a beautiful crowd, predominately Native, and included LGBTQ+,  Latino, La Lucha movement, and Black activists—all standing together. The speakers shared heartbreaking stories of their own missing and murdered loved ones. Some had never been recovered. It was painful to listen to, but necessary. This community carries unimaginable grief, yet they continue to fight. Mothers losing daughters. Sisters losing brothers. Aunties and uncles carrying the weight of their disappeared family members.

One of the speakers made a powerful point: this crisis is not just an Indigenous issue. While Indigenous people suffer disproportionately from this epidemic, human trafficking and disappearances are happening worldwide, and the world is not paying enough attention.  Another speaker pointed out a grim irony: the U.S. government can find billions of dollars to separate families, to deport people, to create suffering—but for centuries, they have refused to allocate the resources to find missing Indigenous people, to combat human trafficking, to protect the vulnerable. The injustice is staggering.

Today was painful, but it was also a reminder of resilience. This fight is long, and the loss is overwhelming, but the people standing together at the Capitol prove that we will not be silent. We will not let Emily Pike become just another name. We will keep demanding justice. We will keep showing up. We will not stop until this crisis is genuinely addressed and our communities are safe.




Say Her Name. Emily Pike.

click here- More photos from the protest    

Read recent articles at the links below.

emily-pike

ARTICLE FROM MARCH 8, 2025

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