Who’s on New Mexico’s MMIP Advisory Council? It’s unclear.

Indigenous families with loved ones who have gone missing or been murdered march in Farmington, New Mexico on May 5, 2023. (Photo by Bella Davis / New Mexico In Depth)

This article was first published by New Mexico In Depth on July 17 . It has been updated below and republished here with permission.

It is unclear who is on a state advisory council on missing and murdered Indigenous people announced eight months ago by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham amid upset over her decision to disband a task force focused on the crisis.

A story by New Mexico In Depth about the council’s decision to hold its meetings   behind closed doors included a list of members the Indian Affairs Department (IAD) shared with the news organization. The department named two council chairs and five members.

But two of the seven people listed say they have never been members.

One of the people on the list, Dawn Begay, formerly the Native American affairs coordinator for the City of Albuquerque, wrote to New Mexico In Depth in a July 12 email that “I am not and have not been a member of the advisory board.”

She was asked to join the council but didn’t submit the required paperwork, she wrote.

Another person on the list, Navajo Nation Police Commander Daryl Noon, submitted paperwork for a background check to be on the council but never heard back, public information officer Chrissy Largo said July 16. IAD listed him as police chief, but he’s no longer in that position , Largo confirmed.

The governor’s administration has said the council met in March to organize itself, but it’s unclear who attended. Noon, despite being listed as a member, did not know about the meeting, according to Largo.

Neither the governor’s office nor IAD has responded to questions sent July 15 about why Begay and Noon were named or whether the other people on the list are indeed members. IAD spokesman Aaron Lopez said the agency would respond after a special legislative session that concluded July 18, but the department has yet to provide answers.

Update (published Wednesday, July 31): Delilah Tenorio, general counsel for the Indian Affairs Department, responded to questions from New Mexico In Depth on July 29.

Tenorio explained why Begay and Noon were asked to be on the advisory council. But she did not directly answer questions about why they were included in a list of active council members the department provided New Mexico In Depth. The department “has gone through transition” with a new cabinet secretary and the departure of a lead MMIP coordinator and that’s “caused some uncertainty about who would continue helping the advisory council” carry forward recommendations issued by a now-defunct task force, Tenorio wrote.

Tenorio said there are currently three council members and two chairs, all of whom attended an organizational meeting in March. She added the department hopes to add affected families and other advocates to the council, along with more law enforcement officials.

Of the three other people on the list, one — Tiffany Jiron, executive director of the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women — confirmed she is a member. Pojoaque Pueblo Gov. Jenelle Roybal and Picuris Pueblo Gov. Craig Quanchello, who are listed as chairs of the council, haven’t responded to inquiries.

In October, New Mexico In Depth reported Lujan Grisham’s administration had quietly disbanded a state task force focused on a national crisis of Indigenous people disproportionately going missing and being murdered. (In February, the Legislature included $200,000 in the state budget for Attorney General Raúl Torrez to create a new task force, which he says he plans to do.)

Affected families and other advocates protested Lujan Grisham’s decision at the Roundhouse.

Confronted in the lobby of the governor’s office, a spokeswoman for Lujan Grisham apologized to the group for a lack of clarity about the state’s plans, adding that officials wanted to “involve” them going forward.

A month after the protest, the governor announced she was creating the advisory council, which would “guide efforts” and “support the state’s ongoing work” to address the crisis, a press release read.

“The work of this group will help bring missing Native people home, provide closure to families and communities, and prevent other families from experiencing these tragedies,” Lujan Grisham said in a November statement.