05/29/2026
May is recognized as Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Month. I thank the San Diego Union Tribune for publishing my op-ed. Pictured is a work accompanying the op-ed by artist Teyana Viscarra of Chula Vista. She created about 50 “Prayer Runs,” representing the missing and murdered Indigenous women, which are on exhibit for the “Walking in Beauty: Life as Ceremony” at the Bonita Museum & Cultural Center. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune) The piece follows:
THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, May 27, 2026
May in California is designated as Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) Month. Observances are occurring throughout the month here and across the nation. Some 1,000 people participated at the state Capitol’s annual candlelight vigil to remember the missing, support families and recommit to ending the violence causing such searing pain in California Indian Country.
Emotions ran high on the evening of the vigil as Ronnie and Lydia Hostler made their way with assistance up the Capitol’s West Steps. They remembered their granddaughter, Khadijah Britton, who was last seen in early February 2018. Khadijah was 23 when she disappeared after being forced into a car at gunpoint by an ex-boyfriend. The case remains unsolved. Amidst the sorrow of the past eight years, Ronnie and Lydia vowed to never stop searching for their granddaughter.
MMIP cases are reportedly seven times less likely to be solved than those involving any other group, and Native girls and women are victims of murder at rates more than ten times the national average. California, the state with the highest number of Native Americans in the country, is among the top five states in the country in the number of unresolved or uninvestigated MMIP cases. The task force will bolster cross-jurisdictional investigation, commit to greater information sharing and increase resources and training among the partners.
San Diego County, with the highest number of tribes in California, is represented in a historic effort to stop the violence in Indian Country and bring resolution to cold cases. The Jamul Indian Village of California, the San Diego County sheriff and district attorney along with federal law enforcement, tribal leaders from Northern California, the state Department of Justice, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and district attorneys and sheriffs from Sacramento and Amador Counties have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to change how MMIP cases are handled. This is a unique “joint forces” group to bring together all the relevant parties, including the tribes, that must work hand-in-hand to bring our missing home.
Since Khadijah’s disappearance, progress has been made in bringing forth new tools and resources to confront the violence.
The Feather Alert, a state public alert system working much like the AMBER Alert for missing children, is initiated when a Native American goes missing. It was created and later refined through legislation I authored. Other laws authorize tribes and tribal law enforcement to access CLETS, the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System. It is used by federal, state and local police agencies to tap into important public safety information such as restraining orders and criminal records. Through the state budget, we are also establishing a pilot program granting tribal police state peace officer status under specified conditions. This will allow them to investigate criminal cases happening on tribal lands.
The California Department of Justice was provided state funding through another measure I wrote to implement better data collection about these crimes, improve collaboration and training, and support victims. State grants were also awarded to 36 tribes over three years for programs they identified as useful to them. Funds were used to provide domestic violence training, support victims and their families, and investigate cold cases. While the grants were allocated we are urging ongoing funding because California still faces great challenges in preventing and resolving MMIP-related cases and the consequences and trauma imposed upon victims.
Family members like the Hostlers live with the pain of missing Khadijah every day and knowing that her two children have already suffered without their mother for eight years. Unfortunately, most Native Americans share the experience of a missing loved one as well as not knowing what happened to their daughter, son, friend, aunt or uncle. Worse, when violence occurs, the perpetrator is too often not brought to justice. Too often families like the Hostlers have been met with indifference by local authorities.
We have brought new resources to bear in this battle against violence, but so much more is needed. There has to be better access to mental health services to prevent the violence and support victims; better data collection and an end to data misclassification; and better understanding of how the interplay of law enforcement jurisdictions and the justice systems frequently complicates public safety and delays justice in tribal communities.
The Hostlers deserve to know what happened to Khadijah. They deserve to witness legal accountability delivered against whomever might have caused her disappearance. Every other MMIP victim and their loved ones deserve the same.
