Goonz Martin remembers his relative Peter well.
“He had a lot of good values within himself,” Goonz Martin said.
The Martins are members of the Fon du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. Peter Martin went missing in March 2024.
“He was a good role model for our youth and our community back home in Fond du Lac,” Goonz Martin said.
He’s far from the only one.
Families stood in front of a large staircase Tuesday in Duluth City Hall to share stories of their loved ones who have gone missing or have been murdered. May 5 is widely marked as a day to remember missing and murdered Indigenous people.
Martin sang two songs with his drum that echoed throughout city hall. Families of two women who died in 2024, Amanda Boshey and Chantel Moose, also spoke.
Martin said the day is a time to be in community with others who have also experienced similar loss.
“It means a day to remember all the loved ones, all of our people that were murdered or missing, that a lot of us didn't get to say goodbye to, you know? And that's how we show our respect,” Martin said.
According to the state's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, nearly 9 percent of missing people in Minnesota in 2025 were Native American or Alaska Native — far higher than the overall percentage population, which is less than 3 percent.
In 2022, the City of Duluth partnered with the Native Lives Matter Coalition and nonprofit Mending the Sacred Hoop to create a reward fund for missing and murdered Indigenous people. Gaagige-Mikwendaagoziwag, meaning “They Will Be Remembered Forever” in the Ojibwe language, offers rewards for information leading to solving open missing and murdered indigenous relatives, or MMIR, cases in Duluth.
Last year, the state’s MMIR office announced a similarly named fund for statewide cases.
Rene Ann Goodrich, from the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa in Wisconsin, leads the Native Lives Matter Coalition in Duluth and facilitates the annual gathering.
”We're blessed to have families that instill their trust in us. Some of them to tell their story, and we're blessed when families do,” Goodrich said.
The gathering included a prayer, artwork, a youth-led round dance and songs from a school drum group. Proclamations from the cities of Duluth and Superior were also read.
Before reading the proclamation, Superior Mayor Jim Paine said the MMIR movement is saving lives.
“There are people that did not leave us because you were protecting them,” Paine said. “Because you know to look out for them, because you know what to do if they disappear, or if that relationship starts looking bad, or if they start facing the ravages of addiction or abuse, or poverty, they have community now that will step up.”
