Implementation of North Dakota’s Feather Alert system causes confusion

At a press conference following White’s disappearance, Vicki Alberts, public information officer for the Spirit Lake Tribe, said the Feather Alert did not go out “in the proper and coordinated way.”

But according to North Dakota Highway Patrol Lieutenant Jenna Huibregtse, the alert went out as planned. She said the loud sound accompanying emergency alerts is used only in the case of abductions, so as not to cause “public fatigue” and reduce effectiveness.

Criteria for deciding if a case is an abduction is left to the investigating agency, Huibregtse said. She said the Bureau of Indian Affairs determined the alert for White would not be considered an abduction. All abduction cases are sent out statewide.

The Feather Alert for White was not sent out statewide, Huibregtse said, because White was believed to be in a specific area. She said once a Feather Alert is issued, North Dakota Highway Patrol sends the alert through connected apps, such as the Weather Service app and Life 360. Some people receive notifications through these external apps; others have to be signed up for their county emergency alerts, also referred to as CodeRED, she said. After the Feather Alert goes live, local jurisdictions can then send alerts outside the state alerting system.

But in North Dakota’s first MMIP Task Force meeting on Nov. 13, state Rep. Jayme Davis, a citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians and sponsor of House Bill 1535, which created the Feather Alert system, said the alert didn’t go out as expected. “It’s not supposed to go out as a weather alert or a CodeRED,” Davis said. “This is not what we discussed.”

The alert was supposed to use geofencing, Davis said, which combines technologies such as cellular data, GPS and AI to pinpoint geographic locations.

“It infuriated me to no end that to me it was a simple thing, and I know we have that capability, so why aren’t we as the state using it,” Davis said.

MMIP advocate Tyler Rambeau said she feels disheartened that the alerts are sent out through external apps. “It’s leaving a lot of important information up to corporations who don’t have an obligation to make sure this is public,” said Rambeau, an enrolled citizen of the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe who also has ties to Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians.

Criteria for the Feather Alert states the missing Indigenous person must be over the age of 18 and “in grave danger of serious bodily harm or death.”

Huibregtse said two Feather Alerts have been issued since the system went live on Aug. 1. In both cases, the alert was sent out without sound. The first person, Tami Belgarde, was found alive within an hour of the alert being sent out, Huibregtse said.

Rambeau said when she realized she hadn’t received either Feather Alert, she went into her iPhone settings and scrolled down to “emergency alerts.” She said she had to switch on the option for local alerts and hopes now she will receive future Feather Alerts.

Rambeau said information about how to access the alert system should be easily available to everyone. “With the age of technology and access to technology we have now, it should go so much smoother,” she said.

Huibregtse said if people want to receive emergency alerts in their county, they should visit their county website and sign up for them.

Authorities quickly realized after the Feather Alert went out for White that the case was a search and rescue, Huibregtse said, which led to misunderstandings of what the public’s role is. “The alert system is for when the public can help assist,” she said.

But when the search turned to a search and rescue, law enforcement had to ask the public to stay away from the search area so bloodhounds and the tracking team could do their jobs. White’s remains were recovered during a water search Nov. 6.

“I don’t understand why one missing person is any less important than another missing person or why one person deserves an alert system more than anybody else does,” Rambeau said. “Whether that person is a runaway or not responding to their family or using [drugs], it’s still a person and everybody matters.”

This message was also emphasized by Huibregtse, who said she hopes the launch of North Dakota’s MMIP task force can help fill in some of the gaps. “Nobody is just a number and nobody is nameless. We want everybody to come home,” she said.

Davis said she wants to address the Feather Alert system in the next legislative session to ensure the alert system is going out in a coordinated manner.