Guadalupe Lopez, a member of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, became director of Minnesota’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives office in July, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. The office, established in 2021, works to address the disproportionate number of Indigenous people who go missing or are murdered.
Lopez said the role is a “natural fit” because of her career in advocacy on gender-based violence and her personal connection to the issue. “I personally had people lose their life to violence and I have blood relatives that are on some of those posters that we share,” Lopez said.
She added that her priorities include supporting families, strengthening collaboration with the office’s advisory council and system partners, and advancing a new strategic plan.
- 1.MPR News.
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