FEATURE-Native Americans get voice in how to handle cases of missing, murdered Reuters 1/25/2021
By Kristi Eaton
TULSA, Oklahoma, Jan 25 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - For nearly two years, Aubrey Dameron, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma, has been missing. Last seen in March 2019, Dameron disappeared while leaving her mother s rural home early in the morning.
Her family has been following various leads, including draining a pond near her home, but is no closer to discovering what happened to Dameron, who was 25 when she disappeared, her aunt, Pam Smith, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Now, as two Oklahoma attorneys partner with the Cherokee Nation and the Muscogee (Creek) Nation on a new pilot project to raise awareness, resources and protocols for cases of missing and murdered indigenous people, Smith finally feels some hope.