In this episode of We Are Resilient, we remember Jadie Butterfly, an Indigenous woman who was tragically killed on the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana in December 2024, at just 19 years old. Her case remains open and her family is still waiting for answers.

This is a reminder of the strength it takes to keep fighting, even when the system remains silent.

Sources:

https://montanafreepress.org/2025/05/05/on-mmip-day-of-awareness-blackfeet-father-demands-justice/

https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1Dzayoq2wp/?mibextid=wwXIfr

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**Listener Request**

In 1972, 20-year-old Jeannette Kamahele disappeared while hitchhiking near the Cotati onramp of Highway 101 in Santa Rosa, California. Last seen getting into a faded brown pickup truck, she was never heard from again. Though often linked to the Santa Rosa Hitchhiker Murders, Jeannette’s case stands apart as she is the only presumed victim never found.

This episode is part of our Lost Coast series, highlighting MMIP cases across Northern California. These are the places where Indigenous women have gone missing, and where silence has often followed. Today, we focus on Jeannette, not just what was taken from her, but what justice still demands.

Sources:

https://oag.ca.gov/missing/person/jeanette-kamahele-0

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/santa-rosa-hitchhiker-murders/

https://www.santarosahitchhikermurders.com/articles.php

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Rosa_hitchhiker_murders

https://charleyproject.org/case/jeannette-kamahele

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Trystan Benallie was a 28-year-old Indigenous mother of five, killed in a 2021 domestic violence shooting in Phoenix, Arizona. Despite having a protective order, she and a friend were murdered days after her abuser was released from jail on reduced charges. Her story exposes the deep failures in a system meant to protect survivors.

Sources:

https://www.abc15.com/news/crime/family-of-domestic-violence-shooting-victim-trystan-benallie-speaks-out

https://www.facebook.com/share/16RCBvq47t/?mibextid=wwXIfr

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In 1999, there was no national spotlight on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. The movement, as we know it today, didn’t exist. There were no hashtags. No public campaigns. No national awareness.

That year, LaTisha Brien was murdered and for years, her family carried the weight of that loss alone. There was no justice. No recognition. No platform to speak the truth of what happened to her.

Now, more than two decades later, her loved ones have asked us to help share her story.

Sources:

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/mn-supreme-court/1372292.html

https://cdn.zephyrcms.com/c5444f42-0d89-4699-be7b-1c17c5f0f92d/-/inline/yes/i-got-flowers-poem.pdf

https://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/mmiw/mmip-families-request-reviews-of-both-cold-and-active-cases-at-hardin-rally/article_8156282d-f6d7-59fb-8600-ec915ec55925.html

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In this mini episode, we share the story of Tara Lynn Woodman, an 18-year-old Diné woman who vanished in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 2005. Tara had recently moved to the city after graduating high school, but months later, she stopped contacting her family. Her skeletal remains were discovered just days before she was reported missing, but it would take years and a sketch to finally identify her.

Sources:

https://www.facebook.com/share/1AJK22BTga/?mibextid=wwXIfr

https://unidentified-awareness.fandom.com/wiki/Tara_Woodman

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We’re joined this week by our very first guest—Brooklyn Brown, reporter for The Cherokee One Feather—as we visit the powerful and heartbreaking story of Dora Owl, a young Cherokee mother whose life was taken in 1947.

Through Brooklyn’s reporting and conversations with Dora’s family, we reflect on the generational impact of her loss and the importance of remembering the names and stories history tried to erase.

This is a story of silence, resilience, and truth—and one we’re honored to share.

Source:

https://theonefeather.com/2024/05/02/mmiw-profile-dora-owl/

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In April 2023, Candrick Begay, 31, and his co-worker, Anthony McCants, 26, were working at the Highway 64 Auto Salvage in San Juan County, NM, when they were sent out to pull parts for a truck. They never returned. Both men were found murdered—and nearly two years later, their killer still hasn’t been caught. With no surveillance footage and few leads, their families remain trapped in grief and unanswered questions. In this episode, we examine the rural silence surrounding this case, the investigative challenges, and the heartbreaking reality of what it means to seek justice when justice never comes.

Sources:

Investigation continues after double murder in San Juan County last year

Wife of homicide victim questions circumstances of his death - The Tri-City Record

Families of two men murdered at San Juan County job continue to push for answers

Mass shooting, double homicide raise number of killings in 2023 - The Journal

Double homicide at N.M. salvage yard remains under investigation - The Durango Herald

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A mother and daughter, murdered six years apart in Denver, Colorado—both cases unsolved, both stories forgotten.

No arrests. No suspects. No answers.

Why were their cases ignored? How does a mother and daughter get murdered in the same city, and no one talks about it?

If you have any information, contact Denver PD at 720-913-2000.

Sources:

https://apps.colorado.gov/apps/coldcase/casedetail.html?id=782

https://apps.colorado.gov/apps/coldcase/casedetail.html?id=783

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