Missing & Murdered Indigenous Peoples
Latest News
"Let's put our minds together and see what kind of life we can make for our children."
Chief Sitting Bull, Lakota Souix
Meet The Speakers
N.D. Representative Ruth Buffalo
N.D. Representative Ruth Buffalo is the first Native American Democratic woman to be elected to N.D. Legislature. She currently resides in North Dakota with her husband and children.
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During her time in office, Representative Buffalo has worked on the implementation of a missing person database but focuses on Tribal Affiliation. She has also introduced a bill requiring Native American history to be taught in N.D. schools. Representative Buffalo currently sits on both the Judiciary and Agriculture House.
Agnes Woodward
Agnes Woodward is Nehiyaw from Treaty 4 territory and a member of Kawacatoose First Nations. She currently resides in North Dakota with her husband and children.
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Agnes is the Director of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples Storytelling Project, an initiative by Seeding Sovereignty. The focus of Agnes's work with Seeding Sovereignty is to center the voices and experiences of families that have been directly impacted by the epidemic of MMIP.
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Agnes is an MMIW family member and advocate, activist, Speaker, grassroots community organizer, and co-owner/ribbon skirt designer of ReeCreeations. Through her family's lived experience she understands how assimilation policies have impacted Indigenous Peoples.
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Agnes uses her personal experience and art to amplify Indigenous voices and empower Indigenous people, bringing healing, visibility, and connection to Indigenous identity.
Dr. Ceyrnn Desjarlais
Dr. Cerynn Desjarlais is the program director for online graduate counseling programs and a clinical assistant professor at the University of North Dakota. She completed her Master of Arts in Counseling and Ph.D., in Counseling Psychology at UND and is committed to working with colleagues to promote education that emphasizes diversity, inclusion, and equity of access to counseling services at her alma mater.
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Dr. Cerynn Desjarlais is a member of the Society of Indigenous Psychologists, where she serves as the SIP Newsletter co-editor, and as an awards committee member. She is also a member of the American Psychological Association and several APA divisions focused specifically on women, culture, ethnicity, race, and the study of peace, conflict, and violence. Dr. Cerynn Desjarlais has research and scholarly interests in the areas of Multicultural Psychology, Indigenous Student Success, Indigenous Spiritual Microaggressions, and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.
Dr. Cerynn Desjarlais also contributes to the counseling psychology community by engaging in guest speaking opportunities, guest lectures and training, advocacy work, and scholarly writing in the field.
