PHOENIX — A group of hundreds of motorcyclists rode together Saturday to raise awareness on an important issue affecting so many people across the state.
"One of the taglines of the movement is we're not invisible," the co-founder of the ride, Shelly Denny, said. "And an event like this creates a lot of visibility for our movement."
It was the second annual Thunderbird Throttle, where motorcyclists from across the nation celebrated the Indigenous culture and tribal community. Their main purpose though was to build awareness and show support for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People initiative.
"Culturally it's a bit taboo to talk about people who've passed on but we are in the year 2024 and we do have to break some of those taboos and say their names, talk about what happened and bring justice to the families because there's a pattern that's happening all across North America and in Canada," Denny said.
According to the U.S. Department of the Interior Indian Affairs, Native American communities have struggled with high rates of assault, abduction, and murder of tribal members for many years.
"There are a lot of historical factors that've led to this crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People," Denny said. "You could say it's been going on since 1492 when Indigenous people were just considered something to get out of the way so that these other people could come in and flourish."
Denny says the Urban Indian Health Institute collected data for more than 40 years and found one Indigenous woman goes missing every three days in the United States. In Canada, it's one every 2.7 days. The majority, she says, don't make it to the Federal Missing Persons Database.
"I know the numbers aren't accurate because I know people who've been missing and not reported it as a missing person because I know they feel like it's not going to do any good," she said. "They're concerned about backlash and they don't feel safe going to authorities in some communities because of the racism and discrimination they've experienced."
She and so many others are hopeful events like this will help raise awareness and start a conversation about possible solutions.
"It takes a lot of resources and unfortunately with indigenous people only being about 2% of the population that's not a lot of voice so we really need the allies of all Native communities to stand with us to say what is happening with Missing and Murdered Indigenous People," she said. "How can we direct our resources, how can we create opportunities for families to have their stories be told?"
"Our Native community is very close-knit," said Jolyana Begay-Kroupa, the Chief Executive Officer of the Phoenix Indian Center. "And so one of the things being done is having a dialogue take place about how we're going to move forward with our resources, our tribal leaders, and the police department, city council so this awareness starts to bubble and we can all work together to create strategies."
Begay-Kroupa says the event is so important to have and she is grateful it's taking place for another year.
"There's the joy of the ride and learning about the culture performances but it's also learning how to be an ally, educating ourselves and how can we contribute to change what's happening," she said.
The event coincides with Arizona Bike Week and invites motorcyclists from all over the United States to participate. More than $40,000 was raised at this year's event.
"I think collectively our voice is so much stronger and the visual presence of more than 200 motorcycles coming down the road," said Thunderbird Throttle co-founder Patty Dimitriou. "And when people realize we're doing this to raise awareness and resources for MMIP we hope that perhaps they look into that further and maybe save some lives."
>> Live, local, breaking. Download the 12News app
Watch 12News+ for free
You can now watch 12News content anytime, anywhere thanks to the 12News+ app!
The free 12News+ app from 12News lets users stream live events — including daily newscasts like "Today in AZ" and "12 News" and our daily lifestyle program, "Arizona Midday"—on Roku and Amazon Fire TV.
12News+ showcases live video throughout the day for breaking news, local news, weather and even an occasional moment of Zen showcasing breathtaking sights from across Arizona.
Users can also watch on-demand videos of top stories, local politics, I-Team investigations, Arizona-specific features and vintage videos from the 12News archives.
Roku: Add the channel from the Roku store or by searching for "12 News KPNX."
Amazon Fire TV: Search for "12 News KPNX" to find the free 12News+ app to add to your account, or have the 12News+ app delivered directly to your Amazon Fire TV through Amazon.com or the Amazon app.
Up to Speed
Catch up on the latest news and stories on the 12News YouTube channel. Subscribe today.