Wisconsin Indigenous Riders raise awareness for missing and murdered Indigenous people, opioid abuse

WATERSMEET, Mich. (WLUC) – The Wisconsin Indigenous Riders will be starting the 4th annual Missing and Murdered Indigenous People and Opioid Awareness ride Friday.

“This’s Gene Cloud Jr. and he’s from the Black River Falls area, Ho-chunk tribe,” Bruce LaMere said. “So, we did reach out to the family and ask if we could carry their name in remembrance, and they said yes.”

Wisconsin Indigenous Riders President Bruce LaMere shows a ribbon of one of the people the ride will be remembering.

The riders came together at the Northern Waters Casino Resort today to raise money for the Indigenous communities they will visit. They will head out tomorrow to start delivering the money to local search teams for their effort to find missing people.

Tonight, speaker Linda Cobe talked about her experiences in an Indigenous boarding school and being forced away from her community at a young age at the event.

She says she sees a connection between her story and the cause of the riders.

“I wanted to tie that into how it all relates to the MMIW, the trauma and violence that our people have always experienced since colonization,” Cobe said.

Tribal Progressive band Waawiyeyaa also performed for the riders.

Band member and rider Danny Garceau says learning about the Indigenous experience by visiting native communities has left an impact.

“It’s a very powerful ride, its medicine itself too,” Garceau said. “Visiting the different reservations, hearing the stories and talking circles, it’s good medicine itself.”

Riders will take off Friday at nine in the morning at the Northern Waters Casino Resort.

Almost a dozen native nations will be represented during the ride.

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