I am a new resident to Anchorage, having moved here in June 2024 from Unalakleet, my beloved home community. I am Inupiaq and Yup’ik and have done my best to raise my children to be proud of who they are and where they come from. Living in Anchorage and raising a young Alaska Native son in this city has presented its expected challenges and, thankfully, we have been equipped to face them.
However, in recent months, I have become disturbed and alarmed at the number of young Alaska Native women who have gone missing. While many cases end with relief, a great many families are grieving, in anguish, and have zero answers as to where their daughters are and what happened to them. Since the end of November, I have counted four Alaska Native women who have been reported missing in this city, including Kelly Hunt, Candace Kruger, Dominique Jade Smith and Alfreda Gregory. There may be more. And perhaps a few of these women have been located, as is the case with Candace Kruger and Dominique Jade Smith. The most accurate information I can gather is from social media.
What concerns me is there is no public database where I can find a list of people currently missing in this community. It’s entirely maddening to try to do the work to find the most accurate data while having no reliable source to do this.
This issue is personal for me. My cousin, Sonya Ivanoff, was missing in Nome and was later found to be murdered by an on-duty Nome Police Department officer. I played softball with her, and she often babysat my children, who are now adults. Kelly Hunt, a 19-year-old student who was traveling through Anchorage on her way back to college, is from Shaktoolik, the community just north of Unalakleet where we have many friends and family members. The community of Shaktoolik held a cake walk fundraiser so Kelly could return home for the holidays, and now they are grieving. She was not an at-risk young woman but is now missing and was at risk for simply being Alaska Native in Anchorage.
The Anchorage Police Department is failing young Alaska Native women. The Anchorage Police Department is failing our community. There is zero trust in the Alaska Native community with the lack of action. One only needs to look at the Cassandra Lee Boskofsky case to know that this city’s police department does not handle Indigenous women’s cases with care or intent for justice.
It’s time that our community demand accountability and policy reform. It’s time for the Municipality of Anchorage to perform an outside audit and external review on the Anchorage Police Department’s policies and procedures regarding missing cases. While the department’s Homicide Unit and Cold Case Unit each investigate missing people cases in addition to their normal casework, it’s imperative that the city establish a dedicated Missing Persons Unit to reduce the time a person remains missing.
I know funding is challenging, especially today. I understand there isn’t broad public support in this state and city for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, which is a glaring issue. Despite this, I ask you to be creative. To build partnerships with Data for Indigenous Justice and the MMIWG2 Alaska Working Group. To work with Alaska Native organizations and the community to find funding. Too many of our young women are disappearing from your streets. Too many families and individuals are left with zero faith in a system that seems to work against us. We need someone who cares to join this fight that, in a healthy community, would have broad support.
This was printed as an Opinion piece in the Anchorage Daily News. A version was sent to Mayor LaFrance’s office. We look forward to connecting the leadership in Anchorage with Alaska Native organizations and partners. Too many of our daughters are going missing.
For those of you who are grieving and live in the anguish of a missing loved one, there is a MMIP Grieving and Loss Group facilitated by Empowerment Advocate Alaska.
“Healing Through Connection: MMIP Grief & Loss Group” is a 12-week peer support group designed for loved ones affected by Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP). This group will offer a safe, supportive space for loved ones to process their grief, share their experiences, and connect with others who understand their pain.
Each weekly meeting will include guided discussions, a workbook to support individual reflection, and the opportunity to connect with others. The group will be held virtually, making it accessible to anyone, regardless of location. Our first session will begin March 14th, 2026.
You can register HERE.
laureli ivanoff 
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