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EAC acknowledges indigenous lands, members link transportation to missing and murdered Indigenous people
Summary
During opening remarks May 14, the Interagency Transportation Equity Advisory Committee held a land acknowledgment and members connected transportation systems to missing and murdered Indigenous women and persons, citing gaps in police data collection and a recent legislative effort to require better data.
The Interagency Transportation Equity Advisory Committee opened its May 14 meeting with a land acknowledgment and several members spoke about the connection between transportation and the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and persons (MMIW/P).
Vice Chair Anna Gonzales urged the committee and state agencies to “do a better job in making sure that our women are safe, but most especially our indigenous women,” and called attention to corridors where trafficking and disappearances have occurred and the role transportation systems can play in prevention and awareness. Gonzales said an Assemblymember from District 45, James Ramos, sponsored a bill to require law enforcement agencies to collect data on missing and murdered Indigenous women; she said some police departments had not been collecting this information prior to that bill.
Multiple EAC members provided land acknowledgments and reiterated that transportation equity work intersects with safety and community wellbeing. Carrie Hakimi Hernandez, Naomi Iwasaki and others identified the ancestral territories from which they joined and thanked the committee for recognizing Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Awareness Month.
Commissioner Lugo (identified in the meeting as a commissioner joining remotely) recounted the historical case of Modesta Avila, a 19th‑century woman who protested railroad encroachment and faced criminal punishment, as an example linking transportation infrastructure decisions to Indigenous histories and mobility justice. Lugo said Modesta Avila’s story “helps for me to just define what transportation equity and mobility justice are trying to address in the California context.”
Members noted that the harm extends beyond Indigenous women to children and to Indigenous people from diverse geographies, including cross‑border Indigenous communities, and asked the committee and agencies to continue elevating these safety concerns within transportation planning and programming.
No formal action was taken on these remarks; the statements were offered as opening acknowledgments and public comment during the EAC business meeting.
The meeting summary and staff updates said American Sign Language interpretation and captioning were provided and that translated materials are available by request. The committee then proceeded to other agenda items, including approval of March minutes and the subcommittee discussion.
Ending: The committee moved from the acknowledgment and public statements into agenda business; staff and members indicated the topic will continue to inform the EAC’s equity priorities and upcoming advisory work.
