NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

Contact: Curtison Badonie, (505) 243-9199 or [email protected] 

CSVANW Sends Condolences to Family of Tomica Yellowhorse, Teenager Found in Albuquerque Arroyo

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – February 22, 2019 – The Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women (CSVNW) is distraught and heartbroken to receive the report of Tomica Yellowhorse, a 16-year-old Native youth, whose body was found on February 10 at the bottom of an arroyo in Albuquerque.

The CSVANW sends its deepest condolences to the family of Tomica and urges all communities to keep the family in their prayers.

“And please send good thoughts and strength to Tomica’s family for this is a difficult time for them and our Native community,” said Deleana OtherBull, CSVANW Executive Director .

Murder is the third-leading cause of death among American Indian and Alaska Native women between the ages of 10 – 24, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. 

“This horrific act of violence against our most vulnerable, our Native youth, remind us of the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls across the country,” says OtherBull. “It is a crisis that has been too long ignored and we continue to advocate for legislation at the state and national levels to address MMIW.”

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