About the Missing in California Indian Country Artwork

The Missing in California Indian Country artwork was developed in collaboration between the California Department of Justice and the Northern California tribal community. Gathered together to plan the first-of-its-kind Missing in California Indian Country – Northern California Region event, tribal planning partners and representatives of the California Department of Justice discussed what image would best represent the event. Many of the tribal planning partners expressed a desire to incorporate a concept reflected on a small wooden pin that had been handed out to attendees at the Yurok Tribe’s MMIP (Missing Murdered Indigenous Persons) Action Day on February 7, 2023. The small wooden pin was created by Yurok Tribal Council Member Wes Crawford. Many of the tribal planning partners were inspired by the pin’s concept and thought it would be warmly embraced by all of the California Native American tribal communities throughout the state.

As shared by Mr. Crawford, the concept of the wooden pin represented both an image that connects all California tribal people and a mark widely recognized with the MMIP movement. In addition to the acorn being symbolic to all California tribes because of the shared historical and ancestral connection as a vital food source, the shape of the acorn also reminded Mr. Crawford of a face, and the top of the acorn to that of a basketry cap. And lastly, the red handprint within the acorn represents the MMIP crisis.

As a father of three children and as someone who understands the pain of losing a close family member, Mr. Crawford generously gifted his pencil sketches of the pin shared at the MMIP Action Day with the California Department of Justice in an effort to bring awareness of what was happening to tribal people in California via Missing in California Indian Country activities. From a pencil sketch to the combined graphic design efforts of the Yurok Tribe and the California Department of Justice, and the vision and input of the Northern California tribal community, the Missing in California Indian Country artwork was formed.